Okay. So, What kind of experience do you, do you have, then with child care? I guess, I think, uh, I wonder if that worked. Does it say something? I think it usually does. You might try, uh, I don't know, hold it down a little longer, and see if it, uh, Okay Well, Does it usually make a recording or Okay I, Well, I don't remember. It seemed like it did, but it might not. I guess I guess we can start. Uh, Okay. Okay. No, I don't, I don't have any kids. I, uh, my sister has a, she just had a baby, he's about five months old and she was worrying about going back to work and what she was going to do with him and the different, Uh-huh. do you have kids? I have three. Oh, really? Uh-huh. Yeah, I do Yes, uh, I don't work, though, but I used to work and, when I had two children. Uh-huh. I work off and on just temporarily and usually find friends to babysit, but I don't envy anybody who's in that situation to find day care. Yeah. But, does your sister live in a big community? Uh, yeah she lives, it's a, it's a fairly large community. She, uh, got real lucky, though. He had a boss who, uh, moved into a larger office Uh-huh. and she's able to take her baby to work with her. Oh, really? And it's a small office that she works in Uh-huh. and, uh, it's a, it's a legal firm, office, and it's just one lawyer Um. and so she's the only one really that takes care of the office. There's no one else that works there. Uh-huh. And so they have an extra room and everything for the baby, so it works out pretty good for her. Wow. How lucky I, I know a lot of people around here sometimes have, like, mothers or grandmothers that take care of their kids Yeah. and, but, the community I'm in is not a real large one, so there are a lot of people who babysit in their homes that, you know, you either know them or know somebody who knows them to get to, Yeah, so it's fairly safe. Yeah, to get references and that, so, but, uh, I, I don't feel comfortable about leaving my kids in a big day care center, but, simply because there's so many kids and so many Worried that they're not going to get enough attention? Yeah, and, uh, you know, colds and things like that get spread real easy and things, Yeah. but, and they're expensive and, course, there's a lot of different types of day care available, too, you know, where they teach them academic things. Yes. Or they just watch them and let them play and things like that, but, take a long time to find the right place Yeah, and you, and you don't always even know if it's, it's going to be the right place or not. Uh-huh. Anything, I guess, could happen. Uh-huh. Because after, I guess after he, you know, gets to a certain age she's going to have to take him to a day care. Uh-huh, when he starts toddling around and stuff. Yeah. Yeah. When, when he's not, when she can't keep control of him and he starts crawling that's, Uh-huh. It would be hard, I think it would be kind of stressful. It would be nice to have him around Uh-huh. but, uh, seems like, you know, what if he cried at the wrong time or the phone rang or, you know, at the wrong time Yeah. But, I think she has problems with that, too. Uh-huh. Well, when you have kids, will you work? Do you work now? I don't know that's something I've considered. Uh, Uh-huh. I always kind of think it would be neat to be able to watch them and be there for them all the time. Uh-huh. Is that what you do? Uh, yeah. Actually, I teach my kids at home, so I'm here all the time. Oh, so they don't go to school. Is it like, uh, oh, what's that called, it's, uh, correspondence school, they do it at home. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. That's interesting. So, Do you have to have any special training? Not, it depends on the state you live actually. Some laws absolutely prohibit it. Some states, uh, say that you have to be a certified teacher in order to do that. Our state doesn't yet, say that and I'm not a certified teacher. I went to college, but I, you know, but my kids are only elementary grades, levels right now and so, So they haven't been to public schools at all. One of them was for a couple of years and so, you know, my oldest, he was, and then my youngest two have never been. Um. So anyway, but we don't, So, you've never had, Well, uh, does the company you work for test for drugs? Actually, uh, they just recently started a policy of testing drugs, which was kind of interesting, because when I went to work for them, uh, they didn't do that, but, uh, since then they've, they've started a drug testing policy, not because of their own, uh, convictions, but because the clients of our company are requests that we do that. Huh. How about you? Uh, no, we're not being tested for drugs at all, uh, our policies and procedures manual, uh, the furthest it goes about drugs is in the, kind of the miscellaneous section, or it's reasons for immediate dismissal, Uh-huh. it says, use of narcotics on company premises. Um. So that's pretty general, but, uh, I work for an environmental management firm Okay. and I'm an engineer there, but I do go on a lot of hazardous waste sites, but I don't operate any machinery. Yeah. Now, people for our company that do operate machinery like drill rigs and things like that are under a, a medical monitoring program, Uh-huh. because they're at a higher risk of exposure and blood screening is part of that and I, I think that drugs, they do test for drugs in that capacity, but it's not their exclusive, it's just part, it's just something that turns up in the other parameters that they test for. Yeah. But I think it's got a little more relevance since they are around dangerous equipment and things like that and do have to exercise some quick judgment in the field. What is the nature of your company's business? Well, it's actually, uh, we do oil well services. So, a lot of our clients are oil companies, big oil companies, and they go out to, we have engineers who, uh, go out to the oil well, to the, to the client's oil well, and, and work with a lot of heavy equipment and put tools down the oil well and stuff, so the clients are very concerned that, you know, the engineers who go out there are adhering to their drug policy, because they're on their, their, you know, territory and everything, but the thing that's interesting is that I I'm an engineer and, a software engineer Um. and I work in the software, uh, house, and everybody there, you know, are all software engineers. They've never, you know, they never go out to the, the oil rigs or anything, and yet, we're getting, we're subjected to this policy, you know, the same one that, uh, all the engineers have to, to, well, a little different, actually, but, uh, you know, we have to go through the same thing, and it's, but it's, uh, it's a little different, I guess than than a lot of drug policies. In our case, it's like, when you hire on, they'll test you, and then if you get injured on the job, if you like trip and fall or something, uh, they give you a drug test right away. Oh, really? Other than that they don't have random testing or anything like that, but, a lot of people were really upset with the policy at first. Particularly, like uh, we have a lot of parties and stuff where they serve alcohol, and they didn't find any problem with that, you know, but, Right. Uh, We, that's been an, a, an issue, uh, in our company even though we don't have the random or even regular drug screening. they'll have these little parties, and people will just get, I mean, I've, my brother lives where I work, and I have many a time called him to come get me, you know. And, uh, uh, but, you know, they don't think twice about serving beer by the keg. You know, Yeah but, uh, I think drug testing, and I, I don't know, I guess I I think it's got some relevance, but I think its relevance is pretty limited. I mean, I think, you know, in your case, I don't think that you should necessarily be subjected to drug testing. Yeah. I think that's an interesting policy your company has about testing immediately after an on the job accident. Yeah, it's really, it's really bizarre. Uh, particularly, like where we are, you know. I, I, there was a story of a woman last year who, who actually did slip on the ice and, and like sprained her ankle and she, she was a personnel secretary and she had to get tested and, I don't know I'm ambivalent about the whole thing. I, you know, I have a lot of mixed feelings about on the one hand, it's like if, you know, they're, they should be able to make it as a continue of employment in some sense and, you know, it's like you're, I mean, employments are contractual by nature anyway Uh-huh. but, uh, I had an experience when I was interviewing for a job that, where I had to, uh, uh, do a drug test and, and it's, it was kind of a long story, but it was, it was just an incredibly humiliating experience what I went through, and it amounted to, uh, going in, uh, before any of these interviews, I'm not even working for this company, I'm going in for, like, interviews and they flew me out to Chicago and, and, uh, before I went into any of the interviews, uh, they took me to the doctor to give me a physical. They said it was going to be a physical, you know, and, uh, actually beforehand they told me they were going to, uh, do drug screening, but I had forgotten about that, and so, basically, I'd already peed off that morning and, and when I got in there, I didn't, I wasn't, like, able to give a full sample, and so they made me sit and wait for forty-five minutes, drink a whole ton of water before I went to any of the interviews and go in there again, Oh. Right. and the, and the, the procedure is utterly humiliating. You go in there with the doctor, he makes you take off all your clothes and then he examines you. Uh, the question was kind of interesting to me because I was just trying to put together a, uh, long term financial plan and monthly budget. The only thing I do now is, uh, put the data into Quicken. I don't know if you are familiar with that. Yeah, I have some friends of mine who use Quicken and, uh, I've considered using it once myself, but I decided that the amount of information that would have to go in would be a lot of time keeping that up to date. Uh-huh. So I, I kind of gave up on the idea of using Quicken, at least for now. Um. I've found it's the only reliable way to keep a check book balanced actually because what will happen is my wife will write a few checks and then, well, uh, uh, not bother to total it Uh-huh. and then it comes in to doing all the arithmetic. So it really helps with that. Yeah, well, it's similar problems but, uh, we just have the one check book and we try to keep it up to date as much as possible and occasionally we will get behind like you say but, uh, it doesn't really seem to be too, too tight if we just remember to keep everything up, up to date and balanced. Uh-huh. Well, how to you handle that, the long range or medium range planning on finances? Well, actually we haven't had to. Uh, until just recently. I guess we've got a, a daughter who is eighteen months and another one on the way so we needed to start doing more of that just for, uh, you know, saving for college and things like that. Uh-huh. We tried a way, try to put away two and four thousand a year just for that. Yeah. Well that's pretty good if you can do that. I know. I have a daughter who's ten and we haven't really put much away for her college up to this point but, uh, we're to the point now where our financial income is enough that we can consider putting some away for college, Uh-huh. so we are going to be starting a regular payroll deduction in the fall Um. and then the money that I will be making this summer we'll be putting away for the college fund. Um. Sounds good. Yeah, I guess we're, we're just at the point, uh, my wife worked until we had a family and then, you know, now we're just going on the one income so it's a lot more interesting trying to, uh, Uh-huh. find some extra payroll deductions is probably the only way we will be able to, uh, do it. You know, kind of enforce the savings. Uh-huh. But, uh, it will be interesting to see Well our situation is just a little bit, kind of the opposite of that cause my wife was not working for some time and was going to school and just recently, uh, took on a full time job, well almost full time. Um. So, it's only recently that we've had the money where we could start putting away large sums of it for, uh, long range goals like college and sickness and travel and that kind of thing. Um. That sounds good. But, uh, uh, I was just curious, what, uh, part of the country. Oh, Stockton. Oh, okay. How about you? Uh, Cincinnati, actually. I was kind of wondering if they would be collecting people with, uh, the western accents or something like that. I don't know how many people are, uh, getting involved in this but uh, well that's interesting. Uh-huh. I'm, uh, uh, actually, uh, I was kind of interested if you found out about the study by, uh, reading TELECOM DIGEST or was there another? Uh, a colleague of mine at, uh, work got some information over, uh, the computer network called INTERNET. Oh, okay. Yeah, that is how I got it as well but, uh, And he just forwarded that on to me and, uh, it sounded like it would be an interesting project to participate in Uh-huh. so I sent back mail. Yeah, it will be interesting to see what, It would be interesting to see how the data base, so, well, I guess we're talking about the experiment. Uh-huh. Uh, probably need to try to get back on the topic but, uh, it's hard to talk about finances without without getting to, uh, dollar figures I guess you know, Uh-huh. we could talk about some of the long range goals and, Well what other long range goals do you have besides college? Uh, well I think, either my wife or I would like to pursue advanced degrees at some point Uh-huh. uh, I guess we will have to factor that in if we are not working for employers that happen to fund that. It seems like every year my employer just gives back, you know, a little bit your tuition reimbursement. Uh-huh. I mean they use to reimburse one hundred percent and now it's, uh, now it's reimbursement depending on the grade you get in class and, uh, it's a real shame from what we had before, uh, because we're, Right, uh, actually I lived over in Europe for a couple of years, I lived in Germany and in Germany they don't have the jury system. What they do is they have, uh, three judges, basically. And you get up there and the prosecuting attorney presents his evidence and your defense attorney presents their evidence and those three guys take the evidence, go off, figure it out and then come back and say whether you're guilty or not. our judicial system is in such total chaos. I think what they need to do is, they need to somehow take the money out of it. I mean, when you have a man that's signed a, a, a statement saying he's guilty, we have a, a family called All day family. They were all murdered. Uh-huh. All the people signed confessions, they went to a trial by jury. They been trying these people now for twenty-two years, ever since I was a child. Wow. And what they've done is they've bought Mercedes after Mercedes after Mercedes is what they've done, has nothing to do with justice whatsoever. Well, you know, it's, it's one of those things, I mean, uh, uh, I would have to look at it. if they did it with the, uh, just the judges, the police have to do a lot better job of making sure that their evidence is airtight because the judges sitting in that kind of stuff day after day, they know all the procedures, they know what's good and what isn't, they'd be able to say, I'm sorry, you can't use this as, uh, evidence, you know, because it was either illegally obtained or whatever and, you know, you wouldn't have this, uh, uh, theatrics where the lawyer jumps up and presents it to the, to the jury and then the judge says, oh, no, disregard that. Come on, any jury's not going to disregard the evidence, you know Uh, that's true. I, I, I think our judicial system is attorney welfare myself. That may very well be. I, I hold it in the utmost contempt. Uh, The, uh, my favorite is the police department, they're not aimed at the criminal. The judicial system is aimed at the citizens because you and I, we have work schedules, we can be called at work, we have Social Security numbers, they can trace us down, we have telephones, then we have checkbooks. Criminals have none of these things. They're real difficult to catch, and if they do catch them, they don't get any monetary gain out of it, whereas us, we write a check. Yeah. So where do you think they target their efforts? That's true. They target their efforts toward the citizens not the criminals. Well, How would you go about changing it? You know, that's a, I've nailed the problem down but I, Leave the details up to somebody else, huh. Yeah, I'm going to have to leave those details like, what would you do about, I think, to begin with, you would you would have, like, here in Atlanta area, our crime rate is just astronomical, yet, you go out on the streets and they're giving speeding tickets. Yeah. I think somehow you have to separate the revenues from, Well, you know, uh, talking about the lawyers, you know what might very well do, uh, cause a, uh, a drop in the number of lawyers and things like that, is to set the fees for cases. It's kind of like do it, do it in the similar vein similar, like, uh, V C R or television repair. If you take your T V in, a lot of these T V repair places will say, well, I'll repair your T V for a hundred dollars, and if he gets in there and starts rooting around and finds something in there that's really tremendously wrong with it, then he eats it. He, he repairs it, gives it back to you, and takes your hundred dollars. Now, if he comes in and says, you know, I'll repair your, your V C R, or somebody else's V C R, for a hundred dollars, gets in there, maybe it's a blown fuse, takes him two minutes, he fixes it, he still charges you that hundred dollars. So, maybe if we did that with the lawyers, so that, you know, whether it's a murder case or a, you know, a civil, uh, somebody suing somebody else, you get X dollars for that case and that's it. Now, I firmly believe in that None of this, because when you get the most heinous of crimes, have you ever noticed you always get the most renowned defense attorney? Oh, yeah. And here's this bum that didn't have a job Yeah. and he's got a attorney that you and I could never afford. That's true. Who's paying for that? Yeah. Um, well, you, you know, you're talking to part of them that's paying for that Yeah, and you're talking to the other half that's paying for it That's right. You know that's, it, it's, it's amazing and, and when you stop and look at it, I mean, the judges, they're all former lawyers. Yeah, well, that's another problem. I think to really correct the judicial system, you have to get the lawyers out of it I mean, they're, they're totally and morally bankrupt without any ethics whatsoever, and with that type person running it, I mean, you, you could expect that you, Do you know anyone that, uh, is, is in a nursing home or has ever been in one? No. But I, my grandparents were looking into it before so I know what they've said. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, I'm trying to think. My, uh, uh, wife's grandmother had Alzheimer's and they were going to put her into a, a nursing home and, uh, they, when they put her in, she had all kinds of trouble and the nursing home made them come and take her back because she was being a, a, you know, a, a nuisance. Or worse than a nuisance, I mean she sort of went, you know, bananas they thought it was too much of a bother. and they couldn't, couldn't deal with her So, I guess you need to, uh, know whether it's a, you know, a no deposit, no return kind of thing whether Right. If they're equipped too, to handle the kind of patients you're going to have you know, put in there too. Yeah. Because I know my grandparents wanted to have some independence still. Right. They wanted some place they can go and have their meals and a nurse on staff just in case they needed her but they wanted to be independent as well. Have their own room. Right. My grandmother actually was in a, a nursing home that, uh, there was a retirement hotel and then a, uh, there was some sort of full-time care place that was also associated with it so for, uh, the first few years she had her own apartment and, you know, made her own meals sometimes. But could, could also go and eat someplace else. Uh-huh. And then, uh, as she became less able to take care of herself, then she moved into this other part that was able to, uh, provide full-time care and, uh, she didn't have to do anything anymore. But my experience has been that most people that move into nursing homes die very quickly. And that's I don't know whether that's because they, you know, sort of give up hope once they get in there or what the, the reason is. But I think the average length of time that somebody lives in a nursing home is only like six months or something. Well a lot of it's probably to do with the fact that people go to it because they need help. Yeah. They need health care so they're already ill before they go. Right. That's probably a large factor. Yeah. If, if you can take care of yourself at all or have someone that can take care of you, then you stay where you are. Then you only go there as a last resort. Uh-huh. Or people send you there as a last resort. Right, right. That's what my grandparents, it was just so that the rest of the relatives would have peace of mind knowing that if anything happened, there was somebody there for them. Uh-huh. So that was their thinking. Somebody who would know what to do in the event of an emergency. Right. And also so they could find someplace that they enjoyed while they still had choices to make. So they wouldn't be stuck going into just whatever nursing home was available at the time. Right. I guess that's a problem too for people. Wait lists and all. Yeah, I guess. That, uh, you can't always get in when you want too and of course, you can't just sit around and wait. Right. When you need it, you need it I guess. Yeah. And the money is also another issue. How you're going to pay for it. Right. At that stage of life you only have so much money left and I guess it's not exactly fair for the younger family members to have to put it in their savings. Yeah. I mean it is kind of fair, but it's also not fair because they have their own children to raise. Sure. So it's another problem. And you probably, if it were you, you probably wouldn't want someone choosing a place for you to live based on lowest price. Right, right. So, it, it's just so complicated anymore, I think People outlive their savings. And, with medicine being the way it is, you're extending life where sometimes the quality of living has gone down and they're not necessarily enjoying life anymore. Yeah. Well maybe that's the purpose of the nursing home is to have them go someplace where they can see that it's not worth continuing. It's just a shame that's the way it has to be. I think the retirement home idea's a nice idea. To go and find older people and with similar interests and someplace to stay Yeah. and cause like if your spouse died, all alone, it'd be nice to go someplace with people similar to you. To have friends. Right. Yeah, I've known quite a few people that have, uh, gone to retirement communities. I don't know if they have them back there but here in California and in Okay. Uh, so, what do you think, uh, about putting the elderly in a nursing home? Well, I think that it, it varies on on the individual basis. Huh. Uh, sometimes it is, there is no alternative. Uh-huh Uh, you do not have, uh, uh, family available or family that's, uh, you may not even have family that is, uh, uh, in, you know, who are around. That's true. Yeah. So, sometimes it's not an alternative. Huh And I think, uh, but I think also, sometimes it can be, uh, a benefit if it's for a short time. Sometimes in a nursing home Uh-huh. uh, especially if, if it's after an acute illness. To get over a, or to rehab after, uh, an illness. That's true. I never thought of that. Yeah. Sometimes you know, sometimes the nursing homes are good for, uh, just short periods of time. That's true, until they get over that hump of whatever it is they're dealing with. Uh-huh. Because too often the acute hospitals will, are sending them out much faster than what they're really able to. Yes. They really are. They don't like to keep them longer than a week. So so there is some good to it. Yeah. Uh, sometimes too, it's used as a dumb job. You know the well the families do not necessarily uh, know what to do with them What do you mean? and they don't want to take the responsibility so they will put them in a nursing home. Yeah, that's true. So you see, uh, there's both sides to it too. What do you think? Yeah and it depends on how, how sick the person is too. What you're capable of, like if you have a family to take care of, you know, of your own Yeah. Yeah, uh, I would personally like it if my parents were to get ill, I would like to take care of them at home and if I had the money with some help. That's not always possible. That's true. But, uh, to the best of my ability, I'd like to do it until it gets impossible I think that's also where you're going to have a lot of people who are going to, it's there's not a choice, it's because, it's not economically feasible even to put them in a nursing home. Right. Uh-huh Yeah. So that, that option sometimes is not available if they do not have the, uh, either Medicare or insurance to cover it. That's true. Yeah. So, But I think nursing homes can be good. It just depends on what kind they are. You know, you need to check them out ahead of time. Yeah, and then there's also some that are set up for specialties Uh-huh. uh, I know some. Unfortunately, some elderly have to go to or have, I guess it's Alzheimer's or where they wonder or, or, uh, confused or have some mental problem Uh-huh. Yeah, that they're And you need a special nursing home for that. You need one that has a unit that's locked where they are not able to get out and roam around Yeah. and you need people who are trained for that type of problem. Right. Who know what they're doing with that. Yeah so, so there's different types of nursing homes I think. Yeah well, my, uh, grandmother's not really in a nursing home, but a retirement home that also has a nursing home sort of attached to it. And she really liked the idea of, of moving there. She's not ill yet Uh-huh. but, uh, she worked there as a volunteer for about ten years and then she decided that, uh, she's eighty five years old, that eventually, you know, she she doesn't want her family taking care of her and being a burden. She's very independent. So she's in this nursing home. It's out in the country and, uh, she really enjoys it right now because she doesn't have to wash dishes or cook Gives her a little bit of her own independence Uh-huh. but she still has, uh, a security there. Right. Some support. And then there's also, uh, sort of a wing for those people that do get sick and, what I like about it and I think she likes about it is that she knows everybody there now and then, so if she ever does become ill, uh, it will be like family around her. That's right and I I've seen some of them like that too Yeah. and also they have a lot of, uh, activities going on for the ones who are more active. Uh-huh Yeah. So it's not sort of like, uh, uh a sick place. Uh-huh No, she loves it. She has a great social life and she travels and, uh, it's in, in the in the mountains and it's beautiful and, uh, I, I hope that I have something like that when I get older Yeah I, I think, I think the, uh I think that the decision that needs to be made though on nursing home has to be a joint one between the, uh, elderly uh, person who's going in and the family that's going to be, uh, effected by it Uh-huh Uh-huh. Oh definitely it's, and, uh, you know, sometimes it can, those those choices can be made in advance and sometimes the choices because of the nature of the illness when they're, Right. So, uh, do you happen to be working for a large firm? Well, it's about three hundred and fifty people. I guess that's not large compared to some, but it's big enough. Uh-huh. And they have a, they don't have any kind of pension plan where they contribute anything and I wish they did. Yeah. You know, they have a four O one K, but I put all the money into it. Uh-huh. They don't add anything. What about you? Uh, I work for a fairly large company. It's got eight thousand people. Uh-huh. And, uh, we do have health insurance. We don't have four O one K plan, stuff like that, but we do have, like, retirement. They kind of match up to, you, if you put six percent, they match up to six percent, and then the rest is whatever you want to put in. If you put more than that or something like that. Oh, that's a pretty good deal. It's not bad. Now, how long does it take for your contribution to vest? God, I don't know. It's probably a long time I'm sure it's not till like twenty-five years, thirty years. Yeah, the place I work at's, health insurance is kind of expensive. It's like hundred bucks a, a month or something for a family. Yeah. Huh, well, I guess what we have is like a what they call a flex benefits plan where you, you get like a certain amount of dollars and then you spend it on a cafeteria of whatever you want or need. Otherwise you can, uh, guess you can put, also put money, hold money back and then either use or lose it and that doesn't get taxed or can just have that money, you know, put in your paycheck. Yeah, we have one of those use it or lose it plans, too, where, uh, they'll basically pay for, uh, you know, child care type, uh, expenses. I can send in a, uh, can send in a request for payment and they'll, uh, and they'll send me, a check for the amount they withheld. That's pretty good, you know. It's, uh, it saves a third off on taxes or something. Yeah well, it depends on which company you work for. I know that, like, the, the, the one plan that everyone seems to be in, in my place is, uh, you know, you, uh, think you call it plan D another example like I guess it's alzheimer's Deductibles are really high, it's like fifteen hundred dollars, but if you go for the other ones you're paying too much money for them because it's unlikely, if you're relatively, uh, healthy, then it's really unlikely that you'd use that much, amount of money, you know. So, it, someone did start a cost benefit analysis, and ends up the best is to take a high deductible and, and take a loss, whatever happens to be, if you happen to be a healthy individual Yeah, I guess, uh, on the other hand, you know, I, I had a similar, had a similar health plan and, uh, one of my kids was in a car accident and, uh I had, wound up having to pay for, you know, a bunch of doctor visits and stuff out of my pocket because of, you know, no, no insurance policy happened to cover it, which is, Um. Really? You mean, not even your, your, your car insurance? Well, it, it got all screwed up because I had a high deductible on the health insurance, no fault here, and, and I had a high deductible on the on the, uh, on the car insurance and then you know, we just goofed up the medical insurance and the car insurance and stuff and blew it Oh, that's too bad. Oh, well. Yeah uh, well, I don't know, I think other than health insurance, I think, uh, you know, an extra week of, uh, time off would be nice. I only get two weeks. Yeah, yeah my place you get two weeks when you start and then every, every year they give you an extra day until you've got four weeks. Oh, that's nice. We don't get them till, till your seventh year of service till you get an extra week. Aye. That's a long time. Yeah, it's, uh, Yeah, especially in the kind of engineering job I'm in, you know, companies don't stay afloat that long and, and they, Uh, with the telecommunications type of company, supposedly you, used to be much more stable. It's a lot less stable than it used to be. They used to have job security but now they don't. So you work for Bell or something like that? Yeah, it's the Bell Corps, which is, uh, Right. Yeah. Right. So, I don't know, it's, it's, uh, no longer So that's what, I think it's still based on the old model of, and, and now they don't, uh, A lifelong job security telephone pioneers of America, Yeah. all that stuff, huh. Yeah, but they, no, no longer I don't think so. Right. Uh, hearing a there's always, they're always laying people off, which is another benefit that you can have other than salary is trade that off for security. Is it, I mean, does it, they must have pretty good severance, though, huh? Oh, I don't know, we don't, we haven't been doing layoffs. We've been doing, uh, down sizing with, uh, getting rid of extra layers of management. And, uh, I don't know what they do for those people. Mean the, the, the management they get rid of? Some of it, yeah. Um. There's too many manage, too many chiefs and not enough Indians but, Oh, they, they put, Well, have you ever served on a jury? No, I've not. I've been called, but I had to beg off from the duty. And you? Well, I was called and then I was not chosen. Um. Well, I was, I was, uh, originally chosen primarily, I think, because I was a young fellow and they tend to view the younger fellows as more likely to hand down a guilty verdict. I don't know why. Something I picked up in a psychology class some time ago. Oh, really? Yeah, it's that the younger they are, they tend to be more conservative for some statistical oddball reason, and they kind of liked me. I looked and all that stuff and they, I don't know what they saw in me, but they saw it. But, uh, back to the issue, is, uh, I don't know, at times I feel that a unanimous decision is warranted, especially in cases in which there's no smoking gun. But, there, too, there are also cases in which I feel a majority rule might be acceptable, particularly, I think in civil cases. In criminal cases, I'd like to see the unanimity remain, but in civil cases, I think a majority rule by, by jury would be sufficient. Well, uh, could you give me an example of a case where you think that? Well, in a criminal case, say one in which, you know, there is, like, say assault or some such. I think there ought to be a unanimous, uh, vote because by law and by constitution there must be proven beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt that the person in question did this. And in civil law there, you know, is such a thing as like, let's say, uh, misappropriations or misuse of financial instruments or something like that. A majority rule, I think, would be more in line as there is no real smoking gun in the civil cases. I don't know if I'm making any sense or not. Well, I mean, I think, are you just trying to say that criminal cases are more, uh, tangible or, Yeah, often there's more incriminating evidence. Like, for instance, say, uh, and also, too, I think I'm, I'm tempering this and the fact that the consequences are much more, uh, serious in a criminal case. Well, do you think that, that in a civil case, if there was majority rule, that it would be easy for someone to be set up? Um, well, I really can't say for certain, truth be known. Uh, as it stands, there's, there's many ways and means by which a person can be set up, both, uh, in a uh, civil and criminal case. I mean, the, uh, documentary, the THIN BLUE LINE pretty much demonstrated that. You know, I don't know for, if you're familiar with that or not. No, I'm not. A, uh, fellow when he was much younger, uh, was tried and convicted and sentenced to death. Fortunately, in his case, the death penalty was revoked and, uh, so he served out his, his sentence until it was discovered by a fellow who was making a documentary called the THIN BLUE LINE that this guy had basically gotten railroaded through the judicial system. The case was reopened and he was exonerated. Well, I mean, I think that there are many cases in our judicial system where justice is not served. Yeah, many laws, but little justice. Say, but, uh, and I also think, just like you were talking about before, why you were chosen to be on a jury that, uh, the, just, the process of picking jurors is not always objective. Oh, certainly not, certainly not. And you know, they like to think that they're getting someone who's objective in all this, but they're really looking for someone who will pretty much fulfill the lawyers' desires. You know, the, because you get up and, and they ask you a few questions, both sides do, and then you, you're either challenged which is, you know, each attorney can use that as much as they like or, I think it's a limit now, they probably have a limit now, but, they pretty much go through that, and then you have to give a reason to the court why you can't serve. For me, it was financial hardship, so. But, onto the thing, uh, I was never aware that juries had any say on recommending sentencing. It was always my impression that the Justice himself, or herself, had the final say. Okay, so I guess it starts recording now. Okay. Okay. I don't know, really know that much about the recycling in this area that we're in. We live in the Saginaw area. Saginaw? Uh-huh. And I'm not real familiar with, uh, anything that, I, fact as far as I know, the school doesn't have any kind of programs or anything out here. And, uh, or the grocery store or anything in this area, Really? yeah. The we live in Plano and they started off recycling by, uh, putting the, I think at each Wal-Mart, they had some recycling dumpsters and things like that, which now, I guess the, uh, city is, has bought the big green trash cans and, uh, we, they have a recycling truck that comes around now and you separate your glass and paper and, uh, aluminum Uh-huh. and you set it out and they pick it up and it, it works real neat. They seem to be having a real good response. Really? So, That is pretty good. I'm, we're originally from another state and I know in the state we were from that they did that similar type thing. The city brought ought, you know, set separate trash cans and you separated your stuff and you put it in there and they took it, you know. Did they, did they, like on bottles, did they give you a so many cents back for for cans I don't really know. I don't really know, they, they started after we moved down here and so I, I'm not really familiar. Yeah. I just know that, uh, my in-laws up in, up in Oklahoma, that's how they do, you know, they pick it up, but I don't know if they get a, get anything back on it or, do you get money for it? No, I just, I noticed it Iowa and other cities like that, it's a nickel per aluminum can. Oh. So you don't see too many thrown out around the streets. Or even bottles. Really You know, all kinds of bottles they, they, they really charge people to, I guess when you purchase them and, and then when you turn them back in. Right. I I remember the old days as a kid where bottle was a nickel. Right. And now, now most of them are throwaway. Right. So, maybe that's one thing they can do. I think now they're a lot more expensive than that. Uh, I bought some Cokes the other day in the the little bottles you know, Uh-huh. and I think the bottles were like, I know they were at least ten cents apiece. I to at home, I was like, God, how much were those bottles you know? Yes. And, it was, they come in like, uh, eight and, and eight and ten packs, you know instead of six packs Right. and, uh, and they were like, it was like two dollars and something for the bottles. You know, I was like God Almighty, it costs more for the bottles than it did for the Cokes. That was my brother's first job in a grocery store. He was in the bottle area In the It's pretty dangerous out there, you know, when they fall over, but but it's, uh, it's quite, Right. they say that the green glass now, that there's a big glut of green the green glass, Oh, really? Of green glass. yeah. It's amazing. Well, out in this area, they really don't have anything. Now, I know that like Minyard's and places like that around like Arlington and Fort Worth and a lot of those grocery stores, they have like four different bins out front. Uh, different colors for different things and, and things like that, Uh-huh. Right. but I, I do know some of these places were doing that and they discontinued them because people were coming and dumping their trash in them. Right. Yeah it's, I notice the plastic have sort of faded away, the milk jugs. Yeah. It, it's, people just, they, they really don't, uh, there's too much labor involved I guess to separate the stuff. Yeah, more than it's worth. It's, I don't know, it, it can be, it's not as easy selecting, you know, clean junk as they say. Right. Well, who wants to clean their junk before they throw it away That's right, that's right. It's like washing the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher. Right, uh, yeah. We all do it Well, it was nice talking to you. It was nice talking to you. I have no idea how long this is supposed to last or anything. Oh, I think, I think two or three minutes is fine. Is that it? Yeah. Okay, well, it was nice talking to you and I, I guess I'll do this for, I was doing this for, actually, I was going to do it for my son so that he could, uh, he, he's in high school, so that he could make some money. Right. Uh, but then it has my name on it, so I'm like, okay, I'll sit down here and call it Well, we're doing it for a church choir so, Oh, are you? Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. So, That's nice. Well, Well, thank you. Thank you. Bye. Bye-bye. So. Have you heard about Saturns? seems to be out of I've heard some about Saturns. I don't know a lot about them. I haven't been over, uh, to a dealer to look at them although I did see something in tonight's paper that said that their, uh reliability is rated to be equal to that of the, I guess, the Japanese cars. Ooh, that's great. Actually that's kind of the type of car that I, I'm thinking about we might get. Saturns, you can't go to a dealer unless you go to a, a Saturn dealer. This, this offshoot of G M Yeah. And, uh, supposedly, they've got great customer satisfaction from what things I've heard. Um. Yeah, I've heard a lot of people like them. Uh, yet I don't know whether I would buy Saturn or not at this point. I'm kind of, my card and, uh, desires tend to be pretty picky and so, uh. Well, like what? Well, let's see. I I like cars that are designed with, with human beings in mind, and that's not just the driver and the passenger but that's the person who's working on it, cause I do almost all my own maintenance and, uh those types of things. And I found that while you can find some cars that are comfortable to ride in, uh, finding a car anymore that's, that's fairly easy for me to work on, it's just not very it's not very, almost unlikely at this point. Yeah. And, uh, Yeah. I've got a sixty-five Mustang and I, and I do the work on, most of the work on that myself. Ooh. Uh-huh. And when I look at modern cars and stuff like that, I just say I will never do that with the modern cars. It's not worth my time. You can't get in there. You can't do anything. Yeah. And it's so complicated too. I look at it and I say, boy, you know, I, I'd have to almost go take a class or something like that. Well I've got an eighty-three Saab. Uh-huh. And I find that for a normal, you know, everyday things. It's really very easy to work on and so, uh, you know, I'm kind of spoiled. I used to have a Chevy. Uh-huh. With a three fifty in it. Yeah. And, uh, I really liked working on it. Uh, cause it was pretty easy too. It was about a nineteen seventy. So I'm kind of, uh, biased in that and, you know, I want a car that I can work on because I think it just costs too much even to get the oil changed anymore. Yeah And that's kind of, that's, that's probably one thing I'd look at. I think another thing I'd look at is safety. Yeah. That's one of the things that my wife and I have thought about. Actually, the car, one of the cars we'd most like to get would be the new ninety-one Ford Taurus cause they're actually one of the cheaper cars that have dual side air bags. Huh. That's a real nice car, I think. Yeah I've driven some, uh, Tauruses over the last couple of years when I've been on business trips. Uh, as rental cars. Uh-huh And I've always been very impressed with the Taurus. It's a really nice car. I think it's very it's a stylish car both inside and out. It's comfortable to drive. Uh, reasonable performance, and this is out in California where, where they don't make a car that's got reasonable performance anymore. Yeah. Uh, I've been real impressed with that. and I didn't realize that they were putting dual, uh, air bags in that car now. Ninety, yeah. Or, excuse me, the ninety-twos. The ninety-twos had dual air bags. Uh-huh. This newest model. You could get them with duals I think That's excellent. That's excellent because, Yeah. But the thing is that it's twenty thousand dollars. Actually, my, my wife and I are actually thinking, contemplating buying a new car in the next year and a half or so. So we're actually been looking around and thinking about things. Oh. We'd like to get like a oh, I don't know. What do you call it? A dealer return type thing on a ninety-two and ninety-three or something like that you know. Uh-huh. Year old ninety-two or something like that. Uh-huh. Sure. Those are See if we, yeah, that, that would be a good deal to go with. And the other thing we're looking at is the Saturns too. Okay. Because they looked really nice. Uh-huh. What do you, what do you looking for in, in those? What, what attracts you to the Saturns? Or, or, of course, we've already talked, you know, the Taurus is safe. But what kind of things are you looking for? Well, the Saturns you can get air bags in them. I don't think you can get dual side air bags. Uh-huh. But one of the, the two things that I'm really, the, the I'd say the most important thing is a car that's not going to fall apart. That doesn't have problems. Uh-huh. You set down. You look at consumer reports. We've been pouring over consumer reports and you just get so depressed for the U S auto makers when you do that. Yeah. Because you see the reliability and the types of problems they have and, and the two cars that apparently are close to that. That actually have high reliability, the Taurus is one of the highest U S cars. Uh-huh. And the other one is, are the Saturns. Uh-huh. So those two things. And then, you know, we kind of want a four door. Okay Okay. What is your, uh, community, uh, currently doing with regard to recycling? Uh, basically, they're just, uh, having various recycling, uh, bins, uh, located for, uh, trash pickup. Uh-huh Well that's more than we have up here in Massachusetts. Some, some local communities are very active in that, uh, in that respect and they do have bins set up. But I live in a, a metropolitan area and, uh, they're not, uh, too inclined to do something as aggressive as that Well, here they and, uh, live in an apartment complex. Uh-huh. And they only have one set of recycling bins, one or two sets as opposed to a set at each of the dumpsters. So a lot of the people who live up front don't bother to recycle because, you know, it's too far to carry the stuff to the other bins. I, I know a lot, I think a lot of, uh, the, the issues with regard to recycling are that, uh, people have to be motivated to do, to do something like that because it does take extra effort. Whether and, and I think that, and I know Massachusetts has, a bottle bill was passed and we have had a bottle bill for quite a few years now, and the majority of the incentive in recycling bottles probably, believe it or not, is just to get the extra nickel at the, uh, the store and not, uh, that's the majority of people that I know of anyways. Where people aren't really, you know, eco conscious. It's just the fact that it's something they have to do. And I'm not going to throw a bottle away, it's like throwing a nickel away. That type of thing. Right. They, here they're trying to push through a bill But, uh, people need to be more conscious of it. and a lot of people are against it. And it's going to create a lot more work for the, uh, the stores that sell, you know, sodas and stuff. Because they want to implement a refund on cans and on plastic bottles and everything. Yeah It didn't, it, it took awhile for that bill to be passed up here as far as recycling bottles and cans. Uh, and, and matter of fact, I think it took like three tries for it to go through. But, and it's been pretty successful and people notice it as far as, uh, highways being, uh, you know, people would have a drink of soda, instead of throwing out the window, they, they keep the bottle so it's, it's been a ecologically sound policy and, you know, as, as far as recycling your bottles in terms of trash and so forth. But more importantly, it's recycling reusable materials back into, uh, manufacturing. And that's the big thing, I think, that they try to promote. Right. I think here if they, uh, instead of just, you know, requiring that you put, put out the trash and stuff, if they could get some kind of rebate, those people who do put the stuff out, uh, you know, and separate it, have lower collection fee or something may encourage people to separate. Yeah, that's a good idea. Yeah. there definitely has to be a motivation factor and I know that, at where I work, I work for a defense contractor. And there's a big push on for recycling, uh, paper materials, you know, computer output paper and also to decrease the amount of, uh, Styrofoam usage because of the, uh, the process involved in Styrofoam and, and the whole eco issue and that. And, and they're very proactive and, uh, matter of fact, they give you discounts if you use, uh, china wear rather than, uh, Styrofoam stuff, so. So, it's incentives like that that get people people more conscious of it. I think that's, that's what they need to do. Be more like that. Uh, I know, uh, I believe it was last year that they actually collected the old phone books. Uh, usually have them come from you know, projects to collect old ones. Usually just get dumped out with the trash. And phone books are a large volume of annual trash. Yeah. They, they just, matter of fact, that, that reminded me of an article I saw in the the local schools, you could send your phone book to your, uh, to, with your kid to school and what they'll do is they'll recycle it. Because there was an article or a story done awhile ago that, uh, trash, uh, the telephone books are the type of thing that don't break down over a long period of time. A guy went to a a landfill, dug down five feet and, and pulled up a phone book from like nineteen sixty because they don't, they don't degrade over such a period of time. Well, part of the problem with recycling them in the past has been the covers are made with a clay based paper. Yeah. They contain the glue and stuff and they used to have to take out all the, uh, pages and then cut the spine off to be able to recycle them. Yeah. Now I think they've come up with some way of, uh, pulling the glue out. Yeah. Okay Uh, let's see. How about, uh, let's see, about ten years ago, uh, what do you think was different ten years ago from now? Well, I would say as, far as social changes go, uh, I think families were more together. They, they did more things together. Uh-huh Uh, they ate dinner at the table together. Uh, the parents usually took out time, uh, you know, more time than they do now to come with the children and just spend the day doing a family activity. Uh-huh. Uh, although I'm not a mother, I, I still think that, uh, a lot has changed since ten years ago. Uh, what do you think about that? We, Well, uh, actually ten years from today seems rather short. Yeah. Uh, but I do agree that, uh, generally it's, society has sort of, uh, let's see, rushed everything ahead. Uh-huh. And, uh, I don't know, it leaves, leaves a lot of time out for family and things like that. In other words, they just prioritize their lives differently. But I think that has a lot to do with economic situation. Yes. What about like as far as, uh, social changes in the individual? Do you think that the individual has as much time as they did, let's say, ten, twenty years ago? Uh, Um. It depends. Uh, it's hard to say because I think people were busy ten twenty years ago too. Uh-huh. Uh, I just Well, how, how old are you? I'm twenty-eight. Twenty-eight. Okay, I'm twenty-three. Yeah. So there's maybe a five year gap between us. Yeah. So, uh. I just, I think that things were a bit, were, have been busy all along. It's just a matter where priorities are, at placed. And that, uh, usually as far as families are concerned, there used to be just one person working and usually the other parent was home. Huh Yes. Uh-huh. And now, uh, it's pretty much an economic necessity of, for most, in most places for both parents to work. Do you think it's an economic necessity or do you think that we're, we're, uh, all trying to keep up with a certain standard of living? I think that's part of it too. But I do think, I mean do you think, people really need two cars and a house in the suburbs or, No, no. I don't. No, I don't think that. But then there are a lot of people that, that don't have that. But, that really do need to work. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I think maybe those people that really do need to work, both parents, just to survive. And then there, is, is that other group that is working to maintain a standard of living that, uh, they think is, is surviving which is really more luxuries. Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay. Uh-huh. Uh, but I I tend to think that it's less those people that have the two cars and everything than it is the group that is just trying to survive. so you think it's, which group are you saying is the one trying? I'm saying that the, uh, the group that is just trying to survive from day to day, where both parents are working is more of the majority than the, than the people that have the higher standard of living. Uh-huh. Because if you look at economics across this country and statistics on who has the money and who the decreasing, uh, middle class in this country I think that that's, in my opinion, the case. Uh-huh. Okay. So. I mean I have met people that, uh, both that, that just want to maintain a, the standard of living and those that, that really need the job. Okay. And then, sometimes I, I often, uh, find that maybe there's so many different things available to us. a microwave, a V C R, a answering machine a, you know, a special, a dishwasher, uh, a refrigerator and some of those items, um, for the, for the, uh, Uh-huh. well I guess we're sticking more to social changes but, uh people want all of that Uh-huh. and not all of those are necessities. Right So they're trying to, it has become a necessity Okay. I say they, uh, probably the best things to do is, is tie them with a rope and throw them in the water they they're innocent right. I see. A a good, a good southern solution. Yeah. Uh, so, uh, how do you, how do you feel? that's, of course, being facetious but Uh-huh. You'd have to say that. Uh, I don't know. The, the things they asked to talk about were whether the, uh, whether the judge should be the one that does the, uh, sentencing. Uh-huh. And seems to me that that's, I think that's the way it's done now. Uh, at least, my understanding of the law which isn't very good. Uh-huh. Uh, it seems to me that the judge does it and I, I think that's probably all right in that they, you know, maybe know what the, the norm is for a particular thing. Uh-huh. And, I guess, also what the system will absorb Right. Probably more tuned in to that. Possibly though on, uh, capital cases like maybe the death penalty Uh-huh. uh, I'm kind of undecided on that whether the judge should have the sole, I mean he could have like a personal prejudice. You know, judges are people like everybody else even though they're, they're supposed to be impartial That's right. but maybe, uh, And I think that may, I, that may be an exception as well. Because I think that, doesn't the jury decide on the death penalty rather than, than the judge? I, I think that's, I think that's the way it is. Yeah. Uh, whether they, they decide whether or not they, uh, the accused or whatever would get the, uh, get the death penalty. Do they have a death penalty in California? Yes. In fact, they're going to execute somebody at the end of this month. Yeah. Uh-huh. And, uh, there's a big uproar going on right now. Uh Yeah. the, uh, Governor, you know, has been trying to decide whether he's going to commute it or not. Uh-huh. You know, it's someone who had, uh, killed two teenage boys here in San Diego as a matter of fact. Yeah. I, something like that, I've got no problem with it. Uh Yeah. I guess the way I think about it is not, it shouldn't necessarily be thought of as revenge. It's just like if you've got like a dog that's running wild and biting people Uh-huh. put it to sleep, you know. Just get it out, you know, it's not able to fit in, you know Something inexpensive. Yeah. Yeah, exactly Uh, I guess, kind of the way I think about it also, is they just, if somebody gets the death penalty, they're, they're judged guilty, they got the death penalty, they should have one year and one appeal. Cover all their bases with one appeal and if not, you know, don't, don't let them sit up there on death row for, you know, fifteen years. Yeah. I think this particular case has been like ten or fifteen years. Uh-huh. Yeah, that, But I guess there have been several cases where people have been executed by mistake and you'd hate to be one of those. Yeah. Oh, I'm sure Yeah. The other thing they asked about was whether uh, uh, the verdict should be required to be unanimous. Which, again, I think is the way it is now. That all the, all verdicts, Uh-huh. well maybe not. I don't know. At least in capital cases I'd think they'd have to be unanimous. I believe it is in capital. I think in like, uh, lesser cases it's like ten out of twelve or five out of six, whatever How ever many is on, sitting on a jury. Uh-huh. I I believe that's the way it is. But I'm pretty sure you're correct on capital cases. Uh Yeah. The paper here tonight had a thing about the Noriega trial. And that there's one juror that is, is, uh, different than the other eleven. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, they've only deliberated four hours or, something and they say they're hopelessly deadlocked. Oh, no the judge told them they weren't hopelessly deadlocked yet I'm telling you, go one way or the other. That, that's probably an expensive trial. Yeah. Six months so far they said. Yeah. Probably. So. Yeah. Probably. You know, I'm not sure there's a number. It's probably like thirty, forty thousand dollars a day you know, worth of all the free for all. Maybe they could go with a, with a nine hundred number and have people dial in and give their, uh, vote. Yeah Yeah, that's, that's been so long I've practically forgot who Noriega was, you know. Right. That has been going on My, uh, cousin is a F B I agent down in Miami. Oh really? Yeah. So she follows that stuff pretty closely. But, uh, That's interesting. Yeah, she's not involved in that, that case. But she does, Well have you ever served on a jury? No I haven't. I never have. My wife has but I, I haven't. Uh-huh. I got called but I, uh, never, uh, got selected for a jury Uh-huh. I sat for ten days in a court room while they went through the selection process, Uh-huh. and they had some guy that was, uh, defending himself. Uh-huh. Bye to someone speaking to So we're, uh, our discussion's about, uh, the care of the elderly? That's right, that's right. You know, what, what, uh, what do you think is important? If you were, uh, I don't know how, how old you are, but if you had, if you had, uh, parents say or, or, or grandparents, whatever it is, uh, who were ready, who, who you thought might benefit from a nursing home, what do you think you would look for? Uh, well I, actually my dad's, my dad's almost ninety and he lives by himself Huh. and he's in good shape. Yeah. Uh, but, uh, some friends of mine have, uh, gone through this. I think I'd look for a home where they got a lot of attention and, uh, where they did some things to try to keep them, um, mentally alive. And where there was, uh, caring and compassionate, where there were caring and compassionate people, uh, operating it. Yeah. Do you have any experience with this yourself? Huh. Well my, uh, uh, my wife's grandmother is in a nursing home in, uh, Minnesota Uh-huh. and we go there, uh, once a year. We see, we tend to see her there cause we're in Boston so we're pretty far away. When we visit Minnesota though we go to see her. Uh-huh. And it seems, uh, I mean the, the environment there, I don't know too much about it but it, it seems nice enough. Uh, it, it's hard, at least half of the residents I would say are not, not mentally sound. So it's hard to tell how much of that rubs off on those who are struggling to to retain, uh, clarity, say, uh, know From the lack of stimulation, you mean. Yeah. Well I, I I don't know. We, we also, my wife and I, uh, uh, volunteer to go to a, uh, nursing home that's just a mile from our house. We, uh, she goes more often than I. We used to go once a month, once every two months to visit some of the patients there. And we'd take, we have a two year old son and so we, sometimes we'd take him with us. And, uh, there I would say it's the same thing. It's, it's a nice, uh, relatively nice environment but again, um, it must be depressing for the people who, who are, who are just essentially not able to take care of themselves in their own house but, but, certainly, uh, certainly have are, have retained all of their, uh, mental skills and so on. It's, must be depressing to, to walk, walk the halls and see, and see all these other people who really don't know where they are. Do you think that in the case of the one that you've actually had some experience with, that the people who operate it seem to have, what you'd perceive of as genuine concern? I think, yeah, I think they're relatively respectful. Yeah and, and concerned that, in as much as they can be. I, I think sometimes, you know, I've noticed, uh, people asking for, uh, some of the patients asking for things, uh, just repetitively and, but things that are not reasonable, Uh-huh. and so at some level the, the, the, uh, Yeah. I'm sure that the, that the, uh, the staff learn what's normal for this person and so it looks to me like maybe their not catering to this person's needs is really because this person is just, you know, is just in a state where they don't really need what they think they need, you know. Yeah. It, it's possible, I was thinking also that there'd be, there could be a fair burn out factor um, in just having to respond to people's needs where the needs are sometimes, depending on the person, not going to be what we would perceive of as rational need. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'll tell you one thing though that'll, that, that I, I saw that was really nice. We saw a husband and wife, we used to see a husband and wife in there, uh, together and they were in the same room which not all husband and wives were but these two were. Uh-huh. And when you walked into their room, they had brought all their furniture from their house Uh-huh. So it gives them a sense of identity. And so, Yeah, you walked in there and it didn't look like, uh, you know, how, you, you walk into some rooms and there's, it's completely generic. There's nothing, maybe a picture or two that belongs to that person and that's it. But this room, on the other hand, you know, they got rid of all of the sort of standard issue beds and dressers and this and that and they had all their stuff from their house and it looked like, uh, it must have been, it was nicer to walk in there and to talk to them and it must also give them a sense of, uh, uh, security and, and, uh, and, and, you know, uh, Yeah, I, I think part of what you're saying matches what I have read. I used to initially think that the only people who went into such residences were people who, uh, were adequately deficient in their abilities, uh physical or mental, that they couldn't take care of themselves. Yeah. But I also know a couple of people whose parents have gone into such things because I think they provide, um, a lot of social activities. Huh. Yeah. Uh, the, one of my friend's parents who went in because she had largely lost her abilities and she was in there for awhile when they were away on vacation. Uh, and, Huh. temporary. I, that, that's, that's new to me. I, Well I think it, I think it was sort of on the grounds that they were considering whether she would live there and I feel like, the whole vocabulary of this is very loaded if you think of words like, like put her in there. Right, right. And there, there's so much, Okay. Uh, so your, you, I guess you're probably in the same, uh, same situation uh, we're in. We're kind of past having to provide child care. Our, our kids are grown up. We don't have any grandchildren yet. But, uh, uh, they're, Uh-huh. How old are your children? Uh, one's twenty-six and the other is, uh, twenty, twenty-one. Uh-huh So they're, uh, uh, They're, they're getting there. Well, they're going to be getting there. You know, there's no no, no prospects right away for anything to happen. Yeah. uh-huh. Oh, I see. But, uh, I have, uh, five children. I have a eighteen year old son. The of my girls are like twenty-three, twenty-six, twenty-eight, and twenty-nine. Uh-huh. And I have three granddaughters right now. Oh. And, uh, I, uh, one's in Iowa. Uh-huh. And, uh, she's, she's a teacher and what she does is she, teaches at a preschool. Oh, okay. And, and so she kind of, and they let her bring her, her little daughter in for free. Uh-huh. And then, so but she just works part-time. Uh-huh. Then I have another daughter in, uh, Bountiful, Utah and she has to work full-time and it's just tearing her apart. She has a private baby-sitter. Yeah. And, uh, the baby just screams. I mean, the baby is like seventeen months and she just screams. Uh-huh. Well even if she knows that they're fixing to get ready to go over there. They're not even there yet you know. Uh-huh. Yeah. It's hard. We, And, and then I have my, uh, uh, I have a seven month old granddaughter and, uh, her mother stays home and she, they live, they live with us. You know, in, as Orange County is really expensive. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. They live with us and so, of course, we love it. Because we get to see this cute little baby all the time. But, uh, uh, she just, uh, she used to work in pre, in the preschool and, and, and child care and she says after working in there and, and, you know, here she was a provider but, you know, there's only so much one person can do. Yeah. She said it's so awful. She said she'll never put her child in a, in a, in a in a in a preschool. Uh-huh. I'm sure there must be some good ones around here somewhere. Huh. But it's really, it's really, really very difficult and, Yeah. What did you do when your kids were growing up? Were you, Well, when, when the, uh, the first, uh, ten years, see first ten or twelve years, I stayed home. Uh-huh. And, uh, then after that I, I went to work. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, uh, a couple of times I just, uh, uh, you know, then I had one job and then that job ran out because it was kind of a government seeded type job. And then, and then like about, later I, I tried to get the baby to a baby-sitter. Supposed to be good, uh, recommended person from the church and I knew her personally. She had two kids of her own and everything. But I quit my job because I couldn't stand how she was taking care of my child. Uh-huh. I mean, first of all, uh, her children were sick all the time. So when my son stayed over there, he got sick. He got sick, yeah. Same thing, same thing that the, her kids had, right? Right. Well, And so, uh, we didn't take her over there until like about eleven o'clock. Then he, she'd take my son and her daughter over to kindergarten. But that day, uh, I was saying now he, he's sick. And she goes well, she goes, he has the same thing that all my kids have. That's what he got, you know. Goes, well, okay, so it's not like he's going to infect her kids. But then what happened was, is, I said, uh, he just threw up and kindergarten starts at eleven thirty so she said well she'll keep him home and he'll probably just sleep anyway. Well, you know, what that woman sent her, sent him to kindergarten. She sent him to kindergarten. As soon as he went there, the teacher took one look at him and he threw up again and they put him in the nursery, uh, they put him in the nurse's office. yeah. And then what happened was, is, you know, they gave her a call because they knew that she was my baby-sitter. Called her and they said, uh, that he's sick. Well she wasn't home. Huh. I mean her, all her kids were sick but she wasn't home, right. And her, and her, her daughter that was in kindergarten with him also did not go to school because she was sick. Now why didn't he, why didn't she keep him home with her? No, she didn't do that. So, it got to the point where he's, he's supposed to get out of, uh, kindergarten like about two thirty. And I had to leave work. It was, it was five o'clock in the evening and I found out he was still there at school. And they were calling me and they said somebody's got to pick him up. And I kept thinking that she was going to get picked up, she was going to pick him up because she only lives in like two blocks away from the school. I was trying to get my husband to come and pick him up and all that kind of stuff. And he had a hundred and four fever. They couldn't, uh, give him anything because they're not allowed to at school and everything. Right. I was so furious. I, I quit that job and I stayed home for awhile longer. Then I went and got a, uh, a job in real estate where I can kind of adjust my time a little bit better. Yeah, a little more flexibility. You can come and go. Yeah, but, uh, I haven't had any good, really very good experience with child care Yeah. When, when our kids were small we had a couple of, uh, good, good women who, uh, would often uh, get them to come to the house. So, who's your favorite team? My favorite team is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh? You bet. I used to be a big Pittsburgh fan when I was little. Well, I, uh, when played he was from my hometown in Alabama, Oh, really? so I kind of grabbed on to that team, way back when. Huh. pretty that's good. I, I used to watch them a lot when they were playing the big iron curtain, or steel curtain. That's right. How about your favorite team? Huh. Well, last year it was Buffalo and I, I still try to keep up with Buffalo because they just, they just impressed me as being so efficient and they never score. They never blow out their opponents. They just score just enough points, Uh-huh. and that really impressed me. But then down here I is pretty close to New Orleans and I've been keeping up with the Saints a lot. Well, they are exciting, aren't they? Yeah, the Saints are starting to impress me this year, you know, a lot. Boy, they are, they are just a fun team to watch. This, it, they are really. Did you see the game Sunday night or, Sunday afternoon? Uh, no, I didn't. It was funny. There were, they uh, a fireworks display at halftime. Oh, yeah? Yeah, and some paper or something in the Super Dome up in the roof caught on fire. Oh, you're kidding So, they had to stop the game lieu the third quarter and put out this fire. Oh, my Those big piece of something came flaming, falling out of the roof and landed on the field so there's this big fire on the field and they were dumping the bucket and everything. Oh, I can't believe that. It was I mean, you just really can't tell what's going to happen. That's hilarious. I know. It's like about two weeks ago I was watching the Saints. Uh-huh. And Anderson kicked a sixty yard field goal. Oh. And it, it was beautiful, right down the middle. Oh, boy. He is tough, he has an incredible leg. He is. Yes. Well, do you think they're, they're going to be able to make it this year, past the first playoff game? Uh I I sure hope so. I'm not sure, I'm not sure who they play. Right now I've got it narrowed down to the top four teams. Who's that? It's pretty much going between Washington. They are undefeated. And, uh, Buffalo, New Orleans, and Chicago because Chicago has only lost twice Right. and one of those was to Buffalo. And they beat the Saints. Their only time they lost. What do you think about, uh, Houston? Houston. I saw Houston play this summer in Memphis. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Uh, from what I saw they were playing, when I was at the game we sat right on the front row, right behind the Houston Oilers, Huh. and from what I saw the game Houston, Houston impressed me a lot. Huh. But my brother watched it on T V and said that Warren Moon was just having an off night, and if that was an off night I'd hate to see when he's on a good night. Oh, yeah, he's he definitely, uh, is one of the best I think. He's, Yeah, the, their, their backfield is really impressive. Haywood and Drew Hill and Right. they really impress me. Well, they squeaked out a game on Sunday. That's right. Who, who did they play? They played Dallas. Dallas, that's right, They won, in overtime. all because, That's right. I remember that now. So that was, I, I watched that game and, uh, that was, uh, Do you have a favorite between those two? Well, because I'm right here in Dallas I, I kind of pull for Dallas. Really? Yeah. Well, also Houston is, uh, in Pittsburgh's division so, I'll almost always root against them. Well, that's true. I hate to say it but I hate Dallas That's okay Well I, you know, I, I was never really a big Dallas fan until we moved here Yeah. and they just kind of grew on me. Yeah, I imagine. That's the way, I've never been a big Saints fan until the last year or two and they, they've actually started doing something. Yeah. Yeah. So, I've actually paid attention to them. Well Well, do you know anything about the expansion teams they're thinking about bringing in? To tell you the truth I haven't paid too much attention to that. Really? Um, what cities are they looking at? Uh, right now I think this Memphis, they're, they're trying to get the teams. Uh-huh. And that's, that's where I was when I saw, uh, Houston play. Uh-huh. Saint Louis is trying to get a team. Uh, Baltimore is trying to get a team, and there's some other city. I'm wanting to say Raleigh but I'm not sure. You know, I think you are right. I think it is Raleigh. Think so? I think I remember hearing that. Uh-huh. Because I know they've got a football team but I think it might be them. That would be fun. I'd like to see some more teams get in. I would, definitely. I think they are supposed to put two in by either next year or the year after. And right now I think Memphis and, it's Memphis and I think Baltimore have a really good shot at it. Uh-huh. Because I know Saint Louis is much bigger than Memphis and when I went up there they were saying that Memphis sold more tickets than Saint Louis did. Oh, really? Yeah. It's like the Liberty Bowl or Liberty Stadium in Memphis holds about sixty-two, I think that, uh, one, uh, advantage of having, uh, the unanimous verdict is that in a criminal case you want to make sure that you don't, uh, convict someone who, uh, really shouldn't be convicted. Definitely. Um, and I think that, you know, a unanimous verdict, uh, helps to ensure that. I guess maybe one drawback of it is that if you have one juror who is very unreasonable in some way, that, uh, you, uh, would have a problem, uh, you know, that you wouldn't convict someone who maybe should be convicted. Uh-huh. Have you ever served on a jury before? Uh, I have twice. Oh, okay. It was a pretty wild experience. Uh, what sorts of cases were they? They were just, you know, small time cases where, uh, trailers and banks were involved, you know. So were they criminal or civil? They were civil. They weren't they weren't any criminal. Oh, okay. What, uh, what was the verdict? Did the, did the jury have trouble reaching a decision? Uh, the jury, it was, uh, let me see, I think it was ten to one on the jury, because they only had to have eleven people Yeah. so it was, they, and, uh, the one changed his vote at the end. So did it become? So it became unanimous, you know, after they turned it in Yeah. and then he changed his mind after they turned it in Uh. but it then became unanimous. Uh. But since it was a civil case it really didn't matter, right? You just needed a majority? Right. What was, what was the other case? That was also civil? The, the other case was just traffic, the, and, you know, it was seat belt law Yeah. and it, it didn't even hardly go through, Oh, didn't really even count. so. Yeah. I'm, I'm a college student so I haven't been, you know, a jury eligible age for very long Yeah. um, and, uh, I did get one summons actually at one point, but I declined it which I'm able to do because I'm a student, because it was, uh, a very bad time. Yeah. Well, you learn a lot going to the juries like that though. Yeah, I mean, I, I really, I would like to, uh, to do at some point, um, but, I, I haven't. Uh, one, one thing that I, I think is, um, you know, maybe is a problem is, uh, I, I think that the criminal jury system works pretty well now, but I wonder if maybe in some civil cases it doesn't work as well. Especially sort of. I wouldn't think that it does I mean, from, from my, from what I experienced in them, How, it didn't, you know, it didn't turn out the way I planned it, I mean, the way that I would think that it would go. Uh, you thought it turned out pretty well? Yeah, but it was, you know, it was, jury was unorganized and it was, it was just wasn't organized enough for me. Yeah. I'm not used to it not being organized, and I just assumed that it would have been. Oh, so it was just kind of a zoo and the jurors just sort of, someone had to figure out what was going on? That's about what it was. Um. That's interesting. Did it, did it work out pretty well in the end? I mean, did a couple of people sort of gradually, sort of assume, uh, sort of a moderator role in the trial or, Yeah, they, well they picked one person, and then he finally, you know, moderated everything and made it turn out the way it should have. So it it did end up working out pretty well? Yeah, it ended up working all right. The one thing I sometimes wonder about, um, in civil cases is, uh, whether, especially sort of in, uh, maybe like product liability, or medical malpractice, where there's, um, sort of a very technical decision to be made sometimes Yes. you know, it's not just a matter of, um, of, you know, did this guy rip off this guy, and it's just a matter of interpreting a contract, it's sort of a matter of, um, you know, sometimes getting into very technical issues, and I wonder if, uh, if there's really, um, if the system works adequately in, in educating the jurors about, uh, whatever, um, you know, issue is under discussion. I, I don't think that they, they, they educate them enough to, to really know what's going on. In, in the case you were involved in, you said it was just sort of a bank matter of some kind. So. Yeah, the, the bank was suing them for, uh, because they went to get the, the trailer that, which was, uh, seemingly their property. Yeah. Uh. It was on his property. Oh, so the deal was that he had, uh, borrowed money from the bank to buy it, and he hadn't made the payments. Right. So they came to get it. Yeah. And then when they came to get it, well, it was on the landlord's property and he wouldn't let them take it off. Uh, so they were suing to get it back. So, and they are, it was a double wide, so they'd already taken it apart. Uh. So they left it there Yeah. and then when they came back to get it a couple of days later it had rained and got all in it. Uh. So they were suing him for the money, and, you know, there's no way they could because it, it was the moving company, Uh, I get most of my news uh, from newspapers really. I read the daily newspaper, uh, the HOUSTON CHRONICLE and sometimes I'll read like the, uh, WALL STREET or the NEW YORK TIMES. I don't subscribe to either, but sometimes I get a hold of copies of it. Uh, how about you? Do you, uh, mostly get things from T V or Yes. I actually get most of my news coverage off uh, computer networks. However, I do also watch television news, uh, usually in the morning once a day and I read the front page of the WALL STREET JOURNAL most every day. Oh. Oh that's interesting. You said computer networks. Uh, what, uh, what sort. I am fairly knowledgeable of Uh well, well DOW JONES for example have the, cause the uh, news wire Uh, okay. That's interesting. and it's picked up and actually available, uh, at my office, so, it's, no fee, or subscription either to read at my leisure and it's sort of by category. For example so I can read a certain business or topics. Oh. is it, is it the A P news wire or is it something that is, uh, a little bit different from that? Well, uh, it's similar to that, but it's DOW JONES, which is, uh, the WALL STREET JOURNALS news wire. Uh, okay. So, that's that's interesting. Okay. Yeah, I've had, I had access in the past to, uh, uh, the A P news wire and I thought that was that was pretty a pretty good way to get news. Uh, I've never used the DOW JONES news wire but, uh, yeah it, uh, do you get any, uh, do you read any news magazines or anything like that for sort of like a broader, like more long term analytical sort of approach? Uh, well actually not. Uh, I do, uh, follow, uh, uh, uh, I don't know how to how to describe it so I'll say a religious newspaper which, which talks about issues that are relevant to me in a more broad sense. It's a weekly but, uh, but not, uh, not like BUSINESS WEEK or NEWS WEEK or one of those kinds of things. Yeah I'd like to say that however, uh, that I'm overwhelmingly disappointed with the media in general except for the raw news wires In what way? In like, in sort of like, uh, uh, quality or sort of an orientation in terms of like, view point or the way the news is presented or whatever? Uh, I think that it, I think that it has to do with, uh, I personally think, uh, I, I have a problem with their viewpoint and I personally think that, uh, that there's a strong there's a strong bias in the media. Yeah. Well you won't offend me. So go ahead and say Yeah. Like a liberal type of bias. Yeah. Absolutely. Uh, after all, who, who writes. People who are journalist who are trained to write and they're, that's a liberal, uh, a liberal field at least from academia Yeah. and, uh, the other thing that I always notice is that whenever they write about something that I'm an expert in, I find their descriptions to be wrong Yeah. Yeah. and it, They, they generally make mistake on anything technical at least That's right. Well, even if it's not technical. If it's, uh, some social thing or whatever. It doesn't matter. If I am an expert in it, they usually make mistakes which makes me believe think I'm not expert in it. They're telling me lies. Yeah. Yeah. Do you, by mistakes, do you mean just like honest mistakes or do you think they are deliberate sorts of things? Uh, I think both. Uh, by deliberate I, uh, I mean mistake, mistakes of omission or, uh, or, uh, biased toward a particular view point a particular liberal view point that they have. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, uh, to give you an example, uh, we will go out of the printing media. I know of cases where, uh, we have one television media where they will show clippings from one event and describe another event but, with the the attempt to give you the impression that what they're talking about is the same thing they are showing you. Which is sort of like a deliberate bias. Which is which is rather disturbing. Huh. Huh. That's disturbing. I mean he does that. I haven't really noticed them doing that, but whatever, again I don't watch T V news that much now. If I had access to C N N, I would watch T V news more. Uh, I don't you know, but I don't usually. Yeah, I don't have access either. Although, I did at one time and it was, I did during the Gulf War and it was addictive. Yeah. Did you, did you think that C N N, well, the Gulf War coverage would be kind of, uh, an abnormality? I just I guess. I would be curious to know what you thought as to how like say C N N T V news compared to the three networks. Uh, you know whether you thought it was more of a biased or whatever but I, I guess you wouldn't. You probably, if you just watched it during the Gulf War, that probably wouldn't wouldn't tell you much. Yeah, well during that small sample, I would think that everyone was just about, just about the same, except the three networks, radio television programming. Yeah. So, if at a particular time, you wanted to get the latest and greatest news you could do that by, uh, turning on C N N Yeah. and you, Anyway, uh How about you. What do you do with your budget? What do I do, uh, at the moment it's under chaos. Uh, right now I'm just, uh, I, I don't really have a budget per se. I'm, I, uh, it's called living within your means You know, which means at the moment, paying off the VISA bill and keeping everything else under control and hoping the car doesn't collapse Uh-huh. Yeah. That's true. Uh, but, uh, no I don't really have a budget at the moment. Uh, but I have uh, I have a rough feel for how much money I can afford to spend each month and then I don't, usually don't exceed that unless I, unless the VISA bill gets out of hand for one reason or another, like if I have car expenses and then that, then it goes through the moon, so. Yeah, that's sort of a problem. Yeah, so uh, what do We're trying, we're trying to, uh, so far we are in the clear credit wise but, uh, the other side of it is, so, not much on that side of it to add to it. We're trying to think of how to put away some savings and stuff like that but, So you can afford to get a house? Yeah, we'd like to do that some day. We have this dream. Yeah. But, we don't know how long it will be a dream. We, we're kind of real, we're real happy that we don't have any debt, but we're at the same time we're real scared about incurring it in this, uh, economy right now so we're stepping real careful and trying to see what's the best way to save what, the little bit that we do get, you know, on top of expenses every month. Yeah. So, what do you and your husband do? We're missionaries actually. Are you really? Yeah, uh-huh. And, uh, it will be easier once we get overseas cause we have, uh, like, uh, uh, support quota Um. and it's cheaper to live overseas than it is to live here. No kidding. And it doesn't get switched very easily once you come home. I see. So, Overseas, where would you be going? Africa, Nigeria. Really. Yeah. Really. How long would you be there? About four years. We're career so, we, we go over seas for four years and then we come back for a year. We go over four, we come back for a year. With, with what Church? Uh, we're with Wycliff Bible Translators. Oh yes. Yes, So. I, uh, I know who they are. They, uh, they have an office, uh, in in Costa Mesa as I recall. Yeah, they could very well and, There, there was, uh, you know, there was a fairly large building that that was well that belongs to them. So, uh, are you, uh, are you, uh, active in translation? Uh, we will be. I was over, over four years doing language surveying which is the first step. You're kind of like the scout that goes ahead of the team and assesses the need. Uh-huh And, uh, came home and got married and we will go back as translators cause we want to raise a family and it is easier to raise a family as translators. Well, I always wanted to do translation, but as long as I was single and foot loose so to speak it's easier. You know they really need surveyors cause you could, you're free to travel anywhere. You don't have kids hanging around you and stuff. True, true enough. So, uh, what, what, uh, what languages do you speak besides English, of course? Well, I have a smattering of about ten different ones, but there's, I'm not bilingual in any of them because I kept switching from one area to the other, you know, since I did you know, complete a survey in one area, I'd switch to the other. Uh-huh So I know the greetings in about ten, and how to do market stuff, but in about, uh, about five I guess, I can do better in it. And my French is pretty good but it's, uh, French so, uh, I'm terrified to speak in, uh in France. In France. Yeah, because they're real snobby about their language and French is street French and I just picked it up off the street and I knew what I was, I knew what I was communicating, but I didn't know what I was saying. I never sat there and got a direct translation and said something here when I came home and French to somebody and he paled and said, uh, I'm not going to tell you what you said. So, since then I have refrained from speaking any French So. In Uh, I don't know what I said to him but, uh, I didn't ask him either. Must have been terrible. The, uh, was it Henry Macon said that the, the, uh, language was like a man slowly bleeding to death. So they hemorrhaged him to death without new infusions that will eventually die and I, it just amazes me that the French don't recognize that. Free style English is just, takes on, uh, some of my things, I, I'd like to have a short work week you know, Oh, okay. and and we need, you know, better health insurance and you know, Okay, we can start off there. Let's just get started. Okay. If you don't want to, you know, uh, talk about it now and then be bored when we get to it Okay. Okay, so I just press one then right? Right. Okay, ready? Yep. Okay So, so you think, uh, I think that a short work week is real nice. Uh, I have a thirty-seven hour work week. How about you? Well, well right now, I, I'm just a student. I only work part time, but I've work in the job force before Uh-huh. and forty hours is just too long. You just don't have any time to do anything. It seems like, Saturday you get get off, but Sunday you're getting ready for Monday. And if we get have a if we could have a thirty-two hour work week, with that happen is that, for every four people we could give another job. Uh-huh. Right. And then that way everybody would have a three day holiday, okay. And that way that more, that would make a bigger market. We'd have, uh, more recreation. People would have time to do it. There would be less of a stress level. We'd have, we'd have less crime. We'd have to we'd have to build less prisons, you know, less police force. Yeah, it all makes sense to me. Although, there may be more crime. I mean if people have more leisure time. It's not clear. And that, It, it, that's, that's a possibility. Yeah. One, one of the problems they're facing now, a lot of people now, is that the health insurance is that the small business can't, can't offer health insurance Uh-huh. and it, it's too costly and what, what is happening is that they're on a policy where they have X amount of users in it, okay. So they get a specific rate. Well what happens is that if people start becoming having chronic illness and, and things like that, what happened and where they really have to spend out a lot of money for one particular, Right. it's called a a group, well what will, well what happens then is that they cancel, because they just can't cancel an individual. So they, they have to cancel just like life insurance. They have to cancel everything. Uh-huh. So what they do is that, that they cancel the insurance and then all the people don't have any insurance coverage. Right. So, But, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm, I'm satisfied with my job. I'm, I'm an engineering student. Right. And I work for my instructor and I'm I'm not a typical student. I'm, I'm older. I'm, I'm in my thirties, okay. Yeah. And so I have a lot of job experience and my instructor thrives on that because he can just tell me what he wants and he can give me access and tell me what to do and just turn me loose Yeah. but in, in the same token, it's a very, really enjoyable for me because I don't have to have, you know, nobody breathing down my back and and one of the things that I, I really hate about jobs. I don't, I don't like bosses that, that you know want to yell at you and you know are down on your back and all this and that. Uh-huh. I, I just really can't deal with that so, Yeah What kind of, what kind of jobs have you done? Well, well, I do uh, research in computer science and I've just been doing that for a few years now so uh, I, my job has most of the benefits I want. Uh-huh. Uh, what I really like is, I like being, like they send me to conferences for instance, but probably not as much as I'd like but, uh, you know, that's just nice being, you know, having a company being able to give you time to do that sort of thing and sort of, uh, they also, a really important thing to me is when they, uh, they pay for continuing education. Like, I, I get night courses that they they'll cover right now and that's really good Yeah, that's just great. You have what you might call knowledge power Right. you know, when when you work at a company whether you know it or not, is that you're categorized. Some people can be let go and replaced like, uh, say, uh, a typist, uh, somebody who does data entry or answers the telephone or receptionist. But if you're a person who, that's doing computer type things and you have the, you have the knowledge, you know what the system you've revised and revamped the system, well then you're you're vital to the company Uh-huh. and you get more benefits so. That's where I, I, I'm like, I'm into computers too and that's one of the things that I've found in any one, one of these jobs and anything I've done is that to have knowledge. When you have the knowledge, you're you're not going to, uh, you know, be let go, be one of the last ones to let go anyway. Right. So what I, Well, what were you saying? Okay. I, I think we're started now. Oh, okay. Uh, do you want to go ahead and start? Uh, well, I haven't really been up to date on a lot of music. I've been in school and I haven't really gone out, and bought any or listened to much on the, on the radio except for classical and, uh, Well, you like classical music? Yes. Uh, I like classical music. I like rock and roll. Uh-huh. I like country and western Okay. Uh, I, I like all kinds I like, I like different things about each one of them. Well, I like most of them except for country music. Oh you don't like country? No. I think I, I might like dancing to it but I don't like listening to it. The, the kind of country I like is kind of the older country music. Not the, not the kind like Kenny Rodgers and stuff like that. Oh. That's, uh, that's a little bit to, uh, they're trying to make it too much of a crossover thing, you know what I mean? Uh-huh. what's the old country music like? Oh, like, like Hank Williams. Like the old Hank Williams. Even, even Hank Williams, Junior is real good stuff. Uh-huh. The kind that Oh, okay. uh, this stuff, makes you cry it sounds so sad I mean you That's the kind you like you mean? Yeah. sometimes I do. I mean, not all the time. Oh. Oh, okay. Well, I guess I, I like the blues a lot and I guess you could say it's similar as far as the kind of the way they do it. Yes. And I I, I do too. I also like jazz. Yeah. Me too, too. I guess I like except heavy metal and, uh, most rap I don't like. Yeah. Yeah. You're, you're about like I am I, I can't, watch M T V anymore. I used to love M T V. Oh, okay. And I can, I can barely watch anymore because, uh, they have this heavy metal stuff on there and, and I can't even, you know, I can't like that. Yeah. And, and I liked, uh, Aerosmith and Led Zepplin and, uh you know, and, uh, jeez who else is there. Van Halen. Uh-huh. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Now I like, I like groups like that. But when you get, uh, I, I even like Guns and Roses, some of their stuff. Uh-huh. But, uh, some of these groups now like Slaughter Oh, I, I really haven't listened to that Some of them are just really rough. So, so you went to school then in, I'm surprised you didn't go to, to any parties or anything where they were playing a lot of music or stuff or, Well, uh, I used to a long time ago but since I've started back into school now, I haven't really done that much. I've been pretty busy. Uh Okay. but, uh, so no I haven't. I, you know, I used to go out and dance a lot but I don't do that anymore either So. Oh, I see. Are you married at all? No Okay I've just been real busy with, with lots of other things. Well, how old are you? Twenty-eight. Okay. So, you, you were out of you went to school for awhile and quit. Then went back. Well, no. I, I went to school and got a degree and then I worked for awhile. And then I just started, I started back a year and a half ago. Changed directions. Oh, okay. Yeah. How old are you? Oh, I'm, uh, twenty-eight I was born in sixty-three I guess we're the same age then. Oh, okay All right. Yeah. And, uh, I didn't really start getting into music until I went to college because, uh, my parents didn't really have music in the house. Put it that way. Oh, Were they religious? Yes. uh, I see. I, So, I'm always behind. I'm, I'm not, I'm never really up to date on all that stuff. But I know what I like when it's, uh, when I like a sound. A certain kind of sound, yeah. My parents were very musical. My mother had a piano in the, in the house. Uh, Uh-huh. My father likes, uh, country western music. Okay. He's from, uh, West Virginia. So that's what he grew up listening to. Uh-huh. And he's always liked it and, and, you know, he's probably about fifty-three years old now, so he grew up like in the late fifties and you know, when they had that, the Elvis Presley music and stuff like that. And that kind of rock and roll Huh. Yeah, yeah. so he likes that. And my mom always liked that kind of stuff. My mom likes like, uh, Doris Day, you know. Oh, really. She always had those, these old Doris Day records and stuff like that, though. Oh, well. So, you know, I grew up listening to that stuff. Yeah. But, uh, I could see why you went, uh, you know, I could see why you were kind of sheltered I guess from, from music. Yeah. Well, I, I do play the piano, you know Oh, okay. But, uh, I, I like the, uh, early seventies, late sixties rock. Kind of stuff, the old stuff. Oh, okay. And, uh, Yeah, so do I. Uh, Do you like, uh, like Van Halen or anything like that? Or how about Brian Adams? what kind of music is, does what songs does he play? It, it, THIS LOVE CUTS LIKE A KNIFE. Uh, SUMMER OF SIXTY-NINE. Uh-huh. I think I've heard SUMMER OF SIXTY-NINE. Yeah. He sings that. Yeah. He's, he's from Canada. Okay. I'm not, I'm not very good at remembering the, uh titles, The titles and artists. yeah, but I can remember this, the song. Yeah. Well, do do you watch music television, M T V at all? Or V H One? Yeah No, I don't watch T V much at all. Okay. So. do, do you get cable? No. Oh, okay. That's, that's No. you have to get cable to get those stations anyhow. Yeah. So. But, uh, yeah. I like to watch rock and roll videos and any kind of videos. Uh-huh. I like watching that kind of thing. It's, Do you like, uh, like someone recent? Like Enya? Have you ever head of her. She's not rock but she, she's from Ireland. No, I haven't heard her. Oh, okay. And, uh, she's gotten some, uh, she's been on like the top ten, I guess, or whatever. Oh, really. She, she did Okay. So how serious is the, subject of crime in your area? Well, needless to say, here in Washington, D C this is the war zone. Uh, D C around here stands for drug capital or death capital. It's, uh, it's really bad here. Uh, for example, the, uh, local high school, uh, they've already found two students with sawed off shotguns Jeez. and they're starting to, uh, get these hand held metal detectors so they can inspect the kids every morning when they come to school, of all things. So, Well, luckily, it hasn't gotten that bad here. Uh-huh. Uh, San Jose actually has a pretty good record in terms of being relatively low on violent crime. Uh-huh. Uh, but it's on the uprise, especially in a lot of the, uh, outlying agricultural towns. Uh, because you end up having a lot of gangs forming, uh, largely around the Hispanic core. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, it seems to be that, uh, gang warfare follows very rapidly on the heels of poverty conditions. Uh-huh, right. That's how they, uh, they bind themselves together in groups, I guess and, uh, Yeah. Now, the, interestingly enough, I don't think we have here, a, a lot of gangs, but, uh, only a couple, uh of, not a whole large group of them, but, uh, just a few. Most of them centered around, uh, drug territory. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so they're protecting their economic interests, I guess. Yeah And, uh, nowadays the latest thing I've, I've read about in the paper here that they're doing as far as, uh, crimes involving stealing cars is that, instead of stealing, uh, cars like at night, breaking into them or whatever, they will pick out a car that they want and wait until you show up, and then as you get out of the car, they just, uh, step up and, uh, take the keys off of you and drive the car away and leave you standing in front of your house. Well, that's efficient. Yeah, that's the, uh, latest thing. That way there's no damage to the car or anything. They just wait for you to show up after they've picked out which one they want. They're decided they're completely unworried about being identified or anything of that sort. Uh-huh. Right. Just wait for you to drive to your house, you get out and they get in off they go with your car. Wow. So it's, uh, I think they call it car jacking around here Yeah, yeah, I'd heard that phrase. Uh-huh, yeah, that's kind of the latest thing, but every year in the D C area it gets progressively worse as far as the number of homicides, so it's, uh, it's unfortunate that we feel sometimes even that we have to bring our kids up in this area because we're not from around here, we're from, uh, I'm from Ohio and my wife's from Florida so, Uh-huh. And we've just come from twenty years in the military and, uh, which is an entirely different environment, so this is a whole new thing for for us to, to have to put up with and it's, uh, really scary sometimes. Yeah, there aren't that many, places that are safe from that sort of thing nowadays. Right. And it's pretty bad when they're using metal detectors in school Uh-huh. and, uh, of course, the mayor, uh, of D C is having a real problem, uh, trying to, what do you do to, to reduce crime in a, in a major city like D C where it's a way of life for everybody. It's, uh, I would hate to have to wrestle with that problem. I don't know what, what the solution is. Uh, there's no way they can stop the drugs, and that's what's causing all the killing. Well, uh, there's a couple of things that I've heard, uh, most of them are fairly, uh, radical in terms of what you'd have to do. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, course the, the reason that, that these kids tend to, to turn toward the drugs and everything else seems to be just, you know, the, the, the end results of, of poverty and, and parents that aren't doing any parenting and everything else Uh-huh. because, I mean, you know, the parents aren't making a living at anything. Right Uh, And they see all their friends and neighbors, uh, And they're accidental parents half the time anyway. Yeah, and their friends are driving Mercedes and, so it's actually, they grow up with that as their way of life and, uh, I think, uh, to a large extent, they don't understand the concept that what they're doing is actually illegal because this is the way they were raised. It's illegal, but it's not wrong because all their friends do it. Right exactly, so maybe it's the law that wrong in their eyes and they they say, well, it's, it's the law that's, uh, got to be changed instead of their way of life, Yeah. so, I don't know, it's I'm glad it's not the kind of problem I have to come up with an answer to because it's not easy. Well I think that the drug thing would actually be relatively easy to solve in terms of, of an actual solution to the problem. Uh Uh-huh. the, the social, the other social problems wouldn't, wouldn't go away. Right. Uh, They've always been with us. I mean, there's, there's been a lot of, uh, and I used to think that this whole argument was completely bogus, but then, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made, is that, uh, alcohol is as bad a drug as anything else. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, and prohibition didn't stop it and didn't do anything really to slow, Right. Okay, looks like we're ready to go. Capital punishment, uh, the problem I have with capital punishment is that, uh, uh, it's supposed to be a deterrent to crime, but I don't think that it really actually does that. I don't think it deters anybody, because most of the time crimes are, uh, are committed with a, without any thought to the consequences and they don't think that, uh, stop and think and say, well, maybe I shouldn't do this, uh, because, uh, I might get the gas chamber or something like that. They worry about it afterwards and then they try and get out of it. And, uh, how about you Well, I think that in some cases, it is warranted. Uh-huh, I do, too, yep. And I don't, I think in some cases it doesn't matter if it's a deterrent or not. Uh-huh, yeah, you still have to do it. I, I, I mean I mean, I'm thinking of an extreme case like a serial murderer Uh-huh. or, So you're in, you're in favor of capital punishment, then. Well, for some things. Right. I think for serial murder it is warranted because if a person who would do something like that in cold blood, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Needs to be punished or, uh, eliminated from society. I mean, you can't guarantee that they wouldn't escape from prison and do it again. Right. And then do it all over again. Uh-huh. And I don't think that, that rehabilitation is effective. Right. Have to agree with you, and I'm kind of in favor of capital punishment also. I just don't think that it acts much as a deterrent to these people because, uh, you still see them committing the same crimes, but, I tend to agree with you that, uh, we should have it I just, I don't know that it's always effective but I guess we, uh, we're kind of stuck with it. It's, it's a difficult, uh, problem, isn't it, to determine how you're going to punish somebody for a particular crime, uh, But, then, you know, I think that, that some murderers don't really warrant capital punishment. You know, just, like, for example, uh, you know, you hear about cases where women have killed their husbands who abused them Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right, uh-huh. and I don't think, that would really warrant capital punishment. Uh-huh, huh. Do you think they should be punished at all, or, uh, like go to prison, uh, because they're not really a danger to society. It was almost really self defense, isn't it, in a case like that. Uh it is to a certain extent Uh-huh. but I think, I don't know because, I know they put, uh, put them in jail sometimes, I guess. Uh, I think in and it, just would depend upon the circumstances and, and the extent of the abuse and, and if another alternative was available. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um. Uh-huh. You know, now, I wonder what you think about this and, uh, unfortunately, we, we don't get to do it, but, uh, it used to be a long time ago, I guess in Biblical times when they had punishment if somebody did something, for example, to your family, then you had the right to administer the punishment. So if somebody killed somebody in your family then you had the right to, uh, if that person was caught and found guilty, you had the right to, uh, execute that person. And I know that, uh, if somebody had done something to my family, I would feel that I had the right to, to get revenge on them and, uh, but, I, I don't think that's done much anywhere That's kind of drastic punishment. Well, I think that would be kind of drastic punishment. Right. And, Might make you feel better but But, one thing, I think that if there is a chance for rehabilitation then that chance should be investigated. Uh-huh. Right. But, like I said, if, if someone is, is just pathologically going to murder people no matter what then I think they should be eliminated from society. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. Right, because they're a danger to everybody else. Huh, that's interesting. I have to, uh agree with that. But, There's a lot of folks, probably, that are in prison that, uh, that aren't really a danger to society, huh, and, uh, And a lot of people that are a danger to society that aren't in prison. Right. Right, probably more of them then the other way around Interesting. I don't, I don't, not sure I, I'm in Washington, D C or at least very close to it. I'm not sure what kind of, uh, capital punishment we have here. Well, I know in North Carolina, we do have capital punishment. Uh-huh. And I'm I'm from South Carolina. Well, we, in, in, in our family, have been pretty remiss in trying to, uh, you know, keep track of, uh, daily finances. Uh, the, uh, way back, what, twelve years ago or something when I got my first computer, I did what everybody else does, which is to put the whole family budget on the machine and put checks, and, you know, checkbooks and all this kind of thing and we kept that going for about a month and it became so onerous that we gave up on it Uh-huh. That sounds about right You know, so, uh, the only thing we're, you know, that we do now is, uh, I keep a, a little spread sheet of, uh, what I call the net worth calculation which is just the, the present value of various kinds of investments and so worth. Uh, and I only update that, oh I don't know, maybe once every quarter or so. Every three months. Just, basically when the statements come in. You know. Just to see whether or not we're falling, you know, getting ahead, falling behind or staying even or what. Uh-huh. Right. Uh, that's really about, you know, the extent of, uh, of the kind of, uh, financial score keeping that we're doing. Uh Well it's kind of difficult for me. Because right now, uh, like most teachers, I'm laid off and Huh. Oh dear, that's terrible. so, um, I spend most, you know, I substitute a lot. Uh-huh. So it's a lot, it's very hard on a nonfixed income because I don't know how many days I'm going to be called in and whether I am or not, to try to keep track of finances. Uh-huh. And, but I know how much I have to bring in a month And that's about it. That's about as far as we go. And then anything extra is, you know, more or less split up between all of us. And just thrown in the kitty, more or less, for a rainy day Uh-huh. Oh, I see. Are you, are you married? Are you living with a bunch of, with, with people that you're sharing expenses? Uh, no. I'm a single mother. I have three children. Oh, I see, uh-huh. So, uh, right now, we're on, we get you know, aid from the state at this point because there's no other way to do it. And my ex-husband just sort of took off and doesn't pay child support Oh dear. So right now I know what I'm getting from the state and, uh, I have to balance, more or less, what I get from the state with my bills and, uh, you know, try to work as many days as possible. Any time they call me in. Uh-huh. But I still have to figure out. If I work too many days, then I lose all my state aid and if I don't work enough days then I don't get enough to meet the bills and it's like a juggling act every single month. Uh-huh. Like this week I've been just holding my breath and hoping they'll call me in but they probably won't because next week the kids have school vacation. I see. So, you know, the four days before, they only have a four day week Uh-huh. and they usually don't need subs because everybody's pretty good about coming in oh, I see. They don't like to be absent before a vacation. Oh, sure. But we're shopping around as far as, well I'm shopping around as far as trying to get, uh, that's why I'm doing this, to get some extra money. And, uh, getting pledge sheets for the Boy Scouts. Uh-huh. My kids are in Boy Scouts so trying to get pledge sheets for the Boy Scouts because every penny I bring in is ten percent to me. So it's sort of helps defray the costs a little bit. But, you know, we do a lot of robbing Peter to pay Paul. I guess we're in the situation that a lot of middle-class Americans are in. Uh-huh. Yeah, you're the first, you know, uh, my next door neighbor just lost his job. In a, you know, one of these, uh, Oh, my Lord. his company went broke. I mean went, you know, bankrupt. Actually, it was a subsidiary of a, of an outfit called U S Shoe or something. it was a computer subsidiary. I don't know what a shoe company's doing running a computer company. Really. But, uh, you know, they just folded it up and, uh, uh, told him to, they took the top management and gave them jobs with the, with the corporate, uh, at the corporate front office Uh-huh. and everybody else was sent packing. Oh Uh, hang on one second I've got Sure. uh, somebody was knocking on my door here. Uh, it sounds like, in a certain sense, at least at the present, I mean, it sounds, sounds terrible to say, but at the present stage, you probably are even more in the market for a, a budgetary thing than, than most people probably might be. In terms of keeping, keeping score of input and output. Right. Uh-huh. Definitely. Do you have, do you have a computer at home or, Uh, yes we do. And we try to, Uh-huh. you know, I keep track of every penny. And, more or less, enter it in. Uh-huh. Every single day I'm at the computer. I see. And, it's like, okay, what do we have left, what do we have to pay, what have we paid this month. What hasn't come in yet, you know Uh-huh. Yeah. Have you, do you use a standard, uh, a standard spread sheet or I mean, Okay, this topic is, is Russia a threat to our security? I think they are more of a threat to their own people at this day and time. how do you feel about it? Well, they do have, uh, a major internal problem Everybody wants to defect, and I can understand why. Um, I think their biggest problem is just, you know, obtaining food to live, so when you have the basic needs, uh, being unmet I don't think you think globally as far as, you know, being a threat to other people in the world. So, as soon as they get their, their own home country taken care of, then they'll consider, what they can do with the rest of the world. I believe Communism is very much waning It's, uh, pretty much on the way out of the door, insofar as the strong hold that they used to have, and the Russian people are all realizing that the Communist system does not work to their satisfaction or their way of surviving in this world, and their rebellions right now is the result of that If they can get the army, or the military to sway to their side, I think that, uh, it will be on the way out eventually. It's just a matter of time, because, in the Baltic States they have already massacred so many people who protested, and that hasn't set too well with their diplomacy for the, regarding the, uh, outcome of their affairs What's your synopsis? Well, I do, I do realize that, uh, uh, the Bush Administration isn't too happy with, with how they're handling their internal, uh, strife, you know, as far as diplomacy is concerned I think it's been a good, a good positive direction for uh, the Soviets as far as Yeltsin is concerned. You know, he was, uh, allowed to, what, in his, in the Congress they, they gave him more power as far as his republic in Russia is concerned, which is, gives him more power overall, which I think is a good sign that there will be some, you know, politically speaking, you know, he's going to have more power, and I think it's a step in the right direction. I think Gorbachev realizes that he's got a, a major uh, uh, power figure, you know, competing against him, and I think it's going to be pretty close to his demise if he doesn't follow suit with Yeltsin as far as, uh, realizing, well, he does realize it, you know, with the fact that they reduced the uh, or they, increased the prices on their food, food and goods. Uh-huh. Uh. It, I think that it went up a thousand percent on most, yeah. that's incredible but they had to, uh, go in the direction of a market driven economy, and, and they had to bite the bullet for that. So that's a good move on, on Gorbachev's part in doing that. Uh-huh So, but Gorbachev has still not fully convinced everyone that, he's moving towards a two to three party system of government that, nor eliminating or diminishing the Communist power, and I guess that's where Yeltsin steps in, so far as his politics of government goes, uh, but I don't know how convinced the people are of him yet, myself. Well, that's all they got right now. That's their ray of hope. Uh-huh. So, you know, they'll go with you know, whoever comes through for them. I, it, it's just that, the weird thing is, is that Gorbachev is the one that opened the floodgates, as far as with glasnost and perestroika and stuff, and I think he's got between the Old Guard and, in and the new, uh, glasnost. Uh, I think it's kind of escalated to a point where it's out of control. Uh-huh. And I think he had to pull in the reins the only way he knew how, in order to keep the peace on, peace on both sides. So I think that's where you know, kind of where he's stuck. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Uh, I understand. And that's the, that's the situation that he finds himself in, and you know, he's a tough guy, I mean, he's been through it So I have no doubt that he'll, I mean, I, I think overall he's been a, a good figure for the Soviet Union. I mean, I think his intentions and his ideals are, are uh, well intentioned. Uh-huh. And in the long-term, but I just think that because of the basic needs that the people don't have, I think that, uh, makes the problem most severe, and makes him look, look worse that what his, um, what his ideals are, personally. I agree. What's bad for the Soviet system is that they have the resources to grow and produce their food, but somehow it just does not get out to the market the way it should. I think it's, I think it's a lot of, uh, oh, how do you put it? bureaucracy and, and, uh, one thing, and then all the corruption. I think there's a, a large amount of corruption on the, the have and the have-nots. You know, Yeah That's probably more true than, a lot of people realize. I I know you're going to have that with every society. At least we're more blatant about it, but it's very secret, and it's been going on for years. I mean, you can't change things overnight. Uh-huh. And, but if it gets to a point where people can't survive, I mean, there's revolution. You know, and that's It seems to be headed in that direction too. Yeah big time major but you know, that's, that's what happens when, you know, the cork blows and you can't handle it anymore. I mean, that's that's the way the world, uh, you know, revolves that way and uh, I think that was a big stepping stone for them to initiate all their righteous ways of changing things, too. They, probably not enough, but I'm sure I lot of it's filtered down enough to the common folks that they have gotten wind of what they're missing out on. Yeah, I think they're starting to realize, but I, I just don't think they have the resources, if you were to compare, uh, the Americans to the Soviets as far as home computers are concerned or fact machines, Fax machines and cellular phones, and state of the art equipment that we are so used to. I don't think they even realize what's out there, and to what extent. Yeah, I'm sure a lot of them are missing those household items Yeah, the major conveniences of life Yeah what we consider just, I don't normal everyday things to them is real luxury. Which is unfortunate for them, Yeah and of course, most of us, we don't really appreciate what we've got because we've been so used to it. This is true. This is very true. And we, it's human, it's human nature though to take things for granted and it kind of, you know, when you've lost something or, or uh, uh, don't have what other people have that's when you tend to realize, you know, what's out there and what, you know, what you have and what you don't have. Yeah I agree So the original question, do we think they're a threat to our, you know, a security threat? Yeah. Um, yes and no. Yeah, I can go with that answer too The only yes I could go to is if uh, a renegade crew decides to launch an attack or an accidental launching or something to that effect to, to a nuclear exchange, but I don't even see that occurring. Uh, because their internal strifes are more important right now than concentrating on any kind of outside affairs that they used to be to I guess. Um, no. Well, I don't really feel that the Soviets really want to blow up the world. I mean, um, we painted them back in the fifties and sixties as, as nonfeeling machine type people, and they're people just like us. I mean you know, they get up everyday, Uh-huh. and they put their pants on the same way, and they have to eat and everything else, and I just don't feel that ... Okay. Well why don't you start cause it said I was suppose to ask you what do you, Do you have any elderly relatives currently in an, uh, nursing home now? Yes, I do. Do you? I have a grandmother. She's a hundred and two. Oh my gosh. She'll be a hundred and three in August. Uh-huh. And we decide not to put her in a nursing home. She lives with my mother and my father who also live here in town and then my sister takes care of her. Uh-huh. She, even though she is a hundred and two, she still has all of her faculties. Right. She still has her snap. She takes care of her own business. This is the first year that she has gotten weak and actually has to have a little walker, but with somebody that needs around the clock care, I have seen my family age. Right. I have seen them in the, she's been there ten years now. And I have seen them age twenty in the time and, and with the expense and everything, Yeah. I I still think it is worth it if you, if you had a good nursing home and they needed some quality care, I would put someone in a nursing home. Right. My mother-in-law finally. They had to make a family decision. There's seven children in my husband's family and fortunately four of them live in the same home town and she has Alzheimer's. It was getting where she was getting dangerous. I mean letting strangers in and things like this, Uh-huh. but they were very fortunate. It's a small town and she happens to room with one of the doctor's mothers and then she's got a lot of family there and that go and see her all of the time Oh, well that's good. but she really doesn't. Nobody thought she would adjust, but she has adjusted beautifully. Oh, that is great. But then I am also facing my father who is very sick and my mother and father reside in Colorado. She's been taking care of him. I don't know how much longer this can last and at that point because he requires round the clock. He can't do anything without her. He doesn't know when to take his medicine and it's really sad and I have thought if something would happen to my mother for, uh, my brothers are not interested in helping me so I would have to move him down here. That way, I want to see the nursing home. If I have to put him into one. You know, where I can go see it. I, I'd be very uncomfortable with him being in Colorado. And, Oh, why yeah. I am sure you have got some really good nursing homes around Dallas. Yes. And some of them are limited care too where people can do, uh, like they have apartment styles, but that wouldn't work for him. I think he is beyond that. Where if you need help you can get it, but basically people kind of have a small apartment and doctors are available if they need them. Uh-huh. I, I know a lady that lives in a place similar to that in Austin. And allows, Yeah. Yeah. Well, the only problem with these are that they are very expensive. Of course, I guess all nursing homes there is but, And the bad thing about it, before you can get any kind of government help, you just practically have, well you have to be a pauper. Right. It, it takes every penny. They want you to spend every dime you have before the government will pay for your your care. Yeah. Right. And that's the sad part about it. Yeah. I, uh, yeah, and I think a lot of people who do it now. In Colorado it's interesting. I talked to my mother. They allow you sixty five thousand dollars and your car and your home. And my mother could make it on that. What she probably would do is disburse the money to me and then I would send it back to her so that's what would happen. Uh-huh. I think that's what most people do. You just have to give it, everything away. Yeah. It's unfortunate. I, I work at a brokerage firm and I have seen so many people that just have to gift, you know, their belongings as much as they can each year in anticipation of having to move to a nursing home. Right. Yeah. It's frightening. And I guess, uh, I don't know how old you are. I'm forty-six. You know, we're the generation moving into this and I don't know how our kids are going to take care of us. You know. I can't imagine. I'm twenty-nine. Yeah. And everybody in my family has always had, we don't have any children. Everybody that has, has them later in life. Yeah. So, my, my mother and my father are in their late sixties. So, I mean, they're not that far away. Right. I also see on my generation a squeeze between looking to having to help my parents and still having to help my son because things are so rough out there job wise and he's still living at home and I don't know how he is ever going to get on his own the way things are. Oh, I know. And so, it's kind of, you feel squeezed in the middle of having both generations, but it, something will have to change as more and more of us get older. Uh, luckily, if we could be like your grandmother, I, uh you know, I would love to live to a hundred and two if I were okay. But you see these people in their seventies It, but yeah. Most people aren't. yeah, most aren't. That's the problem. And that's the bad thing. I would hate to have lived so long. She lived by herself. My grandfather passed away before I was born so she lived by herself up until she was ninety, ninety-one. And just did everything, That's incredible. Hello Ann. Hello Chuck. Uh, the other day, I attended a conference here at Utah State University on recycling Uh-huh. and, uh, I was kind of interested to hear cause they had some people from the E P A and lots of different places Uh-huh. and, uh, they had basically decided that there is going to be a real problem here within a few years on solid waste. Uh, I didn't think that was a new revelation. Well, it's not too new. Right. So, what what is the E P A recommending now? Oh, they really didn't propose any solutions. Actually, they were, the guy was pretty negative about the things that the government was doing even though he was from the E P A. Uh-huh. But, he had a lot of, uh, facts to, to give and, uh, things like how many solid waste plants were being shut down and, and, uh, one of the most interesting things that he was talking about was recycling of, of news print. He was talking about, uh, the City of New York and how they went and collected all this news print Yeah. and they could sell it for a while. They were able to sell it for some amount per ton and now at this stage of the game where they have gotten into recycling, they've collected so much news print that they have to pay to have it hauled away. Right. That's a, that's a common problem though. That it seems, that has happened in Dallas as well as New York and I try to recycle all of the newspapers that come to my house and after a while I just quit taking the newspaper because I couldn't recycle it anymore which isn't good for business on the other end either, I suppose. Yeah. We're doing some here in, in Cash Valley, the community here. Uh-huh. There's, uh, we've actually got a kind of a nice set up. We've got a couple of plants here that actually take, uh, recycled paper and shred it and spray it with chemical treatment so that it's not a fire hazard and make it into insulation Right. and they can actually use as much recycled paper as the community can get to them. Because they are actually buying it and shipping it in from outside. Well, that's good. So one of the real keys, it sounds like, to getting recycling for, uh, paper or something like that to go is to get some sort of business to actually want it once you have collected it. Right. There has to be, uh, a reuse for it. I mean, that's why they recycle. The one I think is the most interesting is with the recycled bottles and all that, uh, the industry seems to be doing with the recycled polymers. Uh, everything from, uh, waste baskets to carpet to the no stick, I mean the sticky slide rugs under the carpet Uh-huh. and, uh, I think they are even putting it in the roadways these days and they're making clothes now that are recycled. Like the recycled plastic coke bottles and and milk cartons and things like that. And there was a paper presented at this conference from a guy from Alabama and he was kind of hired to do a study by two departments for the government. One was like, environmental protection and the other one was, oh, I can't remember what, but the basic idea, it was presented to him was how can we maximize the amount of energy that we can get back from recycling and minimize the volume of stuff that we are putting into our landfill Uh-huh. and, uh, the solution that he came up with for plastics, and it was really quite amazing, he says, well the best thing to do with plastics is to burn them. Oh really. He came to the conclusion, plastics is actually one of the biggest problems in landfills cause it's, it's low weight, but it's high volume so it takes up a lot of space Right. and there's almost no energy, there's very little energy value in actually doing a lot of the recycling, but there is a lot of energy in it if you can burn it and use it, produce electricity. Huh. So his solution was to burn plastic. Collect it and burn it. Well, it's carbon so that makes sense, like a carbon fuel of some sort, but what what about emissions? Yeah. And it's more than even paper or something like that. There is more energy in it per pound or whatever. Well that was he didn't deal with that. Oh. He just said burn it. Okay He didn't talk about cleaning it up or anything like that. So it's not very practical No. Well it's interesting. I bet that was a good day, at the yeah, conference then. Yeah, well, real interesting. Did it change anything for you? Uh, not too much. Uh, I got a bit. Actually, So, uh, you know, my feeling is that, uh, it's really being used today, it, it, you know, it, it really isn't doing any real good purpose for anything because it's not cost effective because of the amount of time the people end up waiting on appeal. Right, I think I've seen some statistics that say that, uh, it's more expensive to kill somebody than to keep them in prison for life. Right because you, you've got all, all the prison expenses, plus all the legal expenses. Right. Uh, and, you know, it certainly doesn't seem to be a deterrent. Uh, for one thing because it's used so infrequently and for another thing because I honestly don't think the people that are committing the crimes that would be eligible, you know, really care. Well, that's, committing them mostly is, you know, either crimes of passion or at the moment or they think they're not going to get caught or, Right, I mean, it's kind of like the AIDS phenomenon, you know, I'm invulnerable, I don't need to care about this. You know, I, I, I'm never going to get caught. Yeah, Yeah, but you also have to think whether it's worthwhile on the individual basis, for example, someone like, uh, Jeffrey Dahlmer, do you want, by putting him in prison for life, there is still a possibility that he will get out again. Yeah, one, one way or another. Whereas if you kill him, there is not that possibility. Yeah, but, but the other side to that is, if you put him in prison for life, there's a chance that he might do things in prison, or, you know, and somehow redeem himself. Yeah, I don't think he could ever redeem himself, but in some cases, yes. Well, You know, so that, you know, the, the question is, you know, the other problem with capital punishment you run into is, what are you going to do about people who are later to have been found innocent, you know? There are cases where, you know, twenty, thirty years after the fact of getting evidence, especially as new technology comes along that might prove their innocence, then, oops, I'm sorry, guess we killed the wrong guy. Yeah, it's, it's, yeah, once you've made a decision that way, it's a little difficult to go back on it. Right, you, you can apologize nicely, but, you know, you know, I think, you know, the, the price, you know, it, I've heard quotes, you know, it's better that a thousand people go free, than one person be unjustly imprisoned. I think is really the, the philosophy of the way our legal system works. Oh, yeah, yeah, it's the benefit of the doubt to the last iota is, uh, based on the, uh, person who is accused. Yeah, and, you know, the, I, I think that, you know, and the way it's being used now, it's like you listen to Bush is, you know, well, where are we going to impose you know, it's like for drug dealers is the new big thing like in, Tsongas is also saying, you know, capital, make it a capital crime to be a major drug dealer. Right. And, again, I don't thing these people care. *typo replace thing with think They risk their lives every day. Yeah, and, there, there, they seem that the profit uh, drug dealers, the profit margin's so high that, yeah the, the risk is almost not there. Yeah. Yeah, and, and, you know, uh, especially, now, I live in, in Massachusetts, you know, we're going to get capital punishment here probably after the second coming or something. Yeah. So, you know, but you look at our, our crime rates and things like that and you compare them to, to like Texas or someplace that does, you know, it, it, it's impossible to make a case that it's, it's affecting it in any way. Yeah. I think it's mainly, people, like, they get the vengeance of it. Yeah, well it's also, Because, you know, I used to live in Georgia and, you know, the, the big thing down there was, all right, we have capital punishment, but if you look at who gets accused and who are the ones who actually get executed, it's very racially related and ethnically related, Oh, yeah it's lot of blacks. Also a lot of young people. You know, a, a, a sixty-two year old guy is less likely to be put on death row from what I've seen. Right. And, you know, I, I think when you listen to like the, uh, the, the victims' families and things, they're always talking about, you know, uh, feeling justified or feeling, you know, like they've gotten something out of it, I mean, my thought has been, once the guy has been imprisoned, if he goes to jail forever or whatever, if he gets killed, it shouldn't make any difference to the, uh, the victim's family. The only thing that should really, I mean, obviously, if someone of mine who has close died, I'd probably feel differently, but you know, you know, what, the important thing is that they be caught and not be a danger to society. Right. Right and that, and, you know, also by keeping them in prison, you do have the possibility, though, we don't currently do this, of making restitution. Right, mean, You, you will work your prison job and any money you earn will go to the victim's family. Right and, the, the other thing is that, you know, I was reading through a book on, uh, geneo, human geneo research Uh-huh. and there, more and more things like schizophrenia and why, does it just turn out to be genetic or biochemical in origin. Right. So if someday we can go to Jeff Dahlmer and say, well, the problem is you, you've got an endorphin imbalance and, you know, if you take this regularly, you'll be a sane and productive member of society you know, Uh-huh. you really get back to the question of, you know, is someone responsible for their actions. Yeah, well, I, I think on some of it, you have to say someone's responsible for his actions. I never like the, uh, the defense, Well, I never liked the, uh, insanity defense. Society made me do it. Yeah. Well, anyway I, uh, I, uh, oh, yeah. I did forget to ask you. What is your name by the way? Uh, I'm Ann. Oh, you're Ann. Hi. But, uh, anyway, I, uh, lot of, lot of interesting procedural things I think would be a good, be a good change if we're going to be talking about the subject tonight which in some I guess criminal courts the Criminal courts? Yes. Yeah. the one of which was, uh, something, something that's been going on because of the Rodney King trial here in town and that is, uh, and that is the exclusion of jurors because of or in spite of their race. Uh, Oh, really? Yeah. Well, they, they, uh, the, the people that the, uh, the jury that's trying, uh, the officers in that case, is, is an all white panel. Uh-huh. And there's been a lot made in the local papers of that, fact. I see. I can't, I'm a little surprised they didn't get a change of venue on that one. They have. They have. They moved it up to the county north of here. Oh. Um, it's in Ventura and there's, there's still quite a bit of publicity obviously, and it's kind of, it's kind of debatable whether you could get a fair trial almost anywhere because that, uh, that, Well, that videotape was just horrible. Yeah. It was everywhere. Yes. So you know, and I, I think it would be very difficult to find someone, uh, find a panel that would be, not have seen it and, and known of what was going on. Oh, I agree with you but I can't imagine that they would do an all white jury without having some sort of, of discrimination or, or, you know, uh, appeal on not having a jury of his peers and all of that kind of stuff. Exactly. You know, um, the you know, I, I'm kind of torn on this issue. It's like they're saying well on the one hand they're not, he's not getting a jury of his peers which is in some ways I think true. But on the other hand, it's, it's also saying that white jurors are not going to, are not going to convict. Right. Uh, you know, they're not going to do their job. Which is the whole, the whole point of being on a jury is to convict or, or, or, uh, let go based on whether, or not the person, whether or not the evidence says, that there's enough Exactly. Based on fact. Right. How interesting. Oh. So what's the prevailing thought within the community? Um, I mean you know, what the news media is going to make of it, but what about the community? They, well, I guess it depends on who you talk to. I haven't talked to, uh, I haven't talked to a whole lot of black people on it but I, I rather imagine there's, there's some snickering about it. And a lot of the usually fatalistic, uh, here we go again folks, kind of stuff. Uh-huh. Oh, my goodness. That can't be good for Los Angeles either. No, no. I, you know, on, on, on one hand you know, on the one hand you almost hope that they convict them because it's they have that very strong piece of physical evidence showing, these people beating the heck out of this guy. Um, Oh, exactly. Unfortunately that kind of thing is not limited to a big city like Los Angeles. You're going to have it just about anywhere. Uh-huh. There. *listen Well, But that's, that's interesting. Yeah. Um What about the judge who's hearing the case? Is he going to be impartial? Is he going to, be a a good adjudicator? I don't know. You know, and, and again there's something else you know, there was a uh, something else along those lines. There was a girl out here named I don't know if it's, it's got, it's got as much notoriety but it's rather almost as infamous here as it was, as it was with, uh, the Rodney King problem. Um, a girl walked into a Korean owned store and, uh, they, she had a dispute, black girl. Uh-huh. She, she had some kind of a dispute over some orange juice with the, with the owner of the store. The owner of the store popped her. Oh, really? Yeah. And, and, oh, of course, they, you know, the criminal case went up and, and the judge gave the woman who shot her, shot the girl a, uh, uh, practically a suspended sentence. I mean it was it was just, Oh, my goodness. she gave her no time in jail, you know, all of these things and then, oh, there's we have these, we have people wondering around with petitions trying to get the judge, To get that judge recalled I would think. Yeah. Yeah. Huh. That's almost when you kind of wish that there where standardized sentences. Yeah. It would make, it would make life easier. It would. Yeah. Uh, But, you would know, the whole world would know what you were facing. And then it's a matter of, of deciding, Okay. Uh, before a couple of years ago, I had a, a very narrow view of, of nursing homes and it was, uh, more like a funeral home. I always joked around about it being a funeral home and not really a nursing home. And, uh, then I had to do some volunteer work here in Tyler, Texas and I went to one and it just had a very good activities director. Everyone was cheerful and now I don't have such a bad view of nursing homes anymore. But I, I certainly wouldn't want to send my parent unless it was an absolute last resort. Uh, I have a sister that is in nursing school and she's real interested in geriatrics. Well, that sounds good. Yeah. So, uh, she, she's real interested in, uh, what Ann Richards has been doing. She's, Ann Richards is really cracking down on, uh, the nursing homes and, I don't know, you wouldn't know anything about a Texas governor I've heard the name and that's about all it goes. Okay. Ann Richards is our governor in Texas and she's really cracking down on restrictions and what goes on in nursing homes. And, uh, my sister's real interested in that and, and getting into the, to that side of nursing. Yeah. That's one problem with the, the nursing home environment. It, the elderly, even out of the nursing home, are very open to abuse. Right. Uh, you know, they don't always have their full wits about them. Uh-huh. They're not completely up on what should be going on or what's not going on. Uh-huh. And it can be pretty sad. I've got a, had a grandmother who had a stroke. And she was in a nursing home for four or five years before she died. Oh. And, you know, it's the type of thing that she was living down in Florida. My families was up in Maryland Uh-huh. and the other part of her family was up in, uh, New York state. Right. And, you know, it was very difficult for either them or my grandfather to take care of her since she was, uh, you know, could not do very much for herself after the stroke. Right. And, you know, the nursing home was the, you know, best facility to put her in. You know, besides moving her up which is not a practical solution since both my parents work Uh-huh. and both my, uh, aunts and uncle work. Which means it's, you know, very difficult for Right. you essentially need to have someone taking care of the person full-time. Right. And, you know, there's also a lot of medical problems that can't always be completely handled in the home. Which makes it, you know, Right. it's a necessary evil I think. Uh-huh. It sure is. And some of the really nice ones that really take care of their people are so expensive. Because cause they can afford to hire the people that are really going to care for the older. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, even there you have to watch out for, you know, you get one person who's a little bit dishonest working in there and, you know, the elderly sometimes have a lot of jewelry and other stuff that just very easily tends to disappear in the nursing homes. Oh, yeah. Right. My grandfather passed away several years ago. I was much younger. But, uh, he was in the nursing home the last several years of his life and someone visited him every day. My grandmother did. But, uh, if she couldn't, someone visited him every day. It was in a very small town nursing home. Uh-huh. And, uh, people didn't get paid much there at all. They didn't care about what went on. Yeah. They would let a, let a patient get a lot of bed sores. Uh-huh. And, uh, the, the people living in the nursing home would have all kinds of needs that wouldn't get met because they were just old people. And then, the nurses and doctors really didn't put any for, forth any loving care for them. Either that or they're just so understaffed that they can't afford to put in the, uh, care that they need. Cause it's, you know, Right. Right. an elderly person can, you know, it's like a newborn baby. You need to have twenty-four hour care uh, answering all the needs cause they can't do much for themselves at certain points. Uh-huh. Right. Right. And nurses get so worn down. Uh-huh. And, you know, there's a lot of, number of the elderly are very, you know, complaining because they remember the way that things used to be. And remember being able to do things for themselves which, you know, they no longer can. Right. Oh, sure. And they feel they feel pretty helpless. And it, very, very hard for them to accept that. We just, uh, moved my grandfather into, not a nursing home but, you know, a transitional type facility. Is it, uh, like a retirement center? More of a retirement home. He's got his own efficiency apartment. Uh-huh. And they provide one meal a day. Uh-huh. And, you know, the rest of the housekeeping and other meals a day are up to him. Uh-huh. But they do have, you know, group activities going on. How's he handling that? Uh, he'd much rather be living alone in his apartment down in Florida. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, to move into that facility we moved him from Florida up to Maryland and it's, it's a bit of a shock to the system, weather-wise, if nothing else. Ooh. Oh, sure. There wasn't anything like that, that you could do in Florida? Well there was stuff like that in Florida but, Uh, so, uh, what are your benefits like at your job, and how do you feel about them? Uh, pretty good, actually. I work for Hewlett Packard and they have, uh, a pretty good, uh, benefits package. In fact, they're, they're kind of known, uh, for having good benefits. The pay isn't fabulous, although I saw a survey recently and I'm actually making just about as much as, you know, I'm making actually over average, over the average for my career, my experience and all that stuff which kind of surprised me. Oh, that's good. Uh-huh. What kind of a degree have you got? I've got a Bachelor's in electrical engineering so, Oh. And I'm not, like, a hugely advanced degree or any that Uh-huh. Uh, anyway, the, our benefits are pretty good. We've got stock purchase program and a, that, that's pretty generous, although you have to hold the stock for two years before you get the company contribution which is, kind of a, a pain, Uh-huh. but, uh, there's a four O one K plan uh, for, uh, sheltering some taxable income. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, there's, How long have you been with them? I've been with them for seven years. Uh. Yeah. That's good. And, the best thing, and a lot of the stuff, the best thing is like four years or five years, it's pretty soon, you're completely vested in the retirement plan and everything, Uh-huh. so, uh, it's not but there's full, uh, there's several medical plans to choose from, uh, that cover pretty much everything. I don't get sick that often, so I don't pay much of it, and I pay five dollars every time I visit the, the hospital that, you know, for a checkup or whatever. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, they don't cover eyes though, and I, I have contact lenses, so that's kind of a pain. Uh-huh. But, you know, I I can live, But, for all practical purpose, you are almost a hundred percent covered. Oh, yeah, yeah. So that you've got small, small things to gripe about. Right. Wow. And, Well, that sounds like you must feel really good about it. Yeah, yeah, and, and the dental plan is The dental plan, I pay absolutely nothing because, uh Wow. I, I guess they would charge a little bit if there was some orthodontia or something for one of my dependents or something like that Uh-huh. but that's not the case, Uh-huh. so, I guess nothing. It's fabulous. Wow. Uh, the, what about you? Well, I, uh, work in Washington at the Naval Research Laboratory. I also have a part time job at a law firm and I get no benefits from them, to the part time work although, they pay better per hour than my, my sort of, quote, real job does. Uh-huh. Uh, and benefits, through the government are, uh, really, uh, they just, uh, they're not the greatest. Uh, I, before I, I, uh, uh, got my degree I'm, uh, a computer scientist Uh-huh. and before I got my degree, I had, uh, done paralegal work for law firms here in Washington Uh-huh. and, uh, at that time, I was in gravy city. Uh, the law firms in this town are not, you know, for a long time were just rolling in the dough in the early eighties Yeah. and, uh, benefits were just amazing Uh-huh. and we had everything paid for, and, uh, anyway, with the government, it's not, uh, quite that nice a deal. Uh, but it's, you know, it's, it's okay. What we have to do is, we have to pay, uh, about twenty percent of our, uh, uh, our costs and it's deducted from our check each month and that sort of thing, and the plans that are available to us, uh, range from kind of mediocre to really sweet and, uh, so I, I think I'm actually involved in a relatively good plan at this point. Uh, but, uh, it could be better, that's for sure, and, uh, but, you know there are other things that you get when you work for the government uh, in, in terms of, uh, more relaxed atmosphere. Yeah. It's really nice to be, for me, anyway, to be able to work in, uh, a research atmosphere, uh, where I don't have to, uh, uh, you know, worry about, uh, academics or anything like that, and, so I'm, I'm really kind of happy about that end of, of things. It's, uh, Yeah, one of the things with my company is that they've, uh, got a reputation for a lot of job security and, uh there's a lot of different things that they do, lot of different divisions even this area, in the San Francisco Bay Area that they do, Uh-huh. so there's, I, myself have moved around quite a bit within the company Uh-huh. and it's, and I, and I haven't had to move my residence to do that. You know, I still live in San Jose and, Wow, that's fabulous. Yeah it, You see, now that's, that's interesting, because I have a cousin whose husband works for Hewlett Packard up in the Massachusetts area. Oh, yeah? Yeah. He, he lives in Andover Uh-huh. and, uh, the work that he, he's, uh, specifically an engineer and, and does work with, uh, the Hewlett Packard machines that do, uh, uh, sonographic imagining Right, right. and, uh, I've been over to see his complex over there and it's amazing. Uh-huh. It's, it's all ecologically designed and, and, uh, he seems really, really happy with the, the set up. Yeah, yeah. And, In fact, I know a guy who works at Andover who used to work, who I used to work with out here Uh-huh. and he moved his family back east a few years ago to, to take that position. Kind of interesting. Uh, anyhow, Steve, uh, with the election year and whatnot coming up, do you think we ought to cut taxes, raise them, or, or, or what do you think? Well, that's, that's a really hard question. I do know that, uh, politicians always talking out of both sides of their mouths. Uh, I let's example, uh, our friend, the President, right now, says no new taxes, we should and especially, if anything, be cutting taxes now because of the recession and at the same time, the budget he sent to Congress has tax and fee increases, so, uh, I know the politicians, uh, aren't, aren't straightforward. Now, in terms of economics I'm not, it's hard, hard to call. It really is. Uh-huh. See, I never thought really, it's, uh, I never really thought that, that the, the question really had to do whether or not we're paying too much or too little. I, I always that the, the real question was is, are we getting a reasonable return on, on investment. For instance, like Social Security tax or uh, I mean, that's, that's tax we're paying money and, and supposedly this money is going into some kind of fund so that when it comes our turn to retire, the money will be there for us. Right. So that's, yeah, you know, when I, when I see that money taken out of my paycheck each, each week, I, or each, every other week, I, I really think that money's history and you know, so as far as return investment, that's not, that's nothing Yes, uh, and we're not even going to get the exact same number of dollars back. Uh, someone was telling me that there is a, uh, uh, there's still an office in, uh, you know, staffed with, with people there and, in D C that are researching to find a cure for polio, which, I may be wrong, but I believe that the cure for polio is already founded, but, but supposedly once you have an office in D C, or, you know, and, and staff it with people, it's really tough to close it down and, and they just haven't yet. Well, yeah, I'm not exactly sure, uh, about polio in particular. I know we have a polio vaccine come will prevent somebody from getting polio Uh-huh. I'm not sure if we know what to do in terms of curing some who has already gotten polio. Well, that might be the difference. I don't know. Uh, the other thing that, uh, I remember seeing on T V lately is, uh, had to do with, it's like seventy-five percent of the historical sites in America are in the home districts of very powerful people politically Right. that, that for some reason, historical sites with, you know, the, the full federal money and everything seem to appear as, as almost as like political favors to, to very strong politicians. Yeah, it's, it's, it's funny because, uh, it was one of the things that Bush is trying really hard to get ahold of is the line item veto where, uh, you know, Congress is able to attach all kinds of, uh, funny amendments for individual, uh, congressional districts to the, to the main budget proposals Uh-huh. and the poor President has, has to, uh, either accept or reject the whole thing. So, it sounds like you, uh, you think that, that we'd be able to save some money by, uh passing the line item veto. Oh. I, I think the line item veto is not, not, is not necessarily a bad thing, assuming that the, uh, the, the President, uh, uses it to get rid of, uh, this kind of waste. On the other hand, uh, it, it assumes that you have lots of confidence in your President not to veto important things. Uh, and just to get rid of the unimportant things. Yeah. And whenever there's that kind of subjective judgment, there's always going to be a dispute as to, uh, where the where the boundary between waste and, and necessity is. Uh-huh. So I'm not, I'm not sure that, that that will help solve our problems, but there definitely is, is a problem with, uh, I forgot, there's a political term for this stuff, pork barrel or something. Yeah. Uh, Pork barrel politics. Pork barrel politics. there has to be some way to do it. I know state governors usually have line item vetos and, uh, I lived in Massachusetts for a while and, uh, when Dukakis vetoed certain things, there was a big uproar and wasn't necessarily so popular. Yeah, but Massachusetts wasn't, when Dukakis was there, anyway, wasn't in that great shape financially. at least at the end. Uh-huh. I mean, I don't know, I, Yeah, they were very good at first, they were in very good financials at first and, uh, that's part of the reason he became a nominee is because things went so well. And then, of course, the bottom fell out. It's, uh, I mean, it's, it's tough. I mean, there's, there's two ways you can kind of go to get out of tough financial situations. I guess you can like raise taxes and then create like job programs and whatnot or you can hope that if people keep their money that they'll spend more and create jobs and, and whatnot. And spare the economy. Yeah, it's really, it's a hard balance. It, it definitely is. Even not for government, even just, say, for a small business. Uh, I know some, Uh, well, I'm not sure how it is in Georgia, but in, in Pittsburgh the the crime rate really is not very high at the moment. Is that, is that true for, for Atlanta? Atlanta is kind of high. Uh, it's, it's lower than it has been in the past. Uh, I guess nineteen ninety is when it start to drop off, and usually around the Christmas season is usually when the crime rate is a little bit higher. Yeah, I, that's probably not true only for Atlanta, but for just about anywhere. Yeah. Uh, what kind of crime problem do you usually run into? Any specifics Well, uh, the least, what, from what's on the news, uh, there are very few, like actual robberies reported, uh, uh, of, of residences. What's more likely to occur is, uh, robbery of, uh, you know, knocking over a, a small store or a car theft, you know, it, things of that nature. Very few, uh, assaults, although on the college campuses, uh, there are, uh, cases of, you know, like people getting machine from a, from an automated teller and, you know, somebody trying to, to device a scam for, for, uh, getting the money for them that actually preys mostly on foreigners. Um. But mostly petty things and, no, nothing, nothing really too big. Right, well, I guess here we run into that sometime, but I guess a lot of crimes are done with apartment type break ins that type, not much home break ins. Right. There are some, but not, not very high. Uh, as far as tellers and things like that, it's not extremely high either. There were one case where, uh, this one guy, uh, was taking women from the teller and, and, you know, making them give him money and stuff and then at the same time, raping them all, Uh-huh. so, so that's kind of like a double assault there. Yeah, uh, a strange case that, uh, that happened, oh, it's about, about a year ago was someone actually stole a complete automated teller machine. Really? It was a free standing machine and they backed up into it with a truck and put it on the back and drove away with it. Uh-huh. Oh, wow. Now, there's a crime for you. Yeah, there's a crime. Yeah, but, uh, I guess most of the things that happen around here are, are pretty, uh, innocuous. Although, uh, from what I hear in the news, and, and I, I saw an episode of the T V show, COPS uh, one time that was in Pittsburgh, Uh-huh. and, uh, it, it, it did surprise me, because, you know, they were doing drug arrests and thing, and things like that, but I, I don't really think those things happen too often because, like I said, from what's reported in the news, at least, it's, it's not all that common. Oh, okay. I don't know, crime situations here, they, like I say, lot of, lot of cases is usually just apartments and, and break ins and things like that and a lot of it is due to drugs. Uh, drug related, you know, in, in most cases, Yeah. it's not like, uh, it's someone do steal a, a or television or V C R or something like that it is for drugs, you know, because you really can't on the street make any money off of it per se, you know, you going to get ten or fifteen bucks for it Yeah. so you really not making a sizeable profit. So it's not really lucrative to take chances like that, you know, even though it, it does exist. You know, I, just to diverge a little bit, uh, I live in an apartment. Right now I'm finishing out my last semester at the University of Pittsburgh and, uh, the apartment like would be very easy for just about anyone to break in Right. But, even so, it, I mean, it's, it's still difficult for me to convince my apartment mates to, to like lock the doors when they go out you know, and things like that. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh, it would be so easy for someone who is motivated to do so to just, you know, sit out back, take a look at when people are here and when they're not just come in, you know, Uh-huh. there's a T V and a V C R and, they could, uh, they could get in pretty easy and, and especially, uh, since there are bedrooms upstairs and people leave the door open, you know, while they're upstairs playing music, Uh-huh. it could still happen then. Yeah, that's true, but you'd be surprised also how, much people watch you that even not, uh, participating in any type crime. I guess there was one case, I was surprised, uh, so happened this person worked at the same place, I work for Georgia Tech and they work at the same place I did, but I didn't know that they had been watching me because I was getting ready to, to go in my car one morning and the first thing they said is, uh, you must don't have to be to work at eight, you know, like shock, I, uh, get a lot of my news driving home from work listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED on national public radio. Uh, that is one of my big sources for current events information. Uh, I really like that coverage. My wife, uh, on the other hand is home most of the day and she watches a lot of the cable news network. Have you seen, uh, have you, uh, ever heard of ALL THINGS CONSIDERED? No, we don't have the, uh, national public radio in, in my area. Uh-huh. I can hear it at the, uh, uh, oh, the college town nearby when I'm in Stillwater, which is about an hour away, but the F M signal doesn't reach this far. Uh-huh. Uh, I'll listen to shortwave quite a bit. It gives you a whole different perspective on the news, uh, when you hear it from, say, a European point of view, or from the country of origin. Uh-huh. Uh, I agree with you, too, on the, uh, uh, the cable channel, C N N and HEADLINE NEWS. Uh, I'm not too satisfied with our local newspaper uh, which is why I rely on shortwave and, and then the cable, cable, C N N. Uh-huh. I'm, uh, interested in the, in the shortwave aspect of it. Uh, how do you find that the, the coverage from other places in the world uh, compares with the American coverage of, how do you think that, uh, the viewpoints differ? I think a lot of it is just, uh, the fact that in the U S you're so far removed, uh, in a lot of cases from, say, conflicts or, or it's not happening in your backyard Uh-huh. so it's, it's more of a, it's not as a personal, uh, the news isn't as personal in what we receive domestically than, than what's on shortwave. It's, B B C is, uh, oh, I don't know the right word, is, is almost, uh, they almost take all emotions out of it when they report it Uh-huh. and it just, they seem to give more of just the facts than opinions. Do you think, then, that, uh, the American media is presenting an opinion along with their facts? Uh, very much so, very much so, and I, I think a lot of it is, uh, especially T V news, they don't really have the time and a lot of them don't have the education and the background to, uh, oh, to really decipher the news and to really explain it. I mean, I, you know, I think it's important to interpret it, but a lot of times the person doesn't have the experience to, to do the interpreting. Uh-huh. Which, uh, which approach do you find to be, uh, more useful, the, the interpretive approach or the straight reporting? Oh, I like the straight reporting. Uh, and then I, I hope to be able to form my own opinion of it. It's, it's nice to hear someone's interpretation of it Uh-huh. uh, I always think it's humorous when, when the President gives the State of the Union and, uh, for thirty minutes and then for an hour and a half you hear different commentators explaining what you just heard. And a lot of time I don't hear exactly what they, what they write into it. Uh-huh. So I, overall, I think I would rather hear just straight reporting. One of the things that I found interesting last year during the, uh, the Gulf conflict was a sentiment against, uh, Peter Arnett, who had stayed in Iraq and was presenting, uh, some of the things that were available. Uh, there was a, there was, uh, a piece where he was showing a bombed out building where there was obviously a crudely, uh, uh, hastily erected sign saying baby milk factory, and while he was being severely, uh, censored and could not make any judgment call on this, it was fairly obvious that it was a piece of propaganda, but people were really down on him for reporting the fact that, you know, this isn't a baby milk factory, how could he say it was, uh, I, I think that, that to me showed that the Americans were really getting used to having the, not just the facts, but also the conclusions and opinions spoon fed to them. Yeah, I, I think people are, people have that opinion. They, they want to sit down in front of the TV and, uh, or at a, read a magazine or U S A TODAY and read in four paragraphs, uh, and, and find out So, let's talk about the, uh, wonderful abuses in the State of Pennsylvania of personal property taxes whereby you can purchase something mail order and after the fact, the State of Pennsylvania can find out about it and send you a bill for the sales tax appropriate to that item that you purchased as well as interest and penalties from the time that you bought it. What do you think? Is Pennsylvania kind of out of line there? Well, actually, I don't think they're out of line. Devil's advocate possibly, but it, you are trying to avoid paying taxes and whether or not you agree with that law, you're still circumventing it. You are legal in, in your circumvention of that law. What, what if you're not doing it in order to circumvent the law though? I mean what if you don't even realize that you're subject to paying, uh, income tax on something that you purchase mail order? Really, I, I, I don't think that's a valid argument. I think that most people are quite aware they're not paying that six percent sales tax. Um, naturally some, some things you just can't find in your local K-Mart or, or, uh, Bryn Mawr stereo dealer. Uh, but then why not pay, pay the sales tax Corporations have to, why should an individual just because it's, just because the state can't really find out about it, be able to avoid paying sales tax? Well, I mean, it seems to me that, generally, at least in my own experience, when I purchase something mail order, it's not to circumvent paying sales tax to the State of Pennsylvania. It's because, I'm sorry, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Yes. Uh, it's because I, I can't find the item that I want at a competitive price anywhere in my local area. So I go outside the area for that. And I think that it's not my responsibility to police myself and pay Pennsylvania what they believe they are owed even though, you know, the revenue stream went to another state. I don't, I don't think that that's my responsibility as a, as a conscientious consumer. I, I'll agree it, it's not your responsibility but, is it also legal, for you to do that? from what I understand from various net readings, it, the Federal government is going to try to legislate a more aggressive enforcement of state tax schemes, uh, in, into place in the next few years. It is, it is a lost revenue stream right now and states can use all the revenue they can get. With some, with something like that, do your arguments still apply? Well, I think that if, if policy is established and if a mechanism is put into place to promote the collection of taxes in this fashion, then I don't argue with it. Because it's not a burden on the consumer to remember that oh, I bought this out of state. I need to Xerox the receipt and make out a check for six percent and send it to Pennsylvania. Which is exactly what businesses do at the present. Right. But the point is is that businesses do that. The business that you purchase the thing from is responsible for collecting the appropriate sales tax and forwarding it to the state in question. That's a cost of doing business. The burden shouldn't be placed on the consumer. And I, I I was actually talking about businesses purchasing something mail order and then having, having to pay sales tax on it. Uh. That's my understanding of the way, uh, the way it works. Usually, the, the person ordering doesn't pay. But the accounting department will, uh, suck up all the bills at the end of the month and realize how much they have to pay. And there there are some substantial, nasty penalties, um, if you, if businesses try to avoid that. Uh, do you mean businesses from the point of view as, of, of selling things to a consumer and then being responsible for the sales tax? Or purchasing. No. Businesses, uh if purchasing things mail order, if, if I'm a computer consulting firm and I see these, this great deal on forty-six mother boards, uh, from, from say Utah. Um, I, I might buy the mother boards from Utah but then still have to pay Pennsylvania sales tax. My accounting department will at the end of the month. I think that I think that's the way things work in Pennsylvania. And I know they work that way in, uh, say here in D C. Yeah. See I'm unfamiliar with that because I don't, I never see that end of the business. Yeah. So, my only experience has been from the point of view of a consumer. Uh, but, if that's the case, if the business is responsible for policing themselves, then I think some well defined mechanisms need to be in place so that, uh, the opportunity to forget that you owe sales tax for something, uh, can be avoided. That's true. a a big hole does exist right now, uh, in that consumers can just say oh, I, I forgot that. There, there is no well defined mechanism at all and, and that it is a a loss. I, I think is that the Federal government will try to establish a mechanism just to do just that in in order to gain the revenue that's being lost. Uh, I mean, I, I don't know if I agree with that. But it, but, Kathy? Uh-huh. Do you, So, what is your, uh, family, what do you usually do as far as budgeting? We have a very detailed budget. Because my husband is a finance major. Uh-huh. And we have, you know, we have money that we take out each month that we, uh, you know, for food and, and for, for gas and things like that. And then we put aside so much money each month for birthdays and for Christmas and for, uh, other things. Uh-huh. Then we take our major purchases we want to make during that year and we budget them into what we call our, our needs and wants list. Uh-huh. And so, uh, the things that, like a vacation. We have a vacation fund. We have a fund for the things we need. And then a, for the things that we want. Uh-huh. And, uh, and we're continually putting into those, you know, each month how much we're going to need and then we know the month that we're going to have enough to get that particular item. Uh-huh. So we very rarely buy anything on credit. Everything we buy is paid for. Yeah. My husband is a finance major also And, uh, we kind of have the same plan. Uh, we have one credit card and every month we put, uh, you know, the same amount in for retirement. Uh, and we budget, we're, our, our new thing to our budget is we just had a baby. So we're, budgeting, uh, each month, uh, an allowance for his education starting now. Right. Right. So that's in our budget every month now. That's the newest addition. But we too do the same thing as far as, uh, we have a set amount we take, oh, one big vacation a year and then maybe, you know, three small vacations. So we, you know, an, exact amount that we spend on that each year. Right. And, Uh, we have found that we spend less money if we pull out the money. Uh instead of just writing checks for things. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. If we actually pull it out and keep it in a safe here. I see. And we actually pull out the money each month that we want to put in for birthdays, that we want to put in for, uh, the vacation. That we put in for Christmas. Like you have a separate account for that then? Well, a lot of that, uh, I don't know how safe it is. I guess, uh, we keep it all in a safe here at the house. Oh, I see. Uh-huh. And so it's actually pulled out. Then we keep our Oh, I see. we have a savings account for the kids' education. That money goes into there. Uh-huh. Each of our, we have three children. So they each have their own account. I see. That money is put into each month. Uh-huh. Does your husband deal in, uh, stocks and bonds and mutual funds and all that kind of stuff? does he invest in that and for long-term? He does somewhat. Yeah. He does somewhat. Uh-huh. Uh, we have an investment plan. Yeah. I guess he does. Uh-huh. But, uh, we have really found, this is the first year we've done it this way. And we are really saving a lot of money. Really. Because you're, you've, you've sat down with a piece of paper and said well let's see what are we going to, so what goes into that, that particular thing? It's vacations, Christmas. Christmas, birthdays, uh, car maintenance, dental, medical, we just averaged out how much last year we used per month on medical and how much we used on dental Uh-huh. and, uh, and so now when we have to come up with that deductible that our insurance doesn't cover rather than wondering where it's going to come from, Right. we have it, you know. Uh-huh. And when, when we see something on sale, uh, instead of just looking in our checking account and saying well we've got enough and getting it, and then when something comes up, you know, kind of scrimping to pay for a medical bill. Everything's taken care of. Uh-huh. And we're finding that we even have more money than we thought. Really. Yeah Well, you know, uh, what do you do as far as, I, I take it, do you, uh, run the family budget as far as, uh, groceries and that sort of thing? I do. Uh-huh. All the money. Uh-huh. And how, what's that? All the money is turned over to me. Uh-huh. Do you have a set amount that, that you spend each month or or how do you work that? Yes. I have a set amount. It's very generous and I usually have extra. Uh-huh. And so then that can go, uh, you know, either back into our checking account or I can just carry it over. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, there are certain months of the year that you'll spend more on food than other months. And certain times when that will be left over. Uh-huh. But that's completely up to me how I do that. And then, uh, because I don't work. I stay home. Uh-huh. I do too. I stay home also. And so it's kind of my money and I also get my own money to do what I want to. Go to lunches, you know, and do that kind of thing. Uh-huh. We have a clothing, uh, envelope for each of the kids and for myself and my husband that we put how much we figure we need each month on clothing. Uh-huh. It really works out great. We're finding that we have a lot more money to spend on things like that. And we're, Yeah. What, what, as far as like big things like something comes up and you have to buy a T V or a big item, like for the house. How, do you have like a household? Yes. We have a household budget. Like we're going to need to buy a bed for my daughter that's coming out of her crib this year. Uh-huh. And also, we need a new bed. And so we've got both of those budgeted and we put a certain amount in each month and we know which month we'll enough saved to go buy those. Uh-huh. And if we find one on sale before then, then we can just take that and put it towards Well, here in Logan, Utah, we've got a nice little valley here and it's like crystal clear all the time except for during the winter when the inversion sets in and then we get a little bit of pollution in the valley. uh, it's like low impact aerobics but at, it ... Oh, instead of hopping and jumping you just step Uh-huh. Yeah, you, you have a step and you literally step up on the step and move your arms, it's, it's, it's, it's new, Huh. it's fun. I probably couldn't do that because of my knee Uh-huh, bad knee Yeah. Um, and, uh, I do toning a lot and, uh, some, every once in a while I play tennis, Yeah. I'm not too great at it but I, I try to play, Yeah, I've, I've kind of gotten out of the habit myself, I mean, it's I guess what I do now is I play softball, right now, Uh-huh. that's about, well, right now I'm on two teams so it's four nights a week. Gosh But, uh, uh, so I enjoy it but, as far as, you know, uh, Uh-huh. instead of having to join a health club and make myself go out there, I went and bought a weight bench, and don't ever hardly use it. Uh-huh. Ha, right, I need to make myself do that. yeah, I slacked off a little because of, um, I'm about to graduate from college and so this past couple months have been really hectic so I haven't really gone, and I've really faithful these past two months of going to the health club and working out but ... What school you going to? I'm at East Carolina. Oh But, um, no, I, uh, my step classes and toning is about the only thing well, I mean ... Now what's, what's toning? Is that lifting weights? It's, um, like isolated movements for each muscle certain muscles groups, Oh, okay. you can do with, Isometrics, stuff like that. Yeah, you can do it with certain, you know, you can do it with weights if you wanted to but, you know, you leave out of there usually the next morning, if you haven't done it in a while, you wake up the next morning you're like, oh, no, what did I do to myself and your whole body aches, you know. Yeah. Um, I know I'm looking forward to getting back into getting into shape, uh, I feel like I'm out of shape but I feel guilty for not going, because I really I'm, I'm so used to going for, you know, three or four years now. Uh-huh. Yeah, I, stayed in pretty good shape during school. But, um, I played baseball, all the way through Uh-huh. and, you know, working out six hours a day, usually six or seven days a week that kind of, kept us all in pretty good shape, Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. But, uh, ever, ever since I got out of school, you know, just jumped right into the job and, I guess the job that I'm in it's stuff to stay on any kind of a regular schedule. *listen; possible typo stuff = tough? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Because I work some weird hours and do some traveling. Uh-huh. No, some, um, I walk a lot because, uh, you know, being in, in school we, Yeah. I don't know if your campus was anything like ours, but our parking lot's in one end of the, of the campus and the school, the buildings are all at the other end, so. No, I didn't have, well, much of a problem we, I guess I went to a small Baptist school and we had about, when I was there, maybe thirteen hundred people. Uh-huh. Oh, okay, that's if ... So, it's pretty small. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I usually get in at least a couple of miles at work just walking around the plant. Uh-huh. So, Yeah, it's, uh, I live, I live on the second story apartments so I walk up and down stairs all day long, so. Uh, Uh, we've got a one story house now that's, that's enough. I guess I push the lawn mower around that's, fairly regular Yeah one of the exercise, Yeah. I, I, um, would like to start running. I've never been much of a runner but I want to start, I want to run but I don't, I don't know if I'll be able to, to do it. What just, because you don't like to or because, because you won't be able to. I'm, I'm afraid I won't be able to. Oh, if you do, if you do aerobics you shouldn't have any problem running. I Yeah. I hope not. Um, We've, we ride our bike occasionally but again not nearly often enough Uh-huh. I don't even own a bike, I think the last time I was on a bike when I was about twelve, so. Uh, I don't know, I'd be afraid, afraid I probably forgot how to ride a bike, you know. No, you can't forget how to ride a bike. Yeah, but, um, no, I guess that's about the only form, I'm trying to think of, of other things that I do that will be considered exercise, Yeah. there are things I should do. I know Now, when I was going to, I, I went to a junior college for a couple of years and played baseball and then transferred, well, when we were at this junior college, uh, our coach, you know, we, one semester the whole team was required to take aerobics and the next semester they were required to do weight lifting. Uh-huh. So, they, uh, I mean, it was a regular, I mean, we had it for course credit, Uh-huh. but still, I mean, it was pretty high impact stuff, Those aerobic classes are, are tough the, the high impact. Uh-huh. Definitely are, are tough classes. Yeah, and she'd, uh, you know, most of the guys were all in one class so she'd kind of lay it on occasionally, you know, Uh-huh. First at eight, I think we had eight o'clock in the morning, was our class. Uh-huh. Wake up. Well, now they have those, uh, those exercise bands now that are better that you can use for like toning instead of using a weight, Uh-huh. you have like bands, I don't know, if you've seen them, Yeah. they're ... Yeah, they're, they're weird. I think my wife has some. They're, uh, you they're just made of, I guess it's different kinds of rubber, Uh-huh. uh, and they get, Or sand even some of them, well, no, they're elastic so I guess it wouldn't be sand. Uh-huh. And there's some that, like the different colors denotes how much they, how much the tension I guess they are and how easy they are to move. Huh. Uh, there's like, I know there's purple, gray, and, uh, green. And some of them are real short and they're the ones that are the tough ones to use, you know. Yeah. But, uh, those classes I, I enjoy. Uh, I think, uh, with the aerobic classes you have to get an instructor that's fun. If you don't have one that's fun, and not enjoy it, look, not acting like she's enjoying what she's doing, the class is not going to get out, uh, what they should get out of the class. Yeah. Uh, if the, So, are you going to get into instructing? Well, what are you studying? Oh, I'm an interior design major, Oh, okay, not in the, not in the, aerobic instructor type field. Oh. No, no, no, no, oh, I could never do that I don't think, I'd rather just be the student, And, uh, Occasionally I do the weights at the health club but low weights just ... Yeah. Yeah, the, uh, the, some of the Nautilus equipment that I started seeing at the one that we used to go to was really interesting, I mean, they, they, they really know how to isolate each of the different muscle groups, with those things Uh-huh. but, man, they are, it, I don't know to me that was just too much of a hassle to get all geared up and take the time to drive over there, and workout and then drive back Uh-huh. Right. Well, they, um, I just noticed at our health club they put these computerized one, these computerized machines, and you set a speed on it and the weight and it, and it makes you do it. And it tells you like if you're going too slow it will say, my grandmother could do this faster than you. And stuff like, a turtle goes faster and, um, it tells it and the whole place can hear what this machine is telling you. A little negative reinforcement there while you're going. Yeah So, uh, do that, stuff like that but just I've never used those machines I just use the regular machines and the free weights, you know, like little five pound hand weights and eight pound hand weights. Yeah. to do, you know, some bicep, tricep exercises. Sit-ups, of course. yeah, that's, that's where I'm really starting to get noticeable, Uh-huh. I'm just getting real soft in the middle. Oh, yeah, I think that's, uh, number one problem with everyone Uh-huh. I haven't really started to put on a lot of weight I'm, I guess I probably put on about ten, nine or ten pounds, since I stopped playing, which was about four years ago. Uh-huh. But I've, just myself I just notice myself just really, real soft and I'm sure I don't have near the endurance that I did, Yeah. But I, I intend, I keep saying I intend to get back into it. Uh-huh. Yeah. I just need to, put the old nose to the grindstone, I, I, I guess at that point it would turn into a task, Uh-huh. I don't consider it fun doing that, but. Right. Yeah, I plan on getting back, once I graduate next weekend. Next weekend? Next weekend. All right. Yeah, one week, Then I plan to get right back into it. You know, it's, it does a lot for you I think. Yeah, Makes you feel a lot better. oh, no, yeah, there, there's no, no question the, the end result is great and I, I mean, I enjoyed, you know, we, when I was playing ball we could like run all day and not be tired, you know Uh-huh, and I mean you feel so much better, about yourself. Yeah. Uh-huh. Just you know, you don't feel guilty when you eat that cake after dinner, Oh, I still don't, but That's a problem. Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, good luck on your graduation and your ... All righty, well, thank you. It was nice talking to you. Yeah, you too. Okay, bye-bye. Bye. seems to be a, a topic that's going to probably take about a generation to, uh, catch on, it seems, or maybe a generation to two And we may have to do it out of necessity as far as moving that time schedule up. Uh, it does seem to be a lot of habits to break. I, uh, wasn't raised as a kid on it, but my kids are and so they, they tended to want to grab the aluminum cans when that was one of the first things to do, and we were doing all right there until, uh, the price dropped out and they weren't worth anything anymore. Uh-huh. And we it took us, almost a year to get a garbage sack full. We just don't drink that many. So as far as at home use, uh, we'll pick up a six pack every once in a while or for whatever occasion of Doctor Pepper or something and, and by the time we gathered up enough crushed cans to take it in, uh, at the time it was still, oh, about forty or fifty cents a pound, and we came out with about a dollar it just really wasn't worth it. And a lot of hassle all year round and cans laying, Yeah. Yeah. So, they, they realized, you know, well, of course to them a dollar was a dollar at four and five years old. That wasn't, uh, that was a big deal, but we decided it wasn't worth us keeping it and then, uh, T I started keeping up with, uh, cans there, so occasionally I'll bring whatever I've got laying around the car or the like and throw them in there. Least it gets back into the system, but, as far as a habit at the house, uh, I haven't started on anything other than just whatever the city wants to pick up. Have you all got the individual containers yet? No, I read in the paper this week where maybe, I don't know if it was, I guess maybe this week someone may start getting them if the truck that picks them up is outfitted in time. Um. But, it, it should be starting, I would stay probably in the next month if, if everything goes that I'm not sure all what we're going to have to do, whether we have three separate containers, I really don't understand that part on what they've told you to separate everything. Right. Yeah, it seemed like, uh, if, if I recall, it's been a long time. They're way behind schedule on that particular part of it. They were fine on the green, big green containers Uh-huh. but, uh, seems like they said they were just going to have a bin and all different types would go in there and then that they would sort it as as needed. Oh. It, it seemed that there was, at the time anyway, it, the thinking was that there was too much not getting sorted properly and that at, at the collection sites where everything's clearly labeled and people that happen to go to that kind of trouble to do it, happen to do it pretty well, uh, those are okay to have the general public doing the sorting. But when it comes down to just general purpose trash, that all the houses, uh, the success rate of getting it sorted properly seemed to be poor, so they felt that having one guy just sit there and run through it real quick was better than, than having a household try it. Uh-huh. But I, I don't know, that sounds like an awful lot of labor to sort the entire week's worth of trash for a house. Well, it would get messy, too. Yeah, yeah, I, I, I know other places when they recycle, they have to, like, wash out their glass jars and whatnot. And, uh, which we're not in the habit of doing. Right. That's true. I was brought up, uh, you know, long time ago, that they didn't even have cans. They had bottles and you'd return them to the the grocery store Right. and you'd get our money back and that, that was all well and good. They don't seem to still be doing that. If they could just eliminate the cans and use glass, but, I guess this day and age they don't. Yeah. They don't do that. We live next to a set of railroad tracks and it seemed to be a very popular thing for people driving by that highway there, by our tracks to throw the bottles at the tracks and try to crash, you know break them, Uh-huh. but, uh, they weren't that successful, so there were a lot of bottles to be returned and we just walk about a half a mile in each direction and gathered up enough to buy whatever we wanted for the day Uh-huh. and, Yeah, and they, uh, I, I think kids don't appreciate, maybe the value of money, that it's so little that they don't care, they can get more somewhere else. Yeah, just a little bit of begging will Uh, for a good, right. They're, the nickels, the dimes or what, I suppose it might be quarters, fifty cent pieces in these days, that they would get, they, the kids just don't seem to, to care that, that much about a small amount of money. Right. Well, I wonder, But, we, we did buy a can crusher and we are crushing cans and when we buy the soda when it's on sale for ninety-nine cents, so I would say in the last three years, we've probably used a lot more cans than ever before. Yeah. Uh, it was just easier to do that than to open a large liter bottle and then have it go flat. Right, yeah. So that's the main reason we're, we, sort of are into cans at this point rather than the liter bottles Where do you take your cans? Well, as you say, it takes a while to build it up. Since we've had the crusher all summer, we I guess we just now maybe have a bag full that we haven't oh, I think the kids, when we were on vacation, they said they did take them to a, a recycling place, probably at one of the Hello, Lynn. Yes. Okay. Do you have any pets? Yes, I have a dog and cat now. Oh, what are their names? Tibby and Liberty. Which is the dog and which is the cat? Tibby is the dog and Liberty is the cat. Uh, wife and I, we have, we have two cats. Oh. Uh, one's real nice, but the other one is a, well, she's pretty wild. Oh Ours are pretty calm. Yeah, are they, um, just house pets? Uh-huh. Yeah, that's, that's what ours are too. Yeah. Our cat we got from the pound the day the night she was going to be put to sleep. So that's why we call her Liberty. Oh, really. Oh, well, that's a nice, nice story. Um. Do you want to hear about my other animals I've had? Sure, sure. I've had a skunk Yeah. I've had a Burmese python, I've had rats, I've had mice Wow. uh, let's see, I've had gerbils, I have, I had a son, he's now gone from the home, that was an animal lover. Uh-huh. So at one point I had a snake, skunk, dog and cat running loose in the house. Wow. Um, do the skunk, uh, was it kind of like a cat to have around the house? Yes Yeah. it was litter trained Yeah. and we had it perfumed Uh-huh. and, uh, it was very aggressive. Right. But all the, all three of them, dog, cat and skunk, used to chase each other all through the house. Uh-huh, and the skunk. And the only thing we have with the skunk, he was very, very protective of his territory being the sofa and the blanket on the sofa. Oh, yeah. Um. Nobody came near it when he was there. Oh. Uh, I had, I had a dog one time, and, uh, he chased after a, after a skunk and got sprayed Oh. so we had to, we had to give him a tomato, tomato juice bath, and, uh, get him cleaned up, Yeah, they um, ours would still back up to the dog or cat when he got mad and try to perfume them, but the glands had been removed Uh-huh. so, Right, but I suppose it was still in the instinct of them to to back up and get ready. Right. Yeah, why, I don't know, I, I think they're kind of nice to have, they're kind of, you know, just relaxing to, I don't know, to pet and to, I don't know, when they like sit up on your lap and stuff like that, just kind of enjoyable to, you know, have like, I don't know, something giving you some affection as well. Yeah, I always said if I Well, I always said if I died I'd come back as a dog What, what do you think? Oh, yeah. Yeah. That'd be the best way to be. Yeah. Um, do you like big dogs or or little dogs? Well we had a German Shepherd and he had dysplasia Uh-huh. and he had it for about three or four years where we just about had to lift him and carry him every place he went. Really. So, when he died, we got a little one. Yeah. But our shepherd was almost thirteen years old, and it just, you know, was almost cruel because, Uh-huh almost cruel for him to, to walk. Yeah, he just, he couldn't get up, he couldn't walk, so, he was a hundred and twenty pounds, so it was a chore. Wow, yeah. So we said the next time around we'd get something little that if something happened, it would be easier to carry. Sure. Yeah. And then we've had three cats in our married life, and we've got a calico now. Yeah, we've got a calico cat too. Do you? Yeah, yeah, she's the, she's the nice one. We, uh, we used to live in an apartment and like, our cats never went outside, but, um, the neighbors used to let their dogs out, and our neighbors were, I don't know, kind of slimy, and, uh, our cats wound up getting fleas, uh, from the apartment that we were in Um. so, we had to, we had to flea bath them and it was, uh, it was an experience that they didn't enjoy at all. Yeah, well, don't even talk to me, I, when I was single I had gone away for the weekend, Yeah. and my husband, then fianc3e, was to keep my cat, and he let her out, and my house was loaded with fleas, I mean, you walked in and your legs were just black. Really. And we had such a time, and never got the cat back. Really. Yeah, I found it, you know, in the street. Oh. I was a social worker at the time, and found it, Now is it Stacy? Angie. Angie, I'm sorry. Okay. Well, now, so if you were going to have a dinner party, what would you make? Um, let's see, uh, I like seafood. Uh, let's see, uh, shrimp, steamed uh, shellfish with maybe herbs. Uh, spicy lobster with linguini. That sounds good. Yeah. Now what is, uh, what is, uh, the steamed shellfish you said? Uh-huh. And what would that be like, a clam or, uh, Right. Okay. Yeah. Uh, I think hors d'oeuvres are good, too. Uh, and that way, you can have a variety. Uh, So if you have a, a dinner party and you're going to serve, uh, seafood for supper, what type of, uh, hors d'oeuvres would you serve prior to the meal? Uh, Like cheeses or fruits or vegetables or, Yeah, fresh vegetables would be good or, uh, just, Probably not nachos and dip, huh? No. And would you, uh, would it be appropriate to, uh, drink with the, uh, prior, when you have the hors d'oeuvres? Yeah, yeah. Okay. And then when you serve the meal, what type of wine would you have with, uh, with the, with seafood? Oh, all these hard questions Uh, what, white wine? That would be my guess. Yeah. And, And then, uh, uh, dessert. I'm not really a drinker, so I'm not, I don't know a lot about that. Something sweet? Oh, goodness. Uh, chocolate, something chocolate. Uh You must like chocolate. Yes. Well, let's see. Usually when we have a dinner party, I always, I like to grill. Oh, you do? So, we might have some cocktails ahead of time and maybe some, uh, some dip, uh, some cheese. One of our favorites is, uh, to take some, let's see Philadelphia cream cheese I think, is that what comes in those little blocks? And pour cocktail sauce over the top of it and then get these little canned shrimp and, uh, wash them and cool them and then dump them in the, uh, sauce and then take crackers Uh-huh. Yeah. and then you just dip the cracker in the sauce with the clams and the cream cheese and you have a real nice dip that goes good with a cocktail. And then I like to barbecue, like steaks or pork chops. And then we have, uh, oh, lot of times we'll have baked potatoes with them and a salad Uh-huh. and then, uh, I don't know what we usually have for dessert. Cake sometimes, but, uh, that's what we would do for a dinner party, I guess. That sounds good, too. But that's, I guess when you talk about dinner party, that's probably not, uh, that's more for like when friends come over. Traditional right? Traditional, yeah. Yeah. I wouldn't be the big, uh, snotty kind. I just started, I just really started, uh, uh, learning about that and I bought a Martha Stewart, I don't know if you've heard of her. Huh-uh. Her cookbook and she talks about catering and, uh, you know, goes into, goes into all that and the different types of, uh, uh, different types of parties, you know, different types of foods. Oh, well, do you work in a, uh, in a setting where you, uh, are in the food business? Um, my father owns a restaurant. Oh, in, uh, Is it in Dallas? It's, it's just a, uh, a cafe, so it's not really anything, you know, that I want to, it's not the same Uh, it's in Lewisville. Okay, all right. So you graduated from which high school? Trinity. Trinity, okay. And that's a public school or private? That's public. Huh, okay, I have to get to know this area a little better, I guess. Uh, well, is your father's cafe, uh, one that you could cater out of? No, uh-huh, *listen; mistranscription of 'uh-uh'? it's not. Um, and he's not interested in letting his twenty-one year old daughter experiment with it probably. Uh. Well, let's see, what else for catering. Uh, Let's see, what about Hawaiian luau. Oh, that would be good. Could have, uh, uh, fruits and, and pineapple, uh, let's see, uh, And you could actually go with, uh, a chicken if you wanted to. I think, I think decorating your food is, you know, really, Uh, we have a Sheltie Collie, a miniature Sheltie. Do you? Yeah. It's about, oh, about six months old, and we're we live in an apartment, so, we don't have a yard, so it has to stay inside and we're having a difficult time trying to train it. How old is it? It's about six months. Uh, you, you're, you're in the roughest stages of pet ownership, I think. Really? But they're supposed to be real intelligent dogs, but I guess every one, one one, one of them, or every once in a while, you get one that's not so intelligent because this one, it. Well. I don't, I don't know if that has anything to do with the intelligence, really, the, the, the training bit, uh. I've had dogs through the years. Right now I've got two, and three cats, but, uh, and my son and daughter-in-law have kind of a Sheltie mix, and we watched it this summer for two to three months, and it wasn't trained quite fully either Uh-huh. and, uh, but it was a sweet and an intelligent dog. Yeah, so how'd you all, how do you, what's the best method? I don't know. I, I'm old fashioned, and when I got my, my dogs, when they, when they did something I hollered at them and threw them outside. Right. They say that's not the way to do it now. You're just supposed to Stand outside with them until they. No, just, just, put them outside, I guess. Unless you catch them in the act. Well, we're hardly ever at home, so it's kind of difficult, Yeah. and, you know, you don't want to, you don't want to spank it or scare it, or anything like that, so. No, no, you don't want to do that, but, uh. Yeah, we, we try to take it, you know, it gets, it gets frustrating when you take it outside and, you know and then it runs right inside Does, does it just want to sniff around? Does it just want to sniff around and play when it's outside? Yeah, a lot of times, and you know, it won't it's little job outside Yeah. and it comes inside. Have you praised it and given it a treat maybe when it does something outside? Uh, yeah, we've tried that, and, uh, you know, there's certain spots in the house where he likes to go, Yeah. so, and he chews on plants and all that, but, you know, that's natural for a little puppy. Huh? That's nothing, huh. Well, it, it, it'll, it'll catch on pretty soon, I'll, I'll bet you. I, I have a sixteen year old, almost sixteen year old Golden Retriever, and she's gone the other way, because she's so old, she doesn't have much control Oh, really. so we're battling with that problem Oh, that's sad. and she still feels good. Uh, she can't hear worth a darn or see very well, but she's got a great appetite, and she knows we're there, by smell. How old is it? She'll be sixteen in May. Man that's sad. And yeah, but we can't bear to do anything because she's been our friend for all these years, Oh, of course not. so we're putting up with all her accidents, I couldn't. and the two nights ago, she had diarrhea, and so that was a bad one. But, uh, I think we're buying a carpet shampooer this weekend That is really sad. What, what's the deal, we, we try to, we're trying to take it on walks now, you know Uh-huh. and we can't because it's not accustomed to being on a leash Yeah. and so it, I mean this dog really feels like it's being killed or something when you try to, you know, tug on it to walk it. I mean, it just goes like a mad dog, I mean it just jumps up and down and starts yapping, and it's, you know, I mean, it's not even close to even being trained on a leash. Does it, oh. Uh-huh. You know, maybe you you can get it signed up this spring or summer for some of the dog obedience classes. Uh-huh. Well, we've heard bad, we've heard some bad things about some of those, you know, they sometimes misuse their license or whatever you know, Oh. they treat them bad. Well, you know, we went, we went to the junior college, Richland Oh, really? and we took, my, my daughter was living at home then, and she took our Golden Retriever, oh, not the Golden Retriever, the Norwegian Elk Hound over there Oh, really? and, it, it, it's a pretty good class, and they did pretty good, except this dog is, she's just pretty, she's not smart Uh-huh. So, she didn't learn a lot, but it, I think it calmed her down a little bit, and she's used to being around other dogs now. How long did it take? I think it was like a six week program. Every, what? Uh, I think it was one night a week for like six weeks, Oh, really? and, uh, you know, it was a group class, outside. It was fairly reasonable, too. Well, Sheltie Collies are, you know, timid, and they don't really, unless they get used to something, they're really nervous and. Yeah, they're, they're usually, a high-strung dog aren't they? Yeah, yeah, and, uh, if they're not accustomed to something, they, they're really scared. So. Um, our, our friend has a, Okay, um, I guess we're going to talk, describe, uh, job benefits, and so what do you think, next to salary do you rank, is the most important job benefits? Uh, I would say the medical, uh, group insurance area as far as, uh, covering medical costs for yourself or family members. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, um, does your company have good benefits in that, in that regard? Yeah, I think, I work for a public school system, district Uh-huh. and, uh, so it's different than a company where most companies fund almost the entire thing, where the school district does, um, the employee must pick up a greater figure in the way of, uh, costs. Oh, yeah. But overall, um, I've been pleased with it over the years. Uh-huh. I think the biggest frustration is because of the cost of insurance going up every year, our district has had to alter, uh, you know, change companies, or now we're on a managed care thing, which has stressed a lot of people out although it has not disturbed me any. Uh-huh. I see. How about yourself? Uh, well I'm, my medical coverage is with an H M O Uh-huh. um, so, that's, in my opinion, that's that's bordering on a health clinic, but it seems to be a good way to maintain costs and still provide a good amount of coverage. Right, yeah. Um. Our district did that for the ninety-one and the ninety school year, or calendar years, and I was in the H M O, and, um, I was because my, my same doctor, you know, agreed to be in it for, uh, they usually sign a contract or something Uh-huh. and, um, uh, I did have surgery last summer and I paid ten dollars when I went to see him that first day, and I've never seen another bill, so I I have to say it really works. Right. But, again, I was fortunate because my doctor agreed to be in it. Uh, if you've been going to a doctor for, you know, ten years or something and he elects not to join, it can be very stressful for you know, those people. Yes. That's right, yeah, I'm, I'm fairly young myself, I've only been, when I first started working which, three years ago is when I first got into full time employment Uh-huh. and, uh, at that time I immediately joined the H M O, and I never really, so the only doctor I, I've kind of consistently had has been through the H M O, and, uh you know, for me it's worked out real good. Yeah. Right, but if you, you know, have a family and, and, um, everybody's gone to different doctors, uh, it is hard to give up somebody who you feel knows you and your body and your, just has, you know, all the medical history and you feel comfortable with it. Uh-huh. I, I'm sure it would be very stressful and, my husband and I have just elected that if that happens, I will go and just pay. You can continue to go to your own doctor Uh-huh. but your benefits are not as, you know, good, so, uh. Uh-huh. Yeah, um, like you, you mentioned you work for a school system. I work for, uh, Georgia Tech in the research branch, Oh, all right. and I guess another one that, that I rank up there high is the, uh, kind of job flexibility and time off, um, I enjoy as a benefit. I do too. Are you talking about like Spring Break and, Right Right. yeah, getting a lot of breaks between quarters and that, and having a lot of vacation. Right. It, it really, um, I don't think most of our teachers, now I'm not a teacher, I am a secretarial executive assistant, but I don't think the teachers could stand the stress all, all year long frankly. Uh-huh. It is just, Texas has really, um, you know, they want everybody educated, no matter what it costs, uh, and it, it would be just, we all look forward to, like in two weeks we have Spring Break, and I don't know who looks forward to it more, the students or the teachers and the staff. Uh-huh. Right. What do you do there? Well, um, I'm not actually on the teaching faculty, but we have a large research organization associated with the university, and that's who I work with. Okay. Um, and we're given, you know, a good bit of flexibility in what we do. We can kind of pursue our own interests in terms of the research areas that we study. Well, that's good. Yeah, I would think that that type of employment, you're, you're, one day you might be really tuned in and the next day, oh, a little luke warm or something Right. and, um, it's good that they allow you that. Right. It, um, as I say, the schools, now we do have to work, you know, the day, but we do get many days off, and, uh, we all look forward to it. Uh-huh. That's the only reason I work there, is that my children now have graduated, and graduated from college but at the time, I worked there because my hours and days were the same as theirs Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. and, uh, I've just continued to, uh, stay there Are there, are there any things that, that you'd like to see changed in terms of the, the benefits? Okay, I guess it took, so I guess the recording has started now. Yeah. Uh. So, have you ever served on a jury? I served, I was in the Air Force, and served on a court martial, uh, board a couple of times, which is very similar to a jury. A lot of the same rules apply. Have you ever served on one? Yeah, I finally served on one last year. I've, um, been voting for years, and I couldn't figure out why I hadn't been called yet Uh-huh. and I finally was. So it was an interesting experience. I was kind of boring. *listen; should I be "it" Was it civil or criminal? Uh, it was, uh uh, it was, uh, well, let's see, it was municipal court A grand jury or, Uh-huh. so it was a combination of, uh, and I was in the pool for a couple of weeks I see. so it was a combination of criminal and civil, and they had, uh, well most of the time we, we spent sitting around in the jury room and getting to know the other potential jurors Uh-huh. and then, it was always exciting when we got called to, to, to go, because then we thought we might be able to do something else besides, uh, just sit in the jury room. Uh-huh. Uh, did, did the judge, uh, hand down sentences or did you folks do that? Uh, yeah, the judge did. Uh, I, uh, I had a hard time getting seated on a jury. I kept getting, uh, I'd be questioned, uh, for empaneling the jury, and they kept, uh, dismissing me. Uh-huh. Um. Course they don't have to give a reason, but it's just whether the prosecutor or the defense attorney feels like, you know, No. they want to get the best, uh, mix for their case, so they ask all kinds of wild questions. That that's a science in itself. Yeah, well I kept getting called up for drunk driving questions, and I think part of it was they didn't, uh, they didn't like the fact that I don't drink any more. So. Uh-huh, I see. Because you'd probably be, uh, too puritanical and Yeah, that was probably it, although in my case I might have been more, uh, sympathetic with the person who got caught, I don't know. Uh-huh. So, uh, were, were the, uh, sentences that the judge handed out what you thought to be fair, or would, if you were deciding, do you think that they would have been different. Well, I was never there, never there for any sentencing. Uh, I finally got empaneled on one case, uh, on my next to the last day, and, uh, we got into the, uh, jury room to, uh, decide the case, and there was one guy on the jury who announced to everybody that he didn't need to deliberate, because he'd already decided that the guy was, uh, not guilty, and he would never vote for guilty. Huh. So, uh, they appointed me jury, jury foreman and I, uh, didn't think that, uh, going in without deliberating allowed us to reach a verdict, so I told the judge that we weren't, were unable to reach a verdict because we couldn't get one member of the jury to deliberate. Um. So the whole thing had to be tried over again. Wow, I bet that made him happy. Yeah. Yeah, it was, uh, it was funny. The, uh, I I, I don't know, I, uh, I didn't, uh, uh, I didn't like not being able to deliberate. Right. I, uh, I, I wanted to vote guilty for the guy, and the other people were kind of mixed Uh-huh. so, uh, the guy had to go through the whole thing all over again. Cost him a lot of money, I'm sure. Yeah. Oh, how many members were on the jury? Was it a six or twelve member jury? Uh, it must have been six. Uh-huh. Yeah. That's kind of curious to me. I didn't realize until the, uh, Wayne Kennedy Smith trial, uh, a few months ago that they had six member juries. I thought that they, you know, it was always twelve, twelve men tried and true, so to speak. Um. But, uh, apparently for some, some crimes, it's permissible to have six people sit in judgment. Um. I know on a getting to this unanimous thing, whether, you know, a jury should be unanimous or not, or not, in a court martial case it doesn't require the jury to be unanimous. It's a simple majority, you know, rules. Yeah. Well, let's see, is it on, uh, capital crimes that they have to be unanimous and, Probably on capital, I don't know, we weren't, we, we, the two that I were on had to do with drugs Uh-huh. and, uh, we were, uh, unanimous is acquitting the person, even though we in our, in our, uh, gut felt that the individuals were both guilty just because of the friends, because of various things, the government really failed to prove its case, and, you know, being fair to the person, if the government doesn't prove its case, no matter how you feel, you have to go by what's offered as proof, and we had to acquit him in both cases. Uh, it was too circumstantial? Uh, yeah, it was, yeah, in some of the critical things, like the special investigations, at one time in one of the cases had videotaped this person, but something happened to the camera and the tape and Um. all they could do was testify, Do you ever think that there's a crime that's just so heinous and so bad that the person who commits this crime just doesn't deserve to live anymore? That's a good question. Uh, there would be a point, there was a point where I would have said, no, that no one would deserve to die for, for a crime that he committed. But, uh, since I've become a parent and since I've seen, uh, things like Jeffrey I really have to question that. I really, uh, I, I can't conceive of someone being that brutal to that many other people. Uh-huh. And, uh, try and figure out what would be a suitable punishment. Uh, Of the statements made by people against the, the death penalty, um, I, I like the statement made by Cuomo. Cuomo I believe is, um, he's, he's governor of New York but, uh, he's, uh, against the death penalty. But, um, he said that he would, he would want to, to seriously hurt or if not kill someone if, if they did something to his wife. And that's, but, but, even, even in that in that, uh, uh, situation he would he would hope that there would be people around him who would, uh, keep him from doing the, doing the things. Oh, it's a, uh, it's a question of your, your gut reactions to something like that versus an intelligent reason response. Right, exactly. Uh, and that was the thing that, uh, killed Dukakis back, uh, four years ago when someone asked him a similar question and he, he thought for a second and gave a thoughtful well reasoned reply when, uh, people wanted to see if he was going to go for an emotion uh, a gut level reaction. Uh-huh. And I think that the people who are strongly in favor of the death penalty are really working from that gut level. Uh, you know, whether it be a biblical force, uh, you know, the eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a knife, life type logic or just, uh, uh, some sort of anger at putting putting, uh, murderers up in federal pens for the rest of their life, uh, while we foot the bill. Yeah. I think people are, are working at that from more of a, uh, a gut reaction than a, a reason humane one. See, I don't think the decisions that are going to be made on on the death penalty until we decide what our prison system is intended to do. Are they reformatories, where we're trying to take people who can't survive or, or that, that aren't conforming enough to society so that, that we work well together. Or are they, is it a penal institution? Is it, is, is it designed for punishment? Um, the death penalty surely fits in well with, uh, in a penal situation where you're trying to punishment. Uh, perhaps not in the manner that we do it but, but it, in, in theory it fits in. In system, in a reformatory, I mean if you, if you put someone to death you obviously, can't reform them. That's true. So. Uh, the other argument is that the death penalty is a deterrent and I really don't, uh, agree with that. I don't think anyone who would commit a, uh, a crime that would get them the death penalty would stop at the moment and say, well, I was about to kill and dismember this person but, oh, if they catch me they're going to kill me so I better not do it. I, I just, don't think that, uh, that it works that way. Yeah. I don't think it's done. I don't think we run it as a deterrent. I mean people say that, but, I mean, if it was really a deterrent, I mean I think like horse thieves in the old west, you know, they saw other horse thieves hanging by the necks every once in a while. Uh-huh. And if we really if it was really seriously going to be a deterrent, I would think that it would be public. I mean I don't think it would be this private thing because nobody ever, nobody ever sees it. If someone ever, if, you know, like say some young kids or something like that that might be inclined more towards a life of crime, had to sit and watch and, and see a guy burn or, or, you know, something or shot by a firing squad or something like that. I would think you'd make a bigger impact on their life rather than, you know, telling them that there's, there's protestors out here at the, you know. Well, I, I don't know if that would really work that way or not. Uh, there's a lot of violence, Um, are you working right now? Uh, yes, I am. I'm working in the computer science department here uh, at C M U. Uh, What kind of, what kind of work do you do? Uh, I'm doing basically system, system design work and, uh, implementation work for the speech, for the speech group uh, here. Uh-huh. Oh. is that how you heard about this thing? Yeah, Uh, actually through electronic mail. Uh-huh. Me too. I work at, uh, the Georgia Tech Research Institute. Uh-huh. Um, I'm a co-op student so I work and go to school about halftime. And, uh, I really don't have any job benefits to speak of. We're kind of, um, I don't know, they just kind of forget us on that end. We don't really have any vacation or, you know, sick days or health care or anything really so. Right. So it's pretty fair they've got you slaving away, at, at this point Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. What about you? Well, um, I'm research stuff here now so what they, they have, uh, um, okay, benefits package. It's not quite as good as industry but one of the significant, um, benefits here is that you can take, uh, up to two courses a semester, um, and they pay for you know, pay for the classes. Huh. So, that works out to be, um, a reasonable, a reasonable benefit. Yeah. Uh, they do that I think if you're, uh, research here then I know of some of the people that have gotten their masters and I think that, um, they might, you know, pay for that. Pay for the classes and stuff Uh-huh. but I know they let you, they'll let you decrease how many hours you work by kind of percentage. You know, they'll let you work halftime if you want to, if you want to finish, If you want to, do it quickly. you want to, Yeah. They'll let you work, decrease your number of hours by any percentage just, just about so if you want to get your masters and then, I think of course you get like a, with your extra degrees you get a pay raise due so that will probably help out. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. So I, I don't know in, in terms of other things, other benefits other than sort of monetary I'd, you know, I, Yeah, we, we do. We have to contribute a certain amount, uh, to it. Uh-huh. And it's kind of split between C M U and, and, you know, the employee. Yeah. Yeah, I think, I mean that's pretty, that's a pretty important, uh, part of it there because that, that can be really expensive if you ever have any health problems. My dad, I think my, I'm still covered on, with my dad's, uh, health plan at his, where he works, but it would definitely be something to look into once I get my own. Right. Yeah, and it's also, right now it's, uh, the, like everywhere else, uh, here in Pittsburgh the health care, uh, rates are, are going up pretty quickly. Uh-huh. That's a whole other topic to begin with too but. Yeah, but it's, you are right. I, I, I really agree that, that that's pretty important. the I think the, I guess the only real, um, benefit I guess you could say working, for me working here, besides I mean I'm learning and stuff because, I'm at, you know, in school. Right. But there's, there's some where, uh, uh, student employees working for the government don't have to pay Social Security tax. that's about, five percent right there Right. Uh-huh Oh Now that's a big win. so. Yeah, yeah. That's, That's about the only real bonus Yeah. I have, so I have to take that into consideration when I evaluate like how much I get paid you know, because if I was working somewhere else I'd have to, you know, pay an extra five percent, or so. Yeah. I figured for and they've just raised the, um, income caps on Social Security to the point where you have to be pretty, you have to be pretty well off before you stop paying paying that as well. Huh. Yeah. Yeah, well if you could call it a benefit that C M U, I mean the other thing that they allow you to do here while you are working is, is consult for, um, you know, other companies. Oh, yeah? Um, so that's, that kind of helps out in terms of, you know, keeping up-to-date with contacts in industry. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, in case, you know, in case you ever need to bail out help a lot. Yeah. See around, around here it's like, uh, we pretty much work from project to project on, well, you know, with different sponsors. Uh-huh. There's not, there is not a whole lot of, you know, funded research from, Type of music is hot down in Texas? Uh, well, I don't know exactly what's hot down in Texas. I know what's hot down here with me, so that's about all I can feel apt to discuss with you since I just know, I don't ever listen to the radio and that's usually what's hot around here so, So, what kind of music do you like? Oh, okay. Uh, mostly folk music. Folk music. Yeah, I find myself, uh, listening to a lot of, uh, uh, either old timer or New England, uh, dance bands as well as, uh, just more popular folk music and new artists coming up. Uh-huh. Well, we're on totally different wavelengths. Okay. I'm more, uh, old rock and roll, uh, some new, newer, I guess you would call it heavy metal rock and roll type you know, uh, Van Halen, that kind of thing. Uh-huh. Yeah, what about, uh, classic rock type stations. Uh, I don't listen to the radio at all. We live in a fairly small town, so uh, classic rock for me is what I have, which is like, uh, Doors, Eagles, Jimmy Hendrix. Oh, okay. So, some some of the older Eagles stuff was good. Uh, Yeah. I, I didn't like, uh, they started getting a little more, you know, the type of music, at least to me, it's, uh, sounds like it's only sounds good at a high volumes and I don't like listening at high volumes. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, some of their older stuff was, uh, you know, quite enjoyable to me. Yeah, well they, You know, Hotel California and that era. Yeah, yeah that does, that's something you don't, doesn't even sound good loud really. You know. Yeah. You know, definitely. Uh, so, anything new you like coming out now, other than folk music, some I might know of. I don't know any folk music at all. Well, down in Texas, uh, you know, little, listen to a little country every now and then. Yeah, oh yeah, here, I'm sure there's a lot of that down there. Oh, plenty. Way, way more than I can stand down here. I, I don't care for it at all, that Texas twang or whatever you want to call it. I, Well, there, there's a Conway Twitty twang, then there's the, uh, Dolly Parton, uh, Hollywood sound. Yeah, yeah, that's more, even more commercialized for of country music. Yeah. But, uh, it's getting, uh, uh, getting pretty big everywhere, as I see it. Garth Brooks is outselling Guns and Roses so, Yeah, I think some of them, the artists are even, uh, hitting the pop charts. Yeah, it's, it's kind of strange that it's getting as big as it is. Concert tours for country and western sings is, it's, it's quite, quite odd, but, uh, I don't know, it's, music is kind of going an odd direction nowadays, I think. It's becoming not necessarily good music, just popular music, you know. Hey, I, I, I think most artists are in to make a few bucks. Yeah, and that's all it, But they're not in it to say anything or give a message which is what they were Yeah. late, late sixties, early seventies, they were they were definitely pushing a message. That's what it, Yeah, that's what, what you say, and, and then music is wrapped around now. Now, it's the other way around. Yeah, I, I don't, I don't think Gun, at least to my mind, Guns and Roses doesn't have too much of a message, too much to say. No, no, they don't have anything really important you want to hear. But, you know, it's kind of odd, it's like, it doesn't have to be good, it's just who does it, you know. Uh-huh. You hear a, you hear a Paula Abdul song and you, and I think, if somebody else were to play that, you know, they wouldn't, they, nobody, everybody would think, that's lousy, but because she did it, it's supposed to be good, you know, it comes to the point where it's your name, not what you do more than anything. Right. Madonna can do anything and it would be considered good because it's Madonna, you know. Right. Madonna could start playing folk music and folk music would be huge just because Madonna does it, so it's, it's, it's really backwards how things are working now Uh-huh but, Yeah, it's the artist, not the merit. Yeah, exactly. So, I don't know, I, I don't know that that's, I don't think that's a good thing at all, but that's that's what the, point we've reached, so I don't know how how much farther we can digress before we have to turn it around and go the other way, at least. Yeah. Well, I don't know, I know for myself that, uh, for the most part, I don't know which artist is which, so I listen to a song, I either like the song or I don't like it Yeah. and then if I really like the song, eventually I'll figure out who it was. Yeah. Yeah, that's about how I am on popular music. I don't, you know, you don't, I don't know enough about it because I just listen, uh, everything I listen to is what I buy, not whatever they play on the radio so, Well, you have to figure out what to buy, or do you just buy along the same artist? Uh, I, yeah, I just mostly buy along the same lines all the time. I don't really switch around to new things very often. Yeah. It's just, it's, you know, it's way to hectic and too confusing. Yeah, so you keep buying the same artists until you don't like an album, then you stop? Uh, yeah, generally, or, about the only new music I hear is somebody else that I know will buy something new that I haven't heard Yeah. and I listen to it that way, but as far as, yeah, I don't go out on a limb and buy something new very often unless I've heard it. Yeah, see, that's one thing I like about the, uh, some of the folk music scenes, you know, there's a couple of nice, uh, small coffee houses up in New Jersey. Yeah. And, it's very nice, you go into the coffee house and, you know, an artist is there and very often the artist will have a an album and, so if you like the artist, you buy the album. Yeah. So you definitely get to try before you buy. Yeah, yeah, that's definitely I, You know, it, you, you, you don't always quite get it right, Okay. Okay, you go first. Well, I have, uh, two kids, I have one seven and one five Uh-huh. and, uh, they're in a public school here in Tyler and, uh, I'm happy with it. Uh-huh. I'm happy with the school, it's great, good teachers good curriculum, uh, they learn a lot, they have no problems, uh, but I do live in the better, well, in the best part of the city, though, I live in, you know, the real richy part, I guess. I'm not, but, everybody around me is and, uh, but they're, I have friends that live in the other, the less fortunate or whatever you want to call it part of town and their schools are kind of rundown and, uh, older and they don't really offer as much, I don't know, as, uh, the school that my girls are in. I don't really think that's fair. You know. Uh-huh. Uh, but, you know, I'm happy with what they're in, so, go ahead Well, yeah, it, it's, it's pretty much what I was going to say is there's a lot of disparity between different neighborhoods and what sort of schools go in. Uh-huh. Uh, I grew up in New York and uh, the place, Wow. or not New York City, upstate New York Uh-huh. and I went to, uh, the City of Rochester School District Uh-huh. and a lot of my friends were in one of the neighboring suburbs and it wasn't, we weren't too far removed geographically from each other, but the difference in schools I think was pretty substantial Uh-huh. and, uh, one of the things that probably would have been better if, is if the entire county had had, had just one school system. Right. And that would result in some, uh, could result in more equitable distribution of money because what was happening was, you know, all the very rich people went out to the, move out to the suburbs and the city had a very low tax base so they didn't have a lot of money to work with. Uh-huh. As a result, the schools were rundown, there wasn't as many, you know, of the nice supplies in science class that we would have liked. There wasn't as many advanced placement courses, uh, when I was a senior that some other schools had. Uh-huh. And, uh, it, it, so I, you know, I think that one of the things, one of the ways to, to, to help schools in general, uh, and get them all to a minimum level of, of, of competency almost, would be to expand the size of school districts so you get a wider variety of people, and the, the problem with that is then, then, then people will either, the rich people will either pull their kids out of the public school and put them in private schools or they'll move farther away to get better schools. Yeah. Right So, you know it, it's kind of, you end up chasing, like a dog chasing its own tail sort of. Also, uh, the, the family environment, you know, you can come to south Tyler where I live and you have got room mothers in every room, you've got art mothers, you've got every, every holiday, there's parties. All these kids have these really supportive, really supportive parents, always up there for something. Yeah. You can go to north Tyler to the schools and the parents might not could even tell you what their kid's teacher's name is. You know, Uh-huh. uh, that has a, a whole lot to do with it, you know, as far as their learning, I mean, if the parents aren't, uh, you know, willing to go with the kids and find out what they're learning and if they're learning you know, they really don't have much of a chance at all. Uh-huh. Yeah. Why is that? Huh? Why is that? Why You they just don't, I mean, I mean, I'm, I'm up there at my kids' school, I know what they're learning and if they're up, I call and find out, you know, is she having problems, does she need help with anything, no, she's doing fine, okay, you know, uh, and I, I know kids that their parents could really give a rip and the kids are not motivated. Right. Right. They have no motivation from home, so they just go to school and, you know, you know, I'll get through the day, and, uh, bring homework home and, there's nobody to, to sit them down and say, you're going to do this. Right. Uh, just, you know, they, they take a notion to do it, they do, and, uh, that doesn't work either, you know, they have to have guidance and uh, they can't just have it at school and then come home Uh-huh. and there's nothing, you know. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know that that, that was a big factor for me. I ended up coming out of, of the public school system very well and was very good education, uh, Uh-huh. ended up getting some scholarships to go to college and which has been, you know, which is really nice, Uh-huh. and I think the difference for me was that my parents were, you know, they were definitely, they were always there, Yeah. was, like, well, yeah, of course you're going to study and do well and that's the way, of course, are you, The last auto repair I had was I have a nineteen eighty-four Nissan truck I had a tune up done and I had, I had the brakes done on it and then, the reason I did that was because I don't have a scope and it has eight spark plugs and it's hard to, to get get at them and plus the time on them. I just don't have time any more. Uh, as far as maintenance tasks that I do myself, I, I usually change the oil and wash the air filter and I, I had an occasion to change, to have to change the battery once, but, the brakes, I was really surprised that the brakes I wanted, I do have the background. I know what needs to be done and I know that the oil needs, should be changed very regularly and all of the bearings and the lube, lubrication system needs to be lubricated and so I, I stay on top of that but I I wanted my front wheels, I wanted the bearings packed and they wanted something like fifteen dollars, uh, a front or something like that or maybe it was thirty dollars to do it Just to pack the bearings? just to pack the bearings, but what I found is that they had a brake job and they, I had them, the other thing I let them do some times is that I let them go through and let them tell me what, let them do the diagnostics. That's free, okay. And then I can decide whether I want them to do it or whether I can do it, see. Right. And they told me that my, my brake pads were gosh, you know, seventy percent still good, you know, but still it was cheaper in the long run and uh, so I just got the the brakes done and I thought that was a good deal. And plus Right. And they repacked the wheel bearings. and they repacked the the wheel bearings. Yeah but, uh, I've, I've had considerable experience. I'm, you might say I'm, uh, uh, good back yard mechanic and I, you know, I took auto shop in high school, it's been a while back, but I, I still have a pretty good feel for it, but one thing I didn't know is that when I was messing around with cars and stuff and most of the cars, I, I had bigger cars and the brakes go out fairly rapidly on those and what I was surprised at is that on my little Nissan I bought the truck with about sixty thousand, I have almost one hundred and ten, so I drove on those brake pads for, uh, you know, forty-five thousand miles and there was hardly any wear to them. So those small little trucks and cars like that, they just the longevity of the brake pads is really good. Exactly, You know, they've gotten to the point that where they don't weigh very much and the the surface materials on the pads is so good. so I, you know, I just did it anyway. I like to, I like to stay up on it. You know, like I just kind of stay up on it and then if you go and like, just about any point, any you know point in time and pull my dip stick and pull it out and look at the oil, the oil is you might say, uh, a white golden brown. You know, it's not dirty. I, I, I keep it that way because that's, that is the key to the longevity. Right. Well it sounds like you've had some good experiences with that So, so how, Uh-huh. uh, and my experiences have been kind of contrary to that. Oh, oh. Uh, I, I get a little more involved in the maintenance of my car and, uh and in fact I have an eighty-seven Mustang with a three O two in it that I've, uh, beefed up a little bit Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. and one of the things that I did was to change the pulley system on it to use under drive pulleys so that the engine doesn't have to turn the accessories and can use more of the power to the rear wheels Uh-huh uh, the only catch was the first set of under drive pulleys that I put on it were, uh, not even cast aluminum. They were just pressed aluminum. You're talking about the vibration dampener? Well, there's three, there's three pulleys that you change. You change the crank pulley the alternator pulley and, uh, the water pump pulley. That's the vibration dampener, yeah. Okay. So, when I changed those over, I put on these, these pressed aluminum things Um. and, uh, probably about four months ago the water pump decided to go out. Uh, oh. So in the process of seizing, the belt spun on the pulley and wore through the water pump pulley almost all the way. But not far enough to notice. Um. Uh, oh. Huh. So, I was on my way to work one day and, uh, the water pump pulley split laterally in half. So there was half a water pump pulley still attached to the water pump and the other half was kind of dangling off the end of the crank Uh-huh. and uh, I, So, the, the topic is hobbies In your spare time. Yeah. Who has spare time Um, I don't really, don't really do any handicraft things like that. I used to. I used to do, like salt ornaments and things. Uh-huh. But that was, oh, good many, many years ago and I have, I really, my spare time Yeah. I usually go do aerobics and read, and that's, about it Yeah. Yeah. I understood that. I'm, you know, I work full time and I have two kids so my spare time usually involves something with the kids. Yeah. You know, hobbies, we, I, I can't really say that we have hobbies. It's more like maybe projects or something on the weekend. You know, we like to go out go out, Yeah, family. Well, well, that's what I meant by salt that we, we did that like as a family, little ornaments and, things like that, and just kind of really got into it. Like during the Christmas season, making them up for other people and things like that. Oh. Uh-huh. Right. But as far as, Uh-huh. I've just never been very skilled at, far, you know, needle, work Uh-huh. And the things I've tried to do just don't look very good and, I, I guess mostly as far as, as crafts go, I've done, um, some needlepoint. I've done mostly cross stitching. I used to, uh, do like, um, one that I did for both kids are like, oh, they're plaques with, you know, different kind of animals and then you have their birth date on them, Yeah. and then you have a little picture of them and you frame them and stuff, Uh-huh. but nothing steady. Just when I get some spare time here and there I'll work on it, but, you know, it's nothing that I, can really, It's not, like you sit and knit every night No. Not at all. Yeah. I don't even know how to knit and my mother used to knit, you know, all the time Uh-huh. and, and I don't even know how to knit I'm like, that's a lost art from this family Yeah. So, um, but, it's not a very good topic it feels like, if, you know, No. not when you're neither one of us are really, I, I have seen things I really like, you know, that were done, especially like needlepoint. Uh-huh. Needlepoint, cushions and things. Yeah. But, it just seems like there'd be so much time involved in it, you know, and, and that the petty point and things like that. Yeah. It's like, God, it, it seems like it's easier just to go out and buy it already made I don't know what, what, is, it's like there, but here a lot of the country stuff is in, you know, a lot of the woodwork, a lot of, uh, stenciling. Yeah. And, you know, you can go to any, like a flea market and stuff and there's just tons of stuff everywhere and, you know, people just do it in their garage Yeah. and then on weekends they go out and sell it and during the week they go back and do some more. And see, they do that as their job. Whereas, you know, for us it, Right and they make it cheaper for us to buy Yeah Definitely. So, but, and, I mean, I'm sure it must be relaxing to do things like that because I can remember when I used to do, you know, those little salt, those figurines and things. It was, it was relaxing, you know, creative, you felt very creative. Uh-huh. But, it just was so time, time, involved, you know, so much time involved and the different steps and things. Yeah. Uh-huh. So, and, Okay Well, I think, I think we're okay. I think we did five minutes, so we don't have to keep talking about nothing anymore Yeah. So, Okay. Well, thank you. Okay. I hope you have a good rest of your weekend. Thanks. Bye-bye. Okay. Bye-bye. Where are you from Tina? Um, I'm from Maryland and, um, I have one son who's almost sixteen months old. Are, are you married, or ... Yeah, uh-huh. You are. I have, I have two children, I have a seven year old and a three year old. Oh. And, uh, so I try to spend as much time as possible with them. That's good. Uh, what kind of things do you do? Well, um, we do a lot of things with them, you know, Taylor my youngest is, or my oldest is in school and so she has a lot of school programs and things like that. Oh. was it a big change in your life, to, uh have a child. Oh yeah Um, yeah, it's really nice, uh, my husband, uh, is working you know, most of the time. He's working long hours, but, uh, I'm staying home. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I'm just working a couple days a month, and, um ... Oh, uh-huh. What do you do during those, those days? Um, we spend a lot of time at the playground and we go to the zoo, and we go and we ... Well you said, you said you worked a couple days a month, though, Yeah, yeah. what do, what do you do? I'm a nurse. Oh, are you? So, yeah, so it's, it's, it's real easy to work out my schedule, you know, to, uh, get in, to, to still stay in with that, an, and to have enough time to spend with Matthew. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. He, he's, uh, just now really starting to, to get interested in a lot of things, so, um, Yeah, I understand that, yeah. They really grow up quick. Especially at that early age. Yeah But my, my wife was, uh, she worked part-time when my oldest was, was little and now she's staying home all the time, but, uh, that worked out really well because it's a big transition I think to have children. Oh, yeah. You know, to go from, you know, nothing, you know, if you want to do something every night that's fine, but when you have children it doesn't work that way anymore, so. That's right, and I think a lot of people are, um, are turning to, well, I think, I think a lot of people are realizing that but still there are so many people that are, you know, have their careers first and, it's, uh, I think it's really hurting, uh, the kids, you know, Yeah, yeah. but. Yeah, I agree with you, I, I, I think that my wife leaned that way and I'm really glad she did and, you know, I'm glad she's staying home, but, you know, I know there are some days when she she wishes she was back at work. I know, That's why I like to to, to work a couple days, I think it's, uh, it gives me a break. Yeah. Yeah, well see that's, that's why I'm glad my wife did too, 'cause she worked either two to three days a week and that got her out of the house and yet she'd get to spend, you know, three or four days with ... Most of the time at home, yeah. Yeah, yeah, and so. Uh, we had started out like that and, um, I think that was really ideal, uh. Yeah, I do to, I agree, but then when you start having two of them, it's, you know, a little bit tougher, because you've got to make a little more money, to make that payoff and stuff. It's, yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's difficult, but. Are, are you from the Maryland area? Uh-huh, I'm, I've, I've lived here forever, so. Really. Yeah, I I live in Germantown, and, uh. Are you, where are you from? Um, uh, I'm in Dallas, Texas. In Dallas, oh. Yeah, so, uh, I'm, I've lived here like eight years or so, my wife's from Fort Worth. Oh, yea-,. But, yeah, I work for Texas Instruments. Okay, oh, so that explains. Yeah, that explains it doesn't it. Well, um, I don't know, I, uh, we, we do a lot of things on the weekends together, the family, Yeah, yeah. but, uh, as far as during the week, it's, it's usually, uh, you know, just my son and I, and we're ... Yeah, what's your husband do? Uh, he, he works for Coca Cola. Uh-huh. So he, uh, he manages a plant out here, Oh. an, and it takes a lot of time. Oh, yeah, I'm sure it does. But, um, it, you know, we take walks, and go to the library, and try to fill our day with things like that, Uh-huh. Yeah. but, um. Yeah, what, uh, my wife did some teaching at like, uh, like a private tutoring place. A Sylvan Learning Center this year Oh. and so that, that got me to to be able to spend more time with the kids at night and stuff, you know, 'cause normally if, if they need something they just go to mom. No matter what it is, Oh. Yeah I mean, I I'm perfectly capable of doing it for them, but, it's so much easier to go to mom, Right. I guess they get used to it. So, but, you know, we'd go to the library and do things like that, yeah, but That's good, that's good. I know my husband was real, uh, in the beginning when he, uh, he was transferred to a, a larger plant and he, uh, he works about an hour and a half away from here, from our home, Uh-huh. and, uh, so it takes him a little bit of time. Oh, yeah. And I'm not able to work during the week, uh, because of that. He was, I was working in the evening, Uh-huh. and he was coming home and I, I could go to work, but, uh, their relationship, uh, when I was able to work in the evenings, uh, really grew. Yeah. Uh-huh. He, you know, just the time that they were spending together, Yeah. I think it, it really, it really helped to have that time together. Uh-huh, it really does because I think you know, you grow closer. Was your, uh, was your husband, I mean naturally a child, I mean had he been around children, or ... Uh, oh yeah, he has, uh, he has seven other brothers and sisters, Oh. and they have, we have thirteen grand, well his parents have thirteen grandchildren. Uh-huh. So it's, uh, you know, there's a lot of kids in the family and, and he really enjoys it. Yeah, yeah. But, uh, right now it's kind of a difficult time, but ... Yeah. And, and the cost of living here is just so tremendously, you know, outrageous Yeah, yeah. Um, it's difficult, uh, to do it any other way. Yeah, I understand. Yeah. I'm, I, you know it's, it's hard because, you know, then you're not getting to spend as much time with, at home, I mean your husband is not getting to spend as much time at home as he'd want to. That's right. So, yeah, that that's a tough situation, but then, then again, you know, some, you got to do what you got to do, you know to get along, too, Yeah. so. Yeah, yeah, at least, I, I just consider myself blessed that I can stay home It, uh, Uh-huh, well like I said my wife normally feels that way, there are days when, uh, I come home and she says here take these kids, I'm getting out. I know So she's, she's had about enough during those days, but. But, for the most part, I, you know, I've really feel like that's led, I know. the way that, you know, like what you said with the cost of living and everything, I think a lot of people can't afford to get by on just one salary an and won't. Yeah. Yeah. And so I think that's tended to lead to a decline in, in families and family values especially. Oh yeah, it has. And I really think that that's one of the problems the nation's facing that, you know, we need to do something about, but I don't know what. I believe that too, and I think, uh, the kids are where they need to, you know, Yeah. they need to really focus on the children in the in this country. Yeah. Would, would you have said that a couple of years ago, do you think? No, I didn't, I didn't even really think about it that much, I mean, you know, Uh-huh. I, I was aware, vaguely aware of it, but, um, I didn't it wasn't really that important to me, and, uh, ... Uh-huh, it's amazing how your whole focus on life changes after you've had a child. Oh, it, it really does, I, just the whole, uh, you know, seeing how you really are are, are forming this, you know, the mind Uh-huh. Well, you know, in the next year or so, you'll see so many instances where, you know, he'll mimic something that you've done, and you see, you know, everything I'm doing, he's learning from. That's right. And, and, you think, if I wasn't here he'd be learning that from a baby-sitter or from a day care. Yeah. You know, that's how they're developing their patterns. And I think a lot of people either, don't care, or don't realize it, you know. That's, Or, or they just put it in the back of their mind and let it slide. Yeah. I, I've seen a lot of people just say well, you know, he'll learn everything when he gets into, uh, you know, Yeah eventually. Yeah, it's true. but it, um, I, I know, even just this first year, that I've been with, uh, my son, here, um, he's, I can just see how much, of, of a difference it makes staying home with him, instead of, uh, Uh-huh, Yeah. Yeah, plus, plus I think it becomes part of part of you too, I mean, you get to stay home, I mean it's not just for him, but it's also for you, because you're both kind of bonding together there too, I think, so. Yeah, that's true. Well it's been nice talking to you. Well it's nice talking to you, too. Okay good luck. Okay. Okay, good-bye. Lynn, do you, do you want to start? Certainly. Okay. Um, Do you want to tell me about vacations you've taken or, Well, I, I tend to, uh, take two kinds of vacations, the vacations to visit family and the vacations to just have a week being cultural and going to the theater and doing sight-seeing and things like that. Uh-huh. Which is your favorite? Oh, well, I couldn't live without the family vacations, but, uh, my favorite is the, the indulgent ones, where we go off and, and, uh, see places that have interested me since I was a kid, for the most part. Uh-huh. And, uh, Your family doesn't live close, then? Uh, not anymore. They, uh, they've been in San Diego for the last few years, and they're moving to Florida. Okay. And that's one of those things, you just have to go once a year. Yep, I understand. So, uh, basically it, it sorts out into that, and then once, about once every three or four years I try to get over to England, because I lived there for a while, some years back. Wow. I've only been there once. Oh. and I'd love to go back. Beautiful country. Beautiful country, And it was, beautiful people. Yeah, it, But, uh, and I'd real, really like to go because, um, I'm fairly recently married we had a great time. and, and my husband has been hearing about these people for years and, uh, but he's never met them, so, uh, I'd like, I'd like to do that. But anyway, that's, that's our typical vacation, and, uh, we enjoy the family vacations, but the other ones are very special getaways, and we probably take one of each every year. How about yourself? Well, uh, we, we, as you do, take family vacations, uh, sometimes one a year, and, but this year we're not going to be taking one for several reasons. But vacations we really enjoy, I think we've been on three cruises. Oh, I've never, been on a cruise. And we, we really love cruises. We've gone on CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES. Uh-huh. And, uh, we've gone fairly inexpensive from, as most cruises go. Uh, we usually book just a month before it's ready to go. Yeah. And we get upgraded. Last last two times, in fact, we had an outside room and it was beautiful. Um. And we like not having to take our suitcase in and out of hotel rooms and drag it all around. It's kind of, Well, what do you do on a cruise? I've never been on a cruise. Oh, my God, you do everything. You, I mean, you can be as busy as you want to be, or as laid back as you want to be. You can sit in the sun all day around the pool, or you can take part in the games that they have going on. They always have bingo. They have a casino. Uh, they have a massage parlor. They have exercise, I mean, you can do anything. Huh. And that's just aboard ship. And then when the ship docks, you get to go sight-seeing and shopping. Uh-huh. And that's quite fun. Uh-huh. And where have you been on these cruises? Uh, Nassau, San Juan, Saint Thomas. We've been there twice. We went two cruises that hit those islands, but with different people. We, we've gone with friends each time. I see. And then we went to, uh, the western Caribbean, which is, uh, Port, uh, Cancun, Cozumel, and Ocho Rios. Oh, the, the Mexican coast. Pardon me? That's all Mexico, I think. Yes, uh-huh. And, but it was wonderful. So we really like those. And, uh, I guess we just like to go someplace, someplace entirely different. We've been to a few places in this country. We still have a lot to see, though. Where are you from originally? We're from Illinois originally. Uh-huh. And we've been down in Texas eighteen years, and so, like you, we always try to make it, you know, back home to see the relatives. We both still have family there. Uh-huh. And that's fun. It brings back a lot of memories. Oh, yes. Uh, things are different there, though. They're, uh, I don't know. It's just entirely different world than this Well, I, I grew up in Dallas, so I mean, it's not, it's not like I'm going home. Did you? My, my parents retired first to San Diego, Uh-huh. and they're going now to Florida, and so they're going very nice places, thank God, Uh-huh. that will be a pleasure to visit and get to know. I really came to love San Diego and feel very, comfortable there. They've been there eight years. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know, I just grab the car and drive everywhere. Oh, that's great. So it, it is, it is nice, but it's not home. This is home, and, um, and I've never thought about a cruise. It's so funny. Oh, they, they, they really are. We've, yeah, as I said, we've done them three times. We'd be going again this, this year if circumstances hadn't changed. We, we'd probably go. Uh-huh. My husband would, you know, the minute I said the word, he, he, he's chomping at the bit. He kind of likes the casinos a little bit. Uh-huh. But I like all of that. What's the best part, from your point of view? I like seeing other countries and shopping in other places. Uh-huh. I like shopping. I can shop anyplace, shop in London and France and wherever. Now, my kids are moving to Toronto, so we're going to be able to go up there. Oh, that will be nice. So I'm kind of looking forward to that, except I hate to see them go. Oh, sure. But, Sure. Well, go in, don't go in the winter. Oh, that's what everybody says, and I, I think it's, I think I'll try to stay away, except my, my second grandchild will be born in in the winter in January. Oh. So that will be hard to stay away from. Well, there are exceptions made for special occasions like that. Yeah. But the ordinary thing is to stay out of the north in the winter and get out of Texas in the summer so, Isn't that the truth, uh-huh. Huh. Well, that sounds wonderful. I, I guess I, I would contemplate going on a cruise, uh, oh, all circumstances permitting it. Well, there's all age groups too, and that's, that's kind of fun. Uh, you, if you sit at a table with a lot of people for your meals, you meet different people. Uh-huh. You may meet people, you know, thirty years older than you, or younger, and everybody is really interesting, and everybody is there to have a good time and, Huh. How long are the cruises? Uh, we've only gone on the seven day cruises. Uh-huh. They have shorter ones and then they have ten day ones. But I think seven days is long enough for us. By that time we're ready to get home and get back to our routine. Yeah. I think most vacations, uh, seven days is enough for us. We've gone, I think when we went to England and France, we were there ten, twelve days, and that was pushing it a bit. Yeah. Uh, I tend, when, when I spend enough money to go overseas I, go for a long time. Yeah. Well, that, that makes sense, it really does. I mean, oh, we went to Panama too. Oh, that's interesting. Went to Panama last August. Uh-huh. Our son-in-law is from Panama. Oh. And, uh, we went with our daughter and son-in-law to visit his parents, who live there. Uh-huh. And his father is a, a doctor and his mother is a kindergarten teacher, and they took time off, it was their winter and they were having a little break, so they took some time off that, uh, they could show us around. And it, it is a beautiful country. Huh. It is beautiful. They have mountains. We were an hour away from the mountains or an hour away from the shore. That's really nice. And it, it is gorgeous. They live in a small town called David, which is northern Panama up near Costa Rica. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's, it's just, it's just a gorgeous country. Most people don't realize it. I think if they could get tourists coming to their country, they'd improve the economy considerably. Huh. Well, may, maybe now things are calming down again. That will happen. Yeah. We really hope, hope so. Well, that, that's really great. Uh, Yeah. I, I mean, as I said, basically all I've done is go back and forth to parents and, uh, Well, that, that's, that's pretty good. That's pretty good. And, and, uh, we had, my husband had a conference in L A, so we spent a week in L A and of course, Oh, do you like L A? Uh, I'm, I'm, I'm very unusual. I like, You ready? Yeah. Okay. What have you seen lately? Well, uh, it's funny, when I tried, to make the call the other days, I thought, I hadn't seen anything since DANCES WITH WOLVES but today I went to see REGARDING WITH HENRY. Oh, I'm dying to see that. It was really good. We Oh. uh, Jeff Wariner just got out of the hospital Uh-huh and, uh, Jeff and Deeanna went and another friend in the neighborhood, and, uh, we all liked it. We had both moms and, uh, fifteen year olds and a twelve year old and everyone enjoyed it. Oh, my goodness. And, uh, Oh, well I am just dying to see it. I went to dinner with some friends last weekend and they said get a baby-sitter and we'll all go see REGARDING HENRY Yeah. and I said, ooh, I want to see it so bad. Well, my son had gotten to see a lot of movies this summer, on, choir tour and visiting friends and one thing and another. A lot of the ones I had wanted to see Oh. and so since he had this friend up from Houston, uh, and his friend had already seen so many and I thought they decided on this and I thought well, I want to see this one, too. So, we, uh, I Yeah. finally, it's my first summer movie Oh my. Well, let me see. Was it, well, we went to see ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS last weekend and that may be, no, right before I went in the hospital my girlfriend said come on, we're going to the movies. And we won't, well she goes all the time but I go maybe once every couple of months. Yeah. And when I go, I go see two at a time. So we went to see SOAPDISH, and Oh, was that good? Cause, Oh, hysterical. We laughed so hard, it was just, you couldn't hear half the dialogue because everyone in the audience was laughing so hard. Yeah. Well, I want to see that and CITY SLICKERS both. I love comedies. Yeah But, that's what I was that's the other one that we went to that night. Oh, was it? And, my face hurt so bad, from laughing because I love Billy Crystal. Oh And course, growing up on, on the back of a horse, you know, and being on ranches and stuff, so much of that was so true and I was absolutely rolling in the aisles. It was so funny. Both of them were great. Oh, well good. I'm, I'm glad to hear that because they, Oh, they are, are we just laughed so hard. And like I said, with CITY I mean with SOAPDISH, it is so cornball and it is so overacted that you're just hysterical you know. Uh-huh Just, they just carried it off, to the tee. Well, I don't, I don't know if you got to see WEEKEND, um, AT BERNIE'S that was out a couple of years ago. No. They had a free showing at the Berkeley, um, United Artist. How neat. And, I don't know who was here or whether Jay called a friend and we didn't think we'd have much chance of getting in but we thought we'd try it, you know, free movie. Shoot, yeah. It was so funny and it sounds like, uh, what you were just describing, SOAPDISH, too. I mean, we just, we hurt by the time we came out. Oh yeah. And the whole theater was hysterical and it's just, it's just goofy. I mean, it's, uh, if you have a chance to rent it, at least, or it should be out on T V, I would think, Yeah, I think it is. I think it is. Um, cause it's, it's just a fun summer light comedy, make your cheeks hurt laughing. Especially in the theater it was contagious, you know Yeah. I, I imagine the way SOAPDISH was, but, with everyone laughing. Oh gosh I never laughed. And people were just screaming and applauding and, you know, it was just hysterical. Well, I'm glad you did that before your surgery Oh, me too, because I don't even know if I could live through it now. Yeah I mean I'm getting around real good and I'm just still real sore. Yeah. And today I was, I, course I went back to work two weeks after, uh Oh, gosh. but see I don't have permanent work. I, right now I'm working with a temporary agency. And so, the second week I was out of the hospital I went up and worked half day on the computers cause you can learn all the software for free. Oh. Oh, so I went up to do WordPerfect cause that seems like that's what everybody wants, and I was up there half a day and came home and collapsed. Yeah. And then they called me to see if I wanted to work a day. And I said, yeah, and I went and of course it took me the whole weekend to recover from that. And, uh, I worked about three days a week ever since, two to three days a week. And so I went to my doctors last Thursday, and this was my fourth week checkup and he said well gosh, you're just healing really well, I just can't get over this. He says, in two weeks you can go back to doing your crazy normal things. If you want to play ball, you can go play ball. He says, now I'm not going to say you're going to feel like playing ball but you can if you want to. Yeah And, uh, you know, he was teasing me and he says, yeah, you'll be out there waterskiing, I can just see it now. And, uh, he says so you just take it easy for two more weeks. You've only got two more weeks. I said okay fine, I, I will, I will Whatever you call easy, I'll do it, you know. But and I've been out trying to find a job because this is just not cutting it. Yeah. Yeah And so, I don't, I'm real glad that we didn't go see those funny ones when I was, when I'm still sort of on the sore side. Yeah But, well, what's your next, have you seen ROBIN HOOD yet? No, that was one, uh, Jay got to see with a friend and so I Uh. and to try and, uh, try and find time it's hard, uh, with Jim's schedule, too, just to get a time that we can both go. Oh yeah. And, uh, I'm holding out for CITY SLICKERS for the two of us because, uh, we had friends that went to see that and said, you know, it's just perfect for our age group Uh-huh. and because I think he, he needs a comedy, too. Uh, and that's what he would have liked to have seen REGARDING HENRY, too, but knew that, uh, we've, we've got a lot of company this summer, which is wonderful. We're really enjoying it but some of the different things we're doing, uh there's just not a time, enough time to do it all Uh-huh. and he said, well, realistically You know, he knew he couldn't get them all in. Yeah. But, uh, Jay really liked ROBIN HOOD. Um, when the choir group went to see BACKDRAFT and they thought that was, uh, it was funny cause he sounded like the critics. He said, you know the plot line and the characters, uh, you know aren't real big but the, the fire scenes and the you know that action part is fantastic. Uh-huh. But, he thought ROBIN HOOD was great. It was real different then you'd expect, but but he enjoyed it Oh really? and so, Well I went, course I am a Kevin Costner fan. Yeah, me too. And yeah, Supreme. I really, uh, like him a lot. Which is why, DANCES WITH WOLVES was the last movie we had seen for several months Uh-huh. but, Gosh, was that wonderful. It was, I, uh, in fact, uh, a friend from Germany was visiting in March and we wanted, we didn't, ran out of time, we wanted to take him to see it. We were going to sit through it again cause we really wanted him to see it, too. Oh, yeah. Uh, I just thought that was terrific. And I really enjoy Harrison Ford which is one of the reasons I wanted to see, I do, too. I think he's really good. And he's very good in REGARDING HENRY. That's not an easy part to play, I, I don't think I wouldn't think. Well, my kids are going to their Dad's tomorrow night so I sort of think I may go do that. Yeah. That's at, that one won't your sides Good Um, it, was this the first time you got to see ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS? Or, I my parents took me when I was probably somewhere between Ashley and Jamie's age begin to Uh-huh. And we went to the, my number. Okay. Okay. So are you a, a, a golfer or are you a spectator? Oh, I'm a, I play golf but I don't actually play golf. Well, I'm the same way. I, I go out there and hit the ball. Yeah. Hack it all over the place? Yeah. It's sickening, isn't it? Um, uh, well, in the Carolinas it's, it's just, you know, we've got a bunch of golf courses around here. Yeah. We've got tons up here but I don't know. How do you feel about your game? I guess that's a good question? Uh, well, I mean I'm not a serious golfer at all, uh, uh, a friend of mine goes golfing a lot and he drags me out every now and then and I, uh, I don't have a, I don't really even have a game. I usually when I go out and play golf it's usually like at a, at one of these par threes that, you know, you, Yeah. but, um, I like watching it on T V. Yeah, I like that too. I don't know I try to play, but God, I, a couple years ago I played two, three times a week and got lousy. I guess that's the best I ever got was lousy. And I thought I was really improving and the big break was going to come and then I got worse again so. get they, they say I hit worm burners because I, I can't hit it up in the air. Yeah. So I'm pretty bad but I, I, I get great distance hitting it, you know, across the ground, and if it's going over water or something one of them have to take the shot for me because I'm, but I'm getting better. I've got where now I can hit it in, in the air some of the time. That's pretty good. Yeah. Uh, so I'm kind of a novice at it. Um, I'm that and worse. I, I play next year I, actually I take it kind of seriously but I've been doing so bad. Next year, I always say this every year, but next year I'm starting over from scratch. I'm going to go take lessons and everything. I'm going to do it right, and see if I can actually play this game or not. Well, that I, I guess that's what I need to do is, is get some kind of lessons or something. Because I, my, my tee off is not bad, I mean I'm, I'm good up to everything else putting and stuff like that it's just, that, that initial tee Yeah, what do you do when you're putting? That's a good thing. That's something I could learn actually. That's when I do my worst. I finally get to the green and I think I'm doing all, all fine and then, Just walking around the hollow and making sure there's not really, you know, checking the ground and, and so forth, you know. Yeah. See how it's going to break or whatever. Can you really see it though? Yeah. What about the speed? If you get, if you get down on the ground you really can. Can you tell but can you tell how, how fast you're going to hit it? Um, well, if you know if it's up on a slope that you've got to hit it not kill it but you've got to hit enough speed and the right angle that it's, it's, you know, because when it's going up a hill it's going to break in a direction. Yeah, but you can feel that? Yeah. I don't know I have, I can get it within like, you know, four or five feet or something but I don't have enough field. Now I'm T V watching. Yeah. They make you die at the hole every time. Yeah. Oh, it just dies and rolls in. I don't know, But I, it's hard for me. The, the, it's, it's like I said once I get up on the green I'm fine, but that, that tee shot, uh, it, you know, when teeing off I'll go probably a hundred feet across the ground so it, it takes me awhile to get to the hole but, Once you're there, you're all set though. I'm all set. We should play team golf then. I'll get us there and you put it in. that sounds good to me. I oh, the T V golfers they do that. It takes them two to get there and two to get it in so it's fifty percent. And me it takes me five to get there and five to get it in. Well, it, it, it usually takes me about probably two, two or three to get it there and, and then, that's according to the hole and it uh, uh, maybe one or two putts. It's, according to where I'm at on the green. Yeah. That's good. But the friends I play with, uh, they play all the time and, and they're really good. Joe Pros? Uh, they're not Joe Pros but they, they golf in the high sixties low seventies so I guess they're pretty good That's pretty good. For eighteen? Yeah. For eighteen. Wow, that's pretty good. Yeah. I'm talking to the wrong guy. Your shitty golf is probably the best golf I've ever seen. No, no, no, that's not my golf. That's my friends. Mine, mine, I'm, I'm usually in the eighties or nineties so I'm, I'm not good If, when I'm in the nineties I'm feeling good. I'm usually around a hundred. That's my thing. Around a hundred. You know, I can hit a great drives and think I'm going to do all awesome on this hole but it ain't going to happen. Well, I either, teeing off I either slice it or I hook it ever single time and, and I alternate. Well, it's a good thing with me I slice it every single time. That's good. I aim, Okay. Okay. Universal health insurance, right? That's right. What would we like to say I think, Uh-huh. I think that's what the subject is about. Did you read, uh, the article in the paper today about this particular subject? In the Dallas, the MORNING TIMES? Yeah. I guess I did not. Uh, the state of Washington and the state of Minnesota is, uh, going to begin testing a program, a state funded program for citizens of those two states and there's fourteen other, uh, states that are considering it. Least according to the article in the paper this morning. I think it's a trend that's, that's, that's, uh, probably may go nationwide eventually because I think national health is something that we all need. It's getting to a point that you have to have it, you have to have some form of health insurance. Well, it's been interesting that we, Extremely expensive, though. Yes. So we live in a society, though, where everyone if you ask them on polls, will, uh, say that they think that everyone has a right to health care. Uh-huh. And yet, I don't think we've ever quite decided who's really supposed to pay for it. Well, that's the thing, you know, uh, unfortunately the ones that currently pay and pay the premiums for health insurance are, are paying for the people that don't have health insurance. Which is why people are talking about we ought to just admit it perhaps and then try and somehow subsidize it in a way that's more fair. Yeah. I don't think you, uh, You have health insurance? Yes, I do. Through your company? Uh, through my company, yes. But I have been in a situation, uh, recently where I was laid off from a position as a sales manager of a company and was off work for about a year and my wife developed cancer. We didn't have any insurance. Oh, my goodness. And it was a go to Parkland type situation. That's must have been hard How was your care at Parkland? Uh, because it was a life threatening situation, it was very good. Uh, as it, as it turned out one of the top, uh, people, or one of the top doctors in the state that is involved in cancer treatment was at Parkland. But, yet, Parkland is not free, either. No, it's not free, but, uh, It's, it's a situation that because I didn't have any insurance and I was on unemployment, it was paid by the county. Is it affordable? So you did have a good experience. I had a bad experience as it turned out. Uh, I was fortunate that there was Parkland. Is your wife better, I hope? Uh, no she passed away. I'm real sorry. That's all right. Sure. *listen; is this a question? That happens. It does happen, but it's very sad. Yeah, but in any event, uh, I'm in favor of national health. If I had to vote for it. Well so am I. Actually, uh, I'm a pediatrician Oh, is that right? and I feel very strongly about, uh, children, and, uh, developed very strong feelings about this during our measles epidemic last year. Where we certainly proved that we're not doing a very good job with preventive health care among children and particularly the children who need it most. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, uh, I'm really quite active in trying to, uh, be proactive at least for children's issues. It's very complex, very complicated, but, uh, I strongly believe that all children have a right to immunization, glasses, hearing aids basic health benefits. Well, I, when I grew up and I grew up in south central Kansas, uh, we had, and my mom worked for the health department, the county health department and we had x-rays every year, we had a dentist come to our school and, uh, check our teeth once a year at least. Uh, we had all our flu shots taken care of, our measles, mumps, rubella and all that other stuff. Um. And, uh, when my children were growing up, we didn't have that. We had to pay for it, which I wasn't opposed to paying for it. I had the money to pay for it, but I'm sure that there were people that don't. Well, and the costs have, so much has gone up so much. The cost of immunizations for example, uh, and just the legal the legal benefits, uh, that has really forced people into doing a lot of things unnecessarily, et cetera. Uh-huh. So, well, I don't know, it's, it is interesting, in case you didn't know, Texas leads the nation in uninsured children. Thirty-one percent of all Texas children do not have insurance and are not on Medicaid. Did not know that. So, uh, one out of every three children has nothing to reimburse them for their health care. And I work in the children's Parkland system and it's pretty overwhelming to me. Uh-huh. But, uh, it's pretty hard to be indigent and to be dependent upon indigent health care systems in Dallas county. Okay, so now what are your opinions on recycling? Well, I definitely think that we need to start recycling. I think it has got to be an individual responsibility until, I think if we wait, uh, which is happening until somebody says we have to do it it is going to be to late. Yeah. I have heard reports around here that the landfills will be full by the year two thousand. Yeah, I have heard that too. And that is not too far away, but I don't know how it is there. It is very difficult here even if you care like I do to do much. I take, my paper, I can take plastic and paper bags back to the grocery store Uh-huh. and I can take plastic like milk cartons or if they have water in them and there are some fire stations I can take newspapers to and that is very inconvenient cause I have to wait until I have enough of them to make the trip worthwhile. Well see, I started saving newspapers and I would take a ton of them Uh-huh. and, uh, that's, I can't remember where I went to take them, but they wouldn't take them. Yeah. It is real hard to find a spot and then, I don't know if you note, even doing that, the amount of trash we throw away is incredible bottles Oh I know. glass that cannot be, it could be recycled, but there is no place to, There is no really recycling facilities. No. We have a pilot program in Arlington going on I think in the north part of the city where they are have people people separate the garbage as, the trash as they put it out. I think that is a good idea. And I think that is what it is going to have to come to. Where we are just forced to. Besides, well like a law or whatever. that's how it is in New York isn't it. Yeah. I think so, just because they have to. You know, Uh-huh. And you get ticketed if you don't do it right. Right, uh-huh. And I think it is going to come to that because some people will just not go to the, it's, It's trouble for me to do what I do Yeah. I mean, I am willing to do it but, Plus you have to have a place to store all of it Yeah. and see I live in an apartment. Yeah. It is very difficult. Like our garage is always full of sacks of newspapers and, so, I don't know. I think there needs to be more places and also I have a real strong opinion. In Iowa, the state I am from uh, I believe it has gone up to a dollar now. Uh-huh. Every time you buy a container, no matter what it is, whether it is glass, whether it's a beer can or a fifth of whiskey or a pop or whatever, you pay ten cents for it Yeah. and then you take it back to the store and you get it back. Uh, so that way it kind of forces you to recycle. You are forced to. And, uh, you also don't see the litter there. People just, Yeah, that's true. It makes it worthwhile to take it back and I've just started drinking a new water called Clearly Canadian, I don't know if you've tried it Yeah, I have seen them. and they have on the it's five cents, that they pay five cents Uh-huh. and it even shows the states that, That take them back. Yeah. Well, some of them are five, some are ten cents. I am looking at it right now. Is Texas one of them? Texas is not one of them see. So, I have to throw them away cause there is no place to take glass. Yeah. No, I don't think that there is enough being done. Now, I work at J C PENNY at their corporate headquarters. Uh-huh. And we have a paper recycling program that, uh, is company wide and I do the recycling for that. Do they save like the paper they they use at the office paper. Yeah. Good. Because there is a lot of waste there isn't there. Yeah. And I know there is a lot of computer paper that you can't use. Right. Right. But, uh, we use to have, uh, I mean, I don't even remember how much money that they've, uh, I mean, the money that they've made from the recycling program. They have donated it to charities. Right. I mean they have made a substantial amount of money from it. Yeah. Something else I think we do can do is support companies that encourage like, I have decided Downy Fabric Softener now has where you can buy a little carton Yeah. you add well, I image everybody else will start doing that sooner or later, but I am going to stick with Downey because they were first. Yeah. And I want them to have my business. And I think packaging could be done much better. There is so much plastic. But, Well I know, you see some of the stuff and then when they come out with the new things, you are like, well why didn't you think of that before. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that it's just people have got to be aware. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that just don't care and they don't want to think about it. Yeah, that's true. And, uh, I just look at it, I don't want my grandchildren looking at me and saying why didn't you do something. You know, I want to feel like I at least tried. Yeah. And I don't know. It just may overwhelm us here when we run out of places to put it. Then we will be forced to. It may be too late. Do they not ever, I mean, I don't know that much. Do they not ever burn trash or anything like, Very little. That's another thing that, see there were no, Then, that's pollution. I know Amway. I use a couple of things from Amway that it says this is burnable material. Well, that doesn't do me any good because I don't have any place to burn it. Yeah, I know. I guess you run into the pollution factor. Yeah. And then just like the glass bottles, that it says on the bottle I can get ten cents, but not in Texas. Yeah. And there is no place I can take glass to. Uh, So, I still throw away a lot of glass. It is really sad. Yeah. And then the packaging thing really grips me. You buy some and it's got a great big piece of cardboard and a great big piece of plastic, Well, uh, I myself am not in favor of drug testing in the work place except in, in specific, uh, very specific in this, uh, very specific examples such as, uh, transportation workers, as in, uh, air traffic controllers, bus drivers and that kind of thing. Well. Um, I don't really think that it's, uh, too many, I think it's a severe invasion of somebody's privacy to say, well, we're going to look at your urine and then decide whether you're, uh, you know, worthy of working for us. I really don't see that that's a very, very valid, uh, thing for a company to say, and I, personally, I don't think I would work for somebody if they were going to reject me on the basis of what's inside my body. Yeah, uh, I guess I basically agree that, uh, do you think it's okay for a company to reject somebody knowing that they'll take drugs? I mean suppose they found out some other way? Well, I think, I think we, I think the problem here is, is that a, a drug test does not necessarily imply that someone is taking drugs or not taking drugs. Yeah. There's too many cases where it can, you know, there can be false positive results, and that, that sort of thing. I don't think there's any definitive, you know, okay this person is taking drugs, so we don't want him here. Yeah. Uh, like I said, some industries, though, I think it'd be very necessary, I wouldn't want any air traffic controllers high or anything like that when I'm flying in an airplane. Yeah. But, uh, I, I just, I find it to be pretty offensive that, that it's such a, a big deal. I mean, if your employer's not going to trust you or, you know, it, I just, I think it's a whole trust issue. I just can't see it. But, have you ever been in a situation where you, you were drug tested or, Uh, yeah, I have been. Yeah. I. I mean, I was very offended by, by the whole process. I once too, so. Yeah. I mean it's very humiliating, and, I mean, I'm not speaking in favor of drugs or against drugs, but I, uh, I am totally against that sort of a, uh, I mean it's, it's a pretty personal thing when somebody says I want to look at your urine before I'm going to talk to you. Yeah. I had it during a job interview, and I just thought it was dumb of the company, at a point where they were trying to convince me to, to want to work for them to do this, Right. and I'm just like, well, uh, I'm not even going to think much about it if you're going to treat me with this much respect even before you've gotten to know me. Yeah. Right. Right. That's, that's basically my opinion on it, right there, is that it's just, you know, I did, I, I was in the same sort of situation as, it was a job interview and then you had a physical, where you were drug tested, and it's, I just, and I know people who have been drug tested and who have not, you know, been hired by a corporation which, uh, you know, I really. The other side of it is, is, besides its being an invasion of personal privacy, as in my, it's my bodily fluid and I don't really want you to look at it, or or something pretty basic like that, Uh-huh. just to the fact that I don't know that it is a company's business to regulate what its employees are doing when they're not at work. I mean, during the eight hours, during the day, when they're supposed to be there, I think they have every right to say this is, these behaviors are acceptable and these are not, but when it enters into what they're doing when they're not at work, I find that to be fairly offensive also. Yeah, well like you say, I mean, if it's not a critical kind of job where someone could get hurt, then really what people ought to be doing, I mean, the, the employer ought to be judging you on how well you do your work rather than on these other factors. Right. Right. And, I mean, if you are doing drugs and it's causing a problem, then they'll notice it for other reasons. That's exactly right. Yeah. And also I just think it, it gets a lot, I'm a big, uh, supporter of personal freedoms and personal privacies, and I think that it just moves down along a line that, that I really would find bad if, if most people went down that line into regulating employees' lives outside of work, you know, there's already talk of people, well, we're not going to hire you if you smoke. Well, you know, I, I can see how they can say in the work place we, you don't want them to smoke, but when somebody leaves work, I don't think that it's the employer's right to regulate their life style at all. Well, do you think it's, should be illegal for an employer to do this or, Uh, I really think it should be, except as I've mentioned twice now, in the specified industries or, or jobs, because there are certain things where it's just vital that a person is clear minded at all times. Yeah. And other than that I think, I do not think it should be allowable. I think it should be illegal for them to, to want to do that. It should, it's kind of the big brother syndrome, I mean, I just, anything like that just kind of scares me. I tend to, to view it, even though I don't think I'd work for a company that did that, I sort of want to defend an employer's rights as opposed to an uh, in addition to an individual's rights, but an employer, really, I think, has the right to hire someone on any basis they want to Right. and if they say they don't want smokers, I sort of feel like an employer should have the right to decide whether they want to allow that. Right. Uh, and I don't really, Okay. Okay, I thought it was supposed to give a recording, but anyway, uh, well, I do take care of pretty much all of the stuff for, for my wife and for me and uh, I, embarrassed to say, it's pretty trivial. Uh-huh. All we, all I do is, uh, keep a list of things like debts that are outstanding and every two or three months update that and every once in a while make a list of what we spent that month, but I doubt I do it more than three times a year. Uh-huh, do you use a computer? And, No, I work with them all day, I'm in computer science, yet I I do everything on paper Oh. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't even use a calculator for the stuff I'm doing because it's all pretty round numbers. Yeah, mine is really simple, because I got all our bills paid off when, uh, he was a Marine, he went to Saudi Arabia and while he was gone I got all of our bills paid off, so really the only bills I have is rent, utilities, insurance you know, Uh-huh. so they come in, I pay them, and that's it you know, that's about the extent of it, you know. Yeah that, I don't really have this major budget or anything. I just really, I'm real thrifty. I take care of, you know, two children and me and uh, just real careful with the money, you know. What little we have Uh-huh. so, that's what I do. Yes, it's pretty straightforward. It's I can't imagine having to go into real complicated stuff and making you know, fancy budgets. No. It seems like if you're getting to that level, you're not in real good control. Uh-uh. You know, I mean, I, I, I've never liked credit cards and a lot of debt, you know, Uh-huh you buy something on credit Uh-huh. and you pay twice as much for it when you get done. You know Yeah. so, Actually, I mean, I like using credit cards for everything, but just paying off the bills because that way it's a record of everything Uh-huh. and I don't have to worry about keeping records of anything else because they come in at the end of the month. I don't have too many, I don't have too many weaknesses, but I found out a credit card was one of them. You know, Uh. it's so much easy, easier, you know, if something's on sale if you're a woman and you're a sale person, it's like, oh, it's on sale, let's go grab it, you know so, uh, and if you don't have the money, then use a credit card, so, I got rid of them credit cards. You know. Yeah, I guess if that's if that's a weakness, that's a good thing to do. Yeah, that was my weakness It wasn't bad, I mean, I didn't have like thousands of dollars, you know, and like that, just, I just learned that that wasn't for me, you know. Uh-huh. Sure. So, but I, self-employed, you know, I have my own little cleaning business type thing, so, uh, I keep, Do you find trouble keeping the records for taxes and all that or, No, it's not hard, I just keep it in a notebook and write down what I've made and, uh, you know, what it's going to have to go for that month and you know, it's not that, not that hard. Not at all. Uh-huh. Well, that's good to know. So, I always do my own income tax, you know. Yeah. Do you? I don't understand the idea of paying somebody to, to do it. Huh? It seems like it's absurd the number of people who end up having to pay somebody to do it. all you got to do is read a book, I mean read the little book they send you fill in the blanks and go. I, Yeah, just the form. Yeah. I mean, it seems absurd that people will pay, you know, some bucks just to get someone to, Yeah, and a lot of them. it's dumb I guess if you had some really complicated stuff, but I don't, so, I don't mess with it. Yeah. But, I don't use a calculator either, you know I, I don't trust myself with using a calculator or computer, too much stuff like that because I want to make sure that, that I, I keep on top of the numbers and understand what's going on. I don't, I don't have that that many, you know, things to add up so, I know too many people who use a calculator if they make a mistake, they find out two months later because they weren't paying attention. Oh, yeah. And, And it seem, And we have a, I bank at N C N B here and they have a number that you can call in, and I always call in and, like, once every other week or so and I will, uh, check off what checks have cleared and, Yeah. Do you do that? We have the same thing. You do too? Yeah. And I always check them off and, you know, check my balance and my book and, you know, because I always want to know exactly what I have, you know. Sure. I do that real often. I do that, so anyway, Okay, so, what are, what are your views on capital punishment? I have ambivalent feelings because I don't think it serves as a kind of deterrent we would like to think it is. But, on the other hand, it is very, very expensive to maintain, you know, Texas has one of biggest criminal justice systems in the country. Yes. And it's eating us alive budget wise and, uh, So are they currently practicing capital punishment in your state? Yes, we do practice capital punishment, but the nature of the, uh, courts and the appeals and the stays and all that means that it's a very long haul before anybody's ever executed. Yes, that's similar to Georgia. Yeah. And then, I was reading in the paper just this morning, it's interesting because I had forgotten, I guess, that I wrote this little topic down, that it costs more to execute somebody than it does to keep them. Because of all the costs of the appeals and all that you know. That's probably true considering, Yes. Yes, uh, I guess in a way that, it, it kind of defeats the purpose of having capital punishment if, Well, I think capital punishment is supposed to be primarily a deterrent to other people. You know, who would see it. Yes. Right, that would be the intent of it. Yeah, but I'm not sure how successful that is. Well, I think it would be more successful if it was applied in a more expedient manner, if there weren't so many appeals. Quicker maybe, yeah. Yeah, if, if the person who's going to commit the crime knew that they were going to be punished severely, possibly capital punishment, Uh-huh. What, what kind of work do you do? Uh, I'm a research engineer, I work, uh, with Georgia Tech. Um, well, see, I'm a school principal. Um. Elementary school. Yes. And in a very poor section of town with predominantly Anglo kids. And I see kids already that are going to be criminals in spite of everything we can do Um. and, see, I'm afraid I think if we would take the equivalent amount of money and invest it in young people, that, I mean, course, you couldn't do that because you got to do something with the ones that are already there Uh-huh. but I think we would make a bigger investment in kids, we'd have fewer decisions to make. Down the road, you know. Um, that's probably true, but I guess there's other factors that, Oh, yeah. But, pumping more money into the school system is a good thing, Well I'm not talking about just in the school system. but it's not going to, Oh, I see. See, I'm talking about, like, in, in, uh, I'm afraid I think that there are kids who just ought to be taken out of their homes and reared. Uh, I know the institutions don't work that well, but a bad day because I all these kids through my office. I have a school of five hundred and thirty-seven kids. Uh-huh. Five hundred of them are good, solid kids and I have the same thirty-seven in my office every day. Um. And a lot of their parents are totally irresponsible. Some of them in the penal system. So that's a difficult situation. And, you know, you just see those kids going down the road. Now, not all of them will commit offenses that have to do with capital punishment, but some of them have already been in youth centers. And that kind of thing, Um. and if we had something to do before they get to be full-blown adult criminals, and I'm not talking about necessarily in the school system, I'm not sure that the school system should be the agent of all the social action. Uh-huh. I think that's one reason we have problems in schools, uh, and some of them are our problems, but a lot of it's because everything society wants, we are supposed to do. Uh-huh. But that's another subject but, Well, that's probably true. Anyway, I dealt with two or three kids today that are going to end up where somebody has, making a decision what to do with them. Um, yeah, I guess that's not an easy solution. There's, there's no easy solution for that. Uh-huh. I don't, I don't know that there is an easy solution, but if you could find a way to prevent some of it, and I'm not sure what it would be. It would be money better spent than, Uh-huh. do you know it costs more to keep an inmate on death row than it does to send a kid to Harvard? That's true. I'm sure it is, yeah. Statistically, that's true. Um, yeah, I don't, I don't, certainly capital punishment isn't going to solve a lot of problems Uh-huh. but, Are you for it? Uh, I'm for it in in some cases. I guess I am for certain Yeah. yeah, in certain crimes. What kind of crimes would you use it for? Uh, premeditated murder. Crimes of that nature, I think should definitely, Uh-huh. any mass murderer type individual. I, I would consider it for sexual abuse of children, on going. You know, not one instance, but perpetual abusers of children. Um. Uh-huh. Well, you always have castration Well, you know, somebody elected that recently. Yes, I read about that And all the civil rights people are up arms about it, you know. Uh-huh. But, uh, Okay. Well, um, I used to work in a day care center. Uh-huh. I worked in, um, in all the different areas of the day care center and it is, they can be deceiving to people. I did not work there long because I couldn't handle the, the treatment that the children got, and this is supposed to be a very well-known center here in Tyler who had two or three, um, centers, all over, you know, the, um, city Uh-huh. and they would, um, be one way when the parents were there and be another way when the parents left. Yeah. So, um, I think you need to make, you know, if you do, do day care centers, you know you should make frequent checks and, um, to check in on them when they're not expecting it. Yeah. Because they do, do things differently when you're not around, so. Well that, I know the things that we kind of looked at is, is you want to see how many teachers you have. And, and how many kids they have and how they break it up. Uh-huh. Right. Because we had, we had one that sounds kind of like what you were in. Uh-huh. It, it was a really good one, and in fact, it worked out for us because my wife, we kind of bartered. My wife did artwork for them and then, you know, so we got our day care free. Uh-huh. But they didn't have enough teachers and, Well, this one was set up good. I mean they had two teachers to every room. Um, sometimes three. Uh-huh. And they had a good system like so when you walked in, everything looks cool. Uh-huh. The problem I had was that they did not show affection to the children enough. They did not show them care to these small children who are being left. Uh-huh. Um, they, one time I picked up this little boy who was crying and the owner came and just chewed me up one side down the other. You know, Huh. he said you are going to have every child in here wanting you to pick them up. And I said, no, this child was crying and needed some comfort, you know, Yeah. what is your problem. So, um, Did, did they separate them by age group? Yes. Because I'd think, you know, I think that's one thing that was important. Right. They did, they had like, um, the, the crawlers, the babies that didn't walk in one room. The ones that were starting to walk in one room. Uh-huh. Then they had like the, um, three, three year olds, upper fours, lower fours, upper fives, lower fives. You know, just like that. Yeah. You know, they really did separate them well. it sound, yeah, It was just the teachers themselves. Right. But, yeah, that they're not, Affectionate people that they're, they're kind of may be parents themselves or something. Yeah. Their system, Right. But their, but their system was, was great but, um, the, you know, the caring just wasn't there. Uh-huh. The one woman that taught that did the babies. I worked with her and she was fabulous. Uh-huh. She loved them babies, and she loved them and cared for them. But, um, every one of the others that I saw was just screaming and yelling and, um, you know, would make me a nervous wreck, so, you know. Yeah. I, I, I think that's probably a really important thing because you can have doctorates and P H D's and all that kind of thing and, you know, know all the technical stuff, but if they don't reach out and touch the kids, then that doesn't do any good. Yeah, these kids are just in a day care center all day and, uh, with no, any type of emotional, you know, getting love, getting care, Yeah. they're just there. You know. Going through this routine, which is lousy. Yeah. The other, the other group that we had was kind of interesting. The other one we went to the, it was a husband and wife team Uh-huh. and we knew them from other associations but, uh, it was kind of interesting because she was kind of the strict one, and I think, you know, she would, she'd put her arm around the kids and talk to them and stuff, you know, but he was actually the more, um, the more, uh, what, demonstrative type. The more loving Uh-huh. he would, you know, laugh with the kids and play with the kids and and it was kind of interesting to see that, that it was actually the man in the group that, that did that side of it. Uh-huh. Yeah, you don't see that much. Yeah, so they had a really nice balance. We liked that one. In fact, it was called Humpty Dumpty Play School or something, That's cute. but they also did, they also did some of the teaching things and then they had, um, you know, obedience, obedience was important. Yeah, that has to be with a day care center. And you know so they, you know, they used, uh, oh, I think they used the, you probably heard where, you know, where you stand in front of the clock and get your power back to control yourself. I've never heard of that. That's, that's a new one, on me. And it's, it's one, Uh, I can't remember what they call it actually but you just stand them in front of a clock and, you know, it has a second-hand that goes around. Uh-huh. And they have to stand there, Um, what's our topic? Taxes. Taxes. Do we pay too much? Right. Right. Um Well, do we? What do you do? Um, I guess that, I mean it all depends really on what kind of bracket you're in. My tax bracket is, is pretty high up there. I pay the, I generally pay the maximum tax bracket. Uh-huh. And, uh, I think that we're paying too much because I don't have any children. Right. And I pay a lot of property taxes. Oh, sure. I don't have any, um, I don't, you know, I don't use an awful lot of city services. It, it, you know it's like I have to work I have to work all the time just to make enough money to pay the taxes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. And, um, there's so many people who want a, a of the federal money or the state money or whatever it is Uh-huh. and I just, sometimes, many times I end up feeling like I'm paying too much in taxes. Right. How about you? Do you pay too much? Uh, well, no, I can't really complain. I'm a student, um, and I I work as a co-op at, uh, Georgia Tech Research Institute. And, uh, I'm going to get back most of what I earned, I mean most of what I pay in taxes and, uh, and, uh, one of my parents is still claiming me. Well, when you when you go out into the, uh, when you go out into the working world it, it changes quickly. Huh? Uh-huh. I'm sure Um, you look at your paycheck and you go, oh, my gosh where did it all go Um, what kind of, what kind of, uh, well have you pay a lot of in have you been out working and then gone back to school or are you, did you go directly from high school into, into college? I went, well I did work, um, just very for some time but I didn't make enough money to really make, too much of a difference. To worry about it. Right. Have you, have you been active in, in politics trying to, concerning this? Have you like worked on political action committees or something like that? No, no, I haven't. I, uh, I haven't done any of that type of work myself. Uh-huh. Um, but every once in a while when I hear up here at, at, uh, in D C area, um, one of the radio stations has been talking about the, the Congress, um, Congress has added too towards the Members Bank there, you know, there's a bank that they all bank with, and I guess it went defunct recently. Uh-huh. And one of the Congressmen has, has written in the last three years about a thousand bad checks. Huh. And we, we the taxpayers float him a loan for all all those bad checks, no interest, no repayment schedule. Oh. Really? And, um, it's causing quite a stir up here, because we're so close to D C anyway. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. It's really kind of curious to watch this thing occur. Oh, sure. Um, I, I, I think we pay too much. And I've, I look at my paycheck and I make, well, let's see. They take out in state and federal taxes Uh-huh. I think I pay forty-two percent. Wow. Forty-two cents out of every dollar I make goes to the government, and then they charge me sales tax and they charge me gasoline taxes, Uh-huh. taxes. and they charge me all these others, and it's just too expensive. Uh-huh. I can't believe that I, I'm just thankful that I don't get all the government that I pay for. Huh. You know what I mean? Yeah. Do you, have you used, um, student loans and things like that that were guaranteed by the government? No, no, I haven't. Uh, I, uh, my father pays for my, my schooling, my tuition. So, uh, I'm, I haven't made use of that. What are you studying down there? Physics. Physics. Uh-huh. Oh, that sounds like a fun, fun field. Everybody says that Scientific. Huh. Heavy science. Are you like in the particle, particle research or anything like that or is it more, um, applied physics? Um, I haven't, I haven't gotten too terribly much into my major yet. Actually, um, the, the degree I'm getting is physics. There's a different one for applied physics so I guess you could call it more straight stuff than applied. Okay. Well maybe, maybe you can figure out how we can stop this inertia that's, come rolling towards, whatever it's rolling toward. I doubt about that. Are, are, is America, I mean are we pretty, pretty steep compared to most countries? Actually, I don't think we are. No, I don't think so either. Um, like, like Europe, um, England. I know the taxes are a lot higher. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But they do have socialized medicine and things like that. Yeah. And, um, I know I was reading in the paper I believe yesterday that, um, they're talking, or maybe it was on the I don't think anybody pays too little. No, I would tend to agree very highly. I think that we're all paying a little bit too much taxes and not seeing too much good come out of it. Do you get hit up for local taxes there? Yeah, we sure do. Here in Indiana we pay, uh, we pay county income tax, state income tax, we pay five percent sales tax, uh, you name it, they tax it. Oh, so you get the whole smorgasbord. That's right we, Well, I, I actually live in New Hampshire tax free or die. Uh-huh Uh-huh. Right. Which is probably pretty nice, but I'll bet that means your state sales tax is pretty high. No, actually there's no sales tax in New Hampshire either. There's no sales tax either? No, what there is, is very high property taxes because that's how they fund schools and everything. Uh-huh. The only problem is I work in Massachusetts, so they they hit me up for the five percent there. Right. Taxachusetts Yep, but, it, well, you know, we, it's only a state tax here, no local. Uh-huh. got a five percent sales tax. Right. But, uh, the problem is that so I'm paying state tax even if I don't live here. Right. But, at least on things like stock options and things like that, they don't tax me. Uh-huh. So that's not too bad. No, I, uh, I really think that, here in Indiana at least we pay a, a whole, uh, just too much tax. I worked in a factory, uh, last summer and, on the average, I was losing twenty percent of every paycheck to taxes and I don't feel that I really get a whole lot of return from that. I mean, I don't utilize all, you know, it really, any government welfare services. Of course, I drive on the roads and I, you know, went to the schools and stuff, but I really feel that, that I'm just getting overtaxed. Oh, I, I mean, I, I'd consider twenty percent lucky because just on, I mean, you know, when you figure out just on feds, you know, I actually hit the thirty-one bracket this year, which was no fun. Uh-huh. No that's, that's not any fun. Right, and also, you know, then you figure out seven or eight percent for F I C A which is taxes where Uh-huh. Right. most people forget about them, because you've you know, you can't always get your F I C A back at the end of the year. Right. But, so, you know, and then, you know, like a five percent surtax, I'm paying forty percent tax. Yeah, which is just outrageous and a lot of it, and if you look at the way the government is run these days, it just seems like a lot of it's going to waste. Yeah, well, I, I mean, I think there's some people, there, certainly are some things where you need infrastructure and you need you you know, Right. things government does better, you know, I government does a better space program than you're going to get out of private individuals, Right. but, you know, I think, you know, you look at things like, you know, tax subsidies to tobacco farmers because Jesse Helms wants it that way Right or, You know, and, and just tremendous amounts of, you know, That's right, got to keep those farmers happy. so much of it, is now just going to service debt or you know, is going in, into, into programs that, you know, Uh-huh. yeah, they are, they are a fat. You know, I think the military is really fat. I think that a lot of the, the H E W services, although they're providing necessary services, have too much fat in them. Right. there is just way too much bureaucracy and so much of that tax money is going just to keep that bureaucracy running, keep the paper shuffling around instead of real, you know, good programs. You know, like we, Yeah, I mean, we, we spend a fortune for things like V A hospitals and, you know, then you look at how well they're managed, you know, I don't think we're getting our money's work out, worth out of there. I think it's all going into, into bureaucrats. Right, and a lot of it's feeding that. Just, I just, I really, especially in the election year, I mean, I'm really thinking a lot about this, the economy and questions like that and, and just the whole, it seems like everything is really screwy right now as far as the economy, uh, the government goes and our, our whole economy in general and our taxes just are going to keep rising no matter what happens and especially when you've got the Bush administration who has increased government expenditures, uh, beyond what any other President since World War Two has done and yet he supposedly, Well, between him and Reagan, yeah. Right right, yeah. great I mean, I just read something that, two thirds or three quarters, I'm not exactly sure of our national debt are, was created during the Reagan Bush era who are supposedly fiscally conservative. Oh, oh, yeah, they think, Oh, yeah, and then they go I'm not Congress, they're the fault for it. Right But, you know, the other thing is, it's tricky, though, because like in New Hampshire, they say, oh, all right, let's cut the military budget. Right. Well, yeah, then, you lose half your jobs in New Hampshire Uh-huh. you lose, Connecticut goes, so, you know, it's like, you know, it's very tricky to balance off, because then you hurt, you know, if the, if the, if people lose their jobs, then they become a load and they're not contributing taxes. That's right. So, you know, it's, it's very hard to say, you know, this is what we should cut. Yeah, it's really, that is the, especially that defense, cuts in the defense is really a Catch twenty-two double whammy, because like you say, if you cut defense, well, that's great, that's going to lower our national expenditures, but then you're going to have people on welfare and they're not putting taxes in. Who aren't contributing. Right, yeah. So that's, that's really, it's, And, uh, in our, I'm glad I'm not the one who has to come up with these policies. Right. But, what's very funny is in our town meeting they were this, this guy had, both for our school district meeting and our town meeting had this proposal which, unfortunately violates New Hampshire constitution for our local town to do it to, uh, have you, have people line item their taxes. Uh-huh. Right. They say I want to pay for this and this and this and this and this. Course, the only problem with that is then nobody paying for the necessary services they don't use. That's right. Yeah. the one will take, uh, okay, let's see, I guess, uh, I can start. I'm actually, we're actually trying to find one now because our family's growing. Are you really? Yeah. Uh, so I'm looking at, uh, something larger than what we have. We've got, like, an eighty-four Charger that's about gone and a, uh, an eighty-nine Horizon. So, I'm looking for something, uh, littler bigger, Uh-huh, which are both kind of small. yeah. Uh, so we were thinking mini van for a while and, uh, we're looking at, uh, some just four door, five passenger sedans as well. Uh-huh. Are you looking for an American car or, you open to buying foreign cars? Uh, I don't really have a preference either way I guess. You know, Uh-huh. it's, you know, it, I guess the American cars had a bad reputation but I haven't had any real substantial problems with the ones I've had. Uh-huh. Right. Personally, I have a Japanese car right now, and I really like it a lot. Uh, I think the Japanese really build good cars Uh-huh. and I know that kind of rubs against the grain right now in the whole, uh, you know, buy American, keep American auto workers working right now, but I feel that the Japanese have really produced a much higher quality product than our, uh, car manufacturers have for a while. Yeah. If I were to buy another car, I would be, uh, I would be partial to buying another Japanese car, but I would also look at American cars, but when I bought the car that I bought now, I did that also and I just felt that the Japanese car was a much better product. Yeah, I mean, even if it's just details, it seems like, uh they, you know, So, if I were, Right. I there's a door seal that doesn't quite seal and you have to take it back every once in a while. It's clearly just a, a design problem there. Right, it is. Uh, I'm kind of, right now, the next car I buy is going to be sort of a sports car. I would really like to have a sports car. Uh I don't really, I don't have a family, so I don't need a, a mini van or such to, uh, haul people around in. Uh-huh. So I'm looking for more a, a two passenger car that, uh, Oh, like a Miata or something like that? Well, I like the Miata, but I don't like it enough to buy it. I would buy something, actually the, the car that I really like right now is an Eagle Talon, which is an American car. Um. But, uh, something along that lines. Uh, because I have a, an economy car right now, which is okay, but uh, I think I, I'd like to move on to something a little better. Yeah. interesting. Yeah, I guess probably the factors we'd use to compare are a little different because I look for, you know, size and safety, and then mileage. Right. Probably, Right. Uh, That's, when I bought the car that I bought, I was looking for mileage, and I was looking for, uh, dependability and something that was going to last a long time. I was that I would get a, for the money that I was going to spend, that I would get a return that was, that was worth that money. Yeah. So, Yeah I I think in terms of computer terminology, I look at, you know, price performance and things like that. And then a little bit at life expectancy, I guess, Right, exactly. but it, you know depends on what you, what you pay initially. Yeah. But, you know I've got a hundred and twenty-five thousand miles on the Charger. That's right. Actually it was my wife's car that she brought into the marriage Uh-huh. and she got just a commute between Cincinnati and Dayton. Uh-huh. It's, you know, we, we had to replace the friction plate and the transmission at thirty thousand miles, but uh, the other ninety four thousand have been just fine with it, Uh-huh. so, But, uh, Okay. Uh, I've had, uh, I've had one or two American cars I think, and, and they were okay. I had a Pontiac once and, and I never had a problem with it, but, uh, my mother had a Dodge at one point and I, I had driven it a few times and I really did not feel that it, that I would buy a Dodge just from, Um. well, actually, I had a, uh, a Dodge Omni at one point Uh-huh. and that was, I think, what really prejudiced me against American cars was because I did not feel that it was a very quality, uh, car. Yeah. So, I guess you'd have to say, if I was looking, I would definitely be looking for a foreign car. That's interesting. But, yeah, it, it's hard to beat some of the, uh, like, I guess, in particular, we're looking at a, like a ninety-one Corsica, uh, buy back at a, they say G M sponsored auction, but I think they're obliged to have these things because Hertz and Avis and those folks have it in their contract that they can sell it back to G M after, you know, it's, after they've used it for six months and put you know, twelve or fifteen thousand miles, on it Uh-huh. Right. and you can get those for like eight thousand bucks if you, Which is a good deal. Yeah, because I guess, uh, I mean, well, ninety-twos, granted, but the new ones, you know Uh-huh. fourteen to sixteen is what they go for on the lot, Right. so all the depreciation has been taken off and, the dealer comes out okay you know, Yeah that, don't what kind of, I don't know what G M corporate, kind of hit the, I don't know what kind of hit they take on it, but sounds like everybody's had their chance to make their money off it and So, but, uh, I don't know, Yeah, I'm sure they did. we keep looking at that mini van. It's just, you know, we can get a, like a Caravan for, twelve, five Uh-huh. Right. but that's a little bit more than we want to spend right now. But, uh, uh, it's interesting, but, uh, I don't know, if, if, uh, it seems to be, Well, Julie, uh, are you in a situation where you'd soon need to deal with, uh, special care for elderly? Well, I don't know. My grandfather is ninety-two years old. Uh-huh. And he is still living by himself. My grandmother died a couple of years ago But he doesn't want to, to move away. He lives in a little farmhouse on a farm. Uh-huh. And he recently had to have an operation but he just really doesn't want to go to a nursing home. Is he able to, uh, still do everything himself pretty well? Well, he was until this operation. He has arthritis. Oh, yeah. And now I don't really think he's doing that well. And my, a lot of my aunts and uncles live near him. And I have one aunt that really looks after him a lot. Yeah. But, uh, my great-grandfather was put in a nursing home when he was a hundred and three. Uh-huh. And, uh, died six weeks after they put him in the home. Yeah. And I'm sure that kind of thing would influence your grandfather's feelings. Because, uh, I you know, I think for a lot of people it really is the decision of, do they still have some of their life left. And and, for, for, I'm sure, a lot of people going into a nursing home it's like saying my life is over Uh-huh. and I'm just here for the rest of the stay And so I, you know, I guess most of the time when I think about somebody going into a nursing home, it's more a case of where they are not able to look after their day-to-day needs. Yeah Uh-huh. they have can look after a lot of things but there's some of the day-to-day needs that they just are not able to deal with physically anymore. Uh, I know my, none of my grandparents were in a nursing home. They generally were able to have someone care for them at home and they died But they were all, goodness, younger than your grandparents Like they were in their eighties. That type of thing Uh, but I did, uh, you know, I guess, uh, when I think nursing home I do think of people that are not able to do, take care of themselves physically. Uh But I just don't think that nursing homes really do a very good job. And that's, that's difficult part. Because I think what they often get used as is, uh, almost like a very high level or long-term care for, uh, similar to a hospital. Uh-huh. Uh, I know, like here in Saskatchewan, we have our hospital care the care actually for the older people graded in level, in four levels. And a level four type of care would be someone that really requires long-term hospital care. Generally are not able to look after themselves to very, to a very great extent, physically Often times they even have mental difficulty with senility or Alzheimer's Disease or those or, or physical and mental handicaps. Uh, you know, where they really require twenty-four hour supervision of some kind Even though it may be minimal Uh-huh. And, uh, but I think that it can be helpful in that, uh, it gets people the level of physical care they need. Uh, But I don't, I mean at least, I mean I think some nursing homes do that. But I think a lot of nursing homes really, uh, are guilty of neglect. Yeah. I and I think it happens more in areas where it's, uh, I guess, uh, a broad social medical system where, uh, you know, there's government medical care and that kind of thing. If it's the lot where it's funded by the individuals and, and I guess that's sort of my lack of understanding. I think that a majority of the places in the U S, uh, you know, there is some government aid available, but the majority is to the availability of the individual to pay Uh-huh. And, uh, if you're not able to look after yourself, then you have to rely, Recently graduated from high school. Meaning like, uh, you know, three or four years ago. I'm a senior in, in, uh, college now. Uh-huh. And, uh, I can't really talk too much about the problems with, uh, public education in detail because the school system I went to was, uh, really superb even though it was a public school system. Really? Yeah. I feel that my, uh, I'm a junior in college now. And I go to Tech, Georgia Tech? Oh. Okay. Yeah. And I, I got a friend who goes there, by the way I want to talk to you about that afterward, okay. Okay Uh, I've, the high school I went to was, uh, was a good one also. And I, well, I guess you could say one of the problems with the public education system is the disparity between different schools. Because the one I went to was, you know, I'm sure a, a lot nicer than, you know, a lot of the inner city schools and the things around Atlanta. Yeah. Yeah. was a, a, it's more or less a suburban school system? Yeah. Yes. That, that was true for mine too. Uh, although I I'm sure to some extent, that money is part of the problem in the disparity, but I don't think, I honestly don't think that's the biggest part of it. You know, I think that, uh, I mean I know that in my town, you know, most of the, most of the parents, they're valued education. What And, uh you know, and so the students were, you know, to some extent, motivated to learn. Yeah, that's true. I mean know Yeah. And I'm also I mean, in the, in those places where, uh, like the economy is really bad, they might, you know, be more tempted to, to quit school and get jobs and that kind of thing because they need the, you know, money to put food on the table and stuff like that. More than they would you know, in areas where they Yeah, that's true. But but, uh, I think, I mean even more than that, even, I mean if you drop out in high school you should still be able to read you know? Which it I mean it sounds like, uh, Uh-huh. Yeah. That's true. now I think maybe it's started changing in the past few years because, uh, they have of these, uh, sort of mandatory tests if you have to take before you get a diploma. Right. But, uh, but, uh, certainly before that, there were people that, you know, would graduate from high school and could barely read. Uh, and that's just sort of inexcusable and you can't really, I, I, I mean I just can't even picture how that could happen. You know, except maybe to someone whose, you know, really badly learning, uh, disabled or something. Yeah. But these people obviously weren't. That's hard for me to say since I didn't, I didn't really grow, well when I went to elementary school it, it wasn't in a great area but I still, I mean, I learned to read, started learning to read when I was in kindergarten, you know. Yeah. So I guess I can't really I can't say what it would be like to, uh, grow up in a really oppressed region Yeah. Yeah. You know, I guess the whole, the whole environment and attitude towards school and learning is different for the people. Yeah. And I think that's almost a bigger factor, than anything else probably. I mean, I don't, I think you know, people just, So, I guess the problem is the, the thing to do is to try to, uh, to get some kind of motivation to learn and, Yeah. And, again, I don't, I mean got know the, you know, how qualified, I mean, I think it'd be interesting to, you know, to spend a couple of days just looking around an inner city school. Uh, you know, sort, sort of maybe from elementary through, uh, high school. You know, just sort of to get a feel for what it's like. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. I think that'd be an interesting experience. But, uh, I haven't done that No, I, I can't say that I have either. But, uh, But I do, I do think that, uh, I mean, public education in general I think can work. And I think it's a good thing. Yeah. I've, I've heard some, I mean I've heard statistics and things that, that compare a public education to a private education. I mean within like, within the same, uh, income groups. Yeah. If you compare the, like the people that could have, that could have sent their kids to private schools and the people that, you know, the people that, uh, did send their kids to private schools. Yes. I think they compare you know, fairly well. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't, I honestly don't really think I could have, you know, done much better than I did in the school system I was in. mean Yeah. I, I, I, my schools, I mean, there, I have a lot of once, once it seemed I got into high school, they had a lot of, uh, accelerated programs and all kinds of stuff like that. Yeah. That, I mean, that makes a big difference cause I wondered when they're taking classes with, uh, with people that are really, are interested in the, the subject and stuff like that. Yeah. I mean, and and in the, once you junior high, uh, start junior high, starting in eighth grade all the way through high school, there were four levels. Well, no, I guess it in junior high, it was still three. Then in high school it changed into four levels of, uh, of instruction in the major subjects. Uh, which, Uh-huh. I mean, actually I think that works pretty well. and that, that makes, Okay How are you? You want to go ahead and start talking about whether you budget Yeah. Well I, I, I feel like, uh, I am from Mars. I mean I'm fifty years old and, uh, I've been divorced for, um, eighteen years. But I've two kids and all. But I, uh, I, I've never had a budget and I don't, uh, do any planning and I don't know, I don't, uh, uh, I don't have a long-term financial plan. I don't try to control my expenses. But I'm, I'm glad you're a stranger. That sounds kind of like me. But, really, I'm, I happy, I, I, well I'm curious how other people live. Uh, so maybe we should start with you What do you do? About the same thing. Really? Yeah. Oh. Maybe they're going to arrest us both. I'm even in worse shape because I have eight children and, uh, we live from hand to mouth We hope that there's enough money at the end of the month to pay for the bills and if there's not, then we due for the next month. Wow. A couple of times we've tried some things and they worked but I'm not disciplined enough to keep doing it. Uh-huh. The best program we ever had is at the beginning of the month we took and, uh, took my check and divided it out into envelopes and then paid for the expenses out of that envelope Yeah. and when the envelope was empty then you didn't have any more money to spend in that area. Uh-huh. And that worked out real well cause we didn't have to keep writing down what we'd spent. Uh-huh. It was just that when that was empty, you knew you were out of money. And we did that pretty successfully for about three months and then we started borrowing from one envelope to put it in the other envelope and in about two months we were back to doing the same thing we always do. Huh. The, uh, I had a part-time job around, oh gosh, fifteen years ago, seventy-six, and, uh, uh, this was a sort of a career shift at the time and so I was willing to take a half time job to do that. And I actually did, my bank account would, uh, I'd, I, I kept bouncing checks, just at the end of the month but I, I had miscalculated. I, well I didn't keep a balance It's one of the problems this very I never had to in the past. I always kept plenty of money in my checking account, but when you're only earning half the salary. Even though I wasn't spending much money, I sometimes I sometimes would just, things would get to tight. Uh, and sometimes what I would do is keep a piece of paper in my wallet and every time I, uh, I spent money, I mean cash mostly, I would, uh, write it down so I could see at the end of a month how much I spent on food so I could do better planning. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But I would forget to write the things down and it, that I, I don't know if I ever went as far as three months or not in keeping that kind of data. I certainly haven't done that in sixteen years or whatever. I even find now like with the automatic tellers, I'll go take money out of that Yeah. and then I forget to take that out of my checking account. Uh-huh. And, uh, Yeah. So I, I, I leave a little bit of a slush fund in my checking account and I figure that, so the balance showing in the checking account is always somewhat different that what's really there. Uh-huh. And I figure that gives me room for the mistakes I make. Uh-huh. The, uh, I, I have to say that, let's see, at this point on, I don't run out of money. Uh, and it, uh, and I don't, I mean someday, if I were to get remarried I might want to buy a house which requires lots of money which I don't have and I, I, I think my strategy if, if I may, is to, is to not spend money. I mean I don't have expensive tastes. I don't go out. I mean I buy a car, well the last car I got rid of I'd had, it was nineteen years old. Yeah. people were embarrassed for me. I mean it was, it was a good car and, it still running. Oh, it was great. My, my mechanics loved it because it was an old, it was a sixty-five Buick and it just wouldn't stop. Uh, and it, I, I just didn't feel the need for a new car. It isn't like I couldn't afford one. Uh-huh. Uh, and now, I mean I, I don't, uh, I tend to eat expensive food. I mean I don't mind buying a good steak but for me, I only do that every week or, without even, I mean, maybe once a month. Yeah. I mean you buy a, a tenderloin steak, it costs outrageous, like twelve dollars a pound. You buy a, a, less than half a pound so it's six or seven dollars. To me, I realize if you have eight kids you're not going to run out and do that. Not very often But, but I'm just, I'm just saying as a single person, that's, that's a drop in the bucket. And so if you're extravagant on how you buy food, it doesn't add up. If you're buying, I mean if you're not going to super expensive restaurants, which I don't care to go to. That's right. So, so that's, I think, one of the reasons I don't need to budget is that I don't have, I don't, I don't have to hold myself back from buying that expensive thing because I can't afford it, because I'm not interested in that expensive thing. lot You want to go first? No, you can start Okay. Uh, one of the things they talked about was, uh, did we, what do we think about a judge making the decision? Uh-huh. And I really don't agree with that I think that the trial by jury is better, uh, you know, than having a unanimous decision rather than to have one person be responsible. I don't think that they could be objective in every case, every time. Right. you know what I mean? Right. There's, there, this topic is kind of mute. Uh Yeah. there, there's no way. We, we couldn't survive in a in a juror in a trial system without a jury. Right. Uh, one man can never be, one man, one woman can never be objectionable in every case. That's it. Uh, every person has their opinions and that's why jury selection is often very difficult. Uh. Well, I, I feel the other thing too, uh, they were saying, uh, you know, what new ways could could it, you, you know, change the system. I, I really think that, uh, we spend a lot of time, uh, going through appeal after appeal after appeal after appeal, I mean, if you go to a trial by jury and especially if a person has confessed. If they have been caught, you know, point blank in the crime. There's, uh, no question Right. it's beyond a reasonable doubt. You know, all these things. I mean, you know, we've gone through this over and over again. Right. They shouldn't allow an appeal. And it can go on for ten, twenty, years. Yep. I, I think this is a little ridiculous. Uh-huh I think the only people who benefit from that are the lawyers. Oh, that's right. I work for a law firm I, I'm serious. And I think that the lawyers have caused a lot of the problems that exist in the in the criminal system today. With plea bargaining. Right. You know, if someone is Well plea plea bargaining is a different story. Well. Plea bargaining is something completely different. That, that actually prevents trials. Or at least speeds them up. Well, I know. That's what I'm saying. But I think a lot of, all of the whole criminal system is messed up in, in that regard. I mean, you know, people who commit, uh, crimes that they, I don't know how it works exactly but you know, they get lesser sentences Right. and I understand that the jails are full of people, you know, uh and that they have to do something. Right. But, I think that the reason they are full is because they know that they can get away with it. Huh. you know what I'm saying? That we don't have, uh, well a lot of states don't have capital punishment. Right. And, uh I, I think they should. We do I, and I think if a person is guilty of taking someone's life and like you say, it's, it's, there's no doubt whatsoever. Like drunk drivers that kill people and, uh, you know, all Right. they, they're caught dead to rights. I, I just think that that's, they've, they've taken a life and if, they should pay for it with their life. Right. When you're saying as far as the appeal, uh, procedure was concerned. Yeah. We just have the case, I'm, I'm sure you've probably heard of Marion Berry. Uh-huh. Uh, his last appeal was, was denied two days before his sentence was up Oh, really. So, I mean, his appeal was denied and two days later he got out of jail For cocaine possession. It, uh, Yeah. But, uh, that was absurd There is never, there was no reason the appeal process should have dragged on that long for a six month sentence. I know that, that Uh-huh. And, I don't know. Uh, what would you do to change it? To make it better? Well, uh, the, the only I can, I you know, the, appeal procedure is the only thing I can possibly think of. Uh, like I said, as far as removing of the jury and having the judge sentence, that's absurd. There's no way that could work. Oh, yeah. I, I, I don't agree with that at all. Uh, but, Imagine the guilt that person would have. I mean burned out. Oh, exactly. There's there's no possible way that you could, uh, you know, feel good about yourself. Exactly. Right. If you had to do something like that, day after day. No one would want the job No. Not really. Uh, and, you know, like I said, the, you know, everyone has their opinions about every case. Well, do you think people should have a trial is they're caught dead to rights like, Oh yeah. I, I feel that everyone is, everyone is, uh, entitled to a trial by jury. That, that, that right I mean, supposing I come up to you and I just point blank kill you. Well, I mean, were there witnesses? In other words you're saying that, you have to find out whether it's premeditated or what the circumstances were. Right. Right. That you can't, you can't remove the jury regardless of the case. Yeah. I mean you could have fifty people in audience watching a murder take place Yeah. and you, you'd still, there's still mitigating circumstances Well, I, I, Okay, Mary. Yes. Um, the, uh, the latest one I've seen, uh, had to do with a, uh, uh, the, uh, basically a manhunt, um, and it was, uh, it was called MANHUNTER, actually. Uh, the, uh, the guy, uh, apparently had a, a, mental disfunction in which he needed to go out and just slay people. Uh, just, uh, kill them with, with as much blood and, and guts as possible. Oh, how awful It was true, it was truly awful. It was not one that I picked, but, uh, uh, it, it did show some, some, uh, some interesting things about the F B I because they were the, the, uh, the characters trying, trying to get him were F B I people and, uh, uh, of the, of the few good things that were in it, it did show, uh, a lot about the F B I. About the training, and, and how they go through training and how they try to, to develop, uh, uh, a mental picture of who they're looking for before they go out and do it and all the different ways they go about doing that. And it was, uh, uh, it was pretty telling about the, the, the F B I and their procedures. I wonder how truthful all of that was or whether there was fiction. Yeah, I, I imagine a lot of it had to be fictional just to keep the F B I, uh, going, I guess. Yeah, well, they keep it rather secretive, yes Yeah, yeah. Well the most recent movie I saw, uh, I'm afraid was, uh, well two, two of them actually. Uh, the RAIN MAN was one. Oh that was great one. Wasn't that fabulous, and, and DRIVING MISS DAISY. Oh, I loved it. You know, I haven't seen that one yet, and I need to go see it. Oh, you need to see that. Yeah. That is the most heart rendering story of relationships between two people. Two diametrically opposed people from the stand point that one was Jewish and one was black Uh-huh. and this all took place in the South. Oh my. And, uh, normally never the twain shall meet. You bet, especially in the South. Yes, right, and, um, uh, it, it really was a fantastic movie. The acting was phenomenal. Well as, it, as I recall it got some Academy Awards, didn't it. Oh yes, Jessica Tandy won best actress and, uh, Oh yeah, that's right. It, it might have one best picture, too. Yes it did, yes it did. Yeah. Just as RAIN MAN, uh, with Dustin Hoffman, uh, that, that was tremendous and Tom Cruise. That was, yeah, I, I think it was more a lesson for Tom Cruise than anything else in terms of, uh, of how to act from Dustin Hoffman, but, uh. Yes, uh, oh, that was, that was, uh, what the, much of the hype was that Tom Cruise learned so much from Dustin Hoffman. Yeah, it must have been great just being with him on, on a daily basis and seeing how he prepares for his, for his lines and all that stuff. Yeah and a good bit of that was filmed right in Cincinnati. Which is just forty-five miles from, from where I am, where I actually live in a suburb of Dayton. Oh. Is, is the Kmart there? Oh, we do have Kmart here, you better believe it. Isn't there a Kmart everywhere? That was, that was so funny, he had to, or was it Kmart. Yes. He had to buy his underwear at Kmart. Right, right yeah. That was hilarious. The, the, I guess the, the first, the first, uh, scene in that movie that really got my attention, uh, concerning the, the disease and all that was when he, uh, dropped the, the, uh, the toothpicks, Oh yes. and he was able to count the number of toothpicks just by a mental image. Yes, yes. Unbelievable. Well, you know there are people, uh, referred to as savants also, uh, who can do most phenomenal things Yeah. and everyone feels they are totally retarded. Yeah, because that's the way they, they might seem outwardly, That's right. but, boy there's a lots going on in there It's amazing Yeah, yeah and I, the, the, I think the, the best thing about RAINMAN was the, uh, the way that they put together the, the real awfulness of the, of the, of the disease, only, Yes. an, and then they balanced it with the wonderfulness of it, you know, and, and, and you need to, to work with it, uh, you know, certainly on, on a daily basis but then then again work with it toward a good end. Not, not toward winning in Las Vegas, for example. Yes and the, Right, well the warmth that developed between them and again it, I think was a picture of relationships. Yeah. Again the relationship, uh, between the two, uh, that, uh, never would have occurred, uh, by accident. Right, right. I was, uh, I was so impressed with that movie I saw it three times. Did you. I can, I can tell you, oh, so much about that movie, just because it, it really rang, uh, rang a lot of my, uh, my personal background. I, I have a, a brother myself that's, that's older and, uh, he's not, you know, nothing, nothing, of course, serious is wrong with him but, uh, but we have gone through these, these lapses of, of a relationship, somewhat, sometimes, Yes. and then, you know, uh, for, for, for no real, you know, direct reason, I guess, uh, we, we get into, uh, uh, a really good relationship for a while and then, you know, back and forth so I, I was really able to, to relate to the, the relationship aspect of the movie between the brothers. That was neat. Uh-huh. Well that's tremendous, that, it's good because it does make you think, about your own family. Yeah, a lot. And see it did bring out a lot of thoughts between you and your brother. Uh-huh. No question, he, the, he was, he's one of these guys though that doesn't really like to go see movies like that. He likes the bang them up and shoot them up things. Uh-huh And, and, uh, it, it was like pulling teeth to go get him to, to see it but, uh, oh boy. He was, uh, uh, he, he gave the, the best response that I've heard him give of this type of movie for RAIN MAN. I mean he certainly didn't, he only saw it one time, and he didn't go back for more, but, uh, he, he said he enjoyed it and, and, Well he at least saw it one time Yeah, yeah, and, and he really, I don't know, he, he's kind of a Dustin Hoffman fan anyway. But he but before he saw the movie he was like disappointed that Dustin Hoffman would do this I'm like, oh, come on. Just think of what a phenomenal actor Dustin Hoffman is. Yeah. He will do that, to research it and to be able to mimic a person, uh, uh, with the kinds of problems that he had. And to make it believable. Yes. I mean I was, I was believing it, I don't know about any body else but I was, it was great. Well, I'm sure everybody that saw it was believing it right along with them. He did great. Well it's just, uh, been delightful talking with you. Yeah, yeah, you take care up there and, uh, let's hear it for the summertime. Absolutely, I'm ready for it, but they're predicting some more snow for our direction. No, oh no. Oh well, take care. Take care now. Bye, bye. Bye, bye. Where do you get most of your news? I watch the MACNEIL LEHRER news hour, and I subscribe to the paper on the weekends. Where, where are you? I'm in Dallas. Oh, yeah. Are you in Dallas also? No, I'm in San Antonio. Oh, really, okay. I get my news from a combination of sources. I take the paper every day Uh-huh. and I read it on the way in to work on the, in a carpool. Oh, really. Uh-huh. And, uh, and I watch the, uh, actually I watch the morning news before I leave for work. And then, you know, usually over lunch, there'll be a big topic of conversation on something from the news. Uh-huh. I normally find that uh, I'm probably the most, um, news hungry of my friends, so I don't, we don't normally talk about the news at lunch. I, I find that I have to only subscribe to the paper on the weekend, simply because I used to get it during the week Uh-huh. but, um, I would always end up arriving at work late, because I would always end up skimming the headlines, spending too much time, reading it in the morning. Yeah. So I have to cut myself down to the weekend, plus after work. Um, the MACNEIL LEHRER news hour is on public television Uh-huh. and I enjoy that quite a bit. Yeah. Um, one of the women that I work with, her husband is Iranian. Uh-huh. So here lately with all the Middle Eastern news we've had some very interesting conversations over lunch. I will admit I work with, uh, someone who's Iranian, and he definitely has a very different slant on the news. Uh-huh. He's very, very skeptical of the news media, and I will admit I'm reasonably skeptical also. But he's, I don't know, uh, he's much, much more so. It's sort of interesting though, because he does bring a, a much, um, different perspective with all the Gulf goings on, um. He was always speaking in terms of, you know, American imperialism reasserting itself. Um, I suppose it's a different attitude that we normally don't hear in the country. Uh-huh Well I, I, uh, I like the print news much better than the television news because television news tends to sensationalize. Uh-huh. True, um, the, I understand that the MacNeil Lehrer probably doesn't. They, um, tend to spend quite a bit of time on one story. Uh-huh. They will have maybe two or three main stories and just spend a very large amount of time. Sort of like the, uh, what is that, A B C's NIGHTLINE. Uh-huh. Well, I guess they only normally stick with just the one, um, story. But they, they can do a much better job since they don't have to chop it into little two minute stories. They don't report on every murder and shooting that happened in, in every little town. No, no. It's very much national interest news. Yeah. A lot of times they end up, um, with these panels of experts and they go back and forth, where everyone's giving some opinions and sometimes that, I don't know the value of that, because I saw plenty of jokes and, and, um, oh, editorial cartoons about all the retired generals, making a living during the, the Gulf War. I've been getting a kick out of those lately. Uh-huh. Although, um I'm only twenty-five, so I've never actually been through a period of war Uh-huh. and I don't know anyone in the military and I don't have a lot of background knowledge in, uh, military strategy and, and weaponry, and, and all that kind of stuff. And I thought the generals were very interesting. Now when they started to speculate, I, I saw that for what is was, and thought all of these guys don't know what's going on. Uh-huh. But I thought they were interesting, and, and they shed some light on what was going on for me. I will admit it's interesting. I'm twenty-six. So I don't have any more experience in that than you. Um, it, it, it was very interesting that it seemed like some of the commentators had their axe to grind, you know, there were some that were screaming for air power, there were some that were saying the air power wasn't going to do it. Uh-huh. And they seemed to mold the events to their view of the world, which I suppose just about everyone does, but these guys had a, a, uh, national soap box to stand on and, and express this view. You know, one of the best television news shows that I saw during the war was a show on a Saturday morning on A B C, and it was for children Uh-huh. and it was hosted by Peter Jennings, and it was so interesting because they were relating the war to these children in their studio, and they also had children calling in live from all over the country and asking questions. And they, they had all their correspondents in the different areas, in Saudi Arabia, and Israel, and, and all. They had them all, uh, on, I don't know what you'd call it other than on line. They had them all on hold Uh-huh. and if a child asked a question that the person in Jerusalem could best answer, they would cut to that person, and that person would answer the question. It was just very informative and interesting, and, uh, I was real impressed at how A B C handled, uh, translating, the war for children. Uh-huh. Yeah, I didn't see anything like that, although I did, uh, I guess one thing that I found sort of interesting, this is getting a little off the topic, but there was a, a, a big push with the local T V stations to have little hot lines with counselors to, to help parents learn how to talk about their war with their children. Uh-huh. I thought that was a really unusual thing. And our local H E B stores here, I don't know if it's H E B statewide or whatever, but they have videos that, uh, I don't know if they still have them, but they were free rental, videos, that had something to do with the war. Uh-huh. Uh, it was, with the children's aspect? Right. It was something for children, that they, they had several advertisements on television pushing parents going and, uh, getting the video and watching it with their children and discussing it and that kind of thing. Uh-huh. I suppose that is a valuable service. Again not having, uh, lived through another war, I don't know if that's a common thing that people thought of, or if that was a new concern with people. Well back during the Viet Nam conflict that no one will, will have the guts enough to call a real war Uh-huh. uh, the, that type of technology just wasn't at people's disposal. That's true. That's true. So I don't think there's ever been a war that's been so thoroughly covered by the news. And spot in the probably more importantly, one that lasted short enough that, that people's interest didn't flag too badly. Yeah. I tell you what, the first three days, I was glued to the television. I will admit the same thing. And I, would come home and flip on MacNeil Lehrer And I, and they would run these extended two, three hour versions of the program Yeah. and I, I was just, I was horrified and fascinated by what I was seeing. I tell you what. The uh, the war spot in let's see, was it a Wednesday or Thursday? Must have been Thursday, uh, and Friday night I was, I stayed up until two o'clock in the morning, sitting, right dead center in front of my television just watching practically with my mouth hanging open. Uh-huh. Because I was watching C N N, and they would, they would switch back to one of their Israel bureaus, and the people would be standing there in gas masks, and you'd be hearing the sirens, and it was just, I was amazed. Uh-huh. I, I didn't have that experience. I, I don't have cable Oh. so I, I'm pretty much limited to P B S, which I thought, I thought they did a very good job. Uh-huh. Um, I've got one question for you. I you say you take the newspaper. Uh-huh. Um, I, I found the newspaper situation in Dallas very interesting. We've got the one fairly, well, relatively weaker paper, the TIMES HERALD, and then the MORNING NEWS, which has a very strong subscription. Uh-huh. Does San Antonio you said San Antonio, right? Uh-huh. Do you have just one paper, or do you have several? No. There are two, and they're pretty close. Uh, the one that I picked is more similar in format to the newspaper, I grew up near Houston Uh-huh. and there are two major newspapers there that run pretty much neck and neck, and the one I picked here had the same format as the one that my parents took as I was growing up. I mean, the same type of typeface on the headline and that kind of stuff. Uh-huh. It's piddly stuff to pick a newspaper over, and I enjoy, the comics are better in this newspaper. This newspaper has the far side and the comics that I enjoy and the other one has some weird ones that I've never heard of. So, I, I actually take both newspapers on the weekends. Do you? I figure I'm only taking on the weekend, and I can afford that. Yeah. I, I find the news reporting in the MORNING NEWS to be better, but I sort of have a liberal political slant, and the MORNING NEWS just has an incredibly conservative editorial, um, outlook. And my, My fiancee takes probably six Sunday papers. I get the TIMES HERALD just to balance that out a little bit. He takes both San Antonio papers, an Austin paper, both Houston papers, I guess he takes seven, the San Marcos paper and the New Braunsfel paper, but he's a football coach at Southwest Texas State University, so he's getting all the sports sections. Uh-huh. And, so, you know, he has these stacks of Sunday newspapers that go unread ... I guess I don't really have a problem with capital punishment. I'm not really sure what the exact, uh, specifications are for Texas. I know that they, uh, have capital punishment for certain crimes, and that's probably the way I feel about it is, is, uh, it kind of depends on the crime that's committed. My belief all my life, I guess, has been that, that if you take someone else's life, then you automatically giving up, uh, yours in place of it But I don't, seems to be a lot of controversy about that Yeah. Uh, uh, I tend to agree with you, uh, you know, probably pretty similar views on it, but that's, that's one of the things I don't, don't understand is, is so much of the controversy because, uh, you know, I, I do also, myself, believe in capital punishment, uh, uh, you know, it, it really irks me to see so much effort put into preventing someone being put to death by the State when they so callously and usually so, you know, without even thinking or without any concern, uh, you know, end somebody else's life, and in a lot of cases several people's lives. That's true I guess, well, there's, there's probably two or three different types of, of views as far as the controversy goes. I can see where if a life was taken by accident or, uh, I don't know what you'd call it, not premeditated or, I guess primarily by accident, uh, there may be cases where the death penalty is not called for, but I lean towards, if it's premeditated or if it's, uh, kind of a habitual or, or a habit that, uh, a tendency that people, uh, may get into, then I guess I don't really have a problem with it Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's, that's kind of the way I feel. If, if you've got a guy who's, who's been to trial and has been in and out of jail, you know, basically a, a three time loser for the twelfth time, you know, and he goes out and kills somebody, he's not going to be reformed, he's not going to get any better, you know, it's, it's not going to, it's just not going to get any better. And, and the only thing, you know, a lot of people have the opinion that, you know, don't, don't have capital punishment, but give them life in jail and, you know, I could go along with that, if, if I could be assured that it would be their natural life in jail and not parole after ten, or twelve years. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's what aggravates a lot of people, is somebody does get a life sentence in place of the death penalty, and they wind up back on the streets after five years or six years or like the kid on the news tonight out in Mesquite who was out in six months. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's, it's just our criminal system is just so, I guess, overloaded, but the, you know, the, the problem is not so much with the prison system, you know, I mean, because the, the cops are out there doing their job enforcing the laws, and the prison system are just, you know, they're trying to cope with them, but you know, the thing about capital punishment I, you know, a lot of people don't think it would be a deterrent, uh, to, to future crime, and the way it is now, it's not. No. Because, you know, you, if like the State of Texas, for example, may, uh, you know, may execute somebody twice a year. You know, that's, that's no kind of deterrent because we, we've got literally hundreds of people on death row, and, and many of them who have been there for literally for ten or fifteen years on death row, Right. and that's, that's certainly no kind of deterrent, and I would tend to agree with anybody who says right now that it, it's not a terrent, a deterrent, because it's not. No, it's not. You think of your chances of getting the death penalty after uh, committing a crime are really pretty slim right now. And you can, probably spend, uh, a lot of time, uh, or maybe eventually, uh, just waiting it out, Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. and that's where a lot of aggravation comes, I think, is, is, uh, these guys spend so much time in the appeal process or just in the waiting process, Uh-huh. they may spend years, and, you know, the last I heard it was costing ten, twenty, thirty thousand dollars a year, uh, to keep these guys waiting. Yeah, it, it's amazing. There's, uh, there's a girl I work with, our secretary, as a matter of fact, her, her father was murdered, her father and three other guys up here in Sherman. And the, uh, the guy, that they tried and convicted and sentenced him to death, you know, he's been on death row for like eight years. Yeah. And, you know, this, this was her father, uh, you know, that, that got killed, you know, just cold-blooded murder, him and three other people, and, but still, for some reason, you know, this, this guy's sentence has not been carried out, you know, he's sitting on death row for eight years after having killed four people, and the State still can't bring itself to, to execute, this guy. To, yeah, to carry it out. It sort of takes the justice out of the justice system. It does, it really does, you know. She, and they have to go back, uh, occasionally, you know, she has to write letters to the parole board and, you know, lawyers, and just, just ever so often she mentions, well, she's got to do something else, you know, write another letter, or do something. Yeah. It's just, It should be over and done with. Yeah, yeah, you know, she should be getting on with her life, you know, getting, getting that part behind her, but yet, it's, it's kind of tied to her the way it is now. Yeah, it is. And she winds up being a, a victim, day after day after day. Yeah. Yeah, right. A victim, not only of, indirectly of the crime, but also indirectly by that, indirect involvement. Right. It's just, it's, it's ridiculous. She, She's an emotional victim Yeah. Yeah, it, it's terrible, you know and, And, you know, the, like you say, the cops are out doing the work day by day have got to have a lot of frustration when they see all their work, basically go out the window. Yeah. Oh, that, oh, man, I, I couldn't be a cop for that, for that very reason, you know, because they do. The, the criminal gets right back out and, you know, the cop's just got to go back and, and do his thing all over again, because so many of the crimes are, are done by repeat offenders. Yes, they are. It's, Well, that's about five minutes, so unless you've got something else, well, Yeah. No It's a pleasure talking with you. All right, Ron, we'll see you later. Okeydoke, good-bye. Bye-bye. Okay. Tell me about your home. Well, it's an older home. It was made back in the early sixties. It's a pier beam house. Huh-uh. Got three bedrooms, one bath and that just makes me scream. That's pretty tough What area do you live in? I live in Houston. Oh, okay. I see. Is that pretty typical for your area? Well, for the neighborhood I'm in, yeah, Yeah. This is one of the more established neighborhoods, Huh-uh. That sounds real interesting. I live in a suburb of Dallas and, uh, I live in the basic three bedroom, two bath home. So, at least, I have two bathrooms. That's not so bad, but, uh, it's pretty typical for the area, as well. Uh, I've always been interested in older homes, personally. So, I think you can end up doing more with them, it seems like. What about yard space? Do you have lot of, a big lot, or anything like that? The whole lot I'm sitting on is roughly half an acre. Oh, I see. About half of that, about a quarter acre of that, I've got a garden. Huh-uh. Oh, that's nice. Because I have just like a very small, you know, those basic tract houses, like that. We have a very small yard and, um, I do have garden, but it's extremely small, but, uh, it seems like, though, for your area that, that is sort of different. In a big city like that most houses, I would think, would be sort of like what we live in. Just a you know, basic tract house. Well, in the, uh, newer neighborhoods and development communities, the houses are so close together, Yeah. if your neighbor is having an argument you can here it blow for blow. That's exactly right. That's the way we are. We have, uh, one thing we have that we really enjoy here, is we have a hot tub in the back. So we have, we have quite a few parties, and uh, seems like everyone that lives around us, ends up, you know, hearing every conversation that goes on outside with everyone. So, uh, that's true that is one thing that I don't enjoy about it, is the houses are too close together. But, uh, you know, it's fine for now, hopefully, eventually, we'll move in a larger home. The only thing that I don't like also is the rooms are so small. You know, it's very difficult to arrange furniture and things like that, so. Are your rooms in your house bigger since it's a sixties home? Because it seems like then, that they built the homes much larger is that true? Yeah. And they've got better closet space. Yeah. new houses that I've seen. Yeah. Yeah. That's really it. That's a plus. At least we do have like three walk-in closets here. So that's, that's maybe not so typical, but, uh, It helps a bunch. Yeah. It really does, except when you have to fill them up and then you get those Visa bills in. And Yeah. So anyway, um, anything else about the area, about, um, you know, can you compare yourself to any thing around there. Most of the neighborhood I'm in is pretty typical. This whole neighborhood was built between sixty and sixty-five. Yeah. So it's, it's, Everybody has got a pretty good size yard, Yeah. I mean, I got probably the biggest, if not the biggest yard, I've got pretty close to it, in the entire neighborhood. Yeah. That's nice. That is nice. But, you know, too, the only bad thing, too, is that then you have to keep up, you know, you have to, the yard to deal with Well, I, I enjoy that though. and, Do you. You must have more time than, than I have. I'm sitting out here right now. We had this terrible rain and I'm looking at the yard and seeing how tall the grass has gotten and it seems like now that's, that's, I almost wish I was in an apartment or something. You know, It's rained Yeah. Well, um, I don't know, do we just terminate this or do you have to talk for a certain amount of time? Do you know? No, we can, after you go to somewhere between five and ten minutes, they'll get a little master recording this. Okay. Okay. Well, can you tell me anything else about the house Are you working on it? I mean, do people around that area seem to do a lot of renovation? Yeah. This entire neighborhood, everybody keeps the places up real nice. Yeah. That's, that's nice. Yeah, the town that I came from is, uh, is a, uh, older town, it like, the typical, the typical homes there are like, you know, early nineteen hundreds late eighteen hundreds, Wow. and I renovated a house there and that was so much fun. I mean, there, if you don't live in a house that's at least seventy-five to hundred years old, you know, you're just nobody, practically And that was really, that was a good experience for me to learn a lot of discipline and, uh, was considered typical for that area. So, uh, it was quite a change for me to come to a house like that now that's just, you know, a very square little box and, you know, there's not a whole lot you can do with it. But, uh, anyway, Living in the city has some advantages. Yeah. That's true. If given the choice, I'm getting out. Oh, really. Well, I have lived in a small town for, you know, this, this town was like less than ten thousand people and it was about sixty miles south of Dallas. And, you know, I didn't move out of there until I was, you know, twenty-seven and that was just, you know, so I love the big city You know, I had lived in a rural area for, for so long so I've enjoyed it, but, uh, it can, it can get kind of tough. Its like a rat race sometimes. That's just something I'll never adapt to. I don't, I don't want to be a part of the rat race. I want to be basically just kind of left alone. Yeah If I want to sit around and mess with my garden, I'll mess with my garden, Yeah. if I want to work in the flower beds, Yeah. It sounds like you enjoy working outside as well. I, I, Very much. yeah. I really do enjoy that. But I haven't planted anything yet or, you know, I usually have gotten flowers coming out the but I, I haven't done that, yet. I've had finals this week. So, uh, you know, I'm just kind of trying to, trying to stick in with that, Huh-uh. but, uh, since that's over with now, maybe I can, I can get this yard in shape. Do you do a lot of gardening? Uh, landscaping is more, than the gardening, Yeah. the I've got my beans, peas, Yeah. I've got some onions out, tomatoes, Yeah. I'm not real sure what they're going to do this year. I never have much luck with tomatoes. I do plant a lot of beans, because it seems like, the, uh, bugs get on them so easily and I have a real problem with anything like pesticides or anything like that, so, the only thing that I use is soap. I water, you know, spray the plants, because they say, supposedly, that will keep the bugs off them. But, uh, I don't have luck with that tomato plant, so I hate to spray them with anything. Um, what do you do? Do you have any tips you could give me? Um, my favorite one is putting on the, um, tomato plant is to put, uh, dust, Yeah. Yeah. and that stuff has been around since the beginning of time, That's true. That's true. My dad is a farmer so, I've heard him talk about that forever. I guess it works, but, um, you have to really wash your vegetables after that so it won't make you sick. Let's see what else do you do to your house? Well, I've done some rewiring on it. Yeah. Eventually, if we stay here, I'm going to have to rewire the entire house. Oh, really. Do you plan on like adding any rooms or, you have enough space you could probably do that. Or is it, I've talked about adding at least one more room and definitely adding another bath on. Yeah I would think so if you only have one bathroom for three bedrooms, that's tough. Do you not, like, have a half bath. Not even a half bath. Yeah. Yeah. That's rough. The house that I used to live in had one bath and a half. And that was even just with two people. That was a pain. The only thing that saves it, with the schedule I work and the schedule my wife works, we're getting ready to go to work at totally different times. So that. It's not like we're tripping over each other in the morning. That's good. Really. That could account for a lot of marital problems I think You get to know each other very well if you have to share a bathroom It doesn't work if you're trying to shave and she's trying to put her eyeliner on and, you're both fighting over the mirror. No. That's right. It does not make for a happy situation. That's true. Well, do you have any children? I've got one. One child. And they enjoy where they're living? We'll, he's nine months old. Oh, so he doesn't know, right. I guess, he's a big help out in your garden. Right. He likes to dig around a little bit. His mother comes in and says, why did you let him play in the dirt, I guess he's enjoying himself. That's right. It's healthy, why not. Yeah. He was eating the dirt, I wouldn't worry about it. No. It won't hurt them. I was a big dirt eater, supposedly, when I was a child and I turned out okay so, don't worry about it. Just let him enjoy himself So you think that you want to move away from the big city, uh? Well, that's what I've always, I was raised up in a town that was about ten thousand people. Yeah. So you're just the opposite from me. You want to go back to that, uh, After we got married we moved, ended up moving to the Houston area. Yeah. Yeah. So are you from Texas? Yeah. You are. So it's not, you know, that's true Houston, in itself, is a pretty tough place. Okay, I'm back on. Okay. Um, you say you watch evenings mostly? I watch evenings because I work all day. I used to watch daytimes. Uh-huh. Um, mainly like ALL MY CHILDREN, that kind of thing. Oh, so ... And then sometimes OPRAH and sometimes DONAHUE, but now it's mainly evenings. Do you have any that you like well enough that you tape them when you're not going to be there? Yes. Which ones? I tape THIRTY SOMETHING, and L A LAW. Oh. Those are the two I like the best. Oh, two they're going to change. Well, one they're taking, off. I know. It's going to be history, I know. I don't know what's going to yeah, we like L A LAW. Uh-huh. We don't watch THIRTY SOMETHING, but that's kind of young for us. My husband and I are grandparents. Oh, well. Well ... So we don't watch, uh, that type of show, but we like L A LAW. We like, that. Uh-huh. We're just, I'm sorry they're breaking the team up, because we liked all the ones that were on there. I know. I'm amazed. I'm not sure I like the new ones too much. Huh-uh. I'm surprised that, I was surprised at the ending of, you know, with all the funny things happening and different things. I just wonder if, if, uh, they just want to go on to other projects and not be stuck in this show, since it's gone on for so long, it looks like, it looks like it might be one of these seven or eight year run things. Where you kind of can spend your whole career on one show. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I know. Of course, I guess that's not bad. Alan Alda did it on MASH. I know. Isn't that funny? It hasn't hurt him at all. So do you, do you mostly like this type of like a story type of thing that lasts an hour? Oh, I don't usually like stuff that continues. That's why I'm surprised I like those two shows, because usually I like, you know, stuff that just ends sort of, that you just, you don't have to, have watched, you know. In one hour, like QUANTUM LEAP. Yeah. I mean, you don't have to ... That's one of our favorites Yeah. You don't have to have watched it last week in order to follow, so, you know, I usually don't like that. Right, which they do at the beginning of the season, to grab your attention. You know, Uh-huh. that's always a bummer too. I know. Sometimes it's better just to tape record both of them and then watch it all in one. Uh-huh. We, we do that sometimes. I, I guess I'm, I'm not into real heavy stuff. L A LAW is about the heaviest thing I watch. I, I'll, mostly I'm into it for relaxation, Yeah. so I like things like GOLDEN GIRLS or CHEERS or, uh, Monday night is real good with me, you know, MAJOR DAD and, and, uh, NORTHERN EXPOSURE and, and, uh, oh, what's that one with Burt Reynolds? That type of show is what we what, uh, we watch. Uh-huh. We generally just stay on one channel all, for all of Monday night, just to watch those. Just some of the times they're continued, but mostly they're just little vignettes. A new one we found we really like is that DINOSAURS. Have you seen that? Huh-uh. That is, it's, it's really funny. They use like animated, it's not like a cartoon, but it's like dummies and things, that are used, Uh-huh. and, uh, it's really, um, and robots probably. But there's always a, a moral to each story. And what night is it on? Well, we watched it, the times we've seen it, it's been like on or, excuse me, Friday night. Uh, but it's, we've only seen it a couple of times. But it, it's real, the first one we saw, um, they were, it, it involved a tradition of when a person reaches seventy-five, and I can't remember what day they call it, but, but, uh, the son-in-laws get to throw the mother-in-laws when they're seventy five over a cliff Oh, great. Anyway Anyway, it, it goes on, you know, and the son-in-law and mother-in-law are sniping at each other and all, and then when it comes time for him to throw her over, well, the, the teenaged son the night before tried to save her by hiding her. Oh. And she said no, you can't do, you know, he ran her out, was running to in a wheelchair to hide her, and she said, "You can't do that." Huh. "This is tradition. This is what old people are supposed to be, thrown over the, the cliff." And, uh, he said, "I don't understand." It's, it's real funny that they give the teenagers the, as the one that questions, uh, the, what's going on. Uh-huh. And, uh, in the end of, uh, the son-in-law, when he did get the mother-in-law up to the cliff, uh, the the teenaged son throws himself in the way and says, "No, you can't do it," and then, and then, uh, "Oh, well, we've got to do it. It's tradition," and the son was, you know, "Why?" And so, in, in the end he doesn't throw her over, Uh-huh. Oh, he doesn't. and, of course, the town thinks he's just terrible, because that has been tradition for hundreds of years and he's broken it. And then we saw one where this, there was a teenage, when a teenage boy comes into his manhood, they call it the night of the howling, or something like that, Uh-huh. and they all go out and howl, you know And, and the son refused to do it. He, he did, he thought it was not ... So he didn't go howl? No, he wouldn't go howl, so all the, all the people that worked with the father ostracized him Oh, how funny. It is. It, it, it's, it's real interesting to watch the show, and, and the relationship between the family is, is really now, now the mother-in-law lives in the house with them. Huh. So it's, our, our grandson, our oldest grandson is the one that, that got us to watching it. But it really is, it moves real fast. It's a real short, and there's always, like I say, a moral to it and, It's just a half hour, or is it hour? Well, half hour. Oh. That, that's all there is to it. And, and, uh, they ... There's not many half hour shows, it seems like that, Yeah, it, it, they, they're trying to liken the, the father in there of the teenage son to like JACKIE GLEASON SHOW. Uh, the way he talks to his mother-in-law and so forth, Uh-huh. and I guess maybe there are some parts of that, but I didn't really see that in there. But what I've read about it, they talk about that. But anyway, we've, we've enjoyed that, and, and, uh, I guess mostly I, I like the news shows too, the news magazines, like SIXTY MINUTES or TWENTY, TWENTY or PRIME TIME LIVE or something like that, you know, all, all of those shows, if I can do it, Yeah, no, I watch those if I, but my husband likes to watch, um, old movies, especially war movies, or, or, uh, sports, which I'm not, Oh, see, I like sports. No, I don't. Well, I, I do, I like ice skating and I like, uh, gymnastics, and some track and field, Uh-huh. but I, I, and I'll watch snippets of baseball games and I, I just don't have that much time to sit and watch the whole thing. Uh-huh. And I don't ever, no matter what's on, I don't ever just sit and watch T V. I'm usually either doing dishes, or I may be sewing, or, you know, I always have, or letter writing, I know. or I may be working around in the room somehow, but I don't, I don't ever just sit and, I, that's something that comes from your old age, you know. No, I don't sit. Idle hands are the devil's workshop I know. Who has time? I don't have time to sit, I know. No. It's, it's, uh, That's why I don't get to watch that much. I mean, I, watch nine o'clock Right. I do okay, because the kids are all in bed, but before that, I really, there's not much time. Right. Or like at six thirty I'll watch WHEEL OF FORTUNE or something like that. Right, well, our, yeah, if our if our grandchildren are with us, that's, they have to watch that. We don't watch it unless they're here Uh-huh. No, I like that. No, I'll watch, game show kind of stuff But they, uh, but, Yeah. It's, it's, um, oh, and, you know, the, the kids will get you started on stuff like AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS. We've wound up sending in one. That's something I didn't think that we'd ever do Did you send one? Yeah. My oldest grandson pulling his tooth. He's, he's, he wouldn't let us pull it, How funny. and I mean, it, it got to the point he was eating a pear here, and he bit into it, and it was just hanging by a thread. And I, and I'd tell him, you know, it's getting ready to fall out, and he walked around the house with his face down toward the floor and his mouth open, hoping it would because he wouldn't let anybody pull it. And he he wound up pull, So do you have P C I have a personal computer at home. It's an A T compatible. I don't use it very much any more. I used to use it quite a bit. Uh-huh. I also have a P C at work that I use as a terminal. I do some P C stand alone work on it, and I can transfer data back and forth between the P C and the main frame. Uh-huh. What about you? Do you own a computer? Um, well I sort of own a computer. We have two P C at home, but neither one do we really own. Um. Are you leasing them? No, both of them are sort of work related, and, Loaners from work? Yeah, that's the nicer way, right. Do you work for T I? No, no. Um, I, actually I'm doing consulting right now because I just had a baby, and my husband's working at Bell Labs, but he's really from France, and these computers actually are from France. What brand are they? One of them's a Compaq Uh-huh. it's a three eighty-six I'm jealous. and the other is actually a I B M P C compatible, it's a three eighty-six, I guess it's twenty-five, yeah, three eight six twenty-five C maybe I don't know, no we don't have the we decided not to get the which is actually another loaner one too that we picked up for a consulting job that my husband was doing and, What kind of consulting do you do? Um, well, I actually do some work, working at M I T and at NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology in Washington, Uh-huh. and then I worked for Dragon Systems for a while. What kind of work do you do when you're consulting? Um, well, it depends, it's very different in the different places, but, Is it programming related? Yeah, yeah. Program related, research related, and I work in the speech field, and I do a lot metacoustic phonetics and looking at the acoustic characteristics of speech, Uh-huh. and I do that type of stuff typically for other people, and we, like here we use the P C to do that. Mostly I use it for writing papers and things like that. Word processing. Well, more, uh, do you know Latek? Word text processing, No I'm not familiar with that. so I don't, I don't use, I mean, you can call it word processing, but I don't usually use a word processor to do it Uh-huh and we don't have too much standard software. Like I haven't bought, we haven't really bought any commercially available software at all. So we don't use it for things like our accounts and addresses and things like that. We use it more for just writing programs when we need to or, um, doing research, looking at the speech signal and then doing writing, and also as a just as a terminal, and we connect to other computers to read our net mail and things like that. So, you've got, you've got a modem in it then. Uh, neither one has a modem, but we have a modem. At home you have a modem that you can connect to each of them? Neither one, Right. Uh, and so it's an external modem. Yeah, we have I got, when I got mine I had an internal modem in it Uh-huh. I used it, uh, quite a bit when I was, uh, uh, looking at, uh, information on a large bulletin board sponsored by a newspaper in a, in Fort Worth Uh-huh. but, uh, went out of town for a while, and, and sort of got off the, uh, bulletin board and off of my micro completely Uh-huh. and after a while the modem started making noises on its own without, uh, even without using it on the computer, I could turn a computer on, it'd start squawking. So I finally opened up the box and took it out. So that was it. I think that's the thirty second warning. Oh, I didn't hear it. Do you hear, the, the beep in the background. Yes. Oh, that's a, an ambulance or something going on here, I think. Okay. Where, Where are you, I haven't ever noticed the thirty second warning actually. and, uh, In Manhattan. Are you at home now? Yeah, I'm at home. So you've got a lot of traffic noise real close. Uh-huh. So it'd be interesting for the people that look at this signal I mean, because there's a lot of background noise that, you know, people can hear. So it'll be interesting how much of it actually gets picked up. Um, yeah, and often times that, I can't talk on can't do this much later than now, between sort of like six, five thirty and six thirty or something like that, because the traffic outside, they honk the horn so loud I can't even hear the phone call. What time is it now where you are? Uh, about twenty after four. So you're an hour ahead of where I am. I'm in Central Central time zone. Okay, yeah we're Eastern. And, um, what did, did you ever try using like Prodigy or any of those systems? No, I haven't done that. Uh, I know someone who has, and, and she's, uh, very, uh, pleased with it. She told me some of the things you can do, and it's just a, a very handy tool to have. Uh-huh. Yeah, and you can do a it makes things very convenient. You can save a lot of money, too. Certainly cut down on long distance charges if you, if that's what you have in mind. Uh-huh, yeah, I've never tried using that, I don't know too much about it. What about, have you, did you use commercially available software or, I have, I have used Lotus. I have used, uh, Word Perfect Uh-huh. uh, I, not heavy use. I've used, uh, D Base and, uh, I've used a substantial amount of shareware. Um, I haven't done much Lotus work connected with my job. I've been through three classes Uh-huh. and I have a great deal of respect for it. Uh-huh. Um, I haven't done much word processing work with my job. I do some Uh-huh. and I, and the D Base work I've done was strictly class related. I've never used D Base, um, but I've heard both good things and bad things about it. Well, it's probably the granddaddy of most, uh, data base management systems. Uh-huh. It's got some pretty strong competitors. Some of them have reviews that are better than D Base, so, I, I think by now, it's a matter of, uh, personal taste. Yeah, people told me that it was sort of cumbersome to use. I can understand that very easily. I've used, I've had a class on, um, R Base and also in Paradox Uh-huh. and both of those seem very easy to use compared to D Base. Uh-huh. Do you think you D Base is more flexible or allows you to do more. Or do you think the others are pretty much compatible these days? Um, I wouldn't say compatible, but certainly comparable. But, uh yeah, I didn't mean compatible, I meant comparable. My brain is going to mush. Uh-huh. And what do you work on at T I? I'm a computer programmer on the I B M main frames. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I do, uh, mainly business data processing. Uh-huh. I also handle production support for the systems in my area of responsibility. Uh-huh. Um, sometimes I get called late at night at home because there's a production problem, and that gives me the opportunity to, uh, come in to work and fix it, if I can't think of some thing to tell the trouble shooter while we're on the phone. Right. Um, I also, uh, handle most of the calls from our users and other programmers who need to find out something connected, Okay. Um, well I guess first of all I, I could have asked that before. Do you have children? No. No. Okay. Because I, I didn't know if that would make a difference in how you felt. Yeah. Um, what do you think about the proposal that all young Americans should spend a year or two, I think it's a good idea. I think everybody should, should, uh, put in their time so to speak for the, for the good of the, the nation and for the good of themselves. Yeah. I think it's, uh, would everyone grow up and mature and, and realize what this country's all about. I just, um, I guess that's my, that's something that my family has always believed strongly in, and, uh, I had opportunities in high school, to work in some programs, um Did you? something Oh! and, and I agree with what you said that it's, uh, it benefits the person doing it so much I don't think they realize Uh-huh. and I, uh, I, I think it gives you a better perspective, on life and, uh, it gives you a little bit, uh, more a glimpse of the, the real world and and it would certainly help the country, too, uh. Yeah. Really Yeah, I think that's probably like, uh, quite a few things that, that the kids, uh, maybe not so much nowadays but used to go through, you know, Yeah. they, just, they were, they did things for people, you know, for their communities, for their, their, uh, families, for their friends, where now, I'm not sure they really do. Yes. Yeah. Well, I think sometimes through groups and organizations, um, my first, when I first thought of it, I thought it, uh, when they asked the question I thought, well that sounds wonderful. And then, I wondered if people were unwilling but, but I think even if you went in with a negative attitude I don't think it would stay negative very long. Um, but I do know through some organized groups like Scouts and church um, they, do still have opportunities. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's probably true You know But, I, I think that's a small, uh, number could, but even, even through those groups, do you think that they participate as much as maybe they used to? No, um, not since, um, not as much as I remember growing up. And that was something, uh, I think in the fifties and sixties, um, seemed more common in the last two decades. Uh-huh. Yeah. I think that's probably true. But, I think it's probably more true, still in the, in the smaller communities then in the larger cities. Yeah. Yeah. Where, uh, where abouts do you live? What part of the country? Well, I live in Richardson right now. Which is just, Oh, okay. We're in Plano so we're not far apart. Right. Yeah, okay. One of the calls I'd gotten before was, uh, down to Austin and, and I know, a friend of mine talked to someone in the midwest so I know there is the possibility that it could be out of the area. Yeah. Gosh, I hadn't even thought about it being out of the area but you're right. Yeah. I grew up in a real small town in Florida. Oh. I mean a real small town And, uh, I think it was just of course it was back in the, in the fifties and I think it was real prevalent back then. I I think people thought more of others than they do now. You know, as far as doing things for them and, and then gaining benefits from it. Yeah. Well, and maybe, uh, maybe this would be a way to get that feeling back. Um, if we've lost some of that and it, it seems in the last decade or two, um, that's true, maybe that's a way, if, if young people had to do it um, maybe that would start the trend back because that's one of the things I always thought was a wonderful part of our country. Um, is helping others Uh-huh. Yeah, I do to. I do to. I'm not sure that, that today's kids would go for it though. I think you would have to start younger. Yeah. I, I don't know how young you'd have to go but I think by the time they're, oh, early teenagers anyway, I think it's too late now. At least around here. Yeah, I think, uh, I think it does help, um, even preschoolers, you know they're, um, things even just starting around the home. You know Right. little ones can do a little bit to help the family. Uh-huh. And, and just watching the parents do things too, um, it can start a pattern. There's always something, no matter how young, and then that helps develop that attitude. Um, I guess I would really like to see this happen with families more. You know, I think this is certainly a possible way, um, to handle it but I wish, that's something that I think that has been lost in families and I think that's a good place to start again. Yeah. I think it has to start in the families first because if you don't do it for, for your own immediate family, you're sure not going to do it for anybody else. Yeah. And I do think, um, the schools, if you're trying to do something, even with food drives and, uh, sometimes what Richardson and Plano both, I mean when you live in areas like that where there's so much they don't realize what a small percentage of the world that is. Uh-huh. I mean, that's, uh, gosh I'm sure, not even one percent of the world is as fortunate as these areas and, uh it's, That's probably true. That's probably true. I know our church youth group, uh, starts with projects young but they have a high school group that works in the Appalachia area every year. Uh-huh. They've done this for fourteen years now. Oh, that's great. Um, and it is, it's, uh, and they've also see that there's, there's a different way of life and those families are really close. Some of the things, that we talked about that were common in the fifties are still there Uh-huh. and, uh, it really, every youth that's ever gone really has felt that their life has been changed and it's changed their perspective. And, and that's just the two weeks during, during the summer. Uh-huh. So, if two weeks, uh, could have that kind of effect I would think, uh, Well, that's, that's great. I'm glad that there are still some areas that, that get the youth involved in that sort of thing. Well that's, Like I said, I think it does, even a small amount of exposure can make a vast difference in their attitudes Yes. Well Well, I guess, um, did you have anything else? No, no I guess that's about all. Okay. Okay. Well, I enjoyed talking with you. Well, good talking with you. And I hope you have a good evening. You too. Thanks. Okay. Bye, bye. Bye Okay. Do you, have you ever had to put your children in, child care, Mary Dell? Oh yes. I'm an old experienced hand. I started back when it wasn't, stylish to do that at all. My daughter that's seventeen now I worked even when she was a baby. Uh-huh. Oh. And I had private care for both my daughters until they were two and then I was really lucky to have put them in a, Methodist day school at Preston Hollow Methodist, right off of Walnut Hill and Preston. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And it was a wonderful environment. I, I just wish all kids, if they have to be put in day school, could have that kind of place Uh-huh. I see. So, it worked well. Oh. How about you? Well, I have, uh, a nine year old and a six year old and neither one of them has ever been in in, uh, day care for the reason of, of me working Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, uh, they both went through preschool. Yeah. And, uh, we've just been real lucky I think, anyway. To not, Uh-huh. It's not hard to find anything that's part-time. So many of the churches have really strong preschool and children's day out Right, like half day programs. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, it was a nightmare back when Cheryl was little and this is one of the few churches that did it. There were a couple downtown Dallas but they were so, seemed, cold and impersonal, I just couldn't hack it. Uh-huh. And what I liked about Preston Hollow is that the people that were there when Cheryl was two, which was fifteen years ago, many of them are still there today. So there was real continuity. Oh. She went back as a teenager and these people that had changed her diapers when she was three were still there. Oh, my gosh. So, it, it was really neat. But it was because they had a director that had always done it as a labor of love and she just kept good people and real cheerful place, lots of arts and crafts, Uh-huh. Oh my goodness and I'm really glad my kids had it because Plano schools do so little of that. That if they hadn't had it before they hit first grade they were never going to have any art or music or any of the interpretive stuff. Right. Right. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, that is, uh, a big drawback I think in that, in the, uh, public schools out here. You know, to, Uh-huh. you're lucky to have an art teacher and if you do you get them once a week or something, you know. Or pay for it after school. Our Emily's in the third grade over at Huffman and they started a pilot program where we can pay private tuition so that they can take French and music and art and you know, I willingly did it Oh is that right? I had no idea. but I thought, this makes me angry. This is something that ought to be in the schools rather than some of the other stuff they do. Oh my goodness. And with our budget cuts, I'm sure that's not going to not going to change anytime soon. Yeah. Well that's the only way they're. Yeah, well, that's the only way they're going to be able to do it. And parents who really want their kids to have any humanities are going to have to do that. Oh my goodness. So, in some ways I think the, the day schools do serve those purposes. Yeah. That's true. Well even the preschools, you know they get so much of that in preschool and then when they hit kindergarten, you know, it's like wham Culture shock. Yeah. Yeah. It's just, Put the colors away Yeah, yeah. Get the computers out Which is too bad. and, you know. Uh-huh. hard. Uh-huh. It's so difficult for them. Um, did you have your children, did you say in home, in, in, private care, was that in your home or in someone else's home? Until they were two. Yeah. Yeah, both times they were at our house. Uh-huh. So you were able to have somebody come there. And that was hard too. I, I lucked out with really good people both times but I know so many people that are never able to find that and I'd practically give my paycheck away to do it, so Yeah. Yeah. Did you have a nanny or did you have someone that lived in with you? Yeah. Well no, she didn't live with us. Uh, the first one was an, elderly lady who was putting a, a daughter through nursing school just purely on baby-sitting money. Oh. Oh my goodness. And she kept Cheryl during the day and then did more baby-sitting at night. Uh-huh. And she was neat because she was like the grandmother that my kids never had because both our parents are dead. Yeah. Oh. So that, that was a plus from that respect as well. Oh gosh. And then with Emily it was a neighborhood friend that kept her. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, I have, uh, I just cannot fathom putting a little bitty baby in a commercial care center. Uh-huh. I was just listening to a program this morning, oh well, I guess it was on the HOME SHOW, but they were talking about, uh, a new, uh, oh I can't even think of the name of it. I was halfway listening while I was painting Uh-huh. Um, it's some kind of advisory board they've put together for parents and children Uh-huh. and they've now moved it to Washington, D C and the, the doctor that was on there, the pediatrician said, you know, I can't imagine leaving a three week old and taking them to a nursery day-care and leaving them there. Yeah. Oh that would be hard. You know, so, um, Well, they give a lot more leave. I work at N C N B now, and our benefits for maternal and, and parental care and even for elderly people are, are really expanding. Uh-huh. We have more options now then we did when I, my kids were born, with being able to take off full-time longer of, you can phase your schedule in so that it's not full-time for up to six months. Uh-huh. Oh boy, that's great. It's really neat. I've, I've had a couple of assistants that came back just three days a week or they've, you know, whatever schedule they want from a pay standpoint. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. We try to work it with their hours. And that helps because you don't have to just wean yourself cold turkey and say okay, I never get to see my baby for eight hours a day again. Yeah. Right. Right. And the bank has a lot of programs now for child care referrals. I've, of course it's too late for me so I've, I've not tried them to see how effective they are Yeah but I think we're finally beginning to make progress but just not very fast Uh-huh. Uh-huh. God, it's amazing And for our age group it's too late, too little, too late. Right. Right. But I, I do think it's an area that needs to be looked at and improved because more of us are going to have to work. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Two income families I think are here to stay. Well and I would think, you know, since big business is supposedly why the government makes the decisions they do you know, the, the people that work in big business have families Uh-huh. Right. they have children. Yeah. So, it's only to their advantage that they get these programs going and working Oh sure. and, uh, You retain employees and keep them longer. That's, that was the rationale they gave when they were giving us information about our Employee Assistance Programs that they want us to be happy and want us to be able to cope with trying to split ourselves in fifteen million pieces Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. Right. Right. So, I, I hope it helps. It seems to help the new mothers not have to come back full-time. Oh that's good. because that's hard. That's good to know. I have a couple of friends that, have, have found the, uh, you know, a a private home to take their children to when they're young until they hit the preschool age. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And they usually, you know, you'll find a, a woman that's keeping like six children or four to six children in the home Uh-huh. and my future, future sister-in-law's mother does that too, full-time. Well in Plano though the problem is, you find, and this is what I found with Emily. I, from the time she started first grade, I wanted her out in Plano area. Uh-huh. And I kept finding neighbors and friends and they'd move. Oh. She ended up being in a different home every year. Too transit. Uh-huh. And I finally decided I didn't like that because it was traumatic to her to get so attached to a family and then have them move. And her surroundings. So this year I, I tried Kinder-Care and, then she's old enough to Okay. Well, let's see, well, we keep our paper, paper bags lined up in the garage for glass and, glass and, uh, plastics and, uh, we make the dump over to the Wal-Mart bins there as soon as they're full. I guess we collect milk cartons and whatever other plastics are acceptable. Are you in the part of town where, uh, they have gotten into the other containers yet for recycling? No, no, I didn't think that anybody had those at all yet. Well, maybe they don't. I, I know that was supposed to be in May and I couldn't tell whether some parts of town had started it or if it was just everybody was, was waiting for the delivery of whatever those containers were. Right. Well, no, I haven't seen any, so I, I thought that it all, had all been delayed several times. So I have no idea what they look like and, I'm kind of anxious to see them. Yeah, That's going to be interesting because it's, uh, we've gotten so convenient and conventional in trash disposal which is uh, I look at our big green containers, and I say, well, they work fine and I keep mine outside the garage so that I don't have any odors but it's clearly a place where, uh, uh, Oh, right. it will be interesting to see how well that works and I am, I'm glad the community is doing it. Uh, it's one of those things that kind of has to be forced on people. Uh, I don't know if, where you grew up in your, what you saw back, uh, years ago, but for me the thing that strikes me is I, uh, growing up in rural South Dakota where, hey the farmers brought their eggs to town and the local hatchery would candle them and package them is that, uh, in the fifties, uh, you could say we had the recycling going on then that we should have now. Which was all the milk bottles were glass Right. Right. and you got a nickel or dime, which in that time was a lot of money, when you returned them. Pop bottles all had a deposit on them. Oh. Oh, of course. That, they did. You know actually, we had milk delivered to our house in glass bottles Oh. and we had a milk shoot at the side of the house. Uh-huh. You could just leave the milkman a note on what you needed Yeah. and so you just put the empty ones back out there and he took them away and put, you know, put another gallon of glass, glass bottle in there. Yeah. So, uh, yeah, So, uh, you know, I look back at, at, uh, my childhood and I'd say, you know, they were doing things then that we should be doing now and so it doesn't bother me at all that we're, we're, uh, kind of starting to put the pressure on people to get away from all this, uh, throwaway society that got developed in the sixties and seventies. Right, right, it would be nice, it would be nice to see it take a good turn here. It seems like it started to take a turn and then it went away so I hope that this time it, it stays. Just, To see stacks and stacks of newspapers just to the trash is just amazing. Yeah. So, uh, you know, we, when we go dump, actually when we go dump our things, oh, we collect newspapers, too, and then take them, seems like there's a pretty well, there's a pretty continual flow of people coming and dumping glass and dumping plastics Uh-huh. so that's kind of encouraging. I didn't know, you know, I didn't know if we started to do that. I didn't know what to expect. Yeah, well I'll have to say I'm, I'm, the only one I'm good at at this point is the newspaper. Uh, taking that to the Boy Scouts and my aluminum cans uh, getting rid of those, Right. but on the plastic, I have, uh, I don't have any habits there yet and I'm, guess I'm waiting for the city to, to push me in that direction but, But, it just seems like on the larger scale that, you know, the, we always talk about in our society is that economic strife things Well, I guess they will shortly. I, uh, and I think if, uh, if we just start to put, you know, the nickel deposit on things, like, uh, was the case years ago that, uh, it would have more immediate effect, uh, than, because I remember searching ditches for beer bottles because they were worth money Oh, right. and it seems like beer drinkers are among the worst for throwing things out the window and so outside my little town, we would, uh, go out and look for long neck beer bottle because they were worth something. Yeah. Right. Do you know, I saw in Tom Thumb yesterday, I saw the return to the, uh, the small Coke bottles. Yeah. And I don't know if there's a deposit on those or not. I, well that's interesting because, they're back to glass, you're saying? They were glass, they were the glass, uh, well, let's see, they'd be, I don't know, maybe ten ounce or six ounce or ten ounce. Sort of a small size, sort of a small size and, and we, anyway we just, we didn't stop and look them, look at them a long time Uh-huh. Yeah. but, and they were packed in the old sort of six pack stick them down, you know, uh sort of, sort of a basket type thing. Uh-huh. The carton. The paper carton. Right, right, so, I hadn't seen that in a long time. Yeah. Well, I mean the, you really look and say a lot of the things we need to do, we were doing and we had all the mechanisms in place with the fold up paper cartons, the wood uh, racks which now, basically, you could turn them into the plastic ones that would hold, uh, twenty-four bottles. And, and, uh, uh, I'm not really say going back to good old days, but certainly we were doing things the way we think we should do them now. Yeah, yeah, well, Well, it will be interesting to see how, over the next year, this all works out because, like on the, uh, grass, I'm, I know your husband, uh, doesn't really like the paper sacks. No, he doesn't like the paper sacks and, uh, but he, but, you know, he likes to pick the grass up, too. He doesn't, Doesn't, Yeah. I'm the, I'm the same way because otherwise, uh, oh, I'm, I generally listen to Neal Sperry on Saturdays and Neal, uh, Neal's a person who says, I like to pick it up but I don't believe in throwing it into the, uh, the landfill, so I have my compost pile, but most of us don't have the, uh, sufficient, lot size to, uh, to do that. Right, right. Uh, so I'm glad the city's willing to take that on. That's nice. I guess they dump it the same place, I wonder where they dump that. Well, there's someplace, you know, if it's, because really, when I look at what my grass does in, in actually about twenty-four hours, uh, knowing what the farmers do in rural areas, they just take their hay and just build a big mound of it and it naturally, uh, composts or stores and, uh, so all you have to do is just place it somewhere and churn it and it will naturally decompose uh, so you just have to kind of keep in separated and then, uh, who knows how they process it from there and what they turn it into, but it's certainly usable material. Yeah, yeah, well they must, they must keep it separate if they have this date in. Uh-huh. They have this day now, that it's, you know, separate from the other trash pick up. Right But, I, the thing I don't understand about that is, like when, it's one thing to send grass there, but I've trimmed trees and other things which, uh, end up being something that, clearly won't decompose nearly as rapidly, No. Okay, well, um, What kind of music do you like? I, um, I was thinking about it for a long time, and I like basically almost every form of music and type of music. Um, I don't have a whole lot of dislikes. I, um, like jazz, um, especially the blues, and, uh, I like, uh, a lot of the, uh, of course the classics, um, everything back from Bach and, and Beethoven and Chopin and, um, just in general everything. Uh-huh. Um, I enjoy, uh, a lot of the, the modern forms, um, uh, Do you like, like rock and those kind of things punk even. Right, right. Uh, well, that gets, some of the punk, um, when I was in high school, that was, uh, one of the big things, was punk music, and, uh, a lot of it is, has a lot to say, or some of it has a lot to say, the music does, the lyrics do, but the, the actual, I don't think they have a whole lot to say, even Uh, well, it, it's, it's, it really expresses some of the opinions of, of the people who enjoy the music Yeah, I guess. um, but as far as a musical art form, I just don't see a whole lot of art to it Uh-huh. Um. Do you like rap? Um, some of it, um, it depends. I like, uh, the rap, the two types of rap I like, or I enjoy to listen to, and one is the, the rap that is just funny, um, and they usually do a lot of satire Yeah um. that kind I kind of like. Right. Some of it is kind of pointless, Right, the monotonous the monotonous, yeah. no that's not, I don't enjoy that at all when they're just talking about, well, I'm better than you, and blah, blah, blah. Uh-huh. I don't like that. Yeah, yeah. I like the funny, satire, and then some of it is, some of it actually gets into some serious discussions of problems in our, in urban society. Yeah. It really does. It talks about, um, race relations and police relations and, um, that, that I guess I don't really care to listen to rap that much except for once in a while some of the funny more satire kind some times. Uh-huh. Um, I'm, with you though, I like classical Uh-huh. um, I don't like to listen to it all the time, but, um, some of the time, anyway. I like easy listening, just kind of, you know, I guess I don't care much for rock and roll any more. I used to like it all right, but I don't really care to listen to it any more for some reason. Um, let's see. Country western, uh, I'm not quite as big on that. Some of it's okay, uh Yeah, that's, that's about my opinion of that yeah It's, it's okay, um, Some of it kind of falls in the rap category I guess, so Um. The thing about country western that I don't enjoy is is, doesn't seem to be any imagination behind it Yeah. the, one country and western song sounds like every other, country and western a lot of them, sound, uh, really similar, yeah. and so the, the musicians don't get to really get into their music. They just play a certain number of chords Yeah. the drummer plays a certain beat, and you have a country and western song Um. and, Well, that's kind of the way I feel about rock and roll sometimes, too, I guess. They don't really, has kind of the same sound over and over, and the other thing I don't like about it is they have a tendency to play the instrumental so loud that you can't understand what the lyrics are Um. Right. you can't understand what they're saying on some of those songs which probably is just as well on some of them, too. Yeah. And I can't say that I like a lot of the modern, the very, very modern, uh, rock and roll, Yeah. but I, I definitely, I really enjoy the fifties, the sixties and a lot, some of the seventies rock and roll Yeah earlier things. and, uh, I really enjoy, especially the sixties ... Hello? Hi. Hi, my name is Leslie. Hi, I'm Jennifer. And where are you from? Pennsylvania. Oh, nice, I'm from Dallas, Texas. Oh, really? Yeah, so, Oh, that's neat. Well, did you understand what this was for, you know, what it was for, what we, Uh, television shows? Yeah Sure, that sounds good. Okay I, I don't watch too many, but we can try it. Okay. Are you ready to start? Sure am. Okay, just a minute Okay, I guess we're recording now. Yeah, okay. What are your favorite television shows? Well, I don't really watch too many T V shows other than, uh, occasionally I'll, I'll turn on DONAHUE because it comes on in the morning when I seem to be getting ready around here. Oh, really? And, uh, so if, if there's no one else around, you know, it's just me and I have a chance to listen to something, I'll turn that on, but, uh, just for the, for the conversation factor, I think, but, and then I think I enjoy when I catch it, I don't even know what night it's on, but DESIGNING WOMEN sometimes, Oh, I love that show. Yeah, do you? Yes, that is great. Yeah, it's fun. And then there's a new one that started out that I've caught a couple of times called GOOD AND EVIL, I think. Oh, I heard they just canceled that. Oh, really? I read in today's paper they just canceled that show. It is a real different one. It's, uh, it's, it's different. I guess I watch it more out of the uniqueness of it and the time that it comes on more than the fact that I have to see it. But, Have you seen the show, it's, it's new this year, called HOME FRONT? No, I haven't watched that. Oh, it's, it's really good. It's, uh, I think it's on like Tuesday nights from ten to eleven Uh-huh. and it's set in post World War Two times and it's about how the servicemen come home and readjust to civilian life here and the changes everyone's going through. It's really interesting. Oh, yeah. It's kind of like a a nighttime soap opera type thing. Sounds neat. It is, it's a good, it's really well written. Yeah. Is that on, what what station? Uh, I don't even know, to tell you the truth Oh, okay. What other shows do you like? Uh, I prefer OPRAH WINFREY to DONAHUE Oh, yeah. Well, she comes on later and I usually have kids around so I don't end, end up watching that one is the only problem I have with it, I guess. Oh. I did watch soap operas, but I work full-time now and can't catch those anymore. Except when I'm home sick, Yeah and now when I watch them, I think, why did I ever watch those? That's right They're stupid Yeah. So when I did watch them I was addicted to them every day. Uh-huh. But not anymore. That can happen. So do you know of any other shows in the even, or something that you enjoy? Oh, uh, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing GOLDEN GIRLS. Oh, that's always fun. Yes, I like that show. Yeah. And if I can stay up late enough, I like to catch SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE every now and then. Oh, uh-huh. And right now we're watching a Penn State football game because that's where we live. Oh, yeah. So Uh-huh. It's exciting, we're winning, so that's really exciting. Yeah, well, I think, I also, course, like to catch the news during the evening hours Uh-huh. but, uh, it's a little tough because that's when I'm usually making dinner and the kids are wanting to talk all at the same time. So, usually I don't get a whole lot of news watching in. Yes, we watch C N N in morning while we're getting ready for the day and eating breakfast. Uh-huh. We'll catch our news that way. Watch the weather channel so that we know what the weather's going to be like. Yeah, yeah. So what have you seen interesting on OPRAH WINFREY lately? Lately, I haven't been catching it because of my work schedule. Uh-huh. Uh, I can't remember the last time I saw it. It's been a while. Yeah, well, I don't know if we've talked our full three minutes or not I don't know, sometimes they come on and, and say. Oh, that's right. Well, today on C N N they were talking about something like this about, uh, learning to recognize voices and words and stuff and the research that's going on which is kind of what we're doing, helping them get a data base for words. Um, yeah. It was really interesting. It is interesting. So, Do you work for Texas Instruments? No, no, just, uh, doing this as a fund-raiser for our church. Oh, that's nice. Yeah, so it kind of makes it easy, you know, to do a little something for it. Sure, because we, uh, we've talked to a lot of people from Texas, it seems, and we thought, well, maybe they work from, for Dallas, All right. I think that gets us off to discussing the topic for tonight. Which is movies, correct? That is correct. Okay. Are you a movie buff? Um, yeah. I don't like going to see them in the theaters but outside of that, rent a lot, watch them on T V mostly. Well, I have a V C R and I see most all of mine there. What have you seen recently that you enjoyed? Uh, I don't know, um, actually earlier tonight we were watching TO LIVE AND DIE IN L A. Have you seen that movie? No, I haven't. It's a kind of one of those psycho ones. Now, I, I live alone. Consequently, I don't like these psycho things. Oh, it's not too bad. One of those cop thrillers but, Oh, okay. Have you seen the if, do you have a V C R? Yes, we do. Have you seen the movie CLASS ACTION with Gene Hackman? Uh, no, I haven't yet. I saw it this weekend and it is, uh, to me an outstanding movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. He is, uh, an attorney and his daughter is an attorney and she has a suit against his company. You know, it's one of those things. Yeah, that, But there's a lot of well, it's just it's something that anyone can watch and enjoy. He's a good actor though. Beg your pardon? Um, Gene Hackman's a good actor. I think. Yes, he is. Do you see HOOSIERS? Yes. I've seen HOOSIERS. Saw it just again the other night, for, Yeah, actually I, we saw her just the other night too. Oh, did you? Yeah. It's one of our favorite movies. I, I live with, um, a roommate and my girlfriend the three of us. We've seen that movie probably six times in the last six months. Have you seen the movie, um, CROSSING DELANCY? Yeah. Now, that's one I have watched, oh, six or eight times. I always feel so good when I get through with that movie. Yeah, I like those movies that you watch time and time again. I do too. DIRTY DANCING and CROSSING DELANCY are two of my favorite. So, well what business are you in? I'm, I'm an electrical engineer. Oh. In New Hampshire. All right. I work in Massachusetts actually. Oh, all right. Okay. So is everything going all right up there? Um, it's only about, um, half an hour. I live on the border. Oh, well that's that bad then. Half an hour, we do that just going to downtown Dallas. That's right. So, See we live up in tax free New Hampshire and drive down to Massachusetts to work. That makes a lot of sense But, um, we, are you a native of that part of the country? Yeah, I grew up in New Hampshire. It seems, southern town, it's called It's, I don't know, fifteen minutes from the border and five minutes from the main border. *main = Maine? We live right in the corner. Oh. That one little spot in New Hampshire, we have ten miles of coastline, I live on one of that little ten mile spot. Uh, sounds wonderful. Did you have damage this year with hurricanes? Not up, um, where I live but further down the coast in Massachusetts they got hit pretty bad. I happened to be in Nassau and we got the backlash of that thing. And they had record high waves, thirty year high waves come in there, and it was quite an experience so. Well, what movies are you looking forward to seeing now? Um, well, I'm, I'm only twenty-seven years old so THE DOORS movie, that's out on video. I want to watch that. Okay. Have you seen GREEN CARD? That would be pretty good. No, I haven't seen that one. That's a real warm movie. It, it really just turned out nicely. So I would recommend that if you have a chance. I'm in for it. We rent a lot of movies so we, we often sit around and say, what movies should we rent? And we don't know. Well if you, if you can get GREEN CARD, go for it. All right, we'll try that one. I have been working at, uh, as an accountant at the medical school here in Dallas and I have watched, uh, GROSS ANATOMY. Have you seen that one? Yeah, I did. Okay. And I don't know I can associate with some of the people in that movie because of the young students I see over at the medical school. But I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. You too. I'm looking forward to it. I think we're going to have a white Christmas up here just like the song says. Well, Uh, well, uh, to begin, I guess, uh, space is, uh, real important, I think, so it's real vital to the future of not only our kids but every generation until the end of time, I guess. So. Yeah, I, I agree Uh. it's definitely new frontier stuff. So, uh, but, uh, I'm not too up-to-date on the space, on the space frontier, but, uh, I guess they're going, going pretty far into it now. Um, Star Wars is not too far I don't think. But, uh, I, I, I worked on some of it at T I once upon a time. Oh, have you. Yeah. So what do you know about it. Well, actually I'm, I, I'm quite versed lately. I get on a computer network all the time, and people are talking about, about the current space program all the time. They're talking about new rockets that they're designing now that, you know, are just like science fiction, you know, it's like they, take off, you know, and then they land, with the, with the, you know, the afterburners are going, you know, not like space shuttle landing, you know, gliding down, but straight down to the landing pad. Really. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, it's called V C X or something like that. Also called Delta Clipper, which is a decent name for something like that. Wow. Well, I don't know. You think you'd, you think you'd, uh, go up in space if you had a chance? Oh, yeah Do you, I think I would. I think that'd be neat. I think I would just sitting here talking about it, but if the time came, it'd be real nervous. I'd be scared, scared me worse than Six Flags roller coaster. That'd be pretty hairy. Well, you know, I had a car, uh, uh, a tire come off of a car, so you know, I, like I know what it's like to Yeah, imagine. Depending on what was left of my technology to get me home Right, right. So, well, I guess they're talking about people going to the moon and stuff, now, wherever. And opening up those stations, whatever, filling them. Yeah, they're talking about doing that again, too. Uh-huh. I don't know if we'll ever see that up there. Well at least we're going to have a space station supposedly in the next few years. Oh, really. Yeah, and they're going to put, That's all beyond my imagination really. Yeah. But, science fiction books, I mean, you look at the Jetsons, you know, cartoon show, and it's not too far fetched what, what they all had in those cartoons, so you never know. Oh, yeah, yeah. Any of that stuff from the Jetsons, from that cartoon, that you would never imagine would come, become possible, and now you, we have a lot of those, so, Uh-huh. So you never know what, what may occur, but as far as me seeing it, you know, I don't know Yeah. I don't know, but I think it's real vital important for the future, you know generations to come, Uh-huh. so. Yeah, I, uh, it's, it's, it's something definitely that, uh, you know, it's, it's, uh, got the extra little oomph of interest. Yeah. Uh. I'm sure it'll draw a lot more interest too, once it becomes, you know, like it's more possible, but when they start showing the drawings and all that, I'm sure, you know, when they, Yeah. Yeah, I wish, uh, like, uh, Boeing or McDonald Douglas or something like that was supposed to buy, uh, a space shuttle sooner or later and just make it, you know, purely commercial Right. Uh-huh. and they'd go up, you know, and do things and, So did they scratch those, uh, that Star Wars deal, you know, they one we was all worried about the "they" in this sentence should probably be a Russia and all that? Oh. No, it's still probably going, but I don't know whether, it, it, research will go on. Yeah, but the economy the way it is all over, they probably cut back on on that, because it's not, Oh, yeah. Well, they're, they're going to be cutting back so much on just, you know, the number of troops we've got in Europe and the number of troops we have here. Right. Yeah, I know, and then, But, uh, Russia's still going to have missiles, they're still going to be subs and things. Yeah, and we don't know who's handling them now Yeah. so that's a whole different story now. Latest I heard it was just going to be Russia that, Russia itself that was going to have them. Oh, really. At least that was, you know, that's what everybody says. Oh, yeah, yeah, we want only Russia to have them. Uh-huh. And now they're saying, Yeah, yeah, you're a republic, you don't want those, you don't want those. Some crazy hit man over there so, with those little republics or whatever they splitting it all up now, and one of them crazy crazy guys get a hold of it, Uh-huh. you never know. But that, the guy that's taken over for Gorbachev, he's supposed to be, he's supposed to be on our side, isn't he. Pretty much. One hopes. Uh-huh. I think we went through him though to get to Gorbachev on a lot of subjects so, Uh-huh. But that way, you can't never tell that. Yeah. Kiss some butt, but, but, uh, Well, Michael, what do you think about, uh, funding for AIDS research? Do you, Well, uh, uh, that's something I've thought a lot about. Uh-huh. Uh, I, I work in a hospital. Uh-huh. And I've worked in the hospital for fifteen years and I've taken care of a few AIDS patients. Uh-huh. Uh, when they asked us did, did we want to, uh, keep it the same or, uh, spend more, spend less, I think uh, I think right now what they're spending is adequate. Uh, my, for my personal opinion. Uh, because I think it's something that's going to take them a while to come up with a, uh, vaccine for. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I don't think it's going to be that easy to come up with Yeah. or I think they already would have by now, you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, so I don't know if, if spending a lot more money would really make any difference right now. I think they're doing the, is as much research as they can possibly do, you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, what about you? Well, I guess I'm not too aware of how much they're spending right now You know. I'm not either. I'm definitely not aware of how much. Yeah. Uh, that's something I've never really kept up with at all. Uh-huh, yeah. Uh, I don't, I'm not sure, uh, I mean, I, go ahead. I know, uh, I've always thought more about the disease rather than the research, you know what I mean? Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, that sort of thing. Uh, if, if we were talking about the money, uh, I'd just have to say what they're spending is probably enough, simply because I don't know that much about it. You know Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I, I can see that research is needed and, you know, Oh, yeah. Definitely. I think so, I think so. I mean it's becoming a major problem. Yeah. But, uh. I guess the area that I think more about is I would like to see them focus on, uh, preventing it, uh in more, You know. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's true. That's true because, uh, it's a, such an easily preventable disease. Right, and I, I feel like just saying, uh, safe sex is not the answer. Uh, It's it's, uh abstinence in certain cases No. It's definitely not. and That's true, that's true. Yeah. Uh, And, knowing, you know, Myself, uh, uh, I'm just recently, or about to, get a divorce Uh-huh. and, uh, course, I'm not all ready to just run out there and start dating everybody I can or anything. Yeah. But, it's sort of scary to find yourself single again, you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, because you never know what's going to happen You don't know who you're going to come across, you know. Yeah. Course, it's, it's not that I'm wanting to, I'm not going to want to go and have sex with everybody I see. Uh-huh. But it's something you got to think about these days. Yeah. A single person. You know, Uh-huh. and, uh, I mean, it certainly changed my attitude about that in a hurry. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, I think for a lot of people it has. Certainly. So, Yeah. So, But, uh, uh, I know that, uh, in some of these larger cities they're passing out free syringes and all of that sort of thing to prevent, you know, so that, uh, the drug addicts won't be getting dirty needles and everything. Uh-huh. Drug addicts. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, I don't know, I don't think that's a bad idea. Uh-huh. I know it, uh, sort of doesn't address the problem of drug addiction Yeah. It just sort of keeps that going. Yeah. But, uh, I don't know, at least drug addiction can be treated whereas AIDS, so far, cannot be. You know, Uh-huh. so, I don't know, that, I think that's, I'm not too much against the, the passing out of the free syringes myself. Uh-huh. I don't know, what do you think about that? It really is. Well, yeah, boy that's a hard issue It really is. It really is. They gave us a hard topic Yeah I mean, I, I definitely think that it's the drug problem that needs to be addressed, but as you say, uh, people, I mean, in the meantime, well someone who's not ready to give up drugs, uh, You know. Uh-huh. That's true. That's true. If they're perpetrating the AIDS problem, passing that on to each other, then you know, Yeah. You know, I guess if you consider the two problems, drug addiction and AIDS AIDS would have to come first, I guess, as far as something to, to do about it. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. So, so I don't know. Uh, course, there's so many things in the world where, if you solve one problem, you may be creating another you know. Yeah. And, uh, so I guess you just have to take the two problems and see which is worse. Which is the most important to solve at the time Yeah. and, Uh-huh. I don't know. Yeah. But, uh, but I've never looked into how much money they're spending. I have, I have no idea. Uh-huh. And I know a lot of our tax money goes to that. Yeah. But, uh, I really have never looked into it. I have no idea. Yeah, I haven't either. I've heard, you know, uh different voices speaking up and saying we're not spending enough Yeah. Yeah. and, Mostly that's what I've heard, Right, sure. so I don't know, Yeah. And, yet, I know it's, uh, it sounds like big money to me Yeah But it probably takes a lot. I think it is. I think it is. Yeah, it does every, So, It seems to take more than, uh, for any little thing they do, it seems to take a lot more money that you would think it would. You know. Uh-huh. Yeah. But, uh, Did you have any fear working in the hospital with that, That's one thing I've never really feared. Uh-huh. Uh, uh, I, a lot of the, my family, you know, they fear me working like that and, under some, some of those conditions, but, uh uh, I don't fear it at all. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I work in, in the operating room a lot Uh-huh. and, uh, and, of course, when Hello? Hello. How you doing? Fine. I'm Lee with, uh, uh, I'm over here in Plano, Texas. Okay. Let me ask you something, can I run a minute and shut my radio off? Oh, sure. Okay. Oh. Okay. Where are you calling from or where are you at? Arlington. Arlington, Texas. Arlington. Yes. Well, there's a lot of stuff going on in Arlington these days. Yes, not all good stuff. Are you involved in any of that? No. No. No, I'm not, not personally. Well, uh, what benefits do, now, do you work? I'm going to school right now. Oh, you are? I can tell you about my last job or whatever you want to talk about that or my husband's or what I think. Okay. Yeah. I've got a lot of, Because I, I work for myself Uh-huh. and so, uh, there's a lot that I, that I guess I do miss, uh, a lot of benefits from working for a big corporation. I miss, uh insurance and uh, the steady paychecks that come. Yes. Right. Yes. But, uh, Yes, I've been in my own business, Mary Kay, in fact, I'm selling in out now to go to school full time and I enjoyed the freedom of having that, you know, Oh, is that right? go to work when I wanted to or not Uh-huh. but, you know, the benefits weren't there. Yeah. So, I, uh, I own part of a roofing company. Oh, do you? In the, in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know, unfortunately we, we were part of a, of a bigger, bigger company Uh-huh. and they, uh, you know, we, we had all the benefits there and, and I do miss that. You know, Yeah. but, uh, on the other hand, I, I, uh, I enjoy having the, the time that I have with my family and being able to, you know, work when I want Right. Yeah, uh-huh. and, I think today the thing that I, uh, would appreciate the most, uh, because my husband gets, his medical through his company, but we have to pay for mine Uh-huh. and we're the only one, I'm the only one that's being insured and and we pay the same amount that someone over there that has four children has, I mean, Oh, is that right? so it's kind of, Yeah. And I would, I really, and the way medical expenses are I think that's probably one of the biggest benefits to you need to have. It's, Yeah. It, it, Yeah, I'll tell you what, that is the single most uh, benefit that I, that I enjoyed, and I do miss Right. because I looked into picking up some, uh, medical insurance for my, just for my family, you know, just, and it is unbelievable how much you have to pay for it. It's out of sight. Right, it's out of sight. And, uh, yeah, Even at a group rate, I couldn't believe how much is our, Oh, yeah even at a group rate. Uh, it's, it's unbelievable and, uh, the amount that you have to pay for, you know, for kids and, and if you want to add dental to it, I mean, that's that eats even more. Right, it goes up. Right. So, yeah, I guess what, the other benefits that, uh, that I, uh, that I miss, I guess is, uh, you know, some of the bonuses and stuff that that goes on with just being involved with a big company, you know Uh-huh. and course, these days, you can't count on that because Right. uh, you know, I feel bad for the people that are involved in that, uh, G M deal there in in Arlington Right. and I'm sure it will be, you know, quite a few people are affected by that so, Right, it's going to hurt the city, although, uh, I will personally tell you, I used to work at a bank, and I would see the G M people come in when they were, they would shut down to retool. Uh-huh. They were paid that whole time and I don't know, if you're aware of this Oh, really? Yes, they come in there, just, they go off fishing and stuff and come in and, every Friday, and go to the safety deposit box, and I'm sitting there making a hundred dollars a week, you know and, And they had all these Is that right? I, I really believe they have done this to themselves, in a way, because of the unions being so stocked. The union, yeah. And right now, anybody's that's laid off from G M will have a full year's paycheck. I just read this in the paper the other day. Is that right? Plus probably an additional six months through the, the worker's stuff that they have at, at, uh, through the company so I'm you know, I'm sorry it's happening because it's going to hurt, Yeah. but I don't feel as sorry for them, Well If my husband were laid off tomorrow, we'd get one more check really the, and that would be it. Yeah, really the ones it's going to hurt is, is actually the, the businesses around in that area. Yes. Oh, yeah, that's already hurting. You know, that's the ones that that that's going to hurt because they depend on that, uh, But I think there's a case, where benefits have gotten, they voted them in and they got so good, I mean, like two dollars for a prescription no deductible on the medical, all these things, you know Oh, yeah. Yeah. and it made the prices of cars go up and and, you know, the, Uh-huh. I, we, I believe in unions, but they went too far. Well, I'll tell you, I I've had my fill of unions I mean, I can't make eighteen dollars an hour. I, I mean, I know someone out here that makes eighteen dollars an hour. Oh, yeah. Okay. Uh, do you want to go ahead or, Oh, sure. Uh, well I, uh, went to school at Madison for two years and they are really big on women's rights. And, and equal treatment. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so I, I've seen a lot of like rallies and things like that. But, uh, I'm not that liberated. I mean my mom is kind of old-fashioned, you know. Uh-huh. So, I, you know, you pick up some traits from her and stuff. But, uh, I think it's, I think it's interesting and better for women to see that there's more, more of them doing men's fields. I like to see that. And I don't like to see women, you know, like waiting on men hand and foot Right. but, you know, I, I believe in like sharing and doing things for each other. I do too. I like the idea. I see a lot more, uh, my children, I have five children and they're all married. Uh-huh. And, uh, I love seeing the men help the women so much. Right. And they both cooperate together on, I think it's great. Oh, me too I hope that happens to me someday. I mean, I, I don't mind doing stuff. Uh, I have a boyfriend and I got to make him dinner and stuff but, you know, I, he'll help me do the dishes. I don't want to, you know expect to help to clean up then after Right. Yeah. That's right. That's right. Yeah. So I've always taught my men that. They better clean up with their women and help them. If they did that, you know. Right. And they're, they're good about it. But it is neat to see them all work together. And a big thing that I see. All that, most of the, most of the women getting married now, uh, go back, have gone back to, you know, Uh-huh. they, they stay at work or go back to work. Or whatever. Right. And they're well educated. Uh-huh. And I believe we'll see a lot more C E O in companies. They're having a fit about how little there are. Oh. And I think we'll see a lot more. Don't you? Of upper management? Then we do now, even. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Right. I think it'll escalate. Yeah. And, uh, and I think black women now in fact I work at a high school. Uh-huh. And my boss is a black woman and has only been there a couple of months and already promoted and she's very sharp. And I think that and the ethnic thing will be, you know, is a good thing now. Oh, me too. They're moving them up and they're sharp and they, so you're going to see a lot, a lot more of that in leadership I believe. Yeah. I like to see that. I think it's, uh, really neat to see and all that educated minority, uh, person who really knows what they're talking about. Uh-huh. Right. And it's just too bad that some people, you know, still look down on them just because of their color. You know. Right. That's Especially black women. Yes. So. Yeah. But they know what they're doing. Right. But I'm not big on subserving as far as to the men at all. Uh-huh. Right. But I never have gone along with that, you know. Even far back. But I was brought up pretty good in a home that, years ago my mother was that way. The same. I, my you know, some people say oh the boys shouldn't have to do those jobs. The inside jobs. But we never were taught, they had to do as much as we did. So that was good. Right, same here. Yeah. So that's, I think that's good. To keep the equal as far as, as, uh, not, uh, necessarily by sex type thing. You know. Right. Same here. You should be able to accomplish as much. And I think the, uh, attitude is a lot better towards the parents raising the younger ones now. Uh-huh. You see a lot more of the mothers and all saying to the young girls, you know you can do it. Yeah. If he can do it, you can do it type thing. Yeah. Exactly. I, I see more men, uh, like participating in like the family things with children. Like, you know, helping to take care of them more. And and, uh, uh, doing the jobs equally, you know, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. What about politics on it? Oh. Do you think the political scene? I'm not that big on politics. I'm not that educated on it. Yeah. I'm, I'm real I'm kind of disgusted this year because I don't see many women into the political scene and I really think we should have more political leaders in the women than we do up for, and even for President and Vice President this year, Oh, yeah. I agree with that. there's nobody again. I think they're all scared out after after, uh, oh, what was the lady's name that ran a couple of, I forget her name now. Oh, I don't know But you know who I mean? Yeah, I know who you're talking about. Yeah. She took such a rough go of it. And they their tax deal and, Yeah. At least she was strong to like try it and you know. Right. Right. So that's good. But I wish they would get some more on that. I really was disappointed this year when I see any of the candidates talking that they're talking about. Uh, they, I didn't see any of the women in there. Uh-huh. And that disappoints me. Oh. And right now I don't think we have too many. Uh, in the forefront. Schroeder's about the biggest one in Washington. Uh-huh. Congress woman. And, uh, other uh, we really, Okay. I think the first thing they said, I have written this down so it would, is it do you think it's possible to have honesty in government or an honest government? Okay. You're asking what my opinion about, whether it's possible to have honesty in government. Yeah. Well, I suspect that it is possible. Uh, I think it probably is more likely if you have a small government unit where everybody knows everybody. Right. That's a good point. But, uh, other than that I think maybe it just depends on how you define honesty. That's an you know, that's interesting. I had read something one time and it was just applying to governments in general, it was written many years ago. It said that it's impossible to have a completely honest system of government because people who choose government for their positions are power seekers. And I thought that was interesting. It wasn't just talking about our government. It was just government in general. From times past, you know on Uh-huh. and, So they're saying that government officials would tend to be power seekers. Right. And that would be a next question to ask. or are they in there for their own gains, and personally I feel it's probably, there's probably some of each. Right. Yeah. But I think maybe a lot of them, um, say the more honest ones who are still looking out for themselves, it may be more matter of not what can I steal while in an office but how many friends can I make while, I'm in office. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, you know, how good a name can I make for myself and so forth. So I guess it would be like anything else. Yeah. The president of General Motors probably has the same, Oh, yeah. And they talked, uh, the other, let's see. Third question was how serving for their own gains do you think goes on, then they, that's hard to I'm sure there's a lot. But I agree with you, there's a lot in business. I think that's just, I think that's very normal, that we should not I think, I think I think a little more honesty in the campaigns would be, more to the point. I think we put too much on politicians. We expect them to only be there to serve us, you know. Yeah. If you knew what you were getting when you voted, uh, That's a problem, isn't it? Yeah. It's interesting because I'm taking a Texas government class right now, and one of the things it's so easy to blame them to a lot of times I think it's our own fault. They lie to us because we don't want to hear the truth. Yeah, they say you, get the government you deserve. And it, If they tell us the truth, we don't elect them and, Especially with all this stuff coming up here lately about people's past, Uh-huh and I don't know why anybody would want to get under that scrutiny anymore. It's hard to imagine. Because it's, I think it's gotten just well, we're not talking about issues we're talking about somebody's personal life and, and we're getting away from what we ought to be looking at Yeah, and it almost seems like in order to avoid, uh, some of the scandal, you would have to have the kind of wife that you would only find, on, say in the Bobsy twins or, something like that Right. You know, I also think it would be funny if we could know everything about the people that were in there and throw them out. I don't think there would be too many left So you're taking a government course? Uh-huh. At what? The university? Uh, at, uh, it's T C J C. Tarrant County Junior College. Oh. Yeah. Okay. And it's really, it's really enjoyable. I like it. And then they also, you know, ask can we eliminate, do you think we could make laws to eliminate all corruption, and I don't think we can make laws to eliminate anything anyplace totally. You can make laws against corruption Yeah, but that, doesn't mean, But that doesn't eliminate it, does it? Milwaukee, did it? I don't think making laws will stop it. I mean I don't know how many laws you would have to have. I mean, No, sure didn't, did it? So no, I think you can legislate but I think there's no way that you eliminate it all by legislating, and we would end up with so many more laws that, you know, I mean I just think that's human nature that you're going to have corruption in government, in business, personal life, I mean, you know. Actually, I think other countries may have it worse, uh, the Japanese government is always having a, some kind of a scandal. Right. Usually involving the Prime Minister or people very close to him. Yeah. So, uh, Yeah, I still believe I get very fed up with government sometimes but when I think about where I'd want to go, you know, this is still the best or I can, Yeah, I've been around to a few other countries and I, uh, I, I have not found one yet that I would rather live in. I think, uh, Yeah. Yeah, at its worst I think we've got the best. Okay, um, Chuck, do you have any pets there at your home? Yeah, I do. And what kind do you have? I've got a male Siamese about a year old here. I live alone in an apartment, and, uh, except for the cat. Uh-huh. Uh-huh How about you? Well, we have a cat, um, he's probably, oh, a good two years old, big, old, fat and sassy tabby. Uh-huh. Oh. Uh, how's the disposition of your Siamese cat? Well, it's, uh, you know they're just, uh, aggressive by nature Uh-huh. and, uh, he's been neutered and declawed, so he's an indoor cat, Uh-huh. so, uh, that kind of calms him down for the most part. How about yours? Well, yeah, he's, uh, he has been really aggressive, uh, especially towards my little girl, for some reason. Huh. He's, uh, been so mean to her And, and you say you've had him how long? We've had him for about two years Two years. and he was so mean to her, um, right after we first got him. So we had him neutered, and, and declawed, and now he bites her. He can't scratch her any more, Huh. he bites her. Does he bite her enough to draw blood? Yeah, yeah, he has a couple of times, so. Uh-huh. But he's a very possessive cat. He, he loves my son, it's his cat, and he's the only one that allows him to touch him or pet him or love him Yeah. and he's so funny, he just follows my son around just like a dog. Huh. He won't even let my son shower. Yeah. He meows and wants to get in the bathroom and, while he showers, it's so hilarious. So he's quite a animal Yeah, boy, I guess. Well as long as he doesn't get too aggressive. I guess with the daughter he's all right. Yeah. You wouldn't want him to carry her off or something. Yeah, well, we, we did, uh, actually take him to the pound a couple of times, you know because we just couldn't have him being so aggressive towards the girl, Uh-huh. Sure. but, uh, he seems to have mellowed out a little bit, and we do keep our daughter away from him. So. Yeah, yeah. Were it not for my son, the cat would not be in this house Is that the only pet that you have? It is, uh-huh. We, we tried a dog about four years ago, and we ended up with, uh, oh, malamute and some other kind of mix. Anyway it was, it ended up being just a huge, huge dog that ate us out of house and home. So, we gave him up and tried. Well, do you live, you, you in a house, or a place where you, uh, Yes, uh-huh, we're in a house, but we're in a subdivision where we really can't allow the dog, I see. we couldn't allow him to run free, so, he was just chained up all the time, and it was, it was unfortunate. Sure. So have you tried any other pets? No, no. I, I live alone in an apartment, and, uh, it's, it's not that big that, uh Oh although I've heard rabbits are pretty good Oh. you know, I saw something on C N N or on cable here a while ago that showed some people that had rabbits in apartments and in houses, Uh-huh. Oh, my word. and they apparently, uh, especially when they're young when they bring them in Oh, my word. uh, And do they, they just paper train it or something? I guess. I guess, yeah, and I would imagine that they don't have many more than one to start with, either. Yeah. Well, rabbits are darling. That would be fun if you could get them trained. Otherwise they're pretty smelly Yep, that's right. Oh. Did you see the, the C N N, the, the dog show, uh, Huh-uh, we don't have C, we don't have cable. I see. Well they have, uh, uh, a they call it the Westminster Dog Show, uh, I think it's in New York City at the, at the Gardens there once a year live Oh. and they had that on last week, and that's really kind of something to watch, uh, Oh. it's on, I think, two or three nights for maybe an hour or two Is that right? and some of the weirdest animals you ever want to see in there. Oh Some of them are really beautiful, too. Uh-huh. So. Well, I'd be, interesting to watch. So you live in Utah do you? Yes, uh-huh. Elton. Goodness. We live out here by, it's by Ogden. It's north of Salt Lake City, Utah Uh-huh. and we really love it out here. It's, uh, kind of country. We're, we're only about ten minutes from Ogden. Uh-huh. So, we're kind of country but not too. Well do you all work for T I, or for, No, huh-uh. Do you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, well, see, I'm getting so many calls to Texas. This is the very first one I've, I've talked to. Oh, well, great. Yeah, I've been doing it for about two weeks and, uh, no my, No my, Uh-huh. So how do you get most of your current event information? Well, , see I'm going to school right now, and, uh, while I'm working, I don't get a, I don't get a chance to read the paper a lot, Uh-huh. and I don't watch T V as much really either, because, uh, my free time is kind of, and I do, like to do other stuff with it. Right. While I'm at work sometimes, I, on the computer network um, I read the news sometimes, Uh-huh. and that's kind of helpful. I would imagine going to college, though, your professors and different things, you keep up on what's going on. That's true, I mean, my roommates and stuff, you know people around me talk about it. Yeah. And the people I work with are pretty, you know, up, up-to-date on that kind of stuff, so. Right. Well, I'm a housewife, I have three kids, and so um, I get most of my information probably through just the news at six o'clock and then, um, talking with people and just hearing what's going on. . Uh-huh. Yeah. Do you watch, do you watch the network, like major network news, or do you watch like the MACNEIL LEHRER HOUR? Just the regular channel just channel eight. Oh, really. That's our channel here that's the, um, eyewitness news. Uh-huh. So. Oh, see channel, where I am channel eight's, um, like public T V, so it's kind of different. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. I think, I think the, uh, I think a lot of the commentators on, like the major networks, like right, it's kind of appropriate right now because of the election stuff going on, but, um, it seems that, um, they kind of get to throw their opinions into how they, you know, report on the news. Right. And I think even in the elections, they choose who they're going to follow and who they're not, and basically you know, if a candidate can get them to follow, then the news will, you know, kind of publicize his name. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I don't think that the way I get the news is the right way to get it. I think you get a very lopsided picture of what's going on. Uh-huh, because they can, they can only report on, I mean, they give each candidate perhaps, you know, ten second blurbs in which to, you know, to say, you, you just can't get a full picture of, you know their message unless you have time to sit down and and probably read something on it. Right. Right. And the news, too, it just doesn't, um, cover that many stories, I mean, it just covers your basic, you know, violent crimes and, you know, and, and your catastrophes with weather and stuff, Yeah. but other than that, you really don't know what's going on. Yeah. Um, I will read our current letters that come out on elections and, I guess I do read that, and I do study who's running in our area, and I do study what's going on in the economy. It, you know, and, I guess I do read other magazines, um, too, to get my information. What kind of, see, I subscribe to like SCIENCE NEWS, and that's, that's real good because it gives like a brief summary of, or like the updates, like of what's going on in science without getting into a lot of detail that would, you know, bog me down that I wouldn't know about Right. but other than that I don't really read, I don't, I don't really subscribe to anything else. I used to read every month a READER'S DIGEST Uh-huh. but, um, now I guess I just have friends that clip articles or if I, you know, am interested in something, of course, during the when we were in war, I read up on that just a little in the newspaper to find out what was going on. Oh, yeah. But a lot of the times, I, you know, I wish I had the time to read all the stories in the newspaper, but I just can't seem to find the time. Yeah. If they put it out in a video, or on not a video but a cassette tape or something, where you could just listen to it I would do that while I was doing other things. Yeah. But, Well, I remember back during the, uh, during the war, everyone here at work always had the radio or the T V on, because that, they were going constantly with that stuff. Right. But, uh. Well, I, um, they even did a story on our news here in Texas on what people wanted to see more of, and people said that they wanted to see more on outside of Texas news. You know, we just don't want to hear every night all the killings that went on here in Dallas Yeah. that we want to hear what's going on with the economy, what's being done to help it, what's going on in other countries, what's, you know, just more information. If they reported every, if they reported every violent crime in Atlanta it would take, it would probably take the whole news hour Yeah. But, uh. Well, I guess we'll get pretty good news coverage in a couple of years when you host the, uh, summer olympics Oh, yeah, that's, they start, already they're having like, um, in the newspaper they have a section, I think, every now and then, on the Olympics, you know, and they've got like a countdown, it's like sixteen hundred days or something. I know, we're trying to get tickets to it right now. Oh, really? Yeah. That's going to be crazy that time of year here. But, uh. Yeah. I can't believe, I mean, they're, they're stretching out the Olympic news for that much coverage over, I guess people want to hear about it. Also big in the news right now is the Braves, because they're, uh, they're in, you know, spring training or whatever Right, right. and they did so well last year. Yeah, they spent a lot of time, that's another thing, they spend a long time on sports, and I think that, um, that's fine, I would like to see more time spent on other things. Yeah. But. It seems like, I don't know, they way they do the newscasts, I wish they, they kind of separated it, you know, if you wanted to watch one thing you could turn to some channel for it but I don't have cable. Dave. What kind of pets do you have? Oh, we have one rotten cat. One rotten cat Yeah, it's my son's cat. I heard a laugh in the background. Yeah, that's the boys. They know I don't like it. Don't you like cats? Well, I like cats. This, this cat is a, uh, more like a dog. Oh yeah. Yeah he's, uh, a one owner. He likes one boy in the family and that's about it That's odd. How does he treat the other people? Just, uh, stays away or runs usually. Wow. But he follows, he'll follow my oldest son around. You know when he is in the house, he will come up and he'll jump on his lap, but if anybody reaches over to pet him or whatever, he'll just kind of look at them like what are doing. Did he raise him or something? He's, he, we bought the cat for him and so he's, uh, been the one that you know spent the most time with him. But I, I've never owned a cat like that. I've had cats growing up all the time and you know they are usually either that way with everybody or friendly to everybody Uh-huh. Huh, that's interesting. So, it's a weird cat Huh. We have a, a mutt. A mutt. Well, we, we named it Hooper because that's where we got it from. Uh-huh. Uh, some lady, she, uh, a lot of people, uh, uh, drop off abandoned, abandoned pets at her house Oh. and she use to work for a veterinarian so she would uh, neuter them give them all their shots Uh-huh. and we saw an ad saying it was free, so we went down there and picked it up and it's been an excellent dog, but it's my first dog I've had and we got it because my wife stays here at home alone while I go to work Uh-huh. so that's mostly why we got it. To keep her company while I am away at work. So that, is that, is that kind of your child right now? Uh yeah. Right now it, it is. You feel like. It's kind of good training. I mean we have been trying for kids, but right now we haven't had any, Oh, uh-huh. but it's pretty good training, I think really, keeps her on her toes Have, have you had dogs before? Uh, my brother has. Uh, we didn't do a lot with them. Uh, I never felt like it was mine or anything, you couldn't do anything. Uh-huh. But, I mean, that did, did more responsibility. When its yours and not your brother's Yeah. But, Well, I just, uh, we've, you know when I was growing up I had, we always had a dog and we had mostly mutts, well not mutts, but mixes you know like one or two mix Uh-huh. and those dogs always seem to be the best dogs. That's what we found. Ours is, uh, like a cockapoo. Uh-huh. I think it's half cocker spaniel and half poodle. Uh-huh. But, it's a really good dog. Yeah. I don't know, they seem to be, I mean, listen better or something. Uh-huh. Is your cat a purebred? No. No, it's just uh an accident From a uh, from my, my son's friend down the street. They're their cat was an outside cat and just end up with some kittens Uh-huh. and so, Would you ever want a dog in the family? Uh, we, I would. We, uh, we had a dog that was a, uh, mix between an Alaska Malamute and a Labrador Uh-huh. and, uh, I should say a pup and he was just too big for our kids when we got him Oh yeah. and we, when we moved into our house that was the first thing we wanted to get was, uh, you know, was a pet and it was a dog that we gotten and he was, he was just too big. Uh-huh. Uh, the kids couldn't handle him and I was still going to school and my wife was working and I was working and so we just didn't have time to really train him so he was kind of you know, he was too big for the kids to handle, so he was just tied up to a post Oh, yeah. so we gave him to, uh, I don't know if you've, there is a place out here, uh, called Shorties Lane out here in Harrisville Uh-huh. and they have, uh, I guess it's kind of an animal shelter but he just takes a few the animals in and some he destroys and some he keeps. Uh-huh. So we took him up there and he ended up keeping him. Uh, cause he has had him for six or seven years. We, we've, saw him just about a year ago and, uh, I thought boy that sure looks like that pup we gave away Uh-huh. and so we asked him about it one day and he said yeah, he's been the best dog I've ever had in my life Wow. just goes everywhere with him. I, he would have been a great, great dog. He just needed a lot of time. Uh-huh. Hey Steve. Uh, They just, uh, they just started a recycling program here, I think. Actually, this is my first experience with recycling program but, uh, instead of just like tossing everything away which I always felt bad about, uh, I am starting to split split stuff up. The only disadvantage is that they don't pick it up at the curb. They make me drive it like a mile down the road and spit it out down there. What are they doing up there? Well, here in Saskatoon, uh, much the same thing. There is no curb pick up of, uh, any of the recycled products. Uh, we're in a community of about one hundred and eighty thousand people. Uh, there are areas where we could, uh, actually we have a couple of the, uh, handicapped societies, types of places where the uh, one they do as just a recycling operation and then others they collect the paper and ship it to other retailers so, uh, we are able to, uh, have drop off bins for news papers and cardboard and that kind of thing and then there are, there's a uh, deposit program on plastic and glass containers. Well, primarily soft drink bottles and so we are able uh to take it to one of the uh, rehabilitation centers and then they recycle the containers. They refund the deposit which is anywhere from five to fifteen cents a container and then, The, the deposits only on like drink stuff. Right. Okay. On the, on primarily on soft drink, pops and that kind of thing Okay. and, uh, so, they induce recycling of plastic and glass, soft drink containers. Uh, we do have one of the scrape metal dealers that will accept tin and aluminum cans as well Oh, okay. and actually the recycler, there is a deposit on aluminum pop cans and beer cans and so the recycler, uh, with the handicapped group will also accept those. So, uh, it's fairly, fairly extensive, but then again it's uh, it's the initiative of the individual person because there is no coordinated pick up by the city. So, did they, you're giving, are you giving these products to the handicapped group and the handicapped group is getting the uh, the money or or are you, or are they some home distributing the funds back to you. Well, actually there's, there's the opportunity for both. Oh. Okay. Generally the, uh, the handicapped group takes care of the things that actually, the government has placed the deposit which is the inducement to recycle the bottle so that you get your money back and then the recycler run by the handicapped society pays back the cost of that deposit and then I, and then they in turn will get some money from the bottlers and from the the people that do the canning of the pop and the beer as as well That's very cool. You know there's a, I heard about a similar program in New York City where, uh, a thing called like Homeless Incorporated or something like that, but what they do is employ, uh, homeless, I think mostly men, but homeless people to uh, go out and collect all the recyclable cans and and I think it's mostly cans. There may be bottles as well, but like beer cans, soda cans and what not and they, uh, bring them up to a one one centralized location and, uh, are able to collect the money from the various beer and, and soda manufacturers and, uh, and get more money to these people that desperately need it. Oh yeah. Uh, I guess partly because of our climate. Here in Saskatoon at least, the majority of central, uh, well, I want to say Central Canada, but Central Canada tends to referred more to Ontario and Quebec Yeah. but, uh, we don't have much of a situation where we might call them homeless people. We certainly have a fair number of people that are on welfare and unemployment insurance and that kind of thing. Uh, there's psychological pressure against employing people to do that kind of thing although, uh, scouts and hockey teams and ball teams, those kinds, uh, regularly do bottle drives where they go around in various neighborhoods and collect the bottles at individual homes. Do they do it with news papers as well? They have done it some, uh, but we have actually quite an extensive network of collecting news papers. They are actually at, virtually all of the shopping centers. Like the shopping malls. There are several containers where the group called Cosmopolitan Industries collects or people can drop their used news papers and other papers in the bins and then the bins are collected. Huh. Uh, some of the, Jimmy , so how do you get most of your news? Well, I kind of, uh, I watch the, uh, national news every day, for one. I also read one or two papers a day and I'm a, I'm pretty much a news junkie and I tune in to C N N a lot. Oh, wow. So, when you say the morning news, or evening news or national news is when? Uh, every evening at six thirty, I believe, I watch the national news. Oh, okay. Well, I would probably be a junkie or watch C N N a lot, but I don't, uh, I don't, uh, subscribe to cable because of the poor service and also, uh, because, Uh-huh. well, I, uh, I give to the United Way and so I figured that amount of money I just donate to that. Uh-huh, as opposed to paying for cable. Yeah, I take away a, uh, addiction Oh, something. Yeah. Well I, Uh, overall I, I, the quality of the news you get off of most, uh, sources I would say is pretty low. It's, usually you get pretty incomplete coverage and that's one of the reasons where I, why I try and get as many sources as possible, because if you hear the same story from three different sources, then you get a much clearer picture of, of what is going on. You would hope, but still, you know, hard to say that what you've heard is what really is. Oh. What, what, uh, newspapers do you read? Well, I read, uh, the local newspaper and I also try and read one of the, uh, major dailies like the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, or the NEW YORK TIMES or something like that. Uh-huh. For a while there I, I, I, uh, subscribed to NEW YORK TIMES, actually a couple of newspapers because, uh, you know, my fiance, well, she was unemployed for a while so she, you know, really needed to look at the, the help wanted ads Uh-huh. and so often they, they the newspapers are trying to compete with a lot of other sources of uh, news. Right. And, I don't know, NEW YORK TIMES is okay, but, uh, and when you read a lot of this stuff, the, the quality of the writing has definitely gone down in the last ten years or so, but uh, I mean, they, they say it's like the sixth grade reading level, Uh-huh. but I swear it's at least second or third grade, sometimes. Right. Pretty low. But, I don't know, uh, I think if you listen to like N P R or something like, Right, I, I really like N P R a lot. That's pretty good. Uh, and I like listening to that on, on, uh, when I get a chance, when I'm in the car a long enough time to, to listen to it, because I, Right, yeah, I miss N P R a lot also. I really like them because they give, uh, instead of being, as your newspaper or your T V news where you get a five minute blurb or a ten paragraph blurb, they go really in depth on topics which I think is good. Uh, And they also, their editorial stand point seems to be a lot better than, say, your major network news and that kind of thing. Well, McNeil and Lehrer, I guess he's leaving, one of them is leaving. Uh-huh. Uh, they're, they're pretty good, too. Uh, I guess a year ago you're probably watching C N N a lot, right? Right yeah. Had that invasion or whatever it is. Sure was. Uh, but I, I don't know, I guess a lot of it's still a lot of hype. Look at the, the Smith trial. Uh-huh. I mean, that was a joke. Yeah, that was, but then you also have things where you, uh, where they broadcast the Clarence Thomas hearings basically the whole length of them which I thought was really good. Oh, yeah, the N P R doing that, yeah, I know, I had, uh, some visitor and he was just just, I don't know, fixated on that, you know, just listened to it constantly. Uh-uh. Uh, and I guess that's good when it's live, if you, if you'll really want that, but that's not really providing you news. Right. It's, it's more like a media event rather than reporting. Well, but the but the news, news that you would get from any other source is being generated from that event, which is something that's good also about C Span which I, I tune into every once in a while. Oh, really? That's kind of boring to me, I think. Yeah, it, it is, really kind of boring, but, you know, that's, if, if you don't watch it there, then you're going to hear somebody else's canned, uh, report, somebody else's view about it and that's what you're supposed, you're supposed to, if you watch the news, you're going, your opinion is going to be formed about, on what somebody else thought about it as opposed to actually watching it yourself and forming your own pinion, opinion, which I haven't, would be much more in favor of forming my own opinion as opposed to following someone else's. Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's true. But, one of the ways that I get information is, uh, every day when I log in on the computer I subscribe to this, this thing, it's free inside the company, it's called INTELLECT and, and they basically, uh, type out abstracts which are really literally, I've, I've actually read the actual articles, they're pretty Let's see, mine's pretty easy actually. Uh, I just got done reading a, a magazine or a couple magazine articles about the, uh, new Saturns. Uh-huh. Uh, and, although I can't afford it right now, I would just like love to have one. Oh, really, you like, uh, so you're an American Well, you want to buy American. No, regardless of that fact. It's the best car in the class for the cheapest amount of money. I'm interested in having it for, uh, doing a little autocross racing, uh, closed circuit racing Um. and, uh, it seems to just blow the competition away. It terms of handling, uh, acceleration, Handling, power, everything. Yeah, it just got like the top rating. It was compared up against, uh, let's see, there was like the Mazda M X three, uh, Nissan's, whatever, their two, N X two thousand, the Civic S I and it just, you know, it, it dominated over all of them. Everybody, all the, uh, raters loved it. I like the, I like the styling and, I seen a few of them actually race and they seem to be really good cars for it. What about Mustang G T Mustang G T Uh, can't afford it. Those, so you're talking about ones in a lower, lower end, price range. Right, yeah, I'm a graduate student and, let's face it, I don't make any money so, Right. Well, you can wait till you graduate and you'll have plenty of money, you can buy whatever you want. Yeah. Yeah, we'll see then. Yeah, right now I'm stuck, I, I've got a, a Pontiac Sunbird Turbo that, it's fast, but unreliable and trying to get it prepared for racing. But it's, it would be nice, just like scrap it and go for the Saturn. Right, would you use that for city driving and racing? Oh, yeah, I'd do it, I'd use it for both. The nice thing about autocrossing is you can, you can do both. Autocrossing is, what kind of track is that? Uh, just like a, uh, set up a lot of times and it's like really large, uh, parking lots. And pylons and things. Okay. And you put up, set up the track, pylons. Okay. Tight turns, hard acceleration. I've seen a lot of Mustangs, uh, compete and it's interesting. They get dominated by the Corvettes that are also in their class. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah, I would guess so. Uh, what are you thinking about buying? Uh, I think I'd like to get, uh, B M W or if I go the German route, which I'm kind of leaning towards right now, but, uh, or maybe a, I mean, a, a Acura Legend. Uh The Legend. Uh. a Lexus, uh, S C three hundred maybe. Something on that order. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, because your B M W your German cars have good reputations, I think. Yeah, well, I was, I was actually in, uh, a lot of the B M W are produced in, uh, uh, Stutgardt and, uh, and Munich Yes. and I was, I was there this, uh, summer and, uh, I was really impressed by the, uh, the, uh, factory, uh, tours and such for B M W. The, Yeah, they, their, they have the whole philosophy, I mean, they, they kind of even brainwash themselves into thinking they're better, which is kind of hard to take Yeah. I mean as you're walking through that little tour in, uh, Munich, it's kind of they're trying to brainwash you, too Uh, Oh, of course, of course they are. They want you to buy their car. Yeah, there, it was, it was interesting. I was at, I, I also went to, uh, the Porsche and, uh, it was, it was amazing how they were completely opposed. Oh, really? Yeah, the, uh, the B M W is really, oh, like, oh, we have all these like high tech things and everything is put together with exacting tolerances and, and then you go to Porsche and it's like, well, uh, these cars are completely handmade Um. and no two of them are alike And Yeah that's, so it's like completely opposed. I don't know, which do I like better, I think I like the Porsche's philosophy a little bit better, although it's not really practical. No, it's not realistic. Unless, it's, it's a toy. Yeah, if you can afford that kind of a toy, then, I guess, uh Let's face it. Yeah, yeah, but it, it, B M W good for that. What kind of driving just like commuting you'd want to do it, use it for? Yeah, just work, short trips. No no heavy mileage. I'm putting on less than fifteen thousand miles a year. Wow, yeah. So it's pretty minimal. That's cool. Lasts a long time. That's mainly what I'm looking for. Yeah, that's good. I also, I was impressed by, uh, by the Mercedes, too. Oh, yeah. I really, I really like the Mercedes. But, But if, if you have a problem with a Mercedes, you take it into a shop, they're going to, they're going to hit you up for just all kinds of things The factory was nice and, And is it different for the, for the B M W? Uh, I think, well, something on the order of a three series, it's probably different. Once you get up in the five series and higher, then, all your repair costs go up significantly Probably. Right, I can imagine that. So I'm kind, yeah, I'm not sure if I really want, All right? Yes. Okay. How many kids do you have? I think I think we're going to talk about parents spending time with their children. We, have three children who are eleven, nine, and eight. Right. So this is the big issue with us. Although I don't recall marking it on my little things to talk about but perhaps they are little for words to be said like day care and quality time and, Uh-huh. Anyway. You don't have children? No. But you're married? Yeah, we, we've been married for two and a half years. We've been trying for about two years but no luck yet. Oh. Hopefully, You know, I know we're not supposed to do this long distance but actually I'm getting a call. I wonder if I could possibly take it on call waiting. Could I ask you to hold one minute? Uh-huh. I'll be right back. Excuse me, just a moment. They're going to get mad whispers to someone in the She had another call. She has just three kids, eleven, nine, and eight. Hello? Uh-huh. I'm so sorry. All right. That was my daughter's Brownie leader telling me that there is a meeting tomorrow Brownie meeting. Okay. That keeps you do you have a lot of activities with your kids? Well, I don't want to, I don't want this to be a unilateral conversation but, yes, we do. Both my husband and I work and our children are sixth, fourth, and third grade. And the school years are wonderful, they're just wonderful. Uh-huh. The kids, they are real people and they are interesting and, they, they have all their own activities and, um, I think as parents we really enjoy them in, in our personal situation our children have not yet decided to rebel Uh-huh. So they're pretty good kids, huh? I'm sure that's coming though. But, they are wonderful kids. Yeah. Well, we had growing up I guess I can talk about us. We had nine kids in our family. We had eight boys and one girl. But, my Dad, uh, You had eight boys and one girl? Yeah. And the time that my, we spent with our Dad was, he owned his own business so we worked with him most of the time. So that's how we spent most of the time with him. Are you Mormons? Yeah. That's what the Utah and the large family. That was a dead giveaway, huh? Well, we're Catholics. I came from a family of five. I had four brothers, Uh-huh. the only girl. Oh. And everyone always asked if the girl got spoiled. Which that, I never felt spoiled. In fact I always thought my toys were destroyed I was going to say, my sister wasn't spoiled very much. No. Usually busy fighting for survival. Yeah, that's . But, Well, I do think with working parents it is, I mean, there are some real issues here. Um, that I think, um, Uh-huh. I don't know. It's an interesting problem. I happen to, um, I'm a pediatrician. Oh. My husband is a physician, so, uh, I, I I talk to parents about this a lot. But children, I, I think working mothers or mothers who choose to work outside the home, um, need very early to come to grips with any guilt, that they feel and decide what's best for them and their family. Yeah. Uh-huh. And I feel when my children were very young, I had jobs that helped me be flexible with my schedule and spend time with them and all that sort of thing. And I long ago decided I'm a better mother because I work outside the home. Uh-huh. I really believe that. And it has, um, helped us to afford some things for our children that we couldn't otherwise that I think are wonderful particularly at this age, and I think our kids are real secure. And have a real sense of priorities and that they can do anything and be anything both male and female a lot Uh-huh. so I know it sounds like a rationalization but it's, I really think it's true for our family, and I think it has worked very well. Yeah. It's like you said, you know, to each his own. And we're planning on having my wife stay home. And but, There's no question, I think that's really the best. If, if a woman is happy doing that, Uh-huh. I hate to put it quite that way. Yeah. I was twenty-nine when I had my first child and, uh, I would not have been real fulfilled. I really would not have been totally staying home with a young child. Uh-huh. It's a wonderful, it's wonderful to be a mother but, uh, I like I like the way I did it. Right. I sort of worked half time. I had very flexible hours. I nursed all three of our children until they were at least a year and I, you can do that despite working very easily which is one of the things I preach all the time to, to mothers. Oh. Uh-huh. Um, and I think we choose very, very carefully the, um, alternative situations that we had them in. Uh-huh. Some baby-sitting groups, again, I know it sounds like a rationalization, but I really do think sometimes they very early on are around lots of other children and they, they learn to share. They learn not necessarily to be the center of attention but that at the same time we have to be sure they are secure. Uh-huh. I think that helps. Well, that's good. Sounds like you're, have a handle on it. Well, so, so . So, your wife, does she work right now? Um, no, not right now. She's out, Right. Well, we just moved down here. We used to live up in Seattle for a couple of years. You're still trying to dry out? It's that's no problem here. Yeah, we really liked it up there but then I don't believe that we're , So what do you think about, uh, recycling programs in Atlanta, Julie? The recycling program here is just terrible. I mean it's hard to find places to go. I mean, Kroger does a couple things. They, I don't think they, do they do newspapers? I don't know, there's, there's big bins out there, I don't know if they ever get I, I really don't know what the details are. There should be someplace where you could call and find out. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure there's a place you can call and find out the closest, you know, thing to you, but, I think there should be some kind of curbside service. Yeah. That's the only way I could really, The one in Florida is so cool because they pick up everything. They pick up newspapers and, uh, you know, milk jugs and aluminum and tin cans, you know, like soup comes in and stuff. Uh-huh. They pick up everything. During the summers, like the, around where I live the, uh, homeless people I mean, they all have like shopping carts and stuff Uh-huh. and they're go around and collect cans and aluminum and stuff, Uh-huh. and so we used to just save them up and then they'd come around and we'd give them to them. Uh-huh. But, when, during the winter time I think they, they move south or something Yeah so, I don't do that anymore. And the, the recycling at Georgia Tech, like that, uh, outside the, uh, student center they never empty those things. Uh-huh. I know it, I know it. They just overflow. It piles up. So what's a guy to do? I just don't know. I asked myself. I just don't know and now they have, like bins and stuff that are a little more convenient because, mean, until seven o'clock, you got to pay to park at the student center, you can't really unload all your stuff. Really? Huh, oh, yeah, that's true, hadn't thought about that. That is very inconvenient. Uh-huh. Inconvenient, even I know it, I know it. But, uh, so, you do recycle, don't you? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm kind of, I'm kind of bad about it. The , If I, if see a, if I see a pile of cans or bottles or something I'll throw it in there Uh-huh. but I don't really, I don't ever take anything. Well, I mean, it's real, you ought to, because the, the, the farmer's market recycles absolutely everything. Uh-huh. And since we go there all the time, I mean But wait probably at all. I've never seen you before Who are you? Oh, by the way, may name's Julie. Yeah, my name's Bill. Well, Hi. Hi. I'm from Atlanta. Me, too. Neat. Crazy. Uh, well, is there anything else you'd like to share me about your recycling philosophy, Julie? I just think that everybody ought to do it. Do they do like, what about, like, uh, what kind of plastic stuff can you recycle, do you know? The only thing I know that you can recycle is milk jugs. Really? Yeah. What about like those grocery bags? Oh, yeah, they have, uh, uh, what I, what I used to, uh, now that I don't go to the grocery store much, it's kind of moot, but I used to just save up the ones that I got one time and then go and hand them to them the next time and use them over and over. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, also most places, like Big Star does and I'm not sure if Kroger does or not but, They'll ask you whether you want bags or paper or plastic. Yeah, and they, they have like little, little boxes that you can put your old bags in. uh. Can bring them in. Those petroleum products are going to kill us. I know it, I know it. The hostile planet, I think, Julie. It really is a small, hostile planet The petroleum pretty much, I mean, those petroleum products I think are the big, uh, you know the great Satan of the recycling. Did you know that, No, really not. Did you know that, like, something like fifty percent of the world's landfills is like paper? Filled with paper. Um. Paper just seems so innocuous. Huh? Paper doesn't seem threatening at all, you know. Well, it is, it is, though. It comes from trees. How can it be bad? It is, because they, They treat it with chemicals or something? Why can't trees break down? I don't get it. Well, they do treat paper with chemicals like yellow paper, you know takes something like twenty times as long to decompose. Yep. Oh You know, you can bury a piece of yellow paper, it will still be there in a couple of weeks. Really? Yeah Huh. it will be whole. You'll be able to read off of it. I'm going to switch from those yellow legal pads, then. Yeah, um. I'm glad you told me that, because I use those at work, where I work and, uh, But I can just forget that from now on. I'm going I'm going to switch to the white ones. Well, white paper's bad too. They, they treat it, too. Well, what about, uh, papyrus, you know, made out of you know, bamboo stuff, from the from the banks of the Nile. I'm sure that's fine. I'm sure. Maybe we ought to just start carving in stone again. You think so? Maybe. Tablets? Yeah. I think we should just abandon the, you know, the written word altogether, you know. You think? I don't know, well, I mean, I think we've kind of, you know, What do you think? I mean, everybody, everybody everybody has a computer. Kind of radical, I know but, We would no longer need paper at all. That's true. Everyone had a two way wrist watch T V on their wrist, like, uh, Dick Tracy. I would love that. So how do you, uh, so, so, it sounds like you've got a television going on there, so I can assume that you probably watch the T V news. Is that, I almost never watch T V news. Really? Wow. I , I get most of my news driving back and forth to work listening to the radio. Uh, what, what station do you listen to? Uh, it's a local radio station. It's called, uh, K L I F, cliff. Cliff, I see, so, uh, it's not affiliated with anything, is it. Not it's not a network station. No. No. Okay, yeah, because I, I listen to, uh, public radio a lot and they have, they have K C R W, which I, I, I saw a thing recently, they may be trying to start their own, uh, cable TV outlet, I guess. They're getting a little, getting a little feisty now Well, this has, this station has a lot of just ongoing news Uh, and occasionally in the morning, I'll pick up something like, uh, C N N or that, but I hate watching the, like, ten o'clock news or, Yeah, so you have a paper or something or, Yeah, we have a well, we have, uh, DALLAS MORNING NEWS which is the big paper in Dallas. Uh-huh. We read, I read it pretty much from cover to cover. Yeah. How do you like it? It's been, it's been a while since I read the Dallas news. I, uh, fact, last time I read the Dallas, Dallas news I was in Arkansas. I, uh , The TIMES HERALD went out of business here Oh, yeah? and so we really only have one Dallas newspaper and one, Fort Worth newspaper. Well, that must be pretty bad. So, how did that happen, anyway? Uh, financial trouble. No, not how, I mean, when did it, when did they , Oh, when did it happen? Yeah. I guess they closed down about three months ago. Oh, really. Um. So, how do you keep up? Oh, me, I, uh, good grief, I read the TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES. There's, quite a task if you've ever run into one. They're, uh Yes, they're very voluminous. Yeah, they're thick. Uh, if there's something you want to know, it's, it's in the TIMES and then, and in detail. *repair bracketing wrong Uh, they, uh, we, we used to have two papers here in town and then the HERALD EXAMINER collapsed about two years ago because of, oh, I don't know, just nobody was buying it really. So there really is only one major L A now? Yeah, pretty much. Uh, there used to be, fact, I think there still is, the, uh, the DAILY NEWS which runs out of the San Fernando Valley and, uh, they're not bad as far as a, uh, you know, as far as a local paper goes. In fact, it was kind of weird, because I met the, uh, I met the, I met the editor, uh, while I was on, uh, while I was doing jury service in Santa Monica one time It was like we just sat around and talk about newspapers and stuff. He was a really cool guy. Uh, you know, went to Columbia University and all this stuff. And, uh it's, it's a pretty good paper, but, uh, you know, it's not, it's not the TIMES. Yeah. Although I, you know, I'm sorry to see some of their, uh, there's, there's a daily news, uh, news rack right around the corner from where I live, which means that they're, they're expanding, I guess. But, uh, and occasionally I, I pick up like TIME magazine or something I think, uh, if they've got an interesting lead story, but you know, it's, I, I don't have time. I used to read TIME magazine a lot, but I don't read it much anymore. Yeah, that's, that's kind of a problem for them. There's a lot of people who fall into that, category. And then we have a local rag here in town that I pick up periodically and read just to see what's going on in our little community. Because we don't get an awful lot of coverage in the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Uh-huh. I see. Yeah, the big dailies don't like to, don't like to step much out of their, uh, out of their home turf, I have to admit, the TIMES is kind of provincial, too. It's basically anything that's south of downtown, they don't bother to cover. Now, they have started here running a three day, or three times a week Plano section. Uh-huh. And it's just sort of a, you know, four or five pages that covers what's going on in Plano. But it's still not an awful lot of news. Yeah, I know. I, uh, it was, it was a big discovery when, when the TIMES, when the TIMES found out there was a place called Orange County I mean, the way they, I mean, the way they've been handling it before, they practically, they practically acted like their reporters needed to shots to go south of the L A county border Oh, I would imagine in, uh, you know, in, in Dallas they have plenty happening in Dallas to cover, that it gets hard covering all of the suburbs and, of course, they tend to cover the county, and we're not in Dallas county, so they tend to ignore places outside of the county. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah, I, I, I find that attitude kind of arrogant, though. It's like you're taking our money, but you're not bothering to cover the things that are interesting to us. Yeah. Okay. Well, uh, I'll let you start, I guess Well, uh, yeah, I, I'm employed by a company that does do, uh, random drug testing and I've got some very definite, uh, opinions about it. Uh, you know, which haven't changed all that much from my first reactions from, from when they, when they announced it. But, uh, developed a little more, I guess, but haven't changed that much. What about you? Are you, uh, involved at all? Uh, no. I mean, I'm not, my employer does not do that. Uh, although, uh, I had an ex-employer that, uh, the previous job I used to have, uh, they, after, I guess a few years after I had started with them they made it a condition of employment that you pass a drug test. Yes. Uh, I, I don't know. My feeling is that certain jobs that when there's immediate threat to life and limb, uh, if should somebody be under the influence of drugs, I, I'd be willing to support that. For example, uh, uh, well, uh, uh, train engineers. Yeah. Because it, you know, uh, like, there was an incident several years ago where an Amtrak engineer you know Right. he crashed and killed some people because he was, uh, smoking some marijuana and I guess air traffic controllers. I wouldn't want them to be on drugs. And airplane pilots. But where it's not necessary, uh, in that regard, where it's not an immediate threat to life and limb or property uh, I, I'd, I would seriously question it. Yeah. Uh, so. Yeah. Yeah. It, uh, that's, that's mine. It, it, you know, I, I go back, it, to me, no matter how much the, our company claims it's not a constitutional issue. That, because this is, uh, between a company and an employee it is not, it is not a government, it's not, the Constitution doesn't apply. But I it, it seems to me that it still should. I, I, our company's doing it because they're a, uh, government contractor Uh, and so it's, it's required for certain, some form, some form of drug program is required to get the government contracts So it's the government that's mandating it to a certain extent? Okay. and our company has taken that and gone all the way. Say, okay, uh, first off we don't, we don't have enough courage to, uh, pick out the people that, that have some sort of indication of possible drug usage, uh, because that would offend them, uh, if they, if they weren't. So we'll just accuse everybody of using drugs and, make it all even. Uh, and and, uh Yeah. Well, then, uh, but and they, so it's, a, a complete random testing well it's random in the sense that you don't know when. It is not random in the sense that they have said that within three years everyone in the company will be tested. Huh. Uh, and, uh, you know, I, I sit at a terminal and, and write software all day. It, it, uh, certainly has no life threatening, uh, capabilities uh, you know, in, in my job. Right. And, And, and, uh, yes I, I agree that there are, there are, uh, jobs that are definitely life threatening and, and, and there needs to be a line drawn somewhere at, reasonable and proper. you know, Yeah, yeah. I agree. I mean it's, well there's also the issue of, uh, out here, I remember hearing a year or so ago, that, uh, a lot of, there was a high error rate in the analysis of drug results. or, I shouldn't say high Well, I mean several percent Yeah. I, that, that I, that I will give credit to, to our, our company for in that, that, I think there's, there's a couple of levels of tests in terms of, of, uh, of drugs. And essentially the first thing is is on the order of paper in the urine and, uh, or some, you know, it's not quite that simple, but it's fairly simple. Kind of a coarse kind of test. Coarse kind of test. And then there's a, a much more, uh, uh, refined test, uh, uh, spectrography or whatever it's called. The chemotography uh, to determine exactly what the, what the things are. Is that done, Right. And, uh, Now let me ask you this. Uh, at the time you hired on with this company, uh, was that prior to any, No, I, I've been with this company for, uh, for sixteen years now. Okay, so that this is obviously not a condition of employment that you subject yourself to this And, uh, No. And it, and it, and it has, it has, you know, they did that three or four years before they did it with everybody. And I, uh, at that time I could justify it in terms of someone new coming in, you don't, you don't know. But, on the other hand, uh, someone new coming in that knows they're going to have a test, Hello. Hello, Hi. Hello this is Lois. Hi, hi, this is Lisa. And, uh, I called you know, from that, the, the T I Data Base Calling Instructions. Uh-huh. Yeah, I got a call yesterday too. This is a different subject though. Yeah, this is about changes in the women in the, Uh-huh. Uh, there's really a lot, isn't there. Yeah I think there really is. It's kind of an easy thing to talk about. Oh, I guess the work force would be the main, wouldn't it. Yeah, uh, I think you have to push one and then we can start recording it. Okay All right. Okay. Are you ready now? Yes. Okay, like I said I guess it would be the work force, you know, as far as changes in the generations. Yes, I know because, I know when my mother was a, you know, going into the work force there wasn't very many opportunities for her, I guess, she's in her late forties. You were expected to stay home and take care of the kids and I've never faced that at all. Uh, no, I think now, you go to work when they're six weeks old, you know, Uh-huh. and you stay there. And I feel like the next generation, you'll probably just work right along with your husband, you know. Yeah, uh-huh, I think it's definitely gotten better. Oh, I do to, much. And it's just going to get better. Uh-huh. It really is. Because women are in every field now, I mean I can't think of a field that they're not involved in. Oh, I can't either, not a one. And I know at least in the medical field, it seems like they've come out with a lot further advances as far as female medications and things since women have gotten into the doctor field. Uh-huh. I don't think that men really took the time to work on that sort of thing. Yeah, even in Washington, you know, there seems to be a lot more women involved. Yeah. Hopefully, the next generation, it won't even be an issue, I mean people will just look at you as a person and not as a man or a woman, Yeah, yeah. I think that would be the best goal. Oh, I do too, just your qualifications and that would be it. Uh-huh, exactly, not what color you are, how old you are, what your male or female. That would be wonderful, I guess it's kind of an ideal world though, huh Yeah, I kind of think, maybe in time, that, you know, you'll go by social security numbers, you know, Yeah. and that way they can't say well they picked a male over a female, female over a male, you know, Exactly, or the way you look, or the way you, you know, Yeah, yeah. your age or anything. I think that would be a wonderful way to do it. I do to just go by your social security number and then look at you qualifications that, you know, that you have. Uh-huh, and then, And then if you get it, you know then, Uh-huh, also, with, uh, women in the work force they've gotten a lot more options as far as, you know, what's it called, job sharing. Uh-huh. Like if you and another lady were to share the same full time job, or, Oh, yeah. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm doing. Is it. Uh-huh, it sure is. That would be great. It sure is. Or, a lot of women I know now and my, uh, one of my supervisors, when she went on L O A to have her baby, we hooked up, uh, uh, a terminal at her house and she, you know, we could send her messages, and, and she kept in touch like that, and basically, just worked out of her house. Oh. I would just take her the actual paperwork once, uh, every week or two, and that worked out great too. Yeah, yeah that is. And that's a real attractive option, if you have the, the technology for it. Uh-huh. All it was, was, you know, I mean, she just used a phone modem and she was like she was sitting in the office, so I think that's real nice too, to come up with different options. Do you like the job sharing? Oh, I do, Do you? I really do, I think it's great. Do you work like half days, or half weeks or, Uh, well like, one week she'll work three days and I'll work two and she'll work two, Oh, oh that's great, and we just share off like that. Uh-huh. Do you get the full benefits? Uh-huh, yeah we get the full benefits. Oh, that's wonderful. But we've just really got a wonderful system that we're working under. Yeah, especially with children, and so many things going on, that would be great. Yeah. It really is, and that way we're not really missing any thing out, you know, of children, Either way, uh-huh. yeah, you have your career and your home life, and that would be a nice way, especially if you have young children. Oh, it is, it is, well both of ours is school age, but we don't want to miss any of those P T A and, you know, all of that. Uh-huh, oh, no, I think, yeah. My son's just in day-care but even that they have extracurricular activities and the older they get the more that you're involved in that. Uh-huh. I think it's great, I really, Yeah, and I look for more of that in the next generation. I do too, especially as women get up in management and, and can be in on those decision making, you know, when that subject comes up they can say yes, that would be wonderful. Yes, oh, I do too. Plus, I bet it cuts, cuts down on your absenteeism because you've got two days off that you can do everything, so you don't have to, you know, unless you're just really sick, or the child's sick. Most of the time now, you know, it's just the weekend, or just forget it. Uh-huh, oh yeah, I have to plan way in advance, because, or, what I've done is found like doctors' and dentists' office with extended hours. Uh-huh. That's been real helpful too, like my doctor stays open til nine in the evening. So that's real helpful, so you don't, you know, have to do it during office hours, run out on your lunch hour. I don't know how many times I've done that to do something, post office or the bank or any kind of errand, To do, yeah. so. Uh-huh. Well I think we've really come a long way in that because, Uh-huh, I guess I take it for granted, kind of, because, I just, it's always been that way. Uh-huh. But I know, Yeah, but I can remember back growing up, my mother, I mean it was she always worked, but it wasn't that easy for her to just take off. Oh no, I can remember my mother getting in trouble if, you know, one of was sick, and I know she probably didn't make hardly anything, you know, compared to the work that she did. Oh yeah. I think there is still some discrimination there where as, you know, men and women work in the same job, I think men get paid more, Oh, I do too. but I think that's improving. It's such a slow process it's frustrating, but, you can see that it's wrong Yes, yes. and you just want to make it right, but at least the wheels are moving forward. They really are. Yeah, I think it's getting better, not worse. Well, I should probably get back to my job I know, I know the feeling. Call again. Okay, I sure will. Bye-bye. Okay, bye-bye. Hello. Hello. Hey, how you doing? Not bad, not bad. What's your name? Fernando. Fernando. My name is Nick. Wait. Let me turn off my stereo here Sure Because I've been, like, waiting, like, for about ten minutes to get connected to somebody. Really? Yeah. Phew like a whistling Man, I'm, Yeah. What time is it over are you, are you in Dallas? No, no. I'm in Detroit. Or not Detroit. I'm in, uh, California. Are you? Yeah. I . Because every time I got through, I went to Dallas, Texas. Really? Yeah. I'm in North Carolina. Oh. Well, you're on the, uh, let's see, On the other coast Yeah, twenty-one like he is talking to someone other than Yeah. Shoot man, it's, what, midnight almost? What? Yeah, yeah. It's, uh, I'm watching SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE here. Yeah, okay. All right. Well I guess we're supposed to talk, what about credit card? wait. what did, how, how did you get to know about the T I thing? Oh, one of my instructors, uh, said that they were doing something like this and. what are you working on A, a Masters in, uh, information systems. Really. I'm doing my Masters in, in computer science and computer engineering. Yeah? Where at? At North Carolina State University. Hey. How do you like it out there Uh, I don't. Because, uh, I come from a lot, a bigger city than this one and I, I'm in Raleigh Yeah. and, Oh. Raleigh Durham. Yeah. Yeah. That area. And it's really small. All, all you have is like towns built around universities. Uh-huh. Like Chapel Hill? Yeah. So it, it's basically a bunch of small towns anyway. Kind of quaint little towns but they don't have a whole lot there. Yeah. Where you at? Uh, well, I'm in Monterey, California right now Yeah. Oh, okay. So, so I mean, it's like this, this town probably has like two hundred and fifty thousand people and that's about it. Two hundred fifty? Yeah. Okay. It, it's, it's a lot bigger than Monterey is. But we're just, uh, just south of, uh, San Jose and San Francisco. Oh, okay. And it's only a couple of hours away or a hour away to a, you know, to a large city. So, so where do you go? Do you go to Berkeley? No, no. I go to the, it's the naval postgraduate school out here. Oh, okay. Because, uh, I was looking at, at the, doctorate degree in computer science center at Berkeley Uh-huh. And they're asking like for a, uh, G P A of like three point seven or something like that. Uh-huh. And like they're looking like for, uh, G R E like ninety-nine percentile and this and that. Yeah. And it's like, Well, that's what they look for. Whether or not they get it is hard to say like a chair is drug across the * spelling: "dragged", not "drug" in this case Yeah, I know. That's why, that's why I didn't apply. I mean, it was like for me, it was like practically impossible to get between like ninety and, ninety-nine percentile on the, on the verbal part. Yeah Yeah. It's pretty tough. It's pretty tough I, uh, let's face it, you know. And, you know, I, you know, did the, you know, as far as, I found it a lot of times with, regards to education, you know, the school only takes you so far, you know. It's what you do. You know. Yeah. So, uh, I don't lose any sleep, sleep over stuff like that. So, are, are you going to go for your Doctorate? Probably not. See I'm in the Navy. Yeah. And, uh, you know, most of the Navy funds that I probably won't do it until I, if I do do it, it will be after I get out of the Navy. When do you get out? Oh, probably be another twelve years. Oh, okay Oh, you know I like what I'm doing right now. But, uh, but what if they pay for it? Excuse me? What if they pay for? If they pay for a P H D? Yeah. Nah, they won't pay for it. They've, I think they have maybe two people a year go get, get their P H D. Because I know, I know a couple of people here that work for, uh, the Army. Uh, Yeah. They civilians or, uh, military? I think, I think they're military. But, I mean, the guy is still in. Uh-huh Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, he works over in Maryland Uh-huh And so he's doing his Masters here. They gave him like a scholarship like for a year. Yeah. And he's doing it in like, in a year and a summer. Uh-huh. And so he's getting that and, uh they said like they got a lot of benefits and that. Yeah. That's why you want to join. Uh-huh. But, uh, this guy, I mean you can earn a lot more money so you say, I go why you still there if you can earn a lot more money, once you've get your, your, your Masters. Uh-huh. They go, well they got a lot of benefits that would go with it so. Well, a lot of times it's, you know, a lot of times it's not the money that keeps that keeps people in . Yeah. They, they like what they're doing. They, you know, they feel good about what they're doing. That type of thing. It's more But I mean, I mean, you, the, once you get your Masters, you can be earning between, anywhere between like thirty-seven, forty-five thousand a year. Uh-huh And and that's not what they're paying. Oh, easily, I'm sure. No. Well, it depends on what rank you are, of course Yeah. Yeah, I know I mean, like I say, if you're, if you're, you know, if you're at an upper level in the rank category, you know, you're probably pulling down close to seventy grand a year. Yeah. But that's, uh, Yeah. Those are few and far between though. Yeah. It's like, it's like, uh, in I B M. In I B M, you can get certain points Uh-huh. and, uh, everyone's a manager. But nobody can get one more point to become, you know, like whatever you need to earn so much money. Yeah. Since I imagine it's fairly competitive. Yeah. It's like, no I, I mean, I B M is like, there's a joke about I B M which says, you know, it's like, uh, all, all the major companies get into a, a boating race, right? Uh-huh. And so, I B M says well we have, we have to have a team, right. Uh-huh And then they come in last and they have this whole team, you know, analyze why they came in last right. Because the person asked for it. Yeah. Saying, he goes, uh, the problem was that there were five people saying row, row, row and one person rowing, right. So he goes, have you come up with a uh, have you come up with a solution? They go, yeah, change the rower You know, it's like everyone's a, manager but, you know, it's like only use like one person does the work Yeah. so. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians. Yeah. So. Yeah. I don't know, that can be, that, that can really slow you down. Yeah. Well, that's the way it works. I mean, that's, that's why they're having problems. I mean, everyone's a manager and, I didn't realize that. Yeah. I mean, it's like, it's like the people that actually do the work there are, uh, very few. Uh-huh. And then the other people just plan it, you know. It's like, it's like have you, have have you ever seen the commercial like for Federal Express where the, with, uh, the think tank? You know, push paper around. Uh-huh. like all these people are just standing, sitting around, just going, you know, like what shall we do? Has anybody thought of anything? No. And then this guy from Federal, Federal Express comes along. They go what's that? This track which it's going around the world and they can tell you where your package is anywhere, any time. Uh-huh. And so it's like the same thing with I B M. You know, so they have this think tank. And they got to come up with ideas. But, see, uh, the, the thing is, that I B M is so stabilized that everybody will buy their stuff. Yeah. Oh, yeah. They've got a, they've got basically a, uh, you know, a lock on a lot of the market. Yeah. And a lot of times you figure, you know, with the support that they provide, you know, people generally go with that because they figure that the, you know, you probably won't get fired for getting I B M material. Whereas if you try something different, they'll they'll say yeah, And it fails and you're dead. why didn't you buy, why didn't you try something more mainline. Yeah. Well I B M doesn't fire anybody. Because uh, what they do is they, they put you in a different job. Which you actually are like sitting around not doing anything. No. Uh-huh. So you quit. Uh. I mean that's their policy. They never fire anybody unless you're caught doing something illegally. Illegal or something like that, yeah. Yeah, like if you're stealing something or doing anything like that Uh-huh. But they won't let you off. What they'll do is like suppose, you know, like you're a manager. So they'll put you into keeping up the paper, you know. Uh-huh. It's like how much paper is going in? And then you say that's not my job, Uh-huh. so you quit. So, in other words, that's the way they force people out Right. That's why they can say, you know, there's no layoff policy. Right. But it they don't really say that, you know, you're, you're always going to have great career conditions. Right. hey, that's kind of sad. No, but I mean, it's like, it's like they, they have just like different policy. I don't know. My dad works for them but it's like I B M like never in their commercials, they never put down any other company, you know. It's like they won't say, No. Well, they're the standard right now. Or as far as that goes, you know, people think of computers, they think of I B M a lot of times. And the main, Yeah. Because see what happens is they have a good backup policy. And anybody can fix it. Uh-huh. And so that's what you're going to go for. Yeah. Well, you know, that's, that's a, that's a big thing. And, and, you know, it's like, for example, like Leading Edge. Have you ever heard of Leading Edge? Yeah. They are out of Korea right. What? Leading Edge. Don't they They, they made like, uh, small personal computers. Yeah. Small P C they're out of Korea right? I don't know. I don't know. But what they do is, what they did, I don't know, is buy all the parts that I B M would throw away. And build an I B M P C with all the parts that I B M would throw away. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah Yeah. for example, you test a chip. It can't last seven years but it can last five. I B M says let's throw it away. Leading Edge will say we'll buy it from you. Okay. And so that's, I mean, they're still around I think. Yeah. I've seen, well I've seen them around anyway. You know . So, that's what they do. They buy all, all the things that I B M throws away and they , and that's why they're so compatible. Because I mean Uh-huh. and by the time you have computer for five years, you're going to throw it away anyway. You know. Most people do. Or they have to anyway. Well, I mean, there's like, well in a way you realize, I mean, one one of my teachers got this computer which, you know, it's like, uh, voice, uh, synthesizing stuff. Uh-huh. And he got that. He said, you know, it's like, uh, I was testing it * LISTEN to this sequence that begins here and ends with A.215 utt 11. I can't tell how much Speaker A is quoting, and how much he'she is directly addressing Speaker B. and it was wonderful. And then when you tried to erase and correct, you know, all the errors in your voice, it takes up all your memory. Wow. And I want more, you know. And it's like Jesus Christ, you know, it's like why do you want more. Because it's like one second of recording. I mean you put into Wave Uh-huh. and you want to correct the errors into Wave, it takes so much, I mean, it's like, of course it does. I mean, by the times it transforms into Wave by mark off model and you put it in there, and you want to correct those. And then, you know, you're trying to make the, the Wave smooth so you can approximately, of course it's going to take a lot. Imagine, imagine what it is for us to make mark off models, you know. It's amazing. Yeah. It's like, Jesus Christ. Well, when you get, you know, when you get right down to it, the, uh, the more they can do for you, the more, uh, like I say, the more, the more memory they're going to require. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Both, both in terms in Ram as well as, uh, you know, standard memory or disk disk base, Yeah. so. Well, like they say, like nobody can get enough, you know. It's like once you have something, and it's like Oh, yeah. You find out more, I was watching this program on T V yesterday. In nineteen seventy-six NASA came up with Three D graphics. Yeah. Right. Uh-huh. And they were showing this like Three D Three D graphics view of like, Like the deal? What? No, no, no. Like a hologram? This is like, this is like video game stuff. With just graphics on, on a, Okay? Okay But the only thing was, that it was just lines, okay. Like if you I guess, um, I'm going to school while I'm working at T I, so there's not a whole a lot of time that I've got, uh, for hobbies it seems like lately. But one of the things that I do when I've got some spare time is I do some woodworking. And that, oh, I guess, ranges anywhere from, uh, carpentry work to, um, um, some types of furniture and, um, oh, I don't know what you would call them, knickknacks, I guess, stuff you hang on the wall to put a mirror on and I made some, um, candle sconces that you hang on the ... Yeah, I have quite a few of those that my uncle made. There's something about working with wood that, that I enjoy, that, I don't know if it's the saw dust or the mess you make or the smell of the wood but, As you know, I think it's more like the mess you make, isn't it? You don't have to worry about cleaning it up. Yeah, because it's, it's out there. You know I don't have to worry about getting stuff on the carpet except when I track in saw dust, and the wife gets kind of aggravated about that, but then, I get the opportunity to vacuum, so I guess I get some of both. What are some of your things you like to do? Well, when I have time I do like to sew, um, I had been doing a lot of crocheting. I make a lot of afghans or used to make a lot of them. Yeah. My mother was real heavy into crafts, and I would help her with whatever she happened to be doing, and then, she would go to these, uh, arts and crafts shows and sell her needlework. Oh, yeah. So, a lot of times I'd help her with that. I haven't had much opportunity to work on any other craft stuff lately we've been trying to start up a business and then trying to get my garden going. Yeah, it's a good time for gardening. Oh, yeah, it's been beautiful this last week but, I could do with a little less wind, but I think the, the temperature has been pretty good so far for working outside. Yeah. Do you find you do most of your, your, uh, crocheting or your knit work around Christmas time? I usually start in the fall. Yeah. And my husband says I do it, you know, make afghans so I can keep my lap warm. Well, that's kind of what my wife says. She enjoys doing it during the cold weather because she's always got something to cover her, her legs and feet with while she is working on it. Yeah. I know it seems like, she, I think she made three this year one for, uh, my father-in-law and then a couple of brothers and sisters. So, those things they take some time to make. Yeah, I found one that's real easy, it's, it's, um, um, um, shoot, I can't even remember the name of it now, but you make it in strips. And it's real easy to do, and it's just that it doesn't keep your feet quite as warm because you do it in strips like that but it's, Well, that's kind of like quilting. Yeah, yeah. I think Mile a Minute. That's the name of it. Mile a Minute. Mile a Minute. Well, I'm not sure what she does I, I, first thing that comes to mind is some kind of chain stitch because she starts and goes all the way across, you know, back and forth until she winds up with this big piece of, of afghan. I guess that is your standard knitting, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. Usually single crochet would, is, is always starts it off. Yeah, I know, If we have a problem with our connection and get disconnected some time or other, don't worry about it. We have a, a very small phone company down here. Oh, okay. And my husband says that's called rinky-dink Instead of call waiting or call anything else. No, no. We can't have that down here. We get disconnected all the time. Well, I guess that's, that's one way to end a conversation. Yeah, well, it gets a little aggravating. I've got kids all over the United States and, and, you know, sometimes they get disconnected when I'm talking to them. Yeah. What, have you started your garden yet? Yes. We planted, um, potatoes and onions and bell peppers. Um, boy. Uh, what else did I get in there, and jalapeno peppers. Oh, yeah, always got to have those. Yeah. I think I had four, uh, jalapeno plants last year. I think one of them died, but I, I've got, I've put them, I chop them up and put them in jars and usually give them away because I, there is no way that I can eat all of those nobody else in the family likes them, but always got to the keep those planted. Yeah, oh, my husband doesn't like them either, but I can always give them away. Well, that's kind of the way I am, um. Besides they're fun to grow. I planted, uh, zucchini last year. Uh, I planted four hills of them. I think I had three or four seeds in each one of them, and those things just flat took over. Um, it wasn't until late, I guess in the summer, maybe it was because it was too dry, they finally started making zucchini, and I'm not sure when a good time to plant those is, if they should be planted early or later. It seems like all I got was, Supposedly after the soil warms up. I would think so, um, seems like these all, they all went to, uh, to leaf, and it wasn't until late in the summer they started making fruit. So, I don't know if I, Mom would say you planted them in the wrong sign of the moon. You know, Uh-huh. but I don't, I hadn't looked at a farmers almanac to find out when a good time for zucchini is. I, I doubt if zucchini is in there. It may not be, it may not be. Probably the same time the, the other squash is though. You think they're later in the year? Yeah. Uh. About the same time that you plant okra because it's supposed to be warm. Well, that's true. Most of the okra that is growing around higher is, is, uh, later okra. Yeah. Well that's about, um, We decided this year, Go ahead. I'm sorry, go ahead. Well, I was just going to say, it's a little over six or seven minutes. So whenever you feel comfortable about concluding, well, I'm, that would be fine. Oh, just any time. Well, all right. I guess we'll call this one quits an, and thanks for participating. All right. Well, I've enjoyed talking to you. All right, have a good time. Okay. Bye. Bye. You said you have four cats? Yes, I have four cats. How old are they? Well they range from, let's see about a year and a half to nine years old. Oh gosh. Yes. I haven't had my oldest one quite nine years, I've had him probably five years. Oh okay, you get so attached to them. Oh yes, I love my cats. I lost one, one time, uh, Oh. the first one I got. He jumped off the balcony actually, of a second story apartment. Oh no. And he'd never been outside, like, you know, by himself outside. Uh-huh. And it started raining and I was hysterical. I was, I was, I mean, you would have thought a child had died. Yes, uh-huh. I called everyone I knew, I had every friend I knew in the apartment searching for this cat. Yes, I understand. And they laughed at me, they thought that was so hysterical. Oh no, I understand, we, uh, we've gone through the same things with ours, we've had, you know, they've been ill, I mean I take off work, to take care of my cats, you know, Oh yeah. my boss thinks I'm absolutely crazy. And then we had a baby and it's like, all right who comes first the cat or the baby. The cat was here first so I know, it's hard. And, and then when we go to sleep at night, you know, it's like my husband and I have to try to get any space on the bed because we have all four of them up there with us. Oh, how funny. It's like all right, whose corners is this one. That's sweet, I have the two, the other two cats I have are outdoor cats. Oh, uh-huh. And they didn't used to be actually, but they got kind of wild and weren't doing very well inside, so I put them outside once I got a house and they're doing great out there, they love it. But the other one, the first one I got he doesn't want anything to do with outside unless you're there. Oh, uh-huh. Other than that he gets scared to death. If you shut that door he goes into hiding. Oh no. I think it's from the time he jumped off the balcony Yes, uh-huh, that's it And Lord knows what happened to him. He's probably been through all kinds of nightmares. Right, traumatized for life here. Probably. Oh yeah, we've, all four of ours are house cats. Are they. We started out with two, with two outdoor cats but our neighbor decided he didn't like cats and shot one of them. Oh no. Oh well he lived through it, oh, I couldn't believe it. We went through like twenty-two hundred dollars worth of vet bills. Oh my gosh. The, the cat almost died, and but he turned out to be such a wonderful cat, oh he loves life now. Oh, I imagine. And he's like oh, thank you so much. I wonder how many of his lives he missed, when that happened. I know, we wondered about that. But, uh, oh that was a traumatic experience for us too. Oh, I can imagine, what did he shoot him with. Uh, well, uh, from what we can tell it was a pellet gun and then he started chasing him with a bull whip. Oh my gosh. People are crazy. Oh yes, absolutely nuts. But, uh, luckily enough, you know, we found the cat in time and, uh, rushed him to the vet and it took us about six weeks of in and out of the vet and surgery and, Oh Lord. I mean he started off as a stray and then we did all this for him Oh man. But oh, he's been a wonderful cat. I imagine. They usually are after something like that happens to them. It seems to mellow them or something. Oh yes. But, uh, we wouldn't we wouldn't have them, I mean, I don't see us without pets, without cats. No. There's just, uh, there's this, they just fill this void. Oh yeah, I I keep talking about getting rid of my outdoor cats because I feel like I don't, I can't take care of them as well because they're outside, Uh-huh. and it worries me that one day one of them won't come back, Yes. and I feel like they need a big home, a nice place where someone can have the time to play with them and things. But I can't give them up. Oh no. I just, I go hysterical when they don't come home. Right and you worry about, oh, who's taking care of them. Oh, oh yeah, and every time you see one hit on the side of the road you say is that my cat. Uh-huh. And you go crazy thinking it might be yours. Right, well I didn't realize my husband was such a sucker for animals until I brought one home one night. We, I had one that had, we had, we had to put to sleep he got so sick. Uh-huh. And, uh, well I fell in love with this, uh, it's a Chinchilla Persian, and, uh, brought him home, Ugh! and oh, my husband just died. Really. It was like we can't take it back you've got, we've got to keep it now. It's here now, we have to keep it. Yeah, my, my first one that I got, I had just moved away from home and got my own apartment. It took me about two weeks to realize, that was real lonely. Uh-huh, uh-huh, yes. So I found this one and, uh, actually it was on a sign at Taco Bell drive-thru that said free kittens. Oh uh-huh. And I thought well that's interesting, I'll call them. Right. And he was the only one left and his mother had been killed coming back across the road to make sure she'd gotten all her kittens. Oh, uh-huh. And he was the last one she carried across, you know, the whole big sad story. Oh. So of course, I had to take him. I felt so sorry for him after that. Right, right. And he is, uh, you can tell he was weaned too young because he'll nurse on your ears and your fingers. Oh no. Yeah, he, I asked the vet why he did that and he said he was probably weaned too young, which he was, because his mom was killed, so. Yeah. But he is the lovingest cat. Everybody, people who don't even like cats, like him. Oh. He never meows, he, he doesn't have any front claws, I had him declawed, Oh, uh-huh. but he doesn't bite anybody he's just, he's just kind of there, real friendly and docile. Oh that's good. Oh we just, uh, just love them. They, uh, you know, get to feeling so lovey and dovey and they'll come up and just start kneading in our chest and it's like oh, your claws need trimming. Oh yeah, yeah, we do, we call that doing biscuits, Oh yes, yes. it looks like their kneading bread *spelling "their" should be "they're" Oh it just drives us nuts. Oh, I just love cats. I like dogs, they're okay, I had, I had a dog when I lived at home Um, yeah. but they're a lot more trouble than cats actually. They really are. The cats are so independent and they have so much more personality than a dog. Oh yeah, they do. And, but oh, they're so much fun to watch them play. Oh they are. I love it, it's so funny to get more than one cat together, because it brings out their personalities. Yes. And they just act so funny. Oh, we've got, well the two that were outside, they're like brothers, I mean I've never seen two cats so close. Really. And, uh, they, uh, will get to playing chase through the house, Uh-huh. and it is hysterical, I mean and then the other two cats will follow in pursuit. It's like this train. A train of cats running around. I mean it sounds like a train. We have wooden floors and so it just sort of echoes through the house Oh how funny, I can imagine. Yeah, I wouldn't give anything for my cats. I love them to death. Oh no, they're just, they're, they're just, uh, they're wonderful, uh. What are your cats' names. Uh, we have, uh, Bonzo, Bear, Poindexter, and Felix. Oh, how sweet. And what do you have. I have Xanadu and Precious, and Rascal. Oh. Precious and Rascal are brother and sister and they don't look a thing a like. Nothing. Precious is a medium hair yellow cat, Uh-huh, yeah. and Rascal is a black and white short hair. Nothing. They don't look a thing a like, Not a thing, goodness gracious. and they came from the same litter and everything. We have, uh, uh, tortoise which is a black and, and orange. Oh. And she's so ugly. So ugly she's cute, right. Yes, uh-huh. I mean you can't help but love her. She's, she's the oldest one and, but, uh, very possessive. Really. I mean it's like nobody messes with her mamma. Oh. And, uh, I mean, it comes bedtime and she's right there. Is she the oldest one? Yeah, she's the oldest. And she, well in fact I got her when I moved out of the house also. Really. And so yeah, it's, uh, wouldn't have, I mean, oh, if something happens to her. Oh I know it's like the end of the world. It will be. I know that's how I am about Xanadu. Oh, goodness. You get so attached to them. Oh definitely. My mother has dogs and I'm like, no. Yeah. This is nothing like cats. You can walk a dog and that's okay for weekend but cats are good all the time. Right, I'm so glad my husband is a cat person because if he was a dog person, no, it wouldn't have worked. It wouldn't have, no that would be a problem Oh that's one of the requirements I asked him. I said, now you do like cats, right. We don't Have you seen those, uh, do you ever read COSMO. Yes, uh-huh. There was cartoon in COSMO about a year or two ago and it had this man sitting on a couch with his date and there were cats hanging all over him. Hanging on his clothes, you know, they had ripped him up and the couch was ripped up and down at the bottom he said, of course I love cats. And they were just all over him and sitting on his head, the whole nine yards. It was so funny. Oh yeah, oh, the whole time I was pregnant they kept saying, are you getting rid of your cats, are you getting rid of your cats. You can't be pregnant and have cats. I'm like, uh, no, no, no. Watch me. Right, the child will learn to like cats. and deal with them, Definitely. I'm sorry, we are not getting rid of the cats. Oh I wouldn't either. There'd be no way. The whole family was so disappointed Oh really, oh well. Right. That's life, that's how life goes. Right, uh, but yes, we just, just love them to death. I know, I love mine too. Well, it's been nice talking to you. Well it was nice talking to you too, I enjoyed it. Me to. Bye, bye. Bye, bye. So well, you're, you, you take this subject much more personally than I do, I suppose. I suppose I do because I've seen a lot of those changes, the changes that women have had in the last well, you know, not even the last generation, the last fifteen years twenty years, going from, Uh-huh. well, take it back, thirty years I'm going back too far, from my parents' generation when mom stayed home, period Yeah. and there was no such thing as a job or any hope of a job, well, unless, if you were educated you got, you know, you might teach for a year or two before you got married. Yeah. And if you really pushed it, you taught until you had kids or something you know, Yeah. if you had, if you were a teacher. Then, you know, that was it, until the kids were little. Yeah, you, you weren't supposed to want a job. Yes. There was not, there's not supposed to be any reason to use this education or this brain that you might have for anything other than your house and your children and how clean can the bathroom floors be on any given day. Yeah. And then, and then of course today it's supposed to be all the other way. You're supposed to only want the job, and, and, uh, your kids should be totally happy in day care, because everybody else goes to day care Yeah. and, and we have these wonderful people who are who are totally prepared to to teach your child everything they need to know in day care Uh-huh. Yeah, but but, uh, a really good day care is probably going to cost more than you're going to make at the job. and we'll see how the generations go. Yeah, I, at least for a lot of women depending on, on what she did. Yeah. I've, I was an engineer with, uh, mechanical engineer with T I, and, uh, I did it for six years and for one, well I had one while I was pregnant, and then one while my oldest was a year old, and, and it just drove me crazy. Did you, I could not do either well I couldn't put in enough overtime that was or that, you know, things that would come up at work, that would require me to stay late or to come in early or to do something on Saturdays as is, you know, as is needed, because my husband for a long time was out of the country also with, uh, with work, for like three months Uh-huh. Oh, yeah, and, So it was you and the kid and your work schedule is. Yeah. Well that's the thing, see, you know, maybe if you get along for example if you'd been a technician instead of an engineer. You know, the technicians work the eight to five job and know when they're going to be there. Yeah, might have been better. Yeah. But if you're going to be more professional oriented, then you've got to have this, to be able to perform well on the job you've got to have the flexibility that doesn't really go with the family. Yeah, and so it was, in my case, I just, uh, decided that, as long as my kids were little, I would be better off at home with them, instead of driving myself crazy trying to do everything at once. Uh-huh. So you figure one of these days you're going to go back to being an engineer? Is that what you're saying? Well, actually I've found out that I'm not going to go back to being an engineer. What will you, I'm, I'm, I'm a photographer now. Oh, okay, you've found something else. I have, I have branched out. I was a photographer before, but when I went to college it was, I felt like I couldn't support myself if I decided to be a photographer that it would just have to be a hobby, Yeah. and I'm very mechanical, and mechanical engineering interested me, so I did that. And then I, you know, I did that for six years. And then I stayed home with my son, and did nothing. And found out that I was, that, you know, it was great, Yeah. but I was bored part of the time, too. And I wanted something else to do, Yeah, I mean, you figure there's got to be more to life than sitting here playing with this child. Yeah, it's, it's great while they're really little, but as they get older and they're more independent, and there's things to do, then it's good for them to go to different, Uh-huh. I mean, it, he goes to a, a mother's day out program now once a week. Both of my kids do, and so they're getting, they get the socialization with other kids, and, you know, and not really school, but, but a different authority than mom, once in a while, you know, kind of learning how to deal with society. And, and they need that, you know, to be able to relate to other people besides the same person every day. Yeah, I think they do, too. And I need it for the break. Yeah, well, that's the other thing, you know, they talk about women leaving the home and going out to work, well, still taking care of the children is a very important job. Uh-huh. And, and someone's got to do it, and be able to do it right, and and if it's not mom then, then dad or somebody's got to move in there and do the job, because the kids really need it. And enjoy it, that's, that's the whole thing. Yeah. I think that's the thing that we're going to see, well, I think the biggest thing we're going to see coming up in the next ten year, even in the, even now they're starting to do it, but I think it's going to be more in the next ten to fifteen years, is that there's going to be a lot of women, and they're going to have to work it out to working part time. Uh-huh. Because if, if I had been allowed to work, you know, maybe thirty hours a week instead of fifty hours a week, I might still be working basically full time or part time, if there was, if there had been some way to work it out, Yeah. because, I liked my job really well. Uh-huh. But I was just pulled in so many different directions I was, it was just driving me crazy. And now, with the photography, that's, you know, it's working, that's what I'm doing, is working part time because I can put my kids in a day care situation for a few hours in the, uh, week and use those hours to do. Yeah. The thing that I'm doing is taking school pictures in day cares and in Mother's Day Out programs, and also soccer teams, and, you know, different stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. So my kids can be in day care for a few hours a week, or my husband, if it's, you know, uh, when he's at home, can take care of them. Yeah, so jobs have to, I guess, become more flexible. I think they're really going to have to, and not, and not just for mothers, for fathers as well. Yeah. It's going to have to be both. Well, so, so that's another thing that has to adapt is, you know, the, the father's attitudes about, you know, who, whose job is this. Yeah. Well, it, it's his job too. And I, to me the only important issue is the children, because as far as housework goes, you know, men can do housework just as easily as women, and thanks to a lot of new inventions, housework doesn't take as much time as it used to. So, uh, It's just convincing your husband that that's important, or that it's important enough for him to do it. Yeah yeah, just, yeah, con, Yeah, well. Because if he saw mom doing only that you know, all the time he was growing up then it's hard to think of it in that, other, uh, that I should do it or just to think about doing it rather than having someone tell him to do it. Uh-huh. Yeah. And you, you, you, Yeah, you talk, yeah, Yeah. I know that was a big thing in our house for a long time was that if I wanted my husband to do something to help, and even though we were both working the same number of hours, and, and doing things, I had to come in there specifically and say this needs to be done, Uh-huh. Yeah. this is what you do it now. And a man might say out loud, well, you know, I understand this and I agree, but still he was raised with a mom taking care of him Yes, and, and that's a very hard attitude to change. Yeah, and without, and, and it's just they don't look at things. Most of the men don't walk into the kitchen and see that the dishes are there and that yes, you probably ought to unload the dishwasher and load the new ones in and run it. Uh-huh. They just, you know, just scoot it on another spot on the sink and put the next plate down, and in a while get around to it. And I think most women walk in and, and, and with, Oh, got to clean all this up. Got to get this out and this in and this, you know, taken care of, instead of having someone say now, this needs to be this is the time this needs to be done, Yeah, uh-huh, yeah. Uh-huh. but, And a lot of that is, is how it was drilled into you when you were a kid. Which brings us back to the idea, you know, someone's got to be there taking care of the kids to drill in these you know, drill in the right ideas to, so that they know that, uh, you know, male and female are both responsible for doing this That's right. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. and, uh. And I think that's, that's going to show up a lot more now, in the, in the next generation of, of boys and girls. It's not, they're not going to, the boys in this next generation are not going to have to be told as much this needs to be done, because mom was there saying that dad is there, you know, Uh-huh. Yeah. you both got to, they were both working at whatever things were, needed to be done. Um. Uh-huh. They're going to say to the kids you need do this, because it needs to be done not because it's a woman's job or a man's job, but because it's dirty and it needs to be clean. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. But I think in between we got a group of kids, a generation of kids who didn't learn to take responsibility because mom left to go get a job and dad didn't move in to fill the gap. And so, basically no one was taking the responsibility And it's going to, It's going to, and I think that's happened in a lot of cases. yeah, some kids are really having it. If they'd been in day care the entire time and it wasn't, yeah, the ones that are now getting to be teenagers and in some cases, young college. Uh-huh. Un, you know some time day care is really good, Yeah. but sometimes, it's just, it's baby-sitting. Yeah. It's someone, you know, keeping an eye on the kids but the kids are basically doing what they want and not really having any relationship with the adults to say, you know, here's what's right Yeah. and here's what wrong, and here's what we expect of you. Yeah, I think that was one of the main reasons that I quit, was because I wanted my kids to have my values, and I felt like when they were young, that was the time to instill it. That it could be, it could be added to and strengthened as they grew older, but when they were little, you know, Yeah. this is the way I feel about this, and this is the way, because I, it's that, you know, when you, when you, if you, if you teach them when they're little the way you want them to be, and the things that are important to you, then you just, you add onto it as they get older. Uh-huh. But if no one does anything when they're little, then it's twice as hard as, I think, as they get older. Yes. I'm saying this as I'm trying to keep my nine month old from trashing something. Yes, I understand, I wait until I put mine in bed before I make my calls. Yeah, well, she's usually in bed by this time, but she's staying up late tonight. But, yeah, I want to have a relationship with her. You know, my dad was a very traditional dad, and when I was a child I didn't really know my dad very well, and I miss that. And I want, That's the thing, if woman's role, like we said, if women's roles change drastically, men's roles will, too. Yeah, but men have to be convinced of that. And a lot of it's for the better. Some of the, some of the women's roles, I think, are almost for the worse, because we're losing out on some things, going back to work, but I think if we can, if we can expand the men's roles at the same time, like your taking care of your child, and your dad typo: your for you're probably didn't very often No. I know mine almost never did ... Uh-huh. Okay movies. I haven't seen too many lately. I have kids and we went and saw THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER, Under, over the, the break. Uh-huh. Do, do you have kids you take to movies or, No, no kids. Yeah. It's a Walt Disney movie and it didn't get as, you know, as good a reviews as like the LITTLE MERMAID, their last one, and got all kinds of Academy Awards and things last year. But this one was, I thought was excellent. The , Was that the animated version? Yeah, it's animated. And I can't believe how good they're getting with their animation now. It's just, just the special effects, you know. And in this movie, this, there's this boy and he rescues this, uh, bald eagle and, uh, and it's a huge eagle, you know, wing span of twenty feet or something like that. And the boy actually rides on his back and he rides through the clouds, you know, and you see him coming out of the clouds, his head coming out and then the bird coming out, and it, you know, they're flying all over with it. And I mean, I know they, there must have used, been computers or something for animation this day, but it was just so real, realistic and lifelike and good animation. It was a good show. Even better than ROGER RABBIT insofar as animation? Well, ROGER was a composite one. Yeah . There's one, there's a movie I've seen, ROGER RABBIT. That's not a recent movie, but, uh, I enjoyed that show. Yeah, that was made in a few, I don't know, several years back, I guess. Yeah, yeah. Latest, latest one I've saw which was a mistake to go see was LIONHEART, had Claude Van Damme. Uh-huh. He was, he's of course, uh, I guess he's trained in this, uh, martial arts of some sort, but the plot was bland, the acting was bland. It was just mostly centered upon his abilities to Chop them up, huh? yeah, chop them up, exactly. And, This is supposed to be the, the guy that's, uh, replaces Bruce Lee or whatever or, or the next Chuck Norris type of guy. Yeah. Or he's singular I guess, you know. You know how they can make any of, any single one of them in a movie to be a super superstar of any sort, you know, Uh-huh. Superstar. Uh-huh. but Chuck Norris, of course, could be just about equal, if not more Uh-huh. or, and all of them, I guess, could be in that fashion, or category. Hum. Uh-huh, uh-huh. It was about, uh, a, French Foreign Legion fellow who deserts to go help his brother's wife who got, who became a widow because he was selling drugs . and he got killed. Really uplifting, huh So he deserts and goes to New York and he starts out by fighting to make money, and then he moves on to L A to where that, where she is to just help him out. Uh-huh. It was really, I mean the Hollywood really must think there's some real dummies out there or something. I don't know Yeah, I haven't heard, I hadn't heard much about that movie. I, other than it was a chop them up movie. But, uh, well, I guess that's one I won't go see Well, it was worth the buck I guess. Oh, you went to the dollar movie? Yeah. Yeah, they show up at the dollar movie right after they get, come out. You know they're usually not, not that great or didn't do that great anyway. A lot of, Let me see. Let me see another movie I watched. Uh, I want to see, uh, that new one, uh, that won all those Academy Awards this year, DANCES WITH WOLVES. Uh-huh. I haven't seen that. Have you seen that one yet? Yeah. What, what, what, I, I absorbed all of that movie in one sitting. Uh, I guess what made it so good was the cinematography, The, the wide open, the spaces, Yeah, and the music and, uh, well, it had an excellent story line. Everything about it was good. Uh-huh. Um, I thought an excellent one, too, was MISERY with Kathy Bates and James Caan. I'm not a James Caan fan, but that was a well directed and acted movie. Is that right? I'd recommend it. It's a little on the violent side Uh-huh. but then what movie isn't anymore. Right, right. Yeah, our movies today, it used to be X and, you know, and P G used to be R and, seems like the rating system, you know, is kind of switching that way a little bit Well, I have no objections to it. It's just, uh, and it's a matter of your taste, uh, Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's just that, yeah, it's just that the rating system seems, you know, instead of having X now, they have what, N C seventeen? Yeah. They just changed it because X had a connotation with it, you know, so, And even on those type they don't show what you expect. Right. A lot of those are really violent type movies. Right. Really gory. Yeah, that seems to be the norm of most movies, but what the hey. Yeah. This is America. Let me see. One movie I saw, I guess it was a while back, RED OCTOBER. Yeah. Have you seen that one? Yes, I have. That was pretty good. Yeah, I read the book before so I knew the story line going in, but they changed some things in the movie. It wasn't the same. I thought the book was better than the movie, but I thought the movie was really good as well. I always wait for the movie. I don't have time to read the book. Yeah. I don't, I read about one or two thick novels like that a year. You know, Uh-huh. that's about all the time I can, I can spare. But that was a good show I thought, you know. I read about how they did, uh, an article on how they did all the special effects with the submarine. You know, that wasn't a real submarine you saw in the water. It was, it was all done in studio with smoke and mirrors and all the Hollywood magic. Yeah. All those underwater scenes. I thought, you know, it looked to me like it was a real submarine, that was in the water, you know. They , That's the magic of Hollywood, special effects. Yeah. I hear this movie F X part two coming out is, uh, pretty good. Is that right? Did you ever see the original one? I didn't. It was, uh, you ought to rent the, uh, F X part one. It doesn't say part one, but it, it's F slash X. Huh. What's that about? A, uh, special effects man who somehow gets involved in this, um, oh, I'm not sure. I can't remember. It's been a while since I've seen it. But he, he gets involved in some sort of bad dealings with somebody and he has to go underground, and he uses all of his special effects knowledge in doing what needs to be done. Hm. And, uh, To, to fool people and , Right, and using makeup and using the all the props and whatever to get to where he needs to go. All the tricks. Uh-huh. That sounds like an interesting concept. But you need to rent the first one first. To understand what's going on in the second? Uh, if, if that is that the second one follows the first. I don't know if they have the, uh, original actors on that first one to that one. Uh-huh. They're supposed to be coming out with all these Desert Storm movies, this summer, too Oh. I expected those. Yeah. I mean, Hollywood, I mean they were doing their dealings with that before they even got over there, I think. Yeah. Well, they had some, in some of those, you know, they, I guess they retitled some movies that were going to be about Lebanese and, and, you know, and, and Americans Uh-huh. and they decide, oh, make it Iraqis and Americans, you know, and they just change the title and, uh, and reshot a few parts, you know, where they, yeah, you know, where they could. I guess they figured we wouldn't, can't tell the difference between an, Actual names, will not be used. Yeah. Right. Eventually I'm sure they will come out with the, the, the proper names. Yeah. Right . It was such a, it, I guess they, they'll probably come out with a lot of movies, you know. It was, it was such a rout though, you know. I don't know, you know, they probably do the story of someone who was shot down early in the war or something and how he survived or, or about, or about those two newsmen or whatever that got captured. Latest story, Uh-huh. Kevin Costner I understand is supposed to be play Schwartzkopf, supposedly. Is that right? I don't know. That's just one of the many rumors that floats around. Yeah. Or what you read. Uh-huh. Well, I think we've probably, Pretty much used up the tape, I guess. Yeah, yeah, it's been about five minutes. It's been nice talking with you. Same. And, uh, we'll Talk to you on the next go around. Keep on watching those movies, huh? Okay. Bye-bye. Adios. Are you going to tell me what you've been doing lately in the Sure, uh, okay. I'll offer anything that I can on the subject. Uh, my husband and I just bought a, just moved here recently and, uh, we bought, uh, this house about, uh, I don't know, year and a half ago. What we have here now is just a basic three bedroom, two bath, brick house which is, uh, completely different from what I had had before. When I was working and before I married, uh, I lived in a little town south of here that is just full of old homes and, uh, historic old houses and things like that so I, uh, tried to, I was in the process of renovating a house and, uh, that was about seventy-five years old. Oh, my. So, uh, it had to have everything done from top to bottom to having it leveled, jacked up, uh, new plumbing, new wiring, wallpaper, paint, everything you can think of, that house had to have You, You are experienced I would say. Well, I, I really did enjoy it, uh, you know, it was amazing what I found out I could do on my own if I just put my mind to it. Well, I agree. Yeah. I have done something, uh, like that, too, only not nearly as extensive. Uh-huh. But it must be interesting now trying to do something to a basic ranch, style home. Uh, after having a one that was historical looking. It is. It is. Yeah. That's, that's true. When, uh, I met my husband, he was living in an apartment at the time and, and, uh, the town that I was living in only about eighty miles from here. So, uh, you know, I, we, really it was just the market was so good, we hadn't really planned on buying and, as you probably heard from the, in the Dallas and Texas area period the housing market is just unreal. I mean you can get things for such a song. Yes. So, that's, that's really why we ended up in a house like this. This is not what we, you know, what we want to stay in forever, because I have to have my, I've found that after doing this other house, I have to have my hands into stuff and, you know, I'm always just wanting to paint and, and wallpaper and redo and redo, Uh-huh. so, uh, you know, I, I'm ready to get ahold of another one that I can have a little more input into so, Well, maybe you can, uh, make that one charming and, and make a little bit money, uh, Yeah. That's, that's the key, you know, the thing is, uh, when we moved in they had just, uh, painted, we're, you know, wallpapered, new carpet and everything so I feel sort of, uh, you know, like it's sort of defeating my purpose to go rip everything out now and do it over just because I'm in the mood to do it. So, uh, we'll see, we'll see how much longer we're here. Yes. Well, we just moved to Charlotte, from Enid, Oklahoma. Uh-huh. Oh, Oklahoma of all places. So I know, of what you're talking about, as far as the market was concerned Yeah. Uh-huh. Right. and I'll tell you, uh, we, we had kind of a charming house. It was a cedar shake house, and very weathered. Oh, yes. And, uh, it was about fifty years old, but not not really, uh, traditional looking, particularly. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, so I tried to make it, after I sold my business I, in, in, I spent almost three years redoing. Oh, yeah. And I considered it a full time job Oh, it is, yeah. and when we did, uh, we kind of had planned this, uh, trek to the east, because we're both originally from this part of the country. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I see, uh-huh. And so, I think some of the things that I did paid off. For instance, one thing that I did that might even be a good suggestion for you uh, was something I did on the outside. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I love old estate, estate sales. Yes, yes. I happened to go to just a little estate sale that, just a little white frame house, where the couple, uh, was very old, and had gone into nursing homes Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and uh, all the men started going down to the barn. Oh, yeah. Uh, oh And so I, well shoot I'm going, That's where I need to go Yes, I'm going to the barn, too. Exactly. They, uh, auctioned some tools and, things like that, Yeah. Uh-huh. but then they went over and started, uh, auctioning this big stack of bricks. Oh. And, so, well, I thought, gee, I've been wanting to, do some brick, uh, walkways for a time. Uh-huh. Work, right, right. Uh-huh. Anyway, it ended up after some pretty, uh, heavy bidding, that I got all those bricks for forty dollars. Uh-huh. Oh, my word. And, so my husband and I loaded bricks in his, pickup truck for days. Oh, no. Oh, my word. But, what we ended up with was about four thousand. For forty dollars? For forty dollars. Oh, my. And so what we did, we had built a deck on the back of that house, Uh-huh. but it needed and, it was quite large out to, into the yard Something. Uh-huh. but, on either side of it to the ends of the house it just needed to be all tied together. Uh-huh. So we, made brick patios, and walkways. Right. Oh, how fun. Oh, how nice. And so for, and he, he did the digging, which was about six inches, Uh-huh. but I figured the sand and all, had that delivered and, leveled it and, and, placed most all the bricks. Uh-huh. Right. Right. Uh-huh. And it turned out beautifully. Oh, I bet. And what satisfaction to know that you did it in such an inexpensive way Yes. Well, it nearly killed me Yeah, but, but you did stagger back and say, oh, doesn't this look nice. I hated to leave it. Well, let me ask you, when you laid those bricks, I know my parents bought a house about ten years ago, they're fixing to sell it again, but, and move again. They're kind of, my mom's like I am. She's a renovator, a lover of old things Uh-huh. and, you know, they have to be doing something constantly. And the patio that came with that house, uh, was not laid on a, like, I don't know if you can put some sort of a plastic sheeting or something on, on top of the sand and then lay the bricks. No we, But they have, they have a problem with these little like sand bugs or something that drill in between all these bricks. Well, I, And, of course you know you have the, uh, the weeds that come up in between the bricks or, and things like that. Well, no, I, I didn't have that trouble because, uh, we laid the, I did get some material and studied every bit of material that I could study, Uh-huh. but we laid those bricks about as close as you can get them, Yeah. I see. because when you start and we put them on a base of four inches of sand Okay, yeah. and then we, uh, we swept sand in between, but but it was an error to, to leave like an eighth of an inch or whatever. Uh-huh. You just put them together as close as you can. As tight as you can. That's probably, because they had, you know every spring my mom says we're going to have a a barbecue and tell everybody, guess what, we're going to, we're going to redo the patio, you know, we're going to pull up all the bricks, Uh-huh. but, uh, they just, they just haven't brought themselves to do it. Yeah, well, So, and I also used a rubber hammer, a lot, to, uh, you know, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. if it wasn't quite level or something, I'd just get that, rubber hammer and, uh, and, and you know, Right. I think that they could, if they have problems with, uh, sand bugs of some kind I think all they need to do is probably put some insecticide down in there on a, oh, a fairly regular basis, for a while anyway. Uh-huh. Yeah. Right. Right, well the thing that's funny is they've done, uh, they've done things like that, you know, I'll catch her out there spraying around, and then it's like, in two days time they'll come home from work and those little things are back. It's just, they're the most resilient little characters and so, I don't know what they're finally going to do. She may just, hopefully they'll sell the house, and go somewhere else Well, I think, I think she needs to take them to the extension agent and ask him what they are And then she won't have to worry about it. and, What are these things? yeah, is it diazinon or what is it that will, uh, Right. Dursban or something like that. Yeah, what it, what it is that'll, that'll, take care of them. Dursban , I think in this area or most all areas they use, you know, for ticks and fleas. Yeah. And you know, they're, awful hard to do anything with. Right. Oh, that's true. That's true. But my, my dad farms and, you know, she's always telling him, isn't there something that, that you can bring home with you that kills everything that you spray, you know, out in the, out in the field, that you can get rid of, these bugs, Yeah. but, uh, I bet Dursban would do it. It might, it might do it, yeah. She's got so many she's got just a gorgeous yard, so many, uh, flowers and her, her four cats, you know, so she's sort of, uh, real funny about what she sprays. Yeah. I think, uh, you probably just need to make sure that it dries, very, very uh, well, before she lets her cats out, or something, like that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Well, gosh, Deb, we could talk all day couldn't we I know, I, I was just, you know, it just seems like I, as I said when I heard the, what the subject was, I thought oh, gosh I haven't thought about, uh, what I went through at that other house in so long. I've been so busy. But, uh, I don't know of everything that I did, I guess I enjoyed probably wallpapering the most and I thought that would be the hardest thing to do. Yes. But, uh, gosh, you know, I ended up wallpapering every bedroom in that house, uh, up the stairway, even. Wow. You know, I just had a ball with it, Oh. it was so much fun. Oh, good. Yeah. And I've sworn up and down, my mom's, uh, my mom's great grandparents had this huge Victorian house in Paris, Texas, and the one thing that she ended up with is, was the old door, that was, that was on the front door of that house Uh-huh. Yes. and she has that up in her attic and I have sworn that it, I'm going to find a house to put that door on before she does So, as far as looking toward the future, you know, that's my plan. I'm going to have to move fast, I think, though, because, uh, you know, as a, All right, do you do exercise? I do, yes, I, uh, uh, I guess it actually changes, I do a number of different things simply walking with my wife Uh-huh. Right. and sometimes my daughter will come along on her little bicycle. Uh, and then moving up, I run in the mornings, Uh-huh not every morning, it probably averages about two days a week Right. and then with my wife I actually go to the gym and lift weights, which isn't, I understand, quite exercising, but it's along the lines, Right. How about yourself. Well, um, that's a hard question to answer because I do physical things, but I don't always set out for them to be exercise. Uh-huh. I walk with my parents, occasionally, nothing's real regular about this because I have a weird schedule and they have a normal schedule, and, um, I play racquetball, but I haven't since I've been out of school. I don't have anywhere to do that, but that's going to start soon again Uh-huh. and, um, I play softball once a week, which is kind of more recreation than exercise. Uh-huh. Because I really don't like to exercise, I think that's the basic point of it, is I'm not, I, I don't enjoy it if I know that it's exercise, Right. but if it's like a social activity or a recreational activity, I don't mind Right. so I have to disguise it, it's like feeding little babies food and telling them it's something else so that they'll eat it. That's right. That's kind of the same thing for me. I have to not know that it's exercise so I can do it. Right. So you look at it more as a task. Well, yeah, if it's exercise, it's a task. Right. I don't want to do anything I have to do. I see. I mean, I'll voluntarily clean the bathroom, but I won't do it if I have to do it. Right, right. So, I'm thirty-two years old which is probably different than yourself Uh-huh. Right, I'm twenty-two. and so, it's interesting that as you get older you begin to understand that you need to exercise. Right. My job at Texas Instruments, I have to sit in front of a computer all day and make phone calls, so, that, I don't get any exercise doing that Right. and plus there's a build up of stress Uh-huh. so I need to go out and take those walks after dinner, and I need to go out in the morning and run or I'll just get nuts Right. so that's kind of a motivator, so even though I can look at it as a task, the, you know, I kind of get the, I get some kind of global benefit from the whole thing by saying, Well, I'm lowering my chance of heart attack, and thus, that type stuff. Right. Eating right and no cholesterol and all that. Sure, that all, I, I do all that. Yeah, we, I'm sure, I will do, I'm doing that more and more than I used to Yeah. I'm getting better about this knowing that I need exercise and doing it, but it's still at the task stage. Right. Is it a pleasure for you, or are you, Well, it's a, something as simple as a walk with my wife is very enjoyable. Right. I do that at the end of the day, and it takes, you know, that, that during that time the stress from the day goes away. I get to share whatever I did with my wife, and, and vice versa. Right. Going to the gym is, is actually something different than, than, like, oh, and the running, and I enjoy that too. Uh-huh Year, I've been running since high school on track teams and the like, Oh. so, running, I, I'm at that point which you probably get to after about six months of dedicated running where you don't feel your muscles any more Uh-huh. Right, and you don't think about the pain of it. You, you, you take the time to relax some how and you think about other things. During those first few months you have to think about running and why your elbow hurts and why you can't breathe and this and that, Uh-huh and that's no fun. And it's so hard to get past that for a lot of people. Right, that's, I never got past that stage. Yeah, the the, uh, weight lifting on the other hand is actually, you know, I think I look better. Right. I have just a, I don't, I'm not a huge person, I'm just a regular looking guy, but just going to lift weights on occasion with my wife, and my wife thinks the same thing about both me and herself that get that little bit of definition in your muscles is, is attractive Uh-huh. Right. so that pays also. That's good. Yeah, so, so I guess that aspect of that takes away the work the, with my wife, which is nice, Yeah. I love her, you know, I enjoy being with her Uh-huh. I guess that's one thing, but also, uh, that, that long term benefit of a little bit of tone in your muscles. Right, that's it, I do the occasional push up and sit up. I haven't really brought myself to go to the the gym, because that's very stressful to me, Yeah. because I feel, I felt real competitive there, and I need to find some place I could go and not feel like there's all these people who are just huge and hulking that are ... Oh, yeah, I don't, I don't let that bother me, but, yeah, that's something that comes with time, too. You know, Right. I'll tell you, the sit ups and push ups are excellent you know, Uh-huh. it's your own, you, you're, you're struggling against your own body weight Right. you can have variety by putting your feet higher or lower, by putting your arms further apart or closer together, by doing them real quick or real slow Right. and you can actually get a good you can, I know in the push up, at least, you can get chest muscles and the back of your arms quite built up just doing push ups. Uh-huh. That's a good idea, but I do have my ride, we have a stationary bicycle and a stair step machine here at the house. Oh, is that right. I'll do those once in a while just you know, like at eleven thirty when Love Connection's on and I can't sleep, Right. Yeah. Right. I'll get up and stair step for half an hour That's funny. so. Yeah. It's, I guess, pretty, pretty healthy, but I don't have a regular plan, that's Yeah. I need to get started on that. Well, you know, maybe not. I'd say, I'd say at twenty-two you don't necessarily need a plan as long as you're getting, getting the exercise otherwise. Right. When your life becomes sedentary is when you have to make yourself a plan, Uh-huh. and what's real funny about plans is that there's a struggle between, uh, when you, when you add something to your life, when you add a plan to your life, something else has to go away Uh-huh. and that's the hard decision, is, okay, if I'm going to run in the mornings, what am I, what do I trade it off for. Well, the answer's sleep, right. Sleep If I'm going to walk at night, what do I trade it off for. Well, Star Trek Uh-huh. or, you know, it, it, it's always trade offs, and you actually have to, as you get older you have to really think what can go, and what, to, to, to replace this thing. Yeah. It's, I mean, not just exercise, but anything. It's very hard. Right. And, uh, I don't, I don't think you should worry about not having a program yet. That'll come some day when I, Yep. Yeah, I guess if you care, or if your wife, your future wife, uh, gives you a reason to care which helps Right. Well, I hope so. Well, I think we covered it. Yeah, sounds good. Nice talking with you, Craig. Yeah, you too. Have a nice day. You too. Good day. Bye. Bye. Okay, what do you think is the biggest problem? The biggest problem, well, like in this part of town seems to be the attitude and the atmosphere in the schools that, uh, you know, you can throw money at it, Uh-huh. but it's, I don't know, to me it seems like the schools are reflecting society in a bigger way you know, because, I mean, the general values that we're teaching kind of conflict with what we expect out of people in school, I mean, Uh-huh. Yeah. Is it the, do you think it's the values that they're teaching in school or the values they get from home. Uh, well, the values, more or less at home and the T V, just a general, I mean, learning is not a revered endeavor, really, I mean, it's a lot more, it's socially, well I won't say socially unacceptable, but whereas like in, uh, a person that, uh, they put a lot more emphasis on athletics and things like that are a lot more glorified generally in society, and I think that carries over to school a lot. Right. So. Yeah, I, I, I, I think that the biggest problem is, uh, with the, uh, with the home environment being part of it. You know, if, I think too many parents expect, uh, the school to teach, uh, the moral aspects of, of things to the to the kids and, you know, while we're not going to worry about, uh, teaching you manners or teaching you respect for anyone or anything like that, you know, and then expect them to pick it up at school, you're not going to do that, you know, you're going to carry, carry with, carry to school, uh, out into the world, you know, what you learned at home, and, uh uh, I think that that part of that showing up now, you know, with, with things because kids I think have probably less respect than for, for people than in, in other things, than we may have seen in the past, uh, Yeah. and part of it's the, the family, I think, and part of it's, uh, the living conditions of certain people are subjected too, drugs is a big problem now, and I think that's, that's, that's another root problem. Yeah, yeah, you know, I wonder if that's a root problem or not, because I think about that a lot, and it's just like, everybody likes to blame everything on drugs now, but I wonder, you know, do you get the, oh, that's kind of side tracked, but, uh, I just remember seeing on the news the other night, they had the thing about how Catholic schools are doing so much better Uh-huh. I thought, well, you know, of course they're doing better, and not so much when I was growing up, Catholic schools are generally considered a little bit easier than the public schools, but, uh, they still had a, a better success rate, simply because they started with a lot better raw material. I mean everybody that went to a Catholic school had, uh, at least the parents did, at least, had education as a priority like you said and kind of had a whole conducive atmosphere to it. Right, Right. And I wonder if, not so much that, uh, Well, I think it's, like you say, it's, it's the socioeconomic mix there, you know, the, they're, you look at the schools like that where you've got a lot of kids who are basically, uh, that might be more well well off, you know, going to a private Catholic school or whatever, uh, and, and they're not all that way, but, you know, some that are um, that, they're, they're not quite the same as the kids that are going to the inner city, uh, you know, public schools. Yeah. Yeah, this is interesting because in my mind I don't have the stereotype of a Catholic school being a suburban kind of environment, but, uh, this, this was actually inner city Yeah. people were sending, I mean, just because their kids had the ability and the, and the drive to do, try and get an education, they didn't send him to a public school, you know, like you said, you have the drug problem and just the general atmosphere where you're pressured not to learn in instance, Yeah, well, you know, in a lot of cases like that, where, you know, if kids are going to a public parochial school like that, it's, it's because the parents are more interested in them receiving an education. It shows, I think it shows that the parents have some, uh, desire for, for the kid to do, do well, you know, and that may be passed on down to the kid as well, and, uh, maybe they pick up on that. Yeah. And then from the other aspect, um, maybe the, uh, school itself has, has, has more emphasis on, uh, trying to do a good job because the classes may be smaller, uh, they may be able to, to give the resources that's needed to, uh, to do a good job. Yeah, I mean, and what do you, what would you do to fix the school systems? Uh, that's a tough question how to fix the school system. Yeah, Uh, with, uh, I would try to, I guess, to see about getting parents more involved, with, try to, to come up with more ways to do that. Uh, uh, uh, stress the importance of education to both both the parents and the students, and, uh, more, more classes that I think that are, and I think this is happening some around the country in terms of, um, morals, trying to teach the kinds of things that, that aren't getting taught at home, and, uh, and, and respect for other people. Uh, I think that's a big part of it. You know, people, you know, if you don't care about property and people, you know, you're not going to care about, uh, about learning, I think. You know, Yeah. you're not going to really care about yourself. Yeah. That's what I was going to say. It's the chicken and the egg thing. I wonder, a lot of times, you know, people, I mean, a lot of times people literally tear apart their own schools vandalism wise, Right. and you get, I mean, it's been a while since I been in high school. They're even in grade school when they do that. But I can't remember exactly what goes through their head when they're doing that. But you got to think in a way it's kind of a outward showing of that they don't think they have a chance of doing anything, and take it out on the school. Well, you know, and I, that's not an but that's not an easy task, you know, that's why I say, it's, it's a tough question what would you do, because, you know, even trying to instill those values is kind of hard when, uh, when, when you're growing up in, you know, in a home which may be, uh, just the pits, and uh, you don't have any, any kind of a good environment to live in, you know, it's kind of hard to say, well, you need to take care of other people's stuff as well, when you're, when you barely have anything yourself. So. Yeah. I could see where that would be a problem, and I think that's, I think it's ... Okay. Okay. Well, I, uh, I guess because I work quite a bit with lawyers, I'm not a lawyer, uh, that I find a lot of things are so specialized that I'm not sure, and I, I look at it more from the civil side of things that juries have any sense of, of the value of, and worth, so that they have real problems when it comes to, uh, uh, they can find guilt or innocence Right. uh, but then when you quantify things and that might also hold criminal trials for how many years is appropriate, uh, that they might leave it to somebody else who, uh, has expertise in that. Right, I agree, too. I don't think the jury should be the ones that, that put the sentencings down. I think the judges should, or even a panel of, of lawyers if, if it got to that point. Might be better at than just regular civil people. Not knowing, you know, exactly what things are, from, from murder on up to like tax stuff, you know. Uh-huh. Yeah. Because I find that, uh, I've been on a few juries and, uh, as a say, I, I tend to be around, uh, civil cases because I've been an expert witness some, and, uh, many matters are so complicated that it's so hard to, uh, come up with the fair value, uh, or the fair sentence and one thing that you get if you have some expertise is, uh, you know the range of, of possible values or terms or, you know, how heinous was the crime. Right. Uh, that, uh, when I only do something one, two or three times I'm hardly an expert on it, and most juries over a period of five or ten years you might sit on three. Yeah and, And so how do you relate as to whether this particular armed robbery was a, you know, worth five years or twenty-five. Right, that's, yeah. And, and most people that do sit on juries, some people just sit on them once in their lifetime, you know, if they're that lucky sometimes Or, you know, what, whatever the case may be. And, and may not have any idea of what, what the standard punishment would be for it. Uh-huh. Yeah. And it, they may have some different idea, I mean, it might be more important for them to put a sentencing down that was, uh, longer, you know, that didn't fit, the punishment didn't fit the crime. Or not long enough or, you know, whatever the case may be. Uh-huh. Yeah. I, I think the judges do have that, that better knowledge of it. The only thing I worry about sometimes is if, if you get somebody in there that, that has a name, that is the defendant and, you know, sometimes, might have more pull, which that does happen. Uh-huh. I mean, we can't say it doesn't, because it does happen. I mean not everybody is, you know, has, has the right morals sometimes. People can be paid off or politically or whatever the case may be Uh-huh. and sometimes that's not real fair either, though so, Well, one of the others things that gets me on, on the juries is that often in the newspaper, I, I tend to hear two things that, well, that go on. One is, you often see in the headlines the big numbers. Uh-huh. Uh, and many of those get overturned or get reduced in terms of sentences, or get changed by a judge or an Appeals Court Right. and that never makes the, the press and so, when, uh, you or I as an individual gets on a jury we tend to have certain mental images of what's what because we see the headlines, uh, and we don't have, again, a lot of knowledge, so we don't know what is really going on, what is, uh, really the range of sentences or awards that are, uh, are actually, uh, in the end applied. Right. Right. Well, well, also what I don't think is fair, either, is when you have like a, say a rapist, come in, and, and his attorney gets his sentences, sentencing reduced because he's gone to a lesser charge, like, I don't know what, assault or something or, Uh-huh. But, which that doesn't make any sense to me either. this is the second time the person has said 'which that' I know it's hard to prove rape and whatnot and, and, and the person that was raped or whatever doesn't, I mean it's embarrassing and all this other stuff Uh-huh. and they, they're put on like, they were the ones that caused it or whatever, but, to me, when you do the crime, then you should pay for whatever you did, and, and you shouldn't be able to go on the lesser charge. I don't, I don't think that's right because all's that's going to do is say, Oh, well, you know, that was a breeze, I can go out and do it again and, you know have the same thing happen. Yeah. That's, that's not right. Well, that's where, uh, the role of juries is, is restricted and, I'm not sure I'd want to change that aspect of it, one is, it's restricted in the sense that, juries only decide the charges that are actually, uh, brought, you know Right. if it's first degree rape, second degree rape or whatever, they only get to decide on that, well, okay this person has been charged with first degree rape, uh, and you can decide guilt or innocence on that. Uh-huh. Uh, such like, maybe in murder they get to choose whether it's, uh, premeditated or one or two of the lesser degrees. The other thing that juries are restricted on and, and at least to me this has been one of the frustrating things in my, even in my own experiences, that you usually don't get to hear all the information. Yeah. It's what information is presented and, uh, I don't know that juries have a right to know more because in a sense we call those safeguards, but often juries hear only a fraction of the, of the story when they have to decide guilt or innocence. And to me, how can you, how can you make a decision if you don't have all of the evidence in front of, whether it be, whether it pertains to the case or not, somebody thinks it, it had, because they've got it there. Uh-huh. So the lawyers, the two lawyers are the ones that have all the information. Yeah, and the truth that's brought out is, uh, as I say, when I've heard about, you know, Don't they? the oath is to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, is that they want, uh, they don't want, uh, the whole truth. I mean you can say, They only put part of it. yeah. Yeah. The, because stories look very different when you hear different parts of the, of the truth. Right. Well, that's just like that old witness game, well, it's a game kids play, too, but, uh, somebody did it, just for your train of thought where they, they showed something and they asked, they, there were, uh, like four people, Hello. Hello. My name is Nola. I'm in Plano, Texas. Hi Nola, I'm Steve. I'm in Dallas, Texas. Not too far away. No, that's unusual. Seems like usually, I've had some from Plano, too. Oh yeah. I think all mine have been East Coast people so far Uh-huh. Okay So, um, let's see. social changes, Social changes. what's that mean? That sounds like not as recent social changes, too, like back to the sixties or fifties, I guess Yeah. Think we can handle that? Yeah. Yeah, I definitely, I mean there's plenty of things to talk about there. That's a, Okay, uh, shall I go ahead and push one? Yeah, sure. Okay You want to go ahead and start? Uh, I was hoping that you would but, oh, Oh In social changes is that, uh, it seems to me that, uh, That involves a lot of different areas, I think. Does that, Yeah. Like a lot, it seems like the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, is even more, true today. You know? Yeah, there is a a big difference in the, uh, economic, um, status of, uh, people although I think that has been true, uh, always. Um, perhaps there's less of the middle range then there was. Yeah. It's like people are starting to give up hope and they start out very poor. Let's see, that's a bad tangent to get on. What else has changed between the sixties and the eighties and the nineties? Uh, No. I think, uh, in my situation, I have three children and we're, uh, home schooling. So, education, you know, things that relate to education, um, are things that I think about a lot. Um, I think that, and I think that involves social changes a lot. Uh, for instance I think the schools are having more and more problems because of, uh, things that are happening socially in the world around them and in, in, because of their parents and things that are being taught in the home are not taught in the home, rather. More not than are. And children being put in day-care centers from very early, and, and I think that a lot of these things that have been happening, such as the day-care centers and things, are having a big effect on the social changes. Because of the way children are being raised, they're not learning the values they need to learn. Yeah. And they're not, um, they don't have the self-esteem that they need to have and they don't have the, um, a solid family life that they need to have to confidently and deal with the things in the world. And, uh, I think we're seeing a lot of rebellion and things because of that and the things like the gang, gang things that are happening and, and, um Yeah. It seems, so that, yeah, that is a pretty big change. It seems, even not just single parent families but with no guidance but it seems like, some of these even ladies that, that'll work and have, a baby and then, you know, after two or three months, go back to work. You know, Yeah. Yeah. Oh it's, well that, that, I mean that's very, young for a baby. That's really sad. I think that a lot of people, and they think they have to but, Yeah. I, I think that if they really tried, they wouldn't have to. And, I, I think that if they didn't that, and it became more of the standard not to that, uh, I don't know maybe companies would start paying men more so that their wives could stay home. You know? And have a more solid, uh, foundation for the kids. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean they're going to, like you said, I mean, there's, they might be saving money, I mean even if they had to pay more now, I mean in the long run it's going to cost society more to force two people to work. Even though it's higher productivity is short-term. That's right. It's already, It already costs society much more because of it. You know it, trying to do all these programs like Headstart and things like those. You wouldn't have to do that if mothers would stay home with their children and do things with them, you know. Yeah. Um, there's, and I think, uh, a lot of it is selfishness. People have become very selfish. They don't want to stay home with the kids or something like that. yeah There are a lot of two parent, um, situations where the woman goes back to work because that's what she wants to do, you know. Oh rather than she needs the money just she wants the stimulating environment Rather than that, she has to have the money particularly. Or, maybe there's a small need for money so she does it partly because of the money but partly for herself, too You know, Huh. It, Yeah. It's interesting how, uh, home study. Is that what you said? Home school. Home school. Yeah. Is that, uh, is, is it like, uh, a preschool level then or through grade school or, No. I , I have, uh, one going into fourth grade and one starting kindergarten and then a preschooler. And one on the way Oh I Oh, well you sound busy So you're teaching them, completely Yes. Yes. Huh. And I think, uh, it's becoming, uh, more popular then it has been for a while, I think. Home schooling's always been around but, uh, I can see more and more families going to it because of the problems in the schools. Um, and a lot of it is discipline problems. Yeah. A lot of it is, and you can tell which kids have been in day-care centers. It, it's really obvious to look at them and watch the way they act and things. That, um, they've been raised in a day-care center. Yeah. Yeah. That's pretty sad because, I mean, I don't know, something's got to change with the schools. That's what it all boils down to in the end, usually anyway. Well, I think it's going to, change in the homes before anything changes anywhere else. When they're young, Yeah The home is the base, it's the basic unit. And that's the, where it all starts and if we don't start making changes in the homes and maybe part of that is educating parents better. Yeah. And educating, uh, you know Changing people's expectations. I know they do do some, they do have some classes in, um, high schools and things for kids to, uh, give them an idea of what family life is like and the, uh, you know, and, uh, that kind of thing but, uh, The AIDS issue is, is a bit of a problem. I guess the first thing that comes to my mind not having any immediate friends with that problem, is, is the financial end. And how can a country stand to, uh, spend as much or much more than they already are on such a problem, uh, but, then that kind of thinking is also tempered with the, the knowledge, or at least the, the rumor, I'm not really sure if it's true or not, that, uh, we're not spending as much per, let's say, afflicted person on cancer. Uh, there's some, uh, take breast cancer, for instance. It seems to be doing much more damage and affecting much more many more people than AIDS. And yet, uh, more people die of it, and yet the funding has already, uh, exceeded, AIDS has more money than, uh, breast cancer Than, well, that's interesting, isn't it, yeah. So, uh, I mean, if it's true. I, I've, I've always heard these things. I've never bothered to dig it out and make sure, but, uh, I've heard it on more than one documentary that, uh, they were complaining that whoever's sitting up there making these decisions or whatever institutions raise the money and, uh, it's just one big P R campaign that, yeah, we think that's the world's worst thing so let's give money to AIDS. And yet we've had breast cancer problems for years. Right. And, it's just one of those, uh, course, one of the shows I saw was taking it from the angle that, since it doesn't effect men, it's not going to get funded. And, uh, having thought about that for a while, What did you think about that idea? Well, I, I kind of, I thought, well, that, that might be possible since there are a lot of men in control of that kind of thing. But then I got, I got to thinking, the, the number one killer of men seems to be the prostate and there's only one test that just recently got developed, uh, a blood antigen, uh, antibody test for the antigen in the blood and that's fairly recent. And yet men have been dying from prostate cancer for years. They've not really given it attention either, yeah. So it's not really cured, yeah, it's not, uh, not that heavily funded either and then that seems to be one of the, the major, uh, problems that men have in the realm of cancer, so, I don't know. I, I guess there's just some strange public opinion as to who they want to give to. Uh, be it through different organizations, March of Dimes type, uh, telethons or, or bicycle rides or whatever, how they fund whatever, uh, illness they wish. Right. It's kind of hard to, to get an even keel on that. I mean, it's really hard to say, well, there's, you know, a hundred thousand per year affected by this one so let's give it this amount, and then this other one's only a tenth of that, so give it a tenth of that and, and just keep doling it out that way or, Well, I'm, I'm glad I'm not the one that's, that's in charge of, of making those decisions. They, uh, you wish that there could just be money for all these problems because they're all so serious, you know. I mean it's not so serious, I guess, until it affects your family and then all of a sudden it's the most important thing. Right. So I, I would hate to have that responsibility just personally but, but then, again, we really, we really do have it as a society to decide which things we need to address I, uh, I guess I, it, it frightens me to think of so many people with, with AIDS and with cancer and many of those things, uh, if they're not able to, to be insured then the country's going to pay for it one way or the other. Whether it's through prevention or, or treatment or, you know, just, uh, just helping the people when they are not able to take care of themselves. Right. It seems like one way or the other we're going to end up paying for it. That's true. But You know the, the other thought that I had, uh, I've had several minutes to think about this after I, uh, while I was finding people, I, uh, I could think about the topic longer that the person that receives it, so it's kind of a, a typo: that for than unfair advantage, as it were, but, the other thing that I thought of on this is, I wonder if there isn't enough money, uh, in our economy or in our system. Uh, it seems like there's so much that goes to things that don't really do a whole lot of good. I mean, yeah, they're kind of nice. But, we have such an affluent society , society that I wonder if, if we took a little from here and there and the other if we might wind up with a, a cure for just about everything. Just change our Of course, then we wouldn't have any room to put people, but that's Right, just change our priorities a little bit. Yeah. You know, you hear these ridiculous figures for pizza or you hear these, these phenomenal amounts of dollars spent for this, that or the other and then you have all the arts that, that are nice and aesthetic, but are they that enhancing for the, for the masses, you know. Right. They certainly do well for those who go to the symphony orchestra and all that, but, uh, had all that donation and time and labor and effort gone toward something else, All right, this is easy for me since I, And me too, because I eat out a lot. Yeah, well I travel, I do about forty percent of my time is on the road. So you eat all your meals out. I eat a lot of meals out, well I'm also married and my wife is an A one cook, but she enjoys eating out, so I have to share it with her. And, uh, actually it's very easy for me, because I, I have a make it a practice when I am out, I eat differently than what I could eat at home or around here. Sure. So, I look for just about anything, and it's, it's, uh, it's a lot of fun. I don't have to worry, really worry too much about price considerations because I, you know, I was going to ask you, could you go to, you know, nice places, and, Oh, sure, yeah, and it's, it's really great. I, I, I like different types of food. So where are your, what are the places, you know, memorable places you've eaten? Uh, oh you okay you name it. Let's see, you've got one down in, uh, down near, uh, Addison, uh, there's two restaurants that I particularly like that I, every time I get into Texas or I get into Atlanta, Georgia, I make sure I go, and that's Houston's. Oh, Houston's, uh-huh. Yep, okay. It's a great place. It's, it's great. There's a, a restaurant in, um, right outside of Reading, Pennsylvania, it's called Alfredo's that does not look like a restaurant that you would really want to recommend to a lot of people. Uh-huh. But it is fantastic. Uh, there's a restaurant, and I don't recall the name of it, uh, in, uh, Panama City. Of course, not too many people want to rush back to Panama City, uh, Panama, the country, uh, Panama. Oh, okay, because I was thinking, well, I, I grew up in Panama City. No this is the country this is the country Panama, all right? I get it. Right. And, uh, but I have gotten to quite a few. And I go to Canada and get quite a few restaurants up there. I, you know, and I know the locations, and I know the places, but I, lot of times I don't remember the names. I'd have to go back through some expense reports. Uh-huh. But particularly, down in your area, I'm looking for some, some more restaurants. So, I, you know, I don't know what's, what's down there, the ones out in Addison. Do you like Mexican? Do you like Mexican food. Not particularly Oh. that's one of the few, why, which one were you going to recommend? Well, I mean, there's so many places here, you know, there's just, it's just lots of good Mexican restaurants here. Uh-huh. But in the Addison, well about everything that you could want in Dallas is in the Addison area, anyway. Right. I mean, now there's a new Italian place Sfuzi Okay, I have a, that has a great, I've not been there, but it has a great reputation as one of the best restaurants in Dallas, and now there's one in Addison. Okay, let, I'm, I'm writing it down It's F, S it's S F U Z I. Okay. And it's on, it's in Addison, and it's a great place. Also a great place that they have like Cajun food is Copelands. I've been there. Now I really like Copelands. Okay, I've been there. Um, one down there is the, uh, I think it's an old schoolhouse. Oh, the, yeah, the, I know, no, I don't like that place. Well, I like the food, but I don't care for the clowning around. See, uh, uh, yeah, I, I, when I went, I thought the food was not good. Oh, really? Oh I've had, Magic Time Machine is the place you're thinking of, That's it, that's it. I've had excellent food there. See, I, when I went, I thought, the people drove me crazy first of all True. True. but then I just thought the food was over priced for what it was. Uh-huh. Yeah, all right, well, that's great. Uh, no, Italian is fine. I make it a habit of always going out to Pasta Oggi's which is right down there in Do you like, like Southwestern? Oh, yeah. Well, now there's a good place in Addison too called Blue Mesa Grill that's on Belt Line that's close to Houston's, as a matter of fact. All right. Really? And, um, it's great, I mean, their, they have, I think, sometimes I've been when I thought, Well, it wasn't as good, but I went there recently, and I thought, Well, this really is good. Uh-huh. So that's, that's a very good place to eat, The Blue Mesa Grill. Good. And, um, Well, this is great. This is going to give me some more places to go. A whole new, dining experience. Okay, fine. I guess our time's about up, so. Well, they haven't beeped us, have they? Uh, well, they don't always. Oh, I thought sometimes they say, you know this is three minutes or whatever. Yeah, I they've been doing that when, uh, the circuits are busy Oh, okay. and other than that, they, you know, leave you go about five minutes, and then, that, that's about it. I guess that's what they need for their machines to get everything down pat, so. Okay, It was a pleasure talking to you. Well, thanks for calling for helping us out. Okay. You bet, Bye-bye. Bye-bye. So do you have any recycling programs there? Um, I don't really think we have anything in the works as of yet. Uh-huh. Uh, we're a pretty small town and, uh, the closest thing we have are bins like out in front of Wal-Mart that show, you know, plastics, paper liter bottles, et cetera, et cetera. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. We've progressed a little bit farther than that. Yeah. Um, actually they have, uh, parts of town, it may have even spread all over the whole town, and, um, they will have these green bins Uh-huh. and it's just as standard as a, a regular trash can that they come by and pick up and dump. Yeah. And, uh, just along with a trash can you have this, this green plastic bin, and you put your bottles in it and paper and, uh, you know, all those things that aluminum. You know, anything that can be recycled you just put in that bin. Oh. And, uh, I guess you can and a lot of the restaurants they just have, uh, places where you can throw away, especially beer places, where you can throw away green bottles, and then the brown bottles. Yeah. Huh. And, uh, oh, I don't know, I guess they're, you know, clear bottles. Yeah. So, um, you know a lot of people do have those separated. And, of course, they have the, um, dumpsters, uh, the, the igloos. Yeah. Uh, and they have those strategically placed around the city. Oh. And, uh, they're, they're actually going to extend it, I think, one of these days maybe to apartment complexes and, uh, Oh, that would be good. Yeah, things of that nature. So, I guess when you live in a bigger city it, it really becomes, uh, necessary. Yeah, see, it's not anywhere near that. Uh, we, you know, as far as our little pitch in to it we do recycle our aluminum cans. Oh, yeah. But that's as far as we go because I take them to a girl at work, and she goes and cashes them in because, you know, I just I can do that for her Uh-huh. and and I don't want the hassle because we have to go to another town to do it. Yeah. Oh, really? Yeah, Huh. see we don't have anything here in Belton. It's, it's a pretty small little town. Yeah, I remember my grandparents and I used to always get out there on the road and pick up beer cans. Yeah. And, uh, So, you know, that's about all the, that we're doing here. Uh, they're, uh, getting a little bit more on, they need to a lot a more community awareness of just what is it mean to recycle, and what can you recycle and what you can't. Because, you know, not a lot of people do really know what, you know, what it's for. Uh-huh. Yeah, they're doing a real good job of, uh, separating it here. And, of course, there you know you have a specific place to put your paper. Yeah. And, uh, they try to get you to go ahead and separate it, but they actually have the door to door pickup. Um, and it's, uh, I think it started out to be, um, just kind of a test, a pilot project. Uh-huh. And it went over so well that they just extended it. And it's almost, uh, I don't know if it's done by a private company or not. It may be. But, uh, they just go around to each, uh, door and pick it up. Wow, that's excellent. Yeah. That's good. Let's see. Oh, and every year, of course, the phone books um, they tell everybody across the city to, uh, put all their phone books in, uh, the, uh, recycle bins. Yeah. Oh. Because, you know, phone books are pretty, well, for a bigger city they're pretty thick. Yeah, they are . And sometimes you might have two or three. Exactly. So, uh, that's, that's a big savings right there in itself. Yeah, see ours just goes in the regular trash. Yeah, It just, you know, there's not a whole lot. huh. And there are, you know, some places that will set up you know for old newspapers and stuff. Uh-huh. But usually it's, it, it hasn't caught on yet. I'm hoping it will soon. Uh-huh. Well, the thing about newspapers and paper, recycled paper is actually very expensive. Yeah. So, when you see something that's on recycled paper, they've actually gone to a lot of expense to do that. It's, uh, they're not coming out ahead at all. It's, uh, it's really a cost. Huh. I wasn't totally aware of that. Yeah. So. I mean it, it sounds good to the public but there's really a big cost incurred when you do recycle something. Now, aluminum I don't know. They may be coming out ahead. But I know, for a fact that the paper, uh, on that end they're not, you know. Yeah. It's just good to recycle but it's, uh, not to their advantage. Yeah. And it costs less. Huh. Well, I can't think of anything else. I can't either. Because we're, we're at a very, you know, beginning stages, Okay. so. Uh-huh. We look forward to it to get better . Well, I hope you all, um, uh, come along a little farther in the future. Yeah, me too. It was nice talking to you. You too. Bye-bye. Bye. Supposed to talk about boats. Have you got a boat No, I don't, do you? No, I don't. I, I've had one for quite a few years, but I, I've not had one the last couple of years. Oh, really? But, it's something I've always enjoyed. Do you, do you like boating? Yeah, I love them Yeah, but, uh, my children all have been grown for a few years and we were using it less and less and less, so we decided to sell it. And, Well, I heard, that's the second happiest day of your life What's that? The day you sell your boat. Oh, no, now I loved having a boat. I loved having it. No, No, I just heard that. That's just a joke, I guess. Oh, okay First best day is the day you get and the day you get rid of it but, I'd like to have one. Oh, yeah I just don't know if I'd have the time to use it. Yeah, guy just you know, he needs his weekends free, or to be able to use it or a day during the week or something, Yeah. but, but, no I guess for the cost of them you don't really, it's hard to get, I don't know, I felt like I got my money's worth out of mine I had bought it used and kept it, uh, I don't know, ten years and got within, uh, three hundred dollars of what, when I sold it, of what I'd paid for it and had it all those years, you know. Uh-huh. So they hold their, you take care of them they hold their value real well. Really? So, you know, you couldn't complain about that. Did you go fishing? No, no, it was a uh, big boat, big ski boat type thing. Oh, okay. I had a hundred, hundred sixty horse, uh, Murcruiser in it. Oh, wow. Inboard outboard. Oh, I did fish out of it occasionally, but I'm not too much of a fisherman. Really? And, uh, but I but I did enjoy owning a boat, Yeah, I like to fish. would recommend it to anybody. And, uh, uh, but, uh, and now sailing, I've never been sailing. Have you been sailing? Uh, yeah, I've sailed some. I just like, uh, fourteen foot Sunfish. Uh-huh. Nothing big. I've never tried. I've always thought, I bet that would be more fun. But I'd want to be with a skilled sailor Yeah, really. But it, Well, they offer classes out at, uh, Ray Hubbard. Yeah, well, I, I've always thought I'd like to. I've never wanted to bad enough to make any effort to do it, you know. Yeah. And, at this stage of the game, I'm not that interested in it anymore. Oh, okay. We go out with friends on the, we go to the lake just about every weekend down at Mount Vernon and parents' next door neighbors have a big barge Okay. and we go out and take them out on their barge. They're getting kind of old and they like us to take them out on their barge quite often, so we we get out on the water occasionally, you know. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. But, uh, uh, anyway, it's it's, it's fun. I, I do enjoy the lake, but, uh, once the children were grown, and we'd go down there and I'd get the boat out on the, you know, Saturday, and we'd go for a ride and enjoy it so much. It's such a pretty lake down there. We'd enjoy it so much and, I'd say, well, I'm going to leave the boat out, because, uh, we'll probably do this again tomorrow It got to where the, tomorrow the boat was still sitting there and we never did go out again and I'd have to go load it up the next day. And, Where is that? Uh, Mount Vernon. Yeah. Cypress Springs, Cypress Creek Springs. Okay, that's south of here? Yeah, it's down at Mount Vernon. Okay. It's probably the prettiest lake in the state of Texas. Really? Yeah, it's just a hundred miles from here. Huh. What do you take, I Thirty-five? No, you go down I, uh, uh, you, uh, you go down, uh, yeah, thirty, thirty. Thirty. It's east of here. Oh, okay. East of here. Hundred miles due east of here. All right. And, uh, Yeah, it just we just moved down here a couple years ago, so, Did you? Where did you all move from? Colorado Springs. Oh, did you? Yeah. How are you liking it? Oh, we love it up there Well, good. That's where I grew up Yeah. So, Uh-huh. But, uh, we're, we like it down here pretty good. Oh, I think you'll like it better, but, of course it's hard when you don't have any family around. Yeah, we got two kids that are under two Yeah. and it's kind of tough when my folks call and they want to see them Uh-huh. Yes, it's hard on the your folks, too, I know. They're all, yours and your wife's folks still live in Colorado? Yeah. Uh-huh. So, Uh, there are supposed to be, uh, some people moving down here from Colorado Springs for T I. Oh, really? Yeah, supposed to be. Yeah, that's right. Uh, Do you work at T I? I don't, no. Uh-huh. Uh, a friend of mine's dad is, was a program manager up there Uh-huh. and he just moved down here to what do you, I guess it's, he's working in McKinney. Uh-huh. Yeah, I don't either. My wife does Okay. But, it's a good company. But, anyway, we're supposed to be talking about boats, so back to boats. So, tell me the last time you went for a boat ride. Well, actually, I went, uh, canoeing down the Brazos this weekend. Oh, my gosh, now that had to be, that's boating. That had to have been fun. It was fun, it was fun. Well, what are your hobbies? Well, actually my hobbies now are T shirt making. I'm making T shirts and sweat shirts. In fact that's what I was doing when you called. Well, that sounds interesting. What kinds of, uh, sweat shirts and T shirts do you make? Um, right now I'm making Christmas ones with poinsettias and bears and all that kind of thing. Okay. Is that silk screening, or, Um, no, I'm, have material that I cut out, and then you, um, there's this stuff called Wonder Under that you that you iron it on and then you iron that on the T shirt, and you paint around it. Oh, I see. So, it's real fun. I started doing it as a, um, just something fun to do, and now I'm selling them and pretty, Well, how's it going? Pretty good. I just started last week, and I sold seven. I didn't, wasn't expecting that, so, Well, that sounds great. I guess in my spare time I'll be making T shirts So. Well, somebody has to do it, That's right, you know. Give you a little Christmas money, any way. That's correct. Well, what are your hobbies? Well, I, I kind of have hobby fads, I guess. Uh-huh. When I was growing up I was, was into coin collecting, and that dropped off about the time I hit puberty, I guess, and then, my hobbies in high school went just to the sports. Now my latest one is classic cars. I've I had a sixty-six Mustang I was rebuilding. Um. Almost had it done, and I went on, went ahead and sold it. Oh, my gosh. But it was fun. I really enjoyed it. Well, how'd you learn to do that to fix them up? Oh, you just, You just get a book that tells you how to do it or what? No, you just kind of, all I did is, uh, I bought the car and then, uh, you know, you can, I, uh, was just in a supermarket and I seen a, a magazine for, you know, basically it, it was called MUSTANG MAGAZINE and and so I bought it Uh-huh. and they had, uh, some names, some companies that sold mustang parts, and I just started ordering some parts and, and, you know, basically, you know, I, what I did was, I redid the whole interior. I didn't do too much to the engine, because the engine was pretty good, but the, the whole interior and then part of the exterior, just kind of do it. Where'd you get the car? Well, we lived, we lived in South Dakota, and I bought it up there before I moved down here. Wow. So it was, it was kind of rusted out there, there isn't too much rust on any vehicles down here. Well, that's true, that's true. Well that sounds neat. Well, gee I guess there really isn't too much to talk about on hobbies. Let's see. That, that about covers mine and T shirt making about covers yours. Well, let's see, I've done other hobbies. I'm a hobby person. I've always done a lot of craft stuff. I always have done needlepoint and cross stitch and all that, and, I collect dolls, I have a huge collection of dolls which is still in New Mexico with my parents In New Mexico? Uh-huh, from New Mexico. Okay. So. Let's see, what else? I started collecting music boxes. I guess that's a hobby. Yeah that is. So. That's interesting. How many music boxes do you have? Probably uh, about twenty. Do they all play different songs Uh-huh. or do some of them play the same song? They, they all play different songs. Well, that's neat. What's the most expensive one you bought? The most expensive. I don't know. I've gotten all of them for gifts. I don't Oh, really. bought a few of them. I usually get them for Christmas gifts or, and like when people go, you know, to, on trips or something. Well, that's interesting. It used to be tea spoons, was the thing. That's true I never collected those, never collected those. Well, that's interesting, music boxes. I have dolls from all over too. That I started when I was a little girl, and I have a lot of dolls. . People would always bring them when they go to the countries, and, um, and I did that when I went to Europe one summer. I bought a doll everywhere we went so. Well how was Europe? economy. It was great, it was quick. I was in, I was in high school, and I was in a tour, and we went all, it's kind of a, it's kind of to establish better rapport with the different countries, and, um, it was called People to People, and we'd stay in people's homes, and then we got to also tour big cities, and I really enjoyed it. Was that in high school Uh-huh or was that a college thing? in was in high school. So I'd like to go back, because we had, you know, everything was rushed I bet. everything was like an hour or two hours at the Louvre, you know, things like that where you need the whole day, but but it really, Right. That's where a camcorder would come in handy. Exactly, that's true. Well that sounds real neat. So you, you haven't been back to Europe since then, huh? No, I always thought I would, but who knows now. I got married and, maybe some day. Maybe it's one of those retirement things There you go. Well, does you husband, uh, what does he think of your, uh, T shirts and, Well, he likes it all right. He's been pretty good, because there's T shirt stuff all over the house. Does he help out much or, What kind of car would you like to buy next? Well, I guess Cadillac. I guess that's kind of everybody's dream Well, why would that be? Oh, I guess it's a General Motors product, and I like General Motors because they're made in the United States, and, uh, we've had General Motors for years and have always had real good luck with them. Okay, well that's good. Uh-huh. If you had, uh, no financial requirements, if you could buy any car in the entire world, no matter what it cost, what would you buy? Oh, um, I think I'd still go with the Cadillac. Do you? I don't, I don't care about a big fancy, fancy Which type of Cadillac, uh, is your favorite? Oh, I don't know. I guess the Seville, probably or. The Seville. Yeah. That's a sharp looking car. Yeah. That really is. It, it always has been though. You know, Yeah, they have been. it doesn't have the Coup de Ville or the Sedan de Ville squareness. It never really has. It's always had it's own unique look. Uh-huh. Well, I've always liked that. I liked the, the one year they had, a couple years they had where the trunk head would look like belt buckles across the back of it. Oh, yeah. Right. I thought, now that looks sharp Yeah. that looks real sharp. Well, I think the ones now with all of the, uh, fancy gold lettering and all, you know, I think they're very pretty. Uh-huh. And course the top, now the what is it, a vinyl top, I think those are pretty. Yeah, and, uh, the, I, I've never really, uh, I've never ridden in one recently, um, but they're supposed to be just real smooth. Uh-huh. Just a nice comfortable ride. Yeah, they are, and, uh, they, they're just always, they, they look like they're sturdy you know, Uh-huh. they look like they're very sturdy, and you don't have to worry that much about, um, getting, you know, hurt like you would in a small one. Right. Now they've got a unique uh, feature in them now. If, uh, if you have a front end accident at such a rate of speed, the the engine will actually drop out of the car so that it doesn't come through the, so it doesn't go, it doesn't go through the, you know, into the inside. It'll go underneath the car instead. Oh, I didn't know that. So that's, that's a big safety factor they've got in them now. Yeah, and I suppose they all have the balloons. The air bags, yeah. The air bags, yeah. Well. So, well that's great, that's great, Yeah, yeah. So you say you've always have preferred General Motors products . Yeah, I do. Um, I, I go for things, you know, built in the United States rather than foreign countries. Right. Help our economy and, What kind of, uh, General Motors cars have you had in the past? Mostly Oldsmobiles. Oldsmobiles. Those are real nice riding cars too. Oh, yeah. That's what we have now, but of course if I have a choice I'd still have the Cadillac but, uh, I've been very satisfied with the, with the Oldsmobiles. We've driven them for about probably twenty years. Has that been the Cutlass or the Sierra? Uh, no, the Ninety-Eight. The Ninety-Eight, okay. Uh-huh, yeah. So. Well, I don't think, uh, let's see, the Ninety-Eight, now that's got that big V eight engine in it, doesn't it, doesn't it? Well I don't know. The one we have has a six. Has a little V Six? Uh-huh. Okay. But it's a very good car. It's a had, not had one minute's problem with it, It, and I've had, now I have twenty-three thousand miles on it. Oh, that's great Yeah. that's great. That's always nice to get, uh, reliability in a product. Especially when you're spending, you know, anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five thousand dollars for, for a single item. You know, Right. you just don't want any hassles with it. No. You just, you expect it to do its, its job, and I think a lot of, a lot of car manufacturers don't really keep that into don't take that into consideration you know. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. They just expect you to buy their product, but that's always been something that's been a key factor in me, is how reliable is this car going to be you know. Uh-huh. Price is, is an issue, but it's not the most important issue. No, it really isn't, because now you can get like five year financing on them and so, um, Right. but I, I, I would go with the General Motors any time. Well, I've always been a Ford man, myself. Oh, really. Yes. Oh. But that's all right. Yeah, well sure. You know, it's American made too which is good. Right. Uh-huh. Um, but I, I've, ever since I guess I, I was growing up, my dad's always had Fords, and, uh, well, I grew up in South Dakota. So everybody has a truck Uh-huh. and my Ford trucks have just, I've, I've just never had problems with them. Uh-huh. I honestly think I would die before my truck would, keel over on me. Yeah. So. Well, I, yeah, those are good products also. Um, let's see, My T V down. Okay. I'm sorry. Uh, invasions of privacy. Uh-huh. Uh, what most annoys me are all sorts of phone calls trying to sell me things. Uh-huh. All, sorts of hours calling and telling me that I want investment advise and I want this service and that service or the other thing. Uh-huh. Yes. I hate those canned messages they put on my recorder. Um, my sense is that something may just have been done about it by congressmen just what went into the something about the random dialers that just dial phone numbers. Uh-huh. I guess in some cases they just consider pickup your, your phone and, and, and not let you use your phone for a while whether you hang up on them or not. Uh-huh. Um, but I thought I saw something about it having some kind of provision that people could specify that their phones were not for commercial using and, uh, and, uh, people, businesses would be prohibited, uh, from calling for for, for business selling you things. I have through, the phone company, uh, I'm sure that's true. no nine hundred numbers can be dialed from my phone or received. Uh, some of did too. I think, I think government can do that now, is that right? Uh-huh. And, uh, especially with, with possibly children around. Uh-huh. Uh, that could, could be useful protection. Right. Yes, and I don't have children around but I just don't like those nine hundred numbers. So, I've excluded those. So, uh, I used to deal with, But isn't, it does not stop you from the, uh, dialing services. What are dialing services? Where they, uh, intend to sell you things. Oh, oh, where people just, just call you. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And leave again that canned message on the, And you know, and then what, those problems has been eliminated those problems used to be when I used a credit card they'd want to have my phone number. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I did not like giving it out. I gave out my work number Right. but I think I'm not sure if it's by law just, otherwise I think the practice has basically been eliminated asking for a phone number. Well, that's the thing I hated too about, uh, Radio Shack. How did Radio Shack work? If you go in and buy anything they want your phone number. And I don't think they're going to call me and ask me how it's functioning, and, and I don't give that out. I have an unlisted number so I don't, Yes, that's, that's, that's one solution but you, you, you nonetheless often get, get people calling you? Sure. Despite the fact that your number is unlisted? Uh-huh. And you actually have your number or are they just calling a number that happens to be yours? Well, anything that you buy um, you you may get put on the, a, uh, preferred list that is purchased. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, and companies can purchase this list and what that is is people who buy from the mail. Yeah, and they have a whole list of addresses and list of phone numbers. Uh-huh. I'll be thinking in mind the address is , um, is there anything you can do about that like give out a phony phone number? Uh, no. Not really. Um, no. Uh, some of that unfortunately is legal. So they can't stop people from, uh, advertising and that, and that's what it falls under. It falls under the guise of advertising. So, I don't care for it, but is it a legal, uh, solution for some companies. So that, that's the way things are. Huh. Yeah. I don't know. I think it's gotten much worse the last, few years. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Maybe that's just because I've gotten on more lists. Well, they, you know, that's, that's the telephone is not the only invasion of privacy. You've got the holy rollers and you've got, uh, all kinds of people knocking on your door and, who want to, uh, either direct you to the right path or, or want to, uh, sell you, uh, paper routes, uh, whatever, so, um, you know, it's not just the telephone. Yeah. Sell you magazines. Uh-huh. I guess whatever is, I just don't give, For N I S T, the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Oh, okay, so it's right up your alley, then. I suppose so. Let me push the button. All right. Okay, uh, I guess I'm supposed to be all for switching to the metric system, but, uh, I sense that it's not going to happen anytime soon. Yeah, I don't think it's going to happen either, but I wish it were because I'm a, I got my bachelor's in mechanical engineering. Uh-huh. I'm at grad school now in acoustics and all we do is metric stuff. You're now in what? Acoustics. Acoustics, uh. Yeah, so everything's metric and then you go to read some order book or something and it's all confusing so I don't understand as much, so I think we should get one adopted permanently. Well, I guess that is the policy, but it's been the policy for a long time and nothing ever happens. Uh, I suppose things, some things well happen slowly simply by having it taught in the schools more to the extent that that's happening, having a new generation come up that's more used to it. Yeah, a lot of industry out there is doing metric stuff because they have to. They have to for international trade. Yeah. But, I guess it's, it's easier to switch back and forth than it used to be, uh, because of, of, uh, of computers coming into everything. Uh-huh. Yeah, I don't think switching back and forth is that big a deal. I think people need to understand more like what a meter is, instead of how many feet in a meter or something. Just get used to using all the terms. Because someone says a kilogram, no one knows what that is. Everyone wants a, wants a conversion of that before kind of recognizing it as a, as, as, as, as a concept to hold in mind. Yeah. Uh, I, I, I don't see that, it, it, it can change it very quickly. I mean we're not the kind of society that, that, uh, that something can be posed upon, uh, by government will. Yeah, no one seems to be adopting it. Metric system, no one's very, uh, no one wants it at all seems like. Uh, the, the, the public is just very conservative that way in refusing to change measurement systems, uh, money, dollar, coins, anything like that. Yeah And, and, and it it obviously makes no sense that we're practically alone in the world in, in using the old system. Yeah, I, it's pretty tough when you get everything confused, though. I think two systems is worse than one, though Because, I know, we do a lot of problems and things and they're half english and half metric and you, you make more mistakes doing all the conversions than you would doing the problems. just get one. I prefer metric, but even if it's english, they should just have one. Well, I mean, I think people like you are relatively rare who are coming up against this problem every day. Yeah yeah, I think so. Your, your average guy jogging down the highway wants to know how many miles it is to his destination. Uh, I mean, there are things you could do. Uh, we have signs up on the N I S T campus here, speed limit twenty-five miles per hour, forty kilometers per hour. Yeah. Uh, but that hasn't been adopted very widely. Yeah, they have some of those in Ohio. There's this one sign's kind of funny. It says, uh, metric signs next hundred miles. But, I mean, and no one will, will go a step further to remove the english signs. Yeah, that would force everybody to use it. Or to quit selling tape measures in inches. Uh, yeah, or, you have highway signs saying speed limit, uh, eighty, eighty-five, whatever would be the appropriate number. Yeah, I guess a hundred is sixty-two. Hundred car is going sixty-two, yeah, so it would be more like, uh, like ninety I guess, car is going fifty-five. Uh, you suddenly have a have a even worse problem with speeding than we do now. Yeah, you have a bunch of people trying to do ninety Do, do, do you know, where you are, do the schools emphasize the metric system? Yeah, in the engineering they all do pretty much. No, I, I, I meant, I meant down, like, in the elementary schools. Oh, in the elementary schools. I don't know. I wouldn't think so. I remember a ways back we did like conversions, I mean, I think, but we never actually went out and measured anything or did anything on one system. Yeah, I mean, I think my children learned the metric system, but it doesn't get, get emphasized over the other. Yeah, they learn how many centimeters are in an inch and that's about it. Okay, we're supposed to talk about vacations. Right, so, uh, well, uh, what kind of vacations do you like? Well, uh, I haven't been to many places, but I have a opportunity to go to, uh, Paris, France, uh, with, uh, with my friend in April. She is, her, uh, her family, you know, lives there, and she's only been there once. Her grandmother lives there Uh-huh. so I'm hoping to I'm praying I get to go. Uh, Oh, that's great. Yeah, it's, it will be probably the most exciting place I'll ever get to go. Uh-huh. Have you ever been to, uh, like New Mexico? Uh, no, actually. Oh. Why, have you? I was curious. I was just wondering what it was like. Oh, okay No, uh, I have been to Europe once and to Haiti and, uh, Tahiti? Yeah. Tahiti, oh. No, no, Haiti. Oh, Haiti. Right. Where is that? It's, uh, well, it's in the Caribbean and it's the western half of an island, with the eastern half that's the Dominican Republic. Uh-huh. And I was down there with a program from the college that I went to where we would just spend like three months in a foreign country, most of them third world countries. And study the language and then do a little service project. Uh-huh. Um. So, yeah, that turned out to be a really good experience for me. So, what did you do when you were in Europe? Uh, well, see, I went there when I was in high school, actually Uh-huh. and I mostly went to Germany and visited some friends of my family and, uh, hung out with them, worked a bit on one of their farms and also went to a youth camp. What did you do on the farm? Uh, uh, uh, well, not that much Just, uh, Are you just kind of sight, just kind of, uh, Right, I mean, I wasn't a great asset to them or anything But I, you know, drove a tractor, helped them weed beets and that sort of thing. Um. And, uh, yep, and I went to a youth camp that included working at an old people's home and that was pretty interesting. And while I was there I visited my aunt and uncle who were, uh, staying for their vacation in France in Nantes, which is on the west coast, like right across from England. Um. Uh, so, uh, where in France are you, Paris. Right, Paris. Yeah. And, uh, um, how long do you plan to be going for? Uh, two weeks. Last time she stayed two months, but we're only going to stay two weeks. Uh-huh. So, Great. And, uh, We're going to take a cooking class there, so that might be fun. A what? Cooking class, you know, French cooking. Oh, great. Yeah. And, uh, what else are you planning to do, if anything? Museums, you know, go to museums and, Uh-huh. Yeah, um, Do you go to museums in Europe? Uh, actually, no, I don't think I went to any of them. Uh, the closest thing I did was go to some like, uh, restored castles and stuff. Um. That, there is some on that west coast of France and I went to a vineyard or two in Germany. Um, that's neat. Yeah, that was nice. Uh, um, but, so, uh, Hey, what about, have you ever been to Hawaii? Uh, no, I haven't. No? Have you? No. Okay Well, uh, well, I'm wanting to go there. Where have you gone first? Oh, where have I gone that's anywhere. Yeah, I mean, Uh, All right, well. Um, short term, I don't think anything's going to be done about it or probably should be done about it. Right. Uh, are you saying you don't think anything should be done in the short term? Uh, the short term, the recession is getting, getting top attention. Yeah, I, I think that you're absolutely right there. The other thing is, is that we've got these, um, these, all these bank defaults going on, and, and savings and loan defaults, and, and, uh, uh, And that effectively adds to whether it's officially on the books or not. Right. Exactly. Um, And that's got to be paid. Exactly, and, and, uh, so this creates a pretty serious problem that's going to continue to be with us for a while to come. Um, I'm not really, uh, sure that I even understand why the administration is proposing, for instance, tax reductions, because it seems to me that if, if, if they're talking about reducing, uh, the tax that needs to be paid, or the tax that's currently being paid, then that can't, it seems to me it can't possibly, you know, help with the, the deficit picture. It can only hurt the deficit picture. Yeah, exactly. Um, and the, the severity of the deficit picture already limits the options available or limits the degree of tax cutting you can do without, uh, bringing on, on serious problems for the longer term. Yeah, exactly. So that, that, that's the current predicament. Yeah, it seems like it's, it's a kind of a Catch Twenty-two. I mean, it's, it's the, um, my understanding is what they're what, what supposedly they're trying to do by reducing taxes is to kind of jump start the economy, the idea being that if people have to pay less money in taxes, they'll have more money to spend, uh, and if they have more money to spend, then that will be a spur to productivity, particularly commercial productivity, uh, which in turn will generate revenue. But it, it seems like, like, uh, it's sort of a, uh, a an unending spiral, and it, it, it, uh, I'm, I'm not sure that there's any real genuine truth to the, uh, the idea that, that, uh, that decreasing taxes, particularly the kinds that are being recommended bye-bye the Bush administration and things like capital gains taxes and so forth is going to, uh, result in substantial amounts of money, you know, for consumers to spend. And, uh, Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about paying on the quest, the long term quests that tax cuts are worth at this point. It's probably a judgment of how bad the recession is. Yeah, it, uh, it would seem to me that there are other things that the administration could do. Well, well, first of all you look to the Fed to fight the recession as indeed it has, with interest rates. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I think that's been a positive development. I think what that's done is it's, it's, it's help keep inflation from, um, uh, Well, at the moment we're doing very well on inflation. Yeah, exactly. That's the sort of upside to the deficit. It's a sort of a piece of luck. That's the upside to the recession. Yeah, um. I don't know, what kind of things do you think can be done in, in, uh, in the long term? Well, can be done or will be done are two different things. Um, at various places to look for, for cutting the budget, first of all I consider more defense cuts than are already planned depending on the world situation. Sure. But there are various other areas such as, as farm subsidies that ought to be slashed. Uh, a lot of entitlement programs, like education aid, I think, uh, they should put a, in the Reagan administration took all such entitlements to the poor but left them for the middle class, uh, Uh-huh. in the longer term, uh, we, we, we'd do well, I think to make, to make, uh, reductions there. Also somewhat is to collect owed to the government from various loan programs that people have borrowed. Right. I think that, I think that, that I agree with you certainly in the second situation, and I think certain entitlements I, I'm inclined to agree with you, too. Education happens to be one place where I think that we would foolish to um, uh, A lot of education aid has gone to so-called trade schools which are sort of not colleges Uh-huh. but schools that teach you trades, you know, beautician well, and often exists only because of the federal programs that they can take people and tell them they can get loans for their full tuition, uh, and the school gets paid off immediately, uh Oh, I see, I see what you're saying. And then they and then the people default on the loans. and then they don't provide very much education. Yes. Well, I would have to agree with you if there are circumstances like that, uh, around, uh, and I, I, I can't confess to having any substantial knowledge of that sort of thing, but, but taking what you're saying at face value, then I would have to agree with completely. Yeah. Okay what kind of foods would you have? Okay. Um, well, I like to cook, um Oh, I do too but I don't like getting too awfully fancy about it, just because, um, uh, it's too much pressure. You know, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. if I have people over for dinner, I like it to be nice and relaxed. Yeah, you can't enjoy it. Right. Yeah. And so I don't like to arrive, or, or when they arrive, for me to be completely worn out. That's, that's what, I like doing things like making lasagna just because I can have it ready and baking in the oven, Yeah. it's, Exactly. everybody just says how wonderful it is, and it's it's like, uh, yes, Uh-huh. I. Yeah. That's one of those things I got famous for in college. People would come and say could would you come over and make lasagna for me Uh-huh It's like, well, I can't really give you a recipe, uh Uh-huh, you'd just do it. I can I can just do it . I like doing that kind of stuff. Yeah. And it's, it's fun, in fact that's what we had for a Christmas party last week. Uh-huh. We just had a bunch of people over and we had, we did lasagna and garlic bread and, uh, yummy. Um. Boy I like that. Uh, I do too, in fact Yeah, well I'm planning a, and naturally this is appropriate because I'm planning dinner for people tomorrow night and then the next night. Oh. Oh, good. So Tuesday night there'll be eight people here altogether. Uh, actually one thing we have done quite a bit through the holidays, just because it's a, real easy, is just baked potato dinners. Oh, yeah, uh-huh. And have, you know, like three or four couples come over, and I'll do the potatoes and you know, like butter and cheese and stuff and have everybody else just bring a couple of toppings, whatever they like Uh-huh. and it turns out great, because I mean, you've got like hot sauce and taco meat and barbecue and, you know, bacon and all that good stuff. Yeah, that's fun. Uh-huh. But it's, it's inexpensive Yeah. plus it's real easy on the hostess, because you can just have the potatoes ready, and just have a salad with it, and you got a great dinner. Yeah, that's a good idea. It's, it's real easy, I like doing that part. Yeah. I'm in favor of very little clean up, um, very little planning because we've got three or four couples that we get together with to play games, Uh-huh. Uh-huh, yeah. and it's, Uh-huh. we invariably end up at my house since I've got two kids. Uh-huh. And that, it's, it's fine, because then I can just say, Okay fine, you bring this, you bring this, you bring this, we're done. Yeah. And it's pretty cool. Yeah, that's good. Well, one of my favorites if I don't want to have other people bring stuff, I just want to treat them is to make chicken and rice. Uh-huh. Oh. It's very easy to. Oh. You don't like it? Oh, I love it Oh, you do, okay, yeah. I have a really easy recipe for that, where you just brown the chicken and then you put rice in the bottom of the pan, you pour bouillon or chicken broth over it Um. and, and you put the chicken in, then pour the, uh, broth over and you can put mushrooms in if you want, and then you just. Over the uncooked rice? Yeah, over uncooked rice Oh. and you can either microwave it or do it in the oven, and it just. Oh, how neat. It fluffs up, and it's really moist. Huh. Now I've done it with, where you put, you cook the well, I guess you probably could do it same way, but cook the rice and then take a can of like cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup, and put a little bit of white wine in it. Uh-huh, wow, yeah. And every once in a while, I'll put in, I'll slice white grapes and I'll put in there, and, that's just because I'm not a real big wine person but I like it, it adds something to the chicken. Uh-huh. Yeah. And then just bake it, and it makes a wonderful sauce over the rice. Well, I'll keep that one in mind. Yeah Yeah. It's, that was one of the first things I made for my husband, because I was like, um, yeah Yeah. I could actually find something I could cook real easy that would be kind of sort of elegant kind of Uh-huh. Yeah, you can get away with it even having a semi nice dinner, Oh, yeah. or, you know semi . But then, I hadn't thought about doing it with uncooked rice. Yeah. So, just, like in a thirteen by nine pan. Yeah. You put in, um Um. let's see, what was it, three quarters of cup of rice or, Um. It depends on, you can really vary it. Uh-huh. But you have to put the water in proportionally. I can't remember. I think it was three quarters cup rice to two cups water, two cups, um, broth. Yeah, yeah, I, I use that for for rice and for when I cook pasta or something, I'll put a little bit of bouillon in there just to give it a little extra flavor. Yeah, flavor. Uh-huh. Yeah. Um. Now that would be good. Uh-huh. How long do you have to bake it? Um, let's see. I think it was an hour. I've done it in the microwave so often lately because, it's, it's really easy. I do, I do microwave too, a lot Yeah. But, I think it's about an hour. How long would it be how long would it be in the microwave? Or maybe it's only half hour. Um, you just, until the rice looks fluffy, and and not overdone. You know, before it gets overdone. Oh, okay. Okay. Do you just brown the chicken to get it colored Yeah. or do you go ahead and let it cook through? Um, I'd let it cook just a little bit just so that the cooking goes a little faster. Um. Ooh, this is a beneficial call. I like this Yeah, I liked your idea too, there. Yeah, but that one's an easy one. It's like, just put in, a friend of mine makes it where she goes ahead and seasons up the, with the soup and the wine Uh-huh. put in garlic and onion powder or chopped onions if you want to do that, you know. What ever, however much effort you feel like putting into it. Yeah. Uh-huh. But it, it makes a great, I mean, I've got a two year old and a four year old and they love it. Uh-huh. And, because my daughter calls it her gravy and I mean, she thinks it's wonderful, my, good, you're a picky eater, if I can get you to, Uh, did you watch the Bulls this morning? You know what, I watched a little bit of, uh, of the Bulls game and I, uh, had to leave. Uh, in fact I, I think the Bulls were ahead when I, uh, when I left. Who won the game? They won in a squeaker. They won by they won by two points. Is that right? Uh, they were behind as they headed into each quarter and then they came back in the second half and at the end, I think they were, uh, looked, they looked like they were closing it out and then Detroit kept coming back and uh, Isaiah missed a three point attempt, at the end Uh-huh. and, uh, I think the Bulls won by two. I think they do, as a matter of fact. Yeah. One of the, uh, commentators said that they expected that the Bulls would, uh, if they continued at their current pace, uh, set an N B A record for seventy wins in a season. Wow. Yeah, they looked real good and, They, they do, and they, you know, I think by, uh, by relieving some of the pressure off of, uh, of, uh, uh, Michael Jordan really helped them out. You know, he doesn't have, they don't have to rely on him to score you know, thirty or forty points at every at every game Right. so, Yeah, well, they, they're, they're balancing their attack Oh, I know, I'm, yeah, I saw the I saw the Warriors, uh, just a little bit of the highlights of the Warriors, uh, Dallas game. I saw the, the second half of the game last night and they were impressive. They look good. Billy Owens looks like he was, that was a good move for the Warriors to trade for him. Yeah, now, I don't, uh, I haven't kept up with what was going on with, uh, with the, Well, they traded away, uh, Mitch Richmond, or is it Tim Hardaway. One of the two, uh, who, along with, uh, Chris Mullen was, you know, though three were three of the best in the N B A, and and, they made a heck of a threesome Uh-huh. and they traded either Richmond or Hardaway to Sacramento for Billy Owens and, uh, Good move. Yeah, oh, yeah, he's really worked out well. They've got the Warriors have got a team, uh, and, uh, I think that will be real interesting to see what they can do. They're ahead, and the Lakers are down, I guess in fourth, uh, position in the west and I don't know, Yeah. in the east, I don't know, uh, is it Boston in, uh, first place? Uh, I think Boston's in first. Uh, I, you know, I haven't kept up with any of the other, uh, teams. I'm so depressed with the Dallas Mavericks, you know. Boy, they've had a hard time. They said they've lost a lot of squeakers. Oh, man! That, well, yeah, but, I mean, just this whole year has been just disastrous for them and, uh, you know, they're going, I, I think they're going for an all time record of how many you know, losses in a row they can, they they can, uh, pull out. Yeah. It's unbelievable. How do people in Texas deal with Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Do you, for example, like San Antonio in Dallas? Uh, Well, actually, actually, the, the, the Dallas area here, uh, pulls for Dallas. Uh, San Antonio pulls for San Antonio, and Houston pulls for, for the Rockets. So there isn't much crossover, huh, There really, I mean, not a whole lot. You know, I mean, you find them, they're, find them be, to be pretty loyal, uh, in, with the local teams. Yeah. Uh, you know, it's kind of, I guess it's kind of like, uh, there in the Bay area, you know, you don't find a whole lot of, uh, of Sacramento fans. Yeah, it's true, because San Antonio isn't that close to you, are they? Really isn't, uh-uh. No. It's, you know, it's, it's about the same, uh, same distance from here to to San Antonio as it is from there to Sacramento. Is it? Yeah, so it's not something you'd drive, So it's, yeah, it's not really a local, you know, Yeah, I was thinking maybe David Robinson made a bit of a difference with kids and that sort of thing. Uh, he does a lot of local stuff there in San Antonio and they, I mean, they have got a great club. You know. They've done a good job. I mean, of course, drafting a franchise like him certainly, Yeah Yeah that always makes a big difference. Yeah, I mean, that's So, I think the way it, uh, I think that's the way it works now in basketball. You, you know Magic was a franchise for the Lakers and, you know, uh, Bird for the, for the, uh, Celtics Yeah. and, And, you know, uh, you know, I used to think that, that one, one player really doesn't make a club, but it really does, you know. Well, it , You get somebody like Magic and you can see the decline in that team. Well, yeah. Once he left, you know, it's, it's just not the same, uh, it's not the same team. There's not the leadership there that they used to rely on him for. Well, I think you're right and I think Isaiah Thomas would fit in Detroit and I think those things do make a difference and there are marquee players. And I think I think Jordan and the, and the Bulls have to be, uh, considered the likely favorites. Oh, yeah. I don't know who would meet them in the west. Uh, I don't know how good Portland will turn out to be by the end of the year. They were so Who won that Portland game? You know, I wasn't, I, I I watched only a few minutes of it and I wasn't paying attention. Uh, and so I don't know, uh, Uh, But Phoenix, you know, Phoenix and Portland have both been very good clubs and, Well I guess we're, uh, forced to finally, to do a lot about air pollution. I hear that the major automobile manufacturers are looking at nonpolluting cars and low polluting fuels are being experimented with Ethanol and other types of fuels. Yeah, one of the things they asked me to ask you was where you thought the major source was coming from? Or sources. I, you know, I assume, that the major sources are cars and factories. That's what, I would think. But I, I don't know for sure. I just know that, um, acid rain apparently is a big problem in Canada from, would comes over the border from us. Right. Yeah, I think the automobile definitely is an area and any, any industry that burns, you know, and then I don't know about chemical pollution. I'm not real into that as far as how it affects the air. I know we have a lot of chemical, the indoor type pollution. They have offices that are too well insulated. They found people are getting sick, Yeah. but I don't know if that affects outside. You know, I, I think, seems to think, seems to me that's what they were asking about was outside and the thing I can, the only thing I can think of would be cars and factories. Yeah, the smokestacks or the exhaust pipes. Yeah. Um, I guess there's been a lot of pressure to, um, do away with the C F C's in these spray bottles which, has been a real problem. Right. Yeah, that is, well that's destroying the ozone, isn't it? Again I, that's what I hear and, and there's this big debate apparently about whether the ozone, there's a hole in the ozone or not but at last I heard it was, uh, discovered that the hole was bigger than they thought, initially. Yeah, that's It's kind of scary. Well, it is scary and I think it will, uh, continue to force us to clean up our act, literally and figuratively. Yeah. We've got to learn to manage without destroying the environment. I think something too that you probably see in older states, all we, we do it down here once in a while we will have a cold spell is where people will use their fireplaces. I, I, I'm wondering whether it's going to get to the point where you can't, do that. I think it will. In Los Angeles they're apparently going to, they've passed laws that, for habit, do you think this could possibly be prohibit? nothing elseseems to make any sense?? for example, people using, uh, barbecues *listen for habit prohibit gasoline lawn mowers, um, Uh-huh. and it's really bad in places like Los Angeles, and, it's gotten bad in Denver Right. and, and, uh, it's not too bad around here although you see it, you know, more and more in the sky. And people in this country are really wedded to their, uh, cars, Right. and our economy seems to, and this I think is one of the big problems, Yeah. In this area too since, you know, in Texas we're so spread out, Yeah. we have to drive so far, but I know in Colorado I have witnessed that where it just, uh, it just stacks up at the when the Rockies starts, but we're even getting it here. We can drive into, when we've been on vacation or something drive into Fort Worth or Dallas and you can tell it in the mornings too. My husband likes to go out and jog and there's just a brown fog here and we don't even have any mountains that are, holding it in. Yeah. But they also said that more dense the population and the more we crowd together, the worse it gets. Well that makes a lot of sense. I mean I, I hadn't thought about it that way but it, it, You don't have to have mountains that are stopping it. Yeah. And, uh, they make, uh, making more and more high-rise buildings and, uh, so yeah, we can comment and we didn't see this a few years ago. No, and I think, It was pretty clear here. Yeah, and I think that, that more and more it's becoming apparent to people that the earth, which includes all the people on it and everything that's going on it, is a, is an organism of sorts, and that there is a, a whole set of organic relationships that if we start to destroy one part of it, it's going to tell us about it, Right. and, uh, we're going to feel it, and I think it's going to be real interesting and particularly in light of what is obviously going to be a big structural change in the economy, uh, in this country, uh, whether people are willing to get out of their cars, Uh-huh. Yeah. and in this country, uh, the, the solution that, that people seem to think work are politically unacceptable. For example, taxing people heavily for using their cars. Yeah. And, uh, I have a little sports car that I enjoy using and I know just like anybody else how much fun it is to drive but I think, uh, we're going to have to make some fundamental changes and, and I'm, I'm not sure how long it's going to take or what it's going to take because they keep saying that the economy is going to depend on how many cars and, houses we sell. Yeah. And it's a shame too when you do see somebody driving a big car, just one person in that. It's a lot of waste but, Okay, Eric. Uh, are you married and do you have a family? Uh, yes I am to, uh, both questions. Okay and do you and your wife have a budget plan for your finances. Uh, yeah we do. We, uh, uh, basically there's the, you know, the expenses that are fixed during the month you know the ones that come every, every month Uh-huh. and we, uh, enter those into, uh, into a spread sheet and, uh, whatever is left, uh, after that we, you know, we sit down and agree on kind of what, what sort of range we are going to generally going to shoot for. Uh-huh. I see. Uh So what do you do? Well, that's basically what we do. Uh, about every, every three months or so, we re-evaluate our budget and we sit down and just write from the largest bills down to the smallest Uh-huh. and then we divvy them up between our four pay checks. I work part time at night Wow and he works, and my husband works full times days and so we have four checks, but that works out nice because we get paid every week and so that does help, Yeah. that helps a lot. And then, uh, we don't have a lot extra for extra spending, so it's pretty well ear marked. Yeah. All allocated out. Yeah Yeah. Yeah. Every penny is ear marked but, uh it, we have found that works the best and and so if we can just divide them up, all the major bills up. In fact, we found it easier to divide the major bills up, you know, cut the house payment in half and cut the loan payment in half, but and divide those up between all, uh-huh. All the checks, yeah. And so we are not taking a huge sum out, out of one and then the next pay check we're real short or, Right. Yeah, we found that, uh, it's definitely helped, uh, get a handle on kind of the unnecessary expenses. That's true. We were, before we started doing that kind of a thing, we were, uh, spending, uh, money for things that, you know, we kind of tended to eat out a bit more than we should have, Uh-huh. and it was easy to, uh, let things get out of hand. We thought it uh, thought it to be really helpful. We have gotten some of our loans paid off really because of this and stuff like that Yeah. so, Well, it helps you to focus where your money goes Yeah and and I am sure you felt the the same frustration before you got on a budget, but you're wondering my, when you put down all the money that you do bring in and then you're saying, my word where did all that money go. That's a lot of money, but Where does it go? Yeah. Uh But, and also we have found that if we write down, and we did this. We are not real consistent with this, but we did it for about a month and we wrote down everything that we bought when, you know, every pay check Uh-huh. and so we could see where every penny went and it was really interesting to see just what you do spend and like I say we haven't been real consistent with it. It's, we should cause it does help. Yeah, the other, the other thing that that we've found that helps is, you know, we tend to fudge on the budget a little bit Uh-huh it's just to, uh, uh, get up the money in advance and put it in, uh, uh, so long as it wasn't you know, unreasonably high, but for things like food expenses or whatever. Just put it in uh in an envelope or whatever if the entertainment amount was gone for the month say, oh, it's gone Uh-huh. just stick to that, uh-huh. That is, Yeah. That that sounds like a really good idea. So. And it really helpful. Uh, have you developed a savings plan or I R A s or anything like that yet? We, we haven't. We our our initial goal was just to retire debt, uh, completely retire debt for car payments and credit card uh, credit card debt and all of that. Oh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. We are just at a point where, where we could start thinking about it so Oh that's good. That's a good feeling Yeah. Well I My husband just graduated from the university, uh, a year ago Uh-huh. so finally finally we are getting to that point too. A student. So, are you still going to school or, Yeah, I am actually in the, in the Kay. Okay. I guess we're talking about exercise, huh? Yeah, yeah. Well first of all I, I have to ask you how, how old you are? Oh, I am twenty-seven. Twenty-seven, okay. Well, I am quite a bit older than you are But, no. I think exercise is extremely important and I I do exercise on a regular basis. You do? What type of exercise do you do? Well, I do, uh, jazzercise which is an aerobic, uh, program that, Oh you do. are you familiar with it? Yes. It's, uh, you know, a national company and we have a jazzercise center here in Plano that has classes like all day long so you can, Are they different from aerobics or is it the same thing? No it's really, it's an aerobic routine. you warm up and then you have thirty minutes of aerobic activity starting, you know, slowly and then working up to, uh, you know, a high heart rate and then you gradually go down again. And you do that every day or, No, I only do it probably two or three times a week. Oh, okay. The minimum they want you to do is three times a week. And this is a club or, uh, do you belong to a group? Well, it's really a I mean it's called a center and you buy as many classes as you want to at a time and then you just go in whenever you can. So, like I usually choose to go at nine thirty in the morning or a nine fifteen class or a ten thirty class in the mornings. Do you go with friends or do you go alone? No, I go by myself and that's one of the frustrating things cause I can find very few people to go with me Yeah. and most of my friends that are my age don't exercise or they might play tennis Uh-huh. and since I am not a tennis player, uh, you know, I don't get that, but I am, you know, I am between, I am in my late forties Uh-huh. so, uh, there aren't many people, you know, that want to do that. Oh Most of the people that are in the classes are young mothers. You know, with with children between the ages, Oh yeah young mothers or, Young mothers. You know, young women, with small children are the ones that I find. Uh-huh. Well, what do you do? Uh, I really don't have a routine. I like playing basketball. We just bought a new home with a basketball hoop and that's what I do every day. Oh, great. Yeah. Do you play every day? Yeah, pretty much. When my wife lets me. Well, now who do you play with? Do you have friends that play with you or just, No, I just shoot around by myself. Yeah. And, uh, that's about it. I use to play soccer a lot in high school, but when I graduated I haven't done much. I don't have a problem. I know I have to do more aerobics, but I don't have a problem with weight. I could eat all day and not gain an ounce Well see, that's, that's really good and I think that keeps a lot, some people from exercising. Uh-huh. I mean, I don't have a problem with weight either, but I think I don't have a problem because I exercise. You know You do exercise. I mean, people are always saying to me, how do you stay thin and it's because I exercise You do it but I also watch what I eat. You know, Uh-huh. but you'll come, being twenty-seven, you don't really have to worry about your heart rate and that yet Yeah and I but as you get older you will. well everyone's told me my waist line is going to expand one of these days, but I don't know Well, it might not Mine, because everybody's been telling me that too and so far it hasn't happened, you know, and I, I just feel like, you know, you have to constantly weigh yourself and just keep an eye on it and cut back if it starts to get you know, too high. Uh-huh. Yeah, I guess I enjoy sports a lot so that's why I've kept active in that way. Yeah. But you don't play any other sports but basketball? Uh, basketball, volleyball, uh, too bad it's not really heavy as far as recreation or hobby, I do that. But, do you ski? Being in Utah, I was wondering if you ski. Uh, I use to, but it got too expensive, so. Oh did it really? Yeah. Cause I know that skiing in Utah is, is suppose to be great. Yeah, a lot of people do that Yeah. and but, well I just I never find the time. I had rather do other things. Yeah. Well, I have never skied before, but I have friends that go to Utah all the time and they think it's really Oh they come up here. and they ski. I guess there's a place where you can ski, well is it Tahoe? Where you ski from, no that's Nevada to California I guess. That's in Nevada. Uh-huh. Yeah, I am thinking about where you can ski over the state line. Oh, yeah but, But there's a there is a place in Utah called a funny name. There's Snow Bird or Alta. But it's like, Oh, Heavenly. Is that it? Heavenly? Yeah, I think it's called Heavenly. Huh. I've never heard of that one. You've never heard of that? Huh-uh. Well, maybe it isn't in Utah. But they said they've skied Heavenly and it sounded like, you know, that they skied really well, and when they are actually talking about a place. It's kind of funny. Do they exercise much or, I mean for skiing? I know when I went, you can get sore easily but, Oh yeah. You can get really sore. I know you, I mean I've talked to people, but most of these people ski enough so that they don't get sore. Oh yeah. is one or two timer a year if I do go on them and I am really sore after. And then, is it your quadriceps that are the worst? Yeah. In your legs and, My legs really, really ache. Yeah. Yeah. But, that's, I am using muscles that I have never used before. Well, and it's strange that you can do, like I did aerobics, you know, all the time and then I went horseback riding and still I was so sore and I couldn't get over, Actually, to tell you the truth, I think, uh, jury selection is a, uh, prime, uh, discussion topic in terms of possible improvements on, uh, uh, finding of, uh, guilt. Uh, I certainly can't argue with that. Definitely does need some improvements. Uh, and the lawyers can throw people out for no reason whatsoever just because they want to. Yeah, I think there's a limit on that. The, uh, the, uh peremptory challenges are limited to, I don't know how many, I think it's, Four or five, but you can, I can't remember which. I was on a jury trial last year only I got kicked out as, uh, the last selection that the, uh, defense got. Um. Yeah, it seems to me I'm always challenged peremptorily also when I go to these things. I think I have a severe demeanor or something. Um. Uh, That, uh, But, typically, you know, uh, typically, uh, everyone gets involved in, uh, the jury process and I suppose an elitist might say, well, you really want someone who is well educated to be able to, to winnow the facts from the, from the prejudice. Right, but it still has to be a group of your peers. Right. See. So, So, if it's your peers and you're not educated then, So if you're a nincompoop on trial, you'd, you'd have to have nincompoops to, uh, You want you want a nincompoop jury because they'll sympathize with you a bit as well as hopefully being honest people and do their best to comply with the facts as they were presented to them. Um. So, that's why the defense is there picking through them, whereas at the same time, the, uh, the prosecutor sitting there picking through them because he wants somebody who will give him, uh, a guilty verdict if the facts warrant. Uh-huh. So, uh, I think the jury selection process is pretty neat, but I don't think that the jury ought to be the ones picking the punishment afterwards. Um. I think that should be left up to people who have some knowledge in the subject and more knowledge than a jury would have. you're talking about, the person's already been found guilty, right Uh-huh, uh-huh. and many times I've seen on trials they have on T V, the jury will make a recommendation as to leniency or as to the death penalty or whatever, but I think that it should be up to the judge and the, uh, lawyers to make the decision as to what the actual penalty will be. Um. Maybe just the judge because they're the people who know what the system is and what it's all about and believe in the system. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, and I think that would provide a more fair sentencing procedure. As opposed to an emotional sentencing procedure. Also, may be a more consistent sentencing procedure. Well, I suppose you may be right on that. Matter of fact, I've heard that, I've heard that some of the information, uh, is prevented from reaching the jury, like, uh, mitigating circumstances or, or preceding, uh, criminal record or things of this nature that, Well, preceding criminal record, according to the judicial process has nothing to do with the current crime. But when it comes to, uh, sentencing for punishment, of course, if the person's never done anything bad before, according to the judicial system, then they're going to lean towards a slightly more lenient side, and the jury's supposed to be notified of criminal records when it comes to sentencing by jury. Oh, is it? Oh, I didn't realize that. Okay. At least in California, they're supposed to be. Not during the trial, during the trial as to whether they're guilty or not has nothing to do with their background. Right. But when it comes to what kind of sentence you're going to lay down, I think that, uh, that they should. Uh-huh. I don't, I don't know that they always have because I never sat all the way through a jury trial. They get too boring. Uh-huh. So, you, what you're saying is this, if there is the second offense, then you execute them. Well, if it's a second offense, the punishment should certainly be more severe than a first offense, because obviously, the rehabilitation process did not work the first time. Um. So you got to give them either more time in the system or a different process that will hopefully work better. When it comes down to things like alternative sentencing, I'm all for that for, uh, small crimes, infractions and misdemeanors or parking tickets or traffic tickets that have gone to warrant, you give them the option of working off their time doing civil service sort of things. What about, uh, white collar crimes like, uh, theft of trade secrets. I think those ought to be punished a whole lot worse than they are. Oh, really? Yeah. Like what? Well, uh, say, embezzlement, right. You get a guy down the street who comes up, uh, carrying a Uh, with regard to, uh, to jury trials. I, you know, I, I really feel as though, uh, jury trials are, are, uh, whatever system has been, been used historically, in particular jurisdiction, you know, is really the, the only kinds of things that you can use. Because the, the jurisprudence is, you know, based on, on, uh, you know, on accumulated body of law. And if, if you have a situation where you change that body of law, then all of sudden they, they start, they could start going back and digging up all these cases that, uh, that would be handled differently were they judged by today's standards. So I, I really don't think it, they can really do much of anything to change it. What do you think? Uh, I, I don't think so. Possibly in the jury selection would be the only, just for example, what we're seeing in California I guess. It makes you wonder, uh, had the jury been a different group of people what would have happened with that outcome. Well won't, well maybe they used a little bit too much force with stuff like that but then then, you know, the defense lawyer addressed each and every one of those blows apparently Uh-huh. and, you know, the other two guys sat in the car That's, that's bad . Uh-huh. and they didn't get beat up. You know. No. It , Rodney got beat up because he, he, you know, he you know, he involved himself in some sub, self-destructive behavior. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, just like the burning and looting is self-destruct. Uh-huh. Everybody says well this is the nineties Oh, yes. and they're going to rebuild and it'll be even better. Hey, what do you think, you know, some, some black guy with capital is going to come in and invest in that area? That's right. With everybody with that mind set. They, they're they're going to, that whole area is going to be turned into residential ghetto, you know, They're only going to suffer. and you might even be able to, to use it for, for a bombing test site, you know. they're only going to suffer. They, they've defeated themselves with, with their looting and violence. Uh, I understand why they were upset by the verdict just because even those of us that aren't black or, uh, don't live there or whatever, we all saw the same thing on the, on the tape and, uh, Well everybody is saying this is going to be a new era and we're going to reexamine this thing. Hey, the the average person is going to take a look at that and say, suspicions confirmed. They're a bunch of animals, you know. How can you really deal with an environment where you're going to lose everything. Forty deaths. I mean there are forty people that are dead as a result of that. I know. Yeah, it's really ridiculous. And I'm just trying to determine, you know, how you address, how you weigh, you know, Rodney getting, getting the hell beat out of him against, you know, forty deaths. Against forty other people being, Yeah. And there's no other, I'm not exactly sure, uh, what the circumstances surrounding the deaths. And I'm very upset that the news media has not identified those deaths and, and pursued it, you know, because I'm interested in the circumstances surrounding this thing. Those deaths. Uh-huh. Is it a looter that got shot by a store owner? I, you know, no tears. Or just a an innocent bystander or somebody got actually beat to death or what. Yeah. And and so I, but I, I suspect a number of them. Um. You know, you, you see film of people being pulled out of a car and shot, you know, in, in the street. Or, or beaten. And, and my reaction is I would have run over fifty people before, rather than stop. And, uh, and there, there would have been just nothing but carnage after, after, after if I'd been at the wheel. Um very No one would have stopped me. Right. That's, that's exactly how I feel too. I wouldn't have, uh, they wouldn't have stopped my car for any, anything had I seen them coming. But I was just wondering since you're, you're in, you're back east, uh, and a little closer to the, the bigger cities than we are in Idaho here. Right. I'm inside the beltway. Oh. You know how capital gang, they always say well inside the beltway, they think thus and so and I say well wait a minute, I'm inside the beltway and I don't think like that. Uh-huh. I'm a government employee. Oh. In what, uh, section of the government do you work? I'm with the F B I. Oh Oh, that's interesting Yes. and so, uh, uh, and, and the reason I'm doing this whole thing is because Rick, whose another government employee wanted a segments of my speech, that that were done a year ago Uh-huh. and he wanted another collection a year later. Oh. And so this is my seventh call. A year ago I did eleven calls. Oh, I see And so that's, that's why, uh, uh, that's why I'm religiously getting on the phone because I have a unique, you know, I have a unique situation here in that if I don't participate, Uh, around here we have a program where, uh, we, we put out the, the, we separate the bottles and the cans and the plastic stuff from the newspapers. And we keep the newspapers in a, in a, they're collected twice a month and the trash and, and this bottled stuff that is put in a, in a little blue bin that's picked up and sorted out into a truck. So they actually have about three passes at this collection. One for the regular trash, one for the, uh, uh, you know, the bottles and cans and one for the newspapers. Sounds, But I gather you do not separate, uh, the bottles and cans. No, they, they do that on the truck. Uh-huh. They separate them as they, as they, you know, dump them. And, you know, one guy comes around with his truck and, and dumps it all in there. And I think they're, they're running out of, uh, you know, . The sanitary landfill, I think, uh, is, you know, running out. Of course, uh, you being from New Mexico, you've probably been to Washington. Especially if you're, your present location. Yes. You must have come to Washington at least once. Yes, I know. Not only have I come to Washington but, uh, I find it very amusing that, uh, the thing that was just instituted here is very similar. That is we also have blue bins. We also separate newspapers from all of the other stuff which goes into the bin and gets separated in the truck and, uh, landfill space is, in deed, the driving factor here. And, in fact, uh, despite all of our open space out here, landfill space is still, uh, very hard to come by. My, you've got a lot a, a lot of nothing out there. You know, they got, I mean there, there's got to be a crevice between two mountains that nobody gives a doggone about that you could, you could use for landfill. Ah, but if somebody can make a regulation about it, they will. Well what other, what, uh, what unique things you think, uh, that you can do about it in, in what, in Los Alamos? Well, uh, Yes, other than nuking it. Um, in fact, Los Alamos, uh, has, uh, done a fair amount of research, uh, in recycling things in general. Um, it, it involves, for instance, uh, creating biological organisms which can remove heavy elements like selenium, and barium and, uh, other things from, uh, waste material in general. And, uh, and purify the waste of specific, uh, uh, nasty elements. Well, isn't that a, that's a, that's pretty, uh, upscale, uh, trash, uh, uh, situation. I don't think anybody around here would understand all the, all those exotic techniques, you know, getting rid of the heavy metals. And the thing that just was in the local news bulletin was, somebody has, uh, made some special, uh, polymers that have the ability to, uh, make certain actinide elements adhere to them. Uh, uh, they've, uh, looked at, uh, plutonium and uranium and, uh, some other similar things to try to remove those from radio active waste Huh. and, again, this is driven by all of the documentation and, uh, E S and H, uh, uh, considerations that, uh, people are, uh, worrying about, I think, much more than they should. Actually I've been involved in recycling for long before it became fashionable. Back when I was in graduate school, I did all of the recycling of the, uh, paper from the computer center and, uh, in fact I think I was the first person in our department to have my thesis published on recyclable recycled paper. Huh. Well that's certainly, uh, you know, uh, getting into the swim of things. I, I think it should be, it should go to the, to the heart of the matter though and say, okay guy, you, everybody gets, you know, five pounds of garbage that they can throw away, you know. Uh, but more than that every week, uh, you've got to pay by the pound. I, I think I think people would be, would get very, very, you know, they'd be very careful about how they bought stuff. I think that's a wonderful idea. The only alternative I would see is, uh, and this would actually be a little more workable since weighing everybody's garbage would be a real pain. Uh, if you did it by volume rather than by weight it would, uh, speak more directly to the space needs and the landfill Uh-huh. and it would also cause people to compact their garbage more. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh, and, uh, and limiting the volume is probably a little bit closer to the real problem than limiting the weight. Well, of course, that, uh, you know, those big trucks can, can, probably are far more efficient in packing than any kind of little household compactor. Well my exercise program consists of, uh, you know, it's, it's a opportunity to stay alive really. Instead of, you know, wasting my, my, the, you know, the, trying to exist on the latency of my youth, the good health of my youth. Huh. I'm, and what I like to do is I like to stretch out and I like to run, uh, I'm, I like to run, get my heartbeat up. I like to run about, oh, about two, two and a half miles. And then I like to work out on, uh, on the, uh, the Bailey Life Cycle machines up here at the, at the Holiday Spa. And, and I, I think that, you know, I've had a regiment now for about, you know, ten, fifteen years of, of doing that and, uh, and I, I kind of think it's, uh, it's a lot of work but I think it's, uh, it's a lot of work but I think it's, uh, it's the, uh, the amount of effort that's required to, uh, to stay healthy, you know. I have a sedentary job and, uh, unless you do something like that, you're going to get sick. Right. Yeah, I'm, I need to get, I'm, I'm pretty bad about that. I'm lazy. I should, I know I want, I always say that I need to get start running and I'm going to try and do that this summer. Because I never have time. I, I always put it off. By the time I get back from classes it's late at night and I don't feel like going back over to the gym and running on the track or whatever. Because I'm, I'm getting a gut here. I got to get back into shape. Well, I, uh, two years ago I started having trouble with my knee. And, uh, you know, I've got, you know, I figured well, it'll go away. Well I you know, I'm, I've had to reduce my program, reduce my program and I've gained fifteen pounds. Huh. And so, uh, you know, it's, you know, I need to get back into swimming, you know, instead of running. If I can't swim or I can't run, I should be able to swim. Well I'm such a terrible swimmer and I, I, I really feel I can, I can dedicate about an hour, an hour and fifteen minutes to this effort. But if it gets longer than that I, I, it, I start not doing anything. Yeah. And so, so I got a real problem in that regard. Uh, it, do, you obviously are, are not an exercise buff or else you'd be out there doing it. Yeah. I mean, I do it, I guess, I'm going to do it, uh, because I want to get in shape. I'm not, it's not something I really enjoy all that much that, I'll, I'll probably, I mean once I get into it and I, if I, if I get into better shape then it'll be, it won't be as much of a, a chore to me. Well, it's, it's always a chore. I mean I started doing this when I was about thirty-five Yeah. Huh. and now I'm fifty-five. Yeah. And, uh, you know, I, I know that in, I just know that I'm going to get blown away with some, some piece of nonsense. you know, some health related thing is going to blow me away. That's the same way, I got too much weight on right now. I need to lose fifty pounds, you know. Right. I need to lose at least twenty, you know. But, uh, you know, it's, it's just, uh, I'm busy. I'm doing a lot of traveling and, uh, it, it creates a problem, uh, you know, when you're on the road. What sort of, uh, uh, what other programs other than say running? Have you, have you ever done anything at all? Yeah, I have. Uh, sit-ups or, also last summer I was doing Nautilus or last year I'm, uh, belong to a club right here. Uh-huh. That was a little bit too much money. But, uh, doing a mix of Nautilus and free weights. I like that. club, what club are you with? I'm sorry? What club were you with? It's called, oh, what was it called City Sports, downtown Washington. Oh. Okay. So you're, you're down, you're downtown. Yeah. I'm at, I'm at, I go to George Washington University. Okay. Yeah. You're down there on, you know, twentieth and eighteenth and F G. Yeah. It's , uh, Plaza. Oh. Well, I'd, uh, well there's a, there's a Holiday Spa down there on, on K street, I think. Something like that. But, uh, I, I go to the Holiday Spa here in Alexandria and that's pretty good. But, you know, evening time it gets pretty busy. But generally, you know, I can, I can get in and get a program, you know. Right. But, uh, you know, I, I need to, I need to rededicate myself to, uh, to doing this and, uh, I got a problem, uh, you know, ever since my knee went bad, of getting back solidly into it. I mean, I've been doing this for fifteen, twenty years. Yeah. And, you know, and I'm, I know I'm going to get, I know it's going to bite me in the ass and so I, I really don't want to, want to, uh, you know, back off on it. Yeah. It's something, I think, uh, I'm young, I should get started getting into shape. I don't want to, I want, I mean at one point it's going to be too late to do it. . Well, no. When you're young, you, you can abuse your, your, all your systems and you can recover. Yeah. Uh, when you get to be my age and you start abusing your systems, you get blown away. And just wind up having to kiss your ass good-bye, you know. Huh And, uh, and so the object, Okay. The topic is to discuss the, uh, sources where I receive news. Uh-huh. And, uh, for me that's mostly newspaper and radio, I almost never watch television, as a matter of course so, I don't get news from television, except during the war, I watched a lot of C N N because it was so good. Uh-huh. Well, why was C N N the only, of course I think, Saddam Hussein only allowed C N N to broadcast it, is that not true? Um. It was unusual not to have the different sources, you know, of news coverage. Yeah. Um, I don't know. I guess, uh, I don't even know why I watched C N N. I guess, I just wanted more news. It's one of the few times I wanted more news than. Yeah, well, I know even if you watched A B C, N B C or the other, I mean, what's the other one, uh, C B S. C B S. They all were, were tapped into C N N. Were they? Uh-uh. Yeah. That's the only thing they broadcast and like you I listened to radio on my job at work. Uh-huh. And all this week they have been having this, uh, a discussion about that is why, uh, why C N N was well, I listen to a Christian radio station. Uh-huh. And they were saying that C N N is definitely a world, uh, news service and, uh, they, it was, you can't really be sure of the quality of what you've got, you know. Huh. Uh, we had some, uh, some people from our church went to Israel, uh, just for a, uh, tour sort of thing. Uh-huh. And I was watching on TV they, they broadcast this terrible riot supposedly that was going on in Jerusalem, Right. and so it really made me question as to what, how do we know, you know, uh, if the news we're getting is any good. So Yeah, I guess, the news just focuses on major events that probably, don't affect ninety-nine percent of the people who are right there when the news is being made. Yeah. Right, right. But, uh, I, I'm from California and I can remember being in, uh, in these earthquakes and, I mean they were, they were very minor kinds of things from my point of view, and it seemed, you know, from anyone else's point of view, Yeah. but they get all blown up in the news. Um, Uh-huh Well I, I find it depressing to watch our, specially TV, you know, it's just, uh, local news concentrates, on murders and things like that. I'm from Dallas and, uh, we have a lot of bad stuff, uh, it just really gets me depressed, even to watch it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. So then, you wake up one morning and you are in war with somebody you don't even, even know about it. Right. So. Well, what newspapers, uh, do you read in Dallas? Uh, we have the DALLAS TIMES HERALD and the DALLAS MORNING NEWS, but I don't, I don't read newspapers Don't you? Huh-uh. How come? Uh-huh. I find it hard to, uh, follow from one page to another. It's just something I have never developed, uh, an interest in. Huh. And I live in kind of a bad area where if I have the paper delivered it's stolen before I can get out and get it Gosh that's, that sounds pretty bad to me. I mean who would steal a newspaper? You would be surprised. Huh? They just come by and pick them up even if it's just for the TV, you know uh, selections of the day. I see. I don't know. It just wouldn't be there whenever I tried it. Yeah. So, you're right, who would steal a newspaper? in glass sound in But, they do. Yeah. What part of California are you from? Uh, from Los Angeles, but I live in Raleigh, North Carolina, right now, that's where I am speaking to you from. Oh, okay. But, I grew up in L A. I work out here. Huh, you work for T I? No, I don't. I work for North Carolina State University. Huh. But, uh, I know some people at T I, and I have a couple of students who have graduated and gone to work for them. Yeah. So, I'm in the computer business. Well, I, boy, current events is not a good subject for me. Well. I don't keep up with it that often. Let's see, I've, I've, I've never done this before, I mean I've never. This is your first call? This is my first call. Because I just got my password. Oh, really. Yeah. So I don't know, are we suppose to, it seems to me it says you are suppose to talk for three minutes, but I think we've been talking for three minutes and nobody has interrupted. Yeah, well I, I got into a conversation last night with a lady and they interrupt at ten, minutes. I see. So if we've done our three minutes. Let's just let the conversation end and say bye. Uh-huh. Well, all right. Nice talking to you. Nice talking to you too. All right, bye. Bye-bye. You want to start? Well, I guess I would first identify myself as middle aged and therefore, having seen the last generation, I guess it puts me in, you know, gives me a perspective on that. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, I, am quite positive on the things that I have seen happen recently relative to women in, both in society and in the work place, uh, there's no doubt about the fact that when I was first graduated from college the impression was that a woman's career would consist of a childbearing years and perhaps a return to the office, but not necessarily. Uh, now I think the change that I've seen as much as anything is one where couples, uh, are more carefully planning their intention on how to both share homemaking duties and also how women will, uh, have their children and then deliberately sort of plan how they go back to the work place. Uh-huh. And I guess that's a significant change that I've both participated in and noticed. I agree, uh, the equality of, uh, the roles now between the sexes, I guess has been dramatically demonstrated with this war, especially compared with, uh, the Vietnam war and you see women going off to wars as well as men. Uh-huh. Uh, I have wondered why they allowed, or let, you know, both the father and mother go, uh, and the children are left without either parent. Now to me that's kind of a drawback. But, uh, I guess it's a price you pay. And I also wonder about the children that are being brought up in the, uh, uh, day care centers. Wonder about them in what way? Well, uh, from what I understand there's been studies that, uh, these children are, uh, more rebellious. Uh, they term it as more, uh, creative. But, uh, that they, uh, are much more contentious. Uh-huh. So, I, I don't, I, I guess we'll have to see another generation to see what differences a child being brought up, you know, in a, uh, kind of a, uh, community, rather than a home. Uh-huh. I have not, to be honest, had much experience, with children in that situation. Yeah. I, I guess one knows one's own storly and I know, uh, in my children's case it was one where, uh, pretty much up until the older of two was in, uh, let's see, I guess basically starting junior high and the younger was in fifth grade when my wife reentered the work force. Uh-huh. Uh So they, so I guess my experience is, is just with what we did and, and so they didn't really go through the child care route. Yeah. They were able to be home together. Uh, and we never actually experienced that. What, in terms of changes relative to women in the work place and the potential changes over the, the next generation or so, I guess I anticipate, uh, an increasing equality, uh, greater presence of women in management roles Uh-huh, uh-huh. uh, I don't know whether there will be an increased amount of, of surrogacy that we see. I just don't know. What do you mean? Uh, deliberate childbirth by surrogate mother. Oh, yeah. Sort of rent-a-mom, to be, you know, not to be crass about it, but, uh, uh, whether one might conceive, no pun intended, of the possibility that there might be a kind of a deliberate, uh, uh a professional mother, person. For instance, that, Yeah. That's strange. A nanny, sort of? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I could, you know, I could envision a society where that would happen and make an interesting, uh, uh, story or whatever. Yeah. I, I don't think I have a philosophical problem with that. In fact, I think it sort of raises nurturing and being a mother to what it ought to be which is a respected profession. That's right, that's right. Uh, I, I don't have a, other than, than a reading and, and male perspective on, on the on the biological urges involved relative to being a mother or not. Uh, I know that, that my sense is that I have very much an interest and had one in being a parent. I, I don't know that I, uh, felt myself necessarily encumbered with the necessity to have heirs. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't have boys, that doesn't, didn't bother me, never has. Vision more women deliberately raising children either in surrogacy or, or as a professional nanny, nanny as you put it, uh. Yeah. Maybe we'll see a growth in that where someone makes a career out of, say, taking care of five or six children as opposed to day care. Uh-huh, uh-huh. It would be a sort of day care, but it would be more of a family setting. Right. Uh, I know that there are young people, characterized, I guess as being half my age, so that by definition that means, they're young. Uh, that, in my work place, who are both of them earning rather decent professional salaries who probably would consider paying a woman, uh, eight or nine or ten thousand dollars a year to take care of their child, Uh-huh, uh-huh. To come in and live with them? I could easily envision that. Pardon? To come in and live with them? Or to put their child into a into a home setting, where they would, you know, like they, they would get, leave at eight in the morning and, and drop a two year old off in a home where you knew there were going to be four other kids Uh-huh. and, and you were paying for really high quality care. Yeah. Right. Uh, I have acquaintances of mine where I know that they are paying figures on, on the order of what I quoted to someone, because that's what the experience they want and I would imagine if there are more of people like that with an opportunity that, that's a possibility of a change that we could see in the next few years. Uh-huh. And then you might have more control over, uh, the, the morals that they would be taught rather than in like a classroom or a day care center. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I know the day care centers are not cheap either. You know they're, I haven't ever really looked at them. Are you aware at all, of, of what they would, what they cost? Uh, well, no, I just know, I know several single mothers who absolutely can't afford it. They have to go with the, a single, uh, I mean a baby-sitter more, more or less. Uh-huh. But I think it's like, about sixty dollars a week for two children if I'm not mistaken. Uh-huh. And you have to pay that whether you're on vacation, you know, and taking care of the children or if the children are at home, at home, sick. Uh-huh. I mean, that is, you know, just a, a rate that you have to pay and, uh, What, what do you envision for the next twenty years as far as women in American society? Uh, I think, I really don't have a vision That's okay, too. Yeah, I, I, I think that they will be more in the work place because, uh, the door's open. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's just human nature to walk through an open door. So, and I would be glad to see that. I hope I don't see a lot more single moms, but, it seems in my experience I'm running across single women all the time. . I'm, I'm noticing that, too, and, and I notice the, the, a terming emerging called solo parents, that I'm very aware of the number of solo mothers that, that I encounter in the work place, Yeah. and that, that is a little troublesome. Uh, because the pressures on them are, are, rather, rather formidable. Yeah, yeah. It's awful. Yeah Uh, and maybe that's a change we'll see. Maybe, uh, the possibility of, of women, uh, who deliberately say, no, we'll let the man will take care of the children perhaps, in the event of a separation or whatever. Uh-huh. Right. So, Well, I think we've done it Well, I think we're about done. Okay. Thank you very much. Uh, good-bye. It's been interesting. You take care. Okay. Bye. Bye. Okay. So are you a freshwater or, Mostly freshwater, I Freshwater, yeah, I, I used to fish, uh, when I was real young, down in Galveston with my parents, and I never really got into that too much, because you have to get in the boat really to do anything, and I didn't know anybody who had a boat now, so I don't fish too much in saltwater. Uh-huh. Most of my fishing has been in the saltwater. Uh, mostly deep sea fishing for grouper and bottom fish Oh, really, Oh, neat, and, uh, I have caught one or two small sharks Oh, really. and, uh, yes. What'd you do with them? Put them back You didn't get a big kick out of killing them like some people do? No, no, no, I love shark steak, but, uh, the ones I caught were never large enough to really do anything. Do they have a limit on sharks, I mean, is that like a, a sport fish, can you actually catch those and there's no limit. Is there a limit? I have no idea. I know, I, my home is in, uh, Pensacola, Florida Uh-huh. so, it's, they do a lot of shark fishing in that, you know, in the gulf Right. and, um, there's a certain period of time during the year they have all along the gulf coast from, I guess from Galveston to Mayport they have, uh, shark tournaments, and, you know, there's part, either as part of or separate from the, uh, bill fishing tournaments they usually have so, I have not done, uh, much freshwater fishing oh, for, you know, lake, lake fishing for bass and so forth but, uh, maybe some what they call brim and those sorts of things, but nothing, Right. Oh, really. Right. Uh-huh. I think I've been trout fishing once. I've never fly fished. Have you fly fished? Uh, no I haven't. I don't know that I could do that. That looks awful tiring I've tried it once, Did you. yes, uh, a friend of mine Didn't like it? no. I could never get the hang of it. It looks complicated to me. It's a rhythm or something Uh-huh. I usually ended snagging my, uh, fishing partners or the trees along the bank Catching tree bass, right Yes Almost got an owl once. Did you That would have been something. But, uh. So do you, do you fish mainly for trophies or do you, do you eat what you fish. Oh, no, no, no, no. I used, uh, when I was, uh, working in Florida, I used to do a lot of surf fishing mostly for relaxation Uh-huh. Right. you know, there are people who fish, and then there are people who catch. Right. Well, I'm a fisher You just like to sit down and watch it, right. That's right, I've never caught that much, but, uh, Really. Oh, and occasionally we'd go out on a, you know, full day trip, you know, three or four other people and do either, again, bottom fishing or or for grouper Right. Right. or, I used to catch you know, I've caught a few worthwhile snappers, red snappers and gray snappers and so forth. That's nice. What about you, you a, Well, most of my fishing is done at, um, area lakes around here, freshwater lakes Uh-huh. and, um, most of it, I haven't been really in a long time. Last time I went I actually was in Galveston trying to saltwater fish and it just wasn't working with my freshwater tackle. That was real fun. Um, but, um, I went fishing at, I don't know if you've ever heard of, uh, Lake Worth. It's a fairly new lake in Texas. Oh, yes. And, uh, we went fishing there last memorial day, *Memorial Day and I caught my first bass that was actually big enough to keep. I was so excited. And, uh, that's really about it. Mostly just the lakes around here, and I fish to take home and cook I don't, I don't get too much joy out of just sitting and watching. I get a little bit of relaxation from it, but mainly I, um, I want to say I brought something home. I want to say I did this, I was out there for a reason The last time I went, uh, bass fishing, I was with my daughter, a friend of hers, and, well, a friend of mine and his daughter. We, I was the only one who did not catch, a single fish Really. my daughter caught fish, his daughter caught fish, he caught fish. Everybody but you. I did not even, I did not even, I have been, I was out on a party boat a few years ago, and we, we were grouper fishing, or, you know, actually we were, uh, snapper fishing. Everyone on the boat was catching snapper, snappers except guess who. It had to be you. I I, Couldn't catch one to save your life. Huh. That's right, I would go from one side of the boat to the other, and, uh, the, uh, the party boat captain could not understand, you know, he even, even he started baiting my hook and holding, holding the, uh, the fishing rod. How funny, just hoping maybe, he could pull Right, and it was, it was really, really, really bad. Uh, I, as I said, I am a fisher, I'm not a catcher. Right. But, uh, I enjoy it though. I don't really get out as much as I, uh, as I would like too. Yeah. And they do, of course, you know, here in, we're only just a few, not a few minutes, we're, you know, forty five minutes to an hour away from the eastern shore here in Maryland Right. and they do a lot of fishing there. Of course what I used to like to do though is go snorkeling for scallops in some of the bays, or uh, or for oysters. Oh, yeah, That would be fun. And, uh, that I was able to do, when I could go in and go down and actually pick them off the bottom. Right Hand picked That right The weirdest fishing experience I ever had. People to this day are still trying to figure out if I really caught what I think I caught. We were in, uh, Rockport, which is close to Corpus Uh-huh. and we had been fishing in a canal, they had all these canals up through this one little retirement area, and, uh, we'd been fishing in the canals and all we were catching were catfish, and we were pretty bored with that. So, we thought well, maybe there are some crab in here, we'll try to catch some crab. So I got my chicken and all my little net and everything, and something, I had a rock to weight it down, something grabs and just runs with it. And of course there's no hook, so it can't be a fish. Uh-huh. I'm sure it's not a fish, right. And crab, they don't bite like that, they don't just run with your food. So, I netted it, and it was the ugliest fish I've ever seen in my life. It had real teeth, like human teeth, and it looked archaic. I, I had no idea what it was. I called my father long distance just to describe the thing, and it had the rock in its mouth, not the chicken, but the rock itself is what it had grabbed. Um. They say it's a dog fish, from everything I've described, it was brown with these little white dots Uh-huh. and it made a loud, almost a croaking noise like a croaker does Uh-huh. it, it was the strangest thing. Oh, I'll never get over that. To this day I don't want to get in the water, anywhere around salt water because I'm sure one of those fish are there. Well, we used to, I guess the weirdest thing I've ever caught is, uh, in some of the inlets and the rivers around Delaware. Uh-huh. They have a fish that's called an oyster cracker. I don't know if you've ever heard of it I've never heard of that one. and it has a huge strong mouth, and they actually, uh, use their teeth to open oysters. That's where it gets its name, obviously, huh. Uh-huh, and this is the ugliest, fish I have ever seen, and I mean, and they come in all you know, I've, I've caught them from, you know, three or four inches long up to, uh, Uh-huh. I guess the largest one I ever caught was probably eight or ten inches long, but just huge, ugly things just terrible. Huh. Can you eat them? No, no. Ooh. I, I don't think I'd want to even if you could if they're that ugly, but. They just, they just look as though you do not want to do anything with them. That's like this dog fish, it was, it scared me to death. Uh-huh. It was it really, it didn't look like, it looked like it was something out of the dark ages that just never died. Well, the first time I went surf fishing was in , and I threw my line out and the first thing I caught was a sand shark, which was probably a foot, and a half or, uh, two feet long, and scared me to death. Oh. I had never seen anything, and then I was fished for another half hour or forty-five minutes, caught a few white fish and so forth, and then I felt something relatively heavy, and I thought, oh, really, here, I'm really going to get one. And I, Okay, um, let's see. How do you feel about credit cards? Personally, I do not care for them. Uh, although I find them a necessity in business and so forth, I, I try to refrain from their use as much as possible. Um, for a number of reasons, one of which is the, you know, extreme interest rate on most of them. Uh-huh. The one I use, uh, of course, for mostly, only for business purposes is, uh, you know, American Express. Right. And, uh, I'm not I'm not terribly in favor of them. Not for my own personal, uh, point of view. Right. Plus it, uh, has, you know, from an economic point of view it has increased our debt tremendously to the tune of somewhere on the order of five to ten billion, I believe Yeah. Right. Wow. uh, at least that's one number for this range of numbers I have, I have heard. Right. Do you use them frequently or, Well, we, uh, me and my wife, when, when we have like extra money that we know we're going to have, and we can put it in our budget, yeah, we'll, we'll use it. But like last year, I think we paid, I think it was like twenty something cents interest, on our Visa. Uh-huh. And I think this, this year we, uh, I think we used it for Christmas, and we got caught just a few days on our grace period. And, uh, so we'll pay a little interest this year, but maybe two dollars. But we don't like to do that at all. Yes. And, you know, we, I think we feel about the same way you do real strongly. We, uh, we have several credit cards, though. We have a gas card, our Visa, and then, of course, the American Express, and I think we have a couple of department stores. Uh-huh. But, we use it the same way, and, uh, I find the one I use mostly, uh, aside from the American Express, I do use my Sears card. Uh-huh. But, uh, I try, as with the American Express, I try to pay it, you know, as it comes in. Right. Right. So, uh, It's, it's not uncommon for us to have paid it before we even get the bill. That's usually how we do it. I know when I travel, or when I used to travel overseas quite a bit, what I would do on my American Express card is before I would, before I left I would mail a check to, to American Express and, you know, have some idea of how much was there, you know, I'd sent them, you know, several hundred dollars, or whatever I felt I would spend. And then use it then. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, for hotels and, and so forth. But, uh, but I knew that it was paid I knew I knew that I had that much credit, going in. Right. Yeah. Sometimes, you know, sometimes I would go over, but it wouldn't, you know, it wouldn't hit me in a big, in a big way because I knew that, uh, I would have it covered in that respect. Right. Right. That's good. I've, I don't think we've gone that far to pay it in you know, in advance before we spend it, but, I guess if you foresaw that you were going to have to use it, that, like that, that may be good. Well, I found I found in, um, in traveling overseas that, uh, often it would, uh, it would expedite things to have an American Express credit card for hotel bills and so forth. Uh-huh. Oh really. Yeah. Plus I would, uh, when they, uh, would send the bill, they would automatically convert to the exchange rate. Right, right. So, now, the only time that got to be a problem was, if the exchange rate changed drastically. Uh-huh. Uh, for example, I remember on one trip to France when I started planning the trip, I think, uh, a dollar was worth nine or ten Uh-huh. And when I finally got over there, it had fallen, uh, two or three francs to the dollar. So the Wow So, I got caught a little short in that regard, Wow. but, uh uh, I, I was anticipating, you know, my room would cost, uh, let's say Yeah. if it were, say sixty or seventy francs a night that would mean it would be about ten dollars or so, or maybe twenty Right. maybe it would be more than that. It was more than. It would average out to thirty-five or forty dollars a night which is a reasonable rate. Right. Right. But then when I got back and I was working for the government at the time Uh-huh. of course the government was several months behind in, their, on its per diem for exchange rate. Right, yeah. Right. So there's a little consternation, you know, in trying to get them to compensate, for the difference in the exchange rate. Yeah. Right. Yeah especially, That was the only time I really got caught short. And I, But as I said, most, most of all I try not to use them, uh, to any, you know, lavishly, in that regard. Yeah. Yeah, well that's good. Well, from where are you calling? Oh, from the Dallas area. So you're from okay, I'm from Maryland. Oh really. Yeah Wow. Do you work for T I? No. I work for G T E. Well, really. Yes. Um. I wonder how T I got G T E involved. Well, I know Jack Godfrey. Oh, okay. I know him very well. I've known Jack for a long time, and I'm also in the speech business. Oh, okay. So, when I heard that Jack was going to do this, I called him and asked for an application where I could participate in this. Yeah, yeah. And, so that's how I got involved. Yeah. You have a very, um, very, what's the word. Your, your speech is very exact. Oh. Thank you very much But, as Jack said, I'm one of the, the old hands in the speech business. Oh really. Yeah, uh. Yes, I, I've been doing it for twenty some odd years. Wow. And so, uh, I was very much interested, uh, in getting involved in, uh, switchboard. Yeah. So, uh, you work for T I? Right. I work in . Oh, really? Yeah. I guess we're supposed to do this part of it before we started the recording Yeah I think we talked for a good eight minutes about the subject, so, I think you get ten, so I think we're okay. Alright. Okay, fine. Well, you have a good evening. Well, you too. It's been pleasant talking to you. Same here. Take care. Good night. Bye. Well, what would you have at a dinner party? Well, uh, lately, since I have children I've cut down on having dinner parties Uh-huh. but when I do I try to keep it pretty simple on things that I can prepare ahead of time uh, I have one recipe for, uh, a really good, um, type of a meatball. It's called burgundy meatball and it's made with red wine and, Oh, gosh, that sounds great. um It's, it's really good and you can make it ahead of time and then, um, make the sauce when you're ready to, um, to serve it. Uh-huh. That's one of my favorite things to, to serve. Well, um, I think it would probably depend on whether this was a formal or a informal dinner party. Sure. But if it was informal, my first choice would be crawfish. Oh, really. Well, I guess being from that part of the country. Because, I mean, crawfish, everybody over here likes crawfish but you know, I, I wouldn't have to worry about satisfying my guest. Uh-huh. But if it was a formal dinner party I would probably think of something else like, uh, shrimp, shrimp fettucini is real easy to, um, make and everything Yeah. and it's usually well liked by people, I guess, I'm just a seafood fan so, I think on the lines of, Well, how do, make, how do you, you cook crawfish? I, in fact, I just came back from the grocery store and being in Texas we don't have too many, you know, people that, that eat crawfish but they had live crawfish, on sale. Oh, yeah, um, you're not supposed to, I mean, you're not supposed to eat them dead. I mean, well, you eat them dead Uh-huh. but, Don't buy them that way Right. Because if, if they are dead for too long, you can always tell whenever they're cooked if they've been dead for a long time because their tail straightens out. Uh-huh. And you're not supposed to eat those because they're bad for you. Okay. Well, I'll remember that. Yeah, so if you ever go in a restaurant, order crawfish, I mean, every once in a while you'll see I mean, it doesn't happen very often because it's just an accident but if the tail is straight on it then, yeah, don't eat it. Uh-huh. But, um, you just put some Cajun, well, lots of pepper Uh-huh. and you just boil them and they're absolutely wonderful but there's, uh, they're a pain to peel for some people. Once you get used to it they're real easy but, um, you know, if you have nails or anything you can plan on those being shot. Huh. When you were, um, when you serve it do you shell them and then serve em too? I think for a dinner party I, I don't know it depends. Um-hum. Like if, like my age, if there was a bunch of college kids coming over for a dinner party, no, I, they would shell their own, Sure. you know, we'd just have crawfish and beer or something but, um, if it was more formal like if I was, you know, working environment then I would probably, um, shell 'em or at least disconnect them from the head But there's a, There's a, big thing over here that everybody sucks the head. Still have see that. *slash error Ooh *slash error should be 'ba' So, um it, it would just depend. That's the best part of the crawfish. Sucking the head But um I don't know it it just depends on what type it was I guess But you can buy uh the crawfish shells already peeled 'n everything And usually you use those like for frying or to put in salads or to um You know make a sauce with or something like that Um-hum But you can go ahead and buy 'em cooked and shelled and they're more expensive of course but Does it taste a lot like shrimp Um Yeah Uh-huh. Yeah. Just um The crawfish I mean it just has a taste of its own It also depends on who's cooking it and how much seasoning they use stuff like that Sure but um I think that And also to get totally off the subject of crawfish lots of vegetables and hors d'oeuvres and stuff like that for a dinner party I think that that really helps Yeah. We have a a friend another couple where the husband is the one who cooks all the time And That's what I need Yeah that's what I wish I had but in our family I am the one who who cooks And I I really enjoy it it's gotten a little more difficult with kids But I really do enjoy cooking And we um we have them over for dinner back and forth quite a lot Uh-huh And before I had my second child we sort of had a contest going where you know he would cook and then the next time it would be my turn and I'd try to outdo him and then he'd try to outdo me Oh! and we we was really a lot of fun I bet and that that got pretty competitive you know as far as who could come up with the best recipe Yeah it did we we tried to be fancier or more courses than the other That would be fun or Uh it was a lot of fun you know it something unique you know and then we got into different um themes you know um whether it would be ethnic food Or um sometimes it would be um oh Oh I don't know maybe an outdoor theme or uh elegant theme or you know Uh huh It was a lot of fun Sometimes it might be the candlelight and sometimes it might be the picnic out back or something That's right Well that's you know that's fun it was fun and and we threatened to make the other two uh make us dinner one time Uh Just to even it out since we seemed to be unfairly doing all the cooking and they were doing all the enjoying Uh huh That sounds right I would I'd take him up on that I'm It does except that knowing them they would probably do something ridiculous and terrible just just to uh make sure that they didn't have to do it again Uh huh I'd be make hot dogs or some potato chips I that's about how much I can cook You know I'm I'm doing a lot more cooking now than I used to Uh-huh but that's only because my mom just started working so she's tired when she comes home in the afternoon so I try to have things cooked for her but uh um I usually try to stay out of kitchen Oh that's nice I don't know not one of my favorite hobbies It can it can be fun I if you have the time But you know a lot of times it's too much of a rush really be able to enjoy it able to Well um my grandma speaking of those meatballs again she owned every Christmas and and Easter whenever we have at the big get-together over at her house she makes this meat ball sauce and it has I don't know they are just kind of like quarter size meatballs and they are absolutely delicious Uh-huh I don't know what she calls them in I don't I'm sure she puts wine in it because um she cooks everything with alcohol But um I don't know I would I would be interested in getting that recipe for you if you have it around Yeah it's um it's in the other room I don't know if we have enough time for it Oh it's real easy one of the unique things in this it's like a pound of ground beef some bread crumbs um an egg um whatever seasonings you can just light Yeah so salt and pepper Um and chopped up water chestnuts which is something different um Oh that would be wonderful makes them a little bit crunchy you need to chop em up real fine Yeah But um it makes them crunchy and that adds something new to it And then the sauce is just made with um bouillion cubes water burgundy wine and um cornstarch instead of flour Um-hum Oh So it's not a it's not a thick rich type of a sauce it's more of a when you use corn starch in in gravy like you know when you have um Chinese food Um-hum And it gives it a bit of a different consistency Well um how long do you cook the meatballs The meatballs you just um after you form them fry them in a pan until they're uh browned on all all sides Uh huh and then drain off all the grease Uh then what I usually do is I freeze them And then when you're ready to serve them then you cook the sauce and then put the meatballs into the sauce And heat it Oh yeah probably you have to heat it up for a good oh if they're frozen you know it may take a half for them to thaw out But then heat them thoroughly in the sauce itself Let them simmer in the sauce itself Hum and it's real good That sounds great Especially I mean the fact that you can prepare the meatballs so so far in advance Right. I mean like if if you are having a dinner party on Wednesday night you could do it on a weekend And then freeze them Sure That would be great I think I'm going to have to keep that in mind for my future because I hope to have to have lots of dinner parties Cause I like to I mean um Um I'm sure that I'll be involved in a big company and I know that my future husband will be You know He's going to be working for Chevron in Houston Uh-huh. so he's going to be Um You know I'm sure that dinner parties will come in handy Yeah you'll meet friends invite invite the boss over and and friends at work Oh yeah I have to impress the boss and clients cause Um I'm in I'm in public relations in school Uh-huh. so I'm going to have You know my whole job's going to be based on my clients 'n stuff like that so I'm going to have lots of dinner parties Sure. And have to take 'em out to eat Right now I'm taking a class on ettiquesy * Did she really say "ettiquesy"?? and all the little bitty things that I didn't even know Oh really I mean I thought for sure I'd been raised properly but I've been doing a lot of things wrong I didn't know about but um So Is there anything else Well I I think we've covered the subject I got some interesting information about crawfish I was in fact It's good cause I was curious about that today when I saw those for sale Oh yes you need to try em Oh they're wonderful. Oh I will I'm sure my husband will be surprised, 'cause we were talking about them the other day before Okay, so which, uh, what basketball teams are you interested in? Well, I guess I'm a big Laker, L A Laker fan, when it comes to pros. Uh-huh. Uh, the college ranks, um, I guess I really, of course I try to follow my alma mater, that's, uh, B Y U, in Utah. Uh-huh But they don't have much of a team usually. No, they're more of a football team than they are basketball team. Yeah, yeah. You see them in football on T V once in awhile. Yeah. You never see them on a, on nationally basketball. You know, that's true. I don't think I've ever seen them nationally on basketball. They, uh, last year they had a really good team, the year that Danny Aines was there. Uh-huh. That was about five, six years ago by now. Huh. So, they made it to the sweet sixteen, once or twice, in their history, Um. That's not too bad. and that's, and they usually lose in the first round. Uh-huh. How about you? Well, I'm, uh, originally from the Saint Louis area, so the only basketball team, pro anyway, in that part of the country is Chicago. So, I, I do pull for Chicago. Uh-huh. I mean, of course, this year is a good year to be a, a Chicago fan, I guess, because they're doing pretty good. Is it the Bulls you're talking about? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the pro, Um, as far as college teams, uh, I know it's really easy to say, but I've been pulling for, uh, Duke for about four years now so, uh, so, I finally am feeling better about myself as far as college teams. Although, I've, I've really, you know, Is that right? again being from Saint Louis, I pull for Missouri. Uh-huh. Uh, but they're on, uh, probation this year so you can't do much about that. No, no. But, uh, So, did you watch the, uh, final four this year? Oh, yeah. I watched every, uh, I watched all three games of that. Every game? And, uh, I was very pleased with all three games, because Kansas, uh, you know, I was pulling for Kansas on the other side, so it was real nice to have the, the teams that were there. Right, right. Of course, I wasn't really, I mean, I, I, U N L V kind of gave me the impression of being a, uh, uh, oh, I don't know, a macho team, you know, they just didn't seem, they seemed to think they were better than everybody else and, and maybe they were, but, um, I was real happy to see them get knocked off. So, Yeah. I, I watched that game. Uh-huh. and, uh, it was a good game. Oh, yeah. It was a very close game, and hard fought game. And it just, I don't know, it looked like U N L V may have had more, uh, talent, Yeah. but, as far as playing together as a team that day, it didn't, Duke seemed to have them off balance. Uh-huh. And that, uh, they didn't, couldn't, aren't they more of a running gun team ? U N L V, yeah, they, they play the pro style, is, what I've always called it. Right. And, uh, Yeah, fast breaks and things and, yeah, the fast breaks and, and, They shut all that down and made them play half court it seemed and, Right. And, uh, U N L V wasn't used to that. Of course, I've, I knew whenever U N L V went in at half time, see I don't know if they were necessarily behind, but they weren't ahead as much as they normally are. Right. Uh, and, you know, that meant that they had to play a second half and they, they've not had to do that all year and, uh, Right, right. They didn't have, they didn't have to go through some tough games during the year and that, and that, so that's a terrible time to have to deal with that, right in, when it, when it counts so much. That's right. I mean Duke's schedule was, was so much harder than U N L V's that it, uh, it just made them a much tougher team overall, Right. and, uh, that had to help them a lot. I think, I think that, that probably was the difference in that game. Uh-huh. Because it really could have gone either way. Down to the end, you know. So do I take it that you think though that the Lakers will, uh, will win Well, or, I don't know. Probably not. I mean, Portland's pretty good. Um, Since Kareem's retired, they haven't had a center. Yeah. And, uh, they've got Perkins, Yeah. but I don't think he's really been a super star for them. No. Well, he's, uh, I don't, I, he, he to me is not a center, he's more of a, a real tall forward Yeah. Right, right. Uh, So, I think Magic does a, They'll make it, you know, it, it's going to be a war between, uh, between Chicago and, uh, and, uh, uh, Boston Celtics. Oh, yeah. That's going to be a war. That sure is. It, It's going to be a great series. I think that's going to be one of those that's, uh, that's won by the home team, you know, Yeah. whoever has home court advantage is going to win that one I think. One of those two will probably be, um, in there, um, let me see, where does Detroit fit in? Detroit's in that same, uh, that, that same, uh, division. Uh-huh. So, I don't know, those three, uh, Detroit hasn't been having that great a year this year. No, but as I heard, Isaiah came back this week. Uh-huh. So, uh, that might help them. Yeah. They have the, they have the play-off experience, but, Oh, yeah. so does Detroit, I mean, so does Chicago. So all three of them do, with Larry Bird back, uh, Oh, yeah. you can never count the Celtics out when Larry Bird's, starting to click on all cylinders. That's true. Uh-huh. They say he's starting to do, starting to play, He's, yeah but he's been, yeah, but he's been kind of up and down all year. Right. uh, one game and he'll be playing to where everything he throws up goes in and then the next time he'll, you know, he can't seem to hit the side of a barn. Right. So, I don't know, Right. I'm, I'm kind of, I'm not sure about him this year. Last I've heard is that he's starting to peak right now. Uh-huh. Well that's when, you do it. He's, starting to be more consistent, you know, right at the right time of the year. Yeah. Oh, any dark horses I, uh, you know, Well, the dark horses, San Antonio, San Antonio is the dark horse that could, could really flip in there, I think. Yeah that's, Yeah. Well, anybody who has David Robinson, has got to have a chance anyway. Yeah. He's got to be pretty much, you know, I use to say Akimo Lija was the dominant player, you know, when he, Uh-huh. against any team he would dominate, but Robinson's getting up there where , every game, he's just, That's right. I mean, it looks like he's going in for a dunk and they kind of just scoot out of his way or take a step back, you know, Uh-huh. nobody's got enough beef, I guess, to challenge him when he's, when he's driving hard to the hoop. Huh. He's, uh, he's, too bad the Mavericks couldn't get him. That's true. With Roy Tarpley they're in big trouble. Yeah. Well then, he's gone now so, they don't have to worry about that. Yeah, for awhile anyway. Well, I thought he was gone period. I, I didn't read the story, but I, I, read that, uh, I heard he was suspended. Because of his, Well, that might have been what it was, but I, I guess the headlines said something about him, you know, that the Mavericks released him or something, I, maybe I misunderstood what they meant. Um. If they did, they'd still have to pay his contract Well, yeah They may have done it. you never know. It was a lot of money. He was making like, Yeah but, I heard on the radio it was sixty-three thousand and change a month. That's what he was being paid, you know, he wasn't even playing. Yeah. Oh, boy, what a good job he had That's what I think. He ruined his sweet position Yeah Yeah. I'm looking forward to the, the pro play-off, uh, Yeah. It's coming up, isn't it. L A, yeah, San Antonio, who's the other one that's doing so well this year, is that Portland? Portland. Yeah, Portland. Portland. I haven't seen them on much T V that much at all, but all I can do is hear about, boy they have the seeing eye. Uh-huh. What do they have Walter Davis and, They've got two, the two Johnson brothers or they're not brothers, but I mean there's two guys named Johnson on their team that are really good or doing good or something, I forget how that works. But, um, like I said they're doing extremely good right now. Um. Phoenix isn't doing too bad. So, It, it ought to be a real interesting play-off. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think there's any clear pick, you know. Uh-huh. I guess the two teams that you can't count out are the Celtics because of Bird, and the Lakers because of Magic Johnson. Uh-huh. They are two guys that seem to find a way when they, When it's on the line. When it's on the line, they seem to find a way. You know, Uh-huh. uh, so, those are what makes a champion I guess. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Well, it's been nice talking to you. Nice talking to you. All right. Take care. Take care. Bye. Okay. Okay, now when you baby-sit, what age group children do you sit with? Well, gosh all kinds, um, mostly between the ages of two and ten. Uh-huh. Um, last, like a few summers ago I kept two children every day for the entire summer and, I mean, they became like my children I'd think so. And, um, and they live in an apartment complex so we swam a lot and we played on the playground a lot and then we would go to a movie on Thursdays and, um, there was always an activity, you know, they had their favorite T V shows and things like that that we watched and then we took naps and, um, I don't know it, it just seems like there was always something to do. Children are so full of energy. Uh-huh. And, oh, they were, they just, they just keep you going Now was this a one parent or two parent family? Uh, one parent. One parent. Yeah. She's just, How much time did she spend with them? Not much at all I mean, I would get there at eight o'clock in the morning, the children usually weren't awake by then. And she would get home at like five thirty in the afternoon. Uh-huh. And they would have dinner and then it was time for them to go to bed. Uh-huh. Um, now at this particular time the children were two and six. But then I also, I've been baby-sitting this child, uh, for about eight years, he's nine now and, um, you know, I've watched him grow up and he's like a little brother to me. Uh-huh. And it's changed over the, over the years, um, we get along a lot better now that he's older. Uh-huh. And, uh, we do different things now, we used to play ball a lot but now it's, he likes to watch T V and he's into wrestling. And, um, I kept him on Friday night, we went we went to go see a movie and, um, things like that but I feel like, I don't know, when I have children I want to be able to spend a lot of time with them. Yeah, you say your, you go to school? Uh-huh, I go to L S U. And what are you studying? Uh, communications. Well, sounds like your getting a lot of experience in communicating with children Oh, yeah, I mean, I love children. Uh-huh. Um, I don't know, seem, this looks like a typo for 'see,' when I was growing up my Mom stayed at home with me and my brother until we were in junior high. And I don't, it would, I think it was very beneficial to us. Uh-huh. I mean, like in the summer we were always in the library programs reading books and we went skating a lot and, you know, she was just always there for us, but nowadays if there are two parents to a family, the mother works just as hard as the father does, and the children either stay at home and get into trouble or they're stuck in a day care. And I just, I just don't want my children to have to be raised like that. All my friends, they, their parents worked all the time, they got to stay at home by themselves and when I was younger I thought they were lucky because they got to get away with things, like I couldn't ride my bike across the street, but they could because their Mom would never know it. Uh-huh. Yeah. But now I realize that it was better because, um, they have got into a lot of trouble, because of lack of supervision. Uh-huh. Well, that, that certainly can happen now if you, you say you're in communications, Uh-huh. uh, what base of communications would you be most interested in getting in to? Well, I'm majoring in, uh, public relations. Public relations, so, so, you would have a job with a company? Rather than, uh, radio or television or newspapers or, what have you. Yeah. Yes, ma'am. Right. Uh-huh. Yeah, and, uh, then you'd be willing to give up your job to stay home and with, or stay with the children? Well, I would like to, uh, stay at home with my children for at least the first five years. Uh-huh. But what, what I plan to do in the future is, um, go ahead and get my upper education as far as my masters, and work on my doctorate and teach, um, college, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and in that case then I'll be, I'll be at home when my children are at home, but I'd like to stay at home with them until they get in, at least into kindergarten, where they're at school from what, eight to three or something Uh-huh. and then I would be at my school, teaching. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, um, Well, that, that's, uh, is an advantage of being in the education field. I spent thirty-four years in education. Oh, really? Yes, and, so, What grade? oh, I started out with college and then went to high school and then I preferred the high school age level much better than I did the college, because you have a closer relationship with the, uh, students, that, Oh, did you? What did you teach? I taught physical education. Oh, oh, I started out as a P E major, in education. Uh-huh. I wanted to be a P E teacher. Well, I sure did. I, uh, I found that, uh, it was a perfect combination from the standpoint of having vacations off at the same time. Oh, yeah. And, uh, and it worked out fine from that standpoint, uh, plus the fact that, uh, when I left, uh, usually, uh, my husband was seldom home for maybe forty-five minutes or so and then our son, he had to get on the bus, Uh-huh. and he did get on the bus, it was his responsibility and he never ever thought of, uh, not going to school he said, in view of the fact that he was certain I had a hot line to his school. Because, uh, I, uh, Absolutely. well, I, I was in physical education then and I just kept getting pushed into administration, wound up in administration, and so, he thought surely that I, or I would have bought a hot line, to know if he ever skipped school, which, of course, was not the case Oh. and I wouldn't have checked on him. However, uh, there are, there are, points both directions in that, uh, from the standpoint of parents working and not working. Yeah. Uh, I listened to more than one parent say I don't know what this child wants. I'm working two jobs, they each have their own television, they each have their own telephone, they each have their own rooms, they each have this, they each have that. I'd say , but what they don't have is you. That's right. They need some attention. Absolutely. And, uh, I think out because that is the way of getting attention. Well, see whenever my Mom stayed home with us, we did without a lot, I mean, we were, it's hard to make it on one income, That's right. but we did and, and we lived in a trailer for eighteen years. Huh. And, um, you know, we, we only had one car, we only had one telephone, you know, Uh-huh. we didn't get to eat out all the time but I, I feel like that it helped me now because I appreciate the value of the dollar, Right. and, um, I also had the supervision that I needed while I was growing up, and I hope that I can provide that for my child too. And we certainly, uh, we need more of that, we need more parents willing to supervise, though we've had such a breakdown in the family structure, from the standpoint of, of, uh, church and school and everything along the way. Oh, we have. And that I think has contributed much to, uh, the delinquency that works grant and the poor school results that we're having. Uh, that the students', uh, parents have just not really taken enough interest in them from the very very beginning and I think my feeling was that the very best teachers should be in grades one, two, and three. To get the students off to a good start let them have positive, um, uh, experiences, from the lower levels so they want to continue learning and, uh, keep going and not wait until they're, they're in the ninth and tenth grades, Uh-huh. it's too late then, you cannot, reverse that trend at that point. It is. It's way too late, Right. I agree. And, uh, while parents very often will be involved with the school activities when the child's in the elementary school and they get into the high schools so often they seem to drop away at that point. And, that is just as valuable, at that time, as to the rush in the elementary . It is. Because all the peer pressure, it starts in high school Yes, right. and the parent really needs to be there for the child. Right. And, uh, the child needs to take pride in the fact that their parent is doing something. Uh, we were fortunate in view of the fact that my son did play football and I did keep statistics for his team, and, his Dad did take movies of the football team and movies of the basketball team, Oh, great. and we tried to be a part of it but not overshadowing him or making him feel that we had to be there all the time. Yeah. So, I feel that I learned a great deal from my students, uh, with regard to what their biggest complaints were with parents. And a thing such as, uh, one of the biggest complaints I well remember because I spent a lot of time with seniors, uh, was, um, carrying their when I was your age I didn't have this or that, Uh-huh. and I know I never ever said that because I knew that that was one thing that was really irritating to young people. Well, I guess that was good that you were, you were hearing it from other students. Yes, and I had to deal with their problems and I could talk about the kinds of problems which they were bringing that they had just in general aspect and our son would share this and then he would have to make decisions for himself along those same types of, of, uh, lines. So that, I think he benefited from my experiences. Well, um, Does your son work for T I? No. Oh. No, he, uh, works, uh, for a different company. Yeah, in the Dallas area but when he went away to and he was on the lawns from the time he was in the seventh grade and, uh, a small and all the way through college and he held three jobs. Wally was in college * Could this Wally be "while he . . ."? and we didn't even know it. Oh, goodness. He didn't even tell us. Uh, that he had three jobs but when he graduated he had a five thousand dollar bank account and, uh, we had told him that if he ever wanted to go to college he could go, if he got married he was on his own, if he flunked out he was on his own ... Okay, um, yeah, one year public service for everybody. Is that, that was it, right? Right. Uh, who wants to start this one? I don't know, I've been, I've been sitting here thinking, yeah, because it was, you know, took a couple tries before I found somebody. Well, you know, I'm like, I'm not really sure what I think about this. Um, uh, I mean, the first thing is, the uh, if it's going to be mandatory, it's got to be mandatory, I mean, everybody, not just like, you know, poor people and all that, you know. But, you know, senators' sons and all that stuff too. Right, right. I mean, everybody's got to do it. Um, I don't know, it'd probably be, it'd probably be good, I just don't know if, you know, I was eighteen or whatever, I'd want to be stuck doing it for a year or whatever. I'm not sure I want an eighteen year old to make that kind of decision. Uh, I mean, that, that doesn't sound right. Um, I guess I see overall beneficial, if, if we're going from that point of view. Uh-huh. Um. you know, in the past, I don't know, I don't know how old you are, but when I was, uh, in high school, it was the beginning of Vietnam and so forth. And many of my peers were being drafted. Uh-huh. And I could see that many of them had conscientious objections to war or whatever. But I, I felt strongly then that even if they didn't feel like they could kill someone, or go into a military situation, that they could help the country in other ways. Be it cleaning out, uh, lots, in, in their neighborhood or, whatever kind of community or public service might be available. Uh-huh. And I guess I see that as, as not so much a demand but, but a privilege. It's, it's kind of, uh, uh, It's something, It is, uh, it's, it's since we live here and we all benefit, rich, poor or in between, uh, there are benefits even for those who have it the hardest. I just see that as maybe a good idea. I wouldn't mind doing it at forty-four. Uh-huh. Uh, and I find ways to, to turn some of that back to, to others. Uh, and I, I guess I, I can't see that as being something to really object to. Well, I guess it would still depend on how, I mean, if, if you're talking about if you're talking about something that's like a full time, you know, one year full time, you know, this is what you do, you know. You're going to go and, and fill pot holes and, you know, and, you know, all that stuff. I mean, I, you know, I don't know I could see a, a full, a a gamut of different kinds of opportunities. Things that need to be done, that that could be done in an hour or two, uh, a day, or several hours of the week. Like a half of a day on Saturday or something like that. In addition to what one does, uh, besides that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, I can't, imagine what kind of, uh, uh, bureaucracies we'd get into and expense having it be full time, oh, you're going to go to this camp and you're going to, you know, like, um, back in the Depression, the C C C, Yeah. it was needed, it gave some folks some jobs, and we got some great public works out of it. But, um, I don't see that as being necessary now. I can see it being done, uh, on a regular schedule. Uh-huh. Uh, everybody has to put in so many hours of, uh, public service in a given time, perhaps. Uh-huh. Uh, I, I guess I see all of us benefiting, and I, I don't see it just relegated to the young. But I see, I, I see so much going on that, that's bad. And this would give them a chance to have some positive self-esteem. Uh-huh. Something that they turn, back. Well, and also, you know, you, you feel more like, you know, you're actually part of the community if you've done something, in it. That's right. You take pride in that, and, and get some, some positive feedback from those who benefit, besides yourself. Uh-huh. And I, I see it being most beneficial if it's in the neighborhood where or, or at least the area where the person lives. Uh, definitely. It might not be the same neighborhood, but the same city or county, because then you're, you're coming in contact with it. It's not as meaningful for me to go to Minnesota and do something up there that I'll never be able to see again, unless I happen to go on vacation, up there. Right. Yeah. It's, it almost needs to be something that has more impact for the individual, on going. Yeah. But as far as putting that into work, I don't want to, I don't want to deal with the, with the heartache of, first of all, getting it started and figuring out how to do the logistics, of it. Oh, that would, be a nightmare. And just, I mean, just getting, getting it going. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, see a lot of things like, uh, scouting, uh, Boys Clubs, Girls Clubs, things like that, that kind of get into that citizenship, uh, the uh, looking after the environment sort of thing Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I guess, I don't see, uh, this being that different. But even more beneficial because it would be something that everybody participated in, and would take a turn in. Uh-huh. Uh-huh Yeah. Do you have kids? no, not yet In about six months we will Oh, well good. you'll have a little time think about that. I guess, I, I have, uh, when I was teaching school I saw many, so many kids that were at loose ends and that didn't really have a purpose. And I can see, you know, some, some really significant things coming out of it. Uh-huh. I know you've got to get past that, that grudge attitude that many have, but that's, uh, that would be a part of selling it to the community. uh, parish or however the state was divided up. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, I may, well I don't know, around here we have a number of community projects that folks just volunteer for. Boy Scout troops or church groups or civic clubs will, uh, police a, uh a couple of miles of the highway and and I, I've seen it in other states too. Yeah. They have, that here. Um, I don't know, um, they've got, um, in most of the states around here I think, uh. You know, down in North Carolina, there was a big controversy for a while, because they, uh, the local chapter of the K K K wanted to, uh, uh, to participate in it and, uh, and there were those that said, No, you can't do that, I'm sure. Well, uh, it was, it was interesting because that's an interesting question, you know. Yeah. Should these people be allowed to or not? I think they finally decided not to because they figured that stretch of highway was going to get trashed Oh. And I hadn't even thought about that, uh, the, the other end of that. That, that's an interesting, uh, situation. I hadn't thought of that. We had visited relatives in Virginia, not too long ago, and I thought I had seen, when we were traveling around the state, some similar signs up that indicated that certain sections were being policed and cleaned up and, Yeah. I think Virginia's got it and I know Maryland does, and we just, we went to Indianapolis last weekend, and back. And, um, I'm pretty sure I saw, yeah, stuff in Ohio and Indiana about it and Pennsylvania, maybe Pennsylvania, I don't remember for sure now. And I don't know about your part of the country, but, uh, down here in the last, oh, year plus, I, it was beginning with last year's Earth Day There's just been more of a turn toward uh, environmental concerns, Uh-huh. and I work for Texas Instruments. Uh-huh. And they, they've started some recycling campaigns that a year before that had been turned down because they said, Well, it's not feasible, Uh-huh. it's not a good idea. And, I see that as being, I, I see that as being a, a, a change, uh, for the positive. Kind of along the same line as, as, as the mandatory thing. Yeah. And but then they lost, too much business It's just, thing, a part of everyone's consciousness. Uh-huh. Well, the thing about that is though, it's got a, I mean because it was, I mean it was big, you remember, like in the early seventies and all that. And, you know, and then it kind of just went out of vogue. And I, I'm worried that it, it might, you know, it'll, it, the same thing will happen. It's like, you know, environmentalism was really big for a couple of years and then people like, well, you know, I'd ruther, rather spend, you know, fifty cents less on, uh, on, on such and such, you know, and even if it's not environmentally safe, who cares, you know. I'm sure the pendulum will swing the other way. Uh, there have been too many other things that it's done that for, just in my life. And if you look at history at all, you see that, you know, uh, we go from one side to the other on just about any subject, that you, one might care to bring up. Yeah. But, it is comforting to me to see, uh, more concern about some of these things that, that cost us money. Especially when we have dwindling, uh, resources such as oil that's burning out of control in the Persian Gulf, and, and so forth. Just, just every little bit does, it makes me feel better. It, it makes me feel like, well, there may be something left for my children, my nieces and nephews and so forth. Well, yeah, uh. Well, uh, wouldn't, it's just probably a good thing that the oil's burning and may, may, make some people realize that hey, you know, this stuff runs out. That's, that's right, because, Of course, that's probably blasphemy for you to say, uh, coming from where you are in Texas. Uh, no, no, because if, we, what was it, seventy-four when we had the, the last last oil crisis? And, uh, we started getting smart and, and we were looking all these alternative sources of the energy and so forth. Uh-huh. And as soon as the oil prices came back down, we, the pendulum swang the other way. Right. And we need those reminders. Yeah. Uh, or we'll suddenly be in the dark and say, Oh, my goodness, now we don't have the ability to go on to some new technology. Right. Well, my dad's in the, in the solar energy business, so, uh, You know, we're acutely aware of a lot of this. Ah! But, you know, on the other hand, he voted for George Bush, so um, you know, I, I wonder sometimes if he knows what he's doing. Well, I you know, just about anybody you could name, whether I voted for them or not, uh, makes, um, uh, decisions that I just can't go along with. Uh-huh. But that's why they're there and not me. I don't want the, I don't want the stress. Yeah. Well, the, the thing with Bush ... Okay, uh, I was just trying to think about how I, how I dress for work, you know, T I is a very casual atmosphere. Uh-huh. And, uh, what I usually do on the weekend is, is lay out five outfits and, uh, on Monday I, I wear the, the worst looking one Because it doesn't seem like people are really, you know, are that alive on Monday, you know, so. Yeah. And then progressively through the week, I'll, I'll wear nicer looking things and then on Friday most everybody wears jeans, jeans and sweatshirts, or, you know, jeans and blouses or something like that. Uh, but mostly what I wear are skirts and blouses or, you know, skirts and, uh, pullover sweaters or, uh, you know, little two piece dress suit, suits like, but. Yeah, uh, you know, that's a good way to approach it. I've never thought about, um, I do plan my clothes a week in advance. Actually, I plan them a month in advance. I usually do a month at a time, so I don't repeat an outfit. Uh-huh. But, um, I've never thought about wearing your worst outfit on Monday, because really no one's paying attention. But anyway, um, I really, I don't work outside of school. Um, I work in the computer lab at school so I can just wear whatever I have on for school, an, and, um, and really it's, I try to dress presentable but very comfortable. Right. Like, um, in the warm weather it's always shorts and a t-shirt or a button up or something like that and then in the winter time it's jeans or, or pants. I usually, uh, you know, college is so casual, you really don't want to dress up unless you, you, uh, have a job and you have to be there right after school or something like that, so. Right. Like where I work, it's, it's pretty casual, uh, it's, it's, I guess it's more like a, a college campus also, I mean there's you know, hundreds of people work for T I. Yeah. And, uh, a lot of people just, just wear jeans and, and, uh, sweats all the time and they dress up like when customers are coming in, or, uh, when we have department meetings or something like that. And, uh, you know, a lot of people like those that work in the legal department for their, the real, uh, higher ups, like the the, the T I lawyers, and, uh, those that work for the, the higher executives, those secretaries. They, uh, they really dress up all the time. Uh-huh. Oh. So there's a good combination in the hallways all the time, you know Well that's good that they're so casual. Yeah. I mean, uh, my brother works for T I and he's a computer programmer, or computer engineer. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, you know, whenever he was going to school, he was expecting to having to wear, uh, a tie or a dress shirt everyday. But, uh, he goes to work in his blue jeans, t-shirt, and tennis shoes, Uh-huh. and he just loves it. And that's very acceptable at T I. Yeah. I believe at I B M they, they make you wear a blue suit and, uh, some kind of colored shirt and a tie. That's what I've heard. Uh-huh, I I would hate to be in that atmosphere. But, uh, I mean, they, they just moved into the new building, he calls it the new building. I don't know, it's where all the executives are. Uh-huh. And, um, and so they were, they were going to try to take their blue jean code with them and trying to get all the, all the upper level to start wearing blue jeans. But, he just left for Italy today at four, Oh. and he'll be over there until July first setting up some kind of computers for them. I see. Over in T, I mean for T I but over in Italy. Yeah, oh, T I is everywhere. Oh, yeah, he was so excited about going. Uh-huh. But, uh, he didn't carry any ties or anything because he, he just went over there with the that attitude, well if I don't take it then they won't make me wear it That's true, that's a good idea. Because, uh, he just, he didn't, you know, he's not really into all that. He would wear it if he had to for his job and all but, you know, if he had the preference, I mean his, his preference is, um, blue jeans and a t-shirt, so. Uh-huh. But I think that's great about T I, and also, uh, to get off the clothing, the smokers, you know, how they have the, the different designated areas for smokers and stuff. The, no, Right. I think that's great. Yeah, and if you happen to go into one of areas that is a smoke, smoke area and you don't smoke, you almost strangle. Oh, really. Do you smoke? So much smoke in the air. Yeah, areas, the smoking area, you know, it's closed in, Uh-huh. and if you if you don't smoke and you go in there, everybody that goes in there smokes so it's full of smoke when, when you go in there. I used to smoke a long time ago. I think that's, um, I used to burn my clothes, talking about getting back to clothes I used to burn my clothes with cigarettes. That's one of the reason that I stopped Well, um, you mentioned your daughter had graduated from college. Well when she was in high school did she always have to have all the new fashions and, uh? Yeah, she always had, uh, yeah, she always had to have a lot of clothes. See that's how, that's how I am but my mamma was not raised like that and so, No, I, I wasn't either, she, my daughter, she's real good at finding sales though, you know. Oh, me to, boy I have to, hunt them down she'll buy a lot of, yeah, she'll buy a lot clothes, at the end of seasons, you know, and, uh, just have them for the next year. Uh-huh. And she, you know, she finds all the outlets and all the discount places and, uh, buys clothes. Uh, you know, when they were coming up, I, I didn't sew, but now I've, I've learned how to sew, so I'm, well I'm, I'm still learning how, but I'm and I'm getting much better at it and I, I'm going to be able to make my own clothes. That's great. I wanted to take a sewing class at school but I just haven't fit it into my schedule yet, but that, I mean, that can really benefit. Right. Um, that's something that I'd be very interested in, very interested in learning. Right, because clothes are are really expensive. You know, Uh, they're outrageous! uh, uh, a little simple shell, shell blouse, you know, that you can make for about, say ten dollars at, you know, at, at the most out of a decent fabric, boy, runs you like twenty something dollars in the store. Uh-huh. Yeah it's, it's marked up. Just a little shell to go under a suit, you know. It is, it is really outrageous but, uh, I mean like whenever I, I was growing up and all, my mom, I never understood this then, but I do now, but she never would buy me like the new designer jeans that had come out that were thirty dollars, or, um, or she wouldn't buy me the fifty dollar tennis shoes and stuff like that Uh-huh. and she always told me it was because I was still growing and she wasn't going to buy me something I was going to grow out of next week. Right, especially to pay that kind of money for it. Yeah. I have a friend who, uh, she had a, she had a a little boy and, uh, she used to dress him out of Neiman Marcus. I mean, she dressed him, uh, fabulously. Oh no And then, seems like every time she turned around he was outgrowing stuff. Uh-huh. And she finally learned that you just can not do this, you know. *can not cannot So now she finds the basement sales and, just like, you know, everybody else. That's the best way to shop. I mean, I always thought my mom was being mean to me but I look back at it now and my child is going to, I mean, I'm going to raise mine the same way. Right. Um, I don't know, I just, they're just so outrageously priced, it's just incredible. Yes, and you, I try to, uh, always catch the sales. Right. Always And, yeah, and you just have to keep buying them, you know. If you, if you, if you're not buying the most expensive clothes out there the, the quality is really not that great, you know, for the price that you pay. Yeah, it, it depends on, um, yeah, there's, there's always a reason why they're on sale Right. So that, that has a lot to do with it. Right. But, um, well, Like I bought, I bought the most beautiful uh, sweater from, uh, I believe it was Ross Dress For Less Uh. And it it was really pretty, it was just, you know, it was just plain, a plain, uh, you know, round, uh, necked, uh, sweater. Uh-huh. And it had, like, it was embellished around the, the top, you know, it had, uh, leather, leather designs and, um, some other, other little things on it and I just thought it was so pretty and I I got it at a real good price, I think maybe it was nine ninety-nine or something. Oh, that's great. And it was so pretty, and after I wore it a couple of times I realized why, why it was, it was so cheap. Uh, oh. There was, in the middle of the back of it, there was, it's like there, it had been slit and they had like just sewed it back together, right in the middle of the back, you know, Oh, no. wasn't a seam or anything, you know. Uh-huh And that's why it was so cheap, although, it's not, it's not really noticeable, like she was moving the uh, from the outside, but, but still, it's, you know, it's really not, not, not a good quality. And then I was told by somebody that works for J C Penney's that, uh, Ross, Ross is just one of those places that sell, sells seconds. The defect. Yeah, yeah, um, they don't really buy the first quality, they buy the second. And, uh, places like J C Penney's that they'll reject the seconds, they'll send them back every time. Uh-huh. But places like Ross Dress For Less and, uh, T J Max. T J Max does that, Uh-huh. yeah we have a T J Max over here and, um, Okay, what do you think about it? Well, uh, the roles have definitely changed in the last generation or so. Oh, yeah. Um, I think a lot of it has to do with women working. Uh-huh, yeah, I do too. I think it's going to, in, like in the future, I think all women are going to work. Yeah. I mean, they may let you off for a day or two to have your baby, but that will be it, Yeah. or either they'll have a computer at home and in the hospital where you can just, you know, just continue right on with your work. yeah. I mean, it really is coming to that because most women now days cannot afford the time that they could take off unless the company pays them. Right, right. They can't even afford to take off, you know, to have children it seems like. And it, and it seems, if you're going to have kids, uh, that you are, you know, society has decided for you how many you can really have and make it. Yeah. And, uh, because if you have, you know, two, well, if you go to work, you're, just working to pay for day care, two or three, you know, um. Right. Now, I was real lucky because my husband had a good enough job where when my kids were, you know, when I had them and when they were small, until they got in junior high school, my youngest got in junior high, I didn't have to work. Uh-huh. Oh, that is good. I mean I didn't work, I, I needed to but I didn't. Yeah, Steve's, Steve has a sister who has four. She just had her fourth one in, uh, March and she doesn't have to work either. I don't know how they do it. I I don't know how people do it with one, you know, um Let me tell you, you go without a lot of things that you you know. yeah, obviously we don't have any and, and I don't, I think that's part of the role reversal, is it's okay to get married and not have kids. Oh yeah. And I think for society for such a long time said, well, you know, you're married, now you need to have, have your family and I don't think it's been until recently that, that they had decided that two people was a family. Right, right. You know and, Well it's getting where you can't hardly afford, if you're going to give your kids any kind of education and stuff you can't hardly afford to have over two. Right. And I mean it's hard with two, now, we, uh, my youngest one, I have two, I have a son and a daughter, and my youngest one is going to be graduating from college soon, Oh! and if I had a third one, I just don't know where it would come from. Yeah. Because I work now, I work full time and, uh, you know, it, when you put them through college it just takes just about everything you got. Yeah. They get loans and grants and scholarships and stuff like that, that helps out, but still, it cost a lot. Oh, yeah, I mean, just the, you know, the cost of living and loans don't pay for groceries and stuff. Right, and cars and all their books, and the books are outrageous. I mean, absolutely outrageous, Oh, I know, I know. and they're getting worse. Uh, my daughter brought home a book the other day that she was going to have to have for her, one of her next classes and it was like ninety-six dollars. Gee And this book is a little bitty skinny book. Yeah. I said my goodness, what is it, lined in gold, you know, uh. Yeah. But it is, it's getting worse, and, if I'd of probably had three or four children, I don't see how we could have made it, you know, without me working. But that's, that's probably because, you know, if you had three, you, you know, would say, if I'd of had four. I guess it's always not, not being able to picture one more, but in essence you probably would have worked out fine. Right, but I think I would have had to work. Yeah. If I'd of had that many, I'd of had to work in order for my kids to, you know, even though he brings in a real good living and everything, in order for me to keep up, I would have had to work. Yeah. But I think it's getting more and more like, when you have one child now, that's it, you know, then you go to work and you work, Yeah. because if you have two or three kids, by the, way the inflation's going I think a woman's always going to have to work and it's just going to be an accepted thing. There isn't going to be any of this, you know, very few people will ever stay home. Yeah, and, and that's all right with me, because I don't want to stay home Yeah. you know, I think I'm just part of the new stuff, that is just, I don't know, I think I would just go nuts sitting at home all day long. Well you know, I can't imagine how I did, because now I work all the time, Yeah. and, um, well I work all week, and, um, I can't imagine how I stayed home. Yeah. You know, I think to myself, what did I do. And I think it just, it revolutionized an, where a woman thinks that a way, you know, just like, now my daughter, there's no way that she can imagine herself married at the age that she's at now To her everything is, you've got to go through college, you've got to get a job, you know. And then when everything's set up, then you look for somebody that you want to spend the rest of your life with, but. I mean it is so far down the road, Right. where, now when I graduated high school, the thing, That's, you did, that's what you did. Uh. uh-huh, and then you got married and then you had a family. I mean that's just the way it was, you know. Yeah And, uh, that's like when my I know when my mother's age it was always the kids and the family and everything had to come first and the woman stayed home and took care of them, an. I, uh, I, I like the way it is. Yeah. It's, uh, being, see, we're from Houston and so it's not so hard for people, you know, you've been married three or so years and you don't have kids, well it's okay, nobody does. But you come to a place like Belton, and a lot of the kids here get married out of high school. Uh-huh. It's real small town, and and a lot of people in our we're the only couple in our Sunday School class, except for one other couple, who are in their forties, and they can't have children, who don't have children. And they can't imagine why we would want to have children. * I think the word might be "wouldn't", otherwise it doesn't make sense. And, I'm going well, you know, there's more to life, you know, there's life in there that's, you know, not everybody has to have kids, and, I'd rather spend the time with my husband than, you know, spending time, here, it's your turn, you know. Yeah, but, you know, that, now even whenever I was coming up and everything and we got married right out of high school, well a year after I got out of high school Uh-huh. and, uh, I didn't have kids for four and a half years but that was because I wanted to work and I wasn't ready for kids. Yeah, I think that's what it is, I'm not either. And, everybody thought, oh, my gosh, what is the matter with her, you know. They're probably going, oh, I bet she can't get pregnant Right, I mean they thought that it was terrible, you know, and then when I'd tell them, you know, well I'm just not ready for children yet, oh, but that, you know, you better, you better just get ready now. Yeah. Well you don't just get ready. But I was kind of odd because as a general rule the people that married during my time, they had kids within a year. Yeah. And I just was not ready for kids. I wanted to get out and work a little bit and I wanted to travel and stuff like that, which we did. And, uh, kids didn't fit in right then, but, it's getting more and more like that where there's more and more couples and, really, if you don't want the kids, then it's not the time to have, I don't care what anybody tells you. Right. And I think that more and more the attitude's getting that a way. Because that's like my daughter now, she says that, you know, maybe when she's thirty she might want a child then. Yeah. And, uh, even though I'd like to have grandchildren, I can see her point. Yeah, Steve's mom finally, uh, finally you know, said that, that God will take care of us when it's our time. Right. She finally admitted, you know, she finally told me it's okay if you don't, but it took every nerve in her body to say that because she's from a very, very old fashioned family. Uh-huh. And, she stayed home and raised her kids and, and she expected all of her kids to do that too, and their wives and to be the, the housewife and have dinner ready by five and, and, you know, be there at every beck and call and, I was raised totally opposite How we got together, I don't know, but. Because my mother had six girls, and, you know, she worked too. Yeah. And, I guess I just and I saw how life was when she stayed home and it was rough, it was hard, and, uh. Yeah, and it really is, I know, just like now, you know, there's, there's so much more now. All my income goes for things like luxuries, I mean, it really does. Accept for what we give to my daughter, to, you know, put her through college and stuff. * Spellingusage: "Accept" should be "Except" Uh-huh. But the rest of it we just buy things like boats, or we go on trips, or, you know, just the more or less like entertainment stuff, Right. but. Yeah, I think you've, you've earned that though. Yeah, I feel like I have, you know, because well, we're just a age now, I'm not old but, I'm older. Uh-huh. And, uh, I got to stay home with my kids, which I really wanted to do, but now I could not go back and do it. Yeah. And I mean, I did stuff but, to me it feels like I must have done nothing. Right. And I think it's just the new way that people are thinking. Yeah, I think so. But, uh, I think it would be neat if, if they could incorporate into small and large businesses both a built in day cares where the children were there in the facility but not necessarily right there with you. Well you know more and more of them are, I don't know if it is up there where you are but where I am, the, just like all the hospitals, they're getting day care. Uh-huh. Are they? But the reason they had to do this was because so many people, you know, so many women could not afford, like you said if you had four kids, or even if you had two kids, you would be paying all your salary to pay for those two kids to go. Right. So, uh, more and more of our hospitals, especially, over here are getting them and then some of the bigger companies, but it's mainly the hospitals. Yeah, I don't know if the T I in Dallas does or not. I know, I know nobody around here does, it, we're, it's too small around here. Oh really. Yeah. All right. Okay. Well, I can go ahead and start and tell you mine and, Okay. We're from San Antonio and that's where I grew up, Oh, So I was used to the heat, out here right now, Yeah. Gosh, it gets to about seventies, high seventies and it gets very cold at night. Uh-huh. And Monterey it's, um, right on the coast. And, I don't know if your familiar with California coastline, *your you're but we're we're about two hours, about a two hour drive south of San Francisco, Oh, okay. And it's, uh, really nice. It's a big area for people to come from the different, uh, countries, mostly like Japan, Germany and England. And they usually go to Carmel and vacation on the beaches, so it's, it's pretty nice, uh, year round. But, uh, cool, always cool in the evenings. And warm, warm in the Summer, but it's stays pretty cold even, uh, during the Winter, for as nice as it is. Uh-huh. And, um, we usually get a fog. Uh, right about, I guess, about four o'clock and it kind of rolls in over the coast. And, uh, then it usually breaks back off again the next morning. And if you go just a little bit ways in, I'd say about a fifteen minute drive in towards Salinas, uh, the weather completely changes Uh-huh. and it gets very hot and dry and the fog never makes it that far. Uh-huh. But along here it's, uh, very very different from the Texas type weather. What's it like down there? Well, right now we're we're having the little bit of Spring that we have. Oh, really, well at least you've got some We don't have many seasons here. It goes from Winter to Summer, usually. Uh-huh. Spring usually consists of a lot of rain. Especially thunderstorms. We've got, we had one of those blow through tonight. Oh, well, that's good. And I think we got the same thing in the forecast for the next two or three days. Uh-huh. So. Have y'all been having any heat waves or like the ninety degree, It's gotten up to, uh, ninety a couple of times. Uh-huh. But, basically, it's been in the low seventies and eighties. Uh-huh. Women, that's good. For this time of year. Yeah. It's not really been too bad. Uh-huh. Usually it sneaks on into the nineties a little earlier. Uh-huh. So do y'all have many bluebonnets and stuff this year? Yeah, quite a bit. Oh, Uh-huh. Well, the season is just about over for that, uh, in fact we drove down to Corpus last week Uh-huh. and, uh, there were still some paint brushes and bluebonnets down along the way. Oh, I miss that drove through San Antonio and I spoke to somebody else this morning from San Antonio and were, they had, and we came back. What day was that, Sunday evening, and they had a big rainstorm come through there, part of the same thing we're getting now, I guess. Oh. Oh, well that's real nice because I can remember two years ago that in about February the hundred degree weather started in San Antonio and just continued. At least y'all are getting some rain up in Dallas. I'm glad to hear that Yeah. That's the second or third year in a row that we've had a real rainy Spring. Uh-huh. We had a pretty rainy Fall last year, as well. Y'all weren't getting any of the strings of the tornadoes and stuff were you? Um, we've had a few down here, but not anything like Kansas. Uh-huh. But this is the season for that. Oh, gosh. They do, they do pop up occasionally, around here. Uh-huh. Oh Yeah. I really don't miss all the heat there. Yeah. I'm getting acclimated to have the cool evenings so we get a bit of a relief. Yeah. I'm from here originally, so when it's July and August, I'm pretty well used to the, hundred degree temperatures. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah The biggest problem with, with the weather and the rain in this area is the soil. It's that black clay soil. Oh. Is that what Dallas is, okay. Yeah. You know, it's not sandy like most of the state is, so it doesn't absorb the water real well. Uh-huh. You know, once it rains a little bit, it's, it's filled up and everything else just runs off, Uh-huh. you know. Yeah. San Antonio has that same problem when the rains come. It's, it's a complete mess, everything floods, all the under passes. Yeah. I didn't realize that Dallas had that same problem. Yeah. We have it, especially as rainy as it's been in the last couple of years. And there's a section in South Dallas that's had a whole lot of flooding problems because of the rain. Uh-huh. Well, we could use some rain up here. We're like in the bottom of the fourth year of drought, up here Really. and they had a pretty good early Spring and we got quite a bit of rain, but it wasn't enough to offset what they lost over the last four years. Uh-huh. And, uh, so they're still talking water rationing this Summer, so it would seem strange because in San Antonio, we had lived out, um, west of San Antonio, in Castroville, Uh-huh. And the water in Medina Lake and that area was really going down, that they were considering that they might have to do water rationing and I thought oh, gee I'm so glad to get out of there and get up here to the California Pacific coast where it rains and everything has flowers and there's no problem with water. And then I came here and found out they were in the, you know, four year draught Uh-huh. So I said, well, gee, this is pretty much like Texas. And it pretty much is in the middle of Summer. They have rolling hills around here but, um, they turn to golden dead grass, for the majority of the Summer just because there is no water to keep them green. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. But, um, it's a really nice area. It's just, it's just such a change from, uh, Texas because I had grown up with, uh, the heat, Uh-huh. and used to essentially, like you said, you have the cold Winter and then you have the hot Summer Spring Uh-huh. And, uh, to come here, it's kind of the temperate weather all year round. It's kind of like, uh, Spring, I guess, if you, year round, except, and then in the Winter and then it seems sort of like a San Antonio early Winter or Fall, year-round. Uh-huh. So it seems like we only have two Springs which is, or two seasons and that would be Spring and Fall. Yeah. We never really get any of the other ones. Uh-huh. But it's a really nice, uh, change of pace. I guess I'd prefer that Yeah. To the heat. I really don't miss the heat. Yeah. Um, we do a lot of, you know, when you do a lot of outside, like running and stuff, it's just so much easier, up here Uh-huh. and you don't have to worry about the high humidity. Yeah. Does Dallas get high humidity? Or is it pretty dry. It's pretty dry. We get some when it's this rainy, but it's nothing like, I guess, San Antonio Summers, it's nothing like Houston. Uh-huh. or East Texas, is a little more humid. Yeah. It seems like San Antonio is increasing in humidity over the years, because I had lived in San Antonio for about twenty years, Uh-huh. and it just seemed like every year it just got more and more humid, more and more humid And here it's, uh, well it's right by the ocean, Uh-huh. but, um, it's not the same as Corpus. Corpus, you get that humid salty feeling in the air. Uh-huh. But here, um, well the water is extremely cold, up here, you can lay on the beach all you want, but if you want to go wind suffering or diving or swimming, you have to wear a wet suit. And a thick wet suit at that, because it's just extremely cold Uh-huh. and I, for some reason, because of the cold, uh, ocean, uh, water, the air is always cool. It's never humid or sticky or salty feeling, so I really like that about this area. And, uh, we just hadn't expected it, we were used to, what, uh, gulf coast weather was like, when we came here to Pacific coast weather. Yeah. It's just completely different and it's much nicer. Yeah. Probably the Pacific breezes make a lot of difference, Uh-huh. It does and the air doesn't feel anything like it does along the gulf coast region. But you, um, but we like it so it's a nice change. So we'll be here a couple of years and we thought well, we'll take advantage of it and see what all the Pacific coast is like. That's nice. So it's been good. Well, my wife's originally from Virginia and we lived there for about nine months and that was a real change for me. Oh, I imagine. Virginia, I imagine, gets real humid, doesn't it? Um, parts do. We, we're over in the western edge in the mountains. Oh. And, they have, of course, some pretty severe storms, Winter storms, snow and that type of thing. Uh-huh. But they're so good about clearing the roads, that, you know, it doesn't usually bother you very much. Uh-huh. Yeah Not like Texas where everything comes to a stand still. Yeah. Their Springs and Summers are pretty mild, too. It never gets real, real hot. Uh-huh. I'll have to try that out because I had heard that North Carolina was sort of like that. Uh-huh. And, uh, I've just never really been in that region of the country and I guess I'm going to have to try that area sometime and see what it's like. Because a lot of people that are from that North Carolina region really like it. And, uh, they get the snow, but they said it doesn't really get messy and it doesn't really hang around that long. Yeah. So, they, the people I know that are from there, uh, they always miss it and they want to go back Nothing seems quite as good. But, anyway. Well, Well, as we were talking the weather came on and there's a flash flood watch and, more rain for the next three or four days. Oh, gee-whiz. Oh, gosh. Well, I hope it moves up this way, but I'm sure it won't Yeah. Maybe we can send you some Yeah. Because we could sure use it. Well, you think that takes care of the time and, I think that will do it. Okay. Well, I sure appreciate hearing how things are going in Texas and, uh, Well, I enjoyed talking with you Lisa, Yeah. Good luck to you. Uh-huh. You, too. Okay. We'll see you. Bye. Bye. Well, what movies have you seen recently, Valerie? Let's see, the last one we saw was THELMA AND LOUISE. Oh, we haven't seen that one yet. Well, don't bother Oh, it wasn't that good. Well, oh, from a woman's point of view and it was very, uh, chauvinistic as far as women go. Uh, it was, it was entertaining, but, yeah, I don't think the general audience would, would go for it. The most recent one that, uh, my wife and I have seen was the CITY SLICKER. How was that? That was excellent. It was just a really, a really funny movie. That is one I've been dying to see. At the same time, it had a story line about people trying to find themselves. There were parts that were sad. I mean, it just ran the gamut of emotion. Uh-huh, uh-huh, and, And, but it was just all around entertaining. How long did that movie run? Uh, it's still on, to the best of my knowledge. But, I mean, time wise, how long, was it two hour Oh. or, Uh, it's, I think it's less than two hours. Uh-huh. Okay, okay. We, we rented one recently that seemed to go on forever That always seems to happen when you rent them, you know Yeah, but this one, it was fairly long. I, I'm guessing probably an hour and forty-five minutes, maybe. Uh-huh, uh-huh, and, uh, it, But excellent acting by Billy Crystal and Bruno Kirby, Was it, oh, good. Uh-huh. uh, who was the, oh, Jack Palance had an excellent part in there as the old cowboy. Oh, great. So we really enjoyed that. Oh, well, I'm looking forward to seeing that one. That was next on our list, so, uh, Yeah, I think that, uh, I can highly recommend that movie this, to see. Okay, okay, good deal Yeah. good deal. Do you rent movies very often, or, Uh, we generally rent a couple a week. Uh, in order to get a decent movie to have on a weekend, you've got to rent it on Thursday. Right. Right. They get they get taken up at the store, That's exactly right. so, Uh-huh, uh-huh. We will rent two or three movies on Thursday and, uh, with luck, you'll have one or two that are good. Yeah, right, right. Most of them are a coin flip Oh, gosh. Yeah, yeah. And we usually have, oh, we don't get out as much as we like. We have two children, so we occasionally get out to the movies Yeah. but, uh, it's, it's fun, it's a fun thing to do to get out and be entertained for once. Yeah, well, Quite frequently, we have our grandchildren on the weekends Uh-huh. and, uh, we'll try to rent something that they can see as well as something else that we can see and, Uh, Uh, generally try to stay in the at least P G range. Uh-huh. What ages are they? Have you found trouble finding movies for them or, Right. The, uh, the oldest is nine, the youngest is three. He doesn't really pay attention. Yeah, yeah. The five year old doesn't have the attention span, either. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But the, the nine year old will watch anything that's on T V Uh-oh, uh-oh, yeah. So, They have been doing that. We've been waiting for a, a good movie out this summer for the kids to see. The last one they saw was HOME ALONE and, uh, they enjoyed that, but, uh, I missed that one. My husband took the kids to see that one so, Yeah, my wife took, uh, I think the kids to see that one, but we can generally find something at the store for them to watch. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, well, that's a good deal. The, uh, oh, we saw this movie, PRESUMED INNOCENT was the one we rented, uh last weekend. Okay, let me think if I have rented that one. Harrison Ford. Harrison Ford and, how does the story line go? It's, uh, he is a prosecuting attorney and, uh, another prosecutor in the, a woman prosecutor in there is murdered Oh, okay, we haven't seen that one. and he's trying to find it, but, course, it's one of these with a twist where it looks like he's the one that wound up killing her so it's, And it's an extremely long movie. Uh-huh, uh-huh. It's, it's over two hours long. Oh, gosh, oh, gosh. Which, uh, my wife she likes the suspense movies. I enjoy them to a degree. Uh-huh. I think that's the one I wanted to pick up the other day, and then my husband wasn't going to be able to watch it with me, so I thought I better save that one for another day Save that for another day. Yeah, because I think he'd like that one. Yeah. You enjoyed that one, then. Yeah, I think you, it's, uh, it's something I think you would enjoy, yes. Uh-huh, okay, well, that's a good one to put on the list. It, it's like most suspense movies, what was it was on T V recently, uh, FATAL ATTRACTION. Uh-huh. It's one that, once you've seen it once and, uh, the suspense there is not really you really can't see it again Right, okay. so you know all the story and who did what and when it happened, Uh-huh. so once, once you seen one that's a suspenseful type movie like that, then it's, it's not good for a second watching particularly. Uh-huh, okay. Uh-huh, uh-huh At least I don't think so I don't think too many of them are anymore. It's, it's a shame, but, uh, I don't know, we've watched WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S any number of times I know It's just slapstick comedy Oh, no Oh Sit there and laugh, and, my one grandson and I, my wife can't understand it, but we like BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE which is another funny one Oh, gosh. Yeah, we've heard about that one, but we haven't seen that one either So, well, it sounds like you and your grandson like the same kinds of movies. Yeah, we like to laugh Oh, God. I, I have a theory. I like movies for entertainment. I don't want to uh, go away depressed from watching a movie. Right. Right, right. I agree, I agree. Life's depressing enough That's for sure Well, I've certainly enjoyed talking with you. Well, you, too, Jim. Okay, bye. Thanks for punching in and, uh Have a nice weekend. I hope you see a good movie soon. Okay. Okay. Bye. Bye-bye. Okay, I guess we're going to discuss food and cooking. Alright Do you enjoy cooking? Sometimes, not all the time I'm kind of that way, too. When I have, I, I enjoy cooking when I have time. Right. I don't enjoy preparing three meals a day everyday Yeah, that, that's about the same boat I'm in, too. It gets kind of boring. Yeah. How big is the family you cook for? Uh, five. Uh-huh. We have four, so, and two of them are teenage boys, so Oh, well I'll be hitting that fairly soon because all of mine are boys, too. So, Are they? And they get pretty particular sometimes in what they want to have. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we have that problem too. Huh. But also, now it's just the amount that they eat. It's just absolutely incredible Oh yeah, well see, I, my oldest is nine and he already he already does that Yeah. Does he? And I told him he's going to have to get a part-time job by the time he reaches teenage years so he can eat. . Yeah. That's true. Uh, do you have any favorite things that you serve when you are doing a special meal? Favorite recipes that you've come across or, Um, My husband and I, our favorite meal is, uh, and we do it like for special stuff celebrations and, we have like steak Uh-huh. and he does the steak and then uh, Out on the grill? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And he marinates it in his special stuff that he does. Ooh And it's real good. Uh-huh. And, uh, I do sauteed mushrooms, How, so Ooh, yeah. and asparagus. And that's our favorite, dinner. Ooh, that's sound good. I love that. My husband really likes seafood. Yeah, so do we like a Um, and, I think that no matter what I do, I don't serve enough of it, really, to, uh, to suit him. I didn't grow up eating that much seafood and, uh, so I don't know, it's just kind of not natural to me but I like it. Yeah. And, uh, I don't know, one of his favorite things is, uh, well it's called seafood stew and it's really, it's really like a soup that, that you serve over rice. Uh-huh. And, uh, it has oysters and shrimp and crab in it. And, It's not the one with all the shells and stuff in it, is it? No, no. That's kind of Louisiana I think if you do that. I don't know what that, Yeah, I don't see how you eat that, but I don't either But, uh, no this is just it is really good and, and one thing that's good is it makes the, a large amount. And so I've, usually we eat one and I freeze two containers of it. Oh. Then that's just real quick to get it out and serve it over rice. But neither of my kids will eat it. You know, Yeah. so then they eat a pizza or So it, Yeah, it defeats the purpose. Yeah, it really does. One thing I've run across, recently though, a friend gave me a recipe that I really like for chicken enchiladas. Oh yeah. Have you made them? Yeah. My husband makes those. Does he, ooh. I'm not, I don't eat enchiladas. Uh-huh. I, I don't like I don't like the I don't know, I guess it's the texture, or something. I don't like the taste of enchiladas. Yeah. But everyone else in my family does. Well, are, these are done with a flour tortilla. Is that what he uses? Yeah. Yeah. I don't know, I, it's, I don't know what, I don't know. I, I don't know what it is about the enchiladas. I just, and I'm the only one including my Mom and Dad and my brother. I'm the only one that doesn't eat it Isn't that something? Yeah. But, my kids love it. I was going to say, my kids both eat it. I guess that's one thing that I particularly like, um. But I think it's good for, you know, for, for company, too, and I've made it a few times. Um, and you can make a lot at one time when I needed to make something to, uh, to give somebody. You know, like, you know, to take over to somebody's house or something else. Uh-huh. Yeah Yeah. Yeah, I've got a chicken casserole that's like that, that, that I've, It, it's nice when it makes, a lot because you can feed your own family and then, Yeah, because I, when I make this chicken casserole I, it, it makes a real big casserole and then another one that I freeze. Uh-huh. So, or I give it to my Mom and Dad if I know we're not going to eat, What, what does it have in it? It's you can use chicken or turkey, because my Mom started making it like right after Thanksgiving and using the leftover turkey. Uh-huh. Sure. Uh-huh. And it's rice and, , when I do recipes I just throw stuff in. I don't, I'm not real good about measuring Yeah. because I just, I do it to taste. Uh-huh. Sure. And, Sometimes those are the best ones, Well yeah, but it, it's like, it's just chicken, it, it's, as much as you want, you know torn up and, and rice and cream of chicken soup and some mayonnaise and lemon juice and celery Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and that's it, and some hard-boiled eggs. Yeah. Ooh, that sounds good. And that's it. You just mix it all together and pop it in the oven just to, you know, heat it through. Uh-huh. And you sprinkle, uh, that, those, uh, toasted onion rings. On top of it for the crunchy. Oh, yeah. Those are good aren't they? Uh-huh. And that's it, you know Um. And it, it, it goes That sounds good. and it's filling because of the rice. Right. So, You cook the rice before you put it in? Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. I bet the mayonnaise in there makes it really, kind of gives it a tang that would be good. Yeah, it gives it a, an extra yeah, little tang. I guess I would now use the, the new mayonnaise free. Yeah, that cholesterol fat free? Yeah. That's really wonderful that they're coming out with so many new things like that because like I told my husband this summer, I love to eat, you know, chicken salad and tuna salad and stuff like that Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, and, you know, basically it certainly a low calorie, you know, good thing except then you put your mayonnaise in there and spoil the whole thing. I know. You know and now it's, it's, it's okay and you can even, I used to just put a tiny bit in. Well now, I'm just putting more and more in I don't like tuna salad unless it's got lots of mayonnaise in it. Yeah, and it's only, it used to be like a hundred calories per tablespoon and now it's like twelve. Yeah. Oh! I know. I just think that's the best thing to have happened, I'm just so excited about that. Anyway Yeah. Yeah, we did the low-cal stuff. Well with my kids I don't, they get enough sugar and stuff anyway. Mine are bouncing off the walls normally anyway. Yes And they don't need any added help. Right. So, when we're here at home, you know, with sweets and stuff, they, they don't, we don't really do that much. I do a lot of fruits instead of the cakes and the candies and you know, stuff like that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, and drink wise they have Kool-Aid, milk or water. Normally. Yeah. Now when they go to their grandmother's house, which is every weekend. It's a, it's a different a different story all around. That's when they, As our family would say, a pig out Uh-huh. That's good. That's exactly what it is. Oh, one of my boys that, that's, twelve, um, is, has high cholesterol. Oh really? Have you ever found out about your kids. No, not yet. Um, and my other one does not. Huh. So, oh, year or so ago he found out and he went on a fairly strict diet to try to get it down. And did! He was able to get it down. It's, I think it's mostly hereditary because we really have never eaten high things in cholesterol. Yeah. He's never eaten any eggs. He's never had anything but skim milk and you know, I've never bought butter and things like that. Huh. But, um, oh, he just left for the doctor again and it's, it's kind of back up. Um, so he needs to be careful again. Yeah. So we've really been talking about the foods, you know, for him to, to be sure to eat The lower cholesterol foods and stuff and, uh, so he's eating an apple a day for the last two days And all that kind of stuff does really help. Well, I think we've probably talked long enough and Okay, well I guess I enjoy eating out, um, uh, here and there, or it's, it's a good change and, a good change from cooking and eating at home and I guess I like a variety of, a variety of restaurants. Uh-huh. Uh, sometimes it's fun to go out and just have a hamburger and french fries and, and sort of a hamburger and french fry meal, and sometimes it's, I enjoy it's, I enjoy going out having a formal meal. Yes. And, uh, sometimes it's nice to go out and have a salad. Uh-huh. Something, you know, Do you usually go out, uh, with the children or without them? Well, a variety. I, I like to go sometimes without them and, sometimes I, sometimes it's okay to take them along. So Right Sometimes I think we pay the baby-sitter as much as paying for their dinner or lunches Yes. so, uh, it just, you know, it just varies, we do a mix. Sometimes it's really nice to be able to go out and eat with just my husband and it wouldn't even really matter which restaurant it was, just to, you know, have a moment of peace and quiet without little ones at the table. Yes. Yes. So, uh, I guess I guess actually on those, those times, uh, we even, there are times I even say, oh, please don't sit us next to a table with other children, Well, this is our night out. So but, uh, anyway, where do you like to eat? Uh, well, uh, we don't have any children so, uh, we tend to, like to try all sorts of different things. And, uh, we're very attracted to exotic food. Uh-huh. And, uh, we like Indian food, and Thai cuisine and, uh, sort of gourmet Mexican and, uh, things like that, as well as Tex-Mex and Italian and, uh, Chinese and things, and, and things of that sort. Now, yes, of course, we like to occasionally go out and get down and dirty with barbecue or hamburgers or something like that, too. Right. And, uh, we probably go out one to two times a week. Right. And, uh, uh, we're pretty much regulars at an Italian, local Italian restaurant. Oh, which one do you like? Momo's. Oh, okay. Well, it's been a long time since we've been in there but, uh, but it's good. There's an Italian restaurant over, over by the mall, over by, uh, Plano Parkway there, Uh-huh. Oh, is it Campari's or something? I've heard about it, I haven't been in there. Well, it's good. I haven't, my husband had been in there several times and we went in there, actually we went in there for lunch one day. Uh-huh. And, uh, their pastas were great. that's one of the things, a good pasta means a lot to me. I, I like different kinds of food. So, when we go out, I'm always looking for something other than the standard menu, even if, it's a Mexican Restaurant, like something other than, uh, you know the standard tacos, enchiladas, tamales and fajitas now. You're brave Yes, yes and once in a while things backfire. I mean, we've gone for Romanian food and Lebanese food, and things like that Oh, God. And I'm not fond of some of those things but we'll try, we'll try anything. Right. Ethiopian, we've had Ethiopian. And, uh, not in Plano of course No, I don't think so But, we really, we really do enjoy going out and uh, and, um, I'm pretty adventurous in cooking, too, which also occasionally backfires. Oh, well. Even though traditional it can backfire. Yeah. I think we're supposed to say what will bring us back to a restaurant or, or what attracts us to a restaurant. How do you usually find a, a new restaurant? Uh, well my husband's kind of the he, he's the ethnic fan. So he's, I don't know. You know what, we read, we read the, uh, D MAGAZINE Uh-huh. So do we. we, we check that and, uh, the Friday section in the newspaper the pull out section there. Uh-huh. They often do ratings of restaurants, so Right. uh, we've, uh, we've usually, we often save those and ventured out on, from there, uh, just for something that had a high rating. Uh-huh. We have found, uh, a number of restaurants either through D and the, Friday paper and sometimes the, the OBSERVER. Which my husband usually picks up. And also through coupons. Okay. When a new restaurant opens up, they usually send out coupons. That's, That's right. And you know, when they say, you know, buy one get one free. It's hard to resist, so we'll go in. And very often we'll, find a place that we like and we'll stick with it once they, give, they no longer give coupons. We'll, we'll, uh, we'll stay there. Oh good. Oh, good. But we've found probably half of our sort of regular restaurants through coupons, and the other half through the, through the newspaper reviews. Oh. Oh, yeah. We, I guess we, we use the coupons, too. That's true. That's true. I mean it's wonderful, particularly if you have more than two people and you've got say four or something like that. It's very expensive to go out to eat. Oh right. Right. So, yeah that, that is really one of our, it's almost a hobby with us. Well I think that it's just, that's sometimes I think going out to eat it's, it's sort of a recreation. Yes. So, uh, just a, just a change of pace from, uh, eating at home. Yes. So, uh anyway. I guess, uh, as far as, as far as service when we go out gosh, it's nice, it's nice to have someone come and wait the table. And clear the table and, Yeah. Uh-huh. Oh, absolutely. And do the dishes Yeah, and do the dishes. And, uh, actually it's kind of nice to, you know, I always, uh, a waitress or waiter that waits the table, it's nice that they're attentive but it's not nice when they're too attentive. Oh, yes. So, uh, we've had experience with that, too. So, my sister, who also lives here in Dallas, uh, tends to, uh, chat with waiters and waitresses and become their best friends during the course of dinner, which drives me absolutely batty. Oh, yeah. Well, how we but , it may, it may help their tip, may not, huh. What's your favorite restaurant? Gosh, I guess just in Plano, I, Plano I like to go to Souper Salads. Uh-huh. Uh, Chili's, Chili's is always fine. Sure. I guess if we go to Dallas, into Dallas, we like, uh, the Routh, is it Routh Street Cafe. You know, we've never been there. Well well, you would like it. And that's supposed to be wonderful. Um. You'd like it especially it you're adventuresome. Uh-huh. It just, we've, we've taken people there several times and, uh, they have a good, they have a good choice of things that are very different sounding. I guess, it's, whether you call it Southwestern but, uh, oh we had venison venison chili one time. Which was absolutely wonderful. Ooh. And then I guess it must be seasonal and we've been back, oh, I guess it's in the winter season well they've never had it when we've been back, Uh-huh. so. But, uh, well you ought to try that. It's, it's, it's very good. I would probably like that. One or two times in my life I've ever had venison, I've loved it. But, you know, just, it's just not, I don't know people who hunt so uh No. That's, that's supposed to be a wonderful place. uh, uh, uh, here in Plano, well, we tend to go to Momo's a, fairly often. And, uh, sometimes we'll go, you know, we, we also go to Chili's and, uh, Colter's Bar B Q, and, and uh, we go to, there is a little Thai place that's over on Park that, we go to. My husband particularly likes that. We go into Dallas, a lot and, because we're both were from the Richardson, North Dallas area, up until fairly recently. And, uh, we'll go down to, uh, Blue Mesa Grill, Mexican food, and Oh, that's good. Yes, I've been there. Okay, why don't you start so you probably have a job you need to get to pretty soon. I'm already on my job Oh, you are, so, you, you reached me at my job. Oh, wonderful, well how do you dress for work? My, my dress for work, uh, most of the time is, uh, rather comfortable and casual uh, usually, uh, slacks and a soft colored shirt. Uh-huh. The, um, thing that, that distinguishes me a lot of the time when I have to dress real professionally for a meeting or something is I wear a clerical collar and a suit and, uh, all of that sort of thing, Uh-huh. but when I don't need to dress up for a, a meeting or a service of some sort, I don't. Uh-huh. So you're in a church there? Yes. Uh-huh. Well, I'm working, this is my first morning to work down at our little church preschool, and they've told me to wear just something terribly comfortable because these are two year olds, and they have a lot of, uh, they have BIBLE lessons and they have all the things during the morning, but they still have snack time and play time, so, I'm going to be dressing just in casual slacks and T-shirts, probably not blue jeans, but little bit short of that, just, just tennis shoes and play clothes. Well, around there you can probably wear, uh, T-shirts and other things, but around here, at this time of the year we are into sweaters and, uh, coats. Yeah. I'm envious Well, it's a beautiful day here, and it's in the sixties, but we still have a lot of hot afternoons, it's supposed to be eighty-five today, so you'll still see people, it, it's kind of an in between change, that they're in their play clothes, I mean, they're in their summer clothes during the afternoons, because you just can't stand the sweaters, but in the mornings people are dressing for work in their sweaters because they just want it to be fall so badly Today, today we, we wear coats and as the day, uh, warms up, we may go to light jackets, Did you? but I don't think there's an escape from light jackets. I understand. The wind will take away a lot of body heat. Well, so are the people around you, um, dressing similar to you? Very similar. Uh-huh, so you don't have to, you don't have to buy the lot of the wardrobe that some of the people in banking and that kind of thing do. No, I'm not stuck with that kind of a, uh, situation. Well, that's good. That's good. As I say, unless it happens to be, now yesterday I had to dress up, and and, uh, be more formal because I had a, a formal meeting at noon time, Uh-huh. but then I can go home later in the day and, and be a little more casual Well that's wonderful and then if I have a, a meeting of people that I know, I can be very casual in the evening. Well, my husband has to take the bus into Dallas, and doesn't return all day, so he has to dress, and he just really hates it, they have the long sleeve shirts and the whole tie and the whole suit, and even when his job is not going to be with people all day long, he said it's just part of the uniform and the expected image that they have to dress. Yeah, that's, around here in a lot of places that's the way it is Uh-huh. I mean, there, there are expected, uh, dress codes Uh-huh. and the people need to follow that. I think, uh, years ago, I used to be far more, uh, committed to the idea of, of a dress code Uh-huh. but I've relaxed a lot more as I've gotten older and become more comfortable with myself. Well, I think that's, I think that's great. I think that's good. It's taken a long time to break away, from, from that I understand. but now that I've broken away from it, I'm, I'm glad I have. Well, another interesting thing on the our, our end here is how, even in my forties, how much younger I dress than my mother would have in her forties, and I will run around to the store in things, in slacks and tennis shoes, and she, You mean you don't need to wear little old house dresses any more? Right, and pearls, and she would not have even probably owned a pair of tennis shoes after she got out of high school, so, uh, she tells me I dress young, but that's okay That's a good idea, that's a good idea. Well, there's not a lot more I can think of to discuss on clothing. No, there, you know, I guess this is what you call a natural end Yeah, what kind, what kind of shoes do they wear down there? Well, we wear, of course, like I said, if my husband's going downtown, he's got the whole, uh, you know, the dress men's dress shoes Uh-huh. but for as out here, just anything that the moms, we all kind of have our own little dress code of just either tennis shoes or little loafers and, and, uh, tights, and things that feel comfortable to us around our kids. We, we can wear pretty much that, although, um, tennis shoes are kind of out in, in almost every, every situation unless you want to look like a gook Yeah, I'm sure they are there. Yeah, I'm sure they are. That's right, I'm sure that true. It's a lot different than working in a kids preschool. A lot different. That's right. Well, you all have a nice day there. You too, and thank you for calling. Thank you very much. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye. Do you have any? Sure. I have a Springer Spaniel, and her name is Thumper. She's about seven or eight years old. I got her for Christmas from my family, and, uh, back when we lived in Nebraska. I like to hunt, and, uh, so, I thought that if I had a good hunting dog like Thumper that, boy, I could just go out and get all kinds of game Did it work? Yeah, except we live in Plano, Texas now No, right. so I, um, I had a, for many years I had a dog that was part Springer Spaniel. I just love them. Her name was Molly, but she isn't alive any more We had her for, um, fifteen years, I think, my family did, and just loved her. She was the greatest, greatest, um, went through two generations of children in my family and was always very gentle. Do you have a pet now? Yeah, I have a cat now. He just turned seven, also, and he's, I, um, got him in Arizona and, when I used to live there, Oh. and he is huge. He is eighteen pounds. What kind of cat is it? Just, um, I got him, he was, um, he was born in the wild, like in a, in a shed and had never been in a building when I got him. Uh-huh. So he, and he's, he, he must be part, cross part with some kind of desert animal, because he's very long and lanky, but he's a very tame spoiled house cat, you know, now that I've had him for seven years. Being born outside, you didn't have any problems house training him? No, no That's good. he's, yeah, he's great, and uh, he's, uh, he's really spoiled, though So, but he's really big, so, lots of times he, it, he seems to get in fights, and when he was younger I think he started them, and now, I think he barely makes it. I think he gets beat up even though he's big, because he's pretty much overweight, and comes home with a few scratches now and then, Sure. And older yeah. Well, we went to a cat show at the Plano Center here in town, and, uh, we thought that, we have a cat now, but we thought, Well, if we ever get another cat, you know, we'd want something kind of unique, so, we kind of looked around, and they had everything from hairless cats to Siamese cats and Persian cats and we sort of fell in love with the, uh, Maine Coon cats. Oh, I've seen them. I They're huge. yeah, I have seen them. They, um, weren't they, they were actually, I can't remember, they were used to be used on ships and in, for, for mousers you know, Oh. so they're very nautical, too I'll be darned. I didn't know that. Yeah, I just, uh, I think I'm, I think I'm being accurate in the, in the area of folklore, but I'm not sure. Well that's interesting. Yeah. We kind of like, well, my family didn't necessarily like, like them as much as I did, but the Manx, is that the one that doesn't have a tail Yeah. it sort of has a bob tail. I kind of like that, too, but. Yeah. I'd love to go to a cat show. I'm real, a real cat lover. I'd have a lot more cats if my boyfriend would let let me He doesn't really like mine, let alone another one. Well, I'll tell you an interesting story about how I got my dog, and then I suppose our five minutes will be up. Yeah. Okay. I work for a university, and I went to, uh, Omaha, Nebraska to recruit students, and I had some time off in the afternoon, so I went to a, a pet shop, and I saw these little Springer Spaniels Um. and so I decided, well, you know, this would really be a nice dog to have, so, when I got back home to Carney, Nebraska, I told my wife about it, and I said, You know, this is just a, I, I, I can just hear the dog crying for me now I know what you mean. And Christmas is coming up, hint, hint, and so, I had to go back the next week, as well as a bunch of other people from the university, and one of the people, uh, that we went with, uh, they were friends of ours, and so, we got to Omaha, and I decided I'd take my friend over and show him the dog, and so I got over there, and she said, Oh, that's too bad, the dog has already been sold. And I didn't realize it, but this guy had somehow worked it out so that he got there a little bit earlier, bought the dog, and she was in the back room, and so that night we had a reception for some of the, uh, potential high school students or college students, and, and, uh, he had the dog the whole time in his room, and, and I had no idea. And so we headed back to Carney that night, and the dog rode in the car and we stopped along the way and had a bite to eat and they left the dog in the car, and I guess while we were inside eating, Thumper just tore the heck out of the inside of the car, and, uh, finally we made it back to, uh, to Carney and, I guess we're recorded. Okay. What, do you have any hobbies that you like to do? Oh, yes. Cycling, computers, uh, backpacking, just about everything. Oh Oh, I generically have, you know, millions of hobbies. All right, that's an interesting assortment. My husband is into cycling. In fact, he's out there right now before it gets dark trying to get in his miles for the, the time. Uh-huh. I'm not quite that bad. I'm just a weekend cyclist. Uh, do you have any, do you do any handicraft type things, I think was the question. Handicraft type things. Yeah, whittling or Yeah, just whittle away my life. Uh, no, no, I Nothing like that. Uh, uh, I, I do some things. I've gotten into, uh, oh, I, I like to decorate things and I do sweatshirts and T-shirts and I've gotten to where I start, have started selling them at craft shows and things. Oh, that's pretty good. Uh, and I have, have done fairly well at them. I've had a, a few of my little hobby projects have totally bombed, but most of them have worked out pretty good Yeah, they, my only craft work is kind of like computers and, you know, go off to the little computer club meetings, and, it's kind of nice because I've made money at it, too. Considering I, I work for it a living, but I, you know, I, I've got a couple of articles published. Oh! It's kind of, kind of neat. Yeah, what, what does a computer club do. I didn't know there were such things. Oh, yeah, just all over the place. They just get around and, and talk techy or, or else, uh, uh, you know, like half the members are really expert and the other half are like really not. Uh-huh. And, uh, we kind of help out the people who are really not You don't, uh, you're not into hacking or whatever Oh, I, I think I'm, I think I'm a hacker, but I'm not, not kind, not the, uh, the, you know, dial around randomly trying to break into computers type hackers, Uh-huh. no, that's one of those sports I don't go for. Well, that's kind of interesting hobby. What else, did you, you said you did cycling? Yeah. What was the other thing? Backpacking. Backpacking. We, Yeah, I belong to a, a Boy Scout troop. It beats paying United Way. I just, you know donate a whole bunch of my time to the Boy Scouts and have fun. Uh-huh. Well, that's, we have done that. Uh, our two older boys were in Boy Scouts and my daughter was in Girl Scouts until just about a year ago Uh-huh. so we've uh, done a fair amount of that in our spare time, also But, it, I, that's a great thing to do, you know, really. Have you been backpacking anyplace exciting? Uh, well, just last weekend went to Davy Crockett forest which is kind of out in east Texas. Oh. Uh-huh. And we go to, uh, places out in, uh, uh, let's see what's that, what's that state north of us, that state Oh, that one. yeah. Yeah, that one. That one. Okay Yeah, yeah. And, To the, uh, oh, by Fort Sill there? Uh, no, to another a, uh, old Indian fort that's out there. Trying to think of the name of it. Durn. Well, yeah, no, sorry, no memory. Uh-huh. Have you gone, like to Fillmont with the Boy Scouts? No, I missed out this last year. I wasn't able to get the time off, but maybe next year. It's a good possibility. I've always thought that would be a real fun thing to do. Oh, yeah, yeah. When I was a kid, uh, we'd do the equivalent thing in the High Sierras. That was loads of fun. Uh-huh. Does, does your whole family like to do it, like you, you know, for a vacation you'd go backpacking? Uh, no, not quite because I'm not a whole family. I'm just me Oh, okay. You just, oh, and, and you volunteer for the Boy Scouts, huh? Oh, yeah, I rent my kids Uh-huh Well, sometimes, uh, It's better than, you know, owning on them and making payments on them, and, you know, things like that. Sometimes I think that might not be a bad idea Have, uh, you said you did it in the High Sierras. Uh, do you ever, you know, just vacation someplace where you strictly backpack? Oh, yeah, yeah. Uh, not recently because, you know, like the Boy Scouts makes it so that I go like once a month, you know. Someplace. Uh-huh. But, uh, there's, uh, some, some stuff that I want to do with like Sierra Club and go down to Grand Canyon or something like that. So, you know, they have lots of tours where they get a bunch of people together and off you go. Uh-huh. Which seems kind of reasonable because that means you don't have to take twenty thirteen year olds with you, which seems a, a, just a tad more relaxing Well, I, probably, probably. That's, uh, well, my, my other things that I like to do in my spare time, I'm, I like swimming. Uh-huh. Which is in now. I've done that and I, I also, when I like something, I usually try to figure out how to make money off of it. Okay, is it Mike? Yes. Do you repair your own car? I try to, whenever I can. I've always been a, a I guess a product of a handyman father. Well, I tell you what, that's, count your blessings because uh, it really is good when someone can do some things to a car themselves. Yeah. Yeah. There's, although I'll tell you, you know, over the years the cars get more complicated. Well, that's why I don't do as much as I'd like. Right, yeah. Because they are, I mean they've got, they've gotten complicated haven't they? Yes. One of my first cars was a fifty-six Buick. Which, after awhile I could, you know, take it apart in my sleep if I needed to. Uh-huh. Is that right? Yeah. It, it got to be pretty straightforward to understand and, now since then, you know, the closer a car is to a fifty-six Buick, the, the more I know about it. And then start getting into these Nissans and the like and I just can't keep up. Yeah, I, I agree. About all I ever, I never was too mechanically inclined, but I used to always change my own oil and do the points and plugs and, Yeah. Course, they don't use, uh, points anymore. That's right But, Uh, they do still use plugs. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, now brakes, I've always done a lot of, you know, changing brakes. Uh-huh. And I used to do, I could always do the alternator, you know, and starter. Yes. I don't anymore, but I have on a lot, a lot of times. Yes, I understand. My last car repair actually had to do with brakes and it's one I did not do myself. I took the car, my, I have a seventy-nine El Dorado, took it to be inspected Uh-huh. and the parking brake failed. So I got under there and messed with the, the that, uh, that adjustment to make, to tighten it up Uh-huh. and that didn't do the trick Uh-huh. and then I got there and tried to, It probably slipped loose, didn't it? Well, actually that wasn't even eventually the problem. I, I did a lot of things that I, I did everything that I could think to do. Uh-huh. And, eventually I brought it up to a, a place called Just Brakes Uh-huh. and it turns out that there's a, the parking brake in the rear, there's a, there's disc brakes and the parking brake is a piston deal. Um. And because the parking brake hadn't been used in so many years, the piston froze up. Oh. So they ended up having to pound it out. And one of them, they, were able to get running, uh, kind of oiling it and playing with it and the other one they just, it was just frozen solid, so I ended up having to buy one and all total, it was just under two hundred dollars, believe it or not, to get all that done well, it really wasn't quite, as bad as you thought, was it, was it? yeah, actually, I, I think it was a lot of money, but I, I don't, like I Well, it was a lot of money, but, Yeah, but, I, it got to the point where I didn't know what was going on so, You had to have the help, didn't you? That's right, that's right. Yeah. Well, do you still do much work on them, then? I do. actually that was just a, at, at the beginning of September and, whenever I can, I do try. I actually, I'd say this. I, I've gotten to the point where I don't change the oil anymore. Only because, Disposal is a problem. Well, that is one problem, but also these, uh, these fast oil change places, you just can't beat them. That's true. For sixteen bucks they'll not only will they change the oil in ten minutes, and do a you know, as good a job as I can do, but they'll, uh, lube, too That's true. Right, that, that, I've, I've quit doing that myself. Yeah. And, but one of the main reasons was the disposal of the oil, you know. Yep, that's right. And, uh, but, it, but, no, I guess, that, and the main reason that it's, it's quick. Well, have you seen a new movie lately? Well, uh, I am a student and I have, uh, been actually watching more movies on video, than being able to go out to see, uh, movies at the store, or at the theater. Uh-huh. Uh, I I want to see the FISHER KING and, and, uh, catch ROBIN HOOD. Okay. I, uh, I haven't seen either one of those. Uh, what, what are some of the shows that you have been able to rent though? Uh, let's see. Uh, I'm trying to just think of the ones that have come on. Uh, WHITE PALACE which I thought was over rated, over hyped, um, recently. Well, you're catching me at, it, uh, uh, at mind's end here. What have you seen recently? Well, maybe you, uh, you have seen DANCES WITH WOLVES. Yes. Okay. Yes. What did you think of that one? Enjoyed that quite a bit. Um, I thought the, uh, the the cinematography was excellent. Uh-huh. Uh, the story was, uh, though it tended to be a little one sided uh, it was good. Yeah. Uh, it was, it was believable. I, uh, I just moved down, in fact, from South Dakota in, in June, and that's when the movie was filmed, Uh-huh. and, uh, we, when, when the movie came out, we went, uh, my dad lives in the state capital, which is Pierre Uh-huh. and it was filmed right outside of Pierre. In fact, the buffalo, the scene, the big buffalo herd scene, that was, that was a live scene. Wow. Uh, there's a guy that has got a, a buffalo farm, and he has got over ten thousand head of buffalo and, and, uh, we, my dad has got a little plane, we flew over it all looked at the buffalo, it was really neat. But, uh, so we are watching the, the movie in the movie theater in Pierre Uh-huh. and, uh, just every time I would start to get into the movie, and it was getting good someone in the crowd would yell, hey, there's John Red Eagle, you know Uh-huh. or, you know, they'd start recognizing people. They knew, they knew the extras or the, Yeah. So, I kind of, I think I enjoyed it more when I, when I watched it on video cassette than I did, uh, in the movie theater because my attention would get diverted every time they'd say that. I'd go now, now which one could that be you know, Uh-huh. and I'd, I'd start trying to focus in on people instead of, of picking up the overall, Scope. Right. Exactly. Uh-huh. So, but I, I thought it was a good film. But you are right, I think, I think it was very one sided. It, it was, but it's a side that hasn't been told. Uh, as far as, you know, telling it from, you know, the Indians as the good guys and the, the white men as the bad guys. I, I really thought about, uh, all the, the westerns that we have seen for years and years, Sure. and it's just, shoot the Indians, and they are always the savages. Right. So, In fact, I was watching WILD WILD WEST last night and, it was a similar, uh, situation with the Iroquois Indians attacking a, an army fort. Uh-huh. Um, but it was an interesting movie. Uh, have you seen PRETTY WOMAN? Yes. Now I thought that was a good show. Yeah. That was, that was a good movie. Um, it was just kind of a get away movie. Yeah. Kind of, It didn't, uh, it didn't have any real social bearing or, uh, and it wasn't really a comedy, but it was an enjoyable movie. It was, it was kind of like the STAR WARS series, you know, just something a little different, yet believable. Uh-huh. Right. Yes. You're bringing it, I don't know, I had a, I sure did have a mind lock about the movies I've seen. But, yeah, I've seen PRETTY WOMAN and DANCES WITH WOLVES, and, uh, Uh, now are you, are you going to see, or do you, are you much of a STAR TREK fan, are you going to see this next one that's coming out? Oh, definitely. Have you seen the rest? Yes. I think I've missed one. I'm not sure, but I think I've missed one. I actually went to the STAR TREK twenty fifth anniversary marathon that happened about a month ago, and they showed all five in a row. Was that here in Dallas? Oh, they had it everywhere, uh, every major city had one theater that did it and, Okay. Because we had one here in Dallas. Right, and they did it in Houston, they did it, well, they did it everywhere. And it was, it was really good to see all the movies and how the story developed, and the thing that I didn't realize is that if you watch the movies in a row, uh, time wise they happen one after another and just no, no time between them, Uh-huh. but you can watch the characters develop, I said Arlington, Texas because the other day, I was talking with somebody and he was in Arlington, Virginia Oh, no. Yeah, that's the only one I've got now for this area. Oh, gosh, oh, gosh. Well, anyway, we've got a easy subject. Yes, we do. You go ahead first, if you'd like. Okay, let me think here. Favorite, I haven't been watching much T V lately Yeah, you know you get so busy. I used to. Yeah, I have, uh, I have one favorite soap opera. I still watch and I tape because I'm not home Oh, And, uh, let's see, that's GENERAL HOSPITAL, and then, uh, at night, uh, I don't, uh, when I sit down, I don't usually sit down till almost nine o'clock when my kids get in bed I know. and, and, uh, then I watch, uh, what do I watch at nine o'clock. Let's see, oh, well, Tuesday nights I guess, we try to catch a couple of the shows that the kids like. Right. And, uh, Are they little? I have a seven year old and a ten year old. Yeah, they're pretty young. And, uh, so we usually catch, uh, FULL HOUSE, and, uh, what's the one comes on after that. It's a new one, uh, I don't know, my kids are older Uh-huh. so I don't, I don't know some of those shows now, like I used to Yeah, yeah. Uh, other than that, uh, oh, gosh. I watch KNOTS LANDING on Thursday nights, for pure entertainment, nothing else. Right. Yeah. Well I, I like the comedies. They're just light, too. I have to watch MURPHY BROWN I really like, Oh, now that is a good one. I make a point of that. That is. Yeah, if I'm home on Mondays, then I, I definitely watch her. I love that and I really like COACH. I think it's, when it's good, it's just a scream. Yeah, yeah, well, he's a good actor. He really is good. Well, he's probably playing himself. Half the time you see these people on an interview show, they're, they act just like they do in their parts Yeah, yeah He, I saw him on JOHNNY CARSON once and he acted about the same Oh, God. Well, he could very well be Yeah, and, uh, So, do you watch much T V, or, Well, I watch more now because, well I, I had been going to school for years and have really been too busy Uh-huh. but this semester I'm only taking one course and so I see MURPHY BROWN and COACH and THE WONDER YEARS. I just make a point of seeing those. Now, I never see that. Well, I've got a friend that says that is just wonderful show. Oh, it's fabulous. Really, you should never miss that. It, they are just gems of shows. I mean, they really, fabulous in every way Oh, nice. What, now what night is that on now? Oh, that's Wednesday at, uh, seven thirty. Wednesday at seven thirty, oh, okay. Yeah, Wednesdays I, I go to church choir, so That's my one night out and about, Oh, yeah. so, Sure, yeah, well, maybe, maybe your husband could tape it for you sometime. Yeah, I should get him to do that. Because I know, Just so you get the idea. It wouldn't take, Wouldn't take much to get hooked on those Yeah, yeah, uh-huh. So, so, I watch those. Are there any new ones this year that came out that you like or, Well, you know, I haven't, oh, yeah, we started watching NORTHERN EXPOSURE. Well, it's not really new, but it's still kind of new. Uh-huh, uh-huh. How's that? I haven't seen that. I like it a lot. It's real different. In fact, they never thought it would be a hit. Huh. I mean, they'll have some things in there that almost, almost, you know, like supernatural, or something, you know, I mean, somebody will see a figure from the past that nobody else does or, I mean, it sounds weird, but, it's very, uh, unique show and very well done. Huh. Excellent actors. I'll have to watch for that. I, I guess we just, it came on after something we used to watch Uh-huh, uh-huh. and I guess we just kept sitting there and then now we make a point of watching I can't take all these shows on because next semester I'm not going to be able to watch hardly any television. Uh-huh Well then, it will be mostly reruns, I guess Yeah, yeah. And by the end of February, the way they do it nowadays. Gosh. Well, we used to watch a lot of DESIGNING WOMEN, But, uh, but, uh I haven't seen that much lately. Since they got rid of, uh, Delta Burke and, uh brought on the new ones. Yeah. Yeah, I've seen that. Was she the, was she the best one? Was she the best one on that old show? Oh, she was just funny. Really? She was really funny. And her character was good. I don't know that it was her in particular but just the character. Right, right. So, uh, Yeah, they had a big fight on that show, didn't they? Yeah, yeah. They were all accusing each other of everything in the world Oh, that was awful and who knows still, what really happened, you know. Well, I know, gosh, you never will, probably. Yeah, yeah, so, Well, I think the latest soap opera for people is the Kennedy trial for those who have cable. Oh, I know. I don't have cable. Now I told , no, we don't have that station either, so, uh, I haven't been able to catch any of that, but just what little we caught on the news. It's just as wild as any soap opera, from what I hear on the news. Oh, I know it. And I think he's guilty as the devil. Well, I don't see how he couldn't be, you know. I know, what's in it for her. There's never anything for you to go to trial as a witness in a case like that. Because you know they tear you to shreds, especially those rich high powered lawyers. Yeah, that's right. Oh, and they said this lawyer is unbelievable. Um. But, they said she held up so well yesterday. I know, everybody was saying that and then, in the paper said it so, It should be interesting. Yeah. Oh, God. Well, the NATIONAL ENQUIRER says I was reading that in the supermarket line. I never have the nerve to buy the thing. Uh, Oh, shoot, well, do you watch any, uh any sports or anything like that Says he, or, No, I don't care anything about that. Because I don't either. I can't, I can't watch it on T V, so I like the ice skating, you know, occasionally, some ice skating will come on, on a Sunday or during the Olympics Uh-huh. I always watch that. I think it's so beautiful. Yeah, I like to catch the gymnastics sometimes, too. Oh, yeah, that's good. Well, I suppose we both have credit cards. Uh-huh, yeah, they seem to be a part of life Yeah. Yeah, how do you use them? Well, I do use them. Uh-huh. Uh, I have a few favorites that I use more than others and, uh, I try to keep my balances fairly reasonable. I, I could probably pay them off any month if I wanted to. Uh-huh. Uh, but occasionally they can get out of hand and get higher when, when you start using more than a few Uh-huh. and, uh, they all can build up. Uh-huh. Uh, I think they're handy. I just get, uh, I don't carry a lot of cash with me Uh-huh. and, uh, I hate writing checks when you go shopping. Yeah. Uh-huh. Well, do you use credit cards? Yeah, I use a few. I, uh, I watched my grandmother go into debt on them Uh-huh. and so I've, and then I guess my mother, Grandmother huh? Yeah, so my mother learned from that and I guess she taught me to be very, very careful with them. So basically, uh, I just keep them, I use them so that I build up a credit rating, you know. Uh-huh. But, otherwise, uh, I generally, and my husband, it turns out, I've just been married seven months, but he has the same habit and we just keep a few you know, few of the major ones, and then use them once in a while for something, That's good. but we always pay it off right that month so that we don't pay any service charge. Oh that's, That's wonderful. So that way we keep out of debt and we keep on top of what we're spending. Well, the interest rates in credit cards is so high now compared to what your savings is bringing. Yeah. It's really, I guess ridiculous to let them keep building. Yeah, yeah, that's what I feel. So, But I know some people can get, get, you know, carried away with them and let them get out of hand. Uh-huh. It's really easy, just to forget, you know, that you, you charged that or charged that. I try to keep all my receipts and keep them in someplace where I know that the bill's going to come, but sometimes I forget and so, you know, a bill will come in and I'll think, oh, no I didn't know it was going to be that high. Uh-huh. yeah. But so far, I've been able to, we've been able to pay it off every time so, Well, that's good. I'm looking, right now I'm kind of looking for a Visa that has a lower interest rate. It seems that some of them have gotten higher Uh-huh. and, uh, I saw on T V, they had a program on, uh, credit cards and they're supposed to, I don't know if it was Tennessee or Arkansas or some, some other state had a Visa card that was the lowest one in the country. And I didn't write it down at the time Uh-huh. and then I went and looked and, to see what my visa was and I think it's eighteen percent or something Um. so, think I want to find something that has a lower rate. Yeah. Have you ever used Discover card? No, I haven't. Yeah, I'm not even sure what their interest rate is since I pay it off but you know, Is that the one from Sears? Uh, I think Sears originally put it out, Okay. but it's, uh, it's pretty well taken all over the U S now. I mean, uh, I've haven't found many places that don't take Discover. And there's no annual service fee, which is good. Okay . You know, and then, uh, they also give you, they say cash back, uh, like at the end of the year. For the amount that I charge, I get two dollars back or something Uh-huh. but if you use credit cards a lot you probably get more back. Oh, they give you money back for using your credit card. Yeah, basically. Oh That's it. I didn't know that. And I think the service charge is pretty low, too, but, I'm not sure. Um. Well, you know, Sears was one of the few department stores that never would take any other credit cards. Uh-huh. I worked at Sears for over ten years and, uh, it was only a Sears card that they would take until I guess they decided to join the club and come up with their own credit card, another credit card that was accepted, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. so, you know, now they'll take the Discover, but I still don't know if Sears will take Visa or Mastercard. Uh-huh. But, uh I never did apply for a Discover card. Yeah. I just figure with the Visa and American Express, I probably have an, Uh-huh. I can do enough damage with those two. Yeah, I think it's best to keep the number down that you have. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, I've got some that I, you know, I haven't even used at all, uh, past few years I probably wouldn't be able to use them. Uh-huh. But, uh, I, I do like my Dillard's, I have to admit that's one of my favorite places to shop. Uh-huh. And I do use Dillard's probably as, more than any of the other department stores. Uh-huh. But, Yeah. Well, Do you have anything else to say? Well, No, not too much more about credit cards Okay I don't think I do either so, Okay well, Well, it was good talking to you. Good talking to you Beth. Okay. Good luck. Have a good evening. You, too. Bye-bye. Bye. Well, got any problems on Mockingbird with crime or is that a crime free zone there? No, I don't think there is any such thing, as a crime free zone any longer. I'm afraid you're right. Uh, one evening I decided to retire early and heard sirens and noises and thought, oh, well, something's happens on Mockingbird and then heard yells and screams and the next thing I know there are policemen all around my house. Oh, my. And they had stopped a, uh, a stolen car and caught one of the men in the hedge Oh, boy. and then the other one was on the roof in the back. By your house? on my house Oh, my goodness. Aye, aye, aye Oh, my. So I'm very much aware of, uh, crime in the cities and the, and the concern about it. That's, that's got to be a frightening way to spend an evening. It was. I, uh, I kept hearing noises and so I, I knew that I was not going to sleep until I got up and went out and checked the garage, so I got a my gun and walked to the, you know, through the house into the garage. There was no one there, but I wanted to be sure. Oh, boy. Is Plano beginning to experience the, the kinds of things that are more common in the metropolitan, you know, in the urban area? Unfortunately yes. That's too bad. Yes. I think, uh, you know, as any city grows up, uh, you get the hoods and the riffraff and everybody else in there, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I think, uh, you know, fortunately the sirens and everything we hear are over on Spring Creek, but, uh, we've been, we've lived here sixteen years and now you, you know, you can tell the change, for sure. Uh-huh. Well, I was thinking, if you've been there that long, you've seen Plano grow from what was really a, a small town to a city. Yes. Well, with all the, uh, Central Expressway, uh, with all the stores and the, uh, restaurants and the uh, convenience stores and all that kind of stuff, it's just prime pickings for people driving by. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know and, Well, I was appalled to read the other day about the, uh, uh, shooting on the tollway. That's, that couldn't be too far from you, neither. Uh, well, it's farther west of me. Okay. I live over near White Rock Lake. Oh, yes, okay. But, uh, uh, it was really frightening to, think that, uh, it's not even safe to drive onto the tollway, or for those people in the tollbooth. Uh, I never thought about someone robbing those, but, apparently, they do. I don't know, uh, how a few bucks can be worth shooting somebody but, Yeah, it just doesn't seem possible, does it. It's kind of, kind of stupid, isn't it. Uh-huh. But I guess when people do those things, they don't really give a thought of the consequences at the time. It's, looks like easy pickings No. and away you go, right. Yeah, and I think the drugs play a tremendous part in, uh, the theft and the, the violence that we see. I think you're right, uh, although I think that may be an excuse for people, too. It, it is convenient, isn't it? Right. I didn't know what I was doing. Right. That kind. Right, just like the old alcohol idea and I think people, uh, I think when you have haves and have nots, you're always going to find people that are too lazy to figure a way to earn money and find it's easier if you can get a gun to go out and hold something up than it is to figure out a way to legitimately earn the money. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, yes, and I work in South Dallas for the Dallas School System. Oh, boy. And, uh, uh, Where do you work? Uh, do you know where Oakland and Hatcher are? Uh, yes, I think I do. That, uh, is that Amelia Earhart, School there? Uh, no this is over near Lincoln High School. Uh, just, not far off South Central Expressway. Okay. That's a pretty rough area there, isn't it? It is a pretty rough area. We're over by Fair Park. Oh, my goodness. And, uh, you know, you watch the people. There are marvelous B M W and Mercedes and Cadillacs and everything parked all up and down the street outside these awful taverns. Huh. And the kids see that and, uh, they know that they can earn several hundred dollars in a day where, uh, you know, running for, uh, drug dealers if, Definitely that area, that, that's big time. Uh-huh. Big time there, sure is. It surely is. I don't think I'd go to work without a bulletproof vest on myself . Well, I'm careful. that's the worst neighborhood in the whole area. Yeah, it's, uh, a little scary sometimes and, uh, I manage the, Well, credit cards Yeah. I'll tell you what, I, I can't say a whole lot about credit cards because I, uh, tore mine up. Is that right? I, I know I know some other people that have done that. Yeah, uh, I got in some problems with, uh, financial problems because of credit cards so I, uh, basically just got rid of all of them. Um. I, I have a, a couple. I have a, uh, gas card that I, that I use just for gas and you know, uh, one that I use just for emergencies Uh-huh but, Uh-huh, yeah, I I have, we have some, some friends that did the, exactly the same thing. They, uh, you know, they kind of overextended and borrowed and borrowed and finally they realized that they were, they were abusing them and weren't going to get out of the hole and they just cut them all up except for, for one they kept for emergencies and they're still paying away to get out of debt. Yeah. I know it. But, no, I did just the opposite. I, I guess I, I sort of followed in my, uh, parents' footsteps. I have quite a few of them. I use them continually, Uh-huh. but I, uh, I basically never charge anything I don't have the money in the bank to pay for. And, uh, and I always pay them off totally every month. Oh, is that right? Yeah. That's a, that's a good policy. Yeah, and it, you know, I mean, they, they're just a convenience for me. I don't have to get cash out of the bank, and I don't have to to be writing checks and and, uh, Yeah. Yeah, uh, sometimes I wish I had them, but in most cases, I'm glad I don't because I, you know, unfortunately I, I, I don't have the control you have Uh-huh. I wish I did, but but I don't. Yeah. Uh, and it, you know, it, I just don't want to get into that situation again, so we'll, Uh-huh. Yeah, I mean, it, it's easy, I mean, you don't have anything transferring, just a little signature, so what, you know Oh, that's it. See, and that's, even with my gas card you know, I find that I'll go in to get some gas Uh-huh. and I'll end up buying, you know, candy and drinks and you know, sweets and whatever, Right. and then at the end of the month I, you know, I get a bill and I'm thinking what did I get, that costs so much. Surprising. Yeah. And, Well, you know, but the, I mean, there are sort some inherent limits there, you're not going to, you're not going to run up a few thousand dollars for that, right. Yeah, that, that's true, but I can, I can certainly understand where Now I, You know, the thing that probably helps me most doing that is really, you know, uh, not so much discipline, I mean, well, I mean, you have sort of a discipline in general about finances, but, but I hate their, their rates so badly, I mean their interest rates so badly that I, Oh, yeah. Isn't it, that's unbelievable. How, let me ask you this. How, how old are you? I'm, uh, thirty-three. Thirty-three? Thirty-two, excuse me. Okay. You'll be thirty-three this year? Yeah. You want to be thirty-two as long as you can, huh. It's coming. Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I know what you mean about the interest rates. It's, uh, it's unbelievable. You know, I just, that just irritates me so much that, that I refuse to pay them interest and, and my wife recently, uh, decided she had to go to Brazil and was going to take off and, she's from there and and, uh, didn't really have the money, Uh-huh. but, you know, she could pay it off, and so I, sort of reluctantly let her put it on credit cards, but she's paying it, and, uh, I just won't do it. I mean, she's paying, I don't know, I don't know what per month, you know, forty, fifty dollars per month in interest Oh, jeez. and I just, you know, I just refuse to give it to them. If I need to borrow that kind of money, I'll go to the bank and, uh, Yeah, and then, you bet. You know. That's, uh, yeah, I, in fact, I've, I've even, uh, heard some people that have applied for credit cards with much less, uh rates and have paid off their, you know higher interest rate, uh cards and just sent them back, you know. Income. Oh, yeah. Right. Right. Yeah. And I, I guess there's some, there's, uh, uh, some negotiating there, too, because I heard, uh, on one of the local talk shows here, they had somebody on and, and said, what you can do is, uh, call, you know, if you've got a pretty good rating, uh, credit rating you can call your you know, your, your card, wherever you got your card from and tell them, hey, either drop my rates or drop my, you know, uh annual fees or I'll just go to somewhere else. Uh-huh. Right. High, I might, You know, and if you've got, if you've got a pretty good uh, uh, history with them they're more than willing to do that. Um. Right. Um, I might try that because I, I have one card that I've had for about, uh, I don't know, nine or ten years. Yeah, in fact, that's, that's what this guy, you know, he wrote a book on it and he says that's, you know, he's tried it with several of his cards Uh-huh. and he's just told them, you know, I, I can get this card from this bank at this rate and yours is at, you know, eighteen or nineteen percent. Right. It does not make sense for me to do that and if you won't drop my rates, I'll just go ahead and send you back your card and I'll go somewhere else and get it. Yeah, for me the big thing, you know, is the, uh, uh, is the annual fee and I just refuse, I won't get any card now, I've, I've got a good rating and I've got, you know, Uh-huh. And I'm not going, I'm not going to pay an annual fee. The only one I actually pay on is this one that I, that, the very first, Hello. Hello. Hi, my name is Dolphene. I live in Texas. Hi, my name is Pat Johnson and I live in Texas too. Okay, I work for T I, do, do you also? No. Okay. No, I live in Dallas. I work for the Dallas school system. Oh, okay. uh, you ready to begin? We might as well. Oh, okay. Okay. I understand we are doing care of the elderly, right? Yes. And how do you feel about putting someone in the nursing home? Well, I don't think that uh, any of my relatives would really like to go there. I, I believe, if I, am in a position, uh, like when my mother gets to a point where she needs special care that I will be able to just bring her into my home and my father also, and uh, or have someone go into their home, you know and uh, and look after them. Uh-huh. That way. Yes, I would find it very difficult, uh, to, uh, place my father or my step-mother uh, in a place like that. Particularly, since I know how they feel about it. Uh-huh. Right, it's basically, it's more how they feel about it. Yes. And it is like they feel, they are, uh, the way my mother would put it like somebody had thrown them away You know? Yes. I do think that there are some significant kinds of things to to look for, you know, if you are faced with placing someone. In a place like that, uh, you know, aside from the cleanliness and the medical care that is offered and such Right. Uh-huh. but attitude of staff makes such a tremendous difference. And I have a a friend who is partly paralyzed and is in a nursing home and has no family who, you know, could care for her. Uh-huh. And, uh, I know that the cheerful pleasant people who treat her kindly make all the difference in the world in how she feels about, uh, her situation. Uh-huh. And another thing to think about, uh, on the positive side of the nursing homes here, I use to work in one of the offices in a nursing home Uh-huh. and I got to see a lot of the things that they did Uh-huh. they, uh, they had a lot of crafts Yes. and they had a lot of games and, uh, they, get together and just do, they they do all sorts of things and then there some, some of the, uh, the people that are in there are real, you know, very nice and friendly to everybody Uh-huh. and, uh, then there are others that are, uh, it is just a job and they just you know want to go in and do what they have to do and get out go home. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh, the, the attitude of the staff as you said is really very very important. Uh-huh. I think it would matter too, uh, kinds of, uh, disabilities that the nursing home accepts. Because there are some, uh, who poor things, you know, don't have, uh, any real grasp on reality any longer. Right. Right. And they may be ambulatory, but they tend to behave like children, small children Yeah. and that would be very difficult I think for an adult who wasn't in that situation to to have to deal with on a daily basis. Yeah. Uh. Well, it is like, the one that I worked in, uh, you would see some of them just like in wheelchairs all day, they would just roll themselves around all over the place and and they would enjoy enjoy themselves with activities Yes. and then you would see see some of the others that are were like distant from the other group and they they just didn't like participate together with the others because they had some some, uh, I guess, uh, slight mental disabilities and things like that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes. What, what do you call Alzheimer disease and stuff like that Yes, Alzheimer, yes. and they don't, don't, uh, they weren't really together with the rest of them, when they got together for such activities. Yes and that can, Okay. So Frank, what, uh, type of, uh, budget do you or your family have? Well, uh I don't know that we really have a budget. I have a set amount that I, that I save. Actually, well actually there is a, a way, budget our money apparently. The, uh, my wife, uh, has so much, uh, gets so much to do shopping with every couple of weeks and, uh, we allot each of us so much money per week for our personal stuff, gas, and things like that and besides that I, uh, you know, I have a set amount that I save every month. Right. That's, uh, sounds like probably a tighter controlled budget than what I have Uh-huh. I am single, so. I guess, I don't know if that's an excuse for not having a tight budget, Uh-huh. but I basically, Really don't need to. Right, I don't need to. I am the only that I have to keep track of so it makes it a little bit easier. That's right. Uh, and also I, you know, I try to save a certain amount each month as well Uh-huh. and, uh, I try to, try to have an idea of what my expenses are and I am pretty consistent from month to month Uh-huh. and, uh, whenever, uh, I need to, uh, whenever that changes I am pretty well aware of it without actually having to maintain a budget for it. Right. Well, I found that, uh, you know, things, as I have gotten older, I am in my fifties now, but before we use to have, to have to have a very strict budget, I had four kids and, uh, you know we planned out how much we were going to spend for food and how much for, for this and for that. Kind of anticipate how much things were going to be. Uh, I guess one interesting aspect of the budgeting I do now is that I set aside, uh, I kind of fence off areas of my check book. For instance, there are certain things that I know come up, uh, every so often. Every six months I have to pay car insurance. Uh, every six months I have to pay my taxes. So I take a set amount. Uh-huh. I've got a money market account that I do a lot of uh, uh, saving in and I also have got a checking account besides that, but, what I do on my money market account, my taxes for instance which amount to an average of two hundred and twenty dollars a month. I will just take two hundred and twenty out and I put it in parenthesis. I take it out of the right line total and put it in parenthesis in there and let it build up. Uh-huh. Every month I add two hundred and twenty dollars to it. Then when the tax bill comes in I've got that much set aside. Right. And I guess that's a way of budgeting. Yeah. That's, I guess I kind of do a similar thing. More, uh, medium or longer range. I just have a maybe a targeted amount that I will save for. Like I am, probably within a year I would like to buy a new car. Uh-huh. So, I kind of have a, an amount in my mind and I am making every effort to, to put a little bit away and increase the amount that I need for a down payment or whatever. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, cars are definitely something that you have to figure into your budget. Not only for buying them, but for keeping them on the road too. Right. Uh, you know, we've got two cars. My wife has a car and I like to drive pick up truck. So, we are on a schedule where I try every, uh, three or four years to, to buy a new one. And you know I am constantly making car payments, but I figure that's got to be the story of my life anyway, is making car payments. Uh-huh. So, uh, you know, I get one paid for and, uh, actually I am saving up for another one besides so it's you know, it's kind of a never ending thing, Huh. Right. but you try to, you try to schedule those things so that, uh, you only, you're not paying for two of at the same time I guess is what I am saying. Right. Have you thought about, uh, leasing? Well, uh, I have thought about it, but leasing wouldn't, you know, I don't use it for my business. I see. My wife uses hers just for pleasure and I use mine just to go back and forth to work which is only ten miles away Right. so. But if you are rolling it over every three years, it might be advantageous to do that. Yeah, I guess. Uh, You know, typically, you, if you purchase your own car you tend to make, uh, the best returns after you pay it off. Uh-huh. Of course, the longer you keep it beyond that point, the more profitable it is to own it yourself. Right. Yeah, you're right. Uh, I have, uh, been know to keep trucks or cars for oh, ten or twelve years, but I find that after about four years they kind of start going down hill and you got to put put stuff in them you know. That's right. Yeah, mine's, uh, seven years old and I think last year was, that was a rough year for it. I had a number of expenses Uh-huh. But, uh, I am hoping that most of them were just kind of, uh, you know the, as you get to a certain number of miles, you have to get everything replaced, brakes, shocks and all that. So, I just went through that whole set last year. Uh-huh. I hope that I only have a slow period before I do that again Those things can really upset your budget when they, when they come in. Uh, you know, it's nice to have a little bit set aside for the, for the unexpected shall we say. So that it doesn't, uh, kill you all in one month. Right. Right. What line of work are you in? Your turn. Oh, I, I start. Okay. Well, uh, we keep a budget to an extent. Uh, and really, we were really forced into keeping a budget because I'm, I'm paid once a month which sort of, sort of forces some, uh, uh, restrictions and you need to make sure all your bills are paid. Uh, about yourself? Well, I have to say I really don't have a budget. Both my wife and I, uh, grew up in, uh, families of rather modest means and, uh, our family income, at this point, is comfortable. Upper middle class I guess you might say. And, uh, we're both so, uh, frugal that, uh, we really don't need a budget, you know. We just sort of invest the money and go on vacations and always never seem to have any money problems which I guess is a comfortable thing. Yeah. Well I guess that really is sort of, uh, keeping a budget, you know. You stay within your, uh within your means. Well we stay within our means but we don't do it, uh, by conscious effort. It just sort of happens automatically. Yeah. Although we just moved to California and, uh, the cost of living here in California is, uh, I would say rather pathological Yes Uh, housing prices are, you know, like from four to ten times more expensive than, uh, uh, they were where I came from in, uh, Dallas. Oh, you moved from Dallas to San Francisco. Yeah. So, uh uh, that presents a, a real shock That is a hugh difference. Yeah. actually our standard of living has gone down somewhat since we've moved to California but, But you have good sour dough and it's a beautiful place to live Yeah. It's God's country. Yeah. Uh, and one way you know that is that only God can afford it Uh, so budget is not a problem for us. Uh, at least it hasn't been. It may, may be at this point. But, uh, up until this point it really hasn't been When I, uh, was in, uh, undergraduate school a long, long time ago, I, uh, noted that the monthly salary, starting average monthly salary salary for engineers that, you know, in my discipline, was like oh, six hundred ten dollars a month or something like that. And, uh, I noted at that point that I was, you know, if that's what my salary was that I drew then I would be making almost twice as much as my father made during his best year ever. So I stopped worrying about money. Yeah. And it, never have worried about money since then. Well, that, that's a system too. Sometimes, uh, it's a bit of a, a problem, you know, because I guess I don't really manage my money the way I should. But, uh, I suppose I've lost money on not taking good advantage of, of, uh, investments but, Well then again, you know, you said you, you are able to take trips. And you do, obviously, have enough to live on so I guess you're indirectly budgeting. Uh, just bye-bye the fact that you said you're both very frugal, uh, in spending the money. Uh-huh. So, I mean that's, that's a form of budgeting I would think It's, it's kind of a strange topic to, to try to, for two people who don't really have a budget to talk about budgeting and how they manage their money. Well, I guess we're both lucky in that regard then. Yeah. How big is your family? Uh, well we're, we have one on the way. I see. Uh, my wife, and then, we're, we're having one on the way in, uh, in, uh, September. So how, you, once you get ten children though, you may have, No I think it's just going to be one. Oh, all right How about yourself? I have two kids. Uh, one nine and one thirteen Oh. and they are beginning to be a budget problem but, uh, have not been really up until this, up to this point. Do they budget at all? I mean do you have them on an allowance? I give them a, I give them an allowance and they, uh, I basically give my son ten dollars a week and I put half of it in the bank and I give, give him the other half in cold cash. Yeah. And, uh, he has a teller card so he can, uh, do what he do what he wishes with the money that I put in the bank. But, at least, it isn't, you know, burning a hole in his pocket. Yeah. If he wants to use it, he has to go get it and that usually Capital punishment, uh, I guess, out in California is, has had a lot of, uh, a lot of, you know, discourse in the paper. Uh, apparently, you know, there's, they haven't, uh, executed anybody since nineteen sixty-seven, I believe. Uh, yeah. That's, that's as far back as I can remember Well, that's before my time actually. Yeah, they, Well, I, we were, we, uh, we just started, we lived in Redwood City when we were out there. Uh-huh. And, uh, and we found that, uh you know, it was a very liberal kind of community. But the, uh, I, I really feel that, that the law enforcement community, uh, you know, puts these people behind bars and then they, they, uh, uh, you know, lawyers, these lawyer groups get together and they, uh, they, I think, extend beyond the normal, uh, appeal process. Uh, you know, and just drag these, this guy, uh, his, his, uh, ultimate, uh, demise out for ten or fifteen years. Uh, and I, I think that, uh, that there's something that has to be changed in the system to, to do that. I think capital punishment, uh, uh, was or probably stringent enough but I think the appeal process is really getting in the way. Uh-huh. Do, do you feel as though there should be, uh, more, uh, was or, or more, uh, you might say transgressions that would be enforceable by, uh, by, uh, uh, capital punishment? Well I think that currently the way the law stands isn't so much that the laws are enforceable or not, it's more they're not enforcing the death penalty itself. It's at that point where they're saying like here you're, you're going on death row but you'll stay there for twenty years. Uh-huh. And nothing is being done about it. Uh, the laws exist and are frequently upheld in, in, uh, in Appeals Court just because of technicalities and because of maybe small little holes that their defending attorney can find. And it's, it's really getting out of hand in many states. Well, the term technicality . The law enforcement community, uh, uh, you know, has to, has to separate the difference between somebody who is being set up in which, uh, grievous acts are done to, uh, to, you know, to get somebody into a, a situation where they're going to be guilty of, of a crime. Or whether, uh, and whether the rights of that individual are been, have been, you know, impuned. Uh, but or whether there's just, you know, a policeman has just made a, uh, a, you know, a non, a noncritical error, though be it not the right way to do it but, but, you know, the, the merits of the case in terms of, you know, the guy was a law breaker, as being supportive. Now, I, I'm, at this juncture I, you know, I'm, I'm not sure, you know, what constitutes a, a technicality. You know, that, that's what all these, these hearings are about and that's what all these, you know, court cases are about. I mean our, uh, our, our glorious, uh, you know, mayor here in Washington is six days away from getting out of, out of the can and, uh, you know, he, he tried to appeal his conviction. Uh, and, you know, it didn't work. But be that as it may, everybody who got enough money will pump the appeal process dry. Uh, in, in the old days, you know, and say round about times of battle of Hastings, you know, and the villages if you were a transgressor, they, they either, you know, drove you out in the woods or you became a ward of somebody and he, you were his slave. And if he didn't like what you did, he killed you. And that has, that's pretty effective. Uh, you know, it's not good for civil rights, I guess, but it's pretty effective in that, you know, you've got to get along in the community and if you don't you'll perish. Either by the hand of your, your, your master or by being pushed out in the woods. So, I, I, I mean as, as man has gotten more complicated so all of the, uh, imaginations to, uh, you know, protect him from, from being, uh, dumped on by, uh, civilian authority in, in in criminal actions, especially, you know, murder cases and that sort of thing. Well, it seems like well it, it seems as if in the past typically there have been a lot of cases of people being wrongly tried or wrongly punished, and the whole idea behind the current criminal process system is to protect those who actually didn't the crimes, albeit it seems that we are failing in that, in that ultimate goal because there are times when people who are guilty are getting off. Um, for instance, um there's a case a few years back where, uh, someone, uh, someone who's being convicted for, was under a was going to trial for murder, was let off because of a technicality in that. The the arresting officer, uh, did not read the defendant their rights. Uh-huh. And where his, old evidence was there, the witnesses were there, the, everything was conclusively pointing to this individual yet Uh, a lot of companies now are, are using, uh, drug testing paraphernalia and drug testing situations to, to root out the, the either, uh, elementary or intermediate or advanced, uh, drug users. Uh-huh. And, uh, I know the, the government is, uh, you know, gives drug tests to all new entrants, all new applicants coming into government. Uh-huh. And, and I quite frankly, don't see anything wrong with it. I, I'm, I guess I'm not a good civil libertarian. And, and I, I feel as though, uh, that, uh, uh, you know, that if you, you're a drug user you have a hidden agenda that's difficult unless you really go into a deep background. Of course, we're, we're, being involved in my organization, uh, we, we have deep background checks and and so, uh, but, but, sometimes, you know, drug use can, can escape that. Sure, sure. And, uh, I have absolutely no compunction about, uh, using any and all means to, to, uh, uh, you know, work out, figure out who has a drug program or who has a drug problem and, uh, and putting that guy into, into therapy to, whatever it is to, to, you know, break this, uh, activity. Huh. Uh-huh. Of course, if he's fallen in love with drugs and there isn't anything but getting stoned or high is, is the only thing in life that seems to be meaningful, then maybe there is no hope Yeah. What's your, uh, feeling? Uh, well I guess I, I guess I'm probably a little more to, toward the other direction. Uh, well I guess, mainly because, uh, it's, I, well, like there's two sides to it I guess. Uh, one is that, uh, if you're coming to work under the influence of any sort of drug, alcohol, whatever, or, you know, even if it's smoking, inhibits, you know, your ability to function, then I, I think that, that, you know, I don't have any problem at all with testing that individual, you know, on the spot. Uh, but I guess I feel more like whatever you're doing in your own private life is your own private business. Uh, and I guess part of the reason there is because of the fact that, uh, things like drug laws seem to come and go. You know, we had prohibition for awhile and then we didn't have prohibition. Uh, you know, we've had, I guess, laws against, uh, you know, various other forms of drugs for the last what sixty or seventy years, I guess. Uh-huh. Maybe a little longer. Well I think, uh, the the laws on, uh, uh, uh, the first morphine laws were, were like ninety, or nineteen ten or nineteen five, something like that. Yeah. So, eighty years or so. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so I, you know, it's, it's hard to, I guess, for me to justify what seems like, you know, basically a breach of the First you know, freedom from, uh, search and seizure, you know, uh, on something that may or may not stand as a law, you know, fifty years from now or even twenty or ten, who knows. Well, the thing of it is the, the, that, that is, uh, uh, in, in many respects, uh, uh, you know, just, just, I think, an over simplification. I mean, prohibition certainly didn't last. I, I think there, there's so much criminal activity, uh, that people go into to, to support drug habits. Well, but you got to look at prohibition though. You had the same problems there, right? Yeah. You know, they, they support drug habits with, uh, with, uh, you know, with things like, uh, you know, burglary or, or prostitution or stuff like that, yeah. Oh, yeah. Sure. Well it goes back to that, again, if you look at prohibition. I mean because it's illegal, it costs more. If it was legal, I mean, face it you can buy pharmaceutical grade cocaine for what, ten or twenty dollars an ounce. I, I I must admit that, And clearly if you're into coke and all you want to do is, you know, snort your brains out all day long, if it was legal, you could do it real cheap and, you know, you'd be a menace to nobody but yourself as long as you stayed at home and did it. Yeah. But, yeah, get, uh, Yeah. I, I must admit that the production costs of, of these drugs are, are zippo compared to the street market costs and, and the costs to society, yeah. Oh, yeah, well that's why there's, you know, people dealing it because there's money in it, you know. There's ridiculous amounts of money. But I, I, I, I think that, that the, that, you know, the, being in law enforcement, you know, they, I, I probably have a kind of a draconian, Philistine attitude toward it. And, but, but the, uh, uh, I, I really feel as though the interdiction effort is, is, as soon as you, you get rid of one goon that's, that's, that's involved in drugs and Oh yeah, interdiction's hopeless. I mean Yeah, and then another, another one will jump up. there's no way you're ever going to win that. But we, we see, The tighter you squeeze, the more the price goes up, the more incentive there is. I mean that's a losing fight . Yeah. as soon as we wind up, uh, uh, you know, for, well if we can just destroy the market by destroying the demand but, but people want to, get, get stoned Yeah, yeah. and I, I don't see that, Well, yeah. It goes back to, you know, what right, what can society impose on people. I mean, can you force somebody to be a good productive citizen? Yeah. I don't think you can. I mean, you know, I'm, you know, was raised with being a very strong Bible work ethic so, you know, I'm one of these, you know, ten, twelve, fifteen, twenty hour a day type people. Uh-huh. So, you know, yeah, I can really relate to yeah, everybody ought to do their own share, you know. I don't have any, you know, love lost for people who are on the public dole just because they're too lazy to get a job or that kind of stuff. Uh-huh. But, you know, See, when you're with a big company or a big organization, a lot of times, uh, you know, the benefits are good and, and, you know, the pay is regular but, uh, you know, sometimes you don't get tuned in to what's going on. And I, I think the biggest benefit or the biggest benefit other than wages that, that, uh, that anybody could get in, in dealing with a large company is to be in a situation where you, you get to know what's going on. And maybe that's, that's probably the toughest thing in the whole world to, to do. What's, what's your feeling about benefits? What sort of benefits would you like to get from a big company. Well, since I'm kind of on the, the older side, you know, I, I, I just feel like, uh, when I start talking about benefits, I talk about, I'm concerned about medical benefits Uh, my, uh, my husband works for McDonald Douglas and so his benefits, his medical benefits are so excellent, you know, that's really great. Uh-huh. You know, I work for, uh, a bank, Western Financial. Uh-huh. And, uh, they don't let me know really about anything that's going on. Even some of the immediate things that I need to know, I don't know it until the next hour and all of a sudden we know we've got changes made. We're changing departments. We're changing policies. We're changing doing other kinds of things. Which to me is, is disturbing I mean, I feel like if, I, I don't necessarily need to, uh, be involved since I'm pretty much on a low level, you are, you are right there. You know, I'm pretty much on a low level as far as, uh, the company is concerned. But I, I do kind of like to know what's going on and what's happening and I think I can be a better and more effective employee if, if I had a little bit more information along that line. Well, I I well I work for the government and, uh, actually I work for the F B I. Oh, my gosh. And, uh, and so, you know, we, we don't, there's lots of things that we don't get told. For good reason. But, uh, but basically, uh, there's lots of things that, that we should know about projects. I'm an engineer. You know. Uh-huh. I'm, I'm a COTR. And and I, I worked in the same lab with a guy and we didn't really know that much about each other's projects for two years. And we should have, you know, we're, we're now collaborating. Oh. And And it, it , for two years we didn't. And, we, which was a, kind of stupid. But, uh, but our organization is doing something else on Monday. Uh, we're having a, for all unclassified programs, we're, we're having little tables put up in front of lab in the hallways and every, all the other employees are going to come around and see what sort of things we do. Which I thought was kind of interesting and, But, uh, but that, that sort, sort of thing. Yeah, that is interesting. But, if you, I think you can tolerate a lot of problems if you understand what's going on. Exactly. And, and, but of course most time, most of the time management has a hard time distributing or getting the word out to the people who must know. And, you know, if you don't really count. If you're not part of the program you might not get told for months. Or you might, you know, if it doesn't impact you directly. Or if your management doesn't think that. But, but regard to benefits. You know, most companies have, most big organizations have decent, you know, benefits like retirement and that sort of thing. In the private sector I would think that one of the major, uh, situations, especially when you reach, you know, the, the mid-fifties, is keeping a job until you retire. right. And engineers are, uh, are baggage to most, uh, uh, as they get older, to, to most companies. And, uh, it's very much like the military, it windows out. You know, you, you think well, boy, I'm getting more money and I'm getting more responsibility, I'm doing this. But as you climb up that tree, pretty soon you're, the, the branches get smaller on the top of the tree Uh-huh. and pretty soon somebody falls off. I, I've fallen off twice in the private sector. Oh. And, uh, and, you know, I can get up, I know. It, it seems to be, be kind of, kind of scary, you know. Because you think of, uh, see my son's eighteen right now and he, he's, uh, he wants to go into engineering. And the, the, the branches of engineering that he wants to go into is now kind of open and he's interested in, basically, three different areas. But, uh, it's difficult for me to try to give him any kind of advice or to advise him or anything like that. He needs to do his own course of investigation and, and see what he can do because who knows what's going to happen in another thirty years. Uh-huh. Yeah. And in thirty years it becomes pretty critical. I mean, my, uh, brother-in-law is like, uh, I mean he's sixty. He's not ready to retire but his company is, is, uh, is, uh, closing up. Uh-huh. And because of the defense cutbacks and all that kind of stuff. And all the nuclear and stuff which is what he, what he was working on. He's getting cut back and he's not ready to retire Yeah, he may be retired. Budgeting activity in our household I, has is, uh, uh, kind of an informal kind of situation. We, we, you know, put, actually what happens is, uh, is, my check gets automatically deposited. I don't even have the glories of bringing home my check anymore. It just gets deposited. And, and, and my, my wife, you know, you know, looks at all those bills that come in and, you know, and all those people are counting on me to have my wife pay them. You see, and so our, our budgeting, we really don't have a formal budgeting situation. Every time I've ever tried one, it's, uh, I've just got wrapped in my inertia. And, uh, I've just decided not to pursue it. Uh, what, what's your budget situation? Well, actually, uh, I've, I've had a couple of different situations. My current one has been the most successful. Uh, at a certain point in life my husband, my ex-husband was an alcoholic. And we got divorced back in the mid-seventies and that left me with three teenagers. You know, well actually that kind of situation is just wonderful for budgets. Isn't it? It certainly is But at any rate, what happened was that I, I just absolutely put away all the credit cards. I didn't rip them up. I didn't send them back. Nothing. I just put them away. Because there was one that it was really handy to have. If I absolutely had to have something, I could go use it. Uh-huh. But, uh, mostly we just spent cash. Whatever we had. And if we didn't have it, we absolutely didn't spend it. But then, as things improved, you know. Once, once I got them all through college, uh, it came to the point where, uh, my parents came through the depression. I'm not sure how old you are. Well, my, you know, my, my parents too. You, you you were born in, in the, in the late thirties or early forties. But my, Late thirties, yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, my mother hardly ever spent anything on herself or on the house. And that's kind of the way I was raised. And so I'm not a very demanding person in, in that aspect. So for quite a period of time, I just flat didn't spend any money. Um. Now, meanwhile, I got, had a, a building bank balance. And my intent was that whenever something went on sale that I really had to have, I would have the cash to buy it right then and there. And not ever have to spend any money on interest. Uh-huh. Well, that, that's good. And that, that's the way I've operated ever since then. It, and you know, if, if something goes on sale and I don't have the money, I still don't buy it. Well, we, we buy what, well, we just got through buying a twenty-five foot refrigerator, a new ceramic top stove, and a new dishwasher. Oh my And, and we put twenty-eight hundred dollars on the charge. Along with my trip to Japan which was, was fourteen or fifteen hundred dollars Oh my! and you know. Oh my. Right. I mean, we just, we got a monster, you know, bill coming in. But, but we also have zero interest being paid. And we pay it off as, as it goes. Uh-huh. And that's the way I do my credit cards now. Yeah. So we never really get that much over, uh, over extended. Yeah. I do almost all my purchasing on credit cards. Huh. But it's the fact that I have enough of a, of a cushion in the bank so that when they come, I can pay them in full. Yeah. We're, we're doing that. We have, you know, uh, this is our, our, our big, uh, we did redecorating. Two, you know, two new pieces in the in the family room and new carpet. I mean we just uh, we've just been spending, spending, spending. Oh my. I'm envious Well I, but we haven't really done anything for a long time because we've, we've had two kids in college that just have graduated in the past year. Uh-huh. So we're, you know, we don't have that. It's time for you to do these things then. Right? Yeah, it's, uh, it's about time that we did that. and it all looks still pretty good to me. Why, why we need to replace it? But, but, unfortunately my, my, my wife really feels as though it's, it's just been an inappropriate, uh, thing to, to, I mean that rug is thirteen years old, why not replace it. I mean, uh, I say it might go for another thirteen but, uh, too late, we'll never find that out. This is so funny. That's wonderful. But you're lucky to have her because if you're like me and you have difficulty spending money, you need somebody to help you spend it. And, I mean, certain things really do need to be done whether or not you think they should, be or not You know, I, I, I don't spend that much money. I just, uh, we just sort of have had, uh, you know, too many obligations to, you know, we sort of take care of the kids when they were school and they, they got through school. And that was the major, you know, decade of expenses, you know. So we, we feel as, uh, but as far as any formal budgeting, uh, you know, I, I, we just apparently have been very fortunate. When we went, want to go out to eat, we go out to eat. We never really, you know, have to program money for that or make choices, you know. But, uh, we don't have that uproarious a, a lifestyle. After all, we're, Okay, um. How has it been this week for you? Weather-wise, or otherwise? Weather-wise. Weather-wise. Damp, cold, warm Oh, no, damp. We have, we have gone through, what might be called the four seasons, uh, in the last week. Uh-huh. We have had highs of seventy-two, lows in the twenties. My goodness. Well, I don't even want to tell you what ours has been like then. It was ninety-six yesterday, I heard about that. and we set a record yesterday. And, uh, very windy, but then today the wind has dropped off, and also, the temperature, so, very cool, uh, I think right now it's like sixty-nine, Um and that's cool for or it feels cool compared to yesterday, but very pleasant, no rain in the last month, I don't think. The ground's very dry and our yard work, everything is in bloom, so our yard work is pretty tough, the ground being dry, but I guess it also, uh, brings about allergies, we're having a lot of allergies down here right now. Uh-huh. Everything blooming, and, and the weather. Uh-huh. And, uh, I think a lot of people have contracted, uh, spring fever too, so. Had a lot of people out at work, you know, for fishing, and, and uh, and golfing, reasons and things like that. The blue flu, Yeah. yeah, the blue flu, or the white collar flu, depending on where you work, I guess. Yes. Oh, we have had, uh, as I've said, we have had variable weather. Uh, Um. It has been untypically wet for this time of year, Um. and, also, we have a lot of green, you know, the grass has been growing and if you look outside, you would like to go out and mow your lawn, if you could go out and buy a new spark plug, or something along those lines, Uh. but fortunately it rains and you, uh, do not have to go out and buy the spark plug, you know. Yeah. But, we've had an unusually, uh, uh, warm spring, and, well I guess we're still in winter, and, uh, we have had no snow. Uh-huh. No snow? To speak of, to speak of. Um. We usually average, oh, anywhere from six to twelve inches during the winter and this year, as well as last year, we have had less than four inches total accumulation. Um. So, it's been inordinately warm, uh, here, for, uh, for this time of year. Um. So, uh, in that regard, it's fine, but, uh, I envy you your ninety-four degrees. Uh-huh. I thought I heard this morning that in San Antonio it was in the nineties yesterday. Yes, yes it is. Down in the more southern and western areas. And, of course we are, um, about two hours from the northern border, straight south, Yeah. and, and, uh, very windy. It's amazing to me because I have only lived in Dallas for three years, and I cannot believe that the wind blows all the time. It does, I, I very seldom, if any, I can't remember, you know, a day that I walked out and the wind wasn't blowing. Uh-huh Well, I spent six years in graduate school at, in Indiana. In the flatlands, and it was that way every day. Um. Rarely a day went by when the wind was less than fifteen or twenty miles an hour. Summer and winter, Um. so, that, uh, you, you became accustomed to it, I guess. Uh-huh. But, uh, otherwise as I said, we have had, uh, a relatively mild winter, speaking for this area of the country. Uh-huh. Oh, where did you go to school in Indiana? Purdue. Purdue. I have a brother that lives in, uh, uh, South Bend, Indiana. Oh, yes. And, I had to always, I've lived there for eight years myself. I'd always said I was going to go back to school and go to Notre Dame. But, I didn't. Uh. Well, you are not from that area originally, I can tell. No, originally I'm from New Mexico. Oh, okay. I was born in New Mexico and we lived in, uh, South Bend for eighty, eight years, and, uh, then moved to, uh, Tennessee actually. Uh-huh. And, uh, Well, I thought I heard a little Tennessee in there somewhere. Very much, very much, cause I, I spent thirteen years there. And, uh, then moved to Dallas about three years ago. Uh-huh. So, Gee, you've moved almost, moved around as much as I have Yeah, uh, my father was in the Air Force, so, Oh, I see. Uh-huh. Well, I worked for the government, so I, I moved, uh, much more frequently than I had intended for sixteen years, Uh-huh. but, uh, I guess the, uh, this is my first conversation in this, uh, uh, series. Oh, uh-huh. I, I received a call last night because of the, uh, I had not received my, uh, personal identification number. Right. So, I had to call Jack Godfrey today to ask him what it was, because I, I had to abort the call last evening because I couldn't get on the line. Yeah So, uh, is there any, I'm not sure how long we're supposed to talk. It's, um, it's just as long as you want to. Oh. I mean it's just, uh, as long as you want to, and just, you know, a reasonable lengthy conversation. Uh, do you work for Texas Instruments? No, I do not. I work for G T E. Oh, okay. And, I, uh, of course, was, I was sent a, uh, an application from, uh, from Jack. Uh-huh. I've known Jack for some time. I'm in the speech processing business, and have been for a number of years, Oh, okay. so I was very much interested, in, in being a speaker for this Yeah. Well, actually, I, I work for Texas Instruments, and, uh, I'm an a, I'm an environmental engineer, Oh, I see. and, uh, they just published this internally, you know, getting people involved. Uh-huh. So, that, that's really strange. I, I was wondering why we had somebody from Maryland though. I was saying, God, do we have a TI in Maryland or, I'm sure you have a representative somewhere in the area. If just nothing more than a business representative or government services representative, Uh-huh. and, um, but I have, uh, I have been a speaker in other, uh, similar type of activities. Uh-huh. And, I know the reason why this is, why the, uh, this is being gathered and the program and so forth, so, I was interested as I said, I was interested in being a speaker. Uh-huh. We haven't talked much about the weather Oh, well. I know that's what we're supposed to do. Yeah, yeah. Well, really it, uh, the letter just says, um, let's see, I can't, I was looking at it, I was trying to find out speedy short cuts, and I always thought it's not necessary to measure your time, just to go ahead and enjoy the conversation, and, and, end it when needed. So. Uh-huh. In environmental engineering, uh, Uh-huh. is that with regard to work place engineering, or just, you know, the work place environment or, Uh, well, it's actually, um, waste water. Oh, I see. Taking, taking care of uh, I'm actually in the air division, and we monitor, um, anything that comes out of a stack, or out of a building, or, um, we do have customers that, um, their concerns are in the work place and we take care of that, but , within our department. We take care of everything. Waste water, uh, solid waste, and recycling, and, and air and Uh-huh. Well, I had my, the, the call last evening was supposed to be about, uh, concerning recycling in the community. Oh, uh-huh. The call I received, and so, I had, uh, I had thought a little bit about it, um, before hand. Uh-huh. Oh, uh-huh. So, I, but that, that's interesting. I have a, uh, uh, friend who is a planner. Uh, a city planner. Oh, uh-huh. And, one of his, and he models, uh, city districts, and so forth, uh, does computer modeling. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, one of the, uh, he has inputs, or gets inputs from, uh, an environmental engineer. . Uh-huh. Yeah, we actually, our division is corporate wide, and we take care of just the Dallas area. Uh-huh. Of course we have several plants here, but, um, we do air modeling also. Oh, I see. And, and, yeah, I take care of all the air modeling, specifically for the Dallas area. What we do, we have a weather station, that we get all of this information, you know, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and, uh, we have a huge chemical data base. Well, that's interesting. And, uh, our, our chemical data base, so that we know every chemical on site and, and, um, its concentration, and if, if anything ever happened, God forbid, you know, a building explosion or something we'd be able to track chemicals from that building with our weather station. Okay, um, well, the first thing, uh, what do you think you would offer as far as, uh, information about selecting a school? Well, first I think they've got to have a pretty good idea of what they want to, what they want to do. Uh-huh. Uh, once they have that, then they can start looking in all the various publications that give out all the information about schools and write to the schools themselves, and start finding out about the different requirements for the programs and what kind of, uh, of job assistance and all that other kind of stuff they offer. Yeah, uh, do you, do you feel that the first two years that the, um, depending upon the field, I know there are some fields which a person should go to the school, that school, all four years, but I know there are some fields where it's really not necessary. Yeah, a lot fields are, most of your liberal arts degrees and stuff aren't really concerned with your first two years anyway. It's, it's your core education, your general general education requirements. Uh-huh. Um, if, you know, if they want to get a liberal arts degree, I don't, I don't know what advice I'd give them. Go to the school you'd like to go to. Yeah. That's what I did Yeah. I didn't care about the program or anything else. I went where I wanted to go. Yeah. What was your degree in? Uh, political science. Political science, oh, okay. Well, I I know, I'm going to school right now, and, uh, I have a friend, Where are you at? Uh, U T D. University of Texas, Dallas. Well, yeah, I guess, everybody's in Dallas that I talk to. I'm in, North Carolina. I know. That's where Texas Instruments is. Yeah, right. Um, something that I, I think that I've noticed that I, I have a friend, I think if you're going into like, uh, law or medicine, a very particular, very specific field, even, even engineering, you can get, you can meet a lot of the requirements at a public, um, institution. Sure. And, uh, it's a lot cheaper. Oh, yeah. My parents, my parents made a mistake in, uh, in sending my sister to a private institution for the first two years. Um. And she found out after that, she said, you know, my parents, they just, they really wasted a lot of money. This is about twenty years ago. Uh-huh. But, uh, well, right now I just, I mean as far as selecting, selecting a school, I, I, I feel that, uh, a lot of it depends upon the major. Yeah, it does. Um, I didn't know what I wanted to do after I got my, my degree. Uh-huh. Um, originally I had planned, uh, undergrad degree in political science and then a master's in public administration. And I went ahead and pursued that. I, I got as far as the thesis, and decided, To hell with it, I didn't want it. Um, and from that point I went to law school. Uh-huh. And after a year and a half of that I decided I didn't want that either Okay. Haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up. Yeah. And so, but I, I, I really did enjoy the law. I mean, that's, that's where I wanted to be, but I didn't want to go through the, uh, the hassle that the law schools put you through, because I never did want to be a practicing attorney. I just wanted a law degree. Uh-huh. And I've since discovered that I would be far better off being in the paralegal field. Because that's the nuts and bolts of the law, and that's what I like, Yeah. and you don't have to put up with all the B S that the lawyers have to. Right. So that's, that's what I'm pursuing right now Um. and I'm pretty happy with it so far. Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm pursuing what they, what's, what's called an interdisciplinary field. I'm a speech therapy major Uh-huh. and fortunately I have a lot of, I have a good medical background, Yeah. and, that's probably very useful. Yeah, it's, it's actually turning out to be more, more useful than what I thought. Uh-huh. And, um, I also have a good languages background, linguistics. And some psychology. Uh-huh. So, it's all working together. Yeah. The only field I'm not familiar with really is education, which is required, requires about four or five different fields really. Oh, good grief. So it's a, Yeah, I thought at one time I wanted to be a teacher, but I, I quickly dispelled that idea when I became a substitute teacher for a while, just to get my feet wet. Uh-huh. I said, uh, I couldn't do this everyday. No way. Well. Maybe, maybe being a tenured professor would be one thing, but being a public school teacher is entirely another thing. Oh, so you are a disgruntled graduate student I am a I am, I am just a disgruntled person all around Oh I'm the, uh, I'm the, uh, original, uh, Mister Scrooge, I guess. Yeah, Bah, humbug. Yeah, bah, humbug. Yeah, I just, I, I, I think, yeah, there is, I, I, I think, uh, law would be a fine field, a fine profession, fine field to go into. Um, I know one time I was in a political science class, and you know, talking about fields, people going into different fields, I made an off, off the cuff remark about lawyers, about their integrity being questionable. And I mean, oh, that was like a can of worms. Probably, you probably got everybody on you, because they were probably all going to law school. No, there was a woman, she said a My, my best friends are lawyers a and you know, all this, and it was just Well, that remark in itself is a slam a My best friends are lawyers a Yeah, I know. You know, like, like, uh, my best friends are blacks Or Jewish, it used to be Jewish, you know. Jewish, now blacks Yeah. and I guess, I, I, guess Iraqi now is the I know, it's, but, Law, law was a lot of fun until you get to law school Yeah. and it doesn't become fun anymore. Yeah, I have a I have a friend. She's studying, she's going into law, another friend going into law, and, she's, I, I, I'm really, I'm really concerned about, you know, she's just going to be, you know, what's going to happen when she gets there. Yeah, you going, You know, all of her dreams will be dispelled Oh, yeah. Yeah, if, if, if you've ever seen the program PAPER CHASE it's very much like that, except worse. Yeah. Yeah, it's I, I think it's probably more embarrassing and very painful. It is. I see I see that happening. Yeah, very much so. Yeah, it's, it's a lot of that. Um Yeah. it, it was enjoyable for a while, um, but it's such a grind Yeah. and you begin to wonder, you know, if, if I'm not, I mean, you really have to be dead set on being a lawyer to do it. Uh-huh. If you have any doubts whatsoever, you better not get into it. Uh-huh. I mean, I wasted a year and a half of awfully hard, and I aged ten years. Uh-huh. But I, I, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world. It never hurts to have some kind of a grounding in law. Yeah, I went to a language school, and, and that was a, it was a, an I guess, uh, United States institution. I was military at the time And I, I think probably the biggest. What branch were you in? Huh? What branch were you in? I was in the Air Force? I was too. Yeah, yeah, for myself, I mean, I think that military experience was fine, it was just, I just wish that there was something else that, that, that I could have done, you know, with, Well, I got, I got tired of the service after a while, I mean it, I had a terrific job, really enjoyed it. Yeah, what, what was your job? Uh, command post. Uh, I was, I was a linguist I was just wondering, were you in SAC by any chance? Um. Were you in SAC? In Tak? SAC. Uh, no I wasn't. Oh, okay, I, I thought maybe you might have had some experience with the, uh, R C one thirty-fives. No, no, I didn't, I didn't go flight crew. Matter of fact, I didn't make it completely through that, through that field. I, was in intelligence school and about three weeks short. Oh. I didn't make it, I sort of washed out. Well, Well. Yeah after about eighteen months of talking about the year and a half training, you know, it's, it's something, you know, Uh-huh. I think that's why, you know, children really need to think about the field they're going to, going into, and I mean, spend a lot of serious reading before they, I mean, not just thinking about. Yeah. Yeah. They actually should do some reading That's right, and it, And if it's possible even get some experience at it or at least watch some people do it. and they should study it. Yeah. I, I, I, I think, I think there's a lot to be said for kids working after school. Uh-huh, sure. I mean, they, they find out whether, just how much of a people person they are. That's true, I found that out when I was in high school. I worked at McDonald's. Oh, and I tell you what, I worked at McDonald's as well, and I, I can tell you one thing, there are just some people that I, you know, you just came to the point where I mean, and oh, I eventually worked in a lab, in a as a lab technician, and I worked front desk. And I mean, somebody could walk in the door, and I knew exactly what they were going to do and say. Yeah, yeah I was the same way too. I'm not a people person. I, I, I hate, um, having to play such a nice guy. You know, especially when it's all phony. Especially when you got some, uh, jerk coming in. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, it's just not for me. I'm, uh, I deal much better in research and books, and stuff like that which is why I'm going to enjoy the paralegal field a lot. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's good. I was just wondering, um, getting back to the school thing, so, I, I almost wish that there was something ... What kind of a car do you drive now? I drive a Honda Prelude. Do you? I drive a Honda Accord. Oh, yeah Yeah I bought mine a year ago so I'm not buying a car any time soon. Yeah, me either. I just bought mine, uh, it will be a year in August. Yeah. I love it though. I love Hondas. Yeah. It, I think I found my car. Well, I, I like where all the controls are they're, they're in good spots Right. Oh, really, Yeah. I have a standard. But, um, I, it's, an it's supposedly real reliable the only thing I've ever heard about Hondas is that the breaks go out first. Oh, really? Yeah. I hadn't heard that. Yeah. What did you have before you bought that. I had a Buick Regal. Did you? Yeah. I had, uh, a Mazda R X Seven before that and that was the worse car I've ever driven in my life. The Buick was, was great. It was nine years old and it, was still going strong. Really? The only problems I had with it in the nine years that I owned it, I had to replace the compressor when it was about seven years old. Really? And that was the only major problem that I had, I mean, I had like little piddly things like I had to replace the muffler Yeah. and I had replaced the tires and, uh, seems like it had a radiator leak once. But I never had any major anything, other than the compressor. Right. I really never had anything major with my Mazda but it was a standard also and the clutch went out on it toward the end, I had it five years and the last year, last two years it seemed to go out really easily. I think it went out twice in two years and that's, that's a lot it shouldn't go out that much. Huh-uh. And so I went ahead and bought another standard when I bought the Honda but I don't think I'm going to do that again. I think I'm going back to automatic now. Well, I never, well, I kind of know how to drive standard but I've never owned one so I hadn't, I don't drive one a lot. Right. So, I don't feel comfortable in traffic with it. Right. And for everything I've heard it's a lot easier to sell an automatic. Yeah, it is. And, and resale value is really important to me That's true. Yeah, it is me too that's why I got the Honda. Yeah. Hondas have great resale value. Yeah. The Mazda definitely did not Not at all. They're worse than American cars I think or just as bad as far as resale goes. I did pretty well with my, uh, Regal because it was in really good shape but, it still looked real nice, Yeah. the, the interior was still really nice, there wasn't cracks all over the dash board and stuff. Right. And it had some, some nice features. So I ended up okay with the Buick, Good. and I anticipate the same thing with the Honda whenever I decide to sell it, of course, I may never sell it Right. I may drive it until it's dead but, Yeah. That's what I did with the Mazda, drive it until the, until the clutch went out and the wheels fell off, Yeah. so, probably what I'll do again. Yeah. But I really like the Hondas. I like foreign cars a lot. Uh-huh. Well, I looked at the Mitsubishi Galant. I was looking for a four door car having driven the R X Seven so long, Uh-huh. and it was so small and it's really impractical. So, I wanted something with a real trunk, and four doors something easy to get in and out of and I looked at the Galant and those were really nice and I can get them for a great price. Yeah. But I found it hard to deal with the, the dealership I was going through. Oh. So, that's how I ended up with a Honda. I wasn't even looking for a car when I bought this car. I, uh, I was thinking about buying a Prelude from a friend who was moving to New York or something so and she was going to sell her car because she didn't need it anymore and it was only like a year old and I had never driven, uh, a Prelude. So, I went to a dealership because they had like, uh, the same year and same model, of Prelude on their used car lot Right. and I went and I test drove it and, you know, I just fell in love, with this brand new white Prelude, uh, you know, two liter S I with the sun roof and the moon roof Oh, yeah. They're nice I think. and I, bought it loaded. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I have to have them loaded, Oh, um, I love all those little things that you don't need but they're so wonderful. Yeah. I went there looking at a used car and two days later I bought this car. I felt like, I felt like that was the worst impulse, that was, that was largest impulse that I, that I had ever made. The the two, other things that I bought on impulse are a V C R and a washer and dryer. I understand. I go for the big stuff. Yeah. I noticed Mine was definitely not impulse I really needed a new car. Mine was just, it was getting worn out I guess from being a sports car. I drove it kind of hard, Oh. and I got it right after high school. So, by the time I traded it in it was ready. Yeah. I got, I got my Buick as a high school graduation gift. Did you? Yeah. But I, I guess this wasn't really an impulse, I mean, buying it right then and, you know, right quickly was kind of impulsive but I'd been thinking about buying a new car for about three years and I was just scared to. Right. I was scared to start taking on payments because the Buick was long since paid for. Right. That's the same with me. Would you ever buy a used car for a new car for yourself? Buy a, you, buy a used car? Like, Right. Sure. I, I was going to buy one once but I just, I worry about who's driven them and what they've been through and the warranties and things like that. Yeah. Just, I can't seem to get over that. That just bothers me I don't know why. Well, um, like on Hondas they, supposedly, the maintenance records was supposed to be registered with Honda or whatever and you can request whatever maintenance records exist on cars and you can have them checked out by mechanics and stuff. Yeah, that's true. I mean they can't stop you from doing it. Hoping that they do go to a Honda dealership to get them serviced. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and even if they didn't, you can still get a good idea from a, if you can get a good mechanic to, check it over real carefully and check the block and everything. Yeah. That's true. So. Well, I guess that's all. Okay. Well, I enjoyed talking to you. I enjoyed talking to you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Anyway, what are your, what are your first comments on that pauses and subject? Uh, my first comments on the budget. I would say there has, What would you start cutting what would be the first thing you'd cut? Defense? Surprisingly, no. I would, I would cut the prison systems and let them self-support. Mean private enterprise? Huh? Have private enterprise do it? You mean the prisons? Uh-huh. They're already talking about it. I mean, they're talking about, uh, having it, uh, as a, you know, business. Uh, to, uh, you know, to, so, the, you know, the government doesn't have to deal with it. I hadn't heard that. But, uh, yeah, because I think it's all funded, either state or federally funded so, or, uh, obviously. Right. So, but, uh, But see they're, they don't have enough, uh, uh, you know, there's, there's not enough room in these prisons and that, and that, uh, to continue funding it. But to me it, They think they need to, maybe have, uh, you know, private, you know, business, private enterprise come in. So, Well, see the other way I'm thinking about is they should be self-supporting, like, uh, the prisoners make license plates or farm or small industry inside the prisons. Anything to where they can be self-supporting within themselves. In other words, they're in there for a purpose, put them to work rather than sitting there. Uh-huh. It's the same thing like the whole criminal, I shouldn't say criminal, but the whole police department of the United States. I feel the same way. Uh, someone gets picked up for drunk driving, he should put enough in there that goes back into paying for that policeman being out there. Uh-huh. So it's self you know, self-defense on that point. Uh, as far as my defense budget, uh, they're cutting it back now, what, twenty-five percent? I wouldn't want to see it cut any more than that. Yeah. But again I'd like to see something on the other end back into education. But not in the education we have today. So I'm lost on that one. I would like to be a little more into investigating some of the other countries in the world and their educational problems. And to come up with something a little better than what we've got. Uh-huh. Yeah, its tough to, to say what, uh, you know, what, uh, as far as this, that good or bad or what. But, uh, I was just talking to somebody else, and all those European countries, they pay all the way through college and stuff like that. They, so, uh, Well, not so much pay. I'm not trying to see the government put out any more. No. Yeah, I know what you are saying. But I'm just saying that even the differences, uh, is that, you know, some countries pay for students to go to, through college and etcetera. But here, it, you know, it's just up to high school. Yeah. But see, we don't even push the fact to the high school kids that there's other means of education out there rather than college. To go either as an apprentice, which they, they do in other countries. Just doing it, which I think would bring the education back up. You know, Uh-huh. why not an apprentice out to a, a company and learn from down on the bottom as a wood worker or, you know, just a technician? You can learn on the job. Which, of course, again, which would mean, again, Uh-huh. our education budget will go down if this is, in a few years, I mean it's not going to be overnight. Yeah. But that would come down. I think the you know, that's one reason, uh, you know, we do have the education is that what it takes for these companies to bring somebody on board. Uh, they're not willing to, you know, to put that, you know, the training for only a certain amount. So, uh, it's, you know, as far as the technical side. But, uh, even like one, one of the biggest things now is like paralegals and stuff. I mean they, they're trying to get more people into that field. But they can't just bring somebody in without even having gone to, you know, school in that area before they can work, you know, for a lawyer as a paralegal. Excuse me. I see it being done I know of a friend that works for my lawyer that has had no training whatsoever and she's training her. Uh-huh. Well, yeah, I, I'm, well I, you know, I'm assuming that it can be done. Uh, my perspective is that, you know, I've been with a couple of big companies now. And it's like they'd, are unwilling to put the time in. You know, they want somebody, you know, when they then, when they bring them off, bring them in, that they have something, you know, a certain amount to contribute. Obviously, there's, uh, you know, there's a lot to learn, uh, after that. But, but, uh, that's true. I'm, I'm sure there's a lot of, uh, you know, businesses are small, you know, small businesses that could, uh. Let me change my channel, I've got a cordless phone. Let me see if that clears this up. phone Is that better? Yes. Okay. Wow! Yeah, it was a cordless phone, and all of a sudden we had a bad, uh, frequency there or something. So we had some interference, so I changed that. Yeah. It sounded you were calling from around the world somewhere Anyway, so, uh, Well, but, uh, you know, I think, uh, they, maybe they need to, uh, help promote that more. Give incentives like, uh, if they do bring somebody on, they will pay some of their costs or give tax breaks or whatever it is, you know, for them to train people, you know, stuff like that. Programs like that, you know. Uh-huh. I don't know, you know, what kind of options they've got. Well, that's something about what Germany's supposed to be doing. Something similar to that right now. And, uh, they have jobs out on, you know, bulletin boards so people know what is open for an apprentices in different fields. But see, that again would cut some of our budget down for education but build up our education with the people. At people, per, at high school level, which I would like to see. Rather than so many kids getting out of school. Uh-huh. They're, they go on the unemployment list before we have turn around. Because they don't have any education. Uh-huh. I don't mean college. And I'm for college. But there's a lot of people that don't want their higher education as far as quote, quote college is concerned. They've had it. Yeah. I think, I just heard something the other day, it was like only, it was either sixty percent or forty percent, go to college. And then out of that percentage, only so many can get their degree. Uh-huh. So, I thought that was interesting. But, uh, you know, most people I knew have gone and got their degree. So, Oh, yeah. But there's a lot of them out there that haven't. Yeah. Well, I you know, I, uh, was basic, in a, you know, middle, upper middle class area, That's, and yeah, so I think, uh, that demographic area there, you know, a lot of them do go on. And they go to college, etcetera. Because you can get just as far as being a journeyman, carpenter or an electrician or plumber or anything else like that. Make as much money and if they enjoy it more, they'll make a happier life for themselves. Yeah. Question. You threw that question on me about the deficit, put it on your shoe now. What would you do? Well, as as far as the, you know, the deficit, that's a whole nother, uh, my perception of the budget, you know, the government. And they have so much to spend and there's not enough money to spread around. But the deficit basically is that the trade surplus between the other countries, and that we have more money or you know, more money going out and too many goods coming into this country, you know. And, uh, you know, part of that problem, I think, is still, you know, uh, like Japan still does not let us compete fairly in their country. And, and obviously the, the demand for their goods is quite high here, so they can get their goods in here. And, uh, you know, to start even that out we need to continue to, you know, at least threaten that, you know, we're going to give them higher tariffs, etcetera to raise their prices to, you know, ours. But, uh, it's just that, uh, they're, eh, I think you're, you're going to find that just because the United States, you know, there is such a demand here, the market, you know. And, uh, uh, the you know, money being spent and the goods flow in and we don't sell, you know, we don't, uh, sell products abroad as much as we bring in. So, Were you watching, I think, uh, one of the news stations. I couldn't even tell you which one I watched. But they had on there, where the, the output from the United States was basically from smaller businesses rather than the larger ones are exporting. Uh-huh. Okay, what kind of puppy you got? Well, uh, I think she's mostly German Shepherd. Uh, she was, uh, uh, a person lives across the street from me, uh, brought her home from work because a coworker of hers, uh, had this dog appear on its front doorstep, Uh. somebody, somebody abandoned her and, she's only about, oh, between six and eight, six to eight weeks old Uh-huh. and, uh, uh, I can't understand why anyone would abandon this dog, though. Oh. She's, I mean she's that, this young and she's almost housebroken. Wow. I mean she actually asks to go out. That's great. And, uh, yeah I was amazed. Really good temperament and very playful and affectionate, good personality. I don't know, I can't imagine what, uh, would have been wrong with this dog, so. Yeah, well I, I have a dog that God gave us too, Uh-huh. Yeah, she just appeared. Oh, really. Yeah, my husband calls her street dog, but we've had her now for about three years, Uh-huh. and I just, you get so attached to them. Oh, yeah. I had a, uh, last year I had I had another German Shepherd, now this one was purebred and, uh, he, when he was about seven months old got a gastrointestinal virus and was just about on death's door but, uh, managed to get him to a veterinarian in time, Uh-huh. and, uh, and on huge doses of antibiotics, and he actually got over it with, seven hundred dollars in vet bills, Um. Wow. um, but he had actually was able to get him over that. Uh-huh. And then he was gaining weight again, was just getting healthy, and, uh, he put on about fifteen to twenty pounds after the thing and then he got hit by a Cadillac. Oh no. So, I couldn't believe it. That was, that was really hard. Oh, gee. And that was even harder for, I was on a business trip at the time and the dog was being house sit, or dog sit, whatever, by some friends of mine down the street, Uh-huh. so they just felt absolutely awful. Oh, I bet. And I felt, felt probably worse for them than, than for me because, oh gosh they, the, uh, this fellow's wife who was, uh, watching the dog, she, I think she loved that dog more than I did and, uh. She was really attached to it, Oh gosh. but, uh, it's unfortunate, but now, I've got another one, so. Yeah, yeah. How long has it been since the first one? Uh, see, he, it, it was just over a year. Uh, yeah, Uh, it was in March of last year. So, uh, yeah, it'd been, didn't, didn't have one for a whole year. Yeah. Well I had, I had a German Shepherd before this one and when she died it just, it just absolutely destroyed me. I mean I was just, you know, Yeah. I couldn't even talk about it for months and so I decided well that's it, I'm not going to do this anymore Right. And then God gave me this dog, so My dad's like that, he, uh, he had a beagle that he loved and, uh, when that beagle passed away, uh, he didn't want, he wasn't going to have another dog, there's no way, Uh-huh. no how, and then, uh, the, he the beagle died in I guess about October and by Christmas time we went down to the pound and got him, uh, I or, I Humane Society and got, uh, got another one, a stray. Yeah. And she, she turned out to be a great dog and we had her for six years until she just passed away recently and again dad went through the whole thing, but, mom went an, Okay, yeah. Well you just do, Yeah. you can't help it's like, it's like a kid. Yeah, it is. Well hopefully this one here, Cocoa will live a full life Yeah, well when, uh, my, my doggie, uh, that we have now, uh, she's, she's mostly Golden Retriever. Uh-huh. The vet called her, uh, a golden mix Yeah. like who knows, you know. Right. But she's, uh, she's that sort of strawberry blonde reddish color, you know. Oh. And, uh, and her nose is that pink, you know, Uh-huh. she doesn't have a brown nose, and her she's sort of unicolor, you know, eyes are the same color and everything, Yeah. so. I named her Rosebud, and, uh, a friend of mine said, she, that she this friend of mine grew up on a farm and said that she had, uh, a pet cow named Rosebud and she said there's a lot of longevity in that name, said my cow lived seventeen years That's not too bad. Golly the Golden Retrievers are good dogs too, they're kind of like, get that permanent smile to them, Yeah, right. they're always, always happy. I don't think I've ever seen them not look happy. And she's so easy going and so sociable, Yeah. You know, she loves everybody. And little kids can just, you know, maul all over her, Right. and she just, you know, thinks it's great. This, this friend of mine has, well it's the same guy that was watching, uh, my German Shepherd when he got hit, but, uh, went fishing with him on Friday and took, he's got a full, a pure bred Golden Retriever and then I had, uh, the puppy, a little tiny puppy and we went and took the two dogs up fishing. And this, they just, they had a ball romping around, Uh-huh. and, you know, you can't get a Golden Retriever near water without it jumping in. Getting in, yeah. And, uh, this Golden Retriever jumped in the, the, really fast moving, uh, river current, and, uh. Oh, no. Well no, actually he had no trouble at all. He first jumped in and I, he's, he's just about a year old himself and never had really, I don't think he'd swum before. Really. But he jumped in, in the, the river. Did puppy go to? Well the puppy jumped in the, into some of the pools but not into the, I was careful to keep her away from the, the fast moving water, Oh, that's good, yeah. 'cause if she fell in then I'd of been, had to go in after her. And up here the water's probably about forty degrees right now. Ugh, ugh. And I would not have been fun trying to retrieve her, but, uh, this dog, Dennis jumped in and got this look on his face like what do I do now, as he's floating down the river then finally discovered that he could swim and, uh, actually paddled up against the current and, uh, made it back to the shore and climbed up and then, he, he jumped in again, and he was swimming for quite a bit, all afternoon. He loved it. Yeah, Cocoa didn't think too much of it, though. She jumped in and then started screaming and made me pull her back out. I pulled her out and, uh, then had to wrap her up in a sweatshirt because she was shivering so bad, Yeah. and so, but, uh, she got over it, so. Well the German Shepherd that I had before, we, we had a little pool, Uh-huh. and, uh, she was, she did not want any part of swimming but she liked to, to get in the pool on the first step. She'd just get on the first step and lay down. You know in the summertime when it's really, really hot. Uh-huh. Yeah. And she'd just lay there on that step and just, you know, cool off Yeah, I've, I live right across the street from a, a big lake here, um, it's on Oneida lake and I'm wondering if, uh, if she'll want to go out there and go swimming next year. I mean, I've got, the yard's all fenced in so she doesn't run loose, but, uh, she could go in sometime when, if I'm watching her, Uh-huh. so. Yeah Well the one that we had just didn't want any part of that. Oh really. Yeah, and she, oh baths. Oh gee, she hated baths worse than anything. It was, it was just really a fight to, you know, get her clean. Yeah. Have you seen, uh, CANINE. The movie, oh, No, no. you've got to see it. Especially since you have a German, it is so cute. Oh really. Yeah, and, uh, an part of the, the movie is where he's trying to clean this dog up and it's, it's just hysterical. Oh, okay, my my dog, last German Shepherd, it was a real chore trying to give him a bath too. And that was the thing I couldn't figure out because he would go in the lake, it wasn't like he didn't Uh-huh. normally, I mean he didn't seem to have a problem with getting wet, but if you wanted to get him wet, forget it. Yeah, well that's how Cleo, you know, she'd lay on her step, Yeah. but that was, that was the only time she wanted to get wet and she didn't want you getting her wet Right, right, obstinate, obstinate. Yeah, but you really need to see that movie. I, I we bought the movie and I I don't know how many times I've seen it. Uh-huh. And it came on T V the other night and I was watching it again, and my husband heard me laughing and he said I can't believe that you're still getting such a kick out of that movie I'll have to check it out. I saw the, the, uh, previews for it and all and it did look like it'd be a good movie, but, It is great. uh, really haven't had a whole lot of time to get out to see the movies lately. Yeah. But, I got to do more, more fun things. Well we always wait until we can rent them, you know Yeah, yeah. Well I'm, uh, I'm a second lieutenant in the Air Force and so I travel a lot. Oh really. And yeah, I'm a engineer at, uh at the laboratory, Rolm Laboratory, Griffis Air Force Base, up here, so. Oh. That's how I got into, uh, into the switchboard project and all that, so. Uh-huh. But it's nice having a dog here, uh, the, Oh, yeah, there's just, uh, what's the, what's the word I'm looking for, uh, lots of affection, no unconditional affection from the, from the dog. Right, that's it. Yeah, yeah. Really, not critical at all. No, no. Yeah, they're really wonderful. Yeah, well, it's been nice talking to you, we seem to be degenerating here, so Well, uh, I don't have strong feelings about changes to be made in the, uh, jury system, do you? Uh, not at all. In fact, I'm graduating from college in about a week and this past semester I've taken two criminal justice classes and have discussed a lot on trials. Uh, well then you must know a lot more about this than I do Uh, I think, I think, uh, the system right now, you know, should, you know, is fine. I think it should be by a jury. I don't think the judge should have, I mean he's just there kind of like the referee Uh-huh, Uh-huh. Uh, I don't, I don't even think that it should be unanimous either. Uh, Well, what about the idea that one is only guilty, uh, when proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? I thought that was the point of, uh, a unanimous jury was the idea that if everyone agrees then there shouldn't be any reasonable doubt. Uh-huh. Right. But, if there are some people who don't agree uh, then there must be, it seems to be there must be at least a reasonable doubt for some people. Exactly. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't know. I, uh, you, you rarely hear, you hear, of course there's cases where someone has been put in, in, in, uh, prison, uh, falsely accused but, uh, more than likely the people that are on the, the jury know what they're doing. Uh, I mean you, Really? Have you served on a jury? Never. I never have either, but my friends, my few friends who have, uh, say just the opposite They say they're, uh, remarkably incompetent. And, uh, don't know what they're doing and say one thing in the courtroom and then as soon as they get in the back room they just start letting all their prejudices hang out and to, to air, and all that. Huh. Well, you would think that they would get that in the, uh, when the prosecution and defense are choosing the jury you would think that those would come out and I, I know they automatically, when you go through, uh, when you're chosen is, you're automatically like a, a, a professor in criminal justice or something like that, that you're automatically, no they don't want you on the jury. Right, , they don't want anyone with anyone with particular experience or knowledge of the legal system. Exactly. Uh-huh, exactly. Uh, And they tend, and since anyone can get out of it who basically says they don't want to do it, I mean, you know, it's, it's anyone can get out of jury just about, and, uh, so, it, it's, uh, it's not really my peers that, if I were let's say I were arrested falsely or not and put up for a jury I wouldn't feel that, uh, I would be being tried by a jury of my peers. Uh-huh. I'd be, I mean I'd be tried by a jury of you know, people who had nothing else to do and weren't very knowledgeable about certain sorts of things, and, uh, I don't know, Uh-huh. I, I get a little bit nervous about it, and, uh, I've, I've never I've never even been called to jury duty. Yeah, I, I was called once, but I was out of the country, and apparently I, apparently they thought I served so I didn't, I didn't make any noise about it I came back and they said the record showed I served, but I was out of the country at the time, so I'm pretty sure I didn't. Uh, Yeah. I, uh, I don't know, I think the, I guess there's a lot of problems with the legal system Yeah, well, I I, I don't know, I definitely feel like we need to keep it at least unanimous because, uh, you know, there's the classic sort of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD kind of story where you get, you know, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, it seems to me that if you could just have a simple majority or something you could pretty much you know, browbeat the jury, a majority, in the, of the, a majority of the jury, Uh-huh. that's hard to say. Uh, so, it's, it's, uh, you know, saying, well, look we don't like the way he looks and, let's, uh, let's throw the rascal in jail and stuff. Right. And you also get a lot of, uh, juries are extremely, uh, and from what I hear, I, I have, I have some friends who do expert witness testimony and they say that, uh, juries are extremely vulnerable to, uh, sort of emotional pitches, you know, the prosecutor will want to, oh, I don't know show the, show the mugging victim, you know, show what the nice person he was and what a family life, and basically get the jury to be very sympathetic with the victim, and, uh, or, or, uh, if it's a corporation, that was, uh, you know, harming some individual or something like that, they get very much, well, you know, it's just a big faceless corporation. Let's, let's make them pay as much as possible. Things like that. Uh-huh. So, not, I, I mean, I'm, the problem is I can't guarantee that a judge would be necessarily be much better than a jury, but I'd be real nervous having a jury not at least fully agree on what the settlements would be, things like that. I, uh, I I, I don't think the judge should just make the decision alone. Yeah. Least with the jury you have twelve people, you know that are going to decide, you know, Uh-huh. Well, how about having a jury and a judge work together on it somehow? I wonder if that's possible? I guess the judge's time is worth too much, though. judge They pay that judge, they pay those jury members very little money compared to that judge Right, exactly He makes more money in an hour than all twelve of them put together. Probably, yeah Yeah. But, uh, no, it's, it's sad, though, that, uh, that the people, though, that you, you, somebody's life is in twelve people's hands and sometimes those twelve people could care less. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, or they fool the, the defense in thinking that they're, you know, because when they go through those processes they kind of pick out who they want. Oh, of course. It's, it's political maneuvering. The, the one side is looking for someone whose face they think will, you know, want to hang everyone, and the other one is going to look for someone very sympathetic. They're not looking for someone who's going to be the most reasoned or sensible or rational juror. *whose who's Neither side wants that. They want to find a juror that's going to, uh, be most persuadable by their arguments, you know. Exactly. Uh, I wish it were a little bit harder to not serve on juries actually. I mean, I know, it, it, it's tricky because I know, you know, an awful lot of intelligent people who just, well I'm too busy to serve on a jury, Uh-huh. so I'll tell them that and they won't, or just, you know, just answer one of the questions the wrong way because you can do that, you know, Oh, yeah. Well, they just say do you believe in such and such. Uh, I guess it's just that maybe people are, you know, upset at court, you know. If it was, if it was a, a family member of theirs, though that was innocent and, then they'd want to be on that jury. Right. Course, they'd be, they would be barred, but But, uh, if everyone would take it, I think if everyone took it seriously Uh-huh. Yeah, well it sounds like we both need to get out there and serve on a jury. Yeah. I hope we're called up before too long. I would love to be called, I'm ready to go They just haven't called me up yet They will, they will eventually. Okay, well it was nice talking with you. It was nice talking to you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. All right. Have you ever been drug tested? Um, that's a good question. Um, I had a job I had to go get a blood test for. Uh-huh. Um, and, and they did a full blood screen on me, but they didn't call that a drug test. So I think they checked for drugs. They just don't tell you they did. Yeah. I had, I've had, uh, two or three drug tests that I had to get before I could start working at a job uh, different jobs. Uh-huh. I had one at T I and then one at another engineering company. And, really, I mean, I don't mind them. I don't do drugs anyway. I guess if I did, maybe I would but, um, I don't know. I know a girl that, she's a nurse, and they get drug tested randomly. I've, never been randomly drug tested. Uh-huh. But that would probably bother me to wake up one day and find out halfway through the day that you're going to be drug tested and you didn't know about it. Yeah Well, I guess it depends on if you got something to worry about Yeah. I guess so. deeply while saying the first I guess I guess so Do you think that it's right? Well, I, I, I come from kind of a biased opinion because I'm a, a therapist and a drug and alcohol counselor. Uh-huh. And I've done employee assistant work and I, I know the kind of cost businesses go through in terms of accidents, on the job that are specifically drug and alcohol related, Right. Right. and it's like in the billions of dollars every year. Um, and the only way that they can prevent that is, is, you know, making sure that the employees are drug and alcohol free. That's true. And, you know, the, the problem in the work place is that, that people are, like if your boss is your drinking buddy or whatever, I mean, you can come to, come to work drunk and get in an accident and he'll cover up for you and, nobody knows about it, Right. but you know, ends up costing the company lots and lots of money. That's true. So, I believe, it's right, especially for certain jobs. you know , I think anyone in a, in a public job like bus drivers, and cab drivers, and police officers, and things like that, Uh-huh. I think they should be randomly drug tested. Yeah. I believe, full force in that. Yeah. I don't know that I believe every secretary in every company needs to be. True. You know, secretaries aren't, aren't really going to cost the company that much money if they fall face forward in their typewriter or something. So, I don't know. I, I'm kind of biased, too, because I don't do drugs and, so, I really don't care one way or another if anybody wants to pull me up tomorrow and test me. Because I have nothing to worry about. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, I guess that's kind of biased. Yeah. Well, there, it's, I, I think one of the problems with it is it affects a lot of other folks on the job if somebody else is impaired. Yeah. It does. Because, generally you know it. Uh, you find out one way or another if somebody's got a problem on the job. Yeah. That's true. And if, even if, like you say, even if it's just the secretary, if her work or abilities start affecting her co-workers then it, it's still a problem. Yeah. That's true. So, But, what do you do about, the occasional user that may have gone to a party three days before and, you know, it's, it's been the whole weekend since they've done anything and they happen to be tested Monday morning and they could be fired for that? You know, that, that's kind of unfair, also. Well, yeah . I guess it comes with the turf. Yeah. I guess so. I guess if you're going to do it you need to suffer the consequences Yeah. Man. And, in terms of drugs, they're illegal. So you're, you're breaking the law anyway. That's true. That's true. Probably the, the biggest problem with those is they don't do a real good job of, of assessing for alcohol. That's true. And that's probably the biggest problem there is Yeah. I think so, more than drugs And I know a lot of companies that will put you in an alcohol rehabilitation before they would put you in a drug rehab. Yeah. They would pay for an alcohol Uh-huh. but they don't always pay for drug rehabilitation. Well, I guess that's one of the positive things that have come out of it, some of the employee assistance program. If you do test positive for something they will give you an opportunity to go get your life straight rather than to lose your job. *you're your Yeah. That's true. And I, I, think that's fair. Yeah, I think the the company benefits in the long run. Yeah That's true That's about all I have, to say on it What, what kind of testing do they do when you went? Uh, it's a urine test. Urine screen. And, they, uh, Yeah, it was really very official. You have to go in a room solely by yourself, sign papers that say you were totally alone, sign papers that say this is yours, and, and you have to seal the bottle yourself and label it yourself and, all of that. Uh-huh. So that they're sure that you haven't borrowed anybody's, I guess, or something. Well, that happens. Yeah. I know, I it's hard to believe, It happens a lot. but I guess it does There, there are people that pay other people to to help them out. I know. I'm amazed, at the things people, will do. Yeah. It is amazing. I guess there are people that do that. And they are, those are expensive tests. I'm, glad I never had to pay for one. Yeah. Yeah. It depends really on how, how strong a test it is. They've got different degrees, as far as, as how far back they can check. Yeah. I guess so. They got some unusual things besides blood and urine tests. They've some companies that are doing, uh, hair tests. Oh, really? Yeah. Well, that, they'll pull out one of your hairs and they can apparently test, um, back a certain period of time. Because some of the, the residue ends up in your hair follicles, you know, How weird. I didn't know that. it's kind of, Oh, that's weird. Hair follicles, I guess, are just dead protein and they, Yeah. And it, it's apparently almost like a, a calendar. They, they've got it pretty precise now. They can go back and look at, in terms of growth in a, in a hair, when you used and, and that type of thing. That's wild. So It's amazing the things they can find out from different things on your body. Yeah So, I guess if they perfect that is not quite as cumbersome as having to go fill a bottle or give blood or something like that. Yeah. That's true That's true. I'm glad I never had to do it by giving blood. I can't stand the thought of giving blood. Uh-huh. I can't even do it for Wadley, even though it's a good cause Yeah. Well, I enjoyed talking to you. Well, I did, too. Thank you. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay. Okay. So tell me about CHINA CRY. Okay, CHINA CRY was basically the, the true story written by this, this lady who had, uh, was a native, a native Chinese, uh, uh, who was raised by Christian parents. Uh-huh. And her, her time frame was prior to the nineteen forty-nine revolution. I see. Although she, herself, had never really accepted Jesus or gone through any of the other, uh, Christian, uh, portions of, of the faith, repentance, baptisms, et cetera, et cetera. She had always felt a very strong, uh, leaning in this direction. And whenever the cultural revolution of nineteen forty-nine occurred and most churches were either banned or their, all the clergy and so forth were killed or, or imprisoned or, and the property confiscated, she was safe because she had, you know, not officially joined the, the Christian movement. Uh-huh. So anyway, she, as she grew up towards maturity, her parents, well, her dad was a doctor and, and he was rather well, you know, rather well to do in the old regime and the, the the the communist Chinese didn't like this at all. You know, the bourgeoisie was, was, was definitely out of, uh, style, then. Right. Everybody was back to a commonality of one. And so they kept picking at him, picking at his, at her mother and, uh, finally, uh, started picking on her. And getting her to, you know, Uh-huh. they were starting to, uh, accuse her of, of, of, uh, crimes and atrocities before the, the revolution and, and had her write her own story over and over and over. Uh, and the, uh, the major point of the movie was that, that she had, uh, married this, this Chinese fellow and was with child when they started this mass court. Now, I think I'm leaving out a portion. She she went through college and graduated very high up in her class and had, uh, gotten a job as, as an instructor and they had her teaching, or were starting to have her teach history for the soldiers. When the, they decided that, that she needed to start recanting of all of her pre, uh, regime crimes as it were. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Being a child, you know. So, they kept on and on at, at her, and in the meantime, she and her husband, uh, were were expecting a child, their own child. And, uh, the, the people kept harassing her over, you know, over a period of months and finally they, uh, carried her, uh, out into the courtyard to, to, either really to shoot her or to go through the motions of, of shooting her, uh, with by firing, or, you know, executing her by firing squad. Uh-huh. And, uh, the Lord just said no, this is not going to happen even though this lady has not really, you know, she's, she's one of mine, she is not going to die and, uh, the, the soldiers were blinded when they shot. Huh. And she, her life was spared. And this, this frightened the, the, uh, the commandant and so he called this kind of stuff off and just put her in the labor camp. Huh. Well, uh, and, course, here's this, this woman who is heavy with child dragging rocks around. Huh. Well she, she put in for going, going to, uh, and her husband had escaped to Hong Kong, uh, and then she put in to go see him. And over time she, uh, uh, finally, through her perseverance and writing enough letters to enough different people embarrassed enough of the, the middle, uh, bureaucracy that they finally let her go. Huh. And, of course, she had to walk. You know, they, they stripped her of everything, practically besides the, the clothes on her back. And, uh, so she, so she went across the border to her husband and another, and other child that they'd already had uh, to freedom. Uh-huh. Oh. And they knew that she wasn't going to come back, but yeah, she did, years later when the, uh, liberalization, you know, in real life liberalization of China happened, Uh-huh. and, uh, she was not persecuted or anything else like that. Huh. Interesting story. Yes, it was. Uh, very moving, too. I, uh, I don't even remember seeing that advertised and it was probably here and gone fairly quickly. Well, it was within, oh, ninety days. Oh. That recent. Yeah. No, I mean it's, it was, it was advertised over a period of about ninety days. Oh, I see what you mean. But it wasn't, uh, they didn't have it in, uh, too awfully many movie houses, but it was, it was, in the, it had large, uh, uh, uh, press release. Uh-huh. Well, uh, I guess what I, what I saw most recently and luckily I saw it only a week ago so I'd remember remember it well was, uh, sort of light by comparison. Okay. Uh-huh. Uh, my husband and I had this great desire to go see a comedy and, and, uh, we ended up going to see GREEN CARD. GREEN CARD? GREEN CARD. Uh-huh. And, uh, he chose it and, uh, it's got this wonderful French actor who's, it was his, like, his, and he's been a star in France and a wonderful actor who we've enjoyed for years, but he's never made an American film. This was his American film debut Oh, I see, uh-huh. and he speaks very broken English. And basically he played, uh, a Frenchman who married an American girl, uh, in a marriage of convenience so that he could get his green card, which is what an alien needs to work in this country. Uh-huh. Right, uh-huh. And, uh, because she could claim she was married, she could get, uh, an apartment or a condominium in a very exclusive building in New York that had a garden, an, an, an outside garden, which is very unusual there. Uh-huh. So she was a horticulturist, and that was sort of her dream. Oh, I see, uh-huh. Of course, you know, they got married and they never saw each other again. Except, except fate through them together *through threw and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, uh, started investigating. So they had to get back together and get their stories straight, and, and she was a very svelte, sophisticated urban New Yorker Oh. and he was a, a poor Frenchman who had grown up on the, on the streets and sort of pulled himself up by his bootstraps and claimed to be a composer, but there was no proof whatsoever that he really was. Uh-huh. He'd been working in a restaurant when they met. Uh-huh. And, uh, they had to learn all about each other basically in a, in a weekend. Just then. And, uh, it was, you knew what was going to happen, of course. That they would fall in love. Uh-huh. Well, they fell into like, at any rate and and when they went to the query or inquisition or whatever, uh, they did perfectly Right, uh-huh. and then he said something, because his English was so poor on, for the most part, he, he was so proud of himself for giving all the correct answers that, that on the last one he said, oh, I never remember that answer and that clued the investigator that he had memorized a series of answers. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, uh, Okay. Okay Well, did you go to college? Yes, I did. And where did you go? I went to a small liberal arts college in Virginia. Uh-huh. Uh, it was Sweeper College of about seven hundred and fifty students. I had gone to a small school growing up, uh, and a lot of my friends went to University of Michigan but my parents were retiring in South Carolina when I graduated and, uh, were looking for a southern school and, uh, also U of M seemed overwhelming in size Uh-huh. and, uh, what about you? I went to the University of Minnesota. Oh, so you're from the Midwest, too. I am, uh-huh. Where do you live now? Uh, I live in Texas now. Where are you? Well, I'm in Texas. I'm in Austin. Oh, uh, my brother's in Austin. Uh, he lives Lakeway. He, uh, had moved, uh, we're in Plano. Uh-huh. And, I'm familiar with Plano. I visited once or twice. Oh, Austin is so pretty. I really like it Oh, I love it. I love it. I really do. And your daughter is going to be a sophomore. That's correct. I have two daughters, but my oldest will be, will be a sophomore. Is, uh, because you live in Austin, is she thinking about the University of Texas? She has her heart set on U T. And, uh, you know, having gone to the University of Minnesota, I know what a big university is like. And, uh, one thing that I did this summer, which I thought might benefit both my daughters is, my youngest daughter got involved in band, and Baylor has a band camp. Oh. So she went for a week, and it was overnight, and they lived in the dorms. And I thought this would expose both of them to what it's, you know, like on a a smaller college campus. And, uh, my oldest one just wasn't impressed at all with the idea of a small school. So, uh, I, I, I still think the exposure was good. Yes. The reason I ask if you went to college is I thought, well, you know, what were your selection criteria. Did you base it on what you wanted to major in or what you would feel comfortable with or what you could afford or, you know, there's all of these areas to look at in making the decision. Uh-huh. Those, and those were several, uh, that we did consider. Uh, my parents, uh, certainly didn't push but wanted me to look in the south and because I had been in a small school, they suggested that I probably, I, when I say small, my graduating class had eighteen in it. Oh, wow. And so they suggested that I might want a smaller school because I was used to a lot of one-on-one uh, or small group situations. Oh, definitely. And I did pick it because at the time I was interested in majoring in biology and I also wanted to spend one year studying in Europe. Uh-huh. Uh, I had had an A F S student from Germany live with us our senior year Oh, how exciting. and we just thought that would be a wonderful thing and I ended up majoring in French. One of the reasons I picked the school was because they had a strong science department. They also had a strong language department and I'd always loved working with children. Uh, and I found that I couldn't fit everything in, but because I had had a fair amount of French going in I was able to do my year's study in France and able to take a lot of the other courses that interested me. Uh-huh. Uh, and so that was some of, Oh, that was, That worked out very well for you. but several of the things you mentioned were the things that, uh, our son has talked a lot about Texas A and M. He, but he thinks he wants to be a writer and I don't think that, Well, then he should come to U T. Yes Uh, and really his, his graduating class will probably be in the neighborhood of eight hundred and fifty to a thousand. Uh-huh. Uh, and so he's used to a bigger size Large classes. and because my brother is there, uh, he would have family, close by. So there, there are advantages. Uh, but I also, because I had so many friends who did go from our small school to University of Michigan, which was so large and they really felt, uh, like they were numbers. Oh, I went from a large high school to a large university and I definitely felt like I was a number. You still, Yeah. Uh, I mean, it is a different feeling. But that was, that was my only option. I, I mean, I just really couldn't look at anything else. That was the one and only thing I could really afford other than a you know, a junior college, which I didn't want to do. So that's how, you know, my decision was made. But, uh, Well, that's certainly, uh, especially today with the cost of college. I mean that is a, a major, uh, consideration and I do feel fortunate that Texas has so many good schools. And even though Baylor, uh, Yes. and when you mentioned that, we, we have friends who have children there who just love it. And for a private school it is not as expensive as most are and it is a smaller size and, uh, I do feel like there are a lot of options. It's, it's, but I had been hoping some schools I know give, uh, oh, even this year, Jay had an aptitude test, uh, What, what does, he hopes to be a writer. Yes, he thinks that's what he'd like to do, but he's really strong in math and science, too, and we keep encouraging him to keep an open mind. Huh. Does your daughter know what she'd like to do? Oh, she, she has, uh, you know, interests that are just, you know, going in all directions. Yeah. Uh, what she talks about a lot is theater which I think is okay Bethany, let's be real Uh, she really is, is pretty unfocussed at this point. And, I don't know, she's taken a lot of French, and she may end up doing something with that. And I am a single mom, so I've been, and I made the mistake of dropping out of college to get married. So I'm trying to have my children not make the same mistake. And I'm, you know, showing them if you're strong in math and science, kiddos, this is one area where women can make some decent money. You know. Yes. I mean, I'm kind of really putting the practical application, you know, and, and saying, yet, do something that you enjoy. Uh-huh. By all means, go get that piece of paper, you know. Do you just have one son? Yes. I see. Well, it sounds like he's got some really, you know, good strong ideas of what he wants to do. Well, he, but he has even, now that he's in high school, uh, and, of course, there's, there is still time, but he's beginning to feel that, as much as he enjoys writing, he wonders if he can make a living at it. You know, it's, the, it's, Okay, I guess we're supposed to discuss the, uh, school system. That shouldn't be too much trouble for the two of us. Right? No. As many years as we've been involved in one. I really feel fortunate in that there, even though there are problems, they're not a lot of problems where I teach. Right. But from talking to people in other districts there are some major problems, uh, with dropouts. Uh, when I was in Minnesota last summer there was a teacher who said that, uh, on a given day she didn't know how many of her students would show up Uh-huh and sometimes they didn't even show up for class and she taught in high school in inner city, uh, Minneapolis. Uh-huh. And, uh, they just didn't come to school. That's really sad isn't it? And I cannot imagine being able to do much of anything when they don't even come to school. Right. Well just recently in the paper here, were articles about students, uh, working. High school students that work and the percentage of hours that they work and how that affects their grades. Uh-huh. But then the follow-up the next day was, I was kind of glad to see, because it, it said that, you know, yes but for those students who are determined to do well anyway, that, you know, handling a job was very possible. You know, and that it seemed to have more to do with other factors. I think so too. You know like, what are their plans after high school, you know. And what's their home situation. You know that, The home is the key. Right. Right. I think really is because if the home, does not place a high priority on education and, uh, the main goal is making money now and it may be a survival thing for the family, which you can understand. Right. Sure. So, uh, But there can still be an attitude of Right. you know, this is a stopgap measure because we need it right now, but, but that the most important thing is still, you know getting your education. Your education. Well when they meant, said the, the topic, you know, of what's wrong with the public schools, my, my first impulse was it isn't really what's wrong with the public, public schools. It's what's wrong with families That's right. It's what's wrong with families and if, if children come to school, yes, insecure and their biggest concern is survival both at home, Right. they don't know what to expect at home. They don't feel secure there, they don't know what's going to happen just out front of their apartment complex. Right. For example that child that was shot. Right. Uh, how can they concentrate on schooling? I agree with you, Right. I think that's the main problem. Yeah. And schools now are supposed to solve social problems, uh, mental and emotional problems as well as educate the kids and try to provide them with some security. Huh. Yeah. And that's overwhelming. Well we've got, uh, you know at our school we have over a thousand elementary kids and last year was the first year that we ever had more than one counselor. And that's just really not enough. No. It isn't. And I was talking to somebody that teaches in a middle school and they said, oh, but we need more in the middle school because that's when kids are, you know, at a tougher and rougher age and all that. But, you know, part of my feeling is that if you solve, help them to work through their problems while they're littler, then they won't have as many problems up there. True. I think they, there has to be at least a counselor and we just recently had a counselor at elementary. We didn't even have counselors in elementary. Really. We have always, though, had three at middle schools because we had about a thousand kids and they divided them up between three counselors but for a good while every year they'd have a different counselor and they decided that didn't work. Yeah. So they started, uh, dividing the kids up so that a counselor stays with her group of counselees through you know, through all three years of middle school. Uh-huh. They they do that here. Uh-huh. And I think that would give them more security in going to the counselor. Uh-huh. If they have a rapport with their counselor. Now if they don't, I hope they have the flexibility to be able to change a child that really is in need of counseling help if they absolutely refuse to work with them. yeah. And occasionally that happens. Right. But, it is frightening Because, uh, education is the key to our future Yes, it certainly is. and, uh, if we have children who are not getting their education, for one reason or another, then what are we going to do with them? Yeah. That's right What's going to happen to them? Are they going to be able to, uh, work at other kind of menial jobs or are they going to be the thieves and the people in prison. Yeah. And our prisons are filling up faster then we can build them. Right. That's no good. I'm on that, um, campus strategic planning committee for my school. Uh-huh. And, uh, one of the, uh, you know, oh, they have all these different names for things, strategies and all these different things. But, anyway, one of the key things was that that we believed that the public education is the best economic value. Then I think they decided to strike economic. Uh-huh. Anyway, you know, the point was, what happens when public education fails? You know will then people go to private schools? Uh-huh. You know, well, what kind of a situation do they get there and what are, you know, and what kind of state are we in if, if most people are going to private schools. Well I think, uh, one thing that we'll see is that we won't be educating everybody. Right. There will be a lot of people who will not get even a menial education like in other countries of the world where they don't try to educate everyone. Right. Uh-huh. That's one of the things that we do. We try to educate everyone. That's right. That's right. We're the only country in the world that does. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And let everyone have an opportunity to reach higher education if they're willing, you know, to work and have, uh, some ability. Uh-huh Yeah. They can do that. and one of the Plano school district's, you know, goals is that they will graduate every child that, uh, that is here in the ninth grade, I believe it's something like that, Uh-huh. it's worded. And, uh, I don't know Well you know if we can keep them in school. Right. Uh-huh That's so important, then that, that helps a lot. I think the gang violence is scaring everyone to death too. Oh gosh. Well that new movie, That new movie out, It's scary to me. I, um, really, really a frightening situation. I, We are. I guess we're both lucky. To be in situations and schools where we don't see that. My folks talk about it a lot in Illinois. My mother was is was teacher for years and years and, uh, they live in Peoria, Illinois, and they're talking a lot about the, you know, the school situation there, too. *their should be they're So, well, shall we wrap it up? Uh, I would imagine that we've talked the amount of time necessary. I think we have to. Okay. So I'll see you when we see you. Alright. We were in, uh, Austin yesterday. Uh-huh. The reason that I wasn't at church and we went to hear, uh, James wind ensemble concert Oh. they left this morning for, uh, England. Oh, how exciting. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, that is wonderful. Uh-huh. What an experience. And, uh, the university ... Okay. Hi, Nancy. Well, do you do a lot of dining out? No, um, we don't although we enjoy it. Um, we do it more when we have company come. Uh-huh. Um, what about you? Well, we do some dining out. Um, I, I do a lot of cooking so, um, mostly like when we go out, you know, it's my husband and I, I, we don't go out too often as a family, um, unless it's like a fast-food kind of thing. But, um, but we do enjoy dining out. One of our favorite places here in, in the Dallas area is Atlantic Cafe. I don't know if you, have you ever been there? I've heard of that but I haven't been there. Um, where, about is that? Um, well actually there's the Atlantic Cafe and Cafe Pacific, and, uh, Oh, okay. I, I've been to Cafe Pacific. Have you? now that's down in, uh, Highland Park. Right. It's Highland Park Village. Did you like it? Yes. Uh Oh, I love it Before we moved to, the area, my brother, uh, lived in Dallas for a number of years and we came up one time when my father was visiting and we all ate there Uh-huh. and, oh, their seafood was wonderful. Oh, it is, it's fabulous. It really is a great place. Now where is the Atlantic Cafe? Atlantic Cafe is down on, I believe it's on McKinney. Oh, okay. Um, and originally the two, the, the guy who owns the Cafe Pacific and the guy who owns the Atlantic Cafe, were partners in the Atlantic Cafe. And then they, they separated and the guy started Cafe Pacific. And, I loved them both. I really do. I think they're wonderful. That's our favorite. You know what we'd really like, if, if we just have a, a casual evening is Houston's. Have you been there? No, um, but I've heard that's really good, too, and, It's wonderful. The only thing is you have to wait. You have, you have to expect to wait at least an hour. Oh. So you have to go knowing you're going to be sitting there there for an hour waiting to get in. And, as long as you know that it's okay. But they have, I think, one, just about the best prime rib um, anywhere in the area. Oh. Oh, okay. I love it. Uh-huh. And, my husband really likes their ribs. So it's hysterical. We go in and we sit there for an hour waiting to get in and then we get there and we don't even look at the menu . You know right away what you want I know right away what we, what we want. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we really enjoy prime rib, too, and, uh, actually the, the Steak And Ale out here, uh, we've gone to, uh, my in-laws also enjoy prime rib, when they've had some of their specials on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday night Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, the time we went the prime rib was really good. Was it? Really? I've I've, I've been there for like, you know, lunch Uh-huh. but, I've never been there for dinner. And, it was good, yeah. Yeah, yeah Oh, that's great. That's, great. Another nice place for, for prime rib is Baby Doe's Oh, I've heard about that, too Maxwell's nice, have you been there? but no. We've, uh, I guess we eat out even less than I realize And I didn't think we ate out very often See! Baby Doe's is nice. Oh And, one place I'd never been that I would really like to go to, uh, is Lawry's. I've heard that's real good, Lawry's Prime Rib? Yeah. Yes, I'd, I had heard that, too. Um, I've, I've never been there but I've heard it's real good. Have you been to the little, uh, not for prime rib but the Cafe De France, um, right here on Central Expressway? *slash error Oh, okay. *slash error should be bk Yes. Yes, actually they have one in Richardson that I've been to. Uh, they have real nice lunches. Have you, have you been there for lunch? Or, Yes, uh Yeah. primarily lunch, well, and breakfast sometimes but, uh, during the week they often have, a, a limited menu choice but, uh, very reasonable complete dinners for six ninety-nine that included the soup or salad entrees and accompaniments and dessert Really? Really? and, uh, the, my husband and I like veal, uh a lot Uh-huh. and their veal dishes have been good. We've tried different ones when they've had them as one of the The specials. Uh-huh. Have you ever been to Biffin's? I keep hearing about it. I keep hearing the advertisements of it I, yes, no, and, and they keep saying, you know, oh, it's wonderful, it's wonderful. I have not been over there and I was thinking, you know, it's supposed to be a family place over near Plano Super Bowl. Right. And, And, uh, I've, I've not been there. I haven't either, uh, one place, and I've only been there for lunch, but, uh, I went with a friend, and we met her husband, um, down on Greenville, down near the Highway Twelve area, is Gershwin's, I've been there. Oh, I, we just That was nice It was and we had the, uh, we both enjoy mushroom soup and Linda had told me they had the best mushroom soup and they did. It was wonderful but, uh, and we just had soup and salad so we could make room for the dessert which was a chocolate sack. I don't know if you tried but or Oh I've heard of it. Where, where it's made, it's like, it's like a, it's all chocolate, like made like a paper bag Yes! and whip cream and it's filled with what, whip cream and, and strawberries and something? Yeah. and it had strawberries, kiwis, and raspberries in a raspberry, uh, puree Oh. and, and we shared one, the three of us Oh. and it was plenty because it was very rich but, uh I wished I'd had a camera. Oh. It was beautiful Oh, I bet it was. I bet it was. Uh The last time we went to Cafe Pacific, it was Father's Day, and we took another friend with us Oh. and, uh, for dessert we thought we had just stuffed ourselves And so we had, they had, uh, like a berry assortment. It was, it was raspberries and blueberries and, and strawberries on a plate with like a custard on the bottom. Oh. And, you know, they did, like the raspberry puree, just kind of like in a, in a decoration on the, you know, how they do the plates real fancy with the decorations and then piled the berries and shaved chocolate on top of it Yes. Yeah Oh. and it was outstanding. It sounds wonderful. It was really, really relatively simple but, oh, it was good. It was really good. Well, that's, uh, one of the things that I do enjoy when you get a good restaurant. Uh, I love fresh berries. And, their, their fruits are always exceptional. I don't, I'm, know they must have a special source for getting them because even at the Farmer's Market, uh, you can't find them like that You can't find them. Yeah. and, Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I'm originally from Connecticut and, uh, I was home a few years ago and my sister and brother-in-law were going to take us out for dinner and, uh, I was really amazed, you know, the, the restaurants up there were kind of quaint. You know, they were real, real pretty but they lacked, the service and they lacked the the, just the, I don't know. The restaurants down here seem like they have, uh, I guess there's so much competition that they, really have to be good. Uh-huh. And, I thought I would really miss that. I would, too, because, well, because we don't go out very often. When we do go out, um, in a way it's like a little mini vacation I guess, and, uh, it is, it's a whole experience. Of course you want the food to be good but the atmosphere and service I think, are important, uh too. Uh-huh. And, you know, in order to survive in this area I think they have to be good. Yeah. Because the ones that aren't so good don't, just don't make it. Um, that reminded me of a place for lunch that's a little off the beaten track but it is wonderful. It's called Cafe Max and it's at Plano Road and Campbell. They have the most wonderful salads. They do what they call a salad sampler which easily could feed two or three. Oh, really? Well, my favorite type of music is classical music, and, uh, I, I enjoy orchestral classical music and I enjoy classical guitar and classical piano, you know, and that's, those are, that's my favorite type. Well, Uh, probably the favorite instrument would be, uh, the violin. Oh, well my favorite, well, I, I don't really have a favorite, I, I like everything basically. Um, I guess if I had to pick, it would be like pop, I would think, but I like everything. So, it's kind of hard to choose sometimes. Yeah, you know. I guess I enjoy, I enjoy jazz, listening to jazz sometime although I don't feel like I have a good, good understanding of it, or a good, a good feel for maybe what's good jazz and what's not, but, but, um, I enjoy it and, uh, sometimes I enjoy listening to, uh, fiddle music. Uh-huh. We were in Colorado recently and heard this, these, uh, well, we heard this fiddler and we bought his, we bought his tape and it's kind of fun to listen to the fiddle pans . Yeah. So, I grew up next door to, uh, the Richardson Symphony Orchestra leader so, Oh, Chris Xeros. Yeah. Oh, you lucky thing. So, we used to go and listen to them all the time and, my parents still do. Yeah. So, I grew up with a lot of his music, and, and what not. Plus my parents are, well, especially my dad, likes a lot of classical music and he introduced my brother and I both, to a lot of it. So, Oh, gosh, Chris Xeros You grew up with his children, too, then? Yeah. Oh, gosh. Sure did. Gosh, small world, huh? Yeah. We all went to high school together and, uh, and we're still in contact with each other. Oh. We all go back to parents' houses on the weekends, and what not so, Oh gosh. Well actually, I used to play in the Richardson Symphony, I played violin in the orchestra for several years you know, Oh really? yeah So, It is a small world isn't it? Yeah, small world. So, I, uh, I know Chris Yeah, he's a pretty nice guy. Most of the time Yeah, well I never I had to work for him and I never would want to work for him. So No, no. Well life just took different turns here so, uh, it just didn't work out to do that now. So, he's, he's about ready to retire, another year and he, Yeah, he sure is, he just became a grandfather. Yeah, I heard that. It's, it's daughter, it's his daughter that, Uh, uh-huh. Yeah, they just had the baby's christening so, Oh. It was really nice so Was it a boy or a girl? He's a little boy Yeah. What did they name him? I can't, it, it's a oh gosh, it's like Elijah, or something like that. Oh. I keep forgetting, what, what she named him. Oh. His middle name is Chris, or Christopher for for her daddy, Of course. but I think it's Elijah Oh. It starts with an E. Yeah, yeah. I can't remember Oh, so you've heard the Richardson Symphony? Yes. Yeah. Yeah, we've heard them and, liked, liked it real well, of course Do you have a favorite instrument? Um, actually one of my favorite instruments is a harpsichord. Yes. I really like those, in fact, I had a harpsichord played at my wedding. Oh, did you? Yeah. Oh. Which was real nice. I got married, uh, during the Christmas season and we played, uh, old fashioned Christmas carols instead of normal wedding marches and what not, and it was real nice, I liked that a lot. Oh. I liked the sound of the harpsichord. And it played by itself? No, somebody played it Well, I mean, but you didn't have oboe or something with it? No, no, no, no, no. Just by itself, just by itself. Yeah. Oh. It was real nice. Well, that's really, yeah that's, I bet that was nice. Yeah. It went well, it was a change, you know, from your traditional, normal, you know, stuff, and since it was Christmas time and, and, uh, we had the church decorated with Christmas hollies and poinsettias and, you know, stuff like that and so, we did the harpsichord with old-time traditional Christmas carols, Oh. Not, not, you know, the bouncy, you know sing along kind but some of the old, older ones that Right. Right. some, I don't even, I recognize the, the melodies, and whatnot, but I didn't recognize the name. Right. So, it was real nice. Well actually, I play, I play the violin in, in a string quartet that often plays at weddings. Um. So, um, I always think it's a nice break from the traditional organ or piano. Uh-huh. And, it makes, it makes it nice. It makes, you know, you can say classy or it makes an elegant wedding to have something else. It does. It really does and it has such a different sound to it, anyway. It's almost, I don't know the way it vibrates, it's kind of haunting, you know, on, on some of the notes It, it's, I, I like it. Oh. I don't know how else to explain. But, we've got friends that are in the music business that go around Dallas, they're, uh, called Odessa. It's a husband and wife team that we've known for years and, uh, we try to make contact with them periodically to see what's going on and stuff, too, so we've had a lot of stuff, you know, friends and, and things to do with music that constant, plus my husband's real big into music, too, so. He doesn't play anything, but, he just likes to listen. Yeah. And my dad and my kids are now well, my oldest is getting to the point where he likes certain types of music and favorite songs and when they come on we have to turn the radio up full blast and, Oh. Now does, does the school in, in your, in your city, does it, does it offer, like band, or some of the instruments? Yeah, well, my, my oldest is only nine. Okay. So he hasn't really gotten into, um, that yet. They have choir that they go to, you know, music class that they go to Right. but, um, he's not old enough yet to get into the band yet. Right. So, Right. I think that starts in sixth grade. Probably. Oh. So, Gosh. but I don't know. He, he's, he, the only thing he's shown interest in wanting to play is the drums cause his, my brother plays, and, um, I don't, I don't know if he's really serious about it yet or not you know, it's just one of those things I'm just going to wait and see if he's interested in something, you know. Yeah. Right. Right, you got a little ways to go, too Right . Yeah, just a little bit Hey, oh. Well, my, well my oldest is eight and, and she's, we've, started her on piano so, uh, Uh. But, that's been, it's been fun, I mean it's a lot of work to see that she's prepared but it's been fun, it's been fun, I feel like I've learned a lot about the piano. I've learned a lot about playing the piano. Really? And, uh, it kind of makes me listen a little closer to, to the piano when I hear it at other places, or when I, you know, see some, see and hear someone playing. I sort of watch their technique, too, and, and see if it corresponds up to what she's learning. Yeah. So, it's been fun. I don't know if any of mine will be interested in it or ... Is, uh, kind of fun. It's best done when you have leisure time and I had more of that in my childhood days than I have now And I grew up in an area that, uh, was just a few feet from a rather large lake, and a few more miles from that was a even larger lake and we had a variety of boats at our disposal Uh, I worked for a camp for a number of years. My father was on staff there, and we had every kind of things from canoes to paddle boats, sailboats, speedboats, you name it, they had it and we did a lot of watering, water sports. But I think, uh, the thing I liked the best was, uh, we spent about a summer couple of guys, uh, restored an old wooden boat that was built back in the mid-thirties and got a new canvas sail for it and had a real big old foot center board that went down in the middle to keep you upright when the waves, or the wind came from the side and we got that thing in the water and had a real good time with it. If you ever got it dumped over, though, it was a mess to get back up. It wasn't like the newer ones that have nice chambers that keep it afloat or keep it, uh, upright again. This one you had to work with. You get out of the water again and get it upright. And, uh, sailing was, was kind of nice to learn the maneuvers you had to make to work your way down a lake or work back up against the, the wind, as it were, tacking back and forth and, uh, more than once we'd get out there on a really stormy day and, uh, the storm or the wind was due to the front blowing and you paddle your way back in and hope it doesn't start raining on you right away. And that didn't always work. We oftentimes got wet, But, uh, it's, it's a nice, nice hobby to have. Nowadays I don't think I could afford the boat or the time, nor do we live that close to a lake anymore, so things change, I guess. What are your memories of boating, or current, Uh, about the only memories that I have of boating, uh, my husband's family had a, a motor boat, uh, when we got engaged and they took us out on the lake several times. And, uh, I really did enjoy that. I, I don't know that I ever learned to drive it or anything, but, uh, we did some water skiing, of course, and, and, uh, driving around the lake in the boat and, and just the basic safety rules and things I found real interesting. Uh, you know, they, they just didn't patrol you like they did with the automobile or whatever. The, the laws were there and if you didn't obey them, uh you know, there were a lot of accidents, I guess. Right. That's true. But, uh, I found the motor boating was real fun. Yeah, I remember learning how to ski, oh, I guess I was seven or eight years old and the lake that we learned on was the smaller of the two that we had access to and it was maybe fifteen, twenty acres and it was, uh it had a lot of, uh, turtles in it. And I got all ready to go and I was down in the water and, and set to go and, uh, and just as that boat took off, a turtle bit me in the middle of the back. Oh It didn't hurt too much, but it bit enough to where I let go. And the boat went off without me and I reached back there and pushed him away and got out of the water a, a while and, and, uh, it didn't even leave a mark. It was just a little nibble and so I told everybody what happened and they go, oh, yeah, sure, you know. And so I get back down in there and, and I'll be if he didn't do it again. This time a little earlier and, and I had let go before then and, before they took off this time and, and swatted him away. So I moved over a, a few feet in the water and got out of his little realm where he was living underneath the dock and, uh, managed to get up. Didn't go very far, but I got up. And it, it was a nice, uh, nice long skiing career, but now I've gotten to where skiing is just kind of wears me out more than it does thrill me. I've, I've, uh, done about all I dare do on skis. You know, skiing on one and jumping around here and there and I, I, I know how you can get injured doing much more than that and I just can't risk it right now being a head of the family and the breadwinner and all that. Just, uh, can't take the risk I did as a dumb teenager, I guess So life just changes a little bit in that respect I'd kind of like, someday, to maybe end up on a pair of skis that, that doesn't have a, uh, well, what they call trick skis. They'll allow you to ski backwards. I haven't managed to get a hold on that, uh, craft yet, but, uh, That sounds like a real challenge. Yeah, it, it would be kind of nice. I hadn't quite figured out, I don't have anybody to teach me either. That's another little thing. You need somebody to kind of tell you what to do, but, just from what I've seen, you just kind of work your way up to it and turn around real quick you know. Grab the rope behind you and then just let go real quick and let it whip you around. Uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know, maybe someday I'll I'll get back to that as, after the kids are up and grown and the monies are there to get away for times on end, weekend or something. Well, my son, Where is your favorite place to go? Well, we haven't traveled outside the United States that much. Uh, we usually take family type vacations. We're looking forward to one in October to Disneyworld in Florida. Oh, that's great. We have a nine year old. Have you ever been there? When, when both of my kids were much younger. And this time we're going to be going with just one daughter and she's nine, so it ought to just be a ball. Oh, that's a perfect age for Disneyworld. Uh-huh. I think so, too. Oh, that's great. Yeah, so we've been there a number of times and, uh, we're going next year. We have a business trip every fall. Well, we go on a lot of business trips. I, I don't work. Oh, wonderful. So you travel a lot. Well, we do. We my husband travels a couple times a month and in the position he's in, they don't care if I go along. Uh-huh. So it's great. I just kind of join up when it's something interesting and uh, Disneyworld is the one for a week next year Sure. Uh-huh. and it will be at this time of the year and this year we're leaving, uh, uh, matter of fact we're leaving next Saturday for New Orleans. Oh, that will be fun, too. Have, have you ever been there? Yes. We went years ago. We haven't been lately and I know they've changed it a lot and upgraded everything, but we used to have a lot of fun there. Well, you know, we went there once. In fact, we had been in Dallas and we were on our way home and we were driving and we said let's go to New Orleans. So when he said, well, this year, you know, I have a week there on a, a project he's going to be, and then I said, well, I'll going along, I hope it's swimming season because it wasn't a tremendous thing, amount of things to do. That I wanted to do there. Uh-huh. Yeah, if you don't like the night life and the antique shopping, there isn't much there, but, that can be fun. It, well, and that's probably, we do like the night life, to an extent and they do have a Mardi Gras night planned. Uh-huh. And I'm kind of anxious for that, but, uh, yours to Disneyworld sounds a little bit better. Did you know that next week there's several T V shows coming from there in celebration of their anniversary. No, I know this is a real good time to go, because they are having so many activities and special shows. Well, and with a daughter, nine, it is just, she's old enough to really grasp the meaning behind, Yes. Be excited about all of it. Uh, so, well, if you're working, then you're probably on a limited amount of time per year that you can go. Well, not really, we're doing the same thing. Tying it in with my husband's business trip and I just save vacation for things like that. And, uh, just travel whenever we can. Oh, that's, Well, I really, I think travel when I heard my topic today, I thought, okay that's my that's my favorite How easy Right. And really at our point of life our children are grown and, uh, it has just worked out really well with this, uh, position he's in. Because I can go at a spur of the moment or what have you Uh-huh. and it depends where he's going whether or not I decide to go along Sure. but I do, do like to travel and it's, uh, I don't mind the pool life at all during the day. Uh-huh. And I like to sight see and I love to shop. Uh-huh. So it's So that's perfect. What more could you ask for? That's right, but it, And then got to pick and choose the places. Well, and one of my very favorite is Las Vegas. Oh. Uh, that I would have to say we both end up going to Las Vegas, uh, probably once every maybe year and a half. Uh-huh. And presently we have quite a few frequent flyer miles Uh-huh. and so I've just requested that they send us two of our coach tickets because we have a lot of flying with Continental Uh-huh. and they're recommending that you use those because they don't know the future of Continental. Right, it's kind of shaky. And I said now that we have all the miles, we better start using them. That's true. Uh, It really is. So we are thinking that we might go to Las Vegas during the winter this year sometime for just kind of a quick trip. Uh, when we normally go that way, we like to go to California at the same time, because we really don't get out there as often as you could probably from Texas. Uh-huh. Our last big trip, we drove through New Mexico and Colorado and went to the Grand Canyon and, and, uh, back through Silverton and Durango and, oh, it was fun. It was so relaxing and a really neat part of the country and the kids were old enough to really enjoy it. Our, I think that's a good trip. Uh-huh. And really, for the children to learn as well for a family vacation that would be excellent. Right. Now we did, what we sometimes do since we are in Ohio and it takes a while just to even get to the, what I would call the more picturesque part of the country, we will fly to something like, once we flew to Colorado to Denver and then we rented a car for two weeks and we went through the northern route and through Utah and as far west as Las Vegas Uh-huh. and then we returned through, uh, New Mexico that you just mentioned. Uh-huh. And it was oh, it was just great. Oh, there's too much to see really. Oh, I, I think that's, that's the way to, Uh, I work at T I and we have, uh, of course, started drug testing, uh, random drug testing here and, uh, I haven't gotten called yet, but, uh, I feel that it's probably it's pretty good if, if they feel like there is a vast majority of the people at the company doing drugs. Do they feel that way? Uh, I think that they thought that there was a lot of drug usage here at T I, but I think our latest statistic said something like ninety-nine point nine eight percent were, uh, testing negative on all the on, on all the testing. Uh-huh. Well, I, I think it's a good idea just because I'm opposed to to the drugs. Uh-huh. I think it can cause a lot of problems even though they think they can handle it. Uh-huh. It's, uh, I don't know, I don't really liken it to alcohol but, yet that can be carried to an extreme, too. Uh-huh. So I think it's a good idea and I think just the idea that you know that you may be tested might keep you off of them or get you off of them because you're, Right. I don't know that their job would be at risk, because I think they may put them into some sort of a program to get them off of drugs. Right. I would think that, is that how they do it at T I maybe. That, Right, I at T I, if you get called in and you test positive for drugs, then you're put on a program and, uh, you know, you go through the program and then you're called like six months after you complete the program Uh-huh. and if you test positive, then you're terminated. Well, I guess I, I draw a hard line but, you know, I would, I'm, I'm in favor of, of that type of thing. That, uh, you, you have people out there that are responsible for certain things Yeah, uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you expect them to do their job and it, it is possible that, you know, that they can't do as good a job, uh, as they might do. That's right. Uh-huh. Oh, and, of course they can also cause injury to other people. Uh-huh. If they're, if they're not, uh, you know, fully functional mentally while they're doing their job. They could cause you know, serious injury to another people. Right, and you never know they could just go off the deep end on, on a, on something uh, that whatever they're taking at the time Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, and it would be, uh, you know, out of the question. Uh-huh. Also, I guess you can, you know, get the wrong kind of stuff and kill yourself just by having a wrong mix of or watered down or or whatever, all kinds. That's right. Oh yeah. I sub in the schools Uh-huh. so I've, you know, had a, they they talk a lot about drugs there So, Right. and I think it's good that they're trying to start some programs down in the elementary schools. Right. But, you know, I think they can test all they want for drugs you know, and if they need to do that as a condition for employment Uh-huh. and I know many of them are doing it. I know my son has had to do it for both Sam's and Wal-Mart Uh-huh. and I don't know how many others are doing that and, and I think that's good because so many of the kids that are on them are sort of bums that they need to get their life straightened up at an early age Oh, yes. Uh-huh. That's right. and, uh, I don't know, it's just a problem that no one is sure just how to handle I think. Uh-huh. You know, I think personally I'm for it. There's several reason why I, I could think of right now why we shouldn't have it such as drug testing, they say, runs approximately a thousand dollars a person every time you do it. Really? And, It's that high? Yes. And, oh, yeah, it's very expensive. Oh. And, uh, I didn't realize it was that expensive. Uh-huh. It's not like a normal urinalysis Uh-huh. it's very expensive to run them. And, uh, I didn't get a raise this year, because, nobody in our company got a raise. Uh-huh. But, yet they spend all the money on drug testing Just lucky to have jobs. and if they weren't spending all the money on drug testing, people could have got a raise. So, see, there, you know, there's different, I don't think that that's, that, I think that's more of a personal view of mine other than a, a yes, sir, we should have drug testing because there's really a problem Uh-huh. and I know that. But then, I have other views to it. I just, I didn't think it was that expensive because my son was in probably a week and a half period Uh-huh. and Sam's and Wal-Mart are, are owned by the same people Uh-huh. he took one for, for, uh, Wal-Mart for job hiring Uh-huh. and then Sam's called him and, and he took another one Right. and I, you know, I don't know why they both made him do that since it was so close together. Uh-huh. I can see if because, you know, if it's a thousand dollars, that's a thousand dollars they wasted. Theirs might not run a thousand dollars. *Their's Theirs Our, from what I understanding here at T I, they run close to a thousand dollars an employee. Well, maybe they run, I don't know, you know, that's just guessing it. Maybe they run a lot of other tests, or maybe it's under a health type program that it it, it would catch a lot of things. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, I just can't imagine them screening all these employees, paying a thousand dollars to get them. But, no for all the, the Oh, it's, So have you done any painting projects lately? Yeah, this is a great topic for me, because I just did my first two painting projects ever. Oh, really? Was not, not a big deal What kind of painting was it? two little deals, The first one, um, I helped someone repaint an apartment, and it was very easy. Uh-huh, it, was it? Yeah, and I've never painted I always thought it would be, so, you know, you'd have to hire someone if you needed to paint inside your house or something Yeah, but I know I can do it. Oh, uh-huh. And the second one was I bought some toys at a, um, at a craft fair. Uh-huh. They're unfinished wooden book ends and stuff for a little girl for Christmas, and so I decided to paint them, and that wasn't as easy as painting the apartment Oh, well, what kind of paint did you use for the, um, bookends? Well, it's, uh, it, that's half the problem right there is that it wasn't, it was a oil base, so I had to get, and when I painted them, I didn't realize that we didn't have any turpentine or paint thinner or anything in the house. So I had it, had it all over my hands. At first I didn't realize, you know, I had never painted anything, so I didn't realize that I needed that. Uh-huh. I mean, I kind of knew, in the back of my mind, So you can't use oil on wood? Well, no, you can use it on wood, but I just had it all over my hands, and I went to wash the brushes out, and, uh, wash my hands, and you can't wash it off with water. You have to get the, uh, a solution and, Oh, so you had to go around with paint all over you, temporarily, anyway. Yeah, I had to drive to the store yeah, I had to drive to the store with paper towels all over my hands to go buy some paint thinner, and and everything like that, Oh, and then, um, downstairs in the apartment, I just we just used a latex base, and so you can drip it on, you know if you dripped it on something, as long as you wiped it up, it was real easy to clean. Oh, is, is that what you usually use in the house, is latex? Yeah, and, and it, it just like Um. the same with the toys, it's just important to look for one that doesn't have lead in it, you know, it says Safe for Children, and all that. Uh-huh, yeah, I heard about that. I guess a friend of mine had a, uh, well, she, she just started up a day care center, and uh, the, one of the real strict, uh, restrictions, was the fact that she had to have a special kind of paint that was fire proof and lead free and all that other good stuff Yeah. so, uh, she had that done. But, uh, that you keep some, um, farm equipment in Have you painted anything recently. Wow, was it huge? Uh-huh. and, um, what I had to do is just coat this bare wood with a sealer, and, uh, I had this big five gallon jug, and it was like paint thinner. I mean I, you know, it looked just like, it was the viscosity of paint thinner Yeah. but, uh, you just took a roller and put it on there, and, uh, if you saw that the wood was getting wet, you know, that was, that was all you needed. So. Wow. Yeah, it was, it used all of it. I guess it was about three hundred yards worth. So. Well, I guess it worked out. It was pretty easy, actually. Yeah, I think though, um, we're lucky that we didn't have to do any detail work, because I don't know if I could, you know, I don't know, I don't know, must be difficult, Well what about the trim in your house? Did you have to do that? No, it was it was really easy, I just, like, what, we had a couple of different size brushes you know, real easy, Uh-huh. I went around the trim, and if it, and there was wall paper, like I was do, just doing just the trim outs that, around the doors and windows and there was wall paper and if we got it on the wall paper a little bit, we just wipe it right away before it dried, Uh-huh. it came right off Oh, yeah, so there was no major mistakes, there was, Did you have, uh, one coat or two? Uh, two, actually Uh-huh. um, and it, there was, um, you know, around the windows, if you got it on the glass, we let it dry and scraped it after that but that, Yeah, that would be really time, uh, a time saver. Well, yeah, if you just, you know we didn't tape anything, we weren't that careful, but it wasn't, you know, I don't know, it's, it's funny, it's like, if you just go slow, you don't get, or at least I didn't get that many mistakes Uh-huh. I didn't make that many mistakes, Oh, me, I would have had to have taped the whole thing, and then brushed around the edges, and, and then I'd have probably rolled it on. I'd, it would have taken me forever. Why? Just because you'd be afraid to do it, or have you done it before. Yeah, well, the first time it'd probably would have taken me forever, so Well, it wasn't, if it was my own I would have, but my friend said, oh just go ahead, you just go ahead, it's easy. I said, Okay, it's your place, Well, how long did it take you all? Well, a couple of week ends we would go down two or three hours on the weekends, Uh-huh. and, So there was two of you all? No, there was, they were doing all sorts of repairs, and there was, I was just painting because I don't know how to do anything else Well, that's easy enough. So, there's a whole bunch of people. Um. So now I feel like if I ever buy a house, I can probably paint, if nothing else. I think I could probably do it uh, as long as the hardware store told me what to buy, then I could do it. Yeah. But you know, I went in to a hardware store to get paint for those toys, and the guy said, Oh, get this, it's a nice shiny gloss, which was true, but I didn't realize what, you know, pain it is to clean the brushes and everything, if you don't have latex I don't if it's worth the shine, Uh-huh. Well, how did you like that topic? Uh, I don't know, I've got mixed feelings about the topic. Do you? I don't. No. Okay. No, I'm pretty opinionated about that and many other things as you well know. I agree with it. I think, uh, I think a company should be able to test at, any, any employee any time they see fit. Well, I just, I just don't think there's a place in our environment, you know in the work force for drugs, or alcohol either. Well, I don't believe in drugs or alcohol, but if you'll remember when the teachers had to take the T CAT they were talking about drug testing us Right. Uh-huh. and we were laughing that we'd have to go to that examination to prove we could read and write with a specimen of urine Uh-huh. and we found it belittling. You did? Yeah, Uh-huh. Well, I can sort of understand that, uh, but not being a teacher, as you are, you know, I, I was not quite as sympathetic as, you know, as I probably would have been if, if Kay were a teacher or something. That's true. But, uh, But then, you know, at the same token, I'm not against because I look at airline pilots bus drivers you know, people that really have other peoples' lives in their hands truck drivers Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's right. That's right. it's supposed to be a huge problem with truck drivers using drugs and alcohol, Uh, that's right and I think it is a big problem with them using drugs from what you read, you know, And, but, uh, You know, in those areas I really, you know, do believe that maybe we should clean up our, you know house. Yeah, I think so too, I, I agree with it. Uh, I know Kay's company, you know, they started it couple of years ago, and so many of the people, even the professional people were, boy, they were so against them doing that, you know, and I thought, Jeez, to me it's quite simple, uh, you either need a job or you don't. The, the job is what provides all of your needs, and, uh, if they say, Hey, you can't do this work, I'd say, Hey, I agree, I don't, I won't do that. And I think most of them have agreed to that now, although they didn't like it at first. Yeah, I think it's just like anything else, a new concept, you know, as I said, if I have to go to a testing area with my urine specimen I was insulted, Yeah, it is, I can see where you would think, Yeah, But at the same token, in education we can't do drug, random drug testing on kids Yeah, that's true, you know, I mean, their rights are protected. You bet. Oh, gosh, they, they would really raise a stink if that was to happen. What well, but why, if you're going to do teachers or professionals, why not do the kids, when we see them and they're, you know, under the influence. Right, yes, I agree with that. I, I, I wouldn't be opposed to it at all, it's just our bleeding heart liberals that would fight it tooth and nail, you know That's true. but, uh, well, Lynn, I've enjoyed talking with you. I don't know how long we're supposed to carry on a conversation, do you? It's three minutes, and the clicker comes in when it's time to, Oh, well, we'd better keep talking because I've not heard it have we. Yeah. Have you heard it? No. Anyway, we both sort of agree on it, don't we about random testing. Well do we agree, or unless it's not me Well, listen, You know, here we go again, I mean Yeah, yeah. yeah, you know If you agree that, uh, I believe that truck drivers and people that have, even though teachers have other kids lives in their hands, and if they come in stoned or they come in drunk Yeah. and there was an incident in my children's high school, where a teacher stayed drunk, Is that right? Uh-huh. You just don't think of that happening with teachers And he, I really don't, when I think of drug testing, I'm thinking of the, you know, outside of education. Uh, well, no, you know, we are as susceptible a society as anybody else Sure sure, I know that, but, uh you don't think of that first hand, normally. and, uh Yeah, well, did you hear on the news where the teacher of the year was up for child molestation. Isn't that, isn't that mind boggling, It was on the news tonight. goodness, it, it is, it's mind you know, well, you know, I agree with you, I know teachers are just like everybody else, same problems the same, uh, good qualities as anybody else. Yeah. Then, I think, you know, if if it came, push came to shove, I'd probably be drug tested you know, Yeah, yeah. because it does, you know, You, you think the benefit would be greater than the, Yeah, because, you know, as I say, I'm sitting there fussing and fussing, and yet, I know of, you know, one teacher who was an alcoholic in school as well as, you know, I presume out, Uh-huh. And that was in your children's high school, Uh-huh. Isn't that amazing, And, you know, my children brought it to my attention. I never was there to see it. If it, if it's if it was true there, I'm sure it's true with just about probably to some degree every school there is Uh-huh. you know, because they represent a pretty good, And that's not giving a good example to students. No, certainly not, certainly not, they don't need that example but, Okay, I missed a part of it. We're to talk about what, lawns and gardens? Lawn and garden work and what you enjoy and what kind of work you do. I'm, I'm a putterer. I chose that topic because I really like gardening as far as flowers and shrubs and just keeping a pretty yard. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, well, it's, it's, it's very strange that I got this call because my wife just called me. I was just in the shower after finishing mowing the lawn and, you know, mowing the lawn and removing some old petunias out of the garden, Oh. this type of thing is working right in to start planting fall, fall bulbs. Uh-huh. Uh. We've had a late fall it seems like, the weather, in fact today it's really warm, and so many of the summer flowers are still pretty enough that you hate to pull them up, but you know you need to pretty soon. Well, that's the way this was. The, the petunias were really great. Our mums are, are beautiful, Oh. Uh, I don't know if we, I don't think we've had a frost up here. I've been, I was down in for a week, so I don't know what happened last week Uh-huh. uh, but, uh, it seems like it's, I don't know if it's late. I'm sort of waiting for Indian Summer so I can get a lot of stuff down out here. Uh-huh. Uh, I, I enjoy it. We came here, we just moved into this, well, we moved in in November and put all, all the landscaping in this, this year. We came from nine years in a condo, uh, and working in that condo, you didn't have to do anything you know, unless you really wanted to, Uh-huh. so . So now you have the chance to really create and, and spread out. Right. You know, I can't, this is my third, third house I think, I've owned, um, but, uh, it's interesting, you know, the only problem is that I do quite a bit of traveling, and it sort of gets away from me if you're not with it. Uh-huh. So, but, uh, I, I enjoy most of it, and about this time of year there is, it starts getting a little old, and I start looking forward to, you know, having other things to do with my . The grass not growing so fast Well, it is, it is for me because I've been doing a lot of fertilizing. We had a terrible summer, we had a drought Oh. and, uh, took a lot of watering and a lot of fertilizing, and now it's really growing and I'm trying to establish a good root, root growth you know, for the winter. Um ours seems to have slowed down here. We're not having to mow every week religiously Really. but we're still fighting bugs, and ready to change some of the, the summer flowers out Uh. I still have caladiums that are pretty, which is a surprise this late in the year. Oh, really? Uh-huh. Um. But like today, it's eighty-five degrees Oh, yeah it's really strange, yeah, I hear that from, my brother-in-law lives in Plano, But that'll change real quick Yeah Well, he always We'll wish we'd planted bulbs and pansies already. he waits until it gets about seventeen below up here and then he calls us, Oh, my gosh. yeah it's seventy degrees here in the sunshine. So Well, Texas has gotten to where it's a real problem as far as plants, because our summers are so terribly hot . and we have ice storms every year. And there just aren't that many plants and shrubs that can take both of those extremes. Uh-huh. Some of the things that used to be hardy are getting to where they don't make it through the two swings. Yeah, that is, I was, you know, I was like conditioned to it Uh-huh. they, they have to be hardened to it that's, that's strange with me. You know, you think, Dallas, you know, almost semitropical, you wouldn't have that kind of, that kind of problem, but, Well, for the most part we don't, but we have usually just a pocket of really bad hot and really bad cold. Well, the summers have gotten where they're a lot hotter Uh-huh. but the, the ice storms really are stressful on all the, the plants that we have around. We've noticed that crepe myrtles don't do as well as they used to and, uh, pittosporum Really, oh do they. that used to be the kind of things we could plant all the time Uh-huh. you, you really take a chance with them freezing, I love, Yeah, I love the, uh, the landscaping, like I say, my brother-in-law . I get to Carrollton quite a bit. Uh-huh. I go there on business, and I really enjoy getting around and seeing the different areas with different gardens, and Texas is, Dallas is very nice. I really enjoy it there. The landscaping, the homes, the architecture, the whole thing very enjoyable gardens, Uh-huh. and my wife and I, Except for the lack of trees, out where we are It was all cotton fields, Well. and when we get to other parts of the country where the trees are so beautiful, we really miss it. Yeah, that we have, you know Uh-huh. Ohio's a very pretty state. We moved, in seventy-six we moved to Chicago, we lived there for five years, and I remember the first time I took my wife there on a house hunt, uh, we were coming in and before the plane landed she looked out the window and she said, she said, there's no trees down there. this is Illinois, you're not. And, when we got out to the area where we decided we were going to live and buy a house, there were no trees because the farmers had cleared all the land Um. Uh-huh. and now all of a sudden it was being developed, and the first thing I did was planted all kinds of trees, Very good. Uh, discussion or on child care. Do you have any children? Uh, they're all grown up. Oh I work in a day-care center and . Oh, well, you know all about it then. Yes, I enjoy it a lot. It's been quite a few years. I have grandchildren but, uh, haven't really been into selecting child care for them, so. Oh. And it's been quite a few years since I've had to think about that. Do they go to a day-care center or do they stay at, No. Uh, my daughter that has three stays home with her children, Oh, that's nice. and one of my daughters has one but an aunt keeps the baby. Oh, that's nice. But I would, I would not really know how to go about selecting one nowadays, but I would imagine it's very hard. I, I think so. I think it's hard to find a good day care. I have worked in at some other ones that were not very good in my opinion. Uh-huh. But this one that I'm in now is, is very good. And one of the key things is how many adults are there in ratio to the children. Uh-huh. And like in Pennsylvania for babies, that's what I work with, there has to be a one to four ratio at the most. No more than four babies per care giver. Uh-huh. But we keep it down to like two to one. Oh, well, that's good. Yeah, that makes it a little easier to deal with. I've always thought, you know, it would be really tough. What if you had a fire or something with babies? Oh, I know. We, You would have to be able to have enough, you know, you'd have to be able to get them all out. What we do is we have these cribs in the back room where they sleep that are, um, low to the ground Uh-huh. and they're reenforced real strong and they'll sit four babies. We would just lie them in there and they roll real well and maneuver. Oh, well, that's, that's a, That will get them out. I hadn't thought about that. But I was thinking, oh, my gosh, if they had very many babies, they couldn't possibly get them all out. No But you could put them in one of these cribs and then roll the crib out I guess. Right. Oh Right. well, that's neat. Yeah, that's certainly something we hope never happens. Well, do most of your day-care workers really care about the children, or is it just a job for them? Most really care, in this center, really care. Uh, most everyone has a college degree in like early childhood education. Uh-huh. And really there's only like eight children per room and then there's like two or three, mostly three care givers in each room. Uh-huh. And that enables them to spend more time with the children. Sometimes I feel like all I'm doing is changing diapers, giving bottles, and putting babies down for a nap. So, it's nice to be able to play with them and really get to know them. Uh-huh. It's easy to get attached to them too. Yeah. How old a group, how old are the children go with this center where you work? Um, in my room they go from eight weeks to nine months. Uh-huh. And throughout the center it goes up to like age twelve. Uh-huh. So, I have the real, real young ones in my room. You've got the little bitty ones. Uh-huh. Those are the, probably the the best group to have. They're, you know, they're wonderful. They don't complain too much And they're fun. Yes. They are a lot of fun. Babies are fun, and they're not quite big enough to be getting into everything yet, so. Not quite. It's a, when they start to crawl they try to climb up on things and Uh-huh. you have to be real careful all the, everything is baby proof. You know, all the doors have latches and stuff so they can't get into anything but they try. Uh-huh. Do you think there's very many really good day-care centers around your area? But, yeah, In my area because I live in a college town in Penn State University Uh-huh. so I, there is a lot of, a lot of college educated people and stuff that are in the centers that really seem to have an idea of what's going on. Uh-huh. And, uh, in general though I've, I've been really disappointed with a lot of other centers I've worked at, and it, all and all Uh-huh. it's not my choice for when, when I have children but, but some people don't have a choice. Sometimes it's a have to. Yes. I hear a lot of the girls I work with, uh, constantly, oh, I wish I could find someplace I really felt good about. You know? Uh-huh. Most of them don't really feel that it's a great place to leave their kids. That is sad. And it's really bad, you know. One of the girls she was leaving hers at where she felt like was a really good place, and then they called her one afternoon and said, well, we thought we'd better call and tell you before you got over here. Lacy fell asleep on the bus after our field trip today, and we just now found her. What? They had left her on the bus closed up all afternoon. Oh, my God. And so immediately she says, well, I can't have any confidence in them anymore, if they'll take a group of kids to the zoo or somewhere and then come back and not even count them and realize they're one short. Oh. But one of the teachers happened to walk by and see her pounding on the window trying to get out of the bus. Oh, my God. And this was four hours later, you know. Oh, that poor child. And, uh, so, you know, what do you do? That's awful. So she has switched to a different center now and, uh, Well, I, Okay, well, just to let you know, I have, uh, two, uh, children of my own. I've got two boys, uh, one four year old and one two years old, so I'm just starting out. Oh, yes I have two boys who are twenty-eight and twenty-four and a daughter who is twelve. Wow Wow, that's quite a spread Yes. Same husband, everything. That's great. Uh but, Well, I guess, uh, in one of the things that, that I like to do with my boys when, uh, when I get home is, I like to try and spend a lot of time with them. You know, they're not very old, so they couldn't do a whole lot, yet. Uh-huh. But they like to, uh, spend time with me. We just, oh, just do various things, nothing really. They like to be outside as much as possible. If it's not raining. Right, uh, but, you know, the weather's trying to turn now so, Are, are you down here in Texas? Yes, I I'm, I'm in, uh, Dallas. Oh. Okay, yeah. You know what I meant with rain, huh Right, right. Oh. Right. Okay, uh what, Yeah, what, well, one of the things I've noticed is, one of the trends I've, I've noticed is that, uh, it's always too easy to just plop your kids down in front of the T V and let them watch movies or, or play video games or something. Yeah, I I have, can you hold on just a Sure. I have to answer a business phone Sure. I hate to do it on this call. That's okay. Good morning, A R E, this is Arlene Lister another It was just a recorded message, on our business phone anyway. I'm sorry, keep going. No, it's okay. Uh, so that was the thing that I, I noticed that, I know a lot of people, lot of friends that we have, they have a tendency to do the same thing. And one of the things we try to do is we try to avoid doing that as much as possible. Although it really is very easy to do that type of thing. Just plop them down in front of the T V and let them be, uh, entertained that way. Uh-huh. And, uh, seeing as you've got some older children, I, I'm wondering, how did you handle that, when they were growing up? Yeah. Well, there, there was not nearly as much of it. In fact, I, I think things were, were quite a bit different. Uh-huh. Uh, when my, my big kids were, were little, uh, you know, all the mothers were home. Uh-huh. You know, the, the kids got up in the morning and ate breakfast and poked around and then when they felt like it, they went out to play, you know when they were, were little like that. Uh-huh. Right. And, uh, I, I think it's gotten, uh, very different. When my second one was little, they were coming out with SESAME STREET which he started watching Right. and, other than that, I mean, there was basically, there was not educational T V or uh, you know, you got some cartoons Um. and that was it, but they, they were never that interested in it anyway. They'd rather, I mean, they'd take their trucks out in the backyard you know go out and play and stuff. Right. But, we always did, uh, oh, just, you know, to the park for walks and to the zoo and museum. Uh-huh. We did a lot of stuff like that with, uh, with our kids. Uh-huh. And, course, when they got bigger, uh, they were both quite into sports and, and you know, so whatever, you know, they would do, we'd go along with Uh-huh. Yeah. and, uh, uh, a girl is very different We have a girl would like you to spend time with her going shopping Right So, they're very, very different, but, uh, kind of the same thing, our, you know, she now, lot of time spent with her, she's so busy is, uh you know, going to, you know, Uh-huh like last night was a band concert Uh-huh. and she plays on her school volleyball team and, uh, stuff like that. But, uh, we, we still, uh, oh, like to pack up, you know, just go someplace for the day or, uh, you know, just stuff like that. Right. One of our older kids now is going to graduate school down at College Station Oh, that's nice. so that's, uh, we go down there fairly often, you know, for a weekend for, you know, family get-togethers and stuff like that. That's great. Uh, That's great. I know we'd, I'd like to get into do more camping and outings and things. And I think we probably will soon as the boys get a little bit older. Uh-huh. But, uh, you know, for right now, they don't, you know, just getting out in the front, and just being outside is good for them because they like just being outside. Oh, yes. Yeah, I, I think, our kids just always dearly loved that, you know, play bounce the ball, or just, uh, Uh-huh. course, when our big ones were little, we lived up north, you know Uh-huh. and this time of the year it, it, the fun thing was to go out and swoosh around in the leaves you know. Right. So, You know, so it's, it's very different That's true, you don't see many leaves around Dallas. and, and, uh, you know, we also, come winter time we'd stick them on sleds. And uh, we had a pond across the street Uh-huh. and, and from little on, you know, I'm, it's, it's so different down here where you go take lessons to learn to ice skate or something. You know, when our kids were little you, you got them a pair of skates Well what kind of car, uh, are you thinking of buying next? Uh, more than likely, it's going to be a Chrysler. You like the Chrysler products, do you? Uh, Chrysler LeBaron, yeah. It won't be a Ford. I've got a Ford Mustang now, and I hate it. Do you really? Yeah. What year is it? It's a eighty-eight. And why don't you like the Mustang? It's, um, I've had one problem with it after the other. I'll be darned. The the paints peeling off of it, or find them road dead. Well, you know the old sayings about Fords, what they stand for. There you go. Well, uh. That, uh, I, uh, it's, my electrical system shorted out like two or three times, and it's been torn up since April, and I, and luckily, everything was under warranty, so it's only costing like a hundred and forty dollars to get it fixed. It would have been like two thousand Well, we've always, uh, we've always had Oldsmobiles, and, uh, been very, uh, happy with Oldsmobiles, but, uh, my wife thought she wanted to get a Ford Mustang and then she kind of changed her mind and thinks her next car ought to be one of those, uh, Mitsubishi Eclipses. She She likes, uh, likes those. Those, those are nice cars. She has a sister that lives in, uh, Phoenix that has one and, uh, really, uh, enjoys it. Well, what, uh, what things do you consider when you buy a car? Um, the gas mileage for one thing, and I've, I've, I've always had like stick shift. I want to, the next car I get I want it to be automatic. I see. I, uh, I, I hate driving anyway, and then, and changing gears at stop lights and stuff is really getting on my nerves now. Yeah, especially when you're in high traffic areas and have to mess with that all the time. Yeah. And, you know, when you work nine to five, or eight to five, and you're in rush hour traffic to and from work, unfortunately. That makes it very frustrating. And I look, and one of the things with Chrysler right now is, is their, the warranties that they have, and I, I feel like their, everybody I've talked to that owns one, has, has, has been real pleased with it, and I like the, the driver's air bag, I like that. Now this is a LeBaron? Uh, yeah, well all Chrysler products has it in there, but LeBaron would be the next car I get, yeah. I sure like the, uh, convertible, those rag top LeBarons, they really look sporty. Yeah, yeah, I like, I like that too, huh, but, uh, I, I couldn't afford the insurance on one of those Well, uh, we always, this last Oldsmobile we bought, uh, it's an eighty-seven, but we bought it in eighty-eight, you know, right at the end of the year when they were trying to get rid of them Yeah. and, uh, we found that, uh, we found a real good interest rate, you know, when they're trying to get rid of those cars at the end of the year like that, they really come down on their prices and, uh, uh, you know, we looked around at used cars, and we really couldn't, uh, afford the payments on a used car, because, uh, if you go to the bank and try to get a loan, they want to charge twelve, thirteen percent, you know, and we ended up, I think, with like a four and a half percent interest rate on a brand new car, and the payments. Well, that's what I'm paying on mine now. I had to get like a first time, my dad's always cosigned on, on my, my loans, or whatever, and this is one, when I bought, I got my Mustang this time was by myself, because I got on my own, or whatever, and, um, I had said, they, they said it had to be like a first time buyer's car or whatever, and they're charging me unreasonable interest, but I've got eight more payments and it's paid for. Well, that's great. But I got it when, I got it when the eighty-eights first came out, it's a, it's, it's a good car, I mean, I got in eighty-seven, I guess, in like November or something like that, and. Uh-huh. Well, when our kids were younger we really wanted a two door. Our first car was an Oldsmobile back in seventy-seven. It was a two door Cutlass Supreme, and, uh, it just happened that when we looked for our, our new car, they had a thing going with Oldsmobile and if you'd buy a, a new Oldsmobile they'd give you four hundred rebate, because it was their seventy-fifth anniversary. Uh-huh. I yeah seventy-fifth anniversary. So in addition to everything else we got off the car, all we had to do is show them our, uh, papers on our first car, and they gave us another four hundred dollars off on it. So we, we got a four door this time, and I sort of went more for the, uh, the comfort factor, and, uh, I liked the smaller cars, but I'm a bigger person, and I, I really like comfort, you know, driving along the road and stuff. Well, that's another big factor of mine. Next, next car I get's going to be a four door too. Something with some room. Yeah. Because I, uh, my Mustang is, is, is two door with bucket seats, and you buy groceries and stuff like that. And if you try to take anybody, you know, go to the show or go out for supper, and you go as a foursome, Okay, what do you feel are some of the main problems? Well, I'm in a, I'm in an urban area. I'm in Dallas. Uh-huh. And we're finding that crime is going up very quickly and has become a major problem, uh, even a more major problem. Uh, in Dallas, some of the major problems, uh, drugs seems to be related to quite a bit of the crime we have now. There is a lot of theft, a lot of assault dealing with, uh, people trying to get money for drugs. Yeah. And, uh, I think that's a national problem, though. It, it, it's pretty bad here, too. It's not unique, We've had a lot of murders drug related and stuff. In Durham, which is right next to Raleigh. Yes. Uh-huh. Well, now, we're pretty close to the golden triangle, aren't you? Yeah, that, that Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill is the triangle. Right, research triangle and all of that. Right. And, uh, I'm sure you have a lot of students there, uh, and a lot of researchers so you, you may have a, you know, perhaps a little better economic climate, but, in all your cities now, it seems like there is a, a crowd that's really effected by this bill. Yeah, it's, it's really, it's, and I've seen in more in Durham than I have in Raleigh or, or or Chapel Hill. Really? Chapel Hill is kind of a, a ritzy city or whatever. I mean, it's kind of, I'm, I'm sure there is problems with it, but it has a pretty low crime rate. Compare, compared to, to, Durham has probably got the worst. They've had like forty-eight murders since the beginning of the year. Really? And over half of it has been drug related. Um. Well, here, uh, I'm not sure how many Dallas has had. I've, uh, Houston is averaging about two a week or three or four, I, I don't know. A, a number every week. Yeah. Uh, Dallas is having quite a few. Seems like most of ours are occurring in late at night or, or, like I say, drug related. Uh, I guess the other thing was that are causing a lot of the crime now is the decrease in values. Seems like a, a lot of people don't hold human life quite as high as perhaps they used to. Yeah. Uh, I, Well, that, and the, and the economy is so bad and, And so many people have been laid off and stuff. The economy is lousy They've done special stories on the news, local news here. Uh-huh. We had a lot of bank robberies and different, lot of break ins and stuff. I know, like a week or so ago, I live in a, in a town house, which is, you know, it's a pretty nice neighborhood and this lady was going to work, she came home and everything in her house was total gone, light fixtures, everything. And nobody thought any different, they just thought she was moving. It was a moving man pulled right up to her house, broke in and stole everything she owned Boy that really, that really takes someone who is bold to do that. Well, yeah, it's, it's, it's pretty bad Well, now, do you find that security is very good in, in a, in a town home? Uh, I would say so for the majority in, in our, in my little section of the neighborhood because there is always somebody at home Uh-huh. and we all know one another and, and, on our one little section of the street we all know one another and know that we're not moving and different things like that. Well, that, It's, I, I'm, I'm probably the, one of the youngest people that live over here. I see. Most people are, are, retired or, or, or, you know, they're, they're in their forties or, or whatever. So and I'm in my twenties, so I, I'm, I'm out more than they are, but they're at home at night, Yeah. so I really don't worry about anything. Well, I think you hit on one point there is you know each other. Yeah. I'm, I'm in a neighborhood where we try to keep up with everything. Uh, I am, oh, about three blocks off a major road and, uh, a couple of blocks off another road that kind of runs, I guess you would say the neighborhood road, it runs between the high school and the, the commercial districts and, uh, I'm over the northeast part of Dallas. It's a, in a nice neighborhood. The houses here, uh, before the recession were running two hundred thousand or so and, course, everything's down ten to twenty percent now. Yeah, see, that's the same thing here. But we have, uh, one, one thing that effects us is we have apartments that are probably about a half mile away and now the economy is bad, they have trouble keeping those full so they've dropped the, uh, they're not nearly as selective as they used to be. Yeah. And, course, that's kind of like a cancer in an apartment complex. You start letting that happen and they go down and then before you know it you have drugs and a lot of other things so, uh, I'm sure that aggravates it also. Yeah. But, unemployment now in Dallas, or in Texas is up around six point, I guess we're supposed to talk about what's being done about recycling. Yes. Well, lots, right? Right Finally. Really, what, what do you do, now? Well, we have saved our newspapers for years and years because the, uh, Boy Scouts our boys have been involved in have, uh, had a huge recycling bin, over at Resurrection Lutheran Church Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, so we've done that for quite some time, but since the price of paper has gone down like it's about a fifth of what it used to be Oh, really? so the Boy Scout troop quit doing it when the City took it over. Okay. So now we just put ours out for the City of Plano. Do you live in Plano? Yes, I do. Okay, yeah. Yeah, and I'm so glad when they brought out those recycling bins. Right. Have you had yours now? Yes. Yeah. Although just, just about a week ago some of my volunteer mothers that, uh, work in the library for me said they hadn't gotten theirs. Oh, that's why I asked you. Yeah. and not everyone got theirs right away. Yeah, yeah. And I, I was so relieved because I've been making a real concerted effort, make, you know, recycling the aluminum and the newspapers and even got into plastic because Wal-Mart collected it. Uh-huh. Right, yeah, we used to take ours there. And, uh my garage was just getting overwhelmed. I know. And, of course, I didn't go weekly, so it became quite a big thing, Right. and, uh, Right, I'm really glad they do it. Uh, yeah, I do news, mostly newspapers and, uh, plastic two liter diet Coke bottles And aluminum cans some, Yes, yeah. but I don't use as many of those. Uh-huh. I guess the ones that are hard to convince yourself to do are the ones that you have to really, that are really dirty that you have to wash out Yeah, well, I found out after washing out many a peanut butter jar that they're not a recycling number one or two. Uh, ha. Uh, ha, Wasting all your time and effort and, Putting it in there. Thinking I was safe in buying those jars as far as the environment was concerned. Yeah, yeah. But, uh, you know, but it, it's not that hard now that I've got this system under control. Got your routine down. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I guess there are some places, uh, in the north, in particular that, uh, have a real definite way of encouraging you to recycle because they charge you, let's see, they charge you for your garbage pick up by the weight. Uh, uh-huh. So if you recycle things, of course, then you don't have all that weight in there. Yeah, I do find that I don't have as much to throw away because all the bulky things are, are being tossed in with the recycling. Right. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, I don't know what they could do more of exactly around here right now other than, uh, what are some of the things they don't recycle. Oh, one thing I thought about the other day were batteries, just everyday regular batteries. Supposedly, you know, leak and, and contaminate the landfills Um. Right. and, yet, what am I going to do when I have a couple double A batteries to toss out. Yeah, right. And they don't take, Probably going to throw them in your trash Yeah, that's what happens because, Well, there are places that take car batteries, but I wonder if they would take, Yeah. I mean, not that it would kind of a pain to, you know, drive over somewhere special just for that, for two little tiny batteries but, Yeah, yeah, but I think the city one could possibly look into that or something. Yeah, that's true. Uh, if they've got these bins for all the other little items, I'm sure if people will have batteries, uh, you know, quite often to, to toss out. Right, that's true. Uh, when I was home those few days around Thanksgiving and the, uh, the truck came by, well, we all ran out to watch it because, you know, we'd never really seen it pick up our stuff Uh-huh. and one thing I thought was interesting was that the driver had something on his belt that he, uh, scanned across the little bar code on our bin as soon as he took the stuff Oh. Oh, is that right? and he just pulled this thing kind of out of his pocket and just, you know, scanned it, so I don't know why, what that was reading it for Huh. but, uh Registering our garbage they must be trying to keep track of , you know, who is doing it, or what, I guess. Yeah. I don't know. Another, Wouldn't it be nice if you could get a credit back at the end of the year Ooh, for those who are really cooperating. Yeah. Now, that would encourage it. Well, except I know it would just not be cost effective. They've already got all this money out on hiring, uh, getting the trucks and hiring people to work them. I'm sure they couldn't afford that. Sure. But Sure. uh, But the garbage, uh, now there is just one garbage man that comes on the truck instead of two. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So that's interesting. Uh, also, slightly off the subject, but our, our big green garbage thing got stolen. Oh, it did? Uh-huh. Gosh. And we we called the City and, uh, they, they brought us a new one and they did not charge us. And they said that between three and four hundred have been stolen. Oh, my goodness. Isn't that sad? You know. It is sad. And just, You know, they paid for those things anyway. Oh, and they must be, Yeah, really expensive. Or, our taxes do. I mean, of course, we were hoping we weren't, we weren't going to have to pay for it, you know Uh-huh. but, I mean, what would somebody do with them. Arlington, Texas now since I got somebody from Arlington, Virginia one day Is that right? Yeah. Well, I never thought about that, but there is an Arlington, like I had a call the other day from Birmingham, Michigan you know, Oh and I was thinking yeah, and I was thinking Birmingham. the only Birmingham I could think of was Alabama. Right. It's funny how many names have been used, uh, all over the country. Yeah, well, tell me what kind of books have you read? Well, to tell you the truth, I've been going to college for the last four years so mainly, text books. I was going to say, not fun kind, right? No, um, but, I, I really tend to like biographies a lot, not necessarily always heavy ones Uh-huh. but, you know, sometimes I just read one about Grace Kelley. I love to read about real people. To me, half the time it's more fascinating than some of these made up stories Yeah, it is, because you know that's it's really and truly a true thing. Yeah, it happened. You know, I read one about Bob Hope that I liked. Really? Yeah, that was real good. I'm like you, if it's not a heavy biography, you know I enjoy it. Right. I used to like to read about royalty a lot. I, when I was younger I read about every king and queen that lived, I think, in Europe. That was my thing for a while. I was trying to think, uh, I read a, uh, a novel that used the names of like Princess Di and Prince Phillip coming over here to be entertained and all, and there was a murder. Oh, really. Yeah, it was some time ago. Seems like it was THE SPY WENT DANCING, or something like that. Oh, it sounds like fun. It was a lot of fun because they used these real names, you know. Wonder if it was by one of those famous writers, you know Margaret Truman Daniels writes a lot those. Yeah, in fact I believe it was because, Really? Uh-huh. I believe. Sounds like something she would write. Yeah, I think it was by her, now that you mention it, because someone had given it to me, and I thought, well, this will be great, and it was. Yeah, I've heard that she's done you know, her books are really interesting, and they always sell well. Uh-huh. And, uh, Well, when you use real people like that, I think royalty, especially, you know. Yeah, brings it to life. I know, uh, the some of the British people laugh at us because we're so enthralled with their royalty. Yeah, but you know, that's like them being enthralled with our football and so forth, you know. I know, our movie stars. Our movie stars, because it's totally different concept to us. Oh, right. I haven't, I haven't had a chance to read a lot lately either. I have read, uh, mostly novels. I went to visit my daughter in Florida Um. and I took a novel with me, uh, and read it at Thanksgiving time, and, uh, it was, uh, one of those generation novels, you know Oh, yes. starts out when they're small and continues through generations Oh, I always like those. and I like that. Have you ever read anything by Susan Howatch? Yes, I have. Isn't she fabulous? Oh, she is wonderful. Oh, once you I don't like to get one of her books because, I, I just live to read. I'll, I'll skip everything just to get back to the book I stayed up one night, I think until two in the morning finishing one of hers because I I could not put it down. Oh, yeah. She's just a, I don't know, does she, how often does she come out with them. I probably have missed the last few since I've been back in school. Well, no, it seems like she doesn't write as often as, oh, well, like Danielle Steele and those silly things. She writes the same thing. Well, she can, she can turn them out overnight, I swear. Yeah, and, and they're the same silly things, I mean, if you've read one, I mean it's, It, it's practically the same thing over and over, you know. Yeah, I've never read a whole one of hers, I don't think. And think how rich she is. Yeah, wouldn't I, you know, I'm criticizing her, and wouldn't I like to have her money Oh, yeah. because they go from hardback to paperback and she has millions of them. And then make movies out of some of them. Uh-huh. You know, mini series and so forth, and it seems to me like Susan Howatch does not write as often. I have not seen as many of hers. Well, hers are so involved, and they're so such a higher intellectual level, because she quotes a lot, you know. Uh-huh. I think she does a lot of research, too. I do too, so she couldn't possibly turn them out like some of these popular writers, Huh-uh. but oh, her books are just incredible. I don't think they've ever made a movie, do you? No, I don't think so, and I've often wondered why, haven't you? Yes You know, I, well, no, uh, I really just thought about it now but there's just, Yeah. Maybe it's because they take so much in. I don't know. Uh-huh. Maybe they're just too involved for the average person to go and sit through them, you know. They're so big Uh-huh. they're such, you know, it would be like another GONE WITH THE WIND, I guess another three hour movie Yeah. And maybe that turns people off, but look at GONE WITH THE WIND, you know. Oh, I know. It's about one of my favorite movies. Uh, have you, uh, gotten into SCARLETT yet? No, it had such a bad press, I wasn't too . Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say. I was amazed, because I, in the beginning when it was on, you know, on route coming out I heard mixed publicity kind of good and bad, Uh-huh. Right. and then when it came out, all I heard was just, oh, how bad it was, that I didn't even want to get it. Me, either. Do you know anyone that's read it? Huh-uh. No, I haven't heard of anybody that's read it, either. No. I think it was on the best-seller list, though for a while. Well it wouldn't surprise me, Are you there? Uh-huh. Okay, now tell me your favorite team. Uh, baseball? Yes. Well, I've been kind of been intrigued with the Rangers, uh, more so with, uh, uh, their management than anything else. I, I don't follow baseball that, that closely, but, uh, you know, since I live here so close to Arlington, uh, that's the team that I've been kind of following. Okay. I think it's a little bit late in the season for them to assign us where do you think they're headed, so we'll have to talk about the future with the Rangers. Uh-huh. Right. What are your thinkings on what they can do, what they'll be able to do? Well, I think that, uh, you know, with, uh, so much controversy over Ruben Sierra not signing and asking us for so much money, it's, um, you know, I think I'm not real sure about do you know anything about Ruben Sierra's, uh, Well, I heard tonight on the news that he is willing to come down. on his, Yeah that, he was willing to come down a little bit and, Yes. And the Rangers go up a little bit, uh-huh. but a little bit from three, you know, from thirty million dollars or thirty-five that's a lot of money. I think the entire baseball, yeah, they're the ones that probably are paying the highest. Yeah, they are. And I think this is absolutely ridiculous. Uh-huh. No. And I really think, I really think that, uh, that they ought to, I'm not real sure that they should pay him that much money. I think they should, uh, uh, pay him what his salary is going to be, uh, and let him, because he's got one more year before he turns into a free agent. That's right. And then, uh, who knows, if he produces next year, they may have to end up paying him anyway, but if he doesn't, then his market value will go down and they can pick him up for, for a lot less than, than they would, uh, if they paid him the you know, the six million dollars a year this year. . What I saw on the news today, that Buechele was back just to visit. Uh-huh. I'm awful sorry he's not still. Oh, yeah, but you know, what, he, that was a great deal for him. Oh, I'm sure it was. Yeah, it was a great deal for him and, and, uh, he just signed on, uh, I think it was like a five year deal with, uh Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. Yeah. So, you know, he's real happy there. As far as the Rangers are concerned, I think, I think they need some, definitely need some pitching. Yes, sir. Uh, and so I, you know I, Well, what do you think of Howse, who is the coach for the pitchers? The pitching coach? Yes. Well, you know, I was just looking at the news tonight, and they showed a, a, a black guy that was was helping out, uh, His assistant. His assistant. Uh-huh. And I think that's a, a great addition. I mean, he seemed to know what he was doing and, and, uh, I really wish they could see fit to get rid of Howse. Oh, you don't like Howse, huh? No, no, I really don't. And I'm not going to stand up, you know on my, soapbox and say that, but I'm, not fond of Howse and I'm not fond of Grieves. Oh, Tom Grieve? Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm not sure that, um, that they're ready to get rid of, of, uh, Tom Grieve yet, but Howse might be a different, uh, situation, and I think you're probably right, that they, that they need some, you know, some changes in, uh, pitching coach, maybe and, um, Well, I'm just gullible enough that I think Bobby Valentine is, um, uh, doing all right and I'm sure, You do, huh? Well That's contrary to, uh, popular belief, you know Oh, I know, I know so, but I would like so much for these Rangers to get their act together and give, um, oh, uh, Nolan Ryan the support he needs. Oh, I know You know, it's too bad that, uh, it has to be a forty-two year old guy to, to lead the, uh, the Rangers, you know. I understand. They need to have some, some young guys that can take the lead and, and, uh, Yeah. Well, I just oh, I have so many mixed emotions about all this. But I think with their new stadium, they should go and let, Okay. Well, if you're from Iowa, you must be very artsy crafty. Everyone I've ever known from the Midwest can do everything with their hands. Oh, well, actually I'm from California and before then I was from Utah. So. I didn't know anyone ever moved from California to Iowa? Well, I grew up in California, and then I went to school in Utah, and I got married there and we stayed there for a while, and then, now we're in Iowa I'm teasing, only because I'm from Indiana. Oh, really. I really like, I like the Midwest. Oh. But I married a Texan, and they have a way of dragging you back home. Anyway, we're supposed to be talking about crafts. Do you, um, do you have any hobbies that, that you do things with your hands like knitting or, Um. Well, I crochet, and I do water color, and I, um, sew and I do fabric painting. Oh, you do a lot then. Do you do needlepoint also and cross stitching? Um, I've done some cross stitching. I haven't tried any needlepoint yet. How about you? Um, actually I, I'm pretty untalented Oh, right. I used to do a lot of knitting and crocheting, um, but I, I don't know, somehow I don't have the time anymore. But I have all these friends that wherever you go, they, they sit down and the next thing you know, they pull out of their, uh, bags some, their most recent, uh, needle craft Oh, really. and in December everyone was doing stockings, you know these gorgeous, detailed minute, tiny stitch stockings. Uh-huh. Oh, gosh. Oh, yeah, well those take a lot of time. Yes. I only can do things that are pretty fast, because we just, um, got our baby last year, and I just don't have the patience to just, you know, do something. Is this your first baby? Uh-huh. Have you crocheted or knitted any baby clothes or baby blankets? Um, I crocheted an afghan for our bed. That's the only thing, and, and I did a quilt, let's see, I've done a quilt for our baby and I've done a quilt for our bed, but I mean, Did you embroidery the pattern and then quilt it yourself, or how did you make a quilt? Um. Um, our baby's quilt, it was a pre, like the design, I just went around the design in the quilt. Uh-huh. I didn't piece it or anything like that but, uh, But you actually hand quilted it yourself? Uh-huh, and, Did, did you need a loom, or were you was it small enough that you could just hold it? Um, I put it on the frame, the quilting frame. Have you, are you familiar with that? Uh-huh. Yeah, okay But, um, my, again, my mother back in Indiana, we had a quilting frame in our basement, and she would, she would quilt whole quilts by herself. Oh, my God. Um, yes, which, I was always amazed. I have one of them. Um, but, uh, you know, to have the quilting frame and then to actually do that, it's a tremendous amount of work. Well, I haven't done tons of them But, um, I used to do more before, um, before I had, before we got our baby, but. Oh, you think, children, you can, um, use crafts to make wonderful things for children. Uh-huh. I think when babies, I think afghans and, and the crocheted little sweaters, and, are, are wonderful. And, and they'll wear them Yes, exactly. Once they get old enough to talk then they no longer will wear them Well, one thing that I like about this fabric painting thing is I can just make a T shirt and put a little ruffle around it and then, um, cut out a little pattern from the material, from some material, like flowers or something, and make, um, a design or, you know, a little arrangement or something on the shirt and, you know, fuse it on with Heat and Bond, or whatever and then paint around it. And I usually sew, sew around the flower, whatever first, and then I paint around it so you can't see the stitching as much. Does, does that make sense to you? So. Oh, yes, I think it's very clever. It's, uh, funny that you said. For Christmas, my daughter and I received matching sweat shirts that a friend had made for us. A beautiful Christmas design, Oh. and they were matching and they were lovely, but when I washed them, although I took the precaution of turning them inside out I really didn't do anything else. And truly, everything fell off, or most of it. Oh, sure. Uh-huh. Oh, really. So I had, I went and bought just some cloth glue and glued it all back and I bought the paint and redid most of the edges Oh. and, and it was salvageable and I, but it's, so I'm familiar with that, but I think you're very clever to, um, sew around the edges. I think gluing alone, certainly if you wash it any amount of time, it tends to kind of come loose at the edges. Well. Yeah, someone told me that, that it, that they had done it both ways, and I've always, after hearing that, I always sewed it on, even, even with the, uh, a loose zigzag even helps And, um, Okay. So how do you just figure , Well, you know, it depends upon our weather here. You know, today was a beautiful day it was like, uh, uh, summer day. It was seventy degrees so so I dressed in, uh, uh, a light weight skirt, Wow. it's a, uh, ultra suede skirt and a blouse with a sweater, cardigan over it. Uh-huh. Because I had some appointments at the office today, some interviews and so I had to dress up anyway and then I wore heels, you know. Uh-huh. But when it rains a lot, which is has been doing here a lot lately, uh, very often, you know, wear, uh, pants and boots you know. Oh. So how do you dress? Well, um, I'm going to talk about when I was working as a teacher and when I was working at now. Okay. Um, when I was a teacher, um, in Utah, I would generally wear, um, dresses and heels and things like that, Uh-huh. and even when it, um, rained and snowed I just braved it and I wore heels anyway Yeah. And, I, I can see, I, I've been a teacher so has my daughter and I know that we very often wore heels despite the fact that, it was tiring. I know, it might kill you to go up and walk up to the door That's right. but you're going to look nice for the kids That's right and it always makes you feel like you're a bigger person than the kids, right? Oh, oh, yeah. Well, I need all the height I can get Yeah, I do too. So to be taller than some of the boys in the bigger grades, uh, older grades, I had to wear heels. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, we too. Um, if it was it looked really dangerous then I would wear boots but then I would change, um, into heels, as soon as I got to my desk. Uh-huh. So, um, Of course, we wear, uh, an unlined boots, you know, it has a heel on it. They're the kind of boots that I wear to work and we wear them, you know, they're a leather boot that you wear and as I said they have a regular heel on them, high heel. Oh. And they wear them, we wear them a lot with shirts and things. Uh, it's kind of a, I can't say constant down here in Texas that you wear these boots. They're not a cowboy boot, but they're just a real pretty boot, but they keep your feet nice and toasty from the rain. Oh. As I have a private high school that I run here and so when I'm interviewing a parent, of course I feel like I need to wear heels you know, and look like I'm a business person. You know, because the children will tease about where's your motorcycle, if you wear boots too often, you know. Sure. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Huh. Well, um, Of course, you probably wear coats a lot. Yeah, um, the first two years I was in a room where they didn't heat it So I did, Oh, my goodness so then you had to. Yeah, and then the third year we, um, got heating so it was nice Yes. Then things improved, right? Right, uh-huh. But of course, here we wear a light weight jacket a lot you know, you know, Oh, that's nice. and, uh, that's very seldom we, it depends upon our winter. We have a few days you might wear a coat, winter coat, you know, but most of the time you can wear a sweater and we just don't wear coats much. We often laugh about even when it turns chilly. We're wearing something lightweight or no jacket because we're so used to running around like that. Uh-huh. Oh. Nice. Well It's really different. Let's put it that way. Are you not teaching anymore? Uh, no, we, we moved to Iowa and, um, I'm working at a day care right now. I see. And so the way I dress is really different because I'm working in the nursery room with kids from six months to like twenty months. Oh, so you don't wear heels anymore I'll bet. Yeah, I wear, uh, tennis shoes, and jeans and things that, you know, are sort of, um, Yeah, uh-huh. More practical. not, yes, it doesn't matter if I have to wash it a hundred times or something. When you were teaching, did you ever have, uh, uh, a blue jean day or anything like that? Yeah, but I never wore jeans because, um, I thought that was too casual Yeah, well, For, I know that some of the schools they have, uh, country western day or something like that one, you know, or tacky day, and I always thought it was kind of out of, got out of hand when the teachers looked real tacky too. Yeah, really. It's all right for the students, they look tacky a lot but I didn't think teachers should, you know. Yeah, that's how I feel too. Yeah. Do you like, uh, uh, Iowa? Um, oh, it, there's some good things about it but I've seen. A lot of things I'm not used to yet, um, Where did you live before? Um, we lived in Utah before and, and I grew up in California. Oh, well, that's quite a change from California to Utah, Well, uh, what is your favorite kind of music? Well, I have to say my favorite type of music would probably be, uh, classical music. Oh, same here. Oh, really. Yeah. What type of music do you like in the classical area, or what era do you, era do you like the most? Oh, well, I guess I like a wide range. Uh, everything from, uh, from Baroque through at least some modern music. Uh-huh. And my wife and I these days are especially into opera. We've been sort of opera fans for a few years now. Um, do you go to the operas that they sing English or go to the ones that they sing other languages? Well, we, uh, generally, the places we've gone they sing in the original languages. Uh-huh. Like the Dallas opera here normally does, I guess. Uh-huh. I, I haven't gotten into that too much because, I, uh, if I don't know the story line and, um, I don't speak the language, then I have difficult time, comprehending what's going on. Well, one thing that's helped us a lot is that, uh, you, you know, you can buy a lot of these operas now on video uh, video tape Uh-huh. and so we have quite a collection of those, and you watch them at home, and they have subtitles, so you, you figure out what's going on after a while, and then you can enjoy it in the, uh, theater. Oh. But, you know, the, uh, Dallas opera now has, uh, super titles on, on all their performances I think. What is that? Well, they, they give an, uh, an English translation on a, on a screen up above the stage. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. That can help people like me. In fact, they even do that for operas sung, sung in English, because it is hard to understand the words sometimes. Well, I can understand that. So, I'd say, Vivaldi is probably my favorite, uh, composer. Yeah, well, I really like Vivaldi. Uh, he's, uh, definitely one of the, one of the top of that era. Yeah. I like Baroque music, I like full body music, uh, with the, um, um, with brass and winds, woodwinds, instruments, you know. Uh-huh. Course I like, uh, also string instruments, and I have two string instruments in my house. Uh, instrument players, both my sons play string instruments. One plays the cello and the other one plays the viola. Oh So, I get to go to at least four or five concerts a year Uh-huh. How, how old are they? One is thirteen and one is eleven. So they're doing this in school, or what? Yes. Uh-huh. Yes . Well, you've got half a string quartet there. Yeah. We're on our way. Yeah. So, uh, um, I try to enjoy all of it. Well, since you seem to like, uh, Italian music, have you ever, uh, gotten into Gabrielli or anybody there in that era, the, uh, period right before, actually before Vivaldi, I guess? Um, a little bit, but, um, a lot of the, um, music I don't know about, uh, as far as the titles, and I have to listen to it, and and figure out, what I'm listening to. Uh-huh. Um, I do belong to a Musical Heritage Society. Oh, yes, uh-huh. Do you belong to that? No, I don't, but I think I know what it is. Isn't that a, uh, uh, see, can't you get records through that or something, recordings? You can get recordings. Uh, they know have them on compact disc or or, uh, or cassettes or L P Uh-huh. and, uh, they do their, they do a lot of original recordings themselves. Yes, yeah, I think, uh. But they also, uh, they also, uh, go to the different composers, or the different, I guess, what do you call them the guys that orchestrate the the conductors. Uh. Uh, yes, right Yeah. They go to conductors, uh, and, and they actually have them perform the music, and they record it. So, they're actually commissioned performances. Sure. A lot of them are. Uh-huh. Or they will find out when they're performing, and they will, uh, record the music at that time. And so, uh, it is, uh, uh, high quality grade music, and, of course, now they're getting, they also have a jazz section, and they also have a, uh, more contemporary and American uh, composer section. Uh-huh. Well, I had heard good things about the, uh, Music Heritage Society, but if I get involved in one of those things, I end up spending all my money on on music. Yeah. Well, you can control it. I almost, uh, almost, uh, bankrupted myself out of college as a freshman when I got into the Columbia Record Club many years ago. Oh, really. Yeah, my roommate signed me up. He got a bonus record, and I got a lot of bills I see. So we have to watch that. Well, that's good. Uh, do you play any instrument yourself? Yes, I, I play guitar and, and early years played saxophone. How do you feel about the Viet Nam war? Huh, well, um, you know, I guess it's pretty deep feelings, uh, I just, uh, went back and rented, uh, the movie, what is it, GOOD MORNING VIET NAM Uh-huh. and, uh. Yeah, I saw that as well. Got that, uh, uh, some insight there, to, to kind of help me put together the feelings. I really appreciated the, the whole, uh, English class where the, uh, the, uh, fellow just wouldn't do it, you know, the guy's gouging, gouging your eyes out, what are you going to do? Uh-huh. You know, what for him to finish me off And, uh, it, it was, uh, good to remember the, uh, that, that kind of Asian philosophy that, uh. Uh-huh. Well, were you ever in Viet Nam or, No, no, I was kind of an in-between, uh, finally drew a high draft number, and you? Um, I was much too young, I was born in sixty-seven, so. Oh Um, you know, both my, well, both my brothers were, um, draft age, but neither of them wound up going over, which, I think they were very happy for. Well, I, personally, uh, you know, uh, I just went in limbo. I had a passport and was ready to go or um, out of the country or join special forces, either one. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. I mean, I just didn't know. So, uh. Well, um, so well do you, do you feel that it was worth what we did over there? Um, yeah, just a second. Okay. Okay. Sure, now. Well, Mark, um, what was that again? Um, do you think, I mean, do you think, our the investment in lives and money was worth it? No, not, not really. I totally agree with that. Um. Um. What, what effects do you think it's had on our country? Downside. Um, uh, well, the says we should, uh, go into the grief that, that's there and, you know, presidents have always avoided that as a country. Uh-huh. So it's pretty serious, really, you know, lot of things that aren't being addressed. Uh-huh. I think you know, that's pretty typical that, of the entire, entire involvement over that, you know, that nothing was really addressed, it it wasn't, you know, it was never we, we announced that we were going to war, it was such a gradual and subtle, you know um, you know increasement of, of force that. Yeah. Gulf of Tonkin, uh, resolution and was it a dolphin or a torpedo. You remember that? I vaguely remember we, um, we had a, we had a, um, spy ship torpedoed or something. Yeah, yeah, only only it was foggy and finally President Johnson said, well, they're weren't really sure whether it was a dolphin or a torpedo. Oh Isn't that something? Uh-huh. Um, so, um, do, do, do you think that like, uh, um, for example like in, in this past war, in the Persian Gulf war that, uh, that you see, it seemed to me that, that Bush was going, going to extraordinary lengths to, um, you know, prepare the country for war. Uh-huh. Hey Mark I've got to go, um. Yeah. Okay. We'll see you. I guess our five minutes are up according to me. Are they to you? Uh, I wasn't really keeping count. But I guess, good-bye. Yeah, okay, bye-bye. Bye. Okay. So, uh, Mike, what are your opinions on, uh, trial by jury? Well I work for an insurance company so I see a lot of, uh, verdicts that are pretty crazily decided. Um, by juries particularly, and I know in England the judges set all of the awards. You know juries will decide the guilt or innocence, but then they leave the awards up to more learned people. And I think maybe that avoids some of these totally ridiculous, you know, like millions and millions of dollars Uh-huh. Yeah. That, that seems to make sense but leave it up to the more experienced person who knows how it fits into the, uh, kind of the rate for different . Oh, exactly. Each individual jury really doesn't have any perception of what, um, the going, you know, if you will the going, uh, award should be for a certain type of case, you know, within some kind of range. Uh-huh. When you get one way out like that but then really doesn't wind up penalizing the person that they went after. Who it really penalizes is their insurance company which then translates into higher rates for all of us. If they get some of those mega awards against them. Right. You know, they're not going to sit there and lose money. If they are losing money, then they're going to raise rates. Right. they So it all comes filtering down to us all individually. Right. And, uh, granted some people need to be compensated if they have really been wronged, you know. Well, how do you feel about setting, like, well, for example, a car type accident where, uh, or some incident where someone loses a limb. Do you think the jury should have a dollar figure for losing an arm, a dollar figure for losing different body parts? I don't know. You know some of the health insurance is written that way. You know, that, uh, if you buy an accident and death or dismemberment policy, you know, it pre specified in the policy so much but I don't know that you can necessarily put a, a value on somebody's limb, uh, arbitrarily that is always going to fit in all cases. Uh-huh. I think maybe you look at, uh, the age of the person and their station in life and, and, uh, how much longer they have of work years that they would have to put up, you know, with, with that. I mean maybe you don't award an eighty-five year old guy the same thing that you would award a twenty-one year old. Huh. I, I think it has to be some kind of common sense applied there. And there may be where the judiciary is a little more learned about that type of thing because they can be schooled in that kind of thing, Uh-huh. and that can be part of continuing education, maybe for judges Yeah. I don't know. Right. You know, to get into the economics of things, uh, because if they wheel somebody into a courtroom and the jury's heart goes out to that person and they do one of these mega awards, it really, you know, ultimately is not penalizing the person that they're trying for get away. Yeah. That's true. If it's a company, you know that they're insured. Unless the award is so staggering that it goes all beyond their layers of insurance which is another pet peeve of mine when they do award punitive damages, Huh. I think those should be uninsurable. I think those should have to be paid by the corporation itself that, that did the damage. Oh, out of As opposed to the insurance paying the bills, Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. Well, we're, Who, who For, for honest mistakes where they've done something and, and something happens. One of their employees causes damage or something. Sure. That's what they buy insurance for. do they get, they get insured, they get insured from other insurance companies or how does that work? Well, I was just talking about any company. Uh, let's just say a lumber manufacturing company Oh, okay, your talking about and, uh, somebody is on the premises Sure. and one of the employees actually is driving by with a forklift and he pushes the wrong button and he drops a load of lumber on somebody and it injures, them. Okay. Well, Sure. Insurance should pay for that. But in some instances you're going to put companies out of business by taking that stance, if they have to take it out of their own retained earnings. Well I'm not talking about any loss. I was talking about only losses that are judged for a punitive damage which is another category of, the juries are awarding damages these days based on the person's actual injuries and what they are due. And then they are awarding a second amount as punishment to the company which is a usually a lot less. But it's an, an amount they're, designed to sting them a little for their, negligence. For gross wanton negligence in a claim. That, For, oh, Uh-huh. And unfortunately the the, lately the courts have been deciding that those could be paid for by insurance too. Uh-huh. So again, it never really penalizes, the company doing the wrong. Right. That will, They can go right on doing the same old thing they always used to. Huh. And if, if they know some practice is wrong, you know, I'm not talking about your isolated occurrences, I'm talking more about the, you know, the thing that they know, maybe they're willfully manufacturing something that they know is hurting people out there and they continue to do it even after they become aware of that. Sure. Okay. Then I think they ought to have to pay something out of their own pocket. Go ahead Oh, okay Yeah, the, uh, subject is child care and how to determine child care, and that's, uh, an interesting one for me to talk about since I have no children, but I did run a child care facility for a while. Um. And, uh, have some, Well, you should, you should have some opinions on that, then. I do have some thoughts on that, yeah. Uh, it's, uh, an interesting experience to be a surrogate parent for, or parent for a lot of people there, and, uh, it's also very interesting in terms of how people choose the child care facilities Well, I guess if I were going to choose, I mean, my first consideration would be safety. Right. My second consideration would be, uh, uh, health. Right. And, uh, I guess my third consideration would be, uh, warm, environment, warm personal environment. Well, right. Uh, in Texas, we have to meet certain state standards in order to operate on a, at an institutional level and at a, like a small home level so you meet the standards, but then after that there's, there's a lot more. I think it's important as the safety and health and that kind of stuff, is qualification of people who work there, and in hiring people who would work at the, uh, day care, the child care facility was very difficult to find qualified people, uh, in terms of, not just, just because somebody has a child or, uh, likes children doesn't really mean that they're qualified to give the child the kind of supervision and training that that, uh, Oh, absolutely As a matter of fact, I believe that the safety and, and health, uh, issues, uh, depend in a very direct way on the people who are working with the children. Exactly. And that was the most difficult thing of all, to find the, the right people, the qualified people. And it's the most difficult of all for a parent, judge, uh because a person can be very nice and warm and loving, Oh, but if he's a space cadet and doesn't watch the children, and be aware of what the safety hazards are, Oh, exactly. And the other thing that's difficult in, uh, it's a too small setting, like a day care center is to find the right program of enrichment for the child, because you don't want to just warehouse the child, and I didn't want to run an institution where that was the case, where all we were doing were warehousing because the first four, five years or so important and you have to have the right kind of enrichment and that, that includes, uh, an atmosphere in which the child is safe and, and he's watched and his physical needs are cared for, but also his, uh, developmental needs are cared for, too. Maybe the right thing to do is to, uh, when a couple has a child, then they should both take, you say the first four or five years are the most important, and I think I would agree with that, they both take four or five years off and devote to parenting. That would be lovely. Get rid of all these child care centers, at least for young kids below the age of six. Uh-huh. And then uh, and then, of course, to make up for that, uh, the, uh, parents would have to work in their later years longer, you know, in other words, they probably would not work, may not, may end up not working at all in the twenties. Uh, Well, that's an interesting thought because, But then they have to work from age thirty or, or forty to age seventy or eighty or ninety. That would be okay That would, that would help on the other end, too, in, in terms of not warehousing people and letting people be productive for as long as they can be. Right, well, you know, the, uh, uh, the world is changing uh, from from, uh, industrial, uh, base to, uh, information base and so what that means is you don't have to be physically powerful to work. Uh-huh. That's exactly right. All you have to do is have a sharp mind, and I believe that, uh, mental acuity is easy to sustain, maintain, if you just simply continue to exercise your mind. Oh. So I think a person could work, uh, into the seventies, eighties, even nineties for that matter, if they didn't have to do a lot of physical, uh, labor, they could maintain, uh, Your turn. Okay. Uh, I don't think they should abolish it I think, I think if they put it into force more often, they wouldn't have as many problems as they've got. But not for petty theft? Right. No, no. For major things like premeditated murder. Mass murders. Uh, you know, that type of thing. I don't think it should just be used loosely. Well, it should be used as a deterrent do you think? Well, Or should it be used, uh, Yes, yes. To prevent these people from ever getting out on the street. By, you know, some technicality. And they go down the line ten years and then on some little technicality they get out and on the streets again doing the same they did before. Uh-huh. And, you know, that's about the only thing. Like for petty, for theft and, and stuff like that or manslaughter, you know, I don't think they should do that. Well, you know, there's this old, uh, Jewish, is it, saying about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Oh, well, I guess, if I, if it was someone in my family, I'd probably feel that way. You know, I've never had anybody in my immediate family, uh, murdered and so I really wouldn't know. But, but I feel like if I did, I probably would feel that way. Well, one of the things I was thinking about is, uh, you know, from society's point of view, if you put a value on each person, what you want to do is to maximize the end game value. So if you have someone that, that destroys that value uh, then what you want to take steps to, uh, minimize the loss. Uh-huh. Of course, you have to also put value on the criminal. Right. So if you terminate him, that's a loss of value. Well, that's true So, you know, if you weight everyone equally, then you have to say, well the likelihood of not terminating him, if you don't terminate him, the likelihood is expected value of loss of life is greater than one person. In other words, you'd have to, you'd have to murder more than one other person uh, in order to justify taking his life. Besides him. Okay. Another way you could do it is weight this value by, uh, the value to society of the people. Uh, which is pretty delicate thing to do. But one way of doing it is, uh, by income. So if this guy doesn't make a great deal of money, which is often times the case, then then he's obviously not worth very much His life isn't worth very much then and so, uh, the likelihood that, you know, maybe expected, expected murders by him is, is, uh, integrated over the income of the people, uh, that he murders is maybe, you know, a loss of, who knows, eight hundred thousand dollars. Uh, but if he only, uh, integrated, you know, integrated income over the expected remainder of his life of is, uh, small, less than eight hundred thousand dollars, then you terminate him Of course, one of the things that happens if you use that algorithm, is you find that it's more easy, it's easier to, uh, to, uh, terminate older people than younger people since the integration of their income over the rest of their lives is going to be less. Which means, well Right. I suppose you could say, well that has something to do with potential for rehabilitation. Potential. I mean that's, that's the key right there. Potential. Uh-huh. Now, are they, are they rehabilitative or, or not. Now that's all fine and well and, and, uh, good philosophical. But if you're involved yourself, personally Uh-huh. uh, I know I have a friend whose, uh, son was murdered, uh, on the night before his sixteenth birthday. And let me tell you, uh, I, I knew them personally, uh, not intimately, but quite well and, uh, you're talking about real trauma. I mean trauma that extends beyond the counting of bodies. I can imagine. The father, you know, of course, a parent losing a teenage child is about as bad as it could possibly get, I think, in terms of psychological impact. Yes. Uh, and, Was he murdered? Did they find who killed him? Oh, yes. They found him and he is on trial for capital murder. So it hasn't been a long time ago. Just recently. Uh, well, actually he has, I, I'm sorry. He was convicted, uh, and, of course, now, you know, and you go through two or three hundred years of appeals process but Yeah, yeah. That appeals process, I mean, it's what, you know, really, you know, just drags out and out and out. My brother-in-law here in Texas, his, by marriage, my sister's, uh, husband, his sister was murdered down here by a guy in, in, well actually in Houston and, uh, he, Okay. Go ahead. Uh, well, you know, uh, I think public service is a worthy thing and as a matter of fact there are a lot of programs, uh, such as Peace Corps that promote that. Uh-huh Probably the most popular one but, uh, one that is not typically recognized as such is the Boy Scouts. Huh Uh, I know that because my son is a, a scout now and, uh, is thinking about his Eagle and, uh, in order to get Eagle, you have to have merit badges in, uh, citizenship in the community citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world Right . and you have to do a public service project. Uh, in which leadership is the key element. Uh-huh. I, uh, I think the question is posed somewhat strangely because, uh, it's talking about a requirement for public service Uh-huh and, of course, the Peace Corps, the Boy Scouts is a, is a voluntary activity. Right. Uh, I, I think that might be talking, referring to, uh, something, kind of, uh, alternative to the draft, you know. Either you have, uh, military service or some sort of alternative, nonmilitary service for a few years. Right, of course, uh, uh, military service falls under the category, uh, of a public service. Right, right. And, so, uh, one of the things that would fulfill the, at least the nominal, uh, qualifications set forth in the charge is military service or draft. Huh . Right, right. Uh, but I agree with you, that probably is not what was comprehended. There are other things such as civil service uh, which many people, uh, are lifelong employees of Well, Uh-huh. Right. but I suspect that was not what they had in mind either. More of a voluntary kind of thing Yeah. or, uh, Yeah, yeah for, for years there has been an idea batted around of having some sort of alternative, uh, public service for, uh, young people to go into, uh, after high school. Uh-huh. Uh, kind of in lieu of the draft for, for people who don't, uh, who, you know, are conscientious objectors or don't otherwise want to be in the military, you know. Say, okay, well you can go into the military or you can do this other thing for one or two years to kind of serve the community and, and learn about things. And it's interesting because I, I'm not a particular fan of the military but I have seen a lot of people, a lot of young guys go in that don't have really a clue as to what they want to do with their lives and aren't terribly disciplined, you know, even just personal discipline about what they want to do and they come out and they, they at least have, now they have at least some marginally marketable skills and more discipline. And they have, uh, you know, in, in some cases they have a greater self-esteem because they can say, they can see that, you know, if I do something or submit my own will to the will of the sargent or whatever, at least for a short period of time, I can accomplish a lot and it, it's a good lesson for a lot of young men to learn. That they don't need to be, you know, cowboys. They don't need to be out there and, uh, you know, constantly flaunting their ego to get things accomplished. And, you know, for some, for some young men, that's good. For me, it would have been lousy idea, uh, because I, I did have the personal discipline. Why? And I went to college for four years and got out, you know, Why is that? so. But, uh, you know, for some people that's good. I, I don't particular like the fact that it's the military, you know, and the whole point of the military is to kill people essentially. As, as an instrument of U S policy. Oh, no, no, no. It's to defend the nation against external evils. Well, that's one view And, and, you know, and that, that's another debate. But, uh, it's, uh, Well, it depends on whether you, whether we figure that we have that we have a defense oriented military or an aggressive, aggression oriented military. Uh-huh. Right, right and, well, it's, it, it seems pretty aggressive oriented, I mean, you, you look at the last military action which was in the Persian Gulf and wasn't anywhere near the United States and it was, uh, you know, it was definitely a projection of U S power on the other side of the globe, so, at, at any rate, this is getting off the topic but my, my point was that there is, for people who don't want to do the military service, there, it would be neat if there were an alternative that could instill the same sort of personal discipline and sense of purpose and, uh, sense of community that the Boy Scouts, Actually, I've been involved in electronics a long time. Uh, in computers and I have really resisted the impulse to get one for the home. Uh, up until, I guess, maybe about a year and a half ago, Oh yeah. I got one for my son. A, a Macintosh uh, L C. Uh-huh. It's a real easy to use color, uh, computer and I got a very nice printer that goes along with it and he uses it for his school work. Uh-huh. Well, I've, I'm currently in school so I, I've had an I B M clone, I guess, for a couple of years now, which I've been trying, continually upgrading I guess. And, uh, I've found, I've found that I pretty much become addicted to it and I can't really, I've found that most of homework assignments really require some sort of computer, uh, simulation or analysis, so Huh. it, it's very essential for me. Schools have them, uh, but lot of times so difficult to get on them at school. It's very easy, it's much more convenient to have one at home. Where you going to school? At Georgia Tech. I see. Yeah, so. In engineering? Yes, actually. So that explains all the, uh, computer assignments. Yeah, it, uh, Well, do you use your P C for things other than explicit computer work? Um, sure. I have some games, of course, which I play on there and, uh, uh, I have a program which allows me to access a, uh, weather data bank so I can, like, check up on the weather around the country or whatever which is a hobby. So, it provides other means other than just strict, uh, you know, computations and so on, so. Have you, do you have a computer for yourself at home? No. No, I just have one for my son and I really sort of have the feeling that word processing is a big market for home computing. Oh, yeah. Yeah. At at work, uh, I'm a technologist, uh, and I, in the past, have done a great deal of, of, uh, system development just through, uh, software development programming. Uh, but now I find myself using the computer, even the computer at work is primarily a, uh, word processing system and a communication system. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. Do you use Email and like that? Yes. Emil is, probably pulls down a third of all my time. Yeah. It's, I, I, uh, I have modem night computer so I can log into the the, uh, network at Georgia Tech and access my account through there, which is, which can be useful. But, uh, yeah that's, that and word processing is while I tend to, I mean, obviously, I do most of my, almost all of my report writing on, on my computer, uh, whether it's term papers or even some smaller homework assignments. Uh-huh. So it's, it's really become, I don't know, really become my mainstay I guess. I can't even remember, actually I don't think I've ever used a typewriter in, in my life to do a, a to do a report. Because my family, when I was growing up, we got a basic computer. T R S Eighty when they first came out. Uh-huh. And I even used that to do my first reports when I was in junior high, so Huh. Well I'm a old-timer. I did my Master's thesis on, uh, a typewriter. Oh, yeah. Uh, I rented an I B M Selectric. Oh. And it was a pretty big deal. Yeah. It must have been tough. It's a little bit strange for me. I, I did my Master's thesis, uh, last year and I did that on a computer and it seems like, I just can't imagine how people did it before. It must have been just so much, so much work Yeah. It, uh, well, you know, it's just, it was just a completely different world then. Yeah. So, uh, so you used your son's Macintosh then? Do you, do you find it, do you like that kind of computer? I like it, yeah. I like it from a distance really. I, I see the packages on it, uh, that are available and it's nice. I really don't use it myself. Uh-huh. Uh, I, when I come home from work, I, I like to stay far away from computers and electronic things Yeah. Huh. Uh, so I let my son do it and, Uh, of course, you know, there's, uh, there's an intellectual evolution taking place where, Yeah. it's sort of a joke but it's really true, the old-timers, even the people who are technologists don't know how to operate these electronic things like V C R and whatnot and the kids, they just take to it like candy. Yeah. Well, if, if, if the interface is there so that it's like fun to use and the challenge Regarding, uh, taxes. I, you know, taxes are really a necessary evil and, in a civilized society. But really, people get upset at taxes because you, it's more efficient to do things yourself. Right. And, uh, and so as, as a result, uh, you know, it's, it's a trade-off, you know, for the common good, you know. For, for the benefit of others, you know. How much of your resource should you dedicate to, uh, making things work for others? Have you, uh, you know, ever thought, you know, just how much of that money should, should go to other people that really don't deserve it? Uh, well yeah I know it's, it's a lot, you know that, uh, that I feel like, you know, just like you said, that, there's just so much that you can do yourself. That you take care of your own self that you don't need the money for but they're giving it to other people that don't really need it either, but yet they accept it. Well, the thing of it is, if I wanted to just, uh, you know, permanently become a book reader, I guess I could just, uh, you know, uh, go on public assistance, uh, you know look for, uh, look for people to, uh, take care of me. Like so many people do. Uh-huh. And, uh, probably a good woman, right? Right Just, you know, just, just con somebody to take care of me. And then you don't have to be on the tax roll. Right. But, uh, but taxes are, are very difficult kind of thing and everybody really hates it. It was very timely. I, I, I always over pay my, my deductions so I wind up with my, getting money back on my, uh, from my, uh, withholding. Uh-huh. So, uh, you know, that, that's always a smile. But, of course, you know, I've, I've paid it in and I should calculate it better. Right You are you in business for yourself? No. I, I, I work for the F B I. So I, I'm a federal employee. Right. Yeah. Guess I don't sound like it huh? Uh, well, I no I think that people that work for the government are just as against taxes as, as everybody else, you know. Unless you work for Internal Revenue Yeah, I belong . Oh I, I've got all four feet in the trough, you know, being a federal employee. Yeah. And, and so, but, but I can understand that, uh, that, you know, the, uh, who gets benefits. Like every, every time there is a, a bond issue you know, I vote no on every one of them. Uh-huh. Right. I'm, I, but there, this is, this is, tax not tax revolt country. I mean there's too many, every one of us, most of us have our, have all four feet in the trough, you know. Plus our snout, right up to our ears. Yeah. So, you know, it's not exactly that kind of a place that, that you want to, you know, get into a tax revolt situation. Right. But, uh, uh, the, uh, the local taxes here, I, I, in this particular area, uh, you know, I've, uh, I think I pay about, uh, oh thirty-five hundred for, for taxes on my four bedroom house, you know. And which is a lot of money. Right. and, uh, and so as, as people get older and older, uh, you know, they think about retirement and that sort of thing Uh-huh. and, and they, they're building old people's homes, uh, you know, at tax expense. Well I think, you know, the old people ought to just bail out of here and go where it's cheaper. At thirty-three hundred dollars or thirty-five hundred dollars I'm paying in taxes, why I, I could go down to Bulverde and probably rent a, rent a house for that, right? Yeah, that's right. You know. In, in, instead, it's, it's the taxes here so. Yeah. Course I don't know whether I want to go to Bulverde or not, you know or Seguin or someplace like that. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, there's certainly lots of inexpensive places where the services are poorer. And, and I think really the only place you can really reduce the amount of taxes you pay is to move to an area where the services are poorer. If you're not going to use them, then you want to be in, in environment. That's a strategy I think that the people have to, have to take. Is, is how to be able to, to lessen their cost of living. You know, I'm, I'm five or six years before I'm eligible to retire and, and I'm saying well, you know, I really can't stay here, uh, as a retiree. After you retire, yeah. It's too expensive. Yeah. I'm going to have go out and, you know, in, you know, East Fork someplace. And, and, do my thing, you know. Right. My parents are in the same situation, you know. They, their home is paid for but still their taxes are so high, that, you know, my father doesn't feel like he can retire because they couldn't pay their taxes. And they have no children in school or, you know, anything now. They don't use any of those services that a lot of the taxes go towards. Right. They, they redecorated in nineteen seventy-five, you know. Uh, yeah. And they're not doing it again, you know. Yeah. So. Well, it's certainly, uh, uh, you must be a T I employee. You must be what? You must be a T I employee? No, I'm not You're not a T I, who do you work for? I, I don't work. I'm a student. I go to school. I'm in nursing school You, you're, Okay. Uh, generally I get, uh, you know, most of my news, uh, in the, you know, weekly magazines like TIME, NEWSWEEK and, and, uh, U S NEWS AND WORLD REPORT. With, with occasional smatterings of, of, uh, you know, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and, of course, the local paper. Uh-huh. But, uh, my, my only complaint is I really don't enough time to, to look at the articles every day and, and go through a paper, you know, exhaust the details. So that's why I concentrate on weekly magazines. Do you think that the weekly magazines provide you with as much detail information as you'd like? Well, yes. I, I, well, I, I don't think I have the time to really become a student in every article. Uh-huh. And, and so I, I, I like the weekly magazines, uh, because it gives me, you know, the high points of what's going on. Uh-huh. Uh, but many times, uh, you know, the, the local, uh, the local news kind of suffers, you know. But here I am, you know, cheek by jowl with our nation's capital and, Oh, that's right. You're very close actually. It's almost a, uh, bedroom community for the capital. Yeah. Yes. exactly. Well, when, when the capital gang always talk about the people inside the beltway, I'm saying to myself, hey guys, I'm inside the beltway But, uh, it turns out that, uh, that, that the C N N is, I think, is great. And for, for things like hurricanes and fast breaking events Uh-huh. but generally, they're, they're, they're more sound bitish, you know, kind of thing and, and I don't really, uh, you know, I don't really feel as though I've a gotten sufficient, uh, you know, dose of news that way. Yeah. A lot of my information comes from several sources. Probably pretty high up on the list is National Public Radio. Uh, which I like. Uh-huh. Yes. Uh, I, I think it's fairly objective and I always like the letters that they read which tend to accuse them of being too liberal and too conservative. And while there's an inherent, uh, filtering process going on just by the letters they choose to read, uh, I always figure it's a good thing when any given group is being accused by each side of, uh, favoring the other side. That's, that's potential indication of balance. And, generally, I really do believe they are pretty balanced. Uh, I also read TIME magazine and we get one of the daily newspapers around here where we go through various sections of the, uh, various, uh, of the articles and the front section and, uh, Well the MERCURY and the, and the, and the CHRONICLE are the only things that are really, can stand up there. Oh. Oh, you did you use to live around here? Uh, Redwood City. I use to work at Anteks. Oh, okay. Oh, yeah, okay. I know exactly where that is. Anteks, Amdahl and places like that. Yeah, we, we get the MERCURY which I generally think is actually a pretty good newspaper Yeah. the newspaper I really been impressed with it when I've read it at times, at, well the LOS ANGELES TIMES. Which I've found to be a, uh a very good quality uh, newspaper Uh-huh. and I like a lot of the articles there. the other thing when you said, we don't have cable T V, so but the other thing that you referred to that always sounds really interesting to me is, is called C SPAN. Yes. I, I've, I enjoy, see they have, uh, we have two, the, both C SPANS here. But, but really, the, on the public T V, you know, MACNEIL LEHRER is one, is an hour's program that I always, Both? Uh-huh. if, if I watch any news program, it will be MACNEIL LEHRER. And, and occasionally C SPAN. Uh-huh. I, I like a, I saw the, uh, the, uh, the, the tapes that were, that were run of Marion Berry's drug bust was, the whole thing was, was run on that and and, and also, they have the, uh, the, uh, uh, PARLIAMENT'S QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD. Oh, I never say that. *listen: should "say" be "saw"? That would have been interesting. It, Yeah. I, I think that's always fascinating. I wish, I wish we had something. when, when it first, uh, you know, when it first tuned in on that I, you know, it's one that's, I think it was, somebody was just scarcely just, just ripping the hell out of another person. And I, and everybody was, you know, making noise in the background. But it's usually the Prime Minister, right? Here's this dude in a wig Thatcher, Major . and I said to myself, it's another Monty Python that I didn't know about And then, and then up jumps Margaret Thatcher off her green bench and I said oh, it's Parliament Which could be another of Monty Python. Yeah. So I, I thought to myself, I can't wait. I'm going over to, to Britain in mid, you know, in mid-May. I, I, I'm going to, uh, you know, you know, approach my, uh, you know, this is how I discovered, you know, the the Prime Minister's, you know, question and answer period, you know. I, I have seen that and, uh, a, aside from the level of wit which is much higher than, generally, in American politics, uh, which I really enjoy. I really like the fact that they have a chance to ask hard, real questions I think. And it's unlike the fairly controlled, uh, press conferences that Presidents of the United States have here where they, they always seem, Yeah. Okay, uh, my favorite show is MASTERPIECE THEATRE and it has been for a long time but I feel almost ashamed to say that to anybody now because I have never met anybody who likes it. Do you by any chance? Oh, yes. You do! Yes, very much. Well, wouldn't you know As a matter of fact, I prefer public television. Uh-huh. And, uh, I have, particularly enjoy the English comedies, and the English mysteries. Yeah, Yeah, I watch mysteries too. Is that what you're referring to? Yes. Okay, yeah. That is good. I like, uh, do you read? Vociferously. Okay, well that's the reason why I like both of those programs is because they're kind of based on books. Yes. And, the plots are more, um, challenging, you know, than the sitcoms of regular T V. Well, unfortunately for us at least here in the United States, we, the only access we have to that of course is public television. Yeah. I'm, I'm not a great television watcher in any respect but, uh, the watching, what I do watch is, uh, usually news and whatever is on public television. Any kind of, I also uh, am very fond of great performances, in that regard. Uh-huh, yeah. Me too. But, uh Did you stay up late and catch this RED DWARF? No Oh, that was a scream. no, no as a matter of fact, uh, Turner Broadcasting, has been uh, broadcasting all of the James Bond movies, every night this week, Uh-huh, Really. so I have concentrated on watching James Bond movies, this week I used to like him too, he was my hero. In fact, I like Sean Connery to this day. Well, they're showing uh, LIVE AND LET DIE at this moment, Yeah. and, it is the first appearance of Roger Moore as double oh seven. Yeah. So, Oh, he can never cut it No, no that's true. I was just thinking that today, he did, well, in some of the later movies he looks very effeminate, in his early movies. Yeah, Yeah, yeah, he does. Whereas, uh, Sean Connery has maintained the, uh, how would you, uh, ruddy look, Uh-huh, yeah. I liked his accent too. And, he can even be in movies that are not, uh, uh, sexually oriented, and he still comes off great. Well, you know he was, when was it, last year or year before last, he was voted the sexiest actor in movies, or something. He is. Yeah, he had my vote double I mean the man is sixty-two years old. I don't care But, uh, but otherwise you know we, uh, with P B S and so forth. And I, I particularly enjoy, I don't know whether you've had a chance to watch it on P B S but uh, the series, uh, YES MINISTER? Yeah. Oh, what's that about? That was about a, the Interior Minister, it was a comedy, Oh, yeah, yeah. the Interior Minister of, in England, with the permanent secretary, and bureaucracy and all that. Uh-huh. Right. Right, I, I've seen it several times. It's a scream, but I have to go to bed, I have to get up and, and work the next morning. I wish they'd put those, that's why I say, did you stay up late to watch this RED DWARF. It came on after DOCTOR WHO, on Saturday nights, here at least. Uh-huh. And it should, of course I really it was, I don't think they should show it during prime time, but still, it was funny. Yeah. Yeah, I know. Well I, I, I'm not much of a television watcher. I, I read as I said, and, uh, quite a bit. Uh-huh. I read about two or three novels a week, in addition to all the technical stuff. Yeah. What, what do you do? What kind of work do you do? I'm a Payroll Clerk. Just an accounting clerk. At T I? No, uh, I have a friend who works for T I and I work for a tire service, here in, Oh, I see. I'm from Dallas. Uh-huh. Well the last two people who have called, both worked for T I and I just wondered. Yeah, yeah, it could be T I I think, probably are participating more than anybody else, but I needed the money. This is five bucks here. I think that's something we all Yeah, really. Do you work for T I? No, no, I work for G T E. In Maryland, Really? yes. How did you hear, oh we're not even supposed to be talking about this though, are we? I guess not. How did I hear about it? Well I work, you know, they are gathering a data base for voice processing. Uh-huh. And, that's my field of work also. Oh! So I, I know the people at T I who are doing this and I heard about it, so I called them and asked if I could participate. And, uh, You know send in the forms et cetera and uh so forth. Oh. Right. We could go back to television shows. Well, you know, speaking of public TV, have you caught any of this series on the Bible? Yes, I have. I've heard that it's really against the, well I mean that it's coming out with the idea that the Bible's not true. Well, no. That's, uh, you could interpret it that way. Uh-huh. Uh, I, I think what they are trying to say, is that there is a great deal of historical truth, but the interpretation that actually got into the writing of the Bible itself is probably uh, after the what, uh, was is it the King James Version when the committee did it, wrote the translation, that so much was lost in the translation, particularly since most of the translations were in Greek. Yeah. Well, for example. In Greek there are seven different words for love. Right. Okay, so you can have, there's one word for love of your brother, one word for love of your wife, one word for, you know, uh, love of your father, and that sort of thing. So, in, as to those types of interpretations, uh, really made a difference in how one might interpret the Bible now, and what it's at. Uh-huh. So that's, you know, you can look at it as though they are saying it's not true, but there's too much historical fact involved just from the uh, the histories that are, were developed around that time, that are available. To deny that, at least the majority of it is true. Yeah. So, you know, it depends on how you look at it. Yeah. You can look at it, you know, if you want to say that it's proven that it isn't true, then you can very much look at it that way. I guess if you're looking for that, you're, Yeah, well, Well, you can interpret that the, what the T V show, in the same way that you can interpret the Bible. that, uh, Uh-huh. So, Really. But, uh, as, as far as that goes, I, we at least agree on what we enjoy. Yeah, that's right. But, uh, I don't know if there is, there is a time limit on this, so, uh. Yeah. Surely we've made it. I think so too. Let's just, it's been very pleasant talking to you, It was very nice talking to you. and have a good evening. You too. Good night! Bye-bye. Uh, Robert what do you, uh, think, what substances do you think are the most, uh, likely causes of air pollution? Um, gee, I don't, I mean, I, I guess it's the stuff that comes out of automobile exhaust, you know, they say in the paper nitrous oxides and ozone and all that. Right. So, I believe them but I'm not a chemist. Do you, uh, do you think that those are bigger contributors than things like acid rain and some of the pollutants that come from, uh, industrial areas, factories and so on? I don't really know, um, I grew up in Los Angeles and have felt like I was victimized by air pollution. I was going to say, and, and you, so you understand smog I understand it very well and in fact I was a private pilot there, Uh-huh. and I can remember very etched, etched clearly in my mind, uh, flying and coming up above the smog layer at about three thousand feet and looking back down and, and really being unbelieving at, what looked like a, uh, Wow. it just looked liked peanut butter. My word. Thick and brown and so on. And that was, a few years ago? This was quite a few years ago. This was in the nineteen sixties. I, I wonder if it's any better now. Because they, uh, California has such strict rules, um, about emissions and so on. People say that it is somewhat better. Right. Um, I, I don't know if you heard about the, uh, recent legislation in, uh, Colorado, uh, against a power company, uh, that's actually on Indian land, I believe, but, uh, it has been ruled against, uh, regarding air pollution because they think that it's causing terrible smog over the Grand Canyon. And, um, particularly in the winter months. Um. So they, it was, uh, a landmark case because it's unusual to, um, I can, they, they were talking about shutting it down, or if it didn't comply and so on. So did it burn coal? I don't know that, the information is one of those wire services kind of news, pieces of news, you know, so it's hard, I never did see the full story, so I don't know. Yeah. But they said that, that it really caused so much smog over, uh, the Grand Canyon in the winter months that they couldn't do the, uh, piloting, uh, you know, the helicopter trips and that sort of thing. Which would be horrible, because the, there's nothing, Um. Yeah. I mean that's such a spectacle. It would be a shame to ruin it. Yeah. Uh, what do you think individuals could do, or society could do to alleviate this problem. Uh, I don't, uh, I don't know whether we could do a whole lot as individuals. Uh, maybe just take good care of our cars, and make sure we keep our pollution devices clean and all that sort of thing. Um, Right. apart from that, I, I don't know what we can do as individuals. What do you think we can do? Uh-huh, you think, it's more, more to society. Well I guess I kind of agree there. I, uh, on an individual basis there isn't a lot we can do about a lot of things but if we are concerned about it then we certainly can, uh, force, uh, government, uh, that we elect to deal more seriously with it. Yeah. And I do think that we have a responsibility there. I must admit I'm not always real politically active but I do think that, um, Congress has backed down much too much on some of the air pollution standards. Yeah. And it's brought the, they, uh, really listen to the, the, uh, lobbyist and, uh, the car manufacturing companies have, uh, you know, have really pushed, they , all those restrictions are really too hard, we can't, we can't quite make that go and they don't and then we still live with air pollution. Yeah. Um, so I suspect that that's one thing that, that as individuals, we can do, make our voices known, perhaps to our legislators. But, um, as a society, I think we can do more and that's probably how we ought to do it. Uh, being individually responsible as, uh, in order to be group responsible. Yeah, I guess I'm, I'm to the point where I'm cynical enough that I really don't believe anything will happen unless, unless there's something economically justifiable about it. Right. And in the case of air pollution, it simply might turn out at some point down the road, to be so costly to have to live with air pollution in terms of health problems, and everything else that we'll spend the money that's necessary to, uh, to get rid of the source of it. Uh-huh. I suspect that the that there's going to have to be a lot of pressure, uh, come to bear on the companies that deal with it and probably the only way that can happen is for, um, governments to realize that they have to pay if companies don't. Yeah. And, uh, I don't know how long that, that will take. People also have to realize they can't have their cake and eat it. So, if you don't want to burn coal for power, how about nuclear energy. Sure. Well we don't want that either. Exactly, yeah, right. How about investing in the sun. Well nobody wants to pay twenty-five cents a kilowatt hour, I don't think. Right. Uh, I probably wouldn't mind if it really came down to it. Well it's just the same thing with the car, uh, uh, the gasoline, now is a wonderful time to smack a fifty cent a gallon tax on gasoline, so that we don't, uh, run into the kind of problems we recently had Oh yes, yes, yes. and yet the government is not going to do that because people are too dependent and they don't want, they don't want to pay for it. So instead, we spend billions of dollars going to war. Yes. Uh, you know, however, it might have had other causes. Certainly oil was a big factor. Oh certainly, yes. Um, and I think that's probably going to happen with, with such things as air pollution, when we, when we get serious about cleaning, about our motors in our automobiles then, uh, then maybe, you know, we'll have a little bit of help. Um, uh, Yeah. do you have any air pollution in your area? There's not really a lot here in Raleigh. Uh, once in a while we'll get some, uh, I think it kind of washes down from, uh, from your area Linda Oh no. That's what they, that's what they, You're talking about from, from the, uh, the middle, middle states, that, that have more factories and so on. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's what they say but it's it's not, it's not very usual and certainly we don't have the eye stinging variety that you get in the big cities. Yeah, we really don't have that either. Although I think I can tell a difference in, I lived in this area for about twenty-five years and I think I can tell a difference in the comfort level, uh, particularly in the summer. Uh, you know, when it gets hot, and you have, the, that kind of a pressure from the pockets of air, uh, usually they say caused by exhaust. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. It seems to me that I'm more uncomfortable and, you know, my eyes sting more and so on and so on. So I suspect that it's, it's an ever growing problem. Yeah. Well I suspect that we've probably covered everything that we need to here. Right, I think, we've given them about seven minutes according to my watch It was nice talking to you. and I enjoyed the conversation. So did I. Bye, bye. Bye. Okay, well, my favorite, probably, all time T V show is STAR TREK. And I would it like that, I, I like the adventure of it. And the idea that, that we would survive long enough to get to that point and be able to do these fantastic things in space. Uh-huh Uh-huh. And then I like the, they have a new one now. The STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION. Which it's an all new cast, but kind of the same idea, going out to new places and, and doing new things and finding out about different people, Right and I've, I've always liked that show probably the very best. Uh-huh. I think I've actually seen a number of STAR TREKS, one way or another over the years. Uh, although I never watched it regularly. I'm certainly acquainted with the character the characters. Uh-huh. And then I've seen some of the STAR TREK movies. Yeah, those, the movies are good too. And I, I guess all, most of the shows I like are, are kind of along the same line because they're all adventure Uh-huh. When I, when I started thinking about this, that those are some of my favorite shows, MCGYVER, because it's, it's only one person there, more than, uh, you know, instead of a cast of people, Uh-huh. but he's always going out and inventing new things out of scrap, and grabbing what he can and, you know, pieces of baling wire and, and a few tires and all of a sudden he's got a hang glider and I don't think I, I've even heard of that show. You haven't? It's called MCGYVER? Uh-huh. And what is, what is he? He's like a semigovernment type agent. Who goes out then to, uh, works for the Phoenix Foundation, supposedly. Uh-huh. And, uh, his big thing is that he can take pieces of, little bits and pieces of string and baling wire and turn them into fantastic different things. He took a car battery and some wire and two washers one time and made a welder. Uh-huh. So he, he does all kinds of strange things like that. Oh, great. Boeing ought to hire him and give him a junkyard, and see if he could build a Seven Forty-Seven out of it. Yeah. See what we can come up with. Do you like the, uh, news shows, TWENTY TWENTY, SIXTY MINUTES, those kind of things? Well, uh, I used to watch SIXTY MINUTES as a matter of fact, and uh, and I used to like the show very much. Uh-huh. But, unfortunately I find getting rid of your T V set, you do throw out some, some of the baby, with the bath water. Some of the little things, yeah. And uh, I just decided I had to do that. I think, in part because it was easy for me to become addicted to it, I mean I could just sit mindlessly in front of a T V set for hours. Uh. And I just realized, I was sort of like an alcoholic, if I didn't get the booze out of the house, I was going to drink. Oh. So. I guess I haven't ever had any trouble with that. I have more or less, I have my favorite shows and I usually make time in my day or my week, you know, to watch those. Yeah. But, for the most part, I try, I have small kids and I try and keep it on just a minimum amount of time, really when they're up. Yeah, yeah. Because they're, I guess that, that, that falls , and one of my other favorite shows is SESAME STREET because of the kids. I like that real well. Right, well, when my kids were little, I did have a T V set and I did watch a lot of SESAME STREET and a lot of ELECTRIC COMPANY, as well. I don't think they have that on anymore. Well that would be a shame. I haven't seen the ELECTRIC COMPANY in a long time. I, I remember it when I was younger of, you know, catching it on P B S, but, uh, I don't think they show, it must be in, maybe it's in, if it was in repeats, but they're not making new ones. Huh. I haven't seen it in a long time. But SESAME STREET is still really good. Yeah. How about MISTER ROGERS, is he still around? Yes. Yeah. They still show MISTER ROGERS. I don't think he's making new ones, but they repeat all the old ones. I see. I see. So that's still a real good show too. I, that one tends to come on earlier in the day than I want to turn the T V on Uh-huh. SESAME STREET comes on from like nine to ten, which is a good time and everybody is up and had breakfast and dressed and ready to go, so it's the timing of, of it is good, besides the what's on. Right. I figure your children are preschool? Yes, I have two little ones. Yeah. So they like that. Yeah, I seem to remember those shows being on in the afternoon. They come on both. They come on like from nine to ten and then from, uh, five to six. Uh-huh, okay. They just repeat over again. Which is also, Okay. that's another thing that's good about it, when it comes on right in the dinner hour. I can feel like I can let them sit in front of the T V and watch, and they're watching something worthwhile, while I can make dinner and do things I need to do without them under foot. Yeah. Yeah, little, with little kids the T V set really is a, I mean I used it as a pacifier. Yeah. I'm not sure it was that great for my children, but they turned out okay, so. Uh, it didn't hurt them any. Yeah. Some shows are good for, I think some shows, some, STAR TREK, I, for the imagination of it all. The idea, I, I think that's one of the things I like about STAR TREK. Uh-huh. And is, is the, even in for kids watching some of it can be a little violent sometimes and stuff. I don't let my little ones watch it, but the imagination of, look what we can do, you know, in the future, this is, perhaps, this will be possible. That kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, well, I think we've covered most of my favorite T V shows. Well, I'm trying to think if I ever even had a favorite one at one time, uh. Let's see, how about, uh, MAN FROM UNCLE? I do seem to is that the one where they, uh, he always got this, this tape recording that self-destructed? That's MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. Uh, MISSION, that's right, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. Yeah, I used to watch that. In fact, I can still remember a couple of those. They were, I thought those were very good. Yeah, they always have, I've, I've seen some of them on repeats. Yeah. That uh, they always had a good plot. Huh. It kind of kept you guessing on, on, uh, what was going to happen next Right. Right. You, How they're going get out of their latest scrape. Yeah, I do remember that. And, uh, I remember as a kid my parents watching the ED SULLIVAN Show. That was really the big deal in our household, was the ED SULLIVAN SHOW. Oh, yeah, every Saturday night? Yeah, I I guess it was a Saturday night, and I went to see the movie THE DOORS a couple of days ago, and they had this scene, uh, that portraying THE DOORS' appearance on the ED SULLIVAN SHOW. Huh. They even had somebody portraying Ed Sullivan, and it was very, very funny. I think it was the funniest part of the, of that movie. Um. Well, I don't know, was there any, I remember the MILTON BERLE SHOW even, I was, I was, I'm not old enough to recall that one well I guess, I have to admit that I am My T V viewing started sort of mid-sixties, so. I see. My folks didn't, my folks, I'm not even sure if we had one when I was really little. That may be why, they probably didn't have a T V until I got to be, you know, grade school or so. Yeah. And the shows that I like now, they wouldn't let me watch. I had to catch them all on repeats. Like STAR TREK, they thought that was much too violent for small children. So Huh. I, I, I ended up watching a lot of these things on, you know, repeats in the afternoons or something. Yeah. That's, that's interesting. Uh, I think it's interesting that parents think that their small children learn violence from TV, people were just as violent before T V was invented, maybe even more so. Yeah. But I guess that's, that's a different topic isn't it? Probably so Well, I think that's about, uh, that's about covered it for me, so I think I'll say good-bye and we'll talk another time perhaps Yeah. Well, it was nice talking to you. Tell me, tell me where you're calling from. I'm calling from Garland, Texas. Garland, Texas. Uh-huh. All right. I'm in Where are you from? I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina. Oh, my goodness. I didn't know they did it long distance. Yeah, I think they're doing it, trying to do it, or I hope they're trying to do it all over the country, because they need to collect all kinds of different different dialects. Yes. Well, it was nice talking to you Same here. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Uh, the last movie that I saw, I, I don't go to that many so I'll just have to talk about the ones that I went to see, but, uh, it was AWAKENINGS with, uh, Robin Williams and, uh, Peter DeNiro. Okay. Yes, uh-huh. Have you seen it. No unfortunately I haven't, I heard it's really good, but. It is. I just have to take my hat off to Peter DeNiro. Uh-huh. He is one of the best actors I've ever seen. It's, there's a point where, the, uh, the show is about these, uh, catatonic type people that, this doctor discovers a drug that brings them back to the, the living, more or less, but it wears off. Uh-huh. And the way it wears off is he goes through all these spastic, you know, uh, it starts off with like a tic, Uh-huh. and then it gets to where he can't, you know, control his movements at all. And it was just so realistic. The way, you know, you have to just keep reminding yourself that he's an actor. Uh-huh. What does, uh, is Robby, Robin Williams, does he have a funny part in it? No, it was very serious, very Oh how does he do serious. He's good, he's, he's talented, boy, he is. I've only seen him in funny stuff and so. I know, me too. But, uh, well, what was that show, um, uh, I want to say Garfield but that wasn't it. Yeah, uh, GARP, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP. Yeah, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP. He wasn't always funny in that show, was he. I didn't read, see the, the movie, I read the book but I, I did too. That's why I was thinking it couldn't be just a totally funny part Yeah, in fact, it got some pretty serious deep parts in it so. Yeah, right. Yeah. Well what have you seen? I think the last movie that we went out to see was DANCES WITH WOLVES. Oh, I saw it. Good, we've both seen one Did you cry through it? Yes, the whole way It was telling a friend, I, I said, I only cried twice, but each was about half an hour long, so. Where did you cry. Um, let's see, when I, each time that I thought that the Indians were going to get killed, I cried. Uh-huh. Um, I cried the first time when the, um, the wagon man got killed, when they attacked him. Uh-huh, yeah, yeah. And, uh, I think from there on, all the way through the movie. Let's see what else did it. Um, what other parts. I can't remember any of the other parts right off now. I cried when the horse got killed and when the wolf got killed I don't remember when the horse got killed. Oh, when he was riding back to the settlement and they shot his horse out from under him. Oh, yeah. And then he, uh, the next day he looked out there and saw those buzzards, you know Uh-huh. And that horse has been such a pal to him, when he was alone. Yeah. You can tell I'm an animal lover, you can hear my dog Unfortunately we don't have any animals, so, uh. Yeah. It was a beautiful story, it really was. It, there was a lot of pretty scenery, too, in that movie. Uh-huh, uh-huh. What did you think about the buffalo scenes. Oh, I thought it was awful, and so graphic, That was, Yeah. I mean I hadn't even imagined it, you know. I think we all heard the story of the slaughter of the buffalo. Uh-huh. Um, I had a friend who had fixed some, uh, chili, buffalo chili and, about a week before went to see the movie. Oh, oh. Of course they raise them now, you know, to eat. Uh-huh, yeah, it's not, But she, we were both feeling so guilty about enjoying this chili after seeing that. Uh-huh, well at least you know that it wasn't same situation that the buffalo died in. No it wasn't Um, I thought the scenes when the buffalos running, though, were beautiful, like that was great. Oh, yeah. And there were so many of them. I didn't know that, that many buffaloes alive, much less in one place. Yeah, really. So that was pretty. And to think about how it just changed the whole landscape, you know, you could follow this, this beaten down path, Yeah. and it sounded like thunder and earthquakes and that sort of thing. I wonder how they kept up with them, though, it seemed like the buffaloes were moving so fast. I know. I guess they graze, though, that wouldn't be a problem. Yeah, yeah. Uh, have you seen any of the behind the scenes, uh, of, of that movie. No, huh-uh. It was, they tried to keep it, you know, as very close to real. Uh-huh. I mean like Kevin Costner did all of his own scenes and, uh, they had to teach a wolf how to, to howl. Oh. That's the, part they had trouble finding was wolves I guess they're just not domesticated, or, or, Yeah, what, they just don't howl that much anymore. I could bring them in with my dogs and set a siren off and that's all they'd have to do Yeah. Well that's funny. Well, I think we've made it. Oh is that five minutes, is that, I don't know, is it five or three. Okay, oh, I'm not sure. I'm not either. Okay, well I think we're, we're, we've done okay, though. Okay, me too. Well thank you for calling. Well thank you. And I hope you enjoy some more good movies Yeah, you too. Bye, bye. Bye, bye. Okay. Okay. I was trying to get my children quiet for a minute. Okay. Yes, a deep Well, credit cards, boy, that's an easy topic, isn't it it is It's one we all hold dear and near, I'm sure. Oh, yes, yes. I guess I've had some good experience and some bad experience with them. Yeah, most of mine's been pretty good, although I'm, I guess I'm like a lot of other people, now, I'm trying to, to pay off my credit cards and, and, uh, I've done pretty good at it. Yeah. Uh-huh Well, I do fairly good until I go in the store and I see something I want You know not need, want. Yeah. Uh-huh, there is a big difference There's a big difference there. Yeah, yeah. But most of mine that I use is strictly gasoline. Yeah, oh yeah, I, I do that, I do that, but the rest, like I said, the rest of them I've been trying to, to pay off and, uh, get back on a cash basis, except for gas. Uh-huh. It's too easy to, to run into the gas station. Oh, it sure is especially when you work out of town and everything, that way And, . Uh-huh. At least that's for me. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So. But yeah, I've, I've talked to some who's really had some bad experience and kind of knock on wood I haven't yet, not bad. Yeah, well that's, You know, I just, I'm just shocked at the end of the month, to see what damage I have did, but I try to keep it pretty reasonable. Yeah, yeah. Well, I've been pretty lucky in that respect. I don't charge, like I say, I've, I been trying to, to not charge except for emergencies. Uh-huh. And, uh, so, but I haven't really had any bad problems with credit cards. There's, you know, they have, uh, wonderful features, they're there when you need them. You know, like in emergencies, or whatever. Yeah, yeah. And then they have bad drawbacks, too. I mean high interest, Yeah. It's, it's awfully easy. it's like paying twice. That's true, that's true, Yes, so, . I try to, I did switch to one, uh, sponsored by the credit union, though. That seems to be a pretty low interest. Yeah, compared to some of the other ones. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. And you don't have an annual fee there, and that helps. Oh, yes. Uh, we used to have, you know, like several, but right now, we're just more or less at American Express, you know, Uh-huh. and that way we can go ahead and pay it off when it comes in. Yeah, that's one way to do it, because that, that forces you to pay for it instead of saying, well, I'll just pay on it this month Yeah. Pay fifteen, yeah. and Yes, I know, yeah. Yeah. And when you pay fifteen dollars a month it sure takes a long time. Takes a long time, that's right. It sure does. And now without the benefits of being able to deduct interest off, off your income tax that's, you know. Uh-huh. Of course it's been going down for a number of years, but this is the last year you can take anything. So. Uh-huh, yeah. So. Well, I've enjoyed talking to you. Well, I've enjoyed talking to you. And maybe we'll get to talk again. Okay. Okay, bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, well, I can tell you pretty much my two favorite shows Okay. and they kind of are in different spectrums, I think. Um, one of them is QUANTUM LEAP Okay. and the other one is NIGHT COURT. And I think, I think they're real different, I mean, I don't think they have anything in common, um, QUANTUM, LEAP has, I mean QUANTUM LEAP is kind of a comedy in its own way, I guess, but, uh, mostly it's, it's kind of science fiction, and, it's, um, it's adventure and things like that Uh-huh. and then NIGHT COURT is just pure, you know, weird fun, you know, just, it's, it's nothing serious about it at all. So, I don't know why the two of them happen, to be my two favorite shows, but they, that's the way it is, so. It's funny that those are my two, my husband's two favorite shows, too, and I enjoy both, watching both of them, but I used to didn't like NIGHT COURT Uh-huh. and I, and the only reason I think I like it now is because I've seen it so much and I'm involved with the characters, but, I used to think, um, Dan Fielding was just too, too vulgar and too crude for me. He is And I told my husband, that's the whole point, but Yeah, that's right, I mean, I, I just, it's, I find him degrading at times. I guess that is the point, but sometimes it just, Well, they, they really have changed him though. If, If you've watched it this season, um, he's becoming, I mean, he still is in his own way degrading and everything, but, uh, he's involved in that charity, and, uh, it's taking up so much of his time and so much of his thought, that he really has, in fact, there was one show that he even turned down a date with some, you know, beautiful woman just because the idea that he was, his mind was on the ozone layer and, you know, global warming and all this other kind of stuff. Oh. And he, you know, was too depressed, you know, to, so that was part of, I guess, his character building or whatever, but, I think it adds a, probably adds a little bit of depth to his character. I haven't watched, um Which of course he needed yeah, I think so, which in QUANTUM LEAP you get even though the person is involved in so many other people's lives, you still see a, a real person in those situations. He gets, um, he's doing amazing things Uh-huh. but he's doing them within the bounds of what a normal person would do Right, right, that's a good point, and I think that's, I like that. So what do you, what do you consider your favorite shows? Um, I think my favorite show is HUNTER. Okay. And, I, I like the old series better when, um Dede was in there. Dede, Yeah Yeah, I agree. and, um, so, uh, uh, and then the blond that they took out, the one that got killed Yeah, I can't remember what her name is, but is, yeah, I didn't enjoy her. I, I, she was too much of a opposite of Dede, and I think that's what they try to do, but I think we wanted to see Dede there or somebody like her. Uh-huh. Well, but, see I read an article about, in T V GUIDE about, uh, about HUNTER, and about his, you know, latest, you know, his three girls, whatever you want to call them Uh-huh. and they say that, uh, that there was that there was like a conflict between her and him, uh, that they never really could get her into, uh, any character that they could use. I mean, you know, uh The second lady? yeah, the second one the blond Uh-huh. Yeah, you know, if you think about it, they didn't really interact hardly at all They didn't. I mean, they were never partners. Yeah, she would go her way, and he would do his, Yeah. and I think that's what I didn't like. And, and, and even, even at the beginning Dede and, and Hunter would decide that one of them would go do this, while the other one would do, would go this, but, uh, it seemed like it was almost two different organizations you know, Uh-huh. like Hunter was the boss, and this other girl was not, and, you know, you kind of, you're wondering, you know, well when did this happen? Right. So, yeah, I, I kind of agree with that. And I like the new lady better, but I'd just as soon that they didn't have the romance there. I'd just as soon have the, the police story without all the romance. Well, I'm afraid that's what they, they really wanted to do, um, Yeah, I think most shows were doing that, and then they went away from it Uh-huh. and now they're starting to go back to it, and maybe that's what the public wants, I don't know, but I just, I like the, the cut and dry solve the mystery, and that's what I always enjoyed about it. Yeah, well, see, there was that spark between Dede and Hunter for a while Yeah. but they, they like started it, and then they'd pull it back, and they'd start it and pull it back. And that really made it a very interesting, uh, show to where you never really knew which, which one was going to show up. You know, whether it was going to, where they're going to be real close or whether they're just going to be partners, you know Uh-huh. And, that, that I kind of thought was good, but, um, you know, it's, I guess, you know, you always kind of sit there and you see these two people together, and you always wonder, why they don't, you know, get together or whatever. Yeah. And so I guess that's what they decide to do Just go ahead and quit the wondering Yeah. and, and, But it's, it's always been a formula, uh, for T V that the minute that two people, that the two main stars get married, that the show ends up, you know, dying. Yeah. A, a, good example of this, and, you know, this is maybe it's not a good example. I've been watching Nickelodeon all last week, because they had what they called MAXIMUM SMART. They had GET SMART for, uh, ten hours a day, from seven o'clock at night, until six or until five o'clock the next morning. All the GET SMART episodes you could ever see. Oh. Well, the, the last day, all they did was the last season, to where the two of them got married Uh-huh. and that was, I mean, that was the killer, the series died right after that, because, I didn't, I was going to say, I didn't ever watch MOONLIGHTING, well go ahead. but I heard that's what killed it Uh-huh, same thing. that, uh, interplay died when they got married, and so the show died. Yeah, the, it seems like you can do so much more of the subtle hints and the subtle little plays on things before they, they, before they get married you know, Uh-huh. the minute they get married, everything's supposed to be cut and dried and and, well, of course, another one of their mistakes, I think, is they have a tendency to change characters, or to change the characters', uh, uh, personalities well, especially after they get married. Right. Halfway through, Yeah. Um, couple of examples would be, um, well, like I said, this one about Max or Get Well Smart, the female character, Barbara Feldon Uh-huh. she had been at the beginning the, the intelligent one, the, the one who always solved the things and, and figured out and kept Max from getting real messed up. Well, in short, whenever they got married, she got dingy. Oh. You know, why would they do that? Yeah. It made no sense. I, I'm guess it's falling back into our traditional stereotype which a lot of shows Unfortunately, that's probably true. yeah, which kind of, like in the big soap opera shows, which I don't enjoy because of that, but, Well, do you you watch, um, what is that show, WHO'S THE BOSS? That's, uh, that's on Tuesday nights I think. I've seen it before, but I don't watch it regularly. Yeah, well, I I hardly ever watch it, Usually Tuesday nights I'm out, so. but, as, as I've seen it, they've, they've done sort of the same thing to where they've, they started to let them get together, and then they pulled them apart Uh-huh. and I think they're thinking about that exact thing, about the idea that if the show lets them, uh, get together, then you lose part of what the show's all about. but I've never actually seen the place itself, you, know. Yeah. It's pretty, set far back, off the road. Right. Right. It and that's something I like, too, Yeah. because a lot of those places are like, you know the one over here on seventy-eight, Skaggs. Definitely. Uh-huh. That little Kinder Care, whatever it is? Yeah. You know, it's right there on, which this is on a highway, too. But it's set back, enough to, Right. Yeah. There's a difference. I'm scared, I would be scared to death my child might accidentally get out, or or, if that seems like a real accessible place to where you could, you know, go, in and get one. Uh-huh. Yep. That's right. Or, you know, or a car accident. Yeah. And, that was one of the places I had checked out. Yeah. And it was, it, it was brand new when I checked it out and, of course, it was beautiful and, clean and smelled wonderful in there, Yeah. but, you know, I, that, I didn't base everything on that. No, because that all wears off. That's right. That's exactly right. You get some kids in there and it's, over quick. Yep. But, um, I've been real pleased, knock on wood. I'm scared to death her going to public school. Really? I don't know, I, I do know why because you know, drugs and, everything else I would be, too. Yeah. Yeah. and, they talk about how soon they start that Yeah. and that scares me. I know. It is scary. I mean, you're just with them, Do they teach them in school right now where she's at about drugs? Yeah. They've, um, they've had police officers come in and talk to them about it. Good. But, of course, they still have no concept of, what in the world drugs are, you, know Right. Right. but, And what to do when they're faced with it. Right. But I just think of her, you know, next year she's going to be five, six years old in kindergarten, in same school with, you know, uh, I guess ten year olds. Isn't that, six, sixth, sixth grade, you know, Yeah. and that's a big gap. It is. And that's, uh, that, I can honestly see the peer pressure there. Uh-huh. And that, just, terrifies me to death. And stuff, Oh, I can, see it, too. those kids getting snatched and I'm, I'm probably a little too over protective Uh-huh. but, Well, nowadays you have to be. Nothing wrong with that Yes. You do. If, I don't, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. So, I at first thought, you know, when I didn't have kids, I was going, God, how can you be so protective beginning with You, know Uh-huh but, it's easy now Uh-huh. Now you understand Yeah. Definitely. That's what I'm thinking what your mom and dad always used to say, when you have kids of your own, you'll understand That's exactly right and I do. Uh-huh. But anyway. Well, are you ever, are you, are you, are you married Yes. Are y'all planning on having kids? Or, Well, that's good. Yeah. Because they're really neat. It's just. Do you live in Plano or work in Plano, or both? Both. Both, are you a T I Yes. Are you at work right now? Uh-huh. So am I. In building, which building? Well, are you Summit or are you, uh, Spring Creek? I'm, I'm, I'm Spring Creek. Oh this is fun. What building are you in? I'm building, uh, one. Oh, I'm building two. At least we found something different That's, I've never had a call, Not like that. Neither have I. No, isn't that funny? I usually get some place, I got a woman in New Jersey the last time I called, I think. Right. That's funny. That is funny. So, So how's the how's the weather in building two? The weather in building two is cold it's been cold. It's been cold in the building. Outside the building it's not bad. Typical T I, or T I, listen I got me doing it. Typical Texas Spring. Are you a native to Texas? No, no, I'm, I'm a transplant. From? From California. So what do you think of the Texas weather? Not as nice as California How long have you been here? Oh, five years now. Oh, okay. I've been here long pretty long. So. You, you, you know about August then. Yes, oh, I've been through five of those Okay, there's no surprises left. Right, right. A lot of people try to leave the state for a couple of weeks in August, for, you know, if they're going to go out of state for vacation that's the time to go. Uh-huh. Good idea. Real good idea. Yeah, we went up to Wyoming this last, uh, Summer during that time. And it was like you know, eighty degrees up there. It was beautiful. Nice to get out of Texas for a while. We went to Alaska. Well, that's, that's the even, even farther away. That is really nice. It is so cool, you wear a jacket, you know. Even in the Summer time, huh. Yeah, or keep one handy. Because it's, it rains a lot in Alaska. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Is that right? Uh, it, they call it their liquid gold. Um. But it, you know, you get sunshine, and it's lovely, and then it rains just enough to keep everything nice and moist and very green. And blooming. Green. Um. Oh my goodness, it's pretty. Right. Well, Texas isn't bad. No, no. Not in the Spring. Right. I have to think every year to try to remember what it was, what's it supposed to like this time of year. Spring is nice. Yeah. Because March we usually get a lot of rain, in March, you know. It'll seem the news, the Harold Taft, you know, on the local news. Right. March we typically get a lot of rain, and we've had this many inches, and, you know, we're right on target, you know, and just seem like we were getting a lot of rain in March, but I Oh, we always we always do though. it's hard to remember twelve months ago what it was like. Yeah uh, it, I wish, I just wish it wouldn't come all at once That's right, and then we get all that heat. Right. Well, it's just that, you know, when it rains, it rains. In California you get these nice, lovely rains, you know, nothing really you know, like downpours like you have here. The other day we had some hail, the biggest hail I've ever seen in Texas. Oh, really. Yeah, I live in Garland. Oh, you got into that bad stuff. Yeah. We got hail the size of marbles. I mean, just so noisy hitting the house and the glass on the windows. It didn't break anything, but we went out there afterwards and there's ice balls the size of marbles all over our lawn. Isn't that strange. I know, I, you pick them up, you know, and they're perfectly round. And I go, gee, how did they form, you know, so perfect like that. I think that's one of the strange, strange things, and you very seldom see it though. Right, right. I've seen hail, you know, but usually the size, you know, of, uh, tiny, tiny pebbles. You know, really small, you know. But this was, uh, really large. So it had come, it's a drop of water that had come through quite a few rain clouds apparently. Is that correct? Uh, I don't know how hail is formed to tell you the truth. I think, I think that's, You don't think it's cold enough, you know to, It's not on the ground, but in the clouds it is. Right, must be. I guess, and then, I think, you know, all that falling would warm it up and melt it, but maybe that's what rounds it, I don't know. But, tumbling. I was dumb. I was in, um, Florida for a week on business. Uh-huh. And I had called back to the house. I stayed the weekend, and I called back to the house. My housekeeper was baby-sitting my cats and dogs, pitched said something to the effect of, now we've made the national news, don't get upset, and don't worry, it's in Garland where all the bad weather is. I said, Okay, you know Uh-huh. and I watched the news, and I thought, ha ha, that's Garland, that's not Plano, I don't have anything to worry about. I was on the plane heading back to Dallas before it dawned on me, stupid, you own property in Garland Felt so dumb. Um. Finally I got home and found out my property was okay. Yeah. There was no problem with it. But I guess you just tend to think of, of where your house is you know, and nothing else. Right. Right, and close to that, what's called Duck Creek that runs through part of Garland, that's the part that always seems to get hardest hit when there's, there's the hard rain. Oh, oh, I see. The creek overflows and a lot of houses, a lot of houses around that creek seem to, to get flooded Oh, okay. the streets and stuff around that area, get a lot of flooding. The house, that house, that I bought is close to a Firewheel golf course. Okay. Just going to be blocks off of that new highway one ninety that's going through. Right. That's where I live, close to that. Oh really. Yeah, uh, uh, not quite, I don't live in that Firewheel division. But I live close by there in north, far north Garland. Is that a nice area? Yeah they're supposed to, it's getting built up, you know, with more new, new shopping centers and things. You know, it's a fairly new area. Yeah and, uh, and they're supposed to be building a mall somewhere close by, by the next, by ninety-three or ninety-four or something, a brand new mall not too far away from that area, Well, so. The house that the house that I bought was really, really nice. It'd be nice. Uh-huh, in the Firewheel Estates there, whatever. Yes, yes. Uh-huh. Really, really nice home, very pretty. Uh. Uh-huh. But you're not living there right now. No, I'm going to lease it. Oh, I see. It's, it's investment property. I see. But it is really, it's a very nice place. Uh, I, I would cheerfully live there. Of course it's not my home, and I've lived in my home in, well, almost ten years, and, you know, I've got everything just exactly like I want it. Right. But if I were to live some place else, it certainly meets my standards. It's a nice house. Uh-huh, yeah, that's a nice area. Is it on the golf course? No, it's not, it's off the golf course, and I'll be honest with you, I'm going to have to get a map to figure out exactly where is the golf course versus where my house is. Is that right. But it's in the estates that adjoin it. Yeah, right, right. Well that's a nice area. Yes, it is. That really is a nice area. When they get that highway finished, you can hop on that and get anywhere you need to go fairly quick. Yeah, that one nine that one ninety is just going to be the the outermost loop around. Right, another belt line, just, uh, farther out. Right, just continue to do that. Right, right, right. Where are you from in California? Southern California. San Diego? I've lived in San Diego for six years when I was a younger, and L A area, and my parents live in Anaheim right now. Lived up north of Los Angeles in Thousand Oaks area, where the Cowboys have their training camp, or used to anyway. I've been through all of that. Yeah. Uh, there is an area beyond Thousand Oaks, north of Los Angeles that is really an eerie, strange looking area with boulders, I they're not really hills, they're more like just huge boulders with very little vegetation. Huh. I'm not familiar with what, is it along the coast or or inland. Uh. Well, you know, it may be a little bit more inland. That is one of the strangest areas I have ever seen. Um. Uh, I had to go up to T I on business a couple years ago Out there, uh-huh. Uh-huh. and we went up that coastline, and I was just amazed how unusual that looks. Huh. Here, hang on just a second, I've got a Los Angeles map. Let me just quick Yeah, valley. Yes Okay, I know where that is. beyond Thousand Oaks. I know where Valley is, I've been out there before, sure. You don't think that's strange looking. I didn't notice anything strange, I guess about it. Oh, okay maybe, maybe I'm used to Texas. Maybe Texas the way, The elevation is extremely high. Uh-huh. It's got curving roads on it, but, but the, it's just a strange landscape, there's very little vegetation. Huh. I didn't, I don't remember seeing that part of it. I know Valley, yeah, it's just a suburb of L A. Right. It's a, And they've built some new highways out to that area, and things, lately. People can get in and out of L A easier. Maybe it's a place I went to, it was far extreme, thought we'd never find the place. Huh. It was interesting. Because we went out the Ventura highway to Thousand Oaks and on up through that way. Yeah, sounds interesting. Right. Right, right. I, I know exactly that area. It's a nice area out there. I love Thousand Oaks. Uh, Texas, I don't know, thing, things, you just have less a variety, I guess. I think, I don't think it's quite as green, you know. It's green with all the trees and things out here but it's just, Oh, it's green sometime. Yeah, but it's just, you know, I don't know. Well, it doesn't stay green, you know Right. the really, and in all honesty, I know this sounds like a Texas story, all honesty, you haven't seen the hottest of summers if you've only been here five years. We haven't had a really bad one, Yeah I missed that one of eighty or eighty-two or eighty-one that had the heat wave. Oh. It may be eighty-two, because we bought our house in eighty-one and we built a pool in eighty-two, Okay Okay Um, well, I'm not, I mean, I read a lot, but I don't, I don't read a whole, I mean, uh, eh, eh, eh, I, I, I, I tend to read like only out of a couple, you know, groups. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, and I'm, a, uh, I'm a big baseball fan, so I tend to read a lot of the baseball books and, I'm a big baseball fan too. Oh, okay. And, uh, I read a lot of science fiction. well, I like, I teach school, and so during the school year, I just don't have time to read. And I, you know, I would love to, to be able to read more because I, I enjoy it so much. But with correcting papers and, and I, two kids of my own, I just don't have time. But in the summer, I try to read a lot. Uh-huh. And, and, of course, being a woman, I like romance novels and stuff like that a whole lot. I just, I really enjoy that because it's kind of a, a getaway type thing. Uh-huh. So I, I read a lot of that. But I also love sports. And, uh, uh, I, I don't have time to read in, but I do read SPORTS ILLUSTRATED during the, the year because my son gets that. Uh-huh. And, uh, but, uh, I don't read a lot of nonfiction, and I really should because there's so many self-improvement books out right now that would, would be, benefit me greatly, but I just don't. Uh-huh Yeah, I, um, I don't really, I probably should. I don't really read the self-improvement books or things like that. I, uh, um, I'll get like, uh, books on history and stuff like that that look interesting. And I, uh, of course, I don't ever get around to reading them Yeah, yeah. You know, I got, uh, um, I I belong to Quality Paperback Book Club. Oh, do you? And I'll get, get stuff out of that. Like I got BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM, you know, like a couple of years ago. Uh-huh. And I started reading, and got about sixty pages into it and it's like eight hundred pages Oh, my word. And it was like, uh, I want to read something else for a while Yeah. It's, some of those books are real tough to get into, but after you get into them, they're really good. Yeah. But it's just tough to get through that first two hundred pages or so. Yeah. Well, especially, you know, well, BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM starts off, you know, in the eighteen forties, you know. And it's like, Yeah. wait, the war wasn't until the you know. It's like, okay, and I realize these things, you know. These things take awhile like to move up, but it's, you know, it's hard sometimes. It's right, that's right. I find though, that if, when I find an author, uh, and you don't read a lot of fiction, you said. But when I find, I read a lot of science fiction. Do you? Yeah. When I find an author I really like, I try to read everything they write. Because you, you get used to their style and you really enjoy it. Yeah. That, and I, I do the same thing. I, Yeah. Uh, there's one science fiction writer named, uh, Allen Dean Foster. Uh-huh. I've heard of him. Oh, okay, yeah. He, um, I must have like fifty or sixty books by him Is that right? I mean, I have, you know, I have everything he's ever well, almost everything he's ever done. Uh-huh. And, um, you know, I, I know that when I, you know, when I get his book I'm, I'm usually going to enjoy it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Um, so it's really, you know, it's, it's fun to, to do that. Uh, Isn't it amazing that somebody can write that many books about science fiction? I think that's unbelievable. Yeah. Well, he does a lot of like, um, uh, movie adaptations and things like that. Oh, does he really? Yeah. And, uh, his adaptations are usually really good. Oh Um, it's, it's funny he, um, the, the novelization of STAR WARS was you know, it, it was out in the, uh, in the stores as being by George Lucas. But it turns out that, uh, Foster actually, uh, ghost wrote it for him. Is that right? which, you know, when I read it, I should have realized that because, I mean, it had Foster's style written all over it Is that right? Yeah. Uh-huh. Well, I, I've never read anything of his, but I've heard about him. But wouldn't you think he would, does he get some royalties from that, hopefully? Oh, I'm sure he does Well, I would think he would I'd hope so. Well, I mean he's doing all right, probably Oh, I'm sure he is, I'm sure he is. But sometimes the more you get the more you want too, so, Yeah. That's true. Yeah. Well, yeah. You, you're a baseball fan, you're, you're aware of that kind of thing Oh, yeah. Oh, right, right, right. I, in fact, I'm a sports fan, period. Uh-huh. We, I mean, that's why I like to read SPORTS ILLUSTRATED so much because there's everything in it. Yeah. I had a, uh, had a subscription to that last year, but I'm, uh, I'm mostly a baseball fan. So I'm, I'm not, as you know, Oh. the other stuff is interesting but, um, I was mostly interested in the baseball stuff. So you're probably, uh, a Baltimore fan, right, an Oriole fan? Uh, actually I'm a Red Sox fan more than anything. Is that right? Yeah. Boston? Oh, well, that's good too. Um, but, uh, I, I, I do like the Orioles also. I'm, I'm sure you do. Well I'm a Ranger fan simply because I live here. Yeah But I, I was, uh, I'm not from here. I'm originally from Ohio, so I've always followed the Tigers. Because, you know, I was, I was born and raised in Toledo. Toledo. Yeah. I was in Toledo last summer. Went to a, uh, to a Mud Hens double header Oh, I love the Mud Hens They're great. I love the name and, there was a really big article on the Mud Hens in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED last year. Yeah. I saved that issue, actually. Did you? Um, that's when I had the subscription. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Yeah. I I really enjoy that team. I, we used to go there all the time. I used to live in Iowa too, and they have the Iowa Oaks. And we used to go, go to their games all the time. And, They don't exist anymore, I don't, think. I know, I know they don't. At least not by that name. There's the Iowa Cubs, but I don't know if they play, in the same location. Oh, they must, they must have changed then. Because it used, well I haven't lived there for I've been here for like twelve years now, so. And I haven't been back to Des Moines in a long time. But we used to always go to their games, Um. and it was kind of fun. It's almost, uh, more fun than going to a major league game. I don't know, I just really enjoy the, farm teams. I, minor league, baseball, I think is a lot more fun than, major league baseball. Yes, it is. It's not quite so serious, you know. And it's a lot cheaper That's for sure, that's, for sure. Yeah. There's, um, there's a city just west of of, uh Baltimore, called Frederick. It's about forty miles west. Is that right? And they have a minor league team. And I go out there almost as much as the Orioles and, um, Is that right? I, it's just a lot of fun. I mean, it's free parking and three you know, four bucks now to get in. And, you know, the hot dogs are a dollar and, and it's just great. Well, how, like how much is an Oriole game? Oriole game? If you park in the lot across the street from the stadium, it's four bucks. The ticket, the the cheapest ticket you can normally get is like six fifty to seven fifty. Oh, gosh. See, it's higher than the Rangers. Yeah. And, um, hot dogs like start at a dollar fifty Oh, yeah. the food here is outrageous. But, uh, you can get a good seat for, uh, well it used to be three dollars. But I think it's gone up to four dollars this year. Oh, that's nice. But, you know, it's in the bleachers, way out in the, you know, in center field, but it's still nice. Yeah. You still can see well. And, uh, we usually sit there unless somebody gives us tickets, you know, box seats or something, then we usually sit out there. Uh-huh. Well how much are the box seats there? Do you know offhand? Box seats run from, oh, like eight dollars to twelve dollars. Yeah. That's, um, that's a little steeper. I think the, uh, most expensive seats in Memorial are eleven bucks. But we're getting a new stadium next year so, Oh, so it'll go up. Yeah, it'll go up. And, if it opens It's, uh, something we're really irritated about around here. Or some people are really irritated about. They're, they're building this new they built the new stadium downtown. And they're saying how there's going to be a lot more parking for the stadium. Uh-huh. But I park for free up at, at Memorial Stadium because I know where I can do it for free Oh, oh. And, um, I'm not going to be able to do that downtown Uh, that's, yeah, that's a bummer. Yeah. We, Well, see, baseball here though is the cheapest game in town. Because the Cowboys, it's it's outrageous to go to the Cowboy game. Uh-huh. And the Mavericks are it's high too. Uh-huh. So baseball's cheap, compared to other games. Weren't you guys, supposed to get a stadium in downtown Dallas? Well, that didn't go over, now. Oh, it it didn't, go through. They, they, they decided, you know, George Bush, who, who's the main owner of the Rangers, decided that, uh, they'd stay in Arlington. So Arlington's going to build a stadium, a bigger one. Oh, okay. So we're going to, they're going to stay there. Which is fine, because Arlington's got a lot of things to offer. And, and that was their main, main money making, you know, deal for the city. Uh-huh. And it would have devastated them if they would have taken it away. Yeah. Because everything, there's Six Flags right by the stadium, there's a Wet 'n Wild and, and it, you know, that's, Uh-huh. all the tourists come there. Uh-huh. And, and they, it would have been devastated, they would have collapsed. So I'm kind of glad they're staying there. Because it's right in the middle of Fort Worth-Dallas, and, you know, Yeah. That's, that's what I'd always heard, I've, uh, Yeah. We, you know, we, I like it there. And I think Dallas has enough to offer that they don't have to hog everything So, I'm glad that they're staying in Arlington. Uh-huh. And it's takes us maybe, uh, well, thirty-five to forty minutes to get there from Plano, which is not too bad at all. Yeah. That's about what it takes me to get to Memorial. Yeah. Um, it's it actually funny that, um, I live just outside of Baltimore. So, And it takes me almost the same amount of time to go to Frederick, but as it does to go to the, the ballpark in in, uh, Baltimore. Because, um, to go out to Frederick, I just jump on the Interstate Is that right? and, because I live just south of the Interstate. Uh-huh. hop on the Interstate, and the stadium's right off the Interstate Oh, gosh. So, it's like I drive west and I'm there. And, you know, and then to go into Baltimore, I mean, it well, it's fewer miles, but I've got to go, stop and go traffic and everything. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you read, um, I guess you read SPORTS ILLUSTRATED but you don't read many sports books or, Well, not really. Now my son does, I have, I have a son that just turned sixteen, Uh-huh. and he reads everything he gets, he gets his, get his hands on. He's reading a Dick Vitelle book right now because he's a real big Dick Vitelle fan. He's a basketball fan because he, he plays for the high school he goes to and uh, just loves Dick Vitelle, which not many people do. So, but he's reading it, and he's and he says, He's so interesting, Mom. You just can't believe all the things he's done. And he's really enjoying that. And I, and he said, Mom, you need to read it after I get finished. So maybe I will. There was, uh, I understand there was a really good basketball book called, uh, A SEASON ON THE BRINK. I never heard that one. Yeah, I'm not sure. I don't know. I'm trying to think of the guy's name. It was like John Feinstein or something like that wrote it. Uh-huh. I just heard about it the other night. Huh. Uh, I was listening to something on the radio about, uh, you know, a talk show about sports books, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and they, and they mentioned that one. I'll have to tell my son about that. I'm sure he'd like it. Yeah. And, uh, I was thinking about, there was a, I saw a book kicking around on the history of the A B A, which, Oh, that would be good Yeah. I get in to, even when I don't like the sport so much, I get interested in the history of sports franchises or Okay. All right. Uh, do you have any friends that have children? I do have friends that have children, yes. And what do they say about finding adequate child care? They, I think that may be the key word. I think that's correct. They're, uh, relatively nonexistent from, uh, from what I hear from my friends. It seems like, uh, even when they have consulted day care centers that are quote unquote reputable, that are sort of like a chain, if I can use that word uh, still you have to deal with the people that, you know, happen to be operating it locally Right. and, uh, it's just a matter of, of trust, you know, I think they feel that these people are, um, under qualified basically and underpaid, and I think that sort of goes hand in hand so it's, it's difficult for them. Well, we certainly found that to be true. Huh-uh. Uh, indeed we've, our children are now eleven and nine. Huh-uh. And we moved away from institutionalized child care if we can call those chain kind of things , like that. Uh, by that name. And found that, uh, more creative avenues were the right answer for us. Huh-uh. Right. Right. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. Uh, at one point in time we've had au pairs, by trading services with them, Huh-uh. Huh-uh. and that worked for a while, but they were really, adequate ones were really tough to find. I'm sure that's true. It takes that mixture of a very mature college student, who wants to do something and yet is willing to give the time, and the interest to the children. Huh-uh. Right. Right. I do have a friend that, uh, uh, she and her roommate became live-in care givers and they loved it. They had stayed with this family from the time these children were small, you know, four or five years old, up until they were well into grade school. And, uh, she was paid very well because they, the parents trusted them and they, you know, had done such a good job. So, um, I can see where someone, you know, in a position like that, in a live-in capacity, would definitely be the way to go if you're, you're lucky enough to have the financial to be able to do that. Well, that's true, Yeah. and that's something that we're struggling with now. Yeah. I think it's just a matter of priorities. It's, uh, you know, it's a terrible thing to say when your speaking of children in that way, but you still have to be realistic, as well, I think. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Much as other cultures disagree, our lives don't revolve around our children. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's, that's bad to have to admit, too, but, uh, you know, it's just, there's so much pressure when you're talking about two people that work outside the home and, and I think that is one reason why I continue to be without children. I, it's just such a responsibility and, and when I've had friends that have said, when you hear people say, it, it alters your life forever, please take heed well, I realize that's true so it's, uh, such a responsibility. Well, it certainly is. Uh, if I can the other side of the coin for a moment. Huh-uh. It is such an honor and a thrill, to be a parent, that most of the time, it's worth it. Oh, yeah. Huh-uh. Yeah Most of the time Well, I just have to be honest about it. It's not always, worth it. Yeah. Oh, sure. Sure. Sure. Sure. There are those times when I think, gee, if I didn't have children I could be out playing bridge or golf. Right. Right. Right. Right. But, you know, it's funny. I did, I had a friend that said, you know, before we always said we don't want children because we can't go off on the spur of the moment or this or that and the other and she got older and she said, but you know, we never do those things anyway. So why why am I waiting, you know, it's, it's just the way your attitude changes and you mature I suppose. But the thing about the child care I, you know, I have friends that struggle financially and, and they both do have to work. It's a matter not necessarily, uh, that she might want to stay home or he, as well, but, you know, they need the money. And, uh, when I seen some of my friends that have taken that six week old baby, you know, to someone else, it's just, I can imagine how emotional it must be. And, and, you know, multiplied by the fact that you don't really trust the person or you're uncomfortable with the situation , as far as child care, um, it's just a scary thing. Well, we were lucky when our children were that age, and having lived in a community for a while and we knew the person to whom we were entrusting our children. Huh-uh. That's a big plus . And felt that, that , and feeling of safety. Right. Right. And were leaving them small children. Huh-uh. But, we also learned something from that experience as our children got older. Yeah. It's that care givers are not omniscient Huh-uh. they are not all things to all people or all children. Right. Right. Right. Yeah. The ones that are good with babies tend not to be good with toddlers. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. I think it takes a, I don't know, I think your patient level must, needs to increase as the child gets older I think that might be part of the problem with some people. You know, taking care of a baby, I know, is not an easy thing, but when you have them in, their, their little feet are moving and you have to chase them down constantly. I'm sure that's a whole new ball game. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I have a nine year old that I would trade happily for a baby . Oh, really. Well, you sound like your pretty well passed the worst of it as far as worrying about, since they're both in school, you don't have to worry about a full-time person to take care of them. fading in and Oh, you don't know what happens after they get in school. That's something altogether different, uh. Oh, yes. Now we have, uh, one takes piano lessons, somewhere on one afternoon Huh-uh. and the other one, of course can't do the same thing. Oh, of course not. It has to be somewhere else and no it's not adequate to sit and wait. You can't do that. No. No. No. No. That just, that will not do. That's out of the question, I'm sure. Of course. But, we are helping, you know. Right. Right. We are being cooperative, what's wrong with you? Right. Right. You don't understand this. Huh-uh. That's just the way their minds work. And it's almost everyday. That's amazing. It's amazing that people actually, the stamina that you must, you know, draw from yourself to deal with it. It must be interesting. I guess you find out that you're a much stronger person than you thought, maybe. Well, I've been finding out that I really am a nice person. hit for many years. because I didn't need it. Huh-uh. And now, I need it. Now it's just a reservoir that you tend to regularly, I'm sure. Yeah. And it stays low a lot Well, are your children now, do you feel comfortable, um, with them coming home after school until you and your wife get home or, Absolutely not. No. Yeah. I mean, one of them I would, I would leave unsupervised any time, any place, any where. Huh-uh. Uh, the other one I wouldn't leave unsupervised two minutes. Yeah. Yeah. That's just a difference in kids, I suppose. That's true. Yeah. What, one leads the other? Huh-uh, yeah. And, uh, and it's, it's the one that's going downhill, is it, is it the one that needs, needs more supervision that has a bad influence on the older or more mature one? Of course. Yeah How unfortunate You don't think, you don't think that good prevails. Well, I, I, I'm living in a dream world, what do I know. As I said, I don't have kids and I'm an only child so I've never been around children. So, uh, I'm sort of at a loss where that's concerned. But I do hear my friends talk about it. We, we're having such fun, my wife and I were both only children. Huh-uh. And we just couldn't wait to have two children so they would be such friends. Yeah Wrong. That's like World War Three every minute I don't know I, I, I have to admit, I was selfish as a child. I didn't want a brother or sister. And now that I'm older, of course, it's different. You know, I think about, uh, wouldn't it be nice, but, uh, anyway. Just make good friends. Yeah, oh, I have wonderful friends. That's true my best friend is one child of ten. And so they just sort of, you know, adopted me as their eleventh child so that worked out pretty well. She never had to worry about taking anybody to child care because there was always somebody there older to deal with them, so I guess, that's an alternative. If you could just, um, have a whole bunch Have enough. By the time the youngest ones are there, you'll have older one to take care of them. That's true. I don't know. When you see all these horror stories on television about child care and, gosh, I just, I was seeing something on the television earlier about a little girl that's been telling her mother these terrible stories and of course people are denying it. And, uh, it's just frightening. It really is. Well, what, what's frightening is a parent to see things that, that you don't really don't understand. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. And then you don't really know what happened. Yeah. We gave up on one baby sitter because we came home one night and found pieces of, um, ribbon, you know, hair ribbon tied in a chair. Where obviously she had, had, Huh-uh. Huh-uh. Do you have any pets now? Oh, I sure do, I have a cat and a dog named Joey. Joey, the dog is Joey? Uh-huh, The cat is, he's the little boy Pomeranian. Oh, my goodness. And we just got a new addition to the family, so to speak, we also have a fish. Oh, my It's a mud dog. I beg your pardon. It's a mud dog. It's, uh, a cross between a catfish and, uh, I don't know what, a salamander. Oh. Well did you all catch it, or, uh, Uh-huh, we have a cat, Stripper. Uh-huh. Oh, the mud dog. No, did, no did you catch the fish? Uh, we had a friend give it to us. Uh-huh, and it's all alone in that aquarium. Yeah, we'd like to get him a friend but um, uh, we haven't found one yet. So how about you, do you have any pets? Well at the present time I have two dogs. Oh really, what kind? An English setter, you know, that's the white dog with the feathers and it has, uh, yellow spots on it which they call, I think, uh, liver spots. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And that's a male. And I have a wonderful female lab, black lab. Uh-huh, how long have you had them. Quite a long time, uh, probably five or six years and unfortunately the black lab that's a female, it, it's, it's the most wonderful animal we've ever had, an, when she was about three years old we noticed that she was having uh, problems limping and so forth and, she has hip dysplasia. Uh-huh. Oh no. And it's in that breed. Uh-huh. But now I think there are tests that can be conducted, uh, to tell whether or not the puppies have the, have it. Uh-huh. But I think, I don't know, apparently they've been so in, well I don't know inbred, or what, but, Oh, is that right? Well I'm not sure that's the situation, but, it, um, for those dogs that are registered and if, if you should have one, uh, that also has hip dysplasia you cannot breed it, uh. Huh, I had no idea, I hadn't, didn't even know that. Uh-huh, but she's wonderful. Um, our dog, Joey, has, uh, a back problem. Um, like what are the what are the symptoms? Uh, he, he's got a bad back but he's seven, uh, I guess he's almost eight years old. Um, he just, uh, he doesn't, he, uh, he rolls he doesn't like to roll over. Uh-huh. Um, you just, when you touch him a certain way on the back, Yes. but otherwise, he can jump, uh, you know, just as long as he doesn't bend a certain way. Um. Well, uh, I have had just wonderful luck with this lab, uh, when uh, let's see, winter before last we would bring her in, and, uh, when it was cold. Uh-huh. And she wouldn't, I, you know, the next morning you want to take them out, and she wouldn't, I couldn't get her up without picking her up and which it was pretty hard to do at eighty pounds. I bet. Um, until, if I allowed her to not get up on her own, it'd be two o'clock in the afternoon. Uh-huh. Anyway, I, uh, met my son's, uh, college roommate, is a vet and he said, um, let's give her some race horse shots. And you know in, I'm, I'm kind of glad to be able to tell people about this, but you, because you all the time, you know, run into people with problems. Oh, yeah. Anyway, that's when we lived in Oklahoma, and, uh, so he gave this dog a series of , it's, they give it to race horses, uh, to get rid of, uh cartilage, Uh-huh. and it's called . Anyway, it's a series of six shots, once a week, and then I noticed after two shots she was, Do you have to give those? Well I could have, but I can't give a shot. Oh, I believe me, I understand. I took her from Enid, Oklahoma to Oklahoma City every week for six weeks. Uh. And, uh, after the, the second shot she was significantly better. Then I didn't notice any improvement till the, after the sixth one. Uh-huh. And ever since, and he said, uh, a booster, uh, every year or two, I mean, maybe every six months or, or something like that Uh-huh. and when I notice in the winter, when it's worse, you know, it's cold weather and so forth then I have, uh, gotten a booster for her. But not many people in this part of the country know anything about . Um. I've had to get it from Oklahoma. They've heard about it but they've really never used it. Uh-huh, yeah, I've never heard anything about it either. So dogs that get down in the hips, like I think German Shepherds do it, and probably large dogs. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's just wonderful. Does he get, is he an inside dog also, Uh. or does he just run out in the backyard? Is he fenced in? Um, um, well we're living now in an area where we, we, we're in the woods and we take walks. I just don't let them, uh, uh, go away from me, Oh, yeah, uh-huh. but we take walks through the woods twice a day. Oh, that's nice. And, uh, I can over do it on her. Oh, yeah. But anyway, at least she can go and she's not limping along and all that. Uh-huh. Tell me about your cat. Oh, Stripper, well he started out being a little orphan, and we, we took him in and, uh, he's about two years old now and he loves his treats, uh, both, uh, Joey and, uh, Stripper get treats And, uh, let's see, And is, um, Stripper an inside cat, or outside? Oh, well he's outside and, uh, he's got a way to get in, Uh-huh. he's got free access of a window we like to keep open. Yes. So, he gets to go in and out whenever he wants to. Well of course. That's nice, they, they, Joey, on the other hand is a little different. He has to go out whenever, uh, we ask him and when he, when we ask him, he, uh, he barks. He'll either bark for food, or he'll bark to go out and he'll tell you which one he wants. He's been through obedience school. Well he just can, well he has been trained and you've you've kept it up, haven't you. Oh, definitely. Yeah, it is wonderful, I, I have some neighbors across the field, and, um, they when we first moved here, uh, when the dogs and I didn't we have a very nice kennel and everything but, but since I, I didn't want to, I, I just wanted to let them be able to be free for a while. Uh-huh. So I kept watch and never let them get away, but now every couple weeks, they one would slip away and my neighbor said to me, oh, I noticed those dogs, dogs are so well trained, anytime they hear your voice, they come. So that made me very proud Oh, yeah Well, have we been talking five minutes? I'm not for sure. I'm not either, but, I think maybe we have, but, Yeah. Well, um, so it sounds like you keep your pets for pleasure. Oh, definitely. Have you ever done this before? Yes. Oh, okay, um, I haven't ever called. I've put in the paper work, I just never made the call. Oh really, uh-huh. Yeah, so I didn't know if they stop you when the time is up or, No, they don't, no. I, I glanced at the clock when, um, we started and I think it's been probably about five and a half minutes or something. But one day I was talking to a lady about gardening and I'm, I love gardening and she did too, an, and, after, after about twelve minutes or something, the recording came on and said that was the end of the tape Uh-huh. Oh, well, at least you know you did your part. Uh-huh, but it's been so much fun too, uh, talk. How did you get into this. Well, my best friend in Virginia's daughter, is a part of this project in Texas. Oh, I see. And so she knew that I had the time and would be, would enjoy it. Uh-huh, that's true. Um, so. I mean, I, But I have a hard time getting anybody, because I guess, do you work. Um, yes I do. Yeah, and probably just got home. Uh-huh. So, um, during the day, I I and I understand also they want men. Right, I was going to tell you the same thing. They're really looking for a lot more men to participate. Yeah, my husband does. Does he. Yeah, I need to, Yes. I've got some applications, I need to hand them out. But, uh, this is a great project, that they're working on and it's really going to lead the way, uh, for a lot of um, applications and, and development in the voice area. Yes, I think so too, and I haven't helped them out on the on men particularly, but my husband had been in fact, he's been, probably has made a few more calls than I have because I tend to not make them around dinner time, Uh-huh. I try to, you know, make them do, during the day, but nobody's home. Well this is the perfect time for me. Well good. Well maybe I'll get you next time. Yeah it so much fun to talk to you. All right, have a good one. You too, bye. Bye. Okay, well, I, I, I guess if I was having a dinner party I, depending on the number of people, I might cook a, like a brisket or a roast or a, maybe a chicken dish Uh-huh. and, um, I guess I usually plan probably a lettuce salad and a, a potato dish, and we usually serve fresh fruit and, uh, then make a dessert. Oh, that sounds good. So that makes, Uh, we're not, uh, real wealthy at the moment. Last time I had people over for dinner we had lasagna, and I used my mother's recipe, I really like it. It's got, um, you cook the noodles and make, and brown hamburger and put tomato sauce in with it and, I'm not sure she even puts, must be some Italian spices in there. I can't remember. But, um, for the cheese part, you mix, uh, sour cream, and cream cheese and cottage cheese and, uh, layer all that. Well, that sounds good. It's good. That sounds good. And, then, uh, uh, tossed salad and, and, um, someone in the Oh, my goodness, Diane, get down from there. to And, uh, let's see, what else did I serve with that. Bread, do you have bread to go with it? Corn, yeah, I made French bread with that one too. Gosh. I have a recipe that's pretty good for that So. Oh, well, lasagna's always wonderful for large crowds. Yeah. I've heard, you know, I've heard a lot of people say, it, the short cut on the cooking for lasagna, they, they've told me that they go to Sam's and buy a great big pan of lasagna. I've heard that Sam's has a really good lasagna So. in fact I think I had it at a, at a party once. Did you? It was good. Well, I, I know people that have, have served it and they say, gosh, if you have company coming when you don't want to be always in the kitchen, it's easy, Easy and she said it's, they said it's good. Yeah. So, that, that's always sounds good to me, um, Yeah. I feel like, I feel like I'm in the kitchen cooking a lot. Oh, I know. I cook, guess I cook a, seems like I cook a lot of dinners, oh, not always for company, just for, just for family. Oh, yeah. So, feels like I'm often in the kitchen. Not my favorite place, but. A necessity But a time consuming place. Yeah, right, right, so. Let's see, what else do we like to have for, trying to think what else I like to serve. My mother likes to serve taco grandes. Have you ever had, that? I don't know, what that is. No I don't know what that is. You take a flour tortilla and you fry it like a taco shell Okay. Right. and you, uh, for all the inside parts you brown hamburger and put some, um, tomato sauce in it, and, and I like to just add picante sauce to get the Mexican flavor so you don't have to mess with spices and stuff. Right. And, then, um, let's see, and then, and you heat up refried beans, and you cut up tomatoes and lettuce and grated cheese, and what you do to make it, you take the shell and you spread the beans on first, then you put the meat, then you put the grated cheese, and then you put, um, let's see, what's next, then, and I, I usually put the cut up tomatoes next and then the, um, lettuce, Right. and you can put, uh, like guacamole and someone in the Katy, I'm on the phone. Well, get a towel or go change. I'm on the phone. to Um, oh a little sour cream is good and, and chopped olives, Right. Right. Do you like to make your own guacamole? Uh, yeah. Yeah, we, we don't make it very often, I guess, but, uh, No, I don't very often. Usually when we get avocados my kids just like to eat them plain Oh do they? so. Yeah. Gosh, I just cut slices off and. I like an avocado sandwich, too. Gosh, Oh, that's good, that's good, or it's always good on top of something in the sandwich. Yeah, yeah. Oh, well, we made, I made guacamole that I would take to a pool party across the street the other day, and, and everyone there said they never made guacamole salad. off What you want. to where do they get it? Well, I don't know, I guess they don't have it at home, I can't imagine it would stay fresh long enough to, I guess they just buy it at a restaurant when they eat it at a restaurant maybe. They must, they just said they never had it at home. So I, I was concerned that, I thought, oh, taking this, you know, taking this as a dip, I thought, gosh, you know, sometimes when we have it at home it, it turns dark on the top so quickly, Yeah. so I just, It helps if you, I helps if you leave the pit in it. Oh, does that help? Yeah, if you leave the pit in the bowl with the thing, especially while you're waiting before you serve it. Okay, well, That's supposed to help keep the, um, keep it from turning brown so quick. Well, I'll have to remember that. Well, I just, I, that day I just took extra lemon and just squeezed across the top and it really stayed longer than I ever thought it would, Oh. so. Oh, that's good. I thought maybe that was the trick. That probably helps, too. Yeah, yeah, so. Oh, well. I guess we bought a lot of, we've been buying turkey lately, instead of beef, so Do you want it? even though, you know, Oh, yeah we have too, the ground turkey, it's, the meat is softer and I, everybody seems to like it. Do you want scrambled? So. Sometimes it seems to be cheaper, too, so we often buy it Yeah. Yeah we buy it, if you get it on sale, Yeah, yeah, so we bought that or we bought the, the filets, and then the chicken, or turkey nuggets, and I don't think anybody in my house knows the difference, unless you tell them. Yeah, yeah Or in, I don't think mine know either. In fact, we've been getting lunch meat that's turkey, too. It costs less than the other, I don't know, there's supposed to be something more healthy about it Yeah, yeah. Poultry instead of the beef and pork, yeah right, right. Well, I guess that's probably all we need to do for tonight. Yeah, I, I can't think of any other specific things I like to serve. Um, I always like dessert One salad that we always like, my sister-in-law always brings to family dinners, is a, I don't know what you call it. Uh, you mix, um, cottage cheese and a package of jello and a thing of, uh, like Cool Whip Right, right that's good and quick and easy, that's always good, Probably, probably the only family recipe that we, we make and it's really for special occasions is cheese cake, and we take a recipe from my grandmother, you know Uh-huh. it's probably fairly typical, cream cheese and egg and sugar, and the insides of a, Well, this is the season for vacations. And, uh, I guess for places I like to go, I enjoy going to the beach and having, having outdoor, being outdoors somewhere. Someplace that's very different than Texas. Right. And I, as far as, maybe, maybe as the summer heat comes along I would sort of like going somewhere where it's not so hot. And being able to be outside, enjoy outside activities, so. Yeah. Enjoy going places where, I enjoy playing tennis, so I like to have a tennis court there, or, or if it's at the beach, the beach is great. A pool is great. And, I , Where, where do you usually go? Oh, well, let's see, we have plans this year to drive up to the, uh, to Colorado. Uh-huh. And, we will be going to Estes Park, and Colorado Springs, so. Uh-huh. One year we went to the southwest corner of Colorado, into Durango and north of the area there. Uh-huh. And I, boy that's a nice, a nice place to visit. It's really nice at, there's a nice, nice train ride that goes up to the city of Silverton where they used to do a lot of silver mining. Right. And, uh, and then actually, north, north of that is another town and, a smaller, on a smaller scale, I guess, than Silverton. But, I, and then there's lots and lots of real, of mountains that are covered with, uh, boulders. Uh-huh. So, I guess people Jeep through that area and we did not have a chance to do that. But, I sure would like to go back there and do that again. Right. We are, uh, we have not had a vacation in several years, so, be our first chance in awhile, uh, we are going to go to, uh, Destin, Florida, which is a very nice beach area, if you are not familiar with it. I have not been, but I have heard it's wonderful. Oh, it's, it's gorgeous. Uh, we used to go quite a bit, uh, before I moved out here. We were closer and, uh, used to go almost every summer, uh, and, rent a condo there on the beach. Uh, there's quite a few, uh, there's a lot of development of, of condominiums there on the beach front. Right. And, uh, so they have, uh, they are very, very large condos. And, they have quite a few rooms, and, uh, so we, we will usually rent one for about a week or so. And, Right, and the, beach is nice, go down. Oh. the beach is really nice, isn't it. Yes, it's, uh, it's beautiful white sand and very clear blue green water, and a, lot of nice waves usually, uh, Oh. Sea shells. enough, enough to make it. I am sorry. Sea shells. Uh, there's not as many sea shells along there, uh, that's the only thing that they really do not, they have some, but not, not so much. Yeah. Um, if you go further down, uh, you will usually find some, but not right in there. Uh, I do not know why it is, but, uh, it just, it seems not, it seems not to have as many there, right there. But, uh, we, we enjoy it, uh, it's, the place where we stay is, we usually stay at the same place every year, and they are, like I say right on the beach. So, Oh, where do you stay? My husband always wants to go to Destin, we just have not gone that direction yet. It's a place called Jetty East, uh, J E T T Y E A S T, and it's, uh, called that because it's at the very end of, uh, a jetty there, which is, uh, sort of at the end of this little, little point Okay. and, uh, it's a, at the very end, it's the last set of condominiums there, and it's, uh, it's very nice. Uh, it's not very expensive, uh, you can, I think we are going to go with another couple and their kids. And, uh, they have a, we have a, uh, I think it's three bedroom or two bedroom, uh, condominium, which will sleep, I do not know, quite a few about , six or eight. And, uh, cause it's got, you know, pull out couches and all that, Right. and, uh, I think it's going to cost us, per couple, about three hundred dollars for the week. Oh. That's nice. Yeah, it really is, because, uh, the, uh, you know, it has got its own kitchen, full size, kitchen and everything. Great. And, this one, I think has two baths, and it's, the one we got is on the, on the beach side. So, Oh, nice. We have got a beautiful view and balcony, and, uh, just, you know, it's really a nice stay. Uh, in fact, we stayed there on our honeymoon, we, I had won a trip to the Bahamas, but did not get to take it on our honeymoon time, so we instead went there, uh, and loved it just as much as, as if we had gone to the Bahamas. We, in fact, we stayed an extra day or so, because we liked Oh. the, uh, the particular uh, uh, uh, suite we had gotten was very nice and, so we decided to stay. Great. Oh. But, uh, it's a pretty nice place, you will need to try to go and, stay there sometime. Well, we have just we have just, It's a little far from here, but, uh, Are you driving? Yeah, we are. We are, it will take, uh, a day and a half to get there, probably. Oh. So. Well, we are, the neighborhood that we live, they are switching to an alternate calendar this year, so it, starting, well, starting at the end of July, we will have two vacation weeks in October and two vacation weeks in March. Uh-huh. So that will be an interesting turn on vacations for our family. So, I, Uh, what does, what does that mean, alternate? Well, it's, what it truly is supposed to mean is nine weeks of school, three weeks of vacation, nine weeks of school, three weeks of vacation. Oh. Uh-huh. And, uh, in, and in the summer would be more like a two month, two month break. Right. So, and they hope to boost the, they hope to boost the learning of the children. Just the retention of the material for them. I see. So, uh, Kind of scattering the vacation out, throughout the year. Yeah, Yeah. yeah. So, it's so, anyway, so maybe, maybe within a year, we will see how that falls Right. We will head for, we will head for Florida, maybe in somewhat of an off season, instead of summer. Right. So, uh. Okay. Well, that's probably all we need to do today. Okay. Alright. So long. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye. All right and, and your occupation is teaching? I'm a, I'm a substitute teacher. Substitute teacher. Is, is this Pat I'm talking to now? Yes, it is, it is. Yeah, I'm a substitute teacher, in, I believe, the same school system we both work in. Right. Well, I was just trying to make an introduction, here Oh, okay. But, oh, and, and I haven't told you I'm going to be at a different school this year, now. Oh. I've just gotten a, another job at an elementary library at Barron. Well, I bet you're, you're, you may dress differently, then, for that. Right. I, well, not really. I've got the, every day I've got to, uh, read to kindergartners, so I'm going to be down on the floor with them. I've got about forty kindergartners I'm going to be doing, working with every day for, uh, you know, a half hour. So I'll be, I'll probably be wearing slacks as often as I do because I'm, I'm, if I'm going to be down on the floor messing with them, I'm not going to wear nylons and, you know nice nylons and dresses. Well, What I wear sometimes depends on, on how cold I think the school might be or what room I might be in since I'm a sub, and have different rooms to go to. And always carry a sweater. Right. Well, of course, you've been at Clark enough that you know it's always cold Yes. But, you don't know, uh, I guess at some of the other schools you go to unless you've been there. No, you try to layer, so you can add or, or or take off. Subtract. Right. And it's, it's interesting to notice when you go to different schools that some are a little more fancier than others and have a very casual, uh, I, I think some of the dress codes are different at different schools. That's one of things, one of the things I ask about, you know, whether, whether she would allow slacks and she said she doesn't have a problem with that, she just didn't like sloppy dressing. Uh-huh. And, and I said, well, you know, that was okay. And I'm, basically, I just, you know, I wear slacks year round except every, about once a week I try to wear a skirt. And, and in the winter, you know, I just add a, maybe wear longer sleeve shirts than I do in the summer. And add a heavier jacket or, you know, wear jackets more in the winter than I do in the summer. Uh-huh. That's about, I don't, I don't really work in a profession that requires that I wear a business suit and, you know, look really, Right, and, well, for me sometimes, they even have dress up days or they, you know, have, have spirit week that, that you wear your different outfits Yeah and you have to have the color for that particular school if you, if you choose to participate in spirit week. Right. And one might be a hat day where you have to come up with some sort of hat. And you never know that, though sometimes when you're going in, do you? No, but because I sort of stick to several schools, uh, I'm usually aware that there might be a spirit week going on and, and might, might remember to do it. Right, right. And then many schools on a particular day during, uh, I guess football season, maybe all year long, they wear the school colors for, uh, game day which, Right. On what, Thursday. Right, it might be Thursday for the high schools and it may be Friday for the senior high schools. Right, right. So that would kind of give you a, a clue, I guess and, and sometimes you get the long term stuff so you're aware ahead of time of what's going on. Yeah. That, so that's, and I don't know, you know, I, I think about, well, the dress code they have for the kids, you know. Are they put one on the parents, or the teachers and say they have to, the men have to wear ties and there can be no blue jeans worn and, because some of the teachers I know wear, uh, dress up jeans, not sloppy looking jeans but tapered jeans that they've had dry cleaned so they have got the crease Uh-huh. and, uh, you know, they'll wear it with a nice top. And, and, uh, I don't know that that looks that bad. But, if you're going to tell the kids they have to dress up, I guess you can tell the teachers that, too. Yeah, it, it, I see that the, I think the elementary school teachers, or maybe even the middle school teachers dress a little fancier than, than some of the high school teachers, I think. Uh-huh. But it, I think it varies, it, it just so much. Anything, anything can go. Uh-huh. And you can see in some of the departments in some of the schools, like history at Clark, they're all pretty fancy. But they're just sort of into clothes, and then there's other departments that aren't. Right. Right, right. And they'll just wear your common, ordinary, you know, whatever you might might say, Yeah, there's a couple teachers up there that, that do dress up more than others. Right. Right. And so you try to maybe follow those if you know you're going there, you don't want to dress too tacky because you're going to be in the same room with them. Right. Well, and you always, course, it's a standing joke, you know, when the, when the men come in in a, a tie and a suit coat, you say, you know, what, have you got a job interview today or, there, there's, There's usually, yeah, there's usually something going on that, that, uh, and would, would, uh, cause that to happen Or you're going to be observed. Yeah. and I, I don't know how a coach would feel if, that teaches health or you know, English, or whatever that they had to wear a tie. I, some of those male coaches, that might really, Right. They go around in their little coaching shorts or parachute pants. Right, and a T-shirt. Right. That I didn't ever understand. I mean we've got coaches that teach health for five periods and then have athletics sixth period so Yeah, well at Vines, the coaches don't do that. Whether, They, they dress pretty good, I would say and then they go to their coaching and they, they put their shorts on there. Change then. Well, see, that's what I would think. Uh-huh. That's what I would think. But, they, they don't look, you know, they don't wear their sweat pants or, or anything. They're, they dress like any other teacher would in in a classroom situation, not in P E. Right. Course, we had, had one coach, one period he'd teach P E and the next period Health and then a period of P E Those I can understand. and, and that's hard. Yeah. You know, so he just left warm-ups on, but, but, uh, no, I think, really probably, they could, they could, uh, really, and I don't know if, if they put, make uniforms the thing for the kids, I guess the teachers will have to follow suit with a dark skirt and a white top and, I don't think we'll ever get to that. You don't think so. No, I don't think. I think we're going the opposite direction. It's the parochial schools that I guess many they've had uniforms for years, I don't really know if they still do. Well, some of them, yes they do and, and it's not at some of the private schools, It certainly makes it easier to dress. but even there's a couple public schools in Dallas where, where the kids wear uniforms and the teachers, you know, dress in accordance with that. Uh-huh. Well, it's certainly cheaper and easier in the long run, I think, that you don't have to be concerned about your wardrobe. Uh-huh. Well I, I think it would make a difference at school. I, I don't think we should be spending time saying somebody's wearing torn clothing or wearing too shorts, too short or they've got the really short skirt and the black nylons and the high, you know, I mean it's a lot of trouble to, to take care of that. Uh-huh. And, of course, the kids say, then why bother, just let me wear what I want. And, and yet we can't to that either. I'd like to see them go to, to not necessarily a uniform, but saying that they've got to wear a button down shirt. You know, that would, that would alleviate any T-shirts with sayings on them. But if they could wear a button-down shirt and a pair of dark slacks and they could buy them anywhere they wanted and, Yeah, but I doubt that that would come that that will come about. And then the girls, Just Right. Yeah, I, I, I don't, no, not in Plano. No not, They may get Yeah. but they said in the Dallas schools that that helps their educational process there. Well, I think it does. It, it takes their minds off of, of trying to compete. Highland Park's thinking about going that route. Uh-huh. So it, and then I think that's going to push teachers to dress a lot more professionally than they do. Yeah, I, I don't think a lot of teachers are very professional but, Yeah, I agree with you on, Hi, good morning. Good morning. Do you have recycling in Sachse? Yes, we do. We've got, uh, a pickup twice a week that they come out Do, and, they have their own special bin that they hand it out to everybody and they take it. Oh really? Uh-huh. And it's twice a week? Uh-huh. Really? We have, recently started, uh, a bin program here in Plano where, uh, used to be we, we put all of our trash in green bags and the trash men came out twice a week and picked up. And now they have, uh, these large green containers and you have to put your trash that you don't recycle in there. And then they haven't started curbside recycling yet, but they're, but they're planning on doing it very soon. Apparently the trucks that they had, um, lined up, they needed the parts for, Saudi Arabia Oh. And so that put off the program for a while. But, uh, do you recycle? Um, my kids do Do they? Uh-huh. Put it that way. They, they've been recycling cans for extra money. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So that's, that's been their summer money and they're fixing to go to Disneyland. So, Oh, well So, that's great. Yeah. Well that's the way we started too. My daughter was going, to Camp Goddard, um, which is through the Plano school system, you know in the fall couple of years ago Uh-huh. and she had to earn money for it and she was too young to baby-sit. So, that's how she started. She started recycling cans and from there we now recycle glass and newspapers and, uh, aluminum cans and plastics. Really? Uh-huh. Uh-huh Is, is that the same way as with the aluminum cans where you go and they, weigh it or whatever and, No, the only thing we get paid for are the aluminum cans. Um. Um, the rest of it we just do because my husband has become hooked on recycling. And so, you know, we don't get paid for that but that's okay. Yeah. You know, it's, it's not that much of a bother really. You just have to rinse out your bottles or whatever and we use a lot of, two liter bottles. Um, and like milk cartons and things like that. It's amazing how much plastic you generate. Yeah, I was amazed at how many cans that we got Yeah. Yeah. because when the kids first went down, I said, that, you know that's great and I was thinking, you know maybe I'd help supplement it, you know when they turned them in Uh-huh. but it's amazing how many cans you go through. And how fast they accumulate. Yeah it really is. Well all that stuff and how much, how much we have reduced our waste. You know, that we, we're generating a week. Uh-huh. Um, I know our neighbors, when we first went to this bin program said, oh, there's no way, you know we're going to have to have pickup twice a week. They were real upset but they weren't, they were only picking up once a week. And we said to them, if you recycle, you'll, you know, you'll go two weeks without having to put out the green container. Yeah. And, uh, it's, it's really amazing. The other thing he does, that my husband a real stickler about is we don't collect our grass clippings. Really. No. He, he got a little mulcher thing. Uh-huh. It's just a little attachment for the lawn mower and we mow once a week. You know, no, no more often then that. And then the clippings just get mulched up and then just lay on the, on, on, the, uh, the lawn. And it's amazing, it's amazing. We don't collect any of that and that, that has cut down a lot in what we throw out. Yeah, we don't we don't catch it either, mainly because my husband rarely has time to mow the yard. So, if it mows, gets mowed, I do it normally. Uh-huh. And I can't mow the yard with the grass catch on it. It's too heavy. Yeah. So I just I just mow it and leave it. Yeah. It just soaks in. Sure it does. Sure it does. It really does and it, actually they say that you're wasting fertilizer if you're not, uh, if you're catching your grass clippings. Uh-huh. That, that's that much fertilizer you have to use because it does fertilize the lawn. It's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I like it better doing it. Well one, it cuts down on my mow time anyway Uh-huh, that's true. and you zip through it quicker. That's true. That's true. Well, I, I really think you're going to get hooked on plastics and paper before you know it. we probably will. It's, it's really not that much trouble. We keep a large plastic, uh, just a, you know, a garbage bag in the garage. Yeah. And as soon as we use something, you know, we crush it up and put it out there and then, you know, every few weeks we have recycling, a recycling center like near Wal-Mart. Uh-huh. They're, they have the containers that you can just go over there and drop it in and it's really no trouble. And, uh, I feel like at least we're doing something. Yeah. You know, , um, I read a book one time or a a magazine article and they said something about how you don't realize even just your small contribution, it seems like a small contribution but it's not. If everyone were to recycle just their newspapers, they would save thousands and thousands of trees a day. A day, just from not throwing out your newspapers. Really. And, uh, when you read that you think, well gee, maybe it is a big deal, you know. What, what makes me sick is, is when they show the dump sites you know, and, and, how big they are. Uh-huh Uh-huh. Or like in New York, the barges that that go up and down the, the river Yes. Yeah. and they don't have any place to put it and it just floats in the , it's like ugh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's, and that's really not necessary. No. It really isn't if everybody would do just a little bit it would make a big difference. It would make a huge impact. So, I'm excited about the recycling program in Plano I, I, can't wait for them to get it started. Um, because it'll be that much easier for us, you know, like I said, now we have to take it over to, to Wal-Mart. It would be real nice if they just came by and just picked up. Yeah. It, it's it's convenient out here for them to do it. Um Now what, what do they pick up? It's just, They pick up the, the plastic, the glass, and the newspaper. Oh they do? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And do you have to sort that? And they will do the Or do you just put it all in. No, you just put it in the one bin and, and I guess they do the sorting. But, um, they'll do the aluminum cans too but we don't give them those Right. Right. The kids keep those So, So you're doing that now? You're doing the newspapers and the glass? Uh-huh. Well we don't, we don't take the newspaper to begin with. When, neither one of us are home to read it. Oh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So we don't have the newspapers but the, the plastic and the glass At first, when it first started, it, it, it was hard. You know, because you're just used to throwing things. Uh-huh. My husband would, come home and go through the trash and say, you threw this away Uh! He would get, he would get all upset and I'd say, it's just such an automatic reaction. And now we think before we throw anything away. It is. I mean, it's really funny. We, we really, once you get into the habit of it, it's okay, it's just, it's just making it a habit that's hard Oh, I know. Well the kids have even got to the point where they, if they see anybody going in the trash can with a can, you know, they, they're, oh, no, don't do that and they go to the sink, they rinse them out, and they put them upside down, they let them drain and and then, uh, after a couple of days they take them all outside Uh-huh. and, I put them in a big bag anyway Uh-huh. and then they dump the bag out and then they crush them. So that's their activity thing. To go out there and crush. Uh-huh. That's fun. Yeah, yeah, So, yeah. Oh, that's a lot of fun. Yeah. That's a lot of fun. Well, that's great. Well I'm to hear you're, doing that. I, my sister was here recently from Connecticut and they have a deposit on all their bottles and cans. Oh really? Okay. Um, Where do you live? In Plano. In Plano? Yes. Where do you live? In Dallas. Oh, okay Uh, the air pollution isn't too bad in our area. So, we're very fortunate but I know in some areas, it's really, it, it really is bad. Huh Um, I was trying to think, uh, something we were watching the other day and they were doing an overview of Los Angeles, uh, from an area that was up higher and you literally could see the band of smog. That, uh, I've never been out there, but, it was, it was quite evident that, it was a real brown area I haven't either. Uh-huh. and, Well, I think it would be terrible to live in an area like that and, unfortunately, I think there are a lot of areas that are, that, that bad. Yeah. Particularly in the areas where there are industries, uh, where they are burning a lot of coal, and oil up, more up north, I guess, uh, Yes. Yeah I think it's a bigger problem. With the car pollution, anti-pollution devices, I think, uh, air isn't as bad it once was, from the cars, because we certainly have plenty of cars in our area. Yes. Well, I know, uh, that's been the concern in Europe. They hadn't, uh, we have friends in Germany and, uh, have family that live near the Black Forest area and large areas of the forest are being hurt from the cars because when we, uh, switched to the unleaded gas and, and had the emission control advice, uh, devices required on the cars, uh, that's something that Europe didn't do right away and now they're doing that and I guess it started in the last few years because they have found that in that particular part of the country, that's the only pollution that's been there. It's not an area that is industry but they were losing a lot of, uh, trees and a lot of, From acid rain? Um, I guess. From, from something that the car was, uh, was giving, I think it gives off, uh, in the emissions, it gives off gases which combine up in the atmosphere, uh, and form a, a weak acid. Yes, and, It just makes the rain fall on the acid side and after a period of time, I think that accumulates in, uh, trees because they take it up through their roots, as well as it landing on the leaves, on surfaces, like you've seen what it's done to buildings even where it's really bad. Yes. Yeah. What's interesting, several years ago, I took a course, uh, on, uh, well, it was actually, it was put on by the power companies and, about the various sources of energy and how much pollution there was, and there wasn't from various kinds of, of energy. And, uh, at that point in time, one person that was a speaker brought up the topic of acid rain and it was kind of pooh-poohed, you know. Oh, you're making a mountain out of a molehill, kind of thing. And it's turned out that, that's been very true, what he was forecasting about the accumulation of, of the pollutants in the air and the acid rain and what it would do to foliage. So, it's kind of interesting the change in perspective from when I took that course. Now, a lot of people are really afraid of nuclear. Uh, I'm not afraid of nuclear, having had that course because of how the nuclear that, uh, they use is not bomb quality, and, we're so strict with all our controls in the United States. The chances of, of an accident are slight, and, it doesn't pollute the air at all. It's safer to be around a nuclear plant then it is to be around a coal plant. Many more deaths have occurred in and dealing with coal plants then ever around nuclear plants. It's kind of funny because people are just petrified, at least some are, at the thought of nuclear. Yes. So, I don't know. In Europe there's a lot of dependency on nuclear power and they recycle the fuel and then instead of, of, some people are really afraid to recycle the fuel because they're afraid it could become, uh, bomb quality. But, that's the only sensible thing to do, is recycle and reuse the fuel and not store it down in the ground. As far as I'm concerned, where it could eventually, perhaps, there's some problem, uh, pollute the groundwater. So, I don't know what the answer is. The best answer, of course, would be solar or, uh, fusion, or something clean Yes. Well, we've got a problem on the line, don't we. Yeah. I, I get that sometimes, um, my line gets some static. I don't know why. Uh-huh. But, uh, solar, of course, would be the clean, the cleanest. Well, I know it's , um, we did have a solar water heater when we lived in Houston and, uh, oddly enough I thought our part of the country was ideal. I can't hear you at all for all this static. Oh. I don't know what to, usually it's the other phone I have trouble with. It must just, be on the line. Can you hear me? Now I can again. Okay. I don't know what, uh, I, I don't know what the problem is but, uh, when we lived in Houston we had a solar water heater and we had thought this part of the country would be ideal for solar homes and solar energy and we have enough clouds that, uh, there are other areas that would be better suited. That surprised me because I think, we have a tremendous amount of, um, sunny days. Uh-huh. And, and it, yes, it can be used and it can help but, uh, that was a problem that they were still working on. But, Oh yeah. It, it's still got a long way to go. Well I, It's just, you know, a possible solution in the future, I think, maybe to help in some ways. Yes. It may not in all ways. Maybe they'll come up with fusion. You know, be able to control it. I don't know how long that'll take, but, one of these days, because that's perfectly clean. Yes. It's just we can't control it. Right now it takes more energy to cause fusion to occur then you get out, so, it isn't, not at all, and you can't control it unless you gotten a huge electromagnetic field, so that's not going to work. At least not now. But, uh, who knows what the future will hold. Uh, as far as energy goes, I, I think, with solving some of the energy, future energy problems, we'll probably solve some of the pollution problems as well. Uh, I hope so I do to. I like to be optimistic, I don't like to be pessimistic about these things. Well, I do think, um, I mean, you've already mentioned several things, I think, uh, just the change in attitude and the fact that more people are aware there is a problem and more people are interested in, uh, We have one earth, to live on Yes and we got to take care of it. Yes. Well, and, and for the future generations, too. Uh, Uh-huh. I've noticed students are, are much more, you know, young, young people are much more receptive to ideas about the environment and protecting the earth. Yes. And so, if we can raise it, uh, you know, generations with those concerns, we'll solve a lot of our problems. I'm afraid, I know I was part of the me generation where they didn't, so many of them didn't, people didn't care. You know, it's whatever, you know, recycle, well, if it's a problem, forget that. Uh, not throw the trash out the car window and leave it in the car and then throw it away? How horrible, you know. Now, I've always done those kinds of things because I just didn't like messes, and fade ... So, how do you feel about capital punishment? Well, it's, I am pretty much against it Really? Yeah. How about you? Oh, I'm pretty much for it. Oh, good we can have a debate. We'll have some interesting discussion, I guess. Well, like, um, I don't know, I think that I, one of the reasons that I'm against it is that, uh, um, I'm afraid of someone losing their life, for um, wrongly, Wrongfully. Yeah. Right Yeah. and, uh, another reason, one of the arguments, that really, I really actually have been kind of ambivalent about it, but one of the arguments that really, uh, made me feel kind of strongly against it, is that, uh, you know, someone said to me once, well, imagine if the person you love most in the world, like your mother or something, if someone killed her, wouldn't you want to see them killed for the punishment? But then I thought about it and I thought, well, the loss that I would feel at losing my mother someone else would feel that about that person no matter how rotten they were, somebody loves them Yeah, it would never be equal, Right. Right. Yeah. How about you? Well, I guess, you know, I, I guess I can see it from several different perspectives, but, you know when I hear about things like, you know, what they've, what they've been reporting about in Milwaukee, you know I, I, to me I don't see any way of rehabilitating the guy. You know, maybe there is, I don't know. Yeah, that's true. But, you know, and, you know, he's never going to be, to me, a functioning part of society. He's already been either paroled, or whatever, for child molestation. Uh-hum. I mean, I don't know, I just, I really have a hard time with that because he really sounds like a real sicko. And, you know, for the things he's done, I don't know, I guess it's either, you know, put him in jail for the rest of his life, you know, or or capital punishment I guess. You know Right. Well you know that's true, because um a lot of um these conversations I've had on this program this these telephone conversations have revolved around um criminal you know justice. Oh, really. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Or whatever and most of the time I hear myself saying well you know we don't have enough room left in the jails and people crime is still climbing and we need to have different punishments you know. Right. but I just am scared of capital punishment, I guess. I I mean you know there there is always that chance but you know I guess to some people it'd almost be better to die to them than to spend life in prison or whatever I don't I mean I don't know but uh, you know, but that would be a situation where if somebody you know was gonna be, you know you you you really throw a lot on the courts, hopefully that they won't do that you know for any for any situation really. But, uh, you know, when I, you find somebody just like that situation, I mean, it was disgusting when I read about it today. And, and when you find someone like that, that you know is guilty, he confessed already to killing eleven I, I'd, you know, I guess I have a hard time feeling merciful toward him, Uh-huh. and Right. Especially when it's so far removed. If it's no one that I know then you have to think about the taxpayers paying the shelter and feed and clothe them for the rest of their life. Right. Right. And trying to rehabilitate him, too, and, you know, Letting him out again Right, exactly. And, uh, you know, nobody wants that. Uh-huh. You know, everybody would be just as scared to death, you know. We, we've had a real problem here in Texas with, uh, prison overcrowding and they've been releasing people left and right and, you know, they've committed murders and rapes and everything else, and, you know, you just think, you know, where's the justice here. Uh-huh. I mean, you know, they're not even having to serve out what they should be serving. That's true. You know, I just recently moved to Massachusetts. I'm not sure what their policy is on capital punishment and that was one of the questions but, uh, I do know that they are notorious for paroling people. Oh, really? Yeah, when they're, when, and then having them reconvicted for violent crimes. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, I guess, they said, you know, do you think it should be restricted? I guess, if it were, if, if, because a lot of states do still practice capital punishment Uh-huh. I guess violent crimes would be the crimes where I can see it making the most sense. Yeah. You know, violent crimes with no, uh, with just malicious intent. Right, exactly. Yeah. Well, you know, that's exactly, I mean, I'm, I'm not saying I, I think capital murder or capital punishment is the perfect solution in every case, you know, especially because there are some cases when you just don't know and I, I think there's a, a shadow of a doubt, you know, like with this, this guy in, in Milwaukee. I mean, it, he pretty much confessed to it. I mean, they, you know, just everything, I mean, cannibalism and everything else, uh, Yeah. Hang? Because, I mean, that's just awful. And what is he going to do prison to the other people Right. Well, I have a I have a hunch that, you know, the other prisoners aren't going to be too happy with him anyway. Either, I mean, you know they, I don't know, from, from what I hear about jail life is not any way to live. Right. But, uh, I don't know. It's just, Well, I was, I saw on a human interest story, or whatever today, there was a woman who was just being paroled and trying to make it back, she was off drugs and everything, Uh-huh. but she said, uh, you know, in prison you can get anything. You can any drugs you want. There's, it, it's just like being outside. You know, people find ways around. Really. And there's a power structure that you have bow to and, and, it really isn't, for some people who have been there for over, and over, and over, it really isn't, uh, as bad. I mean, there's, it's not that bad of a life as it should be for the punishment aspect. Yeah. Yeah. But the society is turned against punishment and more towards rehabilitation and maybe that's why, one of the reasons why crime has gone up, because it's not so scary anymore. Yeah. That, Yeah. Well, you know, especially like repeat offenders. It, it just appalls me that they can be out, you know, they even get a ten year sentence and be out in, in two, or three, or four years. You know, that's, that's scary because, you know, I'm not sure, I think we're paroling them without even knowing if they're, you know, going to be committing any more violent acts or not. Right. And what they're going to be doing when they get out Right. And, it, it's, it's really scary I you know, I, I don't know what the perfect solution to that is but I know that especially with violent crimes where, you know, you're nearly a hundred percent convinced that they're guilty and without much repentance or anything else, you know, then, I don't know, I, I guess, I, I just really don't see much use for this guy in Milwaukee, you know. For instance, I mean, that's just, I could see capital punishment in a case like that. And, you know, for, for other people, too, that do things, like that. But, uh, when, uh, my wife and I are both participating in this survey and she picked up the phone and when she heard the topic, she said, capital punishment, so she was, uh, Handed it to you? Yeah, well luckily it was for me. Because they want, they coordinate the times so it can, only be one or the other. Oh, oh, I see. So, she tried to enter her number and it wouldn't work so she said, whew, it's for you. So, but, uh, you know, I don't know, I, I struggle with it, but I, I really think that in, in terms of like this, I'd, I think that it, it might not be such a bad thing. Because, I don't know that anybody, I don't know that anybody would feel good, you know, like if you let someone like that loose in your community. You know, I, I, I'm you'd have to be scared to death Well, maybe if they could, uh, if they had more money or more, more resources to work more on rehabilitation, I mean, deep down I think every, every human Okay, do you subscribe to magazines yourself? I don't, uh, subscribe to any magazines at home, because we get so many at work that, uh, I need to read that, uh, I just don't take any at home. Oh, I see. I get, uh, MCCALL'S. Of course, anything that appeals to the homemaker since that's my main line of interest. Uh-huh. And then once in a while I'll pick up a WORKING WOMAN or something and realize why I don't want to go back to work What I enjoy about staying home. Uh-huh. Right. And, uh, I read magazines mainly because they're fast and if I want to relax while I watch T V, of course, I'm one of those that does two things at once, and, uh, I read GOOD HOUSEKEEPING and BETTER HOMES and MCCALL'S. And I like them because they're kind of short and to the subject. Right. I I used to take MCCALL'S and GOOD HOUSEKEEPING and, uh, several magazines like that a few years ago at, at, at home. Uh-huh. And then you stopped them all. But, yeah, the subscriptions ran out and I never renewed them. And I found that I really didn't have time at home since I work, to read them. I find that, uh, about two years is probably my max on subscribing to one in particular Uh-huh. and then I kind of get turned off by it. Other than GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. Uh-huh. GOOD HOUSEKEEPING is the one that kind of sets around for when, uh, when I'm really have time and I really want to read something, you know. Uh-huh. I don't get into books too often because I have so many things that I stay occupied with uh, on a general basis, Uh-huh. and we travel a lot so I enjoy reading parts on travel in the various you know, different ones. Uh-huh. Right. And I get into, uh, newspapers, so I guess that kind of tells you what kind of person I am. I'm, read it fast and put it down Right. Uh-huh. When, when I had my magazines at home, I would find that I kind of skimmed through them and looked at the pictures, you know, and if something caught my eye, then I might read something, Right. but otherwise than that, you know, they were, uh, you know, not too useful to me. You know Well, That's what I do. I got some good recipes from them sometimes, but You clip recipes and you save them forever and you never really use them. Uh-huh. That's right, that's right. And then every so often you weed through them and you think, where did I ever put that recipe. Right. But, uh, that's mainly my, uh, whole idea on you know, short subject, uh, reading and things like this. Uh-huh. I, I subscribe, like I said, to a few and once in a while I buy that new magazine called FIRST on the newsstands or something like that. Uh-huh. But I kind of stay with my own subject matter what, uh, pertains to my daily life at the present time. Right. Well, since I work with computers during my work, I have to keep up on all the new computer equipment and software and everything. And I have to read the magazines, you know, such as BYTE, and COMPUTER WORLD and MAC WORLD and all of these, uh, magazines such as that, so I really, you know, just, I can see that it will be a very long time, probably, before I subscribe to any magazines at home. Right. Well, sometimes, if, you know, if you're in transportation, in public transportation I know that people will read them on something like that. Uh-huh. Right. But I think, and the idea is to, is and good, I can just dump them at the other end and I don't have to carry them back with me. That's right. I do that when we travel. I always have my head with a magazine somewhere as we drive or wherever we, Uh-huh. no matter what it is, air travel or anything and I, Uh-huh. Right. If I, if I go on an airplane ride or something, I'll stop in and pick up a, you know, a COSMOPOLITAN or something to read on the airplane. Right, although now, But, uh, you know, that's basically just about I'll buy a crossword puzzle magazine every now and then That's when you really have time. Now see your computer ones, I got into computer work somewhat, uh, we have our own computer system at home Uh-huh. and I tried, uh, reading the magazines hoping I would get more from it and it was just above my head without having someone there to give me the advice as I went along. Uh-huh. It was, you know, kind of a little bit more than what I needed, so I never did get into them. I when I bought the computer, all of a sudden I was receiving them, for some unknown reason, through the mail. I think they all thought, well, we have a live one She'll subscribe Uh-huh. But they were wrong. I never got into them. But, but, Okay? Right. All right, I guess we might as well end our conversation at this point. Okay. It was nice talking with you. It was nice to talk with you, too. Okay. Thank you. Uh-huh. Bye, now. Bye-bye. Do you have any hobbies? Yes, I do. What are yours? China painting and ceramics. Ooh, how great. I enjoy it. Uh-huh Oh, uh, ceramic painting. I enjoy the china more. The china more. And now that I have my eyes, corrected to the point that I can see the delicate part of china painting, I do enjoy it. How did you ever get into that? That sounds so interesting. My husband kept begging me, and he's been dead now for twenty years, so you understand that this was a long time ago. But he finally brought me the china, the book, the brushes and he said I have made arrangements for your lessons. How I, And I said I'll do it for three months and if I don't like it, that's it. Well, I painted an awful lot until his death, which was several years. And it has just been the most relaxing, enjoyable self-satisfying thing I've had. I, Now, do you do it just for yourself, or do you do it to give as gifts, or do you actually sell it? I have sold quite a bit. I give a lot to our two daughters that are grown and have their home and then I just have the rest of my house with lot of hand painting in it. Uh-huh. Oh, that sounds now, do you work outside of the home? I have just retired. You've just retired. Yes. Oh, oh, what a great hobby No, it's not, I, It's a great hobby, but don't retire Don't retire. Oh, Well, see, I don't, I never, uh, returned to work for the I have stayed home for about the last nine years. Oh, have, well, We've transferred around, and our last area was in a rural section right on the lake, uh, on Lake Erie. So the lake life appealed to me, and my husband's working and he left it up to me if I worked or not. Wow. So, in my spare time, I love to sew. There aren't too many people around anymore that really enjoy sewing, but I do make all my own clothes and we recently purchased a new home, so I enjoy doing my, uh, toppers for my window applications and things like that. Oh, uh-huh. But, uh, just when I thought I really enjoyed my hobby, yours sounds great Well, my sister is the seamstress of the two of us. And, but she doesn't china paint so we both have our expertise side. That is excellent. What part of Ohio are you in? We're in the I'm in the suburb of Cleveland and I'm about, uh, fifteen miles, probably, from downtown Cleveland, something like that. And Cleveland is located right on Lake Erie and prior to this, we were fifty miles west from here. So we were right on the lake. And Cleveland isn't all as bad as what you've heard Oh, what's that, And you do find people, uh, into the crafts and the things that, uh, various things for spare time, but, I have never heard and I have actually never run into anyone into the china painting and I'm just intrigued with it. If you ever start, be sure and start with a large piece that you can, I mean a large flat plate. Um, that way you can get the feel of, you're not cramped on these smaller objects. Right, where you're getting into the delicate work. That's right. Now, do you, where did you first get your lessons from? In Abilene, Texas. Through a, uh, an adult ed, or strictly a china type, She just taught china painting. Uh-huh, and, Oh, how marvelous. Then, then we had so much fun there, I had a friend from Albany, which is about thirty-six miles away, and we would meet every Thursday morning at our instructor's home, because she did our firing for us, and she would help us and we bought lots of equipment from her, supplies and it was just such a delightful time. And then after I, Oh, and it's so nice, Beg pardon? It must be so nice for you, now that you're retired. I have been a little bit negligent about it because I was so tired when I had to go to work after my husband's death. So I have put it aside for a little while, but I'm, I have just found me an instructor to get started again, uh-huh. Oh, isn't that great. And you'll probably really, uh, regain your enthusiasm for it once you get into a, a class again. Uh-huh. Of course, I just have one beautiful with peonies, uh, umbrella stand, and I have two daughters and they're both, Uh, what what is your practice as far as budgeting? Do you manage the money? Well, I, we talk about it, but I'm usually the one that sits down and puts the pencil to the paper and, and tries to somehow make the ends meet, which, uh, Oh, I see. That's how kind of I am, too. Are you married? Um, yes. You are. Yes. I think the women for the most part end up managing the money. My husband always says he earns it, and I have to spend only what he earns It, I don't mind the spending, it's just that trying to, trying to get what you need out of, out of what you have. That seems to be our challenge. Well, I don't work outside of the home, and he always threatens that when I spend more than, what's coming in, I have to go back to work I see. so I, I manage it Well, I'm, I'm at home also, so, it does get rather interesting trying to survive on one salary, uh, Now, do you actually follow a budget? Well, we pretty well do. Um, several years we didn't, and we found that we just weren't making the most of what we had, and so we, we, um, set aside a certain amount each week that goes for things that have to be paid for, you know, just our bills. And then what's left we divvy up. We try to save a little bit, although we're not always successful, and then the rest of it just goes for normal weekly needs. Well, that's pretty much the way we do, um, or we did in the past, I would say. Uh, at this point our children are grown, and so I really don't have the obligations there any more that we have to balance to you know, get things together for them, Yeah. Right. and I really just keep very good records, and most of our expenses are fairly the same every month with the exception of utilities and things like that, and I try to keep my MasterCards and things paid currently Right. Uh-huh. uh, I don't always succeed at that. I usually keep one with a low interest rate, and I put things on there that I think I'm not going to get to Right. and then I have another one, but for the most part, our mortgage and our utilities at this point, we're in a new home, and, uh, they take a pretty big chunk compared to what they used to Yeah. so I'm still getting used to that, but we make sure that we just do not buy unless we really can see how we're going to pay for it ahead Right. and we do not buy us, new cars. Uh, do you get into car, Well, we had new cars, um, always until about four years ago, my husband, um, owned his own company and it went under, and so we could no longer afford that monthly payment, and now it just seems just such a large amount of money to spend that, that we do have a used car, well, he has a company car also, but for our personal car we have a used car. Um, do you think that it's wiser to buy used? We do for us very much so. In fact, we are in a position that most of our friends why, wonder why we just don't go to a new car, you know, whatever, and I said look, you guys are all into car payments, Right. we haven't had car payments for so many years, I love it this way, and recently we just created the laugh among everyone because we had a car that we really liked and it has eighty-two thousand miles on it Uh-huh. and we were, kept saying, wouldn't it be great if we could find another one just like it. Believe it or not, we did, we found one, one newer Oh, no, the worst part is, it's the same color Uh-huh. and so everybody's saying, you're kidding, you have two cars the same, and I said, you know how when you have a bad one, you say, never again That's right I said, well, we had one, and we found one with just seventeen thousand miles on it Wow. and it's an eighty-five, and so I said, Hey, this was a cinch, we paid for the car, and we still know now that we have this car to put all the miles on. Right. This is for all the long running back and forth on, you know interstate driving and things, and we intend to replace our other one with a much newer car in the next couple of years, or next year probably. Do you, um, buy from dealers or from individuals? Generally from dealers, and uh, it depends, because I don't like to sell what we're trading in to an individual uh, unless we, we have done that when we had a really good one that we wanted to sell Right. Right. you know, we were going up to a larger one, but we have found that by trading in and going through a dealer, and we always make a deal. I mean, we have walked out of more dealerships saying, don't bring us the manager, and all of that unless you want to bring him right away. You're going to get one shot at us Yeah. we will, you know, and they say, Well, you're kidding, you know. I no, this is the price we're going to give you out the door. We don't want to hear about taxes, Okay, I guess our topic is, um, advice about going to college. Uh-huh. Do you have children of your own? Oh, no, I don't have any children, but I'm still going to college. Oh, are you? Uh-huh. What school are you going to? N C State. Oh. Are you enjoying it? Um, well, it's a lot of work Are you working on your, um Bachelor's degree? My Bachelor's. Uh-huh. And what field of study are you in? Um, it's actually in computer science Uh-huh. and I have a special interest in Voice I O. Oh, well, that's neat. Are you from North Carolina? No, I'm actually from Amarillo, Texas, originally. Oh, are you really? Uh-huh. Oh. Well, what took you to North Carolina? Oh, um, the service. Oh, I see. Yeah. Well, that was one of the things I was thinking about in school, um, I went to Texas Tech out in Lubbock and, uh, I had a friend, my roommate went to Tech also, Uh-huh. but she was from New Mexico Uh-huh. and she had to pay out of state tuition Ooh. and I think that would have, uh, played a real big part of my decision It would have played a major part in mine. yeah, because, um, she was of course back then it was so much cheaper than it is now. It was like four dollars a semester hour Uh-huh. and so I was going to school for, you know, just a few hundred dollars a semester, and she was paying forty dollars an hour Golly, so she paid ten times as much because she was out of state. Yeah, luckily I've paid in state tuition the whole time. Oh, that's good. Yeah, so I think that would be one thing I would definitely consider try to find a school within the state that, um, I liked well enough to attend. Uh-huh, um, Uh-huh. The second thing is some colleges only offer the, uh, liberal arts and, uh, whereas like State, they offer engineering courses Uh-huh. Right, yeah. so depending on what your major is, or medical, you might want to some, um, attend somewhere like Tech Yeah, right. and, um, aside from the, uh, well some schools may even give you financial aid, where another one won't. Yeah, that's true, that was something else I had, was, I had government aid, of course, but, uh, it was wonderful, because I got one of those grants that you don't have to repay Oh, really. and, yeah, it was so nice Um. it paid most of my tuition, and, um, a lot of the book costs and that kind of thing so. Wow, that's great. Yeah, I really, Was it a Pell grant? I'm sorry, what did you say? What kind of grant was it? Well, it was called a B E O G, a Basic Equal Opportunity Grant Uh-huh. and it was from the government, and it was based, at first it was based on my parents' income. My parents had five children and really didn't make enough money to send any of us to school. Uh-huh. And so, uh, because based on the number of children and the amount of money, uh, my father brought in, I got a small grant Uh-huh. but then after that, I was on my own, working and, you know, trying to go to school on my own. So then I got a real big grant, because the amount of money I was making really didn't compare Wow. Uh-huh. So, it was kind of nice. Um. I don't know if those are still available or not, but, Uh, I'm not quite, there's, there's a lot of different organizations who, uh, who do give grants, but, uh, I'm not exactly sure which ones they are and how much, they, you know, they generally run. Yeah, yeah, this was great, it was just based on, you know, how much your tuition costs and everything, and generally it paid everything, so I went to school about three years of my four for almost nothing, Uh-huh. so that was, Golly, that's great. Yeah, it was really nice. Oh, another thing. I've got a, I've got a degree from another college Uh-huh. and, uh, something that might play a part is the size of the college. Right. Uh, the smaller schools can give you a lot, uh, a lot more specialized instruction and attention than the larger schools Uh-huh. Yeah. in the larger schools you get caught up in the bureaucracy, and and they just give you a teacher's assistants, you know Uh-huh. Uh-huh. instead of a scholar you get a T A That's right. and, uh, you don't get near the, uh, quality of education and as well, the, uh, smaller schools often times don't cost as much. Um, I didn't know that. Oh, yeah. Um. Well, I guess the only comparison I had ever heard was between a, a Christian college, because I thought about attending Abilene Christian instead of Texas Tech Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and of course the price was just astronomical compared to Tech Um. the Christian college was so much more expensive. But I guess some of the other smaller colleges might, might be a lot different. Um Oh, I, at State, I think it's just a waste of somebody's money to go there Really? it's really a shame because of, you know, the instruction Yeah. um, I'd rather go to any other college, you know, in the state, and I would definitely get my money's worth, uh, much better than State. Yeah, huh. It's kind of unfortunate, because they've, they've just grown so big that they just don't care about the students any more. Yeah, yeah, you're just a number. Yeah, they're, they're bent on, uh, seeing how much land, how much more land they can get, and how much, uh, how much of the campus they can build up Right. and, uh Yeah. yeah, it's really a bad situation here. Oh, that's a shame. Well, I, I felt a little cheated at Tech, also. Once I got into my, I, um, majored in, What, what do you feel is the, the major change that's been going on? That's a tough question. We are now able to work full eight hours a day and still do our housework. Right Don't ask me. I think that has been the major change, is that, women feel they need to go out and do this, they, they no longer feel it's, uh, it's no big deal to, to stay home and raise your family any more. Well it has no credibility any more. I know it, and I, I think, I think that's really sad, because I think there's going to be a generation of kids that are going to grow up raised by somebody else. Well, I'm a school teacher, and I'm in charge of raising them, so I can appreciate it. You don't, well I'm, I'm still home with, with my last one, and I wouldn't trade, change a minute of it for anything Oh, good for you, good for you. But, I, I can't, I can't help but think that eventually the pendulum's going to swing back the other way again. Well, you know, it's interesting, because when I heard the topic, I was thinking, uh, this summer Oprah had a T V show about wives that refused to go to work, and how their husbands thought they were terrible, Uh-huh. and one woman had four children, and her husband said she wasn't pulling her own weight in the family Oh, yeah, that's, that's frightening Yeah, it, it's sad, and, it, you know, it was almost from the audience participation it was almost a social issue, you know Uh-huh. people were siding with the husband, saying, You've got to go to work, if you have these four children, you've got to support them, and nobody would give her credit for being home and raising them. Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I think too many people feel they need to live a more extravagant life-style than necessary That's true. uh, you know, to, I, I don't think, you know, the kids don't benefit from the bigger house and the fancier cars, and, and, and this type of thing. I think that they would from the, you know, attention or whatever That's true. uh, but, it, I, uh, I, I don't know, I, I see it as a major problem and I think it's going to have to swing back the other way, because I think we're going to have an awful lot of kids who are going to have major problems from all this. Yeah, well, you know, I, as I said, I teach school Uh-huh. and, gosh, I'm trying to think, I don't know, I have one woman, one mother that I know is home, but she also has ten children. What, what grade do you teach? Six, seven and eight. Six, seven and eight. I've got a uh, where do you live? Are you out, In Richardson. In Richardson, we're in Plano here. Oh, okay. I have a daughter in middle school, and, uh, I know there aren't very many, she has a few friends that have moms who are still at home, but do you see, um, you know, do you ever, do you ever see problems, you know, that you feel you know, that the kids are left alone too much, Oh, yeah. and, I've got one child, um, that stays with me every day until five, because his mother doesn't come home until seven, and he doesn't want to be home from three thirty until seven by himself. He stays at school? Uh-huh. And the school allows that? Well, he stays with me Uh-huh. and I have a tendency to work late. I work until six Uh-huh. so he stays with me until five thirty and then goes home Oh, my, and, you know, I have lots of kids, because they know I'm there late Uh-huh. I'm a slow mover to say the least, but, um, they'll come in and say, Can I stay with you because I don't want to go home to an empty house. And that's frightening, because, you know, the, when I said I, I'm, I'm raising them, I am, because we're talking about boy friends and we're talking about what the girl said in class, and, you know, what's right because there's no mother at home Uh-huh. No mother to talk to. and, um, it makes a difference, I, and just the social values, Well, I've just, do you, do you feel it will swing back the other way, or do you feel there's just going to be a big push to, uh you know, for, for more, more and more day care type situations? I, I don't know. I, I have a feeling we're going to go more and more, I've got a twenty-one year old female, and I've got twenty-two year old male child, children, and I listen to my daughter, and she's going to work, and she's going to buy her house, and she's going to get her car, and then she's going to have her children, and then when, you know, they go on one salary, will they be able to sustain what their life-style is. Uh-huh. And they're back to work, and, you know, I agree with you, I was raised in a generation we didn't need all those things Yeah. and we lived without them, we did fine, Okay. I've got a, you know, I have a real good method of starting to get the budget balancing and then that's get half of the government, rid of the half of the government payroll. I think that would probably, uh, be very possible, and, and we really wouldn't feel it in our services Not all, I, you know, I don't know if you've ever been to Washington D C. Yes, I have. Uh, you, you've seen that which was on there and the offices and in light of these, uh, hearings we've all been sitting through the last two weeks, we have very definitely decided that every department there is just overstaffed. Right. They really don't have enough to keep them busy to keep their noses at, in their own business of what they're doing. Right. And the other thing is, uh, besides that I think, uh, two things that very definitely need looking at, one is foreign aid. I have a real problem with all the foreign aid that is going to the countries that really have no use for us. Right. I find that a total waste and part of the defense budget. Uh, again being just a voter and a taxpayer, you know, working through our congressman, I don't think there's too much that I'm going to be able to do about it, but I believe in taking an active part in politics, so. Yeah. Well, I, one, one thing that really bothers me beyond, beyond cutting what they spend is that just really aggravates me when the big businesses do not end up paying taxes and the, um, regular normal taxpayers are, you know paying such a large proportion of, of our personal income Uh-huh. and then the, uh, corporate, you know, industries just don't seem to not pay proportionally. Right. I think that that would, would help a lot. I guess in a way it would trickle down to us in the prices of things, but I don't know. It's just hard to, hard to take and, you know, see so much of our paycheck go out and then realize that they have all the loopholes that they can use. Uh-huh. And, uh, seems like some rather large chunks of money could come from, from that direction. But, Yeah, they don't, they don't seem to, well, I really think the biggest problem and then the Taft-Rudman Act is supposed to help that. The biggest part is they have no accountability for what they're doing. Yeah. I mean this nonsense that's coming through now about, uh, uh, lowering payments on Social Security and a few other things that Bush has in mind in order to boost the economy because people have more money as it's, gets, it's ridiculous. Yeah. If they don't have that money now, bringing in less is not going to help the problem as far as the government. Not, not going to help. It's never helped my, my personal situation I I can't say it would help with theirs either No. Yeah, and thank God we don't operate our budget, the way they operate theirs or we'd all be in, in dire trouble. Amen . But that's, uh, yeah, I don't know what we're going to be able to do about it but I guess it's sitting around so long that it's sort of like our mortgages. I don't ever expect to pay mine off before I die so I guess why should the government Isn't, that's the way they're thinking these days anyway. It seems, seems to be. I, you know, I, it really does bother me when I think about, you know, leaving our children with, with this sort of, uh, a national problem that we can't seem to find an, an answer to it, uh, I don't know. I, I don't think it ever will really. I, maybe if they ever get to the point the biggest, you know, the biggest outlaid expense has always been either wars or defense. Right. Really. If they were to take half of what they spend on that and put it on some economic, you know, intergovernmental or inter United States like programs that one really might. Yeah. I, I believe in paying my share, and I don't mind, uh, paying for some of these fringe benefits that people are entitled to. But I just, I just sometimes feel like I'm being used. But, uh, again I don't think we'll be able to do anything about it, so. Well, that's, that's quite possible. I guess we have to, have to keep plugging away a little bit or it will just totally get even more out of control but I, I don't know. Yeah. Bite the bullet. It sounds like you have a baby there. Yeah. I, I do. Uh-huh. She's a, we're not feeling too well over here so that, Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, that's a shame. She's not the one going to Washington, huh? No, no. She's, Oh I don't think I could part with her. Okay. Okay, Geri. We've probably been on long enough. Okay. They didn't cut us off, but I think that will probably do it so it was nice talking to you. Okay, well, thanks. Okey-doke. Bye-bye Bye-bye. What's your favorite T V show? Oh. You know, I used to like ST. ELSEWHERE. Uh-huh. That's one of my old favorites. Um, and that's, I'm being beeped, so I'll just ignore it. Um, and now, I, I did like THIRTY SOMETHING Uh-huh. oh, yes, my daughter says NINE OH TWO ONE OH. We like that one. Yeah, that's one of my favorites. Good, and how old are you? I'm twenty-eight. Oh, so you're little bit younger than I am, but yeah, I think if my seventeen year old, my fourteen year old, my other two children like it, I'm over forty, and I like it. I think it's wonderful. Yeah, it's a good show. I like MURPHY BROWN and DESIGNING WOMEN, too. Oh, yeah, now see, I, we are so busy with, all of our kids are in sports, and I hardly ever watch T V, but that's one that, that we watch. And then Sunday nights we watch, uh, LIFE GOES ON. Yeah, I like that, that's, that's a good show, too. Very good. Did you see the one on Sunday? Yes, it was a, uh, uh I did miss that Sunday, no I didn't. That one kid that Becca likes he has AIDS. Yeah, it's a good episode. Yeah, the, the new character on there did. Right, right. All the way to North Carolina. What time is it there? Uh, it is twenty minutes to nine. Oh, my gosh. See, I'm twenty minutes to six here Three hours difference. Yeah, yeah. Okay. What else do you like? Uh, let's see, I like a lot of different shows. Let's see, um, I like MURDER, SHE WROTE. That's, that's, Oh, I never, I never watched that ever in my entire life. And MATLOCK is another good one I watch. Uh-huh. Um, then during daytimes I like, I like ALL MY CHILDREN. A small bowl will be plenty. Oh, that's mine. That's the only one I watch whenever I, oh, a small bowl will be better because it's pretty fattening. Talk to my daughter. Um, um, ALL MY CHILDREN, I've watched that for about twelve years. Yeah, I've, I'm sure I watched it for more than that probably. Twenty something. I used to watch GENERAL HOSPITAL when I was a teenager because I, I quit watching GENERAL HOSPITAL when Leslie got killed. Oh. So that was a long time ago. I used to watch it, was in high school and college when Laura's mother got killed. Right. She was my favorite character on there. I just, I read the reason she got, they, they killed her off was because they couldn't settle a contract, and I said, well, if they're going to do that to her, I won't watch it. Oh, that's great. Well, I do like ALL MY CHILDREN, and I, and I like it, you know, I don't know. I just, I like the people on it, I guess, you know. I, I, I like it. I just wish they'd bring some of the old characters back. Yeah, well, Tad's going to come back, I bet, do you think? Yeah, I'm sure he will. He'll come back, show up at just the right moment. I kind of wish that, uh, Nina would come back because she because the story, you know, Oh. just for a brief visit or whatever, because it never has been resolved with Palmer remarrying, and everything, Yeah, like Daisy, pops in once in a while, and, I forgot about Nina and Cliff, right. Yeah, Cliff's on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS now. Oh, he is. So he's out for good. Yeah, he's out for good. Did they marry? Uh Nina and Cliff? that's how they left the show, but not in real life. Um. Now she's married to some guy in New York, and she's happily married and that's the reason she left the show. I guess she wanted a private life. Oh, okay, oh, see I, I, I watch it maybe twice a month, so, I don't watch it everyday like I did when I had babies. Oh, well, I, I watch. Because I play lots of tennis and I'm gone a lot, so, I don't get to watch, I watch it everyday, religiously. I videotape it when I have to miss it. Oh, no kidding. Yeah. I use to be, I used to be like that I'm that way about a lot of different shows. I'm that way about MURPHY BROWN, DESIGNING WOMEN. Now isn't DESIGNING WOMEN, don't they have a new chick on there instead of the, instead of what's her name? Uh, yeah, there's two new characters on there. There's, um, uh, Jan Hooks from SATURDAY NIGHT LIFE. I don't know if you know her or not. Huh-uh. That's a show I like. And then, and then, uh, uh, the blond headed girl that used to be on NEWHART. Oh, yeah, oh. I don't like her on it, I never have liked her, so. Well, I, I just know which one she is. I don't, you know. She's taken the Suzanne's part, and then Jan Hooks has taken Charlene's part. Charlene was Delta Burke? Charlene was Jean Smart, the blond headed. Oh, okay, well, see, I never watch that one either. I really don't watch a whole lot of T V, just, you know, on Sunday nights, LIFE GOES ON comes on about the time that we eat dinner, and my whole family's home, because I don't allow the kids out on Sunday night you know, because they've got to go to bed and go to school the next day, Yeah. and so we, we sit around and eat popcorn and, oh, then we watch AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS. Those are always pretty cute. Well, MURDER, SHE WROTE comes on opposite of that, and so, Oh, so you don't watch that one instead of, Yeah I I pick nights pretty much so on T V that I watch different networks, but BEVERLY HILLS NINE OH TWO ONE OH, I, I watch it religiously. Sure. Yeah, we like that real well. It, be sure to watch it tomorrow night because somebody's getting killed on it. Uh-huh. I know. The kids already know who it is, I don't know who it is, though, Who is it? Ask them Let me ask Nicole. to someone in Nicole. What? Do you want to start? Uh, you hit, you hit, uh, it doesn't matter. Um, we're discussing the capital punishment, I believe. Right. You are right. Yeah. I, I suppose I should have, Uh, which I am, am pro capital punishment except that I don't like the way it's done. Uh-huh. Uh, yeah, uh, I, uh, I guess, I, I hate to see anyone die, uh Uh-huh. but, uh, I guess these people that go around and, and kill children and women and everything else without any remorse, uh, I don't think they deserve to, to live and be supported by us the rest of their lives. I, I agree. I, I'm, capital the, the, capital punishment is necessary in, in many cases but, uh, the, it's not a deterrent, um, or our jails would not be so full. There wouldn't be so many people in Death Row. Uh-huh. I think it needs to be something, uh, uh, a throwback to where they did a, uh, public execution where it's visible. Yeah. Uh, something, you know, not gruesome but, but something more where people know that it, it was a deterrent and it was equal for all people. If you committed a certain crime, you were going to receive a death penalty and it was going to happen to you. Yeah. No stays of execution. No, no loopholes, no, Well, and even, even that I don't really know if that would help. I think a lot of these people do it, uh, mainly because of, of T V and, Notoriety. the double reason they, they see it being done on T V and also the fact of, of notoriety. I mean, they become well known. They are almost like, like a big star. yes, but, but they, they know that their chances of actually receiving the death penalty are minimal. Yeah. They know that they will probably be out in ten to twelve years. Uh-huh. That they are going to write a book. They are going to go on talk shows they're that, that, that's a reward uh, for a heinous crime rather than, uh, having them pay the penalty which is forfeiture of their life. Yeah. Right. In, in complete, uh, of any notoriety. Yeah. Well, I, I, I think if they went according to, uh, the BIBLE where it does say, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life, Uh-huh. Right. uh, you take a life you give yours. Right. Uh, uh, that's for sure. Uh, there's exceptions to the rule I mean if, if it's an accidental taking then, uh, you look at that but, you know, most of these people that down right go right and, and do it out of pure pleasure uh, I don't, uh, like to see that. Uh-huh. I guess also the fact that they say it's not a deterrent, it is a deterrent in the, in the sense that that person will never do it again Well, yes, they will. Not, not, not if he's killed he can't, do it again. It, Oh, , well, that's correct, yes. if, if he indeed receives the death penalty and it is, it is executed. The death penalty. Uh-huh. Yeah. But, but the, the, the chances are not great that that will happen. Right. But there's a greater chance that he'll be back out on the streets in twelve years. Uh-huh, yeah. Well, I, I guess I'm also looking at beyond even that. I, I, I guess I been thinking about it and I don't have a definite opinion but, uh, repeat, uh, crimes uh, maybe not the, the more mild ones but, you know, a more severe ones especially on, on armed robbery and stuff where they been taking from elderly people, and not just taking the money but beating them half to death. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's right. Just for pleasure too and I guess you've got to look at something like that. Yes. Do they deserve to, uh, remain on this earth too? Why, you know, you could carry it to that if, uh, if they are a repeat offender and, and you know that as soon as you let them out on the streets they are going to do this. Unfortunately the way our system of jurisprudence is set up, um, you only receive the death penalty for capital crimes, Right. and of course uh, of battery or assault or, that is not a capital crime see. You, you wouldn't be able to under our system. Right. Now China and a few other countries have a little different view of that. Um, you get caught with dope there and you die, period. Yeah. Uh-huh. There is, there is no, no appeals. There is no, Well, I don't know what to do about the federal budget. Um, there certainly have been ideas surfaced, uh, recently, uh, matter of fact repeatedly by many people and I sort of wondered what your, what thoughts you had on that area. The, the first one is we need people in there that, that understand, uh, numbers. The numbers that are being thrown around when, when we're talking in trillions of dollars. Uh, which is an astronomical sum Uh-huh. and, and the people that are talking this numbers have no concept of what that number means. Now are you, are you talking about the elected people or are you talking about others? The elected people. Yes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Our, our, our Senate and Congress and, and people that, that deal everyday and, and what's going to be done with those monies um, and don't really understand what that is or how a budget even works. Yes. Uh-huh. Uh, we need to elect people that are more, uh, or ... I'm not sure how you would how would you achieve that? I mean if, Well, let's, let's make them have a degree in economy, uh, or economics. So you would trust the decision making economists? Well Sometimes called the dismal science. Yeah. But, but people that, that know the value of a dollar that understand the value of a dollar, Uh-huh. Yes. um, and in, in, in the, the, uh, lobbyists, needs them to be eliminated, uh, from Congress. Um, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes. They don't make pragmatic decisions. They make a decision based on constituency instead of a decision based on what they really believe. Yes. Uh-huh. Um, you know, or they tack on this, uh, pork bellies and, and do things that, that are good for their area to pass something that is, that is not good for the country. Right. So, so you would favor a law which said there could not be lobbyists. I mean right now lobbyists require to register you'd just say, make them all . Oh, I, I definitely would. Yeah. Get rid of them. Totally. Uh, No causes that you think the lobbyists would be good for? I, I think that any company or anything that wants to contribute to a fund should be able to do that, and be registered with what they ever contribute. Uh-huh. But they should not have a one-on-one relationship with the people making the decisions that affect them. Uh-huh. That, that's a conflict of interest as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. When you are talking again, uh, billions and trillions of dollars uh, you're, you're jeopardizing the future of the country, uh, for today. Uh-huh. That, So, uh, you talk about jeopardizing the future. Would you be against any deficit spending? I, I think to bring it in line you are going to have to have a generation that's going to really bite the bullet to bring it in line. You can't ease into it. It took years and years to build up the momentum that's there now. Uh-huh. Uh, I, I forget the figures on the interest rate but it's something like, uh, hundreds of thousands of dollars a second in interest. Uh-huh. Yeah. Part of the problem is we don't loan from ourselves. We, we buy from intimate international banking. That's why we have interest. Uh-huh. And, and I, I, I really feel that, that, that is part of the problem that we, we've let things get so out of control that, that we don't want to put the brakes on them. But what practical steps could could one take? Um, By, by having a, a, a budget that is, is feasible, that is reasonable. Well, but everybody will say that he is for that. Uh, and, and how will you, make that actually happen? Oh, of course. Sure . And then add on to it. You take the gross national income and you say our budget is X number of percent of this gross national income. Uh-huh. One thing we could do is give a ten percent income tax. Across-the-board, Uh-huh. everyone no matter what, pays a ten percent income tax. Yep. Sounds like a good idea. Uh, Nothing escapes, right? No, no, deductions, nothing. That's right. Right. No deductions. Just ten percent. You pay a ten percent income tax. Yep. That's what you pay if you make forty million dollars, uh, then you're going to pay four million. Right. if you make forty dollars, you're going to pay four dollars. And, and that's it. Yep. So that, that's it. That's I mean I, I agree with that that's a good idea and is it your expectation that that would raise the total revenues collected or, or lower them or what? I don't know that it would or wouldn't. Well, what's your favorite baseball team, Rita? Well, I suppose I'm supposed to say the Rangers, right Is that what is the million dollar question here? Well, that isn't a, a true false or right or wrong test here. Yeah. Uh, uh, you know, I would like to say the Rangers, but unfortunately they're not. I was from Illinois, and my favorite team was the White Sox. Not a Cubbies fan, huh. No, no, my family, my dad was, but I turned out to be a White Sox fan. Well, that's all right. I lived in Chicago. How do you expect them to do this year? Yeah they did pretty well. Okay. What did you think of the World Series? Well, I'll tell you. I just, uh, moved down from South Dakota in July, and, uh, in South Dakota, the Minnesota Twins are the closest professional sports team to where I was living Uh-huh. and so everybody was a Twins fan, and I was kind of, uh, didn't have much interest in the Twins, you know, it was, it was kind of pathetic, I mean, we only had two radio stations, and one of them broadcast every Twins game live, you know, and, and the other one was country. So you didn't really have a lot of choice, did you. So, that's right. There's was Twins there, or, you know Skip Williams. Or country. Yeah. Oh, uh, and I was routing for the Twins myself because, uh, they, a couple of Ranger players that I had watched when we first moved here, uh, went to Minnesota, and we used to tease about, my son and I used to have a bet going about some of the players that had moved from here to Minnesota, but it was it certainly was an exciting Series, anyway. It sure was, it sure was. What do you think going to happen to the Rangers? Well, I I would like to assume that they're going to do, do better this coming year, Or can we predict? I was sure hopeful anyway. When we moved down, uh, I was able to go to my first, you know baseball game, and thought, this is great, this is incredible. Uh-huh. So I became a Rangers fan. I didn't really have one in South Dakota. So I adopted the Rangers, or rather they adopted me, I guess Uh-huh. and, uh, it was just exciting, you know, you can watch baseball on T V and they hit the long ball, and it looks like wow, they really hit that ball. But when you go to the ball park, it's really not all that far you know, No. and it's so much more exciting watching a ball come at you, and. Oh, isn't it though. You know, but, oh, I, I think going to the ball park just really makes it. Because then you watch it on T V you feel like you're more a part of it too. That's right, that's right. Well, I'm a great sports enthusiast, so I love, you know, baseball teams, and they, in fact, on the news tonight, Nolan Ryan was on there. He was being, he was put in the, which I never knew existed, the Restaurant Hall of Fame The Restaurant The Restaurant Hall of Fame inducted him tonight, and he, uh, says he's coming back, you know, uh, Huh. he doesn't know how many years I mean, to pitch. Right. He'll be at least one more, and he said he's been saying one more, and it's been two and three, might be two and three more. He likes it. That's right Yeah. and he's still doing great still doing excellent. That's right. You know, and he said, I get a kick out of it, you know, he's, he's such a nice man. Well, didn't he just sign a twelve year contract with the Rangers? Yeah, and he, you know when he quits at being active, he will go into, you know being a, managing and, yeah, you know, being a coach, I'm sure. Management. Right. But, he's, uh, he certainly is a good example, uh, for the kids. That's right. You know, you like to have someone like that you could point to say, see what a fine man, that, he is. You know, some of the, like, uh, Ivan Rodriguez wasn't even born when, when, uh, Nolan Ryan started pitching. That's right. And it's just incredible to think that there's, uh, there are players who are the sons of ball players that used to play against Nolan or with Nolan, you know, Uh-huh. and now their sons are. Oh, he's been a legend for so many years, you know, and I don't know, were you here, had you moved here yet when he did the exhibition at U T with his son. His son pitched for U T and he pitched for an exhibition game for the Rangers. Uh-huh, I wasn't. Yeah, it was a, I think it was a little early part of the summer, and uh, Nolan against. Was it Nolan against, uh Ryan against Ryan, huh. Ryan against Ryan, yeah, his son pitched for U T Well that is neat. and, uh, only, uh, Ryan didn't want too much publicity on it because he didn't want his son getting too nervous about this whole thing. Uh-huh. A game is a game, you know. Well, the Rangers really, uh, knocked the socks off of them, which you would expect you know, anyway, Right. but Nolan I think took himself out after a couple of innings or something, you know, of the game so, Well, how do you feel about capital punishment? Well, I, I just last Friday got off a capital murder case. Oh, you did? Yeah, I was on the jury. Uh, Wow. Yeah Which is funny because I got called last night and the topic was, uh, something about juries Oh, really Yeah, so I am just hitting it right. Uh, how do I feel about it? I, I don't know. Well, I guess it is right in certain cases. Uh, Yeah. well, the one I was just on, I don't, I was an alternate on the case, so I don't know what was decided. Right. They are probably still in deliberations on it. Uh-huh. But, uh, what I found out, once, once I was declared an alternate and I was dismissed, we met with the judge, the two alternates did. Right. And, uh, he went on to tell us how they happened to catch this guy and I remember hearing about it. It was about a year ago. Uh, he was, he was involved in another one, another capital murder the very next month and he was caught just, they, they drove up, the police drove up just as he fired the gun and killed the guy. Oh, wow. So he was caught and, uh, it's interesting because the county I live in, I'm not in Dallas county, I'm, I'm pretty far north of Dallas. Okay. Uh, county I live in, in the past ten years only had two capital murders. Wow. And last year there were six and this guy is indicted on three of them. Really? Yeah, so you have to wonder you know. Wow Yeah, well, the cases like that, they should, Yeah. I mean, if he's going to be drastic, somebody has to be drastic back. Yeah, although, you know, it's not really revenge because it doesn't mean anything to him. You know, he, he has no concept of what he has done. Really? He just, well, from what I can tell. I mean, I didn't talk to the guy or anything, but I mean, he doesn't seem to have any regard for anybody's life including his own. Right. Wow. So, it's, it's kind of strange that, you know, Uh-huh. No, no remorse whatsoever, huh. No, huh-uh. Well, I guess in cases like that, you know, where the guy would, obviously, go out and do it again I mean, you've got to do something. Yeah. Yeah, well, it's funny because when, you know, they interview you before you go on the jury and for capital murder, I was interviewed by four attorneys for about five hours. Right. Wow. And I, the, I was the, I think the ninety eighth person they'd interviewed. You're kidding. But, you know at the time when the guy kept saying could you ever convict someone and do you think you'd ever know beyond a doubt and I said I can't imagine, I said if I knew beyond a doubt or if I felt beyond a doubt that he had done it, yeah, I guess I could convict him, but I can't imagine you ever making me that sure of something. Right. But they really did. It was, it was really amazing. Really? Well, I guess if the police came out and saw him fire the gun, Well, that was a subsequent case that we didn't know about. And those jurors don't know about. Oh, really? But this particular case, I mean, they had a complete confession from the guy with a lot of things that, that the police hadn't released Okay. so no one else would have known. Oh. It was, it was really pretty interesting. Wow. What, Educational. I guess cases like that, I don't see why they wouldn't bring in the new evidence from the other case. Well, they can't, they can, I think in the punishment phase but not in the guilt or innocence because he hasn't been, he hasn't been found guilty of it. Okay. Of that crime Right. but he was found guilty of okay. Right, so you know, it's, although, it's not going to take much to prove that. That works. Right. So, Well, they pushing the death penalty? Uh, yeah, this guy is up for the death penalty. Wow. Uh, and in Texas there is, there is a couple of questions you have to ask, uh, in the punishment phase. Uh, for example, was the guy provoked and was the response reasonable given the provocation And there is a number of questions and just depending on whether you say yes or no, uh, you, you can give him capital punishment and if you're up to the point where if he still qualifies for capital punishment, then you can look at mitigating circumstances. Okay. So, So there is a lot of outs, but the only result is, otherwise he gets life in prison. Yeah, and I'm really kind of against life in prison anyway because it costs so dog gone much. Yeah Right, and, and to me, I mean, you take away a person's freedom, you've taken away most of their life. That's true. I mean, if you're going to put him in prison for life with no chance for parole, Yeah, but, But then you have to look at reality. I mean, I think, you know, normally they, they may get out so, That's true. But what is it worth? I don't know. Uh-huh. Personally I don't know which I would pick if I had a choice for myself. That's true. I mean, I don't know whether I'd stay in prison or not or, Yeah, so, you said you're from Mississippi? Yes, ma'am. And do they have the death penalty there? Yes, they do. I, they've had a, a number of cases here. Uh-huh. I mean, not a whole lot, well, Jackson, I heard just the other day had their sixty-first murder this year. Uh-huh. It was like last like year they had forty-nine so that's going up. Uh-huh. But, yeah, they have a death penalty. I hear of one every now and then. Uh-huh. And I visited the prison up here and, at Parchman Uh-huh. and I've been, I haven't, they won't let you on death row, but they'll let you look down the hall. You can't see any prisoners and, and it's kind of a weird feeling. I've been they took us around on a tour, you know, and I went, got to walk in the gas chamber Ooh. and it is kind of a weird feeling knowing you're sitting there saying, like, people have died here. That's right. But I guess, just going up there and seeing the surroundings and stuff, the people up there, Well, uh, let's see, what type of car do I want? Well, I'd like to have a Corvette. Oh, wow. But my, uh, weekly wages don't apply for me to have that kind of car, so Yeah. uh, I'm engaged to get married so, I'll more likely get a car for economic reasons. Right. Yeah, and, uh, so, uh, to drive back and forth to work is all I'll need a car for pretty much. And we have a truck, so probably a economic size car or, uh, What kind of a car do you have now? Right now I have a eighty-seven Cavalier. It's a piece of My car is really old, too, because, uh, I drive out of town a lot of the weekends Uh-huh. and, uh, I would like my next car to have good gas mileage. Right. And, uh, same here, uh, you know, a nice car, American made and, uh, you know, a, a nice car, but not too expensive, because, uh, I couldn't afford like a brand new like Lamborghini I hardly drive, But while we're talking, right While we're talking, my next car, I'd like to be sporty and, you know nice, Right. but, you know, it's expensive and then insurance is really high for that, too so, Something with a, that's not too sporty because of insurance, then Oh, I know. Right, that insurance does come into play. I forgot about that. Yeah. What kind of insurance do you have up there or is it real high up there? Uh, no mine just got lowered because I just turned twenty-one and, uh, I'm not sure really how much I pay. I just, my mom's helping me out, you know, because I'm a college, I'm in college and, uh, so I just give her the money and take her word for it Right. Right, I mean that insurance is high dollars. Yeah, yeah, it is, so, But, And the more expensive the car, the higher it is so, Unless I win the lottery, I won't be driving, anything too expensive. Right, yeah. Right. I don't plan on buying a car for many, many years so, Right, yeah. I have to make this one last as long as I can. What's everybody drive up there? Uh, in Kenosha? I mean in Wisconsin, they drive them little four wheelers or four wheel drive Oh, it just is, or, do you all need four wheel drives up there because of snow and everything? Yeah, we, we have a Jeep with four wheel drive because, uh, because of the snow, you mean or, Right, it never snows down here, so, Well, we don't have any snow here now. Really? It all melted. Yeah, there is no snow at all. We haven't had snow yet. We usually only get like once a year or so. Huh. Kind of strange to you all, huh? Yeah. Yeah, it is. Because, how, it's like seventy degrees here right now. Oh, don't tell me that Yep, how, how cold is it there? Well, actually, it's been warm, it's in the forties. Really? Yeah, and that's, that's really warm. Huh. Uh, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow so we, I've only seen snow once this year. And it was really bad and then it all melted like within the week. Really? And now there is no snow, so, Huh. But, um, so what, what is your dream car? Uh, I haven't really thought about it. I'm not too big on cars. I mean, I don't know the names and stuff, but if I were to go to a car lot and like look at them I would pick out one that, you know looked really nice. Uh-huh. What's your favorite color? Uh, for a car? Yeah. Probably blue. Like if it, you know, was just an average, middle class car. Blue? But if I were to get a sports car, maybe white or red Right right. Yeah. So, what kind of car do you drive right now? Uh, it's a Sky Hawk Buick. Really? Eighty-three, I think. Really? Yeah, uh, like eighty-two thousand miles. Really? Yeah. Oh. I'm afraid it's not going to last me that long and I hope it does, though. Yeah. It's a two door. I like, I like smaller cars. They're, I find them more comfortable to drive. Right, does everybody have their windows tinted up there? Uh, no, I don't see too many cars tinted. Everybody has tinted down here. Oh, I'm sure, yeah. I could, I could see why. So, you been down here before? Yep. Really? Uh, Did you like it? It was busy Yeah, it's different I bet, huh. Yeah, It was nice. I remember, uh, swimming on Easter day and it was like really cold up here, but came back with a little tan, Right so that was nice It's like, you know, everybody freaks out when it Hi, well, I guess, which one have you got right now? Or, Well, I, uh, couple of them, I, at the moment, use an A S T two eighty-six and I got a leading edge and I got a American one and had a I B M one, but My, my, just a couple. What do you have Uh, I've got an Omega and I've got a, uh, generic three eighty, or four eighty-six machine. Oh, yeah? Yeah, it's very, very generic. What did you do, put it together? Yeah, and, and, uh, upgraded it and put things in there and dibbled and dabbled and now, now it's, now it's a fast machine Well, that's, Yeah. That's all I got to say for it. Yeah. What do you use it for? Huh? What do you use it for? Uh, work, uh, I'm a contract programmer. Oh, yeah? What kind of programs do you, Uh, anything Okay, I mean like business programs or, Man. Uh, I've done business programming, you know, scientific applications like, you know, petroleum science stuff and, Uh, uh, test equipment and I did the, I, I did one that was, the demonstration of a touch, touch screen for a company that sells, uh, touch screens. It was kind of fun. Uh-huh, Put a little bitty portable computer in there and a plasma display. And make it look like things like, uh, you know, attack simulators and , and all sorts of little things you'd want to put your finger on the screen for. Huh. Well, that's, Well, that sounds interesting. Matter of fact, uh, I guess you do, uh, you get a lot of graphics in there, I imagine, huh. Oh, yeah, definitely. That's where the speed helps out. Uh, yeah, unfortunately the little portable P C that was plugged on the back was only a seven and a half megahertz, eighty, eighty-six. It's like slow out the Yep, that will, that will, slow you up Huh? Well, I, I do, uh, uh, programming for C N C turret presses and uh, cat cam system type things Uh-huh. and, uh, really need a faster system. Uh, I got a new line that I, I sell metal fabricating equipment, and cat cam systems, and tooling, et cetera. Uh-huh. Uh, I know a guy that upgrades, uh, for a reasonable cost. Who is that? Uh, his name is T Q or something like that. And my notebook is somewhere around here See if I can make my telephone cord stretch far enough. I've tried to do is get this outfit to give me one Uh, he's, uh, up in, Huh? That's how I got my other ones by selling their product for them. They not only give me a demonstrator, but the hardware as well as the software. Uh-huh. And as they, And as they go to the next one I just keep the, Oh, that works. that's why I have so many different levels of P C around at the moment. Uh, here it is. A T S Computers. A T S? Uh-huh. And where are they at? Uh, do you know where, uh, Custer is? Oh, yeah. Okay, he's, uh, uh, south of Renner on, on Custer. And there is a little bitty mall that looks kind of like, or, strip kind of center. In Richardson there. Huh? In Richardson? Uh-huh. I know where you mean. There is a Mobil and all that kind of uh, on that one corner, that's about Lookout there, I think, isn't it. Right, it's, it's, it's just south of there. Yeah. It's a little place, looks like a castle. Yeah. Kind of, uh, little guy in there. He, he, uh, gives reasonable prices. Oh. Like I, I traded my, uh, three eighty-six for the four eighty-six for about six hundred. Really? Well, that's a good deal. Yeah, it was pretty reasonable. Yeah. But, uh, uh, he, and he does a good job and he, he, he, uh, guarantees everything he sells. Uh, there is a lot, you ever go by Lucky Computer there? Uh-huh, yeah. I used to, when I was putting shop floor computers together for guys, I'd go and get their units and put them together and go and interface the stuff with our systems. Uh-huh. Haven't been doing much of that for the last year or so. So I, I don't know where those guys are at these days. But I, , Uh, they, they're up there in that mall. Uh, just below Campbell. Or that strip, strip, center. Yeah. Yeah. They're still doing business. Big business, apparently. I tell you, those prices have just, unbelievably come down. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, I was amazed I was able to get this four eighty-six for six hundred even with a trade in, you know, it's like, wow Yeah. That works, I'll go do that I, And boy that thing screams now. Yeah, I was kind of surprised how rapidly they bypassed, the three eighty-six. That wasn't alive for but maybe two years. Uh-huh. Well, I thought was funny that they kept pushing the three eighty-six S X even though the, the price difference is about ten dollars. Is that right? That's it? Yeah, it, when it comes on the manufacturing floor it's about ten bucks. I'll be darned. Yeah. Huh, well, you've done. Our most recent series of projects I guess, was, inside was, uh, we remodeled a bathroom recently. Well, how did it go? Well, it went pretty well, uh, other than the fact that we encountered some, uh, problems that you run across in older homes with plumbing, which one thing led to another, and eventually we ended up replacing all the pipes from the sink clear back to the main drain. Which meant you needed to take the wall out and start all over. Gee, like starting over, I guess. Uh. It wasn't one of those, it started out as a Sunday project Uh-huh and by, by the next Sunday it was done. It wasn't a one dayer. Believe me. Boy, that sounds like, uh, course, uh, I don't know, once you get it done, then you probably won't have that problem again. Yeah, it's good for another thirty years. Um, you've got an older house? Yes. They are built a little bit more sturdy than Well, that's the thing that surprised me, because once I got into the plumbing everything in there was copper, Right. and it was all soldered. Oh, is that right. That's what drove me bananas, because, you know, I'm going to the hardware store saying give me plastic pipe and and cement to fit them together Yes. and nothing wanted to go, so it was like I had to go all the way back to the main drain and start all over. And just start at square one. Really. Uh. That was an all day job, just to get it plumbed. Well, and then if you do it wrong Fortunately, I was very fortunate, uh, in the fact that, uh, when I made the installation of the sink and everything bolted up and we turned the water on nothing leaked, Everything went all right. everything worked. And I just said, that's marvelous. I appreciate it. That's the type of thing you cross your fingers and are glad when that happens. Well, I expected something to leak, you know left a fitting loose, or didn't use teflon tape on one of them or something like that. Right. Yes. Right. But it all came together, so I, I felt pretty fortunate about that. All worked out all right, huh. How about you? Well, um, well probably the last thing I did was, uh, paint and wallpaper kids room Uh-huh. and, uh, I learned to, I used the wrong kind of paint. This wasn't, must have not been a very good quality, because it just hasn't stood up very well. What kind of paint? It was a latex paint, paint, it was flat Uh-huh. and I wonder if maybe I should have used a gloss. Uh, but they say you ought to use your gloss mainly in your kitchens, and things like that. Yeah, that, and semigloss for trim work, and usually flat for walls. Yeah, but I think maybe, uh, I don't know if it was just the. Was it not washable paint? Well, it, it is a latex paint, but it just kind of is, is, so, you know, so it's supposed to wash, you're supposed to be able to wash it Uh-huh. but it, um, just looks dingy. I don't know how else to explain it. What color is it? It's pink. Pink, okay. It's kind of got, uh, oh, just kind of a worn look to it. I don't know even how to say, just didn't turn out quite as nice as I would have liked but, Did you, uh, require more than one can of paint? I, we put two coats on it, and it's a small room, but I think it only took one, uh, can. You didn't have to mix paint then, right. No. Okay. We did, uh, oh, you do mix the color as far as you start with, uh, white and then they add the color. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know what I'm saying but, Yeah. But you only had one can of paint that you did the entire room with. Yes. Right. And then I wall papered a couple of walls, and, uh. How'd that go? Well, that was the first time I've ever wallpapered, and, uh, Kind of fun, isn't it. That's an education in itself. Really. But, uh, the dye lots, uh, must have been a little bit different from, first of all it takes quite a few rolls, even a small room, if you're trying to match a design. Repeating patterns is what you have to check for when you, when you buy your paper. Yes. That's what I needed, and I didn't think about that. I got a Mickey Mouse print is what I got. Yeah. And so a lot is wasted. Normally it will tell you on the roll how often a pattern repeats. So you know how. See, I didn't even think to look for that. Yeah. And then the, one of them was just a different color, different color pink, is what it ended up being. Um. And . When you did your papering did you start in the middle of the wall? No I didn't. Or did you start at the edge? Is that how you're supposed to do? I started at one edge and went over, then you had to cut around the closet and cut around a window Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, uh, I've had my best luck in papering when I start in the middle of a wall, and I'll start with a plumb line. And start in the middle of the wall, and, and go from there, and go all the way around the room. And start right there. Do you seem to get it straighter, is that the advantage, or what's the, Well, you, you, Do you have any children? Yeah, I have two, two boys, twelve and sixteen. Twelve and sixteen. Uh-huh, how about you? Well, I have three, and, uh, they're five and three and nineteen months. Oh. So we kind of got different ball game but, uh. Right What, uh, do you feel like you have any time, to spend with them? Well. They're probably at an age where they don't want to spend any time with their parents. That's true You actually, of course, spend less time with them when they get older, but it's, of course, still really important. Right. I have a kind of a fortunate situation, I think, right now with my sixteen year old. Um, I work two nights a week at a, I'm a librarian Oh, uh-huh. and I work two nights a week at the Senior High School library. They keep it open, you know, for kids to do their work Right. and he, um, and then they, the school district hires an aide, you know, to work for me. Sure. Well, my son is my aide. Oh, well, that's nice. So, two nights a week for four hours we're stuck together You're stuck together. and there's usually not very much business. No. I mean, some nights it's just real, real quiet. So. I would suspect your nights would be pretty quiet for the most part. So we, I have sort of a captive audience, so I really do spend probably more time with him than, than most, you know. Right. But, uh, of course I'm away from my other son those hours, too. But his dad's at home pretty much that time. And so that kind of gives him, uh, time with his dad, then. Yeah, that's true, yeah. Gives him a little bit of that individual time. But, but it is hard, once they get that age, I mean, their friends are the most important thing there is. Right, and they want to be able to spend, uh. That's right. Well, I've even noticed that with my five year old. She started kindergarten this year, and every day that she's not at school, uh, she thinks we need to have someone over and play Uh-huh. Uh-huh and that kind of Yeah, it's kind of hard. yeah, it's hard, I think, uh, I find myself getting my little projects going and not taking the time that I should Yeah. I'm more worried about, Oh, I didn't this done, I didn't get, the kitchen needs to be cleaned Uh-huh. this needs to be done, and and I need to remind myself to slow down Uh-huh. and it'll still be there tomorrow. Right. Yeah, that's true. But that's kind of hard to do, you know. Yes, it is hard to do, right, yeah. You don't see yourself getting. Well, if you're kind of a person that likes things, you know, organized or neat Uh-huh. or, you know Right. then I think it, it is hard. It's, um, I think one of the nice things about holidays is that, you know, it does give you the opportunity to spend more time yeah, with family. Slow down a little bit. We have, we often go to Illinois for Christmas, Oh, uh-huh. and we're not this year, and it's just really nice because we can do, you know, the things you want to do. You can do, uh, more than than when you travel. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. This is the first year we're staying home, too, and, uh, I think it's going to be real quiet but, uh, that's an opportunity to get out the games and, Yeah, right. See, we usually do that, my, my kids even have already gotten out, um, my twelve year old got out the Legos which of course he hasn't touched since last summer Right. Of of course. but, you know, but every now and then, I mean, he's got a lot of those technic, those hard kind, you know, and he wants to be an engineer, so he still likes all that kind of building stuff Oh, yeah. and, um, we have the train, and we haven't had that Lego train together for years, and, um, so he sat down, and I told him I really wanted him to build the train, and we would put it under the tree, and that I would keep it together, I wouldn't take it apart Wouldn't take it apart after that. yeah, and every year I'd have the Lego train under the tree. That'd be kind of fun. And, um, so he worked on that for the longest time, ever since school was out on Friday, and, um, then his sixteen year old brother started helping, too, you know. you know, these are kind of things like during the normal rat race Right, right. those kinds of things never happen No but. no. In fact in, I think if people would learn to turn off the T V and Uh-huh. Yeah. I think that's a lot of the breakdown of the communication and the communication that would take place in a family, Yes, yeah. Which is, usually people are not sitting in front of that. Uh-huh, and there's always a few people in the family that, when they stare at it, you know, they're totally turned off to everything else. The rest of. Yes, and you can't communicate while you're doing that, right? No That's right. Whereas, uh, I'm the type of person, I could not sit, well, I shouldn't say I could not, but be very hard for me to sit down and watch a program all the way through without doing something. Yeah, yeah, me too. Yeah, Because they talk so much, isn't that the, they talk about T V shows, and I, huh, you know, how can you watch that, you know You're kind of like, what are you talking about and, uh, it's the best show on, I don't know. You feel like you're a little bit out of it, don't you. They need to have a highlight in the newspaper or something tell us what's, Okay, all set, then. Uh, what do you think about it? Uh, I think it's a real good concept. Uh, drug testing procedures would have to be refined. Uh-huh. From what I've seen on the news there's a, a pretty good size problem with poor accuracy, poor procedure in, uh, drug testing. Oh, I didn't realize that. Yeah. Uh, there have been people who have been turned down for jobs because there was a drug showed up in their, in their, uh, test, but they didn't know for sure what it was, but it was a drug, so they got turned down and, uh, turns out it was a prescription. Or people getting somebody else's blood test. Uh-huh. Same sort of problem that happens sometimes is these, some of these, uh, like AIDS tests and such. Okay. Uh-huh, yeah, that's right, I have heard, uh, I don't remember what they call it, sort of like a positive, negatives or some, some kind of word they use when a, uh, you get a, uh, a positive indication of drugs, but there's not really, there weren't really any there. Yeah. Uh, every now and then there's an error and people are really upset about that when it comes to their rights and their rights being violated. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I, I work here at Texas Instruments so, uh, we, we do a, let me think, do we, yeah, everyone coming in. I guess I did three years ago. Yeah. Everyone coming in, uh, goes through the drug testing procedure and they talk about it as a, you know, as, as better for the country and better for the working conditions. Uh-huh. So if they, uh, they test for drugs. Yeah. I, I'm, I can't even remember if we do random sampling anymore. I know we did in the military, but I don't know if once your in they continue to do it, Yeah but I guess you're always on call for it. Yeah, I not very long ago worked for Wal-Mart Uh-huh. and about a year and a half ago they instituted a, uh, a, uh, drug testing program, uh, well drug and alcohol testing program. It's, it's not a random Uh-huh. through the it, as each employee comes in part of the hiring procedure is a, a blood test Uh, Uh-huh. but I think the big problem, though, is, is they send these off to large labs Uh-huh, right. and then they have thousands and thousands of samples that, uh, going through it in a day and bottles get mixed up, things like that. So your big beef with it is the, uh, It's . Is, is, it's a good idea, but like you said the drug testing procedures need to be defined a little better. Yeah. Make sure it's a lot safer because a couple of people are going to be discriminated against unfairly or whatever. Yeah, I I, I tend to agree with you David. Yeah. Yeah, my brother, uh, brother used to work for Wal-Mart and then, I don't know if he still does or what because I don't know if Sam's is actually part of it, but he, you know is working at Sam's now. Yeah. Yeah, Sam's is part of Wal-Mart. Okay, yeah, then he's been working for the company for a while, too. He, uh, Yeah. Good company, uh, Oh, yeah. You all, uh, have some, he's telling me about good profit sharing and all that, Company's, that was a great place to work. so. Uh-huh. It's good news Yeah, they got to had two or three years in with them you can start buying stock and you have a, have a little taken out of your check each, each payday to put against, uh, uh, stock portfolio. Uh, not portfolio, just, you know, against Wal-Mart stock. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh, you can build a pretty fair amount of stock after a while. Yeah, that's what my brother was telling me. That's good, good good deal. Well, uh, how long were we I haven't done this in a couple months. How long were we supposed to discuss for? Uh, you're supposed to get five minutes. Okay, we got a couple more minutes then, I guess Uh, think what else I can say about that. Uh, Uh, do you have any idea, uh, let's see, you were, you were tested for drugs as you got into T, as, as you got into T I? Right, uh, everyone coming in gets, goes through the drug test. Yeah. Uh, now, uh, were you asked to wait before starting to work until the drug test came through or, Uh, no, well, let me think about that. Yeah, it was after, I I had already been hired. Uh, Okay Yeah, you get hired, then you come in the first, I, seems to me I remember that, uh, I was hired, came in and went through some orientation and I thought I, boy, I can't remember. That would seem strange to already be working here in the first week of the drug test. Maybe it was during the interview. I came up a couple times for an interview, so it's hard for me to remember where I was when all that happened. But, uh, I guess, just like other companies, other friends I've been hearing about that have been moving around, it's, it's before. They have to wait for the drug test to come in before you actually get employment, so I'm sure that happened to me, too. Yeah. Yeah. What, what about, oh, they just instituted it there at Wal-Mart Yeah. so, They, they, it was after I was already working there and they weren't testing any of those who were already working. Right. So, Okay, now then you heard the question, what what do you like to do for yourself in car automobile repairs? Uh-huh. Well, I'll tell you, I used to do a lot more repairs when cars were easy to work on, than I do now. Okay. I do, uh, I do the easy stuff now. I change oil, uh, and then what some people would consider a little more difficult, I, I'll change spark plugs and I'll change, you know, points and, you, you know, do air filters, that kind of stuff. Um. Well. But, uh, I can't do as much as I used to, um, I used to do a whole lot more, but not any more, they're just too weird to work on now. Is that the reason you're not doing it, or are you so busy you don't have time to do it? Well, that's part of it Uh. yeah, part of it is, like you said, I don't have time. Okay. Well being a female and being alone, you, I don't do anything but put gasoline, in my car, and let someone else check the oil even. Uh-huh. But, uh, have you had any major repairs recently? Well, um, on this car I've got now, no, but I had a van before, and it was only two years old, and it had transmission go out on it. Oh. But fortunately that was covered under the warranty. Okay. Well, you should be, feel very fortunate. I had to have a transmission replaced in an eighty-six automobile Um. and I'll declare, that's an expensive. Oh, yeah. Yes, uh-huh. Maybe I should have just traded the car in. Yeah, sometimes it makes you wonder. Oh, it just, well, I have a very comfortable car and I have a health problem that I need a large comfortable car. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, um, anyway, I have a new transmission, and I'm sure that any of them would have cost or charged me almost the same amount. But Yeah. it hurts, it hurts real bad. Did you take it to a dealership? No, I took it to an independent out in Garland. Uh-huh. Oh, I see. I had, um, these people were recommended by a neighbor Uh-huh. and, you know, that's the only thing, I am not a native of Dallas. Oh, I see. So that means I have to depend on, on trustworthy friends Right. and that's. Anyway, it's fixed, it's running, and I pray that I get my thirteen hundred dollars out of it. Oh, gosh. Uh-huh. It's going to run for a for a while yet. Oh, I know it. It certainly is frightening. What work are you in? Uh, I, I work for T I. Oh. I, I work in the networking area. Okay, okay. Do you work for T I? No. No, okay. No, I have just retired from, um, the Southwest Medical Center. Oh. Yeah, where there are a lot of people down there that could help me with my car, but they're all too busy. So. Yeah. I have to do it the other way, and that's find someone and pay them to do it. Yeah, yeah. So I certainly hope you have a nice New Year. Oh, yeah, I'm, I'm planning on it. Oh, it can't be any worse than last year, that's for sure. Oh, it could be, but I don't much think so Yeah. That's true, that's true. I'm, well, we're starting out a new one, so let's make it a good one. Yeah, I'm going to try and plan on it. Okay. All right, well, I enjoyed the conversation. Thank you. All right, thank you. Bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, what, um, do you watch much T V or, you know. Um, no, I don't watch much T V. Sometimes, um, usually the reason I will turn it on is to hear the news. The news, yeah. But I don't think of that every day, even. Uh-huh. Um, I think I get most of my current events, well, I get them from everywhere. I sometimes watch T V if I, I guess I watch T V if I haven't read the paper that day. We don't get a paper but I work, um, at a, I teach a college class and, uh Oh, uh-huh. there's a, the library has a paper. And so I often drop in on a break and and read it. Yeah. And I keep the radio on quite a bit when I'm home. Uh-huh. And then I, I figure if there's big, big news, I'll hear it from my husband when he gets home or, someone else, you know. Yeah, yeah. Now I also, I get it from all over. I watch the news every day, and I we have a news, you know, we get the newspaper, and, uh um, magazines, anything. Uh-huh. You know, I'm, I read a lot, so I get, um, you know, I'm, I'm really up on, uh, current affairs. I get, you know the news and, and everything. Uh-huh. Yeah, what's your favorite news, do you get a news magazine or, Um, well, I'm not getting no, I'm not getting any news magazines Uh-huh. but, um, you know, as, as I said, I do, it's, uh, it's easy to keep up on current you know on you know, especially when you, um you know, you get a paper every day. Yeah. Yeah, we've got. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And, uh. Are you satisfied with the quality of coverage? Uh, I don't know Is there anything missing? I, you know, Yeah, it's kind of hard to know. And I don't know, you know, what, what's, I mean, what are we supposed to, uh, compare it to you know, I mean, the quality, uh, Uh-huh. whatever they tell you, you know, I, uh, I guess I, I, you know, I'm satisfied. I mean, I, uh, you know, they, they're supposedly covering everything that happens, so Yeah, yeah. you know. Well, I do feel like, a little bit like, being from California and wanting to hear like I've heard through the grapevine sometimes that there's been an earthquake or sliding or something, and Oh, really? I don't ever hear it in the news here. Oh. Um. Well, uh, sometimes it's such a, you know, it's, it's so, um, slight, you know like the tremors are so slight that they don't even bother putting it in the paper. Yeah. Yeah. But most of the the times I find that even if there are, you know, they do have like tremors out there, you know, there'll be a small article in the paper about it. Yeah But, uh. yeah, yeah. I sometimes feel like, um, the Dallas paper and the DALLAS NEWS, um, the top headlines are always a murder, you know. Oh, well. That's what sells papers. That that's because there's a high crime rate. Yeah. Yeah. That's, um, that's been like that since they, the first newspaper, you know Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. You know, but, um, I don't know. I, I guess I'm satisfied, I don't, uh. Uh-huh. I mean, what basis, you know, of comparison do we have really? Yeah, really. We don't get a, you know. That's true. We certainly get enough coverage. I mean, we, we can get news, you know, I mean, there's even the C N N channel where we can get world news twenty-four hours a day. Oh, yeah, I was going to. Sure, yeah. Sometimes you don't even want to be bothered with the news because it's all so bad Yeah It's all so negative, you know. Yeah, often times. But. So. Yeah. Well, we have to keep talking, I guess Well, no, I guess we can end. Oh. Yeah, it's just whenever we're, um. Oh, is it really? Yeah. Have you always gone until the recording? Well, yeah, I don't, I don't, uh, Uh-huh. I guess we're not supposed to I don't know, we're I guess we're supposed to wait or I don't know. Yeah. Uh-huh. I, you know, like one, uh, well, was it last week, we were supposed to talk about gardening Uh-huh. uh, and it was really funny, I, I, I mixed it, made the call, and it happened to be my friend who lives a few blocks away. Oh, really. Yeah, and it was really. We were laughing, I mean. But, you know, we don't really do any gardening, so like, that took like a minute Uh-huh. and then we just talked about, you know, whatever, I mean. Uh-huh. Interesting. Yeah. You know, I mean, some topics, really now, you know, now, this topic, this is, I mean, there really isn't much to say after you know, you, uh, you know, you, you tell the person what, uh, news there, uh, you know, where their, where they find their sources of information from Uh-huh. Yeah. and then, you know, if it's, uh, if they're satisfied, and that's about it, really. Uh-huh. It's hard to talk for five minutes on this Yeah So, um. Yeah. Well, I guess I can just say I, it bothers me that I hear a lot about, um, you know, on the news that, well, it seems like, I don't know, some things are sensationalized or some things are, um, you know, you'll hear one report and then you'll hear that it, you know, they didn't, um. Okay. So, what are your favorite shows? Um, I like watching COLOMBO and, um, MATLOCK and QUANTUM LEAP, Oh, really? yeah. QUANTUM LEAP? Uh-huh. Did you see it the other night? Um, uh-huh. That was, that was pretty good. Yeah, that one was. What about, What do you, with the psychic and everything? Uh-huh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, I like, uh, I like NORTHERN EXPOSURE and, uh, HOME IMPROVEMENT. Oh, I, well I haven't seen either of those You've never seen NORTHERN EXPOSURE? Huh-uh. Oh, it's a great show. Um, I also like to watch STAR TREK, but it's on so late here, that I don't always get to see it Really? Yeah, we like it, too. Have you seen the movie? Uh, I haven't seen any of the movies because I just barely, just like in the last year or so got interested in it, and they're, you know, already out with number six by now, but. So I haven't seen any of the movies, yet, but I. Oh, you haven't seen any of them. No. Oh, well, they're good, they're real good. They're, uh, they're getting rid of the old cast for the movies, though. Uh-huh. Which ones are you watching, the new ones? Yeah, I've seen quite a few of the older ones. I haven't seen really the new generation that much. Oh, okay. Yeah. Is there one you prefer better, the older one or the the newer one? Well, they're, they're a lot different. But, I like, I like the older ones because at that time, you know, they were really futuristic, you know. Oh, yeah. And the newer ones are, I guess the newer ones are real futuristic, too, but I like, I like both of them. Yeah, I do too. I have a brother-in-law who really likes the old ones a lot, I mean, he almost hates the new ones Really? Yeah, because he, he thinks the newer ones is like a soap opera and the other one isn't or something, but, I don't No. Not really. It's not really like a soap opera, Oh, I think, Yeah. but, but it's, but that's true, I mean, you, you learn more about the characters and stuff, but that's the way all shows are now. Yeah, sure. Well, let's see. Um, I like to watch COLOMBO because it's like a mystery thing. Yeah. That's sort of how Matlock is, but COLOMBO is way tricky Yeah. I mean he doesn't even try to let the person know he's getting onto them. Well, it seems like they always show COLOMBO, the same ones over and over, though you know what I'm saying, like that one where he goes to college, Well, did you see the one. Um. or is this, is there a series on. Um, yeah, there's like one on, well we see it Thursdays at seven, and it was, Okay. this last time it was about this, um, movie director, did you Yeah, I saw that one. did you see that? See, that was a rerun. Really? Oh, I guess I Yeah, I wondered if that's Huh. see I don't know if that's a, the movie of the week or, or what, but it seems like there's only about four or five different ones, and then, then they keep showing them over and over. Oh, I guess I've, I haven't seen it before. He was a movie director, and he had that gal killed. Yeah Okay. yeah, on the set or something. That was pretty good though Yeah, it was. But, yeah, I like COLOMBO probably the best of any of those mystery things. Uh-huh. But, um, there's no, never anything good on Saturdays, though No kidding. I don't think so. Well, STAR TREK'S on at five, but I'm never home so, What is it that, there's something I watch, something I watch on Saturdays, and I can't remember what it is. Now I used to watch TWIN PEAKS. Oh. You never saw that? I've heard of it a lot, I've heard of, a lot of people somehow or something They'll say, so and so from TWIN PEAKS, or something, you know. Yeah, yeah that was a different soap opera. Oh. But, it was, it was a different type of show. Uh-huh. I didn't like the way it ended, though. Oh, did they end the whole series? Yeah. Oh. Yeah, they didn't, they only did it for, I think, two years. Oh. But it's all over now. Oh, another show I like to watch is MASH. So. How's your products been? Um, I really haven't had, uh, too many problems. Uh, seems to me that everything that I buy goes bad just after the warranty runs out. I hear that one. Have you had any lately go out? Yeah, I've had a dryer, an ice maker, a microwave, all three, and they, unfortunately I bought them all three at the same time, when I bought my new house, and, uh, I really don't have any recourse, so I had to call and have them all repaired and that. Oh, wow. Yeah, it was a hassle. So you didn't get anything, even, all the, all the warranties were out? Yeah, the warranty on the refrigerator, uh, the the refrigerator warranty's still good, but the ice maker itself, passed its three years, and it was three years and two months. You're kidding. No. Yeah, we just moved into a new house, too, so we had to buy all those, too. Uh, watch out. Yeah, the only thing I've had problems with is, um, I buy a lot of wood working equipment through the mail Uh-huh. and I bought this paint stripper where they advertise that it's nontoxic and such, and when you get the product it ends up being toxic and all these warnings. So. Um. I didn't return it because it'd probably cost me more than, I just ended up using it. But, that's about the only thing I've had gone wrong. But. I usually have pretty good luck with appliances, but I just, uh, it was within two days that all three of these stopped working, and the the ice maker was, uh, had to have a new pump, That's incredible. and the, uh, microwave had to have, uh, some kind of something I can't even pronounce, and they, uh, the dryer had to have a new heating element, so it was about, almost three hundred dollars for all three of them. And they all went out at the same time? Uh, within two days of each other. Or two days. Wow. I was, it wasn't a good week. I was pretty mad. And plus the place that I'd bought them all had gone out of business, so even if I, I think even if I had, uh, had kept the warranty, the service agreements were with the companies that, that manufactured, but still they were through that retailer, so I don't know if I could have taken it to another retailer or not. Wow, it's frustrating. But I didn't have to worry about all that, because they weren't under warranty. So. It was a call to the local appliance dealer who came out and fixed them all, Uh-huh. but, I, the only other things that I've ever had trouble with, uh, I seem to have a real bad trouble with electric hair dryers, blow dryers. Uh-huh, they go out a lot? Yeah, I've had two or three of those go out. One was under warranty, and the other two weren't, but, I just, other than that, you know, T V and things like that, I haven't ever had any trouble with. I don't think products are getting much better though. Yeah. See I'm in the manufacturing home from work and make, um, automotive air bags, the safety air bags. Oh, really? Yeah. That's interesting. At Morton International, and, I well, it's, it's changed a lot with the manufacturing environment. We test everything after each assembly process, and so our testing is pretty thorough, but. Do you, do you test each individual one Um. or do you just test, like if you've got ten, you test one, and by the test results of the one you assume that the other nine are okay? Um, the tests that, well, we test every one electrically. We don't, I think they test four or five a day, actually exploding the air bags Uh-huh. and, but we do test after, during the assembly project, product, um, after we assemble each part of the inflator or what explodes the bag, we check to make sure it's there after we install it, so, each assembly process has an inspection right after it's done, and then we do electrical tests on them during the process, so. Well, that's something I've never had to use, it's never, I've never been involved in an automobile accident, so, luckily that's a product that I haven't had to test. Yeah. But I think it's a great idea. I'm, I'm, seems like all the good logical ideas take forever to come about but that. Well, they do the, all the testing that we have to do through the government, it's incredible how much testing they have to do. Oh, I'm sure they want to be thorough before they. But, uh, even, you know, I don't mind spending the extra money on the car if, you know, even if they pass the savings, the cost onto the consumer, because it just seems like a real worthwhile thing. Uh-huh. I'm not a real big seat belt, my, uh, Well Jackie, uh, on taxes, I, I guess I would have to say, that I, that my opinion is that I do think Americans are paying too much in taxes. Uh, what's your feeling about that? I agree. I think taxes are high. Right, uh, where you live do you have a state income tax and a sales tax both? Oh, yes. Uh-huh. Uh, uh-huh. In New Hampshire we have, uh, uh, no, no, what we call broad base taxes. No income tax and no sales tax. Huh. Uh, we tax business, uh, eight percent, businesses are taxed eight percent and we have what we call the five B s. Uh, for our taxes. Booze, uh, butts, cigarettes, beds, uh, hotel room tax bellies, a meal tax and bets, gambling. Uh-huh. Oh. So, uh, we do have a very low tax rate, but you know, combined with the federal income tax. I think that Americans generally do pay too much in taxes and . Right. Yeah, I, I agree and I, think it's about the time of the year when you just start getting, well if you do get money back from like jobs, I'm still a student so, uh, I only work part time, Uh-huh so I, I get a check back so Well that's nice. from, from taxes but, Nice, nice to get a refund. Yeah It is, but it's not much. So. Uh-huh. Do you think that, uh, for whatever taxes we do pay that, uh, we are getting value for it? No. Yeah. Uh, my, my opinion of taxes is that we just send money to Washington or to the state and they say they are going to send some back, it's like giving yourself a it's like one arm giving the other a transfusion. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. Uh, it, it really, uh, I should say one arm giving another arm a transfusion through a leaky tube because, Right because, uh, there's an old saying in amongst taxes and politicians that there's a fly paper effect Yeah. There you go and that is that money tends to stick where it lands first and when you send it to Washington or send it to your state capitol, uh, a lot of it stays there and not that much comes back to you. Right, yeah. I don't know. I, don't seem like they are doing much with it, I mean there's plans there and now that they are voting and people, you know, getting into drug and that stuff. Uh-huh. They have nice plans and, uh, but, they don't always work and then you know they try to raise taxes more and I don't what happens with all the money because if their plans don't work, you know, but taxes get raise so. I don't know. I'm not really into politics, uh That it, I don't really understand it Uh-huh. but it's just you know Well, it does it, it does seem that the more taxes that are raised the more the politicians spend. Uh, it's almost like they will spend as much as the, they're allowed to collect. You know. Right. Uh, there is an interesting proposal that's been going around now for a few years of having a flat tax. Uh, ten percent or thirteen percent. There would be no figuring. I mean you would take your income tax, you would have a certain amount, I mean you would take you total salary Uh-huh. those who made under a certain amount wouldn't owe any taxes, and then there would be a set amount for however many people, you know, dependent you have, and you would just pay a flat tax. No exemptions, no deductions or anything else after you know, after you figure up who's in your family. Right. Huh. And that would eliminate a lot of the bureaucracy in the I R S and it would eliminate all these loop holes that the fat cats get away with. Yeah. The could be nice Yeah. Huh. I, I'd like to see something like that. I think it would be fairer and it would put a, you know, a lot of the tax attorneys our of business and I am sure they will fight it tooth and nail, but I really think a flat tax would be a lot fairer for all Americans. Right, yeah. I mean it doesn't seem right that somebody that makes twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars pays four or five thousand dollars in taxes while somebody that makes two hundred and fifty thousand dollars might pay nothing in taxes. Right, huh. It doesn't seem fair to me. Yeah, it isn't, there is not much out there that is fair, that's for sure. Right. Huh. I will agree to that. I think your taxes in Wisconsin are pretty high. I, I, if I am not mistaken, aren't they? I mean for your state. Uh, What is, do you know what your state income tax rate is? Um, no Twenty percent? I, I have no idea, I just. My dad does it all for me Just, you just pay it, huh I use, You're like, you're like my daughter who is in college down in Massachusetts and, uh, she works as a waitress and she is attending college full time also Uh-huh. and she sends her taxes to me and I figure them up. She really has no idea. She gets a refund check and, Okay. How do you keep up with current events? Um, well actually, usually, uh, in the mornings I am getting ready to either go to work, uh, usually catch the news in the morning. Yeah, what what channel do you watch or what station? Uh, N B C. That's the one I watch. I usually keep up with T V. I don't, I am a student so I really don't have much time to like read the newspapers and stuff Uh-huh. so I get a lot of stuff through the grapevine which is really isn't too great sometimes Yeah. Yeah, I usually tend to just, you know, rely on, you know, T V, uh, again, you know, just through the grapevine just, just to know like, you know like what today's stories are and I usually like go out an buy a newspaper if you know I'm interested in any particular one. Yeah. The radio doesn't really have much news sometimes. The stations I listen to are just mainly music. Yeah, I think you pretty much have to listen to all news station to get any news at all. Yeah. Do you think that T V is, uh, pretty accurate. I mean sometimes do you think it gets pretty commercialized or, Well, what I really don't like about T V, especially local news as compared to like national news is just, uh, it seems, it seems like everything is very spoon feed and you know it's, it's more like the news shows is now is now you know an entertainment show like a sitcom or like the news, because they would always have like the wonderful investigative reports, you know, is your kid's bus driver smoking crack, on the way to school, you know? Yeah. Yeah, it's they mainly go with like popular topics just not like basic news. Uh-huh. Yeah. Also, also I have the observation of, uh, with the press is that, like any any stories that I had any first hand knowledge of that I see in the press, you know, which only happened like ten times in my life you know first thing you know for anything of you know or anything that actually had, had more than just a blurb about it. That the press has managed to just mess up some aspect of the story Huh. Yeah. it's something wrong. Going, they're, looks like they're going more for ratings than for you know actual news. Uh-huh. I think, you know the probably the best source of just plain journalism would be newspapers Uh-huh. they typically have a better. I am from a small town too here in Texas and so that then like local news is really who grew the biggest tomato Uh-huh. and, Yeah, the farm report. Yeah, farm report and oil reports. That's pretty pretty sad or who killed who. Uh-huh. Also I have found that newspapers probably aren't as bad as television . Read the story and just found it so incredibly watered down and, Yeah. Well, in, uh, in Dallas, I don't know if you heard about the killing where the guy drove into Luby's and the story was, uh, Was that like he started shooting people, people in this cafeteria or something? Yeah. And the news covered it right, you know, hours after it happened Uh-huh. and they were taping people who were crying who had everything Uh-huh. and then like three days later this, uh, local news station was using as as their promo to promote themselves. Uh-huh. I just thought that was really that's kind of cold, Oh yeah, I have seen that happen lots of times. You know, uh, Channel X gives you the best coverage you know we were on the scene with our team players and, Yeah and it was just, they were showing like these dead people Uh-huh and they were showing people crying Uh-huh I mean just taking advantage of you know. Uh-huh. They are trying to get the, you know, most emotional response for, Yeah, it didn't seem like there was much coverage of the story, but just the play on people's emotions It's just gotten so, I mean, somewhere there's, it's lost a lot of the quality that they use to have like in Walter Cronkite that if you know Yeah and everything. Yeah, yeah. You know, I've pretty much stopped watching local news totally you know Yeah. uh, you know even the national news I just find it to be you know very watered down, Yeah. very, What did you think of the coverage of the war? Uh, I I found it very one sided. Did you? Uh, you know, it, it just seemed to lack any sort of debate. Yeah. Uh, you know, not saying that we that we actually should have been there or shouldn't have been there, but it just seemed like, you know. They kept just showing, you know, how great we were doing and it never really showed what actually the damage that really happened that's Uh-huh. Uh-huh. a lot of times like the news coverage showed all the, you know, the guys who didn't get hurt coming home and all the big parties Uh-huh. and they kind of you know, if they were going to show that why didn't they show the guys who you know got really hurt and everything. Uh-huh. Yeah, and I really think that you know in the involvement that the press states, you know that the the military basically sets the press, Think about, uh, taxes. Well, I think they're a necessary evil. Uh, I wish the government would operate on the same premise that, uh, businesses operate on and that is, uh you, you don't spend more than you, than you bring in. You spend what you have and, Yeah, I think that, the general idea is to you know, spend, uh, during a time of recession that, you know, for the deficit spending to help pick up the economy, but they're running under the you know, the way they're running it now, they're you know, running it under a deficit spending, you know, while we're not under a recession, so there's never any surplus coming in to counter the deficit that we're running, so that's kind of a basic thing of economics, I guess, keep spending, keep going into debt, you're not going to payoff what you owe, but, so, I guess the, the question was more like, uh, do you get what you pay you know, get what you pay for. Well, I, it just depends. Uh, uh, roads are very expensive, uh, commodity and so is, uh, utilities they supply and police and fire department, uh, you know, they need to make a living. Yeah. There's, So I think for, for, for many years, uh, we've paid teachers and police officers and firemen who are, uh, to a great extent, public servants uh, we have not paid them really what they're worth in what they contribute to society. Uh-huh. I agree with that. But, uh, then again, uh, it's the, hard to justify with all the wastefulness of money that the government spends on all levels of, of, uh, government, including municipalities as well as state and federal governments. I guess, I'm, I'm a student right now and I don't make a whole lot of money and, so, I, I kind of don't pay a proportionate amount of taxes to, I guess, uh, compared to what I get, because I, you know, all my, my education is state sponsored. I go to a state sponsored school and, uh, my education all up through high school and stuff, so I guess I'm kind of in debt, I, I suppose, because I don't, you know, been paying taxes all that, all that long. My parents, I guess, however, have contributed to that, you know, for the education side of it and everything, but, uh, I usually end up getting money back. I will this year anyway from a, Uh, you're very fortunate. Yeah, I am I need it, too, otherwise, We just try not to pay any more in than we have to, uh, we pay in a substantial amount. Uh, Uh-huh. We don't regret paying taxes. We do think that, uh, sometimes, uh, we have a reverse of a regressive tax, a progressive tax. Uh-huh. And progressive tax, I think, uh, does not give people incentive to make more money, and what I mean by that, the more income you make, the more tax you pay. More taxes you pay. It should be, I think, a flat percentage and, uh, that percentage ought to be an equitable amount. Uh-huh. Isn't, Uh, last year when they passed the tax laws for the, uh, nineteen ninety, ninety-one, whatever, nineteen ninety-one uh, I added up all the taxes that we were going to pay on all these different specific luxury items and travel expenses and everything else, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I totaled them all up and basically, uh, we were going to be paying seventy or eighty percent tax. Wow. Now, that was the assumption that you spent that same dollar for every, for every item on there even though there's, uh, taxes on different things. Uh-huh. Well isn't, But, you know, there's there's a lot of taxes you pay that you're not even aware of that you're paying, uh, like when you buy a tire, you pay a federal excise tax. Uh-huh, there's a lot, yeah, lot of hidden taxes. You pay gasoline taxes every time you pump something into your, your tank. Uh-huh. The taxes that people don't think about that, yeah, the, the, the income tax is a lot more visible portion of the taxes you pay, I guess. But you probably pay more percentage wise in other taxes. Uh-huh. There was that, which was it Jerry Brown, one of the democratic candidates had a proposal for doing away with all the, the tax codes they have now and implementing a I think a flat percentage, something like that. Yeah if you implemented a flat percentage, it would encourage people, uh, to make more money and the, what people need to understand in my opinion, now this is just my opinion, okay, uh, is that businesses create jobs and jobs create income and income pays taxes. Uh-huh. And, so, if they penalize businesses, business people are smart enough to say, here's my break point, I'm not going to work any harder and make any more or create any more jobs. Right. Exactly. That's, because until, like eight, And so, Based on that, who do you think you're talking to, you're talking to an employer. Up until, like, eighty-five or something was the, Well, actually, uh, I, I don't think I'm in the, uh, majority of, in, in Texas I don't think I agree with, Oh really. No. You don't believe in it? Uh, I wouldn't say that. I think I would have said that a few years ago. When I was younger I thought it was, uh, a sign of a civilized society if you didn't have, uh, capital punishment but, um, uh, maybe slowly changing my opinion. Yeah. I'm not thoroughly opposed to it. I still think it's sort of true that a more civilized society wouldn't have to use capital punishment but I'm beginning to believe this is less civilized society than I thought You sound a lot like a friend of mine. A a girl I hang out with. Uh-huh. She has very, very black and white opinions, you know. There's no gray in her opinions, you know. She, she probably would agree more with you but, but I don't know. I think I would rather a person go ahead and be put down than give them the opportunity to get out and do it again. I've never had a, a punishment or a, a crime like a murder touch my immediate family Uh-huh. but I still feel very strongly that capital punishment is a good way to, to punish, especially criminals who seem to have absolutely no remorse for what they've done. Yeah. And we see that more and more. Like in our state right now, there's a fourteen year old boy who raped and then killed a seven year old girl Uh-huh. you know, that's fourteen years old. What's he going to be doing when he turns into an adult. Yeah. I certainly don't, uh, advocate turning people like that loose. Yeah. I'm not sure executing them, uh, does anymore than keeping them in jail, but, uh, No it doesn't but, it costs less. Yeah. That, that's a factor. And, yeah, to me it is. I mean, I work and I pay my taxes and I lived out in Texas for a little while and they're and that's a pretty heavy state compared to Georgia I mean you guys are, are a lot more, uh, for to each his own even than we are in Georgia. Right. But even in Georgia that's the attitude for the most part. If I work and pay my dues you work and pay your dues and we'd get along just fine. Uh-huh. Yeah. But when I've got to work to pay my dues and your dues then I don't like you very much anymore. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I, the cost is something but it's, but I think it's relatively unimportant compared to what's the most effective way of, dealing with crime and I guess I would like, I don't know, the European countries certainly, uh, none of them have capital punishment and they they don't have a crime problem either. Oh, really. No, you can't, they don't execute anybody in Britain or France and I don't believe they do in Germany or Italy either and they don't have the crime problems we do. I don't really think that there is too much of a relationship between the two. Yeah. I guess what worries me about capital punishment is, uh, when I see people enthusiastic about it and, uh, uh, sort of bloodthirsty. I think it brings out the worst in the, in the people who do the punishing and the, that, that bothers me. You might be right. But it, but, uh, I mean I, I'd hate to be the person to pull the switch, you know, I would never in a million years want that job Huh. but I do believe it's necessary and I, Yeah. On the one hand I, I guess I admire the person who has the guts to do it because I couldn't I couldn't stand behind a gun and shoot somebody for nothing Huh. and I couldn't pull the switch but, uh, Well actually I, the other thing that bothers me is when it becomes a political issue because I don't really think it, uh, I don't really think it's a very important aspect of fighting crime or law and order or anything else. I think it just becomes a, uh, symbolic I'm tougher than you are type of emotional issue for politicians so Yeah. I would like for it to be settled once for all and, uh, get in the background while the more important issues get discussed, uh, uh, Right. Like I said, some years ago, I think I would have said there's no place for capital punishment in the, civilized western country. Uh-huh. Now I'm, I'm not so sure of that. I'm, I, I wouldn't vote against somebody just because it was for capital punishment and nor the other way around. What what's making you become more convinced that it might be a good way of punishing Uh, I guess I'm, I'm, my view of uh, my, I'm beginning to believe that some people are simply not rehabilitatable and, uh, that, uh, uh, costs and other factors justify, uh, uh, executing people. Yeah. Maybe it's more a symbolic gesture that, uh, uh, than anything else and, uh, I've also never been a victim although I have some, I have two friends whose wives were murdered and, uh I can imagine that, uh, uh, for some people it would be the only form of justice in that case. Oh, gosh Oh yes, if it ever touched my I don't know what you drive now. I mean, what do you drive now? Uh, I have a Ford pickup and, uh, the family car is a, uh, a Dodge Caravan. And, uh, because we have three kids and they're under thirteen Oh, okay. so, uh Throw them in the back. they sort of fit our requirement. Yeah, I have a, one of those, uh, pickups with the, uh, seat with a seat in the back. Cab. Oh, yeah? And so they just fit in there. When they get to be teenagers with long legs, it may not work. Yeah Right now, I can, right now, I can throw them all in the back when we have room and, uh and since I do a lot of projects, I throw things in the back There you go. and I kind of like having a pickup truck. Yeah, Actually, I think of it as a as a car that'll last Right, yeah, I know. I like the way trucks are built and I don't care about comfort. So, I'm pretty happy. Yeah, you're looking at, I got a Toyota Four Runner. I wanted a truck that I, I wanted something that I could throw people in the back too, so I got a Four Runner. So I wouldn't hesitate to get another one. I, I never buy new so I wouldn't hesitate to get another used truck. You're just like me. I've never bought a new vehicle in my life. And, uh, yeah, I don't, I don't need to pay for the glitz. I'll let somebody else, uh, have the showroom shine No. and I'll pay for the rest of it. Let somebody else break it in, right Right. And, uh, the van we're we might go again on a, on a van. We, we could probably do with a, a, something just a little bit larger than a compact in a sedan next time. I'm not sure. Yeah. We have to, we, we'll have to face it in a couple of years but, uh, I, I guess, we had a small Toyota wagon Right. and we were real happy with that because, uh, my, my second requirement after price is, uh, low maintenance. Right. And, uh, it certainly had that. We didn't do much to it at all. Yeah. So. Yeah, my, my, pretty much the same. I, I got a, like I say I got one of those Toyota Four Runners Uh-huh. and, uh, it pretty much does everything I need it to. I mean, it, it'll tow three thousand pounds so I can tow everything and it, I can throw, I've had eleven people in it before Believe it or not. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's real reliable, I, I mean I've had it for almost four years now and up until, oh, say two weeks ago, it had never had anything wrong with it. Uh-huh. And then, of course, two weeks ago, it decided, I don't know, it's the strangest, weirdest thing in the world, but it blew a head gasket. Uh-oh. Didn't do any damage to it. Uh, I caught it real early. How, at how at how many miles? Uh, oh ninety-seven thousand. Huh. So it's not real early You didn't overheat it? No. Never overheated it. I smell, I smelled the, uh, I smelled the coolant Uh-huh. Went out and looked. Saw it was, saw where it was coming from. Drove it right to the shop and left it off. Huh. Well that was, , And that was it because I, I have that and then I have a, a Kawasaki motorcycle. Which is, actually, the, usually my preferred mode of transportation if I can take it and it's not raining. Uh-huh. Yeah. I mean that's, that's sort of my, hobby though more than a vehicle. It, it's a I don't know, people who buy motorcycles for transportation I think are kidding themselves I have one colleague that, uh, commutes to work on one when it's not raining and, uh, uh, he's a, it's, he's pretty conservative guy. I don't think it's much of a sport for him. I guess, uh, I know but I bet you he really enjoys riding it. I'm sure he does, yeah. Yeah. So, you know, when was the last time you took out, took your truck out just to, just to go driving? Yeah. No And I go out twice a week on the bike, so. At least. Just for the enjoyment. Yeah. Uh . Yeah But, yeah, I, I mean, the only thing I think I might get, a new car or, not necessarily a new car but, a, another car, uh, I would consider going to a, a non, to a normal pickup rather than a, a covered pickup like the one I've got. Just because there's a lot of times I wished I had, just an open bed to throw stuff in. Right. I'm sure, I'm sure that that's very, I mean you got one. It's, that's really convenient to be able to throw that sort of stuff in the back and, If I only had some place that I could store the, uh, camper top, I would have it off most of the time. Right. I really leave it on there just for, just to have it out of the way because you put it on the ground it gets dirty. To have it out of the way. Right. But, uh, they're solid. Uh, trucks are built, uh, I mean, I think they last a lot longer than anything else. They're the only things Americans still know how to build and, uh Yeah, yeah, the trucks do. Uh, even though, you know, the Jap, the little Jap trucks are, are good there too. But so are the, though I think the Chevies, I don't think the I don't like the Chevies as much as I like the Fords. Yeah. I think they, I think the Fords tend to last a little longer. At least until recently Right. I I kind of like mine, yeah, so, mine's a Ford A friend of mine just bought , bought like a year ago. It, it's a really nice truck. I mean, I don't like Dodges at all but one of the Dodges they have out now has a, uh, the Cummins turbo diesel on it. Oh, I heard about that, yes. Oh, it's beautiful. Yeah. That thing, that thing will last forever I mean , That, that's a serious truck. Oh, yeah, that thing's, uh, it's got a boat engine in it Right, this, uh, I, I know a contractor who just got one of those. Uh-huh. He's pleased with it. Well I haven't had an awful lot of, uh, incidents regarding child care. When my two year old was in New Orleans, she got bit on the cheek and, uh, but, uh, that's about the, the, uh, the extent of it. But, but, but when, I really am, am concerned about is that, uh, so many of these child care places are, are coming under, uh, uh, you know, investigation for, for, uh, you know, child molestation. Uh-huh. And I, and I, and I'm saying to myself, well, you know, you dump your, your, your little turnip off to, uh, you know, this child care place and they don't pay very much and why, why would they be interested in, in your little turnip unless, you know, one of the motivations in the hidden agenda is well that's somebody to molest, you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, that's a terrible kind of thing and I don't think my children have ever been subject to that but my wife didn't work and so we really didn't have that much exposure to it. Uh-huh. Well I am a working mother I have three children and my children, since I, uh, since they were very young, I've had various, um, different alternatives, child care arrangements and like most working mothers I'm really not defensive about it. I personally feel, uh, in our particular situation, I'm a much better mother when I work out of the home and my kids, I think, are very, very secure, well raised children. My comment on this is that we paid an absolute fortune over the years for a variety of opportunities. Huh. So I, I, I, you know, it is a problem. And, but as you pointed out, I, I think the real problem is the low pay child facilities and that is sometimes what some women who have to work, that is all they can afford. When our children were very young, we had a pay, a live in paid baby-sitter that was wonderful. Huh. And then as they got older, they went to, uh, I preferred to call them schools and they were really all day preschools and they were wonderful. And I think they got exposed to a lot of neat things. Oh, well that's interesting. But we did, we really truly did pay a fortune. I mean we were paying at one point, well about, about a, close, about five hundred dollars a week for two children. Oh, my God. So. Well you must have a, just one hero ace professional job to support something like that. Well, I I'm a physician. Uh and, as is my husband. Oh, well, yeah And, and I felt, uh, very good about working. I'm a pediatrician actually. Uh-huh. So, uh, but I think there are some wonderful child care opportunities out there for children but, and we all know the kind of things that you're supposed to look for. I think, Well, not, not all of us. You know what the kind of things you're supposed to look for. I'm an engineer. Oh. Well And, I think it's real important that you have a place that, first of all parents have a lot of input into and that they're always welcome and that they have a lot of activities where parents come in during the day and that at any time you can drop in. And we had a really wonderful arrangement, uh, I'm with the university actually Uh-huh. and they had a wonderful, uh, program that started at age three and it was about a block away from the hospital where I work. And so, many times, at lunchtime, I would go over and visit the children and eat with them and see what they were doing. And they had wonderful, they had things like gardens and lots of pets and just, they had a four to one uh, teacher student ratio. Yeah. So that, that sort of an, most of the teachers had degrees. Uh, Five hundred dollars a week. For two kids. Yeah. That's incredible. It was incredible actually Oh, oh. But it was good. I mean it was, it, at that time there were two children and they were in special programs and each one was a little over two hundred a week and then, in addition, I paid a little bit extra. But the kids were, Well. I mean they really had some great opportunities. But, what you were alluding to earlier is, you know, women who work for minimal wage and, and really have feel they have to put their children, Yeah. sometimes they do put them in, uh, fairly low paying situations. You know, they could, somebody will have a job at three hundred a week to get off welfare and you know, that's a good starting wage Uh-huh. but boy three hundred dollars a week doesn't go very far on child care. Uh-huh. No, even that, that really, I think, I don't, it's been awhile since I've looked at, my youngest child is eight. So it's been a little while since I've looked into, actually daycare centers. But they are Huh. you know, the good ones do cost maybe sixty dollars a week since . I mean we used to pay, pay fifty cents an hour to baby-sit. But mine are twenty-two, twenty-three and twenty-seven so you know, that, Uh-huh. I guess baby-sitters now are up at, what, five dollars an hour? Something like that. Oh my. Well, you know, but you made the comment earlier, why would someone be interested in children. I mean it has been a real, uh, there have been some good entrepreneurial type experiences. And I think, I think they have captured a certain market. Again the, but then there are baby-sitting groups. As a pediatrician, one of the things we've been real concerned about is the infections. Uh-huh. As you start putting lots of little kids together, the infection rates that go around Oh, yeah. Hi, Cynthia. What did you wear to work today? Um, let's see. What did I wear to work today? Um, actually I wore corduroy shorts with a white blouse, um, and flat shoes. So, can you dress pretty casually? Um, on occasion. On occasion. Yeah. Um, I do vary. Um, you know, I wear suits, I wear skirts and sweaters. On occasion I can wear jeans. Um, how about you? Well, I, um, run a business out of my home. Uh-huh. So I tend to get up in the morning, put on, sweats, um, do whatever I want to do with the kids, then whenever I have a meeting with a client, I'll put a suit on. And then come home and get back into regular clothes again Yes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, you know, there's real no, no real dress code where I work. Um, you see people wearing, you know, all different attire. I, um, don't like to wear heels, that really tires me out. I work in a big building. Yeah. So, I predominantly wear flat shoes. Um, you know, in the winter I wear sweaters, in summer I, you know, I like one piece dresses, short sleeves, things like that. I've recently, um, tried to update my wardrobe, trying to put suits together that I can interchange, the, jackets and the blouses and all that a lot. Right. Right. That's helped me a lot with having, I can only have a, a limited wardrobe, since I'm only, working part-time right now. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, but still, it gives it some variety. Add different blouses and scarves and belts and things like that. Uh-huh. Right, right, accessories, uh-huh. What about your casual wear? Do you like to wear jeans most of the time? Um, yeah mostly. I mean, at home I predominantly wear laughs while saying remainder of sweatpants and things like that, also. Yeah. It's nice you can wear shorts, especially on a day like today when it's so hot. Yeah, well, they're, um, you know, they're like Dress shorts. yeah, they're like black corduroy Bermuda shorts. Yeah. And sometimes I wear a blazer with them, and I get really a lot of compliments on them. Um, where I work is predominantly male. Yeah. So, you know, they, their attire is always the same, you know. Suits or slacks, you know, jeans, whatever. Yeah, but , And, um, but I'm really the only woman, I guess, at work that does that, but seems to work for me Yeah, but . In fact, I just bought, I, I just got a new outfit as a gift that, um, it's one of those skorts, you know, it's shorts but it looks like a skirt. Uh-huh. So, I think that'll be good for work, too. Oh, yeah. It'll be comfortable. Yeah. Yeah. So, I guess down here, uh, we just recently moved to Texas, so my wardrobe has changed quite a bit. Uh-huh. Um, we moved from Colorado where, and I have a closet full of sweaters. Uh-huh. That, Well, see, I live in Virginia. You live in Virginia, now? Uh-huh. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. So, I'm, you know, like right now, today was in about, you know, the fifties. Uh-huh. But, um, you know, I, I do wear a lot of sweaters and things like sweater dresses. Yeah. I'd like to be able to wear those here. Today it's eighty-eight degrees. Oh, my So Uh-huh. Needless to say, my sweaters have been hung in the closet for quite a while now Uh-huh. Today was, uh, definitely a shorts day around here. Uh-huh. Yeah, we're still pretty much, you know, in winter, as far as that goes here. This is pretty unseasonal, but, uh, at least, we, you know, it, it, it feels good, it gets, uh, everybody doesn't have cabin fever today. It's nice to get, out and about. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I guess we've discussed everything there is about clothing Okay. Sounds good. Okay? It was nice talking to you. Okay, it was nice talking to you, also. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Hi. Hi, um, okay what, now, uh, what particularly, particularly what kind of music do you like? Well, I mostly listen to popular music. I, uh, listen to it all the time in, in my car, so, I, I tend to be one of those people who switches stations a lot because I don't like commercials. But, uh, I find myself listening to popular music, Yeah. and, uh, quite honestly, I, I have some little children and I, unfortunately, found myself listening to a lot of nursery rhyme music here lately, but that's not by my choice. Oh, really. How about you? Well, um, I don't have that, I don't have that are experience to share Lucky you. I, I do, I do listen to a lot of, you know, I do, I switch the stations a lot because I don't have a cassette player in my car. Um, um. Uh-huh. Uh, uh, however, I, I do, I do like a lot of different forms of music so I switch quite often. Um, I think I like, I, I'm really particular about the type of music that I listen to. Uh-huh. But, the, uh, there's such a wide selection, I think I like a lot, I like a little bit of a lot of different types of music. You know, I, I, I like music that is, that I feel if it is performed correctly or if it's done right, or if the version is done right, I like it Yeah. but, if, if it's not, then I won't. I, I really don't, How do you feel about rap music? Rap. It seems to be so popular these days. Yeah. Well, I, I don't really have anything against rap music. I, the one thing I do object to about rap music is, is when it becomes militant, or, if it's, uh, violence oriented. Uh-huh. Right. I, I have strong objections to that. Um, actually I listen to, one time I remember, this was back when, even, uh, I would say about ten or fifteen years ago I, When it was really just starting. Yeah, right when it was just starting, I heard what was called talking blues, which actually is rap. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, it was about, the, the piece of music, the piece of music was about, I think about forty or fifty years old. And, it was incredible, I mean, the parallel, you know, between it and rap. Right. And, um, you, you listen a lot, if you, if you hear a lot of old gospel, uh, uh, especially well, the black gospel. You know, you will, you know, you can really pick it up. I mean, Yeah, you really. It seemed to be influenced by a lot of different music. A lot of times you'll hear songs that you know, they're not original, but have been put to a rap kind of a rhythm. Yeah. And, uh, sounds, it sounds so much different and yet, I, I have a much younger sister who listens to a lot of rap music and, uh, she thinks its pretty funny how often I know all of the words to songs that she's listening to, and yet, she thought they were brand new, original pieces. Yeah. Yeah. they, they do, they do copy versions, they do cover versions of, of, you know, like standards, I guess you could call it. That's right. I think it's kind of absurd, you know, the fact that, you know, they don't really, they don't really give, you know, the original artist, or the original composer, the credit that is really due to them. No. Yeah, I guess there was even a, a bit of ruckus caused by the M C Hammer, who's really, you know, Yeah. seems to be the hot one of, of today. He used, um, WILD THING. Do you remember that, that song. Yeah. he used, um, I can't remember who the artist was on that. Jimi Hendrix was the original. Who? Jimi Hendrix was the original. He wrote Was it, well, maybe it wasn't that one. Because, it was a living, it was a living person that I'm, I'm thinking of that, um, that said, "You know, hey that, those are my words." Okay. And, uh, I guess that they, because they hadn't originally gotten, um, permission, from him to use it. Uh-huh. And, he, he since then has, has amended that, and paid them his royalties every time the, the song goes on but, Yeah. I don't know it may have, it may have been somebody else, because I think, I think that even Jimi Hendrix did it, I think that was a you know, come to think of it, I think that was a cover version of, like a John Lee Hooker song, or something, Maybe so. I, I, can't think. I mean it was just like, it was really old. I mean I, I, there are a lot, there are so many different songs, I mean like the whole thing about cover versions a lot of times. I mean I've heard some songs that, that I just thought were horrendous cover versions of, I'm like, you know, I, I don't want to listen to this. Because you know, you think of the original is like, Yeah. you know, oh, that was really great. That was a, you know, a really good piece of work, and then when you hear the cover it's like, you know, God, what are they doing. Right. They destroyed it. I, I think a good one was, um, there was a Peter Frampton song, Oh, yeah! and, then the cover version, I think, I mean, I thought, was absolutely, it was pitiful. I, I remember seeing the video of it on M T V, and I thought it was hideous. Yeah. I did too. It was, ugh, I didn't like that either. Yeah, but you know, whatever became of Peter Frampton. I mean, there was nothing, he was a phenomenon, I there was no reason for him to really come into, you know, great stardom or anything. I remember, I saw him in a concert, when I was, Yeah. Yeah, I think, I think it, I think it was in high school. Yeah, I think that probably what did it for him was the fact that he was a good stage performer. Uh-huh. He was very good. I remember I saw him in a huge stadium in, uh, Philadelphia. It was in J F K Stadium, if I can remember. Oh man. Hundreds of thousands of people is what it seemed like. Yeah. I've, I graduated back in seventy-nine, so, Um, um. Uh-huh. but, but I've really, I, I loved, I mean, I was, I was really into the album oriented music, even then, Uh-huh. so I was really familiar with a lot, with a lot of, of the A O R type music. Um, the album oriented like the, uh, James Taylor, and, the, uh, the Beatles, Oh, yeah. and you know, I mean, a lot of people they go, they're better than the Beatles, and I'm like, you know, you don't know what you're talking about. No I mean, the comparison made between New Kids On The Block with the Beatles It was just, You can only laugh Yeah, you just sort of, you know, well I guess I can just humor them, you know At this point. Right well, they, I guess our age is showing when, we, we think that. Yeah, but well, you know, I, I, I've liked a lot of the new music. I think, um, um, when Uh-huh. I saw some promise, you know, with, with a lot of the new wave, when it, when it came out, uh, back in the mid and early eighties. Yeah. And then, um, I don't know music is kind of in a weird, it's in a very weird position right now. I think that, I mean, I like, you know, things like to hear, you know, what they call world music. Which is, you know, using all these natural forms of music and, Like Paul Simon. Like, Yeah, yeah, Paul Simon. Yeah. Well, you know, really that's not world music. But, what, what Paul Simon's doing, I think is, is, is great because he's, you know I think, I think that using, I guess what they call it is eclectic, you know. drawing from a lot of different sources and making, you know, a synthesis of a new type of music. Um, Yeah. What do you mean by world music? Well, world music is, um, a lot of the, a lot of where they, where they make music that they adapt to a, to another kind of, to another type of listener. Uh-huh. Uh, for example, let's say you're taking like an original Brazilian form of music and, with a certain style, and then you try to make it a little bit more listenable for, let's say another audience, let's say a North American. Uh-huh. And, then when they hear it, it, it's a really, it's another form of music, and, you know, sort of, um, trying to draw out the best sources. Um. The, the best of every type of music. Right. Because, I mean, there are some, I mean, I, I there are some, you know, types of heavy metal that I really like, but, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't say that I, I completely like heavy metal. No. I, I think, you know, and it's the same way with, you know, world music takes the forms that have really been, um, I guess, I you know, the best example or, you know, the cream of the crop, I guess you could say, and then, and then taking those, those qualities, and then applying, in the styles, that are really, um, that are extremely enjoyable, and then taking, So then it becomes a kind of music of, of its own, so to speak, or, uh, Yeah, yeah, it becomes a kind of music of its own. I mean, when you listen to it, it's um, uh, I think that they don't use, some of it, it's, they use electronic and acoustic interchangeably, Uh-huh. so, you know, well a lot of the stuff you hear coming from South Africa now, and from West Africa, that's considered world music, because it's not particularly using certain types of folk styles. Right. But, they're, they're trying to make it somewhat more modern. I, I, I, a good, another good example was I heard Miles Davis, and Miles Davis worked with Robbie Shoncar, if you can believe it, I mean, Uh-huh. Uh-huh You know, he's a jazz performer, and then he's playing with Robbie Shoncar, who's a very good, he's a very good arranger. Uh, arrangement to, uh, we're going to have to get off. The, are they trying to , I don't know. But, uh, We've talked our five minutes though. Yeah, okay, but, I mean, when I heard his album, I heard it and it was just incredible. I've been listening to that a lot lately. Yeah, I, I listened and, I heard, you know, you hear this guitar, and then you hear the muted trumpet. I me, and you never would think that they, that they can actually play together but, Oh yeah. Okay, I don't know, which end do we push but okay, Okay, well, um, let's see, I, I think there's a lot of people that don't vote because they don't really think their, their, uh, opinion is going to be heard and, you know, there's such a small voice and such a huge number of people in the United States and that, you know, their, vote's not going to make that much difference and whether you vote for one person or the other person, the issues is what, you know, what you believe in, and that person is going to have a lot of, uh, since there's so many issues, this one person can believe a lot of different ways on, all of them Right, yeah. so, it would be really difficult to have that one perfect person that believed exactly what you believed. That's true, you know, a lot of people, uh, uh, I think the, that it ends up the people that, uh, vote every time, uh, elections come around are more the, the polly, uh, the party type followers, the guys that, uh, you know, follow the party lines, you know, and, they, you know, just go in Yeah. and if they're Republican they vote Republican every year, you know, and, uh, the people that are independent, you know, are the ones that don't, uh, don't really, uh, show up every year because they can't seem to, to decide which are the good aspects and which are the bad aspects of a candidate. Right, yeah, Yeah. that's good. I always thought it was back when Anderson was running, I was hoping that things would change and he'd actually get elected and party politics would start going down the tubes, but, um that didn't work. Yeah. Yeah, there's, uh, a lot of extremes on the parties, too, with the you know, the real, uh, far side of the Democrats they're real liberal now and to where probably fifty or a hundred years ago, um, the Democrat party being liberal like they are now, you know, would never be thought of, it would be the other way that the Republicans were real liberal minded as far as like, uh, moral standings and those kinds of things. Uh-huh. But, Yeah, yeah, that's, uh, and then, and then people always get upset about it, too, because, you know, every year the, the, the politicians are the ones that are usually pushing for more people to vote, Uh-huh they, they each think that, uh, if more people vote, they'll get more votes, huh? Yeah I'm always amazed at that, that each candidate thinks it's going to be the people that come out that will vote for him, you know. Yeah. That's, that's true. I think in, uh, the Texas governor elections, I think more people turned out to vote against somebody than for somebody, this time. Yeah, well, that, uh, I know that there's certain issues that can really motivate people because we live in a predominately Catholic type area, Oh, really? and when things start, uh, when, when abortion comes on the issues and people just get all inspired, you know, Right. and, uh, still on the other hand we're also, uh, this particular community is a Catholic community but, uh, uh, down in D C where, where things are a little bit different, uh, you know, it's, it's women's rights and the, and that sort of movement, and so it's, uh, quite the opposite, so elections start getting very, uh, the elections where they have that topic seem to be a little bit better attended than some of the other ones. Yeah, that's true. But, uh, Yeah, that's true that the different places in America that, uh, you know, different issues would be a lot more important than say in another place. Yeah, I can understand why, why some of the, the rural areas, the voter turnout isn't as much because it does seem sometimes like the lobbyists in D C are like controlling things for the, the Midwest, Uh-huh and, uh, it doesn't matter who they put in office, they're going to fall subject to, uh, the pressure that the lobbyists can put, Right. Yeah, and it's, uh, real true that, uh, you know, they'll say one thing, to get elected, and then once they do get elected, they don't have the power or the authority or the willingness to do those things that they promised, you know, beforehand. Right. You know, maybe it just wasn't possible at all in the first place, you know, like the no new taxes thing. You know, that's, uh, with the economy going the way it is and everything, that was nearly ridiculous thing to, even try to do. Yeah Yeah. Well, I don't think he's going to have to worry about that next year. I think he can probably raise taxes and still get elected. Right Uh, Right, after the war. Uh-huh. That really, uh, Unfortunately that will probably even drop lower, the voters turndown, even more because more Democrats will think that they don't have a shot so they won't even bother turning out. Uh, that's true, yeah. They'll just say, oh, well, you know, the Republicans have this election we'll see you in four years. Right. Yeah. hope some of the local, well that's what they, they keep saying that it seems like people with old-fashioned values are the ones that aren't turning out at the, at the booths, they, they say that these older voters that, uh, you know, they, they feel like the kids are running the, the country so they, they don't come out, turn out to vote and they're the ones that, uh, you know, really know what's going on, have the experience and seen, you know, how politicians can, you know, screwup or what ever. Uh-huh. But, I know, my grandmother hasn't voted in years. Right, that's, you know, neither has mine as a matter of fact. And, uh, that's true, they, I think they look at it as, well everybody, the majority of the people think this way, when that's not necessarily true, because, you know, that's what the media says. Well, the majority believes this way so, uh, they don't even bother turning out to vote to express their, uh, opinions. So that's, that's true. Yeah, wonder if they're going to take into account this computerized conversation that there's little children, you know, bouncing in your knee, the whole time your talking Yeah. Do you hear the dogs in the background here? No, I can't hear them. Okay, they're, the children next door just opened the fence and they went off. Oh, yeah? Yeah. But anyway, that's, I guess we've, uh, talked long enough and, uh, that was sort of interesting. Yeah What part of the country are you from? Uh, Washington, D C, Are you really? Uh-huh. Wow. This is, I'm in, from, this is Dallas where I'm at. Oh, okay. The outskirts of Dallas. Well, I figured with Texas Instruments they'd probably have a few, uh, Texans on the line now and then. Yeah, do, do you work for T I in any way? No, huh-uh. Wow, how did you, how did they get you? Um, they , they went through engineering companies, Oh. and, uh, we're communications. I, I work in a communications company. Oh, okay, right. I work for T I so, we saw it on the, uh, T News one day and I thought, wow, that might be interesting. Yeah. sort of different. Yeah. They called me at, uh, ten o'clock one night, that was very strange. Yeah. I guess they were doing Eastern Standard Time. I was like, I don't know how long it takes whether it takes five minutes or twenty minutes. Yeah, Central Standard Time is what they're doing it by. Yeah. Yeah. I still haven't figured out what the zero through six days which day is which yet but, I didn't study it that hard so maybe I'll figure it out. Uh-huh. But, anyway, it was nice to talk to you and, uh, sort of meet you, and, that was an interesting topic. Okay. Yeah. Okay, well, if your ever in, uh, D C, come look up Wayne Sherman , you'll say oh, yeah, talked to that guy. Okay. I'm, I'm Kyle Hunt, too, if you ever come to, to Dallas area. Oh. Okay. We live right by the airport. Yeah, yeah, so do we. Oh, okay. Yeah, right next to Dulles. Yeah. All right, I'll talk to you later Okay. Bye-bye. Bye. Back by that. The, uh, uh, you know there are so many ramifications to this entire thing of woman, how women have changed, Uh-huh. uh, look at them, in England, Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, uh, Indira Ghandi , uh, in India, Uh-huh. so many, uh, women are heads of state and I, you know, we, we keep saying oh yes, we feel some day a woman will be president. But, uh, I have some question, whether or not they will ever really get around to that. I think we'll have a black president before we have a women president. Uh-huh. And, uh, I don't know whether that's bad or good, it's just a point that I have observed that we, Yeah, I, I, yeah, I, I, I truly believe that, that before that, that we have to address the racial, racial issues in the United States, before we can go anywhere. Yes. Right. Um, because it is so, you know, it's, Uh, oh. Hello. Uh, oh, I think, we're, we're supposed to hang up. Yeah, well it wasn't the matter of wealth, it was the matter that they were not wealthy, that made them equal. Yes. Well, I'll talk to you later, All right. Thank you. Bye, bye. Okay. Bye-bye. Okay, uh, what do you think about, uh, the idea of having volunteer service for everyone? Uh, I think that, uh, really it wouldn't hurt most of the young people of the country to have to go and do voluntary service. Uh, and, you know, I mean, there have been so many people that have done it and I've talked with several and I think they've gotten a lot out of it. Well, are you doing any kind of volunteer work now? Not right now, but I have done, uh, Red Cross work and, uh, I've taught C P R training What about, when, when would people do it, when they finished high school? I think probably as soon as they finished high school it would be ideal, because a lot of times, if they go straight into college I think they're going in too quick but, I think particular boys that the maturity, in fact I wasn't very mature when I left high school and I think there's a, there's a real challenge there. There's also this, this issue of, of, uh, you know, whether you're really ready, and I think it gives a different perspective. Right, uh, I, I think if you've been out of school a year, year and a half, before you start to college, you appreciate college more, than someone that just goes right straight into college. The only complication is, is, is how do you fund something like this? Well, a lot of parents fund their children. There are, uh, some groups that have their children, you know, go away for a year. Even the religious organizations. Yeah, I think the Mormon church has, sends out missionaries that, Right. And the parents fund them for the whole year, year and a half that they're gone. That's, uh, it's interesting. It gets them away from home and, and gets them to do something useful, although the kids today, though, it, it seems that almost that their concern for money, I, we were doing some investigating colleges and said the kids are much more interested today in, in trying to find a job, study something that will give them a job as opposed to, be curious, be curious as to if, if there was, if there was mandatory, you could choose the option of either a mandatory military service or voluntary, do you think that would be reasonable? I think it would. In, in Israel, the, even the women are, are required to, to be in the military for a certain period of time. Uh, I was in the military, and I personally feel if, if they have the draft, that they should draft women as quickly as they do the men. Well, but, the, the issue of, of, of, which, what, what would, what would you find, what would you have them do? You know there are a lot of people around with, there's a lot of unemployment right now. What would you have these people do if they were brought in? What, into the service? Well, yeah. Or, Or say, say the volunteer, say that, say that it was mandatory. Well I, I, I think that they ought to have something for the, the unemployed in a voluntary field like the, uh, I don't know if you know, remember about the W P A, Yes, my father was in the C C C . He was in that? I mean, you know, uh, it's not the best thing in the world, but, uh, it gave them something to do. Well, it seems that there's some things like the, uh, the programs at least just go around and, and, and clean up streets and, and, and pick up trash and even aluminum cans and some of these kinds of things. or go into the, the more depressed areas and help repair the houses. Yeah, in fact, we, we helped with, uh, oh, Help To Help Humanities, and that was a, that was a good experience, but you take the kids out and and a lot of the buildings in downtown areas that, that either need demolishing, or need fixing up, so Uh-huh. it would be a good idea. Uh, we've been doing this three or four minutes. I think that, uh, do you have any other further comments? No, not really. Well, it was good talking to you, Betty. okay, I'll talk to you later. Have a good night. Bye. Uh, books. Yes. Mainly I read the Bible these days. That's very good. I do, too. Good, that's great to hear. Uh, and Christian literature. Uh-huh. Uh, I've kind of, I used to read a lot of, uh, novels, but it seems as though if you really want to set a side time to read the Bible and you work and and whatever, uh, that pretty well takes up your time for reading. Uh-huh. Yeah, it does. It, And I, I been praying that God would put a desire to read the Bible in my heart and he really has. It's getting, to where a just really want to read it. That's good. That's good. It, it, it's, uh, it's hard for me to find time, also, to read. Uh, a lot of times I do just read magazines and stuff like that for, you know, because I don't have a lot of time, but when I do get to sit down and, and read, I like to read the Bible and I like to read, I read to my daughter a lot, too. Do you? And, uh, I like to read, you know, I have Bible storybooks Uh-huh, uh-huh. so I like reading those to her and she really enjoys those. So that's good. And it, and it's kind of short because we don't, woe don't have a lot of time, to, to read, Uh-huh. so, it's real enjoyable. For both of us. Yeah. Have you ever read any of Frank E Peretti's? Frank E no I guess I haven't. Uh, THIS PRESENT DARKNESS and, uh, uh, I forget the the other, well he, uh, he's also written a lot of children, how old is your daughter. Five. Five, okay, he's written some children's books as well and they're all spiritually, uh, oriented, Oh, really? yeah. What's his name again? Peretti Frank E Peretti, Frank E Peretti P E R E T T I. I have to look for those. Uh-huh. Yeah, do because, uh, I love to read his, his, uh, children's books just Just to read them. Well, that's good. Yeah, oh, they're good, they're great. That's good. And it's like, uh, uh, usually about a family of, uh, archaeologists and the spiritual fights that they get into, like, uh, uh, digging in old ruins, and running across, like, uh, the old gods and things. Uh-huh. Oh Yeah. Oh, that sounds pretty neat. Yeah, it is. It's real exciting. Oh, I'll have to look for those. And it also teaches them spiritual warfare you know, Right. so, Well, that's neat. Well, I I have a, my daughter has PRECIOUS MOMENTS collection Uh-huh. and I like that because it's a, it's real easy to, uh, follow for her, you know, uh, gosh, if, if I read straight out of the Bible to her she'd never understand any of it. Well, it's hard for me. That's right It is, it is real hard to, to follow and understand, Uh-huh. and, uh, I've got a Bible that, uh, has a little bit of a, uh, a glossary in the back and it helps explain who people are. That's, that's about the hardest thing is, who's related to who I know it, and especially it's hard to keep your interest in those begats. Yeah. Yes. Yes, it sure is, but, but it is good reading and it's good for us, and and everything. Uh-huh, that's right. I really do enjoy it. But, uh, I also, but then on the other extreme I like to read, uh, uh, I guess I don't know, horror, Steven King type books. Uh-huh, yeah, I've read a lot of his, too. The, and I, I like that, that's good fun reading. Yeah. Can't put them down. No you can't, you really can't. They are good and ooh they just, they're just so suspenseful. Uh-huh, yeah. I really do enjoy his. Uh, there's another guy. Oh, what can, what is his name Oh, durn you would, well you know when you're recording you can't I know Uh, oh, Dean, uh, Kratz, or Kranz or, Judith Krantz? who? Judith Krantz. I know her. Uh, no, it's a guy. Oh, okay. And he, he writes the same thing, though. It's that real, gruesome horror stories. Oh. Ooh. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. Koontz. Uh, his last name ends in a Z, I know that. Yeah, oh, I think I know who you're talking about. Uh, I've seen, I don't think I can pronounce it either, but Yeah, uh, Yeah, I'm in a book club and I think I've seen his books in there Uh-huh. I've never read any of his. But they're real, I kind of got burnt out on Steven King, though. It seems like it's all the did you ever read the, uh, uh, oh, it's one of his first books, THE STAND. Yes. That, oh, that long thing. I know it. And that seems like all of his books have kind of come from that, I mean. Yeah, they do kind of follow or, Are similar. You know, that, Uh-huh. I love that book, though. I thought it was great. Yeah, it really was, and I loved THE SHINING. Ooh, yes That was, that was my favorite. Oh, those hedges when they started moving. Yeah, yeah. Whenever they they made that into a movie, I was thinking oh, my gosh if they show that, I'll just die. For some reason that scared me more than anything. Yeah, that is, he just brings stuff alive, you know. Yeah. You could just visualize everything. Uh-huh. That's, And that was a pretty scary movie, too. Yeah, I think they did a pretty good job, but they didn't follow it exactly, Yeah but they did give it, you know, do it justice. Uh-huh. That's right. But, uh, most of the time they don't with, when, follow books very well when they make them into movies Yeah, that's true. I liked IT as well. Yeah, yeah, uh, That's, another big fat one. I did, too. Yeah. Yeah, that was good. I liked, uh, I also liked, uh, CUJO. Did you read that one? Yeah, And, except it broke my heart. Yeah, I'm a dog lover. Me, too And then, uh, NIGHT STAND, is that NIGHT, No, it was, uh, DEAD, DEAD ZONE. That's one I liked. What? DEAD ZONE. Oh, yeah. That was a, I've read that one, too. That was a real good one. He's written a lot of books. Boy, he just sits down eight hours a day. Just like any other job. I know it. Right, and then he has some under, uh, another name. That he's written. That's right. That one about the Gypsies, or that, hunger Yeah. or, uh, Yeah, uh, I think his name was Bachman. He wrote under the name of Bachman. Yeah, Richard Bachman. Yeah. He is really interesting. Yeah, he's so prolific. Yeah Ooh, I wish I could do that Oh, I know it. And I have gone back and, after I, I graduated, I read some of the old classics that I just bluffed my way through and have found that I enjoy them quite a bit, too, uh, Uh-huh. I do, too. I love old, good old, Once you can get into the language, you know, the Yeah It's like, it's English, but it's not the same English they speak today. Right. So it's kind of hard to keep, you know, at it, but That's true, but I, That's, that was one of my favorite subjects in school was, uh literature. Yeah, me, too. I used to love those old, good, good old books. Uh-huh. I didn't mind doing that at all Nathaniel Hawthorne is pretty scary himself. Yeah, yeah. I liked, uh, oh, gosh why can't I think of their names, uh, shoot, the one that wrote, uh, WUTHERING HEIGHTS. No, No that was another one. Yeah, yeah. Uh, well, you know who I'm talking about Yeah. Yeah, those are good old good old books and classics, Yeah, uh-huh. that's right. Right, right. Sure is neat That's why I like to watch that MASTERPIECE THEATRE on channel thirteen, because they'll take a classic and, and, uh, televise it you know, put it into a viewing format, more or less. Yeah. Right. Right. A lot of people just don't have time to read nowadays. Uh-huh. I know it's, it's really hard for me. I work two jobs and uh, have my daughter and teach Sunday school and go to school, myself, Do you? so it's, it's hard for me to sit down and read, Well, I can imagine. but when I do I just, just love it. Yeah, yeah me, too. Well, I think we've accomplished five minutes so, I think we have, too. Thank you very much. It's good talking to you. You, too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, what is your view, do you consider the Soviet Union a threat? I don't know that it's so much a military threat anymore as a, well, you know, it's, it's real confusing right now to know what kind of a, of, of a threat it is, I guess, Sure. it, it takes awhile to, to get used to something, you know, if, if they have completely on the, place has completely turned that much around to where they're not, you know, not what they used to be, Right. uh It's, it's hard to, to know anymore if it's a, a threat one way or another because, uh, it used to be so, much in the past that whatever the top said the rest fell, you know, rank and file in behind it. Uh-huh. And now that with Gorbachev is introducing more, I guess, freedoms or expressions of freedom, it doesn't look as though, you know, everybody's following the same pattern. Yeah. And, those, the people who are, you know, the staunch military conservative people, you never know, well, Gorbachev's future is like whereas, whereas in the past it was seen as, you know, whoever was the head of the, the communist party was seen as, you know, untouchable. Yeah. Yeah. I yeah, the thing that keeps happening is happening so fast and so, uh, dramatic that you almost think, now wait a minute, you know, we're getting stuck into something here, you know, if, if somebody's about to, to clobber you, the first thing they do is sort of say, well, you know, we're, we're ashamed, we're not going to do that anymore. Uh-huh. Exactly. And, uh, um, you know, I'd, I'd like to think that that isn't true but I, I, you know, the evidence is that, uh, you know, he's, he's let some, some stuff go, you know, the east German situation. Right. It's just the whole thing is so incomprehensible, you know, if I'd have been asleep for five years, and read it in a book, I said, no, no, no, that didn't, couldn't have happened that way. Right. Well, it's amazing just because of the drain that's been on, you know, both economies that our economy is, of course, been able to, uh, withstand that a little better, Uh-huh. but, uh, the Russian economy they, you know, they, I don't know what the percentages are, but I heard it one time, it's just some ungodly number just to support the military machine. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And finally, you know, who knows maybe they're finally waking up and saying, you know, we can't afford this. Uh, the U S isn't the threat that we've always made them out to be, you know, even if they're saying that beneath the doors. Uh-huh. But it's hard to thing that just one person can bring that much of a radical change in that short of period. Yeah. Even if it is, you know, the best thing in the long run, it just steps on too many people's toes, who are comfortable with the way the situation is. Yeah. Yeah, I, I think, you know, what I'd have to, I, I I guess to answer the question directly, I'm still just a, a little bit, you know, leery of the whole thing. Uh-huh. What I haven't seen is the, uh, you know, a great stepping back in the military, situation. Right. You know, it's, it's one thing, you know, to let us go ahead and sort of disarm and, you know, I even had a thought once that the whole Iraqi thing might have been just a, a deal to go ahead and let us, uh, you know, expend some, some military hardware. Expend? Of course, it didn't turn out that way. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, that, that may have been a, a, a kind of far out way of thinking about it I don't know. Well, it's interesting, anymore the world's getting so small that it doesn't seem to tolerate anymore any kind of the expansionism, philosophy that, that was here in, you know, twenty years ago. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, but, of course, the people who have challenged that or tried to do, have have not been world powers. So, it's easier for us to say, you know, to an Iraq, you know, uh, you can't do this, get back, you know, or we're going to force you. Uh-huh. Yeah, or, or we can do something about it. Yeah. Whereas, you know, if the Soviet Union would have, who knows what taking over Mongolia or, or something like that, who is really, will we have been more just rhetoric, uh, rather than going in there officially or, you know, physically and try to, to remove them. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, the, the China situation, you know, the when, it looked like that thing was, was turning around and all of a sudden it was like somebody in the, in the Red Square or wherever said, okay, and that's enough. Uh-huh. And the tanks came in and, you know, pretty much took care of that. Exactly. And, Yeah, uh, that, personally I don't see as Gorbachev as being maybe a threat, and I think he's actually, honestly trying to do some change. Uh-huh. But I don't believe that he, in this first pass around, you know, being the first one to really turn things around or attempt to is going to be allowed to get away with it either. Yeah. Well, this would be like if somebody was elected president of the United States and suddenly took off toward, you know, just some pretty hard by the socialism, Uh-huh. and, uh, you know, the, the reaction, uh, you know, the, the economic, well, the, uh, the social structure of the Soviet Union, you know, it, it's, it's coming apart at the seams. Uh-huh. You know, and I've heard people say, well, you know, it's just like the American Civil War, will there be a union or not? Well, no, it's not the same sort of a thing at all because that, the whole Soviet system was put together under total force, you know, there was no, as, as we are seeing now with a lot of those, areas wanting out of it, Right. Uh-huh. you know, they, uh, nobody you know, a lot man , those people didn't vote to become part of the Soviet Union, they had no choice. Yeah, that was always kind of interesting, people, you know, a lot of my friends have a taken us down, the stance of, you know, these people are just trying to be free and trying to get away and I'm thinking more of it from a nationalistic, you know, if I'm a Soviet and if part of, you know, south, let's say South Dakota wanted to you know, succeed, am I going to stand for that. Yeah. Now I realize that the origins are, are different and that we all joined under a common direction and a common bond to begin with, and that they may have been forced, I'm not that familiar with their future, Uh-huh. but I, you know, I, it's easy to believe that they were probably more forced into a pact than, uh, a volunteer or willingness to join. Yeah. But, There, there was the whole thing was put together, you know, by force. There's, there's no, no real question about that. Uh-huh. And some of the countries that were forced in at later dates is the three Baltic countries, you know, came in, in the forties, Uh-huh. and, uh, it's, well, it's not that they came in, it's they were conquered by the Germans, And then, just never given back. and then the Russians even, took it back from the Germans and never bothered to give it back, you know, Yep. so. That's a, a little different situation. Well, that whole a, the whole idea if you look at the Russian history and I guess all countries the way it used to be is, the only way to truly protect your borders was to have a buffer. Uh-huh. And that was the whole idea why they had so many buffers and maybe, you know, more and more people are seeing, oh, countries hopefully are seeing that that buffer isn't going to help you, you can, well, I guess like, with, uh, Israel is a perfect example. Yeah. The reason they have the Angolan Heights and the, the, uh, all their buffer area is between Jordan and the, the Sinai and, and Lebanon was just as a buffer but, you know, as you can see with the, the scuds go right over there. Uh-huh. Yeah, they don't really pay a whole lot of attention to buffers. Yeah, there's, there's very little that, that binds you anymore in today's technology. I knew a lot of guys in the service when they were sent to Germany they said that's the safest place in the world because if a war starts, all the bombs are going to go right over Germany and they're going to land in other places, you know, that's going to be the safest place to be. That's probably very true. that's very interesting, never thought of that. Yeah, well, uh, I, I guess, what they'd have to do to, I really don't know, you know, in, in the, in, you know, I hope that what's happening is exactly the way it appears. Uh-huh. You know, some reason or other, you know, is, uh, it's kind of a strange thing we've been trying to make something like this happen for so long that when it finally happens you say, whoa, wait a minute, Nobody knows what to do. you know. What's, uh, what's, what's really happening here. Is it real? Uh-huh. But you wonder how, well, this thing, who, was it Boris Yeltsin, the guy that's running the, uh, or evidently was elected president of the Soviet, for the Russian republic, which is, I guess, the, uh, the biggest, Right. Exactly. I get confused between all the, which is the Soviet provinces versus which are the, the Russian provinces, versus what are, Uh-huh. Well, in the center but you got a, the, the great big area that's just, was traditionally known as Russia and then all these little nationality groups, around it, you know, that were, you know, was there nineteen of them or, or whatever, Uh-huh. you know, and these were all the Soviet economists, us you know, they had some real fancy names for them. Right. Matter of fact when the, uh, yeah, what I read when the, uh, uh, United Nations was setup in, in San Francisco, one of the first things the Russians wanted to do was bring in each one of the, uh, of these, you know, republics, as a separate country, Oh, as a, you know, so there would be, there would be nineteen, rather than one. as a vote. Sure. Sure. And, uh, the United States said, well, that mean we get to bring in forty-eight, you know. And, uh, that sort of, you know, they backed down on that. Died down on that. I thought it was interesting that recently here the Warsaw Pact no longer exists as a military force, but it's merely an economic now. Yeah, well, wonder if that Well, I mean at , uh, what do you get shot by something that's called a, an economic force or what is called a military pact, Yeah, exactly. you know, it's all, you can change the name of something but I wonder if it's still, exists. Uh-huh. Although, I've seen some evidence that, you know, the, uh, the Russian soldiers are, well, you, the funny thing there is they're not particularly welcome back home because there's, they're having housing shortages now. What do you do with all these troops that have been taken care of by, uh, Bulgaria and, and Czechoslovakia Exactly and, and all the, and now all of a sudden they're going home and somebody's got to pay for their, Well, that's what they're saying the whole problem, you know, with, if we were to demilitarize Europe, what are we going to do with all the soldiers over there? Yeah. Well, that's not, What's going to happen to the economies that are no longer have a, a million plus people in the you know, in each country from the U S ... Yeah. Well, since you live close, I don't know if you know, um, about what Louisville is doing with recycling, or are you familiar with any of that? Well, I know that we have some relatives that live around, like the area in there, Huh-uh. I know they're doing some curbside recycling as a kind of a test there. Yeah. You know, I read, you know, when they first started doing that in the paper, and I read about that, I was just praying that, that would be in our area, because we've been recycling for quite some time. And, you know, we separate everything out, and then have to haul it up to a Metco , you know, which is a real pain. Huh-uh. So if they would come up, curbside recycling, they'll help you, recycle, because we, there is some bins, like behind Wal-Mart, that take some things. Well, now have they moved them behind Wal-Mart? Yeah. Oh, God. Because I finally asked because, you know, we had all of those milk cartons and there was nowhere else to take them and they had it in front of Wal-Mart and I ask in Wal-Mart and they said they moved it just behind. Oh. That's really nice to know, because we were doing the same thing. Because to take it to a Metco , you have to take it when they're open, you know, which is always a real pain. Huh-uh. And so when that thing came up in Wal-Mart parking lot, we thought, oh, this is great. And we started taking them up there. And then, all the sudden, it disappeared, you know I didn't know. And we're going, oh, no, there goes our recycling place. Yeah. That's really nice to find out that it's behind there Well, we pretty much do, um, plastic milk cartons and, um, um, um, newspapers. I couldn't even think of what you call them. Yeah. Plastic milk cartons, newspapers and cans, and glass, I guess, is the four, is really the four things that we do. Like aluminum cans? Yeah. Yeah. That's about what we do too. And really, that's about, that's really about it. Is there anything, any place else that really takes anything other than that, that you know of? Well, I guess, um, down in, kind of in North Dallas, there is a place that will take almost anything. Oh, really. Uh, I don't, we just don't have the room to store all that much, you know, I know. I don't want to be running down there every week, or whatever. I know. I know. We're kind of the same way. You know, at first, you know, you, at first it was a real, it was a real hassle, and I'm wondering are we really going to do this, but you kind of get, I guess, into a little routine, you know, where it becomes, is automatic, now, to throw, different things in different places, Yeah. you know. So I just go, you know, we have a pretty good size pantry in our kitchen and I've just got three trash cans sitting in there, you know, we just kind of dump things in each one, if, you know, if we get them, Yeah. so. Those milk cartons take up so much room. Oh, they do, too. And they're impossible to crush. I mean, you can't get the down to any size, you know. If you get four milk cartons and that fills up trash bag, you know pretty easily, so. You know, I guess we kind of started recycling after I moved here about a year and a half ago. Oh, really. We were using baby food and there was so many baby food jars, kind of what started it. Yeah. Yeah. Some of our neighbors were doing it and so, you know, when I found out some places to take it, and, um, like, um, they also take some things at the Flower Mound dump behind the fire station there, and I know that they're going to use, you know, the money for that to build some kind of multipurpose field and that type of thing. Put lights and stuff Oh, that will be good. so, you know, if I'm not going to get the money for aluminum, I would just assume give it to the city of Flower Mound. to do something with, you know. Sure. Let somebody get something out of it. Yeah. That's true. And they won't raise our taxes. Yeah Yeah . Ha-ha Well, I was kind of hoping with, you know, do you work for T I? No, I don't. I have a friend, of mine told me about this program, is the reason that I'm, No. Yeah. There was a, T I has got this organization called T A D which is T I'ers Against Drugs. And, you know, we're recycling aluminum cans up here and, uh, just what you would buy out of the machines and drink here and there was crushers out in all of the hallways you know, and that's, they use the money from that to fund this T I'ers Against Drugs Program. It's, you know, T I doesn't give them any money, all, everything is made from that. And they had talked about having a thing like, one Saturday a month, you could come and drop your aluminum cans off from home, you know, Yeah. And I'm kind of like, yeah. I shall, they would do that because at least somebody was getting the money out of it, you know. That was going to use it for good, so, is talking to someone in Sorry. Sounds like you have a little one just like I do She'll be two in July. Yeah. Mine was two in December Oh. Well, it was good to talk to you. Well, it was nice to talk to you. I know they've started over in Richardson where my dad lives. They pick up newspapers, I think. Oh, do they really. Curbside pick up? Yeah. I really hope they do that in Louisville. It would make it a lot easier on all of us. Talk to you later. Okay. Bye-bye. So what do you think about it? How are we doing in recycling? Are we, Well, I think we need to do more. I mean, I know I need to do more. They have programs around where you can reach the, uh, they come and pick up your newspapers if you have them bundled up. Uh-huh. But I have a hard time of being able, of separating, you know, having a place, separating my trash, and get all the cans from the paper, Yeah. and, you know, I just haven't gotten that dedicated yet So. I do a lot of work with the boy scouts, and we try to do a lot Uh-huh. but there's still a lot more we can do. Yeah. You know, I don't recycle my newspapers myself, but I noticed in one of the sales catalogs this weekend they have a, like a, a clothes hamper kind of thing that, you know, you lay your string in, then you put your papers in there tie them all up and bundle them up, Uh-huh. so I figured I might get me one of those because we don't always read the newspaper. Uh-huh. Sometimes it just sits around for a while, and then we just chuck it. Yeah, well, I don't, I don't get the paper every day, but, you know, I get it on, I try to buy, you know, the early edition for the coupons, you know, the Sunday edition. So. Yeah. But, then I just, you know, bundle it up and put it on the front, you know, the front walk you know, every Monday or every other Monday, and have them pick that up, Yeah. but that's the extent of what I've done. I'd like to be able to do more. The problem is, with a lot of it is, you have to go, you know, it takes a while to drive to these places where you recycle it, you know Yeah see, and, it's not always convenient to do it. Yeah, see, and here in Lubbock everything's so close. I can imagine what it's like up there. Yeah, I'm not exactly sure where the, you know, the can thing is, but, you know, sometimes it's just so, seems so much easier just to take it and throw it in the trash, and have them pick it up than it is to smash the cans and drive it some place to have them. Yeah. See, I went out to Payless Cashways here a couple of days ago, as a matter of fact, and got me one of those little can crushers that I could put on the wall Uh-huh. and then I put me a little five gallon bucket, and it's just outside the garage door Uh-huh. so every time we drink a Coke or whatever we crush the can and just drop it into the bucket. Do those can crushers work good? Yeah, I got one from Payless Cashways, and it's actually metal Uh-huh. it's not plastic. I didn't want to buy a plastic one. Yeah because those things I think would just snap you know. Yeah. But Payless Cashways has them and they're metal, and I don't know what affiliate of Payless Cashways you have up there, but it was only like seven dollars, not too bad. Oh. I'd have to check into something like that, because, I mean, we don't drink a whole lot of soda around here, you know, but, um you know, occasionally we have some around, Yeah. but, you know, for other kind of cans, just to, it'd probably only take aluminum cans like that, don't they. Yeah, I don't, yeah, I don't think it would crush steel cans, it's pretty tough. Yeah, so. I don't know, I don't think you have to crush the other ones for them to get to take that, but, I need to look into it more, No, you could probably just, you know, you know, it's, you know, it, sometimes, even with the newspaper they say they'll only take certain types of paper, you know, they won't take paper that's shiny, Yeah they won't, yeah, they won't take any lint free paper or, see, I work at T I. Yeah, so does my husband, yeah. We do a lot of recycling out there. Uh-huh. Now we recycle all our computer paper and our cardboard, but that's just now come on board. Uh-huh. You know, we've been throwing paper out there away for years, and we're just now getting on board to recycling ever since this big Earth Day thing came out, you know. Uh-huh. Yeah, I don't know what, you know, I haven't, I'm sure they're probably doing that here some. Yeah, I'm sure they are. T I is doing it pretty well nation-wide, I'm sure. Uh-huh. I think it's necessary, I, I like it, you know, it makes, I think it's good that you see these, you know, like boxes, cereal, they're now starting to make them, you know, the packages out of recycled paper, and, And I've bought, you know, I've bought greeting cards that are made out of recycled paper, Oh, yeah. and I think they're just fine. Yeah, I bought a, I got one at work that I bought for one of the guys there at work, it's his birthday, we're pretty good friends, and what it is is a recycled paper bag Uh-huh. and it's just got Happy Birthday printing on it, and a cute little phrase inside, and it's just a paper bag Uh-huh. you know, and it's really cute. Yeah. But, I think we're doing better and better all the time, Yeah still don't, I think we're getting, becoming more conscious because we just can't stick everything in landfills any more. So. No, there's not going to be any room, shortly. No, no, the office, I don't know what New York does about theirs. I guess they still ship it out on barges somewhere. Yeah, it's probably sitting out on the barge somewhere Yeah, so. But I think we're getting better at it Yeah. I think there's quite a bit more we could do. to someone in the Girls, put that away. Now. But, you're right sometimes it does seem like it's more trouble than what it would be worth. Yeah, I just wish it was a little more convenient to do, Yeah. you know, seems like you're so busy anyway, and then that's just one more thing to have to worry about. So. Yeah, it sure is. I think if, you know, the cities, locally, you know, they'd get more programs going so that you could do that, it'd make it a lot easier. So. Yeah, yeah. Well, they'll get at it sooner. I guess the schools will get into it, too, sooner or later. Yeah, yeah, get the kids interested in it too. You know they have, We tried to have an aluminum can drive with the cub scouts that I have, and we just don't have any place to store those kind of cans. Yeah. You know, if we go out and pick up a bunch of cans from people, sure they'll save them for us, there's no problem there. Uh-huh. But what do you do with them in the meantime? That's right. Now I don't want a can, a garage full of cans That's right, who does. You know people don't have room for that kind of stuff. You know. No, they're just not, they're not prepared for it. No, and in Texas, they're just get, things like that, they just get bugs in them. So. Yeah, yeah, they do. So, you don't, You know, the more trash you have laying around the more bugs you get, that's for sure. That's right, so. So. I'm pretty lazy about it right now. Everything goes into one thing and goes out to the Yeah. You know, pick it up. So. Yeah, myself. About the only thing I really recycle around here is aluminum cans. Uh-huh. So. Well, I need to get, get better at it. So. Well, if we all try a little bit, a little bit goes a long way. Yeah, that's right, that's right. If everybody tries to do just a little bit, and a little bit more then we'll get there. That's true. That's right. Well thank you for talking to me. Huh. Well, thank you for calling. I, Sure, no problem, Okay, take care. All right, Bye-bye. Bye-bye. I, I, I, assume you have kids in Uh, we have one. She's only nine months old. Oh, well she, she doesn't have to worry about public schools yet. Right. Well, my degree is in teaching, so. Yeah. Well, we have a little bit of a basis for conversation. I was a substitute teacher for about a year. Oh, really. Yeah. I, uh, thought I wanted to be a teacher so, but before I went through all of that I wanted to see how I was going to like it. Uh-huh. And, and they, uh, in Alabama, where I came from they, they allow you to substitute if you got a four year degree. So I went out and played substitute for a while and decided, nope, not for me. Did you teach in all subjects or in all grade levels or, Yeah. It was, I just took grades one through six. Uh-huh. I thought I was going to be smart and get the good kids, wrong. Well, my degree was in fourth through seventh grade but I taught junior high. And I expected it to be a lot of trouble but it wasn't that bad, I taught remedial reading kids. Um. And, well, they don't call it remedial reading these days, they call it something else. Yeah. But, but, anyway, at the time that's what I taught. And, um, you kind of group your behavioral problems together that way, when you have your slow readers Uh-huh and clicking noises in but it, it wasn't too bad. We, we got long real well. Well, I, I sometimes wonder if I didn't mess up. I maybe should have taken the higher grades because at least you can, if you have to you can get mean with them. Those little kids don't understand it. Yeah. I, especially with the real young ones. I started out wanting to teach lower, like primary and then top primary and thought, well, no, I don't like this as much and ended up moving up and got up until about the sixth and so that's what I got my certification in. Uh-huh. But I had decided long before I was even married that I wanted to, if possible, teach my kids at home and not put them in the public schools. Yeah. Um, and my reason for that was I don't like the, uh, what's the right word. The varied inappropriate influences that you find so much in the public schools. Well, that's a nice way of putting it. You can find a lot of good public schools if you, if you look real hard but I don't think they could cover everything that you could teach, your children on an individual basis. exactly, And too, most people don't have that option. Yeah. You know. And plus it also depends on the district your in as, I mean, on the, I've seen some districts where all the schools are lousy it doesn't matter what you do. Uh, accept for the private ones, of course, we're talking about public. Uh-huh. Right. I don't know Back when I was going to school uh, you just didn't get away with the things these kids get away with now. Uh-huh. I mean you, you pulled stunts like that and you were down at the principal's office and, uh, usually bending over to get five of the best, Yeah Um, but now, nowadays they can't even, they can barely scold the children for something, you know, without getting sued. And the, the, um, the crime is just escalated and the drugs and, even in the, in the the, the lower, the lower schools. Oh, yeah. Well, the thing that really did it for me, I was subbing in a fifth grade class and, uh, this kid comes to school with his lunch box and inside this lunch box he, he's got easily two, I'd say two hundred to two hundred and fifty dollars in one dollar bills. Um. And I asked him, uh, what are you doing with that? And he says, "My father gave it to me." And I didn't believe it for a minute. Uh-huh Um, so, uh, but, uh, you know, the, not a lot I could do about it. Right. Can't stop the kid from bringing money to school if he wants. Crazy for him to but, Well, I have, I, I, I've I think I understood what the, what the kid was doing he was a, uh, well let's just say he was one of those types that you wouldn't doubt that he was selling something. Uh-huh. Yeah. But not a lot I could do about it. Well, we had the problem when I was in, with teaching, um, I was eighth and ninth graders that I worked with and if we did have a, a student come in and they were drunk or they were on something you had the option of calling the police and have them taken out of the schools or trying to teach them something while they were there. Uh-huh. And you don't know if you were reaching them or not but we felt like, you know, maybe just going ahead and try to teaching them was trying to teach them was better than have them taken out. Yeah. Because, uh, uh, that just, that doesn't do a lot for them. I mean it, alleviates your problem Yeah. but it doesn't do anything for them. Right. Uh, most the time if they were, they were, some of them were even better behaved. I've only had two instances where I it was really noticeable but they were better behaved when they were, um, I don't know if was alcohol or something else that they were on but it ended up better but, Uh, I don't know, guns and, I don't know it's something. I think there's a problem too with teachers trying to, um, to be so versatile that they do loose sight of the basics, you know, they've been a big drive in, especially in the seventies to return back to the basics. Uh-huh. And, uh, and I'm not completely just, you know, just teach the basics in schools but I think there does need to be a reemphasis of those because, of our, our lower grades in the standardized test and such. Oh, yeah. Oh, sure. I mean, it's indicative across the board that we, we've done something wrong. Right. And when you see, uh, Koreans and Chinese and Japanese who are taking all the, uh, science jobs, all the engineering jobs, all the mathematical jobs and, you know, here we are we can't, we can't balance a checkbook without a calculator. Uh-huh. Um, I don't know. Well, I spent a year and a half in Japan also and I've seen how their school system works and I, they go by a complete rote system, you just memorize everything. Uh-huh. And then at the end of the, of a certain time period you spitted everything back out and the better the memorizer you are the better your grades are going to be. Yeah. So I don't completely agree with that either. No. But there, there definitely needs to be a balance somewhere. Yeah. That's, that's a great deal what law school's like Oh, is it? Yeah. Is that what you ended up going into? Yeah. Oh. And, uh, I did the same sort of thing, they just, you sit there and read hundreds and hundreds of cases and then you get one examine for the whole semester Uh-huh. and it's how well you can remember it all. How, how much can you stuff in your brain. Yeah. And I found that a particularly useless way of studying. Yeah. I never did. I always tried to understand things, not tried to memorize. Uh-huh. And consequently some of the very best students were, had excellent memories but they couldn't put two and two together as far as the law was concerned. Yeah. So, Yeah. It didn't show me anything. A year and a half, I gave it up. I wasn't really I didn't want to be a lawyer anyway, just wanted the degree. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, Yeah. Well, Well, I don't know. What can we do about it? good question Probably, Money, Money is not the answer. Taking, No. There's plenty of money in the system, Yeah. it's just, Yeah. I mean, they're throwing more money at it now than ever before and things are getting worse. I think it's like a lot of things in the, in the United States. We've got so much built up in, um, in the, in the, uh, bureaucracy and in the politics of it, Uh-huh. and in the, the power plays that it needs to be pulled down and started over again and there's no way that, that can be done. Uh-huh. Not without wiping out a whole generation of, of kids in the school system, Yeah. so. Yeah. Maybe on smaller, smaller scales. Well, I don't know I, uh, as much as I didn't like school when I was going through it, from my perspective now I can see that it's a lot better than what we have now. Uh-huh. And I think part of it is that they've got to give authority back to the local school. Yeah. You know, I mean, it's, it's silly that these, that these people are handcuffed when it comes to discipline. Uh-huh. Right into the classroom it needs to be be able to be enforced. Yeah. Exactly, I mean, I, I mean teachers are so afraid now of even saying something, to students because they're going get, they're going to get complaints or they're going to get sued or something. Uh-huh. It's like doctors in lawsuits, Oh yeah. you know, they're kind of fearful of, everything. Well, lawyers help create that That's, that's, well, at least I've heard that I, I, I haven't fortunately been in a situation where it's, been applicable to me Well, I think, I think, I, I mean what we've turned the school schools into now are just day-care centers you know, somebody, okay, we're going to send our kid here for seven or eight hours a day and he's out of our hair. Right. And the other part of it is parents have quit becoming parents. Uh-huh. You know, they're just, Oh, yeah it has to be reinforced in the home. Oh, sure. I, I you, you can, you can have the best school system in the world if you don't get anything at home then it's, it's not going to help either. Yeah. Right. So, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know what the answer is. Uh-huh. It's an interesting, interesting thing you want to do. I, how is Texas about keeping your children out of public schools, do they allow it? Yeah. They allow it under certain circumstances. You have to, to prove that you're teaching them something. You have to follow, a preferred curriculum, Uh-huh. um, they try to encourage you to follow a specific curriculum, although you don't have to. Uh-huh. And then if you have particular religious beliefs they have to be, they're kind of monitored. You know, they, they will allow you to, I can't think of any examples but certain religious groups don't want their children in public schools because the influence. And maybe they were a group of Mennonites or something like that. Uh-huh. I don't think they're were in this area but, um, they, they are monitored by the, um, by the State School Board. Um. So. That's interesting. I remembering reading a few cases about that when it, when some people first tried that and they got sued. Got taken to court by the school system. Uh-huh. I'm glad the parents won. I mean, it seems silly that, um, we started that's, that's the way you got your education in this country. Uh-huh. And then, um, I don't know. I grew up, uh, in the, the sixties, and at that time, uh, it was is a changing time for the whole music scene, I guess and I grew up with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and the whole pot culture during that time and went through that phase and kind of stayed with it I guess for several years after I graduated from college and, and thereafter but have since, uh, I grew up in a small town in, in southern Oklahoma I have kind of gone back to, uh, more of a county, uh, flavor in music. Um, I'm not quite sure why that is and it seems like almost a opposite, but I guess I got away from what I consider to be the pot, uh, sounding music. It didn't have what, you know, I guess what I was looking for at the time country tells more of a, a story. It kind of reminds me of my roots of growing up and I've, I've become I guess more of a country fan over the years. When you say that you grew up, uh, in the sixties I take it that was the, uh, teenage type years or, uh, Yeah, that was my teenage years. I was born in fifty and, and, uh, Okay, we, we're very similarly aged, so we probably have an interesting perspective on the music on the times, so I'm just a couple years older than you, Yeah. um, essentially I was one of the nerdy types in high school really which meant that I, for one reason or another I didn't pay much attention to music, but as I look back now I realize it was very formative for me, uh, my early popular music interests were in Simon and Garfunkel, whom I saw perform when I was in college and I became attached to that style of, uh, urban, urban country if there is such a thing, Yeah. I think with, in a way one could talk about Simon and Garfunkel that way because they do tend, uh, to have a dramatic or story approach to their music, uh, usually tend to have some good or bad moral to it. Uh, over time I became very interested in, in baroque classical and I think that was just through experiencing contacting college and the fact that I found it, it very relaxing for me. My tastes now run I guess to a upbeat, uh, Simon, Yeah. it's something that interests me, uh, combined with, with the classical tastes I had mentioned. And my classical music tends to be confined to the seventeen hundreds, early eighteen hundred music. I'm not a music, um, , I'm not particularly schooled in it. I know what I like to listen to as far as classical music. And I, I spent a good deal of time listening also to, uh, people from the late seventies, really, um, Neil Diamond, for instance. Um, people of, of that particular time, That's kind of the way I am. Uh-huh. I listen to some country and western but I'm not schooled in it and I, I've enjoyed the times when I have listened to it. I played a little bit of piano. I continue to do that. I want to do it and I never have the discipline to stay with it, but when I do play, uh, and begin to reacquire skills I inevitably fall in love with country western music which tends to be in some ways easy to play for a, for a new piano player. It is, it's got, uh, basically an easy, uh, rhythm and, and tone. Right. And it's, it's pretty, fairly well easily to uh, uh, something to fall into. I'm kind of the say way, I, I've gone through different periods of life, uh, in music from pop to classical. I guess one of the things was that influenced me was that I, I've worked in radio stations as a D J for all my college years trying to support my way through there, and was support, I was influenced by all different kinds of music but basically because that's where I worked. And I've developed a real love for, uh, classical music in, probably junior high and high school because my band instructor was, uh, heavy into classical type music. He said he used to sit on Saturday mornings and watch cartoons just to hear the music, uh, that they were using behind them because they used, especially Disney used a lot of classical music, uh, behind the cartoons and so consequently we wind up, wound up playing a lot of classical music there and I think that, uh, got deep seated into me. One of things I especially like now in music regardless of what kind it is, uh, are those that call on those classical, uh, roots, I guess, uh, Barry Manilow comes to mind for some reason there's, there's not a whole lot of his stuff that I'm real crazy about, but he does have some things. Chicago had some things, Right. uh, and I think even Electric Light Orchestra had some, some real, um, influences by classical music and I'm still, still, my favorite, in fact most of my C D are classical music. I find it very interesting that some television shows that I enjoy I particularly like the music. I don't know which is chicken and egg in that situation. Uh, a good example would be, uh, I have connections but, but not particularly deep ones to the Vietnamese war type situations, Uh-huh. uh, and I found that I really like CHINA BEACH and I particularly like TOUR OF DUTY and both of them, I had as much fascination of the background music, I think going on as I did to the theme of the shows, Yeah. uh, and I, I've, uh, THIRTY SOMETHING I'm particularly interested, but it's the music, almost that I find myself listening to, uh, Yeah. I'm kind of thinking that's maybe, our generation was, uh, so in tuned to music of that time that we identify goodness or badness with, uh, things now with the music that's behinds them. That could well be. I, I, uh, spent my junior year, uh, and sophomore and junior year in, in college when I, a song by the, uh, uh, I think the title of it was just Downtown, Uh-huh. uh, and if you recall how it goes downtown, ta, da, da, da, Right. uh, all I have to do is hear that song and I get strongly evoked memories of, of difficult times in school being behind on work, Uh-huh. uh, and my family now knows if they come into my study and, uh, I happen to have had a tough day at work and maybe I'm trying to get a project done, uh, at school, uh, and I'm humming or whistling in a sort of mad crazy way the tune to Downtown they know to just stay away, That's their signal. They can hear the unconscious music signal behind it, Yeah. that's right. When did you first take your, uh, first piano lesson? Uh, probably about first grade, Yeah. and I have, uh, returned about every four or five years to thinking that I would like to do something about it. I usually get to the point where I can play some of my favorite themes and then inevitably I am swept away by the, the pressure of other types of things, Yeah. uh, It is a time consumer. It is. In order to continue to, to grow and I, I always think that I'll be able to do it and then I inevitably discover that I have no innate music talent relative to composition and that I struggle and really can't quite understand what is that other people take for granted, in composition themes Yeah. and I, keys and things are something to me that remain a mystery no matter how many times I bang on them. I have a pretty good mathematical concept for what's involved, Right. uh, but in a, in a innate music sense there just seems to be something missing there which is always frustrating for me since I have pretty high math aptitude and I keep thinking, gee, I thought that all the math and music people are supposed to go hand in hand but, but it doesn't for me. No, it's making that, that connection especially with the mechanical parts of it. I was never able to, to master all that. In fact my brother and sister both, they were, oh, thirteen, sixteen years older than I, they went through the, uh, parent thing where you've got to practice or you're not going out to play thing, and when it came to my turn the folks said no we're not going through that again, they sold the piano, and is the turns out I was the only one who really had an interest in it and never got to, so I, Uh-huh. that's one of things I felt like I missed in life and I, I really, in fact, uh, one of my favorite things to do now is sit down and listen to Chopin, that is played on, uh, piano. I just, you know, I can just drift off into some other world just listening to that for hours if I ever have the time to do that, Oh, , maybe one of these days, I'll, you know, I'm kind of like you, maybe one of these days I'll get around to it, I'll do something with the piano, but probably not. So we both have a secret background that says somehow or another we just knew we were piano players and never got a chance, uh, Just never got a chance to come out. No. That's the most fascinating thing Well, it's a pleasure talking with you. And you, sir, Best, of luck in your graduate school. take care. Okay. Good-bye. Good-bye. Okay, do you want to go first? Well, I could barely hear what the switchboard operator was saying as what was the topic. Fitness and exercise. Oh, God No, why don't you go first. Okay, um, I like to do, uh, weight training and, and cycling. And just walking, uh, swimming. I used to do a lot of basketball and running and volleyball until I had some knee surgery last fall. And the doctor said that running and jumping isn't real good for my knee anymore, so I had to kind of change my life-style a little bit Well, let me ask a personal question, how old are you? Thirty-eight. Oh, well then you should see over thirty-five everything goes downhill flop . Well, the rest of me is in pretty good shape it's just that left knee that just doesn't want to do everything it used to. Oh, you're lucky then because I've battled arthritis all my life, Really? I mean even since I was like about two or three. Oh. Then they diagnosed it, and usually most people are just absolutely crippled, and, uh, I do water aerobics. Religiously do water aerobics, Oh, I bet that helps. Uh-huh. I used to do it about six times a week and now I'm down to about four but it's about the only thing that keeps my mobility in in there, uh, I tried weight training and I'm telling you, you just, I just can't lift the things. Yeah. And the shock on the system is, is just too much, so I have stuck to water aerobics basically, you know, the weightless thing and, trying to keep this shape that way Yeah. but, you know, it's hard to find. I mean it's really hard to find a place that's going to offer water aerobics because what I'm finding is that if they do offer it, you get the crowd of women that are, I think they feel this is going to be an effortless sweatless way, to get in shape, without having to spend anything That's right. That's right. or it's the geriatric crowd. That's right. So, I've considered even becoming licensed to teach it. Well, I mean, if, if you know what your routine is, you can do that by yourself, and you probably do. Yeah, but you have to have an indoor pool. This is true. So, to find an indoor pool where either you can do this by yourself without, you know, drawing a lot of looks, means you're really going to do a strenuous workout activity you look very odd in the water, Well, that, that was the one place where I was also able to do weight training, and that does look very odd in the water. I can believe that. Have you tried the, uh, the pool at the Spring Creek Fitness Center? No, and you know, that's the only place I haven't tried and people have told me. Now that's the Texins facility? Yes. I have been told that thing is just lovely. It is. They keep it at eighty-one degrees year-round. Huh. do you use that facility a lot? Um, a fairly, a fairly good amount, uh, more on the weekends, uh, I try to beat the traffic in the mornings when I workout in the mornings, I try to come down to the Dallas Fitness Center. Huh. Do you know if they have child care there? Um, have you done your attitude survey for this year yet? You need to put that on there, seriously. They don't, I don't, I don't work at T I. Oh, you don't? No, I used to work at T I, Oh. as matter of fact I was the only woman that they had in the field in a management position actually when I was working there I was the only woman that was pretty much in the industry and I used to fill out those attitude surveys, Yeah. and, uh, uh, me and the insurance adjusters are, are very familiar with each other and my husband still works there, Yeah. and, um, I get my attitude expressed through them, but I find it to be very sometimes it's kind of shoot yourself in the foot mentality to save a few bucks. This is true. Uh, and never having lived in Texas before I starting working for T I and I came down here and, you know, they did an attitude survey like six weeks after I had been working here and I asked about, you know, day care for the shift workers, Yeah. and boy I was pulled in by my manager and told that you just don't say that, you know, Well, it's not, it was not applicable to me and I was kind of horrified. Now what year are we talking about? We're talking nineteen seventy-eight. Okay, uh, things have become much more enlightened since then. They couldn't have gotten anymore in the dark ages Yeah, you know, we still don't have a day care facility but people are more sympathetic to it. I understand, I understand that they're now covering women's preventative health care, Yes. Yes. and, uh, the reason I'm at home is when I had my kids, and I was scheduled to go back and I tell you how much in the dark ages it was. Um, I had been rated number one in the field and then I took, uh, when I became pregnant I also got meningitis, and then delivered the first baby three months early, Oh. My gosh. and they put the baby on a heart lung monitor when I took her home, and the insurance carrier was not going to cover this because it was considered preventative treatment. Could you hold the phone for one second, Sure. Thanks. Okay, I'm back. And then they used to, uh, and then I had a second one eighteen months later, they told me to put them back to back and, of course, to maintain and I was flat on my back for the last five months with the second one, because that's when I go into labor four and a half months Wow. and I don't even know it. Of course it's real easy to take care of the first one when you're on your back. Oh, yeah, very easy, very easy and they, they put me on twenty-four hour fetal monitoring then to, to try to control the labor and see how far it was going, and after the baby was born, since it wasn't premature, then they said they wouldn't cover the cost of the monitor. I think that's kind of when my husband hit the roof, because it was a, uh, thirteen thousand dollar bill, Really. but after the second baby was born I was going to go back to work, Yeah. and that was when they had, God it would have been the eighty-five layoff, Yeah. and I'll tell you how they handled this and I was just outraged, I did not know that since I was on personal leave of absence that I had been, uh, terminated until I filed my insurance claims about four months later and they didn't have any coverage under my name and I went back and I said what the hell is going on here, you know. Yeah, really. And they told me that, uh, oh, well, you know, you know, your husband works here and he's got a good salary we didn't think that you'd be coming back anyway, and, uh, you know, we've got people here that really, you know, need to be working and so that we had just, you know, it was, this way we didn't have to layoff an active person and we'd just let you go. And it took me about a year of arguing, I said, you know, I've got to put this in writing to me, and because until they put it in writing, I couldn't get my insurance benefits Yeah. and I couldn't get my, uh, termination benefits either. There you go. I was just pissed as hell that they could do that. I, I can believe that. But I, I guess things have gotten better, I've been told that this flex hour and those kind of things , Oh, yeah, flex time is great. I still don't think that, they after my experiences that they could, you know, get me to go back, ever again I, I can understand. I can understand. Well, it's been good talking with you. But let me ask you this, since you use Texans, how much is it a month? Oh, shoot it's only about ten bucks a month. Now that's for individual. Yeah, I mean, uh, to add dependents is, is you know, maybe another dollar or something it's no big deal. That's it? Yeah. Now if you, if you pay your monthly charge, do you then pay separately for classes your taking? Uh, you do for classes, for classes, but to, I mean to use any of the facilities is, is no extra charge. God, that's cheap. Yeah, it is. That's really cheap. Do you have to be an active T I employee to join Texans or, Or a Or, or a or a dependent of one. God, I am so dependent these days. Really. It's a sense Oh, seen that my, my co-dependents have turned on the hose and are getting my neighbor's fence. Wonderful. Yeah So my position for management to domestic goddess has been an adjustment but boy, I think I'm going to go contact Texans. I really think I am, Yeah. I mean, that beats any offer I've heard in a long time. Oh, yeah, it's great. Huh. All righty. When you're there on weekends is it crowded as hell? Uh, well, it would depend on when you go it's not, it's not excessively crowded on the weekends. See I'd want to be there in the mornings like from nine thirty to ten thirty Oh, I don't think that would be bad at all. If you're in Richardson you'd probably wanted to come to the, to the Dallas site. Oh, I'm actually right on the Plano line. Oh, well, then you could go either one, Yeah. the Spring Creek one is a lot more modern, has a lot more niceties, amenities and you'd probably like the pool there. Oh, God it sounds like I would. I might do that then. Okay, I learned something here. Well, good. I'm glad. You can go back to work now. Well, thank you. Thank you. You have a good day. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, um, I guess, um, this is probably really a good subject for me because I really like to do, uh, hand work. Uh, mostly I do needlepoint, I guess. Oh really. But, um, What kinds of things have you done? Um, well, I've made a lot of baby gifts Uh-huh. It seem like that's, like, especially lately there's been so many babies, that, uh, bibs and blankets, and things like that. Wall hangings, um, Do you ever keep any of your stuff? Isn't that funny. No I do crochet and a lot of, uh, things like that, and I have very little of my own stuff, and it's kind of embarrassing. People say let me see some of your work. Oh well, can you do it ? Yeah, isn't that funny. I guess I do have one thing. A friend of mine gave me a clock kit Ooh. and, I, I needlepointed the face, and I, uh, kept that because she gave me that. So, That, that would be definitely something you'd want to keep. Oh, yeah. And it's real neat. Was, was the whole face done or just the numbers, and, and, like minute marks? Um, basically, the whole, well, no, I guess the minute marks, but the minute marks are done, they're like hearts. Oh. And then the, at the numbers they, they're kind of outlined and stuff. It, it was quite bit of work, but, you know, it was a lot of fun, too. I really like doing stuff like that. So. I did some needlepoint years ago, and then I got into the Bargello. Oh, what's that? Well, it's an Italian, um, needlework, using, using the uh, I started to say the canvas, but the, uh, huh, what kind of cloth uses that. I, I've just gone blank. But it's used with yarn, and it usually takes long stitches over two or three openings in the cloth Huh. and you weave intricate patterns and use different colors. Like it could be a flame stitch where so rather than drawing a picture you're making a design like a geometric or whatever, and it was used quite often in the colonial times to, uh, uh, to upholster chairs, and so forth, as well as the crewel, um, embroidery work that was done on them. Wow, that's interesting. What did you, what kind of things did you do? What I did, when I was doing that was mostly pillows, you know, for sofas and so forth, and I can't find one that I've done. Oh. It's one of those things I I didn't give them away, but I didn't know if it's been my color choice or multiple moves or, or what, Yeah, and it, I was so proud of them when I got them finished, but I have no idea where they are. What did you call that? Bargello. It's B, A, R, G, E, double L, O out the Huh. That's, I've never heard of that before. I've probably seen it, though, I suspect you, I suspect you have. I mean, when you described it. Yeah. I mean, when you described it, it sounded like something, you know, that would be around, I guess. But, I've never heard of it before, and it's really interesting. Um, I guess I've decorated baskets and stuff before in the past, but I've kind of gotten out of that. I use to do a lot more and sell at craft shows. Me, too. Really Yes That's interesting. Yeah, it is. How did you know to choose this subject, tonight. That's funny What, how did you, what kinds of decorations did you use with the how were you decorating the baskets? Oh, basically bows and lace uh, ribbons. Um. Um. I really wanted to do, you know, so many of them now have the ribbons where, I'm not sure how they do it, but the ribbons, they make them, they like. I don't know how to explain it. They make them hard, you know? Like fabric that's been stiffened. Yeah. Yes. I've never done that, and those are so neat. I mean, I would really like to do those I've seen some, and there, there, they, I suspect they're fairly simple, because the one lady I've seen, I know that does it, I've never asked her any questions, but she has three kids all under the age of like six. And, and they're all a handful. So it's got to be something she can do fairly easily and fairly quickly. Oh, definitely, yeah. When I do, um, crochet, it's usually the lacy Victorian type things like that, Oh. and I stiffen those with a, a glue mixture. It's like white glue, and it may be something similar to that that the fabric is dipped in and then, um, allowed to dry in those, those draping bows, I mean, those draping streamers. I don't know. Oh. I was just. There's bound to be some kind of fabric stiffener like that that's very similar that's not going to melt too much with, uh, uh, high humidity, in a room, Yeah. That's I think that's what my concern was, was it really sure, and how they would, how they would last. Do you know what my concern is? How will I dust this thing? You're right. That's terrible. No that's true. That's funny. So many of my crafts, well, right now I'm looking at a little quilted, uh, uh, hanging, it's, like, it's a flag, and I don't want to wash it, because that would start breaking down the batting and so forth, but it's such a dust collector to be out, and so forth. Yeah And most of my things are dust collectors Uh, and I hate to dust. I know. So first thing I think of is how easy would this, thing be to clean. That's funny No, I do some, I have really gotten out of it. I don't do it quite as much as I used to. Um, I guess because I, I went back to school, so I don't have as much time. Oh, you don't have time. No, and I have two children also You definitely don't have time. It keeps me very busy. But I really enjoy it when I do do it, when I get the chance, you know. It's really, it's so relaxing to just sit, and, but once I get started, I can't put it down. I just, I have a similar problem. I've got to have time or I don't even want to get into it in the first place. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so I end up lots of time not doing anything at all. I know, I started a project, it's been over a year ago that I swore I was going to finish for somebody for Christmas. You just didn't say which Christmas, right That's what I keep telling this person, well, I didn't tell you what year as if talking to other What was this project? Um, well, it's a, it's uh, cross stitch, and it's a picture, and it's a wildlife, it has deer and trees and, it's really beautiful, but it's going to be a lot of work, and you know, I've, I have worked on it quite a bit, but not as much as I'd like to. You know, it's just so hard. Now this is done in the needlepoint? Uh-huh. Well, I it's counted cross stitch, actually, is what I'm doing, and so it's really, since it's counted, you know, it's really a lot of work. Yes. Yes, I do know. Yeah. I have done a little bit of that, but I decided that that's something that demands my my, my total attention. Uh-huh. And so I've got to have total, almost total silence. I can't really watch television if the pattern is very intricate. It sounds like you'd have lots of shading on that particular piece. Uh-huh. Yep. It is not, does not sound like an easy one to finish. No, it really isn't, and I tell you, really, I could just kick myself for even starting it, because I have a feeling I'm never going to get it done. I'm probably going to hear about it the rest of my life Oh, I'm sure you'll get it done, but it just may not of the original, obviously not of the original time schedule. No, that's true. I, I just don't know when I'm ever, it just seems like there's just never enough time to pick it up and do it, you know, it's just really hard. But I really do like I said I really enjoy it when I do. It's just hard. Just hard finding the time that can be dedicated. Uh-huh. And there's, there's so many other things that, I, I have done, you know, in the meantime, like I said, so many baby gifts. I've made a lot of bibs, and wall hangings, and so, you know, those don't take much time at all. So it's no big deal for me to pick those up and do them. Do you, do you use patterns, I mean, like a book of patterns, or do you go out an buy a, a kit, like for a bib or something like that. No, I usually just buy a pattern book. I have several pattern books, and I just go with those. Okay. And then I buy the bibs separate. Usually I think it's a little bit cheaper in the long run, and then I just use whatever colors I want to. I don't usually use the colors they tell me to. Um. And it, it depends on what it is, you know. But some things, especially letters, if they suggest certain colors for letters, I just go with whatever I want to. That's what I would do, too. Yeah, yeah. Or whatever I have. There's yeah, there's a few designs I guess I've done myself, but not very many. Real simple ones, you know, I do. I've made, I made a little, uh, little, uh, little thumb print and made it a bunny. Ooh. It was really easy. I mean, just, just did a thumb print. You know. What. With ink? Uh-huh. Oh, okay. And then, see I didn't cross stitch the actual thumb print, you know, that was just the ink, and then I made the ears and little eyes and nose and mouth. That was so simple Oh, that sounds really neat. It didn't take anything at all. Did you do, did you use, like, uh, a stamp pad and ink. Uh-huh. And then I just, Ok so you, just like being finger printed ... Okay, so what kind of movies have you seen, lately, I guess? Um, a lot, well, the last movie I saw, but it wasn't my choice, was the NINJA TURTLE movie Obviously you have kids. That's right. Yeah, but my preference is the one we saw before that was SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. I haven't seen that one yet. That's an excellent movie. Um, the last movie I saw was, uh, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY. Oh, was that good. I heard, Uh, see, I'm not a big Julie Roberts fan. Oh, okay. But I was a lot, I was a lot more impressed with her than I thought I would be. Well, that's good. It turned out to be a better thriller than I was expecting it to be. Yeah. Yeah, it was a pretty good movie. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS kept me on the edge of my seat. I, I'm ready to go. It just, it's, you know, hasn't worked out that way yet. Right. You know, it's, uh, it looks good, you know if you like thrillers, anyway. Yeah, it is. Right. And I do. In fact, people I've talked to said that they hadn't slept real good for a while afterwards. So Really. Oh, I love them like that. Yeah. I'm not, I mean, I, I like all ranges of movies, but I like that where they run tense. Uh-huh. I really enjoy, they keep me guessing the whole time. It's really, it was really interesting. Uh-huh. Well, what other movies have you seen then lately? Oh. Other than the, I assume you were talking about the new NINJA TURTLES. Yes, the new one, of course Is that any good, I mean, I'm sure I'm going to be seeing it because in a week to Amarillo where my sister lives, and she's got two boys that I took to see the first one. Oh drawn So I'm sure I'm going to see the next one here real soon. Amarillo. I didn't see the first one. My husband said it was, um, about the same lines. Oh, well, then it won't be too bad. So, yeah. You know, it wasn't impressive necessarily, but it was better than it could have been. Right, right. And I was impressed with the fact that, um, it wasn't that childish. Yeah. You know what I mean. It wasn't, my daughter's five, I mean she understood everything. She goes to almost all movies with us except, you know, R rated. And she really enjoyed it, but it was on a higher level, you know, where there were some things that kids didn't understand that adults did, and I liked that. Yeah, I think that's important if you're going, you know, if you're going, uh, kids are going to, uh, parents are going to have to go you ought to make it at least you know, semi for them too. Right. That's right, that's right. Yeah. It's pretty good. But we take her to just about every movie, and, she, uh, she does really good. We've taken her from real young, and she does real good. Like I said, we don't take her to R Uh-huh. So, if and when we ever get a baby-sitter, like we did with SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, we go see it. I's about to say, you're not going to take her to that one, I'm sure. Oh, no, no. Do you take her, or do you go to a lot of comedy movies or to, Yeah, yeah. What was the last comedy you saw? of to Oh gosh what was the last comedy we saw? to regular Huh, huh, huh. Good question, good question. We don't get to go that often, but something on the tip of my tongue, and I can't think of which one it was. Uh. Gosh, I can't remember. The last, uh, in fact I guess this was the last movie I saw Uh-huh. I said that wrong, the last movie I saw was THE HARD WAY with Michael J. Fox. But that, that sounds good. Well, that really wasn't too bad. There were, you know, he's supposed, you know, he's this actor, right Uh-huh. and he's playing a cop. Right. Or he's hanging around with a cop trying to pick up the stuff. I think he did an excellent job in not being too much of a cop. Oh, okay. I mean, there, there were times when he was, like, he'd be running with a gun or whatever. He didn't look like a cop when he did it. And I was so impressed with that because, you know, usually, That's neat. The part was hard, to do that. Oh yeah, because, I mean, everybody grows up looking at these cop movies and trying to, you know, to imitate them or whatever. Right. And, uh, I thought he did such an excellent job of not going that far. Yeah, Now, by the end he was looking more like a cop. But at the beginning of the movie and all through the middle part, you know, he was trying to, trying to get it, Right. but he wasn't there yet. Right. And you could tell it, and I guess that I thought was a real good acting and writing job both, you know, because I think, or directing job. I think they did a real good job of that. Uh-huh. And James Woods, I think is who it was, did an excellent job as the cop. I mean, you know, he just, Yeah, I like him. Yeah, and there were, there were some definite, um, should I say, tense moments, with him in there. Probably the last comedy we saw, now that I think about it, is HOME ALONE. Yes, I, I, I had seen it before Christmas, but I took a date to it, uh, about a month ago. So, I, I, I've seen it the second time not too long ago. So. It was really cute. I really enjoyed it. Of course, the bad thing about it was, uh, the second time I saw it, I didn't really enjoy it as much, and I was kind of surprised at that. I thought that would be one of those that I would love to watch over and over. Yeah. But before, maybe it's just the idea of my reaction to the first time. I had laughed so hard I was hoarse. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I really was, I was hoarse getting out of there. Yeah. And maybe I just laughed so hard the first time that I didn't have it, I mean, it just wasn't as funny the second time because I had just gone overboard the first time. Right. I don't know but, Maybe so, maybe so. Yeah, I mean, it was, it was a great movie though. I loved the movie. Yeah, I did, too. I'm looking forward to this summer, uh, NAKED GUN TWO AND A HALF is coming out. I love those movies. I do too. I mean, they are just slapstick drawn out for Oh, yeah. It, you have to see those twice to catch everything. Well, you have to see them more than that. Yeah, yeah. I, I, I still catch things in AIRPLANE that I didn't catch. Yeah. I mean, it's amazing I do too. I love those movies I do too. I really do. So I'm looking forward to seeing that because that looks hilarious, as they all do. Yeah. Oh yeah. Well, we we try to go a couple times a month, I guess to see a movie. Uh-huh. It, it's just getting so expensive. Oh, isn't it though. You know, but that's at least the good thing about the Texas organization letting you buy the tickets cheaper. But normally we don't think about it until, That's exactly what, I was going to say. I keep not doing it until after I'm there and then all of a sudden I'm saying I wish I'd bought these things. I know, because we can go spend fifteen dollars just getting in the three of us. Easily. Yeah, yeah, And then if you want popcorn and stuff Yeah. I don't understand why they charge you out the kazoo for both. You know popcorn is not that expensive. No, nowhere near that expensive. So they get you at the ticket booth and then try and get you at the popcorn and coke. And, it, it's just the idea that these, uh, these actors, you know, live in such lavish style. I mean, it's as simple as that. Yeah. We just keep breeding them. Yeah, and as long as we keep paying the money for it, they are going to keep paying them. I guess so. Now have you seen DANCES WITH WOLVES? Yes. Oh yeah. Oh, that was, that was an excellent movie. I haven't seen, we're waiting for the video. No, don't. No, really? Don't. That needs the big screen. Oh. It really and truly does, because to get the feeling of like when the buffalos are, when they're chasing the buffalos and everything you've got to be where you feel it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh really? You really truly do. Oh. I would, I mean, I guess my first instinct was to wait for the video, too. But I'm glad I didn't. I really and truly am. I mean, that that was one movie I came out impressed. Uh-huh. I really and truly did. I mean, I have absolutely no problems with them winning seven Oscars. None at all. Right. Normally I'm one of these people that I don't like one, one movie taking all the honors. yeah, yeah. I wanted him to win best actor on top of it, he was, Yeah, oh. Like I said, I wouldn't given the supporting actresses either one. Yeah. But even though they were okay, the girl in it, they, somebody made an interesting observation, now that I think back on it, I'd say yeah, I can't believe that either. She was the only indian to have her hair done at all times. You know what I mean, you know. It was just too perfect at all times. Yeah. That was a mistake that they made. They shouldn't have done it. Yeah. Now the best, the supporting actor, he was good, but from what I heard, the guy who got it was better, so I, you know, I can see that. Yeah. But, oh, You think my daughter would like it? Oh, well there are, there is one spot that was just a little bit on the gory side. Oh, okay. But, um, it's it's She doesn't mind when we cover up her eyes. Okay, no problems It, it's just the idea that there is this one spot where the white man has come by and killed a bunch a buffalo and just stripped its hide, the hides. So there's, See, that's the one, that is the honest to God the one reason I don't want to see the movie is because I love buffalos for some weird reason, Yeah, but, well, And, and, of course, and I know they're fake. and, well, yeah, that, and plus, I mean part of it is the idea that he goes with them on a buffalo hunt. So, I mean, they are killing buffalos in it. But they don't stress that very much, they really don't. Okay, okay. And I think it's an excellent movie for, if, if she enjoys movies I think it'll work pretty good. Oh, that'll be good. We really need some, my husband keeps wanting to. It's, it's, it's a long movie. Yeah, and I heard the video's even going to be longer. Oh yeah. They did a lot of stuff that they cut out. I may have to see the video. Yeah, that's true, they said, I hadn't even thought of that. Yeah, they said there's a lot that had been edited, because of the length and that they wanted in, Uh-huh. so they're going to put it in the video. Yeah. And that way you can watch it at your leisure. Well, yeah, I kind of like it when they do that, because the video, like I said, there are certain things you can't do with a video Yeah. and the idea that they may put a little extra in it I think is a good idea. Yeah, yeah. Because I mean when you rent a video, videos, of course, are not cheap either True. and so the idea of getting a little extra with it I think is a good idea. Because they, they make bundles of money off those things. I know it Isn't that ridiculous. We have cable which helps a lot Oh, I do too. Yeah, but not enough. Yeah, we keep holding out, you know. Yeah I'm getting to the point where, you know, I watch, well I watch NICK AT NIGHT. Okay, do you have Are you there? Yeah. Okay There, okay. Okay. Had to mess with my phone here. Um, do you have children? Yes, I have one. Oh, okay. How about you? I have three. Oh, my goodness Yeah Yeah, uh, do you work? Yeah, I do. Okay. I do, I work and, and, uh, Brian's in a day care center. He's uh, he was two in December, Oh. so he's not quite two and a half yet. Uh-huh. He, uh, I put him, I'm kind of had different, different ideas from what probably the majority of people have, Uh-huh. I put him in a day care center from the very beginning. He started in day care when he was eight weeks old. Oh, no kidding. And I just, I don't know, I have kind of the opposite opinion of most people, Really. I have had this real problem with a, a private individual. I mean I, I kind of looked at it like if you take him to a home with a, with private individual, when the door shuts, that one person has total control, Yeah. Yeah. and I always figured at least in a day care center there are other people around, Yeah. and if you get one bad apple, there's are at least other people that can see it. Yeah. They can watch, and I just kind of always felt that the chances of something happening were less. Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. Because there's, You know, how can you help depending on the day care center, you know, Yeah. you got to when you hear about all the horrible things that happen in day care centers, have you ever noticed they're always like a family owned center where the mother and the daughter and the son run it, you know, kind of thing. It's like a family thing. Yeah, yeah. You never hear about it really in the big ones. Yeah. So, that's what I did and I have had just excellent luck. Oh, good. I have been just so happy. He's, Oh, good. I was just going to ask you how it, you know, if you liked the, the, but obviously you do or you wouldn't have him there, I know, but, Right. Right. Well he was in, he was in the same center for two years, for the first two years, Uh-huh. and, uh, it was wonderful, and I loved it, and I was so happy there and the woman who owned it sold it. Oh, gosh. But, I thought okay, I'm going to keep an open mind here, Right. and the people who came in, it just wasn't, it, just wasn't the same Wasn't the same. and their, their attitude and philosophy was just completely, opposite from mine, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I left him there for about a month and just decided I can't do this anymore, and I, moved him, which was an extremely traumatic experience Yeah. but. but, he's done well, Was it? Yeah. he's been there, a couple of months now, Good. and I just feel so lucky. Oh, good. Yeah. That's great, that's good. How about you? Do you work or do you get to stay home with them? Well, I got to stay home with my kids for the first ten years. My oldest one is ten and a half now, or she's, I guess, Wonderful. yeah, it's, was about ten years. So I, yeah, I, I was really happy that I was able to do that. But, I, that's what I wanted to, because I, uh, you know I just couldn't wait to have kids and so, if I was, I was so anxious to have them and I couldn't wait to have them it would be kind of silly, you know, to go back to work as soon as I had them, so, Right. Right. so, it, it, it, it was really great. By the end of the ten years I was really ready to go back to work, Yeah. I bet and my youngest was only, uh, two and a half Uh-huh. I mean she was already two and a half, Uh-huh. so it wasn't, you know, she wasn't an infant. A baby. Yeah. Yeah Yeah. Yeah, so, I felt real good about that, but, uh, boy, I tell you with summer coming up I'm just pulling my hair out, in terms of what I'm going to do, I, I guess I, went back to work about a year and a half ago and, uh, I worked full time all last year and now I'm going to school part time and, uh, graduate school, and I'm working part time And, so I'm still, I know how that goes Yeah. I'm still going full time, but I only have half time salary, Yeah. and, uh, when school lets out, I just don't, I haven't, I have no idea what I'm going to do, because I certainly can't afford what we did last year which was, Right, right. Did you have them in a center or something last summer? Well, we did, we tried, we had all different things, we sent them to camp. One, first month, in June, they went to summer school, then the second month they, uh, one, my daughter went home to visit my Mom for a while and my son, uh, went to camp and there we had, uh, I don't know some, forget what else we did but it was all, uh, really expensive Yeah, that stuff is expensive. It really is. So, now they're a year older, and I, my daughter's eleven, going to be eleven this summer and my son will be, nine and a half. And so, I'm not, I think I can leave them home, for a, if I can work part of the day, you know, I'm going to leave them home. Yeah, yeah. I was going to say they're getting to the age where, you should be able to trust that a little bit, Right. yeah. Yeah. Yes, in fact I'm doing that right now with their afternoons, when they get home before I do. You know, that's okay. But, the four year old now I I have had her since I went back to work, or before I went back to work really, in a home day care situation, Uh-huh. and, uh, we've just been really thrilled, with it too. We were what, actually we, it took us two or three different people to find, To find the right one, Yeah. that's what we have to do though. Right. But, I wasn't embarrassed to shop around you know, No. so, the, the person we found it through the, there's an association here in town of professional home, care providers or something like that. Where do, where do you live? In Plano. Plano? Yeah, and they have a number you can call and all these people are registered with their association and, you know, go like our, our, uh, I don't want to call her a baby-sitter, she's doesn't like, to be called that, care provider. Care provider. Right. She goes to seminars and, uh, Oh, that's wonderful. she gets home visitations by the I don't know, the state boards, I guess, some of them and then some by the association, and they have weekly meetings and everything and, so it's just really, really well regulated. That's great. And, she's just great. In fact, uh, she's all upset because Galen is going to go to kindergarten next fall and she says this is it, you know, I'm not going to have her anymore and I said, Oh, no, don't count on that After noon classes she's going to be here because she's going to morning kindergarten. Right, right. So, but, we, we've tried, we've tried everything and one year, I guess last year when I went back to work I had my son was eight at the time, just barely eight, and, uh, we put him in Amrein's Day Care, after. After, Uh-huh, I've heard that, they were very good. Well, that's why we picked it, because they were, were supposed to be real great, and, you know, I think they were fine, but the thing is he was in school all day, in second grade, Uh-huh. in, in Plano, it's open classroom situation where they don't have walls, Uh-huh. so there is like a hundred and twenty second graders in the same area with no walls. Oh. And, uh, and then he'd get on the Amrein's Bus to go to Amrein's and then there would be a whole ton of other kids, all in the same room, you know, Yeah. you know what fun they had with these computer games and then they'd go outside for awhile, they had snacks and story time and everything. But, it was just like going to school until five thirty at night instead of being able to get home at two thirty. Poor kid was in school all day. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because he was always around with a crowd of kids and he just really missed being able to be by himself, and having some peace and quiet Uh-huh. or, you know. Uh-huh. Even at that age they need that time, Yes. we all need that time, just some quiet time to wind down from the day. Yeah. Right. That's exactly it. So, another thing that we tried to do, I, I know your son's too young right now, but we're trying, we tried to sign him up for after school scouts and, stuff like that Yeah, yeah. and, I think that's really important, Yeah. and we've already started about, you know, I mean, how young can they start T-Ball and soccer? Right You know, I mean, I just, you know, we both think of that that as just so important, to get him involved in stuff like that It is. and, you could hardly wait, It is. And, I mean, he's, he's so much fun now, Yeah. he's really, he's really starting to get lots of fun and I can't wait until stuff like that starts happening I bet, yeah. you know, and, you know, we did the Easter egg hunts, which was really the first year he was really able to Uh-huh. understand. and to know what we know what he was doing you know, and enjoy it, Yeah. and it was so much fun and gosh he went a couple of weekends ago and rode an elephant and, God he got up on this elephant all by himself Oh, my gosh. You're kidding. and Lord, I couldn't believe it. You're kidding. They had so much fun. Oh, that's great. I bought us tickets and stood there in line and I thought, I'm going to end up on this elephant with him you know, He did it by himself, Well, good for him. so stuff like that is starting to come along where it's really, getting fun, you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Day care has just done just incredible stuff with him and he like comes home with something new everyday, you know and so, I know, I know they're working with him Well, that's great. That's so good. and he's excited to get there in the morning, and just doesn't even want to kiss me good-bye. Uh-huh. It's just like bye, and he goes running, you know, He's out of there. and he's always having fun when I pick him up so, you know. Yeah, this, this day care is, is, Uh-huh. it's Bright Steps in Lewisville. And, Uh-huh. whenever you say Bright Steps, everybody goes, oh, I've heard that's the best day care in town, you know, Yeah? Good. and it's, it's one of those that's very hard to get into. Uh-huh. and they have, this, this, this woman owns three day cares, two in Lewisville and one in Irving. Uh-huh. and she had to open the second one up in Lewisville because, her waiting list was just like, you know, like a year old, Uh-huh. it was ridiculous. Oh, my gosh. And, she's got two day cares within like three blocks of each other. No kidding. Yes, so its, She knows something right, that she and, She knows what she's doing, all the teachers, like about half the teachers are degreed teachers. Yeah, that makes such a difference. Oh, it makes a huge difference. That's the way it is at my daughter's nursery school too. Uh-huh. And I think that really makes a difference. Yeah. They're in it because it's a profession, not because it's a job they could get because they didn't qualify for anything else, you know . That's right. That's right. That's right. And, his old day care as much as I loved it, you know, Uh-huh. and the owner, I really liked her and she worked really hard to get good people, but the people that she got were there because they weren't qualified to do anything else you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. And, and I got lucky and all of his teachers were, very good. Because, because, Right. Some, sometimes that's fine, that's great, you know. Yeah, but then sometimes, you know, Sometimes it isn't. You just have to. Yeah. Well, is it real expensive then? Um, it just went up the first of this month. I'm paying, uh, seventy nine dollars a week for now. Uh-huh. So, Wow. It's a little high, Yeah. but, but it's, you know, it's like where he was before I was only paying sixty three, so there's quite a little jump there, Right. Right. but, I looked all over Lewisville, I looked in every day care there was in Lewisville, Uh-huh. and, you know, and there were places that were cheaper, Uh-huh. but is it, No. you know, your peace of mind is worth a little bit of money, you know, Yeah. and I have peace of mind, where he is Uh-huh. and some of those other places I wouldn't have. That's exactly it. See, we do the same thing, since Galen goes to nursery school, we pay our, our home care provider, for our day care provider, full time for a whole week, but she, she's gone three mornings. Galen just doesn't go there three mornings a week. Yeah, yeah. But, I said to her, I said, you know, it doesn't matter if for whatever when school holidays come around, I used to have such a problem with that. Uh-huh. They wouldn't have anything to do. I'd either have to Okay. Well, have you ever, uh, had a family reunion? Yes, Oh. and, uh, let me tell you this is a really neat thing to do too, that they did, I didn't do it. Some of the other people, the older people organized it. Uh-huh. And, what they did, they had, uh, a book made up and it was like, when our ancestors first came over. Oh. No kidding. And, then what they did was they asked every family to write something about their family. And, like, how many kids you had, and who you had married, Huh. and, you know, it went through like, and it showed who my, uh, well, who my husband's parents were, you know. And, who he married and then how many children we had and then like his brothers and sisters Uh-huh and it went through the whole family and stuff. Oh, that's so neat. And, it was so good. Oh, great Yeah. But it, it really did, you know, and plus it's got a lot more people interested in it because, you got to participate sort of. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, so did everybody send in their information and they made a book up, about it, Right. Uh-huh. and then you could get it at the reunion. Right. And, everybody got a book, that came to the reunion. Oh, nice. And, it told like, uh, you know, where the first Connallys came over, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, um, it told what happened when they got there and how many kids they had and it just kept coming on up through the generations. Wow. So, it was really, that was really neat. That is neat. And, So, do you have a big family? Well, he does Oh, he does? Yeah He does, I don't. But, uh, he has enough relatives to make up for me not having any That's kind of how my husband and I are. I have a kind of a big family and he just has himself and his brother and his parents, Uh-huh. and that's it. So, he had to kind of get used to us when we first started going together. Yeah. That's what, that's what happened when I, when I first, uh, met my husband. I said, this can't be, you know, nobody can have this many relatives, because a lot of them lived in like a group, you know, down one highway. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, there was a lake, and they all lived down there by it. Oh, how nice. And, so, we were going down, the highway, you know, and he kept saying, this is where my uncle lives and this is where my aunt lives and my uncle, Oh, my gosh. and I kept thinking, this guy is putting me on. Nobody has this many relatives, you know Yeah. So, but, they really were all there. How funny. And, another thing that's really good about, uh, family reunions, is having everybody just cook whatever is their specialty, and bring it. At, because nobody it seemed like, liked the same thing. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh. But you had a choice and then you got to taste a lot of new dishes and stuff too, and get a lot of good recipes. Yeah. Yeah. Where if you said a certain thing and say, okay, we're all going to have fried fish, or, we're all going, to have fried chicken. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody might not like that. Not be able to do it. So, did people come like from out of town to the reunion or, Oh, yeah. Yeah, They did. they came from all over. Did you put them up in other people's houses or did you have hotel rooms, or, how did you do it? Um, they just stayed with different ones of them. They did. Uh-huh. They just came down and like say, okay, this aunt and Uncle Kip, uh, all their kids and their grand kids and everything, and then, they had it. Uh-huh It had gotten so big that they had it at the church. Oh, really? And, they had a church service ahead of it, you know, and then they had, uh, uh, then they ate out on the ground. How nice. And they just brought food with them? Uh-huh. Did they just have like over a weekend? Is that how they did it? Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, I'm real curious because my family, it didn't sound, I don't think my family is as big as your husband's. I don't think we'd need a whole church, but, um, the problem is we are all really scattered, around. There isn't any one place where most of us live, so if we ever had a reunion, we'd kind of all have to stay in a hotel. I mean, you know, there would be one person who lived there that would have a house, but they couldn't put everybody up. So it, I think it would get kind of expensive. But, you know what you can do? Huh? A lot of these lakes and things, if you could find a centrally located, like, say about the same distance for all of you all to come? Uh-huh. They have these places where you can rent them and it, you know, like on a lake, Uh-huh. like, uh, it's a big place, I mean, you know, it's got little rooms that separate off of it and stuff, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, it's not very expensive that way. Oh, you mean so, oh, I see, so everybody could stay together? Right. It's like a, they have like a, a convention type thing. Yeah. a house or something. Uh-huh. And, then it has little rooms off of it where, you know, you'd go and sleep at night time. Oh! But, then it has like a kitchenette and things like that but you, See, that would be great because then you could spend so much more time together, than if you all were in your own hotels or something. Right. And another, And then, every time you wanted to go eat with somebody, you'd probably have to go to out, eat or something. It would run into a lot of money. So, Yeah. But, they had, that was, you know, that, That sounds like fun. what you can do is, you can write different places, the Chamber of Commerce, tell them what you're interested in. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Ask them what they have, you know, at area lakes and all. If they have something like that Uh-huh. Yeah. because now every time we plan anything, just about, we write to the Chamber of Commerce of where we're going because, you can find out so much easier, that way, than try to locate it, you know, Uh-huh. You get a, Yeah. calling different places can really run you up a bill. Yeah. But, if you can find a centrally located place where everybody would have to come about the same distance, I mean, you can't get it exact, you know, usually, Oh, yeah. but, uh, and then everybody goes to that place. And that is not bad at all. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, they have, lot of times they'll have like, uh, little cabins, Uh-huh. and three or four or five families can stay in those cabins because they have, you know, just the single bunk beds and stuff. Uh-huh. And, they can all stay in those cabins. And then, you know, you can have cookouts and stuff like that that doesn't cost you as much. That would be great. That would be really nice Yeah. But, that's, uh, you know, that's the best way I found, because whenever you have, something where you go and, Yeah. That sounds good. now we had one, this was before I lost a lot more of my family, but it wasn't any of my immediate family anyway. Because I didn't have any of them left. Uh-huh. But, um they had, uh, uh, thing where you could, everybody could come and meet and go out to eat. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, I didn't think that was as good. Because, it was like, you know, you couldn't really talk and stuff, like you could when, you were at the lake, or somewhere, you know, where you were out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Right. This was like everybody came into town and went to this restaurant. And you have to sit at a table and just, yeah, Yeah. And, it just, I didn't like that much. Well, um, did you, was it hard to decide who to invite and who not to invite. I mean, did you have to draw a line, or did the people that had that reunion have to draw a line? No. Like, they just whoever wanted to come. What they did was, Well, see what they did was, okay, they, uh, they wrote to all the initial people, you know, the, the oldest ones. Uh-huh. Right. Okay, then those in turn got a hold of these other ones. Uh-huh. And they had like, I think there was four or five different people, that would call, you know, some of them, if they didn't have their addresses and all on them, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, you know, they told them that what we had to do was when we sent back in our information, we had to tell them how many people were going to be coming, you know. Yeah. Right. And then, when they, when they talked to us or when they sent us the letter, it, uh, you know, to get the information and all, it asked, you know, will you be willing to bring Uh-huh. and you had to check off what all you would be willing to bring. Oh, I see. And, so, really there wasn't any problem with, that's the reason it ended up in a church because, I mean, there was just so many of them. yeah, yeah. But, it turned out so much better like that. Because everybody knew, they knew ahead of time how many people to expect. Yeah. Right. Now if there was a sickness or something like that, I mean, you know, you're not going to lose that many. Sure. Sure. No that would just be a few. Right. But how about like because of divorce and stuff like that? Like my parents are divorced, Okay well, and they are both remarried and, you know, there, I mean, there's, I don't know. Well, see, then okay, if you wanted them both to come, then you would put, you would have put that down on the list Yeah. and you would have sent, you would have been the one that sent their invitation to them, and ask for their information. Yeah. Yeah. So then, To send back to those other people. I, I'm kind of like, in control over who comes. Uh, just from my family. Right. Because once it went to the, the oldest people and then they knew who they wanted to invite, Yeah. then, they sent their little things to us. Yeah. Okay, it was up to me, who I was going to, you know, whether I wanted my kids and, you know, my, any of my family to come. Uh-huh. Right. Right. I see. So, I see, that's a pretty good idea to do it that way. And then, you know, it never did, like if I didn't want somebody to come, then I just wouldn't send them one of the questionnaires. Uh-huh. So there really wasn't a problem that way. Right, right, right. Well, that's a real good idea. Well, Yeah. but, I tell you what, that's the neatest book we've got, I bet. course we've got, we've still got it and they charged us, I think it was like, it was like five or six dollars, I can't remember exactly, you know, that we paid for the book to be printed. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. and it's not, uh, it's not a hard back book, it's just a, oh, like a, you know, folder type thing. Uh-huh. But it has the entire, you know, it has everybody that you could ever imagine, and some you couldn't How neat. Yeah, I know, that's really neat. That's really neat. and, it will be something my kids will have, you know. Just like, I was just thinking of that. What you could tell your kids. yeah. Because if you stop and think, I don't know if you're like me, but I know very little about before my grandparents. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I mean, very, very little about it. I just, the thing is I know a lot of stories, but I can't remember who it was about. My grandparents told us when I was growing up and even when I was an adult they still tell all kinds of stories about their parents and their cousins and their best friends, cause they all grew up in New York City, but I can't, you know, I remember these stories but I have no idea who it was that was in those stories. Yeah. So, I mean, I couldn't give an accurate, I couldn't tell my kids what, you know, those people were like, I just remember they had some funny stories, but I don't know who it was. Maybe what you could do if you couldn't get into a full family reunion, and you wanted to go back some, Uh-huh. but then usually when you find out some information from like your parents, then you can find out from, you know, you can find somebody else that can tell you something else about these, Yeah Okay. All right. What, uh, what kind of camping is there in Texas? Well, there, there are quite a few, um, parks, I guess, state parks, and there's a couple of national parks, I guess, that you can camp at. Uh-huh. Um, most of them have pretty good facilities. I don't know if the camping that I've done is really roughing it without a, a whole lot of stuff. Yeah. So, you do, uh, like backpacking and the like? Uh, done a little bit of that, mainly just, um, like camping out at the state parks, I've been to a couple in Texas and there's some real nice ones in Arkansas. Uh-huh. Um, I think Arkansas has one of the best parks departments around. Huh. Is the Ozarks in Arkansas? Uh-huh. Yeah, part of them are. Yeah, so, that's probably a pretty nice place to go Yeah, they've got, uh, real nice lake system, and, around their parks. One of them, uh, the gray , I think that's one of the ones we've been to, it's real nice there, a bunch of lakes around it, there's a golf course and, um, just a whole bunch of camping sites. Yeah. What about you, where have you, uh, Oh, I've been camping for years, not on a regular basis but, uh, I first started camping out in the desert in California. And then sometimes in the mountains also in California Uh-huh. and, uh, then I moved to North Carolina and I, I didn't camp for a long time, and then I started to, uh, go camping again kind of in conjunction with white water rafting, so, I'd go up somewhere and camp overnight and then do some rafting. Uh-huh. And then maybe camp another night and drive home. And that was, uh, that was pretty good so, I went out and bought a whole bunch of camping gear and, uh, you know, I still do it once in a while. Yeah, I think we've collected stuff off and on over the years. The more times we did it, the more serious we get about it. Uh-huh. Yeah. Where, where is Raleigh, in North Carolina? Uh, well, it's, it's, uh, in terms of north, south I would say it's, uh, a little, a little more towards the northern border of the state and pretty much in the eastern half of it. Okay. So what Are you kind of away from the Blue Ridge Mountains, Well, it, it's, uh, an area. actually the, the Blue Ridge in Virginia are closer to Raleigh. They're about three hours away if you go due north. Uh-huh. Um, of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina I think are much nicer and you can pick those up going west, but then you're talking about six to eight hours. Yeah. The way it works. But, um, it's a real, it's a real nice place to go and camp, and there's some pretty decent campgrounds although , I don't think Raleigh, I don't think the state of North Carolina takes, they probably just don't spend as much money as a lot of other states might. Uh-huh. Yeah, my wife's from the western part of Virginia, we've been down the parkway a lot, but I didn't know how much, how much camping areas there were along there. I think there's quite a few. I can't say I've checked them all out though. What, what's it like camping in the desert and California, that seems, like a challenge. It's, uh, it's actually kind of incredible, it's really, really nice. Um, I like it better than almost anything I've ever done. Just the sky is so amazing. You know, you really can probably count thousands of stars, Uh-huh. and, uh, it's, it's just kind of nice. I like the, uh, I think the desert has a rare kind of beauty which, uh, a lot of people don't realize, you know, they hear desert and they think of scorpions and snakes and sand and being real dry, and lack of water, course it, it has all of those qualities but it also has a certain quality of beauty that you just don't find anyway else except in a desert. Uh-huh. So, it's pretty nice. The, uh, the movie, THE DOORS, has some nice desert scenes, those guys all go camping out in the desert. Yeah. Of course, they drag a lot of drugs with them but, um, the, uh, the shots are, are pretty nice and it's sort of like that, I mean, it's just almost surreal, in some places. Huh. It's very pleasant. Are the temperatures real extreme there or the, the, They can be, yeah. I mean, you got to, you sort of have to choose your season carefully and know what's going to happen. Uh-huh. I've been camping in Death Valley, one doesn't go in July Yeah, true. But it's beautiful in February. Yeah. I mean, it's just beautiful. The days, get up into the high eighties, uh, maybe the nineties but it's, it's quite bearable and then the nights are reasonably warm, you know, sixties or seventies. It's just great. It's really very nice. Yeah, we've talked about planning a trip up through, um, I have a sister-in-law that lives in New Mexico, up through New Mexico and into Colorado and the Grand Canyon area. I don't know, don't know when I'm going to get a chance to do that but, Yeah. Well, that would be, that would be pretty nice. I've been, I have been camping on the south rim the Grand Canyon. That's okay. A lot of people like to go down and camp down inside, I was just too lazy that trip to do all that walking, especially with my gear. Uh-huh. I'll bet . That one, one thing you said about the stars is really true it's, when you're close to a big city like Dallas, the, the lights kind of wash, wash off the star Oh, yeah. so it's nice to, to get away. It's just amazing, how, how much you miss. Yeah, it, Yeah, it, yeah, it really is. I mean, I don't think I ever see the Little Dipper, you hear people talk about the Little Dipper. Huh Uh-huh. But I don't think I ever see it except when I go get out of the city and go camping in the desert or in, in the mountains. Otherwise it's just too faint Well, I guess we've talked as much as we need to on the subject. Yeah, I think we fulfilled our obligation. Well, thanks for calling, nice talking to you. Yeah, it was good talking to you Robert . Okay, bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, Stephanie, what's your position on gun control? Well, on a scale of one to ten, uh, being ten, no, kind of legislation and zero being, uh, total ban, I probably would lean more towards six or seven. Um, I feel like a total ban on guns is just going to put the guns in the hands the criminals. Uh-huh. Um, I lived in Massachusetts for two years and they have a total ban on guns and I saw that, it didn't stop crime in that state. Now was that just on handguns or was that on rifles? Any, any kind of firearms. Really? Yeah. Uh, it's, there's was a mandatory jail sentence if you were caught, um, with a firearm and also I think there was a fine. And that didn't help at all? No, I don't, the, the crime is not any better or any worse, I mean it's, Huh. I, I shouldn't say I don't know if it was any worse, but it certainly didn't get any better. Uh-huh. I usually just, I'm trying to think of, I guess I would tend myself to be more towards the, the, like three, where I don't think you should necessarily ban guns any, by any means, Uh-huh. but you should definitely have the character search and the seven day holding period and things along that nature, uh, you know, you shouldn't be able to go out there and just buy one and, you know, right off the shelf. Yeah, I, I, I agree with that. And but, I, I think that the, the law is on who can buy a gun are, are way too lax. Uh-huh, exactly. I think that, I think that the, And, so, I think that kind of control is, would be good, Yeah. but the, uh, I, you know, I'm trying to think of how many times you make the statement and, just to kind of exam it a little bit and I, I know that any statement in absoluteness is not necessarily true, uh, only the guns were in the hands of the criminals, but how many times, I guess I have never heard of a, a robbery being foiled or spoiled because the person who's being robbed had a gun. Um, I, And maybe they just don't report those or I'm not sure or, you know, I can't think of ever hearing on the news or whatnot or hearing or knowing anybody who was being robbed but good thing they had their gun on them and they, they thwarted the robbery attempt. Yeah, I, I'm, I'm not really sure, I don't, personally I don't own a gun, Uh-huh. um, and I don't think I probably ever would, um, although I would like to know how to handle one, and I think it's good that and I think everybody should learn how to handle one. Uh-huh. Um, you just never know when you might come into contact with one. True. Um, Did, did you, were you brought up in a family that hunted or, No. Uh, nobody in my family hunted, uh, my father had, had guns when I was in high school because he got them from a friend who lived in Massachusetts We lived in New Hampshire at the time. How about that. And he lived in Massachusetts and had to get rid of all his guns, Huh. so we ended up, uh, with these guns, Uh-huh. and my, really my only experience with a gun was shooting a pistol and not knowing how to hold it right and the hammer came back and hit me in the thumb and blood squirted everywhere. Oh, jeez. And so that was really the only experience that I've had with guns and it, it kind of scared me. Right. Uh-huh. But I think that if I learn how to use one, I would, I would feel better. Right. I've also always thought about the idea, you know, most sports, you know, which are the N R A and people have their thing, you know, if you ban guns, you're just banning the, the recreation, the sport of hunting, things of that nature. Most of that's done with rifles and such. Uh, though there's, you know, probably I'm sure some sector that does it with handguns. But just by the mere fact of outlawing handguns, would make it so that it would be not as conspicuous, you couldn't be inconspicuous, when you walked into a store stuff like that, Yeah. you could see someone coming or dressed inappropriately, you know, if they had to have a rifle or was, you know, made it more difficult to get a, a, uh, a handgun. Now of course, you know, in this world anytime you've freedom you can be able to get anything you want. Yeah, that's true. But I guess to make it more difficult for the person who's just so irate and upset and, you know, temporarily a little bit, uh, offset or off keel, I don't know if that's a large percentage of, uh, crime or not but I guess it would be some. But I, I think definitely, like today they just introduced the, what's called the Brady bill. The seven day mandatory waiting period, on getting any guns. Uh-huh. And I think that, Shoot that's a good idea. I would definitely support that. Yeah. I, I, I agree the thing that scares me, uh, though about where I would, I would definitely want some sort of legislation and coming from the north east, I'm just not used to seeing, um, these, and I, I know this may sound kind of stereo typical but the cowboys with the gun racks in the back of their trucks. That's kind of scary to me Oh, sure. that kind of, to me it is more like vigilantism . Uh-huh. You know, and it kind of scares me especially with all the shootings that have been going on, in L A, on the freeways, Right. Yeah, that's crazy . and then you come here in, in the Dallas area, um, I don't, I don't believe that people should be allowed to carry guns in their vehicles. Um, especially not in the back window, for everybody to see. Yeah, that's kind of, kind of wild. Uh-huh. That is kind of wild. Well, that's all very interesting Well, thanks for talking. Sure you're welcome. Good-bye. Okay, bye-bye. There we go. Right. Well, actually I'm a, I'm a Dodgers fan from way back. Oh Um, how way back, I mean Like, um, late fifties, early sixties. Okay so Wally Moon moon shots and all that. What's that? Yeah, coliseum, Wally Moon and all that. Yeah. Okay, yeah, it's a, um, I, I'm living in, just west of Baltimore, and Frederick, um, which is also just west of Baltimore, has a minor league team. And, uh, and, Wally Moon is the manager of them. Is that right? Yeah, so he's still kicking around. That's interesting. Yeah, I, I also lived eight years in Ohio before going to, uh, going away to college, and I used to go watch the Toledo Mudhens. Oh, I saw them, um, um, I was out there last Summer, and I saw a game at Ned Skelton. Is that the stadium? Uh, I couldn't tell you for sure. It's been a long time. Oh, okay. So, um, there used to be a, uh, race track. Uh-huh. Yeah, it was, that was impression I got when I was there so, Yeah, I think that's right. Okay, yeah, so had a lot of fun actually, I mean, I like minor league baseball, a lot. It's cheaper for one thing Well, that's true. I think, I've kind of become a Rangers fan over the last eleven years since I've been here. Uh, they've led the American league in batting, fielding and pitching, but they've never been able to do more than one of those in any, any given year. So. Yes I think they're in for a odd year this year, actually, um, they, um, I don't understand why Encovilla got released. I don't either. I mean, the guy's twenty, twenty-five home rums, maybe thirty, eighty some R B I-s. I mean, he, you know, he can't field and, you know, he strikes out a lot, but, I mean, he's done that for five years. Why get rid of him now? Really, I mean, he really has become a, a very decent fielder. Oh, yes. Okay. He's not a, the liability that he was, that he used to be. Oh, okay. Um. Oh, he fits right in with Texas bunch of guys, I mean with Detroit, bunch of guys that hit home runs and strike out a lot. Yeah, of course, get a guy like Cecil Fielder, you know, if he strikes out a lot, so what. Yeah, well, I mean, with Detroit, I mean, they can get away with one guy like that. I mean, if I, if I were in Detroit, I would start building the team around Fielder. Oh, yeah. But that doesn't mean get three other guys who hit, all they can do is hit home runs and strike out you know, which they did. Right. Yep. So. Well, I think the key for, for L A this year is whether Oral Herschiser can come back. I think the pitching's deep enough that it doesn't matter. It may be. I, I like them a lot. I think they're going to go all the way. Um, and, and, I mean, by saying I like them, I like their chances. I, I actually don't like the Dodgers, I'm a Giants fan from way back. Right, right. Well, picking up Darrell Strawberry didn't hurt. No, but Butler didn't hurt either. Uh, and Bobby Ojeda didn't hurt and, Uh, who's the last one. Bobby Ojeda. They got him from the Mets for Hubie Brooks. Oh, okay. Um, he's a, a pretty decent pitcher. He's, Yes he is. Okay, you know, he . Yes. And, uh, that guy , the short stop, is going to be good. Yeah. Um. Well it should be an interesting year. Yeah, I'm looking, I've already been to one game, and I should have been to two but, Are you an Orioles fan? Um, the, the team I live and die with actually is the Red Sox, mostly die, but, um, I go to the Orioles since they're here, and I, you know, I do enjoy them. Yeah. Um, I've had an opening day on Monday. Yeah, you know, I kind of wish that they had inter league play, like they do in all the other sports so I could see some of the National League teams here once in a while. How far is Houston? Uh, three hundred miles. Oh, okay, keep forgetting how big states are out there sometimes. Yeah, it is, it's incredible. Yeah, I, um, you know, we're, we're pretty lucky because if I want to see a National League team, I can usually go up to Philadelphia. There you go. And, um, saw, saw the Cardinals and Cubs last year, and a bunch of teams the year before. Boy, you are a baseball fan, aren't you. Okay, uh, yeah Interesting. Um, I try to see whatever I can. I mean, I've been to like thirty or forty games each of the last few years. Wow. Yeah, hope I'm going to do it this year because, um, uh, having a kid this fall, so it's like so much for going to lots of baseball games. All right. So, so do it while you can. Yeah, seriously. Sure. Well, it's been good talking with you. Yeah, good talking with you. And, and you'll be happy I think in October when the Dodgers win. I wouldn't mind it. Yeah, I'll be, I'll be upset probably even though my prediction will be right Yeah, well, God bless and good talking with you. And good talking with you. Take care. Bye-bye. Bye. Do you want to start? Yeah, I'm trying to think what I've seen lately. I well we just finished watching, uh, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES on tape, you know Did you watch DANCES WITH WOLVES, did you see the movie? Yeah, we, we've seen that, yeah. Did you like it? Yeah, it was great, have you seen it? I thought it was very well done. Yeah, I, um, How about GHOST? We, we saw, an, we liked it but, you know, I didn't think it was as good as all the, uh, hype was about it. Right, I feel the same way about that too. It was okay. Yeah, I I, I couldn't see it worth getting a nomination for, uh, best picture. No, no. And, uh, let's see, uh, the most recent ones that I've seen are those two, GHOST and, uh, DANCES WITH WOLVES, but I rent, uh, uh, videos, do you? Yeah, yeah, and so we just, You, you watch many? Uh, it depends, um, you know, it depends on Do you like the classics like, uh, GONE WITH THE WIND and, uh, you know the older movies. I'd like to see those, I keep, you know, um, you know, there's like three movies that I, I keep telling myself that I should see one of these, you know, some day that I haven't seen, you know, that, that are classics, you know. Because I've never seen CITIZEN KANE, Yeah, that was good. and never seen, I've never seen CASABLANCA and never seen GONE WITH THE WIND. I think I've seen most of Humphrey Bogart's movies, but, in, in, you know a long time ago, Uh-huh. and, uh, like the MALTESE FALCON and all those, uh, uh, Oh, I, I we saw part of THE AFRICAN QUEEN on, on T V a couple of years ago, Yeah, that was good, yeah. and I've, I've I've been wanting to see all of it but we just, you know, we walk into the video store and we're like well why don't we go see this now so. Yeah, yeah, it's true. But, um, I one of the movies we saw recently, we saw, uh, MISERY. Oh, I didn't see that one. That was good, um, Really. oh, it was great. And it, you think, you know, for a Stephen, you know, it because it was by Stephen King it would be really gory but there's only one, well there's a couple scenes, at, at the end there's, there is, you know some blood and everything and there's one really bad scene where it's, I mean, there's not blood but it's pretty graphic Yeah. But it's, um, it's a really good movie, um. Really, is that the one where, uh, the guy gets captured by that women? Yeah, yeah, Okay, yeah. he's a writer and, um, she's his biggest fan and she's also a little, a little on the nutso side. Yeah, right. Uh-huh. Did you see PACIFIC HEIGHTS? No, we haven't, um, I saw that one, that one wasn't that great either. Oh, it wasn't? Well I didn't think so, no. I, I got, I heard like mixed reviews, um, of that, we How about SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? That's, that's on our list of things to see I know, I, I wanted to see, I, I was curious if you had seen it and that, uh, our big thing is, um, you know, movie prices up here I think it's like six bucks now in the theaters, Yeah. you know. So it's like, you know, a lot of things we try to catch like at the dollar theater or matinees and then a lot of other stuff we just wait until it comes out on tape. That's us too, yeah, yeah true. I know, it's too bad that they've gotten so expensive. well one movie we saw in the last couple of months that we really enjoyed was, uh, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. Oh, really. Yeah, have you seen that? No. Oh, it was great Really. Yeah it was, I thought it was kind of maybe for kids more, than No, no, it's, um, it's an odd film and it's really interesting that, I like the director a lot, um, a guy named Tim Burton. Uh-huh. Did you ever see the movie BEETLEJUICE? Uh, part of it, I, I never really watched the whole thing. Oh, Oh, yeah, well if you, if you liked BEETLEJUICE you'll probably like EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, if you didn't like BEETLEJUICE you'll probably won't like EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. Oh, really. Yeah, it's, um, Burton's kind of, uh, he's, a very odd, odd man but he's, I think he's very interesting and, uh, I liked those two movies of his a lot. Uh-huh. He did BATMAN also, which, you know Yeah, that was pretty good, though, really. It was good, but I mean, he was, um, When you think of what it takes to make some of those kind of movies, you know. Yeah. You see it for, uh, you know a couple of hours or an hour and it really, there's a lot in it when you look at the scenery and the cars, and all the different stuff like that, you know. Oh, yeah, oh. Yeah. Whose your favorite actress or actor? Um, don't really know, I like Costner a lot but, uh, I'm a big, I'm a big baseball fan Uh-huh. so, you know, after BULL DURHAM and FIELD OF DREAMS, you know, Yeah. Um, although, you know, That was good, I saw that movie too. That was very good. Which one? FIELD OF DREAMS. Yeah, FIELD OF DREAMS was good, um, and, I, I think, I liked the other movies he's done. NO WAY OUT was really good and, Oh, yeah, yeah. did you ever see SILVERADO? SILVERADO, uh, who, who was that with? Um, let's see. Danny Glover, Scott Glen, Kevin Kline, um, Brian Dennehy , Jeff Goldblum's in. Uh, John Kreas is in it if you don't blink. That, the the, the title sounds familiar, I'm trying to It was, it was a big western, I mean, I think Roseanne Arquett was in it too, another one that if you blink you'd miss her. Uh, it was, and I think it was like a three hour movie or two and a half hours, and, and it was one of those ones that could have been four hours if they hadn't cut a lot out. Oh, really. Um, but it was, it was really good Um, I, I might have seen part of that because the name sounds familiar although I I would remember, I think in, with him in it. Uh-huh. How about REVENGE, did you see that with him? No, I didn't, is that any good? With, uh, Anthony Quinn. I thought it was, I like everything he's done so far. Oh, okay. You know, it's, uh, one of those movies that it's not a great movie but it was okay. Yeah, we were in the video store today and somebody was recommending it to somebody. You know the, the people who run the video store was recommending it to somebody else. Yeah it was, it was not a bad movie. Huh, well, I'll have to catch it one of these days. You you, you said you seen NO WAY OUT? Yeah, that was excellent. Yeah, that was very good. Um, he was in THE UNTOUCHABLES, too. Now that's another one I wanted to see. in fact, that was advertised not too long ago. Yeah, it was on, um, Cable? no, it was on one of the networks, I think last weekend. Uh, or two weeks ago. Okay, I know I saw, yeah, something about it. Yeah, I, um, I wish, I, I mean I'd seen it when, when, you know, it was originally in the theaters and, um, I saw it, you know, I saw part of it again. Uh-huh. I mean I like, you know, I like Costner, I like Sean Connery, and, uh, there's this one, there's this one actor, it's really silly that I enjoy him a lot but I, I've really enjoyed him in everything I've seen him in, a guy named Charles Martin Smith. I don't know him. Um, you've probably seen him and just, an, you know, oh, that's who the guy is. Do you remember, did you ever see AMERICAN GRAFFITI? No, I, I don't think so. Oh. Did you ever see the movie STAR MAN. Yes. Okay, in STAR MAN, he was the guy chasing after, um, Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen, or Nancy Allen. Okay, okay. You know, short nerdy guy with glasses. Yeah, yeah. He's, he's just, I, I don't know why but he's always a lot of fun in every movie he's in. He was in the UNTOUCHABLES. He was the accountant Oh, oh I know who you mean. Yeah. He was in, uh, uh, HONEY DON'T SHRINK THE KIDS, wasn't he? No, no, you're thinking of Rick Moranis. He looks like Rick Moranis but he's not Oh, okay, all right, yeah, that's the one I was thinking of. But I have, I've seen quite a few movies, I, I enjoy them. I think that, uh, it's, it's kind of like, uh, good entertainment. An, uh, an escape type of thing. Yeah. Yeah. How about some of the ads, do you go by the ads when you look at them, or the reviews? Do they influence you a lot. Uh, a little of, a review usually won't make me go see a movie I hadn't already wanted to see. Yeah. Did you see GOODFELLAS? No, it's uh, I want to see it. That that was pretty good. Um, and, Um, we want to see GODFATHER PART THREE also but my, my girlfriend's seen part one and part two although she saw them years ago, Uh-huh. but I've never seen either of the first, you know, of the, of the GODFATHER movies so, we're probably going to like rent those some time and then try to see GODFATHER PART THREE somewhere. I was just going to say, you should see those, uh, first if you can. Yeah. If if you read the book it's, uh, even better. The book was excellent. Oh, okay, I haven't, never read it. Yeah. and, uh, I was a little disappointed in the third it's GODFATHER THREE. It was not bad but, I expected more, I think. Uh-huh. We just rented, um, a couple weeks ago, a movie called THE FRESHMAN, with, um, it's got Matthew Broderick in it and, um, uh, Marlon Brando. And Brando like does a parody of the character he played in THE GODFATHER. Oh, really. Um, yeah, it's, it's one of the reasons why, you know THE GODFATHER's been on our minds lately. Um, but, uh, there's a bunch of scenes from, uh, uh, from THE GODFATHER that's used because Matthew Broderick's going to film school. And, uh, in his classes they're using, there's a they're running a bunch of scenes from THE GODFATHER and then he's running into Marlon Brando who is playing, you know, this you know this, uh, organized crime head. Uh-huh. So, it's um, it was, it was a fun movie. Uh. or, uh, I liked RAINMAN, I thought, I thought it was interesting that he was doing Oh, yeah, that was good, I liked RAINMAN, too. Yeah, well I'm, being from Baltimore, of course, I'm a big Barry Levinson fan since, uh, he, he's, you know, he's done a bunch of Baltimore movies. Uh-huh. Um, Barry Levinson did, um, DINER and TINMAN, and AVALON which are all set in Baltimore. Yeah, they sound familiar. I probably saw parts of those. You know, a lot of times I'll I'll start watching a movie and I'm tired and it, Uh-huh. next thing you know, it's, it's especially if there's commercial in it and then the titles might sound familiar but I really don't know what they're all about. of the three of those, DINER's probably the best. I mean, they're, they're all pretty good, but DINER is really worth seeing. Is that the one set in the fifties, or sixties. Uh, late fifties, yeah. Late fifties, yeah, I think I saw that one. Okay and, uh, How about Meryl Streep, Uh, I don't know, I'm not a real, uh, great football follower, I guess, there are two basic teams that I seem to follow every year. One is the Dallas Cowboys and the other is the Oklahoma Sooners. Oh, okay. Uh, being a native Okie, I uh, I like to keep up with what the homeboys are doing. Uh. I see, so you make it, uh, to that Longhorns Sooners game? No. Every year. No, it's funny. Uh, I got out and got my bachelor's degree in uh, seventy-three and, uh, never went to a game there and have never gone to a game since. How about that. But I always enjoyed watching them, I just growing up in Oklahoma, there it was always the home team, kind of like Dallas is around here. Yeah, yeah. And there's always been an interest there. Well, it's kind of same for me, I grew up in southern New Jersey and the local team was Philadelphia. Yeah. And they were like thirty miles right up the river and I'm still pretty much an Eagle fan, I guess. I guess you keep those things you grew up with. I worked in, uh, Missouri for a while and, uh, I was probably the only one in the room several times when we were watching football on T V when the Cowboys were playing the Saint Louis Cardinals and I was rooting for the Cowboys. Yeah. But, they were kind of closer to home when, when I struck up with them. I really don't know what's going to take place with the Cowboys this year. Everybody keeps talking about the reconstruction they're going through and new players and how next year is going to be even bigger and better than the previous year. In a way that happened this past season, and I think that's quite a bit of optimism around here that still there's a chance that maybe, uh, these guys are right, maybe they will come through and, and do something this year. I look for it to be a pretty good year. Boy they, uh, they sure did have a big turn around from a couple of years ago. They did, uh, they got rid of a lot of familiar names and got a lot of names in that we weren't, weren't familiar with. Some of them turned out to be pretty good players, uh, some of them didn't and you know maybe the stuff that, uh, Jerry Jones is talking about the construction and redefining the team and maybe the effort might be starting to pay off. At least we hope it will. Yeah, I'm, I keep waiting for the Eagles to get over the hump. They make it to the playoffs it seems for the last few years but they just have done absolutely nothing when they got there And you know, they've got a lot of the tools to do it, but doggone if they can't just put it together, uh, you know, they have got the quarterback there in Randal Cunningham, who's just, you know, phenomenal, but, he, he's too streaky it seems. Yeah, but they have always been a really strong team. Yeah, yeah, and without a whole lot of big name players. They have got a few anchors on offense and defense and you know they, they've managed with those guys and I don't know. Once the pressure gets turned on they, they seem to loose it. I guess, yeah. See that's the typical trait of the Dallas Cowboys. And the Oklahoma Sooners. Yeah. It's funny, over the years. I guess since Staubach left, they haven't been able to, keep it going. It's. It's been a rough tow, a rough road to hoe ever since he left. I don't know why it's so hard to find, uh, a good quarterback these days. Well, that, that says a lot for the, for his ability, though I think. For Staubach's, I mean. Well, yeah. You know, he was one of the few who come through in history that can really perform, uh, we hope, every team hopes their current quarterback is going to pull them through. In a way Aikman has done some of that. But, uh, the guy winds up getting hurt every other game. Yeah, I, I tell you, it's difficult in that guy's position coming into that because there, he was just so highly touted by the press and everybody expected so many big things, you know. Yeah, they did. They put a lot of pressure on him from the outside and from the inside. Uh, it's funny watching them, them play, he's probably like a lot of quarterbacks, uh, when the pressure is really on when it's down to the last few minutes of the game for the season is when the guys seem to really do their best. Uh-huh. And I haven't quite figured that out, if they figure they have got it won or if there's no real hurry because the first three quarters or, uh, if, uh, if something happens that that adrenalin starts flowing. They say, hey, we got to do something now. And then start playing the game the way the game should be played toward the last few minutes. Yeah. So, I don't know I'm looking for a good year. I guess we're always looking for a good year. So, obviously though, do you think they're going to do anything in the playoffs to make it to the Super Bowl this year or who do you, who do you like to do that this year? Uh, no I don't think the Cowboys have got a chance. I think they will probably win one or two more games than they did this year, and they'll get close to it. They'll probably get everybody's hopes up and blow it toward the end. So who's going to beat them? Who are they going to blow it to? Uh, that's a good question. Uh, I'm figuring either one either the Eagles or possibly San Francisco I'm not real sure. Boy, they'd some big changes, speaking of them. They did. So, I don't know how these changes are going to help or hinder the team, sometimes it brings in new motivation and all you can do is get out of the way because here they come. Yeah. I'm sure, you know, my sentimental favorite would have to be Philadelphia, but I, I sure am scared of them Giants Well, that's true. Those guys are tough. They are tough and they're big, they're mean and they are going to come right through you if you don't do something. Yeah. That, that sure was a fun Super Bowl to watch this year. Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, I wasn't pulling for either team. No, no. But that was just a good football game. And it's funny, you know. You like to pull for the underdog and for a long time I was pulling for Denver. Uh-huh. Uh, Marino makes me just crazy mad sometimes, because of some of the stupid stuff he does, but he's a good quarterback. He's got a good arm, sometimes it's too good because he throws too hard. L A you mean? I mean L A, sorry. Boy, speaking of Denver, on another subject, I've been up there like five times in the last three, four weeks. Oh, yeah? Yeah we've been trying get this new D N B two thousand printer up and running. Has it been, uh, snowing up there? Oh, boy I was just up there, I just got back last night around eleven thirty or so, and it was about seven inches of snow on the ground. Wow. And it snowed all day. Well, that will make the skiers happy. Oh, yeah, yeah. If, if it snowed that much in Denver you know they got that much up in the mountains, you know, just west of there. Oh, you bet. Oh, yeah, up around the Keystone and Copper Mountain, those guys will love that. Well, good to talk to you. Yeah, enjoyed it Bob. You guys have a good time, keep those printers coming. Hey, we'll do it. All right, bye. Bye. Go ahead. Okay, do I still still can feel that the Soviet Union, as such, is still a threat to the civilized western world? Absolutely. And my reasons are based upon not only from what I read in the newspapers, what I see on the newspapers, but up against some of the, fun and exciting things I ran into during my six years as a soldier in the Fifth Special Forces Group. Um. Okay. I guess I don't see them as much of a threat as they used to be, but I think just the instability of the country right now is, sort of scary. Well, that's what makes it a powder keg. The, um, I'll go back in time a little bit, to about eighty-one, when my first real involvement with the military started. Uh-huh. Um, naturally we were at the time, the Soviet Union was considered to be the big military power and the big threat. So we got lots, quite a bit of information as well as indoctrination on Soviet tactics and weapons. Uh-huh. I went to Lebanon in eighty-three, before the marines ever got there, with the U N Peace Keeping Force. And with the training I received prior to going there, with captured weapons we kept running up against. These weren't, these weren't Chinese made copies. These were Soviet made, top of the line, fresh out of the box, A K forty-sevens. As well as a lot of the explosives we were running into. Um, uh-huh. In Granada, in October, twenty-fifth, eighty-three, we invaded the place. Sure there were Cuban soldiers there, but there was also a bunch of Russian advisors that were damn good shots. The team I was with, we jumped in on the western tip of, of the island down on Point Salinas. And for every Cuban there was at least five Russian advisors. Huh. And they were all shooting state of the art Soviet weapons. In eighty-four, I was down in Central America, as an advisor to the Honduran Army. Again we were running up against Cubans quite a bit, plus Soviet advisors. And the equipment we were capturing and taking from the Nicaraguans, was brand new, out of the crate, Soviet made material. Do I consider them a threat? Absolutely. They have a university in Moscow called the Patrice de Lamumba University. About like A and M or U T, where they're teachings subjects like that, they're teaching terrorism. Some of the people we went up against in Lebanon were graduates from that place. And let me tell you, they are nothing nice to go up against. Huh. I'm surprised during this Iraqi crisis we didn't have more incidents than they did. These guys are top of the line. When they, when they graduate from there, they can pull terrorist actions anywhere in the free world. And they are very, very good at what they do. So until I see the entire, quote, old guard of the Soviet military, of the Soviet government completely roll over and disappear, preferably buried, I still consider them a threat. Uh-huh. Their military is different from ours, to where there are extremist generals that actually control tens and thousands of troops. That irregardless of what Soviet policy is, they're going to do what the general tells them. Yeah. I guess that's what concerns me the most. Is they're, they're so unstable that somebody like that could make, uh, decisions that would jeopardize a lot of people. Well, it's interesting watching the different Soviet states, Albania, Lithuania, doing their little revolts down there. Uh-huh. Each one of those sectors has got a Soviet general over the troops that are there. So far they haven't run into the real psychos yet. There's probably five or six, which would be an equivalent of our joint chiefs of staffs, that are in positions over some of these Soviet states. If uprisings happen in their sectors, it is, it's going to be a total blood bath. Yeah, it looks like it's come close to that as it is. Actually, they're showing remarkable restraint. They get real nasty, the hyundee helicopters come out and they, would level entire areas. Okay, you're from the Dallas area, right? Uh-huh. Okay, you know, basically the size of, uh, the area around Richardson? Yeah. You put five Soviet hyundee helicopters in the air, they can level the entire area and there won't be anything left alive. And they can do that in about four minutes. Huh. And they've got entire squadrons of those just standing by. They used them in Afghanistan, did remarkably well considering the terrain they were flying in. But on a highly populated area, like some of the Soviet cities would be, with the weaponry that's attached on those things, there is no place to hide. If the bombs don't get you, if the bullets don't get you, then, then the nerve gas definitely will get you. The only drawback on that little piece of machinery is they only got five minutes of air time. They drink that much fuel. Uh-huh. Were you, have you, I take it you haven't spent any time in the military? No, I haven't. As a civilian that's never been attached to any form of the military, I know a lot of this stuff that I was involved in, never did make the newspapers. Uh-huh. But, during that same time frame, didn't you get some feeling, that, I mean, they're getting all these weapons and stuff? Didn't it bug you a little bit why they kept coming up with all this stuff? You mean in the, in the most recent conflict? In any of them since eighty-one. Oh. Yeah, definitely. I, I'm, I'm a little bit shocked to what the U S has done in terms of selling to Iraq in the past ten to fifteen years. Yeah, I think we, we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot that way too. It's bad enough that the Soviets do it. It all boils down to, whether it's our side, their side, it's a matter of money, to a certain extent. Um. Uh-huh. The deal the Iraqis have with the Russians was for oil. Yeah. It's scary to know that they're supplying that many people with weapons. Especially when it's to the south of us. Uh, the ones to the south are more regional conflict. They're not really that worried about invading north. They're more interested in, they've got a screwed up situation, I'll give them that. From Mexico all the way down into Central and South America. The situation down there is weird and it's very screwed up. Uh-huh. Inflation is out of this world and the governments, which our government has technically supported for years, are corrupt as all get out. And generally the people, are getting screwed, and they're tired of it, and they're willing to try anything to get out from under it, even if that means going to communism. Yeah. Well, I think Russia is getting to the point where they're, they're about to do something to get out of communism. I guess I'd would like to see somebody like Yeltsin to get more power. I think Gorbachev has about had his day. Unfortunately, Yeltsin's got too many connections with the old guard. That's the only drawback that I see with the entire thing. Yeah. Gorbachev has made his attempt and he's had his problems with some of the old guard himself. Uh-huh. Yeltsin's in tight with the old guard. So it may be trying to choose between the lesser of two evils, at this point. Uh-huh. True I don't know, I sure wouldn't turn my back on them. You mean, I understand when they pulled the troops out of, uh, or they reduced the number of troops in Europe after the Berlin Wall went down, I thought that was great. But by no means do I endorse or approve pulling everybody out. Uh-huh. It may be a much reduced force than what we used to have over there. But you still better have the key players in place, if something does go down. Even if it's a regional conflict. If United States is going to flex its muscle and be the super power that it is, not only does it, it can talk the talk, but it's got to be able to walk the walk. It's got to have the stuff to back it, back up what it's saying. If you've only got a token force there, you can't hold your ground. At least they're learning a little bit from history. I mean, uh, So, well, this is an appropriate topic the day after Earth Day, so. Right. Um, well, what do you think is, uh, the pollutants, the main pollutants in the air? I have trouble with the chemical plants and things like that I just, uh, I think they put off so much and they're not regulated enough. Yeah, well , that's me too. After, um, on channel thirteen, uh, they had some, some programs the day before, and I'm not sure that about yesterday, we didn't really watch it too much yesterday, but the day before they had a lot of programs about the environment and, you know, how we're affecting the Earth and things by what we do, as the people Uh-huh. and, and they mentioned sulfur and carbon dioxide a lot, Yeah. and that actually, um, as our population increases and, you know, our, of course, our, our cars, you know, our number of cars increase per the population, that's the problem. But also like you said the industry pollution and, you know, their their regulation that's placed on them is, I mean, it's better than it used to be but it's incredible that they still don't have, you know, they don't, they're not made to regulate the amount of pollutants that they put into the air. Right. You know, I, I just, I can't stand that and I know for a fact that they get away with a lot that, you know, they're supposed to be regulated because we have a, we have a plant, I don't know about T I but we have a plant, uh, a Pillsbury plant, in, in a town adjacent to ours, Uh-huh. and I know people that work there that, of course, you wouldn't think Pillsbury would put out certain chemicals, No. but they put out toxic chemicals there just in some of the, um, what they do, uh, to, uh, make their dough and to, clean out the flour and stuff like that, Really? yeah, Huh. I mean, it's incredible. And, um, they said that they're, you know, they have a little creek that runs by them and some of the people that work there have told me that when they have inspectors coming they, you know, shut down everything and they clean up their act, but on a normal basis that they're, that they're dumping things, that they're not supposed to be dumping, Oh. and I'm like, if they're getting away with it, can you imagine, Right. that's a, that's a Pillsbury plant I can't imagine plants, I wouldn't have thought that Pillsbury could, would, the, I mean, or even had you know, well, those chemicals would not, Yeah, they have chemicals that they use to refine their flours with and stuff, you know to, to break the flours down Yeah. and then they, they also do testing there, and I don't, you know, when you consider, you know, it's probably not radioactive but toxic can be, can be anything that's uh, classified that can damage the Earth. Right, yeah. So, there could be a lot of things that they could put, you know, that chemical wise that they use to, uh, that they are testing with, that they're dumping. Right, you know, like in, In packaging Yeah. and, uh, you know, just goodness. Yeah, I don't think they do the packaging at this plant, Yeah. but they do, they do a lot of research and they do, um, they do, do a lot of the refining up there or, Yeah. I'm not really, what's it called when you do flour, I'm not, Uh, only thing I can think is bleaching but, I mean, I, I don't know what's, how they do the flour. Yeah. Yeah. But, um, we, we're on the southwest side of Houston we don't have that much as far as, uh, aiming in the plants over on this, uh, the east side does. Uh-huh. We've got Imperial sugar but, uh, and they're, you know, they're right there on the creek also and, uh, they've been there for years. Yeah. And, uh, But, I mean, you think about it, it, you know, it's probably a lot easier to detect things that go into the ground than it is maybe to just, I'm not really sure but I would think it would be easier to detect those things because you could detect them down or stream or such, Yeah. or you can, you can, you know, do, uh, testing on the ground itself at that point, Uh-huh. but when they pollute into the air and you've got, you know, and you've got movement through the air, it's going to move a lot of that off. So, I don't see, you know, how they can do some of the unless it just hangs there like in places where it's a lot of pollution, you know, like in Los Angeles or, or the bigger cities where it, it tends to get stuck there, Uh-huh. you know, that you have a lot more particles in the air, you know, per, per, uh, per particles in the surrounding community because it's not moved away, Right, yeah. Uh-huh. but, um, I know that, I worry every now and then, we're still on a well water, we're not on city water, Uh-huh. and I think, well, what if somebody's dumped something back there in the, and no one knows about it and, you know, it sinked in through the ground and all that, Yeah, well, I know out in some, I'm not sure, I can't remember the name of the county it's, it's where Stillwater is or, sweet, Yeah. no I'm not sure, I know it, I think it's, uh, I know we have a piece property there, it's called Dublin, Uh-huh. it's in Dublin, Texas. I'm not really sure what the county, it's Stephen, no Stephenville. Oh, okay, okay. Okay, where Stephenville's at, they've had a lot of problems because they've, um, introduced a lot of dairies there, Uh-huh. Yeah. so, they have a lot of cattle in the area, I mean, they've got like per, per, uh, per lot, you know, they've got like a lot of head of cattle because dairies they don't it's not like it was a big ranch where they let the cow roam around free, Right, uh-huh. they've got to have them there to be able to milk them. And they, and I read in this article, I couldn't believe it, where, you know, like, one cow produces, like, a day, produces like a hundred or so pounds of manure. Oh. One cow, I was like, my God, and they, and this thing says that, that, you know, people think, well, cow manure is good for fertilizer but when you get that much manure it says it becomes a real problem because it's not, it's not when, you know, you buy cow manure at the store they've added stuff to it and they've added humus and stuff that, breaks it down, Uh-huh. and, and this, and this article said that they've got a real problem that, um, you've got toxins and, and, uh, bacteria in the manure that is, what it's doing is it's going through, uh, they don't have a very deep, um, you know, their water, their natural water, uh, Uh-huh. I forget what that's called with, you know, it's like a spring, spring water, Yeah. but it's below the surface it's not very far down, Uh-huh. and all this stuff is seeping through to the water, Oh. and they're like, they're afraid that, you know, within a certain amount of years, that it's, their they're water in that town will be totally polluted, It will. and they won't be able to have any drinking water because they will have, um, polluted, completely polluted, so that they're, you know, there's too many toxins and bacterial growth, Uh-huh, yeah, and the and I'm like my God, you know, just from that one, you know, just from them introducing dairy farms, in that one county. Right. Right. Yeah, and the, the ground will filter some of it but not all of it. No, not when you figure, I didn't realize a cow, one cow produces that much manure and they were talking like, thousands of cows, you know, they were talking thousands cows in one little tiny area. These are well fed . These are, You, Good grief, these are well fed cows, uh, Well, they are evidently. But, um, I mean, evidently a normal cow produces that much too, Uh-huh. but they're just so spread out on ranches and stuff that it's not, you know, a problem, Right. but when they get them in these tiny little areas, you know, and they've got a real big problem, and they, they said that, that what they were doing was scraping it with bulldozers and stuff, and taking it to, uh, these like ponds that they had to filter it with, Uh-huh. but the ponds because they've had so much rain in the past few years, they just, overflow Yeah. and they overflow into the, the creeks and stuff in the area. So, that just creates, you know, there, there's, and, oh, it was just disgusting it said the creeks will foam. Oh. People, people stand outside their houses and their, watch the creeks foam brown and all, Oh, now that's bad. and I'm just like, oh, my gosh, and the smell is really bad they Oh, I was going to say, the air pollution alone there just from a hundred pounds of cow manure was going to be bad. Yeah, but I, I don't know it really frightens me though as far as the, when you think about the, you know, thinking of just air pollution itself and then, and, channel thirteen they're really, um, emphasizing the problem with acid rain, you know, Uh-huh. if we, if we keep putting that stuff into the air and, and, you know, if we keep creating the problem and not doing anything about it that it's really going to be a problem for, um, just the, the Earth, you know, what the Earth is receiving back, you know, because how can you tell where it's going to come down at. Yeah. Right, right. And then cutting the trees, you know, that bothers me. Yeah. As far as, you know the The rain forest and all. yes, uh, we've been wanting to, well, not me but, uh, it's been or suggested that we cut a few of the trees down here, I'm like, no, you know, for what's cut down here, you know, more will be cut down someplace else and it will just take that longer to grow back, Yeah. and trees help so that, uh, I don't, Well, they do because, what is it, carbon dioxide, they use that where we can't synthesize it Uh-huh. and they're synthesizing it for us. Right, right, believe me it's just so much better. Yeah. So, uh, yeah, I knew, I think there's lots that be, that could be done to, to improve how things are done now. Yeah, I think we just have to, I don't know personally, you know, I suppose, you know, if you just make sure your car is, is working properly Uh-huh. and you know, they're nowadays they have the emission controls on them but, uh, I think the only, the main thing is just keep on the, your legislator's back, you know, as far as, seems like they've only just really started as far as the environment saying, okay, we're really going to get involved Uh-huh. it, it's really becoming a problem. By the year two thousand there will, what, what are we going to have, what kind of results are we going to have for the environment. Right. And, and what will we ... Huh? Okay. I don't know how much I know about this subject Well, I don't know if I know anything or not, Yeah. but I've, I've got some opinions on it. Okay. Go ahead. See those type of people that, that have the most opinions, ones that don't know anything Yeah Well, uh, I've had teenagers and I now have grandchildren that are teenagers, and I don't know that it might do them a little bit of good to see the world from a different perspective. Uh, I think this "me" generation has gone far too far. And the young people are overly impressed. And I think it wouldn't hurt them to step back from themselves just slightly and see things from a far more disadvantaged viewpoint. That's true. Uh, I personally know nothing about the Peace Corps though. Um, me either. I, I went to college and then started working and then got married and, But they have, I read somewhere, and I'm, I'm out on a limb here, some type of college, uh, volunteer work for teachers, that they are straight out of college and they do one year of volunteer work teaching in the, uh, lower income brackets of the United States. Have you ever heard about that one? No, I haven't, I know that, uh, my sister, I have a twin sister and when they graduated she went to, uh, teach in a small town down in south Texas and I know, that like if you have college notes, if you teach in a lower income bracket where they don't pay as much and they cancel part of your, you know, your college note or whatever. Oh, really? Uh-huh. If it's like, you know, really a, you know, a lower paying job, you know, where in a small town you don't obviously you don't need as much as far as to, you know, to live. And this is money that she's borrowed to form her college education? Yeah, she only taught there one year but I, But she got credits for it? Uh-huh. That's very interesting. And, um, I think it would be, I know that also one of my cousins who, uh, he is in like the therapy type thing and he was, um, some group paid part of his college income but then he was required to go back and work for a certain number of years in this town at, uh, uh, I mean, it's a nursing home or something like that. Huh. So, you know, if, I think that's a good way for people to, you know, maybe get people to come back to these small towns to work by helping people that normally might not be able to go to college and get the type of degree they want. Yeah, I think that is an excellent program, I really do. I like that. And it's, it's beneficial to the small towns too because, they really, really have, have a disadvantage that we wouldn't understand because we're in the Metroplex. Yeah. As far as yeah, getting doctors and all that stuff, yeah. Right, you know, if, if we had some really major health problem that required a specialist, we could find one it wouldn't be convenient, Yeah. but we could find one. Uh-huh. We wouldn't have to drive and spend the night someplace or something like that. Yeah. So, I, I can see the advantage to that one. The Peace Corps itself is really a, uh, dying out, isn't it? I really don't know that much about it, you know, I, I, I think of the Peace Corps, you know, more like the sixties and that kind of stuff when, It's still in existence. Yeah. And don't they go into other countries and stuff? I want to believe they go into other countries and teach them how to do things like farm, uh, dig their own wells, set up, their schools. Uh-huh. Things that make the, yeah. Make them more self-supporting? Yes. They, Yeah. It's not a program to teach them to use the American money, it's a program to teach them to be more self-reliant. Right. Yeah. And, yes, you're right, I think it's a sixties program. I think it was one of Kennedy's hot points that he, that was his big deal. But it definitely would give a lot of the kids now that have everything given to them that they want to see what it's like if you don't have all the money and can't have what you want when you want it. Right. Right. Um, I think I, I've singled out my grandchildren and but actually they're, they're pretty good, along those lines as compared to what I have seen from other people's children and grandchildren, mine aren't really that bad, Uh-huh. but at the same time I think it would do them a world of good. Yeah. But there's a, I don't, I don't know that you could require everyone to, do that for, yeah, to do it for a whole year, or two years or something like that, Mandatory just like, like the draft. No. I don't know that that would work if, somebody's, was, didn't really want to be there and didn't have, Every time you, They could buy their way out. Yeah, I mean, there would be loopholes just like there is in anything else Right, you know, they, they'd figure a way around that one in a heartbeat. But, I'm wondering if there's another issue here, and maybe this is why this has died out. Can you go into, and this wasn't the question but it's, it may be the more of the issue versus should young adults, can they go in there and can anyone go into, well, out of the Kurdish community is a little bit extreme at this time, but say, I think Bangladesh would have been a good example or some, some really desperate situation and teach them to farm and teach them and it doesn't do any good. Yeah. I don't know that it does. I, I, don't know that, um, if you step back from the current issue and look at it more intellectually, there are forever over, as long as we know there are races of people that are dropping out. Yeah. You know, we're losing certain, races of people. Uh-huh. There are people now that are obsolete point and fact just, just like endangered species of animals, so there are quote tribes of people, that are endangered or obsolete. Uh-huh. And I'm just wondering if you're fighting a natural process there of being winnowed out. There's a German word for it that's elegant, but I never can remember what it was, uh, but, but that they're, they're being winnowed because they're, where they are they're not adapted to their environment essentially. Right, yeah. Um, and one of the quick examples is the Aborigines. Yeah, uh-huh. Uh, when we were in Australia, uh, sad little things. Uh, I felt sorry for them. Because their society isn't there anymore, and their belief system and all their structured of theirs, all the structures of their society are gone, essentially. Yeah. And they're just kind of more like a side show than anything else and that's sad. Yeah. But I don't think there's any way you could go, uh, the Peace Corps could go in and rescue those people, and I don't think you could have done it fifty or a hundred years ago either. Yeah. So, I, I'm wondering if the Peace Corps is, really an effective tool. Well, Down here with the Peace Corps we're talking about all these people that aren't even in our own country when there's enough people here that I think probably need help and, could be helped. Good point. We've got enough without without a passport there's plenty. Yeah. Yes. I think we ought to worry about our own species. And maybe rather than just, require somebody to join like the Peace Corps for a year maybe like, um, during college, you know, maybe have some kind of course where they'd be required to do some kind of community service type work, and help people in that area or people in the United States. I wonder now in, and I've been out of school too long to answer this, but I wonder if there aren't some sociology courses. There probably are, you know, for but I'm sure, that's probably like people that do that are, are the people that are going to go into social work and stuff but I think that it wouldn't really be half bad for everybody not to do something, you know, and realize it's everybody's responsibility to, um, help these people, you know, and I'm not saying just give them money but, I mean, because they have to be taught to be, That's the last thing you want, to do. Yeah I mean, I know that's what my father-in-law was talking about, you know, when you give these people money or, what was it they were bringing up points asking as far as whether they need to give, um, more money to these people, I mean, and that's not really the answer, I mean , because if they're alcoholics they'll just go out and spend, it on, you know, booze or something like that, Yeah, that's exactly it. but. They're not going to take that money you give them and go try to figure out a way to dry out with it. Now come on, let's be realistic, Yeah. that's just not realistic. Or, you know, to find a job where they can learn how to support themselves, Right. I mean, I guess we're getting kind of off the subject, here, but. No, we're not I don't think. I think, that's more realistic than making them go in the Peace Corps. Yeah, I mean it's, True. Yeah. I think that's a lot more realistic. Uh, I, I think that we should be spending more time and, and again I don't think the, the Peace Corps is, is as successful now simply because it's not. It doesn't fit the circumstance anymore. Yeah. Uh, we've got plenty, in fact, we've got far too many. You're in, uh, what Flower Mound? Flower Mound, yeah. So, we're a little you know, farther removed from like Dallas and some of the areas where they probably have more of the homeless and that type of thing. I was, that's exactly what I was going to ask you. Have you ever, have, have you been downtown Start. What kind of recycling programs do you have in Rowlett? Um, well right now they've got a, kind of a central location off of the main highway, and they've got some great big bins there for newspaper, um, plastic, um, I think three bins for glass, white, green, and whatever other combination there is. And, and I think they've got a uh, some kind of container for aluminum. Plano's doing real good on that. They have, uh, they start off putting out great big huge garbage cans. Which we're supposed to put all our week's garbage into it, Uh-huh. and of course it doesn't fit right now. Yeah. But now we start in May, breaking it down, and they're picking it all up. Um. So they're going to by, and we have to separate our papers, and our glass, and then, uh, they have one day for, like, um, oh, everything you picked up from your yard, Uh-huh. and we put that in disposable bags, and they pick that up on Monday. Um. So it's really great. I, I'm really going head, you know, completely for it, I think it's marvelous. Well, that's good. Well, Rowlett had sent, sent out a survey, not too long ago, um, in terms in how many people were interested in having a, a pick up, I guess, on the days they do trash or something like that. And apparently a lot of people responded to it favorably, because they're going to do it. I don't know how, how soon they're going to do it, or how organized it's going to be, but they're, they're supposed to initiate that sometime in the next couple of months. Well, does your, uh, where you work, do they also have aluminum cans pickups and things like that? Um, I've never noticed that. We don't have a, a whole lot, because we're in a hospital setting, so most of the things we have are through our cafeteria. Um, Well, down in the cafeteria do they have any place where you can put your, you know, pop cans, and things like that? Um, no. There's, there's only one pop machine and it's not accessible to the cafeteria now, so, uh, mainly what they serve in there is juice and coffee and tea. So you don't have much choice there. No Not, not really. Well I work at, uh, J C Penny and last week they brought, they have a sign up that says for one full week you bring in your old wire hangers Uh-huh. and they're going to recycle them. Um. So it's getting people clean out their closets and such. Uh-huh. And then like, the week before that, they said go through your cupboards and any food that is still good, bring it in and they brought it down to the shelters. And, they have, one, two, they have three, I think, that I know of for cans for people have pop, Uh-huh. and they put them right near where they have the time cards. Yeah. And it works great. And they have one in the room where the snack machines are too. That's good. So they're really going at it, and I think it's marvelous because, Yeah. I, I guess Rowlett's done a lot for the size town it is. Well, And I think they're trying to, to make some changes. I, I noticed at the library or someplace this past, uh, month, month and a half ago, they were having a speaker, um, talk about doing lawn work and, how important it is to, to cut your lawn without a bag. Just to kind of mulch it, rather than bag it up, because of all the the grass that's being bagged and being hauled away by the garbage trucks and stuff, Uh-huh. and it's, uh, I guess a lot more ecological to just mow the grass and let it work its way back into the soil. Well, did you watch the program the other night on, um, was it SAVE AMERICA? I saw part of that. It was good. The only thing I thought, um, that I haven't been trying, is when I, you know, go to take a shower, to save the water, and to put it on my plants. Which I had never thought about before. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But I've already gone to, oh I started years ago, I guess, not years ago, but, yeah I would say five years ago, turning off my fountain, I mean my water faucet, in the sink when I brush my teeth. Uh-huh. But I didn't realize that was the biggest waste of water. Yeah. That was surprising to me. Um. I missed that question, totally, I mean really bad. I'm trying to think, I didn't miss too many, I can't remember what my score was, but I did exceeding well. I was surprised. But I didn't realize that our garbage isn't being decomposed. That was a shocker to me. Yeah, well there are a lot of things that aren't, I'm , that's, uh, one of the things I wonder about, uh, one of the questions was, do you think more should be done, or something else. I, I wonder about some of the products that they don't take, like some of the plastics and things that they don't take. Uh, why, why they couldn't do more recycling with those. Well, I was in, uh, Bizmart the other day, and, what I don't understand is there is recycled paper in there, and it cost more than regular paper. Um. And it was only, I think, uh, forty cents more, you know, fifty cents more, but, It upset me to realize that, hey, the recycling that they're going through the expense of recycling, Yeah. but people aren't buying it, so the cost of it is higher. True. Yeah, I noticed that about things like I I seen a lot of adds recently for organic fertilizers and, and lawn additives and that type of thing, but the cost is, is like, double or sometimes triple, what the regular things you, fertilizers and things you buy. Uh-huh. So, in, in terms of that, it's, you know, and, for the environment it's, it's, there's a good reason to do it, but the cost is kind of prohibitive. Now, see that's recycling, you know, companies that do at least go into it, I'd like to see subsidy by the government or something, or tax-wise or something, heavily enough to where they could get their prices lower than regular. Uh-huh. So that people would use this stuff over again. Yeah, it's a good idea. It's like when he was saying, uh, which one was recyclable, which was reusable, Uh-huh. and the recycle ones are better to use, but lots of times you don't even see the signs on the bottles. Yeah, true. And if we're going to really do something, they ought to put that stuff out bigger for people to see it. I had to put my bifocals on to see it Um. That's hard when you're in a grocery store and you're short anyway. Yeah. You have to get enough nerve to ask somebody to take something off the top shelf. You haven't got enough nerve to say well, put it back, it's not recyclable. I, I'd heard something stranger, talk about bottles the other day on, uh, on the radio station, I think it's K L T Y. They were talking about the, I think it's in Canada they're using, oh, recyclable milk jugs, plastic milk jugs, as a, a reinforcement for roads. For road repairs. Uh-huh. Oh, really? And apparently they, they don't break down very easily, and, they don't expand or, or contract when the weather changes, Oh. and this is kind of an unusual use for that type of thing. You know they're, along that same line, they said they were using, um, what is, oh, I know, it was toilets. You know, the old ones? Smashing them up, because they're, that stuff there is great for, in road work. Uh-huh. Huh. And I thought, well, that's good. And then I saw recycling on tires between, uh, well, hoses were being used, and, uh, uh, soaker hoses, made out of old tires. Uh-huh. Yeah. What else, something else was made out of old tires, I was trying to remember what it was. Oh, I can't think of it now. But I was, I was trying to get my, uh, kids, you know, to see different things that we could come up with for recycling purposes. Uh-huh. And just anything, to, you know, recycle rather than keep throwing it away, but my biggest problem is, I take the bags out of the store, buy the bags to bring the back, and then I forget to bring them in the store. Yeah. I'm forever going back out to my car to pick up my bags to bring them and take my garbage back out. I wish they'd really push this recycling bit, because I never realized, I really didn't realize how much stuff I actually throw away. Well, I think the, the more people are aware of it, the, the more they'll do. I think that's just the biggest problem is keeping it in, in front of the public so they understand how serious the problem is, and how important it is to do that. You know what I'd like to see a little more. I don't have any little tiny kids, Uh-huh. but if they get the little tiny kids saving it now, in five years, when they get bigger, it'll work a little bit more, too. Yeah. True. Because it's, we've all got to do it right now. I just, I really amazed to find out that, what is it, eighty per cent are filled now, in, in garbage fills. In five years we're supposed to be at max. Uh-huh. I don't think I can keep my own garbage. I mean, I might not have that much, but I wouldn't, I started when I was in college. You know, they always offer credit cards for college students. Yes. So I went ahead, and accepted every one that I was offered. Because I knew it would be easier to go ahead and get them and establish credit early. Uh-huh. Right. So, I I pack around a lot of them, but I only use a few of them. You have a lot of discipline. They make it really easy for people to, uh, to get credit cards, especially college students. Yeah. I have, uh, two daughters who, who both are in college or, in fact, one has finished now. But they both have a lot of credit cards. And they give you such high credit limits. Uh-huh. It's, it's easy to get caught up in the minimum payment trap. Uh, right. And then they, they give you, uh, uh, the credit limit, and then you're always seemingly up to that limit. Now I have quite a few credit cards that I'm always almost up to the limit on most of them. And that's, that's how a lot of people get into trouble. Yeah. I've got, I've got two that I, you know, that usually I'll have a balance on. Uh-huh. And then all of the others I just try to use kind of like you would an American Express card and, and pay it off every month. Right. And that way I feel like I'm getting, you know, a thirty day loan. Yeah. But I don't have to worry about, you know, running them up too high, except at Christmas. Then they usually go, then they usually get run up pretty good. Yeah. Well, you have a lot of discipline. I, uh, I'm trying my best right now to pay off some of mine. I, I've, I've paid off about four credit cards this year. Uh-huh. And, uh, but still I have some that are, are up to the limit. And especially the Visa Card that you can go and get cash on Yeah. And it seems like every time I'm short of cash, I just go get, get it from Visa. Now that's one, that's I've never used my Visa for cash before. Uh-huh. Can you use it like at a bank machine Uh, or, Well, uh, you can go in a bank and just hand them the Visa Card and say, "I want a cash advance." Or if they've sent you a, uh, a number that you can use. You know, a, a personal identification number that you can use in the, uh, impact machines or whatever, you, you can do that. Yeah. Oh, okay. Because I have one that I don't have a pin number for. You know, sometimes you have to ask them for that. Yeah. And then I have one that, uh, just gave me the pin number automatically. Now we got, that's, that's funny you said that. Because we got a credit card, uh, my husband and I got credit cards in the mail one day that we hadn't even applied for. Uh-huh. Now a couple of weeks later we got, we got pin numbers, and then we got, uh, a bill saying, you know, uh, the yearly fee, it was like forty dollars. Right. And we, we cut them up and sent them back because we, we hadn't even applied for them, and we didn't want them. But they, they had just automatically approved us and sent them without even contacting us. Oh, wow! So I thought, man, I don't know if I trust this or not Well, they, they do that a lot if you have good credit and you have been paying your bills on time. everybody in the world will offer you a, a credit card. It's like, let's see if we can get her to run up her bills But it's hard, I mean, it's, it's tempting when you see something to say, "Well, I'll just charge it." And sometimes I'll do that, but usually I, I will try to pay everything off the next month or the ones that usually have an outstanding balance all the time, I'll, I'll pay more than the minimum payment. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Just I I feel like even that little bit helps. Right. Well, you know, the way the economy's going and inflation and the recession and all that, I think we, we really need to try to stay out of debt as much as possible. That's, that's why I've, I've really started to try to, to pay off mine and get out of debt. Because we never know when we might, you know, get laid off or something. I know it. Especially me. I work for Texas Instruments, and they've had, had a lot of, of, uh, you know, layoffs lately. Well, I work for T I too. You do? And I think they're getting ready to, to probably sell us out, our division. Where are you? In Johnson City, Tennessee. Johnson City, uh-huh. I know they're selling out somebody in Colorado Springs. Yeah. Yeah. They just, they just announced that, didn't they? Yeah. So, I mean, it's, it's kind of a bad time to be a slave to your credit cards. It, it certainly is. I've, uh, I have worked on a part, part time job, uh, where I was a collector. For, uh, uh, a jewelry company Uh-huh. People, uh, that they just had this jewelry account. It was Zales jewelry, in fact. And, uh, a whole bunch of I mean they have about a thousand collectors, I guess. Man! And, uh, there's just so many people that have bought jewelry, which is really a luxury item Yeah. and then they, they just can't pay for it. Something, something happens, you know, and you hear so many stories listening to them. Like, uh, you know, they lost their job or, uh, they, they've signed for a friend. You know, they got it in their name but they got it for a friend Oh. and then the friend wouldn't pay them. Didn't pay them. and now they're stuck with the bill, and it's ruining their credit and you really have to watch it, this you know. Man. Because, That's scary. Yeah. Because every, every month all of these credit cards report to the credit bureau, you know. Automatically, most of them do. I didn't realize that. Yeah. And if you, if you're, uh, it's bad because if you, you know, your bill is due on the fifteenth then you're not past due until the fifteenth of the next month. Yeah. Oh, okay. But, you know, if you, if you pay one day after that fifteenth, you're not one day late, you're thirty days late. They don't, they don't recognize any time difference, do they? Right, Ooh, right. that's scary. and, anyway, we need to watch our credit reports and all that kind of, That's something I never thought about getting, you know, checking with to see what, what your credit report looked like. Uh-huh. Well, you know, you, you can do that. I believe it costs about ten dollars. Might be worth it for peace of mind. Oh, yeah. It is, it is. You might even find somebody's been reporting on you and you didn't even know it. You know, you, I mean you might think you're paying something on time or and you, by that day and you're thirty days is not real bad though anyway. phone line that persists through the end of the recording. Sounds like a cordless phone is being If you've got a charge off on your credit report or something like that. Yeah. That's when it really gets bad. Or something you haven't paid in sixty days or ninety days, you know. And things like that I think that Discover Card has a good idea with, you know, giving you a little cash back incentive for each amount you, you purchase. As long as you don't go crazy trying to get cash back. Uh-huh. And since they don't have the yearly fee. Do they charge a lot of interest on that card? I don't know. I don't, I've never, I haven't gotten one. Just because it's, uh, uh, Uh-huh. I felt like with Visa and Mastercard and American Express you didn't need another one. Uh-huh. I would think it wouldn't be, you know, much more than the eighteen or nineteen percent everyone else charges. Yeah So that, that wouldn't be too bad. Well, always watch out for anybody who bills you out of Atlanta, Georgia. Or there's a couple of other places that are able to charge us like twenty-one and twenty-two percent interest. I know, I had a charge with, uh, Spiegel, and I hadn't read the, uh, terms of the credit agreement really. Yeah. And, uh, when I did, I, you know, I realized that, that it just looked, seemed like I was never paying the balance off, you know. And I looked at the credit card agreement one day, and it was like twenty-three percent interest. Holy cow! And that's the one bill that I hurry up, hurried and paid up. Definitely. And, and I've always watched it since then. That's awful. You really have to watch those interest rates. I mean, I mean there's no point in giving them any more money than we have to. That's true. So, So anyway, they can't bill you any higher than eighteen percent, I think, in, in Texas. But there, there are a couple of states that can. Oh, that's great. And one to watch out for is anybody that bills you out of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. I'll try to remember that one. Well, Well, let's see. I was trying to think if there was anything else Uh, the, I guess the worst problem I ever had with, with a credit card though was, um, I got a, an item on my bill that I had never purchased. Uh-huh. I had ordered a sofa and had filled out the paperwork, but they weren't supposed to process it until they delivered it. Uh-huh. And I changed my mind, Uh-huh. but then they went ahead and charged it on my account. Oh. And it took me about eighteen months to get that, all of that mess off of my account. Wow! So that's, that's probably the worst thing I've ever had happen with a credit card. I wonder if they ... Okay. Hi Norma. Hi. Have you taken anything back lately, uh, that you've bought? Well the only thing we've taken back recently are plants. Shrubbery, that were guaranteed Well why? and we had no problem with it. Very good. We got our got our money back. Good. Well do you think that, uh, consumer goods, goods are generally getting better, or worse in quality? Well, I believe they're better. I do too. I believe about ten years ago that we went through a terrible time, but I don't, I, I believe that they're better now, you know, I think so. I don't think they're shoddy, not as shoddy. Electrical appliances I think are pretty good, reliable. however, I didn't like it very well when the transmission went out on my car with sixty-three thousand miles on it. Right And I don't like it very well if, when my electric blanket that was only one year old went out at, uh, on one side. Oh, did you return it? No, I had moved away. No, uh-huh. I had taken the first one back. I didn't think that it heated well enough. It never did get anything but just moderately warm, took it back and, uh, the people told me well that's the way it's supposed to be and I fell for it and, uh, when I got this one it did, a it heated a little bit warmer and then after one year it started heating only on one side. Huh, so either you or your husband can be warm but not both Also, I took an iron back after having it only one year. Oh. Now I figure uh, anybody that is dumb enough to iron, needs to have an iron that will last a long time, and one year of ironing only once a week is not long enough for it to last. No, huh-uh. Did they replace it? Well without even any question, but I think it was the store. Uh-huh. Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart, I was going to say, it must have been Wal-Mart. Yes And, uh, well, have you been buying any clothes lately? Any new clothes? I haven't bought any new well the last thing I bought was a dress last Summer. And the buttons turned on it over the winter. The buttons tarnished slightly and I have not gone back about it. That was poor quality, I think. I think it is too, and it was an expensive dress. I wondered if it weren't expensive, Yes it was. and they should have put buttons on it that would last forever. That's right, that's what I think too. And one belt loop, the uh, you know, like the chain link, chain belt loop half of it raveled out. Yes. And that was, I believe a Leslie Faye dress and it was, I think, over a hundred dollars. You spent that much on your dresses? Yeah, I don't usually, but I did that one. You're really divulging very personal information. But I think it should have been better than that, for that money, is what I mean. Oh, of course, I do too. Well I believe that we've been talking about five minutes. Okay, I think so. And Norma, it is just wonderful to talk to you. Good talking to you too, I've enjoyed it You are a good one to talk about consumer goods, because you keep up on it all the time. Well, we'll be talking to you later. Bye, bye. Bye, bye. And, uh, what part of Virginia, uh? Uh, I live down in the south western part of Blacksburg. Blacksburg. Okay, I've been, Uh-huh, have you ever heard of Virginia Tech? Sounds vaguely familiar. V P I. Yeah, okay. Yeah, okay. I, I hadn't been down in that part of the state really. Uh-huh. Okay. Well, we vacation a lot. How about you? Quite frequently. Uh, I wish we did Well, we retired early Oh, okay. so, we're, we take trips pretty often. Where all you guys go? Well, we go to Maine every Fall Uh-huh. then that's kind of a family visit and a vacation all up and down the coast Uh-uh. and I have a daughter in Texas and one in New Mexico, so we go out there and we go to Florida Uh. and down, oh, we were just out recently at the outer banks of North Carolina. All these places that I've never been Is that right Where do you go? Uh What type of vacation? well, it really depends, I mean, uh, seems like I do a lot in the Midwest lately, uh, my, uh, fiancee's family's from Wisconsin Uh-huh. and so we've been out there a couple of times and, uh, I, uh, went to Purdue for a couple of years, so I've gone up to Indianapolis on occasion to visit friends Uh-huh. and, uh, uh, I'm a real big baseball fan so I usually try to combine it with, uh, catching a couple of games somewhere. Uh-huh. What club do you follow? I'm, uh, I'm a big Red Sox fan, Red good, but, uh, I, uh, me too uh, you're a Red Sox fan too? Yeah, uh-huh. I usually try to catch whoever's in town though, I don't specifically, I, you know, go to Cleveland to see them play, the Indians or the Red Sox, Uh-huh. uh, uh, that's about it, we don't, I mean, we do a lot of little trips around here, uh, and, uh, Ever go up in Pennsylvania in the mountains or, Not that much. We've gone out to, um, uh, a place in western Pennsylvania called Falling Water. Oh. Uh, have you ever heard of it? I've heard of it. I've never been there. Yeah, it's, it's really neat. It's this house built on, on a waterfall and it's, uh, really cool Uh-huh. Um, of course, we keep picking crummy weather to go out there, uh, the first time we went out there was, uh, the day after hurricane Hugo had come through Gee. So, I mean they, they didn't have any power and it was really cold and, and rainy and, uh, we went up about a year later and it was better but not a whole, lot better Uh-huh. So, uh, where else did we go, uh, we've gone to Richland, last year and, uh, had a good time, down there. Oh, did you? Did you go, to Williamsburg, have you been down there? Uh, my girlfriend has with her sisters but I haven't been, down there. Uh-huh. Uh, I hear that's nice. We're going to get down, probably down Norfork sometime this Summer, just to see why, catch a football game actually Uh-huh. We were down, well, when we came back from the outer banks we came up due Norfork and spent the night there with a friend in Portsmith and then went to Williamsburg and spent a night. Uh, spend a day and a lot of money Yeah Yeah, I've heard, uh, I'm not real interested in Williamsburg because of the, of the price attached, to it. Yeah. We just, we, I, But it's a pretty neat down to just go and walk around, if you like to walk, it's a good town to just, walk in. Uh. Uh, yeah, we'll, do that. You can go, to the buildings and not go in if you're not, Oh, okay, so I can wander around without, Yeah, you can wander, it's a good town to wander in. Oh, okay, I just have it pay somebody to get into the buildings? That's right. Oh, okay, I didn't know that. Yeah, I think, uh, they do the whole with, you know, paying, Yeah. they really did throw away a lot of money to get, getting one thing or another, Yeah. but they had a good time so. We really didn't do that really this time, we just, uh, visited around. Uh, uh, We've done it a couple of times and that's enough for, uh, probably another twenty years. Yeah, I was, uh, we use it live in California and, uh, my, um, up, up around San Francisco, and, uh, there was one year when my father was, uh, my father's company was starting to do stuff down in Los Angeles, so, my father was working down in Los Angeles for like, uh, six months or so, uh, actually I think it was closer, I think to a full year and, you know, we'd, he'd fly down there on Mondays and fly back on Fridays, well, any time we had a school vacation or something like that we went down to Los Angeles, so I saw, I went to Disneyland about five times, in one year Oh and I really have no great urge to go back now. That's great as a kid though, isn't it, I mean, Oh, it was great, because, uh, well, the times that were really fun were when, uh, we had vacation but the kids in Los Angeles didn't Uh-huh. so we basically had one of the parks. Right. Uh, Disneyland, I mean there's still a lot of people at Disneyland, but there was another, um, another amusement park down there, Busch Gradens, uh, there was nobody there when we were there, we got, we won a log floating ride like five straight times, we just get, get done with them and they go, oh, do you want to go again, sure. Have you ever, you've never been down to Epcot at Florida and Disney No, I'd like to, sometime that's good, but, we, we really enjoy that, we've been two or three times and probably go back again this winter. Yeah, I've never been, the fartherest south I've been on the East Coast is Charlotte. Oh. So, I, um, keep wanting to get further, you know, I thought I would go to Florida a couple Summers, ago Uh-huh. but never did it. Charleston is a really nice place to visit. My, uh, my sister lives in Charlotte and they've gone to, Charleston a couple of times and had a real good, time. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's a real pretty place. Uh, yeah, one of these days we'll get down there, although I don't know when we're going to have vacation to do it We're, uh, we're getting married in about, a year Oh, are you. and, our honeymoon, we're going up to this, um, uh, place in Wisconsin called Door County, Yeah. it's up by Green Bay. It's a place my girlfriend's also wanted, to go, Uh-huh. and, uh, Is it on, uh, one of the lakes? It's, um, uh, I don't if you've ever seen a map of Wisconsin but there's kind of like a little, a little thing sticking out, uh, in the Lake Michigan, Uh-huh. that's Door County Oh, okay, yeah, that would, be really nice. So, Yeah, they call it the Cape Cod of the, uh, the Midwest Oh so, uh, we're thinking that'll be a lot of fun, Uh-huh. she, uh, she had this, uh, book of pictures from it that were really nice, kind of like a travel guide Uh-huh, sounds good. so, uh, that should be a lot of fun. Well, I don't know what our next trip will be, I guess our next, well, I know what my next trip, I'm going to be a grandmother in July Oh. The first, the first one, Oh, boy. so my next trip is going to be to Texas Oh, that'll be fun Yeah, in the middle, in the middle of the Summer. Well, yeah, you won't even, notice it though Well, they'll be air-conditioning anyway so. Is that, is that how you got into this, uh, this, you know, uh, data base? Yeah, my daughter's a temp at Texas Instruments, and working on this project. Oh, okay. Yeah, I was, I was just, I mean most of the people I've talk to are from, are from Texas, Uh-huh. so, when I, you know, when I heard you were from Virginia I was like, oh, okay, there's somebody different, and you said, oh, I got somebody down in Texas, I go, okay, that the connection, right there That's it, yeah I talked to one in California, I never asked him the other day how he was connected, I don't think he was T I employee. Uh, I, uh, most people talk to Texas, there's been a couple of other the people, uh, most of whom are like me that work in, in speech labs that are going to use data base, eventually. Oh, I see. So, uh, it was fun I, actually yesterday, I ended up talking to somebody else from the same lab I'm in. Is that right. Well, we spent last week end in Charlotte with real good friends that had just, moved to back East from Oklahoma, Oh. Uh-huh. and she's, uh, working on this project too, I mean she's talking on the project too Uh-huh. and, uh, we got back Monday and I got a call yesterday and it was her, on T I Network Uh, that's neat. I haven't, uh, I haven't had something like that happen, just, uh, just getting the one guy, from the lab. Uh-huh. Uh, you're sure have a nice town, uh, my, uh, sister lives on Lake, Norman, just, Oh, does, she, that's nice out there. Yeah, uh, we keep wanting to get down there and visit them over the Summer and it's, never really works out. Uh-huh, yeah, it's real pretty. Yeah Well Traffic , not much else we do for vacation really, uh, just so we don't, haven't been able to take really. Are you a golfer? No. No. Me either. No. Are you guys, golfers No, uh-huh, or, uh, no, uh-huh, nope, not too much into sports. Except our outside , though. Just walking that's all Oh, I don't think there are any, traveling that was in my early teens down in that area and I'm know real sure there are, um, No professionals When, uh, I was thinking I might be minor league but, Oh, there's one in Salem, Salem Rebels. Yeah. Salem Rebels, Buccaneers. Buccaneers. Oh, okay. Yeah, um, yeah, I may be seeing them, um, in a town just west of here, Frederick has a, uh, has a minor league team that plays in the same league with Salem and, uh, I think we may be seeing them this, weekend Oh, is that right up there in Frederick? Yeah, I think they're out of town. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, that's a nice little town actually, Frederick, uh, I've never been up there. I've never visited Baltimore. I'd like to go just sight see a little bit sometime. Oh, there's, there's some nice things in Baltimore, you know, the Inner Harbor and the, uh, the Aquarium and all that are very nice. Uh-huh. Uh, they've just done a, uh, you known, I, you know, the Aquarium is one of those things that, you know, because everybody, Okay. uh, we're going to talk about our lawn and garden chores, do you have either one? Well, I don't do anything with the lawn really, but I do gardening, both flowers and vegetable gardening. Do you . Oh, really? Um, I, we have enough property that we can have a little bit of a garden and that's fun, well, actually Wally's had one even when we haven't had big yard because, um, we enjoy that. We love fresh vegetables in the summer, and it's just one of the things I enjoy doing. So do I. I would, I had rather be outside than, than inside any day. So would I Do you work during the week, uh, outside the home? Yes, I do. Uh-huh. Uh, so I manage to fit in my gardening chores afterward, I work for a school system so I'm able to do that, um, because I get home a little earlier, Yes. and I can still do some, some sorts of things but, Or you sneak out in the morning after daylight savings time starts and with your cup of coffee and see if it has grown overnight. Oh, absolutely Well, I unfortunately am not gardening this year. I love gardening, in fact, I was prevented at like no, about thirty years ago with a life membership, uh, from the Richmond, Virginia counsel of garden clubs. Wow. And it wasn't because I was so good, but I organized a very large garden club, but I still have, uh, Oh, that's wonderful. It, well, it's always something that seems so odd to me but, uh, But that, that's, and you really feel you can accomplish something and to help other people too, that's neat. Yes, it has really nothing to do with, uh, actual gardening or flower arranging or anything like that, Uh-huh. it was just that I happened to organize this group, that was about seventy people. Right. That's wonderful. That, isn't, yeah, that, that, Yeah. those numbers were, were great but it, Yeah, well, I think it sounds good. I've never belonged to a garden club because I've always been more interested in just doing what I can do on my own, I've never had, the time really to get involved in the organized sort of format, Yes. but I know people who do it and, and enjoy it very much. Well, and actually, I think that most women's garden clubs that I've been aware of in the past, uh, are only flowers, what I would like, we've spent the last twenty years in Oklahoma. Just moved to, to North Carolina, Oh. and, uh, we were originally, of course, from this area, from Virginia, but, uh, in North, uh, in Oklahoma, it's the men's garden clubs that I would have wanted to join. My word. And you would have because they do all kinds of, uh, gardening and not just flowers like women do. For heaven's sake. Uh-huh Uh-huh. Well, um, there aren't men's gardening clubs in this area that I know of, they're, they're women. But, um, and usually they're the tea type things, you know, where they have a little luncheon and they do their thing. Uh-huh. But, um, flowers are primarily the emphasis, um, whereas I enjoy vegetable gardening almost more, I do flowers sort of look pretty Yes, I think so too. but I, I really like to do the vegetables. Yes, and, and I have spent the last ten, ten years being a florist. Being what? Being a florist. Oh, my. Well, what a wonderful thing. It was nice, it was exhilarating, uh, for many years. Yes. Uh, many of those tanned until the last couple when, uh, we had such an economic slowdown. Oh, terrible yeah. Yeah, well, tell me what's in your garden this year, since I don't have one. Okay. Well, uh, the flowers I'm just, in fact, I was going to go out today to buy some plants so I could put them in, I, I always have geraniums and, um, and then I have a shady area that I need to, uh, be concerned about not getting something that has to have sun, Uh-huh. so I've discovered that, uh, impatiens that tried and true is, turns out to be about the best thing to use there along with coleus. Because they, uh, look pretty and, in my front garden, uh, Uh-huh. but I like the vinca which is something I hadn't, they look sort of like impatiens, you know, but they're not quite and they're better for the sun areas. Um, and, of course, you know, the, mine are old theory ordinary flowers, marigolds and, and that sort of thing. Yes. In my, Do you have trouble with red spider on marigolds? No. I don't. Maybe it's, I don't know, maybe this climate is a little better. Yes, uh-huh, uh-huh. Um, but in the vegetable garden we grow, um, usually, what our favorite is something called white half runner green beans , now that's, Do you, isn't that funny, so is my favorite. Well, you know why, because I grew up in North Carolina, Okay. and that was my mother's, um, favorite bean she she always grows, you know, five different varieties, Yeah. but that's the kind that produces the best. Yeah, well, I think it has the best flavor. And, and they're wonderful, and I pick them when they're very young and have very little string and then just steam them a little bit, my mother picks them when they're fat and she cooks them for an hour with some fat backs , Yes, uh-huh, well, I like them in between. and they're good both ways. I like them in between. Yeah, yeah. The flavor is better I think in between. Oh, in between the size wise yeah, Yes, yeah. yeah. Uh-huh. My mother, Well, my mother doesn't think they have any flavor the way I cook them Well, and I know I love them, well, that's the yankee way. But I think, that's like another vegetable. Oh, of course. I love them that way just, just the thrill of, Yeah, it is. They're two different vegetables that way, uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. In fact, I, my mother, who is eighty-six years old, canned over a hundred quarts of half runners last year. Oh, my gosh. My does, mother will be ninety this year and she lives in western North Carolina and, uh, she would do that if, if we didn't tell her that she'd better not Yes, uh-huh, yes. But she doesn't have that big a garden, but she has a bigger one than I do. yes. And I have four children, you know, so, And she tends to it herself? Oh, yes, oh, yes. Uh-huh, isn't that wonderful. Oh, it is, it's great. It's, it's really her joy and I suppose that's why I enjoy gardening, because, you know, growing up with it. I think so too. Yeah. We also grow, um, yellow and green squash, um, much to my children's chagrin, Uh-huh. Right. and, uh, we grow a lot of tomatoes, uh, Uh-huh. there's just no replacement for fresh grown tomatoes. No. So, we enjoy that, um, we grow I, I have been trying to grow watermelon and cantaloupe and get teased by my family but I actually was successful for the last two years, so. Wonderful. I'm going to do it again. Bet you showed them. That's right. And we grow broccoli. Oh. And I have been very, uh, happy about the new way of controlling the, the, uh, worm that gets in broccoli, um, by using the Bacillus Thuringiansis which is the, uh, little, well, in fact, that's what they use for gypsy moth, I don't know if you have had that problem there or not. No. But it's, you know, it's a problem that's, that's moving south from, from the New England area. Yes. And they devastate the trees so they, they spray, the government, uh, sprays, um, two, three times in the spring when the, uh, caterpillars are, are coming along because what they do, this, this, uh, bacillus, um, the worms ingest it and it expands in their, in their, um, digestive tract and they die. Uh-huh. So, that's the same technique that is, you know, for any of the other, uh, little varmints that get in vegetables so it, that's really very nice because it's a non toxic way of, of handling the problem. Great. Well, we could we could really talk gardening a long time. I'm enjoying hearing you so much Well, it's nice hearing you talk and I'm, I wish you, uh, good luck, have you just recently moved to Charlotte? Um, no, October. Oh, so, well, that's not very long. Uh, so, yes, recently seven months and it, Yes. the weather is wonderful, I love it. Oh, that's great, that's great. It is just terrific, you know, rains a little too often. Well, I hope you have a, an opportunity to garden again. Oh, I think so, I have a little spinach Oh, well, good Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, so, um, how do think, how do you think we've changed in the last ten to twenty years? Uh, I'm at a little bit of a loss, you know, I don't know, ten years ago, see I'm what, I'm about, uh, twenty-eight now so when I was eighteen, Uh-huh. things haven't changed a whole lot. Really. People are being a little more, oh, I don't know, a little a little less bigoted in some ways, I don't know Uh-huh. seems to me. Well, I guess I'm like my parents. The younger generation gets away with hell, but, uh, Yeah. Well, it seems to me that civic freedoms are more restricted but that may just be because I've changed. You know, I used to live up north. Down here, Dallas, seems to me, the police are militant Really. but, uh, Where'd you live up, where'd you live at, I lived in Akron, Ohio. Oh, did you? I'm from , Illinois, so. Oh. How long, how long you been in Dallas? Oh, about eight years. Oh, really? In fact in the eight years I've been here it seems to me it gets more and more, gets to be more and more restrictive place to live. I think, Yeah, uh you know, uh, as you're talking like police and stuff like that it's definitely a tough job to do. Yeah, I think it's, crime has gone, got a lot worse in the last last ten, fifteen years, Oh, yeah, I agree. and maybe that has a lot to do with it. Yeah, I, I definitely think that has gotten a lot worse, and you know, I, I think there's, to me there seems to be a little bit of a decline in the family values. Yeah, that's true. So, That's true, But, uh, I'd say my own personal lifestyle has improved Yeah. but that's more a matter of, you know I'm no longer a teenager in high school. Yeah. Yeah, I think there's more pressure like on both parents to work, and things like that than there used to be and, Hello. Somebody's at the door. So. Hang on just a second. Okay. off Okay. But, uh, I don't know, that's just, that's one thing I see, I see a lot more, you know, double income families and a lot more like baby sitters raising the kids and things like that, I guess. Yeah, that's true, it's getting more and more expensive to live. Yeah, that's for sure. You can't, you can't make it, Yeah, without it hardly, that's right. I guess, when I was growing up, it was, it was still the ideal to get a, get a home and buy house, and these days you see a lot of people living in apartments forever Yeah. Yeah you know, you just don't buy a house, just because they can't get into one, yeah, that's right. Yeah, the ways our tax laws and stuff are structured, you can't ever catch a break until you can get into a house in a lot of ways, Yeah. so. Yeah, that's, that's a good point so, I'm trying to think of anything else that's changed over the last ten or twenty years. Yeah, for me it's kind of hard, I don't know. I think, I don't know, I think the middle class is shrinking and the, uh, lower class is expanding Oh, yeah, I agree. and sooner or later there's going to, there's going to be a turn around. Well, I hope so, you know, at some point but I don't know at what point, But I think it's going to be at the expense of the middle class, uh Yeah, so, usually is I think. Yeah. It's, uh, It's hard for me to say. I hope it happens, because I'd be one of those that gets caught. But on the other hand, there's a lot of injustice that needs to be, be changed. Yeah, that's right. Do you work at T I? Yeah. Do you? Yeah. What, uh, department do you work in? I'm in semiconductor. Are you? I'm in semiconductor division too. Yeah. So. How long you been with them, since you moved down here? About eight years, yeah. Um, I'm over at the Center One building. Yeah, so am I. Are you really. What floor? Two. I'm on the seventh floor. Well, How about that. Well, it's a small world. So, so let's see, second floor, you work with, uh, linear. Yeah. Do you. Do you, uh, do you know Alec Morton? Yeah, I've probably seen him around. Oh, you do, huh. Well, he comes up and pushes us around so, uh, so I'm pretty familiar with, Are you D A D or something up there? Huh? Are you D A D or something? Yeah Yep, you must know him. His reputation precedes him. Yeah, well, seventh floor. Yeah, T A D, Well, uh, he, uh, boy, he comes up there and gives us all kinds of grief. They, they say it's what makes him happy is to give us D A D grief, so I can believe it but, Well. Yeah, let's see, if you've been in Dallas eight years, I guess that's about how long, I've been in here about eight years, too, I guess. Um, been with T I like twelve, but I started out in Lubbock. Lubbock is, I don't know, I guess if this is the only place you've lived, Lubbock is a lot different than Dallas. Yeah, flat, dry and dirty, Yeah. Yeah, but the people all seem to be a lot more laid back, too, I mean, here in Dallas everything is just real rush, rush. Yeah, I lived in the country for several years, and living in the city is a whole different uh, social structure Oh yeah. but, uh, Well, I got some friends that, uh, seems like he went to school at like DeVry. Is there a DeVry in Akron? I don't even know Oh, I haven't been up there in years. Oh, I see, well, he went to school somewhere in Ohio, and he's from that area, and, uh, he works over in the Park, Park Central building I think but, uh, I haven't talked to him in a while, but, um, yeah, he, he misses it. He used to go back twice or three times a year, you know, because he missed it. Sounds like you haven't been back there in a while. No, I haven't been back in ten, fifteen years. You still have relatives back there or, Yeah, I do, I just haven't had a chance to get back Oh. Catch them next year probably. Really. Well, let's see, how, how long are we supposed to talk here? I don't know, I think we ran out of social, social changes to talk about, so. Yeah, well my kids are probably needing me to go so Okay, all right, well, it's nice talking to you. Yeah, Talk to you later. All righty, bye. Bye. Well, Kathleen, do you believe that there is a problem with our public school system? I certainly do. Uh, I think ... I think we have a lousy school system. And what do you think that problem is? And I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we don't train our teachers very well. And then we put the schools in the hands of professional educators instead of the teachers and the parents. And then, oh, we don't, uh, we put too much, uh, responsibility on the teachers, for things that are really not education. They're social services. Huh. That seems like you've thought this through quite a bit before. Well, I, as a matter of fact, I just finished editing a book on the topic. So I have some rather strong opinions. That's interesting. Do you, like a uh, yourself ... And, and I'm sure they're colored by what I've edited. Do youself have children who are or have been through the public school system? Yes, I do. And I was not very happy with the results. I see. So if you were to improve it, what would you do to improve it? Well, I think I would start with a with getting rid of about two-thirds of the administrators. And all the auxiliary personnel. The school bureaucracy that exists mainly to perpetuate itself. Uh-huh. Right. And then I would provide, uh, use the money that we've paying them to, uh, provide some special help in training and particularly, uh, mentor teachers to work with the beginning teachers and the teachers who may have been at it a long time but have been making the same mistakes for a long time Uh-huh. Sure. Sure. And then let them try some innovative things and see what works. And then, uh, have some sort of mechanism for passing that knowledge along to other teachers who could benefit from the same sorts of things. And then from the parents' side, have the parents support the school. Get involved. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Pay attention to what's happening. Talk to the teachers. Uh, talk to their kids about school. And support the institution and, instead of becoming adversaries to the teachers so that the, uh, the teacher's in the middle. Uh-huh. That's, uh, some pretty good ideas. Why don't you do something with those Well, I've done about all I can do which is get the manuscript in good shape so that it can be published and read by a lot of people. Uh-huh. Well, you should, uh, run for a school board position. Oh, well. That I'm not so sure about. I've got a lot of things to keep me busy. Uh-huh. That ... Have you done anything like that? Anything political? Well, my mother was on the school board. As we were coming up. Uh-huh. And, uh, that, basically, is the extent to which our, our family has been directly, you know, they've always been involved. My parents through the, the P T A organization. And my mother was on the school board for eight years. Uh-huh. But, uh, that was, that's the extent of which I guess that's more than, than some people, less than others That's more than a lot I would, uh, tend to agree with you that there is a problem The methods of correcting it I haven't thought through quite to the detail which you have. But I believe that there's definitely a basic perception and image problem with the fact of even being a teacher. Uh-huh. And if there was a way to, through the public mind, set that image to be a little higher esteem, a little, uh, uh, a little more prestige to being a teacher. And with that, of course, you know, you have to pay them a, accordingly. If we paid them more, it would attract more the, the higher educated people to, to either move into that field or to continue in that field. Yeah. And then if you paid them more, you'd also be able to demand a higher quality product out of them. I think that's absolutely right. They, the thing that worries me about that is that if you just raise salaries across the board, you're going to be, uh, rewarding people who've been doing a lousy job. And instead of getting the, uh, improvement that we want. Sure. Sure. So we'd have to have some way to, uh, reward and recognize the teachers who are doing a good job and give them a, a pat on the back and respect and some honor and more money. Uh-huh. It, unfortunately, it's a, and it's a business or an occupation that the results are not as tangible as other ones Uh-huh. Yeah. It's, it's hard to tell. so it's very, it's very difficult to say that this teacher is doing a better job than this other one, other than I guess how, you how a person scores in the beginning before the class and then after the class. You know, if there's some gauge that they could make. Yeah. Uh, also, I've I've thought around about the idea of making teaching and the before you can get a certificate, you have a, a certain residency period. So much like a doctor. Maybe not the four years definitely. But some certain type of, of position where you're overseen to begin with. Yeah. Now that's a very good suggestion. Uh, just something to, rather than throw someone in, into that environment, uh, you know, it Yeah. I don't think student, I don't think student teaching is enough. I thought that maybe something. I think that, at least what I used to observe in student teaching, was that some college kid who might not be all that bright to begin with, was thrown into a class room with a teacher who was harried and overworked and, uh, had too many kids to handle and too many things to do and too many interruptions to pay much attention to the student teacher. Uh-huh. Right. And then the student teacher didn't stay but about six weeks. Uh-huh. So there really was no time to try, much of anything and get significant feedback that would help the, the student teacher improve very much. Sure. Sure. There are lots of things that could be done in that line, including things like video taping. Because it wouldn't be hard with all the electronic equipment that's around these days to video tape, uh, either a master teacher teaching a class so that then, students could watch that and, uh, criticize the methods used and, and analyze it. Figure out what worked and what didn't work. Uh-huh. And then also to video tape the student teachers so they could correct their own performance. Sure. Sure. That's good as a, a, a teaching aid. But more you see these commercials that have Jimmy walking into class late and it happens that the teacher is an instructor who is in New York while Jimmy's in Rome. Huh. And, you know, the whole electronic classroom idea. I don't know if I I'm in favor yeah, in favor of, yeah, I don't think that's going to work. I think, especially in the younger years you need to have more of the, the person contact rather than just the fact that your machine being fed information to, to learn how to learn. Yeah. Well, another thing I think would be helpful would be to have some sort of, of say a national curriculum. Because one of the problems with getting good textbooks is that we have such a fragmented system for, uh, curriculums that the textbook makers produce a textbook that will sell in Texas and California. And then everybody else is stuck with that, regardless of what they want to teach. Huh. Is that because that's where the two biggest markets are Because it ... or? Well, that's the two states that adopt on a state wide basis. I see. Uh, and so it, uh, I used to work for a textbook publisher and it was absolutely clear that if you could get your book adopted by Texas, then you had a built-in market because there were only about three or four textbooks in each subject and all you had to do is just get your share of those adopted in the individual school districts. Uh-huh. Huh. And, you know, a third of the Texas market with its millions of kids is a heck of a lot of textbooks. Sure. Sure. And then the states that either don't adopt on a state wide basis or don't have as many kids, just have to follow along and take what Texas gets. Right. California is the biggest for elementary schools but Texas, uh, adopts state wide all the way through the twelfth grade. I see. Well, definitely is a national problem if, that they need to address. Yep. Sure is. Definitely is. And I hope maybe we're going to get somewhere with a little more attention being paid to it with, uh, Reagan's, uh, new education secretary and, uh, you know, trying to do some, uh, trying to produce some new programs anyway. Right, right. Excuse me. Well, I've enjoyed speaking with you. I have got to go. I've got another line calling. Thanks. All righty. Good-bye Bye Okay, sorry. Wow, that's okay So, tell me about your home. Oh, it's, uh, it looks like a little shot gun house, almost. It's got three bedrooms going along one side and the living room and kitchen on the other. Uh-huh. It's, uh, an older home, it's not new, I like it though, it's big. Oh really, what kind of square footage? Oh, I wouldn't know, I measured it one time, because I was, uh, we had saw some termites Uh. and we thought about getting it sprayed. I think it was like, I can't remember, I'm sorry That's okay, that's okay. It's big enough for us, though. Uh-huh. We kind of need maybe one more room. We've got two children. Uh-huh, okay. So where do you live at, I mean what part of town. In here in Denison. Okay, see, that's north. Or down here in Denison, yeah. Okay, I live, I live in Plano, so it's north to me Okay, up here then I say down, I'm really from Kentucky. I was going to say you didn't have the typical, you have a southern accent, Uh-huh. but you don't have a Texas accent. Right. Well I'm originally from, uh, Ohio, Cincinnati, Oh, okay. so I'm uh, familiar with, uh, That area, that dialect. Right, right Also I lived in Georgia for about four years, so the, uh, there's a difference too, between east and west, in the south. And, uh, the way in which people speak. Uh-huh. Anyway, my home is, um, I guess it's about twenty-five hundred square foot and I have, uh, four bedrooms at the present. We're busting out walls and things like that. That's what I want to do. How many kids do you have? We have two, we have two. Do you have enough bedroom space, then? Yeah, we'll have enough bedroom space, it's, we're rearranging our house because the bedrooms are kind of small. Uh-huh. And so, we're going to enlarge our master bedroom and take out a couple of walls and enlarge it. And then shuffle the rooms around a little bit. That's kind of like what we'd like to do. We just had a baby a couple months ago and we've got a den, it's more or less a spare room. Uh-huh. We rarely go in there, except for to play chess. Uh-huh. We want to make that a bedroom for my stepdaughter and my daughter and, uh, we need the one extra room. Like, like you said, our rooms are too the bedrooms are too small, the living room and kitchen are huge, Right. but the bedrooms are too small. Where you've got to leave the furniture just one certain way, you can't rearrange it at all. Right, there's they, uh, I know what you're saying there, ours is the same and they tend to put windows in the strangest places. Yeah. You know we have windows in our bathrooms which really makes it difficult for, Yeah, we've got two great big windows in our back bathroom. Uh-huh, you're kind of limited in what you can do there and everything, so. No privacy. No, we don't have a lot of that, yeah. Well, we've got at least two windows on every wall in the house. It, Uh-huh. I'd hate to clean these windows, I really would. I figured I'm going to have to hire somebody to remove our windows and put new ones in that are easier to clean. Ours are the double pane and you can't really clean them on the inside, you know. Ours are those too, yeah. You must live in an older home too then. Right, I do, the house is about, um, I'd say almost thirty years old. Uh-huh. So it's not a new home, it's, it's seen some wear and tear. You know. Ours has too. When we moved in the man that sold it to us had said that he remodeled it, Uh-huh. and he did it hisself, so most of that, by now, is falling apart. Oh. You know, well I mean, it's not just horrible, but like this tile's come loose off the wall, the whole bathroom is covered from ceiling to foot in tile and I don't like that at all. Um, that is awful. With that, uh, the great big tiles, square tiles like, that you put on the floor, the, the huge one. Uh-huh, he did it in that? Yeah, instead of wallpaper. I wouldn't mind it if it was like short tiles, for that you put, The normal tiles, right. right that you put around a bathtub, that would be prettier. Uh-huh. But this looks like floor covering on the wall. It just doesn't look good. Oh, and also they're very heavy and so they tend to come off a whole lot easier. Right, there's one big one that has come off and short of putting nails through it, we can't get it back on, so. Um. And he rewired the house and it's shorting out here and there, and Oh, wow, I, that's one of the things we've been fortunate with, is our, uh, wiring is okay. We don't have a, we don't have enough power, um, or our breakers aren't, aren't powerful enough to take, to, to really help with the load in the house. Uh-huh. I mean we need to redo some, rewiring ourselves but our plumbing is awful. There is there is a shut off valve that's outside that doesn't work, Um. and there's no other real shut off valves inside the house, so if something breaks, we have to shut it off from the main, in the street, you know, Yeah. and, oh, it's, it can be really bizarre. Yeah. And we never know where it's going to flood. We've got power surges on the west side of our house. We've got our stereo hooked up. Uh-huh. Well that, the power makes it run. It's never ran, it's always ran just fine, the clock and stuff. Uh-huh. But it runs about ten minutes fast, except for about a month, for about a month the, the clock ran normal. Um. And then the power went off again, lightning or something knocked it out and we hooked it back up and now it's running ten or fifteen minutes fast again. Um. But on the east side of the house it runs fine. Oh boy, you do have a strange wiring problem there. He put new wiring in, it's all new wiring up in the attic, or I guess crawl space, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, uh, oh, no, he didn't know what he was doing, he really should have hired people. Well that's something, my husband's in construction and he won't even touch electrical stuff. He, I mean, he'll do a little things but he won't do any major rewiring. He says he'd rather pay the electrician to handle it. Right, he'll end up killing himself. Pardon. End up killing theirselves. That's right. My husband, he'll change out a light switch, but that's about as far as he'll go. Well that's the way mine is, you know, Yeah. I mean, he, he well he said he went up in the attic and looked around and he was like, oh my God, he says, looks like a bunch of spaghetti up there. And we had squirrels in our attic when we first moved in because the roof was so sorry, Uh, was a what, The roof was really sorry. I mean when we moved in, we had no idea how bad it was. Uh-huh. It was a wood shingle roof, and we, the first year we were living there, we had to replace the roof. Well he put, which I heard it's a law that you're only allowed to have three layers of shingles. Is it three or five, your husband probably knows. He probably knows, I don't know what it is off hand. Well, he's got seven layers of shingles up there, and he told us it was a completely new roof. Like I said, he didn't know what he was doing. Yeah, he must not of. We stripped ours, we stripped ours off. We didn't put it over, 'cause we put composition roof on. And we completely completely stripped all the old wood shingles off, put decking up, put the paper down, and I mean just started from scratch. Uh-huh. Unfortunately when we were doing that it decided it wanted to snow and hail and rain. Oh, no. And we, and we had, we had almost, I'd say about half of the roof off, and it did this. And, uh, uh, a house full of snow. And a house full of snow, and rain, Uh-huh. and it came down, it did this in the middle of the night. We have plastic, you know, just tied down on everything, you know, as best we could, real thick edge stuff, I mean, Uh-huh. and the wind came in from the north and it just blew everything off in the middle of the night and we were asleep and, and I woke up and I got up and it was about four o'clock in the morning and I heard all these, these drips, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip. Oh, no. I had water coming in every light fixture. That, yeah. I had water coming in everything that was in the ceiling, everywhere. And I mean it filled up my light fixtures, because they're the old kind. Uh-huh. And I would go in, and I'd turn on a light in the room, you know and the light would come on and the whole thing would be full of water. And I mean the light would still come on. It didn't blow up or anything My neighbor, or a friend of mine when I lived in Louisiana, her, we all lived on base, my husband was in the Army. Uh-huh. She woke up about three or four o'clock in the morning, water dripping from hers. The neighbor's uh, washing machine had uh, over done something, I don't know but it was leaking, just pouring water in and it all went through to her roof and it was coming out of the lights, fixtures. Oh. The fire alarm went off for some reason. It shorted it out, or something. Oh, yeah, that will happen. So she woke up with about six feet of water in her house. Oh, my lord. No, not six feet but, But it's quite a bit, quite a bit, you know that, Yeah you might as well so. Did you have carpets and stuff? Oh, several of our rooms got ruined, we have, um, we are on pier and beam, we don't have concrete slab underneath our house, Uh-huh. so it, it got into the carpeting, got into the floor. The carpeting was already awful anyway, but it got into the floor and rotted the floor and made it stink Your house sounds like mine because mine's pier and beam too. Oh really. Yeah. Yeah, they came in and they had it, one room they completely cut up the floor in and removed it. We had to call the insurance company. I mean the insurance company was paying for the new roof but they also ended up having to pay for the damage when the roof was being repaired. You know, which really wasn't our fault. Uh-huh. I mean we'd done everything we could to keep out the weather. You know, and stuff That's right. That's right. and, Well you got to redo it the way you wanted it in the end. Oh yeah it, Are you finished with it now? Uh, the roof? Uh-huh. Oh yeah, yeah, it's, it's been done for quite some time. We're really glad with all the rain we've had in the last couple of years that we have a really good roof. Uh-huh, how long have you lived there? Uh, see, it's three, it's just been at three years. We've been in the house just the three years. We've been doing a lot of remodeling. I mean, it's, it had detached, it had a detached garage and my husband's built a walkway across and we're going to brick up the garage to match the house and things like that so we, You all did it yourselves? What, uh, the walk? The home improvements. Oh yeah, yeah, he see he does this for a living, Uh-huh. I mean this is what, All right. Well, uh, quite a few and they're varied. They don't, uh, uh, encompass, uh, many handcrafts like knitting and that kind of thing. Uh-huh. But, I do, uh, quite a bit of wreath making and my dogs are my hobbies. I do a lot of gardening. I go to estate sales, which takes up a lot of time. Uh-huh. Now, what do you mostly do Well, mostly right now I'm a, I do a lot of sports and stuff like that is my hobbies and do a lot of things with my family as much as possible. We're, uh, we're about to take the kids to go roller skating and a birthday party and stuff, Oh, so. boy Yeah. That should be fun. Yeah. Fun for them. Yeah. How old are they? Uh, I've got a little girl who's six and a little girl that's three. Well, I think that's better than having that party at home Yeah. Well, uh, this is a friend's party and they, they rented, or, you know, they, the party, they, uh, just rent skates and stuff for the kids. Yeah. So, uh they're, they're looking forward to it. And, the the, the skating rink does the rest practically, I guess. Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh Boy, what a help that is. Yeah So, uh, What kind of, how long have you lived in North Carolina? Well, not that long. Really? Uh, just since October. We moved here from Enid, Oklahoma. Oh. Uh-huh. So, uh, we are, we're originally from Virginia, this part of the country. Uh-huh. But, we did spend twenty years in Norman and Enid and loved it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, we needed to get back, uh to our older parents. Yeah. Uh-huh. But, I am loving it The weather is divine. Really? Yes. uh, did you like Oklahoma, while you were there? Oh, yes. Very much. Yeah. Um, what did you all do? Well, my husband was with, uh, begins to be much clearer, a lot less back ground noise and University of Oklahoma and, Phillips University in Enid. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And then he went with, uh, a family corporation that had, uh, has oil and ranching and varied enterprises. Uh-huh. And, uh, he just quit a perfectly good job and came, we came East Really? Yes. So, is, uh, is he working there then or Yes. Uh-huh. He's doing, uh, quite a bit of consulting work and, has been offered a permanent position Oh, uh-huh. and he's contemplating Uh-huh. He, he's liking this free time actually Oh, yeah. It's just wonderful after all, these years of working. Yeah. Yeah. Well, how did, how did you get, uh, hooked up with the T I switchboard thing? Um, a gal who works, uh, with T I on this project Uh-huh. I think she's a temporary worker Uh, mother is my best friend in Virginia Oh, I see. So we have spread the word a little bit in this part of the country. I see. Uh-huh my wife has talked more than I have, uh, she's talked to four, five different people. It seems like she hasn't talked to anybody from Dallas. In fact, she's talked to a couple of people from North Carolina, I think. Really? Yeah. Uh, what is her name? Her name's Tina Yeah. Well, I haven't talked to her. I haven't, I haven't talked to a Tina yet Yeah. Uh-huh. uh, the, the call was probably for her. They wouldn't accept my, uh, T I N number, so we put hers in. But, uh, uh, like I said, we're getting, getting the kids ready to go to the birthday party, Yeah. so. Yeah. But, uh, some of yeah, I, I've only talked to one or two and they've, they've all been in Dallas. But, she hasn't talked to anybody, in Dallas, yet. Yeah. Yeah. So, that's interesting. Well, you haven't told me, uh, what sports that you are active in. Well, the sport I like best probably is basketball. But, uh, I guess I'm probably better at softball. And so I'd, like during the summer months it's, occupies quite a bit of my, time. Yes. But, I play in a couple of leagues and, and occasionally in a tournament or something on a weekend. But, my family usually goes with me. We try to do everything we can together. Well, I think that's, uh, easy entertainment for a, family, too. Yeah. Yeah. Well, they, uh, a good friend of mine that plays on one of my teams, we, uh, that's usually the team I play on with the tournaments and stuff, and they have a couple of kids that are almost my kids age. So they play together, pretty well Under the stands. and, Under the, bleachers. Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. And, uh, Tina enjoys, uh, the other lady, real well. So they, you know, that's kind of nice. It's like getting together with, them. Yes. Well, it's getting, a little hot, isn't it? So to speak. It, Yeah. Well, it's been raining a lot here so far. So we haven't really had any kind of real heat. I think it's going to be warm enough this afternoon, we were noticing a while ago it's already eighty in, in the house. So, it looks like an air conditioner, day. Yeah. But, It sure does. Or maybe this evening anyway. Yeah. It, yeah, but, you know, I'm sure you're familiar with that living, here. Very, much so. We go, we go through Enid, you know, quite a bit. We go to Tulsa from time to time. And my, my parents live in southern Illinois. So, we drive, up there. Yeah. And, well, lot of times we take seventy-five and, uh, it seems like, seems like that goes through Enid, I know, No. No it doesn't. I've either seen the signs or, Enid is, uh, it's in the northwest. It's, uh, directly across the straight, uh, state from Tulsa. Uh, Um. I know I've seen, the sign somewhere. Sure you have. Yes. Well, Enid is, not, uh, an unknown little city. Yeah. It, uh Right. an awful lot of people know where it is, or have been there. And it, was, uh, a very, uh, self-sufficient, uh, wealthy uh, town, for a long time, anyway You know until, uh, everything happened, Uh-huh. Uh. Uh-huh. the bottom fell out. But, Oh, uh-huh. it's beginning to do well. But, there's a lot of, uh, old time wealth there that, has helped to stabilize things. Oh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, uh, how you said you've just lived in North Carolina just like, six months then is, Yes. Something like that. And you really like, it there, huh? Oh. I've heard so many people talk about that area. I've never been there Well it's, it's and children in the pretty. but they sure, say it's pretty. The weather is wonderful. Uh, this winter we, it was just, we had so many wonderful days. And, Uh-huh. uh, I, if it got to be forty degrees, I decided it was too cold to, to walk the dogs Isn't it, funny how how, your standards change Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. It really does. My wife and I spent a couple years, uh, doing church work up in the state of Washington right, on the coast. Yes. And it rains, you know, a lot there. Sure. But, you get used to it. I mean, it's like a fine mist all the time and it doesn't really, it gets to where it doesn't bother, you. Well, foggy and, misty. Really? It, The moss grows, on the trees in the woods up , eight, ten, feet. Uh-huh. Right. Right. Yeah. That's the way it is, was, there, too. Yeah. I think, however, that's like February. Uh, I know it did it all February. And some people said to me, "Well, that's our wintertime." Oh, uh-huh. Well, I know you, need to go. But, And I've enjoyed talking to you. Well, I have enjoyed talking to you, too. It was nice, to talk to you. Thanks so much. Have a, I hope you enjoy, North Carolina. Oh, thank you. And I hope you enjoy, and get through that birthday party. Well, I hope, I live through it. Yeah. I do, too That's what I hope. Okay. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye. Good-bye. All right, uh, how long have they been recycling there in Virginia? Um, actually quite a, a, a while. Um, I've lived here for six years and, can you hold on just a second? Yeah, uh-huh Hello. Uh-huh. Oh, I'm sorry I must have got the other line cut off. Uh, so, they've been doing that it for a while now Uh-huh. and, uh, it, I live in an apartment Uh-huh. and my facilities , there it is, hold on on Uh-huh Hello. Okay, sorry about that Yeah, okay, you're okay, Yeah. okay Uh, anyhow, they have facilities here in my apartment complex for recycling paper only. Uh, I've been recycling for maybe about two years now and, at another public facility where they have, you know, recycling of glass, uh, aluminum and paper. Uh-huh. Now, Have you, have you cycled, recycled plastic also? No, and that's what I, I don't understand exactly why they don't have that option. We, we have out here uh, up until just this last year in on you are town there wasn't any really good way, Uh-huh. they had some bends, *sp: bins around that we could find and put them in Uh-huh. but not all that many, it wasn't very well advertised Uh-huh. but recently, uh, the refuse department has, has, uh, is working on getting a system going where we will actually have, uh, a bend that we put things in for recycling these other things Uh-huh. so it, it should be good, uh, Uh-huh. I think it's a marvelous idea when you think of, uh, when I just think of the papers that I dump out Uh-huh. I mean there just, it's such a I waste, I just hate to think about it. Yeah, now an additional thing is, uh, where I work they also have recycling there of, uh, all white paper and of, you know, cans also Uh-huh. Uh-huh. so, I mean, a lot of people, you know, right at the vending machines, they have receptacles that, you know, you can just pop your cans in Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and near the, Xerox machines they have places, you know, for your, paper, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. you know, I keep a little box at my desk, you know, Uh-huh. and I just throw, as I'm using the white paper, you know, I just throw it right in there, Uh. and then, you know, they have someone that comes around and pick it up, you know, every afternoon which, you know, is an excellent idea, at work because I know the amount paper they go through there Yeah, that's neat. Yeah. because, Yeah, that's right. I guess one of the things, I think, that needs to happen is we need to be better informed about, about it, Uh-huh. there's needs to be more public, uh, service of, programs or something that would let us know had a happens to it and helps us to become enthused about it because of what is happening Yeah, I would agree with that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and there's, Right. I've seen a few things but not very much, really Uh-huh. and I, I think that's a shame they need to, uh, do a little more, I'd like to know, for instance, when I, when they say, uh, plastic, all plastic, what kind of plastic, can you put all together or, is there some reason not to, Exactly. Uh-huh. uh, now maybe they just sort it after they get it and throw out what they can't use, I don't know Uh-huh. but I, I'd be glad to organize it, if that they'd tell me what it is I'm doing Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh, yeah, I agree with you there, another thing that I like here which is, I do with, I have to actually go to two different recycling areas because one of them is that, uh, their aluminum cans is for, uh, Children's Hospital, for a burn fund Uh-huh. so all the monies are donated, you know, for the recycling to Children's Hospital, which I think is an excellent idea, there, you know, because the other, public, Yeah. Uh-huh, that's great. Now that gives, you a little bit of incentive there. Right, right, Uh-huh. and before even at work, before they started the recycling plan, which at work they've only been doing since January first of this year, I had had everyone in my department recycling and, you know, I would have them drop, right, drop their cans off in my office Saving them for you, uh. and then I would haul them, you know, here to this place for the Children's Hospital Fund which got people really going into it, Uh-huh. I think that's, right. but, I think, I think helping us be more enthusiastic about it, helping us maybe, maybe using the money for something special that would be like paying off the national debt Uh-huh. Uh-huh That, there you go. That's for sure. But I, I think that's right I think they, there needs to be a little bit more in the area of, of, uh, advertisement, and letting, public letting you understand, more of what it is you're doing, why you're doing it, how you're it's done and, what, what happens to it because I think that's, that would help a lot. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right, right. Uh-huh, and I'm sure, you know, in the near future I would think they would be coming out with more, Yeah. you know, I've seen a definite trend, you know, towards more recycling, everywhere, you know, even at McDonald's, you know, with their, their use of no, foam containers anymore. Yeah, I, Yeah. Yes, I, I'm glad, to see some of these things, I think. Right. I think, I think it is getting more, you know, advertisement. People are becoming more conscience all the time that it's necessary to do, and that we need to somehow get away from the fact that we have to have everything individually wrapped, Right. Uh-huh. and all these things that, Right. I think that's true. Well, I think, I'm that's about my, uh some on recycling Yeah but I, I enjoyed talking to you. Okay, well, I did too. Uh-huh, all right, bye now. Okay. Bye-bye clicks hanging I have, uh, I, well, I used to have the opinion that there that there really was not any more crime in America, in the cities, anyway, than there was in previous centuries, uh, before, uh, simply because. The reason there seems to be so much was the fact that the police now had advanced, uh, reporting methods, with computers and other devices. Compile more statistics. That's right, and those statistics in turn got them bigger budgets. Uh-huh. However, I have been persuaded, lately, I guess, simply by the, uh, overwhelming data that seems to be available that there is indeed a lot more violent crime. More especially where you are. Are you, in Washington D C or Washington state? Well, yeah. No, I am in, I am in Washington D C. Yeah, yeah, I was going to say, Actually it, you know, I do a lot of business here, and I come here quite often and, and that again is a, is a sort of media perception there's some absolutely lovely and marvelous and peaceful areas in Washington. Regardless of the racial makeup, Oh, yeah. but it's, it's real, uh, there's pockets of violence that is so violent that they, uh, It just really grabs your attention. Yeah. It just makes the whole place seem like that. Right. Now just to focus on that a minute, I guess, uh, uh, when, uh, previous secretary of, uh, Bennett, I think his name was, became the drug czar, uh, for, uh, President Bush, he was going to focus on it, on this area and do something about it Yeah. and I see that even he was met without, with, with little success, even though the entire, I guess a, a quite a bit of money and other, uh, planning efforts went into that. What do you, what do you think is causing all this, Well, because, it seems that there even though crime, though I think it is increasing in number, it sure does seem to be increasing in intensity, and violence too. Yes. Well, I, I have three theories about it, you know, three things. I have one theory, and it's brought to us by two things. One I, I believe that this is a function of, uh, the violence that young people see on television and the movies. Uh-huh. And, I am not just talking about, you know, uh, role models of of tough guys and gangsters and things like that, I am not even, I am not even convinced that maybe things like football, hockey and, the, you know, the, and even baseball games now where the, everything is settled with a fight. You know, the, the immediate need to show some sort of violence to settle the argument. And, and then I, I am an advocate of hand gun control to some degree, so I think that particularly I, I was reading the other day about, uh, Corpus Christi, Texas which has the the highest, I think it's Corpus Christi, that had the highest rates per hand gun death in America uh, per capita. Yeah, I was, I have not seen that, but, uh, I mean the Saturday night special stuff so, Yeah. That, that's what I think about it, that's some of the things I think about it, plus like drop I do not know, what are your views? Well, yeah, I tend to agree with you with, you know, it seems anymore, uh, a movie can not be considered good unless there's just some, some sort of violence, or something in it. Yes. And, and along with that, you know, and then you start making a movie and it has no, there's no call for something violent, but, so they just throw something in there just to say they have it well that's, that's, that's the impression I get, you know. Yeah. And I, and I imagine that it's, you know, it just feeds upon itself when we have this sort of violence in society, people want to, it conditions people to it and, uh, you have to it has to be even, uh, magnified to to attract people's attention. I guess, to have them spend money on something like that. Yeah, you become callous. Yeah. And I am sure that it does form role models for young, for young men and young women and, Yeah. uh, I mean I, I, read now where we are, you know, women are young women are arrested fighting with knives over, over whatever. whatever reason, which is kind of unheard of when I was young. Um. Now, I do not want to sound like an old fart, but, that's what seems that those things happened did not happen in that manner before television. And I, I, I, I have to think that, that it has some influence on it. But, I listened to a radio talk show today at lunch time Yeah. I do not know if you listen to him or not, No. he's on A M, but, there's a fellow that had called in and was lamenting about the, there was an interview done on the assistant chief of police for Los Angeles, the guy under Gates, Oh, yes. and they were just really coming down on him because of some of the things he was, just some of the things that he believed in, some of his morals. For instance, uh, they asked him if he spanked his kids, and he said "You bet, I believe in discipline". And people, I, I, I, I guess they confused discipline with punishment. Yeah. You know. Yeah. And, just, it seems anymore that, uh, if, if you have, you know, this type of a moral stance, that people come down on you. It's like, you know, hey, everybody has to be free to do their own thing. And I disagree, and I think that's really contributing to this high rate of crime. Yes, yes. Well, I mean, I, I guess what I wanted to say and I stopped, uh, I do not know, I got diverted, was that, that, uh, there's so there's so much of a return from to prison that the rehabilitation programs seem to be a failure. And, and that is not emphasized. I recognize there's, there's over crowding problems and, and since we have decided to put everybody in jail that commits a crime now, that that's complicated the entire process. Yeah. What I also think that, I guess it's the reflection of the society where, where we have so much more mobility and less attachment to, uh, you know, it does not seem to be any responsibility to the community where you, where you live or. I do not mean attachment and responsibility, I guess I mean any sort of, Well, nobody feels responsibility to do something. It's like, oh boy, I wish they would stop doing that. Yes, that's right. Yeah. Yeah I, I do not know how that's, I do not think it's done by, uh, the changes come simply by statutory nature. I do not know what it really will take Um. And, I do not know if I have solutions, except, except to, you know, I am sort of a, a, an advocate of, of, uh, of letting people, of having free speech and I guess to curb, uh, television, uh, the violence on television and in the movies would be contrary to my beliefs in that. Yeah. However, there does seem to be a, right now in verbalizing, it does seem to be a higher need for something of that sort. Yeah, and then how many, And the sacrifice is not that great. How many studies have to be done to show that there is a link between, you know, what you see and how Yeah. I mean, what you see affects how you think and therefore what you do. Yes, yes, I think, I think that's correct. And, yes but, you know, as soon as you start, uh, Well, Texas has, uh, Texas has, uh, has always struck me, I mean I, I, I have lived in and out of Texas, both in the service and, uh, uh, short business stints. And it seems to me they are a pretty, pretty tough law and order state, but that's a, but yet that does not seem to have effected the amount of violent right in the state. Just citing that, you know. Yeah, uh, unfortunately you have got a lot of the, uh, some, well a lot of it can be contributed to the racial differences, I mean, just that we are so close, to the border with Mexico, Yeah. we have got a lot of that influence. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, I talked with, um, I talked with people from Richardson and Plano and, uh, the first three days, and then yesterday I talked with someone with, from Pennsylvania, so, Yeah, because, it's the, I've only made, this is only my third call. Oh. I, I tried to make calls two different days and I couldn't get through. Oh, I know. Sometimes I just I'm, in, it just takes a very long time so, Does it? Yeah, I've been trying to, you know, do that, and, and sometimes I just can't wait that long, Yeah, I know. so I just hang up. Because it keeps going through the thing over and over again. Well. This is hilarious But I knew as soon as I heard your voice, I thought, Kathy's, it's Kathy Kester Oh. Well, tell me, what books have you read lately? Well, let's see, I, um, gosh, I can't even think. I haven't read any, and you're such a reader, I know that and I, Well, I don't read all that much for enjoyment. I mean, I read a lot for school, but gee, I just don't have much time for enjoyment reading Yeah. The, the last book I picked up was a book by Judy Bloom, Uh-huh. and it was, um, it was called, um, SMART WOMEN, I think. Um, or something like that. Um. Yeah. And it was, it was kind of, I really didn't like it at all. Huh. It was, it was written back in the early eighties. Oh, yeah. And it was all this, this, um, divorced woman syndrome of the, um, Oh, yeah. it was almost like a, a pre-AIDS scare kind of thing. Interesting. It was really an interesting, because I, I right away looked at when it was copyrighted. Because I could tell by the theme of almost when it was written. And, um, you know, a lot of hanky-panky, going on. Uh-huh. Yes, yes, yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. That kind of was, um, kind of a pop psychology time for when a lot of books like that were coming out, I think. That's right. And so that makes real sense, that that's, um, when it was written. Yeah, yeah. Um, I haven't, wasn't really aware that she had written anything for, um, adults. I was always, just more aware of her you know, Uh-huh. for her young people, her books. *one utt? Yeah, and she's more famous for that, Uh-huh. but she has been writing for adults also, I'll be darned. and so I thought hey, I'll just try this, you know, and see what it was like. Yeah. It was very, um, the style was very conversational. Uh-huh. You would have lots of conversations between people rather than any description. Yeah. Right, yeah, yeah. You know how that is, and um, Yeah. I wonder if she's written anything really recently, if she's got anything printed, in print. Yeah, she has, because I, I remember seeing a new book by her that was out, Uh-huh. and I think it was a, it was an adult book. I'll be darned. So anyway, Yeah. but that's the last thing I, I've read, Yeah. and, um, Well, it's, I'm trying to think the last actual book I read that wasn't, let's see, I think I read, oh, when I was on vacation, um, between semester break and summer, you know, on semester break between spring and summer Yeah. and I went to my mother's, I read a book that I have, should have read when I was probably in high school. I read, um, JANE EYRE. I, No, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. JANE EYRE? No, no, no, no, it wasn't JANE EYRE. WUTHERING HEIGHTS? No, it was, um, uh, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, by Jane Austen. Oh, yeah, by Jane Austen, yes. That's what it was, yes. Yes. And, um, you know, I, I didn't know what to expect, except I had heard that, that Jane Austen was such a wonderful novelist, and she really was good. I mean, I was, was very much impressed with the way her plot was put together so, intricately Uh-huh. and, um, and, you know, I just, but I, as I say, I was pretty much ashamed that I hadn't read something before then. Yeah. Because I, I think I was, I think I read it in college, or had to write it, read it in high school or college, but I don't remember it. Yeah, yeah. And then when Jennie had to read it at Gettysburg and I got her the, I got her someone, Uh-huh. I think it was, um, oh, some actress reading it. Oh, how interesting. You know, they had an abridged version of it on tape. Yeah. And so I got that for her, and she loved doing that. Oh, I'll bet, yeah. But I remember that was the book. Yeah. And now I, I mean, I think it's around here somewhere, Right I wouldn't be, surprised, I'm just going to have to put it, in the car sometimes and listen to it. yeah. Sure. Oh, yeah. But, um, Well, I read that, and then I'm trying to think, um, usually I try to, to find something long that, I'm going to, Uh-huh. when if, if I have long periods of time, like Christmas vacation, or, you know, when I know I'm not going to be doing anything for a while, um, Yeah. Oh, that's what I do too. Yeah, and that's about it, because otherwise I'm reading so much for school. I'm, um, I have just started reading a book. Actually, it's for school, but it's for, um, there's a, a literary well, not a literary journal, it's a, it's kind of a journal of, of the history of ideas that's, that's starting to be published, um, from U T D. The first issue doesn't come out until next year, but, um, Oh, yeah. I'm doing some reviews of books, just to, what, to sort of recommend to whether or not a full-scale review should be done for the journal, Oh, how neat. and I've, yeah, it's really neat because these are brand new books and I, just got a, I got a, this one, Oh, great. um, most of the stuff is on, uh, literary criticism and philosophy, and religion and all that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. This one is on Johann Sebastian Bach, and it's a, a, a biography, that is really interesting, Oh, great. Oh, that's fascinating. I mean, it, it's fascinating, it really is. Oh. Um, but it's so long, I, I don't really have the time to read the whole thing, but I think, eventually I'll go back to it. Yeah. But it's, it was written, Yeah. I mean the, the copyright is nineteen ninety-one, so it's a brand new book. Oh, it's a brand new book. Yeah, uh-huh. Oh, that, that would be wonderful to read something like that. Yeah, and he really, this man really shed some light on, um, some, aspects of of Bach's genius and, and, and, you know, the, and more sociological things, you know, like the, the idea that, um, that music, to be a musician was as much, um, of a family occupation as anything. Yeah. I mean, you know, that was it was families had just loads of musicians Yes. Yeah, and they just went from generation, probably to generation, just with these, with these all passing it from one to the other. Yeah. that's right. Yes, uh-huh, and, um, Yeah, that's the way it was, I'm sure back then. Yeah. So, uh, Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. it was just really interesting, if that's, you know, that's kind of what, but I have to not only am, am I reading it to decide whether or not it should be reviewed, but also, um, because the board of advisers for this, um, journal doesn't have, right now doesn't have a really respected name, um, who's a, uh, a scholar on, on music, Uh-huh. um, and I'm supposed to decide whether I think this man might be a worthy person to be a, you know, in that position on the board so, Oh, yeah. I don't know if I want to take that responsibility or not, but But at least I, can tell them what I think, Wow, that's rough. That's real rough. so, um, it's real interesting. Yeah. Because I think our, I think my alma mater, um, Gettysburg, I think they were just starting a magazine *sd that was similar to that. Yeah, it is. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. I think that's probably a, sort of a thing to do in small colleges, Yes Yeah, but, um, that it, you know, you see, you see a lot of small colleges doing things, like that, Uh-huh. right, uh-huh, Yeah. because it attracts really a, a lot people's interest. That's one way, it's really good public relations for small schools, Oh, yeah. I think so Yeah. But, uh, another one of my projects this summer is, actually it's part of my research assistantship, is, um, it's helping a professor, uh, compile a bunch of translations of, of various poems for a book that he's writing, and so I'm learning the names, if not the actual contents, of a lot of different poems and a lot of French people. Oh. Now, translations, what do you mean, translations of, of, Um, well, where, where, for instance, um, a Baudelaire poem that was written, in the French and then has been translated into English by, various people. Yeah. Uh-huh. Oh, I see. And the translations are all so different from one another. All different. Uh-huh. Oh, that's interesting. So it's multiple translations of single works and, and that's right now, right now pretty much what I'm doing as far as, um, my work, is just kind of compiling, all that for him. Gosh. So, That's great. It's real interesting. There are days when I would be prefer , really doing that Boy, you really lift me up to a different, I mean, here I, I'm dealing with, uh, cleaning the stove and, You know, I'm I wish I were dealing with Baudelaire. That would be nice. I don't know if I've told you, but, um, this is not on the subject, What do you think about it? Well, I, I feel in light of some of the accidents and so forth that have happened lately, that I think there are some occupations that they should, such as the health field, the transportation field, uh, they're already doing it in the armed forces, where they handle weapons and so forth, uh, they do it to prisoners Yeah. so, I, I, uh, I, I, I feel like it should be mandatory in some professions, and I think if, if, uh, an employer feels that he wants to, to drug test employees and they don't like it, then they should not be employed there That was, you know, I would not mind it. Yeah, I, I especially agree that if it's an area where they could cause somebody else, you know harm or injury, absolutely. Right. And I don't have a problem at all with employers, uh, testing in the hiring process, but I, I, I don't, I don't have a problem with them too much, testing even after the fact, but I do a little bit where it, where it wouldn't hurt anybody. I don't know, sometimes I think they carry it a little bit too far. Uh-huh But, unless an employer has a reason to believe that his, uh, the work competency of, of the employee is, is hurting the business. Yeah. Right I mean maybe it's, uh, and then it's not a problem. Number one because generally if, if they are involved in that type of thing they are into theft Yeah. and as an employer, I would think that would be, and the first, it's not going to be wholesale because of the cost. Oh, absolutely. There's no way. But, but my concern is, uh, school bus drivers. Oh, yeah. the train drivers, Um, I'm not even, I'm in education, I'm not even opposed to it for that. Uh, I'm concerned in the medical field. Yeah. I, I, I think they should screen for alcohol in these areas, too because I consider that a drug. I wish they would. I wish they would, and that, I think, is even probably more widely abused by, you know, the masses than, than drugs, so to speak. Right. Right. Right. So. But when you consider they could be driving an airplane or driving a bus, or a train, um Oh, I know. And, and it doesn't take that long. They don't have to be totally roaring drunk No. just a little off on their timing could, could mean life. Just, uh, Yeah, and, Now T I has the random testing policy Oh, okay. and, and, you know, our names or our employee numbers or whatever are in a, in a pool Uh-huh. so I've already been tested once when I was hired and, and once since they initiated this random testing program. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But I work with one girl who was tested, her name got, got randomly selected three times in six months Oh, my word. and I think that's the only reason I have a problem with it, when there's no, you know, there's no reason to suspect someone, you know. Control. That, that's getting a little bit, that's enough to make anybody paranoid Right. Well, as long as you accept that it is a random, a random testing uh, you know, to, to alleviate, Yeah. that way you can't feel like somebody's out to get me. Right. If, it's almost like being selected for jury duty Yeah. You know, so your name came out of pot when they spun the wheel, that's, that's just the way it is. Either just the lucky or the unlucky one, depending on how you look at it. I would, I would rather have it that way, to know that I was chosen at random by a computer than to think that somebody turned me in because I, I think there's, when you let other employees turn in people, Oh, absolutely, There are so many people with, with their petty axes to grind Right. it could really get out of hand. Right. So, I, I, I would really rather know, however, there's got to be some backup to say that if, if somebody does observe you at, say at a party, uh, using drugs I would think that it would be their obligation to report that. Yeah. To report it, and I guess you'd report that to a supervisor, maybe anonymously or something because I, I would feel very uncomfortable working with someone I knew was using either illegal drugs or abusing alcohol, Personnel, or something, Right. I'd just I'd feel really uncomfortable. Right. Right. I don't know what kind of work you do, but there, there would be, even be a situation where you were at a machine and working with somebody that was that way. Yeah, we have, we have a lot of people who work on the line. I'm in accounting, so it wouldn't, you know they couldn't hurt me with their ten key or something, Right. but out on the line, they've got people working some serious equipment. Right. Right. So. It's, it's, I, I just think employers have to have, especially given today, the drug abuse that goes on, I just think employers have to have some kind of way to see that they're not being put at Because they're the ones who are going to have the lawsuits, the insurance claims, et cetera, Put at risk. I agree totally. and, and I'm not sure but what some of the insurance claims aren't due to, uh, illnesses brought on by drug abuse or alcohol abuse. And in the long run, we're all paying for that Right. so it, I mean, it protects us in the long run hopefully when they do that. Right. I, I was trying to remember, there was a court case, uh, here where I live, just a few months ago. The city workers, they wanted to, um, the city government wanted to institute the random drug testing Uh. and the city workers, uh, took them to court to protest, saying that it invaded their, I guess, first the, the search and seizure amendment Uh-huh, uh-huh. and it's still tied up in the legal channels. They haven't ruled on whether they can test them or not. Huh. So I'm curious especially since T I a local, you know, employer is also already doing it, seeing what they'll say about it especially since, To see how that's, Is it, is it, uh, just a small group of the employees that are concerned? Well, it's the whole, it's the whole city, seems like the whole group of city employees that's raising a stink over it. They, they just don't want to be drug tested. Yeah. So. You know, we've never, my husband and I have never been in a situation where somebody said you have to be drug tested. Yeah. Uh, my husband's retired from I R S agents. Uh-huh. However, this isn't a problem that we have either alcohol or drug, Right. and so, we, we, in our minds we're thinking what's the big deal. Yeah, that's the way I looked at it. If I had something to hide, it's one thing, but I'm, you know, you know you don't, so it's not as big a deal, and you sometimes wonder when these people protest so much whether they're really concerned about their rights, or whether they're really concerned about something else. Right. And, and then they say, well, if you give them the right to do this, then they're going to take some other right away from you, but I, I I don't believe that. I think that an employer has the right to ask you to do anything, and, of course, the big deal, one of the big deals now, too, is to, that when you, come into a company, as you sign a paper saying that I will go take a, Okay. I'll let you start. Do you all keep a budget, and how do you hold to yours? No, I, I never keep a budget. My budget or philosophy, I guess, is spend as little as possible. Well, that's, that's good And, uh and it's, it's sort of always worked. Especially for these times. Uh-huh. Uh, but that depends, you know, on the individual if they can I guess have self-control. Well, that's a lot of it. Uh, I know we tried several different ways. One time we tried something that really worked but we didn't keep it up. I passed it on to a friend and she won't quit doing it. She loves it and that was the envelope system. Where you go ahead and decide about how much based on what you did last month that you are going to spend, Uh-huh. and you put the cash in envelopes marked for that. So you have one for entertainment and one for groceries et cetera. And then for some reason taking it out of that envelope and seeing it in cash instead of in check form, uh, causes you to realize how much is left. And she even writes down on the envelope as she subtracts and kind of debits on each envelope, what she's buying. Uh-huh. And then at the end of the, of the period, pay period, if she has any left, that much is for fun or entertainment. Uh-huh. And they kind of work it that way. We tried for a while and a seems like the problem that they were having of all the, of all the things that worked was not planning enough for the incidentals that we couldn't think about. Yes. And those are the ones that will kill you. You know, the the accidental fee or the car repair or the things that weren't supposed to be every month. Well, yeah, I, I couldn't probably be bothered doing that every month, Uh-huh. and and ever since, That's what I mean. It was a hassle uh, well, we've been married almost thirty years now but, uh, my husband got paid once a month. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So you learn to get, That's, that's kind of hard Right. You learn to get through, you know, to the end of the month and, uh, But do you sort of self budget even, I mean, you wouldn't like on payday think, boy, I can go do this and that and this and that. You kind of think this is got to No. you kind of divide it in fourths in a way, don't you? No. Because if you charge things, uh, you pay all your bills at the beginning of the month, when you get paid, Right. or you get paid the last day or next to the last day. Right. You pay all your bills and there isn't anything left to spend anyway. Well, that's true. What we're in the process of doing right now is paying off our credit cards entirely. And we're going to go ahead and try to just live on what we earn instead of guessing ahead of what we probably will have next month Well, yeah, we, we tried to, to, to, Oh. or we are paying them off now. Yeah, we're not there yet. Uh, there was a time when maybe we didn't take all of them off, Uh-huh. but you just sort of had to watch what you put in, because you hate to pay those finance charges, when you see how much it is. Uh-huh. That's right. That's right. And for most of, uh, I mean I'm a substitute teacher, and I've only substituted, I guess, for the last fifteen years, Huh. so there's only been really one working. Uh-huh, same here. Uh-huh. And, uh, it, it works for me but I can't see that it would work for probably the majority of people. Well, I could say it's kind of, you know, that's, that's good. You you probably have a little extra than you have to have, to, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And so, that, that's the difference there where sometimes like I know if we've had an especially bad month and we're just almost getting down to payday, then I think if we could really budget, we tried one I know when we were planning to buy the new car and we hadn't had a car payment in five years, we had to go ahead and write down each month what it was that every penny went for, to see how much was going to be left, Uh-huh. Yeah. and that was a real eye opener. Uh-huh. *slash error should be 'b' Uh-huh. It, it is when you do it that way. But to, to have lived by that every week would have been tough for me because sometimes I'll spend less on groceries but we'll go out. So it's kind of hard to say this is how much you're going to spend going out for fun. This is how much you're going to spend It's kind of hard. Well, we, we eat out a good deal at this point. Do you? I, I started subbing just to go on a vacation and saved, all that money so because I knew that you couldn't, you know, spending, five thousand dollars on a vacation, or whatever. Yeah, yeah. Right Right. We were going to go for ten weeks, uh, in nineteen eighty Oh. so I started, working in nineteen eighty-seven and just saved, for three years. How nice. Uh-huh. But the, what minuscule amount I made but, that way you just didn't put it on your credit card, Well, that's, and, and it was paid for. and it made a big, and you enjoyed it better probably. Yes. Yeah, . And so I think that that's difficult for most people, but then my father was, very Scotch I think so too. and, you know, you never could afford anything although we could afford everything if he wanted to. Um, So if you're out like in a department store and there's a sale, you're just real careful not to let your urges get hold of you? Yes. That's, that's excellent. That's what I'm working toward. I think you're probably much ahead of me there and I'm working on it. And I never worried about saving money because we just, we're in the savings plan at work and they took it out so, Same here, same here. I, uh, And I think though that we need to have some liquid around that you don't have to go through the company to get Uh-huh. You know? Well, we never had too much of that Yeah. but then we never had any really emergencies that, uh, That came up. Yeah. And we didn't buy really new or expensive cars. I think the most, my, we're looking at cars now, uh, we ever spent for a new car was like six thousand dollars. Uh-huh. And they were mainly used cars. Well, that's the best thing to do. My husband said the other day it was the worst mistake we ever did to buy a new car because it wasn't worth it from the day after. Yeah, so, So, you know, we've been rather rather frugal in that. In that respect. Rather frugal. Well, that's, that's going to payoff on retirement. Yeah. So. Well, it, uh, I guess we've completed, do you think we've been here to Well, each time they used to call in and tell me their space is limited and to please, uh, How would you go about organizing a family reunion? Well, for, I grew up in the deep south like south Alabama. So whenever I think of family reunions, my family, like, got together almost every week. Oh, gee. And there would be like thirty people. So people talk about, you know, big family reunions and I think, like I have a friend who just went to, like, Wyoming to some big ranch, you know, where like there were four hundred people for their family reunion. Oh, my. And I, so I mean, how I would go about doing it is I would just call all my relatives. Uh-huh. Because I, since I came from, my father has, uh, five sisters and two brothers and my mother has four brothers and two sisters. So I both of my parents had big families, and we always we always got together, just always. Now it's different because I live here and I, you know, when I go home I try to see the families, as much of the family as I can but it's real different. Yes. And I grew up in a real not, I think not normal setting. With all of you living so close together. Right. I mean Sunday dinner was at my grandmother's and, you know, like I said there would be thirty, you know, thirty people, and everyone would just bring things and my grandmother would cook and cook and cook. Oh. And Well, I come from a very small family. And we planned a family reunion this spring. Uh, where we are from Texas and my family is from Ohio and we met in Florida. Uh-huh. So the seven of us went on a cruise and then went to Disney together. So that's all the family, so planning our family reunion was very easy you know . Yeah, I guess so. It really sounds like it was fun. Yeah, well, we had a wonderful Well, I almost forgot the topic, I was waiting so long for, uh, for it to find somebody. Um, It's on your favorite T V shows and why. Right, well, so what is your favorite T V show? Uh, MAJOR DAD. Oh, you like that one? I, I love it, I think it promotes good family values, and it's funny. Uh-huh. Uh, I've never really watched that one. You know, it's funny how you can just get in a mode where you only watch certain shows That's yeah. and, uh, you know, there's, so there's only a few that I, that I like to watch routinely. What kind do you like to watch? Probably my favorite is, um, oh, well, I like shows like GROWING PAINS and, uh, what's the other one now, they moved from Tuesday night to Wednesday night, so I don't get to watch it very much. WONDER YEARS? WONDER YEARS, yeah, that's my favorite. Uh, I like both of those real much also. I, I think basically, they same thing, they promote family values. Yeah. WONDER YEARS, I, I guess that is supposed to be put out at a time when I was growing up or whatever. I guess I can really relate to it, and, uh, it's just a real cute show Uh, I, I guess I like the shows that really have a real sense of, uh, I don't know, honesty or sort of a purity value, I guess. I do, too. I, I don't like it, uh, lot of the shows that, that I've liked in the past, like, uh, oh, GOLDEN GIRLS and, some of them tend to get so risque, and when you have children uh, watching it, that sometimes really starts to bother me Uh-huh. Yeah, Right, right. and, uh, that's one of the reasons, I mean, if you want to go all time favorite show, probably one of them was LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE Uh-huh, yeah, my wife really likes that show, yeah, which I just, I was, I always felt was wonderful Uh-huh. uh, and so many of them nowadays, like I said, I think are just, um Yeah. uh, they, they go after, well, they, like I said, the risque stuff, just I guess they think that's what people want to watch. Yeah, well, there was, but there's a sense of I guess, purity in the show, like one of my favorite shows used to be HAPPY DAYS Yes. but, uh, you know, Richie always used to be so, you know, just so honest and pure I guess, Yeah. and when he left the show, you know, that, it seemed to be missing that part of it Uh-huh. and I never did like it after that Uh-huh. so, I don't know, I, I say, see the same thing in like WONDER YEARS and a lot of the shows that I like to watch. There always seems to be that kind of value in there somewhere. Yeah, I, I agree. Uh, do you like the sports programming? Yeah, uh-huh. Um, I, I enjoy those also, almost as, as much to a certain extent. I'm, our whole house is baseball fans Uh-huh. and, uh, we enjoy that, and, uh So you're going to watch a game tonight? oh yeah, oh, yeah So do you, do you have a favorite for the series or anything? Uh, probably the Pirates, but only because of Steve Bushel, I guess Oh, uh-huh. otherwise I really don't care that much, but, uh, you know, I'm, I'm annoyed that the Rangers got rid of him, and, uh, I'd like to see him do well, like all the way to the bank I guess Yes. Yeah, he's a nice guy. I take it you live in the Dallas area. Do you live in the Dallas area? Live in, live in Plano. Uh-huh, yeah, I live in Garland, and, yeah, I, I like Steve Bushel, but I don't really like the Pirates. I'm a big Saint Louis Cardinals fan Uh-huh. so, uh, I'm kind of, I'm kind of pulling for the Braves over all, they, you know, they they've come from so far down, Uh-huh. I really would like to see them do well. Well, yeah, yeah, it's, uh, so I keep hoping the Rangers are going to do Yeah, one, one year they, maybe they'll make it, I don't know Right. so, but, uh, yeah, I like sports programming quite a bit, but, uh, I guess my, my favorite shows are the, and, you know, that getting back to the point that you made, that's really true, we were watching ROSEANNE, I guess, couple of weeks ago, and her daughter was talking about birth control, you know Uh-huh. and my daughter was kind of walking in during that time, and, you know, she's only seven years old, so, Well, it's, so many of them now, um, you know, it just seems like they feel like they have to stick that stuff in, and and, uh, you know, I'm, you know, I'm, I'm an adult Yeah. Yeah. and I have adult tastes now, but I don't need that Yeah, yeah. uh, I, I like things that, uh, are, are wholesome, I guess. Yeah, well that, that seems to be more our values, too, like the WONDER YEARS, I, I mean, it's kind of risque stuff for, maybe for teenagers, you know, or, and you can kind of relate to it you know, Uh-huh. I don't know, that's, I enjoy that a lot Yes, yes. but, uh, you know, I agree with you, the, and it's funny because the shows, like a lot of them that used to be considered risque, like THREE'S COMPANY and stuff, I think they, they maintained, people would watch them because there was that, uh, you know, there was really the period that was going on there, I mean, he really wasn't messing around with the girls, but everybody perceived him that way, and stuff Uh-huh. but as soon as, you know, he went to move in with another girl, the show just died Yeah. and it's, it's interesting that a lot of the shows are that way, Okay, I'm ready. Okay, so we're going to talk about, uh, what kind of clothes we wear while we work. Uh-huh. Do you work for T I? No, I work at home Oh, you do, well, you're like me then I stay home also. Do you have children? Yes, I have two, a seven year old and three and a half year old. Oh, that's good. How about you? I have four girls Oh. they're nine and five and three and a newborn. Oh, my, you are busy Yes, and they're all girls, I have two girls, so, all girls around here Girls are nice, aren't they? Yes, uh, really sweet. Anyway, as far as clothing goes, um, my wardrobe changes all the time, depending on my size That's how I am too. We go from regular kind of spring clothes regular kind of fall clothes pregnant clothes, clothes that are in between where you're not down to regular size yet or you're on your way up from regular size Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, that's funny. and they're all in boxes or bags, and they all rotate all the time kind of the same stuff all the time, though, Yeah. I don't, uh, get a whole lot new right now, Yeah. Yeah, I know that's kind of how I am. I said, who ever I talk to is going to be board, because when it's summer time, I'm wearing shorts, and when it's cold, I'm wearing sweat pants, and most of, unless I'm going to something special that my daughter's doing, or something like that, Yeah. Yeah, I, I like jeans a lot. Well, that's, that's good. I used to wear jeans all the time until after I had kids, and now nothing seems to be comfortable because I bulge in all the wrong places, so Oh, and it's, it's frustrating, I just, I find I have to get the right kinds, though, or it's not comfortable Yeah. they, it, it works best if they have pleats in the front Right, yeah. and, uh, they have to, my waist is kind of small compared to the hips, so it has to be not the straight up and down levis kind Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean. Well, But, um, but I, when I was, I was pregnant through the summer this time and I wore dresses all the time because it was so much cooler and so much more comfortable not to have something binding on your waist Oh. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. That's right. but, uh, One of my daughters was born in June, and I remember, I wore sundresses and, you know, just those real cool dresses almost the entire time Yeah, yeah. And I had one that was born in December, so, um, it was a little bit, because it was a real warm winter Uh-huh. so even, even into like November and December I was still wearing the short sleeve dresses, course I'm always hot when I'm pregnant, too, so Yeah, yeah, I, I didn't really need warm clothes but I really have been spoiled by sweat pants and these new, uh, units outfits, you know, that are just knit, Oh, I haven't tried those, Oh, they are so comfortable. Huh. It's, it's just, um, you know, a light weight kind of like a sweat suit but made out of that real light polyester stuff, Yeah. and it's just great because you can put, you know, you can decorate them up, or dress them up, if you want, Yeah. or you can just wear them with, you know, tennis shoes if you want. So they're really nice and I've enjoyed wearing those Uh-huh. but I, I don't know if they expected us to talk about blazers and such here but I sure never wear them Yeah, well I don't either, if we, if we had professional jobs where we go into an office and have to wear a jacket or something that would make a big difference. Yeah. I worked part time when my oldest was a baby Uh-huh. and, um, I had to wear a dress every day, and and it was a little bit hard to, uh, wind down, I'm watching, Janice, uh-huh. I would, I would have to drive six thirty five home and I would be burning up, like in the summer time Oh. by the time I got home I was like, Oh, I've got to get out of these clothes I, I remember that from when I was, I worked way before I was married, even, but offices, they keep them so cold in the summer that you can't wear regular summer clothes and be comfortable Uh-huh. Right. Right. you've got to have something to add to it or something Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if you can, Yeah, and then when you drive home, like especially if you're in a lot of traffic which you are in Dallas, You burn up, uh-huh Yeah. because I always hated to run my air conditioner just sitting still all the time Yeah. I was afraid I'd make the car overheat. It's hard on the car. Yeah, so I would roll my windows down, it was still a hundred degrees Oh. and I would just be sweltering hot by the time I picked my daughter up, and um, I had a friend who used to take shorts to work, Yeah. and after work she'd go in the bathroom and change her clothes Oh, that's funny, and I thought, that's probably a good idea because you really Yeah at least something cooler, yeah, because you can ruin your good clothes getting so hot in them if you especially if it's something that has to be dry cleaned, which I don't have any of. That's true, Yeah, I don't have to worry a whole lot about that. No, when you have children, you don't, um, even when I go to church I have to have something I can just throw in the washer when I'm through. That's right, something that it doesn't matter if it gets spit up on, too I know it. I've always been a creature of comfort, too Me, too. if it's not comfortable, forget it. I know, that's how I am, too, Wool was never comfortable to me. Right, me neither, I have, Okay. Where do you enjoy dining out? Oh, I generally go to the quickie places just because they're cheap. Yes, do you have children? Uh, we have four, but most of them are gone now Uh. so there, there might be, but we were taking, you know, uh, four, five and six people out Yeah, that makes a difference, doesn't it. Yes. What area of the country do you live in? I'm in Texas. Yes, I am, too. But, And we we lived in Ohio prior to this. I did, too. I'm from the Dayton area. Oh. Yeah, uh, but I look for service even at the quickie places type things. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't like to go to the drive-thrus because sometimes they get your order wrong That's right. and then you're stuck and it's a pain to have to stand there and see what it is before you leave Yes. so I really don't like the drive-thrus that much. I, I like to go and eat there. But I would say service, uh, atmosphere, and whether the food is good, and on going out, I like steaks. So, we try to hit those places when we can. When we travel we look for Wendy's because we have kids, and my husband and I like getting the salads or the lighter meals Uh-huh. and then that way they can get their burgers and fries and we can have a salad bar Yeah. so sometimes we drive for a couple hundred miles until we find a Wendy's, because it's all either McDonald's or Dairy Queens, and, in, in, in the countries, unless it's a large city, I guess Dairy Queen and Wal-Mart are their main Right, that's right, That's what you find, right, I know. My husband likes, uh, Dairy Queens. He likes their milk shakes and their chili cheese dogs, I guess, Uh-huh. so he's a fan of, of Dairy Queen, and, and we'll go even in town here at times, just as a, a change although I'm not that excited about it. Uh-huh. But we've eat, we eat out so much it's gotten so I don't like to really eat any place but yet I hate to cook food at home Oh. so that might be why I look for inexpensive places just because we're eating out probably five nights a week maybe. Uh-huh. Um. Or we eat junk food at home Yeah. uh, now my Well, what are some of your, your favorite inexpensive places? Oh, we'll go to them all. We sort of take turns. And we, uh I sort of favor the ones, if I have a coupon we can go there and if not we can't, because it's cheaper Uh-huh. so mine is, monetarily, I guess strongly monetarily based. Uh, we'll go get pizza and, uh, at Little Caesar's, although the kids prefer Domino's. Oh, we are Little Caesar fans here Right. that's where we always go, But it's just a lot cheaper than, than Domino's, so that's. We go to Grandy's quite a bit I would say. Yes, we like Grandy's, too. McDonald's, uh, we've sort of been off of that for a while and no particular reason, and I, maybe we avoided Wendy's the last few years because our daughter worked there and she never wanted us to show up there Oh. so, I don't, we don't go there that much. Where do you go if you like to have a nice meal out, or a big meal? A nice meal, oh, Where do you go for steaks? It's usually when we're out of town Oh. and I'll order steak or steak and lobster combined Uh-huh. so it's really not in town. Oh. You ever been to Houston's on Belt Line? No. That's where we go to get steaks Uh-huh. they have a teriyaki steak there, and when we have something to celebrate, we head to Houston's. They don't take reservations, and you wind up waiting about an hour Uh-huh. but the food is good, and they've got a nice patio area that you can wait and get something to drink, unless you get there at five o'clock, then you can go right through. Right. But they have real good signature salads there and nice steaks, so, that's our nice place to go. We don't usually take the kids when we go there, But well, we don't go out that much, I well, I guess we do go out without kids. We're usually picking things up quickly, though we just don't dwell on food too much, Yeah. and, uh, with my husband traveling he can get all he needs of that during the week going to those places Right, That's right. so, it doesn't really matter to him. He'd probably just like to stay home. Well, I think, I, I never have liked to cook food, Yeah, that's the way with my husband. He's gone during the week and likes to eat at home on the weekends, and I've been eating at home all week long with the kids and would like to go out somewhere, so we have a conflict of interests on the weekend. but I think it all began eating out when we had, uh, the boys in, in different, uh, baseball on baseball Right. it was mainly baseball teams Yes. and my husband would coach, so we were never home at the same time. Uh-huh. I'm not one that's going to fix, you know, the meal at two o'clock in the afternoon so they can eat it all day whenever they're there. Right. or you go you know you fend for yourself. Yep. You go somewhere else. Well, the types of vacations that I usually take, I usually come back more tired after my vacation, then I do, you know, before I take it. Um, I need to definitely take a vacation where all, all I do is rest. And I guess to do that I'd probably have to take it at home. Oh But, um, the vacation spots that I like to go to are places like the Bahamas and Florida. I enjoy the beach. Oh, I am, after our last summer's vacation I am antibeach. Antibeach. Uh-huh. We went to, uh, Cape Hatteras. Uh-huh. Well, we, we were out visiting one of our kids in Maryland, and we went down to Cape Hatteras for a few days. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, the, the waves were huge. I've never quite seen waves like this one Uh-huh. and, uh, I was standing in water not more than, in barely above my ankles Uh-huh. and, uh, you know when the waves go in the waves go out they kind of all of a sudden you're in sand above your ankles. Right. And I was standing there talking to my daughter and this really big wave came and totally threw me, and one foot did not come out of the sand, and it tore the ligaments in my knee Uh-huh. So I'm never going to another beach again, ever. I'm You might be like I am. I enjoy, I enjoy going to the beach and to beach areas, but I really don't like to get in the water, the ocean. I prefer a swimming pool Well, I, I love to go and play around. At least I always did but although actually, my, I like the mountains. I, uh, I don't really like hot weather Uh-huh. that's my biggest gripe about living here. Uh-huh. And I basically, don't want to go to a hot place on vacation Right. I can understand that. Oh. I, my dream vacation is Alaska. Uh-huh. This is just someplace I've always wanted to go That would be nice. and someday I hope we can afford to just take a humdinger of a vacation up there. Uh-huh. I know I've taken several vacations to Colorado, and I used to live in Colorado, oh, sometime ago for a couple of years, and I really enjoyed that. Uh-huh. Yeah, I'd, I'd like that. Uh, I haven't been to Yellowstone for a long, long time Uh-huh. and I would, uh, we've been talking about going there next summer Uh, I don't know we'll have to, to, Yeah. I've never been up to the Yellowstone area. So, It's been a long time. But you know, it seems when your family is, is different places, a lot of trips involved going to visit That's right. That's right. You got that. Oh, I'm, we usually go up to Wisconsin at least once a year because this is where my husband and I are both from. Uh-huh. And my mother and his mother live up there feeling lost and alone because we moved down here Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, we've got one of our, our kids lives out on the east coast and so we have to, you know, go to those. Well, you have, you have a lot of vacation areas you can go to then. Well, I know but I'm tired of them Right. I want to go someplace different up there. That's right. Uh, my, my idea I guess of the ideal vacation would be to begin with, uh, money be no object. You know, so just absolutely, you know, first class fly where I want to, rent a car if I want to. Uh, you know, just the, really the nicest hotels and stuff like that and and not worry if somebody says, well, let's take this little side trip, you know, and not have to sit there and figure out, um, you know, again we, we fit that in there or not. Right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. And, uh, that, that's what I, um, you know, that's what I would like to do. I have no interest, for example, in taking a cruise. Uh-huh. To me why somebody would want to ride around on a boat for a few days is mind boggling. It would be sort of, I feel like it would be confining. Yeah. You know I would rather much rather get on a plane and get there and then enjoy myself. Uh-huh Yeah, I just, uh, that, that does absolutely nothing for me. Uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know I can say that I think my, my favorite spots are still to go, to go where there's mountains and, and a lot of trees and, and wildlife to view and, and, uh, I like that kind of stuff. I could just sit there all day and look at the scenery Yes. I, I agree. I can, I can do that too, and, uh, you know, I think if I had, if I had the money, I would probably go to Europe every year. Because, you know, I think that they have, they have it all over there in just a few tiny, two, two miles. Uh-huh. You know, there's mountains and there's beaches and it's all right there. So, Yeah. Uh, I, I guess I've never really thought about it that way. Our, uh, we have a daughter who's almost thirteen but she's, uh a very picky eater Uh-huh. and our, our standard excuse for not going someplace like that is, you know, gee, Holly would starve to death if we, you know, we took her into the country Oh. so So, but I, I would like if, you know it was anywhere in the world to go, I guess, even though it's hot, Right. I would like to go to Africa. Real excited when I heard this. So far I've been trying to call all day because I keep getting these subjects like capital punishment so football, I love this. Oh, yes. This is great. Well, we're from Colorado so we're Bronco fans And, um, we just moved here two years ago and they went to the Superbowl when we first moved here and they lost again. That was pretty pitiful, but they seem to be doing pretty good this year. Well, I was from Illinois originally, and I grew up a Bear fan. And, uh, then we moved here even when we knew we were being transferred here we became Cowboy fans. Oh. And we had some wonderful, wonderful years there under Roger Staubach . And we kind of got spoiled. Yeah. We expected it to continue forever. I think they're doing pretty well this year though. Well, they haven't, they haven't, have they just lost one game this year? I think two. Two. I know they lost, yeah, to Washington and Philadelphia. Yeah. But they're not doing bad. People are pretty surprised that they, I mean they beat the Giants. Yeah, and wasn't that fun. I went to the balloon festival in Plano and carried my little portable radio with me, and I must say I attracted a lot of attention. I bet People running up saying, oh, what's the score, what's the score? Oh, boy, I bet all the men that got direct down there were just right on it That's right and that's exactly what they said, to sound like a my wife dragged me away from the television. Yep. You know, but I wasn't, I had forgotten or I probably wouldn't have been there. Yeah. Yeah, well, I am, I'm a big football fan. I never my father was a football fan my whole life and he used to have the football pool at the office and all this stuff and I just hated it. And I think I was just mad because he spent so much time watching football on Sundays. Yeah. And, uh, so when I met my husband, he was watching football and I figured out that I couldn't see him all weekend. I couldn't see him until like Tuesday because MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, if I didn't, like football. So, That's exactly where both of the wives came from I think. Yep. It was, uh, you know, it's easier to join them than fight them. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And if you want to see them, you might just as well enjoy football. Yeah. And I used to tease my husband sometimes and say, my gosh did you bet the house or something this week to get so excited about, these games. Uh-huh. Well, I do. I just, I love it. It's such, I just think it's such a fun sport. And, uh, I'm just hoping that the Broncos can get back on their feet. We're not convinced that we're going to be Cowboy fans yet. But, uh, Well, it takes a little brainwashing first. Well, I guess we'll first have to get to used to the idea that we're staying here Yeah. That's even harder. But, Are you, uh, transit usually? I mean do you stay not in one place too long? No, we're just, this is only the second place we've lived. We've only been married for five and a half years. And, uh, we have two small children, and he had a, uh, just got transferred here to E-Systems, so. Well, it will take you a little while but you'll probably always have a soft spot in your heart though for for Denver. Oh. Well, I tell you this, the weather here and there's no mountains or anything, you know, and when you go to a football game in Colorado that's, you know, there's snow and it's an adventure And here, yeah you've just got to drive down to the, to the stadium Oh, I know. and, uh, Well, if they close it in, see, we'll have the best of both worlds then as they're talking about doing. Yes. But, uh, Dan Reeves is a pretty neat guy anyway. Well, he's from here. Yeah, that's right, you know he was one of ours, one of our boys. That's what I hear. So we are never, we never cheer against Denver unless they're playing the Cowboys. Which is rare. Yeah. Which is good. Yeah. But, uh, I, you know, it's funny in, in Colorado when the Broncos went to the Superbowl three times in the last, I don't know, five or six years whatever it's been. Um, they have these songs on the radio. They take popular songs and, and change them to fit, uh, the Broncos and stuff. Uh-huh. And they had, I was just thinking about one the other day. Uh, if I saw a picture of John Elway in the, in the cafeteria at school, um, but they did the Johnny Angel. They did Johnny Elway to that. Johnny Elway. And, and I was trying to get my son to sing that. My husband was just having a fit to sound like her don't have him sing that song But, they, they do a lot of fun things. I think football is, football is kind of a, a sport that I think you kind of, it's hard not to like it. Because you know there's just, Well, there is so much about it to like. It's exciting. You know it's so exciting. Yeah. And when the Cowboys won the Superbowl here, of course, they put together some real cute songs, and we all ran out and bought the records, and now we feel like they're kind of a collector's item. Yeah. Yeah, they I, I wish I would have bought the tape when I was in, uh, in Colorado. Because, uh, I, I think about that a lot. But, you know, when I first moved here was when they, well, no, I guess it was about a year ago they did this. This interstate seventy-five song. Or whatever it was about Central Expressway and getting it done in nineteen ninety-five and everything. Uh-huh. That was kind of a funny song but they sure do, it seems to me like they really love their Cowboys here. Even when they were losing pitifully, you know, people still support them. We drive by some houses everyday that have big signs, we love the Are, are we paying too much in taxes, and are we getting what we pay for? What's your opinion? Well, it's kind of a broad subject, uh, I, I think there are some areas where we, where we, uh, pretty well, you know, get our money's worth, but I, I also think there are a lot of areas especially in, uh, big government, federal government, uh, where we're short changed. Uh, lot of money spent for, uh, things that are not used and, uh, I was, I was in the Air Force and I was at, there were, there was equipment at every base I was ever on that was just going to waste. It was just sitting and rusting and, you know, and Okay. I, I tend to agree with you. When it comes to government spending, there are so many studies done that don't mean anything Yeah. but we'll spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars on. Yeah. And it's nice to know something doesn't work or something doesn't exist, but, it could be put to more practical use. Yeah, and I, I think that, uh, it's a, a tone of our times that politicians, uh, are into themselves more than they are into, you know, doing something worthwhile for the people they represent, which is really unfortunate. That is true. I agree with you in that area. Uh, I have a tendency to, I'm in, from Texas and I read, you know, how our politicians voted each week in the paper. Yeah. And it's, you know, it's interesting how the votes vary and what they ran on in platform don't necessarily come true in their voting in the senate or Congress, whatever. Uh-huh. And don't really respond to, uh, people who write them and call them and, uh, you know, unless they're in the limelight and under pressure So, yeah, I think we get short changed on that. Right, that's very true. What, what state do you live in? Texas. Okay. That's, What do you think about Robin Hood? Well I work for school district and, uh, it's, it has hurt us a lot. Uh, there has to be some way, I think, to equalize education opportunities. But, uh, you know, our, we, we tend to think, I think, especially big government, tends to think that the solution to everything is to throw money at it. And I don't, you know, that's just not true. I don't think the, you know, I don't think money is going to take the place of intelligence or, uh, problem solving skills. Uh, I think there are, there are too many things that money can't uh, that, that money can't buy that, that are important as far as education is concerned. That's true. What school district do you work for? Richardson. Okay. I work for Plano. Oh. Great, So, we're comparable. Yeah. As a matter of fact, I just paid my Richardson taxes because I live in Richardson and supplemented the Robin Hoods very thoroughly, I think. Yeah, I think we've, uh, Yeah, we have got it on the line don't we. Our taxes went up tremendously. Yes. And it's not going to get any better. you know, I mean, it's going up and up and up. Uh, I used to live in the Plano school district, and, uh, there was a, an organization, a taxpayers organization that, uh, finally communicated the message to the, I think to the people in Plano that, you know, we didn't want our taxes raised. Yes, I remember there was about four, five years ago. Yeah. Yes. But, this, you know, this, uh, I think living in Richardson, we're kind of spoiled because I think we get, we come closer to getting our money's worth as far as the city is concerned, I think than probably any, any city in the country. Yes, well, did you read in the Dallas paper where they increased the the administrators' pay by thirty three percent after they laid off all those teachers. Is that incredible? That's, that's the biggest mess I've ever heard of. You know, how can you, how can you justify raising anybody's salary if you, you know, if you have to lay people off? Right. But, you know, I'm not going to complain because Plano got, we all got a pay raise this year. Yeah. You all got a pay raise this year. Yeah. Is that correct? Well, yeah, I think the teachers uh, did, and I don't know about administrators. I, I'm semiretired and I was, I was an administrator, so I, you know, I don't get a raise anymore. I just, I, I work part-time and just get, uh, you know, Okay my pay doesn't change. Are you on the early retirement? Yes. Oh, are you enjoying it? Yes, very much. Uh, course, I, I still work two part-time jobs So, it's not really total retirement. Well, it's interesting, you know, because when you look at what Richardson has done with the early retirement you, Jeri? Yes. We're supposed to discuss crime in the United States and what can be done with it. That's a rather, rather broad topic They're usually pretty broad anyway. Yeah. Where do you live? Uh, we live in Plano. Okay, so, that's a, Uh, and where you are? I'm in Richardson, so when I heard the topic I was thinking of the thing down at, uh, Maceo High School in Dallas. Uh-huh. Right. Right, that is so frightening. It is, you know, Uh, do you have children in school? No, mine are already in college now, so I don't have to, Yeah. at least when they were in high school, it was beginning but not like the rampages. Well, I have, my oldest is his first year in high school so we have all this to, to look forward to, and it is really frightening, uh, to think that you can't even send them to school in safety. I mean, certainly, you know, you can't just turn them loose in the middle of Dallas, but, you know, when you can't even, send them on their normal activities in safety, it, it's really frightening. That's true. And, uh, I really, you know, they're coming down on the principal, but I really don't know what they can do. I mean, it's just in so much of society with the violence and the kids having access to weapons and drugs and I, I really don't know what, what can be done. Yeah, well, I just, I just don't understand how, of course, in my little world, how guns could be so available. Well I don't either, but apparently they just really are. Uh I mean, to me, in Plano you would think that would be about, you know, about as innocent as you could get for for being in a, a large area. But, you know, my son comes home and tells me that, you know, he hears kids talk about having guns and uh, someone came to his football practice about two weeks ago with a gun. Oh, my heavens. And, I mean, it just scared me to death and, you know, they called the police and, and nothing happened, but my goodness you know, it, it could have easily. Well, maybe that's the answer to crime is getting more prosecution. Maybe so. You know, because I don't, now I, somehow I feel we're living in an impartial society as far as people seeing something happen, you know, across the street, or seeing someone get mugged, or unfortunately, raped, and people don't do anything. Yeah. A woman was raped in Richardson, I read in the paper oh, about a two weeks ago now. And all the neighbors said they heard her yelling for help. Oh, no. But nobody, nobody did anything. I just can't imagine that. You know, I mean they heard someone calling for help. Nobody even called the police to say, you know, I hear a strange screaming Right. I'm afraid, you know, if you, I don't blame people with today's society about going out to help themselves. Right, well, I can see, you know, especially if you heard screams from a house or something, not going over there maybe, because, you know, it could be dangerous, but certainly I can't understand not calling the police. Yeah. I, I just, you know, it's, it's really frightening that we're not, we're trying to live in our own little cocoons and probably one of the best things we could do for crime is to participate ourselves in its prevention. Right. Well I, I think you're right there. I guess people just kind of keep their noses pointed in their own business, but I think that's real dangerous and, uh, I don't know. I try to tell my kids just, just kind of be aware of what's around them, you know and if you see a situation that looks like it could be trouble, just get out of it or call for help, whichever. Yes. But, uh, Yeah, well, you know, the call for help is what scares me now because it, it just, I don't know, people just don't, I don't know, I can't say they don't care, because people just have to care about another person. Yeah. But it's that not getting involved, that impersonal society, I think we live in today. Well, maybe this thing with with the child at school, maybe that will make people think a bit more and, you know, take some steps to, to correct it. I don't know, it's, it really is, is frightening. Yeah I, uh, Let me ask you, getting back to your son's football practice because it really sort of astonished me that police aren't doing, he didn't have a license for the gun, correct? I don't know. I mean, I don't know the details. This was not a child that was on the team. It was someone that, uh, you know, just kind of showed up at the field. Uh-huh. Uh, it was a, a student age person, but I'm not even, Tell me what you like to do. Well, I, I collect antique tools, uh, for one thing, I well, I'm sort of in an antique business, but it's a little sideline, part time thing. Oh. Uh-huh, wonderful. And, uh, I'm building a, a log house at a farm that I have in East Texas, which is a hundred miles from here. Oh. Wonderful. Yeah, it's really neat. And, uh, uh, course I've been working on it for five years, but, you know, Oh, but how wonderful. Are you close to getting it done? Yeah, yeah, it's getting real close to Oh. you know, of course there's still a lot of work to be done, and then when you get it completely, you know, the shell finished, uh, you still have a lot of stuff to do inside, but, uh, Are you going to move your whole family over there then? No, actually, uh, I'm not even sure, I may, I'll probably always have a place here in Richardson or Dallas Uh-huh, kind of your getaway place. Yeah, escape. But it's beautiful, it's, you know, it's Eastern Hardwood, uh, forest, there are a lot of pine trees, but it's mostly oaks and . Oh, how beautiful, and it's pretty flat there? Well, it's kind of, hilly, but, it's, you know, low hills, it's not, uh, See, I've only been to Texas once. I have two sisters in Texas now, um, one in Austin, one in Dallas, and the one in Dallas is the one that got me to doing this Yeah. and, uh, I thought Austin was beautiful You, I liked the hills and the trees, Yeah, in Yeah, it's really different because that's kind of the, you know, that's the chalk hills down there, limestone hills, Oh, and you've always, lived in Texas, have you? Yeah, except for time in service. Uh-huh. Born and raised Texan, huh. Yeah. At, at which one? Well, I had never been there, that's pretty neat. My sisters both seem to like it pretty well. My brother-in-law works for the University, um, in Dallas. He's admissions director. Uh. University of Texas in Dallas. Oh, okay Yeah. it's just north of me here. Yeah, well that's, he's got a job there and this is his first year, so, it's been a real interesting thing for them That's great. But they seem to like it okay. I think they're too far away from me, but maybe some day they can get closer, Well, yeah, we'll see. Pretty good trip. So what do you, what kind of hobbies are you in? Well, I'm mother of four, so basically I'm just, real busy with my kids right now in sports, and we have a little Halloween talent show tonight, and, I substitute at the schools part-time. Oh, that's great. Well, I am a travel agent at heart, and my hobby is just, I love traveling and, and being involved of that and finding out more, uh, but, it's real hard to work in the summers and holidays and weekends when you have four children and a husband, so I reluctantly gave that career up and am just substituting at the school, No, kidding. so I've been librarian all this week, which has been real interesting, and I'm enjoying it. I'm around my kids That's pretty easy substituting isn't it? yeah, it's great, it's great, and what else do I do, I do lots of cross stitching when I have time Ooh. and I enter things in our little state fair, and that's pretty fun. That's great. Well, but, actually my hobbies is mostly is my sports. Tennis, I play tennis. Ooh, I love tennis too Ooh, do you? and I ski, ski, do you ski? Yes, we snow ski. We snow ski at Mount Bachelor mostly in Oregon, Uh, that's great. have you ever been there? No, uh, Wonderful place. I've skied in Colorado and we usually go to New Mexico because it's a little cheaper, you know. Ooh. Uh-huh. Where in Colorado? I've been to Telluride which is on the west side and, uh, Copper, Yes, yes. Copper is kind of my favorite up there. Breckenridge and Keystone. Really. Uh-huh. I guess those are the only places I've skied up there. I would love, I can hardly wait to get up there. Me, too. You guys, are you guys getting snow? We, it is snowing right now. We're to get one to three inches tonight. Oh, gee, I heard Aspen got three feet. Oh, yeah, well we're, we are on the dry side of the mountains. Seattle is only about two and a half hours, so of course I'm a real Seahawks fan Yeah. and, um, going over that pass is just a real nightmare. I can imagine, my lord. And, um, so, and we're on the colder side, they're on the rainy side, we're on the snowy side and, um, we, we ski. My, my children all ski Oh, super. and we've, we have been to Whistler in Canada, which is just a marvelous place, Whistler and Black Home is in Canada, and then we've gone to Sun Valley several times, that's a, just a great place. But no not in Colorado since I was in college, since I went to school, What about Utah? Haven't been there, I keep hearing these marvelous things about Deer Valley and, Yeah, haven't either. um, to don't, Adam, talking to um City, Always want to go to Canada Canada to Banff or somewhere like that Ooh, yes. And your kids all ski? Uh, not all of them Uh-huh. My, my kids are all grown. Uh-huh. But my youngest son is a skier. Really, that's great. Well, my boys are at the point where they scare their mommy to death. Uh-huh. When they're skiing they're fearless, and they go off, Okay. When they first said the subject, my mind went kind of blank. I thought, Gee, I haven't taken anything back for a long time. Well, I haven't either, uh, I, I hate returning things. Yeah. I mean, I, I have a friend who, if she likes something, isn't sure what size somebody might need, will buy it in every color and size and, you know, take everything back again Yeah. It's, you know, it's a game to her, but I, I do not like to do that I consider it kind of a, a waste of my time. And so I'm usually, uh, pretty careful when I shop Uh-huh. and I also, you know, usually have, have checked over things, you know, if it's like an appliance or something to make sure, uh, it has the features in it that I want. Right. Now we've had one lately, um, oh, a, uh, a Dustbuster Plus that we bought, Uh-huh. and we've had it for a while, but all of a sudden it just wasn't working, and it looks like there's a part missing from it. My husband opened it up and whatever, and of course we don't have the receipt any more, so we can't take it back Of course, uh-huh. Uh, but, I think a lot of goods are made not to last real long Right uh, right, just to get you by five years and then you'll throw it away rather than have it fixed Yeah. We're, we're a wasteful society, for sure. Well, that's true, and lot of times though, it is, it costs so much to get something fixed that you almost are just as well off buying another one you know, if it's, Right. Right. And you usually get what you pay for. We bought some walkie-talkies a couple of years ago for Christmas, and they were like ten dollars, and we expected them to work nice for the little kids, and they didn't work worth anything Uh-huh. So we took those back, and that's about that all that were taken back in ages. Well, yeah, I think a lot of times, if you get a brand name uh, you know, if it's a, a good brand, Yeah. I, you, I think there's, there can be a lemon in anything but, uh, I think more often than not, Right. you, you pretty well know what you're getting ahead of time, and, uh you know, if you buy a good one, you shouldn't have any, you know, too much of a problem with it, Right. I mean, we, we had a car once that we tried to have declared a lemon under the lemon law which is extremely difficult to do. Oh, really. It's hard. We never could get it declared a lemon, and the car would go and, without any warning whatsoever, you could be going down the freeway at sixty and it would stop Oh, wow. and I, there was just, you know, and, oh, we went round and round with the manufacturer and, and everything, and they got it finally semifixed, but it was such a hassle Uh-huh, and it just pertained to that yeah, yeah it, it really is, uh, but, gee, this is, of all the topics I have had, I'm doing this thing, this is kind of the strangest one. I, at first I thought of food, you know, because that's what, mainly what I buy, it seems like, and, uh, you know, I still don't have any, anything to do there, but, But I, I think, too, a lot of people don't buy their warranties either because they know that when it's that old they're going to buy a new one, Uh-huh. so. Well, I think that's true, and I, uh, now we generally don't buy a warranty, because you think, you know, at least for the first couple of years, nothing should go wrong with it. Yeah, my husband is really good at fixing things, too, so he usually, be able to fix anything that's minor, and and that has saved us thousands of dollars, you know, from to mechanic to anything like that Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, but, it was interesting to, I don't know if they're making them better or not, I, it's hard to say. Some, I think they more of their parts plastic, which, you know, makes things break easier, but I think the technology is better. I think technology is better, I'm, I'm not sure. I think you've got a good point with the plastic and that. About quality. I don't think necessarily that, things are being made better uh, you know, Right. I, I, everything is so automated, uh, and things can be made without, I think a human hand ever touching it, you know an awful lot of things, Yeah, Yeah. and I think that certainly makes a difference from, back from the time when somebody handcrafted something and, you know, had some pride in it. Right. Well, people aren't willing to pay those prices very often, so, you know, for a handcrafted something, so Well, yeah, that's that's true. so. So, if we get what we what we deserve Yeah, well, I, I do, uh, you know, craft work and sell stuff at shows and that, and uh, uh, you know, it's, it's, it's a real eye-opener as far as, you know, why people charge what they do to, you know. Well, you keep up with current events? Um, somewhat. Yeah, somewhat Not, not as well as I would like to probably Is that right? but that's the way it goes. Yeah, where, whereabouts in Pennsylvania. What? Where in Pennsylvania? Um, State College, I go to Penn State. Oh, do you, well, great. Yep. How's, uh, well no, we're not supposed to talk about that. We're supposed to talk about current events. Right, exactly, uh. Well, I'm a current event junkie. So I, I watch, I try to watch the news, and I read the newspaper, and I like to read TIME magazine and PEOPLE magazine to keep up with what's going on in the world. I see. Well, what particularly are you interested in? Well, I just, pretty, uh, little, you know, about everything. And, not and then again not everything, Uh-huh. but you know, I like to know pretty well what's happening. Political things don't interest me a great deal, except I do like to stay informed enough to, feel like I halfway vote intelligently, you know Uh-huh. but, uh, other than that, uh, I just, you know, just the events that happen around the world interest me. Stay in touch with it and know, feel like I know what's going on. Yeah. Now I have to say all three of my children, none of them are too interested in current events. I see. But I always have been Uh-huh. and I stay up with it. But, uh, how do you, how do you, uh, stay aware of most of the current events. Uh, newspaper? T V news, or what? Um uh, well, some of both. Uh-huh. I read, I read the newspapers sometimes Uh-huh. and I watch C N N, that sort of thing occasionally Right. Yeah, that's good. and I read magazines, and such. Well, you stay up with it pretty well, then. Well, yeah, I mean, not, not that badly anyway, Uh-huh. so I am, I am interested in what's going on, and I'm particularly interested in certain things of course, like all the news about Haiti recently because I've been down there Uh-huh, yes, uh-huh. Oh, you've been there and, yeah. well, you would be interested in it then. Right, exactly. Yeah, uh, I follow it, you know, I don't just read everything about it, but I'm always aware of what's going on like that Yep, and, uh, because it is, it's interesting Uh-huh. and, uh, I don't know, I feel sorry for those people down there, they've just been so terribly mistreated for so many, many years, you know. I mean, through Papa Doc, That's true. They've never really had a good leader, I mean he was a terrible tyrant Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I think it's been better since he died, but it's still been bad Yeah. but, uh, even that priest that was in control there for a while that they overthrew, uh, I've read some things about him that he was, he wasn't too good himself. Oh, yeah? Yeah, he was pretty, pretty much a, he didn't mind having people bumped off for certain things, you know. Uh-huh. But, uh, It's, one of the reasons the U S wasn't so, you know, didn't do more than they did at the time because they weren't all that excited about him, although he's probably better than a lot of them, I see. Uh-huh. but, uh, but then again, who, you know, those people are so used to it I guess it's the only thing that works. Yeah, so what do you think about the quality of news coverage in America? I think it's pretty darned good, I think we're lucky to have as good a coverage as we have Uh-huh. I really do. Now, I, they sometimes they jump on it and, and, and go a little to the extreme, the media does, but, uh, but, that's kind of understandable, because, you know, of course if you watch it more, more than once a day, I mean, it's the same thing over and over and over and over, and I listen to the radio Right, right. so I, you hear so much, you get a little tired of it, but then again, so many people you got to understand only catch it once a day, maybe Yep. but I think the quality of our, uh, our news is just, uh, I don't believe it could be better Uh-huh. I really don't. Yeah, well, you know, I think it probably could be, it always could be better, but I, would agree that it's pretty good. I don't think so. I don't think our news could be better. Yeah. I, I mean, I mean, what else could they do to make it better. Um. I don't see anything that they could do. Yeah, well, I think that, um, I don't know. Well, you always want to think everything can be improved upon The, um, Right. I understand what you're saying, Right, I think that, But by trial and error over the years, I think they got it about as good as they're going to get it. Well, that may be so, yeah. Uh nothing is perfect. I think that I'm not always satisfied with how dig they deep into the how deep they dig into things and such. Uh-huh. Well, that's true, I understand what you're saying, and then again, I understand why they can't dig too much deeper, that's why we have C N N. Right. C N N has the time, since that's all they do is news to dig deeper. Uh-huh. Right. Uh, well, I, I guess it's a subject I haven't thought too much about. Uh, I don't know if there's so much wrong with the public schools, uh, as much as, we're expecting too much out of them. Uh, that might be a lot to do with it. I know a lot of it here in my state, I'm from Mississippi, I'm not sure where you're from. Minnesota, Wisconsin. Minnesota, okay. Well a lot of it in Mississippi here has got to do with funding. Yeah. Problems with our educational system, a lot of it's due to money. Uh-huh. And they're trying to spend money where we don't have it and there's a lot of things we need that we just can't afford. Yeah. Well, it's, it is getting very expensive to run schools, so. Well it is. They've got computers now that you got to train on. There's just so much, uh, more and less money to do it with. Right. That's true. And a lot of it, lot of it has to do with, uh, salaries too, speaking of money. Right. Yeah. Cause if you can't pay the right people, you know, they're not to be able to do, they're not, not going to get the people that can do a good job. Yeah, yeah. I, I, I guess that in, uh, talking on a lot of the things as far as the discipline in the schools, I, I think they're expecting schools to discipline the kids and, uh, I think it should go right back to the parents. If you don't train your kids right then Right. Right. I feel the same way. A lot has to do with how the kids were raised at home. Right, yeah. And then when the kids get to school, they try to take away a lot of things that they can do to discipline the kids. I mean, they've so severely limited what disciplinary action you can do. Yeah, yeah. I, I know when I, uh, was going to school it wasn't uncommon for a teacher to strike a student that was misbehaving. Exactly. Right. I mean they do that now and they could probably lose their job Lose their job and big lawsuit and all that. Yeah, yeah I feel that's got a lot to do with it. People aren't as afraid of misbehaving as they used to be. Right, right. Yeah It seems that'd be a subject that I, I don't have much to say on Really. We, we've talked some about it in my state because we've had a lot of, uh, our governor that just got thrown out of office was trying to be real big on education but he wasn't. Yeah. And a lot of his problems had to do with money mostly. I know a lot, a lot of, if you have more money it's just logical that you can provide a better school system. Uh-huh. And, unfortunately, there's not many places to get that money. Yeah Then if you don't have qualified teachers in the different , I know one of my physics professors at college has addressed this. That most of the teachers at the elementary and high school level aren't scientists, they're teachers. And they may not know a lot about what they're teaching. Where they may have just had a teaching major and then had some social studies courses and they're trying to teach social studies. And they don't know a lot about that Right. Where maybe a physics professor, he, my professor was a physics professor and he said a lot of teachers teaching physics today have no background of physics at the high school level. So therefore, they're teaching from a teacher's point of view and not from a physicist point of view. And that causes a lot of trouble. Right. Yeah. I don't know, maybe they should sit back and, and kind of, uh, decide on where the money's best spent. I know in a lot of cases, uh, different districts like to have nice fancy schools. Right. And maybe they should be a little more, uh, uh, concerned with paying the right people to teach and, and be, uh, satisfied with maybe a little older school. Exactly. Because, I mean, here in the town I went to high school, one of the, there were four high schools in my county, one of the high schools was blown away by a tornado. So when they rebuilt that school, they had a, a top of the line, high tech school there. Uh-huh. And the other schools were built back in maybe the fifties or early sixties and then when, uh, the evaluation committees came through, they praised the school that had been rebuilt while they were down grading all these other ones. Telling them what they needed to do to fix up this building and this and this and this and so it kind of would make you think that we'd all be better off if all the schools were blown away by tornadoes and we had to rebuild them. Yeah. Yeah. Well I, I know, uh, where I came from. We didn't have a very, uh, rich community and, uh, high school that I went to was very old and, uh, as far as I know, it's still there. They've expanded on it but they've never built a new one and it's probably fifty, sixty years old or, or better and I don't foresee them, uh, building a new one for a long time because they can't afford it. Right. Exactly Okay, uh, so what do you think about the school system? Well, I think they're, they're having a lot of trouble right now. I know my son goes to a private school, but, uh, I think they're, big city public schools by definition are having a, a tough time right now just from, uh, probably from budget cuts and, and everything else going on. Uh, why did you choose a private school? Well, I had one that was needed to be able to be moved along at a, at a pace a little faster than he was going to be able to be moved in public school, so he's, he has been going to private since kindergarten Public school. Oh, has he? So, Then how does he like it? Oh, he's loved it. He is a senior in high school this year so he's, So he's been there all the time. Yeah, he's done it the whole twelve and, uh, so many years and it's been, uh, it's been really good for him. How big of a school is it? Uh, overall on campus about twelve hundred, but in the upper school, upper four grades, uh, about four hundred and something so it's maybe a hundred per grade. A hundred per grade, that's a good size. Yeah, it really is. Kind of gives them the, you know, I get a little leery of the real small ones that they don't get much interaction with kids but, uh, Yeah, that was, we were kind of looking for one that would be a mixture and he's done, he's done really well, So they don't, That's good. and just, he was just ahead at an early age and I didn't feel like, uh, in, what was available, particularly in the first three grades Uh-huh. and even in the fourth grade where they started what they called reach was still a pull out one day program. Huh. And I just didn't think that was going get it. I thought he needed to be exposed to a situation where he could push ahead, uh, every day. But yet still be with his peers age wise. Right. Still enjoy the, Right. Uh, one thing I think I've noticed is, uh, my oldest is in kindergarten, so I'm in a little different ballgame. You're just getting started. I'm just, starting her, but, uh, seems to me that, uh, kids these days, uh, can really get away with murder and the teachers don't have as much, aren't respected as much and, uh, they have to be so careful of the things they do and say. Yeah, I know. That's a big problem. And, uh, makes me a little nervous that, uh, students don't seem to show that respect and, We wouldn't have thought of crossing a teacher when we were in school. No! Heavens, no. Wouldn't have thought of it and and they'll stand there now with them toe to toe No, you wouldn't. and, And, uh, the things they can say and do to a teacher and they do from what I understand, uh, I think that's wrong. I think we need to get back to the, show some respect and, course, I guess the teacher used to warrant that but, Yeah, but a lot of times it's not being taught in the home anymore like it used to be, basic respect for for elders and adults and particularly in, in responsible positions have not, uh, I don't think have, had that basic upbringing in a lot of cases Right. For other people and, and so then you wind up with little brats on your hands. Well, how do you think that that's happened? You think our society's just, uh, stopped talking out, or this, uh generation's just kind of changed a little bit, uh, I guess, I, Well, the world changes, so I mean, obviously, kids are not the same now as they used to be. Right. I mean they're exposed to a whole lot more things. They have a whole lot more, uh, variety of things they they're, that they see and do at an earlier age, so life is not maybe as simple as it was at one time, but, but still, I think it goes back to a commitment by the parents to, to teach, uh, basic values and basic, uh, respectful of, uh, of authority. Right. And I just don't think that this doesn't always get emphasized anymore, uh, That just isn't coming through is it. No. I mean, I remember, uh, well, it was a big thing when they let girls wear Levi's. We used to have to wear dresses Yeah, had to wear dresses, didn't you? and then you had to, go to dresses, they had to be a pantsuit and it was polyester and it had to be matching and, And when it was skirts, it was like, get down on the floor and we hold the ruler up here Yes. and it's no more than so many inches above the knee Exactly. Yes. Because it was mini skirt time back there at one time. Yes, so it's really changed. It's, uh, really kind of gone the rounds, so I think that maybe that's effected it to some degree. They say you kind of act how you're dressed a little bit, so I, Yeah, I think that probably does have, have something to do with it, and it's also, Do, uh, does this school your son goes to, do they, uh, require to wear a uniform or, No, they do not do uniforms, although one, where he was between like second and eighth grade did. Uh-huh. Yeah, there are quite a few of your Okay Yeah. Well, considering you moved here from California, I guess, the rain for the past few weeks has been different than what you have down there. Yeah, we have, uh, in California, I'm in I lived in central California. We have rain couple times a year and other than that, you know, it would be maybe October and then in the spring and then other than that there wouldn't be any rain. So, Especially the last few years. Yeah, yeah. It's kind of, it's kind of been a drought out there hasn't it, uh, Yeah, there has. So here, I know that, uh, last year there was some ice storms while I was out of the state and I'm glad to see there haven't been any this year. Yet Yeah, yet Still could come, huh. Generally if we're going to get them, it's not going to happen, uh, prior to January one. Uh-huh. You may get a cold snap or two or some rain or something like we've been getting in December, but usually the bitterest weather, if we're going to have any, comes in January and February. Yeah. Um. Then by March things are getting warm again, so we really don't have, as long a cold season, I guess as people up north. Yeah, yeah it's so hard to predict here. It's been eighty degrees on Christmas day here before. Yeah. Lots of times. Well, today it's not bad out there. No, it's nice. I just came in from outside Uh-huh and it's, it's really pretty. It's kind of nice to have it dry all the ground out before it rains again. Yeah. Yeah. I'm a, I'm a scoutmaster and so I wind up going out camping with, uh, a bunch of boys at one time and so, it's better for us if it hasn't been this totally wet before we go Uh-huh. Yeah. So you do that even in January, huh? Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, we camp year round. Yeah, oh, that's interesting. But, uh, It's, uh, it's definitely different. Uh-huh And then, I guess you've been through a couple of summers here, too, right? Yeah, I have and they're not too pleasant It gets so humid. To me it's humid here. People that I know that come from, uh, like Georgia or North Carolina, Yeah, they say, it's, Oh, it is. It's not as humid. As Houston, say, or Atlanta, but it, But more humid than Arizona Yeah. But I find it, and California for the most part. Right. Were you northern California? I was central California. Central. Central valley. It's very dry there. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's pretty hot in the summer. It's in the usually, you know, for a good three, four weeks we have over a hundred degrees. But it's a drier, But it's a dry heat, yeah. Hundred when you have a hundred here, everybody's dying Uh-huh, yeah, I know. Well, I lived in Africa for a couple years in Cameroon Oh. and that's a tropical climate and it really feels similar to this during the summer. What types of, What type, what type of business takes you to those climates or was that just vacation or something? No, I was, uh, working with, uh, I still work with Wycliff Bible Translators. Oh. It's an organization where we are looking to translate the BIBLE into languages of the world that aren't yet written. Not so much still trying to translate old texts as just trying to translate modern versions into other languages. Right, languages that don't have anything written yet. So this is like the first thing that's written down or you know, first an alphabet is developed Oh. and then, uh, That's interesting. So, You don't think about that as a career, a normal career, uh, when you're thinking of things that people might be doing. Yeah. Yeah, well, it's based here, uh, the international headquarters for Wycliff Bible Translators is right here in, in Dallas. So you're, you're with the home office now Yeah, right now I am. That's what brought me here, yeah. Well, the, uh, I think, uh, all in all there are a lot worse climates than Dallas, uh, the weather you know, does change fast Yeah. and things do happen severely a few times a year, but there's an awful lot of good weather, too, in between. Yeah I agree, I agree. I, I thought the fall was really nice. Yeah, and usually a lot of the spring months are really nice, too. After the last freeze Uh-huh. and, and when it begins to be in the sixties and seventies most of the time, uh, I like that. Particularly if I'm going to be outdoors and doing, uh, outdoor activity, hiking and things. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And that's nicer. Yeah, you probably do a lot of that with scout scouting. Yeah, I do quite a bit of that Uh-huh. Think we're going in just a couple of weeks out to the, east Texas, and it is a little more humid out there than it is here, so I guess we'll, Uh-huh. the only thing you have to watch out in this part of the country is during the change type seasons is the really severe storms that occasionally come through out here on the plains. Uh-huh. There's not much between us and the North Pole Yeah. And then when you get one of those tornado type systems through or severe hail or thunderstorms Uh-huh. and then, Okay. Uh, do you live in a home? Yes. Uh-huh. We, we, it's a house we bought, uh, about two and a half years ago now. Oh, did you? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. First house. We've lived in ours for about six years. We had it built, actually. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, it's our first home, too. Uh-huh. Yeah. So what do you think of, of owning a home as opposed to, to renting somebody else's? Um, well before we built our home we were managing some apartments that we were living in, Uh-huh. and, um, that was quite an experience I, I much prefer having my own home and, and, uh, just the space and, and more privacy. Uh-huh. Yeah. Do you have, is it a fairly large house? Um, it's, uh, uh, it's like twenty-four fifty square feet. Oh, that's pretty good size. Yeah. It's a two story. Uh-huh. Yeah. How about yours? It's tiny. Is it small? It's not much bigger. Actually we had an apartment, two bedroom apartment that was about as big as this house is. So. Oh, really. Yeah, it's, uh, it's only like eleven hundred square feet. Oh, uh-huh. Do you, do you have children? Just one. Just one. Yeah. Oh. But, it, it, uh, all the rooms are small, I mean, but it ends up giving us three bedrooms, which we wanted. And, uh. Use an extra one for an office which is handy. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. I'd rather have, have more rooms and less space in each one I guess. Rather have lots of rooms and lots of space, but, uh, that ends up costing me. Oh yeah, yeah. Well, like, um, how does it compare to the ones in your neighborhood? Well, they're, it's pretty typical, I mean, it's a very, very middle class neighborhood. Uh, lots of, lots of young couples with, you know, oh, I'm sure that virtually everybody in the neighborhood, that's their first homes Oh, uh-huh. and, uh, lots of kids and stuff, and, so it, it fits well, in the neighborhood. It's, it's certainly not a real upscale neighborhood, but on the other hand, it's clean and kind of suburban little bit more than I want. Yeah. Yeah. Is, is yours also pretty much in conformance with the neighborhood Uh. Yeah, it, it, it, it does, it, it seems about, oh, probably average. Um. or is it? Uh-huh. But our neighborhood has a, just a wide variety of, of, um, people, and, you know, there's older people here, and, and, um, people that are our, our age, we're in our thirties. Uh-huh. And, um, there's a lot of kids, a lot of kids. People across the street have eight. Uh-huh, wow, eight kids? Uh-huh. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, their home just burned down matter of fact, and, um, last summer, Ooh. and they're just rebuilding and, um, their house is going to be really big It's. I'm sure, with eight, gosh. Yeah, they're building a lot bigger. He's, uh, um, uh, oh, not an obstetrician, an, an orthopedic surgeon. Uh-huh. And, um, so since the house did burn, they're, they're going, it's quite different than it was before, and it's it's a lot bigger. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, um, but ours is about, it's, you know, it's a nice home, it's definitely not one of the, the smaller ones, and, um, it's not the biggest either. But. Yeah, new ones, I mean, they, they tend to, to be real tiny, but that uh, especially in newer neighborhoods, my, my brother just built a new house. He lives in Wichita, Kansas, and the, um, the neighborhood actually fought him on it, because he, he was, um, the house was going to cost less to build than any other house in the neighborhood. Oh. Now, that's because he was, he's doing a lot of it himself and, you know, for example, landscaping and, and lots of the other stuff, Yeah. and his house actually ended up being nicer than lots in the neighborhood, but but they were, they were pretty touchy on it. Yeah. You. He was a little surprised. You know, that's interesting you say that, because we do have, we have those architectural codes here Uh-huh. and when we, um, put out house in, um, they wanted us to have, there was one, we have part siding on, on the two story part and then on the back, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, they, there was one side where our chimney was, and just the chimney was going to be brick, and they wanted us to have more brick, so we ended up having to go halfway up Uh-huh. which, it does look nicer, and, you know, we would have like to have had all brick, but, of course at that point we couldn't afford it, and, but, it's funny that you'd say that, because there were homes in here that didn't have any brick at all. Right. So it's kind of like, they were. Kind of depends on when they get in, you know. Yeah, yeah, and, I, and so it was kind of like it's they, ours is the last street that they built on. So the houses actually on our street are a little bit, they're kind of gone a little bit nicer. Oh, they have, it's gotten, yeah. Yeah, I mean, just they, you know, Yeah, oh. it's like the second phase Uh-huh. and, and so they've kind of changed the, the codes a little bit, and so that's kind of why, I guess, they stuck us with more brick when there were other homes that didn't have any. Um. Well, see, my sister kind of got in the opposite end of that, because they, they moved into a neighborhood and bought a, a real nice stone house down in South Austin. Oh, uh-huh. And, uh, and, the, what the builder apparently plans to do, is they, they do phase one, and they kind of give it a very upscale and very tightly controlled, uh, codes and, and, and stuff, and then they come back in, and, and then they sell, I, uh, spent four years as a university professor. Oh really? And, Yeah. I, I spent three years, I'm teaching in public schools and elementary school. Oh, do you really? Uh-huh. That's great. I taught in Utah, and, uh, Did you teach in California? No kidding. I did. Uh-huh. I did, uh, You sound pretty young for a university professor Well, I was pretty young. I was, uh, I had never intended to do it and I was, uh, uh, given the opportunity after I'd started a management consulting firm to teach in, in, uh, uh, one of the business schools in the California State University system. Uh-huh. At any rate, uh, the topic is fascinating because one of the things I've done for the past few years is, uh, research the problem from the point of view of, uh, uh, what appears to be working best and how you can explain it theoretically. Uh-huh. You may be familiar with cooperative learning. Have you ever, Well you can, you can tell me a little bit more about it because I don't think we did that in Utah. Well, the cooperative learning is a technique that was tried initially to integrate the public schools. And, uh, what, what it involves, basically, is the use of peer groups and the, uh, teacher becomes a, uh, a sort of a consultant, resource person to the cooperative learning, uh, to the learning cooperatives, I guess they're called. Uh-huh. And there are, uh, some fairly sophisticated approaches that are used in the high schools with point systems and things like that so that people, uh, gain a competence with respect to the material. Uh-huh. Uh, I think that the combination of, uh, technology and techniques like that together with marketplace forces will bring about a revolution in the way we learn. Uh, I think there is a direct threat to vested interest in the public school system, uh, that will stand in the way of that progress being a little faster. Uh, school systems are, in too many states, dominated by administrators Uh-huh, yeah. and, uh, both teachers and parents, uh, complain about the, uh, uh, the cost and ineffectiveness that results. So my feeling is that, uh, the, the problem is, is, uh, significant. There are plenty of good people, uh, available to, uh, offer people educational experience, but that we just have to reallocate and reorganize the resources to do it and, uh, I think certain techniques and technologies will influence all of that as well as research, uh, uh, of the sort that people like me do looking at theories of behavior and how they can be used to improve performance, particularly, uh, accelerate the, the pace of learning. Uh-huh. And, my feeling is that, uh, those kinds of things will solve the problem eventually. I don't know what form it will ultimately take. Uh, uh, but, I think that the future is pretty bright because people recognize that we're paying an enormous price for, uh, inferior quality when the people involved really aren't inferior, so it must be the way we're managing the process that, uh, Yeah, I see what year saying, yeah, I totally agree. I, I don't, I don't think it's, it's a matter of, of, uh, talented people to do it, both as, quote, unquote students and as teachers, but clearly what's happened in this country is the school system's been asked to assume a great many responsibilities in the past thirty years that weren't existent, uh, Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. you must see kids with real significant problems, uh, in some cases. Uh, course, I always see the, I don't know how hard, how hard is it, uh, in the public school system in Iowa City? Is it, is it, uh, deteriorated a lot. Do the people say, are they pretty happy with it, or, Well, I, I haven't taught in Iowa, but I've taught in Utah, and, uh, people there were saying that the way that the schools were going, a lot of people were going away and going to private schools, or else going to home, where they taught their kids at home. Or, you know, anything but the public schools and the ones that did have, you know, the kids, Right. Even in Utah. Yeah well, Well, uh, maybe it was the area I was in, Well, Utah's a place where you wouldn't think that problem would be very severe. but a lot of schools had a lot of transient, uh, families and a lot of families who were on the poorer side and, Yeah, you, so, you saw a fair number of troubled kids. Yeah, I mean, like you said, how they were, the schools are doing more things for the kids, they thought, than they were thirty years ago. I mean, they were, the school I was teaching at, the, the year I left, they were considering providing hot lunch for or hot breakfast for the kids. Yeah. Yeah. As well as hot lunch and, Well, as far as I'm concerned and it's probably apt that your call's at this time because we just got through watching, uh, REASONABLE DOUBTS. Which had a, you know, capital case in it. Uh-huh. And, uh, I personally have, uh, my own feelings about, uh, capital punishment is I think it should be mandatory upon a third conviction felony. I do, too. Mandatory, I mean, summary execution, on the steps, that day. Uh-huh, well, I think, you know, I'm, I'm in that same, I think if it's, uh, if it's a if it's a convicted, uh, felon on parole uh, and he goes out and, and commits another crime or kills somebody, I, you know, I, I feel the same way, Uh-huh. I don't think, I think that person is, is beyond, uh, rehabilitation and, and he should be taken out Well, I, I also firmly believe that no one is beyond reclamation. Uh-huh. But, I do know that some people, almost all people usually die before that point. Uh-huh. They just get too old. Uh-huh. Uh, as far as capital punishment, on, on it's own merits, I have the trouble with the way it's applied. I think it should be applied, on a little bit more fair manner. Uh, and I've, I've said this very often and I believe it to be the, a very true axiom, Uh-huh. Right. Kill you. They will kill you. Yeah. And if you're black and you kill a black guy, you know, it's, you know, two hundred hours of community service. Yeah, you don't hear, you don't hear too much about, of those cases. Well, it's a social disease that we have called one upsmanship, you know. Yeah. Yeah. We're the majority, so we can do whatever the hell we want to do. That's right. And you're the minority and you're stuck with it. Huh. But, uh, you know, we had this in the Vietnam war, you know, we had you know, population of blacks among military people in Vietnam was about eighty percent. Right. But the population of blacks in the military was about twenty-two percent. Huh. The handwriting's on the wall there, isn't it? Yep, it sure is. You know, but that's another issue altogether. Yeah it's, As far as capital punishment, I think that, uh, ten years on death row is cruel and unusual punishment. I think the guy should have ninety days and if he can't produce evidence not argument, but evidence, Uh-huh. See, the only thing I don't, you know, I don't understand, I guess I, I don't understand our judicial system, uh, as it is right now because I, you know, if somebody has been convicted and has been sentenced to be put to death, how is it that they can appeal and appeal and appeal and get stays of execution? I mean, how, you know, is there, Well, that goes back to when, uh, America was a, a colony of England. Uh-huh. In England, you went to court, you were assumed guilty until proven innocent and once they found you guilty, you know, judge said, he's guilty, kill him. Well, there were some people that, uh, that had a problem with that. Because they found out later on that, jeez, you know, a guy will lie rather than get killed. Uh-huh. Right. And he'll say, you know, hey, that guy did it, you know, not me. Yeah. And, uh, or he'll have somebody lie for him. You know, people lie, it's a strange thing, Yeah. but they do that, and to prevent that kind of misuse of power, they wrote into the Constitution a protection against judicial mishap. Uh-huh. Huh. And the judicial mishap in this event would be, hey, you got the wrong guy. Look at that guy, uh, at E Systems. Yep. They were they convicted him of a robbery that he could not physically have been able to commit. Yeah. He was too far away when it happened. He had witnesses that were, you know, they weren't dope dealers, they weren't drug fiends, they were employees of a, an establishment that had a very high level of security sense, too. And these were really responsible people. Huh. You know, and they convicted this guy because somebody says, well, he looks like the right guy. They all look the same to me, you know. Yeah. Big lips, flat nose, yep, that was him. Yep. What do you think about, uh, uh, convicted, uh, Well, this is an unusual topic. What do you think about it? Yeah, I, at first I, it took eight times to find you so I told my husband, uh, you know, what should I say and then he reminded me, but, uh, uh, in his family, uh, what they usually do, on his dad's side, his mom or, uh, the aunts will send out little postcards, like, two or three weeks before reminding everyone where the, the, where to meet and, you know, just, to bring anything, and so they just notify everyone by mail, and then they just meet at, like, a park or something to have like a, a short, uh, or a small, uh, dinner type thing. Well, that sounds great, Ellen. How far away do they come from? Uh, they come from, well, they all meet in Portland and they come as far as, oh, Seattle and, and sometimes we've gone and we were we were living in Utah at the time. Oh, okay. And, uh, the, his, his dad's family is all around the area and his mom's side of the family, they all, uh, have their family reunions in southern Utah and people would come from Seattle to there and, uh, let's see, Nevada and in that area, Washington and Nevada to southern Utah and they would, uh, assign a different person, each time they had a reunion they'd assign a different person to be in charge of notifying everybody. Oh, okay, that makes sense. Nobody's out of a lot of trouble more than once. Yeah, yeah and the people who are down there, like, they'll assign one person in the Utah area, one person in the Washington area and that person can call, you know, beforehand and just make sure everyone knows, too. Uh-huh. And then they just sort of do like a little program or, you know, something like that so that everyone's sort of involved. Yeah. That's interesting. You sound like you've had a lot of experience with this, then. Oh, well, that's my husband's side and my mom, my mom's, or my family, uh, we all live in southern California so we just have to either or, give a formal invite and we're all there so, Southern California's still pretty large. Yeah well, I mean L A, Orange County area. I mean everyone's, you know mostly not farther than an hour away. I see. Yeah, well, my experience, uh, has been limited pretty much lately to my mother's side of the family. Uh-huh. Uh, years ago there was a big dispute on my dad's side and, uh, they haven't had a reunion since then. They just show up at funerals and weddings. Oh It was pretty serious and lot of yelling and all that, Wow. but, anyway, my mother's side we had our, our first real reunion that I've ever gone to last summer and they had people come in from out of town and they took some rooms down at a Holiday Inn and, uh, they had some activity, they had a nice dinner planned and all of that stuff and people got up and talked about various parts of the family tree and, you know, a lot of that sort of thing. Since it was the first one that we'd had that, you could do that once. Now next time we have one, we'll have to think of something more creative to do. Well, you know, that's interesting because one thing that always brings to my, uh, husband's mother's side together is, uh, they talk about the genealogy of the family tree every time and, uh, inevitably everyone is just very interested and, and they always have, you know, two or three new ones to add to the list, you know, someone's been born or someone passed away or, you know, something like that Oh. and so everyone has to update their little books or whatever. Well, have have you, do you have an interest in genealogy? Uh, I do, but not to, very much compared to my mother-in-law. Not a passion, huh. Uh, I suspect we'll do quite a bit more genealogy and I, I suspect we will do more of it. Uh, I found out some, about some of the relatives I didn't, you know, I, I didn't even know their names, some of the two or three generations back and some of the aunts and uncles Um. and, uh, there's a lot of things there you have to stop, they're really kind of fascinating. I found out my grandmother was one of a twin. Oh. And we don't even know where the twin, we have virtually no, no background on, on her on the twin. Really? Is it your, your grandma's own sibling and she, My grandmother's, uh, sister who would be somewhere in, in West Virginia. I'm sure she's, you know, dead now, because my grandmother died in, about twenty years ago. Oh, I see. Oh so, I'm, I'm quite a bit, I'm probably a lot older than you are. Uh, Well, maybe, uh, they just moved away and then sort of lost contact. I don't know. Okay. Um, what type of magazines do you have? We take several at home. I, I take, um, SKIING MAGAZINE, and I take, uh, DISCOVER magazine, and also, uh, C D AND STEREO REVIEW and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, I think and BOYS LIFE Uh-huh. Oh, . Oh, good. That's a good one, I like to get Um, so I take it that you like to ski. Do you, do you, um, receive a lot of information on skiing through the SKI MAGAZINE? I presume that I do. Uh-huh. Uh, I suppose that puts me on some mailing lists and so forth, because I do get things from ski associations and things, uh, at, during the year. Oh. Oh, uh, and do you receive discounts and things like that, do you think or, Uh, not so much that, I, uh, more likely to see those at a ski show or something, but um, made with I just enjoy reading about the resorts and where you can go and, and new equipment that's come out and so forth. Oh. Some fashions are always in there too. Oh. Uh-huh. So would this vacation you're taking, did you receive information from your skiing magazine? Probably not. Uh, we already knew we wanted to take one, and we just started looking around. I may have referred to a couple of them, but we went to the ski show and looked at all of the resort information, picked up a lot of brochures and just decided to go to Crested Butte. Oh. Oh. We haven't been there before. Um, that sounds nice. Kind of away from the crowd is why we chose that one. Uh-huh. It's supposedly low lift lines. Oh. But I haven't skied Utah yet, but I want to. Oh, well, you need to come out I'd like to go to Sundance and Park City and some of those. Uh-huh. I understand Deer Valley is nice, too. Deer Valley, uh-huh. Yeah, they are, it's wonderful snow Well, how about you, what, what magazines do you have at home? Uh, I am currently taking DECORATIVE WOODWORKING, and, uh, COUNTRY LIVING, and, let's see, we do have NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, and then we have some church magazines, but I really enjoy the DECORATIVE WOODWORKING. I'm heavy into woodworking and tole painting and things like that, so the DECORATIVE WOODWORKING has just been a great, great help. Oh, okay. Does it have, uh, articles on how to do things as well as equipment that you can buy and so forth? Uh-huh. Uh-huh, they do have, uh, mostly they have, uh, the ads on the equipment, but the whole magazine is just filled with, uh, pictures and projects that you can make yourself, and then it has all of the patterns and instructions that you would need to make a wood project, and, and then how to paint it with the tole paintings, and so, it's really a fun one. I like that. Well, that's good. It's good to get use out of one. Uh-huh I'm not sure that, um, in the case of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, I mean, I read it, but then they just sort of gather dust for a long period of time, Uh-huh. but then eventually there'll be a school project or something where my son will need to refer back through forty-eight back issues to find you know, France or something or whatever it is he's looking for. Uh-huh Yeah. Yes. I've, I've noticed that, too, but they have been nice to have around. Every once in a while they come in handy I used to take SMITHSONIAN too, Oh. I liked that magazine Uh-huh. but it was, I was, just found myself not ever getting around to reading it. Oh. Uh. You get so many coming in, and by the time the next round comes in I'm still not through reading the first round. Oh, that. Oh, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN comes to our house, too, I forgot, and that's mostly my son's, Oh. but but I do read it, too. Uh-huh. Oh, well that sounds like. And he takes GAMES MAGAZINE GAME MAGAZINE, which has puzzles and things that he likes to solve, you know, crosswords and various logic puzzles and things like that Uh-huh. Oh. Uh-huh. he likes to try that, so. He does, uh, does get to be a lot of paper though, after a while if you don't keep them weeded out, they almost take over. Uh-huh They do, they can do that. I found that they've been fun for my little girls, they're five and four years old, and they like to go through and, Oh, yeah, they're just kind of getting started now. Uh-huh. They like to cut the pictures out and paste them on, and so we've found good use for those. Mine is a senior in high school, so he's, we're kind of at the end of that trail. Oh. You're just sort of beginning to think about first grade. Oh. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's fun. Well, I do have a boy in junior high, too, so Oh, okay, so you got a little bit of a gap there between, so we're kind of running the gamut Yeah. Okay what, do you do artistic painting? Uh, I do tole painting. Oh, you do? Uh-huh, I really love the tole painting. Uh, I haven't done any of the oil or watercolor. I would like to learn that someday, but right now my passion is tole painting Do you do a lot of it? Uh-huh. I, I took one class about, I guess three or four years ago and I've done a little, uh, Oh. But it takes a lot of time It does, it is real time consuming and, do you sell your projects? Uh, mostly I have just given them away as gifts. Uh-huh. Uh, I've done, uh, perpetual calendars and cookie jar lids and, oh, on and on, you know, just things like that, but uh, I would eventually like to make enough to sell and quit my job Uh-huh. Where do you work at? I just work at Stop and Shop out there in, in Ogden so, Now do you ever send any of your stuff to the boutique? No, I've wanted to do that, uh, but just haven't, just haven't mass produced enough to do that. Uh-huh. So, I have five children of my own, so it's That keeps you busy. they, they keep me busy and tole painting is just a, you know, something I do in my spare time so Uh-huh. Have you tried any of the, well, do you cut out your own projects? Yes, uh-huh, I have my own saws and so I really enjoy doing that. Huh. Do you, uh, ever spray your projects with the, I mean a base coat first or do you brush it on? I brush it on, yeah, I haven't tried a, a spray varnish. I use just a wood sealer. Uh-huh. Yeah. I just bought a spray gun, one of those airless, uh, not airless, high volume, low pressure spray guns. Oh, uh-huh. And I do a lot of woodworking and that's what I bought it for. Do you? Oh. But I haven't used it yet. Oh, well that's that 'ud probably give you a smoother finish, wouldn't it? Yeah. Oh. Yeah. Now what type of woodworking do you do? Uh, fine furniture. Oh do you? Yeah. That's why I brought, bought the sprayer is to finish my projects. Oh. That's my worst, worst part of my woodworking. I get so sick of making Oh, but it's hard to finish it, huh. Yeah, but spraying does put on a nicer finish. Oh, well, that is interesting. So, what kind of equipment do you have? For woodworking? Uh-huh. Uh, let me see, table saw, scroll saw, band saw, lathe, routers, and about it. Boy, it sounds like you're really into it. That is nice. Yeah, it is. Yeah, I, I just have a scroll saw and a jig saw and I am really anxious to get a band saw and a router Yeah, the band saw is really nice. I have an Inca. I don't know if you've ever heard of those. Oh. But it's nice to have the right equipment. Yeah, that is, that makes it easier, doesn't it? Uh-huh. Well, have you sold any of your furniture or just, Uh not, mostly I do like you do, give it away as gifts. Uh-huh. But, Making my own furniture. Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. Do you, uh, did you take classes to learn how to do that? Uh, just in junior high Uh-huh. and then I just kept on through high school and then got my own equipment, kept up with that. Oh, so yours is mostly just a hobby, too, then. Yeah. Oh. Yeah. Well, that is interesting. Oh, I would, I really would love to go take a class in woodworking and learn how to. I don't know if I necessarily want to do furniture, but mostly, uh, just do more, Like the shelves and, Uh-huh, the woodworking. For your tole painting. Uh, Yeah Yeah, so, it's fun Good. Well I guess I'll let you go now. Well, they come on, we're supposed to talk until they come on and tell us Oh, they do? Okay, so this is my first one. You're probably a veteran at this. Yeah. Well, it has, it has been really fun. I've enjoyed this. Uh, like I say, I've made a couple of calls to Texas, and just talked to all different kinds of people Uh-huh. so I think you'll enjoy doing it. Yeah. It's fun. Sounds fun. Where do you buy your tole painting paints at around here? Uh, you know, there's a shop in Roy that I really love. Uh, and it's there by the, Copper Mill restaurant, used to be the Hayloft. I am not well, we live in Roy , but, we is it on nineteen hundred? Uh-huh. Uh, let's see, I'm trying to think of the name. I know where fifty-six hundred south is. Uh, I don't right off. Is that Ben Franklin then ? Ben Franklin, okay. Okay, you want to start? Yeah, I might as well. Uh, one of the things I'm very concerned about the air pollution, is the, uh, this, this, the ozone layer, uh, uh, issue. Uh, I used to own a heating and air conditioning business and handled lots of different types of freons, and that, uh, rather bothers me that, uh, I was in, in effect, uh, contributing to the delinquency of the, the environment, so to speak. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's stuff we never even thought about three years ago. Right, right, and one of the reasons they fixed up the freons eleven, twelve and thirteen, in, in, in that area was because they were inexpensive, uh, they could be made, uh, you know, inexpensive and lots of it, uh, and in that, and its properties were great, uh, with, uh, the machinery, didn't have to have lots of expensive machinery to, uh, get your heating and cooling cycles to work. Um. So. Have they stopped that practice now? Well, course there's a, a tremendous number of refrigerators and excuse me, refrigerators and freezers, both commercial and residential, uh, utilizing freon twelve, and of course, the new cars, I guess starting with nineteen ninety-three will not have freon twelve in their systems. But, uh, there's, you know, the ton of after market machines, and et cetera, et cetera. Yeah. And that's got me very, you know, highly concerned that, uh, that's going to be quite a while before we can, uh, undo this. Now, that could spawn several good industries and help, pull us out of this recession, but you got to have people that can make, you know, earn a salary to pay for this conversion. So, so I see us in a kind, somewhat of a catch twenty-two unless we, unless the banks or industry and or the government go together and, and come up with a way to, uh, have us as a part of the unemployed society be able to be gainfully employed again converting all this freon twelve stuff into the new nonpolluting, uh, compound. Oh, yeah. Because as I say, there's a, there's a well, how many, uh, uh, families own a refrigerator, and then do, you know, that number, and then how many a, a freezer separate from and how many people, especially here in Texas, own cars and trucks with air conditioning. Uh-huh. Yeah yeah. I mean, this is, there, there are people that, that make it, have a thriving business, uh, that do nothing but heating and air conditioning on, on automobiles and trucks, and, uh, the only reason I didn't, uh, get into that more, when I was, had my little business, was because, uh, most of your, uh, air conditioning in, in, on vehicles tend to be greasy and dirty to the N-th degree Uh-huh. and I mean, so, uh, that's why I stayed in, stayed more towards, uh, uh, and that's a polluting type deal too, is the excessive, um, you know, uh, petroleum products in your engine bay and so forth, and the dirt and grit and those two mixed together with, with water and, uh, like knocking on a really make, uh, make a mess. Um, yeah, yeah, I hate to see a car going down the street, or even a truck or bus for that matter, that's putting out a lot of dark smoke, Uh-huh. and I know there's a lot of pollutants we can't even see coming out of cars, Right. but that, that particular bothers me. Well, most, most, most of the time when you see bus, uh, you know, the busses with the diesel that's, uh, those are carbon particles, and carbon dioxide and water vapor, uh, Uh-huh. because when you, when diesel is burned it's it, you know diesel fuel is burned in a, in the diesel engine it's burned so completely, that you don't have any, uh, nitrous oxides, uh, or oxides of nitrogen, uh, to, uh, form because of, by virtue of the very combustion process of the diesel engine, because diesel oil is, uh, is not very volatile. You know, where gasoline, if you leave a little pail of gasoline out before long it's gone. Oh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Diesel is going to be around, because it doesn't evaporate easily, and it's got, well, you know, its latent heat is high, but it's slow burning at, at, uh, normal pressures. That's why your diesel engines have such high compression ratios as the, as the air is heated, you know, by virtue of the compression process to like one to nineteen or nineteen to one ratio Oh, I see. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and so if the car sucks in, uh, fifty degrees, Well, how do you feel about trial by jury? I feel very uncomfortable with trials by juries recently. Uh, In what way? In that it seems to me that they are swayed more by emotion than, uh, by evidence that's presented. I have, uh, very little regard for the law presently practiced. Oh, do, do you feel they are swayed more toward, are you talking about with criminal or civil suits? I was thinking primarily criminal cases. So, do you think that, I mean the the stereotypical bleeding heart juries where they feel sorry. Yes. Uh-huh. That's a concern of mine. Uh, I would feel more comfortable in many cases I think with judges. Uh, you know, doing the sentencing. Uh-huh. The other thing, the only thing that really bothers me about that is I think you know, that a judge can be I, I like the idea of juries of your peers uh, in that you, you, you get more personally more than one person making the, making a decision. Uh-huh. And second of all, you get a wide variety of background so that, Yeah, my question I guess are they really your peers? Uh-huh. I'd agree with that. Uh Uh, too often I think they are not That's definitely a problem. Uh-huh. and, uh, when you, when you are selecting a jury and you are doing it partially if, if not entirely on the basis of which color representation you have you know that is a matter of concern to me too. Uh-huh. Uh, I think that, uh, in such cases, uh, they are not really looking for unbiased people, but rather for biased. Uh-huh. Uh, now I happen to know several judges and there is one that I would feel uncomfortable but has doing sentencing without the jury I would feel a little bit uneasy about Uh-huh. but the other two I feel, uh, would give either you know, the plaintiff or for the defendant the the full benefit of the law. Uh-huh. And I guess that's what I am concerned with. Yeah, yeah. I, guess I, I definitely agree with you, but the well, what I don't like about, uh, sentence, the jury doing the sentencing in that I think it becomes a lot less, Uh-huh. the, the same crime gets unequal sentences. This is very true. I, uh, I think there is more of an ability of you know, you know for selecting a jury, two different juries that would most of the time come up with the same idea, uh, the same idea versus you know whether he is guilty or innocent Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, I think, I think there would be a large variation in, in trying to gage the the severity of the crime and an appropriate punishment and have that that measure stick across the board. Yeah and you do see such uneven sentencing you know, evidence of it in the newspapers and such, I mean where, uh, it would appear the crimes were very similar Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but one individual got twenty-five years and the other one was sentenced to life. So, Uh-huh. Uh, Of course a lot of that's also the ability of, of the defendant to, uh, get a good lawyer. Isn't that the truth Uh-huh. There are times when is it, uh, oh goodness, my mind has gone blank it's, uh, Othello. You know where he says kill all the lawyers Every now and then one is tempted to see what, what. Yeah, I agree But, I, it's taken me a long time to understand that, uh, lawyers are concerned with the law and not with justice as we think of, you know, as, as novices tend to think that, uh, attorneys care about justice. Uh-huh. Uh-huh Oh, yeah, I, I agree with it yeah. They will admit to you that they don't have the benefit of being able to you know, of, of, letting, allowing themselves to believe their clients that are guilty Uh-huh. it's more of the game plan of how do they convince the judge or jury through argument. And they are very effective too. That the Uh-huh. Uh, even, I have been involved, uh, just slightly in a case where I know the person is guilty Uh-huh. but, uh, his attorneys gotten him off. Uh-huh. Uh, the city has dropped their charges against him because their, the attorney has presented enough evidence of doubt to convince the judge. So I don't know Yeah. Uh, this is a little bit of the subject, but one, one thing that I really dislike, uh, also that's, that's new is the, uh, is that I have heard that there are federal sentences, I, you know, actually in this modern day and age, it seems like, uh, uh, we have more and more leisure time because, uh, we have so many convenience, appliances and whatnot. We don't even have to cook dinner anymore. Yes. Yeah, really. Uh, but I, uh, I've heard, I don't know this for a fact, but I've heard that a lot of families really don't spend a great deal of time together. That the kids maybe on the average get, uh, something like thirty seconds of quality time with the parents. That's what I've heard too. Uh, It seems bizarre to me. I don't quite understand it, although I think probably the, the worst thing that's happening in the world, at least the modern world today, is television. Yeah. Not so much because, uh, it's bad per se, although there is some pretty crappy programming and I there's also some, uh, I think, uh, poorer lifestyles illustrated but simply because it dominates so much discussionary time. Right. It's so darned easy to turn the thing on. I know it. I've, I tell myself sometimes, just sit down after work, So I refuse to have one in the house. Oh really? Yeah. Well good for you. Good for you. A lot of people, I talk to a lot of people about that and I've thought about it myself and I though about it a lot Uh-huh. But, uh, I still haven't done it yet. Well that's good. Well I'll tell you. Television sure makes child rearing easy on you. I mean the kids can be a real pest, uh, and turning the T V on is almost like magic, you know, it's like sticking, uh, an electrode into their pleasure center and you don't have to worry about them. That's true I've noticed that. But I don't think it's too good. I don't think so either. Uh, so, you know, I don't know, I take advantage, I don't have a great deal of time to spend with the kids, but I take advantage of, um, dinner time. We always eat together and, you know, whenever you're with your kids, you want to interact with them rather than just ignore them. Do you keep your kids, uh, active in sports or anything or, Uh, I guess our big outlet is music. Uh Oh, okay. our thirteen year old son plays violin and our, nine year old daughter plays cello Okay. and, uh, when our son started playing violin, I took up violin and when our daughter started playing cello, I took up cello. So there's plenty of, plenty of interactive time in, uh, practicing. Although neither kid likes to practice. I guess that's not a big surprise. No. Not for kids But I I imagine with infants you are, most of your time is sort of spent taking care of them rather than interacting with them. Although, Yeah. Well I, I try and read to them and I take them to the park and stuff Oh, you know, reading is so good. I, uh, I took great pleasure in reading to my kids when they were little and I still try to read to them, although our son is not liking that anymore. Yeah. Well, they get to that stage. Uh, but I read, you know there's this DOCTOR SEUSS sleep book. Have you ever seen that yet? Sleep book, no. Yeah, it's called a sleep book and, uh, you ought to get it. I tell you I read that book to my kids so many times I almost have the thing memorized. Uh, We've got quite a few of DOCTOR SEUSS' books. Yeah. Well, I think, I think his sleep book is my favorite. Oh, really? Uh-huh. Well, yeah I like to, I like to do it and they enjoy reading. I've, actually I never read a lot growing up and I never read until a few years ago I just started picking up books and so I've found that, you know, it's really important to me to get to read. To, I like to get away in a book, you know? Uh-huh, uh-huh. And so I've put a lot more emphasis on that, on my kids to try and, Uh-huh. So how much time do you think you spend with your kids on the average per each day? Oh, I probably spend an hour or two. Oh that's great. My wife works at night, so she does, uh, Tupperware, so she's gone a lot at nights and so I spend a lot of time with them Oh, I see. how old are your kids again? They're two and one. Two and one. Uh-huh. Yeah, so you have your hands full with them, that's for sure Yeah I , uh, try to stay away from cars as much as possible in terms of repair. Actually, uh, that is really a sore spot with me. I, I think perhaps the automotive industry is improving but, uh, like ten years ago, uh, reliability of automobiles, at least U S automobiles was pretty dismal and not only that, but the, uh, repair capability of, uh, service departments and dealerships was equally dismal Uh-huh. and, uh, it seemed that the only way I could reliably take care of my car was to repair it myself which is not my cup of tea. Yeah. But, uh, I, So do you have a car? Pardon? Do you have a car? Well, at that time, actually, I had a Volkswagen Rabbit Uh-huh. and, uh, it was, it was a real lemon. Uh, subsequently I got a, uh, Buick Century and it wasn't as bad. Uh-huh. But, uh, last year I bought a Honda Accord and I take it in once every seventy-five hundred miles for its periodic maintenance and that is it. And it's wonderful. Yeah. We used to have a Honda Accord and they're good. They're really good cars. Every time I get taken to an auto repair place, you know, every time I go, I get taken. Bad you know. Huh. Woman goes in and they go all right, we got a sucker. Let's see how much money we can get out of her, you know Huh. That's what happens every time. Huh. Uh, so, So, what do you have? I have a Pontiac Six Thousand. All the more reason to, uh, have a, a Honda. Yeah. But our Honda just got old and just wore out. It was, let's see, eleven years old and it just, just out of it so you bought a Pontiac? huh-uh. My uh, ex-husband's, this is, just happened a couple of weeks ago. He's my ex-husband but just a few months ago when he was my husband, uh, his father gave us this car and everything is wrong with it. I mean, the power steering fluid leaks, the oil leaks, the brake fluid leaks, you know, Now how old is the car? Uh, eighty-seven. Huh. And he just doesn't take care of things and but I was awarded the car so. There is a man in my church that is a mechanic and I can trust him. So he is trying to get, you know, things fixed on it. Huh. But it's just, you know, leak, leak, leak everywhere. But, uh, you know, I hate to go into a, a repair place because they'll tell me something is wrong with it and it's not, you know, and charge me twice as much. The last time I took it into a repair shop, the man told me I needed a master cylinder. So I said okay. And he charged me a hundred and thirty something dollars and then, uh, about a month later, a man was looking at my car and he asked me, you know, not a man, not a repair man, but just a friend and I was telling him that I just a new master cylinder put on and he looked at and he said that's not a new master cylinder Huh. and I didn't even know what one was. And, uh, he showed it to me and it was old, rusty, just awful. It was no more new than nothing. So apparently it was the same one that was on there. Uh, more than likely. Apparently just, uh, uh, probably filled the, the brake fluid up and that was it. That was it, probably. It was I was so irritated. And that's happened to me more than once or twice. just, just about every time I've went in somewhere. So what's the solution to that? I guess find a reputable service, And, and you can hardly find one, you know. Huh. The guy that's doing most of my, my car now, uh, goes to my church and that's the only reason, you know, I go to him because I know him Uh-huh. and I know he will tell me the truth. Because he doesn't even charge me for, for doing it so he's not going to, you know, take me. Right. I just pay for the parts and he does it so. Well that's wonderful. Yeah. You're lucky. Yeah, I am, so, I don't know. I don't know what the solution to that is because the place where you buy your car, they're usually the worst one of all. We took our Honda to the Honda dealership and they ended up telling us we needed a brand new engine for our car. Oh, really? Yeah. And so, idiots as we were, neither one of us knew much about cars, we, you know, they told us we just had to have one and we bought one. We didn't no more need no new engine, give me break, you know. Huh. So it was, it was not good and, uh Uh, I think, uh, actually I'm fairly pleased with the benefits that we have at the, uh, working for a large corporation. And, for me, there's absolutely no question what's the most important benefit I think it's health care. Right. It's what, I think everybody would say that. Oh, and if you try to get it outside of your corporation, you're going to pay an arm and a leg. Right. Belonging to a group is the, belonging to a health group is probably the most important protection you can have after you, Right. Uh, the, uh, sometimes I think it's more important than salary. Uh, do you also get dental? Yes. And, uh, I don't know if I would rank that second but, uh, since I have three boys, uh, it, it can turn out to be important. Yeah, you know Oh, I know. in a, in a given year, dental dental expenses can really kill you. Now my husband is with, uh, Northwest Airlines and he gets, uh, you know, the full health and dental and, uh, we have four children and what you pay just to have teeth cleaned is outrageous. Right. And I don't know how people that don't have it can afford it. Right. It's, uh, Or maybe they don't Right, uh, and then, uh, uh, if the cleaning doesn't get you, the orthodony will. That's right That's right Uh, I guess that would be up there. Uh, I'm not sure if I would rank, uh, how I would rank that next to, say compared to retirement or, uh, uh, uh, pretax savings was another thing that I think is a a great, a great benefit . Uh-huh. Right. And I, I think it's really something that the, uh, the government ought to encourage more because, uh, there are all these complaints about how we're not a saving country and where the average savings rate is something like four percent in this country and fifteen percent in, uh, Germany and Japan. Uh , Right. Well, it's a lot easier to, to save it when you don't get your hands on it first Right. When you have the, when you have the, uh, the economy to scale and everything that a large corporation has, and you can, uh, offer some incentive and if the government goes along by not taxing it when you put it aside you can really build up, uh, the savings and the, that you wouldn't otherwise do Right. and , Uh, what about, what about, uh, lesser, uh, benefits perhaps for you but for, for the women in the, in the corporation. For example, uh, oh, Leave? Yeah. Do they even, do they have father leaves or anything like that? You know, I, I don't think so yet. They may have, uh, just plain parental leave, which either one can take. Uh-huh. Uh, I, their, uh, I know their maternity leave is on the order of six weeks which I think is too short. Uh Oh, I do too. uh, uh, I really think that we need to get into the mold where we talk about years rather than months or weeks. Oh, I think, I think it's just a crying shame, uh, for a mother to have to go back to work at six weeks. Right, and, uh, She isn't recovered And, uh the infant needs her desperately, at that point and time. There , There ought to be, uh, uh, some compromise that could, where, uh, where the person would be guaranteed a, uh, career type position but not necessarily a continuation of exactly the same position uh, in exchange for a longer period of time. Uh-huh. Right, I agree. It's, uh, it's so important to families then and, uh, and yet anybody who's gotten far enough to get a good salary is really reluctant to give that up. Oh, sure. Uh, Especially in this day and age. That, You don't want to start over again anywhere. Yeah, you're right. I think you've put your finger on the one benefit that I, that I would most like to see, uh, changed Uh, the, uh, parental leave. Well, I think they're at, they're they've come a long way. Uh, at least some companies. Some of them, uh, my girlfriend, in particular, that works for a, a rental car agency Right. and, uh, as manager and, uh, they have a very, very poor leave policy and, uh, I just don't know how, how women do it. Particularly, single parents who don't have the support at the other end. Uh, Right They do it by shortchanging their kids. There's no other way. I mean uh, unless they're part of some extended family which is unlikely. Uh That's right. That's exactly right. Right. people moving as much And, uh, they just, it's just a terrible choice, you shouldn't have to make it. Uh-huh. Uh you're right. And, uh One of the benefits we get, of course, is travel Oh, right. Boy, would I like to have that. It's wonderful Yeah. The only trouble is that you can afford to go anywhere but you can't afford to stay once you get there Oh, listen I have friends in a lot of different cities. If you just fly me there, I'll take care of that That's right. You have to have an awful lot of fun just, just getting there, is, has to be half the fun. Right. So and, uh, I guess the, And you say you have some strong feelings about, uh, the issue? Uh, yes I do as far as, uh, as far as, uh, as far as immigration as a whole goes. Uh-huh. I think that, uh, we simply must start accepting everybody in the world. Uh-huh. Uh, I, there just is not going to be room for all of us. We don't have jobs now. I, I think, uh, I think when we come to a time of recession that it's particularly important that we shut our doors at that time. Uh, I hope you're one of the employed right now. Uh-huh. I am one of the unemployed right now. I was a systems analysis and programmer for an oil company and, uh, I applied for one set of jobs with a company here in Dallas that they had two hundred openings but they had two thousand applications. Yeah. And I know that there are a lot of foreigners, uh, here, you know, doing my line of work. Uh-huh. And, of course, I'm not perfectly happy about not having a job. Right. So, how do you feel? Well, I'm a little bit ambivalent. The problem with, uh, and I think one of the problems with immigration policy is like any other political problem is that people are not willing to discuss it, uh, in, in terms of what, uh, really is driving it. They're not willing to tell the truth. The same way with, uh, issues of, uh, race and things like that I mean right now, uh, I believe there are two policies that, uh, that the government uses to modulate immigration. Three actually. One is at the high end, uh, they always want to be able to, uh, do some brain draining. They always like to be able to attract the, uh, Einsteins or the Professor Chou or, you know. Right They'd like to be able to get the top people in any field and so they can almost always find room for someone like that. At the bottom end, they, uh, are always willing to, uh, let in cheap labor if it lowers the cost of doing business in some particular area and has strong support from the, powerful people in that area. Those are two things that I think are going on. Although they, I, I don't think the politicians would tell you that. Okay and I think you're right in both cases. And then the, third thing is, uh, the political aspect of, uh, uh, letting steam come out from under the lid in Mexico They cannot close off the Mexican border. Not because it's physically impossible but because the explosion that would take place in Mexico would be, uh, uh, would spill over to this country so they keep allowing, uh, the pressure cooker to let off steam. And I think probably it's pretty important right there. How do you feel about Haitian immigration? Uh, that's one of the few things I guess I found myself in agreement with Pat Buchanan I think they're a very difficult group to integrate into, uh, society. They're very difficult, uh, group to find jobs and, uh, and, uh, places for. And so, uh, uh, I don't deny that we may have been involved in causing the problem that, uh, in that they're pretty miserable where they are. But I'm not to sympathetic about, uh, letting large numbers of Haitians in. Actually, actually I feel that if we accepted these people that we would eventually have almost the total population here. Yeah. And it would have nothing to do with political situations. It would have to do with poverty. Right. But if you let them, yeah. If you let them in a million at a time, it wouldn't make that, you know, it wouldn't make that big a bulge in the population. But politically and economically. Oh, my gosh. Have you been, have you been to southern Florida? Yeah, well I know about it. Uh, I mean it's, it is now with Haitians the way it was with Cubans, uh, twenty years ago. Well, I mean and the two of them together. I mean we can, it's just as well you know, it's hardly America anymore. On the other hand, you know, the ironic thing about this is that there's nobody more full of the entrepreneurial American spirit than our first generation immigrant So there's, uh, there's a lot to be said for having a steady stream of people who know how it is someplace else coming in. But there's some differences in the immigrants, that, that we're getting now. Well I particularly have a problem with the illegal immigration. Right. Sure. I think, probably your, a great deal of what you say is true about the legals. Right. But, uh, the majority of the illegal immigration we're getting now, they do not come here to blend into America. Uh, they, they don't bother to learn our language and, uh, first of all, they, I'm sorry, this, I really feel strongly about this. Uh-huh. We send a lot of money to Mexico. Uh-huh. Why don't you start? Oh, I don't know. I, uh, I refinished a couple of old, uh, dressers that were handed down. You know, nice it's nice tongue and groove, uh, uh, construction. Uh, that's been, I've been pretty successful with that. Things you already owned or things that you've picked up just to do that? What? Are they things you already owned or you pick them up just to do that refinishing? No, I've done some other things too. Uh, you know. Yeah. I've done both Yeah. Uh, uh, my wife has picked up a couple of things saying, uh, boy if we could refinish that, that would be a beautiful piece of furniture and, uh, we've done it a couple of times. I guess that we've been fairly successful with those. Oh, yeah. That's, uh, that's a kind of low risk sort of project, isn't it I guess. Yeah. That's a good way to get started. Uh, I have a, a, uh, really nice desk. A nicer desk than I could afford. Which I got because my sister who worked in a hospital, uh liberated it after a fire Uh-huh and, uh, we stripped it all the way down and refinished it and it turned out to be really nice, uh, a nice desk. Maple top I think or or something of that sort. Uh-huh Uh-huh Yeah. I, I, uh, put together a, a, up rolltop desk from scratch. Oh, really? You know, a kit. Oh. I'm jealous. Yeah. Still had to cut it and everything, but it was fun. Uh-huh. Yeah I, I do do things, uh, that might be too crude to be called woodworking. I've built my own deck and, uh things like that. Uh-huh. Yeah. I, I've done the same. You know, like the trim around the house you know the baseboards and things like that. And, uh I definitely have begun to accumulate tools too. My, I, uh I picked up a bunch of Craftsman tools from the forties that my wife's father owned when he was alive Uh-huh. and so I do have a band saw and a router and, uh, things like that out in the garage. But I can't say I use them very often Um. Yeah , I'm looking at trying to get a router right now. They're handy, uh, they they come in handy at the most unusual times. Putting doors in is the time when I'm, uh, I bought myself a, uh, template for making mortices and doors and that's a whole lot easier than doing it with a chisel I'll bet. But I've, also, I've also used them for building drawers where you, uh, for rabbeting and, uh, because, uh, rabbeting on my table, on my, uh, radial arm saw is a little bit uncertain Uh-huh. So, I got one for Christmas a few years ago and used it quite a bit for the first eight months I had it and now I use it twice a year maybe Yeah. My my brother's used it a lot for making drawers. I don't know, The big, what, what's your opinion of what a good router is like? You know I, Uh, I guess it, Because he was tell me like the ones that you dial in aren't all that great. They've plastic parts and stuff. The ones that what? That you dial in on the side. Uh, I have never even I have never even looked at one closely. Uh, the, the little use that I've gotten from my router, I would say, uh, I would spend my money on the bits Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I have a, I'd guess you'd call a medium quality Craftsman router and the, uh, How strong is it? It's strong enough for any job where you don't try to take more than say three-eighths of an inch at a time. But the problem is that the, uh, as with any, any time you buy a, a tool with a, a, as a, as a package the bits that they give you are low end. Don't they, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So the price of a good set of, uh, carbide steel, uh, bits is probably, uh, I mean, a, a good set of bits is probably going to run you a hundred dollars and, uh, uh, if you're going to use for a lifetime I suppose it's worth it. Because uh, I imagine if I go and sharpen them myself, uh, they won't last And I've never had the bits sharpened So. That's a thing to consider is to, Uh-huh. They, they really get hot don't they? Yeah. And they, they dull after awhile. Especially, I did some cabinets in, uh, ash and oak Uh-huh. and, uh, that, that wears a bit down. We remodeled and saved a bunch of really nice ash cabinets, uh which had been in the original, remodeling of our kitchen. Uh-huh. Right. And I saved them and built an oven cabinet out of one and another cabinet out of another by using the faces and so forth And, uh, routing hardwood will, uh, take the edge off a cheap bit pretty fast So. Yeah. I've cut some one by eight oak before Boy was that fun. Right. That's, uh, Big solid pieces of oak are just tough. And then you take the blade to the to get sharpened, right Well, that was, you know, with a, with a circular saw. Uh-huh. Like, oh my gosh. Right. Is this going to be fun Yeah Well I've used mine on treated wood and now all my blades need sharpening. Because, uh, treated wood will also chew them up. Yeah. Treated wood can really make you sick too. Okay, so, um, yes we do keep, uh, well we started out keeping a budget about two years, ago, we have a computer, here at the house, Uh-huh. and I made a Lotus spreadsheet and went through the year using all of our, our checkbook to figure out what we spent each time and whether we were over or under for each month and then basically since then what I've done is, is keep track of it through the checkbook so that based on whatever we've got coming in, the check coming in, then how much I'm spending each half of the month and then trying to also because our house payment is once a month, that's our, our biggest, uh, expense so I take half of that amount out of my checkbook each, with each paycheck, even thought it's really still there, so that I can keep, uh, uh, good balance, a running total, yeah through the month, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. A running total. Yeah. What do you all do? Uh, we've, we've, uh, taken how much we have, you know, write down how much we have coming in each month and then, uh, we've, at the beginning of the year we sat down and determined how much we could spend. We sat made up different accounts like, you know, we've set a budget for each, you know, household expenses, or food, and clothing and entertainment and then our, our own fun money and just stuff like that and then we write down each, each time we spend something, we write down in a book and at the end of the month we tally it up to see how close we, you know we, we try to stay within a certain budget, so. Is it, is it hard to keep track of it or does it work out pretty well? Um, it takes some, it takes some dedication to do it, but it, it works out real well, so. And, and you're staying within your budget and everything is working pretty good. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, I stay I have to stay within it, so I, you know, and then we have that, you know, if you can't stay, if something comes up and you can't stay within it then we have, uh, you know, a budget for, you know, like we call our slush fund or something and an unexpected comes up, then you're not, you know, you don't feel it so strapped. You don't have to go out and borrow it somewhere and do that. Right, yeah, because we don't, you know, we don't charge anything that we can't pay off by the end of the month. That's a good choice, we've been trying, we're trying to, uh, do that this year. We've budgeted the money that we used to spend, we were spending on a CODA account with T I and then money we were also buying stock with for that year, we've taken that this year, and said we're going to pay off all of our credit cards to someone else in the You've got paper under your table. and, uh, we have, uh, another loan with the bank, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and so we hope by the end of this year, that by doing that we'll be free, and clear. To be out of that. Free. Yeah, the only thing we have, it to pay off is our, is a automobile loan and our house payment, and that's the only thing we ever, That's good to be in that kind of shape. We try to stay out of debt What are you all trying to do long term. Huh. Oh it's long term. We just, he you know, his retirement plan and then to CODA and stuff like that, that's all we, and you know, we just have our life insurance for right now. Uh-huh. So, we don't have any long term, you know, in stocks, or anything like that right now, so. Yeah, mostly what we're doing, we've worked, we've done the, uh, CODA account with T I where they, we put in so much a month, and then they, or so much a pay check and then they match it. Yeah, that's what we're doing. So that's, that's worked out pretty good and then, I used to work for T I and I have, when I retired from there, or left, I took the money I that I had in mine and put it in an I R A and we had an out, we had an existing I R A so we have, both of us have some money in an I R A that we're also trying to figure, to, put it, we're putting it in C D's right now, Uh-huh. and then we're also looking at it in possibly getting a mutual fund. Yeah, when ever we get enough saved we stick it in a C D for a while and, then, uh, you know and then when, if we need it we wait until it, it's expired and then so, Yeah. The other thing that we've done, that, that was really nice to see, we had one of the financial companies, um, uh, John Hancock company came out and their agent did a long term analysis based on salary and, uh, what we were what, what our, uh, goals were on a long term budget in terms of retirement, kids college, paying off the house, buying a different house, um, special thing, buying land and building our own house Uh-huh. and they did an analysis for us based on what we were putting in and the time frame that we wanted to look at, and then gave us a good idea back, you know, some good information back on whether or not we were going to achieve those goals, and, or not, and what we needed to do so that we could achieve them and the money we could put in at what time. Uh-huh. or not, yeah. Uh-huh. That sounds interesting, we've never done we have, you know, just our, our life insurance guy has come out, you know, and he's set up, uh, you know, determined how much we need to, you know, we need if something were to happen. Yeah, that, that's the other financial thing I guess that we've done is with our life insurance is, since I'm at home now is, is figuring out, uh, what we would need if something happened to my husband, or what he would need if something happened to me, that's a, a big thing to think about. Right, yeah, you know, if, I would sell the, you know, if, he, something would happen to him, I wouldn't stay in Texas, I would, uh, sell the house and move back home, you know, to my home town, and, and, uh, I wouldn't stay here in Texas, so you know, I don't know what he would do. Okay, I guess that's most of my, um, financial plans right now. Yeah mine too. Is, is there anything you'd like to add? No, that's about all for mine. Well it's been nice talking to you. Nice talking to you too. Bye, bye Bye, bye. How do you usually keep up with current events? Normally I listen to C N N or HEADLINE NEWS about an, hour a day, and then I supplement that with, uh, radio news from my car radio and from a news magazine once a week, and a newspaper if I have time. Do you, Yeah, I don't usually have time to read the newspaper everyday, so I try to listen to the radio in the morning and, and try to catch one of the morning talk shows, and then I usually end up flipping through C N N and HEADLINE NEWS during the evening. I always try to read the Sunday paper just because it usually gives a summary of the, the week's hot events. So, I try to, I try to catch that, if nothing else. That's true, and, and how do you rate the, uh, are you pleased with the news coverage that you're receiving? For, for local news I think we do real well where it's, we live in a kind of small town, but I think we get excellent local coverage, um , and I like the national news that we see, we, we watch N B C and I think they do a real good job. So, I'm, I've been real pleased with the quality of the news we get, how about you? On the whole, I'm pleased when I have an opportunity to hear just the facts. I would much prefer that they keep their analysis to themselves. Um, since I don't necessarily agree with it or it tends to be extraordinarily trite. Right. Uh, I think I'm fed up with trite. There seems to be more and more of it, and I understand the void that, uh, comes naturally with both radio presentations and television presentations and as expensive as they are to produce, they certainly don't want any dead airspace. Uh-huh. Yeah, but I think there's enough news out there that they could pass on more factual information to us, and like you said, save the commentaries because I'm going to listen to the, the news and draw my own opinions. I don't really need their help to do that. I, I, we're certainly in agreement there. I don't think radio is as bad to do that as T V is. Radio seems to have a full platter or full plate of different things that they need to get done. They're, maybe they're a little more efficient, or have more to do over that same time frame. Uh-huh. Right. I don't know which that answer is. Uh, I think the, my greatest complaint about news programs is programs like SIXTY MINUTES. Do you watch that? I used to, but I don't anymore, maybe once or twice a year. Well, I used to watch SIXTY MINUTES until they did two programs, uh , that I knew both the people and the incidences, Uh-huh. and I knew that they had presented an extremely slanted viewpoint, that was, in my estimate, nowhere near truth but was much better for ratings. Really? Yes. And it, ever since that time I just don't watch. Uh, so, I guess we have the, the same reaction whether we came about it from the same place or not. Yeah. Well, I had heard a couple of people, you know, that I had talked to about certain programs say that, you know, they had read other things besides what SIXTY MINUTES presented and that they didn't present it nearly the same way as the, you know, news articles or whatever they had, they had already been familiar with. So, I started questioning just how, how bias they really were, so. I don't know I don't know how old you are, but it seems to me like the last, uh, newscaster that presented news in just the nice simple factual way that I wanted to hear was Walter Cronkite. Huh. So, I don't, I don't know if you're familiar with him or not. No, not really, you know, in the last few years just his kind of informal segments I've seen but I never got to see his actual nightly news. I liked, I, I did grow up with David Brinkley. Uh, Well, Brinkley was sort of trying to be in the mold, of Cronkite Uh-huh. and he did a, a pretty good job. THE HUNTLEY, BRINKLEY REPORT was quite excellent, over the years. Yeah, we, we used to watch, um, him and I guess, John Chancellor. And I always liked David Brinkley and and I used to enjoy John Chancellor's style of reporting, but on the nightly news, now, he goes into his commentary and that's where I get, get into the problem with, with him. I frequently disagree with his commentaries, so. Well, once they've reported the facts, all they can offer is an opinion anymore. Right. What did you think of the news coverage of the war? Well, I almost felt like it was too much. Indeed, I found myself restricting my viewing to a couple of hours a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Uh-huh. Uh, I spent a number of years in the service as an intelligence analyst, Really? and I don't need their fill-ins, you know Did that help you understand a lot what was going on your, your prior experience with the military did, Yes, but I, I think it helps me everyday in trying to review the state that the world is in and try to guess where we're going. I wondered if it would help you sometimes fill-in the gaps or recognize discrepancies that other people, people like myself might not pick up on. Well, I, I think, uh, my background is probably what absolutely turned me off with SIXTY MINUTES. Okay. What weekly, um, magazine do you look at, is it, I like U S NEWS and WORLD REPORT. At one time or another I've taken them all for a year. Uh-huh. I believe in giving anything a chance. Sure. Uh, but I keep coming back to that one, so, I, that's kind of my favorite. Does that give a pretty good overview of everything or like, does it give, um, I guess, little encapsulated reports and, and then a few big stories? It's primarily, um, a few big stories and then lots of high-level reports. Yeah. Uh, here's what went on in Asia over the past week, and there's maybe a page of that, little brief paragraphs, unless that was one of their, the focus of their main stories. That sounds good if you were short on time, you could get a summary real quick. Uh, it too is one those in the interest of efficiency we all have to find ways, and I do most of my reading in the bathroom. Right. Um, and it's one of those that I can read either an article or a couple of pages of those brief excerpts in the time frame that I'm going to spend in there. Right. And it just seems to fit nicely, so that I can get it read in about three days. Well, we're working on a NEWSWEEK, uh, for the last couple of months we got, you know, an introductory subscription, so, we decided to try it because prior to that all we got were things like GLAMOUR or SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. So, we decided to try to bring one in that was a little bit better for us, so to speak. Well, to broaden your horizons, make you think about different things anyway. It can't hurt, Well, anytime that we stop and think it can't hurt. No. I, I even, I enjoy reading T NEWS, I try to catch it because it's another example, they just, they just show you the words and the facts and they, they don't offer any commentary, and it gives me a quick chance to, to be caught up during the day. Because, you know, we don't listen to the radio at work at all. So, I don't like to go the whole day without hearing anything. Oh, I'm with you, I have to check T NEWS every, every day. It's my noontime dose of facts. Yeah, and the other thing we have that I like to check sometimes is, um, TALKING FINGERS, do you have that? No. You have different telephone numbers that you can dial, and then you dial in an access code and it will, depending on what topic you called in to hear about whether it was the news or the weather or a soap opera update, it will give you, um, updated information. So, that can give you, you know, current news updates, current weather updates, things like that and it's, it's offered through the local phone company free of charge. So, that's, an interesting alternative occasionally that I like to use. Huh. Well, it does sound very interesting, It, It really is, yeah, it really is nice, I mean, because it gives you a wide variety of things you can call and talk, and find out about. maybe our phone company out here will get around to, offering something like that. So, that is something you might keep your eyes open for, I think it's, it's catching on throughout the country Well, how do you feel about it? Well, uh, I don't have any strong convictions about it, that's for sure. Um, I know I haven't done any Peace Corps service, and I don't know anybody in my immediate family that has, or, you know, has ever even thought about it. Do you know, uh, do you know anybody that's been it? No, the, the only people I know that have done anything remotely like that are people that have gone to be missionaries, and that's only because I went to Baylor, and a lot of students from Baylor go and, and serve as missionaries during the summer. But I think, I think that's a terrible idea. That's like forcing someone to donate to a charity. Yeah. I mean, and it's nice to, to try to teach young people some, some, uh, uh, civil, uh, consciousness, but forcing them to, to donate basically their time and efforts, Yeah, it's definitely up to the person, uh, so, I'd have to say that, uh, it, you know, the people who do it, well, some feel it's rewarding. I don't know, you know, but, uh I don't know how we got the subject, . You have to, I don't either. I have nothing to say about this. I don't either. I was, I almost hung up, because I thought, well, gosh, I don't, I don't really have an opinion except for no, I think that's dumb. Uh-huh. But, uh, Well, how long you been in San Antonio? I've been here for, um, just almost, well, no, almost four years. Um, okay. And I lived with Dana in school. Oh, okay. That's how we know each other. And, uh, you, you were just up there then, huh. Uh-huh, last weekend. We went to Six Flags Saturday. Oh, okay. Had a good old time. Well, that's good. Well, back to the topic at hand. What other types of community service would they be talking about. I mean, the, the recording mentioned the Peace Corps. Well, it sounded like, I mean, this is like major long term commitment, like a year or six months, Yeah. or, so you're looking at the Peace Corps or sabbatical maybe, or, you know, I don't know, I mean, but, uh, I mean, I'm all for donating my time to worthy causes, like I do some volunteer work here and there, and every once in a while I'll do, uh, a, uh, local Big Brother Big Sister thing. Uh-huh. Or I'll go, you know, do a . But that, that time is minuscule compared to what, what, they were referring to. Yeah. Yeah, I couldn't possibly commit a year or two of my life to, to go do something. Yeah, yeah, they couldn't cover my hourly rate I couldn't afford it. No kidding. But, uh, I have this thing against bugs, too. And seems to me like the Peace Corps, they send you someplace that there's a lot of bugs . Yeah, Africa. Yeah, have to live in a shack with no air conditioning and no medicine and no anything. I'd probably catch a terrible disease and die. Yeah, well. I doubt that, but, you know how it is . I, I mean, it would, it would have to be tough going somewhere you don't know the culture, usually, I guess. Yeah. I think that maybe that's why some people do it is, uh, to see the other cultures or, you know and some of that. Uh-huh. But, uh, to do that, I don't know, I'd have to be, I don't know. Oh, I don't know either. Growing up, all I knew was you go to high school, you, you know, you work, you go to college, you get out of college, and you get a good job and you work. And, and none of this, you go spend two years in the Peace Corps to to broaden your horizons. Uh-huh. Well, you know, uh, I know American Express, I'm I'm working at American Express now, and they, after a certain amount of years of service, these employees can take off like six months or something, for some type of sabbatical or some, you know, some, something like that. Uh-huh. And they're allowed to take that time off and then come back where they left off. Oh. So, it is something that I think, uh, you know, even the larger organizations will support. Uh, it's, it's really for the community to give, you know, to, to give back to the community type of thing. I don't know, it's for, I think, at the same it's for some people to, you know, help them grow in other areas, Kind of like joining the military. Well, I mean, in that respect a lot of people join the military to, to grow up and to decide what they want to do, Yeah, and the Peace Corps or something like that is probably useful as, as that kind of a time. Yeah, maybe a little bit in that perspective, but, uh, and a lot of people have gone in the military, I mean, you know, when they're in the college. Sometimes it's to help support college, you know, the money. Uh-huh. Uh, others, people don't know what they want to do. But as far as, uh, you know, the Peace Corps. I guess, I suppose there's a few people that have done it at that point in their lives. But I think a lot of it's, you know, when people get older, they'll do something like that. I'd probably have a different perspective if I actually knew someone that had gone into the Peace Corps. Yeah. But I don't. I, I, I don't. and none of my, Didn't mean to cut you off there. Oh, that's okay. and none of my really close friends in college went off to be missionaries or anything. So I don't really know anyone first hand that's, that's committed a chunk of their life to do service work. I, Everybody I know has been, well, I'm going to go get a good job and make some money and buy a nice car. So. Yeah, or, or try to make a living. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, I, I have no, I don't know anybody that's done that either. So, I, I, it's interesting we got this topic because I, I, I don't know what I marked off to get this, but. I certainly didn't mark off anything to get this one. I, I can't imagine, and the switchboard's been down for several days, and the last time I called it before it went down, I had this topic, and I didn't feel like talking about it, so I hung up, and I guess they, they keep you on the same topic until you actually talk to somebody about it. So you had the same one, huh. Yeah. Oh, well. Well, you'll, you'll get it over with here I know. How many times have you talked? Oh, probably five or six. Yeah. Not a whole lot. Oh, I've done maybe four or five. Yeah. Did Dana sign you up for this? Well, she just sent me the information out. I, I got a hold of it, you know, I just sent it back in, and. Yeah, that's, she stuck my name on some list, so they mailed me the information that I filled out . What other topics have you had? Um, I've talked about camping with someone. I've talked about the weather. Great, great. That one was interesting because I talked to a man in, in Washington, D C, and it was hot here, and it was snowing there. So that was pretty interesting. Uh-huh. And I talked to someone about the, uh, the, uh, education system. I forget exactly what the focus was on that one. But that was fairly interesting. And I talked to somebody about credit card usage. Yeah. And I talked to this person who I gathered from speaking to her, that, that she and her family just didn't have much, and they didn't have much credit available to them. Uh-huh. And so she basically didn't use credit cards and didn't know very much about them and how they work, and, and how you can use them to your advantage, and, and how, you know, you, you can do certain things with them. Huh. Yeah, I always, I use everything with my Visa, and I pay it all off. Yeah. So that's a good deal for me. I get free money for thirty days. Yeah. That's the way I use them, uh Yeah. I try, I try to make sure I don't get in debt. So. Yeah, well that's always a good plan. I can't think of anything else that I've talked about. All that most of the ones on the list, I checked off stuff like football and, and stuff that I can, I, I would enjoy talking about and I haven't gotten a one of them yet when I've called. I had, uh, let's see, I've had fishing, and, uh, I can't remember, me and, I think me and Dana had football. Yeah, we did. Oh, how funny. Yeah. So we talked about the Cowboys a little bit. And, I'm out here in Phoenix, so we talked about Cardinals. Uh-huh. And, so, so that one was all right. And then what else did I have? I think I had some other, uh, like staying in shape or working out. This other guy, I got this guy from New York, so. I had to talk to someone about hobbies, and the switchboard called me, so I was caught a little off guard, and I couldn't think of anything at all. So I started making stuff up. I told this woman that my hobby was gardening, and I can't even I can't even grow an ivy. And you've probably never gardened in your life . My grandfather gave me a plant once, that told, and he told me when he gave it to me that it was impossible to kill, you could freeze it, you could, you could dry it out, no matter what, you couldn't kill it. Well, I killed it pretty quick. Yeah, I don't have too much of a green thumb either. So. I do have one plant here, it's been hanging out for a while, but I think it's one of the easiest plants. I can't, I don't know the name of it, but I'm not too much into ... Where do you live? Uh, in the Houston area. Uh-huh. Well, I used to. I lived there for a long time. But I'm now in Palo Alto, California which is, I think, the recycling capital of the world. Oh, that's great. So, we have many recycling activities and I'm, and in full, uh, support of all of them. Oh, we are too. Our community is, uh, just starting to get organized about it. They just opened up a recycling center where we go and donate our, our things and dump them off ourselves. Uh-huh. And, uh, it, Well, that's something but it, it seems to me that we've gotten a whole lot better, um, cooperation out here, uh, by setting it up so that we pay just a little bit extra, uh, actually I don't think we pay very much extra at all too, but the, uh, garbage men, come by, uh, on your regular garbage day and pick up the recycling out at the curb. Uh-huh. I think that's great. There's a few places in Houston where they're trying that out. I don't know if it's, the, if they've done it citywide yet or not where they have the color coded, uh, bags and, uh, bins. Yeah, we have burlap sacks, Oh. and they give us one for aluminum and, uh, steel, one for metals, and one for glass, Uh-huh. and then you can either bundle your newspapers or put them in grocery bags. So, we have, we leave three little piles, that they need out on the curb every Thursday and the garbage men come by and, uh, collect them and leave us new bags when ours get old and ratty or leave the ones if they're still in good shape. Oh, that's great. And, the, it really pays for itself because, oh, then the city, gets the money from the recycling. Uh-huh. Yeah, we're, we're all for it. Our, um, we've got several bins in our, on, in our garage where we, uh, you know, sort things out and, and take it to, to the appropriate places. Yeah, the one thing I wish we could recycle is magazines. But they claim that because of the way they're bound they, uh, it's too expensive to recycle them. At my office, we have two big cardboard boxes in the library where everybody goes to pick up their mail, Yes. and they're, uh, one's for white paper and one's for colored paper so anything like manuscripts or computer paper or things like that goes in those boxes, Uh-huh. but we get tons of catalogs and things like that and magazines, and there's no way to get rid of them. It just seems like such a waste. Oh, it does. It does. But I'm sure that they can, uh, find some sort of, uh, use for them if, you know, you know, there, I've seen talk about, uh, using garbage for, uh, energy. Uh-huh. And so, you know, you could also apply the magazines toward that. Well, that would be a help. I wish they would do that here. We have got so little landfill space left that we're going to run out before the end of this decade. Yes. And it's really going to be a mess when they have to start hunting for places to put the things. Oh, I know it. We did have, uh, another novel, uh, experiment start this year. Now we can put all our yard clippings out. Oh. You can, you buy these super giant heavy-duty paper bags, they're about four-feet high. Uh-huh. And you get them for I think it's about fifty cents apiece at the grocery store you, um, usually buy them by the dozen. Uh-huh. And then you put all your yard clippings and, uh, leaf rakings and anything that will be compostible . Oh, uh-huh. And those and they, the garbage men also pick those up on Thursdays. Oh, that's great. And then the, uh, they take them to a special part of our dump where composting is now in full swing, and at the end of every year, uh, they sell all the composts to nurserymen and to local people who want to put it on their flower beds Right, well, that's a great idea. I wish we were that, uh, involved in, uh, or that our city was so involved in, that involved in recycling, like that Yeah. because, you know, I've talked to many people and we wouldn't mind going its extra effort to do it. Uh, If they make it so that it's not a horrendous inconvenience, I think most people would. Yeah, oh, yeah. You know, and I don't mind, you know, at first it was the, the little extra money that you got, you know, returning the cans in and stuff like that. Right. But now, you know, I don't mind as long as things are getting recycled, you know, that we don't get reimbursed. No, I think it's, it's, to me more of a convenience to have them come pick it up, then to get that two cents when you take it to the store. Uh-huh. Oh, I, oh, I know it. We still have bins at the grocery stores where you can turn in bottles and cans, for cash. Uh-huh. But so few people, uh, have enough to make that worthwhile you'd spend more in gas getting down there then you get back. Right. Yes. And then the, plus the time that you waste standing in line is valuable also. Now do the grocery stores in Houston have recycling for their paper bags and plastic bags? We have, I know of one that, the one that we use, uh, has, uh, recycling for the bags. Uh-huh. And, uh, and they're promoting the cloth bags. You know, the reusable cloth bags. Yeah, well, we can get a nickel apiece for any paper bags that we bring back to be reused. Oh, that's great. They just take it off like they do a coupon. They can just subtract it from your bill, Oh. and they have a giant bin by the front door for the plastic bags, Uh-huh. and they say, as long as it's clean they don't want a plastic bag that's full of goop Yes. Here they don't want your rotted tomatoes. But they want any clean and dry plastic bag so I keep, and the thing is, I hardly have room now for all the things that we're saving it to recycle, so right outside the back door, I've got the two burlap bags hung up for the cans and bottles, Uh-huh. and there, right outside the, that place where the garbage can is we have the bag for the newspapers, and now we've got the bag for the plastic bags I understand, uh, my husband about once a weekend he'll go, uh, to a couple of areas where he knows that the people just throw cans out. Oh, yeah. And he'll go pick them up because he just can't stand that. He, he, Well, how nice, that's great. And, uh, it's so, you know, he, we have all our piles of, of recyclables also. Uh-huh. I remember at Christmas the, the only thing that I'm, when you were talking about the composting, the only thing that our city did that was they uh, provided a place for us to take our Christmas trees. Uh, to for them to mulch. For, for city use. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, that's, they just put all our Christmas trees in the regular, uh, compost, pickup Uh-huh. so they did say that you had to put it out within, I think it was, uh, three weeks after, Christmas. Uh-huh. Right. And, uh, otherwise you would have to treat it like you would any other lawn refuse. It would have to be cut into four-foot lengths. So, you know , if we have branches or something, they have to be cut in four-foot lengths, Uh-huh. but otherwise, uh, they have to be in one of their paper bags. Well, that sounds like you all really have a, a great system worked out there. And they even picked up our, uh, Styrofoam packing materials. They brought, uh, the week after Christmas they left a plastic bag on everybody's front doorknob with a little note on it saying, we're trying something new next week only, if you have any, uh, of those little, uh, Styrofoam peanuts that, any of your Christmas presents were packed in, put them in this bag and leave it out with your recycling Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and we'll, uh, take all of those back and try to recycle them. Right. Well, see that's one, But I, that's not going to be a regular feature. That was just a one time thing right after Christmas. Well, the, but, uh, something does need to be done about the Styrofoam that, uh, Well, those things must take up a huge amount of space in landfills. Oh, yeah, I mean, they don't, uh, uh, They don't mash No. They don't compress at all. And they stay forever. Right. And I've seen where some places have taken a plastic and, uh, they're recycling them into other plastics. And the Styrofoam also into insulation and things like that Uh-huh. and I think that would be great if they could get something organized along those lines. Yeah, I do too. The difficulty with that is that very few people have enough to make it worthwhile. It, they really have to rely on businesses that generate a lot of that stuff. Right. Uh, because otherwise, uh, you know, they're not going to go house-to-house collecting it, and you're not going to bother if you have one bag full, to drive all the way to some recycling center to turn in just your little plastic peanuts Uh-huh. Right Oh, I was thinking about, you know, like the, uh, the Styrofoam used at, uh, the fast-food restaurants, that if everybody, uh, Yeah. and so, yeah, I know like our cafeteria here uses a lot of Styrofoam but, uh, Now we quit that about two years ago, no, three years ago when we got china mugs for everybody. Huh. So, and the only difficulty with that is that we're in the middle of a five-year drought and so it's a real difficult choice whether we want Styrofoam cups to fill up our landfills or, uh, china cups to use up our water But at the moment we're using the china cups, and everybody gets one at the beginning of the year, and then, uh, your supposed to keep it recycled every day. Well, that's good. That's a, Yeah. they should last awhile Well, let us hope that everybody's going to be paying more attention to this and that we will get, uh, better reuse of things because, I believe we are. I I have to believe everybody is starting to pay attention and take heed of what is happening. Yep. And so it will, it will be good, in the long run. It sure will. Well, I enjoyed it. Well, good to talk, Yeah, the question was, uh, what kind of books do you read for entertainment, uh, uh, I guess, Oh, I just read for escape. Okay Well, I mean it's, With two little kids I can understand that. Yes. It's that's simple. I read to escape, and I don't read any PARENTS magazines either. Oh So. What, uh, what kind of, Well, I just finished, just, I just finished one last night. A great book. It, it's very, a typical for my reading though but a great book, one called, THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'Brien. Huh. And it's, uh, God I don't know if I would call it a collection of Vietnam war stories or if I'd call it a collection of Vietnam love stories. Oh. Strange book. Beautifully written. Uh-huh. Just beautifully written. By, uh, somebody who was there or, Yeah, a guy who was there as a, uh, foot soldier. Uh-huh. So, he considered himself to be, you know, a, a true Vietnam soldier. Yeah. Well, any of the guys that were ground yes. Yeah, I can imagine. Yeah. So, what's the latest one you've read? Well, I tell you what, I'm a kind of, uh, a history nut. I'm trying to think back now, I read an awful lot of, uh, periodicals and, uh, you know, almost what you call reference books. Uh-huh. And, uh, the last, uh, I'm embarrassed to say the last, you know, honest to gosh, cover to cover book that I read, I cannot, right offhand, I tried to read, uh, one of the, the Michener, uh, LONE STAR or the, the TEXAS HISTORY BOOK. I have never been able to make it through any of Michener's work. Oh, well, I've had similar problems. It does tend to, to, Have you, are you a Civil War buff at all? Yeah, as a matter of fact, yeah Because I finished one, I think this is like two years ago, and somebody had given me one of these dinky do, crappy women's novels set in the Civil War, John Jakes with , Yeah. and the novel didn't do that much for me. But, boy, the period of time was fascinating. Uh-huh. So, I then read, was it BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM, Uh-huh. or, yeah, I think it was BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM. BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM . It's kind of like a historical compendium, of the Civil War, Yeah. and it's not a story of the Civil War, it's a story of all the politics and, uh, lobbying and just basically state by state events, that lead to the events that brought about the Civil War. Uh-huh. And it's fascinating because I had always, you know, been raised on this, you know, Emancipation Proclamation with the Civil War. Uh-huh. There was a lot more to it than that, weren't there? There was a lot more to it than that. As a matter of fact that was a very minor part that kind of become like an afterthought. Yeah, well, it was a political move. Oh, yeah. It was made to placate some of the northern support but not completely alienate all the southern support because, you know, it was, uh, if you read it, it only emancipated those who were in areas, uh, in rebellion against the United States. All the other areas which would, I think at that time would have included West Virginia and, oh, may have been Kentucky, a few states, you know, that were not part of the South but still had slaves. Uh-huh. They didn't emancipate them. Well, you know what else really surprised me, now I'm married to a native Texan and I'm not. Uh-huh. Uh, I've got the same problem yeah, I'm glad you put it that way. And I have two native Texan children too. Yeah. My husband is always, you know, talked about Texas being a, uh, rebel state. Uh-huh. And, oh, my God, all this Civil War pride. I kept waiting for, where's some reference to this goddamn State of Texas and the role that they played either leading up to or in the Civil War. isn't much there, was there? They might as well have not even been there. Right. You know, they weren't a state and the only, the only way that they had any part in it was after worth as to, you know, who's going to be going there. And I keep telling my husband that, and he keeps saying, oh, no. I thought, okay. They supplied some, uh, you know, they were some groups of it, the Vicksburg, if you ever get a chance to go over to Vicksburg, the battleground at Vicksburg, uh, there's an area there where there was, uh, some Texas, uh, groups and they had an interesting time there. Oh, I'll bet they did. And down there at Sabine Pass, uh, I can't think of the guy's name but he held off, uh, you know, just he and a handful of guys managed to hold off the whole Union navy for a while from coming up the Sabine River which was of no consequence but still is an interesting story. Well, you know, why they actually held them off? None of the Yankees wanted to listen to their kind of luted grammar That could be it could be it. Now, you didn't hear me say that. Outside of, uh, And then the last Civil War battle was fought at Val Verde, you know, over there on the Texas border you had a lot of, of groups heading for Mexico and they were cut off at the pass more or less, at Eagle Pass. And they didn't get across the river there so they're, the last, and that was actually after the war was over but it was the last, organized battle between the two units was in Texas, Yeah. so. Oh. Yeah, Texas participation in the Civil War was, uh, minor at, uh, it's been, Boy, don't tell that to a native Texan though, Yeah. I mean, my god, they fought and won the whole thing. Yeah, well, my wife's from Galveston, so. Oh. Yeah. Well, I'm from New Mexico so, you know, I was That's a beautiful state. That's a beautiful state. See I was raised in the Midwest which, you know, hell, we didn't even, you know, we didn't even know where the Mason Dixon Line was, Uh-huh. and besides, you know, if corn didn't grow there, it didn't matter. Huh. It sounds like Iowa or something. Iowa and Nebraska. Uh-huh. Yep. And then I had probably lived the last eleven years in Massachusetts so, you know. What does that make me, an honorary Yankee Uh-huh. or, God knows what. Yeah, on, yeah. Oh, well, my sister's living in Illinois right now, so Well then, she's going to come out well rounded. Yeah. But outside of those kind of things, you know, the other thing that I've really gotten into reading, and I think this is because the kids are getting to me, is science fiction. Uh-huh. I've always kind of enjoyed it. I, I used to read a lot more than I do now. Well, I've gone to the point where my husband, my husband travels, I get out like, you know, two or three books. Uh-huh. And I, I'm trying to think of, oh, Isaac Asimov, ROBOT series. Yeah. I mean, I think I've read all four of them and I understand that there's a fifth. Uh-huh. In the last six weeks he's been on the road a lot. I just turned around and looked at my brief, at my briefcase, my, uh, bookcase up here and I see ARMAGEDDON up there. And, uh, the SHADOW OF BLOOMING GROVE and TWO THOUSAND AND TEN and GRANT TAKES COMMAND and THE WAR IN THE YEAR oh, SPACE that was the one I was trying to wade through was SPACE, James Michener. Didn't get very far on that. You know, I think I read HAWAII, when I was about ten years old Yeah. or so. Yeah. Which is about the developmental level that, you know, you need to be at to read those things, and I still even then I was so, so disgusted with it I, I tried to read, I don't remember which other one it was, whatever one it was it was such a blockbuster seller. Yeah. And I just, I got about like a hundred pages through it and realized I had like a thousand more, I thought, I can't do this. Yeah, it really the, the books are kind of, uh, imposing to say the least. Yeah. No, let's see, here's one called GHOST TOWNS AND MINING CAMPS OF NEW MEXICO now, not too many people have read that one I don't think. No. And there's THE HISTORY OF YOAKUM COUNTY, TEXAS there. I've got, uh, Is that a big, thick book? Yeah, and I've got, yeah, and I've got a HISTORY OF KINGSLEY, IOWA. What the, what the hell for? Why Kingsley, Iowa? Well, because that's where my folks all came from. Oh, okay. And they had a centennial here awhile back. I read the GRANT TAKES COMMAND, that was pretty good. Well, That was part of that trilogy that, uh, Bruce Canton did. Now that's one that, That's one I don't know. See, I had never really been into science fiction that much until, uh, somebody gave me MIST OF AVALON probably about five or six years ago. Yeah. I don't know if I'd call it science fiction or fantasy. Sometimes it's awful hard, some of those get very philosophical they can be in any setting, they just happen to put them in a futuristic setting, you know, the, Well, I loved that novel. And then somebody said, oh, God, this would have been even long ago because I was in Boston and it was raining all night, and I had a hole in my roof and I was waiting for the whole house to collapse, and, uh, I was reading DUNE. Which seeming rather ironic. Oh. Yeah. And I read the whole damn book while I was home hauling out, you know, like ten-gallon buckets of, of water and waiting for the roof to collapse and, reading about these guys wearing their little free man still suits Uh-huh, you're reading DUNE. and, I think that's probably my favorite of, of any piece of science fiction that I've ever read. That was a movie too, wasn't it? And the movie was awful. Was it? Oh, yes, it was just terrible. Yeah, I'd, I didn't see it but, uh, yeah. It was, it was beyond, uh, Patrick Stewart was in that. I guess the guy that's on the new STAR TREK series was in that thing, uh I don't know, I just remember Sting was in it. Oh, really? Yeah, and if you were trying to follow any type of, uh, plot, it, it even having read the book, and I've read that book probably three times, watching that movie, I couldn't figure out, what they were talking about, at all. Uh-huh. Couldn't, Yeah. I was real disappointed in that. Well, I'll tell you another good book, do you like scary things? Um, well, some history, books are pretty scary, Have you, but, yeah That's true. Have you read, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? No. Somebody who, saw the movie here the other day told me it was the most terrifying thing they'd ever seen, Oh. they didn't sleep all night. Well, see I, I am debating whether or not I want to go see the movie after having read the book. Yeah. I mean the book is, is chilling. Yeah, I have, Just chilling. no, uh, I don't have the foggiest notion what it's about, so. Then I won't tell you. Okay, yeah But, It's just that if you're ever, ever really want to just be scared out of your wits, Uh-huh, that's the one. That's the one. Yes. Even better than JAWS and some of that? Yes, because the the, the character that is so horrible is another human being. And you're just drawn into his, his horror, of him that you, begin to kind of like him. Yeah. Oh. I mean, A, a Freddy Kruger type, huh? No, no. This guy's smart and he's suave and he's all the all the, characteristics, Oh the worst kind, yeah, yeah. yeah, all the characteristics ... Okay. All right. Um, I, I understand that it's being proposed as a requirement, for, uh, young people to be, to go into public service. Uh-huh. I think, Yes, all, all young Americans, they did not specify, you know, exactly what young means. Yeah, yeah. I think that it probably would be a, a good program. I think probably two years is too long. Yeah. I think maybe a year would be, the longest. Yeah. Yeah, you're probably right, two years might be a little too long. Yeah, and there will be a lot of rebellion in that and when you get people who have no desire to be there in the first place, I don't think that they're going to be serving anybody. That's right. That, that would be the problem. Sure would. Yeah. So I think it would be a good thing though, to encourage other people who aren't even aware that they can do such a thing. to get out there and do so. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, or maybe offer them, you know, some sort of an incentive to do it. Uh, you know college credit, you know, something, you know, Yeah. Right. I'm not sure what but, Right. College credit is a good idea because, I'm not sure they need to be, you know, paid, you know, a super do salary of any kind. Right. but that, that kind of takes away from public service. That's right Yeah, they probably couldn't do anything monetary, but I think, giving, giving some kind of college credit, But, just, you know, to receive a letter in the mail, that says, you know, you need to report somewhere by next Monday, you know you need to report somewhere by next Monday, you know. I'm not sure that would be a terrifically good idea. No, I don't think so either because a lot of people, um, depending on how the public service programs are set up and I'm not that familiar with them to know, I'm not either really. But, you know, if, a, a lot of people flat can't afford to. That's right. You know, That's right. and most kids these days have gotten themselves into, uh, financial situations, where they have to be working all the time. Uh-huh. That's right. Absolutely. They need, young families, whatever, So, it's, it's a really tough question. That's right. they just couldn't, you know, take off to do that. Yeah, Oh, and, if you put them in public service right out of high school, then that, that postpones their college, for a year That's right, uh-huh. and that would upset a lot of people too, because they just want to get on, Uh-huh, it sure would. It would have to be a lot of, you know, thought given to something like that, I would think. Yeah. I, you know, I think it would be good for a lot of people to get involved in that kind of program, Uh-huh. but I, I think it can't be something that's mandatory. Yeah. Yeah. it has to be something that's voluntary. You know, which is pretty much the way it is now. They might, That's right. I'm not even really sure at this point in time, you know, what, what programs are out there. Yeah, and that's the other thing is that, you know, instead of making it mandatory, they maybe need to publicize it a little bit better. and, uh, you know, go to the schools and do programs, and tell them that we need your help, and, you know, uh, volunteer for such and such a time, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you've a choice of where you want to go. Yeah. and, and that way, handling it that way they could probably get some results out of it. Yeah, like maybe if, if there was something they could do in their own, own, in their own town or city, yeah, and not have to pull up roots and, you know, go somewhere half way around the world, or something. Yeah, in their own community, right. Yeah, that's true Most of them probably wouldn't do something like that. Although there are a lot of kids who would do it just to get away from their parents That's right. Yeah, that's, that's true too. That's true too. But, they would have to be supported in some way, and I'm not sure that those programs are available to do that. Yeah, yeah. Me neither. And, you wonder, you know, what kind of quality job would they do, you know, Just sit around for their year, Right. or would they really, you know, make a contribution of some kind. Right, exactly. Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. Yeah, it is tough. It's, and I don't know who's even proposing it, or, or how they plan on implementing it, if they do. Yeah. Yeah. I, I'm not sure either. But, I think, there would have to be a lot more, you know, information, you know, disseminated, before you say, let's do this, you know. Yeah. Yeah. I think going to the schools would be the easiest for them. Yeah. You know, it be, it wouldn't take up much, much, it would take up more time than anything but it wouldn't take up a lot of money. Yeah. They wouldn't have to spend money advertising and things like that. Yeah. That's right. You go to school and you have a kind of a captive audience, get them all in the auditorium, Yeah. and you, you give them your speech and maybe a little slide show or something, Uh-huh. and, I think, that they could get some results from that, because there are a lot of people who are volunteer and community minded, Right. but they don't know where to go to, to, to do anything. That's right. Yeah. That's a real waste too. It really is. Yeah, it is. It really is. I don't really see the emphasis on things like Peace Corps, like we, you know, we saw back, I guess, in the Carter administration, Right. that was, that was a big thing with him. Yeah, yeah. And, I guess even back to Kennedy, as a matter of fact, I guess Kennedy may be the one that actually started the thing, or was, you know, really interested in things like that. Uh-huh. I just don't hear much about it anymore. Like I say, I don't even know what programs are, are even ongoing now, you know. I don't either That's one, Anyway, it's a tough question. Yeah, it is a tough question. Okay, well thanks for your time. I enjoyed talking to you. Sure, same here. Okay, take care. you too. Bye-bye. Bye. Well, how about you. Do you use P C Oh constantly. Yeah. You and me both. It seems everything I do is computer related. Huh-uh. And if it goes down, then we're stuck all day. Yeah. And so I like the I B M P C, personally. Huh-uh. But that's pretty much everything I've worked with and, uh, I've become so accustomed to it that, uh, it's second nature. Yeah. What do you use? Well, I have an, I, I B M P S two, model thirty. Yeah. It's kind of, kind of getting too slow for me, but my job, I'm an E D P auditor, so I audit, uh, computer applications both on the personal computer and the mainframe level. Oh, huh-uh. And I use my personal computer constantly, not only do I do P C type things like, uh, using lotus or word processors, Huh-uh. I also use my P C to emulate a mainframe terminal for our I B M mainframe and also to emulate a deck terminal for our deck machine. Huh-uh. Oh, okay. So all I have on my desk is my P C, but I'm, I'm getting, not only our local area network, but I'm getting two separate mainframe machines, also. Oh, okay. So we, um, we use, it's an I B M P S two also. Huh-uh. And, um, you know, every now and then the file gets so big, that, you know, it moves slower than I'd like Huh-uh. but I, uh, I do mainly graphic work on it. And, uh, a little bit of word processing and then lotus applications to it. Huh-uh. Yeah. And, uh, I don't know, I just, I enjoy working with them. Yeah There's so many capabilities out there, I mean, the things you can do are endless. Yeah. I've become kind of the P C guru in our audit department because it's mostly financial auditors with an accounting back ground, Huh-uh. And there's three of us E D P auditors and one of the three of us has an accounting background and so she's not real proficient in P C's and the other just has, not used P C's that much, Yeah. so I ended up taking on the load of making sure everybody knows what they're doing and I'm the administrator for our local area network. And I need to keep that going and, So, I, I'm, I couldn't live my life without a P C. Huh-uh. I don't have one at home, We have one at home, but I just don't find the time that I can use it. Yeah. Right now I would rather not have one at home, because I would work at home. Yes. Um, we've got a couple of portable lap top P C's at the office that I end up bringing one of them home a lot, to do work. Huh-uh. If I had a machine already installed at home I would probably work just about every night One of the reasons why I got mine, was before I went on maternity leave, they didn't know how they were going to do without me at work because, I am pretty much the, like you said, the guru, in the office with the different programs and any trouble shooting that there is, Yeah. Huh-uh. and, um, so they didn't know how it was going to work, they knew they were going to have to get a modem so that we could, in the decks machine so that we could, in my home, so that we could make it through this eight weeks or so. Yeah. But, uh, you know, it's, uh, it's almost like we could become too dependent on them. Yeah. And oh, I, we use a lot of free lance. Huh-uh. And, uh, that's, uh, pretty much takes up a lot of our day so for as producing transparencies and things. Yeah. And, um, it, uh, compared to the way the things have upgraded, Have, uh, really, Right. what's the word I'm looking for, I'm just totally drawing a blank But, uh, the way things have changed over the years with the P C and the different programs is just great. It's remarkable the things we can do now, and compared to, you know, a few years. Just the power, Yeah. I'm, I'm trying to, uh, get an updated machine. Mine, uh, is just putting along And it's not fast enough for a new four eighty six chip, but, uh, I don't know if my boss will spring for it. Yeah. But I'm determined to brake mine so he has to get me another one. We think about that a lot. Yeah Well, that's what I do. We had a printer, a Hewlett Packard Ready Writer. Huh-uh. And we had about ten people sharing this printer by, it was attached to like a central P C and you had to take your diskette to the P C to print something. Um, now that's awful. So the first thing has when I started working at this bank, is, I said, well, now first of all we need to all be able to share this P C without getting up. So I talked my boss into investing in a, it's not a, uh, a uh, real elaborate local area network, Huh-uh. but we can share the printer and we can, uh, send files to each other, Okay. And we can mail, send mail messages to each other, which is good enough, Oh, okay. it's what we need. Right. And then I talked them into buying a H P Laser Jet. Oh, yes. And that was a major ordeal to get him to buy it. But once he bought it, he has been so pleased. It's, it's fast, it's quite, oh, it has good copy. Right. The copy that you can with one of those as compared to one of those dot matrix printers. Yeah. I've got a little, little, uh, I B M Pro Printer on my desk, Yeah. but, and I can use either the Pro Printer or I've got my P C configured to where I can use either printer. The one that's on the network or my own. Huh-uh. So if I just need something real quick, and I don't feel like getting up and going and getting what I printed, I can just print it in my office. Um, we're just trying to talk ours into getting a laser printer. Yeah. And, uh, it's just so, the budget restraints and things like that, it's, makes it difficult and, uh, They have gotten really cheap. Hewlett Packard makes, it's actually a dot matrix printer Huh-uh. but the quality is almost laser quality. Oh, huh-uh. And I think it's called the desk jet and they're, you understand, I think they're about five hundred dollars now. And we, uh, got a quote on some laser printers the other day at six hundred dollars. Oh, really. Yeah, I don't remember what kind they were, but, uh, we do a lot of transparencies. Huh-uh. Sometimes the color would take too long to plot out. Yeah. So they just want black and white, which see we can just run them through the laser printer real quick. Because it will only take a minute to print one of those out and then run a thermal copy of it. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, it, uh, So that's all you need for like charts and stuff. You don't need them in four colors. No, huh-uh. If it was a customer presentation then that would be different. Yeah. We would want to razzle-dazzle a bit. But, uh, it's, uh, yeah. We have one in the office and if we want, well in our area, if we want to use it, we have to, you know, like you said, you had to change it, put it on a disc, And carry it over to there, and see if they're not using the printer, You use the system. Right Yeah. And, uh, wait for an opportunity to use it. Yeah, we you'd have to just sit and wait while someone else was using the printer. Huh-uh. Until they got off the machine. I know, I know, I understand. That was, I was amazed when I came to work, I worked at the, uh, well, it used to be the largest bank in San Antonio until N C N B came up and bought the rival and now N C N B. And now N C N B's got a little larger market share, Huh-uh. but it's the only, uh, well, it's part of the bank holding company and that bank holding company of the ten largest banking holding companies in Texas. It's the only one that's still alive. Oh, huh-uh. Any way, I work in a big prestigious place. Right. And I couldn't believe when I walked in the door on my first day and here's the audit department of this, this huge holding company, sharing a H P Rugged Writer I was going oh, wait a minute Come on guys, this is crummy. So how are you supposed to expect to stay number one when you're behind the times in technology. Yeah, yeah. We're pushing real hard though. We're, we're trying, well, see, the entire bank is not like that. We, the, the bank philosophy is one of innovation and, Lead the market. Huh-uh. It's just the audit department happened to be just a little behind the times because the, uh, the senior vice president, over audits, is cheap. Huh-uh. And it's real hard to pry money out of him to, to do these things, but I was, I was able to convince him that it would be cost effective and that our board presentations would be much better and, Right. Um. We find it hard to believe sometimes, or hard to understand when, uh, we work for a computer company, and, uh, how are we supposed to present the imagine that we're supposed to present with equipment that's outdated, That's obsolete Yeah. and the guys that, some of the guys that run this place are very tight and it's like, Well, why do we need this, can't you do that with, you know, what we have, and when we try and then they complain about, this doesn't look good. Yeah. Unfortunately, the, the, uh, computer equipment and, and related peripherals are changing and improving so rapidly, like for instance, we bought a have ... Okay. Okay, that made a nice ugly sound. So, Your name is Lynn? Linda. Linda. Uh-huh. So, sounds like you like to read. Yeah, I read quite a bit, probably don't read as much as I would like to. I don't read as much as I would like to either. I'm, I'm a single mom, but I have always loved reading. Uh-huh. What do you like to read? Um, well um, I'm a, I'm a counselor, a therapist by trade, so most of my books are, um, I guess what you'd call self improvement type of books. That what I've been reading lately a lot of. Um, my interests switch around dramatically. I used to read just, mainly fiction, and now I, like a said, I've read a lot of self, self help books. Uh-huh. What kind of things have you read? Oh, I read all kinds of things for, um, helping people survive a divorce. Uh-huh. Uh, THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED was probably one of my favorites. Have you read that? Uh, I haven't gotten through it yet. You haven't? No. Okay, what would you recommend? Um, as far as dealing with divorce? Oh, I'm kind of getting that one past me, but a good self help book. Good self help. Yeah. Well, um probably the best one that I, I know of and I work with all the time is called SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE by Robert McGee Um, that sounds good. Uh-huh. and it's one that we use in our work. It's probably one you'd find in like a Christian book store. I don't know what the chains are down there. Maybe in the mall family book store, something like that. Uh-huh. I'm writing it down. That does that's sound really good. Um, what kind of counseling do you do, or should we stay on the topic of books? Um, probably should stay on the topic, but that has a little bit to do with some of the things that I read I'm a therapist for Rossa. It's a Christian treatment organization Oh. and because of that I see, uh, work with adolescents specifically, so I see a lot of kids with, with various problems. Right now some of the things I'm working with are kids that are dealing with sexual abuse, so a lot of the books I've been reading have to do with helping them get through those issues. Oh, I would imagine helping them feel good about themselves they're at a bad stage anyway, and then to have to deal with sexual abuse would be terrible, as a teen. Uh-huh. That's, uh, that must be a wonderful feeling to be in that profession and be able to make a contribution like that. Well, sometimes it's rewarding, and, and sometimes it's a struggle. Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure. Uh, what is, is that just the only type of reading you've been doing, or do you, have you read any good novels lately? Um, I guess I've got so many books like that that I need to read it's, it's hard for me to do a lot of, uh, reading, yeah, reading just for enjoyment. just joy reading. Yeah. I hear you there, that's for sure. Um, In fact, I guess, the last book I've read, my oldest daughter had to read LOST HORIZONS for her English class, Uh-huh. And I just realized I had never read it growing up. So, I just finished reading that for enjoyment. Um, that's neat. And it it was good. Um, she, she's not, didn't enjoy it much, so I didn't get much satisfaction trying to discuss it with her. But I thought it was real interesting. Yeah, I've always wanted to go back and read some of my literature texts from college um, because I enjoyed some of those stories so much, Uh-huh. but I never seem to have the time to do that kind of reading. I know. Yeah. Um, I trying to think of some of my other favorite books, but, I, I keep lists, I must have a list of, oh, two hundred, three hundred books that I want to read. Uh-huh. Just like, I want to read that and I write it down. Yeah, I've got a stack next to my bed So do I. I tend to get a little bit of ways in a book and then I, I get distracted, and, or have to start on another one, it's pretty tough to keep up with. I was trying to think of, I, I've got a copy of THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED but I was trying to think, there's another Scott book that I've got that I had read. Uh, He, he also wrote PEOPLE OF THE LIE. Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of. Yeah. I, I bought that one, and I didn't get into, involved in that one as well. There's another one he wrote that even sounds better, and it's kind of the whole concept of global peace, you know, like, and communities building communities. Uh-huh. Someone just recently said something really neat about that. Uh, I got involved in, uh, Beginning Experience Weekends, and, uh, it was of the people from there that said that. His latest book, and I can't recall the name of it, is just excellent, and his whole idea is, we can build a better world if people get involved in good community building projects. And he did, uh, mention Beginning Experience Weekends as one of the, you know, one of the places. Uh. So, I've um, That's interesting. Yeah, it, it really was. A real fun bunch of books that I read, uh, the beginning of last year were, um, the author of JONATHAN, JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL Uh-huh. I can't think of his name. Is it ? Pardon me ? uh, no, uh, oh, it'll, it'll come to me, but he wrote, he wrote the ILLUSION, and A BRIDGE OVER A BRIDGE TO FOREVER. Those are mind expanding books Um. His concepts are so different than what I would have ever dreamed of. I can't think of what his name is right, right off the bat, though. But, uh, they, they were fun. They were real just books for fun. Uh-huh Have you been involved on the Switchboard long? Um, not very long. I really just started. Uh-huh. How did you get involved? My wife has been working for T I. Oh, I see. I'm a former T I-er. I just recently quit. And so, uh, I got myself involved in a sales job, and right now, my list of books to be read have to do with, uh, the art of selling. Oh, uh-huh. So. It's just, I was just thinking, at, at Rossa they tend to come out with a new book every couple of weeks just to help us deal with all the things that we have to deal with. Uh-huh. So, I keep getting stacks of books I need to read, and, I don't know when I'm going to get to them all. Never, never there's never going to be enough hours in the day. I don't think so. Even if you took speed reading. Huh. Yeah, I don't think so. So, well, I'm trying to think of what other kind. Do you like to read mysteries. Yeah, a little bit. Do you like Ken ? Um. Trying to think. He writes, uh, spy novels, THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE Uh-huh. and, uh, I've, I've really, I really have found his books enjoyable I like that kind of stuff. I think the last novel I read I read, I guess, in conjunction with my wife over vacation last year. It was a, um, last name's , it's called PIERCING, no, it's called THIS PRESENT DARKNESS. Um. It's, uh, kind of unusual book. It's a lot about spiritual warfare and some things like that. Oh that sounds interesting. like phone knocking against It sounds really good. Hey, you should make yourself a promise that you'll, you'll read one novel in the next six months, just for you. Uh-huh. You know, it's, it's so easy to get caught up on reading just for your work, or, you know, self improvement, and you kind of forget the fun of reading Yeah, that's true. Yeah, very easily. So Well, I guess we've covered the topic pretty thoroughly. I think so, too. And I thank you for calling. Yeah, nice talking to you, Linda. And, uh, I'll have to check out that book you, told me about. Okay, great. Okay, Hope you like you it. Thank you. Uh-huh. You take care. You, too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, Deanna, uh, on capital punishment in our state, they give the death penalty for shooting of a policeman, Uh-huh. and I believe also in shooting of, uh, rape, I mean killing a rape victim. I mean someone in the process of rape, Uh-huh. and I don't know what I don't really remember what else. Uh-huh. But. How do what do you think about it. I think it's justified. Yeah, yeah. Very much so. I agree, I, I, agree, you know, I, I think it should be in other cases other than just shooting a policeman Yeah, oh, I do too, I do too. I mean, I think they're doing their duty, but I think if they're going to come out and kill somebody else then they deserve it. They ought to get it for killing a civilian just as easily as a policeman. That's right, I agree. Yeah. I agree. Uh, I heard something on the news the other night they were talking about, uh, oh, I know what it was, it was in our, in our little local paper, our little Lewisville paper that comes out twice a week on the front page every week, uh, there's a little thing at the bottom it's like a call in survey that says, you know, do you think so and so, and then you call this number and you press like one for yes and two for no. Right, uh-huh. And one of the things, the questions the other day, this last paper, and I haven't seen the results of it, I'm anxious to, was do you think that, um, capital punishment ought to apply to drug dealers. Which I thought was a real interesting question Oh I think, Right, right, did you see SIXTY MINUTES tonight, by any chance? No, I didn't, huh-uh. Well, they were showing a segment on a man in Philadelphia that's going after the drug dealers. He's just a civilian, he's a black man, Uh-huh. and he just got fed up with it. Uh-huh And he said he's had his house broken into and windows smashed and his car stolen three times and everything, trying to keep him quiet, Uh-huh but he's organizing people, and they're going out and marching on the corners and taking back their territory You know, I think that's what it's going to take, though. I think so, I think, I really do. Oh, yeah, it's going to take, uh, you know, the police, I think, I don't think can do it, can do it alone, you know. That's right, I think you're right. It's going to take, uh, it's going to take all of us getting together, I'm sorry, I'm trying to, my kid is asking for a kiss and a hug so he can go to bed It's going to take all of us, you know getting together and just saying, we are not going to take it any more. Right. We won't allow this in our neighborhood. That's right, that's right. And it said they're going to other neighborhoods from there, Uh-huh. and then quite often they'll get shot, because they're horning in on somebody else's territory. Uh. That's right, that's right, uh. I think they said forty-one had been shot out of one church in the last year. Oh my gosh. The only thing about the death penalty and, and I know that, that they try to be careful and they try to be sure but these people are on death row for like twenty years, you know. Right, I know it. you know if, if, you know I, I think to be, you know being convicted is one thing, you know, and that's, and that's great if they're if they're sentenced to death, to me you could not sentence them to death unless, the case was for sure. I mean it Well it goes all through the it goes all through the state supreme court system before they're, Right, right, by the time it gets there and they've been convicted and then they've been sentenced to death, they're sure. I mean there's no doubt, I mean, I, Uh-huh, then it should happen, yeah. there can be no shadow of a doubt in my mind, there has to be no shadow of a doubt to get that penalty. That's right. So once, they've gotten the penalty and there is no doubt, do it, you know, just, Right. I I guess, I mean that may sound, that sounds cold, but gosh, you know, we're keeping, you know we're, we're keeping these men in prison for fifteen or twenty years on death row, and not doing anything with them, Uh-huh, that's right. and it's costing us a heck of a lot of money and that's terrible to look at it that way, but. Yeah it is, I know but that, that's the way it is if the crime was bad enough that they were sentenced to death, then do it, you know, uh. We had one in Virginia that was sentenced to death and the execution was to have taken place a few weeks ago, I don't know if there was anything in your paper about it. I didn't notice it, huh-uh. And there was a lot of protest, even Robert Redford, you know, was protesting this guy's execution. Gosh, yeah. So the governor backed down and I was so mad. Oh, man. The crime was horrible, his crime was just horrible Yeah, and those kind of people, I'm sorry, you don't reform them, you know, No, I don't think, I really you don't. Huh-uh. If they're the kind of people that commit these excuse me, grotesque crimes and have done it over and over and over again, you don't reform those kind of people. Huh-uh, and being under the influence of drugs is no excuse to me. No, no, and I don't know, the same thing goes with some of these insanity pleas, you know. Right, yeah. Well, if you're insane enough that you can go cut twelve people up into little bitty pieces and bury them in your back yard, then are can, can you be helped, you know, I have, I have my doubts, you know. That's right, yeah, yeah, I do too. I, you know, I don't know, I think there's a point, some of these plea bargains and all this kind of stuff that they do, it's just, it just gets out of hand, Right. and I understand that, you know, that, you know, my husband and I, Wasn't it Lewisburg that had a lot of, uh, bad things happening just in the last couple of weeks, or was it not. No. No. No, huh-uh. it was, I think it was the south east area, from Dallas. Oh, really. My daughter, my daughter lives down in Rowlett Yeah. and she was telling me about it. Oh really. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I can't remember what the town was, some little area. We've had several here lately and, it, there were several of them in North Dallas and then it started kind of happening a couple of places in South Dallas and that's maybe what you were talking about. Men breaking in, uh, to houses and taking, or a man, they, they think it's the same person, taking, uh, little girls right straight out of their beds at night. And, you know, breaking in, obviously watching them in the house, because they're breaking into the right window, you know, the little girl's bedroom. And taking them out, putting them in a car and driving them out and taking them out and molesting them and then bringing them back and throwing them back in their own front yards. Oh gosh. And that's the last they Yeah. Oh, gee. Is that right. Yes, that is happened, I hadn't heard about that. I think there's been, I think there's been like six or seven of them, over the last like probably eight or nine months. Gosh. They don't kill them? They just They don't kill them, no. Gosh. They've and they're all like, um, like anywhere from nine to twelve years old, I think is what they've been. Gosh. And he's taken them and, and raped them and then brought them right back and just kind of thrown them out of the car in their front yard. Boy that's scary, isn't it. Oh, can you imagine, because it, it happens in the middle of the night, so the parent, you know, these parents didn't know this, the, the kid was gone until the kid is knocking on the door screaming, let me in. Yeah. Oh, boy. You know, can you imagine. Yeah, you wouldn't even dare put these signs in the little emblems in the window saying child in this room, in case of fire, you know. Have you seen those? I, you know, I've got one of those in Brian's room. Yeah. I never even thought about that. God, maybe I'll take it out. Yeah I hadn't even thought about it That's terrible. Yeah, it is. Well it's really bad that you have to be, you know, we, we were over at a neighbor's tonight and, my little boy is is just a little over two and their little boy is like five, you know, so there's a big difference, Uh-huh. and they were playing in the back yard and we were getting ready to leave and I went out in the back yard to get Brian and the boys were gone and the back fence was open. Oh, gosh, oh gosh. , you know. Yeah. And she didn't act like it bothered her at all, oh, this happens all the time. And we walked through the fence out, the alleys, come to the back of the house, you know. Uh-huh, yeah. And and I looked down both directions of the alley and I saw neither one of them and, uh. And she was like oh God, he does this all the time, you know, where are you you know, screaming, J D Oh. Oh boy And you know, my heart was in my throat, you know, And he's five? Shoo, I guess so. and, uh, he, Brian was two houses down. You know, Gee. and he, you know, I don't know, I know. Parents around here just let their kids run everywhere, and I just can't do that. Yeah, there was a little girl picked up in Rowlett from, uh, from her front yard and her dad was working in the back yard, and had just left her few minutes in the front yard and somebody apparently drove up and took her and they never saw her again Oh, man, this is too scary, that is just too scary. Yeah. You know, I let Brian play here in the back yard and we've got, there's two gates that go into the back yard and we've got one of those big eight foot privacy fences. Right, uh-huh. And one of the gates has a padlock on it and then the other gate just has one of those slide bar things, but it's on the inside, Uh-huh. it's, you know, you'd have to like come over, they'd have to come over the fence, they could not open a gate, you know. Uh-huh. And I still feel a little uneasy about him playing back there. Right, yeah. You know, I mean, if I don't hear him playing, I mean, I, I get up and come out and look out the window real often, you know, so. And watch, yeah, yeah I don't blame you. It's really scary that you have to be that scared about your kids but, I mean you do, Uh-huh. better safe than sorry. And if they find who's doing that to those little girls, as far as I'm concerned he could, fry He could fry. Yes, to put it very bluntly, he could fry, Yeah. yes, yes. Because sometimes there are crimes worse than murder. Right. You know, Yeah. I, and I believe that, and this is one of them. Yeah. Because these little girls will never be the same. Huh-uh, that's terrible. Never be the same, so, I don't know, it's it's really scary and I don't know what to, I don't know what needs to be done, you know it seems like there's no room in jails to put them in jail and when they do put them in there, you know, I'm taking a business law class at night and the guy that teaches it is a practicing criminal attorney and, so he comes in and tell us all these bizarre cases, you know Oh, gosh. and he said you can pretty much, you know if you ever get on a jury, you know, you're not told this, but if you ever get on a jury you can pretty much guess, whatever you sentence them to, they're going to serve about a quarter. It's going to be reduced, right, uh-huh. They'll serve, they'll serve a quarter of it, Yeah. so, if you want them to stay in prison for fifteen years, don't sentence them to fifteen years, sentence them to a hundred. Yeah. You know, because then they'll serve fifteen or twenty, so. Which is really, Yeah. I don't know, It's just not, it just doesn't seem right. No, it doesn't, it doesn't. They just get out, you know, there was a thing on, Well what are we going to do about it? How, I mean how can it be changed. Unless the legislature will do something I don't know. and they don't seem to, That's the thing, we're just going to have to adopt a completely different attitude, Uh-huh. and we're going to have to say, if you commit this crime and if we're sure you commit this crime, you are going to be sentenced to death period, period, Yeah. and do it, you know. Yeah. And if you commit this crime, you will be in prison for the rest of your life. Right. We're not going to say we're going to put you there for the rest of your life and let you out in fifteen years, we're really going to do it, you know. It's just the system has just, and I understand they're doing it because the prisons are full, but somewhere we've got to come up with some money to build, to build more, you know, and keep these people in them, you know. Right, I think so. Yeah, I think it would be worth it everybody Well, I was watching a show about this the other night and, you know, they were like in a, I think it was on FORTY-EIGHT HOURS. All right. Um, there was a crime here in McKinney, uh, a rather heinous murder. Uh-huh. There was no um, remorse shown by, uh, at least one of the perpetrators. Uh-huh. And yet, for whatever reason, um, his crime was not considered a capital crime. Uh-huh. An, and quite honestly I, I feel very strongly that the, man the has no redeeming social values and if, if and when he comes, gets free again, he will have no compunction but to complete that, that same kind of lifestyle, I mean continue that same kind of lifestyle, and perhaps do the same thing again. Uh-huh. So, it really bothers me that there's not a way of getting him out of the way forever. Really, I think that, I don't know, I I don't think our prison system isn't set up, where we, um, rehabilitate, or, you know, restore anybody. I think it'll only make them worse, but, I, I believe that God can come in and change a person's heart and genuinely change it, but, that doesn't negate that you do reap what you sow. And if you do kill a person and it is, you know, you're found to be guilty, I believe God establishes the authority of our court system and I believe that, you know, that I do believe that capital punishment is, uh, alternative. Even, you know, God can still change your heart but that doesn't mean, like the alcoholic that charges up all the bills on the credit card, or the shopaholic, you know you get your life right with God but you still have to pay your Visa bill. That's, that's right You still have to, you know, so, but God sent us his grace and they give pardons but I believe if it's a genuine conversion, there's a genuine, and those prison people know, they know a genuine turnaround in a person's character, they see that. But, yeah. And, I, I worked in a prison in Fort Worth. Did you? Yeah, I have a degree in social work. You see it, you know the ones that have a genuine character change. Uh-huh. It is obvious. And they know that. They're, they're not going to pardon someone from the governor, you know what I'm saying, they're not going to go, without going through every channel of authority in the prison. So I feel like you know, that's is, there is occasions where there are, they do spare lives and, you know, I leave that with the governor, who, of course, is going to go through every authority because they want to be be reelected, so Yes but, my concern is, first of all that not all, all persons who I think, should be receiving capital, uh, whatever, capital, uh, uh, uh, hum, punishment, Uh-huh. Punishment. thank you, I'm sorry, I just got home from work and I'm just kind of spaced out a little bit. Yeah, that's okay. Uh, that, not all of them are being convicted of it, that, that, the, the, they're not even being charged with that I agree with you that, that, a person's heart can be changed, Uh-huh. but the same God that can work that miracle also established the laws that said, um, for certain kinds of sin, certain kinds of, of, uh, breaking of the law, there would be a capital punishment. Uh-huh. Right then it was, it was, uh, almost immediate. Uh-huh. As soon as, as the trial was over, then it was stoning. Right, but, in, in the Old Testament, We don't have a speedy trial, we don't have speedy, um, punishment and so it kind of loses its meaning, if you sit on death row for months and years and so forth Uh-huh, yeah. Right, we don't, well, yeah we definitely have lost the Judeo-Christian ethic of the judicial system for sure, but the the base is still there, the foundation is still there, though, of the system, but, I know what you're saying, uh, but also, they're under a law, because we haven't been removed from the law we've just been taken out from under, under a law. Because under the law if your child back talks you, he would be stoned. That's correct. He, under the law he would be stoned, so we've been removed from the law, of from being under the law but we're still, you know, we're still accountable to it. We don't need to back talk, but, you know, it's like God changes your heart to not do that. He changes your heart not to look upon a woman in lust. Because in the Old Testament, they could look all they wanted, just couldn't do it. But in the new, he's looking at your heart and so, I guess that's what, what I mean by their character changes and, you know, what I mean, it's like looking beyond what they're doing and looking at a heart and seeing what is the heart, what's the character showing me here. And, those, and then any of, if I don't think see, if I don't believe that there's not a character change and the authorities agree, that this person needs to be excused, I believe for murder, uh, rape, I even believe incest, things that will permanently damage, uh, the character of the child. Uh-huh. I believe crimes against children should be punished by, by death. I believe, sexual crimes, unless there's a true change of character. I tend to agree on that, very strongly. And that's where we just have to, to trust the authorities. And they're not going to excuse people, if it was, was run like that, I don't, there would probably be very few exceptions to that and if it was done quickly and done swiftly and, but it's not, because the judicial system has rejected, they've rejected the answer to all these problems they have, pretty much. Plus the, all the judicial system is overloaded with, all kinds of, um, problems, and crimes and so forth and then all of the, um, civil things that clog the courts, Right. Uh-huh. and having sat on both, uh, uh, criminal and a civil, uh, jury, some of what goes through our courts is a total waste of time. Uh-huh. Yeah. Because we're suit happy. Yeah. But, but back to the, to the capital situation, sounds like you and I have a lot of, of, of, uh, common ground at least as, as far as, as capital punishment is concerned. Yeah. I would like to see some, some kind of reform, or some kind of streamlining so that, if a person is, um, convicted, and sentenced to, to death, that that automatic appeal which goes in could be more quickly dealt with. Uh-huh Uh-huh, yeah. And, and go ahead and get the punishment phase out of the way, because it doesn't do the criminal or the victim's family, any of us, the taxpayer any good to have him sitting around for months and years. Yeah. Anybody, yeah. Yeah. An, an, him could be a her. Right. But. I know in Jamaica, uh, it think it's Jamaica, I think it's Jamaica, I know that they have, you know, crimes punishable by death, and I'm sure they hit a few every now and then, and I wouldn't want to be one of them, that are not guilty. But, I know that they have like, uh, their, crime rate, it's not Jamaica, I don't think, I can't remember which, it's, uh, one of the Caribbean Islands and, and they, Singapore, is it like that? My husband's going Singapore. And they don't have a lot of the crime because there is a law and the law is enforced. And that's what, when you have lawlessness, I mean the law's not being enforced and all that does is lawlessness. We were, we went on a mission trip to Manhattan and to the Bronx and stuff, two years ago, and all these kids were up on there getting arrested for crack and everyone was out, uh, we were across from that big bus station, I forget what you call it, but anyway, and everyone, they had like fifteen people lined up on the fence and within two hours, there were fifteen boys sitting there doing the same thing. Um. And, you'd see the same kid who were back out there in two days. That's sad. Because, there's no, the answer is not being given to them, in the court system and I think initially, when our country was set up, it was set up with God and it was really an integral part, and no, you can't, you can't force people, but I think people are hurting and they're out doing crack sitting on the street. They were the kind of people that, I think mostly, we would want to receive it. If it was presented to see. I don't know, I guess, I'm kind of frustrated that, you know, we've gotten away from the Christian basis that our court system was founded upon. I mean, it reeks of the BIBLE, just, the whole thing, the whole system. And, so I feel like if that was presented more openly, and not just relying upon, and para-church ministry to come in and do it, that, that the system itself, you know, you know what I mean. Yeah. I feel like that might be better, if it was run on a more scriptural basis, which would include, you know, you know, and expediting the penalties and just getting it over with. However, certain uh, very liberal minded groups who do not, um, subscribe to the same ethical system that you and I do, such as the, uh, civil liberties unions and so forth, will lobby against that and hold that out as long as they have breath. Which is most unfortunate because we all lose out, when people go so far out to the extreme, on either side. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Because too, too often, there can be extremism that, that hurts from, from any direction, regardless of whatever you're arguing or concerned about. Yeah. Right. Yeah, I know, you're right, they would lobby that and, and I see that, and that's why, you know, I'm like, okay, what's my role in this thing, you know, what's my part, Yeah. because I don't think the system is going to get fixed. I think it's crippled ... Okay. Do you go camping very much? No, I've haven't gone camping in years. But it's is something that I've done in the past. How about you? Uh, we try to go once, maybe twice a summer. Uh, we, uh, just, you know, for like a short weekend or something. That's, that's pretty average to me We don't go for the long, you know, week long thing. Uh-huh. But we usually go to, uh, a lake area, you know, where the campsites, are and do that. Uh, Right. Do you tent camp or do you have a camper? Oh no, no, no a tent. That's what I you know, that's how I camp too. That's how I define camping Me too You're really roughing it. The rest, the rest of that is really not the same. Yeah. As a matter of fact, my, my, you know, the majority of the amount of camping I've done has been really roughing it. Um, as a little girl I'd go with my dad and my uncle and my brother, and we went to the Boundary Waters area in Minnesota. So, that's, that's really wild. Oh. Yeah. Are you here in local Texas, I mean? Yes, I'm in Austin, where are you? I'm in Garland. Oh. Right outside of Dallas. Uh-huh. So we, um, we have a five year old, and we started taking her, she was pretty young when we started, uh, camping with her. Oh, the kids love it. I know. I mean, they just love it. It's wonderful for them to be outside. I know, and then they, and they, you know, there's no T V, and they don't have all these modern toys, and they have to use sticks and rocks and stuff like, that to play with. Exactly. Yes. And I like that. It's pretty fun. Well, how it, it's really is a, is a good, good family thing, to do. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. And, We, we try to, uh, go with another couple that have children also. Uh-huh. And, uh, that makes it a lot more enjoyable. Plus, you know, we don't have to go out and buy all the equipment and stuff, you know, we kind of split it up. Uh, Good planning Yeah Because it gets, it really does get expensive if you, if you don't want to rough it all the way. Exactly. You know, even the sleeping bags, those are running, you know, a good thirty dollars a pop, and, and so we've built that up. You're right. But, Do you have a boat? No. No? Want one bad. Do you? Oh, well, actually, I would, you know what I would love? I would absolutely love a sail boat. Oh. That doesn't go along with camping, but, now that, that, that's what I would like, to have. Yes Yeah, I would too. Yeah. Would too. We usually, uh, let's see, we try to go to a lake. My husband and this, uh, other couple that we go with, her husband, um, kind of likes, um, is it scuba dive? And, so we'll go to a lake and, uh, where they can go do that. Uh-huh. We're close enough so they can do that, and the girls can play on the beach area And I would play on the beach area too. Yeah. That's what I would do. Yeah Yeah. That's fun. I'm just sitting here listening to your accent and thinking what a good time the computer is going to have with that. Really? Am I pretty Texan? You're pretty Texan. Yes. But you know, you know what's really funny? Um, I've had people tell me that I have a Texas accent, and, and I mean, there is just no way I've not picked one up. No, you don't, you don't sound like it to me. I've only lived here about six years. Oh, have you? So, if I have one, it must be very, very slight. Yeah. The Yankees can hear it. Yes. Oh, that's true, that's true. I, see I don't think I do, but, uh, but a lot of people do say I sound like, I guess, I have, I guess more of a twang, to my voice almost a Uh-huh. Are you a, a native Texan? I sure am. Oh. I've lived here all my life. Well, good for you. But, any way, uh, Have you ever been to Austin? Yes, yes we went last summer, actually. This, how was, I'm wondering, I'm really not that not familiar. I know there are some good places to go camping along the, uh, the lakes. Or is there? Okay, well, we didn't go camping, we just, uh, we did like, uh, we drove down to Houston to visit friends, and, we went to Galveston and, uh, to San Antonio and then up to Austin. And, and kind of, uh, you know, doing the sight seeing type stuff. Uh-huh. So we didn't go camping. That would be fun though to go. That's one thing my husband wanted to do, was, on this summer's vacation was to go and camp wherever we went. And I said, Well, I'd love that but, It takes a lot more planning. It does, and, and ever once, you know, on my summer vacation, you know, my week-long vacation, I, want to be a little bit pampered, you know, by a, hotel and a waiter Uh-huh. Right. Exactly, exactly, yeah. So, we're hoping to do like a three day weekend. There's, um, a thing called Pfeiffer Rim. I don't know if you have ever heard of it? No, I haven't. It's, uh, there's a town called Glenrose. I think it's around two hours from here. And, uh, it's, it has like dinosaur tracks, and stuff like that Oh, that sounds, That sounds great. and it's got one of those wildlife parks. Yeah. I think that'll be fun. So we're going to try to do that like on a three day weekend, go there and, Have you ever camped out of state? No, I haven't. You know, where you should try, sometime is Colorado. Where at? It is beautiful. Is it? Absolutely beautiful. I've just been up there skiing, and, well, we've driven through, and, you know, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, but not, you know, camping or anything. But I would love to camp, in the mountains. Yes. Estes State Park is fantastic. That's what my girlfriend says. Yes, she loves that place. See, you need to go there. She loves that. She says that where we need to go sometime. It is. It's, you know, it's, it's high canyon and, uh, and there's this little mountain lakes and it's very peaceful. Oh. And, um, in, in the early fall time, Uh-huh. um, I can't remember what type of trees they are, but they, all the leaves turn yellow, Oh. and it's just brilliant. And, I love that. Yes, you would. You'd like it very much. That's neat. That's neat. I know you would. I used to go camping all the time as a, a Girl Scout. I was too All the time. I got real used to it then. Yeah. I felt like we roughed it then Uh, well we did, you know, we really did. I mean, I just don't understand these people that think taking an R V, and parking it and sitting inside and watching T V, and having your microwave Right. Yes. Exactly. It's not camping. I mean, we had to make the fires and dig latrines and everything. Right, right. I mean that is it You have to get poison ivy and all that good stuff, to really be camping Right. Oh. Yeah. Well do you, you, you say you haven't been in years? No, I haven't. I'm, um, I'm a struggling single mom. Oh, gosh, bless your heart. and, uh, thank you. Um, it's, you know, time is precious, money's precious. Yes. Um, and it, it, I think I haven't been able to do it, and, you know, what, that was one of the things I really thought I'd like to do with my children, you know, again. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And I'm a little bit fearful of trying that just women. I don't blame you. You know? I don't blame you at all. I hope, Years ago it would have been fine but, Yes, I, I really now, I, I have gone on one little vacation, just the girls and I. We drove down to Port Aransas, and rented a little efficiency, you know, and, and had a marvelous like two nights, Oh. Yeah. Yeah. and that was great. And even at that, it, it was like the first time that I ventured, you know, out of the city by myself. Uh-huh. And, and, you know, I, I stayed in a nice place. But it's still, it's real different not to have another adult with you. Yes. I You know. I can imagine. I'm just a chicken. I know lots of women would do it all the time. No I don't blame you, not nowadays. I haven't quite adjusted, you know? Yeah. Now are you with T I down there? Well, I, I was with T I until January. I, uh, I left T I in January hoping to strike out and find a job where I could make some money. Good. So, well it's, It was a good plan but I haven't yet Have you? Okay. I got into sales, and, I'm selling, uh, telephone systems. Oh. Oh, that's neat. And it's, it's fun and it's interesting, but it's also, um, pretty challenging, and I haven't, I haven't started making money yet. Um. It's hard isn't it? So, yeah, it's, it's hard Now, how old are your girls? Eleven and fourteen. Oh, goodness. Yeah. So I'm old No, you're not old Who is You're not old at all. Well, excuse me just second. Sure. speaks to Honey, I'll be yeah, go ahead. voice, There's someone at the door. Oh, okay. Do you need to go? Well, um, I'm going to listen. We always check and see if we should answer the door, at night. Yeah. That's very smart. Yeah so, well, I've enjoyed this. Yeah, me too. And, uh, And good luck. How many have you made so far, calls? I, I haven't made any. I've been just a recipient Oh, have you? They're all, this is only about my second one I've ever made. I've been a recipient on the others. How many have you had so far, do you know? I think I've had about four. Four, that's good. yeah. Very good. That's four each. Well, you know, when I had to this is my, my Gemini nature, you know, it's like what are you interested in, Yes. and it's like virtually anything. I'll talk about anything to anybody Yeah. I don't, yeah, you bet, you bet. And it's, it's been real interesting, the different personalities That I run across. I know. Yes, I always try to find out where they're from, you know, Exactly. cause, because it is neat. Uh-huh. It really is. Uh-huh. Well then, I guess I'll let you go so you can go get the door and, Well, thank you. And, um, I enjoyed talking with you. You, me too. You have a good time camping, when you go next time, think of me Thanks. Okay. Thank you. All right. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Go ahead. Oh, um, uh, I usually don't get to hear any of the current events probably until about the ten o'clock news. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, being, uh, I mean, by the time you get off work, go by and pick up the, uh, baby from the baby sitter, it's, you know, after six and by the time everything is settled in, it's ten o'clock before I can catch up on anything. Yeah, I guess that's the way I am too. I, sometimes I hear some things on, on the radio. Uh-huh, oh yeah. I only get the newspaper on the weekends so Oh, uh-huh. Oh, I don't even have, time to read the newspaper except in passing, Uh-huh. you know, I'll look over my husband's shoulder and see what's going on. I, I guess occasionally I'll hear someone at work say something though. But, uh, Yeah. We have, uh, a news thing on the computer that, uh, that I'll, I'll try to look at every day. Uh-huh. And, uh, it, it's pretty much headline news. Yeah. Which isn't, you know, pretty much what we look for anyway. Uh-huh. But, uh. I, do you think that the quality of the, uh, the, you know, the news events that you get are, what do you think about it? Well I, I guess it's pretty good. And, and like the Dallas area, Uh-huh. and I, I guess when you're in a big metropolitan area like this, there's, I guess, a lot of pressure in that business to, borderline at that. Yeah. Well, you know, there's a lot of competition in the media. Uh-huh. And sometimes I think it too much trying to figure out who's going to get the best headlines. And that they'll run a topic into the ground. Yeah. And, uh. You know, they try to play public's opinion. Which I think is awful, because it usually works. Uh-huh, true. I'll bet that was the case of the, the war in the Middle East. Yes, uh-huh. That, uh, lots of new, uh, newsmen were created during that so, it will be interesting to see what happens. Uh-huh, true. Trying to think what else is, is current. Right. Uh, uh, Well, um, I don't know what to say Uh, that's a bad one, they, uh, looks like we're going to have an income tax in Texas, Yeah, I hate to see that, but it's, uh, that, you know, if what it's going to take, well, you know, we can deduct that from our income tax, our federal income tax. Uh-huh. But, uh, you know, but we need good schools. Uh, we're more involved in that now. And, I, I, I, I think it's better for everybody if we had better schools. Yeah, that's true. So, I would think they could find a better way to fund it though, but they haven't for, No. You know, I wish they could have gotten a lottery. Well, they're struggling with it. Yeah. I think, you know, the lottery could have helped, with that. I mean, it wouldn't have been as painful as what we would've paid in state income tax. I mean, probably would have paid the same amount but, you know, it's not the idea of your paying, uh, income tax. Uh-huh. True. So, I, I'm not sure there's a positive solution for that. No. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Trying to think what else is current. I, you know, I haven't seen the news in a couple of days. So it, uh, I'm a little behind on things. Well, the other thing I can think of is, uh, what is still going on in Iraq and the Kurd refugees. Yes, that's, that's sad. Yeah. They, uh, yeah, they had to choose between the better of the two, two bad situations, and, uh, I don't know what I've would have done in the situation. Uh-huh. Yeah, it begins to make you wonder why we didn't go ahead and go on in and, finish the job while we were in there. Yeah. Right. But I understand why Bush, you know, doesn't want to go in and, and uh, take sides. I mean, because that would definitely look like another Korea, Uh-huh. and he'd have all these people jumping down his back, even though I'd agree with it. I think he ought to, should've gone in there and blew them away. Seems to have helped him though, popularity wise. Yeah, it, it, it did a lot. He did a real good job I believe. I have, uh, in-laws that live in Saudi Arabia that stayed there during all of it too. Hm. It, uh, it, uh, you know, we, so we kept very much abreast of what was going on. Yeah. Were, were they in any of the areas where they, some of the Scuds? Yeah, they were on the, the, near, uh, Dahran. On the, on the east coast. Um. Um-hum. Yeah. They were just north of it. Probably about a hundred fifty miles, hundred miles from uh, the Kuwaiti border. Um. Uh, and they stayed active was the, uh, the military there. Taking supplies out to them in the desert. Uh-huh. It was, it was a new situation. Yeah. I'll bet. I don't really have much more to say I don't know anything else that's current other than the weather and, You're right, and that's, that's awful in Texas Have, have you all been getting rain storms down there? We got some awful rain, uh, the other morning. And today's just been real drizzly. We did, we did last night. Uh, some real massive thunderstorms. Yeah. Apparently, I, I don't know if it was just the strong winds or some small tornadoes up this way too. Uh-huh. Caused some damage. It did? We may get some more tonight. Oh, well. We, we've just got slight chances of rain. But, uh, we had the, we had the hard thunderstorms the other morning. Course while everybody was getting ready to go to work. Making nice traffic jams. So Uh-huh. Well the, the ground here is so flat, and it's all saturated now, Oh we're getting some flooding. Right, uh, when was it, last week, we had all the rain? But, uh, we, I think we had about eight inches. Hm. It was between six and eight inches here where we are. Goodness. And, uh, it, you walk out on the ground, I mean you, I mean, it's awful. It's just so soggy. Yeah. It's a lot more humid down that way. Yeah In fact, miserable. Well, today it was, I mean, the air was just so sticky, so damp. Yeah, I think there were places around downtown Fort Worth last night they got three inches in a real short period of time, like an hour or so just, a bunch. Goodness. Well, I guess that's it Right. Well it's, That's about as much as we can do with current events. Right. Well, it was nice talking to you. Good talking to you, Michelle. All right. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay. The public school systems, well everybody's has known they've needed renovation for years, but never really had a clear direction on which way to go with it. Uh-huh. The first direction that I can see, or I wish, I would love to see them go with. Kids learn at different rates and for too long they've kind of lumped everybody together. You'd learn at this rate and that's the only way it's going to happen. Yeah. That's true You've got some kids that'll pick up on it in the first three minutes you're talking about it, and the the other fifty-seven minutes you've been talking about a subject, you've bored them. Yeah, yeah, that's, that's very true. Um, I guess I can relate to that, because I have two kids that are opposites like that. Uh, one picks up real quick and the other one doesn't. And you're right, they do get bored, uh, really fast, if they already know what you're talking about. What do you propose that they do? What, what is your suggestions? The educators need to be a little bit more open minded as well as innovative in dealing with, uh, the various students to get the maximum potential out of the person. Uh-huh. Out of each child. Out of each child. Each individual child. Some kids are going to be great with mechanical stuff. Other kids are going to be really into math, some are really going to be heavy into reading. Right. Instead of pushing the scales too far either direction, I mean it's great to be well rounded and be exposed to all this stuff. Yeah. That's, But why not hit the points the kid's really interested in? Because if he's interested, he's going to study it, and he's going to learn it, and he's going to remember it. That's true. The only, I think the only thing that they would argue about that, is that, you know, every child needs to learn every subject. I mean, that's, that might be the only thing. But, I mean, I, I definitely agree with you. Uh, They need exposure to every subject. They don't need to be masters of it, Right, right. That's true. Uh, Everything I learned about ancient Rome has not helped me anywhere in, my adult life. Yes, I definitely agree. There's no doubt about that. I, uh, I, I mean, I can relate to that because I'm, I'm going to college right now, and I feel like, I mean, I'm taking this history class. And, I mean, it's so boring, and I just hate it. And I think, why do they make us take this stuff? I mean, what does this have to do with getting, you know, a computer science degree or whatever, you know? What, what type of history class is it that you're having to take? Uh, American History. We have to take, um, like this is like early seventeen hundreds through, I don't know, I think like mid eighteen hundreds. And then we have to take another one that's mid eighteen hundreds on up, to basically present. Well, the early ones they could actually combine two, two, levels of it, the one from seventeen hundred til say, the end of the Civil War. Yeah. Combine that into one. And then from eighteen sixty-five to present, and make that your second step because, To a point, to a point the bottom, you know, the early parts of it, you're giving the foundations of the nation Yeah. That's, well that's, basically what they're doing. and, but even then they're skimming over, they're very, almost trivial with it. Yeah, oh, yes. Definitely, I agree. Yeah, there's, You know, I mean, if they really wanted to get to the meat of the matter, I mean, there's, they make all these people out to be, oh, they were great men, and they're the father of the country and all this. He had just as much dirt on him as anybody else. If not more. The man was not a saint. Yeah. That's true, yeah. Any way, this, this, um, school system thing, I, I tell you, I saw something on the news, oh, I don't know, maybe two weeks ago. And they were talking about, I don't know where you're from, but I'm from the Dallas area. And they were talking about the Plano school system, that, they had one school that, uh, if the students did something wrong, I mean, whether it was behavioral or, uh, you know, they weren't learning properly or something. They took these students and put them basically in a closet. With no windows. They had, a, a table, or not a table, but a desk in this closet, and they had to sit in there by themselves. Well, parents were getting really angry about this, because they said, Why is my child being put in this closet. Well, how is that helping my child, you know. And, uh, the, the thing, you know, they said, Well, we're giving them isolation time and this helps them to think. But a lot of kids, I mean, if a child has, uh, claustrophobia, I mean, that's just going to terrify him, you know and, If, if the isolation concept really works that good, why are our prisons overcrowded? Uh, that's true. That's true. But, no, I mean, they were, uh, I mean, I definitely agree with parents. I think that is a very wrong way to handle, uh, disciplining a child. Putting them in, I mean, they were, they were they called them their quiet rooms or their isolation rooms. They didn't call them closets. But they showed these rooms on, uh, you know, on the news and, I mean, they looked like a closet to me. You know, with a desk in it, a real small. But they said that one of the solutions they came up with was to take the doors off of these isolation rooms. I said, now what good does I mean, how is this helping? I mean, either way. You know, I, I definitely had to disagree with that. I think that is, that's not the way to handle a child, you know, discipline a child by putting him in a closet the as a part of the revamping of the entire education system on that the public school system I want to see changed too. When I was brought up, if you crossed the line and you broke a rule bad enough, you were going to get spanked. Right. Well, then the extreme came in, and now we can no longer, spank them, Right. so we now isolate them. Yep. Uh Okay, we've swung the pendulum both ways. Let's find a middle ground. Instead of, there has to be some sort of discipline, and there has to be some sort of punishment. Short of physically isolating the child, and short of physically hitting the child. Right. Well, Let's put him into a situation where, okay, you crossed the line, you broke the rule, you're going to have to pay for it. Right. But, it's going to tax you physically. Uh-huh. I, I don't, Have I mean, instead have them pick up around the school yard, have them weed a flower bed somewhere on the school Do something to beautify the school property. Yeah, that's true. But you cut, you know, the, the kid's having to give up his, quote, play time to pay his debt for what he did wrong. Well, But he's seeing something constructive come out of it. um, I have to, I think one of the positive things, I mean, one of the things that can come out of, uh, is not just discipline, okay? But, okay, for instance, one of the things they do at, uh, my kids school, uh, they have what they call, uh, caught being good slips. And when the kids are in halls and stuff, and if they're being really good, I mean, just being excellent, they're not, you know, cutting up and so on. They're just standing in line, doing whatever they are supposed to, they get one of these caught being good slips. And then, when they collect them at the end of each week, they get to go to this little, what they call their caught being good store, and then they get to spend these like money. Well, see, to me, that's positive reinforcement, is much better, much better than trying to find ways to discipline kids, because they're going to be good and try and earn those things, you know, to get the positive part of it. I mean, they'd much rather go in the store and buy something than be spanked. So, they're definitely going to work towards being good, you know, rather than trying to act up and be bad, you know. I think that not only applies inside the public school system, but in society itself. We've been too long, there's been too much negative reinforcement. How much, like, the caught being good slips. How about, just the John Q citizen out there on the street? Yeah, well that's true. I think, I think, really though, I mean, that's one thing that, I mean, my kids definitely get spanked when they need they need to be spanked. But I really do try to use positive, uh, reinforcement with them at home, also. And it really helps. And I mean, they, they don't get spanked very often, but they, they do when they deserve it, you know. But, uh, I don't think any kid should be exempt from being spanked. I mean, I, I think I wouldn't mind if a teacher spanked my child. But, you know, that's just my personal opinion, and that's not going to, I mean, I don't think that law will ever change. They are never going to let a, a teacher spank a child again. But I don't think, I mean, some kids don't get don't get spanked at home and some kids need to be spanked at home. I mean, don't you think? I, most wholeheartedly agree. But I don't know. I mean, there's a point of over kill, but somewhere in, you've got to find an even line. Right, right. Well, there's so many parents that say, you can deal with a child without spanking them. Which is true, you can. But there are times when a child needs to be spanked. I mean, they do things that they need that. Need that shock effect, where they equate the shock of being spanked with the actions they did to get spanked. Right. ends with no further Okay. Um, I guess what, I guess my task. I usually ride my bike. I have, uh, a stationary bike and, uh, a regular bike. And when I can, I like to ride my regular bike outside, because it's so much nicer. The stationary bike is, is so, uh, boring. Boring. But I have head phones, and I, plus I have it, uh, in the living room so I either watch T V, or we have a fish tank, so I watch the fish, you know. Whatever I can do to keep myself occupied. If, I like to have the T V on, because that usually keeps me, um, more occupied. It kind of takes the time away and I don't realize, really, that's really the only time I ever watch T V, is when I'm on the bike. But, and then usually after I'm done riding the bike, just to cool myself down, I usually take a walk, you know, and that just kind of gets myself, uh, gets me, you know, to where I'm not quite as tired I guess. But it's definitely a task. You think so? I can't say that I really enjoy it. I wish that I did enjoy it more, but I do it because I have to not because I want to I bought a stationary bike, but I find that if I sit on that seat too long, it hurts. Yeah, yeah. And I haven't figured how to get that soft, and I tried even tying a pillow to it. But two years ago, I joined, well, it's not quite two years, it's almost two years, I joined the Cosmopolitan Lady here in Plano. Uh-huh. And I love it. Really? I just love it. So is it just women that go there? Yeah. It's totally women. See, I think that's what's my biggest problem with going to a place, uh, a, a health club. Because I don't feel like having a bunch of other people watch me exercise. You know, so I have tried to just do stuff at home and, uh, I just feel conscious about it. I mean, I'm not big, you know, or anything, but I still don't like other people watching me. I like to be able to sweat, have my hair a mess. Uh, feel that, okay fine, if my bathing suit slips a little bit I don't have to be conscious of it being a little bit too low. Yeah. Right. And I, my bathing suit's just one piece, so there's no big deal all the way around, but I don't have to be conscious of what I'm doing or how I'm doing it. Uh-huh. And it's, uh, oh, it's just, I don't know, it's, it's a total free relaxation. Because, hey, you can do what you want. You're a female, and no one is staring at anybody else or worrying about what anything else is doing. That's what, And they've got such fantastic equipment in there. Really? That's, that's great. Oh, yeah. How, And I love the water aerobics. Uh-huh. and so, I went to Hawaii and then to Australia and Japan and China, Uh-huh. Did you go on the Barrier did you see the Great Barrier Reef and, and go snorkeling? I, I, actually I didn't go diving. Uh-huh. I, I'm a diver and so, that's, that's actually been another of my favorite vacations has been taking little diving trips Oh diving. Uh-huh. but, uh, no I didn't get to the Great Barrier Reef. I drove from Sidney down to Melbourne and over to Adelaide. Uh-huh. It's gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. The coastline was just incredible. It's huge. Is it really? Australia. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Uh, but, Did you have shrimp? I've seen in, you know, they, they show all this wonderful seafood and, and great big prawns, you know the big shrimp and, I don't remember if I had shrimp. No? Didn't have shrimp there huh I don't think so. I remember food Oh, I like that too. But, uh, in fact I didn't eat out that much there because I was traveling by myself in a car, it would have been, I think, much more fun to do it like in the van, with a bunch of people. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh, Oh you're adventurous. You went by yourself. Uh-huh. Really. And I was by myself in China too. Really? Yeah. Oh wow. China was a little bit more, uh, of a challenge. But, it, it wasn't more of a challenge in a sense because I hired a guide all the time, Uh-huh. and so I never, you know, got out by myself, or not much, Uh-huh. Was it very expensive? No, actually I paid about either a thousand dollars or a little bit, no maybe it was about a thousand dollars, maybe a little bit less, I don't really remember, for ten days including all my meals, a guide, a car, the airfare and, but this is from Hong Kong, You're kidding! No kidding! Uh-huh. because I was already in Hong Kong and, um, but it only cost you about a thousand dollars to go there and I went to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and actually then I took a train up from Shanghai to a little, Quingdao I think is the name of it. It's a little, uh, sort of getaway retreat village not far from Shanghai. It's just a train ride. Uh-huh. And that, I had two internal, one, yeah, two internal plane flights and a couple of other things. It was really, All for a thousand dollars? Uh-huh. Wow! That really surprises me. Around a thousand. I guess I relate it to, to Japan where things are very expensive, aren't they? Oh, Japan's ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah. And I stayed, I didn't stay in the top of the line hotels but I stayed in, they were all completely clean, Uh-huh. and, you know, they were newly built and they were sort of the lower end of the top of the line, hotels, because they said you can't stay in the cheap stuff. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, and you don't want to stay in the very, very, very exclusive, because you don't really even get a flavor of the country if you're, Right. Right. Yeah, yeah. Wow. Uh, but yeah, that was, I highly recommend that way to go. If you're ever interested in going the route, I dealt with this woman, her name was Rita at China Tours in Boston Oh really. Yeah. Uh, and a friend of mine who had gone for a business trip to China and she just gave me this woman's name to contact and it would really be fun, I think ideally with like two couples because you have a car and a driver and a guide Uh-huh. and then, Well I grew up out in the country and, uh, was used to having, uh, guns around the place and, uh, I'm, uh, not for gun control, in the strictest sense of the, uh, word. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, I think I'm kind of bent towards middle liberal of the bridge myself. Yeah. You know, I have quite a collection myself and, you know, I'm a good hunter and I started hunting when I was twelve years old. Of course, my parents made me take hunters safety classes and, you know, I don't want to see them ban guns completely Yeah. but I don't want them to completely turn loose of their controls either so, Yeah. Well I, I feel that its, uh, I think the what was National Rifle Association, uh, had this bumper sticker a few years back if, uh, about if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns then. I believe that. And I believe that too because the person that is wanting to, commit a crime is going to find a way to get a gum, a a gun, a knife, a, a rock, a stick, whatever it is, to commit a crime with, Yeah. Yeah. and it's the honest citizens like ourselves that are responsible about use of guns, uh, we can handle it but there's an element that can't. Yeah and it's, you know, it's got to the point now where even our, our police departments and our D E A agents and everything have to carry automatic weapons because everybody that's in drug trafficking has got them. They have got them outgunned. You know. Yeah. So. There was a an article in the paper just this week where I think it's, uh, one of the gun companies, I can't remember which, was developing a ten metal, ten millimeter automatic pistol for the F B I which would give them additional firepower. Um. It had, held like a fifteen shot clip, which, uh, would be able, they would be able to put down anything that came at them, Yeah Yeah, that would be, but you figure you got some drug guy out there that's got an Uzi machine gun, uh, a thirty-eight, uh, Yeah, that's, Smith and Wesson revolver isn't going to do you much good. No it's sure not. Huh-uh. Yeah. I have lived in, uh, Illinois at one time and they, they passed a, uh, it wasn't really gun control but it was, you had to register as a gun owner, you didn't have to list your guns, Yeah. but you had to have this card, it was like a driver's license card that you had to have it in order to buy ammunition Um. and that was the first, uh, this was twenty years ago. Yeah. But they had that so that they were trying to control it a little bit in that respect. See in California they, In California they make you register when you buy ammunition. Pardon? Yeah. Uh-huh. You have to sign a, you know, they take your name and driver's license number, hunter, hunting license number and all that good stuff, before you can buy any big ammunition. Especially for handguns, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. now rifles aren't too bad, but, you know, any kind of handgun at all, if it will fit in a handgun and a rifle you would still have to buy it, or sign up for it, Yeah. so. We lived in Tennessee for awhile and I bought a pistol there and there was a fifteen day waiting period. You had to fill out an application and, go down to the sheriff's office and get fingerprinted Uh-huh. and, then you had fifteen days while they checked to see if you had any kind of criminal record before that you could pick up the gun you were purchasing. Gee. Gee, that's not a bad idea. No, I think that, uh, you know, a, a waiting period, uh, can make a difference Yeah. but again it's going to be the law abiding citizen that's going to comply with that. Yeah, yeah it is. So there's, I don't, think there's any way to control the criminal element as far as guns is concerned because, No. the only way they could do it I think, would be to stiffen the penalties on anybody using a gun. Right, right. You know, I think if we kind of stiffen them up a little bit, course, I, I feel kind of weird about that anyway, I think if somebody shoots somebody, they ought to be shot. Yeah, I'm, So. We, we're getting into capital punishment now Yeah, but, you know. But I, I agree with you there that, uh, It would definitely be gun control Yeah. The, uh, the, again the purpose of gun control is to control how it is being used is what the purpose should be. Yeah. Yeah. It's not to keep people from buying a gun that need one for a specific purpose, legal purpose but to keep the guy that's illegal from getting his hands on one. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm in favor of keeping the, the illegal guy from getting one in his hands but, the legal person or lawful person should not be penalized because there is the criminal element. Myself. Yeah. Well and they're actually a necessity in life, you know. Oh yes. They're not, you know, not everybody needs a gun but sooner or later I need one. You know, whether I'm out hunting or you know, I'm never had to protect my life or, Yeah. well I did in the service but not, you know, not on the street so I don't really need one in the, in the aspects , You don't have to carry one in your car or your, uh, or your pocket all the time. No, huh-uh. Yeah. No. So mine are, you know, I use mine for recreation, Yeah. I don't, and I enjoyed my guns. Yeah. I have a good time with them so, Well I know what, uh, I took my kids out and taught them out, how to shoot a gun. My wife the same thing, uh, she knows how to shoot any weapon that we have not that I have an arsenal or anything, Yeah. but we have several guns around the house one of these days my grandkids probably. Probably. Yeah. But I think it's, uh, you got to have, have the living in Dallas there's not that many places to go shoot but, uh, still I think they ought to know how to use one and that it's not just a toy and that when, it's not like on T V when someone gets shot, uh, they get back up. No, huh-uh. If someone gets shot with a, real gun they don't get back up. Yeah. Yeah. I had to explain that to my, I've got a six year old now and he, you know, I have a fifteen year old and a seventeen year old, well they understand now. Yeah. You know I've taken time to teach them and now the young boy wants to know and, you know, like I told him, you're a little bit young for a gun. Let me go out here and, you know, we would start with the B B gun deal, you know, Yeah. so he started with the B B gun and shot a couple of holes in a couple of windows and I took it away from him, I said now, you know, so he's learning the hard way but at least it was a B B gun not a twenty-two or a four ten or something so, I remember I had an old uncle up by Tulsa, Oklahoma that took me out and, uh, showed me. This was, it was not my, it was my mother's uncle, this was a gentleman in his sixties, Um. and he took me out with him and, uh, single shot twenty-two, and taught me how to shoot. Uh-huh. We went squirrel hunting and, and, uh, he taught me how to shoot, uh, a old single shot twenty-two All right. and, I was probably about twelve at the time, Uh-huh. and I thought that was the neatest thing and, of course Uncle Sam took me out, took me hunting with him Yeah. and he let me shoot and showed me how. All right. I think there is a lot of responsibility on any of us gun owners to make sure that whoever is around us is at least safe and knows how to use one. Right. You know, I don't want to get out there deer hunting and have some guy blow me away, so. Oh, yeah. Well that's about all I, we agreed pretty well on this I think. Yeah, I think so. Okay. Well it's been real nice talking with you. All right, have a good one. Okay, bye. Bye-bye Do you have children? Uh, yes, yes, I have a daughter. Do you. Yeah. How old is she? She's only about, uh, uh, a little less than two years old. Uh, I guess you have not reached the stage where you need to, uh, promote a college or anything, huh. No. I've got one that's seven and one that's three, so, we, uh, we started saving, but that's all. Yeah So, do you, is there, are you planning to, like, encourage your children to go to a particular school? Uh, no, uh, um, no particular school. Uh, I think that's really a decision that, That you are going to let them make. They, well, help them make in terms of, you know, what they are, they are wanting to do. Right. Uh-huh. You know, that, that's a big influence, I think and, You know what, not only what you can afford, but what, what's going to be best for them in terms of what their career goals are. Yeah, yeah. Right. Uh-huh. So, uh, you know, you need to go to a school that handles whatever it is you want to do. Yeah. Where did you go to school? Uh, University of Mississippi. Oh. Was that local or, uh, Uh, well, it was, well, it was within the state. Uh-huh. But it, it was not necessarily local, it was, Yeah. But I, I mean, so what's, , What's the criterion for choosing to go there? Yeah. Uh, well, at the time, I was, uh, thinking of going pre med Uh-huh. and in the state, uh, they had the best pre med uh, curriculum for the, uh, state institutions. Uh-huh. It was choice between there and, uh, a private college that, uh, was a bit more expensive. Uh-huh. Yeah. At the time, we really could not afford it so I ended up going there although it was quite a drive away for me. Yeah. It, uh, I enjoyed it. So you, did you commute everyday then or, No. Oh, okay. No, no, it was a six hour drive. Oh, okay, when you said it was quite a, quite a way away, I did not know it that meant you had to drive like an hour or, I was, uh, it was like another world. Uh-huh. Basically, it was a, no it was a, did not get home that often, you know, and at that age it's, uh, it's kind of, kind of difficult sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. Especially, if you have not been away a lot that extended Yeah. So, did you go there, like, straight out of high school? Yeah. Yeah. Uh, see I did not get my degree until later on, so I just finished mine a couple of years ago. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know, I guess, you know, when you have to do it that way, it makes, makes your choices a lot easier but, Uh, that's true. Yeah, that, that's like, you know, when I went on to get my, my master's I, uh, basically was, you know, it was where I was at the time. Uh-huh. Right. You know, I was not going to try to pick and go somewhere else because I was pretty much settled Right, right. and I was trying to work. But, uh, so when you are first going to school that, you kind of have the luxury of being able to have some latitude in choosing the place to go. Exactly. Yeah. which group do you work in in T I? Um, uh, the computer science center. Oh, uh, where is that at? Uh, north building. I see. How long do you work for T I? Uh, about three years. Did you work somewhere else, like sounds like you got your master's before here or, Uh, yeah, I have, uh, uh, no actually, I mean I came straight from school to here. I see. So, cause this was the first, first real job after getting my degree. Uh-huh. After your master's or after your, After my master's. I see. My undergraduate degree was not in, not in what my master's was. I see. So I made a career change basically. Uh-huh. I see. Well, let's see I, have not you know, there's a lot of pluses and minuses for different schools, you know, just like you said. Uh, depending on what they want to specialize in and what you can afford, different things like that, so I, I have not really made up my mind, you know, whether to encourage them to go different places Yeah. or, One day I would like to, uh, you know, the, uh, I, I like the school where I went. Uh-huh. I mean, and I would not hesitate at all to, to encourage her to go there there if she wanted to. Right. Right. Or the school where I got my master's at, which, which was a different school. Right. And, uh, I liked it almost as well. Uh-huh. Uh, but, uh, you know, that, I'm not going to hold them to that just because I went there. Right. I, you know, think that's Yeah. If they want to, that's fine, but otherwise not. Although I uh, would get quite a break on, on tuition Yeah. Um, because you went there. Yeah, because they, uh, allow for, uh, uh, tuition, uh, break for out of state students who children of alumnae. Um. I didn't know that. Well certain schools do it. Yeah. This school does. So, uh, It's, it , Huh. I, I was involved in some, uh, oh, alumnae recruiting, uh, here in town, uh, recently, uh, well last year Uh-huh. Uh, and it was kind of fun, because you are trying to to, trying to get people interested in your school, you know. Uh-huh. And they were, this was a college night at a, at a high school in Richardson. And it was, Uh-huh. And there were a bunch of kids, you know, and a bunch of schools. There were a hundred schools, probably there all competing for the same kids. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. It's kind of interesting to, to, to talk up, you know, your, school Yeah, your own school, And, I was surprised by the number of kids that came, came by and had heard of, you know, our school. And, and were interested in it. Uh-huh. Um. Uh, you know, we, uh, situations like that, you don't realize, you know, until you start thinking about it, the kinds of advantages you school may have over others. Uh-huh. And so, I, I was real, real pleased with that. That worked out so well. Yeah. So did you drum up any interest then I think so. I don't know offhand but, uh, it seemed like there were quite a few kids that were definitely interested in going there. Uh-huh. So, there, There was one mother who, uh, came by right, even, before we started, who, who obviously was, uh, very interested in getting her, her daughter in or, or having gotten her daughter in or something And that, and she was wanting some more information. But she was, her, her daughter was, uh, a, a, a majorette or something. You know, a baton twirler or something Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and she was she was, letting us know she, how, how good her daughter was. She had cards printed up, actually describing, you know, business cards describing her daughter's, uh, you know, she had won several different twirling awards, and all this, Oh, really. Uh-huh. and she was, had these business cards she was passing out and it was quite a production. I think some parents go a little bit overboard. Yeah it sounds like it. Yes. Well you know I think Richardson is probably you know one of the places that would definitely Okay, well the topic is selecting care for the elderly. Uh-huh. And I don't have elderly parents, yet but not that far in the distant future. What about yourself? Well, my parents are both in their seventies. My, my mother and stepfather, and my father and stepmother are all in their seventies. And, my, uh, uh, father and stepmother are not in very good health. So this is something that is, A concern of yours right now. Yes, it is. Are, are they living independently, right now? Yes, they are. Oh. They are. Have you looked at any homes for them or talked to them about that? Not for them, my, my mother and stepfather have, have, uh, set up an arrangement where they have a large home and, uh, two of my sisters and, and their families, one of them's husband and then all the children are living in this home. Its got a lot of bedrooms and bathrooms and, and, uh, they all share the same kitchen and dining room and den and kitchen. And, and, uh, my father bought this, uh, my stepfather bought this thinking of a time when one or the other of them might need care and they felt like that would be their alternative to a nursing home. Oh, that sounds the ultimate. Unless, unless they were so ill that they needed nursing care that could not be given in the home. Well, even at that point, most care can be given at, in the home. That sound like just an excellent solution. You must feel real good about that. Well, I, I felt good about it because that's my personal feeling also. I, uh, I read a lot and then I know people then have visited nursing homes and, uh, have had great, grandparents in the nursing homes and it was not a happy situation for, for any of them. And, and, uh, we have a very active nursing home here in Plano that, that has, uh, activities going all the time and they have, uh, even the people that are wheelchair bound and, and really are, are incapacitated. Go and, uh, participate in olympics Uh-huh. and they make their crafts and sell them at a big fair that's held annually at a big mall here Right. You know, so there are a lot of, a lot of activities going on all the time and this is a nursing home, it's not a senior citizens home. So that the people are really, uh, Really in need of a nursing home. Right. They need, the nursing care, Right, uh-huh. and, and, but it's a very expensive solution. Well, it's, you know, I think we just, you know, listen to, is the fact that there are good solutions both inside and outside of nursing homes. It's just a matter of finding, a good home. Right. Right. And, and then, of course, there is always the problem of being able, able to afford either of those solutions. Right. Uh-huh. And that, I think is what is scary, and I also feel that that's where some of the bad images of nursing homes come from. Is when people have to put people in a nursing homes and they really can not afford the best. Right. And that's right, I, well I took my husband one night to an emergency room when he was in an emergency situation and, uh, they brought in a very elderly man from a nursing home who had, had, uh, apparently inhaled some chicken he was eating. Oh. And, uh, he had apparently had not been in the home too long, just a week or so, but when they, the family came in to see him, they had not been made aware, I was in the room when the emergency technicians brought him in from the ambulance and I overheard their conversation. And when the family walked in, his wife and daughter and son-in-law, they were not even aware of what had happened. Oh, goodness. So, I told them he strangled on some chicken and, uh, they said, the, the woman, the wife said he was not even supposed to be eating any food like that that would require chewing or, so, you know, Oh. and I thought What a shame, they put him in the home so that he could be cared for Right. Right. and then they could have done that well at home. And then she was upset, he had on two different shoes, one of which was not even his. He had on a pair, of slacks, Oh. and the wife said "these are not his slacks" and she said "I just took two pair over yesterday for him that were clean." And, You hear these stories, all the time. Right. Right. Well, I, this was just something that I was, I witnessed to. You happened, Right. And, and, uh, at no point did anybody from the nursing home come in. And we were there in the same room with the man for a half hour Oh. And, with just a curtain, of course, between us and, and, uh, Right. they revived the man and cleared out his airway and so forth, and he was definitely, just by looking at him and the way he acted, you could tell he was in need of, of nursing home care, but the family were all talking about, uh, putting him in another home. They said he will not go back to that one. Well, good. Good, I'm glad they have a solution. To do that, I'm glad they the option. yes. I know. I, I would hate to be in a position where that was all I could afford and there were not, there was no choice. Exactly. My, uh, my ex-husband's grandmother had been in a nursing home now for, oh, it must be seven, eight years, and, uh, and, uh, It's just her, her condition deteriorated, deteriorated instantly upon getting into that home. Oh, my. Um. As the situation is so sad because it just takes all the dignity away from, from people who have been independent all their lives. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Like this was a really neat vital woman and you get in a nursing home and the first thing that happens you have to share your, your whole living space, with someone that you have never known before in your life. Right. Right. And oh I, I do not know what the answer is, but I do know that there are some wonderful places out there and it, I think it does, a lot of it goes down to just money. And family support, That's right. uh, if you, you know, have family that, uh, you can live with. Visits everyday. Right. Right. Right. I, I really, I think the way of selecting a nursing home would be similar to the way you would select child care, you know. You would do your research and you would go visit. Visit, right. And, uh, hopefully, they would have, they would have it so that you could go there anytime. Right. Because if you could not go there anytime, then that would make you, a little bit Suspicious. right. You know, I, I, my, I remember my, my grandmother many years ago when she was in a nursing home before she died and I guess there was not a name for what she had at that time, but I guess Alzheimer's would come as close as anything, she really was not aware of what she was doing. Uh-huh. And, uh, I I can remember she had several strokes and the nursing home was right next to a hospital and they would rush her to the hospital and revive her and just bring her back to the nursing home in a couple of days. And it was, she was, it was just like keeping something. Well, we've talked a little bit about the Plano school system. Um, I, I really have been pleased with Plano. I have a child who, uh, my son is learning disabled, Uh-huh. and, uh, I thank God every day that I have the resources that we have tapped into. Now, is he the elementary school? He's in elementary school. Uh-huh. And he's not severely learning disabled. Uh-huh. I mean, you know, he just, He's being helped. But he is being helped. He, he was in resource from second grade till fourth grade in math, Uh-huh. and they recently released him from, resource, which I'm, I was thrilled, Oh, great. I really was. I, I just thought that was so neat, that they got him over that hump. And, um, he's in the Herman Method of Reading. I don't know if you're, familiar with that. No, that's something new to me. I'm, It is something new, and basically what they do is they start right from the beginning relearning the sounds of letters. Oh. Um, I think I read about that in the paper. It's wonderful. Doctor Haggard is, is heading that up. Yes, and it's wonderful. He didn't have a problem with reading. As a matter of fact, he's reading on level. The problem was his spelling. And, you know, in, in watching the way he has struggled, Uh-huh. it's interesting, because I'm convinced I have the same learning disability, or had, that was ignored. Oh. And, Right, so you worked, you learned how to solve your problems on your own. That's right. And, and so it's, you know, it's not an intelligence problem. It's just a problem with learning. Has, has he had this since kindergarten, or is this something that maybe learning phonetics, and then he just didn't learn the right way? Well, you know, it's funny. When, um, when he was in first grade, he had trouble with, with spelling, Uh-huh. and I would say to the teacher, you know, it's amazing. He will be able to, you'll say to him, spell cat, and, you know, he'll say C A T, and then he would go to write it, and he would write C O T. Okay. And I kept saying to the teacher, something is wrong here. Something is wrong here. You're right, right. And the teacher kept saying, oh, he has a May birthday. He's just immature. Right. Well, second grade it was, I will, these teachers as far as I'm concerned are absolute saints, because in second grade, it was about the second week of school, I went up there, and I, I requested a conference and, because all year long they kept telling me I was crazy. Good, good, that's great for parents to be involved. Well, I was, and I, and I went up there the second week of school and I said, you know, something is wrong, and thank God the the head teacher, the team leader, was a special education major. Oh, how great. It was, it was and, She had picked it up, So she, she was able to zero in. yep, Oh. she had already picked it up. And she said, you know, we, we were going to call you if you hadn't called us. We think there's a learning disability and we think he needs to be tested immediately, because, you know, once the first report card comes in, they, have all these people being tested, Huh. and she said, I think we can get him real fast. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And sure enough, they tested him and, you know, he qualified for, for the help, and it's been great, and I, and I thank God I'm here, because I, I know I have a sister who has the other extreme. She has a, a child in Connecticut who is extremely gifted, and because of the cutbacks in the economy they have nothing for her. Right. Oh, no. And, and to me that's the same thing. It's, it's like having a child who has a learning disability that's being ignored, this poor gifted child is being ignored. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Right, but that's something that parents, I think, are able to help the gifted child in the home more than they could help the learning disabled child. That's true. So, because, that's something you can do by just enrichment types of things in the home That's true. Uh-huh. but learning disability, unless you are schooled in the types of things and ways to help a child like that, then it makes it real difficult Uh-huh. and this is, this to me is the benefit I see in public schools is that, that, uh, you do have government money to fund, the kinds of programs that these students need, Yes. Right. Right. and I'm not sure that the private schools or parochial schools address that problem, they test kids before they take them, Exactly, and, They don't take them, and if they're a behavior problem, they're out. that's right. That, and, and, uh, this is kind of a rejection type of thing, Right. Uh-huh. and, and we get it even at our level in, in, I work a nine ten school, and we get students that come in that have been kicked out of the, uh, parochial and and, uh, private schools Uh-huh. and, uh, they come in and their attitude is, "I'm a bad boy," and proceed to prove it. Really, really. So I, I really hate that for them. I, I, would rather they not have that attitude, Yeah. but that's, Well, when comparing test scores, I know recently I was in a discussion and they were comparing test scores between private schools and public schools, Right. and that was one of the points that I made, is that you're not comparing apples to apples. That's right. You know, you can't say, um, you know, I know Steven probably would not be accepted because he has a learning disability and, into a private school. And, um, which is, which is too bad. Uh-huh. But on the other hand, I, I can't necessarily blame them, you know, they, they are a private school No. and they, can do whatever they want. That's right, they can be selective, right. And they they, that's right, they have the ability to be selective. But you can't say then, well, public schools are, are not as good. Right. Perhaps they are, because they're, they're, If you choose the select top group out of the public schools and tested them, and then compared them to the to the private school group, then I think you would have a more equitable way. You're right. And I have a problem when they compare the kids in Japan or Germany to the kids here. In, in, in, uh, honesty, the kids in Japan are, they have to try out to even get into, to which kindergarten they're going to get into, Oh, really? and then after, uh, and if, if you only, the, in fact, they've had cases in the past where parents have committed suicide because their child has not gotten into the top kindergarten, which means they probably won't get into the top elementary and, and high school, Uh-huh. and if they don't, then when they reach a certain age, they just, that's the end of their schooling. Uh-huh. And, and, uh, they don't ever really go on. It's only their top ones that go on, like ours do. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, and, uh, so that, that creates a problem. And, and you can't compare, because they go so many more hours. Yeah. The other thing is that the priority in the family is that child's education, and is that child. Right, well, you see that with the foreigners that come here. That's right. Um, I, I was talking to somebody recently or read somewhere where they, where they said that, you know, these children, they, they had to be the best, and they put off all social life, all everything, you know. That's right, that's right. Well, is that good? Yes, the child is very bright, but on the other hand, I feel like my children, who are kind of middle of the road, have, are more rounded, you know. Better coping skills. Yes. Sure, sure, I think it's real important to have friends. I think it's real important to play sports. I think it's real important to be part of a team. Right. And so that's why I said, their childhood is extremely different from mine. We didn't do all that you know. Right. We certainly didn't carpool and run the way I do. Um, Well, and you don't, you don't see the parents, uh, encouraging those students to get on athletic teams or, drill teams or band, No. Right, right. it's strictly stick to the educational, and it's interesting to see them as they get older, uh, then that is the type of adult they are. Uh-huh. Um. Okay? Yes. Well, this is a very timely topic inasmuch as we're going to a family reunion this weekend. Oh are you really? Yeah. Where is it going to be? Down at Lake Texoma lodge. Oh. Yes, this is one that's, uh, the Baker family reunion Uh-huh. and this has been going on at least, uh, I would say, at least twenty-five years or thirty, something like that. Oh, that's marvelous. Maybe longer than that, I'm going to get back into the fifties sometime. Uh-huh. First time, I, I married into the family, and the first time I went was about fifty-seven, I think. Uh-huh. But, uh, this one has been well organized and in fact it used to be at Lake Brownwood, and now it's Lake Texoma, because that's more central location for people from Oklahoma and Texas to come to. Uh-huh. I'm sure location's really important as far as figuring out where one ought to be. Very important, because, uh, you'll start losing people if it's too far to go. Uh-huh. We have factions, when it's one part, we, I have one reunion on my mother's side, and we found that if it's in a certain part of Texas, some people come, and if it's elsewhere, other people come Yeah. we never get them at both of them Never get them at both places, it seems like, so I think we need to find a new place Right. Well, listen, they've, uh, they've had this one, well it just, of course, over the years it has, uh, built up as far as the organization is concerned Uh-huh. but now they, uh, have a golf tournament on the Saturday. Um. And then they have generally a show or an auction or something on Saturday night to help raise funds to cover the costs of such. Oh, that's a neat idea. Yeah, and, uh, everyone, uh, they get the community building there at Lake Texoma lodge, and everyone brings in food Uh-huh. and then for the Saturday night dinner they bring in like Kentucky Fried Chicken from Durant, and uh it really, uh, has worked out. Uh-huh. How many people, Jim, are involved? Uh, generally, uh, I think it's been as high as about a hundred and twenty people. Wow. I think normal's about sixty or seventy. Yeah, well, I guess, um, ours probably isn't that big. Our family is dwindling, for one thing. Oh And I often feel funny because I'm in a branch that's all but died Oh. I just have one aunt and my family. So sometimes when these other families get together, they're really pulling in aunts and uncles and grandkids, Yeah. and we're kind of off on the sidelines. But it does remind us that we have family and roots. Right. So we keep going even though we're not a real big part of it. Yeah, well, our family reunion started out my wife and I were the kids, the newlyweds, so to speak Uh-huh. and now we go, our children go, and our grandchildren are going now. Oh that's great. So it's, uh, wound up that, uh, we're the old folks now. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, um, they have various organized, they have generally a volleyball net set up and horseshoes, uh, to pitch, and they organize a baseball game for the kids Uh-huh. and several people bring boats, and there's a place they, they take the kids up to the lodge and go swimming up there in the afternoon, so it it's a full day. So there's lots to do. Some of the people come down on Friday afternoon and spend the whole weekend, Uh-huh. and some just come in for Saturday Uh-huh. so, it, uh, has worked out quite well, and it's a chance to see some of the relatives you don't see all year long except that once a year. Uh-huh that's true. Well, that's neat. I think, think they're really fun. We go to mine regularly, and then we go to my husband's occasionally down in Temple, and he has a large family, so it's, it's fun when we go to that one. Yeah, my side of the family is from back in Ohio and West Virginia, and I think we've been to one in thirty-five years or something like that, so, That's just too far away. Oh. Yeah, yeah that, that is a problem with the distance. The people that we have that don't come are out El Paso way Yeah. and it's just too much for all of them, all of that group to travel. It's an, all day drive just to get to this area. Right. But then we have the same attitude when it's out, there, although this year we're going out. They're going to have it at Fort Davis Yeah. and we thought that would be fun to kind of tie it in as a vacation time as well as reunion. Yeah. Yeah, we have, each year, of course, they elect officers of the family reunion Uh-huh. and a number of years ago, back in the early eighties, my wife was president. We discovered how much work it is just to organize and get it together. And it takes a lot of planning, and assembling of stuff. Uh-huh. And choose, some place that everybody's going to like as far as food and all that Right. That's correct. That's a heavy burden. Yes, it is, I tell you. I don't really care for her to be president again. No But that is, uh, it's, it's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun. Uh-huh. We've enjoyed it, and the grandkids really enjoy it because it's the only time of the year they see all their cousins from Oklahoma. Well, I think, Yeah, and it's, it's good for kids to know that they have other family. Yeah, and this year they're all excited. The show this weekend, this weekend's going to be a rock and roll show Oh, boy. my two grandsons and one of their cousins are, are going to dress up and lip sing to a rock song you know, in jeans and t-shirts and such. Oh, what fun. Uh-huh. So, it's, uh, it's going to be exciting for them, and for us too. Uh-huh. Probably lots of laughs. Oh, yes, there have been some really wild shows put on there. They, uh, really get, uh, into it. Uh-huh. Well, it sounds like you really have a good structure and have it going along. Ours, ours is still kind of loosely organized, and the same people usually get stuck with doing it. Yeah, well, Oh, that generally happens. And, they do it as a labor of love. Yeah. So, the officer idea is a good idea. Yeah, well we've, uh, had various things over the years, uh, to raise funds for it Uh-huh. and again, it's not, it's not cheap to rent the lodge up there or the meeting room down in the cabins and such, Yeah. but, uh they've come up with, Uh-huh they've tried passing the hat, and they've had auctions and various things to raise funds, and, uh some people do Uh-huh. and some people don't Yeah, and it's not fair that everybody not contribute, Excuse me. But, um, anyway, that's the family reunion story. Uh-huh. Okay. Well, thanks a lot I enjoyed talking to you. Bye. Been nice talking to you. Bye. Okay. All right. Well, I am, uh, the product of, uh, I think as much the changing roles of women as anyone, my mother, uh, we come from a, my mother and I were, uh, really, first generation divorce in our family. Yes. My, uh, mother was divorced in nineteen, uh, fifty-seven, when I was seven years old. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, was, I was the first one, of anyone that, that anyone had ever known, to have a divorce. Uh-huh. Of course, now fifty percent divorces in the United States, uh, my mother, uh, was treated very badly, uh, in a, by a lot of people, family members, um, especially from my father's side of the family, and also, uh, uh, uh, we were, uh, ostracized by his family, uh, basically just, you know, uh, we just kind of dropped off the face of the earth. Uh-huh. Right. And, they all felt that there was never an issue that my father was the, was the cause of the reason for the split up, even though he had impregnated another woman and forced the divorce. Oh, mercy. Uh, it was always my mother's fault, she was not, uh, sufficient, you know, she just was not good enough. What was wrong with her, was she not attractive enough, did she not take good enough care of her man to keep his interest. It was that kind of an attitude. Yeah, that, that's too bad. So, uh, yeah it was too bad, it was really rough. Um, um, that's sad. It really is. Uh, so, you know, that's so changing, some of the changing roles of women in that respect, I have been a product of. Uh-huh. Um, I think that there are people that, I think that, uh, I was I was first generation going to college in my family. Uh-huh. Uh, first, my mother had always had a quote career, but always a career as a, uh, uh, in a secretarial position. She did rise to the highest position that a woman could rise to in a secretarial profession in Des Moines, Iowa. That's, that's wonderful. She was a secretary to, uh, uh, the to, uh, a circuit court judge, federal judge. Uh-huh. And it was a lifetime appointment for her as well as for him. So, that was a really high, high status position. Well, that's wonderful. She made over thirty thousand, a year. That speaks, well of your mother. Well, yeah, she a real hard She had high standards. Yeah. Yeah. hard driving lady with a steel rod up her back, you know. Oh, bless her heart. But, uh, so I went to college and now since have completed two master's degrees and I am the director of music in a church. Um, and but it's interestingly enough, I am still, everyday, confronted with, Challenges. Absolutely. Uh-huh. Challenges that have to do with my sex. Right. Uh, for instance, uh, well, you know, I am just not taken as seriously, you know, at professions, as many of the as many of the men who are doing the same job I do. Uh-huh. And, uh, the choir members treat me differently because I am a woman, they expect me to be more motherly, they question my authority more, uh, than they ever would a man. And I have experience with this, because I work at both, both as a director of music and also as an associate under a man. uh-huh. So I am pretty, I am pretty pretty I mean, I am pretty aware of what goes on uh, in the church. Surely. So, basically that's, that's, well I am done talking. Do you want to talk? Well, I think that you carried forth your subject matter very well, uh, Nickie. And I can, uh, relate to that, uh, Uh-huh. uh, I think it's, it's the image that the woman has and, uh, in the world, as, uh, the lesser of the two. Uh-huh. Oh, always. And, uh, I think things are changing, but the changing is taking a long time longer than we would like it to, like it to take. Uh-huh. And, uh, I think we are progressing at a snail's pace, Indeed. but we are progressing. Uh-huh. So, that's the main point is that we are going ahead. Uh-huh. And, uh, I think that, uh, in the long term that women are going to be able to have the recognition that they deserve. Uh-huh. And, uh, men, uh, have, a lot of them have, uh, come around and have seen, the error of their ways. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But there are a lot of die-hards out there that will never change. Uh-huh. So we have to, uh, face that reality also. I have never been able to figure out why they can not ever change, why they can not bend. I mean, why they can not just accept, you know, competent women, I, I have never been able to understand that. I guess it's fear I mean what , It could be, if they are they are not sure of themselves. Sure. The ones that, uh, go along with that, they are sure of themselves. Uh-huh. And they know that they can, uh, you know, uh, be on the same level. Uh-huh. And they do not have any, uh, ego, uh, problems that they are fighting. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, I think that we are going to be, uh, on par with them in salary and in recognition, in the long term. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, and I, what I would like to see happen futuristically, is what we are discussing, is that yes, uh, we each have our, uh, jobs in life, and that we should recognize that. And that we should support each other. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I think our problems would be fewer, if we supported each other. And just looked at each other as equals and none lesser, because we are equal. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Men have a lot of trouble with that though. Uh-huh. They, in their, in their own peer relationships, they do not treat themselves equal, and so it's really difficult for them to treat women as equals. They are, they are really much more comfortable with somebody being the boss and somebody being the follower. Uh, it just seems that, it seems, it seems that they are more comfortable that way. And I do not know if that's, I mean, that's, it's a militaristic point of view I guess, you know, somebody can not be colonel and everybody else is infantry, but it's just really interesting to me. I am married to a wonderful man, you know, who treats me very, you know, with a, with as, I think probably is as enlightened as anyone can be at this particular stage in their life time. But, when he gets angry, it's always over control issues, it's always over power issues, it's never over, you know, it's always, you said you were going to do something and you did not do it. As if he is the boss and I am the, you know, and I am the slave. uh-huh. And it, those are the only, only issues we ever fight about. I think it's just, I think it's just difficult for men to, uh, to accept women equally, even if they want to, they are more comfortable when somebody is the boss Uh, dictator, dictatorships are real efficient. Well, I guess we would have to go back to the way that the Lord made us. Um. And, uh, the women when they are married, they are to be subjective to their husbands. Um. And I believe that strongly. Um. And, uh, but I think that they should be in harmony with what they are, with what the subject matter is. Um. And I think the issue should be settled before there's a conflict. Huh. Uh, and I think that can happen in a very wonderful way. Huh. And if we, men and women, would do as the Bible said, that we would esteem each other higher than ourselves. Uh-huh. Can you picture that? Uh-huh. I mean, if your husband did that to you, and you did that to your husband, you would always be trying to please each other and not yourself. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's true. And, uh, that's really the, the divine answer, and, and the right answer Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, uh, uh, that would be a beautiful relationship. Uh-huh, it would be. And I think there are some people that have done that, Uh-huh. and I have seen it. Uh-huh. And it's, it's just marvelous, and I am just in awe to see this, Um, I don't, I am only twenty-eight and I haven't had much experience with nursing homes. I don't, I have never visited any of them and, uh, I don't think I've ever even been in one. Have you? Um, actually I have, um, I've, I've been in them but, um, just visiting and, uh, we used to when we were like in, in our teen ages we'd go on Sundays and visit, you know, the older people. But, um, I have an elderly grandma that lives with us. Uh-huh. And she's lived with us for like five years. So I kind of know how it is to, how to decide if you want to put somebody in a rest home or, um, like we, I mean we've had those discussions, you know, about should we put her in or because she's pretty senile and And it, it takes a lot of care like twenty-four hours a day someone, has to be, Well, there's someone in my, my fiancee's family. Yeah. It's His grandmother too and they're, that her son, his uncle, whatever, you know, anyway. He, he has, he's recently retired and so he's the one who she moved in with when she had a stroke and, and all the other children are working or whatever. Uh-huh. They're all my parents age. And, uh, so he's got, you know, his retirement though is really twenty-four hours a day. They have a day care two days a week. They call it senior citizen day care. But she goes in the senior citizen center. Oh, really? So he gets a break two days a week but it's only for like two or three hours at a time. Uh-huh. And, you know, just, you see a lot of things like you, you know, was a great golfer and wanted to play golf when he retired, and you know that a lot of the things he thought he would do when he retired he's not able to do now. Right. But he refuses to consider any other, I don't, To put her in a rest home? Yeah, and is that how your parents feel or, Um, well, see it's more my grandma that feels that way. Uh-huh. She says that when her husband died that he said, oh, that my uncle had said that he would never put her in a rest home. So it's kind of, uh, I don't know. I mean, I don't, I don't think my parents would but she is getting pretty bad like she has to have like a little toilet right by her bed and, it's, Uh-huh. and my mom has to take care of her pretty much so it gets, I don't know. It's, it's a hard decision, but I don't think I would do it to my parents personally I know at this, I know I feel like I would never do that with my parents either, you know. But I, I really feel bad for the people I see not very, I'm not really, really experienced but like I said I just have that one family, and I just really feel bad for the guy who his whole life is different now and, than he thought it would be. But, When he retired? Yeah, and he's got, you know, seven brothers and sisters and, and, uh, he's the one because he's the one that isn't going to work every day and that she moved in with when she needed to move in with someone. And, Yeah, it's like that good for us just because my uncle and my, and my mom switch off like we have her for three months and then he has her for three months. Oh, well, that's great. So that, that works out good. That's a good idea. We ought to, Yeah, and maybe when the other brothers and sisters retire or whatever, I don't know what they're going to do. It's really not my family. It's my fiancee's so I don't, I can't say much. Uh-huh. But I always feel like I would never put my parents in either and I wonder, I'm going to be the only sibling that isn't going to have children so if my parents do need to live with someone, it will probably be with me because all my brothers and sisters will be having teenagers around and everything to care for. You know, Really? and I'm, I, that's fine with me. my fiancee and I both figure that's what's, we're going to end up with both of the parents or whoever. If You know what I mean? We feel like, it's our responsibility, Uh-huh. and I feel like I would never put them in a home. But I wonder how much, you know, if one of us is going to have to quit work someday or retire early or something. Uh-huh. You think about it and it's really, I don't know. This country kind of takes the worst care of the elderly of any other country. You think? I, I I'm not really familiar with how other countries, And, It's really more of a, um, like a respect issue that the older, older people in other countries that I've been to seem to really have a lot more respect for the elderly people and, and they really seem as wise and, and in this country nobody really, Yeah, nobody really pays attention They're seen as senile and they, oh, the old-timer made with the old way and nobody respects the traditions. And, you know, it's I, I'm not saying that I do either but you know, it's just funny Right. and, and we really don't have any that don't have the Social Security and everything really isn't that much for elderly people to live on. Uh-huh. You know, even if they're in good health it's incredible. Right. They don't have any, they don't get special treatment and maybe they should, you know because we're all going to get old someday. Uh-huh. I know. And so it's a, it's kind of a depressing topic though. How old are you? Um, I'm twenty. So it is, yeah, and it must be rough for you too to see your grandmother. Yeah, it's, it really is but, and she, she drives us Why don't you go ahead and say what you feel, and then I'll respond. All right. Well, I'm, uh, I'm very guilty of, of not doing my part with recycling, I'm afraid. We, um, recently moved here from North Carolina, and they had curbside recycling, and it was very easy to, you know, to put everything out there, but we don't have it in, at least in our neighborhood right now Yeah. and, uh, so, I've been very guilty about not making the effort to, to take things where take things where they belong. Well, how long have you been here? Well, we've been here since January, so we, we still feel very new, Well, but, uh it's working up to a year now, Yeah. so, I guess we're old timers compared to some people. Yeah, I think that's a good excuse. You need to get into the the system a little more and know where to take things. Right. Yeah. We've been here probably two and a half years, and, and we didn't recycle at all before we came Uh-huh. so I think we're doing well. We, we save most of our aluminum cans and glass and newspaper right now. Uh-huh. Well, where do you take those things? Well, the, um, glass and the newspaper we usually take to Walmart. They have, um, in behind Walmart they have bins Uh-huh. and then we usually save up our cans and, and change them in for money. Well, where do you do that, because we've been saving cans for my daughter's choir um, Uh-huh. but I didn't know where to take them. Um, there's a place on Parker Road, um, it's just over the overpass before you get like to K-Mart. I think there's a, a service station there. There's usually a semi truck that has a, a person there that will weigh them and, Now they aren't worth much right now, Oh. but it's better than nothing Yeah. so Better than nothing, right. and what I hear a lot of neighborhoods do have the, the pickup now, and we, hopefully we'll be getting them in the month of October. Yeah, I, it seems like ever since we've moved here we've been hearing that, you know it's coming in a couple of months, Yeah, and, I think it's been delayed. but I think it was originally scheduled for February, but the trucks that were supposed to do it, there's been some problems with from what I've read in, you know, the mail that we get Oh. Right. and I can't wait for that, that will be easy. I get tired of newspaper littering the garage Yeah, it gets to be a bit much to haul it off, but. I feel guilty we don't recycle our, our milk containers because they seem like a big waste. Well, they, yeah they, they're a lot of bulk, anyway Yeah yeah. yeah, they fill up the whole kitchen garbage can Right. so, I'll be glad when the bins do come, and I think that's when I'll, I'll start doing the plastic, too. Yeah, it was real easy with the bins, it really was, it was just no effort at all, um, no more trouble than taking out the garbage, so, um, Yeah. I've gotten used to washing the, you know, the, um, salad dressing bottles and things like that, Right. it's not that big of a deal, and it's nicer to just throw them out, but we can do our part take an extra minute or two. Yeah. Well, how much do you earn on the cans, I, I didn't know what kind of an idea to give her for, Oh, when we first were, were here, it was like we'd take maybe a, oh, a grocery sack full or maybe two grocery sacks full, Uh-huh. and it would be like two dollars but since last time we've gotten more like a dollar. Yeah. So it's gone down. Yeah Yeah, which is understandable, I think, more people are are recycling. Right. Yeah. That's something we, we don't really make any effort to, and whatever pop we drink, we used to take the boys out for a bike ride, and pick up the litter, you know, the, the cans Uh-huh. and that was kind of fun, but we haven't done that for a long time Yeah. so. Well, that sounds like a pretty good project. Well, the boys think it's fun, plus you get your exercise and you do get to stop once in a while when there is a can to rest so Oh. but. Well, I'll have to keep myself and, and get on it. My neighbor across the street, um, is so careful about recycling, and so I keep telling myself, I'll, I'll get it organized, but, may, maybe they'll beat me and, and do the city wide first. Well, hopefully the bins will be here in this month and that will spur you on, so Right, right, I won't have any excuse then, that's for sure. All right, well, it sounds like we're doing our part and at least starting, Trying Thinking about it, anyway that's all you can do Yeah, but, Well, um, have you, so. do they time this thing for us, or do we, Um, yeah, you can do it as long as you want. They, you know, if it's been long enough, five minutes is, is when they cut in and say, say, we don't have any more room for recording You can't chat all day, huh So we can say good-bye now. Okay. It was good talking to you, and maybe we'll get on line again. Okay. Thanks, Sherry. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, do you have any pets? Yes I do. I have a dog named Grisly, who's a ten year old, uh, mixed breed between Golden Retriever, Afghan Hound and Chow. Oh. And I have a pair of box turtles. Oh, I used to have box turtles, um, well, years ago, when I was growing up Yeah, I, I really like them. Oh, yeah, I do, too. Lucky and Spot, that's their names Oh. and they live in an aquarium without water in my family room, and my dog thinks he's a mother turtle, and always has his nose all around my turtle box, so do you have any pets now? Yes, um, we have one dog, a Bichon Frise. Um, our friends in Houston bred the dogs. I had never heard of them No, I haven't either. they're, um, they're all white and they're small, and, um, and fluffy, they don't shed. I guess they're distantly related to a poodle, but they're not very well known in this country, and they're not, um, high strung or over bred um. Oh. And how big do they get. Ours is, uh, on the small end, and she's about ten pounds, and they range from probably ten to sixteen pounds Oh, that's interesting. and they love people, um, and kids and that was something we were looking for, um, our, our love is Golden Retrievers, and that's what we had intended to get in Houston, but we had a small yard and a pool and knowing how they love to dig and love the water, um, and we thought that was kind of a tough climate the water, yes. Yeah. so, uh, we ended up getting this, and, uh, my son would rather have a Golden Retriever, though, I think Oh. now he wants a, a good size dog Uh-huh, well, we've got a good size dog, and we were considering getting a puppy, a small house, lap top dog for him, because he likes other animals and for me, because we used to have a miniature Dachshund, and I miss having a little one you know, around. Oh. Yeah. The kind you have sounds very interesting, though. Well, they really are, um, they're really sweet dogs. We've, uh, we thought probably our neighborhood in Houston had more of this breed than any other place just because of, um, the family that had them and, and bred them. They had five litters of puppies, and and a lot of them stayed in the neighborhood Oh. Uh-huh. because, um, And how do you spell that breed? It's B I C H O N F R I S E. F R I S E. And how do you pronounce that? Bichon Frise. Okay. I'm writing it out phonetically, Yeah. They're, uh, and they don't shed so they're, they're good dogs for people with, with allergies, Yes, and they love people, and they're, Do they bark a lot? Um, no, not really. Ours, um, ours barks more than, um, than some, because she spent a lot of time at our friends' house. We used to swap back and forth dogs. they have three dogs. They had a Cockapoo, and, and two Bichons um, Uh-huh. and she didn't bark at all until she spent time there Oh. and, uh, now it's funny. She's, she's a good watch dog Uh-huh. and if there's, she'll bark that way, but she also talks a lot, she um, has a definite personality Yes. and so, if we're leaving her, she barks at us, because she doesn't want to be left. Um. Oh. Does she ever mess in the house? No, no, and they're, um, they're very smart dogs. The circuses in Europe used to use them um, for the acts. Oh. They, uh, oh, they'll dance on their hind legs each Uh-huh. Oh, gee. um, but they're very easy to train Uh-huh. and, And about how much are they? Well, they range, I'd noticed up here they're a lot more expensive it seemed to me from the ads in the paper. They run anywhere from two hundred to four hundred dollars, I think which I thought was a lot. And how about the, And how about the person in, uh, Houston? Well, she's no longer breeding them Oh. but, um, because her dogs, um, the, the second one that she has was one of the puppies from the litter, and, uh, the one male that she used had a tooth problem Uh-huh. and so she only bred that dog once because it had the tooth problem, and did them strictly as, um, pets, you know they weren't, weren't show quality. Oh, yes. Just pets, Yes, that's what we'd rather have is just a pet, instead of we used to show Saint Bernards when I was a little girl. We did that every weekend, Oh, but, yeah, takes a lot of time. Yes, and it's very expensive. Yeah, um, but she might have some contacts here, I know I know that the dog's grandmother, um, was from Plano, Oh, that's where I live, Oh, that's where I live, too. Yeah, I'm at Coit and Legacy ... So, what do you think about it? Well, I found it interesting that they started off with a problems of immigration in America and then went back and said, well, if there is a problem, what should we do about it? Right Yeah, I guess that's so. Do you feel there's a problem with immigration in America? Um, uh, I think there's some problems, but they're not really big ones. I think that, um, in general the whole immigration policy isn't quite as open as it should be. That it's really pretty hard for people from other countries to get in here even if they're educated and will be a good asset to America. It's often hard for them to get in and get on the track towards citizenship unless they marry a citizen or something like that. Okay. That's interesting. I was, I was wondering what your response would be. I'm a first generation American. Okay. So I'm, from immigrant parents Or an immigrant mother anyway. Uh, where did you come from? Okay. Okay, so where did your parents come from? Uh, Poland. Okay. And, And that was, you know, prior to World War Two. Uh-huh. But it's interesting that, you know, with the topic I think I agree with you. Yeah. There needs to be more of an open policy. Uh-huh. And you know we have to remember the Chinese came here and were our labor, you know, for the railroad, Transatlantic Railroad and, our Irish came and, you know, built the towns and, did labor. Yep. Uh-huh. But what do you think, are you from Texas or, I'm from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Okay. Yeah. Well, that will be interesting. Right, and, uh, a lot of, Because we have just, had a Naturalization Act where the Mexicans that were residents in Texas, I'm from Texas and have become citizens now. Uh-huh. Yeah. What do you think about that? Um, I think that's all right. I, um, at least on the surface it sounds like a good thing. Do you have an opinion about it? Well, I agree with it wholeheartedly. Uh-huh. The only thing is I've got to share with you, my background is from New Jersey. Uh-huh. So, when you were giving your answer I was thinking, is this a Texan I'm talking to? No, okay. Because Texan philosophy is a little different. Right. Well, a lot of the experience that I have with this problem has to do with my brother-in-law who's Chinese and immigrated from China. And, um, you know he, um, got a green card is, and is in good standing in America and China, but only because he was always nice to the Chinese government, and all that, Uh-huh. and he was always on pretty good terms with them. Yeah, well we, But, um, their, my sister just had a baby and they're trying to get permission for his mother to come to America to like help care for the kid and that sort of thing. And it's turned out to be sort of a horrible problem. It's just very difficult to get a woman who doesn't have a lot of assets or whatever out of China even temporarily to visit here. Oh, well, then you have first in the experience on immigration. Yeah. Well, that is interesting. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I wonder, you know, even with those that were involved with Tienamen's Square. Right. You know, did we really protect them? Yeah, that's, and I think that's pretty crazy, because I mean those students who were in America when that was happening are almost certainly going to be in trouble if they go back, Yeah. and aside for that, they're the best and brightest of China so it's certainly in our best selfish interest to keep them here if we can. That is true. That is true. Well, what do you think about, Yeah. we have in Texas a large Vietnamese population that has been brought in. Uh-huh. Yeah. What do you think about that? Um, And these are not the brightest. See, these are refujees, you mean? I mean we we're talking boat people. Okay. Right, okay. We have a lot of boat people in Texas. Right. Well, um, I don't have any problem with that. Um, You're a true liberal heart-to-heart. Good for you. Yeah, I guess so I was ready for a fight on this one Uh-huh. Right. No, I agree because, Uh-huh. um, interesting, my, when my daughter was in high school, one of the custodians was Vietnamese Yeah. and with his limited English they found out, you know, that, she was in student council, and they found out that he was a medical doctor, All right, so, we started recording already? Uh, I guess, I don't know. It's the first time I've made a phone call on it. Oh, so you pressed one? Right. Okay. So, I guess we're supposed to start talking. Uh what kind of books do you read? I read, uh, a lot of Steven King, Dean R Koontz, uh some Danielle Steel. Uh-huh. My aunt got me hooked on those Uh-huh. So I, So it's mostly all novels? Yeah, they're all novels. Okay. I'll read some, uh, classic, too. Oh, like what? Uh, like THE GRADUATE by Steinbeck. I'll, uh, Yeah, I like that. I like Steinbeck a lot. A, A ROSE FAMILY by Faulkner. That's one of my favorites. I have never read a lot of Faulkner. Oh, and this, this is more of a play or something that, that it was from, that, that I saw and I read the book from that. Oh, cool And, by the way, my name's Bill. I'm from North Carolina I'm Doug, I'm from Pennsylvania. Uh, I, let's see. What kind of books do you like to read? Uh, well, a bunch of stuff, I guess, uh, fair number of novels, but mostly shorter ones. And, like, I don't really like the, you know, six hundred page long Stephen King novels and all that. I really have to be in the mood. Right? I, I read one, like maybe once a year. Uh-huh. I'm not as, No, like, I like, say, uh, Richard Broudigan a lot. Uh, I've never read anything by him. Okay. He's, uh, he's dead now, but he was really a pretty amazing writer. He wrote books that were, like, pretty short and pretty easy to read, you know, like written at a third grade level or whatever. Yeah. But they were still very heavy and philosophical, also very funny. Like, He wrote TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA. Okay. So that's, anyway, and, uh, I read a lot of non fiction books, too. Uh, let's see, I like to read a lot of non fiction history when Civil War era and, and that kind of thing. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I found that real interesting. I'm reading THE LION AND THE WIND right now. And that was on T V. Now what's that? It was, uh, during Teddy Roosevelt's time. And, uh, about a American woman that got kidnapped in, uh, Morocco. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, this is when they were having their revolution or whatever Uh-huh. and Teddy Roosevelt sent troops over and really portrays him as a, kind of a crazy man, you know. Yeah Surprised me. I had no idea that he was like that. Uh-huh. What, how crazy? Well, just like some, one quote that he had was that he thought the America's emblem was stupid because it was an eagle, and it should be a grizzly bear because Oh, you, you know, like the grizzly and stuff like that. So it's, I saw the movie and that's what made me want to read the book. Uh-huh. Candice Bergen was in the movie. I'm a real big fan of hers so, Yeah. Cool, see, I also read a lot of books about music because I'm interested in that and fair number of stuff about science and also philosophy things. Uh-huh. I like, I like to read some of the philosophy stuff. Like, Uh-huh. Like, let's see, and even like reading some new age things, things that I don't quite believe in, like here on my shelf I have a book called JOURNEYS OUT OF THE BODY. Yeah, I think that, It's all about how to have out of body experiences and all that. I'm fascinated by that. Yeah, I'm fascinated by that. Uh-huh, yep. That, and, and, uh, even stuff about, not like ghost stories, but real encounters with ghosts and supposedly haunted houses. Uh-huh. I like, I'm kind of a doubting Thomas and I like to read stuff like that. Some of it really freaks me out Yeah. Uh-huh Right, definitely Uh, And I like to read, uh, I like to read some self help books like, uh, I read DIANETICS once, once I got past all the gibberish on it. Uh, did you like it? It was okay. It, it, it, it took me a while to really get into it. It, it didn't help me that much Uh-huh. I see. But, uh, I think once you're set in your ways, you're set in your ways. Yeah Uh, then I, one real interesting book I read recently was, when I was looking for a job, I read, HOW TO GET THE JOB THAT YOU WANTED and, it, it had real good tips and it, and I got the job that I wanted by applying the, the methods that, that, Uh-huh. Okay, you want to go ahead and tell me your favorite team, or who you think will be doing well this year. Uh, well, where I'm from the Atlantic coast conference is a very big conference and, course, we have Duke University that was the national champions last year, so I'm kind of hoping that they'll repeat again this year. They have a lot of the same players back. Are we talking about, is this the N B A? No, this is college basketball. This is college, College, okay Right. We have like Carolina, and Duke, and Georgia Tech, and N C State, teams that are normally ranked in the top twenty. Uh-huh. So, hopefully we'll have a good year. I don't really follow the N B A very closely. And see that's probably all, all I saw. I, we have moved in the last couple years from Utah to Texas and there's so many colleges and universities in Texas, we haven't really followed them too much and none of them are our, our alma mater so, that seems to help. Do you like professional basketball? Uh, I, I follow it especially around the playoffs, so, course, I was real familiar with the Utah Jazz, and the Mailman or Karl Malone was, you know, pretty big thing and, the Lakers have always been amazing to watch. Yeah. I, I did keep track a little bit of the Mavericks. They've not had any good seasons for a long time, and have a lot of problems with, with Tarpley and, maybe now that that's over they'll, they'll come out of it but, Well, that's an up and coming team, though. Yeah, I hope they do something. They need to or they're not going to have any of the team left at all. That's somebody you can get behind and, be patient. Yeah. Kind of like the Cowboys I guess. Yeah, they seem to be kind of not having a very good few seasons. Yeah, they, coming out of it this year. We'll see if it's held on. But, I think Chicago will probably with the N B A again. The Bulls? Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah. They'll probably be pretty good. Course, the Celtics are always really, really good, too, with their players. That's true. Be interesting to see how the Olympics does this year with all the, the N B A players playing on the Olympic team. That's true, it will be interesting. So, It will certainly be different Yeah. I don't know, how close I'll follow them, though. And the season hasn't started yet. I'm usually more the end of the season person, and we need to talk about baseball and so, Yeah, oh, my Atlanta Braves. Well, Well, I really do, uh, you know, the basketball season's supposed to start in the next couple of weeks. It's, yeah, yeah. It's a long season. It is, it is, and that's why I've, I guess my mind went blank. It's like last season was so long ago and I haven't really even started thinking about basketball yet so, Yeah. But, this wasn't a good subject, but, We'll see how our predictions come true. It's a little early. We definitely will. Okay, it's good talking to you. Good to talk to you. All righty, bye. Bye-bye. Uh, I guess my personal opinion, I, I don't mind paying taxes necessarily. I, I just sometimes wonder if our money is being used in the best way. Right. Uh, sometimes when I hear what, what they're, even what, even what the politicians are making, you know, when they're getting a hundred and fifty thousand plus benefits and that, uh, I think that's just a bit too much to be paying them, uh, and that's all tax money. When you figure out how many politicians and each one getting that much, it's just billions of dollars that's, I think is just being thrown away. Right, right. And then when you read about that they're spending all the money on, you know, these studies that have no relevance whatsoever, that kind of ticks you off, too. Yeah. But, uh, somebody, somebody was telling me the other day that they heard some senator say that what we're paying, it's not that we mind paying taxes, it's that we're paying too much for a lousy government. Yeah. And I, I, I tend to agree with that Yeah. I'm not really into what they're doing per se, Yeah. and I think there's just too many, too many levels of bureaucracy. I think it can be, can be managed by less, uh, less levels. Yeah, yeah. Well, I know any time there's, there's a big, uh, budget cut, you know, I work with the state, and any time there's, there is a budget cut or crunches, it's always the small guy that, that gets hurt. Right. It's never the, uh, the person that's making a hundred thousand there. It's always the person that's making the least amount, and uh, and sometimes we're running around there. Right. I see these, these, uh, supervisors running around, uh, having meetings. I, I really don't know what they do. Right. I sometimes wonder, are, are they really doing anything, or, Right, well, I think we're going to see a streamlining in the government. I just, you know, I, I don't know what kind of, uh, I don't know what, what level, or what, how long it will take for, you know, our country to start, the public in general to start saying, Hey, this is too much. We're not going to pay any more. You know, we're not going to pay for this, and you're out, you know. I think we're starting to see it a little bit now, but I think, uh, I don't know what, what kind of input we're going to get from the public and how they're going to go about doing it. Because I think, I think we're just getting taxed way too much. Yeah. I mean, right now we're getting taxed probably, probably around thirty-five percent, or more. And that's, that's, you know, that's me not making a whole lot of money. Yeah. Well, they got so many hidden taxes, that it's really hard to figure out how much you are paying, because, go to a grocery store, something like that, and you're paying a little tax here and you Right. so. Gas, I don't know about you guys, but there's probably at least about twenty-five to, to thirty cents of different taxes on, on our gas. Right. And you don't realize, Yeah, we got a sales tax. Our sales tax is like eight percent, and I don't know what our gas tax is. I think it's somewhere around twenty five cents a gallon. Yeah. So. I mean, they're hitting us up, and they may not raise it, you know, federally as much one year, but then they'll raise it somewhere in the state or the sales tax or property tax or whatever. It's just, I mean, you can see that your money is just not going that far. Yeah. Well, I know they say like with Reagan, they say no new taxes, but they changed the, uh, deductions on you, and that just raises your taxes, you know, they just get it a different way Right. so, I mean, to me, it did, uh, raise my taxes. Right, well, I mean, you could tell just by, just by how much money you have left over, and all of a sudden, I don't know it's just, it's eating me alive. Yeah, I heard someone say that, uh, if they would just, something about with the, uh, the defense budget, all that extra money they're throwing back, if they cut back by so much percentage, it could throw back about six hundred dollars, on an average, six hundred dollars, Okay, I'll let you start this time. Well, how much do you like lawn and garden work? Well, uh, even though it's totally out of my, uh, my degree training, I've been working as, as, in the horticultural aspect, so the last, I don't know, fifteen, twenty years, so Uh, I'm, Oh. Oh, for goodness sakes. What do you do? Well, I work for the state as, as a grounds keeper. Uh-huh, well, that's interesting. Um, so, at this time of the year are you doing much garden work? No, mostly snow removal, which we've had a lot of, but, uh, I don't know, I, I guess, uh, growing up on the farm and, and that, I, I've always had a big interest, uh. Right. I have a, uh, when I have an area to do, I, I always had a big garden and enjoy working on lawns and, and everything. Uh-huh. Well I love to work outside, really, and I enjoy flowers and stuff. I don't do a whole lot of it, um, at this exact point in my life, um, because I have two teenage boys, and so they do all the lawn all the lawn care Okay. but I still take care of the, you know, flower beds and things like that. I was even planning to go out and to, uh, dig up some hibiscus plants that will not make it through the winter here, but, you know, were planted in the ground since last spring Uh-huh. and I was going to dig them up for a friend and for some starters for me, and lo and behold, about five days ago, we had a freeze down to about, oh, twenty-three degrees or something Uh-huh. so the hibiscus plants no longer exist Oh, that's terrible. Twenty-three And I really feel bad about it, it's a plant that we've had for probably twenty-five years that these were cuttings off of, you know. Yeah. Yeah. So, they're all gone at this point. Gardening in Texas is really interesting, though. I grew up in Illinois Yeah. and, um, Texas is just so hot in the summer and so dry, why, you know, everyone that lives in town and has yards practically has uh, watering system. Uh-huh. And so with that, why, our lawns do stay, um, you know, pretty nice all summer, if you water. Uh-huh. But in the winter, we have Bermuda grass Uh-huh. and in the winter it turns as brown as a grocery sack Right, yeah. and and I just think it's ugly When I go back home to my parents in Illinois in the winter, you know, and their grass is fairly green. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's one, one aspect of a lot of those grasses, they go dormant. I think the Saint Augustine and, uh, Centipede grass is another one you have quite a bit of down there Uh-huh, uh-huh. yeah, those two. Yeah. Some people have, I think it's fescue that stays green all winter, Yeah. but they really have a heck of a time keeping it going in the middle of the summer. They have to water an incredible amount. But, um, those those lawns look nice during the winter, but, you know, they almost stick out like a, I guess not a sore thumb, a pretty thumb. But, you know, when you look at the neighborhoods and they're all brown except the one, you know, it's sort of like, well, Well, I know my folks live, uh, in Arizona there, and, uh, you know, they just grow rocks Right. So. I know I was in, uh, Houston when I was working for a company once, and we were taking care of lawns out there, and, uh, that particular year they had just tons of rain, you know, it was raining continuously. Uh-huh. And then, I know with all that moisture, a lot of the lawns get a lot of disease problems. Yes, that's true. Yeah, Houston is a lot, um, a lot wetter than, than Dallas, Dallas area, that's where Plano is, and, um, and just humidity you know, just all the time, it's an awfully lot more humid. Uh-huh. Are, are you, uh, able to get, uh, sometimes a double crops of, of certain things in your garden? Yes, uh-huh, I think people do. Yeah. I don't have a vegetable garden, haven't for, I guess I never have here, actually, but, um, but, yes, uh-huh, we have Neil Sperry talks on the radio, Okay. So what do you guys having up there? I haven't been up there since, oh, Lord, forty-eight, I guess Forty-eight. That's a long time. Uh. Well, no, it wasn't forty-eight, it was, it was, uh, let's see, yeah, it was forty-eight. I was in the Air Force. Uh-huh. We did an air show out at, uh, out at, uh, Boone Greene, no out at, uh Andrews, Andrews? yeah. So what's it been like up there? Well, for the past week or two it's been cold and wet Uh-huh. but before that, for most of the year, it's been hot and dry. Yeah. Uh, like September was hot and dry, October. Um, September really was, I'm not sure about October. I think for about twelve months through September the, the average temperature has been higher than normal each month. Um, lots of ninety degree days during the summer. Really? Huh. It really has been strange here this year, I mean, this whole course this whole year has been a different year in more ways than one. Uh-huh. But, uh, we had, uh, you know, all these, we have all these, uh, somebody said, you know, you're either a stranger or a fool to try to predict Texas weather, but. Well, always, they were saying it was going to be the hottest summer ever, Uh-huh. and we had all this rain, and it really is not a bad summer at all, really cool. But all of a sudden, in, in, uh, in October, uh, September, October it got real hot and dry and just stayed that way for a long time. And, uh, then the end of October it started rain almost a week without stopping, just pouring down, you know. There were flash floods everywhere, that kind of deal, and then uh, into of November, the first, like the second week, uh, you know, the first week actually, we had, we had a freeze, Uh-huh. and the average, you know, the average, uh, first frost is like the fifteenth of November here Oh, if you had it early. but usually it's not until later It's really strange. Yeah, I think we usually have a frost in October. Yeah. Uh, but, you know. We really need the rain that we've been getting, and it has not today, but the last few days it's been, been pouring most of the day. Is it, is it, is it flooding anywhere? Flooding anywhere. I have not heard of it, any problems of it flooding anywhere, I mean, that's occurred certainly at times in the past, but, uh, no, I've not heard of any particular problems this time. It's just kind of, uh, we're supposed to have a chance to get some rain the next couple of days here, uh, which will be, you know, a little bit more typical, uh, autumn weather. But really it's strange. We haven't really had an autumn. It's like we went into winter Yes. you know, the poor trees, said what Yes, yeah, we had summer lasting long and then it, then it, then it became winter like, uh today it's, today it's sort of change to warmer to sort of more typical autumn day. Yeah, uh, it's, Yeah, there, you, you know, usually there's, uh, I have a farm a hundred miles east of here in East Texas, and you know, all these huge trees just like the eastern hard wood belt all the way up to Maine, you know, it's that same trees, pines and, and hard woods, you know hickories and oaks and stuff, Yeah. and, uh, I was up there last weekend, and there are trees that, that still have their leaves on, and they're green, but they're dead You know, the, the freeze just got them. They, they weren't ready for it at all apparently, and, and we haven't had a typical fall at all. Not much color, you know, changes have occurred at all. Really weird this year. I'm not sure what that, what that means. I don't know. Yeah, our leaves are, are all on, on the ground now. I think it was an especially good winter for fall colors. So you, you all actually had some color, huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. It kind of crept in and, Yeah, we, we did, for a time. Yeah, it's usually beautiful up there isn't it? Uh-huh. Gorgeous. That's, you know, I think you could drive along in Maryland and look at the sweet gum trees on each side and the, and the pines and what not, and you could, you know, you could be driving along in East Texas and looks just the same. It's almost, you know, identical kind of country. Uh-huh. Beautiful. Been that this year for the trees for the leaves. Yeah. Oh. Yeah, I was up, I was up there cutting some firewood this weekend, so. Um. Little, little oak tree that was dead, and cut it up and split it . Yeah, that's because it, it can't tolerate a freeze this early. Is that right? Well. If it would came later it would be all right? Uh, it, there's some trees like the oaks, like the white oaks seem to be pretty hardy. There's, nothing bothers them. Their leaves are still green, and some of the other oaks. There are a few oaks that have lost their leaves. Um, what I notice mostly is the red maples, that the leaves are just dead, the dogwoods still look, still look, you know, they got, uh, bit on the ends of the leaves a little bit, but they still look pretty good. Um. It just depends on the, on the, uh, on the tree. Okay. Well, it's not often you get, uh, many women interested in football Oh well Do you follow football very much? I'm sorry, what? Do you follow football very much? I don't, no, I haven't recently, um. Well we can talk about something else. Do you have any, uh, you married? No, I'm not, no. No, well, I guess kids are out. What's that? Kids are out. Yep Are you married? Yeah, I, I'm married. Got two boys. Oh, really. Yeah. Wow. So do you like football? Oh, I follow the, uh, the Cowboys but that's about it, uh. The, the same here Yeah. Do you live in Dallas? Yeah, I, I, I am a pretty big Dallas fan, been for a long time Yeah. but I haven't been to any games recently. But, uh, I try to catch the game every weekend that I can. Really? Yeah. Have you ever been to a Cowboy's game? I haven't, huh-uh. Um, it's pretty nice. We we decided just to watch them at home But. That's good. At least you, uh, follow the game a little bit. Yeah. Um, yeah, I'm not a fanatic about it. I don't know who played when and who does what like some guys are. I just like to watch, and, and hopefully they win Uh-huh. That's about the extent of it. Yeah. Right now I'm in, um, college, so I'm more into college football than professional, I think. Oh, I see. What, uh, school are you going to? Um, I'm at B Y U. B Y U, okay. Yeah, so. Leslie, what are you studying? Nursing. Nursing. Great. Yeah. My mom's an L V N. Oh, really. Yeah. So, what are you planning to go into? Do you want to be an R N or, Yeah, yeah. Um, I haven't really picked a field. I haven't, I, I don't know, I've thought a lot about labor and delivery but I don't know. Uh-huh. Try that. That's what my mom does, labor and delivery. Oh, really. Wow. Yeah, she loves it. She, she really, uh, enjoys. Is she a nurse in Dallas? No, she's a nurse in San Antonio Oh. but, uh, she's been, she's been working a, uh, on a late shift. She works the, uh, I guess the graveyard's what you'd call it. Uh-huh. She works the graveyard shift. And she's worked that for, oh, years, when I was small. Um. Uh, I guess probably going on twenty years now. Wow. And she really enjoys it. She likes the quiet that you have at that time of the night and, uh, and, uh, she's, uh, she just started a new job at a different hospital, closer to where she lives Uh-huh. and she's really enjoying herself. She really likes it. Well, that's great. Well, good luck to you in pursuing your nursing degree. Oh thanks Hope you'll like it. Yeah. Do you plan on staying in, in the Dallas area? Um, I'd like to come back to Dallas. Right now I'm in Utah, of course. Oh, uh-huh So, um, but, my family's there, so, yeah, I'd like to go back. Yeah, uh, I think Texas, San Antonio in particular, has got a large, uh, base of hospitals. Uh, I don't know about Dallas. I think Dallas is pretty scattered. Are you in San Antonio? No, I'm, I'm in Dallas Oh, okay. but I'm originally from San Antonio Um. and they've got large medical, uh, center down there. They've got the U T Health Science Center out there also. Right. So if ever wanted, you know, pursue anything more than your nursing degree, that, that'd be the place to do it. Yeah, my brother-in-law, um, is in the medical profession, I mean, he's at medical school in San Antonio right now. Oh, great. So. Great. Yeah. Well, like I said, good luck to you. Thanks. All right, well, um, take care, and maybe we'll meet up again some time. All right. Okay. Bye-bye. Hello. Hi. Hi. My name is, uh, Donna Donahue, and I live in Plano, Texas. Hi. My name is Lowell, and I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Oh, okay. Um, do you want to start or should I start? Go right ahead. Okay, um, I would say that our home is a very typical home for the area that we live in. We have, um, three children, and, um, they attend the public school here and are very active in a lot of the sports, soccer and baseball and, well, my little girl goes to tap dance, and my little one goes to preschool and, um, I'm home with the children, just do a lot of running around. It seems like a lot of my neighbors kind of have a similar type, I don't know, life. Um, what about you? I'm, I'm single, and I, I live in a town home here in Raleigh, Uh-huh. and it's pretty typical of the other town homes in the area Uh-huh. Okay. we, we have a lot of town homes here as well as single family homes, Uh-huh. and at the time that I bought this one it was just a, a much better arrangement for me personally. I'm not home a lot. I travel a great deal with my job, Uh-huh. and so it was easier to have a home that didn't exactly that somebody else looks out for the maintenance. Was sort of maintenance free. Yeah. Oh yeah, well, um, that, that sounds, that sounds pretty good for I know my husband takes an awful lot of time on the weekends, not so much now, but to, um, maintain the lawn and the edging and the flower beds, and it's a lot of work, owning a home with a little bit of property attached to it. It's It certainly is. sometimes I think, um, it would be nice to have a town home, with not having all that responsibility. Well, if you ever get one, be sure the walls are good and thick because if they're not you can hear. I, that's the main thing when I was shopping for one, I wanted to make sure I could, I couldn't hear my neighbors and that was Right. so I bought one that's more like living in a, once you're inside, you don't know you're in a town home. Oh, that sounds lovely. It is. They're kind of built on a catty-cornered instead of like side by side Uh-huh. so you don't actually hear anybody next door to you. Uh-huh. So in, in your area then there's probably a lot of, um, career type people that have those type homes and Yes, definitely. uh-huh, and, um, the area that we're settled in is, um, definitely young, young families with, with kids. They're still doing, um, a lot of building in the neighborhood. So the people that move here seem to move from all over the country, which we're from, um, the northeast, and, um, seems like a people just don't, or also don't have any family around. So it, um, also gives you a common bond when you don't have a lot of relatives visiting your neighbors, and you know, um But, um , Well, we also in this area seem to have a lot of retirees people who don't want the heat of Florida but don't want the heat of the, the cold of the northeast Uh-huh. so they settle sort of in-between. Right, right. Uh-huh. Now it's, um, is it very wooded around where you are, there lots of pretty trees and, Yes Yeah. as a matter of fact this is a, uh, this particular community that I live in is very wooded. Oh, how pretty. It is nice. I do miss that. Around here in Plano there are very few trees and it's pretty flat and, and kind of barren and that's the only thing that we don't like about living in Texas, is we miss all the beautiful trees and the Fall and, and, um, uh, the landscape is much different here in Texas than it is, you know, in the north. Um, or even where you are. Uh, we definitely have a lot of trees here. A lot of leaves to rake up too, I bet. Yes but fortunately the home owner's association does all that. Does that, well, see, that's another plus. Yes, I don't have to worry about that and this is the time of year we're starting to lose, they're all falling now. That's right, that's right, they are. I'm going to get the kids to get outside with the other neighbor kids and do the little bit of raking that needs to be done. We just have a few trees in the front and a few in the back but, not, not much. Just, just a little kind of just in more of a make a little bit of a mess for a few weeks and if you didn't do anything about it, then they'd probably the leaves just blow away Right. It's not too bad. Okay, do we have to speak for a certain amount of time? No, I don't think so. Okay. Okay. It was really nice speaking to you. It was good to speak with you too. Okay, and have a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you, you too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. The way, I'll go ahead and start the way I work, uh, the way I dress for work is, uh, this year, nineteen ninety-one has been really suit and tie, Uh-huh. or I shouldn't say suit, but coat and tie every day. Uh-huh. A, a year ago, I changed jobs from being a researcher to doing marketing for the research group. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Which means kind of a, I guess it's a different set of standards, I guess. Yeah. So, uh, I, I dress almost the same every day. I mean, pretty much it's a white shirt and slacks and shoes and a coat. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, it was very different before. How do you dress? Well, I'm a drafter, so I just wear blue jeans and tennis shoes and I have sweatshirt on today. Uh-huh. And that's pretty much the norm for me. If I come in in a dress, everybody's shocked Yeah, I understand. They ask me, you know, what are you doing in a dress and it's usually I haven't done my laundry lately Right. Ran out of jeans I understand, that's funny So, does it change? No. Your dress, no. No, huh-uh. So, or, I guess, do you have things like presentations to do or anything like that? No, huh-uh. So, back in my old job, up until through nineteen eighty I would usually wear blue jeans and pullover shirts and the like, Uh-huh. but, probably once a month or so, there was some reason that I would have to put on a suit. For a customer presentation or something. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Every now and then I'll get dressed up and come in, but that's for my husband's job and not mine Oh, I see, I understand. I have to go to a business meeting once a month with him, but So, Oh. Well, that's interesting. Let's see, uh, what else about this, uh, it, it seems like T I is pretty cut and dried with two, like, two or three levels. Uh-huh. That there's the upper management that always wears gray suits. And the people that don't, uh, Uh-huh. I would, if you, if I want to say don't have power or don't have authority or whatever like I used to be in that research Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I guess you are. Uh-huh. That we dress in the jeans and then there's kind of the, the branch manager level or marketing people that kind of do that middle thing. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. But there's not much, middle of the road. It's nice that there's not a requirement for it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Sometimes I think there should be. Some of these women around here look like they came off of Harry Hines. Oh, yeah, right Yeah, I guess you see those once in a while. And you know the, they have the no shorts deal, and some of these mini skirts, you know, are worse than shorts ever thought about being. Sure. But, uh, You know, that's, I guess that's one of the things you got to put up with when you don't have a dress code. Yeah. That's right, that's right. I guess they're, the, isn't there a dress code, something about spaghetti straps, I'm not even sure what they are. Supposedly and backless things Oh, backless, all right. but, I've seen those, too, but, Okay, so this wasn't necessarily a big conversation, but, I think we, we did it Uh, yeah. Okay, and, and your name was Lisa. Lisa. Great. Are you the Expressway sites? I am, yes, and I work in the north building. Oh, okay. Uh, well, thank you. Thank you. All right, good day. Uh-huh, bye-bye. Uh, advice on son or daughter going to college. Right. Uh, that's advice that I will need in time future for my children, rather than one that I have, uh, personal experience with Uh-huh. Uh, I suppose I would ask what the child wants to do in life and what the child hopes to, to get out of college and what sort of college would best meet, meet those needs. Uh-huh. Right, uh, let's see, when I, when I went away to school, I'm trying to think my criteria. I guess when you're, when you're eighteen or so, uh, it would be important to know if it was a coed college That was a, a strict requirement for me. Uh, again what, uh, how serious a person is according to, uh, uh, you know, what, what they want to get out of school, and, uh, I guess they'd have to consider how expensive the college is and how close to home, if they could handle being away for real long periods of time or if they need to be somewhere where they can drive home when they needed to get home. Uh, let's see, uh, now what was the question, what, what's the criteria for picking a college? What advice would you give? What advice. Oh, okay, uh, I guess one clear-cut piece of advice is by all means visit the college campus. Yes. Uh, stay in a dormitory if you can. Go to classes, talk to faculty members and students. Yes, and also, uh, depending on how, uh, uh, adjustable your child would be, or, or flexible, I guess it would be, uh, if, if they chose a college in a different part of the country that maybe the, they were unused to their, that, the way they run things, I mean, the, the northern colleges are very different than the southern colleges, I think. The people are different and, uh, you have to be more flexible and more willing to, uh, uh, adjust to other people's mannerisms and customs or ways of doing things. You know, you have to be a flexible person to be able to go all the way across country to something totally different than what you're used to. Uh, Yes, I'm thinking what, what problems my children might have in that, uh, You think so but I agree with you. Uh, let's see, what else. Uh, well, climate would be, you know, you'd have to Uh-huh. you know, is somewhat, if, uh, if it's something different than the one they're used to, I guess, uh, if they're used to the northern weather then the southern weather they might kind of feel like they need to go out and play all the time, not be in studying If you're in Florida or California. Uh, I, I'd also advise them that, uh, if mom and dad paid for their college, that, uh, if they decided to drop a course or decided that they need another year, then they'd have to get a loan to continue. Yeah. Well, course it, it is a big factor in having an understanding of how much parents will pay and how much has to come from other sources and your willingness, one, to, to work during the summer or, or part time. And two, uh, to, to take out loans to assume, uh, debt after college. That's right. There's, The, the responsibility of that. And, uh, uh, uh, they could, they could work and earn money towards college. Also if they stay within their state, you get a lot more financial aid or it's a lot cheaper if you stay within your state than if you go out of state to a private school, uh, Yes. and, like I said, if they was willing to work, uh, in the summers and also maybe then the parents could pay a third and then maybe they could take out a loan for a third depending on how expensive it is. By the time, I have an eleven year old is my oldest, so, it's not too far away, but it's, Mine is twelve. Oh, okay. But it's getting there, I mean, we still have, definitely can put away the money for college now. Uh, I would advise that, that they did not have a car at college. They would, That's my gut feeling, too. I, my son is certainly not persuaded of that Hello? Yes, I'm here. Oh, yeah, uh, yes, I didn't have a car in college. I think it's more an a burden to, to provide for. No. I think so, too. I think, I think because most kids don't have a car at college, the ones that do get taken advantage of and, you know, there is just, I think it's just trouble waiting to happen. So I would advise they didn't, they didn't take a car and, uh they didn't take a television Is it, and they didn't take a refrigerator Maybe that, Uh, I didn't do any of those, though, I feel less strongly about the T V and refrigerators. No, I, I, Yeah, we didn't have, Well, let me see, what have you seen lately? Well, uh, CITY SLICKERS, and STAR TREK FIVE. FIVE? Yeah yeah. only, only five? Yeah. I thought I'd better see that one before I go and see six. Well, no, didn't need to. No, I found that out How about yourself? I just saw the latest one. How is it? It was fantastic. Oh, I can't wait. Yeah, it's, the lines in there were just perfect. I mean, it was classic TREK. Now, does the old STAR TREK guys meet the new guys? No, huh-uh. No, it's just the old guys still. Yeah, it was just a rumor that that would happen this time. However, the rumor is, is that it will happen next, happen next time so, You know, that I read in PEOPLE or somewhere, no, it was U S A TODAY Uh-huh. that they said they weren't going to do anymore. That was it. Uh-huh. But, Yeah, uh, except that the rumor is, is that they still might, but it may not include the entire crew and it will be a next generation meets this generation Huh. So, I'm not sure what the difference in light years between the new generation and the, the old guys was. I think it's a hundred years. Huh. Somewhere in that range. Considering that Spock was on an, uh, you know, couple weeks ago and that the, the very first episode of NEXT GENERATION, they had McCoy. Oh, that's right. Is that right? He was a doctor still? And, Uh-huh. Yeah, well, you know, he was rear admiral, whatever, you know, and he just kind of hobbled down the halls real slow. Vulcans age a lot better Well, yeah, he didn't look too bad, did he? No, huh-uh. Matter of fact, he looks just as about as old and the, uh, NEXT GENERATION as he does in the latest STAR TREK Imagine that. Yeah, that's amazing. But, did they have some pretty good special effects? Oh, excellent, excellent special effects. But I think the script was, you know, just incredible compared to the last one. Yeah, FIVE was, the script was bad, bad, bad Well, you know why? No, I don't. Why? Uh, William Shatner wrote it. Oh, is that right? And even worse, he directed it. Uh, Leonard, Nimoy, he does a lot better. Oh, yeah, he, in fact, uh, he didn't direct this one. He produced this one But he directed the one before, uh, I think STAR TREK FOUR, something like that. IN SEARCH OF SPOCK, or, no, JOURNEY HOME, I think that was. Yeah, uh-huh. Are, you're a real life Trekkie? I think so I really like them. I, I wouldn't go so far as being a Trekkie, but Uh-huh. uh, Well, I've gone to, you know, one for real live Trek Convention but, Oh, really? Yeah, I saw James Doohan, you know, the guy that plays, uh, Scotty. Huh, did you get to talk to him? No It was crowded. Not in a crowd like that. Huh-uh. No. It was like, uh, want an autograph, want to stand in line for about four hours. Yeah. Wow. It was a pretty crowded place. Huh. They have some good management principals in this NEW GENERATION. Oh, yeah, yeah, I, it's, it's kind of funny. I, uh, was reading in, uh, a book. Uh, trying to think, I can't quite remember the name of the book, but it was, it was saying don't do STAR TREK management style. And they were referring to, you know, Captain Kirk, every time he left the Enterprise, everything went to hell. Oh. And nothing got righted until he got back up on the ship Right, so he kind of was a cowboy type, too. Uh-huh Made all the decisions but, uh, Jean Luke does more of a, a, committee type of management. Uh-huh, yeah, uh, it's definitely a lot better A lot more realistic really. What other movies have you seen? Uh, saw THE ADDAMS FAMILY last week. Oh, how was that? It was pretty good. Uh, there were a few things different than the old series, but on the, on the whole, it was pretty similar. And, a lot of fun. Lots of little funny spots, huh. Oh, yeah, yeah. Did they have Thing and, Oh, yes, in fact, Thing has a big, much bigger role than he does in the series. I mean, you know, there is lots of areas where Thing saves the day. Really? And he runs around a lot. How did, I've always wondered how he gets around. Uh, you know, just finger hopping. But he's in a box, right? No, no, no, in fact, it's funny. He never did, does come in out of a box, I don't think. Yeah, he was just kind of walking around. Didn't he used to? Not really. He was always in the box before. Oh. Oh, that's, yeah, that's, okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Well, do you do any recycling? Uh, we do here. Uh, see, what do we recycle? We, they recycle, they have bins Yeah. and they also have centers where you can take aluminum cans and, uh, plastic bottles and I think that's all they have. Oh. What about you guys? Well, we, uh, there is a lot of things that you can recycle down here, although the only thing I guess I wind up recycling religiously is, uh, aluminum cans. Uh-huh. But, uh, we've got a, we've got a couple of different things, uh, places, uh, they're like unattended aluminum can smashers And you can go up there and, and, uh, redeem, we've got one that gives you like a penny a can, so if you, Really? Yeah For smashed cans? Well, actually, you have to give, put them in there unsmashed. Uh-huh. And, uh, when you do that it, it basically crushes them and then drops a penny down a little shoot. Oh, can you, can you hold on for just a minute? Sure. I'm going to try pressing one again to make sure that I pressed it hard enough because, okay, just succeed Okay. Okay? Oh, okay, well, I guess, I guess, Well, I heard it that, I heard it that time Yeah Okay, well, anyways, you guys only get a penny a can. Well, when you buy like, uh, canned drinks and stuff like that, do they charge you for the deposit? Uh, no, you probably get charged like a nickel or something like that. Yeah. Exactly and so it's like they charge you for the deposit, so when you turn in the cans unsmashed, you're just, like, reimbursed. Oh, okay. Type of thing. Okay, no, they don't charge us that extra nickel. That's sort of nice, though Yeah, it, it really is. Really what happens is we just get a penny a can back off the, off the price, if you want to think of it that way. Uh-huh. So when we get like, uh, uh, a twelve pack, then that's like twelve cents back. Yeah, so you guys can actually get ahead Yeah But, uh, they have sort of like, uh, things that you you're not like reimbursed for or paid for. Like we can recycle, uh, clear glass, brown glass, green glass. Uh, and milk jugs and, uh, newspapers, you know, Yeah. everyone does newspapers. Yeah, yeah, everybody does newspapers. But, that, that kind of stuff. Yeah. But they, they said they can't be smashed or else, uh, it doesn't fit in their little containers and they're not reimbursed by the, the people who are over them or something. Well, shoot, maybe what we ought to do is start sending unsmashed, uh, Pepsi cans and whatever up there Yeah Exactly, yeah, send it to this address, no But, uh, let's see, they said that, how, ways, can encourage recycling, uh, I, I, I tell you what, what really works, uh, at least down here is, if there is, if there is some, even some money basically to take care of the gas to recycle it, you know what I mean, then people tend to do it. Uh, Yeah, that's, In other words, taking care of the environment is, is all well and good Uh-huh. but if it's going to cost you to take care of the environment, they're not quite as, uh likely to do it as if, uh, if you get something back for it. You know. As likely to do it. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. And, uh, so, you know, if there are some energy savings or if there is some significant savings, anything that they can pass on to the consumer, you know, it kind of reminds me of using an A T M card, you know, to get money or doing your banking. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, if it's free, people will use it, if it costs them something, then they're not as likely to use it. Yeah, exactly. You know. But, uh, I know we had a problem down here with, uh, oil, people taking oil out of their cars and just putting it down the you know, the the drain sewer. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, all that, because there was, apparently a lot of people, you know, every time they change the oil, they just dump all the their old oil down there. Uh-huh. Now they're starting to recycle that stuff. Oh, that's good. Uh, another thing I thought of, I guess, to recycle would be like clothes, because I mean everybody gets rid of their clothes sometime or other. And one way that we do it sort of in, in Iowa is that we can take some of our clothes to the consignment shops. Yeah. And that way, you know, you don't get near enough as, as much as you bought it for, but you, you got the use out of it and what you're going to basically donate to a Goodwill or whatever, anyways, you can get a little bit of money for. Yeah. And so that's something that I've never, Yeah. I, we're, we're new to Iowa so that's something that I hadn't, you know, looked into before. But that's one way to sort of get money and still recycle, I guess. Yeah, I know a lot of places, they, uh, uh, Okay. Okay, I guess we're ready to start. Well, I guess, what part of what part of the country do you live in? I'm in Dallas, Texas. Oh, okay. What about yourself? Well, I'm also in Dallas. Okay. The reason that I ask is the two conversations I've had, have been out of state. Uh-huh. But, uh, have you always lived here in Dallas and, No, I've lived here for almost five years now. I see. And I'm a, uh, before that I was at school in Rochester, New York and I'm originally from Boston. Oh, well, you are seeing quite a different climate and quite a different neighborhood. That's right, but I like it. You probably have enjoyed getting away from the snow. Well, I missed it at first, but now I go back there and I'm a real wimp about the cold So I like it here. Yeah. It's nice. Well, that's good. I, I have lived in Texas essentially all my life. Uh-huh. Around in Texas and, uh, I have traveled up in the northeast and around and have enjoyed it. Uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know, I'm not sure I would want to take on those winters. I'm getting older and, uh, not sure that's something I want to do. I know. I live, uh, over in the Lake Highlands area if you're familiar with that. Uh, tell me where that is, uh, Okay. I, I probably do know, Uh, you, but I don't know it by that name. This is pretty well where L B J and Audelia, Skillman cross. Okay. Sure. We're just north of, uh, White Rock Lake. Oh, okay, yeah, I know that area. That's a nice area. Oh, that's quite a range. Well, we have some very nice homes here in this area. Uh, my particular, I guess they want us to describe the area, so, uh my particular area, the homes run anywhere from about sixty-five, eighty thousand dollars on up to probably half a million. Yes, uh, the homes that were here earlier were smaller. Now they've gotten larger and larger as, as they have developed the land. And, of course, it's pretty static right now and all the values over here have dropped off because of the economy. Uh-huh, yeah. How about you? Well, I am, uh, I'm, gosh, I'm barely in Dallas. I'm just north of Addison Airport up on the tollway. Okay. Okay. And, I guess we have a similar situation. I mean, we've got houses two streets away that are probably around seventy, eighty thousand Uh-huh. and then we've got Bent Tree right across the street so I don't I don't even know how high those go, Okay. but some of those are pretty big. Yes, those are over a million. Yeah So, it's, that's the strange thing about, I guess, Dallas because back where I'm from, you wouldn't have that sort of a variation at all. They'd all be pretty similar to one another within a, a couple miles. So, Well, we have suffered from real lack of land use planning in Dallas. Yeah. Not as bad as Houston, but, exactly what you're describing is what happens all over. Uh-huh, yeah, I've noticed that. Well, now, do you live in a, a home, or zero lot home, Uh-huh. or, Uh, we've got a house, let's see, we moved in about four years ago and it was, it had previously been unoccupied, but it had existed for three years. Okay. This is a whole block of homes that, uh, a builder built all of them and, I guess he, he did some crazy thing to get some extra money from the bank and then ran away, type of deal So the whole block was all foreclosed. Oh. And, so, some were vacant for quite a while before they, you know, they finally sold them because there were so many. Well, your, was your house in good shape, was it damaged? Yes, no, the only thing that we were worried about was the air conditioner because they'd have it just running constantly with the doors and windows open Oh, it was? But, yeah. Oh. So we just, you know, we bargained to get an extra warrantee on that. I see. And, uh, we're really, we haven't had any problems and, you know, we had originally thought we'd have to get a fix up special or something because being from the northeast we figured we couldn't afford anything. But the prices are much lower here and this was definitely not a fix up special, but I'll tell you, it takes all my time Between, we put in our own sprinkler system and I just finished repainting the exterior and, you know, making drapes and buying furniture, it's just a money pit. Really is. Yes, I am familiar with that. I, where I live is a house that's seventeen years old when I bought it. And we bought it from someone who was in it, but before they had it, I found out after I had been in the house, it, it had sat empty for the better part of a year. Uh-huh. And I'm not sure what happened, but I do know the folks that we bought it from had done virtually no maintenance for, for about four years. Oh, no. I, I, I found a lot of things, but, I say Arlington, Texas now because I talked one night to somebody in Arlington, Virginia. Oh, my, yeah. Well, and Plano, Texas rather than Plano, Illinois. Oh, do they have one? Yes, they do. Oh, I didn't know that. Well, I learned something already Yeah. Well, let's see, the three questions are what, uh, How much time do you spend with your children? Very little. Because they're grown. Oh What? They're grown and gone. Oh, yeah, well, mine is, uh, down at U T Austin at college and the other one is in high school. Huh. So you do spend less time then? Yeah because they don't want to know, they almost don't want to know us. They want to be with their friends. How old are your kids? Are they married or what? Uh, yes, I have, uh, two married, two and then two almost married and the other two, I'm not sure. Well, Two two, two, uh, uh, for sure are single. Oh, boy, you have a lot of kids. Yeah, we have, between the spouse and myself we have six. Oh, well, that's kind of nice, though. You you shouldn't be lonesome on a holiday, huh? Because I came with a split family and she had, Well, no, there is so much of them are gone and they're doing their own things and and a lot of times they, they've got, you know, uh when the holidays, Well, that's true. They have to see their other parent, I guess too. Yeah and sometimes they want to do their own thing, so sometimes it's just spouse and me. I know. And, and you know what? What? Sometimes that's okay. I know Because, That's what my mother said one time. You know, right, because who says that they just must got to come over to see us all the time for the holidays. Right. No, that's true, and if they force them to, you know that's not good either. Yeah. That becomes a drudgery Well, do they all live in the area? got, of the six, we've got four around here. Uh-huh, oh, wow. Uh, you know, well, we're talking like north Texas. Uh-huh. And then, one is in Vermont, uh, Montpelier Montpelier, Vermont Golly. and the other one is in Everett, Washington. How did they end up so far away? Well, that is, that's, the, the, my little pair. And my second marriage. Uh-huh. Uh, and, uh, Those are the youngest ones? Yeah, well, the the, the, the, the fourth and fifth child of the of the, of the, uh, six are the two that are scattered like that. Uh-huh. Boy, that's, those are a long way. And, Well, they wanted to go, uh, How, J R, my, my, my last son or my middle son, excuse me, fell in love with Washington state Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and the, the, the, third daughter fell in love with, uh, uh, Vermont. Vermont. So, So they wanted to make their homes there. Yeah, that's where they've gone to make their homes. My goodness. Are they, are those two married? No. They, uh, just working up there or going to school or what? Well, uh, let's see, yeah, I guess you'd say J R is working, going to trying to go to school. Uh-huh. I wish to God he would go back. Oh, they do. Especially if they, if they're meant to, I think. Yeah. Well, I certainly hope so. I mean, I've got a daughter that's a sophomore at U T and I'm, I'm going to U T A right now myself so it's never too late. Uh-huh. Well, it's, oh, I agree it's never too late. Right. And, Especially in some of these schools around here, I think they have about twenty percent older students. Yeah, and when you're saying older, we're talking fifty up. Oh, yeah, I've seen some people that are really quite up there you know they look like in their very late sixties Uh-huh. and I say that's great, why not, you know. Oh, my, uh-huh. Yes, why not because that's a, a lot of times, well, it's, I believe that, uh, we in that category, and I'm not in that category quite yet No. but, we are seasoned minds. Oh, yeah, you're really ready to learn finally. Yes, uh-huh. I mean, I don't know why I even went to college when I was seventeen. Yeah, it was, It was a complete waste of money. Yeah, settle down, we know what we're wanting to, to, uh, study and, uh we know our limitations. Right, right. We, Right and, uh, And we don't try to burn the candle at both ends and in the middle altogether. No. We don't go out drinking beer till three and try to go to class in the morning At seven, yeah. We're past, yeah, we're past that age Yes, we're, we're smarter now. We know what we can do Yeah, right, uh, so let's see. So mine I don't spend a whole lot of time because they're not here. Uh-huh. And so the second question, forgot what the second question, What was it, uh, what do the trends in families and do we approve what other, families do. Well, uh, the trends in the families were to spread apart, do your own thing. That's right. But I have seen lately, yes, I am seeing, I'm seeing a change that, whoops, government can't do it, A change? I was going to say the same thing. schools are not able to Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and between a person's religion, uh, their, their faith in their maker whether, you know, uh, whether you're Christian or Jewish or whatever, uh, Right. Right. and the family Are going to have to solve some of the problem, huh. those are the two that can, that, that have the wherewithal and, of course, Judeo-Christianity, uh, and of the Jewish folks, too, believe that the family unit is the one that was given the, uh, uh, mission by the Lord to do this very thing. Uh-huh. So when another group of, of, uh, people step in, try to do it, they're, they're tromping on our territory, so to speak, so Oh. I firmly believe that, uh, Okay. You think you're getting your money's worth? Uh, never Uh, the only thing I'm, I'm thankful of is that we don't have to pay any income tax in, in Texas. Well, that's probably the next year's agenda. Yeah. Boy, I tell you what, I sure hope they don't pass something like that. Oh, yeah. They're finding a way to tax you every time you turn around, and I, I think one way or the other, we're going to pay for the bureaucracy, I guess. Uh, it's one area that is really, I, I think hurting the economy more than anything. I think the taxes have just, every time you turn around they, they have taking more bite out of the dollars that are available for spending for any kind of products, and I, I, I think that is probably as big a item fueling the recession as anything right now. Well, I, I tell you, um, I remember every time, it seems like, we turned around, they're adding another nickel or a few more cents onto the price of gasoline. That's right. That's right. And actually, that one, the, the, the taxes on gasoline don't, don't bug me as much as, uh, uh, what are we, eight and a quarter percent sales tax? Yep, that's right. And every time you go to buy anything now, uh, even, you know, they, they tax food. That's the one that really kind of bothers me. Well, I think that, uh, that the problem with the sales tax, of course, is it's an unfair tax across the board, uh, as far as ability to pay, which allegedly, allegedly taxes are supposed to be directed towards. But, uh, now people with the lowest income pay a hundred percent almost of, you know, taxes on everything they buy, and where people that make, you know, two hundred, three hundred thousand dollars a year, certainly a portion of that, they aren't going to be paying taxes on, you know. And, uh, that's the unfair equity, inequities of sales tax as a main source of revenue, but I don't think it is anymore, not in Texas anyway. Oh, I got you, because people that, uh, don't make very much money wind up spending it all. That's right, that's right. Yeah, whatever they spent it on, they have to pay tax on. That's right, that's right. And that's the unfairness of the thing, but, uh, I think taxes generally are unfair so what do you think of that new luxury car tax, anything over ten or thirty thousand dollars? Well, you know, like other things, if they don't affect you, you don't worry about them too much. I have trouble buying a twenty thousand dollar car still, so it doesn't, I, I think, uh, you know, generally the prices of cars have gotten out of line, which is, uh, you know. Oh, sure. And, uh, I guess if people got thirty, forty thousand bucks to spend on a car, uh, that's their prerogative, you know I, I, I don't have a whole of sympathy on that . You, maybe you buy that, you know, and I don't mean to be knocking, uh, No, uh, no, I haven't, but it, it to me it seems really interesting that they come along and add another ten percent tax, uh, on top of it. And there's an awful lot of cars that cost more than thirty thousand. Yeah, there are, there are. And the idea of that kind of taxation is to have people think twice on putting their money into that, I guess, you know, unless they really want it, buy something that, you know, more, well, it, it's just like having taxes on, or exemptions for kids, you know. It's a way of increasing the population, that, that was one of the initial ideas of, you know, giving exemptions on kids, on, on federal taxes. Yeah. And where you exempt things, like, uh, uh, one of the best things I heard on taxes to stimulate the economy, someone, brilliant deductor, probably Lloyd Bentsen, said that all, you know, if they gave back the deductions on credit cards on your federal taxes people would probably be, you know, spending more money using their credit cards. Right. Right. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but if you look on all interest things, not just credit cards, but on your cars and, you know, any kind of interest that you're paying, from a personal point of view, that might make certain sense in stimulating consumer purchasers. Sure. So that's a lot of the games that politicians play on where they want to go, you know, tax things that they don't, you know, to a degree, well, like booze, you know, example, they keep raising the taxes on booze, it gets to the point, you know, it makes drunks sober, you know They quit buying it. Well, what, what about the taxes on cigarettes? Well, tell me about your home. Okay. Uh, right now we're living in, well it's me, my wife and, uh, two young boys. And, uh, right now we're in a, uh, I guess it's either a zero lot line or a garden home. Which you might call it. Uh-huh. So we don't have a, a big yard. Uh, but, uh, when my wife and I first moved in, it was just the two of us. So it was enough. Uh-huh. Uh, and it's, uh, I guess what they call a story and a half. Because it's not a full two story. Where, you know, everything on top is on bottom. Yeah. So, it's got real high ceilings on half the house and the other half is just standard sized ceilings. Huh. And, uh, it's about a five year old house now. It sounds nice. It's, uh, pretty nice. Unfortunately, the builder who built it went out of business already Oh, yeah? Yeah. It was a, Landmark is the one who built it. Yeah. Well, you know, these guys that gambled high lost big you know. Yeah. That's true. And, uh I'm insulating myself from that problem. Exactly what happened to them. I'm building my own house. Oh, that's nice. And as I look out the window of my trailer, I can envision all the insulation that's going up today Oh, really. Yeah. Are you doing it yourself? Yeah. Wow. I used to be a builder. Oh, that's nice. And I retired about five years ago and started college. Oh, I see. Huh. And now I'm a college educated builder There's still no work, you know. Yeah. So, uh, you know, I decided this summer that, uh, you know, we had enough credit on the credit cards to buy the materials so I did. That's great. And, uh, see the, the, the state has a law that says you cannot borrow the money to build your own home. is that so? I didn't know that. You can borrow the money to pay somebody else to build your house but you can't borrow the money to build your own. Well that sounds kind of dumb. Well, it's to protect the, the banks from guys that say yeah I want to build my own house and go out a build a spec home Uh-huh. and then it doesn't sell and then the bank's holding the bag. Yeah. Yeah. Well. Huh. As, as you know, anything that involves the government is, works half as well as it's supposed to costs three times as much. Right? That's right Hence the savings and loan problem we have. Yeah, that's true. But, uh, you know, my home is, uh, fairly simple. It's designed to be added on to. Uh-huh. That's good. Yeah. Well, I figure it's just me and my wife but, you know, I like to do stuff with my hands and whatnot, so I want to have a shop. Yeah. How big a lot do you got it on? Ten acres. Wow. That's nice. That's real nice. Well, yeah. It's really nice too because I can't see my nearest neighbor. He's on the other side of a hill. Oh. And my second nearest neighbor is a dot on the horizon. Seriously. God. That's pretty good. Well, in the winter time, I can see, see another guy but, you know, he's Uh-huh. I can just make out his place, you know. I've got a thirty mile view to the east and about ten miles to the north. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, Oh, that's pretty good. Yeah. Well, I took a lot of time in choosing this site because the, the house has no heating or air conditioning. Uh-huh. Oh, you, you, you don't plan on putting any, any of that in? Well, it's got a, a very small furnace. Uh-huh. And a, uh, we'll use a wood burning stove as well. Yeah. But, in the house itself, I've been working inside, you know, these, these many months Uh-huh. and I have not had to use the heat. Wow. Because it's all geothermal. Yeah. That's pretty good. And with all the, see I've got, on the south side is all glass. Well, as much as I could get in it, you know. And, uh, the east side is glass. Yeah. I've got one, two, three, four, five, six windows in the east side on forty-eight feet. So it's almost all glass. Wow. And, uh, My wife would love that Oh, yeah. I mean, you know. There's no place in the house where you can stand and not see four windows. She loves lots of windows. That's great. So, uh, Is it a single story? Well, not really. It's, uh, it's on the side of a hill. Oh, I see. So the first, you know, the, the, the, what I call residential level at the side that's in the hill is about four feet deep. Uh-huh. Um, I see. And the side that's on the, uh, the other side is about six feet high. Oh. So I've got a pretty good grade there. Yeah. And then when I put the verandas which will be twelve feet out all the way around on the north, south and east sides that will define the shop. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's kind of like, like a Victorian style? Exactly. Yeah. I, I've always liked that. The, you know, I, we don't have much yard but I built a small deck in the back. Uh-huh. But, you know, I, I see these magazines where, you know, dig your, your own deck. Uh-huh. I, I kind of wish I had them, those size property and, and, uh, one with a grade on it so I can build a real nice deck. Uh, what sort of camping do you like to do the most? Uh, well, I, I do, uh, real rough type camping. I have a motor home Huh, rough type, huh Yeah. Okay. Uh. Oh, yeah, motor homes can be a lot of fun. Yeah, they really are. Yeah. They really are. I've, I've enjoyed it. I've never actually done any, uh, like tent camping, Uh, that can be a lot of fun, too. Yeah. How about you? Well, so far my wife and I have pretty much had to stick with tent camping. Uh-huh. This summer we went to, uh, the Smokey Mountain National Park. And, uh, stayed about three or four days in there. Oh, how great. It was wonderful. Oh, yeah. Nights were cool enough to where they're comfortable. Um. And the days were nice and warm and, it was beautiful, beautiful few days. Uh-huh. That's great. It worked out particularly well, especially considering she was, what, six months pregnant. Uh-huh. So I don't know, it worked pretty well. It was one of those, uh, those, dome type pop up tents. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Nice and quick and easy to put up. Yeah. Packs away nice and small and, about had to be something like that getting around in a Pinto. Well, that's true, that's true. It was a lot of fun. I guess the last real, uh, camping trip I took was, has been a couple years ago. Oh, yeah? Uh, I went to California up to the Sequoias. Wow, that's got to be beautiful territory. Yeah, it's gorgeous, I love the big trees. Just, just the drive up through, uh, up the coast line and then cut over in, into the, into the parks, it's gorgeous, though. Yeah. What, like, Sequoia National Park? Uh-huh. Uh. Uh-huh, yeah, I had been there before when I lived in California, but that's my first trip back in, oh, goodness, um, um, thirty years maybe Yeah. But, that is God's country, it has to be. Yeah. Yeah. Do they still have the, uh, the scenic, uh, roadways that cut through the center of some of those trees? Uh, no, they don't, they, the last one, well, the first time I was there, the, the tree was still standing, but it has since come down. Okay. Yeah. But, they are huge. If you've never seen them, it's, it's very awe inspiring. No, so far, New Orleans is far west as I've gotten. Well, New Orleans and, uh, Minneapolis. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, well, there is lots of pretty country further west. Oh, yeah. Yeah. We're hoping one of these days soon after we're out of school to head that way. Yeah. Yeah, and you just need to take the little one. Show them all the, all the pretties before they go away. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They seem to be trailing out quickly. Yeah because there is lots to see There is, course, the the Grand Canyon and, uh, the Painted Desert is, is real pretty, in a different sort of way. Yes. And, course, the, the Sequoias and the Redwoods and and you get up into Bryce Canyon and Yellowstone and, uh, the Grand Tetons are gorgeous, too. I imagine. Yeah, I would imagine they are. Course, I, I guess I'm partial to big tree country. Yeah. I don't know why I got stuck down here in Texas now I think it's called a job, I don't know Uh, not a whole lot of forestry down there, is there? No not around here. Oh. Not around here Place is forested with with those concrete trees. Uh-huh, lot, lot of concrete and glass, you know. Yeah. Well, I guess that's God's place, too. Anyway, Uh, what do you figure has been the longest trip you've taken camping? Yeah. Uh, probably the, the last one that I went to California I took, uh, three weeks. Three weeks. And I was actually on the road a little more than three weeks. Yeah, the whole family, then, was in on this? Uh-huh. Everybody Yeah. Yep. That would have to be a blast. Yeah, it really was, it was great. What, well, you went out from Texas up in, into that area? Uh-huh, yeah. We went, uh, we took the southern route and went, went through, uh, uh, the Grand Canyon, again and we stopped at, uh, uh, Las Vegas for a couple of nights, and then, uh, went into Malibu in California over on the coast. Yeah. And then we went up the, the Big Sur Highway all the way up to San Francisco. And, uh, and then cut across through the wine country. And then went down to, to, uh, Sequoia National Park. Okay. Oh, wow. Okay, Big Sur Highway, that's, uh, where you're pretty much in view of the ocean almost all the time aren't you? Oh, yeah. Okay, um, do you have any pets now? Well, we don't right now, no. We've, uh, I grew up with, uh, with pets. My folks and I always had a dog and a cat, some, birds, Yeah. but, uh, right now we don't have anything. Oh, okay. Um, that, What about you? a matter of choice, or compulsion? Well, we've just, uh, it seems like, we've always been at a place where we'd have to go away for the summer or something and, uh, it was, never convenient to have anything. Yeah. we were thinking about getting a dog if we get into a house. Yeah. Uh, someplace where there, you know, we can take care of it and everything. We've got, some children who would just really, uh, enjoy having an animal, you know, a dog, I think Yeah. and, What about you all? Yeah. Well, right now I'm a student, and campus housing does not even allow thinking about that Oh, no. No, we almost got chased out of here for feeding a stray cat. Is that right? Yeah. They're very strict about it. But you like, uh, you like pets and things? Oh, I love animals. Oh, yeah . I was raised, our house when I, when I was growing up there was almost never, uh, at least one cat in the house. Uh-huh. It was almost always at least one cat, sometimes, you know, like fifteen or twenty. But, uh, always cats in the house. Oh, yeah. We, we, enjoyed them. Oh. We like, we like pets, but, uh, you know, you've got to deal with, uh, taking care of them and, and feeding them and everything like that. Yeah. And our kids are, we've got some children and they're not, not used to it, you know, on a daily basis. They, they, uh, How old are your kids? Oh, from fourteen down to seven. Okay. You sound like you've got some small ones in the background. One. Is that right? Our first. He's about eleven weeks now. Oh, great. Yeah. Congratulations. Yeah. Where are you from? Uh, originally? Uh-huh. West Virginia. Okay. Um, I don't know how familiar you are with that area of the country but, I've been to Charleston. Charleston, West Virginia? Yes, uh-huh. Okay, that's pretty much the south end of the state, or the southern quarter of the state, anyway? Uh-huh. Okay, in the north end of the state, you've got that little narrow strip of West Virginia going up between Ohio and Pennsylvania Uh-huh. Right at the base of that northern peninsula is my hometown. Uh-huh Well, that's, yeah, that's interesting. So it's really up north in the country, really, . Yeah, I guess so. yeah. It's, well, um, my parents' house is like three miles south of where the Mason-Dixon Line would have hit the Ohio River had it continued that far. Gosh. I see. So, It's pretty nice country up there? Oh, it's beautiful. Hills, or what? Uh, well, from my neck of the woods, it's hilly. Uh-huh. Um, you know, uh, maybe three hundred, four hundred feet elevation, uh, type variations from the valleys up to the hills, the hilltops. Uh-huh Is it farmland? Um, not a lot of farmland there. Mostly it's, uh, I mean, you know, there's, you know, individuals with their own, own uh, growing their own food. Uh, most of the agriculture, it's more in the way of, uh, sheep and cattle. Oh, yes. And even that's, you know, small time mostly. Sure. Uh, the biggest chunk of what's going on there is, is, uh, industry. Uh-huh. It's coal mines and chemical plants and power plants. Okay. Uh, aluminum plants. There's like two aluminum plants . What are you, what are you studying there at Heidelberg ? Computer engineering. Oh, yeah. What year? Uh, just finished up my fourth semester. Well, great. Yeah. Yeah. I hope that works out well. Yeah, it's a big change. Yeah. I spent, twenty years as a mechanic What's, so, Oh, did you? Yeah. Well, you've got some experience behind you in the work force. Yeah. Yeah. Are you, uh, shooting for a bachelor's now, or a master's, or what? I'm working on a bachelor's degree. Oh, okay, good. I'm working on a bachelor's degree. It'll be Hope it's a good program there. Pardon? Hope it's a good program there. Uh, it seems to me, from what I've been able to find out. Yeah, good. That's considered a pretty good program. It's nice and small, which means, you know, if you don't get the class this semester, then you've got to wait or three or four you know, anywhere from two to four semesters to get, it again. Huh But, uh, it's worth it once you get it. Well, yes, that's good. And probably a good, uh, student teacher ratio and things. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah Most the class are pretty small. Good. That works out real well. Well, I, I was wondering what, if you all were to get a pet, like if you were to move into an apartment or a house somewhere, what would you get? Uh, well, um, first off we'd probably wind up with a, a cat or maybe a puppy. Uh-huh. I, I, I'm partial towards the larger dogs. Uh-huh. Um, our last, we've, we've had a couple of cats before we moved on campus. Uh-huh. Uh, had a hamster or two, and they, they got, to be a lot of fun. A hamster. Oh, yeah. Uh, it's amazing how much character, Okay. Your family have reunions on a regular basis? Probably, once every five years. Once every five years? Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, you have got a pretty big family. Yeah and that is the hardest part about getting the the stuff together and everyone is spread out all over Timbuktu. Oh, yeah. And you? Yeah, we have a pretty big family, but most of us, well, uh, uh, I am originally from West Virginia. Uh-huh. Most of the family is right in the West Virginia, uh, uh, what they call Tri-State area, uh, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania. Yeah. Most everybody is right in that area. That makes it a lot easier. A lot more convenient. That is why we only do it once every five or ten years. Yeah. because it is always that hard to get everyone together. Yeah. They put one together for our family about once every June. It was on my grandmother's birthday, but she is, she is gone now. Yeah, see that is kind of what happened with ours. That is why we have not had one in a long time. Yeah. Uh. So, so, to make one successful, I mean, I mean what do you all do. Oh, Do you all just start planning real far ahead of time? Pardon. Uh, do you all start planning real far ahead of time? Well, no. There is kind of a set pattern to it. There is, uh, so, uh, the day it happens is ninety-eight percent of the planning usually. Oh, really Yeah. Uh, we, uh, get together, at the, uh, the park, uh, the, uh, the park, and playground area of the Church I was raised in Yeah. and, uh, everybody brings lots of food and some put up the volleyball net and sit around and tell stories and catch up and play volleyball all day and get really fat Eat a lot. Oh, gosh. It is a lot harder for us because we are like I said we are spread out Yeah. and so we have to plan anywhere from six, well really probably a year ahead of time so that everyone, can uh, start their, uh, vacation time. Schedule vacation time and yeah. We uh, Sat, uh, Sunday afternoon or, uh, sometimes it has been like on a Saturday afternoon. Uh-huh. Usually, it is like Sunday afternoon and most people do not have more than you know a couple of hours drive at tops to get there and back. Yeah. Yeah, is that one of your, uh, I mean, uh, Well, where I am calling from is southern Mississippi. So, we have got, uh, uh, my wife and I have, uh, a bit longer ways to go than most. But, you also manage to make them. uh, actually, we, we have only made one of them since we got married about four years ago. One of the family reunions. Yeah. But we are both in school so that makes it kind of tough. Yeah. They usually, uh, they have been happening, uh, just after the summer semester starts. You can't really get away. Usually not. We managed to get to one. That was before I started school and she took that summer off. But, uh, Well, now that we have been talking about it, I, uh, I am kind of getting home sick now. Because it has been over three years since I have been home to see my grandparents. Oh goodness. Well, my, my grandfather is the only one that is still around. Yeah. And see, my grandmother is the one that use to plan this stuff basically. Yeah. So, unless the aunts and uncles really get on the ball and put stuff together, it is kind of like. She was like the glue, so. Yeah, I understand. Where is home for you? Originally, uh, I, uh, was born in Missouri. Yeah. But, uh, you know, we have relatives scattered out all over Louisiana, Mississippi, uh, here in Texas Yeah. but it is harder for everyone to get in, get home. Yeah. Well, maybe this year you can find a more central location. Well, but the majority of them are in, like, just like how you said in close, close quarters. So it is easier for us few stragglers to go home. Oh, okay. Then the majority of them are still in the Missouri area. Yeah. Okay. You know our family right now, uh, the most of it, there is only a few stragglers, uh, with any distance. There is one cousin out in Colorado, uh, uh, some cousins over in Phoenix, uh, I got a sister over in, in, uh, Washington State Uh, the rest of them are within, you know, a couple hours drive. Well, uh, how do you all communicate? Like to plan it and every thing. Do you all just call each other up on the phone and say this is the weekend we are going to do it, or do you all like mail out stuff? That is pretty much it. Yeah. It is going to be such and such, uh, weekend and, uh, you all come. Yeah. That is about it And you know this is the standard pattern. It, uh, everybody brings their favorite dish and, somebody brings the volleyball net, somebody brings a whole lot of ice for the watermelon and, Well, uh, uh, I guess probably the last one I went to I met so many people that I had not seen in probably ten, over ten years. It was like, don't you remember me. And I am like no Am I related to you? Yeah. I know. Yeah, I married your cousin's brother's uncle or something like that. Do you, I mean, is that since, I mean do you have them every year? Uh, yeah, every year. And, uh, still, you wind up meeting people you, uh, you never knew you were related to. Let alone Yeah. And, Well, I think that is probably why our is probably so interesting is cause we don't have them that often Oh, yeah. and then when we do, and everyone finally does get together, it is like after the, you know, Okay, so you have eight children. Um, what type of things do you do as a family to spend time together. Oh, we spend a lot of time outdoors jogging, bicycling, uh, going to the park, um, some time watching V C R movies um, generally cheap things Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, we know how that goes. Uh, with lots of kids you don't have lots of money for recreation. That's right. Well, that's fun. So, um, let's see, uh, some of the things we do together as a family, we like to play games a lot, and you may think this is funny, but one of our funnest games we like to play together is hide and seek, and we just have a hoot playing hide and seek when it's dark in our house, Yeah. and that is so fun. The kids just get a crack out of that. Um, we like, we do like to go to the park, too you, uh, like your family. Um, we don't do a lot of vacationing. Have you taken a lot of vacations together or, Most of our vacations are to go and see Grandma and Grandpa. Uh-huh, and We get an occasional one or two day thing Oh. but most of them are going and seeing Grandma and Grandpa. Oh, now where do they live? In Arizona. Oh, so that's a bit of a drive for you there. Yes. Oh, so you like to go there for the holidays and. Oh, we don't go very often for holidays. Generally we try to get all of our kids back home for the holidays and let Grandma and Grandpa come and visit us. Uh-huh. Oh, uh-huh. Uh, what are the ages of your kids then? They range from twenty-four to five. Oh, yeah. So you have some in the nest and some out, huh. That's right. How old are your children? We have, ours start at twelve and then they go down to four. I think the hardest thing for us has been, is to find you know, leisure time activities that all of our kids can enjoy together with the age span that we have, you know, I bet, yeah. like the older kids love playing board games and that kind of thing Uh-huh. but the young kids don't understand it Yes, uh-huh. and so they get real frustrated when we try to do that, and. Yes, and then if you want to play something on the little kids' level, then the older kids get real bored, and they want to do something else. So. Yeah. Yeah, I can, I can relate to that. Um, do you feel that the current trend in families spending time together is a positive one or a negative one? I think it's improving, actually. Uh-huh. We had an interesting experience the other day. We, we have pretty much a, a routine that we spend, we don't have our kids play with other kids on Sunday Uh-huh. and we just kind of keep them at home Uh-huh. and our next door neighbor, uh, we were at a soccer game Saturday, and our next door neighbor was there, and somebody came up and asked if their daughter could spend Saturday night at their house Uh-huh. and she said, no, Sunday's our family day Uh-huh and we keep our kids at home so we can spend time with them. That's good. And I think those kinds of things are happening a lot where we are right now. Oh, good. I think it's gone to one extreme where the families were just running all different direction Uh-huh. and I think more people are interested in spending time with their kids now. I think so, and I feel like, you know, like President Bush, Bush has mentioned quite often, that we are trying to become a kinder and gentler nation, and it does begin with the families at home Yeah. and so I, I'm a firm believer in that, too. I think a lot of people are panicked, how kids are turning out and how things are going for kids and realizing they've got to start doing something. So. Yes, that's, that's true. Well, we see that a lot out here in Utah, and, um, hopefully, hopefully it's going to spread, huh. . Utah's a lot better than Texas. Oh. Um, do you have a lot of large families out there in Texas, or. Very few. Very few. You feel like you're in the minority? Oh, definitely. When we tell people how many kids we have they look at us like we didn't have good sense. Oh, dear But, uh. Well, out here in Utah, five is about the the average, Average. yeah. My wife and I were in Utah until I guess we were about twenty-four. Oh. Uh-huh. Never been back, since then, but, We have kids up there now, Oh. so we get up occasionally. Oh. Oh, I have some relatives out there in Texas, in fact my mom's out there in Texas right now, in Dallas, spending a month with her cousins, on their ranch, and. Where, where in Dallas? Well, uh, no, I'm trying, Aberdeen? Huh. Is, is that close to Dallas? I don't have any idea. I've never heard of it. Oh. Must be a little town. Don't you. It's, I guess it's out there, clear out. They have a ranch that has like five hundred acres, and, Yeah. Okay, Martin, do you do any exercise? Yes, I do. Uh, I like to, uh, play basketball and weight lifting. Those are probably the two main things I like to do. Uh-huh. Um, so those are more or less indoor sports. How's the weather out there in Georgia? Yeah. Um, in, in, in the winter, you, typically it's, it's probably too cold to go out and do things like tennis. Um, I like to play tennis in the summer time or in the spring, fall, Uh-huh. but in the winter it gets pretty cold. Oh. Um, yeah, so it's mostly indoor sports, I think, in the winter. Uh-huh. Um, how about yourself? Well, yeah, I'm on a exercise program. I'm riding my Aerodyne bike, um half an hour every morning, Uh-huh. and I'm just about ready to up it to up to forty-five minutes a morning, and I feel like that's been a real nice exercise in the winter time. It's it's kind of kept me from getting cabin fever and, um, has seemed to be a real nice aerobic exercise. Uh-huh. Right. Do you do, uh, any anaerobic type, weight lifting or weight training type exercise? No, huh-uh. I, first of all I'd like to get my weight off. I'm about fifty pounds overweight, and so I'd like to get the weight off, and then I'd really like to get into that. Uh-huh. And, uh, we have a, my husband and I have a, a, aerobic video that's called The Firm. I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's a, an aerobic video with, not necessarily bouncing around and jumping up and down, but you're using weights, and that is the most incredible aerobic workout I have ever done. It's it's really fun. Huh. Yes, it's, it's, it's it's similar to aerobics with weights Yes, uh-huh. but it's like low impact aerobics, just with weights. Uh-huh. Yes. Okay, are you familiar with, um, step or bench aerobics? Um, no, I mean, yes, I am, but I have never done it myself. Have you done that? Uh, yes, I have. In, in Atlanta that's, um, most of the health clubs are all, Oh. that's the, that's the in thing. That's the big thing, huh? At first it was just regular aerobics, but now bench or step aerobics have kind of taken over. Oh. So how is that? Um, it, they call it a low impact aerobics, and it's supposed to burn off more calories at the same time. Oh. And from when I've done it, it does give you a good, a real good workout. But only thing I'm concerned about is potential for injury to your knees you know, that and movement of going up on the step you know, that could create a problem. Oh. Uh-huh. Yeah. They, they seem to think that it, it won't, but you never know. Now, if, um, playing basketball, are you knees, do you have healthy knees? Yeah, I, I think my ankles probably are my main weak point. Oh, dear But, I've, I've kind of taken care of that. I wear high tops and then also an a support ankle brace which is very stiff Uh-huh. and, um, wearing that I haven't had any problems in the past year or so. Oh, that's good. Well that sounds, you sound just like my husband. He he injured his ankle about seven months ago playing volleyball, Yeah. and, oh, he's just had a heck of a time getting that ankle healthy. Yeah, I. So that's what he does, he wears his, his brace and his high tops and, Uh-huh. Yeah, I did, I injured mine so many times that rehabilitating became quite easy. Oh. Oh, . I mean, it would only take three or four days and I could play again on it because after a while you just learn how to rehabilitate yourself to play that way. Wow Uh-huh. Oh, dear. Oh. But, um, so how, how successful is your exercise video? It is amazing how fast you take off the inches Uh-huh. and I would, once I start my I'd like to do the forty-five minutes a day on the bike for a week, and then, every other day I'd like to incorporate the video, and then the bike on the other day. Uh-huh. But, it is really amazing how fast the inches come off, and the muscle builds real fast. Uh-huh. Um, you can start, they recommend doing the video without weights for the first month and then after that you can just start with your five pound dumbbells, and then build up to your, uh, twenty-five pound dumbbells Uh-huh. and then you're just doing repetitious exercises throughout the whole video and it's a hour long video, so. So it's a good workout. It is, yeah, I really enjoy that, so I'm looking forward to losing this weight and being firm and healthy Uh-huh. So, in the winter, I guess, there's a lot of, it's quite cold and snow. Yes. Yes. Now this one has been quite mild. Um, we could have been out walking throughout the whole winter, because really we only had about three weeks of snow on the ground. It was quite chilly but not, Hello. I pressed the button one, so we're recording right now. I'm sorry That's okay. I'm Bill from Raleigh. Okay, and I'm Melanie from Harrisville, Utah. Oh, another one from a different state besides Texas. Yeah. Um, okay, Bill, we're talking about family reunions. Right. Okay, um, have you ever had to plan a family reunion? Uh, yes and no, it wasn't really a a planning one, but it was kind of, uh, it was a birthday Oh. and I brought a lot of family together then. Uh-huh. And how did you feel it went? It went pretty good. I'm, I've worked in hotels, so I, I kind of know how to do these things. Oh. I used to, you know. All this planning and, and getting together and such. Um, oh, let's see what else. Usually when we have kind of our family reunion it's my grandmother's birthday, and and it's all of like, she, she comes from a big family. Uh-huh. She has like seven sisters I think. Oh, boy They show up and all their kids. And then all, she has, uh, I have like, uh, let's see, she has four sons and two daughters, and they show up and all their kids, Uh-huh. so it's a pretty big reunion, it's about two hundred people, maybe. Oh, my word. Well, what did you find was most helpful in planning the birthday get together? Um, the, probably the biggest challenge was getting a place where everyone, you know, could eat comfortably and, and everything, uh. Uh-huh. I guess probably the most helpful thing was that, um, for the rent, we rented like a, a rescue squad building or something like that. Oh. Uh-huh. And, uh, each one of the, everybody that showed up donated some money for the rent and for, for like soft drinks and and so nobody like really got stuck with the bill. Oh. Oh, that's good. And each person in the family, you know, brought a dish, or something. Uh-huh, and then did you have a main meal, or did everyone just bring, it was just pot luck. It was kind of pot luck. Uh-huh. You know, everybody brought their specialties, I guess you would say. Yeah, yeah, show off a little bit Yeah. And of course my grandmother's food was, as always, gone first because she's such a great cook. Oh. Oh. Now how old is she? Uh, she's eighty-six. Oh, goodness. Is she pretty spry, is she, you know, pretty. Now she does, she looks probably like she's in her early sixties Oh, wow. and if she didn't have arthritis, she'd get around better than me as a matter of fact Uh-huh. Oh. Oh, that's neat, that she's in good health, and that, at that age. Yeah. Oh, yeah. My nickname for her is Honey Woman. That's what I call her. Really. Well that sounds fun. Well, I I had a real challenge of planning a family reunion a few years ago, and there were, we sent out five hundred, uh, announcements, because our family is quite large, like your, your family there. And so that was a real challenge, and I was president of our family reunion for two years, and I wasn't very at that duty, for two years in a row, but I found that advance planning was the key to success. Uh, also one thing that's helpful, and I don't know if your family's spread out or whatever Uh-huh. but most of, all my family lives like in the same county so Oh, that's wonderful, though But it's just kind of like get on the telephone and, it's so and such days from such and such date Oh. and everybody just shows up. Oh, well, that is, that is helpful. Yeah, our family ranges from, oh, goodness, well, Australia, I have a brother lives in Australia, to, uh, Boise, Idaho, and, and, uh, all kinds of places. I would say you're spread out, then. We are Uh, my immediate family, you know, my, my parents and my brothers and sisters, I guess we're the ones that have the gypsy blood or whatever, because my dad was in the Army and we're we're pretty strung out all over. Oh. But since they've moved back to Carolinas, we still are the only ones do not live in in Yantsen County. In. Oh. I live in Raleigh, and then my, my parents live in Greenville, and I have one brother and his wife live in Greenville, and, uh, another brother that lives in, outside of Fayetteville. Uh-huh. So I mean, we're, we're spread out, but everybody else is centralized in, in, my home town, Waynesboro Boy. so. Oh, my gosh. Nobody moves away except us They must really like it there. Yeah, I got out as soon as I graduated. Yeah. Oh. Just like this town is too small for me, Good-bye. Oh, you're ready to move on to How do you feel about gun control? Well, uh, I mean I don't think that guns should be outlawed Um. but it's going to, a lot of the stuff that, I mean all you do is to get guns and then like with the stuff of that massacre in Killeen, Texas not too long ago, But I don't really know, I mean, unless they do, uh, just outlaw them, how you can, uh, prevent that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, don't you think that you know, just having, you know, some, you know almost like a driver's license be required you know with stiff penalties if you are found with, with you know a gun that is not registered or you know that you are not licensed to carry. Yeah, that, well do you even know what the procedures are now? Um. There is no national, But, it's kind of like if you want a gun you can get a gun, especially if you have the money to pay for it. Uh, in most States as long as you aren't a convicted felon. You know or on probation or, uh, you know, other obvious things like that. Yeah. Uh, and I know, I know that like in a lot of states you could, you could be just like released from a mental hospital the day before. You know, be, be obviously insane, and then, you, you know but have your legal right to get a gun. Huh. I didn't know that. Well, that's pretty scary. So, does, now do they want us to say where we feel about it, like in rating it one to ten. Uh, yeah, I'd probably, I'd probably say about a five. That's where I would probably be Seems like it's a good safe number to pick, you know. Well, I mean, I mean I don't really know what they can, how they can really enforce the laws any better Uh-huh because I mean I do think that some people need them and, like, for protection and stuff Uh-huh. and I can understand them wanting to have them, but then again it's just like all those nuts out there. Well, you know, uh, uh, if you are looking at like you know country that, uh, where they do have a lot more gun control, like England and places like that, you know the amount of violent crime has decreased by so much. It has? Because then, Well I mean yeah. The, uh, the in comparing per capita murders are incredibly lower than the United States. Um. Uh, you know, I mean, the problem though, you know, they, if the, since the United States had this, you know, pretty much unrestricted flow of guns going for so long that I think, you know, if you were introduced, you know, any controls, it would probably take a long while for them to take effect just because there is a glut of guns out there already. Yeah. You know, so it's, it's really kind of a complex problem. Well, is the crime that bad there in Atlanta? Uh, I'm not really sure how bad it is. I've, I've not really had that many problems with it, but I mean apparently we, we were ranked pretty high up. Yeah I know Dallas is. Uh. I mean, I think, you know, in the I mean I think we have been like ranked in one of the top three for murders in the last few years. I don't know if Dallas is in the top three Uh-huh. but. Do you own a gun? No. I've thought about getting one. If I get one, I think I will probably, you know, get something. I probably wouldn't get a hand gun. I would probably get like a shotgun. Just for protecting myself. You know, from burglar type thing. Uh-huh. I do kind of live in the downtown area. Yeah. You know and shotguns are really good because they're, I mean somebody is not going to break in, steal it, and you know, use it to mug someone, you know. That's true. Uh, and you know, you, yeah, I just don't understand these people, you know, like when they, they decide they're going to buy a gun to protect themselves. They go out and buy a three fifty seven magnum which is going to shoot through you know, they are probably going to miss the person and, and they're going to shoot through five wall, and hit someone, you know. I mean a shotgun just really struck me as being you know a real good defensive weapon. You can sort of point it somewhere in the direction of you know whoever. Yeah. You pretty much stop them. And, you don't, then the actual shot doesn't go that far, you know, a wall will stop it pretty much. and, uh, my Dad gave me a gun Uh-huh. but I never did go out and practice with it enough to feel comfortable with it Uh-huh. so I finally ended up giving it back to him. I said I don't want it. I don't want to be responsible for it because you know if you're not going to teach me how to do it and if I am not going to, you know, be responsible enough to go out and learn, I don't need it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, that, that really does scare me. People, you know, that have guns because you know, if you ever get in the situation where you know you are not prepared to shoot, but you pick up the gun and point it at the person that, that person rushes you. Yeah. And they get it from you. And you know, you're pretty much dead you know. Because you, you've just told the person that you, you're about to kill them then, You know Uh-huh. Set them off. and, and, well I mean, you, you basically made it clear to the person that you know unless he, unless, you know that you are a real danger to them and then you know if you, if they manage to get the gun from you, you know their first reaction is going to be you know, stop you. Yeah, well that's why I ended up giving it back to him. I thought well you know. I don't want it if I don't know how to you know, if I don't really know how to use it Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I just didn't want the responsibility. Um. So. Well, uh, did you hear about that Killeen massacre or whatever? Yeah, the, did it happen at a cafeteria or something? Yeah, right. That kind of I mean it just makes you wonder how people get guns. Uh-huh. I would be scared selling guns to people. So, Julie, how do you feel about AIDS research? I think we need, we definitely need more of it, definitely. I'd agree, too, but, I mean, it seems like it just makes economic sense in that, you know, uh, you know, it would have made even better economic sense to, to, to have had a lot more research than a longer ago. Oh, yeah, yeah, for certain. You know, because, you know, because, uh, the country's going to wind up paying for the treatment of patients. Exactly. Uh-huh. Exactly. Does, does like, do health insurance policies, like, for companies and things, do they cover diseases like that? I think they cover AIDS, but what they do is, uh, if, you know, you apply for, for to get a, a insurance policy they'll, uh, check to see if you're H I V positive Uh-huh. and if you are, not only will they not give you, uh, a policy, but they'll, uh, they have like, there's like, you know, a database of people that have tested positive, so you'll never be able to get insurance ever again. Um, well, that's, but that's why they should have started doing stuff before. I mean, still, you know, since it's dormant for such a long time, there's still probably a lot of people, you know, before the tests ever really came out who are, who are draining a lot of money right now. You know, Yeah. I think a lot of it was, was just that, you know, because of, of the, you know, because, because the majority of the high risk groups were people no one really cared about. Right. Right. That, Right, and all these God-fearing people were like, well, you know God is trying to kill off all the et cetera, et cetera . Uh-huh. Uh-huh, yeah, uh, yeah, one, one, one one humorous retort I heard, heard someone, you know, who claimed that, you know, AIDS was, you know, God's punishment was that, then lesbians must be God's chosen people. Uh. Yeah. But, uh, Boy, that's a good one. So, uh, Yes? Uh, do you think, you mean, do you actually think we're doing enough right now to, No, I really don't. I did, I did like a research kind of thing on AIDS research and stuff, and, uh, really we're not doing much at all, I mean, most of what gets raised, I mean, it's not really federal movement, most of what gets raised, gets raised by, uh, uh, you know, conscious, yeah, communities and things like that, you know. Private organizations. Uh-huh. Like, uh, San Francisco has a, a real, uh, strong AIDS support group and all that kind of stuff and and, uh, get, they get donations from the community, you know, they're real, And from corporations around the, around the city, you know, for AIDS research and that kind of thing Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, I think there needs to be more of that sort of on a federal level, you know, rather than just in the places where it's, you know, where it's predominated so far, because it's, you know it's bound to spread Uh-huh. I mean, it seems that, you know, it's just, you know, of, it's just going to reach a steady, a steady state a let, a lot, lot higher point than it will if we, you know, we'd nip it in the bud to quote Barney Fife. Right Yeah. I don't know, I don't know, I, I, I don't know what the likelihood of that is, but, I mean, you know, people really waking up. Uh-huh. Especially with the ultra conservatives move our, our political system sort of seems to be taking. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I would probably agree with that. Yeah so, Uh, so do, do you think it's more important to spend money on research or for support of, uh, people? God, that's a good question, Fish. I don't know, uh, I think, I think one of the main things that's really important to spend money on is education, not support or, or, research per se, but, but education because a lot of people sort of get drummed out of the work place and out of society, you know, kind of like lepers would you know Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and it's really, it's really not necessary, uh, until, until the, disease reaches its final stage, you know, becomes really infectious Uh-huh. and, uh, I think that would be the most effective support they could get is for other people to understand, you know, try to understand what they're going through and everything and try to understand that they're not, you know, they don't, they don't have to be just completely cut off from, from the community Uh-huh Uh-huh. and that, and, uh, I don't know, I guess I think that, that, uh, research is, I guess the most important, just because I, you know, it, it really needs to come to an end. You know. Uh-huh. I don't know. I don't know, Fish. What do you think about that subject? I think it's, I think it stands a really interesting question of, uh, Well what do you feel about the, um, present situation in the Mideast? Well, it looks like it's just about as volatile as it usually is. Uh-huh. What do you think, Mark? Yeah, I agree. I think, I think there's definitely been some changes, um, and I think you know, the, the, um, end of the Soviet Union will definitely have its effect on, on the situation. Oh, yeah. Um, you know, in that there's, there's not, you there, you know, you know, basically since the end of World War two there was always, you know, that little proxy war going on. You know, with, um, the U S funding Israel and, and the, um, Soviet Union funding the Arab countries. Uh-huh. And then we'll see what happens when, uh, they're not funded quite as much. Or supplied with arms the same way. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, but on the same token, you know, Israel has lost a lot of their, you know, value to the U S in being, you know, the foothold of capitalism. You know in, in the Mideast. Uh-huh. Well, I, we tend to be pretty strong supporters of Israel ourselves, Uh-huh. you know, we kind of cringe when they make mistakes but yet overall tend to support them. Uh-huh. But, I think one of the most interesting things to me recently was, you know, during the war, uh, in, uh, Kuwait was, uh, the fact that they did not retaliate, for the, uh, scud missiles that were, uh, launched there. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That just seemed to me to be a, uh, a phenomenal, uh, demonstration of restraint, and it must have reflected, uh, uh, some awful good, uh, diplomacy on the part of the U S. Uh-huh. Yeah, but on the other hand, you know, if they would have had a hard time retaliating because the, you know, they, they wouldn't have been given access to the friend or foe codes. I see. They basically would have, you know, had a, had a they had, they would have had, had to fly through, you know, two enemies. Oh, you don't think they got the codes from the U S already? The U S would claim that they would have not given them to them. I see. I mean, of course, you know, public statements can be taken for, That's true. They can, yet they, Uh-huh. Yeah. Well what do what about this situation with the, you know, the, uh, continual, uh, harassment by Iraq right now and, uh, apparently failing to let the, uh, arms inspectors have free access. Uh-huh. You know, well, to begin with, you know, I pretty much question or what, what the U S motives were in, uh, in, in actually the original involvement. Uh-huh. Uh, I, the cynical side of me says that, you know, it was more for, uh, the, the domestic political situation than for anything else. You know, and that, you know, and for portraying Bush is a strong President. Huh, yeah, okay. Sure. Uh, I mean I really, I really think that, that, my gut feeling is that, that, you know, he pretty much picked, picked the fight with, uh, with, um, Hussein. Uh-huh. I mean I'm not, not saying at all that Hussein wasn't quite willing to enter that fight. Right. But, you know, I think, I think that, that, um, we chose to have our official feelings hurt. Uh-huh. Where a lot Well, do you think that, uh, we should ignore it and just allowed him to go ahead and, uh, you know, move on into Kuwait and see what happens? I think, I mean I thought, I think that, um, in the past we've allowed lots of things like that to happen. Uh-huh. And I, I really don't, I really don't think that, I think, I think it was, it was, there were, there were a lot more demographic related interests involved than true foreign policy interests. Right. Um, Yeah, well may have been. You know, I'm not saying that that's not the case. Uh, Yeah. And I mean in, in, in along this line since, since, you know it, it really, it really didn't accomplish very much except we're getting, getting, uh, the Iraqis out of Kuwait. Right. I just don't, I just don't, I, I, I I, I, I don't foresee Bush making the decision to invest a lot of manpower and money and, you know, in, in fighting a second battle. No. Um, you know, over, over the, uh, over, over what, what probably won't accomplish him, accomplish much for him politically. No, it doesn't look like we're getting ready to do, to do much more in there. Uh-huh. Even at this point. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well what about, uh, do you have any, any views on, uh, Israel's relation to the U S? Do you, think we ought to, you know, back off on our support of the country or what do Well, I have, I have very fixed feelings about Israel. Um, I think that, that for a long while we've, we've had almost a, you know, Uh, anyway, we're supposed to talk about recycling. Basically, what, what your personal opinion is on it. Uh, this is, this is really for a speech research project they're doing so, uh, I don't know. Florida is pretty good about recycling isn't it? Well, they just kicked it off down here in, in Sarasota county. Oh, they did? Uh, they had been doing it, they started first in Sarasota City. Uh, you know, which makes up a pretty small portion of the county actually. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, they've got these, I don't know what, if you're familiar with Sarasota county at all. Not quite, no. They've got these, it's, it's county wide program now. Uh-huh. And what they've done is they've broken everything down into garbage. Uh, yard trash. Plastic, cans and glass. And then, uh, paper. Uh-huh. Okay. Okay. Which, in the paper, it's just, uh, newspaper and corrugated cardboard. Is the only thing you're supposed to put in there. Yeah. Okay. No slicks. Uh, Oh, that's, that's good. Let me ask you this. Do they require you to presort it? Yeah. Okay. See that's something in Minneapolis they're really strict on. In terms of you got to put everything in its own little bag and really presort it really, you know, tightly. But when I lived in Orlando, it's like you could put almost anything in there Uh-huh. and they'd just sort it out for you Yeah. Yeah . It was really pretty good if you're lazy like I am, so. Yeah, right. Well, you know, uh, I talked to this girl who, uh, she's a, an an acquaintance of mine and, and she's involved with, uh, oh, what is the name of that company. It's not Amway but it's the other big vitamin company? Shaklee. Oh, okay, yeah. Okay. And, uh, and, and she's just Shaklee crazy, you know, because it's her business and everything. And, uh, you know, and she asked, we were talking one day and, and she asked me a couple of questions, you know. And she, and, and what she said that, that generally, the problems that people have with being environmentally conscious is number one, they don't want it to change their lifestyle and, and like, you know, especially make it anymore complicated or any extra work or anything. Yeah. Which that's, that's what recycling at home sorting does, you know. Right. I mean it's a little extra work. Uh-huh. And, uh, it can actually turn out to be a lot of extra work because what they do, what they do here in Sarasota county is they've got, It can, yeah. okay, you put your garbage in a garbage bag and you set it out by the curb. Right. If you have yard trash, you put your yard trash in some kind of container. Uh, or you can have bundles up to a certain weight, and certain dimensions, tie them up and put them by the curb. Yeah, you got to tie them up and everything. Well, the plastic, cans and glass, they give you this little tub and it's about a foot and a half deep and it's about one by one and a half foot wide and long. Right. This is a little container. Uh-huh. And then they have another one the same size. That one's red. Then they have a blue one the same size for the paper goods. Uh-huh. And, so, like, you know, you would have to rinse out your pop cans. Otherwise you got bees and ants and you know, and, and if you've got, uh, food containers or anything like that, it's a big problem. Exactly. It is, you know, a big hassle. So not only do you yeah. Yeah, that's true. I mean, up here, they give you one, one of those containers and you put everything in it. Uh-huh. So it's like, if, if you use a lot of stuff, you, it's like well you know, if you're a partying kind of guy and you drink, you know, like a couple of twelve packs, maybe, over the weekend it's going to be hard pressed to to put all your recyclables in that one place, you know. Uh-huh. This is true. So it's kind of a pain in the butt. This is true. But, uh, I don't know. That's definitely one thing they could do to make it easier is to just, you know. You have, have those garbage people that make, how every many, make twenty, thirty bucks an hour, have them do a little bit of the sorting. You know. And, and maybe come up with a better system. Uh-huh. Make it a little more convenient. But, Yeah, they've got these large garbage cans that you can rent from the waste management company here. Uh, if you want to have a nice garbage can, you know. Yeah. And it's on wheels and it's big. Oh, you can actually rent those? Yeah. Okay. That's interesting. Yeah Yeah up here the, the city provides them. Kind of like, I think in, I think in the city they do but out here in the county you have to rent them. Oh, okay . And they just add it on to your water bill or something. So where exactly are you in terms of, of, like, Sarasota? Are you north of Sarasota or, East, East of Sarasota. okay. Uh-huh. And Sarasota is on the west coast? Yeah. Okay. Like south of Tampa, right? Yeah. Okay. I'm, Yeah. About an hour. About an hour south of Tampa Yeah, that's, Okay. Uh, yeah, well. I listen to this talk radio station down here and it's really, they, I don't if you ever listen to talk radio but those guys, they just kind of get into, to stewing up trouble, you know. With the callers and things like that. Um, occasionally. Yeah. But they get into some really good conversations sometimes, you know. And some of it, sometimes it's serious and they have some good feedback and all that stuff and from listening to that, I kind of got an idea that I thought would be good with Yeah. and this kind of fits into the, uh, the aid program, the welfare program that's going on right now. Uh-huh. And it's like, uh, So, uh, what things do you consider an invasion of privacy? Ooh, well I don't know. What do you think? Oh, I don't know. I had a little bit more time to think about it. I was thinking of, like, uh, I don't know, I was started to think about all the big, you know, data bases they have with all the information about you on them like the credit reports and all those, you know, demographics studies that they do that, um, you know, have, who knows, how much, you know, stuff about all the purchases that you've made and everything kept tract somewhere Uh-huh, uh-huh. and I don't know, I don't know how much the stuff actually, what they actually have in there but I know they use that, I mean they sell those, Huh. Well what about, uh, required drug testing, uh, as a, uh, condition of employment? Yeah, that was, that, that was the other one I was thinking of I think that's, uh, I mean I know drugs are illegal. It thing actually. Uh, I, uh, have worked at Texas Instruments. Huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, they instituted a drug policy there. Drug testing policy where they randomly would test, uh, employees Uh-huh. and actually, to tell you the truth, I really did not think much about it. I, I hadn't, you know, it really didn't relate to me. But there were some things that people brought up like well what happens if they, they get a false positive, you know, what recourse do you have. Uh-huh. And, also, uh, uh, this is against the law for the government to do this kind of thing, this kind of big brother activity and yet, uh, a lot of these large corporations such as Texas Instruments, although they don't admit to it, it's actually, oh, a drug testing policy comes about as a result of government pressure. Uh-huh. So what that means is, to me, that really it's the government that's requiring this, although they don't actually execute it themselves, it's really the government that . So, in that sense, it, at least, philosophically, it's really borderline legal. Uh-huh. Well I, I think the, I think that, you know, a person's competence should be more determined by, you know, their actions and their behavior and if they're, you know, if they're on some kind of, you know, controlled substance then, you know, it kinds of takes away from the job of, you know, the supervisor or manager type person, you know, who is able to evaluate them. I think they should be evaluated that way rather than with a, you know, a chemical, you know, Well, what about this, uh, AIDS epidemic now? Where you find that, uh, uh, you know, certain people are actually are, are criminal in their disregard for others. These people that are carriers and don't that don't reveal it? Yeah, and and, uh, of course, the ultimate solution is to operate on their brain so that it doesn't, it, uh, it destroys their libido. Yeah, that would be kind of an extreme. Now, uh, you know if they ever, I mean I've heard of things like, you know, making them, you know, marking them somehow or, you know, or something like that or, you know, putting them all someplace like in a kind of, So what about that as an invasion of privacy? Yeah. I guess it kind of borders on where, I mean what do you value more. The invasion of, uh, the person's privacy or the possible danger to, you know, other people. So really, it gets to balancing, uh, personal freedom against, uh, the general welfare of society. Yeah. I guess that's that's been the big role of government, I guess I mean generally. Well, it, it's supposed to have been. Yeah Yeah. Well, that's kind of a difficult one to go into. I mean that, that particular case. No, it , Because I mean, there's a lot of people that, uh, I mean they could require, you know, obligatory AIDS testing for everyone because I'm, you know, there's a huge part of the population, not a huge part but a, you know A growing part. the AIDS population I guess that have it, that don't know they do are spreading it. Uh-huh. But, again, to require, you know, such a test and and then to make, make it is to subject them to, to discriminatory practices and other things. I don't know, uh, I don't know how exactly I feel about that. Maybe chop their weenies off. Yeah. I guess, uh, uh, it's an easy one for me. I think that's, uh, there's something seriously wrong, yeah. What is it that you are, you know, particularly upset about? Uh, I guess, uh, I think they've lost their compass and, uh, I'm not sure they know exactly what, uh, uh, public education supposed to be for anymore. But, uh, I voted with my feet and, uh, my kids go to parochial school. Uh-huh. So, uh, What do you feel that your kids are getting in the parochial schools that they wouldn't get in a, the public school system? Well, one hundred percent of the, uh, customers care. That's one thing. Everybody cares about the education the kids are getting. And, uh, they, uh, take an active, relatively active part. Which, uh, I mean if you're, uh, sending two thousand dollars that way every year, you, uh, watch what goes on and you, uh, uh, pay attention and participate and, and you can influence the way things are. So you're saying that the taxpayer who also is really paying through the pocketbook for the education of the child may not be quite so conscious of the fact that they are paying the tuition for that child in the form of, uh, real estate or other taxes and, and, consequently, they're not so motivated to get involved and make sure things happen the way they'd like to see them happen? Yeah. The immediacy just isn't there. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, I also think that one of the problems and, actually, I don't think this, I think this is a cultural problem. The, uh, problem with public education is really, uh, really a problem with the culture. And, I guess my evidence for that is the school districts in places like California, for example, where only a minority of the taxpayers have children in school and you can't get a tax levy passed. Uh, people are, uh, reluctant to pass, uh, school tax levies even, uh, when the money is needed or would be well spent because it's, uh, they don't have kids in the schools. Right. I think that's a, a loss of civic virtue and a loss of, uh, uh, the cultural attitude that we used to have that education was first even if it wasn't our kids. I think that's, uh, that's the principal problem is that, uh, people no longer see it as, uh, as their problem and there's an immediate problem. Right. It troubles me too that the priority seems to be with my particular purse strings rather than the public good and by definition, for some of us, at least, the public good includes having an educated populace and then idea that, uh, you can make a sound judgment with respect to small votes in the, at the local level or bigger votes at the national level. Right. Yeah. Uh, it means that you've got to be informed and you've got to have a certain level of education to do the reading and the critical thinking involved to come up with a decision. Yeah. You know, I, I believe that the original idea of public education in the United States, which I guess was controversial at the time of the constitution. Uh, you know, it barely made it. I think it was added afterwards I think the real, the principal was, uh, education for civic participation. Right. The idea was that everybody should have an education so that they would be a better voter and you couldn't pull the wool over their eyes. Right. It has taken on a more profound, and you'd think we'd notice it, economic uh, thrust. Yeah. Well, that's exactly what I was going to say. Now there seem to be really three reasons for education. One is education for civic duty. One is education for economic reasons. And one is education for civilization. I mean and I think that one, Well I'm glad that you added that one. Yeah, I think that one's significant. That's what I used to think education was all about when I was a college professor and then I quit and got disabused of that notion But, uh, the, uh, uh, now the only thing people seem to agree on is that education is, uh, an economic enterprise to train people for jobs. And, uh, I'm not sure that people in the education establishment really know what their purpose is. And I'm really sad to say this, I never thought I would have but I really think that, uh, the educational establishment has become part of the problem. And, uh, that's why I guess I'm sort of, reluctantly, uh, in favor of these, uh, choice programs. Right. Well I, I agree with everything that you've said so far and the only that I'd want to add is that I'm a little more in contact, I think, with public school teachers than perhaps you are, uh, except as a parent of your child and the sense that I get from public school teachers that I know is that they are very conscious of what they feel they should be doing and they are the three things that you mentioned. But they find that they are also being asked to do a bunch of other stuff which they think is only tangentially related Right. That's what, like consumer, kids too? Yeah . Oh, you laugh. How many, what ages? Well, twenty-seven up. Uh. And we had five. You've been through the fun part Oh, yeah. And how about yourself? I have a four and a half and a three. Oh. well. So. It's, I, I'm sure there's a lot of differences in the way, in the way it's done now and then. Yeah. Well, when mine were growing up, I did some traveling and but not that extensively but I always just made it a point, you know, to spend about ten minutes with each one of them. Yeah. So it was an hour, you know. Yeah. But whether it was going back and laying in bed with them and just shooting the breeze or whatever, telling them stories or reading to them. What was the age difference between the youngest and the oldest? Six years. So they were all real close? Yeah. That's tough. That's a lot of time. Oh, yeah. We look back and wonder how we did it. Did you both work? Your wife too? No, she never did. Uh, well, qualify that. She worked at home, I'm sure Well, yeah, yeah. But that's, uh, well both my husband and I work and sometimes I feel like, you know, by the time I pick them up and get them home and get them fed, I have very little time each evening. Yeah. Maybe thirty minutes max. Well that's plenty though. And well he spends a lot of time with them while I'm cooking and then I spend time with them while, you know, he's doing other stuff. And, and, of course, we try to spend a lot of time on the weekend. You know, there's a lot of times my house may not be as clean as I particularly like it but it's neat, it's straight and I can live with it because I do stuff with my kids, you know. Yeah. Right. Well, you know, with kids you're not going to have a neat house. Well, I've accepted that too And, you know it, it's tough to find time. especially with both of them working. That's true. It is. Yeah. That's true. And you just have to set the time and say, okay this is going to be it. Well, that's true and, and we do a lot of that on the weekends, you know. We try to spend Saturdays together. Right. If my husband golfs, you know, he'll do it during nap time, things like that where they're not really missing the presence, you know. Right. And, and we do a lot of family things together. We're, we're kind of going the other direction this weekend. We're planning a trip, just he and I. This is the first time we've gone anywhere without the kids since she was born four and a half years ago. Well that's good too. Yeah, that's good that way too Well, I decided that, you know, you need that once in awhile. That you, you need to plan the quality time and, and I do think that if you plan it and spend that and make it quality time you don't have to be there twenty-four hours a day. Yeah. Well, that, they say it, it, all it takes is about five, ten minutes a day. Yeah. And, you know, and as the kids got older I made them, you know, help me cut the grass and kind of made that a project too. Or whatever Sure. Sure. and, And they think that's a family activity, you know. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's great fun And, uh, well, yeah, if, My daughter's like, Mommy can I help you with the laundry? Of course, you can Yeah. Just keep them talking that way. Absolutely. Yeah But, uh, another thing we used to do is have family councils. Every Sunday night. Uh-huh. And what would you do, what? Discuss everything that didn't agree with them. And we'd take turns being president. Oh. And everyone would get one vote. And I always thought we'd get outvoted five to two Yeah. but it never worked that way. So they would just pick whatever issue kind of was at a head that week Yeah. Well and we could bring up and we could bring up stuff too. and then, Oh. And that was always good time. Boy, we really got to know the kids well. I imagine. And I imagine you still have a very close relationship with them. Oh, yeah. In fact, they were all in, uh, over the weekend for Easter. I, Oh, that's wonderful. See I was raised in that type of family where, you know, you don't disobey me, you mind me but if you have a problem with what we did or how we did it, you can always come back and talk to me about it. Well, we did too. Yeah. And I remember the one daughter saying, we had a, a friend of hers that used to drive us up a tree Uh-huh. and she said, hey I don't make fun fun of your friends so why make fun of mine? Uh well. Kind of kind of hit us between the eyes. Yeah, yeah. You don't think of it that way do you No. But that, that was always good quality time for us. Now that's good. I like that idea. And then never attend, but if, if they missed it, they had to abide by the rules. Whatever was voted on, huh. Yeah and boy, they, they'd show up. Well I think that's great. And we'd usually take notes Yeah. and, you know, the younger kids, uh, or maybe all of them needed help at one time or another. Yeah. And, uh, but they were usually tougher on themselves than they were on us. And they loved it. I, I think that's true. I can remember times my parents would say well what do you think would be a fair punishment. Yeah. And we would always come up with something that was harder than what they would have done you know. Yeah. So I do think it's right that they're harder on themselves, you know. Yeah. But, uh, boy, I, I feel for you and your husband. Oh, why is that? Well, my, my, uh, two of my, uh, So how do you feel about it? Uh, I, I don't see any problem with, with testing for random drugs. Yeah. I, I, myself, almost, uh, am in favor of it. Uh, I work at Honeywell and I went through a, a pretty, I don't know, I went through a, standard drug testing thing before I, I was brought on. Uh-huh. I think that's pretty standard. At least at Honeywell it is. Uh, I think it's important to insure the quality and, and, uh, I don't know, almost the goodness of character. You know that kind of thing. Yeah. Where do you work? Uh, well I'm a graduate student right now at Carnegie Mellon. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. And I, I just came from Saint Paul. Uh, interviewing with Three M. Huh. Oh, great. And, uh, they have a policy for, uh, testing. If you, if they make you an offer, then they'll test you right before you start. Right. And I guess the only drawback I can see to, to drug testing is in, in case you are on some sort of medication that might give some, uh, sort of false positive result then there could be some sort of problem. Uh-huh. Yeah. But Yeah. And that, that definitely happens, you know. I mean those, the drug tests, sure they're accurate but there's always that margin of error. Yeah. And that's, that's something to be aware of. Another thing is, a lot of times, you know, they aren't that accurate. They aren't that sensitive. Like if you're on a prescription drug of some kind, you know, what are they going to do about that Yeah You know, I was on a couple of different prescription drugs when I was tested for Honeywell and, uh, uh, you know, I know they didn't catch that or else they would have said something. Uh, I'm sure they screen for just a particular few types. Although the literature they give with you says yeah we do this and then they list about five thousand drugs they try to test for. Right. Uh, I don't know. What, what program are you in over at Carnegie Mellon? Uh, electrical engineering. Oh, okay. Great. Uh, yeah, I'm a graduate student at U C F in Florida. University of Central Florida. Oh, wow . And this is actually a an internship up here. But, uh, they, uh, even for interns they, they do the whole random drug or the whole drug testing thing, so. They test you, uh, before they, before you start or before you even interview Right. or, Uh, they essentially, no I sure don't to someone talking to uh, they essentially, uh, they essentially, uh, made me the offer and then, and then, uh, did the drug testing thing after that. So, uh, it was one of those things where you go through the, the general battery of all their tests and, and then, they essentially give you the offer Uh-huh. and then at that point they'll, they'll ask you to go to a drug testing and things like that. Oh. So, uh, there's some noise on this end. I'm actually in a mall calling so Oh You probably wondered, huh. But, Yeah. what happens if you were to fail? Then do they give you like one one more chance or two more chances? Yes. That's a good question. I believe from what I remember of the literature they gave, uh, if you fail I believe they give you one more chance. They probably give you a chance to explain yourself and then maybe give you another chance to go through it. Uh-huh. But, uh, you know, once again, those things are not that accurate so there's undoubtedly a proportion of people who do fail, you know. But, uh, are you working right now anywhere or, Uh, no. Okay. I'm just about to finish my Master's in May and, uh just interviewing with companies right now. Oh, okay. Great. Yeah. That was the first time I'd ever gotten any kind of drug screening, you know. Was, was going to Honeywell. A friend of mine is also a doctoral student down there. Uh-huh. And he's doing an internship with I B M. Oh. And, uh, they, basically, uh, did the same exact thing. Uh, we both got our internships at the same time and we both had to go through drug testing at the same time. So, one of those things where we went through a kind of an identical process. But, uh, Did, do they test you at, right now, at work too? No, no. That's one thing they don't do is, is drug testing while you're on the job. Okay. Uh, I think, I think the unwritten rule is, yeah, expect it but they don't do it. Oh You know, so. That's good I guess. I don't know. I mean, I, uh, I have gone to a couple of parties since, since that time and while I don't do any drugs myself, I've seen some people who work there, uh, you know, smoking a joint or whatever. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know, that's the kind of thing that would definitely come up, you know. But no, they don't, they don't really do that. So. Wow. Is it formal policy that they said they might test? Yeah Okay. Uh, first, um, I need to know, uh, how do you feel about, uh, about sending, uh, an elderly, uh, family member to a nursing home? Well, of course, it's, you know, it's one of the last few things in the world you'd ever want to do, you know. Unless it's just, you know, really, you know, and, uh, for their, uh, you know, for their own good. Yes. Yeah. I'd be very very careful and, uh, you know, checking them out. Uh, our, had place my mother in a nursing home. She had a rather massive stroke about, uh, about uh, eight months ago I guess. Uh-huh. And, uh, we were, I was fortunate in that I was personally acquainted with the, uh, people who, uh, ran the nursing home in our little hometown. Yeah. So, I was very comfortable, you know, in doing it when it got to the point that we had to do it. But there's, well, I had an occasion for my mother-in-law who had fell and needed to be, you know, could not take care of herself anymore, was confined to a nursing home for a while that was really not a very good experience. Uh, it had to be done in a hurry. I mean, we didn't have, you know, like six months to check all of these places out. And it was really not, not very good, uh, deal. Yeah. We were not really happy with, nursing home that we finally had. Yeah. Fortunately, she only had to stay in a few weeks and she was able to, to return to her apartment again. But it's really a big, uh, big, uh, decision as to, you know, when to do it. Yeah. You know, is there something else we could have done, you know, in checking out all the places that, uh, might be available. Of course, you know, there's not one on every corner, especially, you know, smaller areas, smaller towns. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Probably the hardest thing in, in my family, uh, my grandmother, she had to be put in a nursing home and, um, she had used the walker for, for quite some time, probably about six to nine months. And, um, she had a fall and, uh, finally, uh, she had Parkinson's disease, Oh. and it got so much that she could not take care of her house. Right. Then she lived in an apartment and, uh, that was even harder actually. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Because it was, you know, it was just a change of, change of location and it was very disturbing for her because she had been so used to traveling. Yes. I mean, she she had, she had children all across the United States Uh-huh and, you know, she spent nine months out of the year just visiting her children. Right. Uh-huh. And, um, that was pretty heart-rending for her. I can imagine. I think when she finally came to the realization that, you know, no, I cannot, I cannot take care of myself. Uh-huh. That's tough. That's tough. Yeah. I mean, for somebody who is, you know, for most of their life has, has, uh, not just merely had a farm but had ten children had a farm, ran everything because her husband was away in the coal mines. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, you know, facing that situation, it's, it's quite a dilemma. Yes. I think, my mother, excuse me. Go ahead. Yeah. Well, my, uh, my, uh, probably one of the biggest decisions I think that was very strengthening for our family was rather than have one child make that decision than just delegate it. Uh-huh. I think that they, they had a great deal of, um, all the brothers and sisters got together and they actually had a conference. That's great. And, I mean, it was just, it was probably one of the most strengthening things for our family, getting down together and doing that. That's right. And, and just the children were involved in the decision, because it involved just them. And, you know, making that decision and then finding a place Right. Yeah. and everybody had duties to perform. Uh-huh. You know, whether it was just, you know, giving money or whether it was actually taking part in a lot, of the decision making, you know, like finding a proper nursing home. Uh-huh. Yep. You were very, fortunate. And they, I know. They, and, well, they had, well, they had, they had seen it coming. Uh-huh. So, so, I mean, it, I mean, I, I, I, I I, I truly wish that if something like that were to happen that my children would do something like, that for me. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Absolutely. Unfortunately, a lot of times it, responsibilities like that seem to fall to, you know, maybe one child in the whole family, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we, we, And, uh, it's usually not a very smooth, smooth thing. Yeah. We were, I was lucky too that I only have one brother. Uh-huh. And, uh, fortunately, we agreed, you know, on exactly, you know, what we thought should be done. My mother also was very very independent. She had her own, still had her own little house and still driving her own car, at age eighty-three. Yeah. We were lucky in, that in one respect in that after she had her stroke she wasn't really, you know, really much aware of what was going on. Uh-huh. That nursing home life would not have been, you know, anything of her choosing, of course, she would, she would not have been happy there at all. Um. But as it turned out the stroke took care of that concern for us. Yeah. Yeah. Well, with my, with my grandmother I think it was, it was such that, uh, that she did not have the problem with, she was very well aware and her daughter came and visited her Uh-huh. at least her daughter, came and visited her and also her several grandchildren, came and visited her every day. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's great. And I think that when she passed away it was probably one of the greatest, um, I, I, I think it would be, it was more of a relief for her. Uh-huh. Sure. And, um, I mean, but she was truly, she was truly aware. I mean, I, I, I I don't know how I would, how I would deal if one of my parents came with, with Alzheimer's. or something like, that which is, which is far more devastating. Uh-huh. That would be tough. Yes. Absolutely. And, um, I, I, I think that what one thing that they were concerned probably was the fact it wasn't necessarily, you know, like the quantity of care but the quality of, care. Uh-huh. Yes. That the people that worked there were very were very interested that, to make it as close a home environment, as possible. Right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes. It would, I think, I think, I think, you know for myself I, I see that as probably the, the, what everything would hinge upon. Oh, Is it, how close is it to a home environment. Yes. That's right. That's the, that's probably the major question. I think that great strides are being made nowadays in, in caring for the elderly, you know, in several, in a, in a whole lot of areas. Yeah. Yeah. Just people are, of course, populations getting older. Yeah. You know it's, it's interesting that, that a lot, the population of the United States is changing because, you know, uh, now that so many more minorities, where they have had extended families for such a long time. Uh-huh. Um, matter of fact in the United States we used to have extended families. Uh-huh, It wasn't, true. But, I guess as we become more industrialized and more, you know, less in a rural situation we, we don't, we, we, we choose not to deal with the, extended family because we feel it's kind of cumbersome, when in reality it makes things much much easier. Yes, um. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's right. Sure. Absolutely. And, people, things are scattered so much nowadays. Yeah. I, I, I think that perhaps, perhaps the extended family, you know, that it maybe one of the solutions to a lot of things even child care. Yes. You know I mean, of course there, there comes other issues, you know, whether or not any of the grandparents whether we feel like are going to be a good, they're going to be a good caretaker for our children. Yes, But, just because they're grandparents. I mean they raised us after all. Yeah. Just because they're grandparents that doesn't automatically make them a good child carer. Yeah. But, uh, I, I, I think that, you know, we always, uh, I mean, I've, I've had a lot of good experiences with, uh, with many many people especially where they've had, uh, extended family. And I, and I, I kind of see that, that, you know, perhaps, you know, we may need to like get close to the family environment and and get down to the values of, you know, Uh-huh. I mean, uh, it's, money seems to be too big of an issue. With, with, with, with what's going on today Oh, yeah. sure. realistically it is. and I, I think, I think that we may not, that may be, you know, perhaps if we put money on the back burner that may, that may choose to alleviate a lot of the problem. Uh-huh. That would, certainly help. I mean, I mean we may not, we may not have as high a standard of living Uh-huh. but the but actually have a truer standard of living. Right. That's just a matter of defining priorities, I guess or some priorities anyway. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think your right. Okay. Well, I guess that was it Okay. It was good talking to you. Okay. Yeah. All right. Take care. Hey. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, the first thing for me is I wonder, I see a couple of different ways of talking about what privacy is, um, if privacy is something that disturbs your private state, I mean an invasion of privacy is something that disturbs your private state, that's one thing, and if privacy is something that comes into your private state and extracts information from it, in other words, finds something out about you that's another. And the first kind of invasion of, the first type of privacy seemed invaded to me, and very much everyday in this country, but in the second time, at least overtly, uh, where someone comes in and, uh, finds out information about you that should be private, uh, does not seem, uh, um, obviously, everyday. I, I think I agree with that. I think in a good example on the typical thing that happens, uh, when the phone rang and it's T I calling, my immediate reaction is that it's some sort of strange phone message and then I realize, oh, no, this is something I solicited, That's right so my immediate reaction was one of that sense of invasion but after that I realized, no, I, I really wanted this and it was sort of exciting and so, that was almost an example of an invasion that turns out to be not invasive. Uh-huh. Right, it turned out to be, uh, uh, an invitation. Exactly. Uh, and at the same time I think that I receive on, on the order of, uh, probably, seven or eight a week calls of the nature where one wishes that there were a convenient way to just hang up on it. From, from personal parties or from these, um, phone answer, phone, uh, commercial things. Commercial, solicitations primarily. Oh, that, that's a remarkable number. I get them rarely and I'm still astounded that, that one, they let anyone do them and two, that they have any effect in this whatsoever Um, because I'm usually so insulted by them I just hang up as soon as I recognize what, they are. Yeah. I think they prey on people's, um, inherent politeness on the phone even with the machine. I find people being kind of polite and waiting for it to finish what it has to say, and then they feel an obligation to respond even though there's not even a person there. And I think that's what makes one feel invaded is the fact that there seems to be little control and you, one's feeling obligated, because of some sense of, of the way the ritual is played out. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, and, uh, that, that then ends up being the, the most common example for me. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, I guess I'm not typically feeling invaded in my privacy relative to this second, this one that you raised. Yeah. And I don't think I would have thought about that. I think that's a good idea on your part. I don't typically feel intruded on, on the things, uh, the sense of finding out information. Well, presumably those who find out such information, if they are doing it, I would prefer to not to be known, and, I mean, you know, the classic, oh, I don't know C I A conspiracy theories or whatever, would have such parties trying to do it without your knowledge. So there's, things that invade that second type of privacy where you do know about them and possibly things that invade that second type of privacy without you knowing about it, and I can't talk about the second one other than to, to, to generate paranoia It's a surmise and, I'd like to think that it's quite low, at least in this country. To, to surmise. It is there. I don't think I'd like the K G B is monitoring my phone or anything like that. Well, I guess, although, I, well, that's a good point where you said that how does one define what invasion of privacy is, because, uh, if that's the case of a tree falling in the forest Uh-huh, yeah. and I'm not feeling invaded then maybe my privacy hasn't been because I have no sense of my privacy state having been invaded. Uh-huh, Uh, if your defining it in terms of information gone even if it's something you don't know about it, well, then I guess one could assume one was invaded uh-huh, uh-huh. but I don't feel invaded by it. Uh-huh, I don't, have a sense of threat in general from those sorts of things, uh-huh. I'm not sure why. Uh, I guess it comes from a sense of fact or facts and if someone finds out something about me that is true, I, I don't have a sense of loss from that. Uh-huh. Well, you must have a relatively clean conscience then Um, the, the other side of that might be if, if someone found out something or surmised something that weren't true then I would feel probably more invaded in the gossipy sort of sense. Yes, yes, more harmed or something. right, because, you don't have anyway to turn it off. Yeah. did you hear about this Lotus data base that was being put together? Yes, I did. I was just about to write a letter when I heard they canceled it. That would be an example where my sense of threat would be high because I would find that there be, a good possibly that their facts were, were fantasy. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And then I would feel not only invaded in the sense that someone had obtained information from a, that I would rather they didn't and that might be the sense of the spending pattern, for instance, that, that I would have thought to be private. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But then if it turns out to generate incorrect things, that's even worse so, or if my call rate of, of eight or so a week went up even higher because uh, someone had, had, Uh-huh, uh-huh. They had you pegged Right. And the person who had takes unsolicited phones calls and pays money and then all of, a sudden you get your thirty a week because now, they're advertising you. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Yeah. And, um, one of the problems with the Lotus data base was, um, that it was uncontrolled access to who would have that information. I mean, they said they would give it out to only select companies but, um, you know, just like software is only given out to customers, I mean, you can't believe that. Right. Right. It would, it would be pirated and they wouldn't bother to check that carefully anyway to someone who's offering, you know, full cash price, for it. Right. I mean, you know, you can't tell it, what a company really has to do with it and there's something rather ominous about having virtually anyone, any hacker being able to know what your income is, what your spending habits are, and, you know, and, and that hacker just has to get in to, in touch with the sneak thief and suddenly and then what started as an invasion of privacy can be an invasion of your actual home. Uh-huh. And I guess that turns out to be the basic problem with any invasion of privacy is whether or not you're feeling, threatened as a result of, of it Yeah. so, maybe that is a, a little bit of what privacy is. Yes. Exactly. Uh-huh. I also thought about it, was of, uh, waiting to talk to you that, another thing that occurred to me is there is not so much invasion of my privacy because I know how to behave such that there isn't. But I realized I have to behave in a certain way in order to not have people invade my privacy. If I deviate from social norms of behavior, if I run up and down the street yelling or something, someone's going to invade my privacy very quickly. Uh-huh. And I realize that that, I mean, I can take that for granted but I used to, I used to live in India and things are quite different there in terms of that. There's less of a sense of privacy. In fact, it's said that no Indian language has a word for privacy, certainly the language I know doesn't, but just says a word for loneliness. Oh, that's interesting. Loneliness is the closest you can come, which is really quite different. But, but no concept for wanting to be private. Yeah. It's, it's generally being alone is not a very desirable state, at least officially. Okay. Um, so there's not, I mean, doors don't have latches on them. People don't tend to knock, you just, if there's a door closed and you open it because it's in your way you, people walk in out and, as a, as a westerner in India, and I was often surprised, and felt my sense of privacy there was quite invaded. Oh. That, that would be, That would be culturally shocking You know, it very much is. But on the other hand, I realized I could go out on the street and act like a complete lunatic, Uh-huh. and people would leave, me alone. Uh-huh. Whereas in this country where everyone respects the closed doors very much, if you go out and then act like the lunatic you, you violate the, uh, the norms of social, of, um, public behavior. Um, people start paying attention to you very much and they start asking questions and in the sense are invade, invading your privacy although, if you know what the social norms are, you know, quote unquote, you asked for it. But it does mean that you have yet another reason to follow a set of social norms. Yes. And which isn't of, always the case in all cultures, and it wasn't until I was thinking about it just now that I realized that's actually something that's culturally relative. that is true. I haven't thought about that and, and that it's fascinating to, to think a lot of someone who doesn't know how to say private. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And that's really, um, well, I mean, I, I wonder how people have sex, and things like that, I mean, they you go to India and it's obvious, you know, the results of sex are quite obvious, as the population goes up an extra hundred million every few years. Um, but I, I just don't quite, um, there's hope, I actually for of the time I've spent there, I still don't quite understand how certain things that I assume and require privacy and require not just that you be alone but actually that you have a sense of privacy. Yes. Because anyone can be alone for some period of time but for me a lot of what I do requires a sense that there's this invisible barrier around me which people will respect. Yes. And if that's gone, um, I, I really don't know how to live very well, and I wonder, I really do wonder how people do that. That's interesting. Are are there any other specific things that, that you feel like, where, where you feel your privacy to be invaded on a day-to-day basis or either on a growing frequency? All the the other classic examples, the Jehovah's Witness or, or Mormons or someone knocking at the front door, um, which is more intrusive because I have to really tell someone to go away. And there's that sense of, I have now opened my door they now see what I look like, what I live like and and they're doing something that normally I really only invite, people to. Okay. Because I, any, anyone, any friend, anyone I give my number to is welcome to call me, but no one is just welcome to come by my house. So that is more of a sense of invasion. So, that's another example of the invasion because of the not so ... Hi Diana. Hi Have you all been able to do much as a family these days? Pardon me. Have you all been able to do much as, uh, as a full family these days, all of you. Oh, yes, we've, uh, been, um, we've gone other, you know, all kinds of places, we go out to dinner, Yeah. we take the kids to the park, and, uh, you know, whenever we, he, my husband has time off or something, we take them to the zoo, or we, you know, we do everything we can possibly as a family. Do you work outside the home? No, I don't. Yeah, I don't either, it makes it a little bit easier, I think, that way. Yeah, it does, an, an then, uh, you know, my husband enjoys spending time with the kids, you know, he'll, he'll take them out just to be with them. Yeah. So he, they can have time with him an. So you have a break too. Right, so and we, uh, we try to teach our kids as much as we can at home, you know, we have, we try to spend like Monday nights, we call it family home evening, and, have our kids, uh, you know, have little lessons with them, and, you know, just see, count, see how things are going in our family and, you know, teach them about their grandparents or something like that. Bring out pictures of them so they get to know them Uh-huh. and, we just do all kinds of fun things like that an. Yeah, we have family that's far away. It sounds like you might too. Yeah, we do, so they, you know, the only way they know their grandparents is by pictures. Yeah. And, uh, Right, and phone calls that's about, about it. Yeah, right and, uh, you know, they, we, you know, we go to the park or we go in the backyard and sit down an, That's yeah, that's what we mostly do, pretty simple things. Yeah. Especially since my youngest one is excuse me, only fourteen months. Right. She, she's really getting to the age where she's playing, and likes to go places. Uh-huh. Yeah, and with, you know, me being at home and just having the one income, you know, you don't have, this lot of extra money to, to do a lot of, you know, extra things. That's right. So, you, you make more fun than, you know. You know the kids just think it's wonderful just maybe to go get an ice cream cone or, yeah, or, uh, you know, go get a bag of M and M's or something like that, Oh that's a big thrill for them. they, they think that's a lot of fun. So we just, we try to spend as much time as we can. We, you know our, our whole weekends are are devoted to our children except for we might go out, you know, one evening or something, Yeah. but during the day, you know, it's all devoted to our kids and they come, go to church with us and so. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, so. Have, um, have you ever been to the Science, it's called the Science Place? Yes, yes, that's what. We we haven't lived here too long and we went there a couple of weeks ago and, uh, Uh-huh, the kids thought that was wonderful. Oh, yeah, we, I guess there's Science Place One and Science Place Two. We've only been in, I think it's Science Place Two. I, is, I'm not sure which one we went into, it was about a year or so ago, when we went. The one we went in had, uh, the thing that sticks out most in my mind is that, like a kid's place area. Uh-huh, yeah. That really seem, they really seemed to go wild in there. Yeah, yeah they had a lot of fun in there and, uh, there's, uh, there's some petting, you know, like, uh, uh, I think it's Owens Country Farms has a free petting, you know, like a farm that you can go to and the kids can pet animals and stuff. Where's that. That's on Plano Road, uh, it's like in Richardson you go up Plano Road, it's like a little bit past Campbell and Plano Road Uh-huh, uh-huh. And that's a lot of fun. Oh yeah. They have tours going through there and, uh, the kids think that was a lot of fun, too. Oh, that does sound like fun. It's a little bit of a ways, We take, you know, whenever we take them to Showbiz or they think it's wonderful just to go to McDonald's, you know, they don't go for the food they go for the, to play around and, There's another place in Mesquite called Monkey Business, That's right. Uh-huh. and it's a indoor fun park and it has a bunch of different rides for kids. That's sounds fun too. And parents get in free and it's like, during the week, it's like five dollars admission per child, all day. And, and you said about Plano and Campbell is the petting, The petting farm, yeah. That sounds fun I think maybe we'll try to do that. Yeah, yeah and the one in Mesquite is, uh, Scyene exit. Uh-huh. And it's, it's, uh, the kids just had a wonderful time there, they, you know, you just pay that admission, and then all the, the, the rides are free. You know, of course, they have all the little video games and, you know, those little quarter rides, you know, to, and stuff like that but, they thought that was lot of fun. Yeah. You can have birthday parties there an, I think that was better than like Showbiz Pizza cause there's more for them to do. Because they can just do, you don't have to have tokens for everything. Yeah, right. Yeah. So they had a lot of fun. That does sound like fun. Well I've gotten some good ideas from you Yeah. I, we try to do a lot of things as a family and, you know, inexpensively as possible, so. Definitely. Well, I think, I don't know if we've done five minutes but I'm sure that will be good. Yeah, that will be good, yeah. It was good talking to you. Well it was good talking to you. I really appreciate your suggestions. Oh, no problem. Well, take care. Okay, bye-bye, Bye-bye. Well, um, with credit cards is, me, I, uh, I try to get maybe just one or two, I don't, I don't like having credit cards for every store. I, I, uh, I just don't like them What are you afraid of with them? What am I afraid of? Yes. Um, I don't know if I'm really afraid of spending too much. I just, uh, don't think that I need them, you know. I, uh, they are tempting at times, but I, I just, you know, sometimes I just don't like everybody knowing everything about me, you know, so, Well, that's very, can be very, very true. So, and you know, everybody just gives you a credit card just so you'll spend money so, Well, that's the idea. They figure that, if they give you card, at no charge for a whole year that you will use it Yeah. Uh-huh. and, That's right. See they make money off of it, whether you use it or not. Absolutely. Well, the other thing, of course, is the fact that they hope, you will not pay your bill at the end of the month, so that you would be paying interest. That's right. Uh-huh. I use mine a great deal, um, for groceries, for everything that I can and, then just write one check at the end of the month, for the entire thing, Uh-huh. That's what I do. right. That's what I do. Just a second. to child in Sorry That's all right. Sounds like you have a little one there. I have two little ones. Yes. Oh, you have. Yeah. So Great. How old are they? um, four and two and half. Oh, boy. Those are two very active ages Yes. So, yeah, um, I'm, I'm like you I, I use my, only use my credit card for, um, you know, when I, you know, I just use it whenever I feel like I don't want to write a check, and then, but I don't charge anything that I can't payoff at the end of the month. Uh-huh. So, Well, uh, do you, uh, do you ever use the A T M machines? No, I never do. My husband does at work just to get cash out, but, uh, I take the checkbook so I, you know, I, just, if I need cash, I just tell him and he gets it out and I don't even think I know my number Well, I find it a great use from the standpoint that you don't have to continue to write checks, in order to get cash. Uh-huh. That's right. See we, he couldn't do without it, but, you know, since he can just do it right there at work, for nothing . Oh, that helps. Right. Yeah. Well the, the other thing some people are not aware of, is they will use their A, their credit card like their Visa or their MasterCard for cash Uh-huh. and when they do that, they begin paying interest right from that very day on. You're right. And that's kind of silly. Yeah right. Absolutely. Yeah. Because they, they figure that, that's correct You're defeating the purpose. The idea is to use their money Yeah. And, uh, during that whole month and, then pay it at the end of the month. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I get, I get at least one or two a week. People, you know, sending me a credit card or calling me on the phone and I just say I don't want it. Uh-huh. Right. Because I, Well, I think that's the only thing you can do, is just say no and mean no and, not be tempted. Yeah. It's like, I'd like to know where they determine that I'm such a good credit risk that they can go and say, you get this much credit line. You know. Well, You've already been preapproved. oh, absolutely, preapproved. That's their favorite word. Yes. Everybody in the country is preapproved, I think. I think so, you're right. So, Well, it's interesting, uh, that, uh, people have the, generally the same view. of credit cards, no matter where you go. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, then, some people they get so wrapped up in them that they find, you know, one day they find, wow, I didn't realize I had this much, you know, I'd spent this much money. That much stuff. Right. And, then they can't meet the minimum monthly payments on it. Well, and some people use one credit card to pay for another credit card they own, Uh-huh. and, I mean, that does nothing, but exacerbate the entire problem. Yeah, it does because you're, you know, you, you're, you know, you're just costing yourself more money because you, if you can't make the monthly, the minimum payment, you're paying interest, again That's right. so, That's right. Yeah so, Well it's been enjoyable talking with you. Yeah. It's enjoyable talking with, seeing that somebody feels the same way, so, well, Right. Well take good care. Take care of your little ones. You, you too. Good luck. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Here goes Sharon. Okay. Well what do you think about Nolan Ryan being the first baseball player to earn a million dollars? That's the only thing I found out tonight Oh, you found that out tonight? Yeah. I haven't even heard that, that's great. I think he deserves every penny of it. Yeah. But, there are some others out there that I don't believe deserve the money they're getting. Well, isn't it funny how baseball's getting less than like football players would. Oh, yeah. Wonder because football, And they play a lot, they play a lot longer season, too. And a lot more games, right? Yeah, that's exactly right. Uh-huh. But I think, let's see, the teams that were there last year were, see, somebody from California, I don't even know who won the pennant last year. Beats me. I mean, I know Yankees have won a lot games through the years. Yeah Not lately though We have been talking about this, I tried to call earlier, Uh-huh. and we had made a list of all these, uh, baseball teams and the cities that they were from, then I started cleaning and I don't even know where I even put that paper Threw it away Yeah. I was just cleaning and throwing, Oh, gosh. Let's see. The teams that, I think the A's were in it last year. The Oakland A's, and I think it was, I don't think it was an all California baseball. Well, have you ever played baseball? I played softball. Well, that's what I did when I was growing up. Yeah. That was fun. Yeah, that's fun That's a whole different sport. Uh-huh. in Yeah, let's see, but I think, I think the Rangers need to go and I think the Pirates will go. And, uh, let's see, Rangers have got a new guy this year, I don't even remember his name either. Do you ever go see the Rangers? Every once in a while I, I like to go on the nights when there's not anybody out there, not very many people out there. It's a lot more fun when your not fighting a crowd. Yeah. I think it's fun, I like just looking at the billboards. Yeah. sometimes when I, if you go out there during the day, you just fry under the sun. Yeah, it's nice at night. Yeah. That's when I've been. It is. Well, And do you know anything about that new stadium, have you seen all those pictures that they're going to put out there? No. Yeah, that, that huge it's suppose to be a huge stadium and it's going to have little shopping centers in it and little like a lake or something running through it. And, uh, they're going to try to make it a real community center out there. And your going to be able to buy your, what was, no, wait about the liquor? That's, that's in, uh, Texas stadium where the football players, play Oh, yeah, so you, and they're never going to let liquor in there. Well, they're trying. I know, but they try every year and every year they get thrown out. It's so stupid because they let you take it in there, but they don't, they don't allow you to sell it, don't allow them to sell it there. Uh-huh But, uh, that new stadium's going to be real nice, and I heard that there's, uh, that you can bid on that stadium last night on the news I heard that they said you could, you could bid on the stadium to have it named after you, so. Uh-huh, right. And it's going to go to the highest bidder Oh Well, that's the way to do it. Yeah, so that could be your, you know, fifteen minutes of fame. You hear that? That's my kids turning on their music. Oh. to child in the Holly turn it down. I think it's the Bart man, the Simpsons Oh, God I stay away from them. I wish I could I bet you do. Well, where are you? In Plano. Okay, I'm in Garland. Oh, you are? Yeah, my my husband teaches in Plano. Oh, what's he teach? C V A E. Uh-huh. So, what do you do? I teach, but I teach for Dallas. Oh, you do? For right now. I'm trying to get out. Is that a tough system to be in? Uh-huh. Real hard? Uh-huh. Yeah, I would think it, I mean it's good because they, they try new things, you know, but it's like, they'll try something and then they throw it out, and get something else, you know, Yeah. and you get tired of that. That's typical bureaucracy though. That's, that's, I think it's going to be any where you go it's just worse in the bigger cities than it is in the smaller ones, Yeah. I don't know, sometimes the smaller ones are just as bad. Well, but they can't be though, they don't have as much money. Yeah, Most of the time. but the politics, the politics gets worse in the small towns sometimes. Oh man, in Dallas you don't even know who's in, in administration, there's so many of them You don't even know who to payoff, huh? I mean, somebody walks in the, a classroom and you don't know what they're there for, you know, when they're coming, how long they're going to be, Yeah, oh, how funny. you know, it's just there they are and they're writing the whole time No communication whatsoever. No. I had them walk out of my class and not say their name anything, and I finally just got to where I go, okay, I'm Debbie Moore, you know, may I ask who you are and what you are in my classroom for, you know. Yeah. Because, you know, you never know where they are going what they'll report or, I know. and they'll tell you they've written something down, and you hope they're telling you the truth. And you never see it. No huh-uh. That's got to be frustrating. Oh, it is. How long you taught, taught in Dallas schools? Uh, this is my eleventh year. Ugh, that's about, uh, ten too many. No, actually it's, now my job's good, much better than a lot, because I'm Chapter One, Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. and all I do is teach reading all day long, Oh. and it's just ten children at a time. Oh, well, that's not bad. No. It's good, and you've got a lot of federal money, too. But hasn't it changed a lot over the years? Teaching? Yeah. Oh, yes. Or working in the system. Yes, when I first started teaching, I remember I went to my and I said, okay, I want to see a curriculum guide, you know, so I'll know what I'm suppose to teach and they go, we don't have one. We don't even know where one is. Oh, God And so I go, okay, I mean, you just, you did what you wanted to do, How funny. and now they tell you what to teach and how long and, you know, what day, what period. Yeah, you don't know which is, you don't know, which is worse. Yeah. No, I know which is worse. Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, being told what to do is worse. Uh-huh. So, how long are we suppose to talk for? Well, you can talk for ten minutes but you don't have to. Oh, you can? Yeah, and no, if you talk to ten then they come on and say, oh, you've extended your limit, and please say good-bye within the next five seconds. Oh, I haven't ever talked that long. Well, you know, I hadn't either till last night, I was talking to this retired administrator from Cleveland, Ohio, Uh-huh . and we started talking about gangs, you know. He lives in Cleveland? Yeah. Wow. And, everybody else that I've talked to has been right around here. Yeah. But, she was real interesting. Huh. And then tonight this woman called, have you taken any incoming calls? yours is my second one. Okay. So hers was the first one I got, gotten and, uh, and she was telling me all her problems, you know, and it went over ten minutes. Did she, did she, did you all not talk about the topic at all? Well, yeah, we did, but the topic was boring I thought. Oh. What would you serve, uh, if you were having a dinner party? Oh, gosh, all the other, the one I talked about the other night was good, it was, um, about movies, you know, what have you seen at the movies lately and stuff like that. Oh yeah, I could go on and on about that. Me, too, because we go all the time, the guy I was talking to never goes, he was, boy it sounds like your really up on this. I said, I see at least two a week Ugh, neat. So, that was real good to talk about that. Have you seen like, uh, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? No. You've got to go see that. The last one I saw was DANCES OF THE, WITH THE WOLVES, WOLVES. Yeah, we talked about that one too. And he, he said he didn't think it should have gotten all those awards, he thought it was too long but I, Oh, I enjoyed it. I did, too. I mean, it was just more for my money. Yeah. I didn't think it was too long at all. Uh, he said after about the first hour he started looking at his watch. Huh. The other one you need to go see is SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY. Uh-huh. And, how old are your kids? One is eight and one is eleven. You probably don't want to take them to see SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. It's, it's not, it's not too cool for kids. They usually pick their own. I bet they do. You know, they've got it all figured out. Yeah, they want to see all the horror movies. Well, and Ninja Turtles. Yeah, Ninja Turtles, got to have those. But most of the time really we watch them on the video. Oh, yeah, you that's, Don't you? Just massive rental. well heck, that's a lot cheaper then, uh, taking them out to the show. Going to, I know. Especially if you get them for a couple of nights you don't have to watch them all in one one time. That's what we do, especially when it's bad weather, man, just, plug it in. Yeah. Of course, you have to get there early if you want to get anything, decent. I know in It's good when you go to Tom Thumb though and they're cheap and nobody has got them yet. That's true. Unbelievable That's true. We saw, um, HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COWBOYS, tonight. Uh-huh. It was okay, it was kind of slow, and I felt like it kind of got chopped off at the end, you know. It just, it, I don't know, it one of those movies it's not going to be around long, it will be a dollar movie in no time. Do you read? Not very much, no. No? I don't have the patience to read See I do that to make myself go to sleep at night. Yeah. Oh, my Mom and Dad read all the time. You saw FIELD OF DREAMS, right, a long time ago? Yeah, sure did. Well, I was reading the book, and it's called SHOELESS JOE. Oh, really? It was so wonderful. And then I was, um, I decided, well, I like this author, so I got a, uh, book of his short stories, and that's been real good. Who is the, is the author? Don't, don't ask me Oh The GHOST OF SHOELESS JOE was the name of the book. Shoeless Joe. Was it like the movie? Yes, Okay. quite a, quite a bit. But, you know, in the movie the guy was black, Right. he wasn't in the book, Huh. that's one difference. There really wasn't a lot of difference. I didn't, see I never even heard that there was a book tied in with that movie. That's interesting. That was a good movie, too. Well, do you think we covered baseball? I think so Okay, well, have a good night. Okay. So, who's your, uh, favorite team? Who do you think? The Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowgirls, huh. Yeah. Well, they did have a fairly decent year finally this year. Uh-huh. At least they're coming around. Yeah, they're going to get better. I mean, you know. Well I mean, you know, I think, uh, once Jimmy Johnson gets his system established, uh, they'll do all right. Yeah. As long as Troy Aikman doesn't get hurt again. That kind of killed them at the end of the season last year. Uh-huh. So, I don't, I don't even know who your favorite team is, actually. I'm a Viking fan. Okay. I think I did know that, I just forgot. Okay. And they haven't been doing too hot, so. Yeah. Has Herschel Walker done much for them? No, in fact, in fact the Cowboys got the best end of that deal. Definitely. Well, he was a good player. I guess, well I don't know, he just never, I don't know, for a while there , I've never been over impressed with him. Well, he could always get past, you know, he'd get past like six or seven tackles and just keep spinning around and get on into the end zone. But, um, I guess you never could really see him play, because with the Cowboys, while he was with the team, the rest of the team was pretty poor so you couldn't really tell if it was just him or the team and I always just assumed that he was too good for the rest of the team. But, I don't know. Well, who's the running, is it Sammy Smith, or is it, Emmett Smith. Emmett Smith, yeah. Emmett Smith. he's been doing real good. I'm pretty impressed with him so far. Yeah. Did he, did he actually play in the Pro Bowl. I remember he was like a backup and then somebody got injured and he was supposed to go. I'm not sure. Yeah, I kind of, I haven't been keeping up with football, I mean, in the fall I, I can go on and on about football, but since it's kind of off season, it's kind of hard to think back about all that. But, uh, Who else is, uh, oh there's, you know, Mike , Minnesota Vikings, used to be the general manager starting the World Football League. Yeah. So, and and he was trying to keep, uh, uh, I can't even think of the guy's name, either, the coach of the Vikings. Um, I have no idea. Jerry Burns. No earthly idea. he was going to keep him as the coach somehow, but, uh, I don't know, I'd like to see the Vikings get revamped somehow. How did they end up this year? Did they, did they make it to the play-offs at all? Well, they started out really bad, they went like one and six, and then they won five or six in a row. Uh-huh. So they were in a shot to make the play-offs and they screwed up the last couple of games. Kind of like the cowboys, huh. Yeah, I guess you can, Except I think the Cowboys are on the upswing I don't know about the Vikings Yeah. Just hadn't heard much about them lately. And the Cardinals were kind of like the in fact they were doing better than the Cowboys, and the Cowboy, Cowboys came on strong at the end of the season, and the Cardinals got killed by the Cowboys, so. Yeah. Well, the Cardinals, I don't know. I think the Cowboys probably have a, a better team. They just, at the end of the season, the kind of got messed up with Aikman getting hurt, because, uh, Laufenberg just couldn't ever really get it together at all. Of course, he sat along the sidelines all season, he never really got in a game, never did a whole lot. Oh, don't made any excuses for him Well, I'm just saying I shouldn't, I shouldn't blast him like that, say, oh well, Laufenberg got out there and blew it for them, I mean, he didn't get to see much action. But, too bad. Because now, now, you know, he had a shot and, and didn't look too good and so, no one's going to have much faith in him any more. Uh-huh. In fact, I think they're getting a different guy for a backup quarterback. I haven't, uh, I haven't kept up with it lately, but I remember reading something a few months ago about them signing somebody else on, or, or trying to go after somebody or trade for somebody, but it wasn't anybody I'd really heard of. But I heard on the radio this morning, or yesterday morning, that, uh, Aikman's back in practicing, doing real, real well. Um, who is it, Michael Irvin Uh-huh. he said that, uh, Aikman was hitting him right on the numbers every time. So, sounds like he's going to be all right for next season. They're just trying not to overwork him right now, until he gets his shoulder, uh, back in it was his shoulder, wasn't it, that he had the problems with? I don't know Yeah I think it was . I think it, I think it was his shoulder he had surgery on. But anyway, they're trying to keep him, you know, keep him, uh, from reinjuring anything, but anyway But, uh, well I got my thirty day notice yesterday. Thirty day notice for what? Um, I'm done, where I work. Oh, really. So, anyway, I guess we can't talk much more about that, but I just thought I'd throw that in there What. Oh, okay, maybe I'll call you back after, after the recording is finished. Actually I think we have talked about football for five minutes. I can't remember. Oh, I've always ran out of time ever since I've done this. Really. I usually have, too . They always say you've talked your ten minute limit. Yeah, I've done that once or twice. I didn't look at the clock when we started talking, so I guess we should talk about football a little bit longer just to be sure we got five minutes in. Make sure we get our cash flow. Yeah. So other than the Vikings, who do you like? Um, actually, when I was younger, I was a Cardinal fan, too. Uh, oh. Remember Jim Hart? Jim Hart was playing. Terry Metcalf was on the Cardinals. This was a long time ago. Yeah. Um, I don't know who else I've ever. That's about it, I was always a Viking fan. I think I was into the Cardinals for a little bit and, Uh-huh. Back when they were in Saint Louis? Yes, oh, of course. Since they've been to Phoenix they haven't been, uh, all that impressive, I guess. I guess I've always been a Cowboy fan. Other than that, I mean, you know, when I've, you know, when you grow up in a city that has the, you know, one of the greatest football teams until the last few years, you kind of tend to get caught up in it. Yeah, well, the Cowboys were America's football team, Yeah. there's no question about that, so. Yeah, I mean it, it was really exciting, growing up when, when the Cowboys were really big. Because my parents would always have season tickets, and they'd go to all the games, and you know, the hype were just unbelievable. It's just, you know, the last, oh I guess probably since about eighty-four, about eighty-five was when they started kind of going downhill really, but, you know, I'm just used to always growing up and hearing Cowboys, Cowboys, Cowboys, and, you know, Super Bowl, and all this other stuff. So, I can't, you know, I'm not going to decide I don't like them just because they're having a few bad years. I mean, I think they'll pull out of it, and, you know, they'll, they'll wind up being good again. They've got some, lot of really good young players that are going to, that are going to, uh, do pretty good, I think. But, they're raising prices on their tickets. So they're banking on doing good next season. I think tickets are, Again. Yeah. What are they going up to, thirty bucks or something? Thirty, or thirty-two for really good tickets. See, they, they sectioned it out even more. They used to just have like, uh, first of all it was all one price. And then they sectioned it out to end zone and then everything else. And now they're sectioning it off to like from the, from one twenty yard line to the other one, just on the lower levels is the highest price, and then the next highest price is that same area but above it on the upper level, and then like from the twenty to the ten yard line. And then they're some sections kind of in the corner areas, and then the cheapest of course is going to be the end, the direct end zones. But, um, they have about four or five different prices now, that they're structuring it with, but obviously yeah, they're all going up, more or less is what it's going to do. So now the tickets even got lower than the lowest one last year. Um, you know, I'm not sure, I'm not positive, I didn't, I didn't really think about that. I just remember trying to figure out where you could get that was real close to the good section but in the little bit cheaper. But, not that I'll ever go. I hadn't been to a Cowboys game, time, last time I went to the Cowboys game was during that, um, N F L strike, or the, when they had the scab team, teams in there, and it was the, uh, Dallas and Washington Redskins game. And I went because my dad can usually get a hold of some free tickets, because a lot of those doctors have season tickets, and they, um, if they're not going to use them they'll give them to somebody else. So my dad, I went with my dad to a game that one time. But that wasn't a real, you know, it was, it was the scab teams, it was kind of, you know, it was kind of different, I guess. And before that it's been quite a few years. I've been wanting to go to a game, I just never, never have gotten around to it. So maybe this year . That's interesting, I almost lost our electricity here . Oh. Okay. Um, what do you do this weekend? Well, uh, pretty much spent most of my time either in the yard or at nurseries buying stuff for the yard. Huh. Which is, what do you plan, have planned for your yard? Well, uh, we just bought our house, uh, last July, and it's, it, it, the house is forty years old so there's, there's an established lawn and whatnot, flower beds, things like that, but they've, uh, they've gone a few years of neglect. Uh-huh. So, we're in the process of, uh, revitalizing the whole situation. We've got, um, different flower beds in front and, uh, a window box, a built in window box, um, trying to get some color back in those, get the trees trimmed up, uh, get rid of a few weed problems and things like that. Huh. So, What part of the state do you live in? Uh, I live in Dallas. Oh, okay. Okay. My wife and I, we live in Dallas too, so. Okay. Yeah, just what that area, we're planning on moving to Flower Mound, and we're going to be getting some wheel we're going to have to do a lot of lawn and garden work there. Yeah. Seems like it. Uh, the place we've been living at, it's, uh, we're, we're just leasing it. The, in Plano, and the soil has so much, has such a high clay content, that, uh, uh, I went to use my dad-in-law's tiller and it about for my arms off, sockets Uh-huh. I'll bet. I'll bet. I mean just, just scratching two or three inches was just a chore. It was, it was and then when it gets wet, you know, you don't even want to get out in the yard, Right. it's horrible. Right. It's a nightmare. But, um, I don't know what, what um, where you live is there a real high, uh, alkaline or ash content or, Yeah, it's pretty high actually it's done, uh, it's in the north end of Oak Cliff in, uh, Kessler Park area, Yeah, yeah. and, uh, we've got about, I know right where that's at. yeah, we've, we've got maybe eight to eight inches to a foot of soil, Uh-huh. and then it's solid rock from then on down, so. Really. Yeah, it's, uh, a little aggravating, we can't, we can't put in anything too big, um, as far as, uh, shrubs and things like that because they've got to get a chance to find the, find the cracks in the rock. Golly. But, uh, Is it, is it limestone under, underneath? Yeah, it is. It's, it's solid limestone. How do you put trees in there? Uh, you just, we're just happy that there's trees already there so far, Huh. um, anything like that is, is a, uh, major undertaking I guess, uh, sprinkler systems or anything, uh, start to get real expensive because there's an awful lot of work that has to be done chopping through the rock. But, uh, and it, you know, not even, consider, considering a pool or anything like that, that's, that's, practically has to be blasted in I guess. Oh. But, uh, and it makes, it makes for a, a different challenge, I've never, well, I, I moved to Dallas about five years ago, Yeah. and, uh, I never really, messed with anything, uh, gardening or anything like that until now, but, uh, I, I keep hearing all the stories of, of different parts of town. In fact, uh, we even, we were at the farmers market yesterday and bought a few tomato plants and things like that, Uh-huh. and the first thing the, the old guy there at the stand asked is what part of town we lived in because he said, uh, I've got, I've got a dozen different varieties and each one works in one part of town and that's it, That's basically what he was trying to tell us. Yeah. Oh, yeah, we, we tried planting tomatoes last year and it, they, they turned out pretty poor. Yeah. I just, I I just wish I'd known the, the variety and everything. Yeah it, But it, it's amazing we also have roses, and, I mean, they just grow so beautifully. Yeah, that in fact, we put in some, uh, some more roses yesterday. Like what, um, what type roses? Uh, different, uh, a few different, uh, hybrid tea type varieties. Oh, hybrid teas. Yeah. Yeah, we, we have a few, uh, of the real short stem. They're they're kind of like the bush roses. Okay. But, uh, I don't know I think it's, I think it only has about five or six more years to go because it's a, it's a really old bush, Yeah. and but I, I, I'm amazed because the sun is so intense, and the roses just seem to survive just fine there. Yeah, that's, we, that's what we're searching, uh, we've got, we've got all the different lake editions around the house and we're, we're kind of experimenting right now. Uh-huh. We do, we've got the direct sun in front and the backyard has two great big, uh, spruce and, and an oak tree all about forty to fifty foot tall so the backyard is just complete dark all day long. Huh. And, uh, we're we're struggling to find something for those areas. Yeah. Have you, have you, uh, done, um, done a lot of tree surgeon work on your trees or not? No, they're, they're in pretty good condition. Yeah. Uh, we've been, we've been pretty lucky on that. Yeah, just if you want a lot of, you know, light for underneath, that may be the, all right because we had, because we have some, we have some old fruit trees. Uh-huh. We have a plum that's just about ready to go, Uh-huh. so we may just be getting rid of that but, but our peaches they, they seem to be doing just fine, but they, they really need pruning. Yeah. It just seems like they, that, that even, you know, pruning once a year is really not enough but the, the way they behave. That's true. That's true. I don't know. But, uh, but, uh, what kind of, uh, what kind of, what kind of grass are you growing? It's, uh, bermuda. Bermuda. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I've, I've been trying, uh, uh, a mixture of, uh, the bermuda and the rye, Okay. but I may be working like a fescue in because of, you know, the type of weather. It seems that, uh, bermuda's, bermuda's fine but, um, it looks like it would hold the soil but it really doesn't. Right. A lot of, a lot silt that comes in it just doesn't seem to hold it very well. Yeah. But, uh, but the rye does really well. Especially during the wintertime. Okay. But, uh, but, boy, once it gets over seventy, seventy-five degrees that, it just dries up, shrivels up and dies. Uh-huh. But anyway. Yeah, it's, uh, there's such a, there's such a difference, through the year. Uh, Yeah. My, my parents-in-law they're, they're building a house into the side of a hill, um, well, it's already been built and everything. Uh-huh. They've been living there for about three months now, but, uh, this is out in west Texas, Uh-huh. but the, the wind there, has been so bad that, I mean, they've tried to plant grass and they just, have some problems, big time problems that's it . they just, so they just washing , uh, watching their lawn just blow away. Yeah. But it's, it's quite an undertaking. They have about two or three acres of land on lake front property, on a, on the side of a hill. Oh, wow. It's beautiful, I mean, you can see the house from, you know, miles away, Uh-huh. but it's, you know, it's a pretty neat little job but, they save a lot of, they save a lot of energy Yeah. but just, uh, you know, for them, I mean, they, they're going to have to start gardening. It's going to be from the ground up. Yeah. The whole way. Yeah. And they said, well, we just plan on spending the rest of our lives just, getting this property developed. It's amazing, I mean, they have, have the, all they have are uh, mesquite and cottonwoods, Yeah. Yeah. and, uh, it's, it's all on Lake Greenbelt , that property out there. Okay. And, uh, I don't know, that what they have, they have all the water they want, Uh-huh. they can, they can actually, they can pump water, I mean, they have to get permission but they can pump water up from the shore, Okay. but, uh, that's for like an additional, they have to pay like some kind of fee per year. Oh, okay. But, uh, they're, uh, right now though I think they're just, they're trying to get the trees planted and everything. Sure. But, man, I, I just think of all of the money that they, that they're going to have to spend just getting that. But the taxes alone there, Lake Greenbelt and some places, they, they, they really nail them for tax. Uh-huh. And, I mean, your talking what, just several hundred dollars a year in property taxes. Wow. It's, it's ridiculous. That really is, it, it would, it seem like it be just the opposite when you get, Yeah. No, no, it's not it's, because even though it's far out there, it's just that Lake Greenbelt , you know, they have to, they, they try to do it just from the, selling the water. Uh-huh. But, um, the water usage, you know, they try to limit, even though there's three or four streams that flow into it, people still use it enough in, like in towns like Clarendon and other areas that, where they irrigate. Uh-huh. They they, they still haven't gotten used to the dry land farming but, the irrigation because it's gotten so bad the past few years, Yeah, that's true that, but I don't know I just came back from there and just the air is so dry. I don't see how anything can survive out there, for long periods of time. Should say my father-in-law says the mesquite trees are, they're, they're pretty smart, they're smart, they're about the smartest tree around. They don't, they don't even start growing until May, May or April, like after it's been raining for a few months. Yeah, that's true. That's true. They say the roots have developed so that's all they work on. Just a leafy, they don't do anything. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's something I've been, uh, been looking around and noticed all the flowering trees and stuff are, at this time of the year Uh-huh. and, you know, we're trying to decide what, what to, what to put on one side of the house and things like that, but there's so many things that they, they last for just a couple of weeks and then it, then it's just a, a bush there from then on. It's kind of, it's kind of disappointing. I, I don't know my, my wife and I, we planted on the, on the south side of our, of our house we planted some gardenias. Uh-huh. And they did real fine during the summertime it's just, but during the fall when it stopped, when, uh, the rain let off just a little bit it, I mean, it just dried up. Yeah. And, uh, so I guess, it, these plants they just, they don't, it's like they remain ... Well, how, how do you feel about the immigration laws? At, currently, I think they are a little restrictive. Uh, particularly for, uh, certain ethnic groups or from certain countries. Um, I think we should permit, uh, more immigration from eastern Europe, for example, uh, particularly the, uh, the Jewish, uh, uh, people from Russia. I think we could permit more of them in than we have permitted in the last, uh, several years. And, I think we have, uh, uh, too much restriction on the, uh, on the Orientals also, but, of course, that's just my opinion Yeah, well, I'm not real sure why I got this topic, because I don't think I checked it off on the list because I know very little about the current immigration laws. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, we seem to, uh, to favor certain, uh, uh, countries particularly South American countries. And, uh, there is no, uh, uh, I have nothing, of course, against, uh, the, uh, the South Americans or, uh, or Hispanics, in that sense, but I think we, uh, are more restrictive of the, uh, so called eastern, uh, European countries than we, uh, we should be. Of course, that's from my own bias since my ancestors from eastern Europe, so Oh. And, uh, so I think, uh, you know, the, uh, embargo we placed on the, uh, on the Russian Jews, although we of, uh, spent years and years, uh, lobbying for their release and their ability to, um, immigrate from Russia as soon as that occurred, we simply said that, uh, instead of the, uh, hundred and fifty thousand or so who wanted to immigrate to this country, we cut that by, uh, two thirds. Uh-huh. So. Huh. I do not quite go along with that, but No, that doesn't make a whole of lot sense. No. And I still think, you know, again, kind of having, uh, uh, within this century, come from a, uh, an immigrant family, or immigrant families on both sides. Uh-huh. Both my mother's parents and my father's parents were immigrants so, I'm a little touchy every now and then about that Yeah. Well, uh, my, uh, my family is from, uh, Europe from, well, from England and Ireland and, uh, have been in this country for, oh, more than a hundred and fifty years almost two hundred years, Uh-huh. Oh, my so, I don't have any, any, uh, relatives that I am, or, or, uh, several generations back, that I am familiar with their names and how they fit into the family. They were all, they were all born here Uh-huh. so I don't have any real strong ties with any, with, with the immigration laws. I don't, because I don't, I don't have any personal feelings about them and I haven't taken the time or effort to learn what they are. Well, I think in a way, though, uh, uh, I also have, uh, an opposite point of view, which is, uh, although I believe we should, uh, permit, uh, you know, constant immigration into this country uh, I think we should, uh, primarily for economic reasons, I think we should have, um, some quotas, Um. of course, my family and I, again, again that was, you know, my grandparents came over during the time when, uh, there were quotas. So they had to wait, uh, you know, in, uh, certain parts of Europe for years before they were permitted to come over. Uh-huh. So, you know, but, uh I think unrestricted immigration, I think, is not, uh, is not best, uh. Yeah. I, I, Well, I agree with that, I, I think if immigration was entirely unrestricted, uh, not only would, would the United States become over populated, well, more over populated awfully quickly, I think it, it would bring in a lot of, uh, people that are, run out of other countries or in trouble in, in other countries. I think they'd come here trying to find a new market for their, their brand of crime. Uh-huh. Well, you know, there's another aspect of this, too. They're also, uh, uh, diminishing the, uh, health restrictions which, I was not aware, aware of that. Well, yes. There are, were some, uh, regulations over, I don't know whether they're laws passed or, or whatever they're called, uh, just recently, where, uh, people with certain diseases cannot be excluded, uh, from, uh, immigration. Age is one, for example, and, uh, recently, uh, tuberculosis, which at one time, if you had tuberculosis you could not get into this country uh, they dropped that also. Uh-huh. So I think in, in some some ways we are, uh, becoming a little too egalitarian in that, in that sense, but, uh, I think we should be a little more circumspect about it. Again, my opinion Yeah. Think we've talked long enough? I think so All right. Well, I've enjoyed talking to you. I, I, I have talked long enough. Okay Thanks. Thank you. Bye. Good-bye. Hi, how are you today? I'm great Good. Well as a matter of fact I'm, before we started this conversation I was working on my P C at home. Yeah. Do you have one? No, I don't have one at home. I work with one on, at work continually, you know, Yeah. but I do not have one of my own at home. Do you have, What do you have, at home? We have an, um, actually it's a T I computer, but it is the I B M um, clone. Uh-huh. It's not the T I P C from back when. Right. From the oldies but the goodies. Right. It's probably pretty close to what I have, because I have the same kind of thing at work. I have a three eighty-six S X which is T I computer, but everything in, is in I B M mode. So. Yeah, that's what we have. Um. Do you use it a lot at home? Well, I really do. I, um, am an accountant and, but I work at home. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So you're on it a lot. So I use it for that quite often. Uh-huh. We have, you know, used some of it for some personal things. We keep track of personal budgets and things like that on it. I, since it's tax season, I'm doing a lot of taxes, so I do a lot of, um, a lot of that work on it as well. I was amazed when I took our taxes to our tax person and she works out of her home also. Uh-huh. And the, uh, software that does the taxes is just incredible. Oh it is. You know, I mean, she just, you know, I expected to go and, you know, drop the stuff off and go back two weeks later. And, you know, she had it done and out in twenty minutes on her little P C. Yeah, you can. It was great. Yes, you can, that's right. That's wonderful. I have often thought that, that having one at home would be neat. I just don't know if we would really use it that much. You know. We really, we we didn't decide to get one until I started working at home. Uh-huh. Then, you know, then, we thought, well we can use it for, you know, some personal things. We for us it really took, you know, a business application to justify the expense of it. Uh-huh. Oh, definitely, definitely. I know my stepfather bought my mother a little personal computer, oh, I guess, probably three years ago for Christmas, and, you know, it's got some stuff on it. It's got a nice little word processing software on it, you know, and some budgeting type things and stuff. And I don't think she's ever touched it you know. Really. It just, it just seems like a lot of trouble for something at home. You know, she always seems to have better things to do than to try to sit down and figure out how to use her computer you know. So. Right. She could just as easily do those things by hand. Yeah, just as quickly. Yeah. Now I know my boss has bought the software, um, that he can, that his checkbook is on, on on a disk, Uh-huh. and he goes in and and types his checks on the screen and then hits print, and they print out on the checks, and he's ordered envelopes with the windows in the right places you know, Oh my gosh. and he just whips, out, you know, I saw him yesterday morning over there, and, and he paid his monthly bills, and he just, you know, wrote all the checks on the screen and hit print and it printed out like ten checks, and he just, you know, they're perforated, and he just ripped them off. They go through just a continuous thing on the printer Right. and he ripped them off and stuck them in the envelopes and there they went. You know, and he said, you know, I can balance my checkbook in seconds, you know because it's all in the computer, you know. Right. So. And you know there's not going to be those adding mistakes that we all make. That's exactly why. He said, you know, he said, used to be I always sat looking for those, you know. He said this way there isn't any. You know, it does it for you. So. This, you know, there are some definitely, some, some advantages to it. It's just a matter of, like you say, are the advantages, does it justify the cost, if you're using it strictly for personal business. So. Right I, I think in most cases I'd have to say no. Not unless somebody really enjoys it. Or perhaps is using it for education. Right. I have a four year old son, and we have some education programs that he likes. A little Sesame Street one Yeah, yeah, and we have another one that plays music, and he really likes that one. As he grows up he'll be even more and more too. That's right. That'll be great. And yeah, on, now I think about it, I guess for, for kids like, as they get older, especially now when they get to junior high school, high school, and even college. Uh-huh. I mean, my sister went to college, started about three years ago, and she had to have a, a computer. Really. I mean, it was like a necessity. Well, yeah, I. She couldn't imagine going through college without a computer. Well I'm going through right now. I'm, you know, going part time in the evenings, and, you know, I do, yeah, everything has to be typed. I mean, they require it. You have to type it you know, Right. and, and so I'm up here, you know, nights and weekends you know, working on the little on the P C up here, you know, typing stuff. So I can see where it would be a great advantage to have one at home, you know, if you were going to school. Yeah, any more I don't even know if they have, if a college kid would have a typewriter Well, you, I don't know. Probably not even, no. No, no, and they probably used to have it. I just finished a, a major research paper a couple of weeks ago, and I couldn't imagine not having that thing on a disk where I could go back in and move stuff around and change it. Uh-huh. I, I don't know what they used to do before they, Well, unfortunately in our family, my husband and I went through college together and then he went on and got his Master's degree while I was working. Uh-huh. And I'm the better typist, of us, Uh-huh. and we just had a regular old typewriter, not even a correcting one back then. Oh and you had to type all of his papers. It wasn't that long ago, but I typed his Master's papers and things on a typewriter. Oh gosh, Oh boy, to have a computer back then. Oh, cut your time in half at least. At least. At least. I mean, and then of course you have some changes to make, and do the whole thing over. You take out a sentence, on a computer you take it out, bleep, print it out, fine. Uh-huh. Take out a sentence on a piece of paper, You do the whole thing over. Right. That's right. You know, I remember when I was working in high school, you know, I was working in an office, right after I got out of high school I continued working there for probably another year. And we did everything on a typewriter everything. Oh, yeah. But it's amazing, you know, then, when, where, you know, someone would have you type a letter, they did it right, they did it right. I mean, they were, The first time. Yeah, they sit there and they go, is this really what I want to say, and you typed it and that was it, and now, you know people just send it back over and over and over and over. That's probably one of the problems and frustrations that it's brought about, because people do feel like, Oh well, we can just change it. Well, we'll try this out and see what it looks like. Yeah. Yeah, use it as a, just a, Yeah, instead of knowing what they want to say before they they just, you know, play with it, and, which in a way is nice to be able to do, Right. but, you know, it, it gets a little out of hand sometimes. I've seen it get out of hand up here, you know where we've got a secretary that sits over here that's keeping metrics right now, and keeping up, you know, of all the letters I type, how many how many of them do I make changes on. And on each letter, what types of changes. Oh yeah. Are they typos? Are they because I couldn't read it or people just change a, like, one word because they think it sounds better, or whatever. And, you know, she's also keeping a percentage, you know, what percentage of letters am I retyping for whatever reason. Uh-huh. And there's like one week, she did retypes on ninety percent of what she typed you know, I believe it. and it's like, you know, it's ridiculous and that was, that was the high week, but it's running about seventy which is still ridiculous to have to make changes to seventy percent of everything that she types. Uh-huh. Well, it's good that she does that, I mean, bring it to people's attention. Well, that's exactly right. You know, she keeps, you know keeps several weeks' worth of data and then in addition is keeping copies of all the changes to show, you know, look, this didn't really need to be changed. You know, this is ridiculous and you know, changing, add this time to now. You know, I mean, that's the kind of things, you know, that she's keeping and showing, that, this was a big waste of time, it was a waste of paper, it was a waste, you know to change something like that. Right, So. Anyway, maybe, you know, maybe it'll, it'll help in some way, but I don't know. There, there definitely even with the few disadvantages like that are far better than the alternative. Oh I have to, Without a doubt. Without a doubt. Well, I would like to get one at home some day. We've got a two year old son, and so, you know, some day I would like to get, even just like the video tell, or something like that, you know, just to, to be able to pull in sources from outside would be wonderful. You know so, Especially when they're in school, I think they would get a lot out of it. Oh, I do too, I do too. The on line encyclopedia just sounds wonderful, you know, that sounds like such a great idea, you know, it'd be kind of fun to be able to play with it. So. I know, my father had a P C, and when we were in high school it was always fun. We could, um, link in, and I don't even remember now what it was called. But you could link in and talk to other talk to people all over the country, you know. Uh-huh. And, like, you have your own little code name, you know, and you'd type in du du du, Hi how are you, du du du, and they'd type back and everybody, and you'd have five or six or seven people talking to each other at the same time, and everything everybody said prints out on your screen as they're typing it, and it was just great fun, you know, It was very expensive, because the whole time you were on there you were on long distance, you know. It was like a long distance phone call. Ooh. So, we were each limited to like twenty minutes a day, you know, so. Ooh, that still could add up. Oh it added up big. Well, you know, we, my parents were divorced and so the time we were like visiting our father in the summer time, you know, so he felt like he could splurge and let us do it. Yeah. I'm sure we would not have been allowed to do that under normal situations, you know. But when you're doing the guilty father complex, you know, because he's not there to watch us grow, you can kind of get all kinds of stuff. That's sad. Well, it was nice to talk to you. Yeah, you too. Have a, Have a nice day. You too. Bye-bye. Bye. Okay. Well, First of all, I want to tell you I have two little kids, but they're not in public school yet. I, I get, I get that experience starting next fall with kindergarten. Ah. Yeah. Yeah. So you haven't really, uh, dealt with that in a sense. No. But, uh, being one of these late in life mothers, I've listened to everybody else's, you know, complaints as to what's the matter with either their kids or the school system. Yeah. So I've been surprised. Yeah. Do, are, do you have school age kids Uh, mine are both out of school. Oh. And, uh, you know, I, I've, in hindsight, seen some things that I wished that, you know, I had done something about that was, you know, within my power or, uh, you know, wish that in some ways we, as parents, had more control over what's happening up there, you know, type thing. Such as? Uh, well, just over the years there were situations that, uh, uh, came up that I didn't think were fair or handled correctly or the teachers didn't seem to be teaching anything. Of course, it's a little hard to tell from the information that you get from your child, you know. Uh-huh. They, they bring things home and I was never one to believe everything my kids said, you know, about something. But, uh, still I, I questioned the ability of some of the teachers to, uh, really do a bang-up job, and yet others I know are just wonderful. Well, I heard a, a frightening thing. Actually, I didn't hear it. It was told to me or suggested to me, uh, that to work as a teacher in the public school systems in the state of Texas, and I think it's similar in, in many other states, if you have a degree in a technical field you do not need a teaching certificate because there is such a shortage of, uh, people to teach math and sciences. Huh. And somebody said, well, you know, you could go in and, and substitute teach at seventy-five dollars a day and there's always going to be, you know, somebody having a need for a math or science teacher. I thought, Christ, they're letting me in, to, you know, Yeah. this would be, this would be frightening. I don't know anything about it. That's pretty interesting because just, just because you know a subject matter doesn't mean you can teach it. Right Right. And even if I knew how to teach the subject matter, I don't know if I'd know how to handle that kind of a, a group of kids. Oh, yeah. In fact, I think that's, that's one of the big problems today is the, the way the kids behave or act and, and the way they are sometimes disinterested in what's going on in the class and disruptive. I tell you what I'm finding frightening and this comes from, you know, the, the aging hippie near forty mother. So I went through this period of supposedly, you know, cosmic social enlightenment. I'm on, I'm in the Plano school system and living in Richardson, and there is a real dichotomy in terms of educational and economic background of the kids that are going to be attending this school. Uh-huh. And I used to think, well, that's wonderful. You know, they can get a real life experience. What I'm seeing now, uh, in terms of kindergarten preparedness, just from, in, in, in different preschools it's like day and night. Uh-huh. And I wonder, how do they handle a child who is obviously very ready and another child who doesn't even speak English, let alone know her colors. Yeah. And they're in the same classrooms. And I guess also you're going to see the first of the, uh, crack kids starting kindergarten. My God, I think it would be next year is what I'd read. I thought, well, how do you, how do you weed those out? Yes. Some of those certainly have a lot of difficulties, you know, with, uh, all sorts of things, and I would imagine their learning disabilities are quite large in some cases. When I was listening to N P R, the National Public Radio, and they've quoted statistics that I just about, my throat just about fell into my toes. They said at the bottom of the S A T scores of graduating college seniors are usually those people that go into education. Oh, wow Yes. That's encouraging. Yes. And I, and I, I got to thinking back when I was teaching college chemistry, the people that took, you know, the lower level courses, I sometimes wondered, you know, are they really even educatable or trainable and it, my God, you know, are the rest of us who went for the big bucks, you know, staying out of, you know, where maybe we should be kind of socially obligated to spend some time teaching or something with these kids? Yeah. I don't know Well, that's, you know, that's an idea. Maybe there need to be some radical changes made. Do some things that are totally different and unheard of. Well, you know, you, you sit here and you think about that. At the same time you think, God, I hope I don't sound like a stage mother because, right now if you ask my friends put twenty mothers in a room and ask them how many have gifted children, you're going to have twenty hands, you know, up there. Oh, you're kidding. Oh, no. Nobody has, nobody has a nongifted child. And I keep thinking, you know, gifted is, is Einstein or, you know, uh, musical prodigies. It's, it's not a kid who's, you know, precocious. Yeah. You know, what has, you know, has, has the educational system been watered down to that anybody who's above average is now gifted? Huh. I don't know. That's interesting. I don't know. Mine didn't, did not fall into the gifted category Oh, don't say that. Nope. And I would never had said so either. Uh, but, uh, they managed to get through, although not always with flying colors. Uh, in fact, one of the incidents I was thinking of that my son had. Uh, he was struggling with senior English and I had a meeting with the, uh, vice principal and the English instructor, and, uh, she showed me a paper that he had just handed in. And she told me what she had requested. And I read it and while it had, you know, a few little grammatical problems, it wasn't very long and so forth. I thought it had some nice, well thought out, uh, parts to it. Uh-huh. She gave him an F on that paper. And I thought, well now, here you have a student who is trying to pass, who is struggling with your subject and you give them an F on something that doesn't seem that bad to me. What are you telling that student? You're telling them that, hey, you might as well forget it, you know. Well, you see, I think that, that harks right back to the elementary and junior high years. Because I have a stepson now who's twenty-five and, uh, I was just absolutely shocked, uh, the first time that I saw his schoolwork. Uh, I remember being, you know, taught, and I think, you know, you have to teach how to write an answer and, you know, how to construct a thought process. Uh-huh. And, you know, they can get a, they can grasp the points. Can they convey the data verbally or in writing. And that's what's, you know, really scary to me. Uh, I would really, you know, there's such a, a push among young mothers these days to make sure their child is computer literate. I would really think that they should be stressing more can the kid write a thought and at an early age. And if they can't, I mean if they have missed that training, then somebody, you know, before you're, you're start penalizing them with bad grades for not being able to communicate what they're thinking, teach them these basic skills. Yeah. It's pretty sad to think, uh, about those who, even today, are graduating from school and they are telling that they don't know how to read, you know. Well, my stepson, you know, I, he went into the Navy or Air Force. I just really get my military, I married into a military family, and I don't know, I address them all as generals so I don't offend anybody. But, uh, you know, fortunately for him, he wasn't dumb but boy he sure had trouble, you know, putting things on, on paper. Yeah. And one of the things that, that they did for him. They tested him and they said that he's, you know, great in electronics but he, you know, he's, really does need the basic skills. And they put him through six months of composition writing in addition to all his electronic training. And at that point, he has now graduated from warfare electronics school with honors. Oh. This is the kid who, who really, you know, barely made it through high school. Yeah. And I keep thinking, you know, it's not, it's really not too late at any point to do, you know, That's interesting that the military saw that and did something about it. Yes. You would have expected them to be the last ones to Yes. And I kind of have always pooh-poohed military educations. But I think that for this kid, it's going to be, you know, his lifesaver. Otherwise, he might have been driving trucks or framing houses, you know, from here to eternity. Yeah. So, I don't know. You know, it does make me nervous. Well, I can see why if you've got little ones just coming along. There's a, a whole lot of stuff going on out there. There is a whole lot of stuff going on out there and, and part of me says I just would like to, you know, shut my eyes and pretend it doesn't, you know, go on Or send them to private schools And then the, you know, the old social conscience says, you know, I'm not working, I don't need to work. Maybe I should volunteer to, you know, teach what I know. Yeah. Maybe adult literacy. Maybe, you know, composition writing. Maybe, you know, uh, volunteering, you know, on a tutor line or though the, even through the elementary schools for help with homework or, the other part of me says, is God, I've had enough kids Do I What type of lawn and garden work do you do? Well, I do it all I see. Do you have a garden? Uh, yes. I, I try to grow, uh, uh, a vegetable garden and, We do the same thing. It's, I just have a small plot it's like ten feet by five feet. Yeah. I have two plots, one's ten by ten and one's like fifteen by four. I see. It's a long skinny one and, Yeah, you do a lot more area than I do. I've, all the rest of my yard, backyard is, uh, you know, pool and decking it's all the dirt I have, left in my backyard Oh, I see. Yeah. I see. Well, I I enjoy fiddling around. It's cheap entertainment. Right. Right. Yeah, it's nice to get out in the open air. It is, uh-huh. And especially when the weather's not too hot or, not raining or whatever, That's right. Yeah. but, uh, sometimes I, I said, I sometimes I wish I had more space you know. I enjoy, Excuse me, go ahead. Uh-huh. I grow a lot of things, a lot of food. Uh-huh. And sometimes I, I want to plant something, there's not enough room to plant. Some of those things like, uh, you know, the things that vine like, uh, cucumbers, or, uh, squash or something, like that. Plant one of those That's right. That's right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Takes a lot of room. and it takes up your whole space It sure does. I made mistake one year and planted some cantaloupe, my goodness, what a mistake that was. Yeah. Yeah. They, they just run all over, the place, don't they, They do. Well, it was very good it just takes up, you know, like you say, a lot of your garden area. Right. Right. It's the first and only time I've done that. We don't do anything exotic we just do, oh, tomatoes, bell peppers, radishes and turnips, I mean, not turnips, carrots, beets and things like that. The basics. Right. Yeah. That's what we do too. My wife used to plant a few snow peas. I don't really care for snow peas. Well, she just plants a few for herself. Right. Peas Yeah. I, I got a few peas out my garden a couple of days ago. Did you really? The first one, they started them indoors this time. I read it, Oh, I see. And so I, Okay. We don't start anything indoors we, just wait until, you know, the weather warm enough to stick it in the ground. Yeah. I, uh, I guess you can get an earlier harvest by doing that, Probably so. Yeah, you can get a head start on it. like ice in But, uh, sure is a heck of a lot of work. I guess it, it, might would, Because you got to, watch them every day, and keep them watered yeah. Uh-huh. and I, I don't think I'll do it again Well it will make, it will make them taste better I'm sure. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I enjoy it. I come home from work and, and I usually say hello to wife and kids, and then go out and fiddle, you know, just walk around the yard and inspect it Sure. You got to inspect it, yeah. and the kids want to swing, Sure. and I push them on swing. Sure. And I I mow my own lawn. Yeah. And I do, I don't have a sprinkler system. I, I don't enjoy watering. No. Especially, I, this is the first home we've lived in we've had a sprinkler system, Oh how, and boy, it is really nice, Oh. it sure beats dragging hoses around. Yeah, you can have it come on just early in the morning. And, and off by the, you know, by the time you're up and about. That's right. That's right. It's really nice. Yeah. I, I usually get it started for my wife Uh-huh. and I, and she moves it around ever other day. I'll have to admit I don't, I do my own yard. I, I really don't enjoy doing that. I enjoy having a nice looking yard, Uh-huh. I just don't enjoy the work, that it takes to get it done. Uh-huh. Yeah. I had a lawn service to do my yard for me during the real hot summer months, you know, until I retired Uh-huh. and now I, I've lost my excuse for that so I have to for the last couple of years I've done it myself. Yeah. Sometimes I wish I could get one of these, uh, chemical services to come, out and spray for weeds, and fertilize, and all that and take that one step out of . Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh, they want too much money. It is kind of expensive, it is. Yeah. Of course, the chemicals themselves when you buy them, they're expensive too. Right. Right. But it's still be quite a bit cheaper to do it yourself. That's right. If I have a problem discipline, you know, I think, now, boy, I really need to get out, you know, and apply something, you know, and I screw around and don't do it or wait too long or something. Right and the weed come up, That's right. and all of a sudden you've got to do something else. That's right. I'm, I'm kind of bad about that. Yeah. I enjoyed having a lawn service but now I have the time and I really can't, I really you know, don't, want to spend the money for it. Well, if you, enjoy it too, you know, you, you can get out in the morning when, before it gets hot and, and do it and stuff, when you only have to, Yeah. That's right. I'm not limited to, just mowing it on Saturday morning, you know, Right. I can do it on most any day of the week. When the days start getting a little longer, you know, you can, I can start doing it in the evening after work. Uh-huh. That's right. When they, when they switch to, switch, Yeah. when we get an hour more, Yeah. when they rollback an hour. That's coming up here pretty soon. Is it this weekend? I don't know. It's pretty soon. I really don't know. It just seems like I here it on the news the day before. Yeah. And, uh, I, I think it's coming up here soon. I believe it is too. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Are you having any trouble with bugs in, in your garden? Uh, not a whole lot, uh. I, I don't use, I, I seldom use anything harsher than seven dust, you know. Uh-huh. I don't really like to put a lot chemicals on it but then, again, I don't want the bugs eating it upping either. Right. Right. I, I, it seems like they come in spurts. Uh-huh. One year I didn't put anything on and I didn't have any problems. Uh-huh. Next year I was planting some broccoli and, and some of those, they're called cabbage, cabbage loppers, or whatever. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. They were just covered with them, Yeah. I mean, I went up, I didn't go out there for about three days, you know, because I, and I went out there one day and the plant was nothing left but a stem, Uh-huh. That's right. they devoured it that quickly. Absolutely. They really go through it, And, they, they, have a, you, a good appetite they really do. Yeah. And they would, you know, I, I picked off like twenty of them and, You know cutworms will do the same thing to your tomato vines too. yeah. Boy, they'll strip, They got that, uh, what is that safer soap, uh, B T spray this, year. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. And I've been watching them every day and I've, and I haven't seen any signs yet. So, if I see any signs I'm going to spray them, Yeah. and, uh, I did something a little bit different this year that I haven't done before, I've got, my garden is shaped that I can, it's kind like this, uh, box shape, so I got four pieces of two by twelve and joined them together and just made a box. And put in a whole bunch like eight hundred pounds of topsoil and manure Right. and, you know, various other things, Raised it up. Well, the good stuff. Right. And I'm hoping especially with those big tall sides on there it that maybe I won't have, oh, I'll have less of a bug problem at least they, they'll have a hard time crawling up the thing. Right. Yeah, my backyard is, uh, is sloping so I built a box up, you know had to build the one, the low side up. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I had sandy loam hauled in. I had a dump truck come and dump it. Uh-huh. On my driveway, I guess, that's what they do and then, I had to wheel barrow it in. Yeah, Right. But, uh, you know, you can improve your own soil there Uh-huh. but the Texas soil isn't the greatest, gardening soil. That's right, you, you have to work on. You, really do. Right. And you know, if I, I didn't wait five years for it to be good enough grow you know what I mean That's right. When we had our pool done I had them to leave some extra loam, you know, for my garden so I had, I had a lot of loam out there to start with I just turned it all up and mixed it all up together with, Uh-huh. Do you have, do you have a rotor tiller? No. I don't, I did it by hand, Small enough, you have a, just do it by hand? Uh-huh. Yeah. It wasn't too much of a job, really. Yeah. Yeah. Like I say it's just, Yeah. I'd like to get one of these little small ones, that you see in all these gardening magazines. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. It would be handy. And it weighs twenty pounds or, something like that. Yeah. My neighbor across the street has one. He always uses it to dethatch his lawn, Uh-huh. I see him out there, Yeah. and I guess it has a thatcher attachment to it. It might be handy, Yeah. Yeah. They're pretty neat little, I've never seen one. I have a friend who has one and, and he lets me, you know, no problem borrowing if it's, just a hassle when you know, to go up Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. and it's a fairly large one to, heave it up into the back of the van, bring it home and, check it back and just grab it, you know, if I, just go to my garage and grab it. Yeah. Uh-huh Right. Yeah. That would be neat, sure. That would be nice. We've had a garden, gosh, for years and years and years, of some size, you know, Uh-huh. I can't remember a year when we didn't have one of some kind. What have you got growing right now? Uh, got, you know tomatoes that are starting to bloom Uh-huh. and, uh, I've got carrots, I yes, I've got a few carrots up and I've got some radishes up, Uh-huh. and as a matter of fact, I've already done a second row of radishes. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, the green onions are coming along. Okay, Snow, what kind, excuse me. what kind of onions do you grow? Do you grow those, those ten, fifteen Y? Yes, I've for the first time we planted them this year. Oh, they, they are the best. Yeah. We tried to find them last year, we screwed around and waited too long and I couldn't find a nursery that had any of them left. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But we've got some this year. Uh, those, Snow peas are up and, uh, my wife does, uh, a small herb garden on the side. I see. They're up and doing fine. Yeah. I, uh, those onions, I think, we, we planted like twice as much this year because, you know, we got, onions and they lasted from, you know, about when you harvest them about a month from now or so, or six weeks, from now, until, until like October, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. and, uh, we really missed them when they were gone, because the ones from the grocery store just can't, compare. Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of a, let down. She made these onion rings that were so good, Oh, I bet, and, and, and, uh, you don't realize how many dishes you put onions in, that it's an ingredient, they were. That's right. We use a lot, we sure do. and, and it was just like everything you put it into tasted so much better. Yeah. One nice thing with onions and, and bell peppers at least you can chop them and freeze them if you have, you know, too many. Right. Right. We froze a lot of peppers. We let some turn red. Yeah. Uh-huh. We did that too, And some we do green and then my wife puts them on pizzas. And, and chops them up in recipes and things like that. Uh-huh. Sure. Makes, uh, makes a colorful salad too. Oh, yeah. Put them in salad, yeah. Uh-huh. You're, you're making me hungry here. We planted some yellow peppers this year. We've tried it, before Oh. and nope, we haven't had much luck with it we're going to try it again this year. Yellow peppers, huh. They have some little buds on them hopefully they'll do something. Yeah. Sounds like you have a real good garden. Yeah. We enjoy fooling around with it. Just let me see what I got, I got the peas and I've got some broccoli, uh, onions some, some radishes and, uh, uh, beets. Beets. Yeah, we've got some beets, uh-huh. Uh, and I planted potatoes too. Uh-huh. I've never done potato. We used to do it at home when I was a kid, had a huge garden. Oh, the potato, They were, they're delicious but they, you don't get, seem to get that much for the space, Uh-huh. they, they do. It takes a, yeah, it does take some space. Some beet, uh, potatoes Yeah. and I've got some tomatoes still growing, in, in containers, Uh-huh. I see. I got to wait for a place to, to, to free up. Uh-huh. Uh, our, our kids love pickles and we all love pickles so we're going to try to grow our own pickles this year. Uh-huh. That will be neat, yeah. We've got some good, um, um, Hybrid Burpee uh uh, pickler cucumbers Uh-huh. and we're going to try to see if we can pickle our own That will be neat, yeah. Absolutely, they're expensive. I know it. I said, why are they so expensive they're just a bunch of little cucumbers, you know? I don't know unless it, labor intensive or something. I really, don't know. I guess. But we're going to try that, and see how that works. That will be interesting. An experiment. Yeah. I'd like to try, you know, just try something new, every year that, I haven't tried before Sure. Yeah. and, That's interesting. Well. Well, I'll let you go it's, All right. Okay, are you on an exercise program now or, Yeah, I exercise pretty regularly. Uh-huh. I lift weights quite a bit. Uh-huh. Um, I run occasionally. Let's see what else do I do. Play golf some, and I work out on a, on a hanging bag. I'm brown belt in karate, so I keep up with that a little bit. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. How about you. Um, the only exercise program I'm doing right now is walking. Uh-huh. I've got a nine month old, and I'm four months pregnant with my second, and so, at the time, walking seems to be the best. It's something I can do with her, plus, um, doesn't tax me too physically. Uh-huh. I have enjoyed aerobics in the past, and I enjoy that because I like the group association, you know, like exercising with other people. Yeah. And, um, and that's my favorite way to exercise. Well, that's neat. Yeah, I do walk some too. My wife's about five months along Oh. so she's been walking quite a bit, so that is a good exercise for that. Yeah, it's nice to do it together, too, I guess. Uh-huh. My husband and I use to walk together, but our schedules don't coincide as well as they used to, and so, we very seldom get together to walk but, when you, when you work out, do you pretty much do it on your own schedule, or do you go to groups or, I, I do it on my own schedule. Uh-huh. We used to try and belong to clubs or the Y, stuff like that, but it was so difficult to go on a regular basis, to drive the distance you have to go. Uh-huh. Save the fees, we've, uh, just save the fees and buy some of our own equipment. So, And then you can do it whenever you want I guess. Yeah, I've got a weight bench, and we got my wife an exercise bike, and I use that sometimes too. Uh-huh. It's a little more convenient, but, you're, I guess you're not as dedicated if you don't drive over to do it. I guess it depends on the person, depends on how motivated you are. Uh-huh. Because my husband used to work out three days a week with, uh, at the Texas Instruments gym. Uh-huh. And then I would just go on Saturdays. But, since the first of the year neither one of us have been going. Yeah. So, I guess, like I say, we've been paying these fees and not going, so it's kind of a waste of money if you don't take advantage of it. Yeah, I think you really have to be disciplined. Yeah. I, uh, I try to work out at least a couple of times a week, and I think you really have to, at least twice a week, just to maintain the shape that you're in. Yeah. With the walking, I think they said you need to walk at least twelve miles a week for it to be aerobically beneficial. Uh-huh. And we, I have two friends, that we walk. They have babies that are about the same ages as, as mine, and we've been walking every morning at, going when it was cold we would go to the mall because you can't take the babies out very easily. Yeah. So we, when we go, we have about, do about fifteen miles a week, but the last little while, for one reason or another, we haven't been real consistent. So it's a little harder when you're depending on other people to do it with you because you have to meet their schedules as well, Uh-huh. but but I enjoy doing it more when I've got other people with me. Sure. You know, I usually do it because I want to, because I know it's good for me, not because, I don't feel obligated to do it. I enjoy it. If I feel too obligated to do it, I start to rebel, and I won't be as consistent with it. Yeah, I understand. Did you exercise between your first child and your second? I exercised pretty well up until I found, uh, until I was pregnant, and I started having pains. So I've calmed down everything except, I was working out doing aerobic exercises as well as the, um, walking, Yeah. And I had to stop the aerobics because it was just kind of painful. But the T I rec center has an aerobics program for, for, um, prenatal and postnatal aerobic type thing. Um. And I was going to wait until, um, about my sixth month and then start that. I did that with the second baby, and, um, I went to my exercise class one day, and then she was delivered the next day. Gosh. So, it would seem to be real beneficial. Uh-huh, yeah. Maybe it, maybe it speeded up the process and all that. Well I think it made parts of it a lot easier. And, and is this your first that you're having? Uh-huh. Oh, okay, well, then I don't know how much you've been through it, but I think parts of it made a lot easier. And, I've talked to a lot of ladies that exercise with one pregnancy and didn't with the other, and they said that they had that the one they had exercised with was three or four times easier. Really. And we've, I had, having both of them natural, the first one was natural and going natural the second, and, and it's, it's rough but it's not as bad as I thought it would be, and I think the exercise helped. Well, that's good. So, do you work with T I? No, I don't. My, my wife has been working with them. Oh, okay, well then she could go if she were interested. Uh-huh. I think, that's what the class that meets on Saturday mornings. So she could find out if she wanted to go. It's kind of fun because with the first pregnancy all the other ladies except one were on their first pregnancy, and they would talk about exercise and just general things relating to the birthing process. And so for us it was educational as well as exercise beneficial. So, At least its something you enjoy. I know a lot of people that talk about exercise and say, Well, I don't want to exercise, it's too much work. But there's a lot of different things you can do that are enjoyable that you don't have to strain yourself or sweat or be real sore afterwards. That's right. Yeah. And sometimes if you get a little soreness you feel like, Well I've done a good job because I got, worked myself to that point. But I guess that you don't want to overdo. But well have we reached our limit? I'm not sure how long we've been talking but, Yeah, I think we've talked about six minutes or so. Okay, well it's been good talking to you. Been good talking to you as well. Okay, I hope your baby goes well comes out well. Thanks. Yours too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, well what do you think? Well, I'm kind of leaning towards, I don't know, I'm thinking about what, from one to ten what my no would be. It would probably be somewhere closer to, uh, less control because I don't see, I'm not a member of the N R A although my, father is. Uh-huh. But, I guess I believe, I think the N R A has gone overboard the wrong way. You know, Yeah. they're sitting there on number ten, they're saying absolutely no gun control, we don't even want to think about it and, and I think that's a dumb, situation. Yeah. Because there has got to be some kind of background check to see, that the people who are buying a gun are buying it for a useful purpose, you know, if, if you're going to hunt with it, or if you're going to do sport shooting you can wait a week. Uh-huh. Right. That's true. It's not a big deal for them to go. If they're can check your drivers license every time you get a ticket, you know, I mean, they should be able to go back and find out if you've had any kind of psychiatric record, armed, you know, felony record. Right. That's true. any of that kind of stuff. And, it seems to me right now that there's not, there's not that much of a check. I, I'm not really sure what Texas law, I think there's a check for felonies, on your record. Right. But, If the gun shop owner does it, Uh-huh. you know, but, Yeah, but he has to go out and do it. That's true, I think, Yeah, if, and if it's a private sale, of course, then there's nothing. Right. And, see that's my only problem with, uh, And I was walking, and it got kind of dark. Uh-huh. And I was by myself, and there was this fellow in this truck that kept circling the block. Ooh. And, so I, I kind of got frightened, and I kind of use that as an excuse. All I have to do, is start earlier, but. Right. I haven't walked since, so. It's always easy to find an excuse not to exercise. I know what you mean. Yeah, it sure is. It sure is. How about you? Do you exercise on a regular basis? Um, well, I try to. Um, I started at the beginning of this year, I decided all right, I'm going to start exercising again, I'm going to be real good, and I went through the T I fitness center and registered for the, uh, aerobics classes there. Uh-huh. And they run for two months at a time. And you have to, you do have to pay to take them. And I took, I signed up for one that was three nights a week, an hour and a half, so that was four and a half hours a week. Oh. And it cost sixty dollars, and I thought, okay, that's not cheap, that'll encourage me to always go since I spent that much money. Right. And I had a friend of mine going, so I was real good, I only missed it about three times. And then, oh, March came around, and I signed up again, and I got, uh, caught up with a class I was taking at T I, and then I was having to work some real late hours to get caught with my work after I got out of class. Uh-huh. And then I went to Colorado Springs the next week to do some training at the T I up there. And so that was two weeks I had missed, and, boy, I tell you what, I've been terrible ever since then. Yeah, it's once you get out of that habit you just don't, you don't get back into it. Uh-huh. Because I teach school, and last year a bunch of teachers had an aerobics class. We went in together and hired a private instructor, and she came to our school twice a week. Uh-huh. And, I, I was, I would go faithfully, and then I missed once. Then I went back again a couple times and missed another time, and then kept missing and never went back again. Uh-huh. I think, if you, you just have to stick with it. Oh, yeah. I think I've been two maybe three times the month of April, and this session is about to run out. Now I signed up for a different one now that's only two nights a week because I am getting kind of into a real busy schedule as far as teaching a lot of training classes and some of them require me to go out of town, Uh-huh. and, and, uh, that just kind of throws my whole schedule off on doing that. Yeah. lately, uh, there's been nights that I could have gone and I've found excuses, uh things like I had the flu last week, Yeah. but I'm fine this week. I could have gone Monday. I could have gone tonight, and I didn't. Yeah. So, I'm kind of finding excuses, and now it's kind of like, well, this is the last week. I'll just start fresh next week. But, I better better do it. And I think another thing is that my friend that was taking with me the first two months wasn't the second two months. She started taking tennis lessons, and so I haven't had that extra motivation, of, of us forcing each other, or not forcing each other but encouraging each other to go. Yeah. So. Sure, yeah that makes a difference when you have somebody to go with and to do the same the same thing. Uh-huh. Like it's misery loves company. I don't really love exercise. I mean, some I, the neighbor across the street, she goes, belongs to President's, and, uh, it's not President's any more. I don't know what the name of it is anymore. But she loves it. Uh-huh. I mean, it's just, it's an automatic high for her. Uh-huh. She just enjoys it so much. And I don't. Yeah. I'm the same way. I feel good after I do it, but I hate it when I'm doing it. Yeah. You know, I just, I don't enjoy it at all, and she just loves it. So. Even when she doesn't go to the health club, she runs, you know. Uh-huh. And, it's a daily thing for her. So, it, you know, and it's so hard for me. I envy her, I wish I could be that way, but I don't. I don't, I do too. and I have an older sister that loves running, too, and she runs all the time, but at, to me, it's every minute's agony, and I, in fact, I don't run. I hate to run. Uh-huh. Like when I walk I'll take along a radio or something and that helps, you know, pass the time. Right. Yeah, walking is kind of boring. I do have a few friends that live in my apartment complex in this neighborhood, and we try to, we used to try to get together, and I think now that the weather's getting nicer we're going to start doing it again and occasionally go walking. There's a real nice residential area right behind our apartment complex. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And it's not as boring if you get several people That's right. and you can kind of talk, and, and it, it makes it pass pretty quickly, and the aerobics isn't too boring. I kind of enjoy it when I'm doing it. Um, it's a lot more fun than some other things I could do, I guess. Yeah, yeah. But, uh, I do, I do have to make myself go, and of course while I'm doing it I feel pretty good, and after I get finished I feel great. Oh, it's great afterwards, yeah. I mean, I can go in there, I can be, like a Friday afternoon when I'm tired, it's the end of the week and I just want to go home. And I'll make myself go, and I'll have headache and everything, and I get out, I don't have a headache any more. I feel great, and I'm just, it's amazing how much better I feel. Yeah. And then just in general, I sleep a lot better Yeah, that's right. and I just feel much better. I mean, I've been kind of dragging the last few weeks, and I know if I would just get around to exercising I'd feel better. Exactly it does, it gives you energy. But my dragginess is my excuse for not exercising. Yeah. Well, I'm too tired, or I have a headache or, well, I just got over the flu, and I'm still kind of draggy so I better not go It's kind of a vicious circle isn't it? Yeah, it really is. Yeah, I find, too, that I have more energy when I exercise, and, you know, it's silly not to, but, I don't know, it's just a put off. I don't know why I don't do more, and I, and I know that it's good for my health. I know, you know, from everything that you read and you see on television now, exercise is so important to good health. Right. So, you know, you, not only, you know, you're not only doing something to keep yourself fit, but you're probably prolonging your life. So. Right. There's no reason that we shouldn't do it, but I don't know. It's just hard to make yourself go. And I, I think one thing I don't like about aerobics is that after I'm finished it's kind of late at night, and I've been sweaty, and, and it, you know, I don't really feel like going in the grocery store all sweaty or running errands. Yeah. So it kind of kills the evening for doing errands. So I think a Tuesday Thursday might be a little bit better. Yeah. Of course, I feel like once I've done it, if I'm sweaty I might as well do an extra thirty minutes because you've already kind of shot your night. Right. But, um, so I'm kind of glad they have a longer class on Tuesday, Thursday now that I can just kill two nights, and and, uh, get a reasonable amount of workout in. Yeah. Does it cost the same for just two nights or, No, it's less expensive. Well, that's good, too. This one was only forty-five dollars. But I'm glad it's not too totally cheap, because if it was too cheap I would talk myself out of going more, probably. Yeah, yeah. Since it's more expensive, I think, Okay, you spent that much money, you'd better go That's right, that's right. So hopefully. Yeah, yeah, it's right there, and it's, they have a really nice facility at the T I. They've got two different aerobics rooms, they have the mirrors. Of course, sometimes you don't like to see the mirrors on the wall you don't like to see how you work. But, I guess, sometimes it kind of motivates you to really get going. But, Yeah, and then they hire private instructors? Uh-huh. Oh, that's great. And they have ceiling fans in the rooms, and it's, it's a pretty nice setup. Um, and of course it's real convenient, because it is right there at work. I think if I had to come home and then go somewhere, I'd never make it. Yeah. And just the fact that I can go straight from my desk over to the, the recreation center and do it helps a lot. Uh-huh. Yeah, I can see that would be, uh, easy. They make it as easy as they possibly can for you. Oh, yeah Well, um, do a lot of people take advantage of it? Quite a few do. They have probably, ooh, I'd say fifteen different, fifteen to twenty different aerobics classes each session that are running, and they have them anywhere from six in the morning. Uh, they have some during, during lunch hour that are shorter, and I guess guys can take advantage of that. For me, I wouldn't have time to do an hour, hour of aerobics and then take a shower and get, get dressed again. Oh, yeah. But there's a lot more guys that do that one. Uh-huh. And, um, they have them, you know, in the evenings, they even have some late night ones for people that work second shift and things like that. So they have big variety. They even have some, uh, aerobic, uh, water aerobics when the weather gets nice out in the pool. I've never done that one before. But. Oh, you have a pool there, too? Uh-huh. Oh, how nice. They've got an olympic pool, and, and basketball courts and sand volleyball. They've got the full weight room and, uh, the locker rooms with, uh, a jacuzzi and sauna and the shower facilities, and hair dryers, and all the, you know, everything you'd need just about. Wow. It's a real, it is a real nice facility. It's also got a full inside basketball court, and I think they're working on building a jogging track and some other things. But it's, it is very nice. That's great. I just don't take as much advantage of it as I should. Now to use, I mean, I'm just now finally starting to do the aerobics thing. But. Well, does it cost money like to use the, to exercise in the weight room or to, uh, to to go swimming. Do you have to pay for that, too. Yeah. You can get a fitness membership that allows you to use the facilities, and it's about eight dollars a month. Oh, that's not bad. No, not at all Huh-uh. Pretty cheap. Um. And then the aerobics cost extra even if you have the fitness membership, but, I think the aerobics classes are even pretty reasonably priced, from what I've heard. I think so too, yeah. Well, and people of all ages take advantage of the aerobics? Hm? People of all ages take advantage of the aerobics? Oh, yeah, in fact, uh, the T I-er's families can come in on these things, I'll let you go first. Oh, well, what's there to say? Doesn't seem like it's being carried out very well in my opinion. Seems like it takes so long between conviction and carrying out the penalty that I don't see that it makes any difference to sentence anybody. Yeah, it seems like they could die of old age waiting to get the death penalty. Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. Um, I, in Maryland they, they do have capital punishment, Uh-huh. and, uh, I've seen, uh, a lot of people get convicted, sentenced, and then just nothing happens, just endless, endless, endless appeals. Yeah. Uh-huh, well from what I I saw a statistic just a few days ago, um, so far this year, or was it during the last year, during a year's time, I think it was they executed twenty-five people in the nation. Meanwhile, there were twenty-five hundred people on death row. So I, I, and it's building up, you know, they're, they're convicting them faster than they're executing them so it's really building up. Yeah, what's amazing is some of them have been on death row for a number of years. Uh-huh. And, uh, here in Maryland I know we have a real problem with overcrowding in prisons, uh, just, Yeah, everybody's got that. Yeah, but I mean, in, here it's, uh, to the point where they were letting prisoners go. Uh, commuting the sentences of those that were in, in jail for lesser crimes, in order to put more people in, into the jails. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. And it was just, uh, amazing to me, and of course they made a big deal out of the, the few that got out and turned around and committed a crime within five days of getting out, and being rearrested an. Yeah. Isn't, isn't Maryland where the famous Willy Horton case was. Uh, I can't remember. Refresh my memory. It was, uh, that was the one that was used so much in the campaign. In the in the presidential race. Uh, may, it may not have been Maryland. It may have been Massachusetts, I don't remember. Um, I don't remember myself. Anyway, well the question is, you know, do you think, it does make a difference in whether or not a criminal commits a crime or do you think it can if it's done right? Um, I think if they, if they started executing them on a regular basis, uh, that I think it might make a difference. Right now, I don't see it making a difference. If it, I don't see someone not going out there and committing murder because they're afraid they're going to get sentenced to death. I mean, most people out there committing murders don't care. Uh-huh They just don't care. Yeah. Well I think in large measure the reason they don't care, it's not because the punishment, but so many of the people that commit crimes don't get punished. Yeah. The police don't catch them, or the courts don't convict them, or, or they don't serve very much of the time and so, uh, you know, their, their success rate is very high. Crime does pay, you can make a good living at it. Yeah, yeah, and there's, uh, there's a lot of people here in Baltimore that, uh, have and we just had, uh, a real big cocaine bust, and of course, you know, they're, they're playing it up real big that it was, looked like it was a very, very small ring and they just happened to get lucky and catch the guy. Yeah. But, I mean, uh, Baltimore has, uh, an all time record for the number of deaths so far this year. I think they've got over a hundred dead already this year. Last year it was D C, I guess Baltimore caught them. Well, it's kind of, it's kind of moved up and you have to remember that it, it, it, uh, there's, I think, X number of people out there that are going to commit murders, Uh-huh and, uh, once you kill off a few of them Yeah. I mean if you murder a guy because he murdered your partner or something like that, I mean pretty soon you run out of people to murder. Yeah, the only consolation is so many of the murders are, you know, the, the violent people going against each other and so they, you know, society's not going to put them to death, well at least maybe the guy they cross next time is going to. Uh, I think, I think capital punishment is an appropriate punishment for the kind of people where we say, you know, this sort of person is just not acceptable to our society and we are there by going to remove them from society, not temporarily, but permanently. Yeah. I mean, I, I personally think life imprisonment, I don't think much of of life imprisonment. First of all, it's never, turns out to be life, but second, you know, why should we, the idea of life imprisonment with no chance of parole. Well that means you're going to put them in a cage you think it's never ever going to be safe for them to walk the streets again, well then, why bother. Just execute them, because that's, that way you're sure they'll never ever going to walk the streets again. Yeah. So any, any, anybody that says life in prison with no chance of parole, I'd say, uh, give them the death penalty So, Yeah, you know, it makes sense, um, you know, you have the occasional person who may have been falsely accused, but I mean, uh, so few and far between, uh, you know, makes good T V movies and that's about it. Yeah, and, and also, um, the, the thing I don't like about a lot of these court trials and a lot of these appeals is that it's not based on what is true and what is false but rather it's on the rules of evidence, what can I hide and what do I have to tell. Yeah. And I think our courts should be geared much more strongly towards finding out the truth than they currently are. Yeah. And, and that way we can be sure, you know, we can find out the truth, we can find out what really happened and, and base the sentence on what the person did, not on what we're allowed to let the jury hear Yeah, I had, my, uh, my father-in-law participated in a, uh, a jury trial, he was, he was actually on the jury, Uh-huh and, uh, this man was accused of killing, uh, I think it was two people, uh, and shooting a, uh, policeman, um, point blank in the face. Of course he didn't die. Uh-huh. And, uh, this was during a holdup of a, uh, uh, a restaurant and it came out during the trial that, um, they had tried to rob another place and, uh, when the guy came out with the bag they thought was money, it turned out to be a couple cookies, and, uh, you know, jumbo cookies and, and so they were so upset from robbing this guy, you know, trying to do this holdup that didn't work that they quite literally were mad and went into a restaurant to hold the place up and just started, you know, shooting people. Just started shooting people, because they botched the first job You know it's, and, so now they're going to get even. Yeah. Yeah, and get even with who, I mean, Yeah. you know, stupid guys And, uh, it turned out that the, you know, policeman survived to the point that he was able to, you know, identify the guy. Uh-huh. And of course, you know, they tried to make the cop look like he was, uh, a, uh, no good rotten drunk. Yeah. I mean it was amazing. So what was the verdict, what was the results there. Oh, he was found guilty, yeah. Oh. He, uh, um, last I heard, he, uh, he beat a push for the death penalty. Now whether they finally got it or not, I don't know. Uh-huh. I kind of, uh, stopped listening after a while. Uh-huh. Um, you know, he would come home and, and, you know, after the trial was over he came home and told us what was going on and of course then they had to go back to you know, after he had to go, The, the penalty phase, yeah, they've, decide the penalty separately from the verdict. Right. And, uh, yeah everybody, everybody was pretty much, you know, let's burn him. Uh-huh. And that's, you know, that's the way they wanted to do it. And he was surprised because he thought there was going to be a problem because he, uh, you know some people on the case were, were a little hesitant on convicting him on some of the charges but I mean when it all came down, they just, within an hour decided the man's fate. Yeah, well, you know, you just have to decide, you know, well there's really two separate decisions there I guess, one is, did it really happen the way the, the prosecutor said it happened, you know, is this man really guilty, and you have to decide that, but then you have to decide, you know, as a member of society what do I want to do with this guy who did this thing. Yeah. And that I, I've never been on a jury, I've never had that experience, I'm not sure I'd look forward to making that kind of decision about a man's life. Yeah, yeah, well, it, it, it went pretty, pretty quick from what he said. Uh-huh But I mean there's, there's, there's a lot of other crimes out there, I mean besides murder, I think, uh, now if you're dealing drugs now, caught more than twice or something, uh, it, there's, uh, a death penalty associated with it. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well the thing I'd be most likely to attach the death penalty to is the violence. I mean, I can handle people, people selling drugs, you know, it's, it's wrong, but it, it's not worth somebody getting executed for. But we hear so much about the violence and how it's not safe to walk the streets because somebody, you know, these random drive by shootings and that sort of thing. Uh-huh. And the people I'd most likely want to sentence to death are the people that just show a really low regard for human life. That, you know, you, never know when they're going to turn or hurt the next person because it doesn't really matter to them whether someone else gets hurt or not. Yeah, yeah, I agree. And so I go, these are the kind of people I would like to get out of here and get out of circulation and say I don't, we don't accept your kind in our society. Yeah, I agree, I, I've, I have, uh, a low tolerance for that kind of, uh, that kind of person. And, uh, as far as, uh, you know there are some, some other crimes that I think, uh, you know, uh, kidnapping, um, you know, when they, I mean kidnapping per se has a certain, uh, uh, fine and penalty associated with it, Uh-huh. but, um, some of these people are just out and out brutal. I, some of the cases I've heard about over the years, I pay a good deal of taxes I guess, because I, I make a fair amount of money, and, uh, the taxes that I pay, um, I guess as a, as a general statement, I feel I, I guess I get my money's worth for. Okay. I'm not sure, though, whether I feel, I guess I am sure that I feel that, in general, though, uh, the allocation, uh, of the taxes in certain areas, isn't correct. Well, I'm sure that, uh, probably every person in this country would agree with you on that. Because everybody has a different idea of where the money should go. Well, I, I, lately, I guess, um, uh, or, at least for the last twenty years or so, I've felt that the expenditures of our taxes into high cost, uh, defense items, at least in the last ten years, have been, uh, there's been and extraordinary amount of money spent there, and I'm not really sure that, that we've gotten our money's worth there, uh, regardless of the outcome of the Desert Storm, uh, Desert Shield, uh, situations. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, I guess my particular beef is that having participated in the military off and on over the, over the years of being called back and things of that nature, is, uh, I've found that, you know, there's an extraordinary amount of waste. I take that as a, as a given in any military operation and Oh yeah, no argument here. yeah, and I I, I should imagine that, that, that what the, what the problem, why I, I'm, I'm a little concerned about today is that this, uh, rather, uh, quick and, and easy, I don't know, I shouldn't say easy, rather quick victory in the, in, in the, uh, Mideast, uh, uh, over the, uh, Iraqis, uh, might lead us into, uh, a false sense of security that we can do that against any other foe. I'm, I, I don't know what other foe that would be, but, uh, I, I'm just getting nervous again, now hearing the voices come up that there has to be increased expenditures in that area. Yeah, well, of course, uh, a lot of, uh, a lot of missiles and things were expended in the course of fighting the war, and the, and the inventory's going to have to be restocked, uh, on, now I work for T I, and one of the things we were told is, like, they had eleven thousand HARM missiles which T I is the sole supplier for, and they used up two thousand of them in, in the war, so they're going to have to do another contract to restock that, to get ready in case something else is needed. Yeah, but, it, it, it, would that be, uh, well, let's see, two thousand out of eleven thousand, that's about a little over twenty per cent. Uh, I, I should imagine that, that would be to keep it at a level, those levels, I guess, that, that were originally appropriated was when the Soviet threat, I guess, was perceived as being a greater one. I don't think there's very much of a threat there today. I do worry about what nuclear weapons are left in the territories, uh, in their territory over there, and who's controlling them, but that's true, that's true. I, I don't know what amount of, what amount of, our hardware would stop some fanatic, I guess, from doing anything, uh, that would be irrational. Well, of course now, we used up twenty per cents, per cent of that inventory, in a matter of just a few weeks, Right. Yeah. and, uh, uh, uh, T I also makes the missile, which was the, the T V laser guided bombs Yeah. and, and, a big percentage of that was expended, as well, that that that was just a matter of, Oh, what is the name of that? Uh, it's called Paveway. Yes, yes. And, uh, a big percentage of that was used up during that conflict also. So those are two areas in which T I stands to, to gain some, some short term business to restock that. Yeah, well, uh, I'm, what I'm, uh, I guess uh, it, concerned about, talking about the taxes in general, and that, that was an area that I, I perceive as not being the best expenditure for the amount of dollar that we're taxed for, uh, in the area of defense, or perhaps we have paid too much there, I don't know, it just seems to me that over the years, now, the, and, and it's, it's a cliche, I, I, but I see it myself, I see where the infrastructure is sort of breaking down, the roads, the highways. Oh, no doubt. I, I, I don't know, uh, I I'm familiar with some, some upbeat school areas, so I don't totally agree with the, the great, uh, uh, with the, with the great expenditure of effort and time there, but I guess overall, because I guess I'm not associated with what ghetto schools, and, and, uh, and, uh, rural school systems are like, I, I should imagine that would take an enormous expenditure. Yeah, as a matter of fact, in Texas, um, we've had our school funding system declared unconstitutional by the, a state judge, and they, and, uh, the legislature just passed what they called a Robin Hood Bill, which, basically, what it does, is it takes extra money from the more affluent school districts, that are, that are, you know come from local taxes and send them to other parts of the state, that are not so affluent. Uh-huh. They, they don't have a broad based income tax that funds the educational system, Uh, well, or is it all funded out of local taxes? okay, to to give you some perspective, this, this town that I had lived in for sometime in nineteen eighty-three was funded sixty-five per cent by state funds. Yeah. Then we had a number of education reforms, that the legislature said, hey, we got to do this, we got to do this, we got to do this, but, they forgot to put in the state budget the money to pay for it, and they dumped it all on the local school districts. So, Sounds like the way the federal and state system works now. Really. Yeah. So, so what ended up happening was, was a, was a shift. We went to sixty-five per cent state funding to sixty-five per cent local funding in a matter of four years. And, uh, I mean, Oh, complete, complete. It's all shifted to local districts, and now, even the money that's been raised for the local districts is being, is going to be siphoned off and sent to other parts of the state. That's right, and, and I have, I have no problem, with, uh, a certain, uh, floor level, minimum level, that's a standard uh, that everybody, uh, ought to be able to have, uh, Yeah. but, I am opposed to, any attempts to restrict, um, local communities from taxing themselves above that to provide above the minimum. Yes, I see what you're saying. Uh, I, uh, I, I do, I, I guess I am a uh, a strong and staunch supporter of some subsidy for any forms of education. I mean, by that I mean, I'm a product myself, I have, uh, a, a, a, a background of, uh, being, uh, getting my college education through the G I Bill. So did I. My Masters, anyway. What, but, uh, when I look at it to me, uh, it doesn't really make any difference. It was a marvelous opportunity that I couldn't have done, I don't think I would have gone on, unless I had that financial uh, easement made possible. Yeah. That's right. And I, I don't really care what it takes to qualify, whether you're, uh, an, an whether you're a veteran or whether you, I don't even know if you have to perform community service, or unless, uh, or, or you promise to even do something in the future, I think that, uh, the, that, that, the subsidy itself, or I guess the enactment of that form of legislation, would give many people who, I, I think, I think I perceive the fact, Uh-huh. at least what I read, is that some younger people feel that education is priced out of their, uh, out of their, uh, budget. I know in the state of Florida just today, uh, the, the legislature, uh, adjourned, and, uh, they had completed a fifteen per cent increase in the, in the, uh, state land grant colleges, which, which isn't, I mean, to me it doesn't sound like a lot of money, but I guess it would be for fifteen hundred dollars a year. Uh-huh. They went from eleven to fifteen hundred, Yeah. and, uh, for an out of state student the tuition went up twenty-five per cent. I don't know what that would be. Yeah, they had to, they had to raise, uh, community college taxes here, a few years ago. But that, uh, I guess that goes along with the general idea that the federal government had to, uh, was expending so much money on defense, uh, that, that the program now is a, uh, program now is, uh, fees that, that fund these things, I guess that's trickled down to the states and, the states now establish, uh, don't have enough money Uh-huh. so they, they must charge fees. Uh, I, I'm not too sure of that reasoning. Yeah. But I guess to get back to the main topic, I don't know whether I pay too much taxes. I, I, I travel extensively in Europe and see enormous, uh, people pay, uh, a great deal in taxes, they tell me when I sit and talk to people there they tell me they, they, some states they pay, uh, in Germany or in, in England in some cases people in my income level, at least, allege that they pay up to fifty-five percent of their gross income in taxes. Oh, oh, I can believe that. But, but, I'm not too sure when I put my property tax in, my car tax, my income tax, and these myriad of, uh, now it costs me money to leave the country, some sort of a tax to leave the country, some sort of an airport departure tax, uh, uh, a tax, a sales tax which is getting to, uh, quite high levels, Yeah, yeah. I'm not sure that I'm not up fairly close to that. Well, I guarantee you, you'd be paying a lot more in taxes if, uh, the Democrats had more say. You really think so? Yeah, I really do. But I mean, what's, what's happened here is, is, is I feel that, that in the last ten years, uh, my taxes have gone up, they haven't gone down. I pay uh, quite a bit more taxes Yeah. and, and, and, Everybody, everybody is. but that's been a Republican government for the last ten years. Well, what, what, what they've been able to do is slow down the rate of increase To keep it, to keep it from becoming even more obnoxious. Well I, Yeah. Well, this has been really interesting, and I've enjoyed our talk. Okay, uh, I guess I just push something here. Push one again, right? No, you just, uh, we just say, say good-bye and that's it. Just hang up. Okay, Don, good talking with you. Nice talking with you, too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Um, I think life, uh, now I grew up on a farm, I don't, what kind did you grow up in the farm. I grew up in, um, well, at that time I was in a, uh, Trenton , New Jersey so, and it was a suburb of Trenton , so I really had mixture of suburb, and urban living. Uh-huh. Yeah. I think though it was much slower and, uh, much more self-contained. I think you're right. It's interesting I'm, um, I work in a high school. Uh-huh. So, uh, I'm comparing my life when I was in high school thirty years ago to what I see these children doing. Yes. And the pressures on the children, uh, you know, you hear this as an excuse, but it's true they are so much greater. Unreal, unreal by comparison. Oh, I cannot believe, uh, what they're doing, uh, academically the demands on them and, uh, and I can see why children do drop out. Yeah, I think that's right. I can see, I can see the, uh, you know, I, I can remember as a child, you know, nobody ever worried about me wondering out at night and going where I wanted to go. Uh-huh, uh-huh. It wasn't, it didn't occur to nobody to worry that anything would happen to me they were, And you, you didn't, you didn't have to lock your door. No, no. And, uh, a some of these are urban worries but, uh, it's, uh, it's a lot different all though I guess twenty years a go now, in this area, things were, um, similar because twenty years ago let's see, it was after, It's not all that long ago is it yeah, to twenty, twenty-five years ago is when we had the Washington riots, Uh-huh, uh-huh. the first rights we've been having some problem now and it reminded me of that. Yeah, we were living in New Jersey. Uh, in, twenty years ago. Uh-huh. Whereabouts? In Allendale . Uh-huh. And, uh, I use to have to go over to Patterson when those riots were going on, at sometimes. Uh-huh. Um, I don't know though it's, it's kind of hard to really know because of though the news media had those riots, uh, kind of blown up out of proportion. Uh-huh, well, because I went there many times and, the Washington riots weren't, because The Washington riots weren't because I lived right downtown, Washington and, uh, and what you saw is was what you got I'm telling you. That's what, yeah, well. Yeah, but, you know, it's, it is interesting, uh, they're so many they're different kind of dangers that face young people now and social pressures, uh, the pressures of drug is so much, the prevalence is so much greater, Uh-huh. the, the kinds of diseases that you've got out the, uh, um, Uh-huh. I mean the consequences is so much of what's going on, is so much more serious then when we were younger. I think that's true, I think that's true. I think the other thing is that, uh, we have taken some rather drastic turns in our, in our education and the way we approach things as of maybe starting back when, when I'm number one, you know, and, uh, uh, uh, worrying about self and not, uh, seeing the consequences of the disintegration of the family. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, and there have been many things that have happened that have not encouraged closeness of families and, uh, support for young people that the kind of support that they need, to help them take care of the things, Yes, and, if you don't have some kind of, of basic believe or something down inside of you, then it's very difficult to, uh, have anything to turn to, when you got, when you've got something facing you like that. Uh-huh. That's true. I also being involved in the school system see so many of the problem children coming from their parents, um, children who will lie and cheat and you approach their parents, and their parents are constantly justify them rather then to, Uh-huh. uh, you know, they're constantly, excusing their, child Like . Right. and you can see exactly, why the child is that way. Yeah exactly. You can as a teacher, can't hold a child accountable, if you're not going to get reinforced by, that at home. Yeah. That's right. that's right. And you can't make up in a classroom of one hour a day, what's not been done for, fifteen or sixteen years at home, No. That's right. Oh. and you're, you get mixed signals so it's, it's not always the school's systems I think a lot of, No, there's so much more, then that it starts, very much deeper then that yeah. I think that too. I see some flickers of, of, uh, of good directions turning, No . but whether they're soon enough and fast enough I don't know, it's just, Of course, life is a lot more complicated too in ways, um, the kinds of jobs that people need to be trained, for now. Right. Uh, you know, with farming being so mechanized, uh, people working on the family farm which was a traditional American way that becomes less and less likely, Uh-huh. factory jobs are so much more, um, uh, sophisticated. Yeah, that's right. And the kinds of knowledge that, uh, you know, it, it's requiring an increasingly sophisticated labor force and, some people just don't have it. Right. And there's so much, so, so many people on the lower end of those who, who are going to be the, the drop outs and the, and the poor and the homeless and whatnot, And you worry when, you know these the sex and drugs on the young children and the unborn children, Yeah, that's just another, uh, in terms of what it's going to mean to a society, in the future it's a Yeah. some ways it's rather frightening, It really is it's just, it just is almost overwhelming sometimes when you think, of, of the jobs that is out there to be done, in order to flip things back around the way they needed to be, It certainly is. Well, it sure is. It sure is. Uh, not that I really think that they were perfect ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, but, It was a little easier though wasn't it? Uh, yeah, just the volume makes a big difference, Yes. I think as, uh, as, uh, mother you know, I use to think sometimes it's not so much, uh, it's not so much the kids, it's just the volume of it, to try to keep all wash done and all the things done and, you know, and everything. Right. uh, I look at my mother's life I mean she, she didn't work, um, um, for a long time when I was very young she didn't drive. Uh, she learned to drive I think when I was, um, a teenager, and her life was a lot simpler, Right and, and children's lives were simpler because mother was there, and I sit here, somebody was there. That's right. And, and when there's nobody there, That's right, that's right. I always thought too that, you know, people worrying about going to work when their child, when their children are little and I, and I think that's sad if they have to because they miss so much, but I, I believed after having a few teenagers that the worst time you could go, to go work was when they were teenagers. They need you more as a teenager . Isn't that true. That's why I'm working in a school system so that I'm home when they're home. Um, Right, it's not so much that they come to you every minute, but it's that you are there when they need you. That's isn't that, that's so true, Yeah. uh, uh, I find working in a high school is very helpful because it lets me be a little more tolerant and understanding of what people do, Yeah. and it keeps me from being the old fogy so, but at the same time, it also it prevents kids from try to go pull the wool over your eyes, Yes, I think that's true. as to what's but that's the same I'm home in the summers, I'm home with the holidays, Yeah, that's, I'm home at three o clock when the children are at home or where home, Yeah. one is now a senior in high school and the other's in college, Well, and, uh, But that helps a lot, It's, uh, it, uh, it does, I have a daughter who just had a second job, she needed to work and he opted to go into a day care center where she could have her children with her. And, uh, and looked a long time before she found one that was laid back enough so they she would be able to interact with them, Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's right. and, uh, and so I, , you know, good kind of experience as well but, uh, Well I, I think that's really important I don't think people realize how important it is. That's, that is, that is so true, Yeah, uh, and it's not that always that the children always say something but every once in awhile they'll come up and make a comment, Yeah. and you realize it's important that, uh, and yet, you know, we have to make that choice I think twenty, thirty years ago a lot of women, just didn't have to make that choice. Yeah. I think that's right. What was, what was your name again? Well, I, Linda Lee. Linda. Uh-huh. Okay. And your name was? Well I think probably that we've just about Well I enjoyed, talking with you. I'm going to, change the world but, uh, Well, I enjoyed talking with you. Yes, it's nice talking to you, too. Okay. Bye now. Bye-bye. There we are. very Yes . Tell me, what are some of the things that you did with your children when they were growing up? Oh, well, uh, when they were little, we did lots of reading and playing and going to parks, and things of that sort, and, I had two boys. Uh-huh. They were both interested in things like model rockets, so we would go to the football field and set off model rockets I have two boys also Uh, my children are, um, are swimmers, and so as they were growing up much of, uh, our, um, normal life outside of school and everything uh, revolved around their swimming. Uh-huh. So, in order to have a reason for being there, especially as they got older, I became involved in it too so we were always together at their meets. Oh, well, that's good. Um, mine were not terribly sporting. Uh-huh. Uh, they both did T-ball and soccer in grade school, Uh-huh. but neither one of them carried on, uh, the sports after that. Yeah, the, the boys tried those, but they they did go in, they started swimming when they were, oh, seven and eight, and they really loved it, and they're swimming both they'll be, one is in college, also swims in college, and the other will continue to swim in college, and they're fortunate, they even made nationals. Oh, wonderful! Oh that's great! And so we would drive up to see that when whenever it was reasonably close, but, we did a lot of things, um, and we tried to do things both together and individually with the children, um. Yeah, I, we live near Washington, so we, we would always go in for the museums. Sure. That's always a big, uh, thing. And one of my children is, uh, also a musician so, um, one of the things that we did with him a lot was to go, either my husband or I, or both of us would, concerts with him. Uh-huh. And my other child, um, uh, is in, big into tropical fish, Uh. so our whole family, we take family trips to different places to visit fish stores or go to fish shows, so My goodness, uh. Well, we didn't have any, uh, avid, uh, activities like that, they, they were interested in a lot of things, but nothing to quite that depth, I guess. But, we would, I don't think we've, we've missed a fish store on the entire east, northeast coast of the United States Oh my goodness. Well, we did go to things like aquariums and, uh, uh, natural history museums and zoos, and all of those things that one does with kids, uh, Uh-huh. Yes. In fact, it's funny, our vacations have always been, um, uh, uh, as, as they've gotten older. When they were younger we would go to the beach, but as they got older we tried to pattern our vacations where we would travel and do things, and that there would be a, a feature each day. Whether it would be going to, Uh-huh. Uh, yes. one summer we, uh, we went up to New England and we went to the marble quarries up there, and, uh, to see that, and another day fish hatchery, Oh, really . and, so we did, you know, we did try, Yeah. and of course we learned too. Yeah. But, uh, and, uh, I don't know, I, uh, when they were very young I did not work. Yeah, well, I started working half-time when, uh, they were at the nursery school. Uh-huh. But I yet. And I, I started working part-time when they were in, um, junior high school and high school, and now, and I worked in the school system, and now I work a full school day, but that leaves me off on holidays and summers. Uh-huh. So it was a, it was a, you know, I think they need me more, when they were older, than they did when they were, Yeah. Well, uh, I think, it, uh, they need you in different ways. That's true, yeah. You want to be around for the crisis and things like that, and, but it's not quite so much the hand-holding and peanut butter and jelly making That's right. Um, yeah, that's, that's for sure. That's for sure, what do you, do you have any feelings as to the trends that you see? Well, it the one trend I would say is that with so many more women choosing professional careers, there are fewer of them home in the afternoons, Uh-huh. and I don't think it needs to be the mothers, but I think it would be nice if some of the parents would be around for a few more hours. Yeah, when they , you know it was funny, I can remember, and my mother and I have talked about it, to how important it was when I came home from school. Um. It wasn't really conversation, but there were always things that just tumbled out. Yes. And, uh, uh, granted the child doesn't always think that they're sharing it, but it, when they, when it's not there they miss it. I think that's true, but I I also think that's, at least in my experience, truer of girls than boys. Uh-huh. Even when I was there, my boys didn't share all that much with me, and certainly not to the extent I did with my mother. Yeah, yeah. No, I, I, I realize that, but it's funny, they don't always do it, but occasionally they do, and you want, Yeah. Uh-huh. and when they do, there's a reason for it, that they're sharing it, Uh-huh. and you want to be at least I've wanted to be available, when they, for some reason, they had, they were bouncing something off of me. Because it was something that was bothering them or they were concerned about, Right. and it was, uh, you just felt, gee, if I weren't here, how, Uh-huh or, or if my husband, Who would they ask? That's right. Or what would they do? Yes, that's exactly right. Uh, but it has been, um, it's been interesting and particularly I, I think because the society in which we live, families are separated. You don't have grandparents near by or aunts and uncles. Uh-huh. Um, I mean, I grew up in a situation where on weekends we were always visiting relatives. Yeah, well, I did too. We were close to my, uh, maternal grandparents, I mean, just a few miles, and, uh, close enough to visit my paternal grandparents, you know, quite often. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. They were fifty miles away but, See, and we're, uh, that, we, I, I grew up with, you know every weekend there was some visiting somewhere. Uh-huh. Um, and it was sort of an Italian family, Um. um, but my children, we, although we have some relatives in the area that we, we see, we, they don't it's not that constant thing where you are on intimate terms with cousins. Right. Well, when my kids were quite small, uh, we lived close to both sets of grandparents Uh-huh. and they saw them a lot, but they don't have any cousins, uh, or they didn't, Yeah. their, uh, their cousins are about ten years younger. Uh-huh. So, uh, they never played together or anything. Yeah. And there are only two of them and they didn't live in the same town. that the trend of, of families and time, where, where parents are spending less time, you don't have the families, too, to take up the gap. That's right. And so the kids in some ways are, are, are suffering a little bit, in that, uh, the model, the role models that get the, the, the family issues that get discussed, and all these, I think are very important parts of them growing up, Yeah. Uh-huh. so we, we try to, to do it as well as we can. We keep in close contact with grandparents and talk over the phone, Uh-huh. and cousins and aunts and uncles, and we do, but it's, although it's not the same, we are, and that's part of, I think, teaching too, is what a family is like, because then how do they pattern their own? Well everyone makes its own model, but, uh, it seems that there should be some continuity, Yeah, Um. and it's helpful to have, uh, things that become family traditions, and that sort of thing. That's, yeah. Well, we've always, we have had this tradition, um, that we always go out before Christmas and cut our own tree. Uh-huh. And that's always been a little bit of a tradition that we've had. Now, this year, it's, was hard with our son now being in college. Yeah So this was one thing that we, um, weren't able to do this year, but we did that for from the time the children were young enough to realize what it was until, uh, our older son went away to college. Oh, well, that's the kind of thing that they will remember, though. And we have advent calendars still, from the time that they came, you know, to, Uh-huh. Ours finally disintegrated. Oh. We had a felt one that was it was a Christmas tree that had, uh, a little trinket for each day, that was pinned on the date, Oh, yes. That's, uh-huh. and then you took it off and put it on the tree, so at the end you had a decorated tree. Well, ours is, uh, a friend uh, a friend of mine from Denmark hand appliqu3ed one for each child. And it finally got moth-eaten, we threw it way last year How nice. And, I mean, they look today as new as they did when they gave them to, she gave them to us, and there's a ring and you buy a present, Oh, I see. and you wrap the present up, and I mean, the presents have gone from the days when they were very young to a little box of Band-Aids and an eraser and things, How cute. to today, where, um, sometimes I put a little gift if I see something that's, uh, occasionally a Christmas tree decoration which they will save for their, their future, to sometimes, just money, uh, pieces of candy. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, I think as they're getting in college, I just, for my older boy that was in college I put a dollar bill for each day. Which was the equivalent Oh, I'm sure he appreciated that! well, it was the equivalent of a Christmas present. Uh-huh. But it was, uh, and it was, and, you know, it was fun, but that's a tradition and they will, those will be passed on to them when they, when they get married and leave. Yeah. Well, you were saying what other trends are there, and one just occurred to me because I was editing a book about it recently, Uh-huh. and that is the trend in a lot of, uh, lower class areas, for the grandmothers to be raising the children. Yes, yes, And that's, a lot of it is due to the fact that the mothers are on drugs. The yes, and the broken families. We, um, as I said, living in an area of Washington, D C. We definitely see this, uh, Uh-huh. and, uh, it's that grandmother figure, not only raising her own children, but raising, um, children from the streets, too, frequently. Right. Well, we had a sociologist at the center where I work who was writing a book on, uh, multigeneration, um, matriarchies, in a way. uh, where the tradition in the family has been for a teenaged daughter to have a baby while she's still living at home with the mother Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, Yes, well, this is a, this is a uh, this is in fact, uh, we've been studying this in our school, that, um, this is one of the symptoms, or not the symptoms, it's one of the ways that young girls feel that they are maturing, it's a rite of passage Yeah. well, Myrna, how do you get your news, news? Uh, most of it is from the radio, uh, and also from the news programs that we watch in the afternoon. Uh-huh. Yeah. We usually watch the local news and the, the, uh, national news both. Uh-huh, yeah, I'm pretty much the same. I, uh, I find that, uh, I'm a graduate student and I, I read a lot for school and I find I have no patience to really read a newspaper because I just, I'm reading so much all the time. And I really enjoy just sitting down and watching a news broadcast. Well you can always get up and leave that Uh-huh, yeah, that's true. Uh, I I just don't seem to have time to sit down and read the paper. Either by the time I get home from work, it's already, you know, time for the news to come on. Uh-huh. That's right, yeah. So, it's so much easier to sit there and besides, I can be doing other things and still listen to the news. Yeah, that's right, I, I agree. That's, a lot of times I eat while I'm uh, watching the news. Yeah. Yeah, the same thing. Is there any, uh, what did you think about the coverage like over in the, uh, Persian Gulf? I think they did a great job. Yeah, I thought so too, it was, it, you know, for a while when we were really interested, uh, we saw it all the time. Some of the stations I guess carried it for twenty-four hours for a couple of days there and then, you know, the special reports and the extended news coverage I thought was really good. Uh-huh Yeah. And you could always find some channel that had something on but you didn't necessarily have to watch the same thing all the time. Yeah, right, yeah, just news, that's right, yeah. Yeah, I noticed that one thing that, that T I did, you know, they had, uh, uh, they used to have, well they do have television monitors stationed throughout our buildings, Uh-huh. and they used to have a program called T News, and just updates of, of different things that were going on within T I. Well when all the, the mess with, uh, uh, in the Persian Gulf came about they started carrying C N N. Oh, yeah. Well now, they have had so much good response from this, that T I now has C N N on all the time. Uh-huh. Huh, well that's great. So, we can always run upstairs and, you know, get a quickie update on what's going on, if we really want to. Uh-huh. Yeah, or if you have a break in the middle of the day, you take a coffee break you can always stay informed. Yeah, yeah Yeah, that's really good. That's, um, I've found that when I, I don't have cable television anymore, uh, when I moved, went back to graduate school I just didn't have the money to buy, rent a cable T V line, or whatever, you know. So I don't get C N N, uh, which was a big disappointment. I used to watch, that was my, if I wasn't home, I'm a college teacher and sometimes I teach in the evening so I'll miss the evening news. And uh, you could always catch a good news program at eight o'clock or nine o'clock on C N N. I think that's, that really has changed the way, uh, I look at the news. Yes Yeah, we don't get it either, we live out in the country, Uh-huh. and we just don't have it available out there where we are. But when we did have it, uh, we, that's what we usually watched, was C N N Uh-huh. and sometimes we'd watch the weather stations. Yeah, that's, uh, same, yeah, that's, when I had it, I, I watched it, you know, religiously for half an hour and then you could go on, you know, to do what else you wanted to do. Yeah. Yeah I find I, I read very little, I don't even get a regular newspaper and, uh, because, uh, I, I don't drive that much, I only live about a mile from where I go to school and work, I, uh, I find I spend so little time in the in the car that I don't really listen to the radio, you know, I don't, so. So television is my main new source. Oh, I get that too, because I, I'm in a van pool, Uh-huh. and I'm in the van, you know, uh, two hours a day an. Oh really, to commute to work? Yes, yes. Oh. And in the, in the morning I try to sleep because it's, it's dark thirty. But in, but in the afternoon, uh, I try to read so I can, can, uh, not pay attention to what our driver is doing Yeah, I can, the van pools I know that, and I'm in the Baltimore, Washington area, and I know they do van pool a lot here from some of the outer areas, but if you want a nicer home, you know, beyond the suburbs, you know, I, that's necessary. Yeah. Yeah. Are, are you in Baltimore itself? I am, I am right outside Baltimore. I am less than a mile from the Baltimore line. Um. And I go to a a campus of the University of Maryland that is just, less than a mile from my house. So I, I'm actually in Baltimore, yeah, you could say I'm in Baltimore. Yeah, I have two kids over there. Oh really, in Baltimore? well no, in, in D C area. Uh-huh. Yeah one works for the State Department and, uh, uh, the other one is, uh, uh, her husband is in the Navy and he's stationed at Bethesda an. Uh-huh, oh that's, that's, that's a really nice area, Bethesda area. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, it's, um, it's funny, there's a big difference between Baltimore and Washington, even though they're so close. There's only an hour, less than that between the two but there is a big difference in things like property values and, um, the closer you get to D C the more expensive it is. Uh-huh. And, um, the, the, uh, different slant. Washington, it really is a, uh, uh, an international city, where Baltimore is hometown Baltimore. You know, it, there's really, uh, most people have relocated to the Washington area, you know. Oh no, I'd, I'd rather have Baltimore with the home town atmosphere. Yeah, that's, I, I like it, I like it a little bit better, too. It's interesting though, um, to meet different populations. I, I'm just now being, uh, from Pittsburgh originally, I'm just now meeting different populations like Chinese students and things and I find that really interesting, you know, to imagine, here is somebody that was in China, two years ago when all that was going on in, in, uh, Beijing. You know, that, that's an interesting, uh, interesting perspective. But I, I really much, much like the hometown area, yeah. And I think that also goes, it's funny, you, you can watch different news. I can watch Washington news or Baltimore news and I really do watch Baltimore news. You know, that really makes, I don't really bother with the Washington station because I just, it's so far removed from what I'm interested in. Well most of what they're talking about in Washington is, is the crime problems that they're having there. Uh-huh, yeah they, in fact they just, it was just a big thing recently they've had some terrible problems with Hispanics, um, they had to impose a curfew that, uh, in two of the areas in, uh, in the Washington suburbs. The mayor, they've gotten rid of that really bad mayor and then, uh, brought in, Uh-huh, I heard about that. Yeah, and then came a woman that's um, she's big in the Democratic party so that's good, so she has good national ties, but she also was, um, something like a, uh, state auditor or something like that before this position. She was a state auditor, I guess she was an auditor general or something like that for the District of Columbia, at Washington. And then she left that to get a position with the Democratic party and now she ran for mayor, so she's uh, fiscally she's pretty tight, and, uh, she's cleaning house an, and it looks like hopefully she'll do a nice job, uh, for Washington, you know, which is, you sort of feel sorry for a lot of the people there. You know, from what I pick up on the news, uh, it's a difficult process, you know, to get rid of a, a bad mayor. Yeah, well I know both of my kids didn't want to live anywhere around the, the downtown areas, Right. they both moved way out. Uh-huh, yeah. I think one of them lives in Germantown and I can't remember where the other one lives. Yeah, but those are Germantown is a nice area. Uh-huh, yeah. It's a nice area It's, means they have to drive a little bit, but, Yeah, well they might be car pooling too. Do they car pool in? Are they driven by themselves. Uh, well now, I, I think he carpools, Uh-huh. Because he's got fairly regular hours since he came back, but, uh, now my daughter they have probably been carpooling together, in fact, because she had been called back up, active duty. Uh-huh, yeah. And then she was supposed to have gotten out of active duty as of last Friday. So, I haven't talked to them this weekend, I don't know what the situation is, but she was, Uh-huh. They didn't call you for Mother's Day? We were gone You weren't home? Uh, no, we weren't home but she had, she had called and left a message on our recorder but I had that from all my kids except for one. Yeah, oh, that's good. So. Well I guess we should stop now. Well I thank you for calling, I have enjoyed it. Uh-huh, oh good. I really do like this program because I get to talk to people from all over the United States, yeah. Uh, uh, so do I, I've become very aware of different political views because some of the things we have to discuss are very politically motivated or whatever, I, I really enjoyed it. It's, it's so funny when you live in one part of the country you only see that perspective. It's interesting to see the, the wider world, so I enjoy it. Hey, thanks a lot, and, and bye. Thank you, bye, bye. Okay. Well, I do not know. How big a city is Rome? I mean, you have heard about Dallas, and the crime here is pretty bad Well, Rome is pretty small But, uh, Yeah. I was going to say. we hear a lot about, uh, New York City. Uh-huh. There is a lot of crime down there. And I am, I am afraid to go down there because, you know, I mean, you hear about people getting mugged. You leave your car for ten minutes and it is stripped when you come back. Yeah. Have you ever been there? No, I have not. Only to the airport. That is, uh, probably enough to see Um, are you in college right now? No. I am, I work at, for the Air Force. Oh, okay. So, there is a base up here. And, Are base, that's interesting concept. Are bases safe, you know? Bases are pretty safe because they check your I D on your way in. And, Yeah. The, they, uh, minimize the access. Right. But even so we had a, uh, uh, at New Years, we had some people come in and, uh, like attack one of the planes. Because they were protesting, uh, the presence over in the Persian Gulf. Uh-huh. Oh, no. Sure. Oh, great. That is wonderful. So, Yeah. Well, Dallas, uh, we lived in Minneapolis. Uh, we moved here about ten months ago. And Dallas is pretty, uh, well, we live in north north Dallas which is like a suburb, near a suburb called Plano. So we are out of the city, but it is, uh, it is bad everywhere in terms of, uh, you know, the handgun situation, um, the number of rapes, the number of muggings. Just, it is, it is, I would not say it is not as bad as New York, but it is pretty scary. Yeah. You know, people put bars on their windows in certain neighborhoods and, Yeah. you know. They call them ornamental grates. But they are still bars That makes it bad for getting out during a fire. Yeah. It really does. And if you are a little bit claustrophobic but, uh. I do not know, I mean the jails are crowded. I, I, I am not a criminal justice specialist, so I do not know what, you know, what can be done. I am, you know, I do not, I do not know, it seems to, I think it is getting worse. Because I keep hearing things like I, when I was I went home, my parents live in Boston. Uh-huh. But I went home, and we were watching T V, Yeah. and this thing came on where these, a group of like five or six guys went and filmed themselves beating up people in the street and, and robbing them. Oh. And it was really disgusting. And my mom was like, "They should just be all shot right now." And I mean, you Were they teenagers or? Uh, Like that girl in New York that got beat up by, you know, when she was jogging in Central Park, a couple of years ago? Yeah. Yeah. Um, They were not, I think they were early twenties. Yeah. They were young men. Yeah. But they, so they weren't, you know. And were they, uh, were they, were they obviously poor or you know? That is really Like I say, I know it. How deprived could they be if they had a camcorder? Those are a thousand bucks. Yeah. Unless they stole it. And I mean, that is one big thing down here. I mean, they have like, uh, and they are not all young. I mean, they are eighteen to twenty-four, some of the young men and women. But, I mean, you can, you can see the Crime Stoppers ads on television. And they are, sometimes it is the same people that have been, that have been observed and they still can't catch them Yeah. And you are wondering how, you know. Um, we lived in Minneapolis and Wisconsin. I mean, there was all kind of, I, I, know, I, I, I know it is getting worse. I do not know what the world is or is not. Uh, the in a small town in Wisconsin, near Madison, um, a young boy somehow got a hold of a shotgun. And killed his parents and his three brothers and sisters. Uh-huh. And the child had, and he, they said that he was twelve years old, and he had, uh, he had not, uh, displayed any tendencies deviant or disturbed or whatever, you know. Yeah. And you are thinking to yourself, um. I wonder where, I know. I do not know. I wonder where he gets it? You know, you must, I think T V is bad. Because they, uh, show all sorts of violence on, That and I do not think a lot of parents, I mean, I do not, I do not know how it is in the Air Force base. But, uh, I just do not think a lot of people, because of the economy, both need to work, you know. I just do not think a lot of parents are that involved any more. Yeah. They do not, they do not talk to their kids and take them out. And, and are not there all the time Uh, so the kids are off to their own devices a lot. Right. And discipline. I do not know how your folks were, but I mean I sure knew as heck when I was growing up that, uh, my parents were the superior and I was the subordinate. And, you know. It was sort of like there were boundaries. Oh, definitely. And I do not think, I do not know, I think today a lot of parents, um, are ruled by their kids. I, I, I think so definitely. When you go to a restaurant, and like kids are running all over the place. They, Yeah. Right. I mean, they are not learning how to, uh, well, like boundaries. I mean, I do not, I see it in work place too, sometimes. I do not know how old you are, but you sound a little bit younger than me. But, I am in my thirties, and I, uh, I see, uh, even people that work with me that are ten years younger. That, you know, they kind of have an attitude that I I hate to to say it, but it's, that's just what it is. It is an attitude like the world owes them something. Yep. But, they, Right, I, I see that too in the Air Force. Do you? Oh, yeah. A lot of, uh, especially since a lot of us are engineers where I work. Are you in the Air Force? I am in the Air Force. Yes. Okay. And so, uh, people outside the Air Force doing engineering get paid a lot more than we do. Sure. And so all the young engineers are like, well, I am just, going, you know, Huh. get it for all it is worth. And that, you know, Right. and I am like, you are the one who signed up. If you did not want to do it. And, Right, right. And the Air Force is one of the bitter, better military, supposedly military experiences. Yep, it is. I mean, I like it a lot Pardon me? I like it so far. I mean, that is, are you going to be a career person? I'm digressing, but, I do not talk to many people in the military. Oh. So I am, Probably not. But, uh, they pay for my college. So, That is the way to do it. I mean, and that's, you know, at least the Air Force is, I do not know, I just, uh, I am nervous in Dallas. I mean, I, you know, I mean, I go to like an aerobics class or something. And, I, you know, uh, seventy women in a Jazzercise class in a public, uh, parks and rec building. And you are supposed to feel safe, but then there are all these, it does not matter race, but, you know, it is an inter racial mix. And you see these guys standing there watching you jump around in your leotards. Yeah. And I do not even think that way, but I mean, you just think to yourself, you, you just, I mean, nobody can think that, that it can't happen to them. It, No matter who they are or where they are at, you know. Yeah. And you never know who is watching, either. I mean, did you, I do not know, I was in the grocery store this morning. We, uh, went to New Orleans for four days and came back late last night, driving. And it is about seven hours. Huh-uh. Um, and that is a very, we had never been there. That is a very, very neat town to visit. Uh, in terms of the French Quarter and all of the things you hear about. Uh-huh. Right. But the crime is so bad there. I mean, in all the tourist brochures you read about what you should or should not do. How to carry your wallet, uh. Uh-huh. This is New Orleans? New Orleans, yeah. Oh, I would hate to be there during Mardi Gras. Let me tell, I would never, yeah. You just do not. Do not even bother. It is not worth it. Uh, the, when we came back, I do not know if you have seen. I was in the super market this morning and on the cover of TIME magazine, there is a girl, she is in Boston? She is on the east coast somewhere. Real attractive young girl. College freshman, I, college coed. I think she is a freshman. She had been dating a fellow for several weeks. Uh-huh. They went back to her dorm room Uh-huh. and date rape. I mean, and it just, she looked anguished. I mean, it was really just sad. I mean, did not pick it up and read it, but I should have. But I just looked at the picture and thought, what a world. I know I mean, I do not, yeah, You can't trust anybody. I do not have any, uh, cure, It is, it is really scary. No, you really can't. I mean, I, they, we lease out a really nice two story town home in north Dallas. And they have a real big thing here. People, I mean, even dry cleaners knock on the door and are soliciting, you know. They, everybody wants your business kind of thing. Right. And my husband is the kind of guy, he's, he's sometime, he was raised on a farm in southern Ohio, near Dayton. And I think sometimes it is just, he and I are very different in terms of that. I, I mean, I basically have started not to trust anybody in general street smarts. Right. We, And, uh, he opened the door. I came downstairs and I was real upset and I probably got more nasty than I should have. But I just said, Howard, Uh-huh. you know, oh, my God. I would not, I mean, Well, you, you, hear about people opening the door and getting blown away. Oh, yeah. And it does, I mean, it is, it is not a reason. I mean, I have been to New York. You should not deny yourself going to visit and all that. Uh-huh. Uh, but it is not any worse. I used to work for a mortgage company that was owned by, uh, are you from Boston? Yeah. Home Owners Savings and Loan in Boston. Uh-huh. And I know I never felt, I mean, I have been to downtown New York City and I have been to downtown Boston. And I never felt any safer on Milk Street in Boston, staying at the Meridian, I did not pay for. But, I mean, I never felt any safer there than I did in any other city I have been in, you know. Right. Right. So I would say one thing. Do not deny yourself the New York experience, but go with people that you know. Yeah. I would not want to go by myself. No, uh. But I mean, it, yeah, I do not know. I mean, I, I guess I could go on and on about what to do about criminals. Uh, I think the handgun, I am not real big on guns myself. Uh-huh. So, I think our justice system needs to be stricter. I mean, because everyone, they do it I mean, Are the New York, uh, are the New York, I do not know how the New York state prison system is but, Are they booked up? Yeah. That is a way to put it, they are booked up. Are they paroling, uh, like murderers and, I mean, here it is just a real big deal. They parole people that have killed police officers and then they are out doing it again. Right, um, I do not, I do not know. Because I am not real up on a lot of news things. Uh-huh. But, you know, you just hear about that, that, you know, Uh-huh. it is a lot of repeat crime. And you are like, why are they repeating? They should have been in there longer. Or, I know. And then you think, I mean, I I mean, I can remember, I have not been out of school that long, but it has been at least ten years. And you think to yourself, was it that bad back then? Or is it just, I think that, like you said, television? Is it just that more people think there is like excitement in it, you know? I mean, people that may have been close to the edge just go over because they see something or read something. It seems like a lot of, that it is more, like in Boston, there was a case of, uh, a couple of kids, fifteen year olds. They wanted to see what it was like to kill someone. Uh-huh. So they, they picked on this kid who was like new in town. Uh-huh. And they were like, well, no one was going to miss him anyway, you know, and it like, Oh, god. ugh, that is horrible. How can you even think like that? it is, yeah, isn't it something? I mean, I, I have a, I am originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and I have a niece and nephew. And I just, uh, I mean my ten year old nephew says things that he is aware of that I am just going, Michael, how did you hear about that? You know, it is just, I think kids get too much too fast. And all those sort of things. Yeah. Yeah. In Atlanta, where my inlaws live, uh, they had that thing, you know, the high top sneakers, the Air Jordans, et cetera. Right. Right. Kids killing each other and beating their brains out. Oh, for the sneakers. Right. Or the, or the jackets, the team like the Raiders and the caps. Yeah. Yeah. You know, stealing the hundred dollar jackets. Uh, I mean, it is I guess, it goes from the most petty like that to like what you were saying that they, in Boston. That is crime where they videoed. That is probably one of the most bizarre I have heard of. Yeah. Where they videotape themselves. Yeah. It seems like crime is turning into a pastime instead of like, you know, be ... Um, what do you think the major cause of air pollution or at least in the Boston areas, Well, the, the, the major cause it seems up here is I live right on the ocean so it's kind of hard for me to tell what would happen if I lived in some of the valleys inland, Uh-huh. but the major cause here, and we always seem to, and it seems to be validated by the press, is the car pollution. We don't have too much industrial pollution. Yeah, yeah. Uh, car pollution seems to be the one and only thing that, that I can really put my finger on here. Um, that isn't the same in the Washington area because we don't have any major, um, industry except for, uh, government and services. And the, the transportation situation is such that, uh, all the car pollution is, is absolutely awful. Um, also the worth of the hub of three airports in this general area there is, uh, National, Dulles, and then, uh, Baltimore, Washington. And it, interestingly some of the information I've been reading indicates that the amount of air pollution from, uh, uh, airplanes is extraordinary. Is that so? Yeah, I didn't know that. and that's always something that, you know, you just don't real, you don't think about. Well, most people talk about the noise pollution from airplanes rather than the air pollution. But the, uh, apparently the air pollution and the fact that it's delivered right up in high altitudes is a very significant factor. Yeah. I would think so. You know, uh, I guess it talked about all types of pollution. I happen to just read something the other day at least in the Boston paper there were three things that, that come to note. One, is that the carbon fluorides that are, uh, being released into the atmosphere are causing even a larger hole in the southern hemisphere in the ozone layer and again and now they've located another one or rather an expanding one in the northern hemisphere. So so I'm quite concerned. I don't think it's involved any longer with, with, uh, hair sprays or those Yeah. Yeah. No, I think it's now, is what, uh, from what I understand it's air conditioning units and, and, we certainly turned into an air conditioned society. Uh-huh. Yeah, I know in Florida there's no place you go that isn't air conditioned, and I do quite a bit of business in Washington. And, I mean you know what it's like here. Oh, yeah, it's quite, is, is the it's really out of the norm not to find something that isn't air conditioned. And, Yeah, yeah, yeah. and I guess refrigerators, are the same way. We just had the, They release that. That's right. So, solutions to this, would be Yeah. I, I, Well, you know, improved. Well, I guess the the, to me the first thing is I wish society would get as upset about this as you do get, getting people upset about animal rights. Yeah. I mean this is so, so basic. It's human rights in the sense, but, uh, in terms of demanding, it's just not caused but demanding that, uh, we can spend so much money on certain things but that research really be directed toward, um, improvement of polluting vehicles, and not just cars but also buses, um, planes. That something can be done. I I can't imagine that well , Well, I, I if we can't send people to the moon, that we can't improve these things. Yeah. No, I think that it can be done simply because, uh, uh, we've, we've, every car now in America that's been produced for the past fifteen years has what they call a catalytic converter. Converter, yeah, uh-huh. And no lead gas was, came to the pumps. And, and that's been done. There's the lead pollution has, that problem, essentially I guess because it was at crisis proportions was, was licked. Uh-huh. And I think that there are there are solutions, And that for buses, certainly we don't even need a, need a research anymore. It's just a matter of passing the law, and passing the law depends on how heavy the car industry, the automobile lobby is. That's right. Well, and also to make it economically feasible. Uh, and also in buses. That's right. That's right. I don't know if you ever got caught in a traffic jam behind a bus, Oh, yeah, well, That, you know, That, that, the, the smell is awful and but, you know, I was reading the other day not to go on with this but that, diesel fumes actually have less pollutants in them than gasoline fumes. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, I guess you're better off sitting behind a bus than a car although I can never, I could never, uh, really rationalize that while I was sitting there Yeah, but even, of course, in the longer term just to get away from fossil fuels. Yeah. I mean, I'm, I'm thinking of research in that direction rather than we, we've taken the intermediate step but I don't think, fossil fuels are the answer. Well, we, you know up here in New England, uh, where I've, right close to where I live is the Seabrook Nucleus site which is, practically a, you know, guerilla war up here, went on for years. Uh-huh. Yes I Uh, my daughters marched in the, uh, uh, against the Seabrook and I kind of, uh, my feelings were that we needed this bridge to, to, uh, to jump from whatever it was going to be, from fossil fuel to whatever it was going to be. Yeah. Yeah, you don't throw the baby out with the bath water, and condemning nuclear use. Yeah. unfortunately though I think the oil companies have lied to us for years Yeah, yeah. So we really don't know whether there's enough fossil fuel left or there isn't, and, uh, and, uh, But with the pollution issue, uh, fossil fuel is not the way to go anyway. No. Uh, so you've, to you've got to look elsewhere. Yeah. So, uh, but it is something that's a little frightening and in fact, well, I, within our family we have said, my husband, I have two sons, uh, well, one is already in college in New England, Yeah. and the other will be going in September, and we just feel that when we leave, uh, this area, we're going north, not south. Yes. Uh, I like the mentality north, and I also like the fresher air up there. That's right. So, I mean that's the way we will be going. Yeah. But, um, so, I, I'd be interested in having spoken with somebody also from the far west on this issue to see how they, their attitudes are. Well, since, since Texas and Louisiana and, uh, California that, in that ranking order, the worst pollutants in America. Uh-huh. I mean, I read that the other day. I mean Louisiana for a small state it was amazing but it's the industrial pollution I should imagine. Uh-huh. And California seems to be taking steps, I mean, you, you read about the, the fairly , fairly stiff laws they put in on cars now they're, they're enforcing. The smog and, yeah. Uh-huh, yeah. But, uh, again, uh, that didn't occur without a crisis. Nothing will occur, I guess, without a crisis. I mean, even California was notorious for its smog years ago, before it even was an issue, out here. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well, the greatest thing that happened to pollution in the last couple of years as far as I'm concerned, is the no smoking rules, on airplanes and in restaurants. And it, it really is a pleasure for me, although, I guess smokers don't think that. But that, to me was pollution , Well, that, that's, that's that's personal air pollution that was its most personal, personal, uh, pollution that I can think of. Yes, yes. Yeah, well, I, I, definitely advance that. Well, listen I enjoyed speaking with you. Surely. And let's hope some, there are other people that feel the same way something happen. Right on, thank you. You're welcome. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Uh, national health insurance, I think, is a problem inasmuch as the quality of health care that people would receive. Right. Yeah, because, uh, the articles that I've read regarding national health service in Canada and England has indicated that, uh, what stay, stay in line for, uh, four hours to get an aspirin from a doctor. Right. Yeah, I'm, I'm sort of mixed on this. I think that the, the answer may lie in, uh, not in so much a, uh, national kind of medical thing that like England has but more of a, um, national insurance, uh, sort of clearinghouse or whatever. I think that, uh, too many, uh, the problem with, with right now is that we've got too many different health insurances that people have to go through and, and I think that, I think you, you mentioned Canada. I think that they have a system where, uh, they, the government deals with the, with, I mean, you, you go to whoever you want but file through one, one particular, uh, setup Um, I see. and that way they, they are able to reduce prices because they've, you know, it's, it's all one, one centralized thing. Yeah. Well, I, I think that, uh, again having gone through a period when I was out of work and had to buy health insurance on my own, if you don't have a company supporting you in the, uh, picking up the major portion of your health insurance, the cost is almost prohibitive. Uh-huh. Right. Uh, I, I was listening, uh, on the radio the other day and they were talking that, something like this, I think they were talking about the fact that, um, the money that could be saved, um, in administrative costs and so forth nationwide by consolidating into sort of a national insurance provider, um, could, uh, could, they could make it, provide health insurance to, to people who couldn't afford it just by the money they would save. Yeah. Uh, we're currently, where I'm working now, under Blue Cross. I don't know what the total cost of the program is but for dependent coverage I'm paying a hundred and seventy dollars a, a month or something like that. Right. So I assume that probably the total cost is probably, three fifty to four hundred. They're probably picking up about half of it. Right. And that's a pretty good policy, but if you had something like one of these, uh, health maintenance programs, H M O, uh, where the, uh, where you go to the doctor and it only costs you ten dollars and the insurance picks up the rest. If you tried to buy something like that, I'm it would probably be five or six hundred dollars a month for just the cost of something. Yeah, H M O. Yeah, and they're, they're fairly expensive. I, I, um, I I was on an H M O, uh, up until last year and, uh, through work. Yeah. And it was, I forget how much I paid a month but it was much, you know, is at least twice if not more expensive than the regular health care. Yeah. And, uh, the reason I, I quite was because of, uh, not because I didn't like it, I, I really kind of did. Uh, the reason I quite was just because the, the doctor a, a certain doctor that we enjoyed going to was no longer associated with that H M O so we, my wife decided she wanted to, to stay with that doctor, Yeah. so, we went to the, to the, the medical insurance that we have at, here at work, Yeah. and, uh, I, uh, I like the, I like the convenience of the H M O in, in a certain respect because it, uh, even though you're, once you find the doctor that you like it's not a problem. You know, a lot of people complain saying well, I don't want to, uh, have to be told who I need to go to but, you know, if you don't have a doctor anyway normally it doesn't really make much difference. Because you can, you know, if, if you find someone you really like Yeah, that's right. and then, we did find several good doctors. And, um, like you say it's, uh, five dollars an office visit. And, um, my wife was in the hospital had our, had our daughter and I think her total bill was around three hundred dollars for everything. Oh, goodness. Delivery room and everything. Yeah. including a private room because there was a little extra that she had to pay but that was, that was still included in that that cost so. Yeah. It's really nice because they, you know, their, their attitude is different than, than a regular, uh, insurance, uh, health insurance, uh, the, in, in a, H M O, you know, they're trying to prevent a problem by, by keeping the cost down at the front end, you know, and have you come in, you know, Yeah. they, they charge five dollars a you know, pop, Yeah. you're more willing to go in and try, to take care of a problem before it grows big. As to a company's benefit, to have a program like that because it keeps their employees healthy and on the job. Yeah. Because they don't have to worry about going in and, and paying, uh, seventy-five dollars to have the doctor look at you for ten minutes. Right. That's a, Yeah, I, I, uh, I, I really liked it. We both, my wife and I both did. You, you don't have to worry about filling out forms, uh, you know, for reimbursement and all or, you know, getting paid eight percent of, of whatever. You just pay the, the five dollars right then and then you're done with it. Yeah. But here again the, the doctor's practices in hospitals, have become fairly sizable businesses under themselves now. Uh-huh. Uh, you take a hospital, uh, the physical plant itself, you have to pay your share of the operating of that eight story building, uh, when the rooms are empty. Right. So, they spread the costs out over, uh, all the patient costs and, uh, that's how you come up with aspirin that costs four dollars apiece and things like that. The horror stories that you hear about people going into the hospital for a week and, uh, it being, a four thousand dollar bill. Right. Well, they, and you know, they're also they're taking up the cost of people who can't pay. Right. You know, they, they get a lot of, uh, a lot of, uh, people who are just have to be there and can't afford it and so they, they know they're not going to get you know, get money from them Yeah. so they, have to absorb it somewhere else. Yeah. Yeah. My daughter and son-in-law had a baby, here about, uh, what, he'll be three in August. Uh-huh. And, uh, their insurance plan that they're under encourages you to shorten your stay in the hospital. Right. And like she went in, she had the baby and she was out in two days time. Right. And it was treated almost like it was an outpatient visit to the hospital, Right. the, the deductibles didn't apply. Right. And so that's one way, one way the insurance companies are trying to hold costs down is by, uh, okay, if you'll shorten your stay then we will, uh, waive the deductible. Right. Our, our insurance is, uh, is doing something similar where they're also going to So what movies have you seen lately? Well, I saw, um, lately I've seen SOAP DISH. Oh. Which was a, and that was a lot of fun. It was kind of a silly little film about soap operas and things. Well, see that's something I want to see, Yeah. that's on my list to see. Yeah, it was, it was okay. It was not, um, not a wonderful film but it was, I mean it was, it was cute but not the biggest laugh I've seen. Oh, okay. I saw THELMA AND LOUISE. A couple of days ago, and really liked that. Oh, did you? Actually I saw it twice because I liked it so much. Oh. See that's also on my list. And it's very, it's really disturbing but a good movie. A disturbing movie, how do you mean? Well, it was, um, let's see. The, um, it's, it's different, it's kind of, it's an action adventure kind of, you know, shoot 'em up kind of film. Right. But it's with women in it instead of men so that's kind of a that's kind of a twist on the normal thing. A switcheroo, huh? And it made me think a lot about, you know, you would applaud Bruce Willis in DIE HARD if he was doing this but you might not be so you know, so encouraging, of Susan Sarandon and then Gena Davis when they do it. Right. When the shoe is on the other foot and see how it, So, that was kind of interesting. I've, but I really enjoyed it. Oh. So, I Because that, that just reminds me of, you know, like back in school and, you know, the girlfriends just taking off for a day or something. Just getting in trouble and probably not that much trouble Yeah, that's kind of what it was. but, Right. um, yeah. They had started out with that, then they got into lots of trouble. Before we found the shopping malls that's what we did. Uh-huh. Yeah, well, I'll have to put that, I'll have to keep that on my list then. Yeah. I also saw that Madonna movie. Oh. It's TRUTH OR DARE and that was pretty scandalous. Scandalous? Yeah, it was kind of, yeah, Madonna she's pretty trashy. I can imagine. And so it was, it was interesting I guess she does it for the social value of showing you what trash is, huh? well, I think she kept saying that, uh, they talked about her, it, it was a film of her concert, um, tour she had taken through all, all around the world. And they were all to her at the Vatican city and wouldn't let her perform in Rome, and she, kept saying that her show was not garbage. Huh. It had a social message to it and, You just had to find it. You had to wade through it and find it Right. We never quite believed that, so. You never quite got to, I thought that was pushing it a little bit but, she , All I know about that woman is that she's an incredible marketeer She is. She's rich Yeah, and she's rich and she, yeah, so. she's smart at what she does. She knows how to do that. She knows how to twist this around, huh? Yeah. What did you think about DANCES WITH WOLVES when you saw it? Well, okay, see, we're getting back to last year. That's probably the last movie I saw. Um, DANCES WITH WOLVES, I just adored it. Really? How can I tell you. Um, a couple years ago, I guess, well, maybe ten years ago I, I had read BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE and, so, you know, just the general theme of the whole movie was, um, pretty, Uh-huh. I mean I really liked it a lot. Right. I mean it was a real consciousness raiser, I guess. Um, and I only bring up WOUNDED KNEE because that was what ten years ago you read and, and understood, you know, about the American pop, Indian population, Right. and then everything went away for a couple years, Uh-huh. and now it's back again. And, you know, it's sort of a popular view of, um, what happened way back then. Right. Of course, no one will ever know. Really I don't I know, I was, I wondered if, uh, the tribes that they represented the tribe that was the, the evil tribe, if they were really as bad as it made them to be. Well, who knows. I mean it, it, it sort of showed like two different types of tribes like one was a warring tribe, and the other one was, uh, vegetarian kind of, you know, feel good tribe. You know, sort of thing, Right so there possibly were because you know you always have conflict in the world. Uh-huh. Nobody can get along peacefully Yeah, but I wonder I thought because they made a big deal about how this, this film was such a big leap for the, the people who, who were the ancestors of the, this Indian tribe and that, you know, that was so wonderful that they done that and they, uh, uh, I wonder how the ancestors of this warlike tribe if they were offended by the film, Oh, I see. if it, you know, you didn't, hear any press about that. Yeah. Huh. I thought it was a very interesting movie. Well, I think so. I, um, I have come to respect a little bit more the, uh, you know, what went on here, Right. but, but who knows how it's supposed to all end Uh-huh Right. You know on the, on the broad scope I mean, um, like if, uh, it, it, it had a much bigger thing I meaning to me I think about, you know, just the meaning of, um, the freedom of this country and, and what that really meant. Right. And that was taking over somebody else's freedoms. And sort of trampling that Uh-huh. and, uh, so you know it, it meant something bigger I think. But still it was a I loved the buffalo scene. And I thought Kevin Costner was just, I got a little sick of his mug on the screen every, three minutes, I know the but he's the director, you know. Um, but, yeah, I, I just thought it was a really interesting, intense film. Well, that's good. Intense I think is the word for it because three hours went by really fast. That was, that was, it was, it was good. I looked at my watch only a few times, which is a good thing. Yeah. Ate a lot of popcorn. But it put me in a really, it put me in a really bad mood, I don't know why. Did it really? Yeah, we there were three of us who went. We were just all really grouchy when it was over. Huh. So we decided that may be the mark of a good film. It made us think. And so, It made you think. we were grouchy. We felt guilty for being, Maybe well, maybe that was, um, but there are no answers, you know. I know and we, we had nothing to do with it. That, that can make you crabby, yes. We were not responsible, but we still felt the thick blame for, what had gone on. Really, that's true. We could have, But it, it's, they sort of candy coated the western story for many years, Right. and, um, you know, when the truth, oh, well, it always balances out one way or the other once you get the whole story Uh-huh. but, Yeah. Well, I do. I'm just out of school so I've seen, a lot of Oh, okay. don't have a job so I shouldn't go see movies all the time. Oh, there you go Um, I rented a good movie, um, called CINEMA PARADESO which is an Italian movie which is probably the best movie I've seen ever. Oh. Oh. It was just, wonderful. Really? It's, uh, story about a little boy in a Italian, a little Italian village, and he, um, owns a, um, or he works in a, a movie theater and it it helps the projectionist. There's a little, oh, an old man who's the projectionist and he befriends this old man, and then it just tells about their friendship that lasts through all these years. Oh. And it's just, I mean, if you don't mind reading subtitles, I thought I had to kind of get beyond that. Those little, you know, reading the little words at the bottom of the screen but, um, oh, I just laughed and cried and, I really loved it. Oh, I'll have to write that down. That was a, a great one. Wow. And other than that I, I'll have to write that, have you, have, did you see TEXASVILLE? Are you into, Larry McMurtry? No, I I hadn't. I had read, um, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and but that's out on video now and I haven't seen it. But I was interested in reading TEXASVILLE before I saw the movie. Yeah. Did you like it? Um, I, I read a lot of Larry McMurtry books Right. and TEXASVILLE is just like that. It's like very peculiar circumstances and very peculiar things that people do with each other Uh-huh. it's, it's, you know, and it's just sort of a, Okay, uh. Do you have annual family reunions or, Uh, yeah, uh, our, the my mother's side of the family is quite large, or well, was quite large at one time, and, uh, they, uh, for as long as I can remember, have had, uh, a yearly reunion, um, back, uh, early on they used to, to rotate them from from to, to different people's houses, in the family. Uh-huh. And, All local. Were they like all in Dallas? Uh, no, no not, no, this was, well, I am actually from Mississippi, and, so that's, Oh. it, it was around there generally. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, that's where the family grew. Just from city to city then . Yeah, and it was not only in Mississippi, in some other places, as well, Uh-huh, uh-huh. so. It was, uh, it was a big deal, but, uh, they tried to, to centralize it in one spot. So, in the past couple of years they had it at a state park every year. Uh-huh, uh-huh. We rent a pavilion and, and do that and that's usually works out to be pretty good. And, uh, they will rent a pavilion on a weekend, and uh Do you go back? I have not gone back lately. In fact, uh, this past Sunday was the, was the reunion, but I did not get to go. Uh, I have, Is it choice or just business or, Not getting to go. Uh-huh. Uh, just, uh, the distance involved and, Uh-huh, uh-huh. uh, just not, I have a younger daughter now and, uh, I, it's kind of hard to get her, get her there, and everything. Uh-huh. But I am going to, to, uh, hopefully next year get to go back, cause, uh, a lot of the family has not, uh, on her side, my mother's side, has not seen, you know, my daughter, so Oh. Do you have brothers and sisters? I have one brother, so. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, is your mother still living? Yes. Oh, so, so you go back and visit with her anyway. Would you not? Right, yeah. I mean, either way there was family reunion time, or not, Right, I, I usually see her a, couple times a year so that's no, no big thing. But, uh, I, uh, I do, I do enjoy the reunions. The only problem is that now, uh, originally when we had them, uh, they were mainly my mother's Relatives, right. uh, father's. My mother's father's family had quite a few, uh, brothers and sisters. Uh-huh. So, it was a large reunion of, of, of that group, uh, from that descendants. Uh-huh. And, uh, a lot of those people have, and at time, you know, they all knew one another. Right, right. And now it has gotten, uh, that, uh, a lot of those people are have, uh, have died off, or, you know, what we are left with is the, the relatives of, of, of that group. The next generation, uh-huh. And so, uh, it's not quite as close as it used to be. So, I think people feel less of a desire to really go. I know that, why do you think that it's less close than it used to be? Well, I, I just think that, uh, you know, at that when, when they were you know, the, those were all brothers and sisters a lot and or they were all in the same geographical location. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, back around, you know, in the twenties and thirties when they were growing up, uh, you know, they were all located together, in one small community. Right, right. Right. And as, as time grew, I mean when time went on the family grew and moved away and so forth. And now when they come together it's, it's generally, you know, like say the kids of those people who are not, you know, anywhere near one another and I do not think they feel the, the closeness that they used to be there. Which is a shame Uh-huh. but that's just how it is. My mother was complaining last year about you know, it's dwindling down every year, you know, that's just, I think that's just Is that just family's lack of priority, anymore, maybe yes , we get so involved in our work lives and just, social lives and so forth. Well, yeah. Yeah, that's, uh, yeah, I think that's some of it. But, you know, I have, uh, I, I, it's just the way, you know, I think society is now, is that we are not, we do not have the extensive family we used to. Uh-huh. It's more of a, you know, a smaller, smaller unit, and you know, we, we tend to try to do things, I think with our immediate family, as opposed to the extended family. Of people that we may or may not remember or know, you know, very well. Right, right. Uh It really makes an effort on, to, do this anymore. Right, it requires a lot of effort to, to, to do that sort of thing. Right, right. I mean, I, I used to enjoy going, I mean I still do kind of enjoy it, but, uh, it's, it does not, it's not as many people there that I really, really enjoy seeing. Right, right. You know, I, it's going just for the sake of getting together, I think for the family. And, Do you correspond with anybody other than your mother and brother that's in that group? On a regular basis, not just Christmas cards. Uh, Um, um, no, not really. in that, but, then again, uh, well, I, you know, I have some aunts that, uh, I, I, I do. That's about my mother's sisters, you know, Uh-huh, uh-huh. but I feel closer to them, because I kind of grew up with them. But, But, uh, as, you know, for the rest of that group, no not really. Right. Uh, you know, and, and generally when I was growing up a lot of those people, the only time I ever saw them was at the reunion, so, uh Right, right. you do not really feel that that really close to them. Right. In my, my, uh, father's family, we get together every year at a different location, either Dallas or Oklahoma City. They had chosen Santa Barbara, California for this summer and, and did not get enough people that were willing to go that far, because most of us live either in the midwest, or like in the Texas, Oklahoma area. Uh-huh. And, uh, so they cancelled that one and, uh, are looking next year bringing it back closer, but we have a letter, a family letter, that circulates, Uh-huh. and it usually goes through me twice a year and what you do is take out the last letter you wrote that's on the bottom and put the, your new letter on the top, and then that's the way it's kept in order. And then, about twice a year then you are kept up with what is going on and when you meet them at the reunion, you do not feel like, I do not know anything about this person. You have, read something about what is going on and about their children and so forth. That's a good idea. So, you are kind of, half way acquainted that way. Right. And that, that's been a, that's been a nice way of keeping us all aware of each other, I think. Yeah. Right. We tried to start that in my husband's family. His mother's side decided they were going to have a reunion a couple of years ago, and I said, well let's start this letter, and it just never my husband's sisters started it and sent it to us and that's as far as it got. I sent it, on to the next one, Yeah. and, and, but we are going in a couple of weeks to the next one, in Scottsdale, Arizona, for that family. Uh-huh. We are real glad we got together because since that, that time there were only like two of the, one sister and one sister-in-law of the original family left. And the sister-in-law died and the sister is in a nursing home, so, we are glad that we took that opportunity two years ago. Okay. Uh, well, since I initiated the call, I guess I'll start off first. Uh, number one, I have absolutely no problem with random testing. Uh, I spend an awful lot of time traveling on the job and I feel, I would be very comfortable if they would do drug testing for, particularly airline pilots and the such. I'd feel much more comfortable than I do now, based on what I've been hearing in the newspapers. So I really don't have a problem with it. Yeah. Uh, I don't either. I, uh, I've never, I don't work, at home right now. I stay home with my children. Uh, but my husband works and they do have that at his place of employment and neither of us have a problem with it. We've, particularly, like you said with the things that the airlines and, and such. It's, uh, it's a scary thing to know that, uh, you just don't know what people are doing uh, before they go to work. Uh-huh. So, and the, the advertisements on television lately have been so, uh, there have been so many. You know, there's, uh Yeah. just about like train train wrecks and things like that, that I feel like, probably just for our own safety when we're traveling and things that would be something I'd like to know that's going on. Yeah, I, well, I happen to be, uh, my job is I'm supervisor of personnel safety for the world's largest paint company, so I, it's very near and dear to me when we start talking about drug testing for random sampling and testing for cause, this type of thing. And even in our field we have people that are in very high risk jobs and we, at the present time, do not have random testing. Um. And I am pushing towards that. I, I honestly feel if people have nothing to hide, they shouldn't have a problem with it. Right. And if they are trying to hide something, then I have to know that, because we're we're talking major liabilities. Not only with themselves, but with other employees. Uh-huh. And I really, you know, they, they're talking about sports and sports personalities and all this stuff that I, I would much, much prefer having doctors and airline pilots tested on a random basis. Yeah. I, I have a real fear, but that at some point something's going to happen. And they're showing it with AIDS, so why, you know, they they ought to start doing something with the drugs So I really have no problem with it. Yeah. Well, it's, it's unfortunate, I think, that everyone doesn't have that opinion. Uh, some people just, uh, I've heard some people just talking in our group of friends that they just feel it's an invasion of privacy and things like that, but, uh, in the long run, it seems to me, it's kind of like what they keep talking about the, uh, the AIDS testing with doctors or dentists and things and how that, you know, Uh-huh. they feel that's not fair and whatever, but, you know, those kind of things I'd like to know myself. Yes. It wouldn't be, in my opinion, I, I've had a lot of dental work done, and the last dentist didn't even use gloves at all, so Oh, really? that kind of, yeah. And, uh, so that kind of thing really kind of concerns me. Well, that scares me because if that's the way they are, I, if I were a dentist, I'd want to be protected, too. Well, you would think so. Uh-huh. That is, because, well, and I worked for a dentist and that's, uh, you know, you, you come in contact with a lot of, of blood and things like that and it's real, real dangerous. Uh-huh. I, I would think, but, with all the accidents, just with, with, uh, everything happening with, just airlines just drive me crazy. People are afraid to fly now. You know, just because of, they don't know what their pilot's been doing and, and things like that Right. and, Uh-huh. I don't know. Well, you, where you're located, I, I do know Texas Instruments has random drug testing. Uh-huh. And I think they've had it for several years. And their program they had, I don't think had a lot of, uh, problems associated with it, but, uh, my brother-in-law happens to work there and it, it sounded very positive. And I, I think it's great. I, I would like, I would encourage it. I'm pushing our company towards that. . Well, and, you know, if they do find someone who, who is, uh, having a problem with drugs and they can get them the help that they need. As opposed to just letting the problem go on with, without any, uh, support. And whatever, Right. Exactly. because a lot of people, seems like, would probably obviously are trying to hide that uh, from their employer and friends and family and things Uh-huh. and too many people are just dying. Particularly in our area. Right. I don't know what the crime is like where you are, but the crime rate here is just astronomical. Ours is changing. Yeah, ours, ours is changing, it's increasing. I live in a I live in a very nice suburb and it's, it's, it's unbelievable what, what, what's going on and the drugs, the selling of drugs. It's just, it's just too loose. It's too free. Uh-huh. I just got a piece of paper the other day, uh, that now they have these, I have two little, very little children, under two Uh-huh. and I got a piece of paper from, from my husband's office, it's talking about these, uh, drug tattoos now that they have got. Really? That look like, it looks like a sticker and it's for kid, The question was on lawn and garden work. Um, how do you like it? Well, I don't do much of it here. I'm from, uh, from, uh, Colorado originally and there are no bugs there. And I didn't mind getting in the dirt there, but, boy, I'll tell you what, once I see these bugs around here, I'm just kind of out of it. Oh, what kind do you have? Oh, roaches and, Do they really? Oh, yes. Cockroaches are awful here. Oh. Just awful. So I, Oh, and I know somebody that lives there, and they never mentioned that problem Oh, you're kidding, you're kidding. No, it's a well, maybe they didn't mention it because it's just kind of a fact of life around here. And, uh, Oh, my. They probably just take it for granted then. It must be. If they lived here, a lot of people I know just say, oh, I just stomp on them. It doesn't matter. They make good fertilizer in the garden. Oh, yuck Me, personally can't, I don't have that problem, uh, it's, mine is mainly we kind of have an understanding that, uh, I, I said I'll do inside work you do outside work. Uh-huh. And so I get into the gardening part of it, the fun part, like putting in the annuals and things like that. Uh-huh But I don't like, I don't like it dirty No I have to, you know I have to say that's not exactly my favorite thing either really No, I don't know. We got the, we got the question and I thought, oh, this is going to be interesting. Two bits I'll get a man to talk to me, because they get stuck doing it all. But although I do know a lot of my friends do like all the gardening work. And this year we put in a new lawn in a new home so, um, we've been fighting a drought here this summer and getting into fall. Huh. Today we just had a lot of rain Oh, really? Yeah, so it's kind of nice. I don't know how yours has been. Well, it's been real hot here lately. I mean we've had to actually have the air-conditioning on and everything but, uh, it's supposed to rain again now, uh, this weekend. Oh, I see. So, then, Okay. Well, we're leaving tomorrow and we're going down to New Orleans and from Ohio since we're right near Lake Erie this is going to be a switch for us for a week going down there, Yeah. and I think we'll probably experience some of your weather although I think they have more humidity. But, um, as far as the gardening and things like that goes I don't know, uh, too much, too much about, uh, how much I really do enjoy it myself. Yeah. Do you like it at all? I, well, not here. I mean it's just, here I just can't stand to even get out in the, uh, in the dirt Just, Well, how about when you were in Colorado? Well, I liked it a little bit but I didn't, uh, I was working at that time full-time and didn't have a lot of time, for that Uh-huh. and so that I think really, um, hampered it a little bit. Well, and then, too, now like where we had the dry summer and we had to sprinkle constantly. My water bill was high. And, uh, if you have that on a regular basis in Texas, I think I would go with something very dry to keep it off, you know. Yeah. But, uh, and with children, um, you probably don't have time anyhow to, to get into it. No. Not really It's so, uh, okay, very good. Uh-huh. I guess we've kind of covered our subject matter, since neither one is really into gardening, are we? Sounds like No, no. Afraid not. Uh, hopefully they'll give a subject I like one of these times Something I really know a lot about. Right. Okay. Right. nice talking to you. Nice talking with you. Okay, bye-bye. Uh-huh, bye. Okay, so you said that you live in Coppell. Uh-huh. So what is your house like? It's a two bedroom, two baths duplex. Oh, well that's neat, Brick and, uh, Uh-huh is it one you're renting or buying? No, we own it, yeah, well, our side Yeah, yeah, well that's kind of neat that you can even though it's a duplex, you can still buy. Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's good. Uh-huh, yeah. Do you have any children? No, huh-uh. Do you? Yes, I have two children, and our home is really too small for us right now Ours is, too. We outgrew it when we moved in. Yeah, we moved from an apartment that was really small, Uh-huh. and at the time we just had a little baby that was five months old Uh-huh. so we moved into this house in Garland, it's in one of the older areas of town Uh-huh. and one thing I really like is it has big trees everywhere Uh-huh. you know, lots of shade and squirrels and birds and real pretty, Um. but the, the house is real small Yeah. it has less than a thousand square feet Oh, wow. yeah, it's real little. You all are cramped Yeah, and now I have a daughter, now my, the one that was five months old is seven years old Uh-huh. and the one, I have another one that's three and a half and have all these clothes, and toys and stuff that we're just trying to find places to put, Uh-huh. Oh. Uh-huh, how many bedrooms is it? Well, they advertised it as a three bedroom house because it has a built on addition room, you know Uh-huh Uh-huh. but the room that's built on doesn't have a closet Oh. so, um, the people that lived here before us did use it for a bedroom Uh-huh. but we have always just put like our computer and extra toys and books and Uh-huh. you know, it's kind of a catch all room But it sure is nice to have it when the kids come over to play Yeah. they all go out there to play with the Barbies and that kind of stuff, Uh-huh. so. How fun. Yeah, that works out good. And I'm thankful I have two girls, because they're in bunk beds, and so, you know, they can share a room and, uh, make for more space that way. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And how old's the youngest? She's three and a half Uh-huh. yeah, so, um, and right now we have their clothes on, uh, like double racks, you know, in the closet Uh-huh. we made a higher and a lower Uh-huh. and it works out fine, but they're just about to get too tall where the dresses are beginning to drag you know, Uh-huh. and, um, we're going to have to figure out a new idea. But we're, we're kind of looking around and wanting to move into a bigger home uh, hoping to be able to do that within a year or so Yeah. Yeah. so that would be nice. That's what we'd like to do. Yeah, is Coppell a nice area to live? Oh, it's a wonderful place to live, and they, I don't have any kids, so I don't really know, but they say that we have wonderful schools. Well, I think I've heard a lot, uh, about Coppell schools, that they're real good Uh-huh. that's neat. Um. Do you, do you hope to have children, or are you not planning on having any, or, I don't think so, no. I see. Well, do you have any pets? Oh, of course, those are my kids Oh, yeah. I have two dogs. Uh-huh. Well, do they stay inside, or, Yeah, they're inside dogs. Well, that's, that's neat. They're my babies. Yeah. Well, what are the colors in your house? Uh, um, kind of a mauve and gray. Oh, I bet that's pretty. Uh-huh, and then the kitchen's kind of a, a country pink and country blue, and it's all done in cows, Uh-huh. I'm a cow nut Oh, that's neat. I like cows, too. Uh-huh Yeah so. well, our house was uh, our house is very old also Uh-huh. it's like thirty-seven years old Wow. yeah, and it was redone before we moved in, which, I'm thankful for that, but the, it was redone at the time probably when earth tones were in Yeah. everything is Yeah. like, the carpet's kind of a tan and brown and has, um, paneling in the living room, and lots of, lots of tans and lots of browns Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but the good thing is you can bring out other colors from that Oh, yeah, yeah, you know, so, uh, that's worked out good. In the, in the kitchen they put real pretty blue and tan, um, wallpaper had done it up with blues, Uh-huh. so that's nice, Oh, sounds pretty. yeah, we've enjoyed living here. It's close to my, uh, oldest daughter's school Oh. and that makes it really handy, too Uh-huh, uh-huh. and she really likes her school, so Good. and we are so close to shopping and ... That's an important factor there Yeah, how about in Coppell? I've always imagined it kind of out, away from everything. Well, you know, now we have that new mall in Lewisville Oh, really, and that's just like a mile or two from our house Oh, well, that's nice. but, when we first moved to Coppell, it's what, six years ago, we didn't even have a grocery store Oh, wow, and now we have four Oh. and Coppell's not really big enough to support four grocery stores Yeah, yeah so, but it does sound like it's definitely growing. Oh, much very much. Yeah. In fact, it's about the size now, I moved down here from Chicago, what, twenty-three years ago and, to Lewisville Oh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. and Coppell's now about the size that Lewisville was when, when I moved down here. Oh, I see. Well, when we first moved here, we moved here from Lubbock Uh-huh. and we almost moved to Lewisville, that was our second choice, yeah, behind Garland, Oh really, we, at the time we thought we might buy a mobile home, So do you have an opinion on credit cards? Um, I do You do? What, what do you think about them? I think they get a lot of people in trouble. Yeah, definitely. I have one right now and, um, I just got it about eight, six months ago Uh-huh. and I find that it makes it a lot easier to get things that you generally wouldn't get Yeah, and then you don't stop to realize that, you know, you charge this for twenty, charge that for twenty, charge this for twenty, and pretty soon you owe a hundred dollars and you don't stop to think about it. Yeah. I got in trouble when I was in the service quite a few years ago like ten to fifteen thousand dollars in trouble. Oh, my goodness. And then, you know, so I eventually got it all paid. Now I carry one. I have a gas card and a Visa card. And I never use them unless I need to Really? So but they, That's good. yeah, I, I made a rule with myself when I got one that if I couldn't pay it in full every month that I'd have to rip it up, so. Yeah. That's, and interest rates aren't none too shallow these days anyway. Yeah, but, But I know a lot of people that get in trouble with them especially, you know we have, I'm in Lubbock and we have a bunch of college kids around here going to Tech, and they seem to get in trouble with them a lot. Uh-huh. I have, I have a couple friends too that have about three of them maxed out And they they can't do anything but work to try to pay them off. Yeah. And, and, and like one of my friends she has, hers is up to nine hundred dollars and she she only earns like two hundred dollars a month because she's going to school. Gee. And, and so I mean that's just enough to pay rent and buy like thirty-five dollars worth of food a month. So and, and pay for her like, like monthly fee like I guess you have to pay like twenty dollars each month is the Yes, something like that. so all she's paying is interest on hers every month. Yeah. It just seems crazy to, to me but, Well, my wife got in trouble one time with hers. She was making like, I don't know what she was making, forty-five dollars a month I think. And fifteen dollars of it was because she was over the limit and fifteen dollars of it was interest so she was only paying in it fifteen dollars a month. Yeah. So and that was before we got married, so. But it's, you know, we sat down and talked about it and discussed it and it's, it's come out pretty good. Now we have a eighteen year old that's fixing to get out of high school and go to college. Oh, really? That's the first thing he wanted. Was a Visa card? Yeah. Oh, my goodness. So we kind of discussed that a little bit and shot that idea down right quick. I bet. You know, so. Yeah, I, I don't know. I'm about sick of mine right now. I don't, But I think they're too readily accessible Uh-huh. and there's too many companies out there that are willing to give them to you and get you get you trapped. I mean you can always file bankruptcy to get out of it, but that's a lot of pain and hassle. When, you know in the olden days when my parents were growing up and we couldn't afford everything, we didn't have such things as credit cards. We just waited until time come around that we could afford it. Right. And you know, we had all the necessities, so And I very seldom use a credit card on necessities. I always use it for something I want not something I need. Exactly. So, Yeah, my parents are really good about not using credit cards. They are against it Yeah. I don't think they like the fact that I have one either. I think if card cards were as, as stringent as say a, a home mortgage loan or something like that where you have to, you know, be able to prove that you can afford this and the rest of your bills, we probably wouldn't have the problems we have. Uh-huh. Of course, we wouldn't have the retail market we have either so I guess they trade one for the other. Yeah. I disagree with it, but they still trade one for the other. Huh. Well, that's good. I'm, it sounds like you kind of got your head together in the credit department for, you sound pretty young, so Yeah, I'm I'm twenty right now. Are you? Yeah So, just going to school and, and working so All right. it does kind of get in the, when you want something that, like last weekend was homecoming and I needed a pair of shoes Oh. so I just went out and bought them and on my credit card. Yeah. I didn't really have the money to do it but, Yeah, it's pretty easy Yeah It sure is. So do you just have two kids or, Uh, we have a eighteen year old, seventeen year old, and a seven year old. Oh, really? Yeah. Neat. I'm from Plano, Texas. Oh, are you? But right now I'm out in Provo, Utah going to B Y U so Are you a, you're a Mormon then? Yep Oh, all right But, this is a extra long one. What's that? They're giving us a lot of time Oh, yeah. They may not, they must not have too much traffic on Saturdays Yeah. Have you done a lot of this? Uh, fifteen or twenty I guess. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. Do you do it every day? I try to every day. I, uh, I get calls at work, I get calls at home, so. Well, uh, and that's an idea that's been around for, kicked around for a long time. I don't know that it's ever been seriously considered, uh, as far as close to passing, uh, any legislation or anything like that. But, uh, I believe Israel does that, don't they for their, Uh, yes, I think so. Uh, everybody has to do, has to do something. Yeah, I don't Or maybe, maybe theirs is, in fact, one year of military service for everyone. But, uh, Yeah, I believe that's right. Okay. And, uh, and I don't know that that's really what we're talking about. No, I don't think it's, it's I think of that. It, it couldn't be. Military service is not that much but, the, military used to do it but the idea that, uh, there are things that, that do need to be done that could be done and then, uh, country would benefit from one year from, from everybody and even out the, the, uh, requirement. Yeah, for, for kids in high school, it could be in the summertime. Well, now that's a thought. Yeah. Uh, you know, um, it, it could even be done while they're doing another job, while they're doing, you know, a job to make money. Yeah. But, uh, it's, uh, you know, such a grassroots idea that it, I think the family would have to be involved in it. Uh-huh. And people would have to be convinced that, you know, I, I think the, the basic message is that giving is better than receiving Yeah, right. And that's not the kind of society we have right now. Oh, yeah, I'm afraid you're right there. But, uh, but, uh, anything like this that came up whether it, it quickly would be significant industry in, in figuring out how to get around it where people, There's lots and lots of volunteer programs and, uh, but most of those are at least it, it's my opinion that most of those involve adults. Adults who have the time to give and, and, uh, you know, the desire to, to give. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. It's not, uh, you know it's not, uh, maybe the, maybe it uh, younger people feel like it's not open to them, I don't know. But it should be if it's not. Yeah. Uh, I suspect that yeah, that, that, that that's not the thing. That they, that they don't feel it's open to them it's just that they, uh, are more self-centered if you will and not, not considering, a voluntary , Yeah, it is kind of an introspective time of life. Yeah. But some schools, some high schools have actually started a program of like a visitation program to, uh, you know, areas economically, uh say less advantaged areas. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, they, they promote service on the part of the kids to, to, uh, some of those people. So at least that's a step in the right direction I guess. Yeah. yeah. And, uh, now I I don't know it I, I think you're right that that's not the, not the way that the society these days is going, and I, I think we need to, we need to try to figure out some way to, to turn that around that everybody, It's really, it's really unfortunate because when you do, I do volunteer work for the American Lung Association. Huh. And I have, have done, uh, gone to work for American Heart and just recently for the Leukemia Society. And there's, there's no question that doing, you know, doing that kind of service you get a lot more out of it than, uh, than the people involved. Yeah. Uh, it's, it's really a gift to yourself and, and that's, I think that's a really important lesson to learn. Yeah. And, and maybe that's why we have so many people in society who are not, uh, not really happy, you know. Well, that could be. Because if you concentrate all of your energies and efforts on yourself, you're just kind of down the tube, you know Yeah, right. Uh, it really is better to give then to receive. Yeah, I, I agree with that, and, uh, and I, I, I don't know what, what has, what has set it off or what but it, it certainly seems to me that, that, uh, uh, things in, in the last twenty-three years, uh, things have definitely gone towards, uh, very much the concentration on self and, and loss of, loss of perspective in terms, Hi. So, uh, what was the last car repair you had? Just recently I was kind of laughing when I, when I heard the switchboard talking about the question because, uh, I had to have my, uh, radiator flushed Oh. and it was getting rusty. And the thing that they forgot to do was to, um, to also look at the hose, and I had gone about oh, two days with my new radiator flushed and the hose burst. So I was stranded out on the highway Oh, no. Did you crack the block or what? No, I, I didn't do that thank goodness, but, uh, there seemed to be enough antifreeze in there, you know, left to do that but it cost me all kind of money, you know, to have that repaired after they said they were going to, they had repaired it. So that was, that was a horrible experience just recently. Yeah, I see. You got lucky you didn't ruin the whole engine though. Yes, yes. That can be pretty serious. I know. I know. What about you? Oh, I guess it's been awhile for me. I'd it's been about a year. Uh-huh. Yeah, I had the, uh, the water pump break on my car. Oh. Yeah, I was traveling, uh, I was going on my way home from Thanksgiving Uh-huh. and it broke like in the middle of nowhere. Uh-huh. So, I had to get it towed and then fixed and Uh-huh. big pain. Oh, oh, I know. I know. Especially when you're out on the highway. Yeah, that's where I was. Luckily someone came by and gave me a ride. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I know, well, you know, uh, living in Dallas, you know we've got, uh, bumper to bumper eight lanes of traffic and, uh, that was, that was horrible. Yeah You know to have the, you know, your car is fuming and everything. It's already a hundred degrees you don't need that too. Oh, shoot But my car is getting old. See it's about six years old now, so. Yeah, so is mine Yeah, so I got it right out of college and so it's, uh, it's starting to show the wear and tear now. Yeah, I'm hoping mine gets me through. I got until May until I'm out. So when I cross that one I'll be okay. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, that, uh, that was my graduation present to myself, so. Oh, that's nice Yeah. Yeah, I know so but gosh, it's really starting to, to wear so I've been thinking, especially now is a good time to buy a car. Yeah. because I can't, uh, I don't know if I want to, you know, pay all these repairs now to start getting it fixed when it's starting to breakdown. Yeah, I don't want to do too much on mine because it will be worth more than the car is and it's not worth it Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, that's true. I agree with you there. Yeah. So I don't know, uh, because I, I need to have it tuned, you know, tuned up and I don't know, replace some of the belts. And I was looking at the, uh, tires need to be replaced and so I was thinking just a lot of money I'm, might as well buy me a new car for that. Yeah, I got new tires last winter too so I'm like, well, that's the last major purchase for this thing. It's not worth it. Uh-huh. Well, you have to, in Pennsylvania, boy, you have to really have your car winterized and stuff, huh? Yeah. Uh-huh Yeah, we get some killer winters up here in the mountains. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, okay. So, Lot of snow and a lot of cold. Uh-huh. Well, especially don't you have what, a lot of salt on the ground? Yeah, at times there's a lot of it. Uh-huh. You got to like clean out the underneath of your car all the time when you get a chance. Yeah. Yeah, well, rust and the, and the body too, huh? Yeah, I haven't had a big problem with that though. Uh-huh. So I've been pretty lucky there. Well, I think they get the new Z-bart stuff and everything to where you can, um, Yeah, that's usually pretty good. You just rinse it off after the winter is over and done with it. Uh-huh. Yeah, and go like that so. Yeah. I usually like to do most repairs on my own though. Do you? Yeah, just because that way I know what's wrong with my car and what it needs and what it really doesn't. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. Plus if something goes wrong, I know who to blame. Well, I, I think I'm getting too old for all that. My, uh, I had four brothers and they used to drag me out underneath the car, and stuff so I can, I can do all that stuff but I, I think I'd much prefer to pay the twenty-two ninety-five to, to go have it done now so I can get my hands dirty. So, yeah. I'm just getting, getting to that age I guess. You just don't have, your time becomes very precious so working on the car is just not one of those things I want to spend my time on anymore More fun things to do. Absolutely, absolutely. So, yeah, I'm trying to, you know, I just need one, I had two cars there for a while so I wouldn't have to worry about which car was going to run. Well, that's nice. And yeah, so but it became a hassle trying to keep up and maintain both of them. Yeah. And yeah, so that, One is bad enough Yes, one was bad enough. But I think I got rid of the wrong one I soon, I need a lot of repairs done on, on this one so yeah, that was, uh, that was something else Well, are our five minutes up? Yeah, I was just wondering that I, I didn't, I didn't set the time or anything to, uh, Yeah, I didn't either. Yeah, put , Yeah, this must be a, a hard category. Well, yeah, I guess. Um, you know, unless you're, um, you know, big do-it-yourselfer. Um, to, you know, fix up your own cars and, and things like that. So, but I guess they were talking about experiences. You know, I, uh, uh, I did, my parents live in Ohio so I, I do know something about the, you know, the really cold weather. And, uh, I've always lived down here in the south, and, oh, I took my car up there to their house and, um, I guess I had a crack in the block, and when I got up there the car, All right, uh, well, let's see, How old are you Lisa? I'm twenty. Okay. How old are you? I'm older. Older Older than you are. Okay. Okay, we are supposed to talk about places we like to go. So I'm going, and where are you from, where are you calling from? I'm calling from, uh, Provo, Utah, but I'm from Plano, Texas. Oh, you are from Plano. My sister lives in Plano. Oh, really? Yes, her husband is the new Director of Admissions at, uh, University of Texas at Dallas. Oh, wow. Yeah, so, Anyway, so, where's your favorite place to go? My grandparents live there. That's generally our usual summer vacation. Where in Arizona? Uh, Tempe. Okay, I've never been to Tempe. So, That's where I'd like to go. What do you like about Tempe? Uh, mainly just being with family is it. We just hang out and my grandparents have a pool so we go swimming and, uh, Pretty hot isn't it, in the summer? Yeah but we keep cool just by going swimming and it's fun to be with my cousins. They're up there also, my grandparents and my cousins. That's good. Uh-huh. So, Been to Hawaii? No, have you? Yes, in fact, I just got some reservations. I'm going to go for, uh, almost two weeks this winter. Oh, my goodness. Yes. It's the longest, well actually I lived there, so I was there longer, but two weeks is the longest vacation I'll have ever taken there, so I'm kind of looking forward to that one. Wow. Around Christmas time? Uh, no, in March. Oh. We're going to go in March after my children's birthdays and get all that business out of the way. Wow. Yeah, so I think, I would like to go to Arizona. I mean, I was in Phoenix in January, last January but it was rainy and icky. Oh, really? It was the coldest it's been there ever in January I think. It's very cold. So, do you travel a lot But, I would like to go to Tempe. or, Do we travel a lot? Uh, some, yeah. Well, I've been a, I was a travel agent. Oh. I mean, I have been up until just a few months ago. But I'm thinking of going back to work Huh. Yeah. So you know a lot of good vacation spots, huh. I I know a lot of good places to go. But you definitely need to go to Hawaii. Very definitely. That's your favorite? Yes, it is my favorite. My husband hasn't been to Europe yet and I'd like to take him there. And, but he's traveled all over the United States and I haven't. Like, I haven't been down south. I'd like to go to New Orleans. Have you been there? I haven't. Where, where do you live? We, I live in Yakima, Washington. Wow. So it's cold and rainy today. It's yucky. Um. But we've had some pretty nice weather. We played tennis outdoors until last week, so that's a pretty good deal. Um. So do you go to school in Provo, Utah? I do. Do you use NuSkin skin care. They're located in Provo. I work for NuSkin Do you? Yes. I'm a NuSkin person. Oh, really? Yeah, I sell NuSkin, too. I, I am my only Oh, my goodness. and best not only and best but I'm my best customer. Great Since we're not supposed to talk about this, though, is there anything more intensive for the eye area than the eye cream? Uh, Do you know? I don't, probably, maybe the rejuvenating cream is the only other thing I would use. I have that, too. I'm forty-two, I need something, I need more. Than the intensive eye? Yeah. I didn't know if there was anything else. And I use the Celltrex. Uh-huh. But anyway, well, yes, NuSkin is wonderful. Good, yes. I think it's a wonderful product. Do you use it? I do, yeah, we get free products every month so, Oh, my gosh. That's great. Right, right now I'm getting about sixty bucks a month, free products so, Yeah, oh, yeah. I've worked there about a year. That's good. Are they good to work for? Yes, they're wonderful to work for. That's great. Yep Anyway, so we're supposed to be talking about places to go and you have not been to Europe. Do you go to school? Uh-huh. Do you ski? I ski, yes. I've, Ski, you probably ski very well in Utah. No, I don't Actually since I grew up in Texas I've only been here about two years and have gone skiing about three times. well, five times each season. Uh. Why did you move to Utah? You're going, oh, you are going to school? At B Y U, Yeah, I, is that where B Y U is? Uh-huh. Yep. Okay, I know some people that went to B Y U. That's great. Pretty good. I do like to ski. Pretty, pretty down there. Huh? Yeah, I, I said I do like to ski. So, where, have you skied? And it's, it's kind of nice being up here just because it's all like a vacation in itself when you get to go. Sure. If you like that kind of thing Sure, so you're a sophomore. Or junior? I am actually a junior. Beginning of my junior year. You're a junior. Good for you. So, What are you studying? Nursing. Good for you. You sound like a girl that has it together. I would just encourage you to do a little traveling, though, before you get married. Because when you get married, you won't have the money or the time. You think, I know. So just, you know, don't, don't be in any hurry. I'm not, I'm not. You really should go to Europe. I went to Europe for six weeks after I graduated from college and that was just, I, I mean I could have had that or a down payment on a new car and I took the trip. And And it was great? uh, I traveled with a group of sixteen other students. Actually they, there was two other graduating seniors besides myself, and we just had a ball. We stayed at, How long did you get to stay there? Uh, six weeks. Oh, really? Yeah. It was wonderful, so you should think about doing something like that. Uh-huh, I just had a friend that got back from Europe and she was there like all winter semester. We're supposed to talk about crime in the city. Uh-huh. And, uh, seems like all big cities have plenty of that nowadays, doesn't it? Well, uh, I, that's, sure. Uh, I, I think it's statistics, obviously, vary greatly. I always thought of Dallas as being a fairly safe place. Well, it is, but our crimes up here, uh, as I think it must be in most cities now, but, uh, I was listening to the news the other day and they said they thought a lot of it, the reason it was up so was because of the, uh, so many people are without work nowadays, economy's so bad Do you really believe that? I mean, it, it's been up every year for many years and the economy hasn't been, this bad for so long, has it? That's a good point That's just what they quoted over the news. Yeah. I don't know if I believe that or not, but, it, it does seem up and, What kind of newspaper do you get down there? What kind? Yeah. Well, we got a, I think we got a pretty good newspaper. Uh, we have two, the MORNING NEWS and the, uh, TIMES HERALD. Uh-huh. MORNING NEWS seems to have the largest circulation. I think it's a pretty good, it's a locally owned paper. Uh-huh. The HERALD is owned, I think, by the TIMES out of, uh, L A, or somewhere. Yes. But, do they, do they play up the local crime angles or or do they, Well, they don't, no, not really, uh, they don't play it up, I don't think. Uh, but there, there is too much of it, you know, uh too many homes broken into. Uh-huh. Yeah. We had our, our, fact about, uh, last year sometime our home was broken into. Really? We, So this is a topic of personal interest. Yeah, we, uh, uh, I didn't think ours ever would be burgled into, burgled, but, so many in our neighborhood had been, and, uh, because we live on a corner and back up to a real, uh, highly traveled main street. Uh-huh. Yeah. But, uh, we were, so, uh, So, so you saw this happening in your neighborhood and you figured it wouldn't happen to you. Sort of, yeah. And I never did get a security system, but since that happened, I certainly have. Yeah, what kind of system do you have? It's, uh, uh, I guess excuse me, just a standard. Uh, with the, uh, all the doors and the, uh, infrared thing, you know, motion detector. Pretty standard. Uh-huh. Is, Is this, is this one with some company that, that services you and takes your calls and all that stuff? Yes, yes. It's monitored and all that. Yeah. And, Well, is that a necessary feature to have somebody, you know, at the other end of the line or is it enough just to have a thing that makes loud noise? I think, uh, the thing that makes a lot of noise would, would suffice. Yeah. I really do. But, uh, this deal that was part of it for, you know, three years or so to pay the unit off or whatever. Yeah. Uh-huh. And, uh, but it, uh, the monitoring is not that bad, though because, uh, uh, we've goofed it up, you know, several times you'll hit the wrong key, not intentionally or something and and they call back pretty quickly, so I guess it's, you know, I think it's all right. But I, to answer your question, I think, uh uh, I think, uh, that is a pretty good deterrent in itself, Yeah. whether it, so you got a sign up there that says you got this alarm system Uh-huh. And what if a burglar comes along and cuts your phone line? Well, it's got a back up system that doesn't work supposedly. uh, that if it's cut supposedly it notifies them anyway Supposedly. How does it do that? Who knows, you know. But that's a selling point. And I think they're probably, I think it probably does these things or supposedly pretty good. Uh-huh. Boy, they sure advertise them, you know, so many of them nowadays. Sure. But, uh, well don't, don't you all have a pretty high crime rate up there? Well, yeah, uh, I'm not saying it's any higher than anybody else's. Down here, we seem to, or, or not here, but the statistics seem to say that. I don't know. I, I think it's the murder capital of the country now. Is that right? Yes. I would gather probably from drugs. Absolutely. And I think that's the reason it's so high everywhere. Yeah. But, I don't think there's anyplace, used to, years ago, you thought, well, these little small cities and all, wouldn't have that problem, but they do. Yeah. We've had relatives that their children were just as involved in it, uh, as anyone, you know. so, what's the solution? That's a good question. I don't know, I don't know what the solution is. I really don't. And all these politicians make, make hay over, you know being anticrime, Yeah. but they haven't seemed to have changed anything. Yep. and nothing seems to change. And, uh, I'm not sure that anything will because these, if something could happen to make these people not want to buy it Uh-huh. uh, but, they want to buy it, so, Yeah. Supply and demand. Long as somebody wants to buy it, somebody going to provide it for them So, I don't know, I don't got, you know, I don't know what the solution is, I really don't Yeah. I don't think anyone does, in fact. Yeah, what, Okay, well, do you have a pet? I have two cats. And do, and, oh, and two fish. Two cats, you're lucky. Your two fish. And what do you have? Well, my husband, you know, how, sometimes when you marry someone that you get along on everything except one major thing. Oh, no. My husband is a hunter, fisherman, outdoorsman, Marlboro type person who had to have a sporting dog. So we have a black Labrador. Ooh. Beautiful, gorgeous black Labrador, but to me, he belongs up in the field, you know, in the ranch, in the farm and, Well, because we finally negotiated that I was losing my mind, uh, he sleeps in the laundry room and then he goes out for the day. But this, this is a beautiful dog and he is wonderful with our little girls and he is, he's, comes from a purebred line and there's nothing you could say bad about him, except that I was more of a cat or a small dog person that you could sit in the chair and cuddle. Right. Right. And this is huge. You know, course, when he runs around the yard, he just digs, he doesn't know that he's tearing up things, but he does. Yeah, yeah. And the worst part that I had with him, he's, he's three now was when he was, uh, about eight months old Uh-huh. and I did not know what to expect from a dog having not had one, and I left him in the kitchen with the little baby gates up while I was gone for about an hour. And I came home and he had ripped my wallpaper off my wall. Oh, my word. And it was in the floor and I just about lost it and I called and I said, come home and get your dog. And so, he said, well, puppies just chew when they're nervous and I, well, I wish you had told me you know, Oh, dear. and it was about eight months later, he ate a piece of the linoleum. He kept picking at it and I didn't the, the tile in the kitchen and picked a hole in it So the last thing he did was, when I had sat out a whole lot of begonias in the backyard, and he dug them all up and brought them to the porch. And I told my husband, I said, you know, it's either me or the dog, and he looked at me like, well, you know Good-bye He loves this dog and every night when he comes home from work, he hugs it and talks to him and he's a good dog, so it's one of those things I'm just having to get used to and that's why I laughed when they called with the topic. I thought, oh, boy, do I have a pet But, I, I grew up with cats and I'm very comfortable, I love my cats. Yeah. I had one cat for eighteen years. I got her when I lived in Hawaii. Oh. Before I even got married I had my cat. She's old. Well, she, I had to have her put to sleep last June. Isn't she? Oh, I started to say then you broke your heart. Oh, it was awful, it was just awful. Oh. But, and she just sat there on my lap, you know. Oh. She just, just waited and, Bless your heart. Oh, it was awful. That makes me feel so bad. But her hair, but the bad thing was, though, she would pee in my husband's shoes. Yeah. Oh, no You know, and she just liked his shoes and he'd have these dress hundred dollar shoes. Oh. Oh, no Oh, it was just bad. And my closet and it was, oh, something. Oh, that's awful, I never heard of that before. Oh, it was terrible. And once she did it, you know, then she would, I mean, she wouldn't, if our shoes sat side by side, she would pee in my husband's shoes. Uh-huh. She must have known he didn't like her or something. Or the smell or something. Oh, anyway, I, I, and I would shut, I would bar the closet doors, and would uh, clean the carpets and Uh-huh. oh, dear, it was just awful. Well, now, does your cat sleep in the house? That was very funny. They are, they are house cats. I, uh, well, I have two cats right now. Yeah. And, of course. Oh, yeah, good. They sleep with my kids. My kids, my, my fourteen year old son has an extra pillow on his bed just for the cat. Oh. But the cat doesn't destruct does it? See, it doesn't do anything. Oh, no, I I'm not going to have a dog. See. We've had two dogs and, uh, they both got ran over. After we had them for several years, just nice little outside dogs Oh, no. but Yeah. were just my kids' friends, they would go they would go with me when I would go running and and the last one got hit, uh, as she was following my, one of my sons across the road to the school. Oh. Oh, no. It was awful. It was just, Oh, that is. And it just, it's too heartbreaking but they do dig up and they just, they just wreck things and I'm not a dog person. They do wreck things. Well, I'm not either. Ooh. I'm not either and it's just been, I wouldn't want a Lab. It sounds beautiful, but, He's beautiful but it's just one of those concessions, I just had to make, but I kind of ignore him. Now today's the first cold we've had in Texas and it's really cold and drizzly and it's freezing Um. and people are doing their fires and I brought him in because he's just a wet mess out there and he's in the laundry room with this little carpet square and he's just huddled up like, if you'll be nice to me, I won't make any trouble, you know. And then my daughters both have hamsters. Oh. And I, I, And how old are your girls? They're eleven and eight and I gave in at Christmas Oh, yeah. and they have, they keep their cages real clean. It always smells of cedar and they just sleep and eat bits of apple and carrots and, Sure. I think they're cutting us off. No, that's Oh. somebody's trying to cut in on my line and I don't want to answer. Oh, okay. I'll just wait. Okay. No, I've, I've got incoming calls and I don't know why, calling. Oh, okay. I, I hate to cut it off, I think they would cut us off, I understand. so we'll just wait. Okay, well Whoever it is will call back. they'll cut us off pretty soon. Well, it's somebody calling for my kids, you know, jeez. Yeah, I know. Actually, it's my son, I know it is. My older boy. He never likes to come home from school. Anyway that's what we have, and I have, I've tried to start a fish tank How does, and I keep losing all my fish. In the salt water? Salt water or, No Yeah. just regular water. Yeah, they just raised our taxes up here about a year ago. Well, they've, uh, statewide raises, they raise ours it seems like constantly. We just, uh, passed a new one, uh, fortunately or unfortunately it doesn't go into effect because we did not get the United Airlines. Oh, right Indianapolis got that, didn't they? Right. And, uh, we had passed a, a provisional one that if, if it did, if they did locate here we would raise our taxes. But, uh, at least we thought we'd get something back from that. Yeah. Uh, how do you feel about taxes? Well, it seems like a big politics game like up here, last year, the governor was up for re-election so he said the budget was fine, the state didn't have any money and then right after he won the election he said we owed a lot of money so they raised all our taxes. And now it's election time again so they're trying to lower them. Oh. So they're just talk about lowering them but they never do, they just keep raising them. I've never seen taxes really go down. Yeah, me neither. Well, actually they're going to here because they didn't have a budget for so long so they raised the tax rate real high for the last three months of this year and they're going to lower it for next year. Oh. I guess they figure they're going to make up for all they didn't get when they should have had a budget. I hope they put that in writing Yeah, yeah, they say they're going to lower, but I'll see. I feel like the middle class people are supporting the nation and, uh, that the rich are not paying their share and of course the poor can't afford it either, but, uh, I really feel like and, and I feel like, you know, I'm a middle class person income wise anyway and, uh, I get tired of supporting the whole country. Yeah, so do I. I mean, I'm a, a middle class barely, but, uh, I don't think the rich are paying less, not enough, I think they're paying too much. You think the rich are paying too much? Yeah, I mean if you're in the, the three, three percent bracket and they take a third of your check every month, well, that's ridiculous. Why bother working? Well, I don't know many rich that don't have enough tax breaks to, I mean, I'm talking about the really rich. Well, they should just tax everybody the same amount no matter what you make. Right. That would be fair. Now I'll go along with that. You know, Yeah no loopholes or anything. Everybody pays ten percent or fifteen or whatever. Right. Now, I think that would be fair. Right. And I, you know, no, no ifs, ands and buts, you know, no big elaborate laws that say, uh, you know, call for a lot of enforcement or a lot of review. It's just, you know, you make this, you pay ten percent. If you make a hundred dollars, you pay ten percent, if you make a million dollars, you pay ten percent. Yeah, that's the way our state tax is here. I think it's pretty fair. Our state taxes are somewhat based on the federal. Uh-huh. And, uh, they have not gotten it where the withholding is accurate. Oh So, and, and you withhold no matter what you do, they withhold what they're supposed to and at the end of the year it's not enough. Oh, great, so you ought to be saving up some every month to make up for all what they should be taking out. Right, so now, you know, when you sign your W-Four form or whatever, W-Two whatever that is, then they always say, do you want a extra amount for state. Which is ridiculous, Uh-huh. but it's been that way for the last probably ten years. Yeah, I guess you have to check yes or you come down to the end of the year and you don't have it to give it to them. Right, unless you have a lot of deductions. Yeah. But, you know, if you have a lot of federal deduction, it ends up hurting you state wise. Really? And you end up owing, you know, you may get nine hundred dollars back from federal and you're going to owe fifteen hundred in state. Ouch And, uh, it's, it's just ridiculous. But, I, I don't know. I've, they just came up with a twenty-five percent increase on personal property in, in Oklahoma county and that is a chunk. Yeah, I'll say I mean twenty-five percent increase. is, Uh, I guess, uh, I've always been kind of interested in, in, space and stuff. I've, read a lot of the, the, uh, astronomy books and, and stuff like that. Uh, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Have you been following the, uh, the progress of the space health code ? Uh, to a degree. I haven't kept up as, uh, much as I would like, Uh-huh. I've just been so busy, uh, Uh-huh. I barely get a chance to read a newspaper now and then, so. Yeah. I think it's pretty exciting that they can, uh, it would be interesting to see if they can find, uh, other planets that are, that will be more habitable to, uh, you know, uh, humans and, uh, yeah, I think I would be very interested in space travel in the future if, uh, if it, you know, if it is at all possible. Yeah. Well, I wouldn't even mind, uh, being a pilot on one, or right now but I'm probably getting a little too old for that. Well, I know if they make the advances that they have been making, that, uh, maybe age will no longer, age or even physical, uh, abilities may not be, uh, a barrier anymore. Right. Yeah. Well, they, they just made leaps and jumps. I think a lot of our, our technology we have is, is quite a bit due to lot of the space travel, uh, uh, equipment and stuff that, Yeah, I agree. Uh, as a matter of fact we're the ones that I have been to Houston to, to, you know, to visit the, uh, space center out there, and, uh, one of the big advances that we use every day now is Velcro Uh-huh. and, uh, that vacuum , uh, little space program was one of the big, you know, backers of that. Yeah. It's amazing, you know, you, it's hard to imagine what life was like without it now. Yeah. I don't know if you ever watch Gallagher , you know, he's one of the comedians and and, you know, he, he talks a lot on, on Velcro. Uh-huh, yeah, I've seen him before. what would we do without it? Yeah. we were talking about that just the other day. What did we do without it back then? Yeah. I guess there was a lot of buttons and a lot of zippers and snaps. Yeah. Yeah, there's, there's a lot of, a lot of little things that have come up . I know maybe some of the big things that, uh, uh, concentrated foods for one maybe I Uh, I don't know That's right. That's right. it's also just I've, I've often pictured, uh, in my mind, you know, what it would be like to just, what would you find if you just kept on going, kept on going? Uh-huh. That's true. Uh, I guess our minds are so, uh, uh, what is it? Uh, finite Uh-huh. when we try and picture the universe as an infinite object, and it's hard to, to see, you know. Uh-huh. Yeah. I always thought well, what do you do hit a brick wall, eventually. It's hard to consider that something could go on indefinitely. Yeah, that, that is, uh, that is something that would be hard to think about. I agree. You know like you say we're used to finite things and something that is infinite and just incomprehensible. Yeah. But, But, uh, yeah, I would like to see them, uh, do more in that area to make space travel more, uh, something that the ordinary person can, uh, enjoy. Yeah. I know it's I think it's in people's nature to be the first to do something. Uh-huh. And I, I'd love to be the first one to step on a planet or some like, you know, Yeah. Yeah, me too. I wouldn't even mind being not so much being first but just, uh, get out there and, and just explore. Yeah. I think, uh, it's in everyone's nature to some degree to want to get out and explore something they haven't, or experience something, you know, indifferent. Huh. I think that's what made us, uh, progress to the state we are is our curiosity. Oh, sure. Sure. Of course. That's true. There must be some better better way of doing this. A better place to be or whatever, you know it's, Uh-huh. So you, you are always looking for something better. Yeah, that's true. I know at work, uh, people always complain to me I, well, you are always whining and, it's, I'm always looking for something better. Uh, Yeah There's a better way of doing it than what we are doing it. That's right. That's right. And if you are just content with being, you know, with the way things are then, you know, then you must lead, lead a pretty dull life. Yeah. Because if Well, they are always finding easier ways and, you know, just because they don't talk about it or something like that. Uh-huh. And they are doing it you know, unconsciously. Yeah, I guess, uh, you don't really think about it too much. I guess you are always finding newer ways and better ways of doing stuff but it, it's in a subconscious, you know, thing. You know, somewhere they can sit down and write down what, you know, things that you've improved upon, you probably wouldn't have a pretty good list. Uh-huh. But you just don't think about them. Right. And that's true. I think, uh, you know, we've gotten different programs at work, you know, to, to, uh, make it visible to management that we are doing things better, So how many, um, credit cards do you have? Um, I think I'm down to one. Oh, my gosh, I wish I was that way. Is that why you said I had more experience than you? Well, no. I was pulling your leg. Oh. Well, how, how do you use your credit card? I mean, do you just keep it in reserve, or. I, I, well, the way I'd like to try and use it is, um, you, you, you make your purchases at, at prime buying time Uh-huh. and then you pay that off and don't use it until, uh, it's paid off. Uh-huh. That's, that's my ideal way Uh-huh. How, how do you use it? Emergencies come along, and I and I use it. Yeah that's understandable, exactly. Uh, like, uh, my car, uh, had a major problem, and seven hundred dollars, Uh-huh. and uh, things just come up Right, right. and you just never get to use it the way you'd really like to. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, actually I do have quite a few more credit cards than you have Um, and I use them, you know, like my American Express I use for, you know, gas, things like that, and I pay that off monthly, and then, um, some other credit cards, like store credit cards, you know, I do have them up there a little bit, but, uh. Uh-huh. I try not to use them too often. But living in this area, uh, like I live fifteen miles west of Washington, D C Um. it's a very expensive area Yeah. So, sometimes you have no other choice if you need to buy something. Yeah. Well, I, I know I was up in there and a lot of credit cards, and I was just starting to get to where it was getting me in trouble Right. so we just disposed of them, paid them off, and got out of it. Uh-huh. I just. Uh-huh, well that was good that you had the opportunity to do that. Yeah. Uh-huh. Now are you married, that you both, you and your wife use a credit card, or? Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. Well, now we pretty much just pay cash for as much as we can there. Uh-huh. Um. Uh-huh. Our, our only credit card is Sears, so and I have that for automotive purposes. Uh-huh, um. Right, right. Well, well that's great. Um, everyone I know here uses, um, credit cards like they're going out of business to be honest with you. Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's just too easy, basically, uh, just get yourself in trouble with those. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the only other one I have, I have like a Diner's Club through my, um, where I work I see. so that I use, because I travel some. So I use that, and I don't really have to worry about that, because I only use it for business, so I automatically have the money to pay it off. Yeah. But. Um. Uh, I wouldn't mind, uh, you know, getting back into one if they would, you know, you start out at a low limit, and then they just keep wanting you to increase your limit Uh-huh. and, and if I can get one that'll keep my limit at five hundred and I can never go over that or something like that, then that's fine, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but they eventually gets up there to five thousand, ten thousand, whatever fifty thousand Uh-huh. Yeah. forget it, I don't want that. Um, the temptation's too great. Yeah. Um. So, I don't know, just, uh, writing checks is just as easy I guess. Yeah, that's true, that's true, but. So, I guess, uh, we've kind of exhausted this, uh, topic Yeah, well, really, what, what can you. Yeah, you can't say too much about it really. Other than, you use them or you don't use them. You like them or you don't like them. So. Uh-huh. I guess, uh, they don't care if we end it early. So, uh, hopefully, uh, you have a good Thanksgiving. That's coming up, and. And, then, uh, maybe we'll talk again. Okay, you, too. Yeah, may be, you're the furthest person, actually, that I've talked. I've talked to a lot of people in Texas. Yeah. Yeah. Texas is the big one. Yeah, so. Okay, then. Well, bye now. okay, bye-bye. So, how do you feel about capital punishment? Well, I, I'm not really certain how I, uh, I'm not certain that, that it does a lot of good. I mean, that it ends up, ends up effectively, uh, uh, uh, avoiding a lot of the crimes that have capital punishment penalties. Right, you don't think, Yet, on the other hand, uh, I don't know, I mean, there is things that seems like it's, it's, it's the right thing to do. Now, you know, I mean somebody, a serial killer or somebody goes in and machine guns, you know, fifty, fifty children in a school yard, you kind of, I don't know. What about yourself? I, uh, I have the same dilemma, I think. Uh, it's, you know, it seems right sometimes and then other times, you don't know. Uh-huh. Uh, I mean, people, like, I, it's been, I mean, like the Arab societies and stuff end up, uh, having effective, effective punishments and, and they're extremely severe. Uh, I, you know, I think to a certain degree, the reason that it, it doesn't serve as a deterrent, uh, may be because you never know if it's going to be applied. Right, unlike, uh, like in, in Arab societies. If you get, get caught stealing, they chop off your hand and and you walk around the rest of your life with one hand Right. and everybody knows exactly what, what for. Right. Uh, and, you know, and here, with our court system and, and ways of sort of screwing it around and stuff you can, you can kind of always count on the fact, or, or there is a good chance you're going to get off. Uh-huh. And also, it doesn't seem like it does that many harm, I mean, sure, their life is taken, but they'd spend the rest of their life in jail anyway, so I think sometimes they'd prefer just to get it over with so it's more of the easy way out than making them pay for the for the you know, what they've done. some people, Yeah. Except that, I mean, the, the average cost to to society of having somebody in jail for all their life is, is extremely high. I mean, something, I, I was amazed at. Uh, uh, per year, it's something like twenty thousand dollars per inmate per year. To keep people in jail. Yeah. Uh, you know, and it's sort of a sort of a crass perspective on the usage of capital punishment, Uh-huh. but on the other hand, uh, uh, you know, I don't, I don't know if it's that is, that is that serious that they're really never going to be out of jail, uh ... Right, but then again, also, you can't bring back lives that have been taken anyway, so uh, it's, Uh-huh it doesn't, it seems by, that by, I don't know, doesn't ever really, uh ... Oh, I know, I mean, you can't, it doesn't, Taking , taking one more life doesn't, doesn't, doesn't get things back the way they were, right. Yeah. Right. It doesn't bring back every, Yeah, I don't know, I, I don't, I really don't know, uh, What state are you in? I'm in Texas. Oh, really? In Dallas? No, I'm in Austin. Oh, really? Where, where are you calling from? Uh, right now I'm in Utah, but I'm from Plano, Texas. Oh, I see, uh-huh. So, uh, uh, what are the laws like in Texas? It's, Texas is, has, is one of the, one of the well, I guess there is more and more states that are, that are going back to capital punishment. Uh, Texas has had it for a while. It's one of the quickest, it, it, once it was, it was reallowed, I think it was outlawed for a while, but, uh, by the supreme court, I mean, or, the interpretation of the constitution and it seems like everybody stopped and then, and then once they sort of reallowed it, Texas was one of the first to, uh, to actually, uh, implement it again. Oh, really? They do it by, uh, by, do it by lethal injection. Uh-huh. Uh, I'm originally from Kansas and in Kansas also, uh, they, they almost immediately put back capital punishment and, uh, there they do it by hanging. Wow. Still, uh, they have, I still remember the, the, the movie, uh, IN COLD BLOOD. I don't know if you've ever, I'm sure you're familiar with it, but, have you seen the movie? I haven't, no. Yeah. That way. And they do it that way? Yeah, well, they, they show it, not, not, I mean, the, the movie was made in, like, nineteen sixty-two or something like that Huh. and so it's, uh, it's not particularly graphic, but on the other hand it's, it's fairly impressive to watch them, you know, walk into the room with gallows. It's kind of a barn like structure. Wow. I think they're there, I think that capital punishment is, is, uh, in in Utah also. I'm not really familiar. Is that right? Are you there in school? Yeah, I am. Yeah. So, but I think they a long time ago, I, I remember my dad was telling me this, I think, that, uh, they do it by, like, a bunch of men have guns and one of them has the real gun in it. Uh-huh, has, has a, yeah. So they don't know who killed, Has a real bullets and the rest of them have blanks? Right. Yeah, I, I certainly wouldn't want to be the executioner, I know that Yeah, no. I've always said that if I, if I had to kill and clean and do my own, my own meat, I think I'd become a vegetarian. I know. As long as you're sort of safely removed from it, it seems, seems not so, so bad, I guess. Okay. All right. Go ahead. Well, what kind of car would I want to buy. Yeah. I don't know. The question is, I mean, would I want to buy, or would I, would I probably actually buy. May be two different things. Oh, well, if you, if you had all your, all the money in the world or something. If I had all the money I wanted, then that's whole different matter. No, in that case, I'd, I'd, I don't know. I, I, my dream car for years was a, was a Porsche Turbo . Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know if I'd want one of those now. Oh, really? Of course I would want one if somebody was was given to me. Yeah. But I maybe would buy a B M W. Uh, or, or even a Volvo. Uh-huh. What do you have now? I've got a, uh, a Dodge Daytona. Uh-huh. It's actually the first car we ever bought new. Oh, really. Yeah, we just, we, well, I have my car is the first one we ever bought new, too. Uh-huh. But we just bought another used car, a couple weeks ago, actually. Uh-huh, yeah me too So what car do you drive? What is it? Uh, mine is a Honda Accord. Uh-huh, we almost bought one of those. Do you like it? Yeah, I do, and, and, um, it's funny because, after I bought it, I was doing a lot of business traveling, and I, some of the cars that I got were like the Toyota Camry and the Nissan Maxima and some of the competitors Uh-huh. and, um, I don't like them as well except, it wasn't really a fair comparison because those were automatics, and mine is a standard Yeah. and the reason I got a standard was because I thought it handled a lot better Uh-huh. it had a lot more pickup and everything. Yeah, you get a little more control over when when it's doing the things it's doing. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, what, what rental agent did you go to to actually rent to rent those kind of cars. Um usually AVIS. To what, AVIS? AVIS. Really. Yeah. Huh. I guess, It's just because we're on, I think of it, I'm not sure those are AVIS or not, but we have corporate contracts you know, with the various companies I see. Uh-huh. so it depends on your destination, too. Right. Kind of strange You work for a big company, then. Work for T I. Uh-huh, which is how I heard about this T I, I see. Uh-huh. Um, but yeah, I, I, uh, I don't know, I would probably, if I were to buy a car you know, with the constraints of real money I probably would, would go with something like, you know, like a Honda Accord. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Maybe it would, one thing I, I really liked about, about the Dodge Daytona is the fact that they have, uh, this seven year warranty. Oh, really. Um, and it really saved us some big money once. It did, huh. Yeah, they had a whole bunch of things that, that sort of broke at the same time Oh, my gosh. and the bill would have been over fifteen hundred dollars, and I had to pay twenty five for the, Oh, that was great. Yeah, it was. That's unusual to hear, usually, you know something breaks, you look at the warranty and it's excluded. Well, we, we bought the extended, the the extension and, uh, at the time we bought it it was like, you know, I don't know, four hundred and twenty-five dollars or something extra. Oh, I see, okay. Oh, you got your money's worth. Yeah, we did, but, you know, we really debated at the beginning, and of course I'm glad I did it. Yeah. Yeah, that is good. But, um, we still have, we still have like, you know, three years left on it. Yeah, well, I've been lucky. Mine hasn't had any trouble except last week a shopping cart crashed into it Oh, no. but I was real lucky because it just hit the, um the lens to the light. Bumper? Oh. It didn't actually dent the car or anything. So it cost me twenty-five bucks to replace that, Well, that was good. and the store will pay for it anyway, Are you. so. No big deal. Uh-huh. Um, if you were, if you were going to, uh, buy a new car would you buy another, uh, another Accord? Um, I probably wouldn't, just because I already have one Uh-huh. but, you know, if I had to make the choice again, I, yeah, I, I'm perfectly happy with what I decided um, although we did just buy another car, Uh-huh. and that's a Legend Oh, yeah, those are nice . um, but it's, it's a used one Uh-huh. and, um, my husband has really wanted one for a long time, and the fact that, you know, this this car that I have has performed so well, and before that I also had an Accord, it was a real old one Uh-huh. and, uh, I bought that used. I had absolutely no money to my name and bought that, and it served me real well, too. Uh-huh. So he's been impressed with all the Honda cars. Right. And. Yeah, my sister drives one. She drives a, uh, I don't know, is it Legend Uh-huh. it's a, I'm not certain, but she's liked it. Um, Yeah. But, I, I have, I have never had, and we, in fact, what I'm driving right now, we bought a, we only had one car for a long time, and and yet most of our usage of the car was just this little shuttle back and forth, four miles to work and back kind of thing. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so, uh, I bought a used Yugo just to be a little, you know, little car that I could care less about Uh-huh. Yeah. How did it go for you? Oh, well, it's, uh, it's worked. Hasn't left you stranded. I mean, that's exactly what it is, you know, it's just a, it's a cheap little little car just to go, you know, run around town in Yeah I know. Yeah. and, uh. It's actually kind of fun to drive. I, I, you know, getting back in the Daytona now, I almost don't like it. You know Really. it's like too, too mushy, and it, you know it's an automatic, Huh. and Well, that's what my husband thinks about my car now, that he's had the Legend it's too, the steering it's windy. you know, you feel like you're in a boat or something, you know, it's kind of, I can't drive that, the Legend, it's just so huge. Oh. I, I don't like it, and it's so, uh, So, uh, what kind of home repair work have you done? Well, um, done a little, uh, repair on the, uh, shingles on the roof recently. We've had a lot of wind around here. Been pulling them up, huh, or just loosening them until the rain came in? Yes. It looks like I'm going to have to get up there again, because we may have a leak. Are you in the section of Texas that's been getting so much rain? We've been getting quite a bit, maybe not quite as bad as some of the folks down around San Antonio, but, uh, well, I'm right, Plano's just north of Dallas Oh, okay. and there are parts of downtown or near downtown Dallas that are under water right now, I guess, I saw on the news. Yeah. But you're probably, what, about halfway across the state from San Antonio, though, aren't you? Well, we're up, uh, we're north and, uh, oh, about, uh, I don't know, uh, eighty to a hundred miles south of the Oklahoma line, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, okay. But you're still getting a good bit of the rain, though. Uh, we did have a little bit of rain yesterday. So far we haven't had any today. And, uh, I suppose that means I should be, uh, getting up there to look at that, uh, shingle, but, uh I had something else planned today, Yeah. so I guess I'll let it go awhile. Yeah. Is it asphalt shingles, or, or . They're, uh, no, they're, uh, wood shake. Ooh, that should be a lot of fun. Yeah Did you put them up originally or just going up and stopping leaks in them? No, I, uh, as a matter of fact, we've never had a leak actually yet. Now this, we just bought the house last year, and, uh, uh, just before we took possession of it we had a fellow go up there and do whatever needed to be done on the shingles. So, I've just recently had to start looking at it myself. Yeah. So, it's a small problem so far, but I guess you just have to keep on top of it. What kind of roof do you have? Uh, we're in, uh, campus apartment buildings with flat top, uh. Oh, then you don't have to do too much with it Not too much. They're just tar and gravel treated flat top roofs. Uh-huh. Have you got pretty well pitch on that roof, or is it pretty steep? Oh, it's pretty steep. Uh, parts of it are steeper than others. What do you use to keep from sliding off that rascal? Well, uh, you wear, uh, shoes with good traction, and, and, and try to remember where you are at all times Yeah, I imagine, I imagine. And remember to yell Geronimo, if all else fails. Yeah, yeah, that would be just too much of a fall for me. Um, have you been, uh, was, was the house reasonably new, or you been doing some remodeling work on it. It's actually just twelve years old, now. That's pretty new house yet. Yeah, it, uh, this part of the country, actually, they say that when the house is, uh, fifteen, it's already old, but just take good care of it. Yeah. Thing is, we've, uh, the main thing that we've had with this house recently has been some, uh, squirming, I call it, of the foundation. We're just on a concrete slab, you know Yeah. but, uh, the soil right under this is a clay, and it, uh, It's settling unevenly? Well, it, uh, depending on its moisture content, it either swells up or shrinks, and, uh of course the soil right under the slab retains its moisture a lot longer Yeah. Uh-huh. and so during the dry season you have to water the foundation to keep your foundation from, uh, from, uh, drooping Uh-huh. and, uh, but anytime there's a change in the weather, like the temperature, drastic changes in temperature or in, uh, moisture, uh, you get little spider web cracks all around, uh, windows and doors. Well, that sounds like a lot of fun. Well, usually what you do is just wait until you think it's stopped, and then you patch them up Um. What is it like, uh, stucco walls or, Uh, well, this is all, uh, it's all drywall Oh, drywall. uh, I think, with, uh Wood framing? yeah, right. Okay. But, uh, somehow or other that does manage to, uh, show these little cracks. I don't know quite how that works. Maybe it isn't drywall. I don't really know. they plastered over drywall. Yeah, I think it is. I remember my parents home is drywalled and then they, uh, almost like a small grade stucco type plastering over the drywall to give it a textured sort of a look, I expect that's what it is, yeah. and made for kind of a hard shell on the, on the drywall. Yeah, I think that's the way this is done. Fortunately we haven't had any real big holes in it yet so I, Yeah, that's good. Yeah. Yeah, that would, that would be in terribly, terribly exasperating to have the, the slab floor like that swelling and giving like that. Yes, well, the previous owner had a major problem with it, because, uh, oh probably a variety of things. His neighbor used, return anything. Well, really, the only things that I have returned have not been faulty, it's been because of the size or some problem like that. Right. I really haven't had to return things because they didn't perform the way they were supposed to. Most the time they have a pretty good guarantee, yeah. The only thing I've had lately is, uh, my kids got all these Barbie kind of toys for, uh, Christmas and, uh, it takes them less than a day and they're broken in one way or another. But I don't know if that's just kids, or if that's, uh, maybe those type of products should be for older kids Uh-huh. What age are your children? I have a five and a half and a three and a half year old that play with them Uh-huh And, uh, I don't think they're unduly rough, but maybe they are. I don't know. But, uh, a lot of the little Barbie sets they come with real little pieces and they're easily lost and easily broken but, Uh-huh. Well, my daughter is twenty-one now, so it's been a while since we've had Barbie things It's been a while since they've, uh, gone through the Barbie stuff . But we did have Barbies, we did have Barbies and things, and there seems to me that that became a craze when she was already, oh, like, you know, third, fourth, fifth grade. Right. So she wasn't in it for very long before she was out of it, but, uh, I don't remember her breaking a lot of stuff. Don't remember her breaking, uh, No, I don't. But I also don't remember lots of little pieces They've got so many different things with it now. Well, that's one thing they've got. They've got every type of imaginable, camping on the beach, and all of these come with, oh, like tiny, tiny little plates and little sunglasses. And, uh Goodness. my three and a half year old has wanted this Ken doll, and so I finally got her a Ken doll, and, uh, less than a week later the arm was broken. Oh, dear. But they were real good about replacing it. That's one nice thing, is they're real good about replacing it. Well, uh, I guess if they'll replace them, then they assume they shouldn't have broken. Right. Well, the, the, you know, those little arms are supposed to twist almost any way and Any direction. she's not that strong, that I would she's not that big of a girl that I think could really take a grip on it like a bigger kid could, you know. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah. The main thing that they've, they had when my daughter was playing with Barbies was just clothes. Yes. You know, that was about it. That was about it. Uh-huh. And the Barbie doll itself is usually pretty durable and that kind of stuff but, And the main thing my kids seem to be into nowadays are electronics. My, my children are twenty-one and twenty-five and twenty-eight. Oh, is that right? Uh-huh and, Well, do you see that there's a big problem with electronic things? No, not really. We, uh, haven't had that much, you know, problem with things that we have bought. They seem to, to last. In fact, when they offer us extended warranties, we, we don't buy them because we've, Don't buy them because you don't need them. Yes. And, uh, it seems like it's just a, an added tack on. Plus a lot of the credit cards now, you know, will guarantee, if you purchase on your credit card you know, then they put an extended warranty on it if it doesn't work or if you have a problem with it in a certain period of time, Oh, yeah. . so it seems like it's a waste of money. Yes. Well, you almost assume if you're going to have problems with it, it's usually before that warranty would expire any, the first one. Uh-huh. And like I've even bought, on a recliner once I bought, you know, a, a, an extended warranty for cleaning and stuff like that, and I never used it. You never even needed it. And so it seems ridiculous. And like washers and dryers and things like that, I've never had one go out. In fact, they usually, when they do go out, it's either something my husband can buy the part and fix and we don't even have a repairman come, or it means it's old enough that it's time to replace the whole thing. It's time to replace it. Uh-huh. Yes. So, I mean, I think these extended warranties are gimmicks, really. I do too. A lot of it. We bought, when we first married, we bought one on our T V and that there's, it was a five year, after the first five years, and it was ridiculous. Uh-huh. And they charge you a pretty good price for them too. Yes. They're a pretty healthy price, and you're trying to think oh, maybe I'll need this. You never, you always think gosh, if I say no, then I won't, you know. Uh-huh. But, Well, my husband finally just put his foot down I don't know. and he said we're not going to buy any of these anymore, and if it goes out, well you know. You probably got your worth out of it anyway. Uh-huh, and, uh, so we really have been fairly happy with things, but now we take good care of things and we don't, uh, run out and buy a lot of, of things either. And since our kids aren't little anymore, I'm not buying a lot of those little things that can get broken. Yes, the little, well, you probably are real careful of the brands you buy and the, when you do buy things, you probably watch what kind of, type of . Well, you look at the consumer guide. Yes. And, uh, you go around and you look at the different ones and find the ones that have the, So, uh, what do you think about child care Oh, well, my, my feelings on it is, uh, I wouldn't take a child to day-care You know? Right. I mean, I'd, I'd wind up, uh, just a baby-sitter in a home. Probably find someone, how come you wouldn't take them to a day-care? Uh, Just because of the, Well, too many kids and, and I think too many infections and things coming in. Yeah, they seem to pass a lot of, Yeah, sicknesses and I don't know, then all the things you hear about them. Yeah, you kind of wonder whether or not, Yeah, I mean I'm sure there's some good ones, but I just, I don't think that I would, uh, I took, uh, Cammy to a oh, it was a preschool day-care type of thing. Oh, uh-huh. But I kind of, I liked it some ways and some ways I didn't Uh, I think the ratio of kids to teacher is really important. Oh, yeah, yeah. And, How was it? Well, I think they had a, they had two teachers and I think there were twenty kids, but I only had her going two days and most of the other kids were going more days so that was probably my own fault that she didn't, Oh. She went, Oh, you know, one thing I noticed is, uh, uh, just, they were trying to get her to, teach her to write her name, and, uh, I didn't notice it until this summer when I was working with her that she would bend her wrist all the way, oh, not in a natural form. Oh, she did? Yes, and, uh, I was kind of mad that they had never noticed that and, either pointed it out to me or, or, uh tried to say, look, you're holding your, she was holding her pencil in the right fingers and stuff. but she was, Wrapping her arm all the way around. Yes. Yeah. And, uh, I hadn't worked with her on writing at all at that point. She was four, or three, yeah, she was, uh, it was last year and, uh, then this summer I got the thing from the school that says things to work with the kids on and I like I said, I didn't notice it till then. Because I hadn't worked with writing letters or anything and stuff like that. Oh. Uh-huh. Well, they'd never picked it out, though? No. Huh. They never, Or just never said anything. Course, like I said, I took her two days a week and maybe that was, my main reason for taking her was, uh, just social skills more than anything else. Yeah. Yeah. I felt she needed the just, I didn't feel like she was mature enough socially Yeah. and, uh, Well, one thing that's kind of different, too, though, a preschool than, than taking a, a infant or to at a day-care where they're taken care of. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. I think it would be hard to take them to people you don't know. Preschool's a different thing, but I think it's hard to take kids to somebody you don't know and, or unless you have awfully good references. Reliable, uh, people, Yeah, yeah. I don't know, it's so hard to take young kids anywhere for very long. Well, I think it's hard to leave them, it is. It is. The older ones it's not, you don't even really have any real worries, because you know that they'll play with whoever's there and they usually adapt pretty well. Yeah. But, uh, Yeah, it, it is, I think, just hard to leave them because nobody will give them the kind of care their own families will. Well, and you know their, kind of their schedules and you know if they're upset and that type of a deal. Yeah, yeah. I don't know how, uh, people, uh, that have young kids working work full time and, and do it, really, without being stressed out all the time. I think it's, well, I don't know, then, then on the other hand I think it's harder to stay home in some regards. It's hard to always keep yourself feeling like you're doing something productive, and at the end of the day your house still feels like it's a mess, and you haven't got anything done and Oh, yeah. what am I going to fix for supper Oh, yeah, it is Yeah, it's kind of hard to always feel gosh, what, is this important what I'm doing and Yeah, well, uh, the work never ends. No. That's for sure. No, it, It doesn't. So, Huh. But, I think for taking kids to a, probably people that take them to, uh, preschools and day-cares full time, oh, they would, I don't know, probably just feel a different, uh, I think, I just think it would be hard to do that full time. I feel such a responsibility, even when we go out for a few hours that, are they driving the baby-sitter crazy and you know, Uh-huh, or is everything okay. Okay, yeah, Donna, um, you said you have three children. What, uh, kinds of activities do you spend with them? Is it ? Okay, um, we have an eleven year old, an eight year old, and a three year old and, um, uh, my husband, let's see, he coaches basketball with Brian, um, Uh-huh. so he spends time doing that with him, planning and, um, practicing outside. Uh-huh. Um, he's a real sports kind of person, so he plays tennis with, with the kids. We all kind of play tennis as a family, except the baby plays in the playground. Uh-huh. We take turns with her. Um, uh, let's see, we have a computer and we do a lot of things with the kids on the computer. Um, uh, let's what else we do. Oh, plus we watch a little T V together. We really don't watch, I think, as much T V as a lot of people. Uh-huh. We don't have H B O. We do get the Disney channel for the kids. Uh-huh. Uh, my kids have a Nintendo which they play, and my husband sometimes joins them with that. Uh-huh. Uh, my little girl, Jennifer, likes to do crafty things, and I'll take some time and do that with her. And, of course, we always read a bedtime story at night, and even the, the older kids sometimes sit down and, and will join in and listen to a story. I'm, basically the story person because my husband doesn't have, Uh-huh. he gets home from work late or whatever and, and usually, once in a while he'll read the story to little one, but that's basically my job Yeah. Um So do you find it difficult to find time, or is it pretty natural ? It is. It is hard because, you know, at the end of your day you want time for yourself Uh-huh. Yeah. and, and it, and that's kind of cutting into your, your time. Yeah. And with the kids getting older, now on the weekends they get to the bed like at ten which really is late, Uh-huh. but, you know, on school nights, the two older ones get to bed about nine. They go upstairs at nine, and, um, now, this weekend we'll have a baby-sitter come and, uh, my husband and I will go out to dinner and come home and, um, probably not too late. Uh-huh . Maybe Brian will still be up, and spend some time with him. But it, it's really hard. You have to be a very unselfish person to, to spend a lot of time with your kids, I think. Yeah, yeah. Do you work during the day? Uh, no, I don't work. I, last year, um, I had a little part time job in a private, um, high school, tutoring, um, high school students with learning disabilities. Uh-huh. That was two days a week, and even just those two days just seemed like it was a lot. I don't know how, I admire, people that, that can do it all, Yeah. but with three kids and laundry and keeping the house the way I want it kept, it is hard. Yeah. I can imagine. Um. Yeah. Even just finding the time to do the grocery shopping and everything. Uh-huh And that's another thing, I'll take one of the kids with me grocery shopping, um, usually on the weekend, and that's kind of like a special time for just myself and my little girl or myself and my son, and they'll be my helper, and then they'll get to pick out some of those favorite snacks that they get to pick out so, I try to do things like that, Yeah. but it, you know, it's, it's, uh, Yeah. And then, of course, they have a pretty, um, busy social calendar too Uh-huh. You fit it in with all that, that. Yeah. So what do you feel are the current trends in the way families spend time in general, you know, in America? I, I think a lot of people, a lot of people set their kids in front of the T V and H B O and rent movies and, and, kind of leave them to their own means. Um, Uh-huh. Yeah. I think, you know, it's very, very easy to fall into that trap, and I'm not, um, totally innocent of that because, there's times when you just stay here, watch a tape. Uh-huh. Yeah. But, um, um, I think different parts of the country, I think in Plano and maybe this area in Texas, there's a lot of community activities that parents could join in with their kids. People are, real sports conscious and really get involved with their kids, sports activities and, Uh-huh Oh, that's good. You know, but, um, Yeah. Yeah, well, families are facing a challenge, I know that with, What, I'm a newlywed and we're you know, thinking about having children sometime in the next couple of years Uh-huh. and, Uh-huh. And it's, it's very hard, because when you get used to two salaries, it's very hard to, to cut back to one. Yeah. And, um, um, but, you know, if you have the type of job, I have a friend that's a nurse and she can pick her hours and Uh-huh. that's a, a great career. I wish I would have gone into, uh, nursing Yeah. because she has such a flexible schedule, but it's very hard to, uh, spend time with the children and, uh, and your husband and do everything at once. Uh-huh. Yeah. But I do feel like it's important that you make the time for children because , Well, I think it's a big, it's a big, um, responsibility. You just don't, have children so that you can continue the lifestyle you had when you were single. Yeah. Yeah. When you have children, you have to say, now, this is different and you do have to give things up. I, I personally feel that it is extremely important to be with your own child, um, for the, at least for the first two years of their lives. I mean, if you, can possibly swing it because they, Do you have kids? Oh yeah. I got three. How about yourself? Uh, we have two and another one on the way. Oh, you have got, uh, young children then. Well, yeah, uh, we do, we have, uh, a six year old. He is oldest and then, uh, our baby will be a year on Monday. Oh my goodness. That is great. Yeah. What kind of mix do you have? A boy and a girl? Two boys. Two boys. Two boys Yeah. Do you know what is on the way yet? Are you No. I am just about three months, and, uh, I don't think we really even want to find out. I do not blame you We like surprises. So We will take either. Well, we have got two boys and a girl also. Well, we have got two boys and a girl And, uh, does it, are the two boys first? Yes. Oh. Maybe, maybe you will get lucky and get a girl this time. Maybe, huh. We, we kind of like our boys though too, so Well, our boys, one, is, uh, he is in graduate school at A and M, uh, he is in the Navy. He is a lieutenant in the Navy and the Navy is sending him for his Masters in Ocean Engineering Oh my goodness. and we have got another boy that is, us, out in Maryland. He is a wildlife biologist, uh, and our girl is thirteen. She is in the seventh grade. So, we have got, still, all sorts of good activities since, Oh yeah. You kind of got, uh, a span there, huh? Oh, well what do you do with your seventh grader? Well, she is into a little bit of everything. She is, uh, loves riding horses so she goes out riding as much as she can. Do you have horses? No She, just, she knows people that does, huh? Well, that, yeah but maybe that riding place that is North of town that she goes to. She rides English, and does jumping, takes lesson and all that kind of stuff. Oh, does she? Oh. She must really like them. Yeah, she is into, uh, well she plays the flute in the band, and, the piccolo, and she is into this, uh, odyssey of the mind thing, which is, uh, takes a lot of time, for, uh, it a what they call peace group. I don't know if you have gotten into that with your kids, but that is where the, kind of, well it is a program for Advanced kids. Advanced. Yeah. Yeah. I have heard about it. Our little boy is in the first grade and I, I taught school for six years. Oh, okay. So, I do know about that program and Well, my wife is involved and she kind of heads that up for these kids, and last year they, they, got, uh, the state level. They did not win that, but they, uh, got one local and, uh, one region, and they got a new mix of kids this time. So, it keeps them busy. Oh, uh-huh. It keeps them busy. Oh, yeah I bet. Huh, well so does she go actually out into a different classroom with, with, uh, other kids that are involved in this? Well, uh, yes, but they, well they have, well you probably know a peace group that, uh, that they are advanced type. That they are special, well, uh, classes for peace classes. I think that, uh this happens to be, uh, uh, Yeah. history is what their peace class is this year. But, uh, so. Oh. Uh-huh. They, uh, she enjoys that kind of stuff and, uh, does well with it. Oh, how neat. So yeah. Challenging, huh? Yeah. Oh. Always something to do Well, uh, as far as our activities, we are kind of on a different level here. But, my Well, you will get to different levels. I guarantee it. Yeah, yeah. My husband is going to take our six year old to the monster truck show tonight. Uh, okay. They like to, uh That will be fun. both boy things Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but we, we, do not have any real, uh, like we don't really ski. We have not taken our kids skiing or anything. Of course, the baby is young, but Got to wait a couple years. Yeah, Yeah. Sledding, that is what you have got to do. Tobogganing. The what? You have got to go tobogganing and sledding with them. Oh, well yeah, we, we have done that. He, in fact, he just goes right out here. We have got quite a bit of snow, uh, last week we got a lot. Well you are welcome to keep that Yeah You would like that, huh? Well, I grew up in Wisconsin, I, I had plenty of snow, and when I was a kid, Oh. and we have lived here about seventeen years, but we use to take all of the kids tobogganing and ice skating, and all of that kind of stuff Yeah. it is fun really. It is fun. As long as you do not have to drive in it. Yeah. I, no, I do not like that. I, really, it makes me nervous. Yeah I had plenty of snow to last me forever. I, I don't care if I ever see any, well, I don't care if I ever see it, but keep it off of here Yeah, yeah Well, uh, I don't mind it, but, uh, uh, the winter gets long. Yes. You know, I get ready, that, come about this time of year I am kind of ready for it to start getting spring, and, it is too early yet. Well, you have got, You have got five months before you will see that Yeah, we do, we do. We have had a few early springs though in the last few years. They have not been too bad. Come about March, it gets, you know, a lot nicer. Oh yeah. Out oldest son. When, uh, Okay. You probably, uh, more up on this subject than I am, but, the roles that women have played in the last couple of year in our, or couple of generations. That, Right. Well, they've entered the work force more, uh, you know, since World War Two is when they started. You bet. And, uh, I think that that is, you know, very significant that the percentage of the work force today consists of such a high percent of women. You bet. You know, where I've noticed it more, I think, is, I'm a traveling salesperson and I have traveled most of my life and I know just especially in the last, oh, ten years and really since, in the last half of dozen years I see more and more women traveling. Right. You know, as far as boarding planes and driving cars and calling on customers. I sell sporting goods and even in our industry, uh, there was virtually, really and truly no women as far as selling the type of things I sell and even in the last five or six years, boy we see more and more women being involved and, you know, it's a, it's a credit to them as far as how they're doing things. Yeah, the, you see more of that, you see more of them, uh, leaving their children in the care of their husbands while they do travel, too. You bet. You know, I, I go to a, I have a club that I belong to on Tuesday that, you know, one of the girls travels quite extensively and she says, well, my children have two parents. You know, why not You bet. That's sort of neat. So that, that's a, I think that's a change and I think that's a change you're going to be seeing more of in the, in the future, people having that kind of attitude that the father's going to take more active role in child rearing. Sure. I think, uh, it's the age old thing, every once in a while you read in the newspaper or you'll see it on T V or something where the discussion comes out that, you know, women are paid less than men and they're, and they're doing the same, uh, or carrying the same job responsibility Right. and, you know, I, that's a very true statement and it shouldn't, uh, it shouldn't be that way. You know. No. That, that I think should change, will change in the near future also. I think so, hope so, It's been changing, it's been evolving, but there's still a, an, an inequality in the work forces or jobs. Absolutely. It's, you know, You know, I've, And you hear some people say, you know, well, he's a man, he, he, he needs that salary. Right Yeah, they forget. Also, I think, uh, a good argument for that is in the area of politics, you know, if a, a woman Congressman I'm sure makes as much as a man Congressman as, and the same as a senator or whatever. Right. So, they certainly, uh, they certainly deserve it all the way. But, I guess just the most significant thing changed for me, again, as I mentioned, was just in traveling, you see, uh, more and more ladies of all ages with briefcases and, uh, and in their business suits and and going. And going, yeah. Uh-huh. And I expect you're right in regards to having two parents now. That's a good, a good statement. And I think if, in the future it's even going to be, uh, more noticeable and more significant. Right. Yeah, I, I think it will be. I think, I, well, another thing I read, too, the other day, this is not just for working women but how much they're out there, I guess is the car designers, uh, are starting to design cars with women in mind. Uh, because in the past the male bought the cars, but now they're showing that fifty-five percent of women are actually making the new car purchases. And that they are looking for, uh, different things in the car. Wow. The man is looking for the in the engine and the woman is looking to how easy can she slide in under the steering wheel. Uh, can her makeup come off the upholstery You bet. Good point. And if they're out there buying that many cars, then there's that many out that are self sufficient and, you know, mobile and working. Right now I'm self employed and, and my wife's always worked. She's a schoolteacher, but for, she started working and then when I first started my business, uh, she was selling real estate at the time and hers was the only income we had for three or four months so, Right. You know, she certainly did her part in help getting me establishing in my business and she still works everyday so, Yeah, we all do. You bet. I just happen to be off today. Uh-oh. I work, too. enjoying it What kind of work do you do? I'm a nurse. Well, good. And I work at Medical Treatment Center, uh, which is at uh, Jupiter and Arapaho. Right Married? No. Yeah. Well, trying to think what else I can say in regards to this subject. I don't know, I'm kind of out of, out of things. You see the old, uh, cigarette ads, you know, about you've come a long way. You've come a long way baby? Baby, right, and, uh, Right. You think about this when you come to, when it comes to a subject like that and it's really true. Women have come a long way and, you know, do you have a P C? Yes, I have a Macintosh S E thirty. Uh-huh. Yeah, a lot of my friends are into Macintoshes. I have a, um, P C, a I B M P C myself. Uh-huh. A two eighty-six. I'm probably eventually going to get a three eighty-six. Um. What do you use yours for mostly? Um, mostly, um, word processing applications and, uh, just as a dumb terminal. Uh-huh. Um, but I, um, I think eventually I'll start using it for spreadsheets and things like that. Um, what do you find that you use yours mostly for? Well, I do a lot of word processing and spreadsheets and data base, and, uh, about the only thing I am, uh, I'm just starting to get into, uh, a little bit more communications now. I've just today ordered a fax modem so I'll be able to send and receive faxes right over there without using, you know, Uh-huh. you don't have to make a hard copy that way. Uh-huh. Uh, are you using windows? No, I, I think I, I'm planning on like moving up, getting a three eighty-six before I move up to windows although, you know, I do like the, the graphical user environment. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, it's getting to be more and more like a Macintosh Yeah, it's, um, I want, I want to be able I just want it more for multi tasking, which I suppose is also like a Macintosh. Uh-huh. Uh. Well, the one thing I used to use a, uh, I've never used an I B M actually. I used to use a, just an Apple two E, which of course is looks pretty primitive now. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's what I learned a lot of languages on, was an Apple two E in my high school. But I don't have any, uh, any real programming capabilities on my, uh, Mac right now. Uh-huh. I don't have, uh, any compilers Uh-huh. so I'm, uh. Well, do you use your computer for, um, just things around the house, or in the . I use it in my business. Well, see, what do you do? I, uh, do, uh, consultation and, and testing of various kinds for, uh, English as a second language programs. Oh, wow. Um, and, uh, are these like, uh, do these programs, um, are, are they based on, on a, on a, um, other language, or are they based, are they based like a lot of the, um, you know, a lot of the English as a second language classes will have people from all sorts of, you know, parts of the world, and the teacher just tries to, tries to teach English, you know, through natural understanding. That's, uh, exactly what, yeah, that's the kind of thing I'm working with exactly. Uh-huh. You seem to be, uh, better informed than the average person on that. Well, it was just, uh, when I was high school, I worked for the community school, and they had a English second language class and it always seemed strange to me that, you know, all these, all these people that, you know, spoke English not too well, and spoke, you know, a variety of different languages were all being taught at the same time. Uh-huh. I imagine it's a lot harder on a computer because you have to, you know, you don't have as many cues, you can't, don't have hand gestures and things like that. Right. Well, now, we, uh, what I use a computer for is to write materials that are later printed, though. Uh-huh. Most of the stuff that I do is not, uh, interactive Uh-huh. and I use it for uh, data analysis on testing, so. Uh, to see how well they retain the vocabulary and things like that. Well, just, actually, just, uh, item analysis, statistical analysis of the tests, uh. Uh-huh. You know, when you write a test you have to look at some data from it and see how the different questions are performing and find out which ones are discriminating well and which ones aren't find out how reliable the test is, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. you try correlate it with other tests and things of that sort. So it's, involves a lot of spreadsheet use. Yeah, I would imagine so. Um, so, um, what were you doing when you were using an Apple two E? Well, I was doing some of the same stuff, but doing it more slowly and with smaller files. I can't believe, you know, I've got, uh, five, uh, megabytes on this one now Uh-huh. It, it's . and on my two E I had a hundred twenty-eight K Yes, it's amazing, you know, how, how like in the general user community the expectations have just grown so much. I remember my first computer was a T R S eighty with four K on it Yeah. and you know, then, then we, then I started playing with Apples, you know, and those had forty-eight, or, you know, if they were really great they had sixty-four K. Oh, the old the old Apple, uh, the, the original Apple had, what, yeah, forty-eight I guess, didn't it. Uh, I know, I know that in my school they had a bunch that had sixteen K on them, is all, and My goodness. there's, I remember that there was one game that I played that required forty-eight K and there was only one computer that had forty-eight K on it at the time. Uh-huh And you know it's just so amazing that generally, you know, if you, if you, I'm not sure about Macintoshes, but I know I B M you, you generally, you know, you buy a megabyte at a time. Uh-huh. You know, that's, that's your that's the low end. Uh. Well the S P thirty goes up to eight Uh-huh. but I haven't upgraded it quite that far yet. I think probably when I get system seven I may have to do that and, and get another, possibly another hard disk. I don't know. They say that system seven uses a lot of memory. Uh-huh. Yeah, I imagine . Okay, Bill, right? Yes. Okay, Bill, have you done much camping? Uh, yes. I'm a scoutmaster in Boy Scouts. Uh-huh. And I camp, uh, every month, uh, camp at least one weekend and during the summer we camp, uh, two or three weeks a year Oh, well, that, that sounds good. I'd say I camp quite a bit. Yeah, you do. Um, now do you have a lot mountains, well, you don't have mountains in Texas, do you. Where do you find places to camp? Well, uh, we, we do a lot of canoeing when we go camping Oh. and we, uh, we also, uh, carry all our equipment with us Uh-huh. and so we canoe down the river and then, sleep on the river on one of the, um, sand bars and then get up the next morning, cook our breakfast, and go down the river again. Oh. Oh, my word. Well that sounds adventuresome How about yourself? Well, um, I've done, oh, I would say quite a bit of camping, mostly with my husband and I. Um, we have five children, and so we have found that camping with the little ones isn't as enjoyable as just when we go ourselves. So we've tried to get out once a year and go on a anniversary camp out, and we have gone up into the mountains and, uh, not necessarily roughed it, but we have just found it just real enjoyable to be alone up in the mountains. Well, that's good. And, then the boys are, our boys are old enough now, they're twelve and eleven, and so, they're involved in the scouting and they do a lot of camping with the scouts Uh-huh. and last time our one twelve year old went to the scout camp for a week, and so this year they'll both be going, and so that's been real enjoyable for them. Great. So. What, uh, what kind of camping do they like best? Do they like it where they have tents and, uh, do they cook on stoves? Um, yes, they've, well, no, actually they've, I remember, they have taken the, the the heavy cast iron dutch ovens and done their cooking there over the fire, and I don't think they've taken the stoves. Um, last year they camped in tents, and this year I believe they will be in tents also. Uh-huh. Course I imagine it gets cold in parts of Utah. Uh-huh, yeah. It doesn't get very cold in Texas, so lots of times we don't even take tents. Oh, is that right? We just use trail tarps. Oh, and what does that consist of? Uh, it's just a piece of material that has, uh, that has a lot of places where you can tie off to it and make it into a tent uh, like a, uh, Oh. Uh-huh. they're very light weight and we use them when we go backpacking. So we go backpacking fifteen or twenty miles, then, uh, they're not very heavy, see Uh-huh. so you carry them with you, and they'll keep you dry or whatever. Oh. Yes, well, see, when, when we go camping here, we have to take our big huge, heavy sleeping bags, and lots of tents and, I like to sleep on the air matresses. I'm not, my bones are getting so old, so I like to, I like to sleep on the matresses. Uh-huh. Um, so, have you had any adventures on your camping trips, with, encounters with wild animals or anything like that? yes, in fact, uh, um, last month we went camping, we saw a lot of deer uh, in the morning and the afternoon just deer everywhere. Oh. My word. Gee. Uh-huh, so, uh, but, it, even though, uh, it wasn't hunting season, and we were with Boy Scouts, so of course we don't, uh, want to go hunting. Uh-huh. But we got to see a lot of deer um, out and about Oh. and there's, of course, we see smaller animals all the time, and, uh, one thing that is a big concern in the evening, at night, uh, is, uh, make sure that all the food's put away and so forth because, uh, we have, uh, armadillos. Oh. Do you know what armadillo is? Oh. Uh, they're covered like with a heavy armor type stuff, Uh-huh. uh-huh. And possums, and, uh, raccoons. My word. And we have those creatures down here that they like to, uh, they like to go hunting for a midnight snack. Uh-huh And so that, that, uh, that can be a problem if you don't put all your equipment away. But they won't necessarily attack a human or bite you or anything. They will if you attack them. Oh. But most time they run away from you if they, if they see you're up, you know Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but they don't have any problem walking right by you if you're asleep. Oh, my word So. Well, that sounds a little less fierce than bears. We, we want to, music do you like? Uh, lots of different kinds I guess. Uh, I like country music, of course Uh-huh. Texas and I listen to Christian music a lot because there's a Christian music station here in in our city. So I listen to it quite a bit. Uh-huh. So, I am more into rock and roll myself. Uh-huh. And I listen cause on Friday nights they have the, uh, they have what they call Saturday Night Alive or they have on Saturday night, Friday night and Saturday night and they have Christian rock and roll. Uh-huh. So you know, they have that type of music, but they just have different words so, I listen to that too. Do you like any bluegrass? Uh, no. Not really, huh-uh. Oh. And I like I like rap music. Well, at least your, Do you like rap music? Not really Not really Well, I can tell we're, we're together here Yeah. Okay. Uh. Um. Uh, we'll have to, uh What kind of I have a lot of friends that like country music What kind of rock music do you listen to? Do you listen to like that really heavy metal stuff or, No, I'm more into, uh, older rock, like the psychedelic era, like, uh Seventies and like that stuff. late sixties, seventies, uh Uh-huh. Greatful Dead, Crosby, Stills and Nash. Yeah, I have friends that like that. What Yeah So you have never heard of like the Christian music that I listen to probably. Oh, I've heard a little bit of it. I've just, Like have you heard of, uh, of Carmen? Have you ever heard of Kim? Uh, now I've heard of Striper. So the only one I can Striper, they're the really heavy, yeah like the heavy metal stuff I guess. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, the first of Amy Grant before Yeah. was, you know, became more mainstream, top forty. Yeah. Cause she, she plays both secular and Christian so, Uh-huh. Yeah, I like her too. Uh, I have been to a concert a couple of times of hers. I've never actually seen her in concert. I imagine that she puts on a pretty good show. She does. Uh-huh. She's real good. She's real good. So, I like her. Uh-huh Uh, I like some country music. It's just that I like finding a lot of it's, I don't like the country music that's like my wife left me, my dog left me, everybody's left me. Yeah Mama got run over by the train. Yeah. I don't like that. Uh-huh. You know, I like Randy Travis Uh-huh. you know, I like more of the real new ones, you know. Like Garth Brooks. Garth Brooks, oh yes, you know he's fine. Reba MacIntyre. Yeah. I like them. I don't care for the older, you know, like the dog left me stuff. You don't like Patsy Cline? Huh? You don't like Patsy Cline. No, huh-uh. I don't even really know who she is, you know You know, so. But, have you ever been to any of them concerts that you like? That music that you like to. Uh, yeah actually I just went to see the Greatful Dead about, I guess about a week ago. But aren't they done with? I thought that they No, they're they are still on tour. They have been touring, since the late sixties And I just thought that they done broke up and left. No. They're still together. They're still making albums. Huh. Wow, I didn't know that. Uh-huh. Huh. Uh, That's interesting. In fact, I mean there are people you know that basically just follow them around, from city to city on tour selling tie dye and things like that. Uh-huh. Uh, Cause they are on up there in age, aren't they? Yeah, they're, they're like late forties, early fifties, but you know like whenever one of them dies off they get a replacement Okay. Alright. You know, they seem to have a really bad time with keyboard players. They keep on dying and they keep on replacing them and the new one's in this thirties you know. Uh, Oh, alright. But, uh, Cause they look pretty rough. I mean, I've seen like picture of them and they just, Yeah. Well, they don't actually look as rough as the Rolling Stones. They just, I don't know if you saw the tour posters of the Rolling Stones when they last toured, but it looked like leather day at the geriatric, Yeah, I mean cause they just, All their faces were just all shriveled, Uh-huh. Yuck looking, I mean Uh-huh. uh. I mean it just just looked like they, got a bunch of retirees and put them in leather jackets and blue jeans. Uh-huh. Well are you into that that rock music, you know, all that druggy stuff and all that I mean? Well, uh You know what I am saying like, I mean like they come on the stage and like, you know, you, they don't even know they are there. You know. They are just so out of it. Actually, I prefer my, my performers to be pretty sober, you know, just uh, just so that, you know, that if they're jamming, you know, that they don't just lose themselves and you know, go into lala land. Yeah. Uh-huh. So, I just don't, I just don't like you know. Uh-huh. That. So, I don't know So, uh, have you seen any concerts lately? Um. Uh, Uh, so, do you think our politicians are honest at this point in time? Generally, I don't think they are. Uh, my, my personal opinion is that, uh, the politicians are out for their own good because they, they're entrenched. Uh-huh. They don't ever have to go out and get a real job. They just stay in their current job, Uh-huh. you know what I mean? I agree, uh, with, with both of those things, but, uh, do you see any way of like altering it so that they would become more honest? I think by putting term limitations on you could, you could slow down some of the problems. Uh-huh. Uh, but it has to be not just at the national level but at the, you know, the state and the local level, too. I know some senators, and I don't know which ones, but they've been in office since the, the nineteen forties Uh-huh. and I, they've never had a job. I mean they've never gone out in the real world and, and paid normal taxes. Um. I know they pay taxes, but they don't Yeah. you know, they, they get paid a hundred and twenty-five grand a year. Which is more than twice my salary by quite a bit Uh-huh. and, you know, I'm going, like, I, I don't understand how they're supposed to be my servants and yet they're paid more than I am Uh-huh. and they work less, you know, less than I do. Uh-huh. Uh, the only the only problem I see with term limitations, uh, is that I think that the bureaucracy in our government as is in, with most governments is just so complex that there's a very you know, there, there is a learning curve and that, you know, you can't just send someone off to Washington and expect, you know, his first day to be an effective, uh, Congress person. Uh, I think, I think there really is a, there's a lot they need to learn, you know, when you get there. I think, I think that's true, however, I think that's always been true. Uh-huh. I mean, that's true of the Presidency, too, and we seem to be able to get along with the President turnover ever eight years or four years. And, uh, Yeah but, They, I mean, there is a lot to learn, but maybe it will keep them on their toes and a little bit more active in trying to catch up. I think two years is too short. Uh-huh. I think it would have to be extended, uh, you know, a term limitation for Congress would be like three terms or even four terms or you would increase the length of the, of each term of a Congressman. Uh, but maybe standardizing on, on a, a four year term for Congress Senate and the, the Presidency and then, uh, staggering them so that you don't, Uh-huh. we aren't tackling a massive ballot every four years. Uh, the other, the other thing that, uh, bothers me about our system is just that, uh, in, for, for, in, in, in Congress the amount of power any, any particular Congress critter has is based on their seniority and how long they've been there so it's, you know, for, you know, uh, so unless you have actual, you know, across the board uh, limitations, the, uh, you know, the idea of, well, we're going to just, we're, I'm, I'm just going to, you know, vote, vote against the incumbent every time doesn't work, you know, it's going to wind up hurting your state if all the other states aren't doing it at the same time. Uh-huh. I think, I think that that's true, but then you have, you have the same abuse of power on the flip side of that coin. Uh-huh. Uh, the C I A is moving out to West Virginia which is a really stupid location for a large agency like that and for almost any agency. I mean, the action isn't in West Virginia. I hate to tell the the senator from West Virginia this information, but it really doesn't the world does not revolve around West Virginia uh, as far as this country is concerned, the world does revolve around D C, you know as far as the politics in this country are concerned, the national politics Uh-huh and the C I A is a, a very large, very high profile agency and to have it located out in West Virginia, yeah, you know, it might only be two hour drive from here, but that's a two hour drive Yeah. and, uh, you know, it, it's a, I think it's a mistake to move large agencies like that Uh-huh. or is it the F B I. I don't remember, but I think there's, Well, I mean, I don't see why it makes a big difference the C I A because, you know, officially they don't do, they don't have any operations within the United States other than administrative. Yeah, that's officially. Uh-huh. I mean, we all know that that's not necessarily true. But I, I think that there are, there are advantages to having seniority and, uh, or, not having a complete turnover every, some small number of years. I think there are, I mean there's an institutional memory that you need to maintain. Uh-huh. But I think that, uh, all, with all the perks that we've given them, I mean, I heard on the radio back a, a few weeks ago, uh, during the incidents where they were, you know, like they aren't paying their, their restaurant bills and they're bouncing checks all over the place Uh-huh Uh-huh. uh, one of the radio stations over here listed off every single one of the perks. Well, we have, we used to, when I was younger Yeah. we'd go every weekend. All right . But we haven't done whole lot of it lately. Yeah. I'm kind of into it. I'm, uh, kind of a sailor. Yeah. I'm up in Minneapolis now, but I was in Florida so, uh, yeah, I was kind of into it for a while there. Were you sailboating? Yeah, for the most part. Yeah Yeah. I had a little sail, Well, we don't get to do a whole lot of that up here No Just motorboat's all we, What part of Texas you from? Uh, Nacogdoches. Okay, whereabouts is that? That's between Houston and Dallas. Okay, all right. It's the oldest town in Texas. Is that right? Yeah. Wow, that's pretty wild. We have, uh, Lake Sam Rayburn out here and Lake Nacogdoches, so we do a lot of boating on. Okay, so you got some lakes around you can do that on. Yeah. You do skiing and stuff or, Yeah, little bit. Yeah? All right. Just got through snow skiing Yeah? Yeah. All right. Just came back from Denver but, Yeah, that sounds good. Yeah, we've, uh, our, the snow up here is really kind of starting to melt now. Yeah, it, it, it was heavy when we were there though. Yeah. I didn't see any boats there, though. Not, not, not too many, no. But, uh, no, I just got back from a weekend. We went and, uh, had a, kind of a picnic in the woods type thing. It was pretty nice, but, uh, no, I, I have, uh, I had a boat last summer that I took out, a catamaran that I do, did a lot of sailing on and stuff. Yeah? That's a lot of fun, but, uh, my parents are pretty big sailors, too, they're kind of into it. Uh, all we, all we have up here mostly bass boats. Oh, yeah, I guess it's pretty, uh, fishing's a pretty big thing, huh? Uh-huh. Yeah. Lot of, lot of fishing going on up here. Yeah. All right. So, where about in Texas is that? Is that centrally located or, It's, uh, well, you ever heard of Lufkin? Uh, no, what, what major city is nearby? Houston. Okay, and that's south or north of there or something? Let me see, Houston's north. Yeah? Okay. Dallas is south. Oh, okay, all right. Well, that sounds pretty good. Does, uh, I guess the weather, does that stay pretty constant there or, It's, it's gets cold at night, and then warm in the afternoons. Yeah? Probably seventies, eighties in the afternoon. Okay, well, that's pretty temperate. Yeah, that's not too bad. But, uh, yeah, have you done, uh, any other boating then or, No, I hadn't done any in a uh, lately, but that's all, I used to uh, have a friend that owned, his daddy owned a boat shop. Yeah? And we used to, when I was in high school, we used to go out, go boating every day just about. Oh, that's great. Yeah, I, And we had a different boat every day. Oh, that's fantastic. Yeah, I used to, uh, kind of be that way myself when I lived in, uh, north western Florida in the panhandle, I used to sail about every day. I'd work, go to work, I'd like to do some sailing. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's, uh, especially if you get a, a pretty fast boat like those catamarans are pretty fast. Yeah, what, You can actually, Do, if you get one like that do have somebody teach you that or they just, Well, actually, I, I've known how to sail pretty much my whole life. Uh, my family's pretty into it Yeah. and, uh, I took sailing lessons when I was about six and then, uh Is it pretty easy? Yeah, it, it's kind of a thing where you get the hang of it after a while, you know, uh, just kind of get a feel for the wind and how it works and, and the physics behind it. Yeah. So it's, it's not too bad, it's pretty easy to get the hang of, I think and, uh, generally, everybody I've, I've known has kind of gotten into it, but some people are more motorboaters, you know which is fine. Yeah. Well, that's about all we have Yeah, yeah, lot of people don't, don't see the excitement in sailing, but, then, again, they may they may never have tried anything like, uh, catamaran Uh-huh. and, uh, that's when you really start getting into speed. You know, you actually, some catamarans you can actually pull people behind, the skiers, they get so fast, you know. I didn't know that. Yeah, they get pretty quick, but That that would be something. uh, Yeah, yeah, I haven't, I haven't personally done that, but, uh, the races, I, I work with a guy right now that, uh, races catamarans in the summertime Uh-huh. and, uh, he's pretty gassed about it. He's got a good, uh, What kind of, what lake do you all use? Well, he, uh, he's from Detroit Uh-huh. so he usually goes on one of the Great Lakes, I think, and does his sailing. Uh, for me, I, I go back to Orlando, uh, in about a month, and so, down there, basically just go to the coast. We're about thirty miles from Coco Beach and the east coast, and there's a lot of places there you can go, you know. So, uh, so that's a good thing. Yeah. But, yeah, so, what do you do for a job? Uh, I build transformers. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay, is that for T I or, No, it's for Cooper Industries. Okay. Are they primarily electronic, then? Yeah. Okay. Well Well that, they have a, you know, worldwide, but Right. all we do here is make transformers electronics and stuff like that. Oh, okay. Great. Yeah, how do you like it down there in Texas? It's real nice. Yeah? Been here all my life. Oh, no doubt. Yeah. Okay. I've never been to Texas. I've been to Oklahoma, but, uh, that's about as far as, Oh, it's, Oklahoma's nothing like it. Yeah? Okay, well, that's good, because I didn't like Oklahoma that well Okay, so what kind of luck you been having with buying and returning products? Uh, not too bad really. Uh, I had a razor that I got from Christmas that I just, I really didn't want it, but I got it anyway and, uh, it was a Braun and they were real good about taking it back. It wasn't a problem at all, so, uh, I was able to get that back pretty easily. Uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know, I really haven't returned a whole lot lately. Have you? I haven't had to. It's, uh, the, every so often, I mean, I, I, I'm almost pushing it myself. Maybe I'll buy a shirt from G I Joe's and it shrinks too much and say, well, I should have known better, I mean, I bought it from G I Joe's Um. and it was probably made in China by slaves. Right But, uh, they, uh, most of the time pretty careful shopping anyway, I get pretty good stuff. Yeah. I think that, uh, aside from the fact all markets being internationalized Right like, and if you want to buy American it takes real extra work to find. Exactly. It's probably a Japanese or a Burmese company owning and hiring people in the U S I was reading, Right, I was reading something in, uh, CONSUMER REPORTS tonight about that as a matter of fact. They were talking about cars, uh, the car issue just came out. And about how, yeah, you'd like to buy an American car maybe Uh-huh. but, uh, you know, the transmission may be made in Japan or whatever. Yeah. Uh, like I've got an eighty-six Ford Ranger and, and I know for a fact that the transmission is made by Mitsubishi. Huh. You know, so it's like, what are you going to do, you know? Yeah, really. But, uh, that's the way it is. I don't know, I, I personally feel that, uh, uh, if the Japanese cars are better and Americans buy them, you know, that's the way it goes and, you know, people, more than manufacturers should get a clue and, you know, they should start making quality products. Yeah, I think they're beginning to. The, the days of don't buy a car made on a Monday or a Friday are pretty much going away and, That's what I thought, too, until I saw the CONSUMER REPORTS issue. Uh-huh. Uh, they've got all the American, well, all the, all the cars rated, you know, and, uh, essentially, I I don't see much of a trend. I mean, just like every other time that you look at it, the Honda Accords and the Civics are right up there. There's nothing wrong with them. Uh, and the same thing with most of the other Japanese cars. But then again you look at a Ford or especially a Chevy and they're pieces of junk. I know. Still at it, hey. Yeah, that's ninety, that's eighty-six through ninety-one. Wow. But, uh, I don't know, maybe they're getting better, maybe they're starting to get a clue. Uh, Well, they got a three year lead time. It probably won't start really showing up until ninety-four or so Yeah, that's just it. Technology that comes in right now is, is probably not going to be implemented until, you know, quite a few years down the road. But, uh, The computer industry's where it's really dynamic especially for the consumer. Oh, yeah. Yeah, because technology is so, uh, you know, volatile and changing all the time. And can you think of any other industry where in software they, Uh, if the product is upgraded and a better version is put out, you'll get a free version in the mail . Yeah. Or, uh, maybe I say, well, you know, you paid five hundred bucks for this program, so send us twenty and we'll give you a really great upgrade. Yeah. It, uh, they keep up with it pretty quickly and that's, that's a real good thing, I guess. Yeah. Uh, I don't know. And the hardware, well, I mean, all the chips that make up the hardware are a commodity and the MacIntosh is about the only one that's going right forcing I B M and the rest of the D O S world to follow along. Yeah. Right, they're kind of the leaders right now, you know. I used to see all those commercials for Windows, you know, and you're like, oh, gee, they're reselling a MacIntosh under a different name. Really, why don't they just say, almost a Mac for half the price. Yeah, you know. They'd sell more if they were honest. Exactly, almost is the key word, there, too, you know, because I, I really, I've used both and I really don't see an advantage of Windows at all. Yeah, it it's only an advantage for people who had to use pure D O S. base. Uh, Yeah, yeah that's true, too. But, uh, I don't know, I'm really, I've gotten a little bit out of the, the personal computer business just because I don't have one at home. I, I do use a Mac at work but, uh uh, I really don't, don't do much with it at home Uh-huh. but, uh, Apple's sort of making a and they're ones were growling consumer, uh, need to worry about the Mac they're getting, like if you bought a power book straight off, a lot of them had to go back. They issued a recall because of improper shielding or possibly other problems with floppy drive. Right. Uh-huh. Yeah, you sound like you must, uh, work in the computer business. Yeah, I have one, I do desktop publishing at work and I have a machine at home and I belong to the user's group and I, I've been a Mac fanatic since they came out. Yeah? All right. But, uh, technically, I'm not actually in the industry. I don't work a computer company. No? I'm an abuser. Well, that's, that's all right. But it's sort of like surfing on the wave of future shock to you know, keep up with the changes as they happen. Yeah, that's true. Something that I find uncomfortable is, you know, you, you want to buy something, say you want to buy a personal computer and you got to think about what kind of memory you want to get and what kind of technology that you want to go for, you know, let, let's take the example, the modem for, you know, Yeah. Okay, what baud rate do you get? Well, you know, it used to be that you get a twelve hundred So, um, how do you feel about the crime in your city? Is it, uh, Well, um, Minneapolis isn't too bad. Uh, I know that there's been some increases in crime lately in terms of murders. Uh-huh. Uh, that's kind of gone up in scale and, and some other things. Uh, I personally had a little experience the other day. Uh, somebody broke my passenger window and stole a uniform out of my truck. Oh, really. But, actually, you know, when you look at, at Minneapolis as compared to where I used to live, it's really quite a bit better. Uh, because I came from Florida Uh-huh. and in Orlando, there's, crime is getting to be a bigger problem than ever, so. Oh, yeah. What part of California are you from? San Jose, California. Oh, really? I have a good friend there. Here, you know, the real problems are the gangs. Yeah . A lot of gang related, a lot of murders, uh, just in general the whole, we've only been here a couple of years. Uh, before that we lived in Colorado but in comparison to Colorado, it's real noticeable. Oh yeah. Uh-huh. I mean you can just feel, I mean, I can just sense, I mean I won't even, I won't go to the grocery store at night. Yeah. Yeah, that's You know. And it, it's that kind of thing and, uh, That's really a shame when it has to constrain your activities like, Yeah. We have a neighborhood watch program in the house, uh, the development that we live in, which I think is a great way to reduce, uh, home theft, burglary, and things of that sort. Sure. Do you have that where you live or, Well, uh, interestingly enough, right before I moved up here, I'm an intern and then I go back down in May. Uh-huh. Uh, but in Orlando, before I moved up, we had a real problem with it. Uh, we've been broken into in my apartment about four times in like two and a half weeks. Oh, no. And one of the things that I, I helped organize was a neighborhood watch type situation down there. Uh-huh. Uh, because they were just, it's one of those things where the new thing is that they operate in the daylight because everybody went to work, you know, Uh-huh. and then the houses were left unguarded, uh, but yeah, I think given that people are pretty conscientious about it, that's a good way to, to work it, with a neighborhood watch. Yeah. Well, you know, uh, also I've heard that, uh, the newest thing is a lot of people are specializing in robbing people during the time they're home. Like on the weekends. Oh, is that right? A high percentage of, uh, free time, I think it's like fifty percent of most people's free time is, uh, spent doing yard work outdoors. Oh. So they wait while you're out, outdoors. They know the house is unlocked and then they just slip in. Slip in, slip out, you know. That's amazing. They know exactly what they're going for. Yeah. So, I've heard that's really on the rise as far as uh, you know, a new type of crime. Uh, Yeah, it almost seems like they're getting quite a bit smarter. Yeah Really, you know. Unfortunately, yes. Yeah, unfortunately it's starting to really, you know, look at people's habits and where they are at particular points of the day. Uh-huh. Yeah. Like one of the guys I work with really laughs when he looks at Minneapolis because he's from Detroit Uh-huh. and, uh, the, the crime level there, of course, is quite a bit, quite a bit, uh, more pronounced, uh Uh-huh. but, uh, yeah. I guess, I mean, I think we've got a neighborhood watch program here in Minneapolis, I'm not real sure. Uh, Yeah, it helps to know your neighbors, you know. They give you, you're supposed to make lists of, uh, cars. Like I know a lot of my neighbors right around my development. If I see a car that's unfamiliar, we, we have a list is that what you, you did in your program? Where you have a list of license plates? Pretty much. Yeah. Yeah. I was, I was basically, involved in that, in the organization of it. Uh-huh. And then I left right in the middle of it. I'm not sure where we went from there, Oh, uh-huh. but, Yeah. Well. Yeah, that, that whole thing of being alert and kind of noticing your surroundings, noticing people who look suspicious uh, activities like that, sure. Uh-huh. I mean, you, you hate to be paranoid but there are really only so many things you can do. You can have the house alarm, uh neighborhood watch program, you know, uh, as a woman not go out at night Yeah. Yeah. uh, you can do that which is what I choose to do. Yeah. One of the frustrating things about that is that you really are limited Yeah. even, even if you know that the threat is there it's against the law to set traps, Uh-huh. it's against the law to do a lot of things, you know. They could basically, uh, when I was getting robbed down in Florida, I was really considering electrifying doors um, things like that like Uh-huh. That's, Uh-huh. they did in Miami that time. But it's not, uh, if you kill someone in your home, as long as they are in your home, it's considered self-defense though. That's not always true. It isn't? No. There was a, there was a case about two years ago where a guy knew he was going to get robbed Uh-huh. and essentially what he had done is set a, a a electrocution trap for the burglar in his own home. Uh-huh. Huh. The guy came in while he was home and, sure enough, he fell into the trap and was severely burned. He didn't die, but he was severely burned and he took the guy to court and won a settlement. Really. Yeah. So that really, that makes you think, you know. Yeah. It's like your hands are very much tied. Yeah. Well I think if, if you had a handgun though, in other words it wasn't premeditated, you had a handgun, it's the middle of the night, someone's Uh, I've had, uh, three boys through, I guess, uh, some child care, each one of them and now they're in school so it's all over but, uh, I guess I would say it's not easy to find what most parents would want. Well I can profit by this because I'm due with my first in about three months. Is that right I guess, uh, the only rule, uh, I can think of is that I like to look for places with, uh, good respectable, nonprofit behind them like a university or a hospital or something like that. If they're associated with a college or a university, they're usually a pretty good bet. Huh. Uh, I think it's sort of the opposite of what you would want when you buy a car or refrigerator something. You'd like to get it from some good cutthroat capitalist company but not with child care. I guess not, I suppose you're absolutely right there. Yeah. For profit places, I would really look at them awfully carefully Uh-huh. but, uh, when I was when my kids were young, I was teaching at a university and, uh, the child care center associated with our university was quite good so I felt confident that they'd do right. Uh-huh. Of, aren't don't they kind of use them for, everybody kind of use them for guinea pigs? For their for their pet theories or some such thing? Yes. But, yeah, I suppose, uh, if you're, if there is a psychology department or an education department around, you might find you might find that they're pushing one form of education or another, I guess that's true. But, uh, I never had bad experience in that respect Of course, you also tend to get people that are associated with the university and the hospital as the parents, and they, you know, pretty good people Um. Well, the thing I really worry about is, uh, the sexual abuse cases you read about. Uh-huh. And I mean you'd just feel awful if something like that happened. Yeah. I never really worry very much about it. I tend to think those are very rare but quickly exploited and made public so, I never really worried too much about that being, uh, uh, the case with my boys. Uh-huh. Oh. Uh, I, you know, I think those things get into the headlines immediately when somebody finds out about them but Uh-huh. I don't think it's as common as, uh, the newspapers would make you believe Uh-huh. And another thing is cost. Oh, yeah I mean that, I know so many of my friends I went to school with who are having babies right now and they finding, in some cases they're finding it's just not worth it to work because it's all going out in daycare. Right. Um. Well, in our case, we made the decision that my wife would stay home until the boys were, uh, in school. And I'm really happy we did it, although it was very, very difficult. And I think it was the right thing to do Um. and we were, uh, we just decided that we would do it and we went ahead but, uh, not everybody can make that choice and even, even though my wife wasn't working, we did have, uh, one or another of the boys in, uh, child care for just for part of the day. Uh, or a couple of days a week just so that, uh, other things could get done around the house and so on, so, So, we did look around. Huh. I think my wife is much better than I am at that walking into a place and getting a feeling for whether it is a loving and caring place or not and, uh so I would always trust her judgment on that. Huh . Huh. Well I'm just thanking heaven. My husband just got a new job. His last company, he was only working four days a week. Uh-huh. So it's, and he just got a new job. He's getting lots of overtime, he got a pay raise and so I'm just grateful that we don't have to worry so much about my working or not. There's absolutely no question that you're going to be the best child care provider for that kid so, yeah, do it as long you can I suppose. But I think, you know, you have to look through a place and you have to get a feel for, uh, how they treat the kids and, uh, uh, what kind of staff members they have and how much turnover they have and things like that before you commit your child to them. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I think you have, the main thing is that you have to determine that they're perfectly open. That you're welcome anytime without notice, in the middle of the day and so forth and if they're at all queasy about that then I'd look elsewhere, yeah. You have to start wondering if they don't want you. Yes. Right Huh. You have other friends that have kids, uh, being taken care of in, uh, child care? Uh, I have one but I haven't really had a chance to talk to her about that for a while. Uh-huh. So. But, I really think the news reports are, uh, tend to sensationalize the problems. Uh-huh. I think the problems are more ones of cost and resources and, uh, pay and exhaustion and you know, things like that, rather than these, uh, uh, really wild abuse cases that you read about because it make good copy. This is true. Yeah. CURRENT AFFAIR can get several shows child cases. Uh-huh. Well, Why don't you go ahead and start. Okay. Well I think the court systems could stand some improvement. Uh, trial by jury is good but a lot of time a lot of cases, uh, is circumstantial evidence that, that convicts a person, which I don't think is all the time good. Because sometimes it's hard to get all the facts and to prove a person innocent, I mean prove a person guilty if you don't really know or you don't really have an eyewitness. And how can you convict somebody on circumstantial evidence is beyond me. I don't know. So you think if, if trials were held by judges or experts, that they, they would tend not to, uh, admit, not to convict people on circumstantial evidence? I think so. You know, I, I attended a trial in, uh, Germany when I was a student and, uh that's the sort of system they have. Uh-huh. The trials are held by a panel of three, uh, three or four judges who are, well, they're like lawyers I guess. They're experts in the law Right. and, uh, there, there really isn't a jury and, uh, uh, they do the questioning also. The judges do the questioning and, uh they, Uh-huh. uh, I think it's a lot harder to get off on technicalities also because they, uh, uh, the judge is also sort of a jury, uh, but I'm not sure I like that I think I prefer the jury system myself. You think you prefer the jury? You think your chances are better? Uh, well, actually I think in most criminal cases it wouldn't make any difference whether it was a couple of judges or jury What, what I worry about is cases where it's the government against the individual. That's where you really need a jury of peers. Because, uh, anytime the government, uh, is the government against the individual you need you need the protection of ordinary citizens. Well, that's true. I think that's really the only thing. I guess where I would like to see the system change is, uh, uh, there ought to be a, a well I guess I don't think that, uh, uh, juries need to decide sentencing all the time. Uh-huh. I think maybe a judge is a better judge of that or, uh, Well, sometimes the sentencing is still, is not fair. I mean even if, well the jury, I guess they do decide that but, but, I'm like you, in a case like that, most of the time its, I don't know, maybe I'm too, too, uh, uh, conservative when it comes to that. the sentencing is really light compared to what I think they should be in a lot of cases you know, uh, Yeah. Well if you drag twelve people into a courtroom, I trust them to make the right decision as to whether someone's guilty or innocent. That's usually a matter of who to believe and what facts to believe. Right. But people who don't have day in and day out life long experience with what prison is really like and what the options are, to ask them to decide for one case, on one person, based on what they see, I think that is maybe, uh, a little bit naive. Yeah. In Texas here, people tend to get whipped up into a frenzy and slap long sentences on people. Uh-huh Uh, it's kind of, uh, uh, a hanging jury atmosphere Right. But in a lot of places, I think people bend over the other way, but I guess, I guess I like the system that they have in some places where the defendant gets to choose whether he's, goes before a jury for sentencing or whether the judge gets to choose it. Some, some cases in some jurisdictions, they can do that. Oh really? I kind of like that system. Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's not a bad system. But I, I do think it needs to be shaken up a little bit. Yeah. But, the thing is too, maybe they need more of a, I don't know, more of a expert types to, to be on some of these jury cases because most time you just pick, you know, Joe Blow or whoever and a good citizen or whoever and call them in. Yeah. Right. And lawyers blow sand in their eyes. exactly. I would like to see most civil cases tried before a panel of experts instead of ordinary juries. Right, exactly. Insurance cases and things like that. Yeah. Where and, uh, there would be more honest settlements instead of this, uh, tugging of people's heart strings and, uh making them cry and feel like they're doing somebody good by giving them or giving them two million dollars to make up for the pain and suffering Uh-huh Exactly exactly. So. In, I think, in criminal trials you need the jury as a defense against the government but, Have you had that experience recently? Recently, I can't really say recently. But I think about, uh, about a year ago, uh, I bought a product from some company down at, uh, in Atlanta, Georgia. I believe it was one of these, uh, one of these, uh, mixers. These, like these juice machines and, uh the, uh, the blade they sent me at first that went into the machine, it looked, you know, perfectly okay Oh, yeah. but I found that, uh, it was made of some material which actually ended up rusting uh, after, Oh. even, despite, you know, diligent washing, it, it got rusty after about, uh, three weeks of use. And I don't think it was my fault because I, you know, I had made a point of like drying it off and cleaning it but, uh, it was really, uh, it was, I had to send it back after like, you know, the third week because I realized it was like, it was not, something was very, very wrong with the blade. Uh, what about you? Well, I don't have so much trouble with products as service. Uh-huh. I don't feel like that's as big a problem. I've had a few answering machines over the last two years just because I've had a lot of trouble with them working correctly. Uh-huh. And I'm not convinced that any of them work a hundred percent. Uh-huh. Uh, the one I have now is okay, most of the time. Uh-huh. But that's it. But that's, that's probably the worst. My daughter has a charm bracelet I bought her that's guaranteed. Uh, James Avery. I don't know if you have that up there but it, it's a very good company. That sells sterling silver things Uh-huh. and uh, she has a charm bracelet with lots of charms on it, a lot of money into it by now Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and the catch broke and she was sitting in school on a carpet and when she stood up, it caught and broke and we took it back and they said oh, this was just obviously yanked. Uh-huh. This was yanked. I mean they were so rude about it. Right. And so we wanted a different kind of catch and she said well it's not guaranteed. And I said, well put it on because apparently nothing's guaranteed so do it anyway. Uh-huh. So we got the kind we wanted and I was really disappointed with that. I felt that this was a company that should have been more reliable Uh-huh. and I happened to need a birthday present for one of her friends and I called there to see if they had it and the lady was very nice. And I said my goodness, I said you've been very nice, what's your name. And she told me and I said well I really appreciate it. I said there seems to be a big attitude problem in that, store and it turned out she was the assistant manager so, Right. So I felt kind of good about that, you know. I didn't even know the person's name that had given me the hard time or anything Uh-huh. Right. but I just felt like, well at least I did something. Maybe they'll fix it. They might work on that, you know. Right, right. But I find attitudes are more of a problem. Service is more of a problem. I find, up here in the northeast, we have, uh, well we have these mail order companies like L L Bean and, uh, they are famous for, I guess, having really top-notch service. They've got, uh Really. I mean I've, I've, I, I have friends and family who order from them because you can, you can literally, I've heard stories where you can literally buy something from them one year, wear it for a year and a half, and even after, like eighteen months of, you know, reasonably satisfactory use, they will accept it in any condition and they will gladly, no questions asked, take it back if for some bizarre reason you decide you don't want it anymore. Uh, they'll, they'll actually do things like this. I mean they're really, they, they bend over backwards service wise for you. I've, uh I've found also a lot of companies nowadays, have, they have eight hundred numbers you can call. That's really great. I guess if, if you call the any eight hundred number, uh, if, you, you can call up any eight hundred number directory assistance, and you can get, uh, the eight hundred number of the customer service support line for a number of companies. And, um, actually I've tried that with a few companies lately. And they've, most of them have been pretty good, but I, I was, one reason why, I, like I buy a lot of clothing through mail order is that, uh, if you buy through Bean or though, uh, I guess Bean's, one of Bean's big competitors is Land's End out in, uh, I guess it's Wisconsin somewhere. They, they are, uh, they're very good about uh, Huh. like the customer is always right and you know, no matter how crabby you might be over the phone, they are very understanding and, uh, they usually get, you know, they, they make things are, they make sure things are set properly if you're any way dissatisfied with their merchandise. That's really good. It use to be like that. Uh-huh. But, I don't think most places are like that anymore. Well I think, I guess nowadays with the, uh, with the economy the way it is, I guess, there was a, there was a story on the news tonight about how, because a lot of companies are, uh, you know, things are getting rough out there, there's a lot of, you know, the morale among employees tends to go down and that, in turn, like, you know, Well, the question was talking about the juries and, uh, one of the things I thought about was a lot of the drunk cases that they were having, that, especially for repeat offenders that, uh, maybe there should be stiffer penalties for those people who come back again and again. Uh, so that, uh, a judge, I think, would be the most appropriate person to, uh, to be able to sentence somebody since they do it over and over again every day. Right. *slash error should be 'aa' Right. I, I kind of agree with that, because I think in some cases, uh, the jury may not even have, the information about other crimes the person has committed. Uh, I, I think that in some cases that's considered to prejudice the current case Right so a judge, you're right, should have the whole dossier of the criminal there Uh-huh. and if they're judged guilty would probably be in a better position to give an appropriate, uh, sentencing. Yeah. See I agree with you. Uh, one thing I heard was this, where they have, instead of going to the regular court, they have a, a mock court. I mean, it's supposed to be all legal and everything. Uh, you go and you present your case, the other side presents their case and you're done with it. It's almost like the NIGHT COURT we see on T V. Uh-huh. Uh, and, uh, but it's not that we have, uh, such, it didn't backlog or all of the, uh, the cases that are, uh, all ready pending. Uh, so I, that was one thing I thought about that would be really neat if we could do it that way. In other words, not, not, there would be some types of crimes for which you're not guaranteed a jury trial? Yes. Now, I, I, I don't, there's a point on which we don't agree. Uh-huh. I would tend, myself, to say that we should continue to guarantee a jury trial for criminal cases anytime a, anytime a, one of the parties wants one. Uh-huh. And I, usually it is the defendant, I guess, that wants to have the jury hear the case. Sure. So I'm not out for streamlining things to the point where we, uh, take that, you know, that would require a change in the Bill of Rights, I believe and so, and, and I wasn't, I didn't mean that Oh, oh, okay. I, I didn't mean that, no. Because, I mean, gee whiz, if I was, uh, uh, didn't have that right, you know, not to have a jury that, oh yes, I would feel, uh, you're right, that my civil rights had been violated. But I meant for some, when both parties agreed that yes, we're going to have a judge here. We're not going to have a jury, you know, let's get it over with. Sort of like car accidents, you know, Right. Well I think that's all ready possible. Yeah. I think, that you can waive the right to a, jury trial uh, yeah right so. I agree that that should be encouraged. Uh-huh. People should know that that's an option just in case they feel they have to have a jury trial. But I think most lawyers do a pretty good job of making that evident to, to clients unless they feel they can, you know, tweak a jury into giving a different sentence or possibly, if it's a civil case, giving higher, uh, you know, awards of money or something since usually the lawyers get a percentage of the, the award. Right. Giving a different sentence. Uh-huh. The take. Right. Yeah. And I suspect it, in cases like, I guess we were supposed to be doing criminals though, rather than civil. Is that right? Well, I, I, we're at liberty to, to talk and, and meander as long as it's all on the same theme. Yeah. Uh-huh. Well, uh, in the case of, civil, uh, things, I think maybe the, the use of the jury is very, often to the lawyer's advantage and I think that may be where jury use is overdone, I mean there are cases where they could be settled, maybe out of court a little more efficiently. Right. But the lawyers are really, uh, it's to their advantage to play to as big an audience as possible so. Uh, I was wondering too, if they were thinking of about the judge making awards in civil cases not just sentencing in, in a criminal cases. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I'm not so sure I'm in favor of that. But I am in favor of it for criminal cases so there's a difference of my view there for those two. Right. Right. Yeah, well you can tell I haven't been in too many juries judges chambers or anything like that Have you ever had to serve jury duty? well I was called once when I was nineteen Uh-huh. and, uh, but I was doing so many other things that they took pity on me and, I was doing school and things like they, they let me out. Uh-huh. I've never had to it since and that was almost twenty years ago Uh-huh. It isn't, sort of amazed me they first caught up with me for the first time, in, uh, that would have been about, uh, twenty years too uh, uh, just last year and, uh, the case I heard was a criminal case and it seemed it really, trivial. It involved two bicycles. We didn't do the sentencing. The judge did. Huh. So How interesting. we, we rendered a verdict and then the judge was the one to do the sentencing. Uh-huh, Uh-huh And that was here in Wisconsin. So I, I don't know if that varies from state to state or if it, I'm Nevin from Sunnyvale, California. Hi, this is Jim Bliss from Minneapolis, Minnesota. How you doing? Pretty good. Good. Uh, I guess the topic is trial by jury and how we should change that or how we would change it. Yep. Uh, I'm ready whenever you are. Okay So, uh, what are your, what are your thoughts on the subject there? Well I definitely think, like decisions have to be unanimous. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's probably a good thing. It's probably the safest thing. Yeah. I mean, it's to easy to get a quorum Yep and simple majority won't do. No. And even like, you know, two-thirds majority, I mean, it's Yeah, that's, yeah, quorums are to easy to get. Yep. And there's always that, that chance that one or two people could be playing devil's advocate for a good reason, you know. So it's, it's definitely but, uh, I don't know. I could, I couldn't believe they suggested that judges should be doing the sentencing. Yeah. Like Gives them a little too much power Yeah I, I know of a couple of people at least who would be arguing with that. Or arguing against that pretty vehemently. But, uh, Plus, you know, you may be, you know, doing, you know, a, a guilty verdict but it may not be, you know, it may be for technical reasons Yeah. About the only good thing I would say about that is it that it would, uh, hurry the process up a bit Yeah. but I mean even now we've got, I know we've got plenty of cases out there where people have been wrongly convicted and things like that and that's what the trial by jury. I know . I mean, jeez if, if the judge was doing it himself, without any checks and balances whose to say. Yeah. It, there would be much more of that Yeah no doubt. Are you involved in the legal system at all? No. But I . I tend to follow it just to, just to know what's going on. Okay. Yeah, yeah. I've got some friends that are lawyers so. Yeah, I do too so. One of them just got his law degree. But, uh, to tell you the truth, I'm not real familiar with, uh, the system of jurisprudence the way it is right now. No. I really haven't studied it in depth. Yeah. I know a little more about civil cases when, than criminal cases. Which is, Yeah. it's more in how you present it versus, you know, who's right. I'm sure of it. Because a lot of those things, it's all, it's in, it's largely a matter of viewpoint. And who can argue their case better. Yep. Uh, it's kind of weird. I don't know, you I always think about watching the PEOPLE'S COURT or something. And how weird those cases get. It's just, Yeah. like, you know, you go say okay, we can't bring up this point because then they're going to, you know, the opposition will say this, this and this and Uh-huh. And it's like, boy, the stuff that they can twist around is, Yep it's pretty amazing. And it's like the, the truth isn't really important anymore. It's, Yeah, it's not. And then you get people who, who bring in cases just because they want to bring them up just because. Yep. Like this, this friend of mine's pretty obnoxious and he really gets into suing people. And so he'll, he'll sue just about anybody just for the chance to get into court, and argue his case you know, It is. It's, it's wasting people's time and the taxpayers' money and everything else. *aa,sv but, But, uh, Yeah but it's for the more general, people don't want to take responsibility. Yeah. You know, it's, And, and most of the time they're looking to place blame. Uh and stuff. Yep See, you're from California, is that right? Uh, yeah. Well originally from Chicago but, Oh, okay. I was just thinking I wonder, I wonder how, how the civil system or the court system must differ between there and say where I am in Minneapolis. I really, From what I understand, it's all pretty the same except when you get to Louisiana. And Louisiana is completely different cause it was based on the, what is it, it's based on common law and the rest of the country is not or something like that. Yeah. Pretty strange. But, uh, fortunately I never have had to go in even, even for jury duty. Yeah, I haven't either other than, But, uh, that friend of mine's telling me that I might have to go in for, uh, as a witness. He may subpoena me. So we'll see what happens. But, uh, I'm not really sure how we could change the legal system to make it better. . Yeah. It's, there are too many big problems, you know. There's, there's such a backlog of court cases right now. You know, to try to get them all in in a good time I know. and we already have too many lawyers as it is. Yeah. And if it's criminal cases we, you can't put them in jail because there's no room left. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. And, in fact, they're even letting some go. Yeah. I, I, I'm originally from Florida and it's like it seems like every year they let out more and more just cause they don't have room for them, you know. Huh. That's not a, that's not a good solution either. Not at all. I'm not real sure what the, What do you think about capital punishment? Well, I'm kind of in favor of it for certain crimes. Yeah. Which crimes do you feel that? Well, I think first degree murder, uh, probably warrants it. Yeah. Because of, so many times it's so brutal and just recurrent Right. selling, I think should also. Exactly. Recurrent crimes like serial rapists or serial murderers or whatever. Yeah I come from a state that has, well I originally come from the state that has, uh, the death penalty. I come from Florida. Uh-huh. And, uh, they're pretty liberal on it. They tend to, like, fry people left and right. which, Yeah that's, go ahead. Go ahead. Texas is too. Texas, I saw on T V the other night, is the, has had forty-six in like the past several years. Yeah. So they're pretty hip on it too, I guess. They do it by lethal injection, at Huntsville. Yeah, okay. I think Florida still uses electric chair. Yeah Uh, I don't, I don't know. In some ways I don't like it because it's like they're playing God. Yeah. And that's not, I don't think that's right. But on the other hand, there's a lot of advantages to it. Yeah. I think crime rates deterred a little bit by using it and, of course, you have some savings in terms of taxpayer money keeping people in jail or not. Um, Yeah. with Florida that's a big problem because there's so many people in jail that they have to let them out every year. They, Yeah. That's what's happening here. There is, like, uh, that's, in fact, a big gubernatorial issue is the the turnover rates of, uh, uh, repeat offenders being let out and doing it again. Uh-huh. Sure. And it's like, you know, that's a big problem but there's not a whole lot you can do about it because there's only so many jails you can build Uh-huh. and it's really, you know, it's, it gets to be a a big problem. Yeah. Uh, go ahead. I wish if they were going to do it, they would be a little more consistent in dealing with who gets lethal injection and who doesn't. Right. Be a little more, you know, not being able to put it off for fifteen years. Uh-huh. Yeah. Because a lot of these guys, you know, they get in and they, they get off for good behavior and, I don't know, up in Minnesota where I am now, they don't have the death penalty. And you can almost sense that people are just laughing at the system, you know. Because they figure well, you know, sure I, I get thirty or forty years for maybe rape or something. Uh, but then for, if I, if I elicit good behavior I'm out in maybe five or ten. Oh, really? Oh, sure, you know. Goodness. I mean just because, like we said before, they don't have enough room in the jails uh, you know, there's a lot of incentive for them to be let out early. Uh-huh. Yeah. But if you've got the death penalty hanging over your head, uh, I don't know, I think that may solve a lot of that. Yeah Maybe not solve it, but, I don't know, maybe , I, yeah I tend to think the repeal system for the death penalty is a little, little too lenient. Yeah. Uh, kind of takes away from the significance of the death penalty. Uh-huh. What do you do Georgeanne? I'm a graduate student at the University of Texas in Dallas. Oh, okay. Great. What program you in? Uh, audiology. Okay. Fantastic. Uh Yeah. What do you do? I'm a doctoral student at the University of Central Florida. Oh, really. Yeah, I'm doing an internship up at Honeywell. Oh really? Uh, yeah. Neat. But, uh, I don't know. It's, it's an interesting issue. There's, like you say, in Texas there's been quite a few and, and in Florida in the last few years, I think there's been a lot. I can't, I, you know, I can't give you figures but, uh, Yeah. I just, this was in conjunction with the guy that was put in the gas chamber in California. Uh-huh. So, I think it, the forty-sixth in the last twenty-five years I think is what Oh, is that right? they gave a run down that Texas Texas tends to be a little more robust and disciplined area then . Okay. Yeah, I, I kind of, yeah, I've heard things about that. I've heard that they don't mess around very much. Yeah. Uh, they, they don't get repealed as easily as they do. Like the guy in California got you know, twice before he went to the gas chamber and then they said okay, no, you don't have to go. And then they took him back. I mean, it just seems, Yeah, it just seemed a little inconsistent. Jeez, that's a lot of repeals. And then you have like two, you have these people who are serial killers that didn't even get the death sentence back when ever you know. Uh-huh. Yeah. I don't know. I, I'm trying to think about other crimes that would warrant it. Uh, I guess, what is it, what's the policy now with treason? Do they, uh, do they axe you for treason or is it a life sentence? No, I don't, I don't think, uh, the military doesn't execute anymore so. Yeah. Or death before the firing squad or whatever. Yeah. So, I think about the only one is, uh, rape, Okay, I'm here. How do you feel about public schools? Well, our public schools are, are really poor, I feel. Uh-huh. Uh, I'm not sure where Georgia ranks in the nation but, uh, we're toward the bottom. Yeah. And, uh, there's a lot of things that I see that are so obviously wrong. That you would think it would be easy to correct. Uh-huh. Right. But the system doesn't allow for the corrections Uh-huh. How about you? Well, that's interesting. I have a sister who used to live in Kennesaw, Georgia. Oh, yes. And, uh, she has a young boy. Actually has two boys now but only had one when she was there. And she complained quite a bit about their school system there. Yes. And, And Cobb County is better than the county I'm in. Right. She was in Cobb County. Right. I'm, I can't really say much about the schools up here. I really don't come from here Uh-huh. I'm only up here temporarily on an internship but uh, I live in Orlando, Florida usually. Okay. And the schools down there, from what I know, are not bad. They're pretty good. Well, that's great. But I know that in some, I know in a lot of rural areas they're not that good. Uh-huh. For example, I have a brother in North Carolina and he says the schools there are, are incredibly bad. Uh, just terrible. Well, I feel that we're way behind. Uh, I have a son that is in the fourth grade Huh. and, uh, they have just now taken up division. Wow. Yeah And That is slow. uh, my husband and I go to the store and we buy these math books and fractions and multiplication, division things and I feel like, uh, there are several areas that we're just really, really slow in. Uh-huh. And, uh, I don't blame the teachers as much as I blame the system. It is, What do you think's wrong to cause that? Well, well, for one thing there's not enough money in the school system. And the money they do have, they're not, they do not use it wisely. Yeah. Uh, she, my son's teacher has twenty-seven students. Uh-huh. And that's certainly is a lot of students for one person to deal with on an every day basis. Uh Yeah. Perhaps. but more than that, I don't think that they have the authority to command the attention of the children. Yeah. And when you have two kids in that class that constantly keeps the class in an uproar and you're not at liberty to do something about it, other than give them on campus isolation or send them to the principal's office. It it, you know, it can, it can really be bad. Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's one thing I worry about . Uh, also I think, we have a lot of, uh, Hispanics There you go, uh-huh. and we have a lot of, uh, the county I am, I'm in, the minorities are mostly Hispanic. Yeah. Probably quite a few black people up there and and, No We're from a county, we're from the county they marched in. We're in Forsyth county Oh, is that right? yes, and we, and there's very, very few blacks. Oh, okay. Uh, so, so that's, uh, I, I hate to say, uh, it's not a problem, uh, because I hate to feel like they are a problem, although they are. Yeah but, you know, it, it's, you don't want to seem racist or prejudice or whatever, but then again. But it is a problem Uh, especially in the inner schools, inner city. Yeah, there is no denying that, that, Sure, you know. Teachers, you have to admit that teachers have to slow things down for people who don't understand, especially if there's not a very well developed special education program at the school. Well, and you can't put all the children in special education. That's right, you can't do that. Uh, and if the parents do not care enough to take an interest in whether the homework is done you know. Right. See, I grew up in Nebraska Uh-huh. and the school that I went to there was fantastic. It, I, I really consider myself very, very lucky. Uh, we had a school that had classes probably about the same size you're talking, twenty-seven, thirty kids to to a class. Yeah. But, But your teacher had control. Yeah. We zipped right along, you know. I, I was, I was doing mathematics, fractions and division and multiplication by the third grade, easily. Uh-huh. Yeah. I, I believe I was too. Uh, Uh-huh. But, you're right, you know. With all this, don't hurt the kids and don't abuse their rights, you've also taken something away from the discipline, I think. Uh-huh Uh, well, it, it really is a concern of mine because if we could afford it, my son would be in private school. Yeah. We just cannot afford it. Right. I was going to ask you if there, if that was an option. Uh, if, Uh, I'm of the age that could have gone, although I didn't and, uh, I guess, uh, looking back on it, I tend to think it was pretty, uh, mostly a mistake. Uh-huh. On the other hand, uh, the more I learn about the history, the more I see it was incremental, uh, decisions. Any one of which was sort of understandable at the time. Uh-huh. And, uh, but on the whole I think it, uh, probably was the wrong thing to do. How about you? Well, I'm, uh, I, I was just, uh, in high school I guess when it, when it ended. Uh-huh. Ended up being, I was in the last, last lottery. Yeah. And I was glad it was over by then. Right. I've never really totally understood what our purpose was over there. Just because, you know, we didn't really do anything when we went over it seems like. Yeah. You know, we, uh, those people that I know, I work with several that were over there, and for some of them it was just kind of, I don't know, not so much a holiday, I guess that's how they tend to talk about it. But that they just kind of lived out in the woods and ever now and then, they'd go and shoot their rifles and then they'd, come back and you know. But that they weren't really allowed to do anything. I, uh, to me it seems like we only went halfway. If even halfway. Yeah, it's funny. Tonight I was, uh, helping my kid with an essay on, uh, Stalin. And I was thinking in the course of talking to him about it, how, uh, in World War Two, the personalties of Stalin, Hitler and Churchill more or less defined the war and actually when you think back on the big events of the war, it was, uh, it was almost a personal struggle among these three, uh, I guess you'd have to call them great men in some sense. Uh-huh. Uh, they're certainly all leaders and, uh, and, uh, with their nations pretty, pretty solidly behind each one of them. Yeah. And I got a feeling that some of that was involved in the, uh, early decisions of the Vietnam war. That the, uh, people saw the cold war as, uh, you had to draw a line and, and defend it. Otherwise there'd be, they'd get you someplace else. Uh-huh. Looking back, it seems like that was only partly true. That, uh, there might have been a better place to draw the line Uh, I guess you can, I guess you can say that a, a certain amount of resolve and willingness to fight, uh, brought the cold war to an end. But I don't think you can just fight anywhere just, just in order to, uh, call the bully out and beat him. And I have a feeling that that's part of what was involved in the Vietnamese war. They felt like this was a place where we could draw a line, beat them and they wouldn't come forward. And, uh we were wrong But I, uh, you know, the, like I said, the more I hear about it, the more I can see each decision that was made as being understandable. But the accumulative effect was to really get into a, a hopeless situation where, and as you say, uh, going halfway was probably worse than, uh, committing, uh, committing to a completely and, uh, winning it, whatever that would mean. Yeah. Well, I, I, I think we did, I think we did learn some lessons that we weren't, uh, we weren't prepared for, I guess the best word would be the atrocities of war. Yeah Uh, I mean the other wars seemed like a valiant war. I mean they seemed like a valiant thing. Yeah. You knew, you knew who was good. You knew who was bad. Yeah. And it was a, it was a traditional the traditional battle of, kind of good versus evil, if you, you know whichever way it is. Well you're not, But in, in the Vietnam war it seems like it was, a, a, the sides and the lines that were drawn are all confused as to who's good and who's bad and and, uh, you know, the, It's ambivalent, yeah. even, it seems like even the people, you know, had the South Vietnamese, the North Vietnamese and, of course, the Laotians and the Cambodians weren't even supposed to be involved. But, What, what about the domestic effects like I was thinking that maybe the most important effect it had was to make it, uh, possible and even popular to, uh, criticize the government. And they, that pendulum started to swing, uh, maybe even too far. To the point where, uh, uh, supporting a government decision in foreign policy was sort of optional from the Vietnam war on. Yeah. Yeah. And that tradition is still, I mean it's dying now, but it's still alive as opposed to, this Desert Storm stuff may have, uh killed it. Yeah. But I think that was one of the biggest, that, you know, the, uh, the domestic unrest, Are you in the middle of anything? No. I'm not in the middle of anything. I've just, about the last thing I did about maybe, oh, close to a year ago now I guess, I, I helped my dad add on another bedroom on to his house. So, I guess that, The whole thing? Yeah. That, that was fairly large undertaking. A, a, it's a bedroom and a walk-in closet and a bathroom all on one side of the house. Did the framing and all? Oh, we did it all except for the sheetrocking. Huh. That was the only thing we didn't, you know, putting the ceiling up and things like that we don't, we, we weren't sure how to do that and. and I did all the sheetrocking and the interior work Yeah, that's the exact opposite. We did all, put the roof up and did all the roofing and the, put all the interior walls up. We just didn't do any of the sheetrock wall work and that's it because you have, you know, get those joints to go together and whatever you have to put in there to get the, to take the gaps out between the sheets and on the ceiling and all that. Yeah. I we didn't know a thing about any of that and so, It's, it looked very hard to do My wife wishes I hadn't done that. so, we figured well just, I didn't think we could do it and make it look professional. So, we left it, left it to somebody who does it for a living. But, I think it takes about three or four times before it gets easy. Yeah *should be 'b' Probably so and I, we'd never done it so we just left it alone. But that's, I guess, I'm only twenty-one so I, my, my vast experience of home, home owner's knowledge is not very much. So it's just what I have to do, more or less, around the house, you know, for my parents so. Did you, you framed it in uh, on, on, you framed in new square footage or was it stuff that was already, uh, enclosed? It was brand new. Brand new . We started with the backyard and turned it into part of the house so it was, and you knew how, you knew how to do the framing? Uh, well my dad knew how to do most of it, you know. Uh-huh. He, he'd, we'd gotten a couple of books and then he just started doing it. I don't know. He, well he did all the flooring himself. He put the whole, the whole floor in and then I just started with the walls and the roof and started there. And then we were, put a, like a, not, not necessarily a garage, but just like a, off the side of that after we had the house part made, we just decided we'd carry the roof out a little bit farther and put a carport more or less. It's not, you know, it's not enclosed. It's just somewhere to drive another car to, to park and it's, Do, do you build on slabs down there or did you build it up off the ground? Uh, it's off the ground. On the piers? Uh-huh. It's on about uh, twenty-two inch piers, something like that. Did, You had those poured So. or you did them yourself? Uh, no, those, those are, we did those ourselves so. You just put forms in the ground and fill them with concrete? Yeah. Huh. Exactly, so. It's, Well, the last thing I did completely myself was an outside deck which I was pretty proud of Yeah, those those are, we'd, I've done one, I helped somebody do one of those before. Those are, those are, you know, you can buy them in kits but we didn't do that way. But it's, No I designed it from scratch and did it did a pretty good job. Yeah. Those are nice. They're pretty forgiving, you know. You can always tear stuff out and redo it. It's a, Yeah, yeah. That's not near, like building a house or anything but, Yeah, those are nice. Especially when you get done, you've got something, you know. I don't know, I like them. You just sit down on on the deck and do whatever. Have a barbecue Yeah. I I built it two levels and with a big toy box and some benches and, uh, a backrest and all that stuff. or, I, Yeah, that sounds nice. All done by yourself, huh? I had a friend with a tractor who dug the pier holes Designed, so we could pour concrete and support it with a, a nice firm four by four posts. And, uh and then the rest of it I just did. Yeah. A, a contractor friend helped me, uh, with some of the, uh, foundation work but, uh, it was pretty, it was about four or five hundred square feet. The same size as the addition that I just put on so. Yeah. That's pretty, that's a good size deck. Yeah. So, yeah. That's, It's, uh, not that expensive. I think it cost me three dollars a square foot and, uh, you know, no less than that. Yeah. That's not, cost me about five hundred dollars, six hundred dollars all together. Yeah, that's good. That's not bad at all. Didn't have to, Yeah. the wood may it got surprising as to the fact that how much wood is, you know. To get, to get good lumber it costs, I don't know about Dallas, but even in this little town, it's, it's not cheap at all. I was surprised. I'd be surprised if it wasn't, uh, cheaper where you are. It's probably more there. Well, yeah. It probably comes from where you are. Yeah, yeah, that it probably does. Most I, I'm not sure but, When I drive through that area, that's all I see is pressure treated, pressure treated lumber yards. Yeah. It's nothing but woods up here, down here. Yeah. I don't, I haven't, I mean, I haven't, I used to live in Dallas. In Arlington, actually. And, but that was just when I was a kid so I don't really know what the cost of living is even like in Dallas anymore. But it's, I don't know, we're a college town so that doesn't help us out any. Right. East Texas. We have, gas is a dollar dollar twelve a gallon, so that's probably about what you're paying Huh. so. Yeah, my current project is a walkway which I'm building around the house and out to the backyard to, uh, you know, digging it out and laying sand and putting, uh, pavers on top of that so. Yeah. That's a lot easier. You've got something going all the time. Well, what do you think in terms of, uh, benefits? Well, personally, you know, I think, you know, of course I'm sure we're familiar with the exact same benefit package and I think that, uh, we've probably got one of the best around, you know, besides, they tend to offer adequate vacation, I guess. And the paid time off is wonderful, and, uh, one of the things that we were just talking about as a matter of fact this week at work was the CODA Plan that is offered and I think that is just a, a fabulous one, so. I don't know if you participate in that or not, but Absolutely. isn't it great? It's just a, it's just a miracle that how fast that adds up, you know. Well, I have to agree with that. You know, I was thinking about, uh, importance of benefits and that kind of thing, other than salary while I was waiting for, uh, the system to find a, a respondent. Uh-huh Uh-huh. And I started thinking that over the years that importance has changed and I suspect that that's probably true for everyone. Yeah. When I was much younger it was, uh, less important to consider retirement and less important to consider medical benefits. But as I grow older and my family grows, it, the medical benefits are more important and the retirement is more important. I had never really thought of it that way but I guess that's true, I guess that's true. I'm still young enough that, that, uh, the vacation's real important to me and the paid time off is real important to me and, and that kind of thing. But, uh, you know, I was just, as a matter of fact, I just, uh, celebrated my fifth year at T I the end of last month and, uh, kind of started looking through the, the book because of that, you know, now that I'm a hundred percent vested, you know, you kind of look through the book and see well, what exactly, what does that mean and what is the pension all about and, you know, when you're, when you're, you know, in your, I'm only in my late twenties now, so you tend not to think about retirement. But, uh, it's, I guess now is the time to think about it, so. Does T I have a pretty good retirement package, do you think? I think they have, uh, one that we need to recognize that we're going to have to supplement ourselves. Yeah. And that's certainly one of the reasons that I'm sure that they've begun the, uh, CODA Plan. Uh-huh. It's certainly a, a supplemental way, uh, Uh-huh. and I suppose if, maybe in, in your instance, if, if you're started with T I in your early to mid-twenties, and happen to stay with them until you're sixty-five, then you'll have a very good retirement plan. Right. But I had another career first and then came to T I a little later. Uh-huh. So it's not, uh, all by itself it won't be adequate for, for my situation. It's not going to build up, quite enough, yeah. So, I have to find a way to supplement that. Yeah. Well, they just, they seem to make it so easy to save. You know, one of the things that we're doing which is probably the worst investment in the world, but I've got money coming out to buy savings bonds, just coming straight out of my check. And it's probably not a great investment, but if I wasn't doing that the money wouldn't be being saved anyway, you know. I kind of have to trade off, you know. If you never see it you don't spend it, so And it's, I understand though, it, Yeah. Uh, believe me, I do that myself. Do you? Yeah? And I disagree with you. I don't think it's the worst investment, in the world. Do you really not? I, I, you know, I, I debate about whether it's really good or not, you know. Well, it's, in terms of guaranteed return on investment and maybe you don't start looking for that word guaranteed, until later. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, it's shown a history that, uh, sure beats anything else. Over many, many years. Yeah, that's true. That's very true. We went, uh, and did a, a thing through I B S which is a, like a financial consultant type thing here in Dallas and, uh, one of the things that we talked about with the counselor there was, you know, they work up this whole big, you know, proposal, profile for you, that, all the things that you need to work on and you need to do. And then one of the things that we talked about with her was, you know, the need to save for our son's education. We have a two year old, you know, and, and, you know, we can't start saving for college when he's sixteen, you know, we have to do that now. And, and uh, they have a way that they can figure, you know, what, you know, and he's two now, in sixteen years when he's ready to go to college, this is how much it'll cost, you know, and it's just really scary the thought of how much it's going to, it's, what it costs now is ridiculous, what it's going to cost sixteen years from now is just really scary. And they sat down and figured up that we needed to save like between fifteen and seventeen hundred dollars a year at a, oh, you know, six percent interest rate, to be able to have, you know, money for his college. And that's exactly what we have coming out in saving bonds, is, is, you know, about fifteen hundred dollars a year. So, I guess it, you know, in that way, at least we know that that's taken care of, you know. We, we can worry about other things so, I understand, that approach. Yeah. That's, what, that's exactly what's happening in my family. Yeah, Is it really? Yeah. except that mine are a little bit older and, and I've shown them the numbers and said this is what's going to be available, all this is going to do is give you a little spending money while you're there. Uh-huh. You better make sure that you've got a scholarship. That's right. That's right. Well, that's what she said to us. She said, now, do you all want him to go to a, a state college or a private college? And, and our answer was, that, you know, we will have enough money available for him to attend a state college. And if he wants to go to a private college, he can get a scholarship to attend, you know. And that was kind of our view on it. It just costs too much, you just can't do it, you know. So, I don't know, it's, it's, I don't, uh, it just amazing, it amazes me how much the, the costs are going to go up over the next ten or fifteen years. I just don't know how anybody's going to do it. And boy, it gets really scary when you start talking to them. Uh, I have a, an eleven year old daughter now who's saying, gee, Dad, I want to be an allergist, Oh, goodness. and I said, that's wonderful. I applaud that. Let, me explain to you how you get scholarships to do that. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And, then her little brother's only two years behind Exactly. and he says, well, I don't know, I think that I probably want to be a veterinarian. And I said, that's great. Let me explain to you how you get scholarships to do that. That's right, That's right Well, you know, T I, you know, T I offers some good stuff and then I think there's, I mean I think there's some negatives, but there's going to be some negatives anywhere, you know, no matter where you go. I have, you know, all, this is the first really large company I've worked for. I've always been involved in little small, you know, privately owned owned firms and so I've never had the, the big benefit package. So, I really don't know how to compare it to other big companies, you know. It, when I came on it was great because I had never had anything even close to what, what they offered. So, I've been real pleased. Well, that's fantastic, Yeah. and on whole I would say that they're equal to, uh, most of our competitors. Think so? Uh, I can see some, some potential changes that probably are, are, would not cost very much but might, uh, make things a little easier. Such as offering a, a smorgasbord. Having a larger variety of benefits Uh-huh. but, but here's the amount, that, that T I is going to pay for it, Yeah. Yeah, and you can pick what you want and, yeah. now it's up to you it's menu selection, so, to speak. Right. That sounds really good. I read a thing, I don't even remember if it was in the DALLASITE or the INSITE one, about uh, companies allowing you, and they said that T I was looking into it, to purchase extra vacation days. Which I thought sounded like a good idea. You know, if you've been there, you know, under five years and you get two weeks of vacation but that's really not enough and you want an extra week, then you can purchase an extra week of vacation by saying, okay, I'm going to want an extra five days this year and they'll take a set amount out of each paycheck, you know, and they're deducting it all along, so you, you can have an extra five days off and be paid for them at the time, you know, you're really not being paid for them, the money is actually coming out of your own pocket, but it's coming out a little bit at a time instead of all at once, you know. So, that is kind of an idea that, that a lot of people sounded like that they were really interested in and T I said that they were looking into something like that so, Well, I could certainly, personally stand seeing them go to a, a standardized compensatory time for overtime. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I don't believe any of us would have to purchase any extra vacation days, if they did, that. Well, true. True. Uh, and, and I would certainly support something like four to one or five to one or, or, you know, maybe they want to get generous and make it three to one. Uh, as a repayment for, every three to five days that I work overtime there, they should give me one day. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But it should be a standard and, and not left up to either the whim or the current overhead rate uh, that's running in each department. Uh-huh. Well, and, yeah, and, and a lot of that is left up to whoever your supervisor happens to be and what type of relationship you have with that person and, you know, I see a lot of differences, but, from one group to the next, you know, about who gets it and who doesn't get it, you know. But that's, and that's that way with a lot of things, you know, there. It seems like, it depends on what, what group you happen to be in, what, what you're going to get and what you're not going to get so, Well, that's for sure. Which is the same, but, but then it's probably that way anywhere, you know, that's, Oh, I'm sure personalities always come into play. Uh-huh. Uh, just in this size of organization, Our community doesn't really have any organized recycling drive. Where do you live? I live in San Antonio. San Antonio! Uh-huh. Well, uh, I live in Garland and we're just beginning to, we, we just built a real big recycling center, that recycles everything imaginable Uh-huh. but, as far as, uh, trash pick up and stuff that a lot of the communities are doing, they're testing that. Uh-huh. So, they're really not full, full force into it, but they're trying, so we're attempting it, but I wish we could do more. Yeah, there's, there's been no emphasis on recycling at all in San Antonio. I used to work for the power company here and there was discussion for a while about, uh, building a garbage burning, uh, electric generation plant Uh-huh. but it just wasn't cost effective, at the time. Oh. And there's, there's a little recycling trucks and things throughout the city but there isn't any, uh, advertising campaign. There's just not any push to recycle. Huh. I recycle my newspapers and, uh, my aluminum stuff. Right, that's what I do. But, uh, they make it as hard as possible, it's not very convenient to do. Right, when they put centers and stuff like that. Uh-huh. Yeah, well we have those, uh, which I think is one of the best things is those cash for cans. I don't know if you all have those things around. Yes. And I really like that because that makes it real convenient because they're in almost every shopping center, and you can just stop by. Now everything else like the uh, paper and plastic and stuff you still have to go to the centers but, but for aluminum that's real nice Uh-huh. and I started doing that at work. Um, I put out a, a trash can and, and for people to put their aluminum cans in, Uh-huh. and that's really helped a lot, I mean, everybody's pitched in and, you know, it doesn't bother them to walk little bit farther put their aluminum in a can rather than just throwing it in their trash can. Yeah. Yeah. So, I really, I really like that, but, people are really concerned, it's just that sometimes it's not the right people, which is really, really sad because, I wish we would do more Yeah. At work we started, uh, all the recycling stuff. They're really trying, I think what started it at work was that planet earth thing we had last year. Yes. And, uh, that really, started a lot of stuff off, but, you know sometimes it dwindles down. Yeah, where I work now we recycle all the computer paper. That's good. But that's about the extent of it. Well that's, uh, at least your trying something. Yeah, yeah, It's just yeah, it would be nice if it could be more. And I'm sure that the, uh, driving factor for recycling the computer paper is that we get paid to do so. Oh do you really. We sell the paper back to the, uh, to a paper manufacturing company. Well that's a neat idea. Well, it, it defrays the cost of buying the paper, I think. I, not by much, but it does defray it some. Right. Enough to make it worth our while to have several bins through out the building. Well that's, that's really good, I mean at least they're trying. Yeah. Yeah I know a lot of companies that waste so much that, I'm even trying, you know that was one thing we noticed last week that we had some new people move into our building And they were just used one time and thrown in the dumpster Yes. and I thought, I don't understand this, you know. Yeah. We're trying to cut cost and everything like that, and, and recycle and all that stuff and, and here we are wasting. And I don't understand, sometimes, the way, the thinking, the logic behind it. Well the last time, uh, someone moved offices in my building and, uh, the, uh, properties people came in with all, with the good cardboard boxes. Not the cheap ones of course. And packed everything up and moved them and left them lying around, Uh-huh. I, I took several home because I'm moving pretty soon and they're good boxes. That's exactly what I did. And they were just going to throw them away. Exactly what I did, exactly. Yeah. Because I didn't want to waste that. Huh-uh. And it's hard enough to find good packing boxes . Right and, and these boxes are, you can unfold them. Right. So, you know, there, they don't take up much storage space. Exactly right, well that's very good Yeah, yeah I, I felt a little guilty about taking the boxes for about two seconds until I realized they would be thrown away, so. Right, right, I thought, well I was doing them a favor by taking them. I found about five, uh, about nine of them that had not even been folded into boxes, that were in the dumpsters. Yeah. Oh gosh, so many people need, so many people go to the grocery store and stuff and get those boxes, when, you know, these are perfect, Uh-huh. so. Yeah, the ones at the grocery store, half the time, they've pulled the lid off so you can't use it anyway. Right, right, right. Those and the real sturdy boxes that copy room paper comes in, with the nice lids. Those get thrown away. Uh-huh, right. And I am constantly scouting out the copy room for those boxes. That's exactly what I do. Those are perfect boxes to put files in. Uh-huh. They're good for storage and stuff like that. That's what I do with a lot of my daughter's things is I'll store her, you know, like her out dated or, out of, out of season clothes in them and they're just perfect. What, what I've done in the past, I don't have any now, but I would buy some cheap wallpaper from somewhere and cover those nice boxes with the lids, Uh-huh. and you can stack them up and, and leave them out and put things in them, even. And they look just as good. That's a smart idea. Uh-huh, yeah. I think I'll have to try that. That's really cute. Yeah well, you know, it's cheaper than going and buying the kind at Target that are all ready with the little design on them or whatever. They're the exact same thing. That's all they are, they just made them look fancy. Uh-huh, yeah. You saved me some money. And you're recycling yeah. Well that's neat. Well do you all have, uh, we have places that, uh, pay for paper to recycle, I know you do yours at work, but for newspaper. Uh-huh. But ours are real hard to find. That's the one thing that really discourages me. I saved you know, I recycle paper, but they, it's almost like they don't want the paper, because they don't pay, at all, I mean, they're real hard to find the places that pay. And that's really discouraging. I mean, I just go ahead and take it to the, the regular place, where it's, you know, they just accept it. But they, uh, I think they should yeah, if they want people to recycle I think it's, uh, you know, like the aluminum, you know, it gets people to, uh, doing it, you know, you might, you don't have to pay them a lot. Yeah, I live near a Walmart and there's a big, uh, uh, huge dumpster looking thing sitting out front, in fact I think there's two of them, that have several openings, Uh-huh. and it's for recycling and they have aluminum and newspaper and plastic and some other category, Uh-huh. I don't, maybe there's two for aluminum. And you don't get paid but it's real convenient just to chunk the newspapers in there. Well that's, that's good. Yeah. I, the one thing I don't like about the newspaper also is, uh, like at work we have two different trash cans at your desk. You have one for paper and one for just your normal trash, Uh-huh. but in, uh, in the paper one you have to separate. You have to make sure you don't throw away any of the slick paper, like magazines. Uh-huh. You can't throw any of that away and you can't throw certain file type things away, and I just think it's such a hassle, it seems like it would be, it would be easy to take it all, I don't know, of course, I don't know all that about recycling so, it probably is a hassle. Uh-huh. But I do get tired of having to separate paper, you know. Uh-huh. It gets to be, uh, I guess you have to make it a habit, I mean, you have to get so used to doing it that it's a habit. Right, right. And we had, uh, a write up in our paper, uh, this last time at work about, um, they come and empty your trash every other day they do your normal trash and every other day they do your recycling trash. Uh-huh. And somebody was writing in complaining that the people had, uh, dumped all the trash in the same bin. Oh. And when they were questioned about it they said well, we're running late, or we didn't have time to do those bins or something and that's real discouraging. Thinking you're sitting there working to separate it and then they, And someone else isn't going to take the time to put it in two separate bags. Right, right, so they're, they're really, trying to start keeping an eye out for those, you know talking to the people again about, you know, separate them because that is discouraging when you, when you do that the It was hard to get used to those two different trash cans. Uh-huh. But luckily that will all get straightened out and, and they'll, they'll start separating them. Because, I don't mind doing that, I feel like I'm doing, uh, doing something for the community when I'm doing that. Yeah. But anyway. Well, I've enjoyed talking to you. You too. Well, I, thank you. Bye, bye. Bye. Okay Where to start. I haven't had that much, of course I just heard, but I haven't had that much time to think about it, either. I guess the, uh, biggest thing I find is the financial aspects, uh, particularly, the ability of people to access, you know, your financial records or, for example your credit, uh, rating almost at will. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's true. I didn't think about that. And, uh, of course flying , uh, using your Social Security number, of course, permits people to do that Uh-huh. and almost anything you do now, a Social Security number is required. Uh-huh. And, uh, of course there's another aspect of this, too, uh, in terms of invasion of privacy I just thought about it, being a professional and, of course, you probably belong to one or more professional organizations, and that is that some of the organizations sell their mailing lists which I think is a, is an invasion of privacy. Uh-huh. I agree Yes, I get some of these things in the mail that I wonder, where in the world did they get my address or where did they get my name And in fact, some of these things I get, some of these questionnaires, it's funny because I'm, I was in the process of filling one out when I decided I would make this phone call, but uh, I haven't got to the end of it yet where it asks all that salary information and everything, but, when you have to send that back in the mail with your name on it, your salary information, I, I just have a real hard time doing that, uh, and they ask you what type of household items do you own, like stereos and T V and V C R and, and you hate to send something off with your name and address and what types of things do you own and what kind of money do you make and you wonder, well, who's going to get ahold of this and think, um, that's a nice place to go rob And not only that, it, it opens you to phone solicitations for a variety of things from, Right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I got one tonight about six thirty when I sat down to eat dinner, carpet cleaning I've had them for carpet cleaning, I've had them for, of course, for, you know, real estate investments Uh-huh. you know, you get, uh, please send in your, uh, you know, this particular card and you get, uh, a free trip or something along those lines. Right. And so, that, uh, that bothers me because I, of course, I enjoy being at home and I do not enjoy getting called by strangers uh, particularly you know, soliciting. Uh-huh. So, having your, and I know that a lot of these, of course, are random phone calls Uh-huh. they just, you know, start going through the phone book or going through a series of numbers, but some of them are sold, and I know you talking about mailing lists, the I, there is one particular group to which I belong and for some, the reason they have three different names for me. Um. Now the address is the same you know, my, my office address Uh-huh. But they have one under, you know, my first name, James. They have one under my first name and initial middle initial, Uh-huh. then they have a, a third one under my, just my two initials. Uh-huh. And and I get mail here at home under each of those names. Uh-huh. Oh, no So I know that they have sold their mailing list. Right. And, uh, I think those two things bother me more than anything else as far as an invasion of privacy. Yeah. And, uh, I can't really think of anything else offhand, that, uh, I think I dislike the phone number part the worst. I mean, it's, it's one thing to get junk mail because you can, you can just put it right in the trash, but it's the phone calls, and, you know, usually when they call you, it's going to be when you right when you sit down to dinner because they know, they pretty much know that you're at work all day and they call you right when, when you've just gotten home from work. The last thing you want is a phone call unless it's, you know, something halfway enjoyable, but if it's a salesperson, it's just something you don't want to have to mess with. And, and I've gotten a lot of them lately, or I'll, sometimes I come home from work and there's a lot of hang ups on my answering machine and I'm just assuming it's probably a salesman that called during the day and, I wasn't home, and they'll probably call me up and, you know, call me back and bother me when I sit down to dinner later on, but I find that very annoying The, uh, mail stuff, Uh-huh. yeah, you know, it's kind of irritating, but it's not nearly as obnoxious as the phone calls. I think, I think you mentioning the phone calls during dinner, I know when I sit down with the family and want to have the opportunity, you know, to talk and see what's going on and all those things, even if friends call it irritates me. Uh-huh. Yeah. So I try to, I actually during that period of time from, you know, usually from six o'clock or six thirty, whenever I get home, until eight or so, I will shut off the phone Uh-huh. and, uh, my daughter gets irate when I, when I do that because, you know, she's a teenager Uh-huh. Uh, oh. so she'll, you know, I might get an important phone call, but, So I guess those three things are the, uh, uh, most irritating to me. Uh-huh. I agree with the phone, too, in that, I'm single, but when I come home from work, there's times I need to pay bills, I need to balance my checking account, I need to do all kinds of different things like that, and even though it's friends calling, sometimes you just feel like, this is my quiet time, I need to get things done and the phone ringing bothers me, but that's, that's where answering machines are nice, because if it's really important they'll leave a message and I can call them back That's right. But, uh, at work I have so many phone calls from customers calling in, sometimes it is just, I just want to get away from the phone ringing because it, it really does annoy me. And, uh, if I've had a lot of phone calls during the day when occasionally when we have, uh, like this past week, we have to do a lot of troubleshooting when the programmers have installed a new system, and, uh, phone rings like crazy and you come home and the last thing you want to do is have to answer the phone. And if it's some salesman, that just makes it even that much worse. And, uh, it just, I get to where I, I turn the answering machine on and just let it pick up the phone, but now with this thing I'm participating in, I kind of have to answer it, because you never know if it's the switchboard or if it's, uh, you know, somebody calling that you really don't want to talk on the phone. Well I have, now we have a, you know, voice mail system at, uh, at the office. Uh-huh. Now what I have done is, I have forwarded my home phone to the answering service at the office so that I do not have to have a, uh a ring at all. If I, if I want to do that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. A ring at all. Oh, huh. That's an idea Right. And, uh, or I will just let the phone ring three or four times and know that it will forward to, uh, to the office. Uh-huh. And so it's, you know, it makes it convenient. But at the office when I, you know, we can, uh, on our system, and I imagine on most systems you can just route it directly to the answering service. Yeah. Ours is that way, too. And when I, when I want to be, you know, not bothered during the day, that's exactly what I do. Uh-huh. And so, uh, Well, yours is probably the same as ours. It's, uh, Tigon , isn't Tigon , uh, part of G T E or vice versa or something like that. Uh. Seems I read, Yeah, well Tigon is part of G T E. Okay. Okay that's it, that G T E had purchased Tigon and, Yeah, that's what we have. Except we call it Aspen. Aspen? Yes. Huh And, uh, we, I couldn't remember in Tigon had purchased G T E phone mail services or if G T E had purchased Tigon . I knew there was some type of a tie in there. I remember reading in the paper a few months back but, Yeah, G T E purchased Tigon . Okay. And so, we had, had been using a, the Aspen service before they purchased Tigon Uh-huh. so I imagine we will be, uh, shifting over to that service uh, for a while, or if, in a while As soon as we determine what we're going to do with Contel after we bought Contel Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, no. Yeah. Oh, Dana, I think we have probably conversed long enough. I think we did, Well, that's good All right. I didn't think we could go too far on this privacy thing, but, uh, I guess it's close enough well thank you for calling. I I, I enjoyed talking to you. Sure, good talking to you, Jim. All right. Bye-bye. Take care. Okay. Capital punishment, oh, I honestly don't feel like it's strict enough in my opinion. In the way that it's applied or it's applied at all? Uh-huh. Applied at all. So, I, how do you feel that it should be applied? Well, I I just feel like there's a lot of murderers and rapists, and everything else, just walking the streets. You know? And that, that, the penalty ought to be out there, and be enforced? Yes. Yes. Not getting paroled, let's say in so many, years. Yeah. I mean, if your going to sentence somebody, let's say twenty years, let them stay twenty years. That's, I agree with that completely. I know we don't have enough prisons, but there has got to be some kind of punishment, For these people. There has, that's right. Because if they turn around, they can get away, they get away with it, and they get away with it, and they get away with it, and then they do something worse Uh-huh. and they get a slap on the wrist. They get, thirty days in jail Yeah. Yeah. and they final get up to where they kill somebody else, and they go through fourteen appeals, and how many hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Uh-huh. That's right. That's, honestly right. And it's, Well, they certainly are living off our at our expense. Uh, they sure are just because, some innocent person, can really, I didn't , it seems like, really a rough time Yeah. you know? I'm not saying innocent person, let's say someone wrote a hot check, for instance. You know, it seems like when they go to prison, it, they really seem like it's a rough time for them Uh-huh. he's just there to serve his time, and get back out on the street. And, and be paroled, and and have served the sentence, Yeah. that's what, that's what people face with that choice. One thing I really hate, is they don't explain to the jurors, in a, in a trial, in a capital murder trial, or in cases of rape, or in different things that are so horrible, what it means when they sentence them to, you know, they'll sentence them to ninety years and say that it's, you know, that it's going to, you know, Uh-huh. that should be life, but, instead, in, in given the choice of either sentencing to death, or sentencing to life, they'll give them ninety years in prison or something, and then turn around in thirty years, that, you know, and less they're out. Uh-huh. Even if, if they're even in that long. Or they appeal, and then they get an appeal that says it was, you know, an unjust amount of time, an extraordinary long length, or something. Time, uh-huh. Yes. I was, I would just be, I would love to see them just really get real strict on parole you know. Yeah. I'd like to see the death penalty more as a deterrent, I think people know that nobody, that it doesn't, you know, it's not a deterrent right now, because it's not really effective. Uh-huh. There's should be, you know, this, for this crime, this is the penalty. You killed, someone you know, in cold blood or whatever. Uh-huh. Yeah. You get, it back, yeah. This is what's going to happen. Yeah. And, I mean, it sounds horrible. It, I hear myself saying this, and, but, I, don't know what else to do with some of these people, that are, Yeah. But it's, I, I know. because they let them back out again, and they do the same thing over, and over, again, Same thing, Yes. then they put them back in jail, and they get out, and and more and more innocent people are hurt or killed Yes. Uh-huh. and these guys just are on the endless merry-go-round in the legal system. Uh-huh. And it's like I said at our expense. Uh, a lot of people really doesn't think that much about it, because it hasn't happened to them, which it hasn't to me either, you know? Yes. Thank goodness. But still, it could. I know, I, you read about it in the paper, every day, somebody who's done this, or that, something really horrible Yes. Uh-huh. and they just get away with it, and nothing happens. And as far as the other states, I honestly don't know what their capital punishment is. You know, I, I, haven't kept up, you know, anything, like that. Yeah. I think I think Texas is Texas, the southern states seem to be somewhat more conservative and still have the death penalty, and I think, I know California had it for a long time, and then they, uh, took it off the books, they repealed it Uh-huh. and people like Charles Manson, and, and some of these other people, who were sentenced to death at the time they repealed the death penalty, were sentenced to life in prison, and are now, now that even though California has reinstated the death penalty, for whatever various crimes. The people who were there originally, when they, when they changed the laws to revoke the death penalty, are still in there for, are in prison, in quote, for life, and, and are now coming up for parole, some of them, like Manson who's come up you know Uh. Uh-huh. it's been denied fortunately but, Yes. But still, it came up though, didn't it, Yeah. I mean, you know Well, the jury that sentenced him, sentenced him to death Uh-huh. and then while he was on appeal on his thousandth and one appeal, the state of California revoked the law in the early seventies, and then they reinstated it later, but the penalty didn't go back. You know? Uh-huh. It seems like a lot of times the law is, is totally on the criminal side, and, and isn't protecting the rest of the people. Yes. The victim is really, seems like left out in the cold, more or less, doesn't it, Uh-huh. in a lot of, well, especially in things, you pick up the paper, and you read, you know, you think, oh my goodness Yeah. And the, the laws are all, the rules. Some of the things that would make sense to, to tell the jury, that this, this guy has a, a prior criminal history, you know, where he's raped ten women Uh-huh. and then he gets up for this one trial, and they don't finds anything out about the facts that he's done this over and over and over again Uh-huh. and so they say, well, this is, you know, I, I don't know if they say it's the first time offense or whatever, but they give him a lighter sentence, thinking he's not a habitual criminal. Or, you know, plead insanity. Yeah, yeah. Well, To some extent if they would do something with some of those people. But that seems to be a good way to get off for a lot of them too. Oh yes, They plead insanity uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then three years later they're cured, and let loose on society again. Yes. I, it just, just doesn't make sense, I mean, it's a it's a scary world out there anymore, where your afraid to go out, I, I know, in, in the Dallas metroplex area, I don't go out hardly if I don't have to at night by myself Uh-huh. and I, I certainly, I, I grew up in a smaller town in Texas, and it wasn't that way when I was younger. Uh-huh. Well, like I, said, I live in a small place. You know. We could go around, and, boy and, But, uh, even the small towns now though, has really changed from when I was a kid, but now I'm raising children. It it really is. Yes. Ever, you can't even, when I was a kid, I would run between my neighbors, three and four blocks sometimes, and, as long as my mom had a general idea where I was and I was back on the time, Uh-huh. and now I don't let my kids out of the front yard, that I can't see them. See them. Yeah. Yeah. It really is. Well, we're probably fixing to run out of time pretty, soon, Uh-huh. but I've enjoyed talking to you. Well, good talking to you too. Bye, Bye bye. okay. Bye-bye Okay, um, now the term personal computer, uh, I don't happen to have one at home. Um, but I do have a personal computer on my desk here. A type of work station? Yeah, uh, yeah, just kind of, it's kind of a kluge that was pieced together to, to, uh, shall we say bypass the formal procurement process. And, uh, it, it works just fine. It says it's a monochrome monitor, Panasonic printer, uh, no big deal, it, it does the things I need for it to do. Is it a two eighty-six or three eighty-six base machine? No, it's not even that. It's eighty eighty-eight? Uh, I think that's about where it is. Okay. Uh what type of, uh, utilizations do you make of it? Word processing obviously. Uh, yeah, I do that, I, I do, uh, some Lotus on it. Uh, do some, uh, Samna, some, uh, P F M, uh, nothing extremely complex. Okay. Uh, I use them both here at work and at home. Uh-huh. And I have I B M clones in both cases. Yep. Here at work I have the T I one thousand which is a three eighty-six base machine. Oh, yeah. I bet that's a pretty nice setup. Yes, it is. Uh, unfortunately I need all of it. Yep. Uh, for example, I was messing around with a spreadsheet this weekend that's a third of a meg in beta size. Wow. And that, I know that, uh, brings an eighty eighty-eight machine to its knees because I had taken it over from a friend who was working on it and he had a two eighty-six machine, Yep. and it brought it to its knees. Just in the ability to handle. Wow. And then I have, uh, a three eighty-six F X a sixteen bit machine, at home. Uh-huh. And I'm really pleased with it. Uh-huh. It manages to take care of all my home needs in terms of word processing and spreadsheets and, uh, databases, database searches. Sure. Uh-huh. Uh, what I've gotten into more recently are the tools to use them. Have you, Yeah. Yeah. To try to make them more effective and useful. Right. Have you been, uh, struggling along those lines? Well, um, I seem to always be in the, the next to the last generation of word processing software. When everyone was in Samna I was still in P F M, and now that I finally become proficient in Samna everybody's going to WordPerfect. So, I can never quite stay current with that. Well, I think you will be real pleased to get away from the banana as I used to call it. It's, uh, I used it on, uh, some other machines in days gone by and was real pleased to leave it. It was a real memory hog when you started making large blot changes to it. Uh-huh. The, at least the version I had tended to keep copies of that. Of what you were changing and deleting off in memory until all of, all of a sudden you got a disc full error. Not a fun thing to try to recover from. Oh. Huh. I can I can believe that. Very frustrating. Uh, but again I've been dealing with large files both data and, and otherwise. Uh, that was a engineering spec on B two. You come here with the B level of specs? No, not really. I'm not that up be on that sort of thing. Well, it's just a huge file that tries to describe the requirements of what you're trying to build. Uh, to one level down from assistant description. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Okay. Oh, well, it sounds like you're pretty much into computers. Well, I sure need them. Uh, there's no way that I could begin to process and keep up with the kinds of information or the magnitude of information that I need to, to try to do my job without them. I can believe that. Well, it's, it's been interesting. Yes, uh, maybe you'll play around some and figure out how they can help you do different things. I think that's when you, you start deciding that you really need greater assets than you already have. When you start seeing what all they can do for you. Yeah, of course, needs and wants aren't necessarily the same thing. Well, I understand that you know. if, needs and wants were the same I'd have a four eighty-six machine at home I is, is that the newest thing now, the four eighty-six? Right. That, that must be a fairly recent release. Uh, that's, came out around the first of the year. Okay, okay. Because I, I had done capital packages for two eighty-sixes and three eighty-sixes, but I didn't know they had a four eighty-six just yet. It does a few more things, uh, than had been available before. Uh-huh. Yeah. But I'm not sure that it's such a massive improvement. Uh, you know, once you get passed thirty-three megahertz, all help is, kind of lost in the, in the translation. Because you no longer can think that fast anyway. Sure. Yeah. Well, okay. I enjoyed our discussion. I did too, and you have a good day. You do the same. Bye-bye. Bye. All Right. Ladies, first. Oh, no. Well, I don't find a lot of time to watch T V. And a lot of time, I find it during the day when, when I'm rocking my little girl to sleep, so I watch a lot of reruns, old shows, Like DICK VAN DYKE, all those old crazy shows. Yeah I really enjoy watching ANDY GRIFFITH. Well, so your a homemaker? Yeah. I guess, that's, the right term nowadays. Yeah. I guess so. Yeah, I am. I stay home with two kids. Yeah. My wife, we have a new one in the house and she stays home, too, also. Huh-uh. Um, I guess, I have a wide variety. I like watching the T V for things that are interesting, not so much the things that aren't, for example, like the COSBY SHOW to me is just kind of like a waste of my time, and DIFFERENT STROKES. Huh-uh. But I like SIXTY MINUTES, PRIME TIME LIVE. Huh-uh. Of course, I have to watch cartoons on Saturday morning, but not the NINJA TURTLES. I like the old-timey ones, TOM AND JERRY. You sound like my husband. There you go. He likes TOM AND JERRY and, uh, BUGS BUNNY AND ALL HIS FRIENDS. And all those guys. Right. JOHNNIE QUEST. the good ones. Yeah. Yeah. Um, now if I'm ever home during the, during the day on a vacation day, I have to catch at twelve o'clock the ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, because I usually, because he's just, he's one of my idles. And then, uh, but I don't know, it seems like nowadays everything is so electronic, you know, magnified and animated, that you can grab from the old style movies and old style shows a little bit more insight to family groupings. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. And so, uh, now I do, with the COSBY SHOW, I have seen it a couple of times and, I do, I like the show. I just don't watch it. Because of the timing, Yeah. but, uh, some of the crap that's on T V nowadays, it's about . Yeah. I do watch the special shows that they come out with, the NOVA stuff. And, and, the nature shows. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, I think there's enough out there to pick from. I'm not, we don't have cable to the point of, of the H B O or any of that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, Well, I find myself watching just a whole lot of whatever is geared for children. Because, *two utts with two kids Huh-uh. and, you know, I don't want them watching something that I don't think they should watch or, I used to be really hooked on ALL MY CHILDREN, Sure. Oh, me. And I watched that for like, oh, ten or fifteen straight years, Oh, no. and then I had, well, you know, I'd eat like at work, we'd have a T V or whatever. And then, um, as my kids got older and started, you know, recognizing what was going on, I thought, this isn't really very good So I gave it up. Fifteen years. Yeah. Bet they hated that. I watched, I had watched it since it started. So, Oh, goodness. Uh, now I, I don't know who the characters are, and, um, I'll turn it on every once in awhile and I don't recognize anybody, so I guess that's a good sign Yeah. Really. I used to watch, uh, I can recall, this might age me, date me here, uh, I can remember staying home, when I was five and six, and my mother watching the EDGE OF NIGHT. Huh-uh. Oh, yeah. Well, see, you're probably about the same age as me because my mom watched the SECRET STORM, and the EDGE OF NIGHT. SECRET STORM. Well, I think they were back to back, and black and white. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. I was just a youngster and I was like, oh, my gosh. Yeah, we used to, my mother watched all that stuff, too. And AS THE WORLD TURNS. I think AS THE WORLD TURNS may, still on or not. Still be on. It was not too long ago. Yeah. Now they got a lot of other crap involved. And so, Yeah. You're right. I think some of the tones of the, the daily prime time is questionable, Yeah. And that could be, uh, I have to agree with you. Yeah. You know keep them on the channel eleven, channel twenty one. The nature stuff, you know Right. Yeah. We do, and it's real interesting, too, the difference in my kids, like um, my oldest loved SESAME STREET, And those kind of shows. Huh-uh. My younger one doesn't. She's more into WALT DISNEY kind, you know, we watch a lot of movies that we've got on V C, on tapes, and stuff. Huh-uh. She's more into the animated stuff, where my other daughter liked puppets and that kind of thing so, But, um, we do a lot of kid watching. Huh-uh. Well, sounds like you got your hands full there, and I do appreciate speaking with you. Sure. It was fun. Have you gotten your catalog yet? No, I don't think so. Yeah. I just spoke with Jim. I just got my in the mail *sp? mine and it inspired me to make more phone calls Oh, well, see I don't really. I've had a few people call me, but, I've never made one. Oh, really. Yeah. I need to get brave Yeah. Give them your pen number. *sp: pin Yeah. Yeah. That's what I need to do. Have a good day. Thanks. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. All right. All right. What are some of your favorite foods? Mine, well, I imagine in Argentina you've got some great foods. Yeah, well, we got, um, a lot of, uh, European dishes. Uh-huh. We got, we got what some people call the best beef in the world. Yes. So it's, uh, Bishu like every Sunday you go out, and you buy all these parts of the cow, and then you just cook them over a grill. That's, like, in our house, it's already built in. There's this whole special place in the back so you can make a barbecue. I've had, I've had that meal in New York, uh, where they bring you a plank, sort of, with all this wonderful beef parts of beef, cooked and barbecued Yeah. Yeah. and it's marvelous . And then. I have to find a place around here that has that. Well, they have one in, uh, they have an Argentinean place down in Georgetown. So. Okay, I'll keep that in mind, yeah. Um. You serve that yourself, or the, for a family? Excuse me? You ever serve that yourself when you have company? Oh, no, well, see, the problem is, I'm only twenty-two Uh-huh. but like, like when I'm down at home Yeah. and like somebody says okay, when are, when are we having this, you know, and I'll cook it. Oh. You know, like you have to prepare the fire, and then put the sausages on, and then, you know, you put all these different meats which take different times. Do you buy them, um, separately at, you know, an American grocery store now, or do you have to, you don't, you don't go buy it from a wholesaler. No, but what happens is in Argentina they have like all these little places like the fruit stand, and, you know, the dairy, and products and whatever, Little butcher shops, yeah. *two utts and so. Yeah, I've lived in Mexico, so I know. And so they got, they got the meat place. Yeah. And so you just go there and, you can't find chicken there, you got to go to another place to find the chicken. Yeah, you have to, you have poultry place. What do you, what other, what dishes do you serve with it? Well, basically, it's, what we call it impenadas which is, which is, like, Yeah. The turnover, the stuffed turnover. Right, meat turnovers. Oh, I love those, uh-huh. And, then we also put sausages on a bun, and then that's, that's to start out with. Yeah. And then what you have is also like, you know, like three different kinds of salad. Uh-huh. And uh, that's about it. Do you remember when you were in Washington, Sam the Argentine baker? Uh, no. It used to be in Georgetown, years ago. He moved, I guess he, he retired and went back to Argentina, I guess, in the early seventies. Oh, okay. Yeah, so that that's before your time. Yeah. Your parents might remember if they were here then. No, we were only there for two years. Okay. I mean, he was wonderful. We used to get the most marvelous impenadas and other Argentine things. Yeah. And, uh, what I, what I also eat now, since I graduate, I have an Italian roommate, and, Yeah, I'm Italian. Are you? Uh-huh. And since being Argentinean we also have a lot of pasta. Yeah, well, And, you know, Because there're many Italians in Argentina. Yeah, and my mom, you know, like makes like what we call niokes and *sp:gnocchis all this stuff, that it's just, you know, everything like lasagna and everything. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, yeah. My grandparents, my grandfather came to the United States through Argentina. Oh, okay. This was around the turn of the century. Actually, actually a little bit later, like nineteen thirteen, nineteen twelve, nineteen thirteen. Yeah, yeah. At one point, one third of the population of Argentina was Italian. Like pure Italians. well, I'll tell you, it's interesting, because when we cook here, I'm of Italian descent. My husband is Chinese. Okay. So we, and we both love Continental cooking, French cooking. Okay. So we cook, uh, our meals are, well, we don't, we don't usually mix. I mean, that sometimes Right. Yeah. *slash error should be 'b' well, if we're entertaining we'll do a Chinese recipe and, um, there are really easy recipe that is, you know, with Chinese you always have several dishes And nowadays with microwaves, you can steam many of the things in a microwave. Yeah. I don't know if you have one. Yeah. And if you like Chinese food, you can take filet of fish and put a little bit of soy sauce and a little bit of sesame oil on top of it and chop some scallions and a little ginger and just cover it with some, uh, waxed paper and steam it just until the fish is done, Okay. Okay. Okay. and it's a wonderful um, flavorful piece of fish. Is it? Yeah. Because I was at, you know, it's like, when you, when you go buy fish, you know Uh-huh. well like I buy like the fish so you can do it in the microwave the breaded fish, Uh-huh. and yeah, I've seen, you know, the filet. Yeah, buy a fresh filet of fish, a nice one at the fish the fish counter. What kind of fish? Um, any white fish. Sole is good, uh, um, flounder Okay. sole or flounder is real good. And even grouper. So we put soy sauce and sesame. Little bit of soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Okay. And, not too much soy sauce. Uh, some chopped up um, you know, slivers of scallions. And slivers of ginger. And then just cover it and put it in the microwave for just, just two, say two minutes, check it after two minutes to see if the fish flakes. Okay. And if the fish flakes, it's done. Don't overcook it though. Okay, because I got, I got, um, one of those little, uh, microwaves, the ones that take forever to boil a cup of water. Well, you see, just check it, you know, during, Yeah. And another quick dish if you like, um, do you know what hoi sin sauce is, *two utts? it's that sweet Chinese sauce? No, I don't. Well if you go in a Chinese store ask for hoi sin, H O I S I N. Wait, wait, wait, H, *three? H O I , H O I, S I N, or S E N S I N, either way they'll spell it. Hoi Sin sauce. It's a very sweet dark, sort of a purplish plum sauce, purplish brown. And if you take, uh, little pieces of pork and you fry them, like little cubes of pork. And you fry them with garlic and a little bit of, couple dashes of hot pepper and then mix some hoi sin sauce with sherry, just a little sherry to thin it, and stir that in. You can even put a spoon of ketchup in, Okay. Okay. Okay. and that makes a great pork dish with a sort of a spicy sweet sauce, that you can serve over rice. Uh, how much, uh, how much pork do you buy for two people. Um, well, For two people, um, if it's American style, I buy a half a pound. If, you know, we, if you're just serving that, but if you're serving another dish with it, say the rice dish um, well, with guys pretty healthy appetites, I'd probably go a third of a pound Right. and then, you know, you could, Yeah, I could probably go half a pound And you can always, you can always heat it up again, and save, you know. So, it's just, it's just, since I'm from Argentina, I just love meat. Yeah. And we, You can also do the same thing using, um, if you have ground beef. Okay. Just stir fry the ground beef. Drain off the oil. Use the same hoi sin sauce and some of the frozen mixed vegetables. Okay. Just stir that in and you've got a very colorful side, another dish. And how much does it cost? Um, the hoi sin sauce? Yeah. Oh, a dollar twenty-nine a can. Oh, okay. A can would serve you for, for, you know, for quite a few, um, meals, you know. Yeah. Okay, I thought it was maybe like, you know, like five fifty or something. Oh, no, no, no, no, no it's not expensive at all. It's one of the Chinese cooking basics. Oh, okay. Yeah, well listen, it was good talking with you. Same here. Hope you enjoy your recipe. All right. Thank you. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. It's, it's hard topic because is, is, is it doing a good job or a bad job and you got to divide it two different categories whether you live in the city or whether you live in a more rural place like I do. Yeah, and are you talking about public schools being lower level, high school level or state school. Well, public school all the way up kindergarten all the way up to, uh, uh, high school. Okay, but you're excluding high-level education. Yes, well, yeah I am. Oh, Okay. actually I think that, I, higher level education, I don't think there's so much of a problem there. It's pretty much funded well. There are small colleges that I'm sure are struggling but, uh, it's the job that the, the high school and the grade schools are doing that I see, in a area like ours, our school, even a bad school is a good school up here, where, if I lived in New York City or Washington, D C, uh, I would seriously consider moving if I had a child. I wouldn't let them go to a public school system there. But, of course, people are trapped economically and they can't do that. Yeah. I know down here the schools are, you know, I don't know, they rate, I moved to Arkansas and Texas after living in Ohio and the schools down here rate, you know, bottom ten percent across the country and having been through grade school up there and coming down here to high school I can understand why. Because they're so far behind and so poorly staffed, half the time the teachers don't know what's going on. Well, that's really too bad because it, it's giving some people unfair advantage. I mean we, our high school up here is like a junior college in Florida Right. what we learned. Well, that was my experience going through junior high up there when I came down south for high school I was just repeating what I'd already done. Because we were so far advanced. Yeah. And, uh, you know, I'd been in a parochial school before junior high and, you know, even the public schools are behind the parochial schools. Yeah. So, you know, I, I like the concept they've got now where they have more directed education, you know, you, you pick a career path or you get counseling earlier and then you, you learn the things that help you rather than spending four years learning the same things over and over. Like they have that down there that, Well, they talk about it and there are a few in some of the more, like in I live in a big Metroplex and some of the, the better parts of the Metroplex, the, the suburbs that are richer have those kind of target schools. But, uh, you know, Yeah, it's like if, if your father owns a grocery store and you're really interested in that, there's no reason that you should take college prep courses when you can get some general business courses in high school. Right. Or if you're going to go the science route you can go to a target school that specializes in science or art. You know, there's no point in, you know, I'm an engineering student and if I have to go take art classes, you know, I'm not going to use them. And through high school I could have gone so much further if I'd gone to a school that was directed. Yeah, that's true. I was fortunate. I'm a, I'm a technician and we had a vocational, uh, electronics in our high school. Right, in high school. So when I went to my first year of tech school, I had a very easy time because our high school had a, a good program. Right. I think the schools today, you know, the public schools are just, they're just overrun, you know, they don't know what to do, there's too many kids and not enough teachers and too many of the kids don't care. Yeah, I find that that the, that in the, in the cities, it's more like the kids go there so socialize not really to learn And, Right. and the parents send them there because they're supposed to, and plus it gets them out of their hair. And I also find that, that you can send a kid to school, but if don't work with them as a parent, I think you're putting your child at a big disadvantage. Yeah, and, you know, there's some kids that, you know, want to go learn, but most of them just want to go play. Yeah, well I could, I could see if a kid doesn't have any encouragement if, they're, you know, come from a broken home and their parents are more concerned about trying to work *sp:their and, or maybe they're unemployed and they're mad at the world, I can see where that wouldn't be very good for a, a kid, you know, he's coming up, will you help me with my homework and they're, no, get away from me, I've had a terrible day. So, it's got a lot to do with economics in the area that you come from. Yeah, that's true. I'm wondering with the boom down here. It's, well, not at the moment, but a lot of the industry's moving southward. Yeah, are they going to move to, uh Mexico? So, Uh, I don't know about that, but a lot of the industry up in, uh, you know, the northern states is moving south Uh-huh. and I'm wondering if that's going to have any effect, you know, on what you see now. We're, we're, we're behind down here. On the, I say we because I live here. If that might not turn around in the next, you know, fifteen, twenty years. Yeah, maybe the, maybe they'll bring their good schools with them. You know, if the industry comes hopefully they'll promote good schools. Yeah. Because I know the town that I come from the, the, uh, the large I B M plant has something to do with the top rated high school because of their tax base for one and plus for, for the type of student that's going to that school, it's going to raise the level of the school because your parents are engineers or chemists. Right. They're, they're, you're most likely to do better in school. They're going to help you. You hope. Yeah, you hope Well, I think, I, I don't know. I just think it, it's, it's a duty of the parent to do that. I mean, jeez, my parents always helped me and, I don't know, it's just like you say, it's the way you're raised and the economic situation you're in. I can see some lady, she's twenty-one years old and she's got four kids. A kid in, her first grader, I don't see where she's going to have much time for them. So, I don't know. It's just like, I guess you just have to wonder, is it up to the, is it, you know, who, who's supposed to make the change, the, the state, the the federal government, you know, where's the money supposed to come from. Is it, you know I don't know. Actually, I think it's, I think it should be a civic level, the city level and a, a system level really to find out, and to see what they need and not overinflate it, what, what do you advocate, more taxes or better management of what they got? like, if the teachers are getting six percent raises every year when people in industry have been getting cut back, and you're getting raises every eighteen months you got to go now, hey, wait a minute, Yeah we're in a recession here. We, uh, our town didn't pass the school budget this year and for the first time in many, many years just because people are, are in the recession and they're, even though we've, uh, enjoyed very good employment here for the past ten years, now we got eight percent, uh, unemployment when it used to be four or five. People are going, whoa. Yeah. So, Starts hitting closer to home. Yeah, but I always, see it's all, it's all money. This, like a couple other topics we had talked about was crime. It, it's, it's all money based. And what you can do unless you just get down to the parent level and, and then if you're in a bad situation where you have to send your child to a bad school. Who knows, maybe we do, we need some more Catholic schools, support the church instead They seem to have done a, the good job in the past. In, uh, some places, uh, you couldn't go to a public school. It was miles down the road and the only school you could go to was the Baptist school or the Catholic school so, Yeah, they're a lot more strict. Yeah I don't, You, uh, have to learn, you aren't given the chance to, you know, screw off all the time. Yeah, I don't know if I would do that to my child, though. But, so, pretty much, though, see, I don't have any good ideas or, or anything that would contribute. See, this isn't a subject that I think a lot about because I'm never faced with it because our school system in Vermont, it seems to do a really good job. Well, I know I'm in the, you know, the only reason I asked about secondary schools or, you know, advanced education is because down here, you know, going to the University of Texas, the education I'm getting I think is kind of shoddy for a public school. Is it? I, I don't think I'm getting what I should, but, you know, in Texas, it's next to free because they pay so much of it. It's state supported. Well that, But at the same time it's really not, it's not like going to M I T. My engineering degree will be nothing like somebody coming out of M I T. And that's, it's really too bad Well, but that's, I don't know, I think it just builds on the foundation that they've already built. You get people out of high schools and junior colleges that don't have the background for an M I T kind of curriculum. So, So you have to go to a lesser engineering school. We have a very good public school up here and a degree out there means a lot. It's a very good school. It's, it's University of Vermont. Uh, we also have some two year college. Well, there's a four year colleges. They all have a pretty good reputation. But, like you say, you, There we go. Yeah. Well, uh, I think the weather lately has been a bit warmer than I would expect this time of year. I think that's true. The, uh, the Bermuda grass is greening up in March, and sometimes doesn't really start doing that until the first part of April. So. So I think we're a little ahead of schedule on that. Yeah. Yeah, I was out in my yard yesterday afternoon, and I noticed all that grass coming up, and I thought, ooh, we've got to start this mowing bit soon That's true. It's been a, a fun break, but the break is over. Yeah. Well, um, oh, I guess another thing I've noticed, too, here lately is that even though we've had some pretty warm days, it's been awfully gray, you know, just, Yeah, now, the last couple of weekends have been nice and sunny. Yeah. But it seems like every time at work I look out my window it's gray Well, yeah, but I'd rather have a sunny weekend than a gray weekend. Oh, I go for that, yeah. Yeah. In fact, I'm a little worried about this one coming up here. We have a long weekend and, it sounds like it's going to be a little bit on the cool side. Yeah. I haven't heard whether it's going to rain or not. I think there's an eighty percent chance this evening, but it's supposed to be cleared out at least by noon tomorrow and then the rest will be without rain. Well, that's good. But I think the highs are going to be in the sixties, and the lows in the forties. That's getting back to a little bit chillier. Yeah, that probably is a little bit under what it is for this time of year. I think, I haven't seen the the weather on the news in the evening lately, but I think the average high would be, should be about seventy. Yeah. I'm not certain either, but you're probably right. Yeah. Well, I like it when it's sort of a medium temperature, uh, maybe seventy-five to eighty, somewhere in there. I don't like it when it's too cool or too warm. I'm much more apt to get things done when it's at that sort of in between temperature. Yeah, that's true. Um, one of the remarkable things about the weather in the summertime here is that quite often the average daytime high of say ninety-nine degrees is within five or six degrees of the all time record high. Um. And what that tells me, is that the summer weather is very predictable, that it doesn't vary very much. Yeah. You're probably right. I mean, any other time of year, that's not the case, because it could be very warm or very cold. Yes, as a matter of fact, I heard the weather the other day on T V and I think it was one day this week a year ago Uh-huh. they said that we had a freeze and some kind of bad weather. You know Right. it wasn't just a super bad storm, but it was it was that sort of thing that we never like to see in the, the late spring time. Right. Yeah. One of the weirdest things I saw, I think it was around this time last year was a twenty-six degree lightening storm. Oh, wow. I, you know, I was going into the grocery store, and a, a lightening bolt was almost directly overhead, and it was six degrees out. Um. And I thought, Well gee, I've, I've never known it to lightening at that temperature. Yeah, that, that is pretty unusual. And you really take notice of it, too. That's right. It, uh, it probably was a lot warmer up high. Sometimes they get those inversions, like when we had that twelve and a half days a few years ago that it never got up as high as freezing. The air temperature at five thousand feet was fifty degrees. Um. The cold weather was just simply trapped along the ground and couldn't get away. Wow. I don't, don't like that super cold stuff. Nope. I just don't move very well when it's that cold. Yep, I, I'm really enjoying this now. Well, this has been interesting. Yeah, well. Not too challenging to the brain. Not, not a real in depth topic, but enjoyed talking to you. Nope. All right, Ellen, well you have a good day. Okay. Bye. Bye-bye. Are you a player? Uh, I, I think I am. It's, it's been a while now Has it? Yeah, I've, uh, oh, just recently I got married and we bought a house. We're about fifty yards from the golf course Oh. but unfortunately the house is taking up my time. Yeah. So it's been, uh, it's been almost a year, I guess, since I've actually, uh, swung a club for a purpose. Yeah, I I haven't played in about two years, and then I went out two weeks ago with the guys here. I work at T I. Yeah. And I played in a tournament out there, and I shot a net fifty-nine. They were kind of, little upset. I guess I laid off long enough to get rid of all my bad habits. Yeah, yeah. I have a hard time inventing shots, you know. Let's go around this tree, and you know, try a slice through a hook here, Right. and I can't do that so. Right. I finally got out, and I've been watching quite a few videos. I had not been able to play so I took out a few videos and watched them for a while, and I, I hope I'm on the right track. Yeah. Shot a career low eighty-nine, so, and my handicap is twenty nine. That's, that's great. I like that. Yeah. Now it's, uh, like I say, it's been a while for me, too. I, uh, I've got my wife motivated about it, um Really. and, uh, I think that's probably going to be one of the next investments, is get her, get her a set of clubs and, uh, we'll get out of the driving range and, and get some interest built up and hopefully we can, uh, we can start in. Yeah, I've tried to get my wife, I bought her a set of clubs four years ago. She hasn't even swung them, but she wants to get into it now after I came home and won the tournament the other day, Really. she's she's ready to get off into it, Well, great, great. That's good, but, you know, I like, I just like getting out, being in the outdoors, and I'm a hunter and fisher anyway, but, you know. Yeah, same thing here. You know, at least I can get out and play a few hours of golf and it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg, really. Right, right. And I, you know, I walk, I don't ride so Uh-huh, yeah. you know, I get a little exercise there, too, so. That's, I've got the same attitude. I, uh, I tell you, I started, I guess, the first time I played golf has been probably about eight or ten years ago now, when I was in college. Yeah. And, uh, I took, uh, I took it as a P E course and then kind of left it alone for a while, and then finally got, got into it when I was, while I was still in school Right. and since then, uh, we've made it, um, as, as the friends start getting married and things like that, we've made a tradition of, uh, having a, a Thursday, um, well, have, have probably like, like a Thursday night bachelor party and a Friday golf day before the wedding. Yeah. And, uh, so, it, that's back in South Dakota where I grew up Oh. and, uh, so that, that's, uh, that's been my main, my main involvement, is it seems like I go home and play golf more than I do around here, but, uh eventually I get people to come and visit me in Dallas, Yeah. and then I'll show them we can play golf in the middle of winter when we can't do it back home. Yeah, it's pretty nice. We played out here a couple of times in the middle of the winter when my parents came down and what not. They were amazed. Yeah. You know, here it is, sixty-five degrees, we're out playing golf, and they're freezing cold back there, so. But, I, uh, actually I picked it up when I was in high school, on the same as a P E course, you know, Yep, yep. when I got into the service I got into it Oh, okay. and now when I come out here I just kind of let it go, and then one, one of the guys mentioned to me at work one day if I played golf. And I said, Well, yeah, you know, I've got my clubs, but I haven't swung them in quite a few years. Uh-huh. And then I got into it and then back out of it, and it just seems like every couple of years I get back in there Yeah, that's right. You know, I really enjoy it. It's really nice. Oh, it is, it's, it's a lot of fun, especially if you can find somebody that's, uh, that's got the same level of interest. That seem to be the hardest thing. Yeah. Well, about, that's, that's true of any sport, you know. If you want to play tennis, or racquetball, Yeah you don't want to go out and get beat to death, but. Right, and, and people don't want to play with somebody that they are going to beat every time, you know No. and, and, uh, And then, you know, we've got some guys here that they are, you know, four and five handicappers Uh-huh. and they don't like to play with me because I'm too slow for them, so. You know, but get somebody around your own handicap, and you can just mosey on out for three or four hours and have a good time. Right. That's right, yeah. And I've, you know, I've never, never yet have I walked up, now I've walked up a few times on the golf course by myself with nobody else to play with, and never yet have I met anybody on the golf course that wouldn't allow me to join their twosome or threesome. That's true. They are always friendly. That's true. Sure, come on out, you know, and they don't mind if you make a mistake, they don't mind saying, Well, you know, let me tell you how to do that or teach you how to do that, or, Well. You know, it's, it's pretty nice and friendly out there That, that's, that's so. and you can't find that in all sports. Yeah, that's absolutely right, and you can gain a lot of ground doing that, too, if you, if, you know, you gets, you get in a rut if you do play a lot but you play with the same people, you, you aren't going to learn anything. Yeah, After a short period, once you learn everything they've got to offer, then you've basically tapped your resources there. Yeah, you need to, Yeah. But, uh, I'd like to, uh, eventually I'd like to work up, if, if my wife does get interested, and maybe get involved in a league in a, in a mixed, mixed doubles league, or something like that. Oh yeah, we , we have one down here in the summertime. Uh, it runs from like five o'clock to seven thirty or eight o'clock, you know, because it doesn't get dark until nine thirty or ten. Uh-huh. Right. And we play in the summertime out here. We get a mixed league in, and that's what I'm trying to get her ready for. It's going to start, well, when we change time back whenever that is next month, I guess, Uh-huh. and it will start then, and, you know, we had a lot of girls out there a couple of years ago, and they were just starting to learn, and, you know, they were shooting a hundred, hundred and twenty Sure. but they were, you know, now they're down into the hundreds nineties, Right. so, it won't take her long. You know, Well, that's good that's good, that's sounds like a lot of fun. And it's something we can do together, so. Well, she doesn't do much hunting, she could care less about that. Yeah. She's does a little fishing, but, you know, golf would give her the exercise, she'd be outside, give her something to do that we both enjoy, so. Yeah, it, it sounds like we've got real similar situations. Yeah. I, I, I go home, uh, I've gone home every year now since I've moved to Dallas to, to go pheasant hunting, and, uh um, the, the last time I, I took my wife along Uh-huh. and, uh, kind of the same situation. She's, she's up in the house and talked to my mother the whole time we were out hunting and stuff, but, She'll definitely, uh, she'll make the trip for fishing if that comes along, Yeah. Yeah. but, uh it's, it's interesting, All right. Yeah, and it's, you know, it's a game that you don't, like bowling, you know, you feel bad if you bowl a hundred. But if you shoot a hundred in golf, you know, you don't have to be an expert to play, That's right. Any novice can pick up a club and learn how to hold one and learn how to do it and do it right. Uh-huh. So, you know, you don't have to be an expert in any aspect of it at all. That's right, well, yeah, I've, I've kind of formed the attitude that, you know, if I could just, if I could pick two or three shots out, uh, out of my game every time and put them together on one hole, then I do pretty good Yeah. and then, and I keep, I keep rationalizing that well, you know, I can do it, I just got to do it all at on the same hole, and, and then it will get better, and you just keep going, and in the meantime, just enjoy what you're doing. Yeah. It, it, it really works that way And when, you know when I first got back into it, I used to get mad because I knew I could do something and I didn't get it done. Uh-huh. You know, and I just, well, I need to slice this ball around here, I naturally slice anyway, now you know, the ball will go straight and I go Yeah. but, you know I'd get upset about it sometimes, Yeah. and now I guess, you know, being in my forties, I just kind of mellowed out a little bit. Sure. I don't get upset any more. So, and, Sure. And well, that's great. Well, I've enjoyed talking to you. Well, you bet. I guess I'll go back to work. Okay, sounds like it. All right. See you later . Okay. Bye-bye. Bye. Well I haven't had too much of a chance to watch T V lately. Yeah. So probably everything I going to say is kind of dated. Well, I can understand that. It's that time of the year. Yeah. We just, my wife and I just recently moved into our house. So we're spend a lot of time on the house and out in the yard and things. But. Um, like to keep up to date too. Oh. Yeah. Uh-huh. I guess, in the, since I got out of college, which was about five years ago, my T V viewing started to tend more towards, uh, documentary, news programs, things like that. Uh-huh. Something that's going to keep mu up to date. I've kind of, kind of gotten away from, uh, being a series watcher, having to keep up to date with, uh, Oh, yeah. I think when you're in college you kind of, you have more of a regular schedule in terms of, you can watch every week. Uh-huh. Yeah, that makes a big difference. So, yeah, I, I used to, when my kids were real little and I was home, I watched, where I was home where I watched things on a more regular basis. But right now, the last things I watched regularly was THIRTY SOMETHING when it first came out. Okay. Did you all ever watch that? I, yeah, I started, too, and, uh kind of, kind of worked away from that. Yeah. Yeah. I, I have a hard time sticking with something like, like on T V, because, it, like, it gets real aggravating if you miss it, for a week or two. Yeah. You feel kind of left out Right, right. But, um, right. I know, but I tell you what, um, we're really strict with our kids about television, and one night, couple weeks ago, it was just happened that we were exhausted and they wanted to watch, and we said okay, well we'll sit down and we'll, you know, look at what you want to see. Let's just turn it on and see what's on. We could not find anything that had any kind of redeeming value in it. I believe that. So, you know, it was prime time, it was, what, seven thirty, eight o'clock on a week night Uh-huh, uh-huh. and we have cable, and there wasn't anything on any channel, and the stuff that was on the prime, the networks, you know, A B C, N B C, C B S, was, it was just, um, dribble Yeah. you know, I mean, it wasn't even funny That's right. it wasn't creative, it, it was the worst I've seen. I mean, I have not watched prime time, week night T V, I guess in a real long time because I was shocked. Yeah. I know exactly how you feel. You know what I'm saying. That's right. I, uh, when I first moved down here, moved into the apartment and got cable, and I guess I sort of, kind of became numb. Uh-huh. Nothing surprised me any more seeing it on the T V, you know. And then all of a sudden, I started paying, paying attention to soft voices in the network T V again, once in a while. Right. Right now we don't have cable. Right. And it's surprising how much it's changed Uh-huh. the whole moral situation, everything, is just gone one whole complete direction different. And we don't have any kids yet, but I feel the same way. It's really tough to find something that's going to be good and interesting for the kids. Even, even cartoons, um Right. Oh. you know, you watch some of the cartoons, and kids aren't, aren't even going to understand half the humor that's in there. Yeah. It's, none of it's probably damaging, lot of times. Right, it's just, it's just, uh, like a necessary evil. I mean, when we, when our children were younger, when they were like four years old, three years old, five years old, we just had Sesame Street and that was about it, you know. Right, right. But now, in order to seem, you know, humane and normal, we do allow them to watch cartoons and stuff. Oh, yeah, yeah. But it's, just one of those things, you know, you have to shut your eyes or not listen or something, because those drive you crazy, if you're, if you're in the room. So, But it's such a shame, because it could be so good. That's right. I don't understand why, first of all, the public puts up with it. Second of all, why the networks think that, you know, we enjoy that kind of stuff. Well, that's true. It's hard to believe that nobody can be any more creative than that. That can't be the problem. Uh-huh. It must be the marketing pressures, and, you know, their demographic studies that they do that show, you know, that everybody's I Q has dropped dramatically or something. I'm glad you said it and I didn't have to. But that, that, that's the, I feel the exact same way. I sit, I sit and watch some shows, and I'm embarrassed for the people that are even involved in the show. I know. You know, why do you do this to yourself? Why do you do this? Yeah. I know, I'm trying to think if there's anything I do, you, like, uh, I like stuff that's on Great Performances, and, I, we used to watch mystery quite a bit and things like that. Okay. Stuff I guess that mostly public, on public T V. Right. As a matter of fact, you know when I was a kid, excuse me, my parents used to have, we had this rule in our house for every hour of regular T V that we watched, we had to watch an hour of public T V Now there's an idea. That was just the rule. And if they saw us watching the, something, they'd say, all right, what did you see on WHAT'S NEW, or there was some other, the children's program I think at the time was called WHAT'S NEW. Okay, yeah. So we had to give a little oral report before we could watch our program. Yeah, yeah. That's pretty good. Do you, do you watch sports on T V? Are you a sports fan? I can't handle it very long. Yeah I, I mean, I'm, I'm a sports fan, but it's, well, it's kind of, it's kind of like reading magazines any more. If half of the time wasn't spent watching commercials, it probably wouldn't be so bad. Right, yeah. But, uh, it, it's, you're missing an awful lot. Yeah. I'd rather, personally rather watch, see a game on T V than fight the crowds at the stadium. but uh, Yeah, that's true, the traffic. But, uh, no, Uh. I don't sit down, I'll sit down for the big games, the Super Bowl, and the championship you know, things like that. Yeah. But I don't follow any team. Uh-huh. I check the scores the next morning, and I know how everybody's doing, and that suffices me. But, I like, I like good comedy, good humor once in a while. Yeah. Yeah, I, I enjoy that, but what do you, where do you do you get that You don't have cable now, I was going to say they have a comedy channel now. But again you're in a situation where you're watching mostly, uh, commercials, and then you're, you know, trying to pass the time to wait until the next comedian comes up. You know what I did. There was a time there where I could tape things and then I'd fast forward through the commercials. Uh-huh. Saved a lot of time that way. Yeah, it works, you bet, yeah. But, that takes too much planning. Yeah, no, I don't know, if there's any, any series that I pay attention to, I try to watch CHEERS once in a while. Now that, yeah, is that still real good. It used to be real good. But. Yeah, it is. Is it. In fact, it's, I think it's on tonight Oh I just got in from outside, so I Oh, okay. so I'm kind of out of it. Things like that, and I consider that fairly intelligent humor. You know. Yeah. Yeah. You can tell, they pick up the words every once in a while. Right, right. Isn't it such a long running program. Yeah. Yeah, they do have a good, they do have good writers for that. Oh, that makes me think, do you watch SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE at all? I try to. Yeah, we try to stay up, too Yeah It's getting harder and harder. Ten years ago wasn't so hard to stay up. Yeah, you know, it was, it was just automatic, too, no matter where you were you stopped and sat down and watched it. I think it's come around again. It's gone through cycles. Yeah, it was, we stopped watching for a couple of years in the middle there, but we started watching again. Uh-huh. But it's real different show than it was when it started. Yeah. It's funny now, and it's better, but it's real different than what it used to be. That's right. That's right. But you can't be so, can't be outrageous. Right. You know, if you keep that same format. There's only so long that you can be outrageous. So, Yeah, that's for sure, that is for sure. Well, I guess there are a few things around still but, Yeah, but you have to hunt hard for them. Sounds like you pretty much agree. Yeah, I guess so. Well. Well. Been, uh, good talking to you. Yeah, good talking to you. Okay. Take care. You too. Bye. Bye. Okay, so what kind of cars are you looking at? Well, we've, uh, we've, we've test driven the Oldsmobile Delta Eighty-eight and a Cutlass Supreme and a used Cadillac, about three or four years old because, uh, I get married in a couple of weeks Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I have two kids and my fiancee has two kids Uh-huh. so we need a car that's big enough for six. Yeah And so we went, I guess it was two weekends ago, we went, uh, car shopping and looked around. Uh-huh. We found something interesting at Crest Oldsmobile Cadillac up there on Central Expressway Uh-huh. that, uh, in addition to getting a new car there, they can get you a car that's new but it's been, uh, a demonstrator model for two or three thousand dollars even cheaper than the best deal they can give you for a new car. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. So, they call this program cars, and they come, with a new car warranty, and it just seems to make sense to me to get the most car for your money to get something like that. Right. That's a real good deal. In fact my dad recently got a, um, a Pontiac, uh, believe six thousand Uh-huh. and he got a demo. Okay. And it's been a real good car Yeah. and it's, it's like new Uh-huh. and it only had, had very, very low mileage on it. Sure. And so I think he got a real good deal. Of course, they're fully loaded usually. Oh yeah. So it's, I think it's a pretty good option. Yeah, I think so too. Are the, uh, Oldsmobiles that you're looking at, are they the demos or they used, are they new Well, the ones that we were test driving were the, uh, were the new ones there. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well now, uh, now, they may be the demonstrator models that the sales reps drive around in. Uh-huh. And then the Cadillac is, is definitely a used car or, Yeah. Uh-huh. The guy said it'd been on the lot about thirty minutes. He says it'll probably be gone in a done, and it's probably gone by now. Oh no Those things go fast. Uh-huh. Uh, of course we're not, we can't consider getting a brand new Cadillac, because those are twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars. Yeah. But when they're three years old they're, the price already drops in half. Uh-huh. So then it becomes, uh, more realistic. Right. That's what I'm thinking about on my next car is do I want to get another brand new car because last two cars are brand new Uh-huh. or do I look for a used car that's maybe two, three years old that but that's, you know, low mileage and in good shape. Yeah. But I just, I kind of worry about getting a car that's that new with low mileage on it because you wonder why did the person that owned it want to get rid of it. Is it a lemon, or or is something wrong with it That's right. but I guess that's a risk you have to take. That's right. Well, you can reduce that risk by, uh, having the car checked out, I mean, you know, if you're going to look at fifty different cars you don't want to do this Uh-huh. but if you've narrowed it down to one or two you can have the car, uh, uh, checked at, uh, an independent service station and have them go through it from top to bottom and tell you if they can find anything wrong, because they don't have any financial interest in it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. And then you'll have a realistic assessment of what you're getting. Uh-huh. About how much do they charge to do something like that, do you know? Oh, I'm thinking around twenty or twenty-five dollars. Yeah, that's not bad. No, huh-uh. It'd be well worth it if you're considering buying a car to find out. I would, I would think so. I would think so. Yeah, yeah. Well, it's kind of hard for me to talk about buying cars because I just got mine paid off about a month ago, and I, Isn't that a good feeling. Yes, I don't want to think about buying a car for a while. I just want to enjoy not having any car payments for a while and enjoy watching my savings account get larger and, uh, you know, hang on to the one I've got for a few years because it's, it's, it's almost four years old, That's right. but it's still in great shape. I have a Mazda R X seven. Well, what you can do is take your car payment and put it in the bank for three or four years Uh-huh. and when you're ready to get another car just pay cash for it. Yeah, I just about could really because I think my car, Yeah. if I continue taking good care of it, it's going to hold a pretty good resale value Oh yeah. and, uh, if I consider going the used car route and save up some money, I shouldn't have too much trouble at all. Yeah, I, I would think that's true. Could you hold on for just a moment? Sure. Okay. I'm on a cordless phone, and I was picking up, uh, some background noise, so I just switched the channel up on it. I didn't want to interfere with whatever they're trying to record. Right, right, that's fine. Anyway. But, uh, I really, I really enjoy the car I have now, and I do want to hold onto it and, and you know, enjoy it while it's not having any mechanical problems whatsoever, That's right. in fact it never has That's right. and, uh, it's been kind of nice, and I, surprisingly enough after four years, I'm not tired of the car at all and I want to hang on to it while it's still being a good car and while I'm not tired of it and while I'm single and can handle a two seater for now and get that out of my system. Well. Yeah. That's right. That's right. Because one of these days I'll be getting a six seater probably too. Eventually. So Yeah, the first two cars I ever bought, well, uh, uh, I've bought three cars, and I've always bought them new. Uh-huh. The first car I kept for thirteen and a half years and got a hundred and sixty-one thousand out of it. Wow. Uh-huh. The second car I ever bought I drive to work now. That just turned ten years old, and I've got a hundred and twenty-two thousand miles on that. Uh-huh. So that, that's kind of in the way I've done things is to get things that are new and then keep them forever. Uh-huh. But, uh, my car is using two quarts of oil a week now. Oh my gosh About, about a quart every hundred miles. Oh, no. So, but, uh, it runs fine, all you it's just very thirsty. Yeah. If I just keep the oil in, it seems to be okay. But, you know, that's a sign that I'm going to have to do something sooner or later. Right. What kind of car is it? It's a, a Buick Century. Uh-huh. Are you going to trade it in on this new one or, No, my fiance is selling, uh, a nineteen seventy-eight Cutlass Supreme that she has. It's actually, in better condition than my car. Okay. Uh-huh. And so she's going to get some money for that and take some money from the bank and then try to make as much down payment as possible to keep the monthly payment low. Uh-huh. So she's going to sell it rather than trade it in. Yeah. That's probably the best thing. You lose four to six hundred dollars a trade in. Or maybe more than that, as I've learned. Oh really. Yeah. When I bought my R X seven, I, uh, best offer I got for my other car was twenty-five hundred. Well I turned around and sold it myself for forty-two hundred. So, Oh there you go. You can do much better. I'm glad you're, you're taking care of it yourself. I, I think trading it in, they just use that as additional, they may give you supposedly a better deal on your new car you're buying, but they just, are going to give you that much less for your trade in. Well that's fact. What I think. So, I think you're right. But strangely enough, the best I mean, the best bargaining I had made with a dealer on my car was also the same place I got the best price trade in, Interesting. but it's a place in Arlington, and I think, maybe, as you get outside the Dallas area, I kind of, I bet you it's kind of what I decided. Well, maybe because it's outside of Dallas they are giving a little bit better prices, plus I was going through that T I fleet discount program. Okay, did, did you use it at the car shop place. Well, it's before they had that. Oh, okay. I had gone over to Texins and they had a little file where they said which dealers participated in the, in the fleet program, That's right, yeah. and what you could expect, they said, you know, a five percent over cost and then options at cost and everything. Right. Right. So, I figured out a price based on that. Yeah, that's good. But I, I guess I got a pretty good deal, because I went back to the Town North Mazda right off Central and offered them the same price as what I knew I was going to be able to get it for in Arlington Uh-huh. Right. and they said there is no way you can get this car for that price, especially if we add on the equalizer and the cruise control. Yeah. Yeah. He said, You're going to get a car that's got flood damage or hail damage. And they just laughed at me. And I went the next morning to Arlington, and they gave it to me for that price. And what's so funny, they took the car, they, I knew they were going to pull it from Town North because that's where the white one was. Is that right. And they had already told me, We located one at Town North. So it was that same car. My gosh. Yeah, well, unless you're selling car with hail damage and flood damage I got the car off your lot for that price And you laughed all the way to the bank. Oh I did. And I laughed real hard when I took it in for the two thousand mile checkup Uh-huh. and, uh, that they required you to do. And I took it to Town North, and sure enough I saw that guy, and he recognized me. Yeah. He said, Oh, hi, Dana, and he kind of looked down and saw that car, and I'm sure he probably knew what was going on the very next day Yeah. of course, when the place in Arlington went and took the car because I told him there's a place in Arlington that's going to give it to me for that price. That's right. He said, No they're not. Yeah. And the next day they pulled the white car and took it to Arlington. So I'm sure he knew Such a deal. So I loved it. I sat there, and I just had the biggest grin on my face. I'll bet you did. It was kind of nice. Well, Dana, it's been really interesting, I appreciate talking with you. Yeah. Good talking to you too, Don. Okay have a good evening. Okay, good luck in your car hunting. Thank you much. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, what kind of hobbies do you have? Um, mostly what I do, I do do some crafts like it mentioned in the thing, and then I, I read a lot. Uh-huh. I like to read, too I was trying to think of some while, while it was, uh, talking about it, and then I, it took so long for someone to answer, I started reading the newspaper, and kind of forgot about it Oh. But, uh, yeah, I'd say reading is probably one of my biggest ones, because it's the type of thing that you can, you can do a little bit at a time, whereas, I would love to do crafts and stuff if I just had the time to do it or if I had the space. Uh-huh. I live in a pretty small apartment, and, uh, I would have to, you know, put stuff away. I have two cats, so I couldn't really leave it out if I was working on something. Uh-huh. Reading is a little bit easier to work around. Yeah, you can pick it up and take it wherever you go. any space. That's right. I get too involved in reading sometimes that I neglect what I should be doing. That's true, I do the same thing You get so involved in what you're reading. What types of crafts do you do? I do a little bit of woodworking, well, I used to. I don't have the equipment here. We moved to Dallas about a year ago Uh-huh. and my dad had a lot of woodworking equipment Uh-huh. and I did some of that. Um, here I've mostly done things that I can do strictly by hand, um, sewing and quilting and, um, what else have I done Things to hang on the wall. Uh-huh. Mostly just stuff that I can, you know, use right around the house or give away as gifts. Uh-huh. Right. I've been making a lot of quilts, well, not a lot, but several quilts lately. Uh-huh. So. I enjoy, uh, sewing and needlework also. I've, I've, uh, made some small things, cross stitch things. And, um back when I was in high school, I worked at a needlework shop, Uh-huh. and I, I used to do the latch hook rugs and needlepoint and things like that, and I, I still remember how to do it. It's just been so long since I've actually sat down and taken the time to do something like that. But I have recently done some cross stitch. Uh-huh. And I enjoy doing that. It's just the same old thing, it's just getting the time to do it Yeah. I've done some cross, um, cross stitch, but I never count right, and I always have to either take it out or have my picture slightly off centered or, or something. Uh-huh It never has worked out completely. Yeah, it takes a lot of concentration. I mean, it was the type of thing, I was, I was making some little things for Christmas, and I also made a little thing for a baby gift, and, uh, I thought, Oh, I can do this while I watch T V. Wrong Right. No, you must pay all attention to what you're doing. It's, it is a lot more difficult than it seems like it would be. It took me, uh, quite a bit of time. I though, Oh, this won't take long at all. But I was wrong. Uh-huh. It took, it took a while to do. But, it was fun, I enjoyed it. Yeah. The first project I started out one was a big one, it was, uh, it was of a lady and she was kneeling, and it was about fifteen by twenty maybe. Oh my gosh. And I, it was just too much to start with. And I still haven't finished it, because I, I stopped, and I thought I better do some simple things and work up to this because it was just so difficult to get it done. Uh-huh. Yeah. And there were so many different shadings and colors, and, and, it was just too much to begin with. And I think kind of discouraged me from doing much more with it. Yeah. That's pretty understandable. And I've done some of the crewel and the, um something similar to that Uh-huh. but it doesn't have the specific stitches. Anyway, it's a little bit more loose, and not quite as structured, and I like that a little bit better the variety of stitches and stuff in that. Uh-huh. More like embroidery or something. I'm trying to think of anything else I do as a hobby. Um. I don't even watch T V very much. I was tonight, but Yeah. I was reading when you called. Yeah. How about movies, do you like to go to movies? Yeah I do, I do like to go to movies, and I have a V C R, so I like to rent movies, and, um, I have, right now I have the movie channel, so I've recorded quite a few movies off of that. Um, just, I've kind of got a collection going of tapes now, and whenever I go visit my parents, they're always saying, Well, bring some of your tapes They always borrow a few of them. I was over there, they live in Duncanville Uh-huh. and I was over there at Easter, and they said, Bring some tapes with you. So they are always borrowing my tapes. Yeah. But, uh, Well we, I like to, I like to do, uh, stuff with plants. I like, um, I have a lot of plants in my apartment, and I've got a pretty small porch, but it's, it's, uh, I've got a few planters out there that I, I'll, uh, you know, in the winter time I usually plant some pansies in there, and then in the summer I'll plant petunias, or something that's colorful and like, that blooms a lot. But haven't done that yet. Uh-huh. I kept thinking that it was going to get cold one more time, but I think we're probably past that now. I probably should go buy some. Yeah. I guess if I had a house I might enjoy gardening, some. I'm not real crazy about pulling weeds and things like that. Yeah, it's the hard work. Yeah, I like the planting, and watering is okay. It's so nice though when you have a nice yard full of flowers, it's so I mean, we don't. We live in an apartment also. Uh-huh. I've got a few plants here, but I'm not really knowledgeable. I feel real good if I water them and they continue to grow. You know, I feel like, Oh, I've accomplished something. Uh-huh. So I enjoy it, but I'm just not experienced enough with Yeah. I don't know too much about it either. Mine's pretty limited to my little, uh, porch plants And then the ones in my apartment, half of which don't look real healthy, but I don't always get direct sun except in certain spots. Oh, yeah. And so that's probably my problem there. But, Have you tried any, growing any, um, like fruits and vegetables or anything? I guess vegetables are in, like in pots and stuff? No, I never have tried that, just because I don't have that much space on this little porch here in this apartment or this little balcony. Uh-huh. And my other two pots are, they're kind of, they're pretty big, and I have enough plants in them that it takes up a lot of my porch area, so between that and the chairs and the barbecue grill and the fireplace wood, there's no room for much else. But my dad, uh, my dad used to grow tomatoes and things at the house. And I'd, I think when I was real little I probably had a finger in on that every time he did it and had to be out there and watch and that type of stuff. Uh-huh. But I've never really tried anything like that since then. Well, I considered it last year and this year both, but I haven't done anything about it. Uh-huh. So. I think it would be nice to just go out and pick some tomatoes off the porch. We get lots of sunlight here, and the porch is screened in and it's pretty large. Oh, wow. So, um, I think if I just would be, if I'd do something, be motivated enough to do something, I think it would work out well. Uh-huh. But, but there goes that motivation thing again Right. Well, I enjoy playing with my cats. I don't know if you'd call that a hobby, but I have two cats, and I gave them a bath tonight, so they're a little bit angry at me . Can you can you put them right in the water? They didn't like it too much. Yeah, oh yeah Oh, that's good, right in the tub, and it helps because its the time of the year that they're shedding a lot, and cleaning cat fur off the couch and off the floor is not a hobby of mine. So I thought, this'll help, you know, help them shed, and sure enough, boy the fur just came off like crazy once I got them in the tub. Oh, yeah. So, they're pretty content now, but they were mad at me for quite a while. They went and hid after they, after they got dried off. Sulked for a while, huh Yeah. Well, I like animals, but we don't have any yet. We have a nine month old with another on the way Uh-huh. and we thought, well maybe when they're a little bit bigger then we'll, Yeah. or get into a house with a little more space. I'd love to have, have some animals. Uh-huh. But I like dogs and my husband likes cats. So we haven't reached a real agreement on that yet. If we get a place where we can have both, it'll be great, but until then, Yeah, I like both, but since I'm in an apartment, I just, I don't think an apartment is big enough for a dog. Dogs, to me, dogs need a yard, even little dogs. Uh-huh. They just need a yard. Cats can deal with being inside all the time just fine. But I just think dogs need, need to be outside, though. So, I agree with you. I, if we were going to get anything now it would definitely be a cat, or even a bird or a fish tank or something, you know Something small Yeah, now that's an idea with the small babies. that she can watch, but won't take too much care. Yeah, because, you kind of, even, even a cat, you never know when they might bite or scratch or something. Uh-huh. There not as likely to as a dog might, I guess. But with little ones, I'd be kind of scared to get anything that has teeth or claws. Especially when they're not quite to the age of understanding that they're hurting, you know, that they grab hold with both hands and then just jerk. Oh yeah. And if I was a cat or dog, I'd respond probably by biting or something. I don't know. Oh, yeah That'd be my self defense. But, Well, I think we probably reached our time limit. Uh-huh Yeah, probably so, and I'm out of, out of good ideas for a hobby anyway. Oh, okay. Well it was good talking to you. Thank you for calling. All right. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, do you have any pets? Yeah, I have three cats and a dog. Oh, boy. Sound like us, we have, Um, go ahead. Um, we just got the, the dog less than a year ago so, he's still a puppy. Oh, what kind is it? He's a mixed breed, he's part Collie, part Shepherd, and part Chow. More Collie and Shepherd than Chow, Oh, so you , the only Chow he's got is, is his tongue. Oh, he's got a blue tongue? Yeah. Oh. He's got little spots on them. We have two Chows and, a miniature Schnauzer, and recently added, a guinea pig, which wasn't by my choice, but I was out ruled, so, but the dogs are mainly mine and my but I just love them to death. Was the guinea pig for your, for your child? Daughter, yes. Yes, as if the dogs weren't enough, had to have, a guinea pig, so, anyway she's, she enjoys her though, so that's, that's what matters. But, um, our Chows, we've had them, I'd say, right around six maybe seven years and, Really? they're, um, registered and we've been breeding them. She's had about four or five litters. Oh, my, my husband's always wanted a Chow but I'm kind of concerned about, um, with having cats, and how, how they socialize with cats. Um, which is one of the reasons why we got a mixed breed. Oh. Right. Um, because we thought they would socialize easier, Uh-huh. um, my husband had originally wanted an and his brother has an and he, so far he's bitten ten people. Oh, man. So, Goodness. And the people that he got the from, used to have cats and they no longer have any other cats. So, It's telling, um, you know when we had, um, we had a cat when we first married, no, took , yeah, we had the cat first, and then we got, uh, the Chow. And, bring, um, bringing them in as puppies they got along just fabulous with her. Uh-huh. And, uh, you would think, you know, that they were all dogs the way she would prance around them and, and paw at their face and they'd just play and they were never, they never harmed her. So, uh, they got along great, now I don't know how, how it would be bringing in, uh, like cat to a full, full grown dog. Yeah, I wouldn't want to bring a cat into a full grown dog, Yeah. but I, I wouldn't feel, um, hesitant about bringing a puppy in, to adult cats, Right. I think they would socialize easier. I think, so, too. Um, how, how old is your child? Five Five? She's a real . So, you had the dogs before you had the baby? Right. And I was, not really concerned about, um, them harming her, uh, I think, I think a lot of that, that, that we hear all the time is how you bring them up. Uh-huh. And ours are real friendly, they're protective, but they're very friendly, and lovable, Uh-huh. I mean, you think they're lapdogs. You know, they'll just come jump on your lap and want to be, have their bellies rubbed and everything and, What color are they? Uh, the female's red and the male is black. Oh, I bet the black one's pretty. Yeah, he is, he's a big old thing. And, um, I was concerned about the female mainly, and as luck had it, uh, she had puppies the same week my daughter was born, so, it was kind of like, she had her babies and understood about, you know, About your baby. yeah, and that, yeah, I think that really helped and, um, my daughter, you know, since, since she's little has been playing with them and they let her tug their hair and, and get on their back or whatever and she's, she's grown up with them and loves them to death and they love her, so. Yeah, I think it's good for kids to grow up around pets, as, as long as they don't have any allergies to them or anything. I do, too. Yeah. But I think it really helps them to understand when, when they go to other people's houses and they have pets, I see so many times kids just, you know, they, mean to animals not really understanding that the animals have feelings. Yeah, exactly, that or, or, uh, the other extreme, they're, they're terrified of them and I hate that, Yeah, Yeah. and they shouldn't be, I mean, some maybe but, but, um, like our miniature Schnauzer, she's just, she's just like, um, a little hyper thing and just prances around and jumps all over everybody acting silly, and a lot of kids are scared of that. And which I understand because she is, you know, a lot of movement and everything but when she calms down they're so scared of her it's, Huh. it, that bothers me because she's the friendliest thing, she wouldn't you know, harm them at all and, and, and that's mainly people that have never had pets around their children, so, I think, I think it's a good idea to have them. We've had, um, in the past, we've had birds, too, uh, like Cockatoos. And parrots and, The big white, birds with the, the orange crest on top. Uh-huh. Now, the, the Cockatoos, are those the big ones? Yeah. Yeah. We've had those, and those are neat, they're messy, very messy, yeah, and loud. Are they? Oh, a lot louder than a dog, you know, a dog you can tell, stop barking, you know, or whatever. Yeah. But the birds, you, it's hard to keep them from squawking or whatever but, but they were neat, enjoyable animals to have. Well, we've thought about getting an aquarium, partly, partly for the cats, Uh-huh. I think the cats would really enjoy it, um, Yeah, with a lid, yeah, yeah, of course, um, but so far we just and starting up an an aquarium, we, we're, thinking about getting a saltwater, Oh, yeah they, and they're so, expensive to start up. Yes, yes, they are, and in your, the luck of keeping them alive, through those first, you know, few days. Yeah. Yeah. The, the saltwater fish have so much more color and they're so, much more beautiful, I know they are. Um, the freshwater tank's just, really to me they'll, there's, most of them really aren't that pretty, no. you know, I really I really don't care much for them. Right, I don't blame you there, I think the saltwater are a lot more attractive than, I don't know, those fish are just beautiful. Just so, like you have a little bit of ocean with you or something Yeah, Yeah. Rather than just little fish. But I don't mind having, Wren my daughter had a, like a little goldfish, a about a year or two ago Uh-huh. and it finally died and that was neat, but and they're, you know, she can't play with it, you can just look at it. Yeah, yeah. You know, you can't roll around and tussle around with it like you can a dog or a cat and, Yeah, I wouldn't, I wouldn't dare have a, a goldfish here because, it would probably be in a small bowl and then my cats would knock it over. Yeah. I have to be real careful about where I put things, Uh-huh. if the cats will, will jump up on things and knock things over all the time, Oh, no. Oh, no. They're always up where they don't, where they're not supposed to be. Yes, yeah, and that's hard. that's just like kids, you know, they know that they're not supposed to do it, but they're going to do it anyway because they know they're not supposed to. That's right and they're so, independent. I love having them for that reason. Yeah, yeah, and until we got the dog, um, it was real easy to, to go to town for three three day weekend or whatever, Sure. and now, it's like a major production, trying to find somebody to take care of the dog while you're gone. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's right, that is hard. And, I, we knew it, but we never even thought that about when we got the dog we just saw him, oh, he's so, cute, Oh. let's take him home. Yes. You know, and then the first weekend we had him we had, we were in a apartment, in a two bedroom apartment, Uh-huh. and my husband went out of town, and left me with, with the brand new puppy, Oh, fun. and I had to work twelve hours that day, Oh, no. and so, I left the dog locked in the bedroom and I put paper all over the floor. Well, when I came home, I opened the door and there were chunks of carpet, padding everything, all over the place Oh. Oh, no. and he had tried to dig his way out from underneath the door, Oh, no. I guess you didn't get your deposit back, did you? Well, I had the carpet fixed, Oh, good. um, I, yeah, I didn't even tell the apartment manager, who got it. Oh, okay. Oh, no. Bless your heart. But that, that was my first real experience with, with a puppy when, when we had our family dog growing up I was eleven or twelve, I think, when we first got him, Uh-huh. and I wasn't really involved in the, the paper training, and, you know, teaching him commands and stuff Sure. Yeah. so, this was, and to me, a whole new experience. Yes it is. Only it wasn't like cats at all. No, no. I wish it was. I wish they were in that instinct. But they don't. So, Our only problem with our Schnauzer, she's an indoor dog most of the time Uh-huh. and, uh, we found, she's right at a year and we finally got her, you know, house trained and everything, uh, her only problem is trash. If you do not pick the trash up, you know, the container, and put it on a table or chair or something, she'll knock it over, Uh-huh. I don't care how full she is, so, it's not like she's hungry, it's just she wants to get into trouble. My cats do that it. If I through anything away that's any kind of meat or anything, like that, Uh-huh. anything that, that they think is good, they'll get into the trash, Yeah. and then it doesn't matter where you put it and where you hide it, Yeah. and how, how tight you have the lid down on it, they'll get into it. I've come home many a days from work to find trash all over the kitchen floor. Oh, I hate that. And the cat's just looking at me like, sorry. Yeah, you shouldn't have left it there. I couldn't help myself. I just hate that when she does that, I just, oh, and she knows it's wrong, you'll walk in the door and she'll cower and go hide under the table. Uh-huh. So, you, she knows she does wrong. But she, uh, she continues to do it, so. Yeah, the problem that we're having with our puppy right now he's not he's actually not really a puppy anymore he's like sixteen months old, Uh-huh. um, but he's still chewing. Oh, is he? Um, the last thing he chewed up was, uh, when we ... Okay. All set. Do you want to start? I can go ahead and start, Sure, go ahead. uh, in Dallas there's definitely a crime problem, I know it's, you know, worse in the larger cities. Um, it's kind of a concern for me, in fact, at the moment I'm thinking of possibly moving to a new apartment and, uh, it's, I am single and female, you definitely are going to worry about the location, and, uh, you know, accessibility of people to be able to break in. I live on a third floor now, but, I, you know, I'm real concerned that I, I don't want to be on a first floor where you can have problems with things like that, and, the, um, Do they have many buildings that have security there? Some buildings do, it depends on the location. The area I live in right now, is, is real good as far as crime rate is concerned and we don't have anything at all, no burglar alarms, no guards. Yeah, yeah, well I, I went to Dallas, uh, when I worked for T I in Abilene and, uh, I'm a little familiar with the city area, Forest Lane and, you know, through that, off, off the freeway. Uh-huh. And, uh, it didn't seem like it was that congested in that, that part. You know because to me where we live out here in the north east, it, it's there are a lot of buildings very close to each other, Uh-huh. and the cities are very populated with tenement housing, where there are more than one family in a house. And with the, uh, people that are coming into the country from other countries, not knowing the language Uh-huh. Um. and, uh, they're going to the big cities. It makes it very difficult. Uh-huh. It really does, and, and I've seen the same thing that you're talking about, uh, much more crime than ever before. Drugs of course, uh, a big part of it I think. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I don't know, a lot of younger people, you know, into more violent crimes. Oh, yeah, yeah. that, that's really sad, you know, you got young boys or girls, that at fourteen or twelve years old that are committing murders and, no remorse, what so ever. Uh-huh. There's a lot of that going on in Dallas, too. Yeah. Yeah, it's really sad. It is and, and I don't know if it's, uh, the family, you know, thing where they're not bonding anymore, where mothers are working all the time and, the kids aren't getting the attention that they need, or the television. Uh-huh, Uh-huh. And I, I really think that we're, we're falling by the wayside with not incarcerating these people. Oh, I agree. I think that people are getting off too easy. They're getting, they're getting paroled too easily. Uh, uh. They're just getting, uh, put on probation or something, because the prisons don't have enough room so they get, they get lighter sentences, Yeah, exactly. and some of those people, they don't deserve to be let loose. And, uh, you know, they had, uh, in fact on the news last night we were watching this, uh, man who lost his ten year old daughter. He ran out to the store for a few minutes and he had left her home alone. now ten years old, she's old enough to be alone for a few minutes, you know. Oh, yeah. And while he was gone, he had looked, went looking for a job and stopped at the store, that's what it was. And, uh, someone who was in the neighborhood cleaning carpets, these two men, went in, raped the girl, murdered her, and the whole bit. Oh my gosh. And one of the men got, uh, I think it was seventeen years and the other one was in for, uh, life imprisonment. Uh-huh. The one that was in for the seventeen years, actually served seven, and he's out. Uh, that's terrible. And the man said, that, you know, if it weren't for the fact that he would go to jail, that he would eliminate this person himself. And then go to McDonalds and have a hamburger and not thing a thing, think a thing about it. Uh-huh. And I mean, I think that what this is going to lead to is people will take things into their own hands. And that innocent people, Yeah. I, I shouldn't say innocent, because I mean, actually if they commit a crime that they're in the same circumstances but, Uh-huh. the reasons that they're doing it compared to the reason someone else is in jail for it, you know, it's like two different things. Yeah. Sometimes when you lose someone that you really love, you do some crazy things I don't know, Right, it's a little more understandable under the circumstances, I guess. I, I like the idea that, uh, if someone is from a foreign country, and they come to this country and uh, commit, a crime, I think that irregardless of whether they have already become a citizen or anything, they should be immediately deported. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Especially if they're found guilty of the crime. Uh-huh. You know, once they, they have been arrested and if they know beyond a shadow of a doubt, these people are guilty. Uh-huh. That's it, we don't take care of them, we don't support them, nothing, Uh-huh. I mean they go right back where they came from. Right, we have enough, enough problems with overcrowding in the jails as it is. So let, let their country take care of it. Exactly and, We don't have, I guess too much trouble in Dallas with, well, I guess, I guess we do have a lot of people come in from Mexico, that cause problems, but, uh. But that's, uh, they're, so close, I, I don't consider Mexican people in the same category with, uh, especially like, uh, people who come from cultures that don't have the same, uh, kind of moral upbringing that we have. Yeah. Uh-huh. Like you take Asian countries, or, uh, the Eastern countries where women are like in the foreground, uh, in the background and the men are in the foreground, Uh-huh. and it's like, you know, um, they live back in where we came from two hundred years ago. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. You know, we've advanced beyond that, and I think that their, uh, mentality as far as the way they treat them and that kind of thing, you know what I mean. Uh-huh. It was amazing I went to the Far East, uh, back in October to do some training for T I and I, Uh-huh. uh, some of those countries were so safe, it was unreal. Singapore is very, supposed to be very safe and, in fact, Tokyo, and I thought Tokyo would be dangerous being such a huge large city with so many people, Yeah. but they, at, at the T I there, I said is there any area I should avoid. And the guy said let me ask another girl here and he turned and asked this girl, and said, can you think of any place where Dana shouldn't go by herself, or anything. And she, she thought for a few minutes and she said, no. And he said is there any place you wouldn't go by yourself. She said, no. And they said, it is so safe there that you can leave your purse on the subway Wow. and somebody will turn it in and, and nothing will be missing. They said they can just about guarantee that there, that, that would happen if you did that. I thought, boy, in America, if you left a purse on a subway, you would never see it again. Wow. You better believe it, if, you wouldn't even have to leave it, I mean, Yeah, that's true, it would get snatched right off your arm that's true. But I was thinking boy, in Dallas, if somebody asked me if there were places you wouldn't go by yourself at night, I'd have to set them down for about five or ten minutes to list all the places out. Oh sure. I mean, I couldn't believe that she couldn't think of any place. They said, the, apparently the crime, is, just, uh, That's amazing, well, what's the difference there, do you know? I'm not sure what it is there. Now, I know what it is in Singapore, is they have the death penalty and they really enforce it, Oh, I, I believe in the death penalty, I really do. like for drugs, for drugs they, they enforce the death penalty for that. Uh, they're just, very, very tough, and I guess maybe that's the way Tokyo is too, or Japan is too. They're just very tough on criminals. Yeah, yeah, I think that we're too easy. Uh-huh. Uh, and we take the, the, uh, civil liberties, uh, stuff too far. Uh-huh. You know like people that are in prison, I mean we didn't put them there. They put themselves in that situation. Uh-huh, oh yeah. And as far as like them, uh, entertaining the rights that they should have. Uh-huh. I mean, we educate them, we feed them, we take care of them and they no sooner get out on the street and they're back in again. Uh-huh. I'm not saying they're all bad, but I think people who are guilty of really serious heinous crimes, do not deserve to be cared for for the rest of their lives. Uh-huh. Right. I think that they should be put away. Right, and if they're overcrowded, well, you know they shouldn't have gotten theirself there in the first place. Get rid of them. Exactly. I, I really, I, I think that that's the whole key here. This plea bargaining baloney, where, uh, you know, they plead to a lesser crime, or, uh, they plead guilty in, or, you know, tell about someone else and they, they get less time, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Or, if they're in there and they've got seventeen years and they're on good behavior, for every year they're in they get so many less, you know, that they don't serve the full penalty. Uh-huh. I, I, I really think we're going to far overboard with all of this. Oh, yeah, I agree, because it's not fair to those of us that, that deserve a safe, you know, life to have to, Yeah, same with drunk drivers. Right. I think it's too easy for them. Uh-huh. That if the, the laws, and, and were, were harsher and were enforced, Uh-huh. I mean you have to set an example. You have to start somewhere. Uh-huh. And I think that people know that they're going to get a slap on the wrist, they might serve a little bit of time and that they'll be out on the street again. Uh-huh. An, it, an I feel bad for the policeman, because he's out there every day facing these people. This, this craziness, you know, people with, uh, automatic weapons and, uh, all this other stuff and trying to do a job Uh-huh. Right. and let's face it, what do they get paid. Right, not much. Twenty thousand dollars a year, if they're lucky. I wouldn't do it for that. Yeah, huh-uh, and especially not in some of these big cities, like in Dallas I mean they've had, they're up in the top, top five I think of cities that are getting policeman killed on, on, in the line of duty and that's really sad. It is, it really is. And I mean, they're the first ones that take the brunt of everything. Uh-huh. You know, and I'm not saying that they're all good either, because there's good and bad in everything, Uh-huh. but they, they're already, uh, have three strikes against them when they're out there. Uh-huh. Because they'll arrest someone and, you know, go through all that paperwork and writing a report and all this, and having all kinds of evidence and you have to even be careful how you arrest them, how you talk to them, uh, you know, what they say, Okay. What, uh, go ahead and tell me about your home Well, my home at the moment is an apartment. Oh, is that right? Yeah I work here in Germantown, but I live in Pensacola, Florida. Oh, that's interesting. So, I own a home in Pensacola, and, uh, let's see, we are to compare homes. Correct? Okay. Yeah. Uh, my home is, well, is typical for the area. I live in a development, uh, it's a relatively, I would say, well, God, it sounds like, sounds like I'm bragging No, that's okay But it's upper middle class, uh, kind of an environment. Okay. It's a two story colonial, which my wife and I designed. Oh, that's neat. Uh, it has around thirty-two hundred square feet. Uh, five bedrooms and so forth and so on, Wow, that's large and it is, I would imagine in terms of, of size and so forth, it's relatively typical for the area. It might be, I would say it's probably midsized for the area. There are some smaller, and there are, you know, several larger. Uh-huh. And, uh, but based, you know, in terms of, you know, in, in Pensacola, in that area of Florida it, uh, it's what now, it is, uh, probably ten years old. Oh, well, that's not too bad, Yeah. that's still fairly new. And so it's, in terms of cost and, and, and size and so forth, it, uh, the you know, housing there is extremely affordable, and, uh, compared to other parts of the country, you know, let's say compared to Maryland that same house here would probably cost three-quarters of a million dollars Well, but, Oh, you're kidding Well, do you mind if I ask what it's worth down there, I mean, what it's, I really haven't, I really haven't, uh, when we built it ten years ago, it was, it ran around a hundred and forty thousand dollars. Okay. So, I, I would have really, I haven't really priced, you know, in the market, so I, It, it sounds like, I mean, from the way you described it a home like that here would be at least two hundred and fifty thousand Uh-huh. I mean, Dallas is a very marked up area, although right now it's a lot lower um, because of all the layoffs and everything Uh-huh. the economy around here is real poor I thought that was on the upswing again now. Well, no, not really Uh-huh. Um, the area itself, uh, the Fort Worth Dallas area, um, has become kind of depressed because there's been so many layoffs with big companies, including Texas Instruments Yes. Um, there's been tremendous amounts of, of, uh, layoffs so, really housing is real bad. The economy itself around here is not too terribly bad, but housing is still real bad Uh-huh Yeah. Well, Pensacola has it's really is a buyer's market there now Yeah. This is, And it isn't because of the, well, there has been a lot of speculative building. Uh, I don't know, perhaps not in Dallas, Oh. but, uh, I'm sure people in, uh, you know, in, uh, Galveston and so forth would be knowledgeable about it, uh, Pensacola is a Navy town. Uh-huh. And home porting was a possibility a few years ago. Oh. They were expecting an influx of something on the order of fifty thousand people or more from the Navy, Wow. a new carrier was coming in and, uh, the, uh, attendant, uh, support vessels. Well, that's no longer, the case. So, do you think, it was overdeveloped then? Oh, it's, it is. I mean, the, the number of single family units on sale is phenomenal compared to the population. Wow. And so overbuilding is, has been a real problem there. Um. So you can still get a, get a, a good house for a very, very reasonable price. And I mean good, I would, let's say typical, say three bedroom, uh, two and a half baths, on a half acre or so of land uh, reasonable construction would probably run you, uh, right now anywhere between, somewhere between a hundred and a hundred and forty thousand dollars. And probably, perhaps, cheaper, depending upon the neighborhood. Um yeah. Yeah. What about your home? Well, right now we're just renting, but it is a home. Um, Uh-huh. it's a four bedroom home It has about, I guess, eighteen hundred square feet It's on one floor Uh-huh. Uh, we have no basement I don't know, Nor do we, but, Okay I wasn't sure. Most of the ones, you know, up north and everything do, but, um, anyway, it's, uh, it's pretty, also pretty typical for the area. Most of this area was developed, this house was built in seventy-four. Uh-huh. So most of the, it's almost twenty years old, and most of the houses around here were built pretty much the same style Uh, we have a friend that lives two blocks over, and his house is almost identical to us, except his is three bedrooms and ours is four Uh-huh. but otherwise the layout is pretty much the same. So I, I think most of them are there was, it, like most areas that are built, um, there were probably, like two or three styles you could choose from Right. And, and, uh, that's pretty much all the houses in the area, for probably a square mile, I'd say, at least, maybe even a little bit more than that. Well, the housing here in Maryland is just atrocious. And in, in the entire D C area. I'm, I'm only about, uh, twelve miles or so from the, uh, border of Washington D C, and Montgomery County, Maryland is probably one of the most expensive, places to, Where are you in relation to Sevren? are you close to Sevren? No, we are west. Okay. Sevren is east, near the eastern shore, Well, I just, if I had, I have a sister that used to live in Sevren. Uh-huh. And they bought their home in I, I want to say like around nineteen seventy-five or something like that, and they paid like, they, they had it built from, you know, they, they designed it and everything, and to have it built they only paid forty thousand for it, and when they left the area they sold it for a hundred and twenty thousand Oh, that's not unusual, yeah. Yeah, so I just wondered, you know, if the whole area was like that or, Well, that's, that area over there is not as expensive as in the, the immediate, you know, Washington area. Uh-huh. And so, we, uh, I was just looking, for example there is a, uh, condominium complex next to the apartment complex where I live, and I was over there recently looking at the possibility of buying a two bedroom condominium. And ninety-two thousand dollars for a two bedroom, which is essentially a two bedroom apartment. Um. Now, it was very nicely done. Yeah. I would have thought , Sounds like a lot of money though Yes. I, I can't, I can't envision spending that much money, and on, on something along those lines. sure. Yeah. So, you know, it's, I guess you pay the piper but, Plus the, the, the taxes around here are phenomenally, high. Right. Oh, yeah. Uh, for the, and so, you, on that it's not unusual, for example, for somewhere around here on a, on a, on a, what we would, you know, what you described as your house and what I would describe as my house say, for example, in Pensacola, Florida, on that house with the homestead exemption and so forth and so on, might pay three or four hundred dollars a year taxes. maybe, you know, maybe a little bit higher than that now, Wow. Yeah. but that same house here, you'd pay almost six thousand dollars a year, taxes on it. Wow Wow, that's, So, it's, uh, so, the question of whether to buy here or move to another county, say, drive twenty more miles north, buy a condominium for approximately, uh, the same price, maybe a little lower, but the taxes would be, you know, perhaps, maybe one-third uh, of, Really? That much of a difference? Oh, absolutely. Yeah, Wow. so, it's, it's really sad Yeah This is one, this is one of the most highly taxed areas in the country. Wow. Why is that? Do you know? I mean Well, they it, the, their, they do have an extremely good, such things as extremely good school systems, for example. It has one of the best school systems in the country. Uh-huh Uh, and because the cost of living around here is so high, Oh. public employees make great salaries around here Oh I was reading just recently where the typical administrator in the, Montgomery County Public Schools makes, and I'm not, this is, uh, the figure, he makes eighty thousand dollars a year. My goodness That's, Wow and I, by administrator I, I think I mean, I, they didn't, they did not define it, but for example, a curriculum supervisor or principal or someone, you know, in that, uh, in that range. Well, what do you think about it? Well, um, most of the stuff up until now, in the recent months, I, I, I don't have any problem with. No, I don't either. Uh, I mean it's, you know it, I don't think it's going to change very much but No, I agree with that. As, as far as the, as far as the mess that's developing as a result, um, you know, as a country, the United States, uh, I think our hands are tied as far as, as, as any further involvement, until the U N sanctions it. Uh-huh. Yeah. In fact, it really was to begin with. Yeah. And, uh, I just, I heard a comment on the radio this morning that, uh, you know, it, it gets to a point where, uh, if enough people are, are going to be slaughtered over there over the, the, the internal problems, um, somebody may step in again. Uh-huh. But, uh, I really think it's, it's a U N issue, at that point because it is internal. Yeah. Well, you know the funny thing I find about American opinion is that when we have gone in to destabilize a government before, the American public goes crazy. Uh-huh. And now the fact that we're not interfering with the internal rebellion in, in Iraq, they're going crazy. That's right, that's right . You know, I mean you can't please them one way or the other. Absolutely right. You know, and I, and I think that, I, I agree with you, this is exactly the right course. I mean that's an internal problem to Iraq. It has nothing to do with us. Uh-huh. And until he starts doing something so inhumane that the U N gets involved, then it's nobody's business. That's right. Um, I mean these, these types of internal things go on all over the world all the time. All the time. I mean, yeah, I mean, Some of them have been going on for, for tens of years, if, if I understand it right in places like the Sudan and, Yeah. Yeah, and it's certainly, and it's certainly been going on over there for hundreds of years. Yeah. And it's going to continue. That's right. As long as you have so many diverse groups that are, that are vying for power, it's going to happen all the time. Yeah, that's absolutely right. I mean the Kurds have tried it before. They've gotten their butts kicked, Yeah. and this is just another time that it's happening. That's, that's absolutely right. You know, they'll regroup out in the mountains and they'll try it again in a couple of years. Yeah, it was just, you know, it was, it's a very opportune moment for them to try. You know you, Sure, and, and, and I don't have any doubt that through some back channels that we encouraged it. You know. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But, I'm not real sure that we promised them anything. Uh-huh. I, that would have been stupid, Yeah. and, and I don't think we did it. Everything else we handled in this seemed to be perfectly right. I don't think they would have done that. Yeah, I agree. But it just, it, it really doesn't make any difference. This is just a, a, another chapter in Middle Eastern history. Yeah, and, you know, and it, there are many of them. There's no doubt about it. Oh, sure, I mean the, the British occupied the place, the French occupied it, we've done it. It, it's happened so many times, this is, this is really nothing special. Uh, Uh-huh. Well, and, and, and so many of the, so many of the conflicts, um, really don't have a basis in, in, uh, politics or, or human rights or anything like that. It, It's, it's religious based That's right, it's it's mostly religious anyway. and, uh, you know, by, by self-proclamation this is a holy war and it is right. Yeah. And then, uh, we, we go on from there and, Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it, it's, it's a mess. It, it's, there's no doubt about it, and, uh, Well, I, I, I think one of the big problems, I mean looking at it from the the American public's standpoints, they don't understand the Middle Easterners. That's right. They don't understand what, I mean their politics really isn't politics. It's religion couched as politics. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And there's a big difference. Absolutely. You know, uh, we sit there and, and we think that they think the way we think. Uh-huh. And that's a big mistake, because they don't. You bet. You bet. Well, yeah, because there's no, uh, you know, there's, there's, there's a complete different set of values. Uh-huh. Um, there's, there's different value placed on human life, and, uh, right down the list, you know, possessions and, and everything else. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, what's right is wrong and what's wrong is right in some cases. That's, that's it a lot of the time. I, I was stationed in, in Turkey for, for a year and a half. Okay. And it, it was tough, understanding those folks. Yeah Yeah. You know, it, they, they're, they're so completely different culturally and socially and and religiously, Uh-huh. it's just, it was very strange. I believe it. It was very interesting. Yeah, yeah, I can, I can, I can believe that. Yeah, I, I don't claim to have an in-depth understanding by any means, but, uh, Now I, shoot, I, I think some of these people that they claim as Middle Eastern experts don't, don't have a clue sometimes. That's probably true, that's probably true. You know they, they sit there and, and read their books and then proclaim themselves an expert. Uh-huh. Well, I'm not real sure that's, that's appropriate. No, no, that's, that's, uh, a, a little bit of background study has never made an expert in any field. No. But, uh, Well, I sort, that sort of goes to my pet peeve about the education system in this country, too. Yeah. And we make experts by reading books. That's right. You know, and the Japanese and the Germans and everybody else make experts by doing. Uh-huh, absolutely, Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I, uh, I, I guess you work for T I. That's right, yes. So you guys are well aware of the problems with the Japanese markets and everything else. Right, right, that's an everyday occurrence. Yeah. It's, it's like our car industry, the only reason our car industry hasn't gone down the tubes is because the Japanese, you know, came into it and helped, us out. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I agree. Yeah, it's, it's, uh, there, there is, there is, it's an overall problem in, in, in this country understanding, uh, foreign cultures, or even accepting them. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, it, it, it bites us over and over again, the, the, the, Yeah, and until we, until we start changing our educational system, I mean we're, we're going to be, we're, we've already been overtaken, but it's going to get even worse later. Uh-huh. I mean looks who's, looks who's getting the engineering degrees and the, the math and the science and everything. That's right. It's not us. That's right. You know, we, we've got folks running around here who get, who get degrees in basket weaving and you know, underwater psychology, or some, some ridiculous stuff like that. Uh-huh. Absolutely. And, and where are the engineers coming from? Uh, well, they're, they're coming from various places, and a lot of them are going back there. Yeah, exactly. That's My, uh, my roommate is a, uh, he's getting his doctorate in industrial, well, it's not industrial engineering, it's human factors. Okay. His degree was in, uh, industrial engineering. I see. Uh, and he's from the Philippines. Yeah. And the only reason he came here was because the education is so much better for those who will go after it. Right. He has no intention of going back to the Philippines because there's no jobs. Sure, okay. You know, uh, but I, I see it all too often. I mean we've got loads of foreign students Uh-huh. and they're coming here, going after the hard degrees and then they're going back to Korea and Japan, and Hong Kong and everywhere else Absolutely. and they're applying it there. That's right. And I don't know, it's, to me it's amazing. I don't know what we're going to do as a country. We're, we're going to become dependent on these other folks sooner or later. Yeah, you know, every, every, the, the country's got a problem with, uh, with quarterly reports and annual statements and things like that. Uh-huh. And the long, long-range views are, are just kind of, become a thing of the past. Yeah you, And, uh, I don't, I don't think there can be anymore long range planning. I think it, it's, it's sticking your finger in the holes in the dike. Uh-huh. You know, it, oh, here's a crisis. Well, let's plug it up. Yeah, yeah. I don't know. I don't know what the answer is. It's far beyond me. Yeah, that's for sure. That's, that's the way things have gotten. Yeah, all we can do is keep plugging. Yeah. You know, I, I wonder, I, I read in the paper just last week, I B M's unveiling their new laptop computer. Uh-huh. Well, at a price tag of six thousand bucks, I don't know if they're going to have a whole lot of takers. No, absolutely. now I have the I have the I B M, P S two Okay. but I'm sorry I got it. Yeah. It's slow, it's, uh, there are many better machines on the market right now for a, Yeah. the only reason I got it is because I got it through an educational purchase plan through the school Okay. Okay. and I saved forty-eight percent, Uh-huh. so I said, yeah, if I can have an I B M for forty-eight percent discount, I'll take it. Absolutely. But up to that point I had I had always said I would never have one because I wouldn't pay that kind of money for their name. That's right. But That's absolutely right, yeah. now you watch, just sure as anything, the Japanese are going to come out with a laptop at half the price with more stuff on it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, the, the, unfortunately the way the, the way the high tech market goes, by the time you can get, get something in your hands, Uh-huh. um, It's already outdated. it, it's, it's obsolete, and, uh we're, we, we fight that battle every day here at work, Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I, I can imagine. and, uh, I, uh, years ago, I remember when I had a T I ninety-nine. Put all the money into the expansion box and all this, that and the other Uh-huh. and, uh, things just kept changing so much and I kept getting rid of them, and I finally said, well, you can't do this That's right. You've got to buy something and stick with it, so I so I just, That's right. at an opportune time I got one that, that suited my needs and I've just stuck with it. The only thing I've done to it is just add a, uh, add a mouse and a hard drive. Okay, yeah. And that's all I plan to do. Of course, I'm limited on memory now because I've got the low line. I got the model twenty-five. Oh, okay. So I'm stuck with six forty, but I'm not a power user so it doesn't matter. Yeah. Well, that, that's, that's the key, you know, whatever works for you. Yeah. And, uh, if it does the job, then that's, that's what you need. Yeah, now my roomie, on the other hand, he is a power user. He's, he's looking now to get rid of his. He's got a three eighty-six and wants to get a four eighty-six. You know, this kind of stuff. Uh-huh. Well, on this subject of invasion of privacy, yes, it's very easy for anybody to find out about you. Your, Well, I don't really like that very much. Yeah, uh, the special on channel thirteen that was broadcast, I think, last week or so ago, it detailed how this one person went about finding out this particular from this particular person his home mortgage, how much he pays for it, what his payments are, uh, his, uh, Social Security number, driver's license, any kind of records he may have. Uh, their credit card and the status of their credit. What was the reason why somebody was trying to find out all that stuff? It was just as a demonstration to show those who were watching it how easily obtainable information is on any single person. Oh. And it was, mostly it dealt with, uh, marketing companies, these, uh, direct marketing, associations. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. That was the primary subject. That's how they obtain information about segments of society and group them into age brackets, uh, their habits, their hobbies, their income. Um. And they're able to do that through all the manipulations of the computer. Well, that, that's not really good. I don't know, I guess that's an invasion of privacy. I'm not sure that that's an everyday thing, though, at least not for, you know, an individual. Uh-huh. Something that I feel is a, is a, pretty much an invasion of privacy is something that's really so common that it's accepted as the norm now, is the the open office concept. The open office? Uh-huh, where they have the, you know, the little partition dividers, throughout a, a large room Yeah. and, and people have little cubicles. Well, that's all fine and good, but you don't really have any privacy at all. Not insofar as maybe making conversation with somebody, I suppose, because it, you can easily be overheard Right. and they get, I suppose any items that you have laying out can be easily seen. Yeah. Yeah, there's, there is, And, and it's not, it's not just that, it's, uh, the whole thing about, you know, if, if you're trying to concentrate, well, it's rather hard, sometimes it's almost impossible to do because, um, you know, your, uh, your time , your space is, is not your own space. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I work in a situation like that and I, I really kind of have a problem with that. Do you work with, uh, mixed company, male and female or, Oh, yeah. Is there anybody who doesn't? Well, there are a few out there. Um. It's, I suppose it depends on who you're working for and where at. Yeah. But, um, my own environment is open totally. There are no cubicles. There's nothing to block anything. Um. So, yeah, but, um, I guess we're changing ever so rapidly in the devices of communications that anything can be obtained from anybody's record, Yeah. or the computers, the, the big advent of that, I believe, because it, they can all hold such large data bases on anybody that all you have to do is touch a button and it appears in front of them, Uh-huh. and you don't have to, I, I know the government sells information to private companies about individuals or families. Uh-huh. That's no secret, and it shouldn't be that way I don't think. Yeah, I don't, I don't think that's, that's quite right either. I mean it's not really government for the people and by the people, I'll tell you that. Yeah. So, Hum, what do you think could be done about it? Uh, the only way it can change is, um, if, if everybody bands together. It's just like we need to get rid of these clowns that's serving in the office. The only thing really that can be changed is for us to, everybody to say, we've had enough of you, out you go. But, uh, I don't see anything like that to occur unless everybody bands together to do that. Uh-huh. It has to be one common ideal goal for that to be done. Um, I don't know, it's, it's still a, a free, I suppose, country insofar as we're, we're able to obtain information. And I wouldn't be for total banning of, uh, all information or, it's mostly the private information that we're all concerned about. But it's, it's hard to define uh, a lot of those boundaries. Yeah. It really is. It's something that, something that I've just had a, a dealing with is like a credit bureau. Uh-huh. Well, they take, they take my name, which is a very common name, and my last name is even more common Uh-huh. and they they check that name against, uh, their list and they find several. And without even bothering to try to match up any other information at all, they just report everything under that name. So you've received a lot of, uh, flack? They don't, they don't even check my Social Security number. Um. And companies are paying them good money to report accurately, and they're not, they're so lazy. They're just not doing it. I mean they just find your name and they match it up. Uh-huh. You know, and that just drives me crazy because they're, and then they want, then, you know, to get it removed they say, well, you know, you have to write this, write this long detailed letter and everything like that to them, you know, and then it takes three weeks and all . And I'm like, baloney. Uh-huh. You messed it up, you fix it. Is that usually what you tell them in the letter? No, what I've taken to doing lately is calling the company that they report Uh-huh. like, uh, uh, recently I was reported as having J C Penney accounts and I don't. So I called J C Penney and I said, uh, I just wanted to let you know that the credit agency you're using is incorrectly reporting the information that you're providing to them. And they say, uh-huh, because they really don't want to pay for a service that's not being done properly either. Uh-huh. So then they can call the credit bureau and say, hey, you know, we're paying you good money to report this properly and you're not doing your job. Good idea. So that's what I've taken to doing lately, and it seems to work pretty well so far. Uh-huh. Well, that's good. Uh, any other problems? Not that I can think of. Yeah, I, I guess I've just about run out of, Yeah I, I can probably go on, but it's, it's, uh, I'm clouding up right now. Oh, yeah, I probably better let you get back to work. Well, it's nice talking to you. Okay. Maybe again. All rightie. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. I don't know what the, the last thing I've done as far as car repairs go is, is change oil and filter an, and that kind of stuff. I haven't gotten really involved in anything, uh, extensive in car repairs in, oh, oh, probably a year or so. I think the last thing I did of any significance was change the water pump on an Oldsmobile. Yeah, I had a similar thing, that I've worked on cars ever since I was, uh, a kid And that was some time ago, but I've gotten to the point where, uh, the newer cars are getting so complicated to work on that, uh, oh, most of the cars I buy, I try to buy as simple a car as possible. Yeah, I know what you mean. So, you know, changing the oil, changing the spark plugs and most of them now, you know, you don't go through the ignition stuff anymore because that's all solid state or, or fuel injected Yeah, or fuel injected, and so there's, so there goes the carburetor and if the fuel injection system breaks down, there's no way in the world you're going to work on that. Yeah. No there's no way. Somebody once said, uh, I had a car that said fuel injection on the side of it and a woman asked me what that meant and I said that means that I can't work on it. Oh, yeah, yeah, basically that's it. You know, they've gotten so complicated or so high tech that, uh, the guys, average guys can't really go out in the, in the garage and do a whole lot of repairs, uh. Yeah, I've got, uh, an eighty-four Chevy van that's, uh, a one ton van with a camper conversion on it. Yeah. It's got the, the, the good old three fifty, standard engine in it. Absolutely. Regular gas engine, and that engine I understand, I can, I can actually work on that engine. Yeah, I used to have, uh, Chevy van, it was a short van, that had the, the three fifty in it. Yeah. Uh-huh. And basically it, it was a motor and you didn't have all the other junk around it, Right. and you could get to it to work on it. Yeah, I had to change the water pump in that, here about a year ago. And it was really fairly easy. Take the grill out and the radiator out and you can just stand there and work on it. Yeah, the hardest part about, uh, water pump changes is getting all the junk off, before you can get too it. Well that's true You're right, you know, by the time you've finally got down to it, I was hoping I could remember where all those other things went. Well that's kind of the way I was, I tried to remember as I took stuff off where it went, and I don't think I had too many nuts and bolts left over when I got it all put back together. A few years ago I had an Oldsmobile diesel and, uh, the, uh, it, after about a hundred thousand miles the injector pump went out on it. And, uh, I bought it when we were living in Lubbock, when I came back here, I brought the car back here and, uh, I don't know, diesels got pretty unpopular and you couldn't sell the I mean, though for what you could get for one, you might as well drive it over a cliff. And, uh, the injector pump went bad so I found a outfit down here to rebuild it. And, uh, reinstalled that and that was probably one of the most miserable things I had gotten into in a long time. I don't think I'd know where to start with a diesel. Oh, well, it, you know, diesels don't require mechanics, they require plumbers. Well that's true. And, uh, I think the closest thing I've come to, to a diesel is, I've worked for a tractor repair shop, uh, when I was in high school and, uh, we used to overhaul farm tractors basically, Yeah. and they were nearly all, all diesel, but as far as cars I've never, never been involved with them. Well the injector nozzle and stuff in, you know, the big diesel farm tractors, you know, what are about the size of your thumb, and Well, yeah, and you you can get to them. yeah you can get to them, and the ones in, in the diesel cars were little tiny things and just almost impossible to do anything with. Well I, I've had a lot of good service out of that car, but, uh, uh, I finally gave it to my son and he drove it literally into the ground, you know Yeah. He was out at Tech and he, he finished it off. I'm, I guess you're right the, the diesel has almost fallen into unpopular status. I don't know exactly why. One of the reasons is I, I'm beginning to wonder is, where do you get gas at. I I don't know if it's still, uh, limited like it was, I don't notice it, probably because I What, the availability? Huh? You mean the diesel availability? Yeah, I don't, I don't notice but maybe because I'm not looking for it. Yeah, well I'd bought, uh, a G M C diesel pickup and, uh, loved that thing, you know, I really liked it. But it turns out a pickup wasn't what I really needed, Yeah. and it was the van that I needed then, to buy the, you know, traded it in on the Chevy van. But, uh, sure enjoyed it. But you got the, the three fifty in the van? Yeah, yeah the three fifty regular gas engine. Yeah, that's what I like because, they've got plenty of power, and, uh, if you treat them right, they're not the gas guzzlers I think that they've got the reputation to be. Uh-huh. I'm convinced that, uh, Detroit or whoever it is made a major mistake, years ago when they stopped putting the small V eights in and went to the fours and some of the sixes. Yeah Uh-huh. I'm convinced that the small V eight like the, the Mustang's original two eighty-nine or some of the Chevy two eighty-threes, were good little V eight engines that were not gas guzzlers Uh-huh. but they had enough power pull all this weight. Yeah. And the four cylinders just don't have it. I think that little, the little Chevy V eight when it started out in sixty, in fifty-five, I think was two sixty-five, something like that. Yeah. Little, you know, not whole lot more than the, than the, than the six cylinder that I think was like about two thirty-five or so. But, uh, they kept boring that block out to where you could a get a four hundred, small block four hundred that was, uh, the same block, you know, just, just kept boring it out and boring it out and stroking it a little bit more, an. I think those those little V eights could have been made to be pretty powerful little engines, if they would have gone with it, but. Well that was, uh, that was a short stroke engine it could really wind up. Oh, yeah. The two little cars I've got now, bought a Mitsubishi Mirage here a couple of years ago and, and it was normally carbureted and it's fairly easy to work with because there's not just a whole lot in it to go wrong, and you know changing the plugs and stuff. Yeah, that's kind of like, the, the first, well my first car was a fifty-six Mustang and, uh, over the years, uh, all I had a, uh, Dodge pickup several years ago, and, uh, I can't remember the size of the engine it was a three oh, seven or something like that, Yeah. but, uh, I remember working on those cars, you'd open the hood and there was basically nothing in there but an engine, and a few things. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Now, you open the hood and it's scary. Yeah. Like you say it takes a plumber to figure out where all this stuff goes. The friend of ours over here, he's got, uh, sixty-five, or sixty-six Mustang the six cylinder. Yeah. And, uh, I was look under the hood of that the other day and like you say, you can see the road. Yeah. It's amazing. Well if you had to you could climb up in there and do what you needed to. You yeah, you could stand in there if you really wanted to, I guess. My dad's got a new, um, I guess it's an eighty-nine or ninety, uh, Chrysler something or other. It's one of those transverse mounted V sixes, front wheel drive. Oh, yeah. And, uh, he was showing it to me and we're looking under the hood and everything's nice and clean and, you know, you can see the three spark plugs there in the front. And I said well where are the other three. And he'd never really thought about it. Yeah. And he says well, hopefully I won't have to change them, before I trade it off. Yeah, it's going to be a problem getting back there because it was shoved right up against the fire wall. Yeah. So they just about complicated the things so much that shade tree mechanics can't do much with them. Yeah. Well when they went to the, started with the newer engines, you know, when they started putting all that pollution control stuff on the older engines is where they started getting into so much, you know, trouble. Because the three fifty with all the, you know, like well, actually, I guess, within a couple of years ago anyway was the last I've paid any attention to it. The three oh five was that, that, V eight that they put in the, the three quarter and, and half ton van. Uh-huh. And it had all the air pump and, uh, uh, I don't know, all that, all that stuff. Right. Yeah the anti-smog pumps. And all the anti-smog stuff. And, uh, boy that was, uh, really a mess back under there under the, in that van. And all that stuff loads the motor down. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So it's trying to push the weight plus have all this drain on it from all sorts of belts and things. But that's one good thing I've got a, uh, eight ninety, uh, Chevy Blazer now and it's got one, uh, belt on it a serpentine belt. Oh, it's that one that's about, uh, what an inch and a half wide. Yeah. Got a bunch of groves in it. I haven't had to replace the thing yet. It looks like it would be, uh, better than having, I've got an, an Olds Toronado that, I think's got six belts on the sucker. Yeah. And I had to get all those off, you know, when I was replace that, uh, water pump. Yeah. And, uh, I had to struggle with that for a while to figure which belt goes where. Yeah, it's kind of like the inside dual on a truck. You know, when one of them breaks, it's not the outside one, Oh man. it's, it's the, it's usually that power steering or something that's way back in there. You bet, everything else's got to come off first. Everything's got to come off. Well, it's a pleasure meeting you. Yeah, and we'll, uh, how many times have you done this now? Is this, Uh, I've got, uh, five stickers here from T I, so I guess I've done probably, uh, I'd say seven or eight of them. Yeah, I hadn't, uh, hadn't, not gotten any calls here in the last, uh, this is the first one in a week or so. Yeah, I haven't gotten any calls in two weeks, so I don't know, if, if it's tapering off, or what. If it's winding down or what. I had a difficult time the past couple of times of getting, uh, answers. Finding a taker. So it sounds, it's taken them ten, fifteen minutes at a time, so, people are either not, maybe they're burnt out or, yeah. Yeah, well. Anyway let you go. Thanks for talking. Okay, all right. Bye-bye. Okay, so do you do a lot of cooking in your family? Um, I do some every now and then, I, I work and my wife's home during the day so she usually ends up doing most of it. Oh, yeah. When I was single we used to always cook, around the house. Yeah, do, do you like to cook. Huh, yeah, I really like it, Yeah, yeah. um, there's a few dishes, like, I, I grew up with the, um, you know, having Polish and Ukrainian food. Oh, really. And my wife, she likes Italian and stuff, Oh. so we, we definitely have different tastes, so. Yeah, yeah, but that's neat though, because you get to have different stuff Uh-huh. Yeah, I'm not, I'm a pretty bad cook I'm pretty bad. My husband is really good, he put himself through college working in restaurants. Oh, wow. And, uh, he's much better cook than I am, so, when I was home I still cooked a lot and I was in to a lot of vegetarian stuff. And now, I went back to work about a year and a half ago so, one of the things that he took over was the cooking and the kids are thrilled, they're really happy, that I don't cook anymore. Uh, they're like, uh, preferring it now, right Yeah, they say oh dad, let dad cook mom, let him do it But, um, so, so do you all, do you have kids? You obviously have one. Yeah, two, uh-huh. Okay, you have two. Yeah, one is, uh, nine months and the other is two and a half. Two and half, oh. Yeah, that's the hard part is cooking with, uh, kids around because, uh, I was just going to say, makes a difference in what you eat doesn't it Or are you not at that stage yet? Yeah, it does Yeah. We try our hardest to get them to eat what we, eat, you know. Right. And my sister, uh, she's the master of the fast order grill, you know, Oh, yeah. she can make, uh, she makes six different meals, but. Oh my gosh. Like to have one thing, you know, one likes chicken nuggets, the other one like hot dogs, Oh my gosh, I couldn't and then she makes noodles with, uh, with, soy sauce or whatever, Yeah. so, all things. Boy, I couldn't do that, I But, um, yeah, our favorite, let me think, I was thinking of the one recipe that, uh, that we made. I guess the thing that always turned out the best for us was something we thought looked really fancy but was real easy, and that was, um, uh, scallops, uh, scallop, um, What's that. Oh really. it has a French name, it basically means that it has a Swiss cheese, cream sauce with it and you pour it over rice, Oh yeah, what's, what is that, Saint Jack or something. Yeah, uh. Scallops Saint something, or, yeah, . Yeah, I can't even remember what the recipe's name is anymore, Yeah, yeah. but, uh, it was basically just ground up Swiss cheese and then, uh, standard cream sauce base and then, uh the scallops. Really, with scallops. An, and it sounds sort of funny but it tastes really good. No, no, I'm from New England, so we, we had, um, a lot of seafood before we moved down here. And, uh, that sounds delicious to me. Yeah. That sounds great. Yeah, but, uh, I think, we're just thinking of having, a, uh, dinner party. We went to this dinner party the other night that was kind of like a game, they had, uh, a murder mystery, Uh-huh. and you came dressed as one of the characters and you had to solve the mystery during the dinner, Uh-huh. and it was really fun and so we, we were thinking we wanted to do, you know, we were going to try doing it ourselves, but we're trying to decide what can we serve because at this one the hostess was pretty busy running around trying to get stuff ready for the table and that kind of interrupted the game, so, so I was thinking there's this Beef Bourguignonne recipe that I've tried before that's pretty good Right, yeah. and then you can make that ahead and you can just leave it in the pot on a stove until you're ready. Uh-huh. So that's, uh, Yeah that's another thing I have a problem with my wife, Yeah. she, uh, she likes to, um, she doesn't like the beef dishes. She likes the chicken and fish, Uh, yeah. and, like I said, we always ate beef and, uh, pork, you know, a lot, Oh, yeah. so I know, my husband did too His parents are Austrian and they, uh, always made sure they had a lot of meat at the table Oh yeah, red meat, plenty of good red meat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. My dad could eat, a, a meal with out any vegetables at all. Oh, my gosh. And, uh, Susan's, you know, they had, you know meatless meals, you know. Yeah, yeah. My dad wouldn't know what to do. Oh, gosh, so do you, Course, she grew up Catholic so you know, they, they sort of come with the, Oh, they did the, there's a certain amount of meatless meals you have to have That you do, right, right, that's just part of it. Uh-huh. Yeah, we didn't, my family didn't, but when I got into the vegetarian cooking we got kind of used to that, but my husband always did it kind of grudgingly, he never, Uh-huh. There was dishes that he really enjoyed, eating. Uh-huh. there were several things that he liked but it never was really, something that he would have chosen. It's just that I cooked so he had to put up with it Right. So, but there was one thing that he couldn't stand and that was soybeans. I tried it like once or twice and he just could not eat it, so I never, I had, I was limited. I had to make vegetarian meals without using soy beans, but. Yeah, it's hard to get a protein content up then Yeah, yeah. That's true Yeah, I like, I like them every now and then for a change, it's nice. Yeah, some of the stuff is good, but it just, it was a tremendous amount of cooking Because you do have to make sure you have the right combinations of different proteins to make sure they're complete, Uh-huh. and we had little kids at the time, you know, when I was home with them, and it, it was just so much cooking, I couldn't, I don't like to cook. And I'm not really that great at it so it just turned out to be too much of a, too much, too much cooking. So, well, I guess I'll let you get back to feeding your little one there. No, uh, he's all done. He's set, oh okay. Yeah, yeah, I set him down. Okay. Do you like to bake at all, or do you, do you get into that's, that, Yeah, we used to do that, um, my mom, used to go crazy, every Sunday, until my dad like blew up, you know Yeah after he gained about eighty pounds after coming back from the Navy, she stopped doing it. But, um, she used to have, you know, two dozen sticky buns, three bread rolls, you know, every week. Really, no kidding. And, um, the sticky buns, of course, would last, you know three or four days and that would be it. Yeah, then be gone. I know, that's the thing about baking. I used to, I, I don't mind baking at all and I, I can do a pretty good pie, we have this pie crust recipe in our family that my grandmother gave my mother and my mother taught me how to make it. Uh-huh. And, um, so I can make a pretty mean pie, but, um, I don't do it anymore because it's just too fattening. We had the same kind of problem. If you make homemade bread, Uh-huh I mean, it's supposed to save you money but you eat like three times the amount of bread that you usually eat It tastes so good. Uh-huh, we always, we had that bread that was, uh, um, you ever seen the, the starter bread, I can't remember what it's called, they call it the, um, Amish bread here but, Oh, uh, yeah. uh, it's made with, you just leave it out, Yeah. you know, and you let it spoil sort of. Yeah, uh-huh, I've heard of that, I've heard of it, but I've never done it. You know, yeah. That sounds pretty good. Yeah, it tasted pretty good, really. Yeah, oh yeah. But, uh, it's the sort of thing where you let a portion of it go bad and then you add all these other ingredients to it, but. Yeah, and then you you make the bread but you pinch off a portion, or save a portion of it for the next time, or something. Yeah right, you take some of the batter out and give it to someone else and that's how they continue the thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, it sounds, it always sounded, I don't know how safe that was Yeah, I know it sounded strange to me too, I figure, well you're baking it so, you know, yeah. Yeah that's true, that's, that's got to kill anything I guess, but. Okay, well, I'll talk to you later. All right, well, yeah thanks. Where are you calling from by the way, Texas. Plano. Where? Yeah, Plano, in Texas. Plano, okay. Are you in Texas? No, Falls Church, Virginia. No kidding, gosh it sounds so close. Yeah, I know we've got a good connection, must be a, uh, T I connection, yeah. Yeah, I thought for sure, I thought for sure you were in Dallas or something. Yeah, I, I talked to so many people from Texas that's where practically everybody I talked to is from. Yeah, yeah. I think that's why they call me because they want to get people outside the state, you know. Yes they're they're trying to get all different amount of people. Well gee, my husband is from Richmond and I went to U V A, that's where we went. Oh, oh really. Yeah, yeah. Yeah I went to school at, uh, well I went to school at West Virginia University, Oh you did, yeah. but I grew up right here in Falls Church, right outside D C. Yeah, boy we'd like to get back over to the East Coast, I'll tell you. It's nice over there. Yeah, it's sort of funny, I have people that want to go to Dallas. Oh, really. Yeah, one of my, one of my friends here, he was just talking how he's thinking of leaving the company and going to Dallas, saying how, Oh, yeah, no kidding. Well, things are doing pretty good down here, we, we were, we tried to move over to Raleigh last year and there just was, there was so little, such little going on in Raleigh, you know, you couldn't get a job to save yourself over there so we decided we'll try in a couple of years, but, but business is, Yeah, yeah. We were saying we could sell our house here and buy one down there cash, you know. Yeah, you probably could, you probably could, Well Northern Virginia. Okay. Okay, well it's good talking to you. Nice talking to you too. Take care. Bye, bye, Bye. Well, I don't, I mean, I don't know what you think about the, subject, I'd, the, I had never really thought of what they said before about allowing the, the sentencing to, uh, to go to the judge instead of the jury and allowing him to do that. I've been kind of sitting here thinking about that a little bit while I was waiting for them to phone somebody, and I don't know that that's not a good idea. That's not a bad idea I, um, uh, that, you know, they probably, need to change it somehow, uh, the whole system needs changing, we've just got too many people in there , and, uh, , are putting too many, uh, people in jail that probably don't need to be there I agree. and it's another form of sentencing. Uh-huh. But on that one thing, I, I still think it should be a unanimous decision, Oh, yeah, I agree. Yeah. uh, I think we're getting to the point now where they're going to eventually let it be, um, majority vote. And that's not going to be good. I don't like that, no, No. I don't like that at all. I know my husband served on a, on a jury a few months ago up here in Denton, but, uh, it was a guy, it was, it was a drug conviction and I don't remember he had some cocaine and it was accused of selling it, and I don't remember exactly how much he had but, uh, actually not selling it , there's a difference, couriering it is what, is supposedly a difference from selling then being a courier and, he was a courier. Right. And, uh, they, he's, he sat on that jury and they found him guilty, and they went through the sentencing phase and everything and, uh, you know, they were told that, you know, during the trial that this is this guy's first offense and he's got this clean record, and, and they ended up, the jury, you know, decided, hey, it's time to crackdown here, you know, and it was time to do this drug thing and let's crackdown and let's really, and they sentenced him to fifteen years, you know, which they thought first offense, okay, this is, they thought that that was, that was a good thing. Uh-huh. And they sentencing him to fifteen years and, um, after it was all over, uh, the they sit down with the judge and with the other two lawyers, to someone in the let me come over in just a second, okay, and sit down with the judge and with the other two lawyers and they were told that, uh, he would probably serve three, of the fifteen, and that he had three previous convictions. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. However, they could not tell the the jury that during the trial because all three of them were in appeal. Oh, yeah. So, the jury didn't know about it, so here they based their sentencing thinking that this was this guy's first offense, Sure . and so, you know, we'll give him fifteen which will teach him a lesson but it's not just, you know, horrible, since it was first offense Yeah . and he'd been convicted three times before, you know, Oh . and, and the jury was very upset and my husband came home, a home, very upset, I mean, he felt like that, that they had been tricked, you know, Right. and so something, I wonder if a judge didn't have control of that if some of that would change, you know. Yeah, the judge might know or at least it, it wouldn't hurt to switch over there and see if it worked any better, if it didn't we can come back for something else or, That's true. That's very true. or, or what we've got, so. Yeah. Well, we definitely need a change in the system and, uh, Yeah, obviously what we are doing is not working, you know. It's not working, too . No. It's just piling up on us. Yeah, and there's, you know, there's people in our prisons that are not being rehabilitated in any way, shape, or form, Right. and either they're in there, forever or when they get out they're, you know, it's a matter of a few months Right. and they're going to be right back for the same thing so the system, We're just not willing to set a society not willing to spend the time or the money to do what it takes, so. That's very true. Yeah. Yeah, I was talking to a friend of mine about this the other day and I said, you know, I understand that there are a lot of countries that rely on the United States, to and, and the, and the people in those countries rely on our money to survive Uh-huh. but I really believe that we need to take care of ourselves, Right. I mean, we, and, and I know people say, oh, it would be cruel to, you know, pull our aid from these other countries and, and maybe so, so tell them, you've got five years. To work out a plan, to make it on your own. Right. Yeah. And, we will continue funding you for the next two years, after two years we'll cut it down seven to seventy you know, seventy-five percent. Uh-huh. And after another year we'll cut it fifty percent, and in five years, it by then you should all should have a plan worked where you can make it on your own without our help. Sure. And then we'll have all, we'll have, we will have the money if we would do that to, to work on your own system because we've got some serious problems here Yeah. and we're trying to, heal the world, you know, Very serious, yeah. it's just not, it's just not working. Oh, yeah , your right , . I look at the, I look at what, you know, what, the aid presented to the Kurds and I, I feel sorry for them and I know they're suffering and I know they're dying everyday, but we've got, you know, kids here in the United States that are dying everyday, too. You know, and being, abused and neglected Sure. Oh . and, you know, I don't know. I just have this problem with, uh, trying to heal the world when you're so sick yourself, you know, You bet . so. Right. Well, we seem to agree on the jury thing and, uh, but, uh , we'll need an unanimous verdict and, maybe let the judge have a opportunity to make, a decision . Yep. I think we should try it, like you say, Yeah. if it doesn't work, we can always come back, but I think it would be a good idea to try it. I do too. So, anyway, well, we all agree. Well, good. Good to hear from you. You too, bye-bye. Bye-bye. So I own a, a P C A T at my home. Uh-huh, I could never justify owning a personal computer at home, uh, I mean, that's quite an expense to look for, uh, well, who is this, what do you use yours at home for? Well, that's actually a good question. My wife works out of the home, our home. She has an office and in fact she sits in the office and she uses it to compose and print out letters. Okay, well now. So that's a very regular use of it that she has. Uh-huh. And in addition to that I tinker around with it. I'm a computer scientist. Oh. And so I write programs to do little things I'm actually working on a data base at home just to keep track of things nothing special. And also I'm interested in writing some programs that will kind of like remind me of things like remind me that Wednesdays is trash day and the like. Uh, huh, well, excuse me, I, uh, uh, well I'm a technician, electronics tech. Years ago T I sent me to their, uh, computer school down in Austin. Uh-huh. So, uh, I learned to repair one but you know I never really learned to operate one. Oh, that's a key thing. Well, actually that's a, there's really two issues to that that there's so many software packages available today. That just require no programming. Yes. So that in other words when someone built that software packet they had to use the programming but if they were careful, they could make the use of it totally without understanding how the computer works. Uh-huh. But I think you you really hit the nail on the head. For the average person is exactly what he can use it for. And if your wife isn't working out of the home and sending letters or if you don't want to build a data base to keep track of the nuts and bolts in your garage, whatever there, your issue is then there really, Well, uh, space is a handicap with me, I live in a motor home. Oh, I see well. And I'm preparing for retirement. I see well, congratulations on that. And I'm not to far from it another year and a half. Yeah, well, actually one other thing I might ought to mention is that they are actually getting quite cheap. Yes, definitely, but just like the computers. Uh-huh. Uh, remember how they started out running three, four hundred dollars. Right. Oh, the calculators you mean. I mean calculators, I beg your pardon. Yeah, they sure do. Yeah I actually was thinking about upgrading mine very recently and kind of look at the whole spectrum. You can actually buy a whole brand new computer with a not not a necessarily a slow one or inadequate one but a pretty good one for six hundred dollars. You're kidding. No. Including a printer? Well, actually I wasn't including a printer, but you you can buy a printer now for a hundred dollars so make it seven hundred. A hundred? Yeah. Wholly smoke, a respectable one? Yes, uh-huh. Well, see of not being particularly interested I don't keep track of prices on them, but I'm, I'm, that does amaze me. Yeah, the prices had plummeted, you can buy the computer the guts just the guts with the power supply, the box and the mother board of a type of computer called an eighty, eighty-eight, for about two hundred dollars. Uh-huh. Huh. And then the keyboard is another fifty, the monitor with the card that drives is another hundred and then the disk drive is two fifty. Well, what, what is a a good brand a inexpensive. Well, that's that's the deal is you're not buying brands now, you're buying these knock offs, so there's, probably the way to do it if you really wanted to buy one is there's a magazine called COMPUTER SHOPPER. Uh-huh. It's a big magazine, it's twelve inches narrow, the narrow side and seventeen inches the tall side Oh, wow. and it's probably an inch thick a thousand pages. But the book is, the magazine is full of these mail order, computer mail-order houses and they're all competing with each. Uh-huh. So you just flip through there until you find a eighty, eighty-eight computer that that's called, it's the original P C. So it's, we call the T I, I'm sorry an I B M P C compatible. And you'll find all these things and you'll find the monitors forty dollars and the card that drives the monitor that goes in the back of the board for twenty-five dollars which is amazing to me. Uh. And you mix and match and then you do it by mail-order. But there's no real brands it's probably a half a dozen companies around the world that are making those mother boards, the main computer, the circuit board. I see. How do you go about getting one of those a catalogs? They're available in, you know, the B Daltons, that that type of thing. Uh-huh. You'll notice that in that it's, it's a, it's a, although it's a magazine it's large. And like I said it's about an inch thick Uh-huh, well, getting back to the P C I'll tell you, I ya, first of all I don't like a machine that's smarter than me. And secondly, I did learn this much about computers, they they are pretty stupid because they add one and one up and come up with ten. In binary. That's right There's great. Well, anyway that's one ever my favorite jokes. Oh, yeah One and one equals ten. Yeah, that's great. Course it's it's kind of an inside joke, you know. Yeah. You can only tell that to somebody who understands binary. I understand, that's great, that's a good joke. So what, do you, uh, uh, work with a computers a at T I? I did for years and then I was a scientist over in central research labs and just recently I've changed my job to actually do some of the marketing. Uh-huh. Uh, now I I type that one, but I don't use it anymore. Uh-huh, well I just recently started using one. In connection with my work. Uh-huh. Yes. Uh, I keep track of an inventory here. Uh-huh. And of course now that is where a computer is very handy. Yes, I agree. And, well I, it's my responsibility to see that equipment is sent off to be calibrated. Oh, yeah. See I'm with the Q R A lab. Qualification and evaluation Oh, I see that's fascinating. so naturally our equipment has to be in top condition and is constantly calibrated, Uh-huh. and they're dated. So I have to keep up with them, uh, and and it's very handy doing it on the computer. Yeah. I just run a printout every week and and it puts me right up-to-date what I'm, what I have to do, what I have to ship, what I should be expecting to be returned. Uh-huh. So a, it it is handy. Right. And I must admit that up until I did start using one, uh, it was, I had very little interest in computers. Yes But they are amazing. Yeah, they certainly are. So let's see, see so I guess with respect to the question, yeah, I guess we've kind of covered it. I think we did. Great, nice little conversation with you Jack. Yeah, Mike you take care now. Good day. Good luck to you. Thank you. Same to you. Uh, I guess I've had to return something but I'm can't decide, mostly it's been because I didn't like the color, Uh-huh. or, um, I'm not sure whether I've had to return that many things, uh, Well, I'm having a problem right now with a computer that we've just returned. Oh, are you? So, for me it's actually a pretty good topic. Okay, good, so, we'll talk about that some. Yeah, well, we could talk about that, and then we could talk a bit about, um, just quality of products in general, if they're better or worse like if they last longer or something like that. Right. Okay, I'm going to let you kind of lead the pack, because you sound like you're, let me tell you just a little bit about myself. I, for years I did all that shopping and whatnot, but for the last four or five years I've had eye problem, Oh. and I've had two cornea transplants. Shopping is no fun anymore I can imagine. Well, see I don't, I can't see good enough, you know, and, uh, it's hard to tell what I'm doing, and it's just You can't read labels and you can't, Oh, I just thought of something we have to return Good. There you go. All right. It, it'll come to us, okay? Okay. Are you ready? Yeah. Laurie, all right Right. All right, uh, tell me about your computer, Laurie, I think that sounds fascinating. Well, we bought a computer because my husband needed to use it to do some work for a consulting project, and we called up the company and asked them details on it. We bought it sort of, your not a name brand because the clones are so much cheaper. Uh-huh. And we called up the company that somebody else we knew had dealt with, and they were very happy with the system, and they felt they've gotten a good price. And we went in, we explained what we needed and yes we had to go across the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey to get, to meet these people. Uh-huh. And so we went there, we told them about the stuff and the guy said, uh, that the computer would fit our needs. And we these things won't make any sense to you probably but he told us there were, we need user positions to put our own equipment in the computer. Uh-huh. Oh, yes. And it's called a user boards or slots is what it's called. Uh-huh. And he told us there's two sixteen bit slots and two eight bit, sorry, two four sixteen bit slots and two eight bit slots available for the user, and we can put full size cards in there. And so we said, great, you know, we'll buy it, and we put in our order. And a week later we went back and picked up the computer. And then we got it home and tried to put our own board in it and there's only one slot we could put it in. Oh, lovely. And at this point we only have one board so it wasn't so bad so we used it a bit, but we tried to figure out whether we could put three in because we really need to be able to put at least three in. Huh. And, Oh, no , the computer was supposed to have two. Well, it has them but the problem is that you can't put the type of card that we need to put in it, in it. And even though they told us in advance that you could, Oh, I see. they told us there would be no problem because, you know, the salesman just doesn't really know. I see. In some ways it has more to do with the people who sold it. They probably didn't know what they were talking about. Right. That's completely it. The salesman didn't know. Right. So, we went back in, and we struck an agreement with the people who said change the casing it comes in so that we could put in extra boards. Huh. Okay. So they did that. And we said are you sure this will work, we don't want you to go through the work and then find out that this doesn't really work anyway, and et cetera, and they're, they were doing it at their own costs. And so we said, fine. And we went back and we talked to the person a second time and things like that, and then we come, we get the computer home, my husband goes to pick it up last week and we couldn't go get it sooner because I just had the baby, and you know, life's just a little bit complicated. Uh-huh. Uh-huh . And, uh, he goes and gets it, brings it home, first of all they're missing components of it like cables so you can't really test it out. And then second thing, we still can't put the boards in, because they have other things blocking where we need to do it. Oh, jeez . Huh. And see now we're dealing with having to bring it back again and they say they can, you know, do something different and change some connectors and we hope so, but it's a hassle. Yeah, it really is. You you know, it's just this problem with sales people just not knowing what goes on. Right, and, and so much time goes past before you finally get any kind of satisfaction. Right. I think that's the worst part. I, So, well, actually some things are pretty good with that because I put it on a gold credit card and I just called the credit card company and explained to them the situation, and they said, well, you don't have to pay for it yet. Now that's an advantage, isn't it? Yes. It really is. I think, uh, uh, there's a lot not to be said for credit but that's one thing to be said for credit. It, how , it gets you some muscle where you need it. Yeah. Right. So, and so, you know, And I think that's really important. Well, because these guys if they, um, give us a hard time we're going to say, you, look, you know, if, if you can't fix this to our satisfaction, we're just returning the computer. Yeah. That's right. That's right. And if we do that, I just tell the credit card company, don't pay the charge, even though they've already paid it. That's right. No . But they'll just, you know, undo the credit that they did to them. Yeah, they will, That's right. They will, Yeah. they will put the kind of clout on them that you can't really do. Right. Yeah. And, We, Hal bought me, uh, uh, small, uh, well, uh, uh, little jam box kind of thing so I'd, my, I have my ninety-three year old mother living with us, and so I, she doesn't remember anything but to keep her entertained, music and some of these things do help. Uh-huh. And I thought well, if I had, uh, a a nice little, um, tape recorder, you know, so that I could put some good music on in there for her every once in a while. And then also so that I can, uh, uh, copy, uh, parts off, I, I do some musicals and things like this and if I can copy sections off that I can use someplace so I figured well this will be good. Uh-huh. Well, the first, uh, uh, the first time I turned it on, uh, I was recording, and the next thing I knew the tape was chewed up in the, thing. Oh, no. Okay, so after that then you couldn't get a you couldn't get a tape to play at the right speed in that side. Uh-huh. And then on the other side, when I, when I, uh, I loaned it to my daughter the other day to take it over to, uh, to, uh, videotaping they were doing, and she says it's wrong too because the little thing pokes out too far, and so you can't, you can't get it to run the right, the right way, either, Uh-huh. so, uh, What brand is it? Do you know? Yeah, so I, I wish I could tell you I really don't know which brand it is. It's , But I was wondering like, you know in our case where we knew we were buying a copy we weren't buying, on I B M P C Yeah. and I was wondering if you, No, I think this is a, I think this is maybe a name brand and I suspect that it's probably just a fluke, you know. I have the papers and everything and we're going to get, just take it back but, uh, Uh-huh. Do you buy it at some major store? Yeah, I think just, uh, just, uh, one of the major, I think it was a, you know, I don't, I think it was, uh, you know, like a Highlands or something like this. Highlands chain down there that I don't know up here. Do they have Highlands up there? Nope. Don't they? Well, this is, is was a regular, uh, electronics store, you know. Uh-huh. So, I don't think, I don't think there will be too much problem but I, I guess I'm not sure whether I think things are not made as well. I think they deliberately sometimes, um, I think a lot of things are not made as well. Don't you? What, what, for instance, what are you, Um, oh, of course, it's hard to think of an exact example, Yeah. but I think that, um, I That's good they're getting a kind of a, attitude of, not, yeah, I just have , well, I like electronic stuff, you know Yeah. for one thing. I know their, work, you know, cars I think are not made, as well as they could be. Well, Yeah. Yeah, Um, I think that's right. The fact that, because I , they want people to replace it after, a couple of years. Right. The fact that they, that they have competition with the Japanese and whatnot sometimes, uh, dwells on a fact that, you know, uh, I've had, I've known people who have had Toyotas for years that have had almost no repair work to do on them. Uh-huh. Well, they may cost a little more, but they don't have to take them to the shop every other day. Yeah, I had a Toyota and I loved it. Yeah. My Toyota did, really well. It does the, it did a good job, so, part of it is that we need to develop more of a, of a pride in, in, uh, the kinds of things we do so we make them better. Good. Yeah. And it kind of has to start from the top and, and go or from the bottom maybe and go clear up. People, Well, I think part of the problem comes in sort of shoddy workmanship. The people just don't care about, what they're doing. No. Yeah. You know, the whole, nobody cares, no, nobody's, really paying, Yeah. Attitude is, is just get me my dollar so I can go do what I want to do, and, on, Right, give me my paycheck, so I can go home. what I'm doing, right. I think that's too bad. And it's a shame too because, uh, when you get right down to it most things, there isn't any, if you do a good job, nobody can pay you enough There isn't, any way to get paid enough. Yeah. But if you do a good job, you feel enough satisfaction, so whatever you're paid is enough. Yeah, and also I think, well, I do research and so I'm used to sort of being underpaid for whatever work gets done. Uh-huh. But, and you get satisfaction out of it. That's right, And, But I think a lot of it, you know, I think things come both from the, uh, individual side and also from the company side I think they underestimate how much, how much value the satisfaction because the companies that, let, give the attitude that, well, you know, you're the last one hired so you'll be the first one fired, and we just want you to do your day's work, Yeah. and we don't really care about you, as an individual. Yeah. When you've got that type of attitude on it, the people don't care, about their work. No . And so, It it probably basically goes right back into the home though unfortunately. Starts with the one person that, you know, and so you need to really work hard at helping your kids to understand that there is value just in work for itself without any pay, you know. Little value just in whatever you do. Yeah. The, the, the that the value is in doing it well Doing a good job of it. and, Okay, Jay, where do you live in Texas? I live in Dallas, In Dallas. uh, right at the intersection of the busiest highway in the state. And a, uh, it goes east and west, and a north south tollway. What's that, the I Thirty and Central express? It's, no, it's called Six Thirty-Five's the highway. Okay, yeah. It's the looper that goes around the city Right. and then, uh, the tollway is called the Dallas North Tollway. Yeah. Just moved here about, uh, oh, uh, one, about a month ago after twenty-one years, two miles to the east. Oh, is that right? Oh, how about that? So, it's a very different house from the typical Dallas, uh, house. It's a new home? It's about eight years old, About eight years. it's, uh, it's a duplex type thing. Uh, very modern and, uh, very open and airy light. Oh. Uh-huh. So it's different than the, than the long Texas ramblers. Right, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well we we live in a brick story and a half, uh, What's your house like? Cape Cod style, I guess you'd call it. Oh, great, yeah. And, uh, have a big sun room on the back of it. So it's got a lot of openness and light, also? No, Oh, it doesn't? it doesn't have Well, that's what my wife really wanted and so, uh, With openness and light? Yeah that's, I understand that, I would love that too Uh, our, our last house wasn't too bad, but it was just too traditional, Uh-huh. and so, if, uh, Yeah, this is very traditional. the the next time, uh, probably a year and a half from now, we're going to try to build. Oh, uh-huh. So make one really, uh, contemporary and, and very modern and very open and very light. Uh-huh. Do you have children at home? No, I have three in college. Three? Oh, boy. They, they usually, get back for the, at least two of them for the summer, so, But, You still need space, plenty of space Still need a little bit of space. We, we have a lot less than we had, uh, recently. Uh-huh. Huh Already cut back. Uh-huh. Well, How big is your place? It's, uh, oh, about twenty-five thousand, twenty-five hundred square feet, I guess. Oh that's good size. It's four bedrooms and two baths and that, Yeah. We, we had, It has one wing built on that's a kitchen family room, and then the big room on the back. Uh, Yeah, we had four bedrooms, two and a half baths, uh, in the place we just left. Uh-huh. So down, now we're down to, two and two. Two and two, uh-huh. Uh-huh. So it won't be terribly wonderful when the kids are home, but it won't be that long, because we, not for sure, you know, how long they're going to stay or whatever. Right, uh-huh. So, I was just reading an article, uh, that there were nineteen thousand properties available in Texas, uh, for sale by the Resolution Trust Corporation? Oh, yes. Repossessed Yes, and if you get in the, if, if you can find one in the right area you can really pick up a steal. I, I guess so. Uh, we, we really didn't go that route and didn't look. Uh, but, uh, the planning of them and the, the housing market probably still going to even go lower. There are many, many houses for sale just by the regular route. Uh-huh. So, uh, That's discouraging if you own property Yeah. And we just decided, uh, uh, sell. And we got, we got a pretty good price, uh, for, for what we had. Uh, not as good as it would have been say three or four years ago. Few years. Uh-huh. But that, uh, that was just the timing. Right. Well our daughter and son-in-law moved up, back up here. He's from Texas, but course she's from here, uh, about a year and a half ago, and had their house on the market down there, Uh-huh. and they never did sell it. So they stayed six months, and she got her job back, and he got a job down there. Oh. Because, Yeah, they're not moving very well. Huh-uh. For sure. Nope. And that's a good, uh, example of it. They live in Rowlett. Oh, yeah. I know where that is. I've been, we've been here for twenty-five years. Have you? I'm from Missouri, and my wife's from Kansas, so I I teach at a college here. Uh-huh. So it's, uh, it's sort of home now. Uh-huh. So, What college are you teaching at? I'm at, uh, one of the uh, it's called Brookhaven College. It's one of the community colleges. Oh. And it's just about two miles to the west of where I'm living. Uh-huh. So it's very nice, very convenient. The only one I know is Richardson Yeah. Now Richland College is out, it serves Richardson and, uh, Garland. Garland, uh-huh. And that's about nine miles to the east of here. Yeah. So, uh, anyway, well, it's good to hear from you. Well I enjoyed talking to you. And I hope we, hope we did them some good, uh, on their little computer dealy. I hope so Right. And, uh, have a good life, the rest of it. Okay, thank you, same to you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, what are your suggestions in making a family reunion successful Have a big family, I guess, that's a start. Well I guess so. Have you had any in the well how old are you? Twenty-five, so, Okay so you you have been to some family reunions, perhaps. I just got married. Right, every four years on one side of my family they plan on having, uh, like my grandparents and all their brothers and sisters and then all their kids and grandkids. Now how long in advance do they, uh, let them know? Well, we plan on it, it's like the third weekend in August, Uh-huh. so it's every four years and so, So they all know it. Yeah and then, you know, arrangements are made like during the Summer for you know, um, food and who's, who's staying where, because a lot of people are from down here, in Texas. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, a lot of my family is in Indiana. That's where I'm originally from. Yes. So, um, we usually meet like at my uncle's cottage in the, um, at the lake and, uh, make a couple days of it. Well that sounds like fun, do they all have the small children too, that come? Yeah, pretty much. So all ages. Yeah and, uh, you know, there's some my age and then there are some a lot younger, an, about four generations, I guess. Well my husband has, uh, on one side has an extended family, Uh-huh. and they don't ever plan it as, like you do. Uh-huh I think if you can count on it every four years then people have it in mind so they have to start talking about it, or getting their act together about six months ahead to get in touch with everybody, because they're rather socially active too. Uh-huh. Yeah. And so it has, it seems by doing it about six months ahead, they can pretty much get everybody there. If they don't, you know, they'll say, oh we're planning to go so and so that, go to, to a certain place that weekend with somebody else and we're already locked in but six months ahead has seemed to be okay for them. Uh-huh. My family, uh, my parents are the youngest of very large families. Oh. Therefore, they don't have many people left. Yeah. And, uh, the few previous ones I've had, uh, I haven't known many of those people, but, uh, in the last few years it really has just been our immediate family and that's been very nice, with, uh, I have one sister, and three brothers Uh-huh. and they're only three out of five of us who have children. Oh. So, uh, we get to spend a lot of quality time with each other. Yeah. And that's kind of nice because my husband's family reunions are so large, Uh-huh. and they don't see each other very often, we don't really know many of them. Yeah, that's kind of bad. It really is, they're fun, they're a lot of fun, Yeah. but, uh, still, uh, they're not done on a regular basis and, uh, you kind of forget what happened, and who they were from the time before. Yeah, it's, it's fun getting together with immediate family. A lot of my cousins are real close and we always get together during holidays and weddings and stuff like that, so. Uh, those are the ones that are in Texas? Uh, no, Or you go to Indiana on that? the ones in Indiana, uh-huh. Uh-huh, where in Indiana? Lafayette. Lafayette, I don't know where, I used to live in Indianapolis. Yeah, it's a little north of Indianapolis, about an hour. Yeah, yeah, it's very pretty country in there I think, it's gorgeous. Uh-huh, so. Well I, uh, when is your next one, uh, scheduled now. Well it's like, the last one was my high school graduation the next one was when I graduated from college, so I guess about two more years. Yes, well, and do you think you'll have a baby to take back with you Uh, maybe, I don't know, Maybe two more years, I don't know, probably. I mean you need another milestone, you know. Yeah, I guess that's, that's what, I mean I've been married now for about nine months so that was another milestone, I guess Yes, well I'm sure, and then all of your family probably has not met your husband. Um, yeah, he's from Indiana, Oh, is he? so they all met, yeah. And, and he's living, your both living in Sherman. Yeah. Do you work to T I? Uh-huh. Uh-huh, and does he? No, he's trying to get in med school, so. Uh-huh, well, we don't either, but, uh, I have a friend who, uh, is working on this project. Oh, really. Yes, and, Are they getting all the data they need? Well, I don't know, uh, I, I have a hard time getting, uh, people on the telephone. Oh really. Uh-huh, getting through to anybody. Sometimes I call off and on all day, Huh. but anyway, uh, I guess we're supposed to be talking about family reunions aren't we But I got off that. Well we've kind of exhausted everything I guess. Yes, well, um, I think we have been talking probably about four and a half minutes. Oh, okay. And, uh, uh, we both look forward to going to our next reunions, I'm sure. Oh yeah. But it has been fun talking to you. Well you too. Thank you. And maybe I'll talk to you again. Okay, good. Okay, bye-bye. Bye-bye. All right. What, what changes do you think have taken place in the last generation? I guess the biggest one is number of women in the work force. Yeah. Few are, uh, basically staying home and being homemakers, and raising kids exclusively. Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I, I grew up in, uh, sixties and early seventies and, uh, my mom didn't work at all when I was growing up. She didn't start working until I was, um, well into high school. Uh-huh. So, I, I had the advantage of having a mom at home that nowadays kids, it's a luxury item for mothers to be home with their kids. Yeah, true. Well, mine taught kindergarten but she was always, uh, I guess her schedule was shorter so she was always, uh, home, Always home by the time you got home. yeah. Yeah, that, that statistic I guess has been growing every year it's like something around sixty, sixty-five percent or so now. Uh-huh. Uh, I'm not sure what the future holds for that whether, It seems like there's, it seems that there's a grass roots, um, effort or whatever going on I, I, um, clean houses part-time, Uh-huh. and almost all the people that I clean for, believe it or not, are mothers that don't work Huh. Um, That's unusual they are, they're all, um, it's, and it's, I think it's kind of a new movement it's going back towards, you know, women have come into the work force in the last twenty, thirty years and now they're wanting to go back to the old days where, you know, women stayed home with the kids, you know, and try to give the kids quality time. Uh-huh. And I, I think that in the future you're, I think you're going to see a lot more, um, women choosing to not work after they have a baby. Yeah. Um, I think with, uh, the, uh, the work force with the, the salaries that a lot of, a lot of the women that I work for have husbands who are, um, vice-presidents of companies and I think with, uh, um, this, it seems like it's more the upper-class people, Uh-huh. um, I don't see it as much, the, like in my situation where I don't, I don't have children yet, but ideally I would like to be able to stay home with my kids. But realistically that's, I'm, I'm realizing that's probably not going to be possible, um, for middle-class people to be able to live just on one income. Yeah, that is tough. Yeah, we're looking at that now, my wife's about six months along. Uh-huh. I think it's going to be a luxury item to be able to stay home with your kids. Uh-huh. You know, it's going to kind of kind of go along with the B M W in the driveway and, or in the garage or whatever. True. Um, and the quarter of a million dollar home or whatever. Yeah. I'm surprised that the main people you work for are women that do stay home. I would think it would be women that were working full-time. Yeah, believe it or not though the, all the women that stay home are real busy when they are home. Huh. Um, they're real active in volunteer work. Uh-huh. Um, one of the women is real active with, uh, Muscular Dystrophy. And, uh, does a lot of, of work with them on a volunteer basis but it's still, it's almost like a job, she just doesn't get paid for it. Huh. Well, I guess that's good that they, they've got something to keep them active. Yeah. When, when your wife has her baby, is she going to stay home or is she going to, go back to work? Yeah, we're, we're going to try and have her stay home, for as long as possible. What do you think? That, that, that, I would, I would like to be able to do that. Yeah, we think it's, uh, that important and I, I kind of hope that the trend goes back in that direction. I'm a, a counselor and a therapist, Uh-huh. and I work with adolescents, and I see some of the problems the kids have when they don't have a real good family structure. Yeah, I, I see a difference in the generation of, even the generation before me, uh, were, you know, mom was like, um, Mrs Cleaver, uh, you know, June Cleaver or whatever, Uh-huh. where the, the attitudes were a lot different. Um, as far as, I think the kids back then seemed to be a lot more, um, there wasn't a lot of the drugs and alcohol and, um, a lot of the, the things that are going on in today's society, Uh-huh. I think morally, um, it seems like there was, people were a lot better back then as far as higher standards. True. Well, the husbands' roles are almost nonexistent in family anymore in terms of being the father figure and with women working so much they're kind of pulled out of it too. Yeah. So, kids are raised around their friends and by the media. Yeah, that's true. And that's, you know, that's contributed, And I think, I think you're going to see a lot more of that in the future. Yeah, maybe that's contributed to a lot of the problems that we see all the time, so. If there was some way for, for women to, to stay home even if they could work, you know, there are a lot of jobs that are coming about, like in computers at home, and those types of things, that would at least in some ways, um, bridge the gap Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I think that, um, in the future, um, the, the family unit as it, as it once was known, is, is going to be nonexistent What, how do you, what do you think? About? That as far as do you think there's going to be still a family unit or, or do you think that, um, the trend is going more towards single parenting? The balance I don't, the, the divorce rate keeps hovering around fifty percent or so and it got higher than that for a while. Um, that's hard to say. Families are such a strange configuration anymore. Um, I, I see a lot of families where, you know, in the, in the back, I grew up about the same time you did, Uh-huh. and back in those times we pretty much were taught how to be responsible. Uh-huh. Uh, nowadays it's not the case, kids don't, kids are bombarded with all kinds of junk and one of the reasons, I guess, is because there's so much more income in the family with both parents working. They get bombarded with junk and they don't have to do anything around the house. They never learned to be responsible when, Yeah. the bigger trend called the boomerang kids where they move out for a while and they come back, and you got twenty and thirty year olds who are living at home with mom and dad so, Yeah. you know, you create a bigger, bigger family, generation after generation but not really on purpose. Yeah. So. It's not, not a real functional situation anyway. So, you know, I don't know it's, I don't know that that trend's going to change the single parent type families and the families, as long as we've got so many other crazy things going on in society. Yeah, I, I think that eventually the, the family unit's just not going to even exist anymore. like you said the divorce rate is getting so high that I think there's going to be more single parent families than there are, um, you know, two parent families. Uh-huh. That's pretty sad. Yeah, it is, I guess unless, unless there's a, a major swing in the change of what's important to people, you know, probably keep going downhill. And I, I don't know we, we feel like that, that we can make it on one income it, it may be tough but we may have to give up on some, some things. I, I think in the long run though your child will benefit from that. Yeah. And it will, it will make the, the strain worthwhile. Yeah, I think so too. Well, I, I need to go ahead and, and wrap it up. Okay. Um, it was really nice talking to you. Well, I've enjoyed it, Stephanie. And, uh, thanks a lot. Uh-huh. Okay, bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, uh, have you, did you, have you grown up in Dallas, Stephanie? Uh, no I've only been here for the last ten years, uh, Oh, where are you from? I grew up most of my childhood in Germany. In Germany. Uh, and, Well, we, we took a lot of vacations while we were there because everything was within driving distance. Now there's a place I'd like to visit So we, we travelled all over Europe. When I was, when I was very young. Unfortunately, a, a little bit too young to really appreciate. Oh, that's neat. Uh-huh. Uh, I was grade school age. Uh, My my husband had a bicycle tour of Europe, or took a bicycle tour about five months right after the second world war and so we've seen lots of pictures of the, of the beautiful, spots and, areas, Um. That, that would be a, to me, a really nice vacation because I'm, I'm not in physical shape for something like that, but, uh, I, I sure would work on it if I had an opportunity like that. Yeah, that's neat, neat What kind of vacations do you like? Uh, well my husband and I are scuba divers. Oh. So, we both like to go to dive resorts. Uh, we went to Hawaii on our honeymoon, Uh-huh. and we dove there. Uh, but, we, we did about six dives while we were there. And, uh, we were originally planning on going to Cayman, uh, last year Oh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. uh, but, we weren't able to get enough people together for the trip. We had to have, like, eleven people for, this package, uh, deal. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, and we couldn't get enough people together, uh, to go, so it ended up falling falling through. Yeah. We were going to get a really good price. When, when our children were younger, we enjoyed, we lived up in, uh, New York, or New Jersey and, and used to like, uh, traveling into upstate New York and camping Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and we had a little collapsible sailboat and liked to sail and, that sort of thing, but we've never really, uh, did any diving or anything. Little bit of of, uh, uh, oh, water skiing. Snorkeling? Oh, really. But, not much of, uh, of anything else. Um. Uh, Well, my husband and I both like water, Uh-huh. so any, any vacation that we go on is usually, involves, close to the ocean, or, or something like that. It's got to be the water. Right. When, when we were in Jersey, we used to go down to the Jersey beach a lot, and really enjoyed that a lot. It's really, they had, a really nice beach areas there. Yeah, we, After we moved away from Germany, we moved to New Hampshire. Uh-huh. And I lived there for seven years. Oh, I see. Uh, and I really enjoyed that because, you know, the mountains were real close, That's a really pretty area, too. Uh-huh. we like the, we like the white mountains and, Uh, unfortunately, I didn't really get to go skiing much while I was there. Yeah. I went skiing once. Yeah, we loved the, we loved the, the New Jersey area, too, because the the lakes were really pretty close, you know, you could, you could drive within twenty minutes to an hour and just be at a real nice vacation spot where you could sail and, and just really, Uh-huh. and then we weren't too for from the Appalachian Trail, we did quite a bit of hiking, which is kind of fun. Are you a, you a hiker, or not? Uh, Not so much, huh? Not, not really so much. If, if, if there was some place that, that we went to where there was hiking involved, I, I would be you know, happy to go hiking, Uh-huh. but we, we never have really planned a vacation around, uh, places to go hiking. So your, your next, your plans are try to find someplace to scuba dive. Yeah. Our next vacation will, will be scuba diving, I'm sure. You have any children? No, not yet. Okay, then that's probably one of the reasons our, we had little children all the time, Yeah. so some of the things are not as, quite as, uh, adaptable. Yeah, it's a, it's a little more, difficult planning a vacation, when you have, have children. Yeah, it is. You have to try to figure out kinds of things that you can do that they will enjoy, too, and, Yeah. so, I think, Yeah, and diving is something that, especially for small children, uh, I think the, the minimum age for diving is, is probably, legal anyway, would be probably about sixteen. Yeah. Eleven or twelve, I would think, probably but, maybe fifteen even. Yeah. I know that, uh, uh, one of, one thing that happens to us to vacation trips now is that usually that try to involve some of the members of the family. You know, we go wherever somebody is, that we haven't seen for a while Uh-huh. So that, that's kind of, uh, we just came back from, uh, uh, Grand Rapids where we saw one of our sons graduate, from, uh, with his Master's Degree in social work and so that was fun, and, and the summer we have a, we have a, a reunion in, in Salt Lake area up by Park Cities. Where we're going to camp for a week with as many members of, of a rather large reunion group that, uh, as we can get together so, That, that sounds like a lot of fun. Our family had a reunion last year that was kind of like that, too, Yeah. that there were several hundred, uh, people and they all kind of met at a central place. I, I didn't go, Um. uh, but it would have been nice. It would have been a nice vacation. We, we've we've moved around enough so that we now have people in different parts of the country. I guess my favorite vacation idea would be to somehow figure out something kind of mobile where you could stop and sleep maybe, you know, like a, a small camper. Uh-huh. We've, we've travelled in a big one. I hate them because they're hard to jockey around, you know, but maybe a pickup with the back on, or something like, uh, what's the, like the Volkswagen Vanagon. I've heard is really nice. Yeah. So you could kind of sleep in it sometimes, but you wouldn't want to do it all the time. Yeah. Uh, we have enough friends here and there, I would just love to just drive through the United States and stop and see people I know, and visit for a day and then go on and, you know. Uh-huh. My dad has been talking for years about, uh, getting a fifth wheel and just picking up, Uh-huh. he's retired Uh-huh. uh, he's in his sixties, and he, uh, would like to just get a fifth wheel and just travel across the country and spend a month here or a couple of weeks there, and just, you know, not, be settled anywhere, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think, I think that would real, just see, see the rest of the country. and I would like to maybe not take great long trips, but, but have your home base, where your home is and then just travel out for, like, maybe, oh, a month, maybe go, Uh-huh. He, he does that quite a bit. And, He, he hasn't lately, though, uh, because he's been ill, Yeah. uh, but he's been known to be gone for a month or two at a time and, you know, he'll say, this is my itinerary. I'm going here, here and here and I'll be back in about two months Yeah. There are a lot of neat, neat places to visit in America, that's for sure. We've, I haven't been much to the south, I haven't been in, in Georgia or Florida or Mississippi or Alabama. I guess that's, those are the only states I have not visited. But, uh, up the coast, uh, at, uh, uh, in Maryland and around there, where the, where the early history is, there's some Johnstown and, uh, in in that area is just really neat, interesting things to so, you know. Uh-huh. so, Have you been a, to a lot of the different historical sites? Yeah, we took a trip, uh, around to the, uh, Civil War battle grounds and things back in nineteen sixty when it was the centennial or something, Uh-huh. I believe it was. Uh, had about three kids then I think, but that was a really fun, interesting trip. I we, we read Bruce book before we went, you know, and, so we were ready to look up the places we read about. Yeah, I I think right, right now while my husband and I don't have any kids we'll probably take as many vacations as we can doing things like scuba diving and, and adventurous types of things, Yeah. and then when eventually, when we have kids, Yeah. Now, his, his folks did a lot of traveling across country. You know they went to the Grand Canyon and did things like that. Well, now, camping is fun with kids. If you're, you know, Yeah. once they get a little bigger, not teeny tiny ones, but, even, even some little ones do pretty good but, but when they get a little bigger so they can help, Yeah. that, that's a fun way to to, uh, cut costs and it's enjoyable, too. Very restful. I mean I find, Yeah, I, I do enjoy camping. Yeah, I find the outdoors very relaxing and, you know, kind of a change. As long as I have a shower nearby, I'm fine And electricity. Yeah Well, I'm with you. I need my creature comforts, too. Yeah. Well, it was great to talk to you. It was nice talking to you, too, Beth. Okay, see you later. Bye-bye. Okay. Bye-bye. What kind of painting are you planning to do? Well I have wallpaper in both of my bathrooms right now which is really pretty disgusting. Uh-huh. And, um, it's a rent house and I decided it's too expensive to rewallpaper so I decided I'm going to paint. Uh-huh. And I've been buying some magazines and stuff and looking at different ways to paint. And I'm thinking about maybe sponge painting them. Either that or maybe rag rolling. To give it kind of a country look. Oh, what would be interesting. Uh-huh. Yeah, I've never done any of those fancy kinds of paint treatments, but they look very interesting and you get some beautiful effects with them. Yeah. Uh, one of the books that I bought, where it's describing the sponge painting, said you can like layer different colors and, Yes, yeah, I've seen that done, where there's uh, oh, I saw one that was kind on an ecru undercoat and then it had, a little bit darker sort of peachy color, Uh-huh. and in between there was a sort of a rust, uh, put on very sparingly. Ugh. And it gave the impression of very old weathered stucco. Yeah. Um, what I, what I'm trying to do is I've got yellow tile in both the bathrooms Uh-huh. so I want something that's going to tie that together and I'm changing the, like the towel racks and stuff, the, the fixtures out to make them wood, I'm going to put wood in there. Oh, yeah, that should be nice. So it's going to have kind of a country look. Uh-huh. Um, and I haven't even decided as far as, um, what kind of paint to buy. I don't have an actual instruction book so I'm really in kind of the beginning stages right now. Well, uh. Um, it's going to be a big experiment. Yeah, I was about to say, you ought to experiment on at least a small part of it before you just tackle the whole thing Yeah. Because you might find that it's beyond, uh, what you're willing to put into it. Although I think it could turn out really nice. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I've, I haven't ever done fancy painting but I sure did my share of just regular painting. Uh, I've painted several houses, inside. I, never painted the outside. Uh-huh, inside. What, what kind of, what kind of paint do you normally use? Well, uh, we used a latex, uh, wall paint and then a semigloss enamel for the woodwork and my job was mostly the woodwork. Okay, uh-huh. My husband would paint the walls and ceilings with the rollers and I got to do all of the masking tape and then all of the little fine, uh, trim work, where I'd use a small brush and, uh, try to keep the paint from dripping on the windows and things like that Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well we only have only one of our bathroom has a window in it so I'm hoping that, um, it won't be too much of a, a problem. Uh-huh. Um, I'm wondering if my bigger problem is getting the wallpaper taken down first. Because I, I think, Well I was going to ask if you planned to paint over it or try to strip it. No, I'm, I'm planning on taking it off. I have heard that they've got these steamers you can rent now, which make it much easier to get wallpaper off. Um. Um, I tried to get wallpaper off once twenty years ago, oh, with a just a scraper and wet sponge and it took forever. I would not recommend that method. Okay. Uh, if if you can rent a steamer, if it's modern wallpaper it should come off without too much trouble. Well that's something that, that's worthwhile checking into then. 'Cause I, If it's really old, you don't know what it's put on with. It, it's hard to tell, it's, the patterns look like they're nineteen sixties style. Yeah. And I know the house, um, was built around the mid fifties. Uh-huh. So it may be the original wallpaper Could be, yeah. Um, if it's vinyl it should be easier to strip too. If it's paper it will probably shred. Um, in one bathroom it's, um, it's probably paper, uh, it's silver, silver and yellow, and white. Um, uh-huh Well the wallpaper that I was trying to remove was black, this was in a bathroom too. And the, the tiles were sort of a mottled grey and had a little trim strip of maroon and white and the, the wallpaper in that bathroom had a black background and then it had vivid, uh, almost neon colors of hot pink and turquoise, and lime green and silver, and, uh, a little bit of yellow that looked like coral sands and sea horses and things like that Um, that's kind of an odd color for a bathroom. Oh it was awful, it was absolutely hideous and, and we had a dinner party before we started renovating it and a, a guest went in there and he said it's a good thing I went to the bathroom before dinner because if I had had something to drink and went in there I would think I was having hallucinations Really. Well I, I've also been thinking about, after looking at all these magazines, um, these design magazines and stuff, I'm thinking about maybe painting the bedroom walls too, in a color that will kind of, um, tie in our, um, our, um, our, uh, comforter, with a color that's kind of a, um, burgundy and green and yellow and blue and beige floral design. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, and I'm not really quite sure, I don't know if maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew. Well I'd say tackle one project first and see how it goes and if you discover you like it then you can always upscale. Yeah, well the bedroom would probably be the easier of the two because it would be just plain painting. Sure. It wouldn't be any kind of special, um, special effects type thing. Yeah. It would be just plain paint. Well it's not hard to do if you get everything prepared ahead of time. Because if you, uh, use drop cloths to cover everything and you use masking tape to trim out, uh, all the parts that you don't want to slop over onto, you don't have to be quite as precise about how you do it and it can be done a whole lot faster. And with rollers and, uh, modern latex paints, Um, okay. you can wash up easily because they're water soluble. Uh-huh. And they dry fast so you really don't have to be disrupted for more than about a weekend. If you have some help. Um. And then if that, if you discover the little tricks and tips about, you know, how you get through corners and how you do trim and, uh, how long to leave the masking tape down, because if you leave it too long and it dries it can flake when it, when you pull it up. It, it peels the paint off when you take it off, yeah. Well, not, if you leave it on for weeks, it will do that. If you take it up the next day it should be fine. You want it to get dry, but not, uh, just real hard. Yeah, okay. You don't want the gum on the back of the masking tape to get dried to hard. That's the problem. Yeah. It will come up a lot easier if you don't wait too long. And I've, I was told, I always used the nice wide masking tape, but I've heard from people who tried to get by and skimp on narrow masking tape that it was more trouble than it was worth. Because it, it rips as you pull it off for one thing Oh really, okay. and then you end up tediously scraping these tiny little shreds of masking tape Um. And the whole point of using it is to save yourself work. You can do a little faster painting and much easier clean up if you use the masking tape. But use, use good, uh, stuff and buy it at a paint store where they have the right brands, that will go down and come up easily. Okay. Well I really appreciate all the helpful tips, I think you are, just made my project a lot easier Well I wish you very good luck with it and I will tell you that I have retired from the painting business. The last time I had something done was my kitchen cabinets and I decided that was too much to tackle, I'd hire a professional. If you were, if you were closer I'd, I'd, I'd tell you you could come over and supervise Well if I were closer I might. Oh, well I hope your project turns out great and I, really think that it's exciting that you're going to try the sponge painting. I think that could give it a really a, Well, we'll see how it goes, I may just be flat painting over it. Well, of course that's the other advantage of paint. If you don't like it all you do is put on another coat. Yeah. I guess we'd better go because our time looks like it's about up. Yeah, I, I need to go to the dentist, so. Okay, bye-bye. It's was nice talking to you Kathleen. Thank you. Bye-bye. I think I get most of my news, uh, in headlines from the radio, and then I follow-up by reading the newspaper and news magazines about things that attract my attention. Well, I, I do about the same, I guess, but in a different fashion. I, I, I'm from New York originally and now that I live in Florida, I live in the Florida in the winter and then go back up north in the, in the summertime Uh-huh. and I, I feel that the, the only legitimate paper although it might sound, a little elitist is the NEW YORK TIMES. I've always read the NEW YORK TIMES when I was younger, and I try now that it has a national edition, I read that. I also read, uh, I, I, I guess I do watch, uh, MCNEIL LEHRER on P B S because I, I lean to that coverage, Uh-huh. and, and I guess I'm , I like them but they take so long. I don't always have time Yeah. Well, there , it's a whole hour show. Actually, it's an hour show each evening, and, and, we, we turn it on when we start dinner. We seem to start dinner around six and finish it up. Uh-huh. I find that I'm leaning on, uh, I travel a great deal, uh, even overseas, and I find that I lean on, uh, C N N quite a bit for concise and quick stuff. And, I'm, I, I'm quite satisfied with the way they put it out. I mean, I, I don't believe everything they say, but it's, it's coverage, you know. Yeah, I think C N N does a pretty good job. I had not watched them very much except when I was abroad, until the Gulf War. Yeah. Yeah. And they seemed to have the best coverage. They had more information sooner than, most of the other networks. Uh. Well, yeah, I, I, I, uh, Peter Arnet was reporting direct from, uh, Iraq. I think this is scandalous the way everybody's picking on him. Yeah. I, I think that what he, he reported what he saw Yeah. and if you didn't like it, that was just too bad, you know. Well, uh, I know that the coverage he was allowed to present was slanted, but I think they said that frequently enough. That, uh, you shouldn't criticize the man for giving us one perspective. Yeah , oh, yeah, I mean, uh. No. Uh, That, that's right, I think so. And, and I guess when it comes to, um, to magazines, I don't read, I used to when I was younger, I subscribed to TIME and U S NEWS AND WORLD REPORT. I, I have seemed to slide away from that and rely more on the local paper or, I, I, I also subscribe to something called WORLD PRESS, which is a magazine that only talks about other, excerpts from the WORLD PRESS, Uh-huh. which sort of gives you a different slant, than, it's not as slanted as the NEW YORK TIMES or as biased perhaps as the local paper. Yeah. But, uh, that I guess, and the radio. Uh, I listen to P B S radio a lot and I also listen to, uh, these twenty-four hour news stations, when I'm driving. I, Yeah, we have a C B S twenty-four hour station that I listen to on the way to and from work Yeah. and, Do you read, are you from Southern or Northern California? Northern. I'm from, uh, the peninsula, So well, Yeah, is that, what is that, Palo Alto. the San Francisco paper out there is, uh, the major paper? Well, it's horrible. Yeah, and that's a terrible paper. The San Francisco paper is just wretched. So I subscribe to the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Is that pretty good? Palo Alto is about midway between. Well it's a whole lot better than that San Francisco paper and, Oh the, what is that, the CHRONICLE isn't it? Yeah, there's the CHRONICLE, and the EXAMINER, Oh. but they're, uh, both run by the same Oh yeah, they they really are probably the worse papers I've ever read. I, uh, uh, They're just horrid Yeah. so we read, Well, can you get the L A paper up there? That's a pretty decent paper isn't it or, Uh, we can, but I don't like it. Yeah. So we subscribe to the NEW YORK TIMES and the WALL STREET JOURNAL and uh, MERCURY NEWS. Yeah. Yeah. Well that's another one I read, I forgot that. I read the WALL STREET JOURNAL, not as in depth as I used to, because they, their articles seem to be getting even longer and longer but, Yes, well again, I read that, uh, two columns on the front. Yeah. I, I think I, I agree with you that the problem seems to be they don't have enough time to do all the stuff. I feel pretty well versed in, in what I'm doing because I, I do spend more time on that than I do, say, on sports, or although I watch that, Uh-huh. I spend a lot of time reading about these things. I'm quite interested. I find it very exciting to, for the coverage we have now, today. Yes and I think we do get pretty good coverage. I don't feel that the American people is being shortchanged by the, uh, the news coverage. If anything, they, I think they We almost have too much. Well, I don't know, I, I hear a lot of criticism about listening to these, the Dan Rathers of the world and, and and taking their word for it, or their comment, actually, they, I think they slant things but, Well, I cannot stand Dan Rather. I remember him when he was a local newscaster in Houston. No kidding! Oh, wow! And I hated him then. I didn't know that. Yeah? And I would not watch that man for money. Yeah. And he and Barbara Walters just really turn my stomach. Yeah, was, was he, So I watch Peter Jennings, and, uh and Tom Brokaw. Sort of alternately. Yeah. How do you feel about it? I guess I, I got to say, if that's the subject, if the subject is do I feel that we're well enough equipped to, I don't know if, if it said that. I feel I'm well enough equipped. Do we get enough news or something like that? Yeah. To, Do we get, uh do we get the news that we want? Yeah. And I do. I really think. Yeah, I think I do too. I think you have to let, you got to segregate some of it. Yeah. Well, that's about all I have to say Okay, well nice to talk to you. Nice talking to you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, we, uh, taxes, everyone thinks taxes are too high I'm sure. But, uh, I think we do get quite a good value for the tax dollars we spend in most cases. What do you think? Uh, yeah, I, I think so. I, I'm, uh, I think I'm, I think I'm, uh, a little out of the ordinary in that, that I, I, uh, I think I'm more worried about the deficit, the national deficit than, than, uh, a lot of other people are and think that we need to, we need to either raise our taxes or, or cutback on something and I don't know what to cutback on to, to get, to get that, to get that settled. At this stage it's hard, to tell. And, and, uh, and, uh, I know I'm a real, a real, uh, out of it in terms of taxes so I'm I'm, uh, think that the, we really ought to seriously consider what an income tax might do that, uh, for Texas and, and, Well, at this stage I think we've taxed property almost to the limit because, like the, the property taxes on the homes have reached the point that it's precluding people from being able to own a home because of the cost of the taxes on them. Yeah. I think so. Yeah. I know I live in Richardson Yeah. and it's up over two thousand dollars a year for taxes on my house. Yeah, yeah. But now we're getting public services, the schools, the hospitals and if it weren't for the taxes we're putting in there, uh, look what the schools could cost you. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, now I'm, uh, uh, oh, I, we'd, when we moved to Richardson, one of the reasons we chose it was for the, uh, for the schools. And, and realizing that that, that, that quality of schools might well have higher taxes than other places but that we were willing to, uh, to go for that, because we supported the, Yeah. Then again the, the community college system here is excellent for the dollar spent, and the public, colleges also, the tuition has got to be among the lowest in the country. Yeah. Uh, Yeah. one of the, uh, I believe, I don't know which one it is, uh, down there whether it's Hobby or, uh, the other ex-governor down there that are proposing doubling the tuition. Well if you double the tuition, it would still be considerably less than the public school tuition in most other states. Yeah, I think that's right. Yeah. That would provide, uh, possibly some relief there to utilize some of the property taxes for other things, see. Yeah. The so-called sin taxes on liquor and the cigarettes and such as that generate a considerable amount, but I eventually I think you may tax people out of smoking even. I, I don't, I don't know about that, I, I, Yeah Well, I quit ten years ago so I, I couldn't afford to start again I see. Okay. No, uh, Yeah, well, that, that, that would be true. That would be true. But, I know, uh, my children would give up eating before they gave up their cigarettes I think. Huh. But all the various taxing authorities that come through, I think the one tax I resent the most though is the additional sales tax for DART which is probably never going to be in existence in my lifetime. Yeah, and, and even if it is, isn't going to, uh, uh, provide you with any, any services in that it's not doing to provide a route from your, your home to a business, for instance, you know. Well, this, this is a thing I think it's like, uh, back east. You had to start your public transportation when you started your cities. You can't come in afterward and really be successful or economical at it. If we had been like a Chicago or a New York City or Philadelphia or someone like that, and had a public transportation system starting in the horse and buggy days and when land was cheap and, uh, construction costs were cheap, you could afford it. Yeah. Yeah. But now, digging tunnels under Central Expressway and things like that becomes cost prohibitive. And, and that was pretty much it. And they had like three or four basic packages that they they offer. Yeah. Sounds like the Lincoln Mercury dealer I used to work for. They didn't order anything but the extra luxury version of whatever they got. Little Mercury Tracer Yeah, I've been I've been, imagine, or not, they make a, they make a luxury Mercury Tracer. Yeah, I've seen that in the dealership. I was driving a Lincoln, a Mark Seven for the last four years before I traded it for this Yeah. and, uh, I'm leasing the Lexus. I usually lease them since I own a business Yeah. I just run it through my business, but but it, Uh-huh. the Lincoln ride is certainly good, too, but the, this Lexus is nothing like I have ever been in before. *one or two utt? It's just, Like sitting in your living room. Yeah, it really is, and it's got a lumbar support in the seats. Adjustable? Adjustable, uh power Yeah and just kind of brings that support up in the tell me what you think about the Vietnam war. Okay. Well, I'm a Vietnam era veteran, and, uh, I was, uh, fortunate not to have to serve in the theater, however, my support roll in the service was to support those in the theater of operation. Uh, I'm of the old school that believes that, uh, the, uh, uh, contracts that we made back years ago needed to be honored. However, uh, I think we could have executed the war and gotten it over a whole lot quicker. Uh, but those are my personal thoughts, and I think that if we'd let the generals run the war like we let the generals run World War Two we'd had got it over a whole lot quicker and lost a lot fewer people. But as it was, the politicians ran the, the Korean conflict and ultimately the Vietnam thing, and we managed to come out, uh, losers all the way around. And so this is what ultimately triggered us, uh, United States, uh, per se, being, uh, deciding to get out of the role of world policeman. Your views, Uh, as I understand it, and I, uh, don't know a lot about it, uh, we got in there because of France Well. uh, France was there first. They had, We got into it because of SEATO agreement, back just right after World War Two that, uh, we pledged a mutual, uh, uh, defense of, of the South Vietnamese, and as it turned out they were in a civil war one with another, and really we I, I question us, you know, now, of course hindsight is all too clear. Sure. Uh, so, we're, we, we have to, have to deal with, with the, uh, situation as, as we played it. Jerry, what did you think of people like, uh, Jane Fonda, another war anti-war activist. I, don't get me started on those people. You know, before she, before Jane Fonda did, did what she did, I thought she was a wonderful person, but after, uh, uh, well, I, I just don't have anything, want anything to do with her any more, because you support, uh, you support your government. Right or wrong? Uh, okay, right or wrong, I don't think is, is, we can determine whether we were right or wrong, because, you're, you're having to deal with, again, uh, I think we could have made a different agreement back in the the late forties era that would have kept of there. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, I, I didn't realize that we'd signed some type of deal like that. I thought we came in as first advisors to the French, and then they decided to pull out and, Can you hold just a second, Terry? Sure. One moment please. Sure to someone else or Wonder what happens to this little beastie on call waiting or something. Huh, fascinating. Well that's not, Sorry for the delay. That's okay. Uh, yeah, this is, the, uh, the, the, uh, mutual defense thing was, uh, we, we, it was complicated, and I don't think everybody knows the whole situation. I don't. But from what I can gather, is we went and said yeah, we will help the South Vietnamese, uh, should they ask. Well, the French went in and tried their old style warfare, and, uh, got soundly thrashed. And we didn't do a whole lot better. Um. No, I had thought that they had, uh, colonies there, or something. Well, yeah, that was the old French colony, but see, the French, the French were our, uh, allies in NATO Right. and they're also our allies in SEATO, which was the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, which has since been, uh, disbanded as far as I know, you know, NATO is, is on the way of being disbanded. Uh, but, uh, the, you know, the French, yeah we go in as an ally to the French and says yeah, we'll, we'll help you out, if you get in a bind. Well, they got in a bind and says we don't want to, you know, play any more Uh-huh. so, uh, we, we kind of, we kind of got, got the ball rolling ourselves versus a bunch of top secret silly uh, um, oh, operations and then the full scale, you know, full scale troops, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, I'm thirty-two, so, uh, I well, I missed it. Seventy-four is when they quit sending troops. Uh, yeah, yeah roughly. Yeah. I was just probably three or four years, Okay, uh, what kind of hobbies do you have Lori? Uh, I guess, I, uh, I like to play golf. Uh-huh. And, uh, I also like to plant flowers and do do some gardening and do arts and crafts. Uh-huh. Where do you play golf in this area? Well, we live, uh, pretty close, to the Mesquite Golf Course. Uh-huh. So, we will play either out there or at Firewheel. That is usually where we play, but I have played you know different courses in in the Dallas area. Do you, uh, do you ride or do you pull a cart when you play golf? Uh, both Oh. Not at the same time. I was going to say, that could be difficult No, sometimes we ride and sometimes, uh, we, pull, we like to, to, uh, a lot of the times just walk, uh, for the exercise. But Uh-huh. I find that when I ride in a cart, I play better and I think it is cause I don't get as tired I think that might be true. Yeah. I don't like pulling a cart on Firewell golf course because they want you to pull the cart on the path. I know, and that makes me so mad You know, it is like it is not going to do that much damage to the course, but apparently they think differently That is the reason, I don't play over there. Yeah. I like the course, but I don't play over there because, you, they don't, uh, you know don't allow you to pull a cart. Right. And, I don't think a cart damages the turf. Right. Well, the reason why we play over there is because its where, since we are a Garland resident, they gave us a special deal where you can get, uh, ten rounds of golf for a hundred dollars, yeah, a hundred dollars cause it is half price what the normal green fees are. Uh-huh. So that is why we you know play over there cause we have got our card Well, I guess I could use a card too. I live, uh, very near, uh, very close to the Firewheel Golf Course. Oh, do you? So you live in Garland then. Yes, I live in northwest Garland. Right up there near the golf course. Okay, well we are in south Garland, but yeah, next time you go, uh, you know, check into it, they have, uh, it is just like, uh, a bus card and they just punch it. You know, it has got one through ten on it and every time you go they just punch it for you. Well, in the last two years, I have not played very much golf because I am involved in Boy Scouts. Oh, okay. So, I have, uh, I have, uh, I have children Boy Scout age. You must have a, a son. I have two boys that are boy scout age, and, uh, so I am very active in Boy Scouts Oh, okay. so I would have to say that camping and hiking and canoeing and Boy Scouts is my hobby. Yeah. But I Oh well that sounds like fun too but my golf clubs will probably rust before I get to use them again because my boys are still right at the beginning age and it is probably going to be six to eight years before they go to college. Uh-huh. Well, you need to, uh, teach them how to play and take them out on the course with you That's right. Lessons are expensive though. Oh, yeah. Well you can teach them Well, they would probably never make it then because I don't think, uh, I only took lessons for golf when I was in college. Uh-huh. Uh, as a course for P E you know so I could graduate. Right, Right. Uh-huh. But, uh, that is the only time I think I have ever really taken golf lessons and that was kind of a group scenario and not individual. Uh-huh. Right. Right. I took one lesson one other time. Besides that, uh, I just, uh, try to make the club hit the ball. Right. Yeah, I know what you mean I don't want to play strike out, you know. Uh-huh. But I have fun doing it, some, uh, you know, I have some good shots and some bad shots. Oh yeah. It, it is just nice to get outdoors and do something. So you said you work, uh, in the gardens too. Do you have, uh, a special flowers? Well flower gardens. I like to have, matter of fact this past weekend I just got finished planting a bunch of tulips and daffodil bulbs. So, those ought to be coming up around spring time My wife had, uh, just put in a bunch of, I want to say, they are pansies. Uh-huh. She put them in like two months ago cause they are winter plants. Right. And they have been, we thought even with all the cold weather weather we have had they have been blooming just fine. Oh, they do great. I put mine in probably in November. That is when she did, I think. Yeah, I think it was November and I don't do anything to mine, water them or anything And they just, they do really good and I even had, uh, I guess it was last year or the year before, I had some out and it froze and the pansies looked terrible, but they came back later. I didn't do anything to them so they are, uh, they are good to plant in the winter time. They last for a long time then. So, if you start putting them, you know, you can put them out in the spring too, but once it starts getting real hot then it just kills them cause they can't stand the hot weather. Uh-huh. Do they survive longer if you plant them in the winter time? Will they make it through the summer sun? No, they won't make it through the summer because it gets too hot, but they make it through probably winter and spring. So, Well. Yeah, I have got some of those too, cause I love flowers Well, that is good. Yeah. And I do, I try to do some arts and crafts and I love to go, So you have a child Uh-huh. Yeah we, Two year old daughter in child care and we went through the process of searching for child care and uh, finding what we consider to be, real good child care at a, uh, pretty reasonable price, we think. Uh, How about you, do you have any children? Yes, our first and he just turned three months. Oh, boy. So, we're just starting into hunting for child care. Yeah. Right now, both of us are students. Are you? Where are a student? Uh, Uh, University of Southern Mississippi. No kidding. Uh, she's, I was a professor in a university here in California for a while. Yeah. Yeah, uh, are you going to, uh, put your son in child care in a, a year or two? Uh, probably. Uh, actually spring semester a year from now he's going to have to be in child care uh, five days a week more than likely. Uh, depending on how my class schedule runs Yeah. because my wife will be doing her internship that semester. Uh-huh. It will be forty hour week, not, no, eight to five type of thing. Yeah. So depending on what my class schedule looks like, he may spend four, anywhere from four to eight hours a day in child care at that point. Right now we're trying to avoid it, but we just, as a matter of fact just yesterday hired a, a girl to, uh, watch him. Uh, I get out of class at certain time and my wife is already supposed to be on her way to her class. You know, once a day this overlap happens where we can't, one of us be home. Yeah. Yeah. So for about twenty twenty, thirty minutes a day we got a baby-sitter comes in. Well, that's a good experience, I think, and, uh, there are a lot of things to think about and the articles that are written on the topic, are pretty good and they kind of boil down to, uh, any other important decision you really have to explore the alternative Uh-huh and what we found, uh, to be the best guide was our own instincts about, people who were going to be loving Yeah. and, uh, that's more important than anything else. We could have sent, uh, her to a fancier, uh, facility. Uh-huh. Uh, she goes to a home. This is a, uh, a couple, uh, emigrated from China early in, in their lives. Uh-huh. They've been here probably thirty, forty years. Yeah. They've got three daughters. Uh, and, they have a loving home and, uh, they're both there and they have a kid that comes in and helps them in the afternoon. Uh-huh. And our daughter is healthy, happy, well adjusted and enjoys going to see her friends, Yeah. so it's a good experience. Uh, that makes a big difference. I if it's good, I think it's very good for the child. Yes. And if it's, a loving environment, I think it's very good and, and that's really what we've learned about it. She'll have to go on to something more stimulating in terms of preschool in a year Yeah. but, uh, we feel real fortunate and we were able to, uh, just, uh, choose in the marketplace. I don't know what it's like around, uh, Hattiesburg. There's a lot of child care available, but invariably there's waiting lists. Uh-huh. Yeah. And we were a little slow getting on the waiting list with the, uh, okay, the university, uh, university's, uh uh, department of, uh, uh, their Home Ec Department Yeah. I'll bet they're involved. Yeah. uh, they, uh, they have a subbranch, uh, American Family Counseling and their people staff this, this, uh, the child care center just off campus. But, uh, they have a pretty good size waiting list. Yeah So, Well, that's, uh, I know it's, it's a real hard thing to do, even for people in, in, uh, university communities. Uh-huh. Out here at Manford, they have a, you know, a, a, a real good facility and there, uh, is quite a waiting list to get into that. Yeah. So it's, uh, uh, you know, it's a, it's a, it's an important, decision, it's an industry that's still a cottage industry Yeah. Yeah, and I think this is really is buyer beware. Well, it is the best way to do it, interestingly. a cottage industry's the best way to do it really, because if you over, I think that, uh, my own interest in, in development, human development leads me to believe that that's a good sign and that, uh, private enterprise is the way to go and that it will lead to a fundamental change in the way we learn. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Because, I think what we're going to go to is much more commercial entrepreneurial learning ventures in the market. As a matter of fact, my future is banked on that, uh, professionally because I believe that, that there are, uh, pressing needs in the marketplace, unmet by schools, colleges universities for, uh, learning a lot of things that kids can learn watching Sesame Street and in child care. Uh-huh. Primary skills which turn out to be the most important skills in life. Yes. And it's amazing how much good things like, uh, Sesame Street will do. It's, it's phenomenal. It's phenomenal, the programming, the human operating system, favorite type of music or musician or any. I don't really have a favorite type. I like, uh, a lot of different types of music. Do you? Yeah, I have a, a tape collection that I like to listen to, uh, cassette tapes Uh-huh. but it's pretty varied. Uh-huh. Yeah. How about you? Oh, I, I'm very, uh, I'm very varied as well. I, uh, I don't think I've ever met a type of music I don't like except for, uh, maybe, you know, heavy metal and that. That's exactly me. The acid rock or the heavy metal. Yeah. Even some of that I like okay but not, mostly, as a general rule, Yeah. I don't care for that at all. Yeah. I don't enjoy rap too much, either. That, that doesn't appeal to, uh, my ears. Well, as far as the rap goes, I think there are a few artists that appeal to me themselves Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I like some of their songs. Oh. But as, as I agree, with the general rule, I, I wouldn't choose rap either. Uh-huh. But I, I like to listen to, uh, what you might call pop, easy listening country western, jazz uh, classical, um, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, I don't, I like, uh, like I said, pretty varied, uh, music. Uh-huh. I have a couple that my husband really hates that I listen to, like Billy Holiday Oh I really love to listen to her, Uh-huh. and, uh, I even have a, a tape of Lady Smith Blackman Bazo Oh, gosh. and, well, I mean, they're very harmonic Uh-huh they really are. uh-huh, yeah, sure. So, they're interesting to listen to. You might try that. How about you? Well, um, I listen to, uh, specific, most, most likely I would be listen to, uh, jazz or classical music. Um I, in college I took, uh, four years of classical guitar, and I played in the, in the jazz combo all four years. I play guitar for the jazz combo. Oh, yeah? So, uh, that's where my two, my two listening enjoyments are, but, you know, jazz can get on my nerves after a while. Uh, you can't just listen to it, you know, to, uh, especially a lot of the deeper stuff, Yeah, unless, unless you're playing it, *sv It's too, um, uh, you have to concentrate on it, it seems. it just, it just doesn't do anything. What about the blues or something like that? Uh, uh, blues are okay. I, I tell you, I do like, um, I grew up on blue grass music. My dad is a big blue grass fan, and so Uh-huh. um, I wouldn't have admitted it when I was in high school but, I really do like it a lot. So. I, I like some of it, um, as far as like the what they now call country western, it doesn't sound like the old country music at all, does it? *two utts?? No, it doesn't, it doesn't. Um, some of it sounds more like pop music. Yeah, uh they've all got, you know, the real screechy electric guitars now. Oh, yeah, If I'm going to listen to today's country western, I have tapes of like Randy Travis and Clint Black Yeah. and I even liked Jim Reeves you know Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I, yeah, Uh-huh. or, uh, what, what Merle Haggard and Faron Young Uh-huh. that type of country western is what I, I like to listen to. Uh, Sons of the Pioneers, you know, stuff like that. *all caps for titles Sure. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Um, oh, I like sound tracks a lot. Oh, do you? Yeah, it seems like you get a lot of original music that way. Yeah, you sure do. I mean, you know, think about like the Twin Peaks and stuff like that that's just real recent Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. things like that I like to listen to. Um, I like instrumental things. Uh-huh. Um, I have some Spiro Gyro tapes. Oh, they're great aren't they. Oh, they're wonderful. Yeah. I love them. I have some dulcimer music. I mean, like I said, that, that's pretty varied. Yeah, it sure is, yeah. Al Jarreau, he's somebody I like. He's pretty, kind of jazz inspired but but still kind of pop, too. Uh-huh. Yeah, I like his, he has a nice smooth voice. Oh, yeah, and, you know, what I like the most about him, is, I've gone to see him in concert, and he always, he looks like he's having fun. Yeah, sure. I mean, some people sing, and they have their faced all contorted, like it hurts them or something But he looks like he's having a good time. I mean, he's up there moving around and smiling like he's happy and, and like all he wants to do is, is make the audience enjoy it, too. Uh-huh. Sure. And he, he is real fun to listen to. Uh-huh. Um, Bonnie Rait, I like her a lot. Uh-huh. Um, in fact, whenever she won her big Grammy Uh-huh. I think it was like five of them or something Uh-huh. was, was it five, or. Yeah, something like that, it was last, last, last year wasn't it. Yeah, last year or the year before, I can't remember, but, um, I was listening to a particular radio station and, and the one D J said, who the heck is Bonnie Rait and why does she deserve five Grammies? Well, I vowed then that I was not going to listen to that radio station any more, if that D J can make such a Okay. Okay, well, Mark, our situation is that we do have a daughter that is, uh, in the situation of choosing college. Uh-huh. She's actually at Bible College for this current year. Uh-huh. And, uh, I guess uh, first and foremost, it, really it's a question of what the student wants to have in the way of a career and then, uh, uh, which colleges or universities can best offer that program, and then it comes down to the dollar. You have to, uh, it's whether or not you're a resident for that jurisdiction, you know, it does, *sv Uh-huh. it comes down to, uh trying to come with a trade off of the costs. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, what do you feel about come of the things that need to, Damn it , I agree with pretty much with everything you've said. Uh, the one, the one thing that I, you know, I'd advise any parent, uh, you know, or any, or any person looking for a college, uh, is that I think, I think, you know, it's really important for them to actually visit the college and actually try and get away from, you know, the guided tour of the college and try and talk to the, you know, actual students there because, you know, they're just, uh, in my experience, I've talked to people at other colleges, uh, that, you know, the, the, the way, the, you know, the, the, the lifestyle pictured in the catalogs isn't always the whole story. No, the, the college, the, the catalogs are sales material. Uh-huh. It doesn't matter whether, you know, they're, they're selling school. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, and, true, it, uh, really is helpful if a parent and the student can get there and see the real character of the school and the real life experiences of the school. Uh-huh. Uh, I guess there's a difference in, here the, at least, the university here in Saskatoon is primarily, uh, off campus resident students. Like, they just live in the community. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, I know that there are a lot of colleges and universities, particularly as they get to be a little bit on the smaller side where dormitory life is, uh, is right on campus as well Uh-huh. and that, you know, that changes the character of it quite a bit. Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I go to Georgia Tech which is, you know, primarily an engineering school Uh-huh. and, uh, you know, I think I really do miss the fact, you know, that it's not a university, that there's, there's not, the, the, you know, it tends to be a very conservative school and there, and there doesn't seem to be the diversity of views that a lot of, you know, universities will, will have. Yeah. Uh, I guess we're here, this is the university that has, for years had the, the car, that, uh, will travel the farthest on, uh, on a small quantity of gas, *utt 3 & 4 one utt?? our engineering students. Uh-huh. Uh, in competitions and that's the kind of thing that also you see, uh, if you can see the kinds of achievements that have been made by students as well as graduates can give you idea of the character of the school. Uh-huh. Uh, whether you, you know, in one sense, whether you've got a spirit of innovation and excellence or whether you've got a, a spirit of, somewhat unkind, but producing graduates. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, you know, as sort of some development and some training, uh, like it's easy enough to crank out graduates, but to really challenge them Uh-huh. and, uh, and that can vary between colleges, and faculties even, as to how, you know, what the attitude towards achievement is. Uh-huh. Uh, do you, uh, have anyone that you're seriously needing to, uh, feed information to? I suppose if you're actually at Georgia Tech as a student, you're a ways away from that. Yeah, uh, I don't really know of anyone that's like that's looking for colleges now, you know, because it, with the exception of, uh, people's younger brothers and sisters. Then the only advise passed down is, don't go to Georgia Tech Uh, but, uh, no, actually I'm, I'm, I'm more interested in, in, in choosing the right job when you graduate type information Right. Well, that's, that's one of the, really, a valid point that people need to consider as well. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, to, going to college, university is going to take four to eight years depending on the programs person's involved in Program. and after that, you have to be out in the real world and have to be able to support yourself Uh-huh. and if you go in an area that there is just not much of a job market Uh-uh. jeez, if that's, Uh-huh, like a fine arts education, I, Right. Best training in the world is not going to put food on your table. Uh-huh. But, uh, You have any pets? Do I have pets? Yeah. Yes, I have a cat and I have two dogs. Two dogs, what kind? I have a Schnauzer and I have a Sheltie. Schnauzers. Is it a miniature or a standard Schnauzer? It, it's a miniature. Uh. I'm going into all this because I used to I just got done working at a pet shop actually. Uh-huh. Oh, okay. Yeah. Well, the Schnauzer I'm, I'm watching for one of, uh, the managers where I work and he's been transferred to Germany for a while Uh. and I'm taking care of his dog and, uh, and I had just got the kitten when he asked me that and he says, well, my dog doesn't like cats, and I said, well, we won't tell him it's a we won't tell her it's a cat, because it was a kitten, and, you know, they just, they just love kittens. Yeah. They just are fascinated. Oh, yeah. So she doesn't know that this is a cat yet. That's good. They say , And they get along real good. I said if Tom could see dog lick this kitty, he'd flip. *listen So that was interesting. Didn't expect that would happen. Yeah, that's cool, that's nice. Uh, let's see, what was the other dog you had? It's a sheltie. Oh, a sheltie. She's real sweet little dog. She's got a very nice temperament. Uh, they're not as aggressive as a Schnauzer. Yeah. You know, the Schnauzers are a little aggressive. They can be nippy. Uh-huh. Yeah, shelties are nice. Everybody seems to be really happy with them. They're good temperament. They're a good temperament They put up with a lot. and they, and they just, uh, they, I think they have a good head on their shoulders. I think they have a, a higher level of intelligence than other, uh, dogs that I have encountered. Schnauzers, in particular probably. Well, yeah, but also some poodles, uh Oh, yeah. they're kind of, there are some smart ones out there, but there's some also some, uh, not so smart ones Yeah, I it seems the smaller the are, the, the worse off they are Yeah, that's, that's, maybe that's, there's, uh, some credence in that statement. Yeah, they're bred down so much. It's, Uh-huh. They aren't the best pets. I, I'd, I really don't know what the best pet is. Yeah. I guess it's up to the individual and how they relate to their animal. And bull dogs Yeah, I mean, some people seem fairly well suited for for, uh, miniature poodles and such. But I don't know about these, uh, these, uh, uh, these pincers, these, now, what are they called. Pit bulls, pit bulls that are so vicious. Pit bull. They might, they're actually very friendly dogs. Are they really? I don't think I've ever seen one. Uh, they're really nice. I, I've dealt with quite a few of them. People, uh, customers that bring them into the shop and ask me like, they, uh, fit collars and stuff on them and they are, they are just really nice, really friendly, uh, kind of like medium intelligence. Uh, Well, how do they become how did they get their reputation, then? Well, because some people, uh, want to train them as, Oh, they train them to be that way, then. Yeah. Oh, okay. You really can't get a pit bull from birth that's that way. Oh, okay. Yeah, it takes a lot of training and a lot of abuse to get a dog to really respond. Oh, dear, so the the poor animal is doing it in self protection. Right. Oh, dear. Yeah, they aren't, they aren't by nature really nasty critters. They are very determined critters Uh-huh. and so once you get them going, it's not good to to deal with, but, they, I, I really like them. *two utts? I was, I was impressed by them. They're, they're real sturdy little critters and they aren't that big. And, uh, just really friendly. Uh-huh. Well, that's unusual. I was, I was overwhelmed. I, Huh, well, I suppose you were surprised. Yeah. After the reputation that, you know Yeah, right now, they have quite an, uh, uh, notable reputation as far as, you know, They picked up a lot of bad press lately. Yeah, they're banned from, in some areas I understand. Well, yeah. Uh-huh. But, any, any, any pet's going to, can, can be bad if you train it to be that way. You know, that, they must have just targeted that breed and said, boy, we're going Well, yeah, it's, when, in my hometown, they just outlawed ferrets because they had one incident of a ferret, uh, attacking a a child in a house. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. I mean, these people had left this infant in the same room with this loose ferret. The, the ferret is used to running the house and was kind of wild Uh-huh. and, you know, they should expect something like that to happen. And so now it's like ferrets are outlawed in the town. Oh, did it attack the child, then? Yeah, it, it bit him. Uh-huh. And that was, that was not a good thing, but I think it was probably a, an individual ferret thing, because it was it was a fairly wild ferret. Well, the the people that owned him should have been on the lookout for that. Sure, Hadn't, they hadn't, Yeah, I mean they really should have, should have expected it. And taken the precautions. They didn't. yeah. It's too bad it happened, though. Yeah, because then the, the animal's in trouble, and not the person. Right. Go ahead Uh, have you every been tested for a new job or anything? Uh, no I haven't. But, in my job, I'm a nurse, and we are allowed to be. I mean, you know, this is the rules that they can do this anytime. Uh, I don't know of anyone who ever has been picked out and been tested. So it's just sort of, uh, they can if they, They can if they choose to. Oh, okay. Right. Have you, well have you had any experience with it at all? Uh, not really but I've always worked on a university level but a lot of my friends had to be tested before they got summer jobs and stuff. Uh-huh. So what do you think about that? Uh, I don't, I don't think they're very accurate because, I mean, I know their lifestyles changed prior to the drug test and I know they changed afterwards. Right, right. See I know of that too. And I also know that things like antihistamines, Sudafeds, things like that, can really throw it off. And you cannot get a job because of it Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I had a friend, it didn't cause her any problems with her job but it came back that she tested positive for using a hallucinogen. But what it was, was she had been she had been, uh, in the jungle and it was some Malaria medication and she tested positive for that. See, and so it really is a dangerous thing that way because I know of somebody that tested for an airline and didn't get the job and they weren't told why. But a lot of people say the reason why, after you take a physical, will be because of the drug testing or they would tell you. Or this person never use any drugs. See, I always, I thought they got, you got called back if you tested positive, for more tests. Uh, you should. Because you should be given another chance or at least be able to justify it or something. I have real mixed feelings about it. I don't know. How, do you know how wrong they are? Are they, I mean, is there a margin of error? The accuracy? I don't know. I don't know. But, I know there are a lot of things that can influence them and I think that a person deserves a second chance with it or something because most things will stay in your system for a long time. Yeah. And if you could show that, I, I interviewed for a job recently and I was taking Entex. And my doctor gave me a prescription for it. Uh-huh. And he said this way if it were to make the drug test positive, you have proof that your doctor ordered this for you, you know. And it didn't come up that I needed to do it but this could happen to anybody and if they would just say oh, this person's drug test is positive we won't hire them you know. Then you could lose out on a job when really you didn't do anything. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know. And I, I'm not so sure they are that needed. *b Yeah, I'm not sure either. The only way I can see it is that if they really suspect a person of using it, then they have the right to go ahead and prove it because they say they can spot check. if you're using it while at a job, I can see a problem. Yeah. But the occasional person, then it's almost like, it's almost an infringement of your privacy. Well, it sort of is. And this is it, this, I'm not real sure how I feel about it because I can see it from two ways. You know, as a health professional, I wouldn't want somebody to take care of me that was using drugs. Yeah. You know, so as a patient, I feel well, yeah, we probably should be protected. But, on the other hand, there's a lot of things I should be protected from that they don't test my patients for too. So you know, I guess you sort of, you have to have trust some place along the way. Yeah. You can't go around testing everybody for everything. Yeah So, I don't know. And I, I think it could be used to hassle somebody. If someone was out to get you, I think that a company or a boss could use this. You know, they could keep on doing this to you or something, I guess. I can see where it could become a problem. And it, it's like, it seems like now they have tests I guess they can test your hair and they can find out if you use drugs up to several years ago. Really. maybe you shouldn't be held responsible for something you did several years ago. *sv So, I know. That's the other thing. I mean a lot of, a lot of people as kids or, you know, young people get into some things that they get out of later on and I don't think they should really have to pay for that forever. Yeah. There's a lot of things you do as a kid that you wouldn't do as an adult Yeah. but you can't say it was wrong at the time. I think that's true. Yeah, yeah. So that probably wouldn't be too good either. How many children do you have now? Well I have five. You have five? Right. Well you do have a hard time finding time then don't you? Well, five are, I mean four of them are grown, they're in college or just out of college so I really have just a thirteen year old at home. Uh-huh. You sound so young. Well, I work at it All right To have them, uh, I try to fool everybody I think you're doing a good job. I just have one child. Uh-huh. And, uh, I don't think, uh, well there's not much I can do about it. My, my wife and I are, in our forties, you know, so, uh Uh-huh. but it's hard to raise one child without them thinking they're the, they're the pivot point of the universe. I think you are right because I was an only child too. And that's one reason I have so many because I really, I enjoy the big family. Yeah. And my thirteen year old is pretty separate from her brother and sisters and so she is sort of like an only child and it's the same type of thing, uh, Uh-huh. I have a younger brother like that. I'm in my forties, like I say and I have a brother in his twenties. Uh-huh. And I was, I was the youngest. Yeah. So I understand how that worked. And he was treated like he had five fathers or something. Right. That's exactly how it is, you know. She's got all these sisters and her brother to take care of her. When things don't go right, she just calls one of them, you know. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, it, it's a little bit difficult, though. I think it was easier when they all had each other and could entertain each other and I was home more. And, Did you all do a lot of organized things like, uh, Little League, uh, soccer? We, we really did not. My next oldest daughter that's in college in California is a world twirling champion. She twirls a baton and we did a lot of things together. Uh-huh. She and I did a lot of things together and flew, we have flown all over the world for her to compete and to perform. Uh-huh. And that was a lot of fun. But that, that, I guess you could consider that organized. I mean, there is a competition all the time. Yeah. We were very heavy into that. Other than that, they were pretty much, and maybe dancing school for a while or mainly school sports and things like that. You know, I think that's probably true. The, if you have one child or fewer, you get involved in organized events or activities Uh-huh. and if you have a large number of children or, then you don't. Well, you can't afford to. No, you and there's not enough time, uh Right. like my son is in, uh, Little League this year. He's ten. And they practice three times a week and they have a game and it's just, uh, if there were more than one child, I don't know, there would be no way to do it. Right. That's right. You know, one parent go one direction and I'd have to go in the other and we could only cover two at that. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well I know I spent hours in the gym every day with my daughter and my little one also competed because really she had no choice. She had to go with me. Uh-huh. So the three of us just spent a lot of time traveling and, and competing and, of course, the competing itself, really didn't matter what it was, it was making the friends and going all the places and it was a really neat experience, but it took our total time. I did not work, uh, when I did this. Now I do work full-time. Uh-huh. And it's just, my thirteen year old and myself and so we really have to keep it together to get just her activities in and still have time to spend with each other. So , I don't think, although I think a, a, more than one child, probably three children is probably the ideal to me but I'm not sure I could afford three. I most certainly couldn't educate three. I don't know how my, my parents did it. Yeah. I mean, there were five of us and I don't recall, you know, wanting anything in particular. Uh, but I don't know how my father did it. He worked at a truck line and he just didn't make that kind of money with five children. But we did okay. We had a house and a home and, but now, my wife and I both work and we don't, I don't believe we have as much as my parents did and we only have one child. Really? Uh-huh. Well, things cost a lot more. I don't know how it is in Georgia Huh. and I don't think our part of the country is particularly bad compared to some. Atlanta is horrible. Is it? Yes. we have a lot of people moving here from Boston and, and different areas and from talking to them, they're shocked. Really? and they, you know, the housing is so cheap in comparison to Boston that they jump on it. Right. That's what I've heard. They sell their house, they stash away a good bit of money and come down here and I work with a lot of them, they, they think they, they have really done something. Then when they get down here, they realize the cost of living is outrageous compared to, to where they came from. Huh. Yeah. The housing is cheaper, but that's about it. I'm surprised to hear that. I've heard very positive things about Atlanta, Oh so , Okay. I'm not as ashamed to claim them this year as I have been so Well, it, let's put it this way. We've got the New England Patriots up here so. Oh yeah. Right. Well, They've had some serious problems in the past couple of years. Really? Yeah. Why? Um, well, uh, partly due to ownership. You know, uh, Victor Kiam owned the, uh, the Patriots uh, for a period of a number of years Uh-huh. and he always had this, uh, this wonderful quality of being able to put his foot in his mouth every time he went to say something and, uh, they've had some financial problems with the team and so forth. And it recently was sold to, uh, some other people so, hopefully, this ownership can set up new direction and, uh, keep, uh, the Patriots in the New England area anyways Yeah. Well it will be fun for you to watch up there anyway to see what happens now you, Oh, yeah. I've been to a couple, I've been to a few games before. Uh-huh. Now you, you're, you're from Texas. Right. So you've got two football teams down there. Well, it depends on where you're from in Texas. I live right by Dallas so we have one football team as far as we're concerned Uh-huh. Oh, I see. That's how it is. There's that type of segregation, huh? It's divided, yeah. Wow! It really is, so we've got our Cowboys here and and, uh, I don't think anybody roots differently Uh-huh. but I have a boyfriend that lives in Fresno Do you, and he is for the L, the, uh, Raiders. L A Raiders, Uh-huh. so. Do you follow professional sports at all? Well, I just started to this year because of these silly Raiders that didn't do very well but I've been trying more this year. I think I know a little more than I use to. Yeah. I never knew very much at all so I'm trying Well, it's a good past time, you know. Yeah. Particularly football. They say, uh, football attracts more men because of the, you know, the, you see the, the physical aggression on the field and supposedly, psychologists say that, uh, that, uh, men take out their frustrations by watching football and, you know, they get together with a bunch of guys and they, uh, uh, and they have a good time and everything and that's suppose to be some of the, uh, the male bonding and the, and the, uh, the male instincts, I guess, or something about the, uh, So I shouldn't even try to do it, huh Well, no. It, it's good as, in terms of, in terms of, uh, of a contest. Yes. I think that, uh, I personally like hockey better because it has contact, it's a contact sport. It has the speed. Right. And the hand eye coordination and it takes a certain skill to play hockey. Not everybody can play hockey. Yeah. So we, and that's, we're a big hockey area up here, I bet up here in New England as well as, you know, in, in the Minnesota area Really . but, I don't even think we have that in Texas. What, hockey? We might. Do we? I mean, no you probably know, I don't know. No, there's no hockey, there's no Nobody talks about it so I don't think we do. There's no professional hockey teams in, in Texas No, uh-huh. And we have a soccer team that comes and goes. We don't even have that very much, so. Yeah. I think though that professional football in particular, is becoming so diluted now. Uh-huh. Like they have this World Football League. You see, we have the N F L that, that Dallas and Houston are in and New England Patriots and L A Raiders and those teams Yeah. There are those teams that play in professional, National Football League but, uh, now they have what's called the World Football League and they have all these teams from, there's a team in London and there's a team there, there's, uh, teams, other European teams Oh. and there's teams in the United States and they're playing now during the summer months and it's really you know, overkill Oh yeah. And there's only so much football you can watch. Yeah. Well, I like to do, I don't like to watch. Yeah, that's good. I don't like to watch anything. So it kind of annoys me when people just lay in front of a T V and watch all this stuff. I think it's an, excuse to do nothing and I, I can see what you're saying about the male bonding and the guys get together Yeah. and that's kind of cool. That's fun, you know. Uh-huh. But it can get really overdone. Now, have you ever been to a professional football game? Yeah, I have. Have you? Yeah, yeah, I have. Did you do the whole big, the whole thing, the tailgate party and the whole, Uh, no actually, no. Well see, now see that's what you got to do, see. Now we talked our, I've done that for college football. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. You, the, well the same thing. Yeah. We, we talked our wives, there's about six or eight guys that we use to go out for these games. And, uh, we talked our wives into going with us one time and they had a real good time and it was, basically, for the social atmosphere. Right. And that's the thing, you know. You go, you know three or four hours before the game. You go set up. We set a table up, we do some cooking, some barbecueing, have a few drinks and then go in and see the game and see the Patriots lose and then go home and eat, drink some more. Yeah. But, but that whole, it, it's not so much, sure the contest itself and the game itself, Yeah. that you miss sitting home in your parlor, you know, uh, with, with a six pack of beer and some, uh, potato chips, you know That's right. you, you miss that. Yeah, that's right. And, and any professional sport I think, you miss that. Uh-huh. The atmosphere of being there, you know. Yeah. Well, in high school I went to every football game and, well, I twirled, you know. Yep. And I, you know, I didn't, I still don't know that much about football, obviously. But I still had a good time. You know, Well think about this? Uh, do you have children in school? I do. Uh, I have two that are, uh, now just about ready to graduate from college Uh. but I also have two that are just entering school. Uh, well *sv I think they're just pushing them entirely to fast. So you see a big difference then in before and now do you or, A lot of testing? Uh, well it seems to me that kindergarten is now the equivalent of first grade. Uh-huh. My son leaves the house at seven thirty and doesn't get home until three o'clock. Uh-huh. And I think that's such a long day for a kindergartner. I do too, I, oh, I think that's awful. And, uh, I have a preschooler. Uh, I was told by her preschool teacher that she thought maybe she was to immature for kindergarten and I thought well how mature do you have to be I know. What's the new criteria, huh. And, uh, there is a, do you have the standardized testing now? We have all kinds of testing and it's over and over. It's I T B S or, and, uh, just everything, everything. Yeah. And they test, test, test. I live in Plano actually and I don't know if you've heard of Plano but it's a very transient community. No. A lot of people from everywhere, it's just north of Dallas Uh-huh. and it's grown in leaps and bounds. I, we must have maybe a hundred and fifty thousand people now. Oh. And most of them from other places. Yeah. Uh, J C Penney's come down from New York and, of course, T I and Xerox from Rochester and we just, have lots of people from everywhere. Lots of industry coming in, Yeah. and it's a very wealthy community. Uh, not that I am but other people seem, to be and I would love to know why but I mean they do. They have, you would like to know what they're doing right I, I would, I really would. I mean, they just have beautiful, beautiful homes and they have everything. The kids only wear name brand things to school and it's one of these things, Oh me. Well that makes it hard for you, doesn't it. Well it does, you know. It really does because I'm a single mom and I have a thirteen year old now and uh, you know, it does. Oh, me. I mean, we do it to a point but uh, not to where she feels different, Yeah. but some of them are very rich It's hard to explain to them why you can't. and so, uh, we just kind of have, everything here and we have a very goal oriented population because their parents are. Right. And so I don't know how much of it, is us and how much of it is Texas but the kids are expected to excel in, everything. Oh, dear. And it's almost impossible because you have so many children and just so many activities that everybody can't be first and they're expected to be. Right. You know, their parents expect it, the teachers expect it, Texas wants very badly to be considered tops in the school system Right and if you read national surveys, they're far from it. And so there's just a whole lot of testing and a whole lot of pushing to do well on these tests. How about the kids. How are they coping with it? Well, not very well. They bring home notes that say they have to get a good night's sleep and eat right in the morning before, tests. Huh. I mean they make a big deal. To me, the paper should just be put on the desk that day and say just do this. Right. You know, I just feel they do better that way. Yeah. Rather than anticipating. And, Yeah. And, and I have older children too that now are out of high school and they've always done this here. I mean it's always been the same but it is, it's getting worse and worse, is more pressure for everything. *listen And I just think it's really awful and I, I'm with you on that. You don't hear too many people say this, but I think it's a very long day. Oh, it is. And my feeling is that, you know, you're only a kid once, and you don't want to spend your whole life in school. That's right. My son said that, came home and he said, he said Mom, all we do is work. Uh-huh, uh-huh. We hardly ever play and, And I don't think that's right. I think we should do what Europe does and include cultural activities in our school system. Oh, likewise. I don't think I should have to pay for dancing lessons, gymnastics, piano. Right. I would like to see those things included in our school system because I think we should have well-rounded kids not just book smart kids. Wouldn't that be great. Uh-huh. Right. And so I just find this a real problem. I think if they're going to be there all day, they should find time. One of my daughters, once, was out of school with Mono in her junior year I think it was. And she had a home teacher for like four hours a week and when she went back in six weeks, she was ahead. So what does that tell you? Is that right? It tells you there's a whole lot of wasted time. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. And they could be using this time better. Well, for example, in my son's kindergarten. They're really finished at lunch time. After lunch, they have some, uh, I'm trying to think if they have recess after lunch, and then they have naps or rest period. Uh-huh. And, uh, I think either send them home or do something a little more interesting. That's a very long day for kindergartners. I agree. But I think that working parents have kind of demanded this. I wouldn't be surprised. You know, because they don't, they don't want to send them to daycare. I doubt if they would say it was too long That's why they want them there because them somebody takes care of them all day Uh, do you have the before school care, at your school and the after school care? We have them at one school like, This is Archie. Hi, Archie. I'm Sharon. Have you seen DANCING WITH WOLVES? Yeah. I've seen that, that's, uh, that was a really good movie. Probably one of the best things about it was the scenery and, uh, I thought the story was pretty good, too. I, I think Kevin Costner did a really good job with it. Have you ever lived in that part of the country? No. I haven't. Have you ever visited it? Um, I've visited the Wyoming area. I'm not sure exactly where DANCES WITH WOLVES was filmed. I think it was the black hills of South Dakota. Could be. I, I haven't been to South Dakota. Have, have you been up to that? Well, I lived in Omaha for five, winters, Oh. Okay. and that rolling kind of, uh, Terrain. Yeah. Is, is fairly . The thing that I thought was interesting was that the critics, apparently it's going to win everything. Really? Uh, and I had been told, you know, you wouldn't notice that it was three hours long, and all this, kind of, That's true. I agree with that. Um, I, I noticed yesterday in the paper, something said that it, I think it's been nominated for twelve awards and, and all the critics initially said that, you know, it wouldn't go anywhere, that it was just going to be a dud. So, it, it has surprised everybody. Well, the interesting thing was is I had heard that, and I, I, I tend to, I think, overreact occasionally when somebody tells me it's that great. And, and it was, the thing is, it was, it was a good story. Uh-huh. Right. And, and, and I guess that's what I really like. Although, I must admit I did look at my watch after about an hour. Did you? Yeah. Have you seen SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY? No. I've heard, I've heard that's really great, though. you have to go see that one. And how about SILENCE OF THE LAMB? No, Go. You must really keep up. I do. I go every weekend I, I, uh, those are two definite must see movies, I think. Well, isn't, isn't SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, isn't that a, is it, is it a terror movie or is it just suspenseful? It's suspenseful. I don't think it's very I mean, there's not really any, uh, blood and guts in it or anything like that. It's, it's more suspense. Um, the other one, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, is kind of a, a gory movie, if, if somebody's not into that kind of stuff. It's, it's pretty graphic at points. But, uh, I think they're both excellent movies. Do you, do you listen to Gary Cogill? No. Huh-uh. *two utts Is, uh, do you know who he is? Yeah. Somebody in South Carolina told me about him. He's a, the movie critic. Um, oh, you've, oh, okay. He's a movie critic on channel eight in Dallas. Yeah. And he does, uh, he has a talk show on the, K L I F. Anyway, it's on from seven to nine, or something. And, and, and people call in and it's, if you keep up with movies, it's kind of interesting. There's a certain a mount of dribble that they do. They've got, uh, they've got a couple of kids, ten or twelve years old, and they call in and they review movies. But it's, uh Oh. he, anyway, he, it's interesting. You listen to him and then you, you go watch the movie. In fact, they had, people had just seen, I was listening Sunday night a little bit when, I was going to pick up my daughter. Uh-huh. But, anyway, it was, uh, the, it, it's interesting, though, or did he just do it? I think that, I think he really, his heart was in it, but I, I don't think he really knew it was going to be as big as it was. I think it was something that he really wanted to do. He wanted to direct it, he wanted to, to star in it. You know, he, he enjoyed the story line and I think he just really he really wanted it. And whether it, whether it won all kinds of awards or whether it just was okay at the box office, I think he would have been happy. Because I think that, I think he did a good job and, and the self-satisfaction he got out of it is much greater than any awards that they can give him. Do you know who the guy was that was playing the, uh, the, the wagon driver? Um. A little piece of trivia. You know, the guy when he first headed out from the army post. Yeah. Who, no I don't know who that guy is. He, he plays on MURPHY BROWN. Oh, he does? Yes. He's, he's Eldon, her housepainter. As a recurring character every week? Oh. Can you, believe that? No, now see, I'd, I'd a never put those two together. That's, that's one of those interesting pieces of trivia that somebody said, did you notice that? Huh-uh. I thought, no, it's really funny. But I thought, it, it, you think back, and yeah, it was him, but with a you know, with the beard and all that stuff. Yeah. I mean, it's, uh, Yeah, real scruffy looking Yeah. Real scruffy looking, and it it was really funny, it's, uh, that, that he winds up playing in the movie. But I thought, it's good that, you know, it was a lot of fun. Yeah. I don't know how long this conversation is supposed to go but we're at about five minutes. I should think we've done enough. You think so? I mean, I haven't been watching my watch. Um, I guess, yeah. Does it usually cut off? Is that what, it does? Well, I don't know. Why do we end this thing? It used to, it used to just automatically cut off I think it just says hang up. but it says when the conversation is over just say your good-byes and hang up. So, I, I guess so. Why don't we do that? Okay. Good-bye Sharon. Good talking to you Archie Uh, well how is it appropriate to be talking about exercise attitudes? We, uh, well, uh, my, my husband is right now teaching an aerobics class. Uh-huh. He's an aerobics instructor. And, um, is going to be, uh, entering North Texas for uh, a Kinesiology program there. *two utts? Uh-huh. And, um, the, the how I met him was through, uh, the aerobics class that he used to teach. Uh-huh. You're a student? Yeah, so. I'm, I'm an avid aerobics, uh, person and just very, very athletic. Uh-huh. Enjoying a you know, uh, anything dealing with sports. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, and how do you feel about it? Uh, I'm, I am a person who wishes I had more time to exercise. I, I don't feel like I, I don't very often do things for the sake of exercise. I don't feel well unless I am exercising and I try to do things that involve exercise, but, I very rarely do things like, um, I've never done aerobics or any sort of structured, this is my exercise time Uh-huh. but, I do lots of outdoor sports and things, bicycling, uh, you know, mountaineering, a little mountaineering, this and that, and I spend a lot of time and I probably get more exercise than your average person. But, it's not a, a structured sort of thing, and I have to admit I have a certain resistance to the idea of exercising for exercising's sake, Uh-huh. and perhaps, it's because somehow that implies to me it's not fun, or something like that. Yeah, well I, I've, my, that's the way my mother stands on it. She feels like if it's something that you have to do, you know, if you look at it as if you have to do it, then it becomes, it becomes a chore, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes, yes. and, and, she doesn't enjoy it when it's a chore. So, um, and I feel that way too as far as, you know, just sitting and doing, you know, to, the idea of doing fifty sit-ups or something, you know, to, Uh-huh, uh-huh. you're a you know calculated down and do your calisthenics, you know, three times a week Uh-huh. or, but, but I do try and, um, I do try and regulate how much exercise I get a week. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. Is that why you like aerobics classes, because you're not, sort of, someone else is doing the counting for you, so, it makes it less of a chore? Yeah. And, it's got, and I've always enjoyed dance. Yeah. So it involves, you know, I, I can't get out to dance all the time and, Yeah, would that we could Yeah, and it's, and it's more regulated, I mean you're, you're using different parts of the body. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, it, it is like dance, and it's structured like that, but you have the music, and someone, like you said, someone else is counting, so, it makes it easier for me. Yeah. Uh-huh. And, someone else is telling me, okay, you know, let's move this way, let's move that way, instead of me having to think about it so much. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Right. You can just trust someone else to give you full exercise and all you do is follow along and enjoy yourself. Yeah, yeah. But, I'm like you, I also, um, like to participate in, uh, things like, well, we just went to the, uh, Myererson Symphony Run this past weekend, and, and that was a lot of fun and you get to meet different people, and, um, just get out, you know, out and about, Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. and it's, it, it's something you can all, like our, we did it as a family, so, it was, it was quite a lot of fun. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, biking and I, I, I love to swim, so I love it when, you know, it's swimming weather, Um. and, uh, Well, you're talking to someone from California where it's often swimming weather Oh, I didn't realize that. Uh I'm sorry. Well, I'm in Texas. I, I just assumed that I had, this is the first call I've done, Uh-huh. and, I didn't realize that they were going to reach out to people from, all over the country. You wouldn't know that Oh, I, So, it's the, it's, it's the, the well it's actually, it's interesting, because there are real regional differences. Um, in California there's, uh, almost an assumption, um, unless you're, sort of, clearly of an older generation, or something, you know, in your sixties, or something like that, I'm, I'm, I'm not. Uh, there's an assumption that you do something for your physical fitness, and, and, at least in urban California. And, maybe not, I don't know about rural California too well. But, in urban California it's just, you know, for all I know aerobics started out here. I don't know where they actually started, but they, you know, the craze really picked up big here and before that there was the running craze. And, they, California gets, you know, tends to be a bit faddish, but, the remarkable thing is how well the fads catch on elsewhere. Uh-huh. So, there must be something to some of them. And, uh, Well, I think people are, are more um, um, people from California seem to be more health motivated all around. I mean, as far as the diet, and everything. Uh, the diet and, uh, just your health consciousness, and, I mean, it just, seems like, uh, a lot of those ideas generate out of California. Uh-huh. Not just exercise, but, health, health related ideas. Yeah. And, I, it's curious, I don't know why, don't know if it's, do you, does California have a, Well, there's a sense of it being a package, I think. There, there is a sense of, you know, whole, there's a lot of, you know, you'll get organizations, like institutes for the whole health, or whatever. And, uh, oh the, the, the University of California at Berkeley puts out THE WELLNESS LETTER. Which is, uh, turned into a fairly well subscribed to, uh, newsletter, monthly or biweekly newsletter or something like that Uh-huh. and, and, it doesn't deal with just exercise, or just stress management, or just diet, or anything. It, it's on fairly solid scientific ground. Uh, it's just dispensed with these distinctions. It says all sorts of factors go into health and there's no reason to talk about one rather than another, so that they, they combined them all together. And, uh, so it's had that orientation for quite some time. Um, there's been some progressive medical schools out here, that have taken that approach. Uh-huh And, um, Now do you think that's because they've realized that for whole health, that, the, you know, you have to have that combination, or that people are motivated that way so that they've incorporated that into their program. Boy, Do you think the program came first or the, yeah, that, there's a, I, I can say there's a correlation, but I couldn't say which, which caused the other. They sort of, you know, each developed a little bit and then would feed off one another and develop a little bit more, and a little bit more. Yeah, the more money they put into it. Yeah. And, I can see that. And, cause, I, knowing from institutes of learning like that, I know that they've got to get their money somewhere, and somebody's got to be willing to pay for it, and believe in it, so, Yeah, yeah. Exactly. And, part of it is California, you know, in, back in the sixties, had a lot of alternative movements and some of them fizzled out and some of them were disastrous and others of them, um, had an impact on the society around here. And one of the ones that had an impact was, uh, people becoming interested in alternate practices, I'm not sure if it was a meditation practice, or if it was, you know, which is similar to a stress management practice or alternates to, uh, A M A approved medicine. Uh, you have, you know, major, um, acupuncture schools and things out here. And, and you could have them around long enough and more and more people start believing them or wondering how to combine them with other things, Uh-huh. and, before long, you, you get this, this whole kind of Gestalt, this whole package of, of health, of health care and options Uh-huh. and, uh, and exercise is, is strongly considered one of them. The irony is, is its people in the cities, in my experience, that are most oriented towards doing the exercise. And, I guess because they spend all day in back of their desks. The average person out on the farm, at least traditionally, now they drive fancy tractors as much as anything but at least traditionally, the laborers, Yeah. last thing, Or they're older. Pardon me. Well, don't you think they tend to be older in the rural I, I sometimes think that it's almost frantic effort on the part of the people in the city. Oh, like everything else. I live in a rural area, you know, I see that. *sd Yeah, yeah. The rat race to exercise It's, yeah, it's, it's like it's frantic, to, Uh-huh. Yeah, well I, I think so. as a fit person I mean you, you've, if you look at if you look at other cultures, like I know a little bit about people who were considered very healthy in China and they don't do very much vigorous exercise at all. But, they do a lot of low keyed, low impact, low stress exercise, and they combine it with a, you know, meditation or whatever. Some sort of relaxation Uh-huh. and, they seem pretty, you know, they don't have the hard body. They don't have that perfect look, and an awful lot of exercise is sort of image conscious. But they, you know, they live to a hundred and ten some you know, Yeah, And, that, that's, Well, don't you think a lot of that is diet too? and, a lot of that is diet. That's true. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, they eat, they eat a lot of carbohydrates, and not much fat. Um, for economical reasons, not for preference. Uh-huh. Um, Yeah and as we can see. Well, I'm a, I'm a practicing vegetarian so, uh, I've read a lot of information, knowing that to be true, Yeah am I actually. What's that? I, as am I. Oh, are you also Yes Well that's, that's good as far as the is that, is that, um, pretty predominant as far as California It is in the urban areas, yes. In the urban areas? Most, for example most restaurants in an urban area will have a little vegetarian section now. Uh-huh. Oh that's wonderful. Well most, most, sort of modern looking restaurants will, Yeah. you can, That's great, I mean, we, uh, it's such a it's such a trouble here. I mean, you just have to eat at home basically. I was wondering that, because I was actually applying for a job in Texas, and, and, and, uh, it occurred to me, Well of course in the cities, yeah, well, in the cities, we live close to Dallas, Uh-huh. so, uh, which, you know, you get, uh, an influx of a lot of people from all over the country, so, you're going to have a lot of more choices, Uh-huh, uh-huh. but, but, in urban areas it's, you know, steak places, Yeah. Yeah. an, and it's not a, you know, Yeah. it's, uh, it's definitely, it, it's, it's changing to a degree, And, even, even with health food stores and stores where you can buy natural products or, uh, organic, you know, materials, and foods and things. Yeah. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. You don't really have that, I mean, you would think. All righty . Uh, I'll just hand it off to you and hobbies in our spare time is what we've been selected to discuss today. Well, uh, the hobbies that I pursue in my spare time, are crafts and, uh, I've been involved in making, uh, hat stands and, uh, rag dolls and, uh, different type hats with, uh, flowers and roses, you know, and, uh, that kind of thing, straw hats and, all that kind of stuff. Oh like typing noises in And I enjoy it, it's relaxing. And you kind of get absorbed in it so the time goes by, you know, before you realize anything is going on. And I play the organ sometimes, uh, just for my own satisfaction Not for anybody else's ears because I'm not that good at it, but I like to bang on the keyboards once in a while. Oh really? How about yourself? Well, oh, hobbies, gee whiz, I guess I got too many hobbies so I never have time to deal with them. Really? I like photography a lot, Oh, yeah, that's neat. uh, I used to do that a lot and then I like, um, we have a new child that will be a year old here next week, so I'll take a lot of pictures of her, you know, and spoil them, Oh, that's great, uh-huh. first one, you know how that is. And, um, uh, I play the guitar and a banjo. I mainly play the guitar a lot, I play about every night. And, um, I really love that, if I had a druther , if I could have, if I could make it on the road, I'd like to play on like a bluegrass band or something, because that's, I've, Oh, that sounds nice. I like bluegrass, too. yeah, I've done it before and when I was in in high school and college, and thoroughly enjoyed it, Uh-huh. and it's really a, a blast. My wife hates it, but that's the way life is, I guess. That's the hard part, right? Exactly. If you can do things together, that really helps a lot. yeah, we, uh, she's, uh, into aerobics, and, uh, and we did aerobics together for about a month and a half Oh, that's good, too. and that went over real well, Uh-huh. but, uh, that's about it there. Oh, it's good and it's healthy, too. Oh, yeah, yeah. We do that too, we have a, uh, a treadmill and, uh, a bicycle and that kind of stuff, we try to get twenty minutes like at least three for four times a week, you know. Oh, that's great. Yeah. That's great. And we like movies, that yeah. Yeah, that's, uh, spare time, with a child it's, kind of she's, we have, uh, we're looking for a baby-sitter so we've been out twice in in this year so far. By ourselves without the child Uh-huh. so it's kind of, uh, become an issue you could say. Sure. Um, hobbies, I like, messing around in your house building things, and, you know, putting cabinets up, and, those kind of things, um, Oh yeah, that's great, too. Uh-huh. Yeah, we did some remodeling when we bought a house, we built, put a kitchen in and, um, that kind of stuff, and painting and some wallpapering, that's fun. It's really kind of fun. It is. It really is. Especially if your spouse will get in there with you and get dirty, yeah. Yeah, exactly. I like things that, you know, two people can do, but I like the quiet of doing things away, you know, kind of gives you some space for yourself, and that's what I find in making the dolls and things, that it gives me something that I can create, and I like to crochet and knit. I made some afghans and that kind of stuff. I like doing things with my hands. Uh-huh. Sounds like it. Yeah. Do you like to cook? Yes, I love to cook. Yeah, I love to cook, too, I'm, uh, Italian food Oh, really? Yeah, pizzas and spaghettis and lasagnas and that kind of stuff. Well, we're all skinny farts so, I, it, so when it comes to, I like to cook and eat and, to have, mainly, I guess, I get to Yeah. amount of people eat, *listen and then say, man this is really good, Uh-huh. Yeah, it is. um, um, but it just, work in the garden, work around the yard, of course, Do you do barbecues? Yes, we sure do, smoke them Well, uh, uh, smoking and all that stuff? Oh, yeah, all that hoedown stuff. Yeah, yep, All that stuff that's bad for you. I, I lived in Abilene for a little while, and, uh, worked in the Abilene plant, Oh, sure, yeah. and we used to go to Joe Allen's Barbecue, and, uh, oh, that was great. Oh, yeah. Really great, That's, uh, only way to do it. they have some nice stuff down there. I miss it Well, yeah, it's, uh, it's, uh, it's, uh, there's, uh, there's pluses to everything, Oh, yeah. but, you know, seems like there's just so many things to do down here, I like the sports, I play a lot of racquetball. We did, I did horseback riding, too, in fact, when my children were growing up, we always had horses and, uh, that was kind of for them, but they weren't as interested in it as we were, you know, so, uh, that was a real, I'd say probably for maybe fifteen years, we dabbled in that, you know, we always had horses around, and I really enjoyed that, Oh, that's great, sounds like you, and I was disappointed when I went to Texas. I didn't see that many of them. Horses? Yes Yeah, you really don't. Yeah, the, you have to look real hard to see a lot of things besides concrete, uh, I know, I know, it's true. there's buildings and concrete and a lot of people and that's about it down here, and so, Uh-huh. Yeah. But, uh, that's great. Well, sounds like you have a lot of nice hobbies there. Yeah, you too, you too. Well, great, well look, uh, I know it's probably late for you, Okay. I enjoyed speaking with you Me too. have a good weekend. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye, now. Well, the thing is, is that I, um, since I'm in school I don't, like, basically have a monthly budget because I'm living off my dad, but the thing is, is that, um, I have to keep it under control because, for example, you know, it's like the, the beginning of the semester when you go to pay for everything, everything is pretty rough, but he controls that part but, then whenever, you know, it's like, once the semester starts I'm the one who has to control how much spending there is. And the only thing that I, I basically spend my money on is just food Uh-huh, that's right. and so neat. Yeah, ours is kind of a little ranch style with a great big, oh, I guess, it's twenty-eight by fifteen front porch. Oh. Next door, we've got an Austin stone. Across the street, the guy, it was burnt out about two years ago and, and the guy moved in and completely redid it's got, oh, it's got a rounded front on it. It's all brick, and he's, he's landscaped his yard and he's about ready to put in a pool and things like that. So, yeah, there's a variety, you just don't see it anywhere else, as far as the different styles in the houses and whatnot. Now, why couldn't your wife run around the golf course? Is that not good? Oh, she could, a little bit. We, I tell you what, we got into the fitness center at Methodist and they have a quarter mile track there. So she has started doing that rather than uh, rather than take off. The problem is she's a school teacher and for her, she can't run in the morning. For her to get home and try to run at six o'clock in the night, in the winter time, it's starting to get dark and, you know, you don't want to, she doesn't want to be out by herself anywhere in Dallas. Regardless whether it's north Dallas or whatnot, when she goes over to this fitness center, it's fenced in, and there's somebody in the building, watching her and all that, so there's a lot of consideration. Yes, I, I really hear that, you know, I think, you know, you're in Oak Cliff. Uh-huh. But, I'm in Plano. In west Plano. Yeah. And we live on one of those blocks that it's a neighborhood watch block. Uh-huh. We all know each other, and the street doesn't go anywhere. Right. If you are on the street, you better belong there. Because it's not a through street. That's right. That's right. And, still, I want to get up early in the morning and walk. Before this knee business. Uh-huh. And my husband had a lot of heartburn with that. Yeah. I mean, it looked darker to him, because he, he was in the house with the lights on. Right. When I was out walking, it, was more of a predawn type, pretty, but, huh-huh, he didn't think it looked predawn to him. Yeah. It looked dark. Yeah. And even he was real concerned about that. So, it's not just because you are in Oak Cliff, it's just because you're smart. That's true. That you don't do things like that. It only takes one time. That's right. It's a hard lesson to learn. There's only one crazy out there, you know, to make any difference. Yeah, yeah, you know, it goes all over well, you got the. Ready to talk? I guess so Okay. Okay. Uh, I want to talk about, um, our family budget, and the times that it's worked and the times that it hasn't worked and, give you a general description of it Okay. Yeah. bit. Tell me how yours works. Well, at the I introduced you a little bit to it, a few minutes ago, when I said that we are, uh, we're on the east coast now. Uh-huh. My husband quit a perfectly wonderful job and decided that, well, we both decided we wanted to move to North Carolina. Uh-huh. And so naturally we put ourselves, we looked at our budget, Yeah. and so, what we did was draw up a budget that we thought, uh, was realistic. Uh-huh. And, uh, so, we had to make some adjustments because we really are kind of looking for something that we want to do and he wants to do that's satisfactory, and we've been here seven months and he's still hasn't hit up on anything permanently. Oh, no. So, you see, That throws the budget out of whack real fast. Well, we actually planned for about one year. Oh, good. Uh, that God because, *listen it never occurred to it never occurred to us that it would take seven months. Really. That was smart. Yeah. And, uh, what we did was just, uh, decide how we had been spending our money before, Uh-huh. and then we put that on the computer and then we took about three months and, uh, and adjusted, where we could come down and where we didn't want to come down, Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. and we really, uh, lessened it, uh, our living expenses, uh, more than what we thought we would. Wow, that's great. But, Did you have a special program on your computer to do that or was this just your own design of, Oh, just our own design. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Gosh. And the, so, but we've had budgets that didn't work when our, uh, you know, of our first fifteen years or eighteen years of being married nothing worked Yeah We spent too much money, until our children went to college, so. So, tell me about, Yeah. do you all, uh, have a budget? Well, we've been married for five and a half years and we started out without kids, of course, and found it much easier to save and used to do a lot more fun kinds of of things and, uh, did really, um, you know, have a real strict but, budget but, uh, the about and to our, when we first got married we were in graduate school and we were just, you know, dirt poor. Then when we got our first jobs after about a year of marriage we decided we'd bank my salary so we could buy a house. So, we virtually did that for about two years, which worked real well, and then moved from California where we realized we could never buy a house anyway no matter how much we saved, and moved to Texas, bought a house immediately, you know, which, of course, is now devalued with the housing market, Wonderful. Yes. so, I don't know if we, we did a good thing to buy a house or not but at least we've got a place to live. Um, so, now, since, uh, we have a three year old and a two year old now, um, Three and a two year old. Uh-huh. Bang, *one utt?? bang. That's, that's, that threw our budget really out of whack too. An we, um, have been just forced to budget much more because I quit working to be home with the kids. And, um, we just really have, uh, I don't know, we, we've tried different times, we've done like a survey of like taking, you know, the past three months of where all the money went. Uh-huh. And we really don't spend on anything much of a luxury or anything at all, but it seems like there's, um, times when we just have to get out where we'll go and like get a baby-sitter and we'll go and we'll blow, you know, fifty, sixty dollars in one night going out to eat, going to a show or doing something, you know. Well, I think that's important for your budget to be for it to work though, you have to do something. Yeah, that's the hard part because when we sit down to make it, we try to make it real spartan and real narrow so we can put a certain amount in savings every week and then it's not really that realistic because we do find that we want to go and do something or splurge for, you know, birthday for somebody or, you know, even we, we even do things real frugally for the kids, we get a lot of toys and clothes and stuff at garage sales or from friends because they don't know the difference at this age, you know, whether they're JORDACHE new or whether they're *listen; "because" may start new utt unit you know, something Of course not. and they're both boys so they just one year after the other in each other's clothes, so. But, um, that's the hardest part for us is that it's really, um, you know, budgeting and some extra things, you know, that are more, you know, nonessential items. Well, I found, uh, that, in the place that it was harder for me to stick to a budget was not where we were concerned, but where maybe our friends were concerned and our relatives and parents. Uh-huh. Uh, we, we tended to want to keep on giving lavish, gifts as, we had done before. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. And I really believe that if you're going to cut down on yourself, you need to cut down somewhat on your friends. On your friends, that's true, that's true. Well, we have so many unexpected things come up so often it seems with, we both have older cars and something will come up and wind up having to spend a thousand dollars, you know, on the car in two months or something, Yes. and, you know, a lot of things like that that really are hard to plan for. And, uh, Well, I really do, I think you have to budget those things though. Yeah, kind of put in a certain amount per year, *82 and 84 same utt? Yes. you're going to have on extra expenses for car. Exactly, although so much per month anyway. Yeah, yeah. And, uh, that really should be in your but if you don't spend it, it should be in your bank account at the end of the month Yeah our biggest way of saving money is then to stop all these deductions, um, you know, is to, let's see, now, I forget which way we do it. We don't list all the deductions and then we get more money back, you know, at the end of the year, Oh, no, no, no, no. so, that's not a good way to You don't want the government to spend your money. You want to be able, that's what my husband said, so this last year he changed it, of course, we didn't get hardly and then nearly as much back and it was like oh, no. Better find another way of saving money Well, uh, but I do realize that, that is realistic for some people, Yeah. and it was for us many years, for many years. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and if, and if that's the only way that will, it will make you save and have a little nest egg at the end of the, the year then doggone it that's what you should do. Yeah, because we don't miss it, we really don't, when it's just taking out of the paycheck and stuff, so. But we're trying to put a little money away for the kids because we can envision the, uh, expenses for college already, you know, eighteen years away or whatever. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, I was just reading an article in, uh, a North Carolina paper today where a high school student obtained over two hundred thousand dollars worth of scholarships for herself by sitting up at night and typing at, uh, letters of applications to universities. Gosh. She was she was third out of a class of two hundred and twenty, so, it can be done. I guess, Where there's a will, where there's a will, there's a way, right? that's fantastic. Yeah Well, I have enjoyed talking to you. Well, I enjoyed talking to you too, good luck and don't spend any money this weekend Oh, I know we'll have to stay home and mow the yard Oh, boy. Bye-bye. Bye. Okay? Sure, go ahead. What kind of books do you like to read? Oh , I like all kinds of books. Yeah. Mostly, uh, something, I like like true life, not, uh , you know, documentaries or real stories about real people and that kind of stuff or dramas in real life. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I also like romantic novels. I like, uh, I like READERS DIGEST, believe it or not. Yeah, so do I. I usually read that from cover to cover. Yeah. I like it because there's a little bit of everything in it. Right. You know, that kind of a thing. Uh, as far as like real novels, I haven't gotten into Shakespeare or any of that type of thing. Uh-huh. I wish I had in, in some senses but I don't have time really as much as I would like to, to get into that kind of thing. How about you? Um, well, I like, like you said, real life, um, I like biographies of people's lives, like, especially like athletes, Uh-huh. for some reason it seems to interest me, like people that make a big comeback or, you know, Orel Hershiser, things like that. Sure. Uh-huh. And, um, I like to read books on improve, like family, marriage, you know, things that are written by like Christian authors or, um, doctors about family and, you know, how to improve your home and all that kind of thing. Um, I like to the magazines I to I like to read , I read a lot of bicycling magazines. They're, I mainly look at the pictures and stuff, but they usually have some good articles in it. Uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know I haven't really found any romance type stuff I like to read. I, I'm more true, you know, uh, nonfiction. Yeah, yeah. I haven't found a lot of, uh, fiction books that I really like but, uh, not to say I wouldn't, Yeah. eventually I mean. *one utt or two with a.29? What was the last book you read? Uh, jeez, let me think, it, I tell you I haven't read a book in a long time. And it, I can't even really remember. Uh, I think it was a romantic novel by Danielle Steel or one of those. Really? You know yeah, honestly. Um, I don't do as much reading, like I say, as I would like to. Yeah. working a lot of hours at work and, Really? Yeah, and then, of course, we have a home I know. so it's, you know, a lot time is spent doing things as far as the yard work or housework or, you know, that type of thing. Yeah. I, I set a goal for myself to read a book a month this year which is like about eleven more books than I would have read last year, but so far I've only read like two books and so I'm not doing very well but, But see I do crafts too, Yeah. so it's hard, I, if I have a minute that's what I, I do. Yeah, I find it's real hard, I let papers, newspapers stack up and magazines stack up, if I don't really set aside a time to look or read them. That's the, and, and that's like myself I've, I've, I miss it, because I really find it a very relaxing hobby too. Yeah. I really do and, um, I don't know it seems like you can get lost in a book, you know, it, it, it's like an escape for me. Uh-huh. I don't know about you. Yeah. It's, if I'm really interested in what I'm reading, I mean, hours can go by and I, I look up at the clock and say, oh, my word, you know. Uh-huh. In fact, I'd rather read sometimes than watch T V. Yeah, oh, I would too. Kind of train your mind. *sv^2 But I think you get out of the habit, like you say, you have to like kind of set yourself, Yep. Have you ever read, uh, or heard of the book THIS PRESENT DARKNESS? No. That was one of the books I read this year, and it's really fast paced and intense. It was a nonfiction book or is a fiction book but it was it was one of the best I read, I mean, it was real good, and it was, um, it was one of the few books that like it, you know, just hurry up and go through without putting down, you know. Yeah, right. See that's the other problem I have. If I start into something and I really enjoy what I'm reading, then I have a terrible time getting away from it too. Uh-huh. I'll stay up until two or three o'clock in the morning, you know, because I'm so engrossed in it and then before you know it, it's time to get up and go to work. You know, that type of thing. Yeah. That's why I, I don't know I'm, I'm kind of a nut when it comes to stuff like that. Even if I'm, uh, doing something like an afghan, if I'm close to the end, sometimes I'll do the same thing. Uh-huh. I don't know what you would call it, maybe I have a problem No, I'm sure it's fast or something. It's terrible, I, I really like books that, that you can get into and that's that. Uh-huh. I know what you mean. I like reading late at night right before I go to bed sometimes I just sleep better or something. Oh, yeah, you do you kind of get relaxed, that's true. But, uh, I have a lot of craft books that I have too and, uh, magazines. I like PEOPLE, you know, those things that are about real people. Uh-huh. And, um, I, I like to, uh, read about people who have been a successful, you know, who, who made a success of their lives. To, to give you specific titles I, I can't. *sd Yeah. Which, what book have you read that is along those lines, that was really good? Well, how about who, Like I say, haven't done it in, in such a long time. Do you know who it was about? Um, well, I went to, uh, seminar on, uh, it was for, by American business and some of the people, uh, what the heck was his name, I'm trying to think. He's one of the, uh, Paroe, *spelling: Perot and um, it was more like, oh, it was tapes and things that they had about him, too. Uh-huh. How he started out as just a salesman and now he's, you know, multimillionaire and that type of thing, and how you have to, uh, be aggressive and, you know, really want something for yourself and that type of stuff. It's like up to you, in other words, whatever happens in your life. Yeah. It's not up, it's not someone else, you have to do it. Yeah. And then do it. Do it. I can't, I'm not that focused on something. I, I'm off in all directions. Um, and I'm not, uh, uh, a planner which I wish I was. Uh-huh. You know, kind of off the wall. If someone says, do you want to do this tonight, uh, and I got a mountain of things to do, it's okay, you know, we do it. Uh-huh, huh. Well, that's all right. I know, I know, but I wish I was more the other way. You're more fun though, see. You're not ridged right? *spelling: rigid Yeah, right *listen: sarcastic or not? I, I, that's see , I like it that way though. I, I, I would, I don't want to change that part of me. That's good. That's funny, even though I admire someone who isn't, like I am, you know, and, and I wish I could be more that way Yeah. but, There may be some schools you could read about and learn. That's true, that's true. How many people do you supervise? Uh, about twenty. Oh, that's not bad. No. That's not bad at all. No. Do you like your job? Sometimes. Sometimes more than others. But, yeah, I do. Oh, that's, oh, that's important. I've been there about three years. Do you have a family? Yeah, I just got married last year and, um, most of my family's in Indiana. Oh, uh-huh. So, I've only been in Texas three years. Do you like it? Yeah, I do. I love the weather down here. I, I loved, I loved Abilene too. That's what I liked, too, is the weather. Yeah, I know. Except for tornados Boy they, they have storms here I've, Yes they do. And it, it, it's so surprising how it just happens, you know. Hail and thunder and, Yeah. Unpredictable. Were you here during the hailstorm two years ago? Uh, no. Oh, I've been up here about three. Uh, we were down there, uh, from eighty-six to, eighty-five to eighty-six, no, uh, well, part of eighty-four to eighty-six I should say. Yeah, boy I had thirty-three hundred dollars damage done on my car, a lot of people had their cars totaled just from hail. Oh, wow. I think State Farm went bankrupt. Just about Oh, jeez. But, uh, I know the whole situation is bad up here, we're having a terrible time with the recession. Really? Yeah, yeah. It's not good at all. Huh. I know things are pretty booming down there. I heard they sold Johnson City though . Yeah, and Colorado Springs. And Colorado Springs? Yeah, I talked to a guy on the phone on this the other day and he was telling me about it. Oh, wow. They just sold it. Amazing. Closed up and moved down to McKinney. Oh, well, that's good. At least they kept the business part of it. Yeah. It's scary though I'm telling you. I know . I don't know, and, well, you know, with the other part of this thing was, how do you feel that this influences family. How do I feel what? That, that books influence, do you know how to use them in your life or to influence, Uh-huh. I, I feel like it's important for young children to read too. And what you read to them. Yeah. When my children were younger, of course, they were all married and grown and I have grandchildren now, they were, uh, I, I read to them a lot. That's good. And, uh, I think they've all developed kind of an interest in reading also. That's yeah. I'm not saying they read all the right things but they do read. Uh, where a lot of people don't have any interest in it at all, and I think it's important, Oh, yeah. because, uh, even today where people are so illiterate and they go off to school and really nothing happens, I mean, they don't learn anything. It's because they can't read. Yeah, it's really surprising how many people graduate from high school, and that I work with Yeah. and people, I mean, I get memos all the time across my desk and things are misspelled and, it's really, It's pretty sad. Oh, it's unbelievable, isn't it? Yeah. A lot of people that work for me that can't even spell or read, you know. Exactly, and I think that that's why reading is so important, Yeah. because, uh, I think even mentally when you can do some, I don't, guess we got our first, uh, credit card, oh, back in the seventies, early seventies when, I first got married Uh-huh. was a Visa card. Uh, issued out of a Liberty Bank in Oklahoma City, Uh-huh because my sister worked at the, uh, the Visa some Bank Americard center there. *one utt with a.3 utt2? Uh-huh. So, we were still in college and had she not worked there I'm not sure that I would have qualified. They've come in handy over the years. Yeah. Uh, and they have become, or, also a, a real bother sometimes. Oh, tell me about it Especially, you know, if you catch yourself short on cash or if you're on vacation, it's just easier to put everything on a card. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I find if you're not careful you wind up, uh, a month or so, staring those bills in the face and you go I don't remember doing all that stuff and it adds up. Yeah, they add up quick So, sometimes, uh, especially traveling with T I, you know, everything goes on American Express, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and it makes it a whole lot easier for bookkeeping. Yeah. But, uh, as far as personal life goes, I guess, I really try to use them as little as possible, uh, I kind of like having them for, uh, gasoline purchases. Yeah, we like to keep one on hand just for emergencies, you know. But, Yeah. But other than that, uh, I, I guess over the years tried to avoid the national credit card syndrome, of just putting everything on there day after day after day Uh-huh. and then, then you really get socked to it, if you don't watch it. Yeah. How, how do you look at counting credit cards? We just, uh, quit using them Well, that's, And they got us in trouble, we took a loan and paid them all off. We keep them, uh, we keep, uh, one gas card and, uh, and, uh, Visa just, you know, in case there's an emergency or, something Right. but other than that we don't use them anymore Well, that's kind of the way we were doing it's, uh, Uh-huh. I guess for that very reason that, that, uh, if you're not real conscious of what you're doing, it's just too much by the time you get, Uh-huh. well, if you got a bunch of cards, you get a bunch of bills every month Uh-huh. and for some strange reason those people think they need to get paid. I know, isn't that funny? Yeah. And I give them, maybe not, maybe they're not really concerned about getting paid because they're, know if you don't, then they're adding on, what, eighteen, nineteen, twenty percent. Sometimes, it's twenty-two percent interest. Yeah. Yeah, and then some of them add late fees on it, if they don't get paid Yeah. and, I guess that's one of the motivations behind the, the, uh, the, uh, American Express card with T I, Uh-huh. Huh. there's no, Huh? with the American Express card from T I, there's no, um, late fee, Uh-huh . there's no, uh, interest rate, Oh, really? you you either pay the thing off or they come get it. And it's turned into personnel and they come get you So, they've got quite a bit more motivation I think to get paid then, some of the others do. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But that's the one that your call center manager sees every month, Uh-huh. so, you're a little bit more careful about what you put on that, even though you can use it however you want to. Oh, yeah. Oh, you can? You can use it like any other card, Uh-huh. and, uh, but, it, you know, you kind of, you know that somebody every month, Oh, I see, huh. and who knows how many people, are looking at those, uh, bills that come in, and those statements, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. you're not the only one. Yeah. So, uh, you want to make sure that, uh, is that okay, is that okay, that those people see what it is that you are buying, Yeah. and most of the time it is. But, most of the others I've sent back, I mean, all you get is card offers, *two utts I've got three card offers now, uh, from gas companies and, uh, Visa Gold and, uh, some, other bank, uh, Uh-huh. Citibank I think is always sending the Visa stuff out. And I usually just throw them away because I, I don't want another one, Oh, I do too, I don't even open them much, I throw them out. I don't want to have to mess with it. You know you carry around a wallet full of credit cards, Uh-huh. and, uh, one of these days it's going to all be full. A girlfriend of mine found a, it was a Visa or MasterCard, she found an ad for one in like a GOOD HOUSEKEEPING magazine for eleven percent. Oh, that's not bad. shoot I need one of those Yeah. No, if they don't say, no annual membership on them, I'll throw them away. years ago, well, I had my Visa card through this bank in Oklahoma City for, *sd oh, probably fifteen years, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then they started charging, uh, annual membership fees, and I said, adios, I'm, you know, I'm not paying you, Why do they do that? It's just another way to make money, as far as I can tell. I mean, I mean they get enough, you know, on the interest I mean, they've been, Well, sure. And they, I guess, they figure they've got enough people out there with cards, they're going to get cards at the , twenty bucks a pop. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. There's going to be that much more. Uh-huh. Uh, so, then a couple years ago I found, uh, a bank here in Plano that if you kept a minimum balance in any kind of account whether it was a savings account or what it was, you can get a Visa card through them and no annual membership. Uh-huh. So, I went over and just stuck three hundred dollars in my son's savings account, in his name, and got my Visa card, so, as long as they have no annual membership fee, I, it would be okay, Uh-huh. Huh. but I can't see paying someone to use their card. No, I can't either. Be charged their eighteen percent interest, Yeah, Yeah. I think you're right. The best philosophy is have them if you need them, but otherwise leave them tucked away somewhere. Yeah, really. Yeah. gets a lot of people in, in trouble Yeah, it sure does. Maybe they're counting on that, I don't know. Well, I guess that's it. Okay. Thanks for talking. Nice talking to you. Bye. Bye-bye. Do you have any particular thoughts about the school system? or Well, um, I, I think that in, in, uh, recently with the, I'm not sure if it's more a problem with American families or a problem with the school system. They seem to be burdening the school system more and more with problems, any problems that a child might have, whether it's actually a school related thing or not and, I. I say agree with you a hundred percent there Yeah, and, and, well, it's gotten to a point where the schools are expected to take care of everything. Yeah. If, uh, you've some kid who doesn't have, uh, who's from a broken family, the schools are supposed to fill that void. uh, you know, teaching classes and maybe providing extracurricular sports activities or something like, oh, were kind of traditionally the school's roles. Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting because, uh, we're just having conversation on this, uh, with a couple of people yesterday. And I was expressing my frustrations that, uh, some of the, so many problems, I work in a high school, are that kids don't have a, a degree of self-discipline which may be reflected in society at large. Uh, and you can't expect in a classroom for a particular course an hour a day to counteract, uh, sixteen or seventeen years of influence at home. Right. Um, and, it's seen more so because when you call parents up, many parents won't even recognize that there is a problem and I'll say, they'll say, oh, well, our kids, my kid, I've never heard anything about this before. This is the first time there have been problems. And, and, you wonder, don't these parents know that teachers talk, and, you know, we do check with other teachers, and other teachers find the same things in this child. Right. And, you know, how do you tell your parent's, the parent, hey, wake up, and smell the coffee Right. But, um, it, it is a problem, and I'm not sure just, uh, how, how the school system could operate in a vacuum on it. Yeah. Whether maybe through a commitment of the P T A, uh, and the parents being informed better, that in fact that the problems that are nationwide are problems, um, of society, and that, that the school can only do so much on it. Yeah. Well, then, then again when you have, uh, a society where a certain percentage of the parents are, uh, doing drugs in the home uh, either unemployed and don't care about a, uh, just a have their own problems how, how do you expect the school to, um, or how do you expect the, Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. you can't really expect that parent who's, quite frankly a loser in life, as it is to, to care about the, the situation with their child, That's right. Uh-huh. and, water You know what scares me too, is that we have yet to see other, the biggest effect of the crack children uh, in the school system. Right. These are children that are born with low deficit, attention deficit Right. and, gosh, what's going to happen when these kids start coming into the school system. That's really scary water Yeah. But there are, I think there are a couple of areas where the school system can improve, and this is something that I see. Too many times students get diagnosed as slow learners, and in fact they're not. They're behavior problems. Right. And so, they get put in, in, in our school system, in a class that's limited for skills children that have, really have to master skills. Uh-huh. And that's not their problem. Um, at the same time, I've seen, we, we have a, an international population. There's no bridge area for students coming out of the E S O L, which is English for Speakers of Other Languages program. Uh-huh. The, once they're past E S O L, they get out, they got thrown right into the total mainstream Right. and, uh, there really needs to be a bridge, some sort of transition for that. Right. So the school systems can improve, both in standing up for splitting classes, you know, having learning learning, slow, slow children in slow classes, but not mixing them with behavior problems. Right. And then, you know, the case where they put the behavior problems in the average classes, you get these kids that are average students but highly motivated. Right. And then you throw in kids that are not motivated, maybe bright, but they're discipline problems. And you sometimes the average classes really are problems because you've got such a mixed bag there. Uh-huh. Right. You know, the gifted and talented are fast classes. There's really not that much of a problem with. But it's, Well, I, I've seen more, uh, incredibly intelligent underachievers than, than, uh, Uh-huh. I personally I will, I would take a person who's motivated and a little, uh, less intelligent than the person who, uh, is one of these very intelligent people who just kind of, isn't motivated to do anything. That's, yeah. I remember I had a college professor who once said that genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Yeah. Well, I, not to toot my own horn here or anything, but I, I was graduated from my high school, I was the valedictorian, and I know that there were a lot of kids that were an awful lot smarter than me, Uh-huh. and they proved out late when it came time to take the S A T Mine were good, Uh-huh. but they weren't great. Uh-huh. And, uh, when I got into college I struggled, I struggled just to, uh, get my degree in the, in the field that I was in. Yeah. Whereas I knew people that in high school were kind of lazy and all, but they got motivated in college and they did a lot better than I did. And when it, Yeah. I guess kids do mature at different ages too. Right. That's, and, you know, as a teacher you, you try to make, be understanding that, you know, there are different ages, kids are, is this a, got a kid that just a question of maturity, or is he a problem child. Uh-huh. But teachers are asked to diagnose so much. Um, there, I mean, I mean we're, have to be, we're alerted Right. there's all sorts of systems where suicide, uh, predisposition. I mean, we're alerted to what the moment we see something. If we see a child that we have any reason, that's on drugs, such as if he's got a beeper or if they're, if they're flashing lots of money around. We've, there are certain things to do. I mean, so the school system's asked to do so much, but you can't operate in a vacuum. You actually have students with, with beepers? This is a, we're in a rather wealthy suburb of Washington. Uh-huh. And a student with a beeper immediately gets sent down to the, uh, principal. I mean, where, what are the, what could they possibly be thinking. I mean how. It's for drug use. They can't imagine for anything else. Yeah Yeah. You know, it's, it's amazing, but uh, you get all sorts, you get all, all sorts of things, uh, in the schools, uh, uh, and it's, and you know, as a teacher you're alert, you're alert for the kid who's very drowsy. You're alert to the kid who suddenly has a, um, behavioral change, and you refer them to the nurse. Right. And, so, I mean, you have to find out whether there's a legitimate reason, or whether this is a warning signal. Yeah, can you, how can you, how can you expect to, Oh yeah, I, I, I was, uh, sitting in the barber shop. I'm an officer in the Air Force, and I was having my hair cut Uh-huh. and the barber got a call while I was there, uh, from his son's school. His son's in high school. And his son was failing gym and, uh, and having trouble, with a few other things. But, you know, it's like, uh, this guy was like, why now, there's no problem with my kid. My kid's a great kid and all this. The kid had missed all these classes, and basically he, his answer was, Oh, I gave him permission to, to miss. Uh-huh. Yeah, the denial mechanism is really strong and so many parents are facilitators. Yeah. I mean, they're manipulated by their children. Right. I've been fortunate. I have, uh, a son who's a sophomore in college up in Massachusetts at, uh, Amherst, Uh-huh. and my other son is a senior in high school, and he's going on to Williams. And I mean, they're really super. They're both national level swimmers, Sure. and where we've been very fortunate, but, you know, they had to be held accountable too. Right. I mean, you know, at some point a parent does help their kid, but in, in some ways, but, but you have to say at what point isn't the help becoming negative. Sure. And I think this is where the school system at, is suffering, and not through any fault of the effort of the school system. Right. But gee it was good talking with you. It was good talking to you too. Yeah, so there are people throughout the country that feel the same ways that you do, and, and are connected with the schools. Yeah. Yeah, I've had interesting conversations on several subjects not, uh, not just this but different, the different things. Uh-huh. It's amazing how the, you know, people you talk to have some interesting conversations and, uh, it's too bad that all this stuff is just being thrown into a data base, and that none of the ideas or thoughts are being used at all Well, we are, though Yeah, that's true. Listen, good luck. Take care, Yep. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, well what movies do you like? Gosh, I like just about anything. We, I think the last one we saw was, uh, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES PART TWO. Oh, now, I I like the turtles. My little boy's four and he loves them. Well, we don't have any kids but we like them anyway. Oh, that's okay. How old are you all? Um, we're late twenties. Oh, and you just don't have any yet, okay. No. Well I've got two. Oh, gosh. Yeah, my little girl is three months old and my little boy just turned four. I had his birthday party yesterday. Oh. But he's a turtle fanatic. He even had turtle cake yesterday But I've been wanting to see TURTLE TWO. Is it as good as they say it is? It was, it was actually better than the first one, I thought. Good. What's the last movie you saw? GHOST. Oh we were just, when, when the topic came up, we, I was asking my husband right quick, what's the last movies we saw. He said well GHOST and TURTLES. I really liked it. Now GHOST, yeah, I love tearjerker movies. But that wasn't too bad on tearjerker but, It was, oh, it was good movie, Not too awful bad. Yeah. Because that was just so good. And I like Demi Moore. Did you see PRETTY WOMAN? No, but I've been hearing a lot about it. I we don't get to the video store very often and we don't have cable. Oh, gosh. Well we don't really want cable, it's just, you know, glued to the T V all the time anyway. Yeah. So we get two channels down here. I'm from Kentucky originally, Uh-huh. and we used to get five channels without cable. Yeah. You know, forty, well I don't think you all have the same channels, but here in Texas we only get two channels, and that's, um, do you watch soap operas? Uh, once in a while, when I'm home. Okay, you work then? Yeah. Okay, well we get the channel with YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS on it. Okay. And then, uh, I think GENERAL HOSPITAL and that comes on different channel. Yeah, it does. But that's all we get, and that's no cartoons for my little boy. But we've got a V C R and a lot of tapes. Yeah. And, uh, my husband is a movie fanatic. I think you would really like PRETTY WOMAN, it was, it was really a, it made you feel really good. It was just a happy movie. Oh, what about TOTAL RECALL, have you seen that. Yeah, I saw that one. That's good. I, I was disappointed in it just because of how violent it was. Yeah, it was violent. I try to get away from that. My little boy, oh, he loves ROBO COP. And that movie, I have to, I'll fast forward it every time they come to the part where there is, have you seen it? Yeah. The part where they're shooting mercy . I don't like that. That, oh, that's horrible, that is horrible and their, their, the language on that's filthy. I don't see why they have to do that, I mean, I mean everybody knows that it, that the, the language is there so they could just ignore it and, you know, use different words instead, I think. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I, I think lately PRETTY WOMAN'S been my favorite. I went and bought the video. I've probably seen it about fifteen or twenty times. Um, my husband bought me, like, um, uh, I think PRETTY IN PINK for my birthday. With, a, wait a second, I will in a minute Kyle, to child in the Sorry. That's okay. Uh, he bought me PRETTY IN PINK. Just a second. the phone and talks to Sorry, now, you're glad you ain't got a four year old. That's okay Now, Now I haven't seen PRETTY IN PINK, Molly Ringwald? *br It this is the first time he's interrupted my phone calls. Molly Ringwald. Yeah. It was cute, but, it wasn't, I like the, um, SIXTEEN CANDLES, or sixteenth birthday or, I think, I think SIXTEEN CANDLES was the name of it. Yeah, oh, that was so good. Of course I was a teenager when I seen that and I loved it. I haven't seen it either. Oh, well if you like love stories, it's sweet. I do. Oh, it's sweet, it really is And that's a tearjerker it gets you, I mean it makes you feel really sorry for her. Oh, gosh. But it's hilarious too, especially with that, uh, little guy in it. Oh he looks like little, I don't know, he looks like a little boy next door, Oh. but he's sixteen. Oh, it's a cute movie. I can't remember his name. He kind of looks like DOOGIE HOWSER. Huh, I don't know. Don't know either. He's got curly blonde hair, he just a little freckly, little boy. Probably know him if I saw him. Yeah, if I could remember the name, I know you'd know his name, because he's played in a few movies. But, uh, I was just thinking another good one I saw not too long ago was, um, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY. Okay, I've heard about that but I can't remember it. That, that's, that's Julia Roberts' new movie. Okay, yeah, Julia Roberts is good. Yeah she's, this one, you know PRETTY WOMAN was kind of a light comedy and a romance, Uh-huh. and, and this one was a lot more dramatic. Wasn't it a murder mystery? well, Like, sort of it was like, uh, it was a, it was a mystery. She disappeared from her uh, husband who was abusing her. Oh, okay, the, yeah, that's the one I wanted to see where he was on, she was on a carnival, at a carnival on a Ferris wheel or something. Yeah, yeah. Well did that come on T V or did it come out in the, No, it came out in the theater. Oh. And I think, you know, around here, it's all ready quit playing. But I don't, I don't know if it's still playing any where else. Well I, I think, But it was, it was, it was one of those that kept you on the edge of your seat. Real good. I want to see that. Yeah, I seen the, uh, previews for it on T V down here, but it's just been down here a couple weeks, I think. Oh, okay, Yeah. because we saw it, probably, four or five months ago. A month Well I know it hasn't been that long since I've seen the previews for it, but yeah, I wanted to see it. Her husband was a, dark haired guy with a beard and moustache, or no he shaved the beard off. Yeah, he's, uh, he was a real psycho in the movie. Yeah. It was, it was scary. Oh, I'd like to see that. What about, oh, there was a, we got one back here a while, I want to see WAR OF THE ROSES too, have you seen that? Oh yeah, boy I, I didn't like it. You didn't? No, it was, I didn't like the way it ended. I know, well the only reason I know why it ended is on ARSENIO HALL one night, Christopher Reeves told, that, you know, Uh-huh. I can't believe they killed them. Or, or who was it Christopher Reeve or Mike Douglas. Might have been Michael Douglas. Oh, that starred in it. *listen Yeah. Yeah, it was Michael Douglas. Christopher Reeve wasn't in it at all? Huh-uh. Okay. Well Arsenio Hall is the one that jumped up and said that I can't believe they killed them and Christopher Reeve, or, Mike Douglas went after his throat, you dummy So I know that they die, but I haven't told my husband. We've both been wanting to see it. It was, I, I, it was, it was weird. It was a different movie from anything I've ever seen. well we was, uh, teasing, about, you know, splitting our house down the middle Yeah They did that didn't they and they marked off routes that they could go or something Yeah, that would be kind of hard for us, we've only got one bathroom, I don't know We've got two bathrooms but, well actually, if he takes, my house kind of looks like two trailers put together. And one bathroom is at the end of one side and one's in the middle of the other, so we could do it. That wouldn't be too bad. No, and he could climb out the window and we, our whole house has, you know, every room leads to three rooms, so we can, you know Get around. yeah, you can get around You just can't go out the front door honey, sorry. Well did you see FATAL ATTRACTION? Yeah, that's coming back, on too I know it's going to be on, on the, on C B S Tuesday night an, and that's kind of what, in a way, you know, how it kind of bothered you, the way it ended and stuff. Uh-huh. That's kind of how WAR OF THE ROSES was. Huh, I, Parts of, parts of WAR OF THE ROSES was funny but then other times it was like it was just deadly serious, and it just left you with this kind of uneasy feeling, you know. Eerie feeling, or, I want to see it though. I'd like to see that and, uh, THE NEVER ENDING STORY, came out on Disney this month, I think. I I've heard about that I wanted to see that. but I don't know what it's about. THE NEVER ENDING STORY? Yeah. It's a child's movie, but, oh, it's good, I enjoyed it. I love Disney movies. Yeah, I do too Yeah, I mean, they're some of the best of, that are made. yeah. And, uh, well it's about this little boy who, uh, I think he's up in a attic, or some part of school. He got locked in the school and he got scared, but he starts dreaming and then, uh, he's saving the land of, uh, oh, it's been so long since I've seen it. All I know, all's I can really remember is him flying this great big dog, this great big huge sheep dog sort of looking thing, Oh it flies through the air. And he's trying to save the land from some, ooze But it's really good, I mean it sounds it, it had, uh, Fred Savage in it. No, no, no, no, no. Did you see that movie with Fred Savage in it, though, I don't think so. with, uh, oh, he had, uh, uh, oh it was THE PRINCESS BRIDE. Nope, I didn't see that. You didn't see that, that was cute, that was real, that was a good one. I, I like, I like slapstick comedy. So do I and a lot of times we'll go to rent a movie or something and, and you're not sure whether it will be any good or not so sometimes we stick with the stuff we've heard more about than, Yeah, well I heard, a friend of mine told me she got NAKED GUN last night and she said that was hilarious. Yeah, now, we saw that, and and they're coming out with a sequel to it. Two and a half *is this a title?? It was funny. It yeah, I want to see that. She said she rented it last night and said it was real good an, And, and WORKING GIRL is really good. Now, I seen that, That was good. was that with that blonde, she pretended to be the boss or something. Yeah. Yeah, I rented that one night by myself. I was home alone. Did you see HOME ALONE? Yes, I did, that, that just reminded me of that. Did you like it? There you go. First question, do you own your house? Uh, right, well, we try. I mean it's a big mortgage in the sky and someday, maybe, we might even own it, but, um, for all practical purposes, I guess we hold the mortgage Our name is on the till, Yeah, right. so that implies ownership. No one else has offered to pay for it. That's right. I would not object if anybody did. Yeah, really they could move right into the spare room Yeah. Well, we have, we have had this one for five years now. Before that we lived in Garland, uh, probably about, you know, four blocks away. Uh-huh. Liked the area, chose to stay inside of Spring Park. It's a, uh, I don't know if you have been up here, but it is a residential homeowners, association. Right, yeah, So, there's a lot of, you know, activities, a lot of pluses and common land. But, uh, we thought we were buying at the bottom of the market, you know, it could not possibly have gone any lower and so we were wrong Oh, five years ago. Yeah. Yeah, I think, what, it bottom out about a year later. Yeah, it, well, I mean just recently, I would say, I would give it two years back, when it was, I think, bottomed out. Oddly enough, two years, you know, I, uh, I think that, But, maybe not in your area, see, it was just different areas, not in, in, uh, this area. Cause this is about like the, That's a really nice area. Yeah. Besides, it's, you know, it's not, it's not Richardson. Is it? It's still considered Garland. No, it's, it's Richardson. Oh, ok, yeah. It's, Richardson and, hold on a second. to someone in Paul, I can hear you perfectly, perfectly well, I don't want to hear you. You are being rude. Whatever you ask or scream when I'm on the phone, the answer is no. Do you understand? to talking on How does that sound? There you go. Write that one down. Yeah, there I go. It sounded good to me Yeah, well, I hate to say how long that will last too. No, this area up here is, uh, all custom homes, and, it's, Right. I don't think that many by the builder that built this house. And, we were not the first people, the first owners, I think we are the third owners. Uh, okay. It was built by the architect for himself, who never moved into it. Who sold it to a couple who had no idea that homes ever needed upkeep. Oh, no. Oh, yeah, caulking windows was a great mystery to them. Oh, gee. So, they just watched the water pour in on the carpet. But, it's a Sharif Myneer Homes, if that means anything, it did not really mean anything to me except, I liked it. I, I, kept thinking of Omar Sharif every time I saw that name somewhere, so, He builds eight hundred thousand dollar houses now. I think he got out of the lower end market. And decided, Uh. but, the houses here in, in this class of housing never dropped below two hundred. Oh, wow. Yeah, well but, still I know that this one was built for two ninety nine, which is nowhere near what we paid for it. Right. And I think somebody told me it's also on a creek side lot, heavily wooded off the golf course. Oh, great. Yeah, and the guy around the corner is being transferred so he said, uh, well, he did comparables that it's about eighty dollars, let's see what, I don't remember if he said it was sixty dollars a square foot off the creek and eighty on the creek, or, if it was eighty and a hundred. Well Yeah. Probably eighty. I think it was sixty, eighty. Sixty, eighty. I think. Well because, I know our, our little house over here stuck in the middle of, you know, the subdivision is, I think fifty five, so, I think the high end is definitely, you know somewhere there Well, try and think if it was a hundred dollars a square foot No, it could not be, because this house has around thirty four hundred square feet, and it would never sell for three hundred forty thousand dollars. Yeah. Just never. Well Now, maybe, you know, that's pretty close to what it would have sold for, uh, brand new, or that's pretty much what it was built for. It's got an awful lot of nice things in it but, you know, I don't think, I think it's going to be a long time, if ever, when nice things and really quality construction and all the other additional amenities are really, uh, desirable. It's seems like people go for square footage only now Yeah. and, uh, cause. Have you been back to the Perry Homes, back here? Um, the ones that look like brick houses The one that looks like Monopoly apartments. Right. Yeah, I think those are awful. I'm sorry, I just don't see the designer's, I just see him as trying to squish as much space, you know, as much house into the space as possible. They are huge when you are inside them. Yeah. They are very spacious. They are, you know, I was, I was in one today. It was forty two hundred square feet. Uh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Well see that's, the house that we got is small enough so my husband and I, because there's just the two of us and the two cats, um, can yell at each other from one end to the other and be heard. And we thought that was important instead of getting swallowed up in something that you know. See, when you have kids, you like to be able to, send them some place where they can yell and you won't hear them. Yeah, that's true. But, I have been watching these houses go up and I, I don't, well, somebody was telling me, I know somebody who lives back there, I have always questioned the quality of construction and I, I don't think they exceed more than twelve nails per house. Oh. When you watch them go up, you are just amazed that they do not fall over. Yeah. And it takes them something like, thirty days to complete a house. Oh, that's amazing. Right now, in fact, even as we speak, we are having a deck put on in back, and these guys are phenomenal. They just, they, they are doing such a terrific job back there, I mean, you know, you pay for it too, but it's, it's like, really worth it. They are putting in a deck, a redwood deck, Uh-huh. and it's just, they are doing such a fine, fine job. We have got three different levels of decking, because, this lot slopes way back down I'm really excited about it, Uh-huh. and, uh, the house is built around the trees. Great. And with these decking that a corporation and a large area for the trees to come up so, it's real, real shady. But, that's one of the few things that really, uh, immediately pays back on return. But, what I was going to tell you, these Perry Homes back there, Yeah. when the people from M C I come down and they are, you know, they are used to the Virginia area, metropolitan D C. Uh. My God, they come down here and those houses, that, that look the colonial look what the, Looks like the George Town brownstone Right, Yeah. And, uh, the idea of ever owning anything that has four thousand square feet in it, for less than two hundred twenty thousand dollars, which is probably about what their equity is, that they got out of selling their house. Must be a dream. Yeah. Because those things are selling like hot cakes. But, one of the people that was living back there was telling me that there is his air conditioning bill, per month, last summer was in excess of five hundred dollars a month. Oh. And I thought, I can't , and he was talking about how you keep up with the utilities here. And I was thinking, well, you know, I know why your God damn bill is so high, He has no insulation, probably. it's because there's not a there's no insulation, insulation in those things. Oh, my. Yeah. Gosh. What a trap. Huh. Any yet, you know, they, they show very well they show very well unless you have, you know, lived in a lot of houses around the area, or looked at a lot of houses around here. And you ask the right questions and can research, yeah. Yeah. And I think that makes a big difference. But, I like, I like this area and everything that I have been saying, says that it's, Oh, I do too. I think if we had to sell now, we could come close to breaking even But, still, um, it's worth it for the area and for the school and things like that You're in, you're in the, Yes, um, I, I think that Plano has really done a fantastic job. I mean, at least their plans have, are good. Um, however, I was, maybe you saw in the paper this morning that, um, they've had some problems with, the recycling on plastic, With the plastic. uh-huh. I thought that was most interesting. Well, I just, I thought it was sad that they, it started out as a good program. *two utts? But then people started dumping trash. and the wrong objects in there, Yeah. Yes. and I, and that concerned me, that people were using it as a way to get rid of things they just didn't want to set at the curb or take to the dump, Yeah. That's right. and, and, uh, I, it's too bad that people have to ruin, a good part thing. Yeah. I guess that's going to happen. Yeah, a really good effort, that's right, yeah. But, uh, Well, I was thinking about the other day, um, when I, when Dick and I were, oh, many, many years ago when we were first married and he was in graduate school in Missouri, um, I went, oh, I was probably, this was probably, see, it have been like nineteen sixty-seven or sixty-eight, um, we, I went to a meeting, and, uh, one of the, the speakers at the meeting was a woman who was recycling and, um, she was from Saint Louis, Um. and she had this fantastic, um, family effort in, in recycling, and she was dividing her colored glass and her plastics, and her aluminum, Oh. and I thought wow, I mean, how, one person is doing that, you know, but my, my thought was it's a shame, I mean, it's wonderful that she's doing it and it, but wouldn't it be much nicer if we all did it, because her effort would have really, um, really, uh, been a good example for all of us. And yet, you know, and we were just sort of talking about it at the time. And here we are, you know, now we're doing it on a, city wide basis in, in communities. Doing it So it's wonderful that we've come that far, I think but, *slash error Um. What did she do with, if, if she, was she like a group that was doing it, or was she doing it on her own, and, what did she do with the, I think she was, I was trying to remember, it seems to me that she was doing it on her own, and living in Saint Louis, there were places where she could actually take her, uh, things herself, uh, Uh-huh. and so it wasn't, you know, something that was being picked up or, um, and I think she was encouraging other people to do it if they would. But I remember her saying yes, I have a trash can for this and a trash can for that, and a trash can for the other thing, and I thought wow, that's, that is wonderful, that somebody does that. You, you have to really want to do it, though. Yeah. This is, even, even what you recycle, because we, we do the, the, plastics and the, and the aluminum, and the glass and the paper. Uh-huh. Right. Yes. And, um, and, of course, then, you know, you try to buy right too, Um, a lot of our neighbors say, well, what , you have to rinse out this and you have to make sure it's that, *sd and you have to, Sure you do, uh-huh. Yeah. it's, uh, we, we had neighbors that complained when we got the new garbage cans. Uh-huh. Isn't that amazing? And I thought what are you complaining about, when you're only going to get picked up once a month, you know, or once a week Well, you know, Yes. and, People, I don't know, they find fault in everything, rather than say this is a good effort. Rather than work with it. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. It's, it's, I I know what you're saying, kind of people like that Well, sure it is. *ba Well, it's for everybody's benefit. I mean, it's, it's not, so maybe we don't realize it in our lifetime, but we, you have to think grandchildren, and great grandchildren Yep. and, what kind of quality of life are you leaving them? Yeah, it's on down the line. Right. And, and the, and I have a real concern about that. Yes. Yeah, Uh. I agree. When, We've never had much trash, because while I was raised in a big family, and, and Gene's family wasn't big, Uh-huh. but they weren't rich Yeah. and they had to, to recycle. Sure. And, and, you know, the well, they didn't, they just used things, they didn't, throw things away, before they were used up Yeah. Right. and, Yeah. Well, I know, um, I guess I got a good example from my mother, because she was always very, very conscientious about recycling things, and she is to this day, and, you know, I mean, she'll even, Uh-huh. um, if she, for instance, she, she would take the waxed paper out of a cereal box and use that for, you know, when she made cookies, it would go on that or, if she needed to wrap something for, needed, uh, sandwich paper or something, she'd use that. Yeah. Right. She just, she recycles everything. And I have done the same thing. I recycle like zip lock bags and, things like that. Right. My kids get the biggest kick out of that. Although, they do the same thing I mean, they I think they give me a hard time, Right. but I think they know that that's, it's the right way They've picked up the Well, they do, and when they actually get out away from the home, and have to do their own buying of things, and then they say, well, hey, you know, mom used to do this and dad used to do that, But, *% Uh-huh. Yes, and they appreciate how much it costs to do that. Yeah. That's right. Well, I don't know, you know. I, I wonder how, how you instill in people the necessity for doing just a little bit extra to, to make this whole thing work. I mean, the extra like washing out bottles and jars, or the extra of actually, uh, making sure that, uh, you take stuff over to, you know, some people are now are complaining because the stuff isn't picked up at the curbside, you know, and I think golly Moses, you just do your part. You know, people are not, you, you, you can't be waited on all your life and expect things to always work out. Right. Well, see, this, this is what concerns me. You, over in Europe they don't have the kind of waste we do here. No, that's right. You, you've got to be in a country, even in, in Mexico, you don't see things thrown away, like we do here. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah, yeah. I mean, what we throw away is, is a ransom, a king's, ransom to most people, Yes. Uh-huh. and I, and even to people in our country, who scavenge for food Yeah. and, and, and I, I think you have to get into a period of need, Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. you can't tell a person that lives in a hundred, two hundred, three hundred thousand dollar house that have all that they need, and all that they could want that they've got to be careful. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. No. Uh-huh. This is, uh, I, this is why I thought Jimmy Carter was never very very you know, people didn't like him. Because he tried to say, turn off the lights conserve this, do that. Yeah. Yeah, right, do those little things, yeah, And, and, uh, the I, nobody wanted to hear it. that make a lot of difference, uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, it's, I, you know, and, I think you're right, though. It's, I think that it has to really hit home before, the message sometimes. Uh-huh. Or you have to grow up with it being important in your life, um, oh, oh, um, before the message really takes hold sometimes. Uh-huh. And, um, I don't know, it's, uh it's just really interesting to me how now more aware of things I am than I, even myself, than I used to be, a few years ago. Right. I mean, like I, I'd go to the, um, to the U T D, um, cafeteria for lunch sometimes Uh-huh. and they use styrofoam plates, when they wouldn't, need to use styrofoam plates. Um. Right. You know, and I think to myself that's, that's crazy. I wonder if, you know, maybe I need to bring that to someone's attention, you know, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, and, uh, I'm seeing more and more of that, and, and I think it's, uh, just McDonald's effort to reduce the number of, of styrofoam, uh, boxes that they use, for hamburgers and stuff, Right. I think is a good, good example, you know, that even, industry is willing to do it. Huh. I, I think the big question too we're looking at is, would you be willing to pay more for a product, so it can be recycled. Yeah. Well, I think that may, that's kind of what it's coming to, I'm sure. That's, that's right and, and, uh, do we have to wait until all the landfills, are full and there is nowhere else to put our garbage. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's right, yeah. Or, and I don't, with the mind set of the American public, I think what they will do is start paying Mexico That isn't, that isn't harmful. *sv Uh-huh. Wow. That doesn't , wouldn't surprise me. Uh-huh. Or they will go dump it out in the middle of some ocean. Yeah, yeah. I know it, That's the way we solve problems. and unfortunately. And it's sad. Well, Hal, what's, uh, what's crime like in Dallas? Well, it depends where in Dallas you are. Uh-huh. There are certainly parts of town I would not want to live in. Yeah. Because it's the situation it is very location dependent Uh-huh. and there are parts of town here where, when they talk about the nightly gunfire. Oh, yeah. Yeah, in Baltimore we have similar. Uh, I live on the outskirts of Baltimore and, uh, we live right outside the city and our neighborhood is pretty much working class people, though I'm in graduate school, uh, I live here because it's close to the university. Uh-huh. But, you know, we have, uh, it, it's really funny, the only crime we really see is, uh, just the kids being malicious. Uh-huh. You know, and I think most of that is because their parents aren't around. That make sense? Yeah. Yeah. That, uh, the, what they call the latchkey children. Yeah, something like that. No one's, you know, or, or fathers are just missing, you know, so there's no, uh, no consistency there in the home or whatever. There's no one to tell them what's right and what's wrong, you know. Yeah. The sort of on my end is more of the upper middle class so I think our, uh, Uh-huh. not that we don't have a certain amount of local problems Uh-huh but on the other hand, uh, we get the, uh, affect of the, uh, the city and, uh, the main crimes within the suburb here are the, the theft crimes. A small number of assaults, Uh-huh. uh, well, if we have one murder a year that's probably as many, Yeah. but then, you know, you go into Dallas and they are, unfortunately uh, having murders at a rate greater than one a day. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's, we're about the same in Baltimore. Though, uh, Washington, I think is, uh, close by and, you know, they experience a lot more. Uh-huh. I think they definitely have more problems that, uh, in, in the area. What, what do you think can prevent crime? Well, the thing is, I don't, it's one of those things where, if you're a grad student you can appreciate the statistics on Uh-huh. Unfortunately there are often these correlations that are inverse of what they should be like, uh, wherever there are more, uh, criminals, there are more policemen Yeah. but that's which came first. Yeah But, on the other side of it is it's, it's basically the, the problem is within the, in the society and the society's views Uh-huh. and, well, uh, since now I'm in my mid-forties, when I was in grad school or when I was an undergraduate growing up in a more rural area I thought, you know, crime was, was reasonably unknown and just the situation that's developed with the, the drug *new slash unit? aspect of, uh uh, the pushers, the dealers and the addicts, uh, Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I, I think, I agree with you there. Because it just was not, uh, something back in the sixties that uh, I even had to worry about. Uh-huh. But I think, you know, that there is a lot in the society where things have changed, uh, so it's effected all of us. Uh-huh. Yeah, I think they, the drug culture definitely has, uh, is one of the main problems. Yeah, Because it would eliminate the, uh, the violence and the, uh, the the, the market, I guess, the, the hidden market of the drugs and everything that goes along with it. *sv Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That make sense? He's one of the big proponents of that. He gets on national television and, and says that, you know. So it's, uh and he was a a District Attorney before, and a prosecutor before becoming, becoming mayor. So that's a really you know, it's a different viewpoint. I, uh, You know, in a sense I don't, I'm I have real mixed feelings on that Yeah. because it comes a bit from the angle that the, uh, uh, it would certainly be an interesting test Uh-huh. but the other side of it, to me, What happens if we lose worse. Uh, well, the other side is that unfortunately some of the down side, and I think if I look back fifty or a hundred years I'd say, you know, back then there were the opium dens Right. but the thing is, if somebody ruined their life, uh, society didn't try to then save themselves from it, they let this person who had ruined it uh, become, well, die or whatever. Uh-huh. I mean they probably became weakened physically and other things to the point that their life expectancy was real short, Right, yeah. but now we tend to believe somewhere in the health care system otherwise, we need to take care of people even if they have, you know, physically ruined themselves. Yeah, they have induced it themselves. Yeah Yeah, that's true. and so, to me that's, I, uh, I would certainly like to see a real test of, of making drugs real cheap to see if when you make them available people then don't use them. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well I think you know, they did that in Alaska. That, that actually, Alaska just recently legalized marijuana. *two utts But I never, I never heard results or anything like that, so I never, you know, plus, that's such a, that's not a true, uh, you know, it really couldn't be a good test because Alaska's so different than every other part of the country. Uh-huh. You know, so that, but that was interesting, you know, I, I don't, crime is one of those things that's, uh, I, I don't know, you know, the drug culture, the, uh, the, uh, you know, I, I see it with the kids in the neighborhood just stealing things, not thinking anything wrong with it. Yeah, well, some of that, and, of course, I'm a baby of the old school Yeah. but, it, it bothers me from the fifties on, not that I'd remember that much from the fifties Uh-huh. but, but basically we have so much more of the something for nothing mentality. Yeah, that's true. That's true. We worked hard for everything. That's very true. And so they Uh-huh. in the, there were the sixty-four thousand dollar question shows in the fifties, but nowadays, there's so much on TV where, where people seem to have the idea they can get something for nothing. Of course uh, I work for lawyers a lot Uh-huh. and I see, unfortunately, we have this whole mentality that somehow there are these pots of money out there that you can sue somebody and, you know, there's a million dollars you can have uh, for mental duress or whatever. Uh-huh. Yeah But, you know, the other thing that bothers me in the crime is the, uh, in Europe, they seem to have mentality, and drunk driving is a good one, is that people are well indoctrinated in their society that drunken driving is unacceptable. Right. And, yeah, if you're going to drink, and you may drink, you better have your designated driver. And we mean it. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. That, I think that, uh, the drunk driving has just actually, just caught on. Uh, and I, I, I really, uh, Uh-huh. my father was hit by a drunk driver when I was in high school Uh-huh. and, uh, that was a very, uh, that, that was an awful three years afterwards. You know, of recovery and the difficulties and, uh, everything we did Uh-huh. and, you know, the guy went free because this was twelve years ago thirteen years ago, Uh-huh. there was no, his father was even, the, uh, police chief of the town. Uh-huh. So there was no repercussion at all. You know, other than insurance, but he was uninsured. Yeah. So, uh, our insurance paid for everything, but it was a very difficult time and, and then later, this was actually funny, my brother and I were picked up by the police for questioning because this fellow had bought a, a new car and somebody had taken like a baseball bat to it and broke all his windows and his lights and his, dented it everywhere, Uh-huh. and they came and questioned us. Yeah. You know, and, But, that kind of shows how our attitude toward drinking and driving was, uh, misplaced for years Right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. that, you know, it was an acceptable social behavior. Yeah, very much so. Yeah, that, those are some important points. Yeah, I, that's, those are, What are, what does your city have for gun control if anything? Well, see Maryland is one of the most, we just voted in, uh, gun control, strong gun control here in the state of Maryland. I, I think, Well, the weather has been, certainly has been hot and it's been humid. I don't remember a year in a long time that the humidity has stayed up this high for, uh, this late into, uh, well, it's not really late into the summer, but the, the humidity has hung around all of June. Yeah. Are you native to this area? No, I grew up in Michigan, But I've been, I've been in Texas for fifteen years. *sd Oh, okay. Uh-huh. So, uh, but, you know, I know the summers get hot but it certainly, uh, Uh-huh. this humidity has just really hung on there. Yeah. Yeah, it seemed like, well, you know, last year was so strange having all those heavy, heavy rains in April and this year we really didn't have heavy rains until May. Kind of like pushed the season back a little farther and now it's kind of lingering with kind of still a bit of humidity and it just tried to rain, I mean, I was coming in from my car just a few minutes ago and it was trying to rain which seems strange to have it raining in July. Yes. Normally we don't have too much, uh, humidity or, or, uh, rainy time when it's past June. Oh, that's right, that's right. I can remember it not, it's really August that it happens. You get those great big cracks in the ground where it's been so dry Right. and it just gets so dry and, the earth opens up. I can remember the first year I moved here Uh-huh. and it didn't rain, I moved here like in late August and it didn't rain from August until December and, I went home and told it just doesn't rain in Texas. I mean it was great after growing up in Michigan and not, and you know, every day was cloudy, almost every day was cloudy and I, you sort of forget how much it did rain and coming here and then it didn't rain, it was just wonderful. Well, yeah, see I, I lived in, uh, Ohio mainly. I lived in, uh, Pontiac just a little while before I came down here Oh, yeah. and, you know, so many times when you were trying to schedule outdoor activities, you just never knew if it was going to be a go or not because of the weather. It might rain on your little parade. That's right, that's right. You know, and here it was like, pretty much you could schedule some activity outside anytime and you really didn't have too much of a chance of it getting rained out. Yeah. You could pretty much do whatever you wanted to do. That's right. What part of Michigan were you living in? Oh, I grew up in Dearborn which is a suburb of, of Detroit. Okay. Yeah, yeah. You probably know where that is because I know where Pontiac is, Anyway, yeah. What brought you down here? Oh, a teaching job. So you teach in Plano schools? Yeah, I did, I did for a while, uh-huh. So, I'm home with, home with two children, So, Oh. Okay New career. New career Okay. but, uh, anyway, so that kind of, uh, well, I had been down here to visit so I school and said hey, let's, you know, find a place that has a nice job and, uh, that's how it worked out. Well, yeah, I think a lot of people were, uh, leaving Michigan all about the time I came here in the early eighties and it seemed like it was almost a mass exodus. Oh, yeah. You know, the, the little joke about, will the last person leaving Michigan just turn out the light Oh, well, it's a nice place, you know, I mean it's, it's a nice, that's a nice place, though. Well, you know, I, I said I lived in, uh, the Pontiac. I didn't live in the city of Pontiac, I lived to the west of it. Uh, I forget the, the county, but you know where all the lakes are around there. Okay, sort of. I lived in an apartment complex on one of the lakes. It was real close to where I worked. It was only like four miles to work and it was wonderful being on the lake like that. You know, in the summer, you feel like you're, you know, on a vacation all the time because you're right on a lake and everybody's, you know, out enjoying the water and such, and, uh, in the winter time the lakes froze over, you could still kind of go sledding and such out there but I thought it was just really neat to be out there on all those lakes. There's lots of really small ones out there. Yeah. You know, like maybe a mile, two long. Yeah. That's enough to, uh, do some boating That's right. and it was lots of fun. That's right. Which is, Um. well, I think it's, I think it's toward Ann Arbor, so it's probably out in that direction, but that's the only one I probably could name after all these years Uh-huh. so, But, uh, Yeah, yeah. But it was, yeah, just lots of little lakes and, of course, it was, you know, a little more expensive to live on the lake, but I just thought that was grand. And I think a lot of people didn't really know that there were all those lakes out there unless you were from that area and kind of spotted them, but there was quite a few lakes all around there. It seemed like, it was almost like you were living on an island there was so much water around where I was. I said I wasn't close to downtown Pontiac, I was way out to the west maybe four or five miles from, from the city limits and it was really nice out there. Yeah. We had, uh, Pine Knob you know, to go skiing and stuff. Oh. Right. Right. So there were things around there. Really was pretty nice. Sure, sure, and isn't that where they have a summer music festival there, too? Right, right in the summertime they have musicals there and in the winter time they make snow and have a ski slope. That's right, that's right. I know, we used to, we, we didn't do a lot of it, but we did. We did, Yeah, yeah. so those are always fun. And Alpine, was it Alpine was another ski slope that we went to, It was nice. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I always tell people that in the winter we use, we used to, uh, my dad would kind of bank up the snow in the backyard and turn the hose on, you know, make a pond in the backyard for us. Oh, yeah, yeah. So but, uh, you know, we probably did some ice skating on it, but then it chipped, chipped and, you know, it would melt or whatever and get pretty uneven so, Yeah, yeah. We used to have a Christmas time, uh, some of our relatives would come up from Alabama, and I think most times we would have snow around Christmas and the kids when they were young would just go nuts. Yeah. You know, because they were from Alabama where it never snowed Oh. and they just had a grand time watching the snow and getting out there and playing in it, you know, eternally. Oh. Oh, right, right. If only it would make nice snow here in Texas, we'd be okay at Christmas time. My first winter here, I, I came down in, uh, early eighty-two and there was just a freak snowfall early one morning in December couple days before Christmas. It lasted only a few hours, like by noon it was gone. Yeah. Yeah. And I remember getting up and somebody telling me, hey, better wait to go to work because the roads are all, you know, snow And I was laughing, going yeah, right, that's a good practical joke, ha ha. They said, no really, there's snow and there was, but a very short time and the weather got warm so quick Yeah. it just melted it all away. Yeah, yeah, I know. Course, when we get an ice storm, that's not too much fun. No, that's not fun either, so, uh, I, I just as soon have all the slushy snow on the streets than have the ice on the streets so, But, uh, well we have, our house is kind of on a little hill, so, uh, we get the sled out and, uh, the kids go down the the hill on the sleds when it's icy, I mean they just go down the ice. Yeah. And if it's cold, we say, okay, out you go. I think we must be the only people on the block that make use of that cold weather and get out there. Oh, yeah. I think it's fun, even the couple of ice storms I've gotten out there in my ski pants or something and still just been out and enjoying it a little bit. I mean, sometimes the ice is pretty bad, but if you get on the, the, uh, grassy kind of part, you get a little bit of traction, you know, not slip and fall. I mean, first, I really haven't seen any movies lately, so when the computer picked this one, I was a little bit surprised, but, I think I haven't been to the movie theater here in about, oh, six months, but, uh, you know, the last movies that I've seen were probably on video. Oh, well that's, we rent a lot of videos too. Yeah Uh, we saw, I have two little babies and we saw one movie recently and that was THE TERMINATOR movie, uh, which I didn't like after all . Uh-huh. Yeah, now I I haven't seen THE TERMINATOR movie, but, and that's kind of blood and guts, isn't it. I don't particularly care for that sort of stuff. Well, I don't either. It, on all the, the advertisements Arnold Schwarzenegger says he doesn't kill anybody in the movie. He doesn't. He maims them Yeah, right. So, Yeah, he maims them pretty good, doesn't he? Uh-huh. He, he, uh, I think he shoots off their knee caps for the most part. In the movie. Yeah. Uh-huh. So. I, I saw, uh, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY. Uh, Uh, I saw it, uh, Oh, I haven't seen that one yet. oh, couple weeks ago I rented it and, uh, watched it and I was, I was pretty disappointed in it because I, I was told by several people that it's pretty scary and intense Uh-huh. and I was pretty disappointed in it. Oh. Now it's a good movie, but, I guess that they built me up too much. For my expectations in it there. Yeah, well, With all the commercials and everything. Uh-huh. I haven't, that's one we want to see. I, I want to see, uh, DANCES WITH WOLVES. Uh-huh. But, we haven't seen that one yet, either. Yeah. Now I haven't seen it either, but, uh, I've heard that it's real long. That it's a good movie, but it's long, like three hours. Yeah, that's what I heard, too. Yeah, we've got to get it at a time when we can put our kids to bed and stay up late to watch it We saw, uh, the, the, uh, movie with, uh, Sylvester Stallone, OSCAR. That's right. That's right. OSCAR. Supposed to be his, uh, his debut in comedy. Uh-huh. Which was an interesting movie, but not very funny. Yeah. I know my daughter saw that and she liked it so, Did she? Yeah Well, it was, it was an amusing movie. Uh-huh. It I guess maybe it would have been better if we'd have been at the theater as opposed to, uh, just at the house watching it with, with no one else around. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, And, of course, I get to watch all these movies like LOOK WHO'S TALKING and WHO'S, LOOK WHO'S TALKING, TOO and, because I have a ten year old so, We, we watch a lot of movies around that category, you know that she, that she can watch Oh. Uh-huh. My son just turned two and so THE LITTLE MERMAID is now our favorite movie. Yeah. We seen THE LITTLE MERMAID, too. LITTLE MERMAID and PETER PAN I think are, are his two favorites that we've got Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And there's some, I think there's some good Disney movies fixing to come out on video, uh, SHIPWRECKED. Oh, I haven't, I didn't hear that was coming out. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's fixing to come out on video and, boy, I can't think of the other one that's fixing to come out. Well, they just had uh, THE RESCUERS movie But, Uh-huh. that was a Disney movie, wasn't it. I think I heard that was just one, was just out. He's, uh, he doesn't sit still for the whole movie, yet, but he likes to, uh, to listen to the music and stuff if there's a lot of that in the in the movie. Right. Uh-huh. Well, I'm glad to know that there's somebody else out there that doesn't get to go to the movie theater Well, I tell you, ever my, my kids are just small babies and, I tell you, we really want to go a lot Yeah. and, uh, there's so much out on video now, that it's almost, you know, the movie comes out quicker than you can go see it. Sometimes. Uh-huh. And then they go to the dollar movies. So. Uh-huh That seems to happen. I noticed that DANCES WITH WOLVES was playing at the, uh, Granada Theater. Uh-huh. And, uh, someone said that was a lot of fun to go do. You can have dinner and everything while you watch the movie. I thought that might be kind of fun to do. Yeah, that does sound fun. And, of course, you need a baby-sitter for that Definitely. But, uh, no, I'd really like to get out to the movies more often. Course, it's so expensive, now, too that you can't hardly afford it. Right. I, I know we get discount tickets where my husband works, Uh-huh. but, other than that it just seems like it's so expensive. And then the popcorn and everything else, you almost can't afford to do it. No matter what. That's right. Although we did actually get, we went on vacation couple months ago, and we got to go see WHAT ABOUT BOB? Uh-huh. That was kind of a funny movie with, uh, Richard Dreyfuss and Bill Murray. Uh-huh. That was fun. Golly, I don't think that I've ever heard of that movie. Oh, he's a, Richard Dreyfuss is a, uh, psychiatrist and Bob is his patient and Bob follows him on vacation. It's, uh, Oh, that's the, that's the one where they burn down the house or something Uh-huh, uh-huh the house explodes? Uh-huh. Oh, okay. Yeah, that's the one. Okay, yeah. Another movie that I want to see if it ever comes out on video so I can see it without my daughter around is, uh, oh, I just forgot the title of it. Uh Oh, it's supposed to be a real scary one Uh, darn, well, here, here's another one that I've seen. I saw, uh, I can't remember the title of it, either Must have left an impression. How would you feel about sending an elderly family member to a nursing home? Well, I don't feel very good about it, but I think that at some times it can be the right thing to do. We sent my grandfather to a nursing home at the point when he was really incapable of caring for himself anymore. Uh-huh. He actually died a few months after that, and so as, at least in retrospect, it was the right thing to do because he was either in a nursing home or a hospital or something else that he would have been spending most of his time in those days. Right. And what type of recommendations did you have when you decided where to place him? Um, well, the, see, uh, well, we, he wanted to get into a Mennonite nursing home which is very popular and hard to get into and had like a ten year waiting list Oh, my. right, we wound up just choosing a, another Mennonite nursing home that was easier to get into. Or but naturally, no, it was even Mennonite related, I'm sorry, it was actually not a particularly great nursing home. Mostly the thing was that it was available when we needed it, because he suddenly got sick and needed to be put in. Yeah, so the convenience, Right. Uh, what do you think? My grandmother lived with us, um, until August, um, and we made the decision to put her in a nursing home. She has leukemia Uh-huh. and her, the rest of her family and her regular doctors and everybody she trusted and knew was in Dayton, and were several thousand miles away Yeah. so I made the decision to put her in a nursing home, and my sister being on the other end found one that she could have what was called an independent living facility. She had her own little room and didn't have to share it with anyone and could bring in her own chair and T V set Yeah so. yeah, that's important I would say. Yes. And that, the other major factor is that she needs blood transfusions every week to ten days, and would have to be hospitalized a day or two, so in this facility they can do it right there from her own room Okay. so she didn't have to be transported back and forth. So, she's been there since August the thirteenth and seems to have adjusted pretty well. It's not her favorite place to be in. She'd much rather be here with me. But when it got to the point I was spending more time at the hospital with her, Yeah. and I've got little children here who needed me here she needed somebody to watch her twenty-four hours a day. Right, and that becomes difficult then. So. She was falling down and hemorrhaging and, you know, all kinds of physical problems, so it just became too much for me to handle, even though I would have liked to have had her stay, with her health being what it was she couldn't anymore. Uh-huh. Yep, we tried to convince my grandfather to live with us at several points during the last few years of his life, but he was essentially too proud and too independent so that even though his heart was getting incredibly weak and his knees were going bad he lived in his own house as long as he could Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. but he was living alone, had an upstairs apartment, could barely make it up the steps to the top without a great deal of pain, Oh. and this, eventually things just went too far Yeah. and he allowed himself to be put into a nursing home. Yes, well, I think sometimes when people get to be a certain age, other people have to kind of help them make decisions. It sure wouldn't have been Granny's decision to leave us and go back to a nursing home, but she's accepted it real well now Right so. well that's, yeah, that's right that the children have some responsibility, too, to their parents and such, to help decide what's the right thing. Well, we enjoyed having her here, And. but we feel she's much safer where she is now. She still continues to fall, but when she does there, a nurse is right there to help her Uh-huh. and I know she's eating the right things, and her doctor's right there where he can come in and check on her, so. It became dangerous for us to keep transporting her back and forth in the car because she was so wobbly and needed a walker or a wheel chair Yep. so, I think she'll adjust, Okay, while I was waiting for you to connect, I, I thought of a couple of menus, so I decided it had to be in it, informal or not. You know because that's a lot of fun, especially this time of year where it's so nice out. *sv Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes. Um, if it was formal I'd probably go with something like a chicken breast or lasagna or something. I'm not I'm not into formal dinner parties, but I'd probably go with lasagna, a green salad, and garlic bread. I see. So what do you use for cookbooks? Um, I have a PILLSBURY cookbook I got when I was married, but, it's kind of the bible of cooking for me. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Then I have some from like church that are more family recipes that are more useful You know, budget cookbooks, Uh-huh. but and, of course, you get a lot from when you're growing up. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, I cook a lot the same as, as my mom did, of course I've added several different recipes, Right. but, what you serve or what would you Well, I, I, I think we come from, from different backgrounds, uh, so the, Well, that's good I, I, I, so, it you know, have different perspectives that you are. I find the JOY OF COOKING to be a remarkably useful book to, to fall back on, Uh-huh. because it has almost everything in it. But on the other hand, it's not very inspiring, uh, it's a good reference when you need to dig something up. Uh-huh. What we've found very useful is a book called THE THIRTY MINUTE COOKBOOK, I think that's the title, by Marion Burroughs Huh. uh, which has recipes which allegedly can all be prepared in thirty minutes, you know, the whole meal Yeah and so she's that would be wonderful in these times yeah, now, now, I, I find that the cutting up of the food, and all that really makes it take a little longer than thirty minutes. Yeah, Uh-huh. But they're, but they're, but they're interesting they're interesting menus, um, combinations that you wouldn't have, nobody thought of. Uh-huh. Um. What's one of your favorites? Um, gee, the one I had most recently was, was one that, was, she, she describes as Jim Beard's favorite, um, summer menu, or something, and it consisted of, of grilled kielbasa sausage uh, a potato salad with olive oil, and uh, some tomatoes that had been chopped up with onions and curry powder and probably some yogurt was in there. Uh-huh. Wow, sounds too good. Uh, and that, and that was, you know, that's, that, that's certain you can do in thirty minutes. Yeah. But there are a whole lot of, you know, I mean, I, I would recommend you look at that book if you're a busy person. Yeah, that THIRTY MINUTE COOKBOOK. THIRTY MINUTE COOKBOOK. That sounds fun. I find a lot of the cookbooks that, I don't know, that you buy over the counter ask for really strange ingredients, or things I don't keep on hand all the time Uh-huh. and I have young children, and our budget's set, you know, at this time, but I want to use simple recipes that I have things on hand, Uh-huh. I don't have to run to the store to buy or look for something I haven't heard of Yes, yes. That's why sometimes I shy away from, uh, more of a traditional cookbook Uh-huh. but, well, it was interesting talking to you. It's a fun subject. Food is one of my favorite things too. Yes. Anything else you wanted to add? Well, you had said dinner, you know, you know, what would I put together for a formal dinner. We, we had some friends over as recently as Saturday night Oh, wow. and, and, um, put, here, here the inspiration was a combination of Julia Child for the dessert, you know, a chocolate mousse recipe and a sort of cookbook which has a recipe for a thing called chicken marabella um, which is this wonderful thing you can do, um, Uh-huh, that's good. Uh-huh. basically you're baking, baking chicken in a, in an open pan, um, having marinated it first and, my wife did this part so I don't remember all the details Uh-huh. marinated in olive oil and some seasoning, um, and cooked with some olives and some, and some prunes, uh, there's a little bit of brown sugar in there, and it bakes up and it's a delicious thing, and it's easy That sounds good. comparatively. Um. I'm sorry, That sounds really good. I just love It sounds like you guys are a little more gourmet than I am, I'm pretty simple right now, but. Well, maybe a little more leisure time to do it. Yes I don't know, that's probably, that's true, I have little ones and we, and they won't eat, you know, too many different foods right now. Yeah. I found my kids were very frustrating when they were little in terms of their tastes. Yes. Yeah. Well, there again, sometimes it was easy, they'd, you know, canned ravioli was, one of their favorites, and so it was easy to open a can of ravioli. Yeah. Spaghetti's a pretty staple every other week or so Yes. and it goes a long ways too. All righty. Well, nice talking to you Cheryl. Okay. Talk to you later maybe. Bye. Do you have children? Uh, yes. Uh, we have two sons. Uh, one's a freshman in college and one's a sophomore in high school. Oh. And you? I have one that's a freshman in high school, a daughter. And a son who's a sixth grader in a middle school. Okay. And I spend most of my time carpooling Oh The story of my life Yes Yes. Yeah. My kids are involved in sports. My daughter has played basketball for six years, and my son plays football. I, my rule is that they can't play a sport the same time of the year because there's just not enough of me to drive them around everywhere. Uh, well, uh, yeah. We 've spend a spend a did spend a lot of time, uh, it really helped when the, uh, older one was old enough to get his license and could, uh drive around by himself although that brought in a whole other set of problems. Yes. I know, I know. The insurance. But, uh, I, uh, yeah, for one thing. Uh, but yeah, we, uh, we do but our two had, had, uh, totally different interests of, but there was not much, uh, overlap as such. The, the older one is not, was not at all into, uh, sports for the most part. Uh, he participated band and, and, uh, scouts were his two big things. Yes. My son, is in both band and scouts too. And, uh and the, yeah, younger one is, uh, uh, the sports one and the, whatever season it is he's, he's playing, although football is really his favorite Oh, gee. Yeah. So, uh, yeah, we spend a lot of time, uh, uh, carpooling and, uh, you know, and then trying to be, uh, up as much as possible with anything that they, that they do. Right. But then, uh, we also didn't do , spend, uh, time with them trying to, trying to, uh, you know, just family time. Uh-huh. Uh, we had a, at a fairly young age we started teaching them to play games and card games and so forth. And, and, uh, uh, but we didn't, uh, do it as much or as often as, uh, I would have liked to. I would like to do that as a, as a family and, and some T V watching. Yeah. What about you? We found this Oriental tile game called Mah-jongg . Yeah, I've, I've heard of that. Have you? I've never actually, never actually played it. But, Well, it's really fun. Um, one of my neighbors moved here from Memphis and a lot of them played it, and she started a group going in the neighborhood and my kids wanted to learn how to play it and it's more fun with four people. Yeah, yeah. And it's a game that none of their friends know how to play, and they both enjoy it. So if they want to play, they have to play with mom and dad. Yeah. So, uh, we play that a lot of them, and, uh, we like to go miniature golfing and to movies. Yeah. We have family that lives outside of the state so we go visit both sets of grandparents and, and take car trips. Yeah, so do we. So, that, and my husband and son go camping with scouts mostly. Okay. Yeah. My daughter and, and I hate camping so we go shopping. So that just kind of works out real well. Yeah. And, um, I'm a writer by profession and my daughter enjoys writing too, so a lot of times, she and I will travel to writers conferences together. Oh, now that's neat. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, we've never had anything like that. So that gives us special time together too. Yeah. And she's on the yearbook staff and things like that so I can help her with that and she gives me ideas for my writing too so. Uh-huh. Yep. Uh-huh. Oh, well, good. Well, I, you know, in terms of, in terms of any sorts of trends I, you know, obviously things are different from, for me than, and my children than when I was growing up. Yeah. I, I, I grew up on a farm, uh, in Iowa, and, uh, you know the whole family was around the, the whole time. And then what my father did was, was, uh, you know, obvious to me and I, I helped out with it. But, uh, although I have brought my boys into to see where I work, it's not that easy, and it's, it's certainly not at all common, and they, they just don't really have that same idea, Right. so they, uh, it's a, it's a whole different, uh, kind of thing there then, uh, My husband has taken us to work with him, and we still don't know what he does. Yeah. So, we just say he travels a lot. So, that kind of covers it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that makes it hard though for in terms of, you know, family time with, with him. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, I've been lucky in that respect that I don't, uh, don't travel too much . He's been on temporary duties where he's been gone nine months. Oh. Yes. Yeah. So those are the real killers. If he's just gone, Yes. he's gone three weeks right now and that's, that's mild compare to the big ones, Yeah. so we just, you know. I just do the carpooling and, and handle whatever needs to be done. And something major, always needs to be done. Yeah. Yeah. So you just have to, to handle it until he gets home Yeah. Yeah, right. And hopefully he won't have too many surprises when he gets home. Well, let's see. So what, So what gets you? As far as I'm , Well, the thing I think that annoys me the most is, I have, I have young children, a baby in the house and, and inevitably as soon as they're asleep, someone calls on the phone trying to sell me something. Uh-huh. And I think that, that is probably the most aggravating Uh-huh. Uh, you know, it invades my time. I'm the one that pays for the phone. Uh, if I want to buy something, I'll take the initiative and, and go find it, you know. And that just really does aggravate me. Uh, what do you think? Well, I mean I, that's exactly the kind of thing I would have said. Although in my case it's my wife and I both work, we come home and just as we're preparing dinner or eating dinner the phone rings and it's one solicitation call after another and, you know. Your time is, is valuable, Yeah, it's, it's like you say, very annoying and, and, uh, why, why do we let this happen. Oh, I, that's, that's interesting. I the, the market seems to just be growing, too. I, I guess enough people are not speaking out. I'm not speaking out, that's for sure. I just get aggravated about it. And, Would, would you, I mean if you could legislate something, what would you legislate? I really don't know. I'm, I'm not into uh, heavy government legislating of a lot of different areas, but I I don't know. I just, I do particularly find it annoying. Uh, I'm really not sure. to be, Yeah. It, it seems, it seems to me that we should have the ability to designate with the phone company that we don't want to receive calls like that. *sv Well, that, yeah, that might, And the people making these calls would be obliged to compare the, their lists that they're going to call against this list of people who don't want to be called. Identify themselves, yeah. Right. Well, that would be a good an interesting way, Uh, yeah. And, that, that way, those who want it can have it and those who don't want it, don't have to have it. Right. Sort of like an unlisted number where you haven't gone to the trouble of enlisting yourself. Right, you're, Except even unlisted numbers aren't safe now because they have these things just sort of dial through all the numbers. Uh, automatically Oh, is that right? Oh, that's interesting. and, And they just get everybody. Right. Oh, boy. Well, I, I do wish that it would stop on my end because it, it seems to happen at the worst possible moments. Yeah. And I, I guess the next one is, is door-to-door solicitors. Uh-huh. I don't mind the children when they're selling things for school. I have kids and, you know, that's just kind of part of it Yeah but when it's adults selling a variety of things and especially when men arrive at about ten o'clock in the morning uh, that really, it makes you not feel particularly safe Uh-huh. Yes. and, it's annoying as well. And these, and these people may in fact be just looking to find an unoccupied house to rob. Right, you just, you really don't know, so I, I find myself being a a bit abrupt and a little bit ruder than than I might normally be Uh-huh. but, I do feel like it's a, an invasion of my space. Yeah. And, uh, I've never quite understood the purpose of that. Yeah, I, uh, Well, I think these people were hired by, from, from different sources. Just Uh, with, you know, and so, therefore, there's no one answer. But, but, yeah sometimes it's a market basically it's a market survey Just a survey. but they never say who, who they're really working for or what you know, what what, what questions are, you know, Yeah. There have been a couple of times when the, the, uh, whatever the subject was, I guess caught my interest and I went along with it and then there have been several times when I just said, well, I just really don't have the time, you know to deal with it at that moment. Yeah Yeah. But, uh, I don't get too many of those. Yeah I've had just a few. Yeah Uh, generally someone's trying to sell me something or, Right, well, and sometimes that's, this is just the lead in to a sales pitch too. Right, right. Other times it's, you know, wasting your time to collect the data they want for their marketing purpose. Right. For which, if they would just pay me enough money I would be willing to consider. Yeah. That's right. But, but a dollar isn't it, you know, it's, Oh. Uh, and I also sort of worry that, you know, that sometimes people giveaway personal information. Uh, when, when the call comes and, and they, uh, you know, sort of seductive, to, you know, somebody is asking me my opinion on all of these things, and so I start answering and then you, you know, you go down a path Right. uh, and you don't know where it's going to end. In fact, you don't even know what you've eventually, you know, the totality of what you've revealed *sv This isn't, you know, most likely not to, going to be used against you, Yeah. Well, we, That's true. but it could and, And that seems to be something that should, should really be outlawed. Because it's subject to abuse Yeah, you just never know, I guess. That, yeah, I, I, and it, Asking for information is, is, I can't really see that, I think they ought to, if, if nothing else, they ought to spend money for a postage stamp and, you know, when it arrives at your house, oh, I, Okay, what kind of house do you live in? Well, uh, we live in a, a brick home in far north Dallas and it's, uh, four bedrooms and three and a half baths and swimming pool in the back and, It's about thirty-five hundred square feet. Uh-huh. Well, it sounds like ours are pretty similar. I live in one, I don't have a swimming pool. And mine's about twenty-seven hundred square foot. Yeah. But the four bedrooms and all the rest of it sounds just about about alike. I think it's pretty much typical for this area. It is. Have you been living there very long? I've been in the house I'm in here right now about twelve and a half years. So you've been there longer. We built this one about, uh, it's been let's see it's been six years six and a half years ago, Uh-huh. and we subcontracted it out ourselves. We bought the lot and, uh, had an architect draw the plans based on our specifications Oh, really? Uh-huh. and then we subbed it out, so, we've been here a little over six years now. And uh, have really enjoyed it because we built what we wanted to have to live in. Uh-huh. Well, I bet you, Uh-huh. My husband got his big garage. He we have a three car garage, that he has a big work area in Uh-huh. and he likes to rebuild cars and redo engines and, so he has all the work space he needs. Well, that sounds interesting. I bet he's enjoyed having it that way He, because kind of hard to find one prebuilt that 's kind of fits those specifications. It is, and that's why we decided to build. We looked at things that were already, uh, built Uh-huh. and the garages were always, if the house was large, it seemed like the garages were small even if they were three car garages which is what we have. Well, then, most of them don't have a three car garage. Uh-huh. They're kind of rare. So we put a three car garage in. Uh-huh. But, even if they had three car garages, they didn't have a work space. All of it was taken up with just car space. Uh-huh. And so he has a big landing area that's between where the cars are in the garage and where the house starts that he can work on. Uh-huh. Well that, my, we've just got a two car garage, but my husband's got a big space in between the, where the cars are and the house, where he has a big work shop, you know, workbench and everything. Well, sounds like our husbands have similar interests. Now, mine does not work on cars, he just piddles on this and that. Oh, I see. But he likes to have a spot to keep all of his, his piddling things. Uh-huh. Well, that's nice that it's not in your house. It really is. Uh-huh. Because, you know, they have a lot of things of their own, and I, you know, I wouldn't mind having, and I at one time was going to fix up when one of my daughters left, a bedroom to where I had a room to just put all of my craft stuff and sewing machine and all that kind of stuff, Uh-huh. but I, someone, I don't know, it ended up I got some furniture back that one of them had moved out or something. Right. So I didn't end up with my vacant room like I had thought I would. Well, we still have a, a son and daughter in college that come home. Uh-huh. And the other room we use as a guest bedroom because my husband's family come. His parents come and also the kids have friends who come and stay Uh-huh. and so it seems like it's always used as a bedroom. Uh-huh. Well, I still, all three of my daughters are married, but, I don't know, I just still have need for the four bedrooms just having company from time to time. And some of them coming back home and things, you know. Right. Oh, I understand And we've got grandchildren now, so when they come, they have to have a place. Well, we, That's true and you don't want them to not be able to come because there's no room. That's right, you sure don't. At times I keep thinking, though, that might be kind of nice. Well, I I haven't reached that point yet. I've heard people say that. But, uh, my middle son is engaged, my oldest son has been going with the same girl for a while. Uh-huh. He's out of college and has a good job, Uh-huh. so he could afford to get married but, is not engaged yet, Uh-huh. and my daughter's been going with the same boy for a while, but she's still in college and we're just as happy for her to finish her education first. Uh-huh. That's what she plans to do. Well, I don't blame you for that. So, I hope so. Well, I have the three girls and then we ended up with four grandsons. Oh, ho-ho. And little boys are around the house a whole lot more than girls. A whole new world. Uh-huh. And, uh, I enjoy them coming, but for short doses I can understand. It feels, after they've been here ten minutes, they have already explored the entire house, they know everything. Uh-huh. But, they're fun. So you're all back to the safety catches and the whole nine yards or either watching them every minute. Well, I just watch them. Yeah. I I never did put things up when my kids were little and I haven't with them. I try to teach them not to get into things. Well, that's the same thing that I did. I hope I'll be able to do the same with grandchildren. I think that once you do that, your children kind of develop the same attitudes. At least my daughters have. They try to teach theirs not to get into things instead of having to put everything up. So it's worked pretty well. There's, I don't really think anything's been broken. Every now and then we have to kind of go and say, now don't bother this you know. Um, uh-huh But, all in all, they mind pretty well. But, I guess most of the what kind of roof does your house have? Here I'm getting off the subject. Well, we have, All right. I've never done it before, so I guess that's all I have to do, right I guess so. I've been called several times, and I push in, pushed in my number, they kept saying you have the invalid code Oh, really. and then I found out that my new phone wasn't working right. Oh Oh, so this is the first time I've even done it. Yeah. I wonder how long it's going to be on for. I think five minutes is the max. Oh, no, I mean, this whole thing, like for two months or something, do you know? Oh, I don't know. Yeah, okay, well back to crime, I guess we're supposed to talk about that. They say what aspect are you worried about, well, I think at this point, I for one am worried about every aspect Right, especially, uh, you, since you're in the same metroplex, you know, there's so much going on here. I think the drive by shootings are getting to be so common, that's really a, something you got to protect yourself from. Well, that, and in the schools, too starting to put metal detectors in, Uh-huh, golly I know. and, Have they done that in Garland? No, I, not that I'm aware of. Now, um, I just heard, you know, last week at that one school, they started putting them in because there was that one shooting Right. so, um, Well, we had a vice principal shot at here last year on the, you know, on the school grounds after school. Is that right? And the one boy killed himself a few years ago, in the, in a grade school, so you know, these kids don't have any trouble getting a hold of guns in any in any neighborhood, doesn't seem like. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. So. Yeah, it's kind of scary to think, you send your child to school and you wonder if he's going to get shot. I mean, we didn't have to worry about that before. I know What next? I know, it's, it's, it's getting, it's been out of hand, I think, for a while, and it just continues to get worse. Right, and, you know, we can't really depend on the police to solve all this, they just can't do it. Yeah. I think it goes all the way back to the break up of the family to a certain extent Right. and, uh, and how we going to bring that back together. Yeah, that's, I I agree, I think that's where it stems from, is that and, um, you know, you've got a lot of, a lot more women that are working nowadays that aren't home with the children Uh-huh. Right and, and that may impact it as well. I think so, and, and then there's a drop in, uh, the training of morals, really, you know. Right, right. These, some of these young kids you read about, just doesn't bother them to kill someone at all Yeah I think I think years past maybe our criminals had a little more morals, you know wouldn't kill somebody in cold blood. they don't think twice about it. Yeah. Either that or I don't know if it happened and it wasn't as highly publicized as it is now, or what the, what the, I think it was just rare, I really do. Uh-huh. My mother, well, she's like seventy-four now. She, when she was a young girl, she had a beautiful, beautiful cousin that lived in California, and she was dating this millionaire's son and he wanted to marry her, and she wouldn't marry him and so he drove out in the country one day and shot them both, and, uh, You're kidding. No, I'm the one, Himself and her? Yeah, that must have been at least fifty years ago or more, but the point of the story is that, that was so unbelievable a thing in those days that it was in all the papers, all over the country for weeks Oh, wow, I bet. but now, you know, you wouldn't probably read about it here in Texas Oh, I know, it's just, you know, another killing. Well, they were, I was watching some show the other day, and they were talking about, uh, mass murderers Uh-huh. and they brought up what happened in Killeen here recently, and they were saying, you know, that these guys want attention, and that when it happens they're glorified because all the newspaper, it's on all the newspapers and T V and everything, Um. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right, lots of their picture and life story and everything. Right, and then you get to their life story, Oh, they came from a broken family Uh-huh. oh this person had mental problems Right. oh duh, duh, duh you know, Right. I know, how we and straighten up all these twisted people before they do something terrible, Yeah. So, uh, that story I just told you about my mother's beautiful cousin, well, the same thing happened here in Arlington, when was it, I think it was, oh, it was almost a year ago in December to a girl that my daughter had graduated from high school with. Is that right? Yeah, I think it was on a Hard Copy, she was a real attractive blond girl, in, in her freshman year of college Uh-huh. and some boy she tried to get rid of, he was like in his twenties, Uh, I remember seeing that, Remember that? I saw that on Hard Copy Right, right, that's, uh, Yes. My daughter graduated with her from Arlington High School. Is that right? Yeah, can you believe it, that's just, uh, I'm trying to remember, he, um, had her in the car in front of a Taco or something Taco Bueno, right, uh-huh. and he just shot them himself and her. Uh-huh. Right. I remember seeing that. Yeah, uh, uh, isn't that weird? Yeah, there's just too many crazy people out there these days. I know, and, uh, the police are not going to do anything until they, they've committed some sort of a crime. You know, he was just begging her on the phone, that's not doing anything. Yeah. And there are times I think, gee, I should give my kids not be a very good conversationalist on fishing. I don't do a lot of it. Well, I do love to fish. Well good, maybe I can learn something. Well, I don't know how much you can learn. I'm not so sure I'm good at it, but I do enjoy doing it. Do you? Yeah. Well, it is fun, what little I do. Of course, I don't, you know, I think when they refer to different kinds of fishing I told my husband last night when I had called and they had, told me that this was a topic, I said, well, I can tell them how to fish with a minnow or how to fish with a worm He said, I don't think that's the different kinds of fishing they're talking about Well, I hope it is, there's not a whole lot of different kinds. That's about the only kind I know how to do. I don't do a lot of deep sea fishing, I, because I get seasick, but we have a lot of lakes here in this area Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I do a lot of fishing for, uh, bass. We have a lot of, uh, uh, couple of lakes in our area that are just filled with good sized bass. Uh-huh. And then when I get tired of them outwitting me, I fish for catfish Uh-huh. and we use worms and shiners, which is pretty much like minnows a little bit bigger than minnows, Uh-huh. and then I also use spinner baits and plastic worms. Uh-huh. It all depends on what I'm fishing for, and the time of day. Well, it sounds like you do quite a bit of it. I do. Uh, there's a lake like maybe two or three miles from here, and it's very convenient on afternoons when I want to just get away and sit and think. Uh-huh. Fishing's a good way to do that, and I have a lot of friends who like to go fishing. Do you have a boat? No, I don't. I have a friend who has a little inflatable raft, and we use that sometimes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I wish I had a boat, but I don't. I think the lakes are probably different in Michigan than they are in Texas. The ones around here are so big, that you can fish off the dock Uh-huh. but unless you have a boat you can't really get into the, where they call the good fishing holes, you know. Right. That's the same way here, isn't it? Is it? You have to get back in the sticks in the, Uh-huh. My in-laws live on a lake, uh, a little bit east of Dallas, kind of in the Piney Woods, and the lake is beautiful, and I like to go out and stand at the end of the dock and fish, but actually catching fish to eat per se, you don't really do much of that right there. I catch a lot of little old, uh, I think they call them perch Right. and then the, the, uh, turtles try to eat up all my bait Oh. So it's, it's so close to the dock that I think all I do is feed them a little bit We don't have, We don't have a big problem with turtles, but it's kind of fun. but we do have a awful lot of snakes in our lakes. Um I would be afraid of that. And I, Well, I can't think of a time that I've been fishing that I haven't run into one or two of them. Do they ever get on your hook? No, we, uh, occasionally I'll catch an eel on a, on a hook, but never the snakes. Uh-huh. They just kind of, Are they poisonous snakes? Uh, we have a lot of cotton mouth, so yes they are, definitely Uh-huh. and they live in little shallow, little coves that I like to fish in, so I seem them swimming by every once in a while. Yeah, I think I'd be a little bit afraid of those. Yeah, they can, they're, they're certainly ugly. Uh-huh. We, uh, saw a large snake right off the dock there at my in-laws' place last year. It was probably four inches in diameter or something like that you know. Great big snake, and it, of course, it scared the women to death, you know, but the men come out and said oh, well, that's only a, a king snake, it won't really hurt you, you know. But it looked so bad Yeah. and it was so big, that it might not would have hurt us, but we sure felt like it was hurting us, just being there, you know Definitely. But they're scary looking. Do you have bass? Yes, uh, I think that, uh, probably around here people fish for bass and crappie and catfish more than anything else. Right. Well, that's pretty much the same way here. Uh-huh. I, Now, they have a lot of bass tournaments. Well, we have those. I don't Uh-huh. I inevitably, if I enter one of those, I never catch a thing. Oh, no. I just go out there and sit and watch other people do it. Uh-huh. Well that's kind of, we've never entered a tournament or anything. We're not that big into fishing, but I see a lot of people, you know, early in the morning there'll be all the boats going out, and they'll say, Well, there's a big bass tournament this weekend, and all those people are here for the tournament, you know. Oh, yes. So I think there's a lot of people that have, you know, really, I guess that you'd call it really sport fishing, they're really into it to try to win. Yeah, oh, definitely. My. Certainly here they are. But it is, it's very, a very relaxing sport to be able to just be out on the water and looking around. The peace and calmness is really relaxing. Yeah, it's a good thing to take a nice book and sit back and read and fish. Uh-huh. That's what I do a lot. I've never tried taking a book with me. I'll have to try that one of these days. Hi, this is Donna Donahue. Hi, Donna. Hi. Ready to get started? Uh, yeah, I think so. Okay. Sort of an interesting topic since I just got back from lunch here Okay. Well, what did you have for lunch? Oh, it was, uh, it was, I'm an officer in the Air Force, Yeah. Oh. Oh. Well, that's interesting. Okay. So our topic is, is food today, is that, Yeah. Okay. If you're having a dinner party, what, what would you serve? Okay, uh, do you want me to go first? Sure. Okay. If I was having a dinner party I would probably, um, have some, um, some, uh, um, some fruit to start with with some apples sliced up and maybe some cheddar cheese and crackers and grapes and, um, probably serve maybe some wine and beer and maybe have some, uh, uh, salsa and chips around and peanuts. And then I would have, um, let's see. I usually have like a little theme when I have a dinner party Um, I would have maybe, um, say if it was like Greek night or something *sd um, maybe, um, on the barbecue we'd put, uh, cubes of lamb or I guess lamb used for Greek. And, um, like a shish kabob, and, um, mushrooms and tomatoes and onions Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then we'd have, um, like a big Greek tossed salad kind of like a Caesar salad. Uh-huh. And, um, let's see what else. Um, maybe some rolls and, um, I guess some, uh, some rice or something like that. How does that sound? Jeez, well, well, when is the party here? Yeah. Um, yeah, that would take some planning but, I don't know being a, being the bachelor here that I am, I, I don't think I'd, I'd be I mean it, it's not a question of capability here to do something like that. It's just there's, there's no motivation. That's right. You know, I want to, I want to throw some charcoal on the grill and, and throw a steak on there and some baked potatoes and stuff like that but, um, Well, that sounds good too. I have, um, I have three kids Uh-huh. so, um, when we have friends over I have my oldest kind of baby-sit for the little two younger ones upstairs and, um, usually we just have very plain kind of, you know, interesting, not very interesting meals. Pizza and that all Uh-huh. so once in a while when we do something like that it's kind of fun, but it's not a, not a regular thing. Now are we supposed to talk for about five minutes, Yeah. Yeah. it? Yeah, that's what they, they are shooting for here. Okay. Um, let's see now okay, so you would have a barbecue Well, I live on a, I live on a lake here, Uh-huh. and, uh, so it, and then during the summertime it's real nice to be able to entertain outdoors, Oh, sure. like that's a little more a casual thing. But in mine the wintertime it's not bad too because then I've got a, a fireplace and a nice, nice house and all that so we, really good place to do entertaining like that. Uh-huh. Oh, that sounds wonderful. I just haven't, uh, really tried a whole lot but, uh I don't know, Uh-huh. let's see. I have had, well, one time I did have a dinner party. I served a, uh, uh, I had a gang of people over and kind of made a fried chicken thing and biscuits, and kind of southern, uh, southern food even though I'm up here in New York, Uh-huh. so Oh, you are in New York right now? Yeah. Oh. I'm, I'm in Texas. I didn't know this was all, from all over the whole country. Oh, yeah. Yeah, Oh, I see. it is. It's, And I'm originally from Long Island. Oh, no kidding? Yes, and now where are you in New York? Upstate. Oh, upstate. Rome. In, uh, Griffins Air Force Base. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Is that where you, you are originally from around there? Oh, okay. and, uh, been all over the place. Oh, wow. That's interesting. Okay, let's see. Um, well, I like to have, um, sometimes when I have a dinner party I'll have, um, everybody bring something, Yeah. and that's real interesting because then you get different, um, different kinds of foods and new recipes and, um, uh, sometimes somebody will be bring something that you really like, Right. and get the recipe from them or whatever. And we are just getting interested in, in Mexican food because here in Texas they have lots of, really good Mexican restaurants Uh-huh. and, um, we're, we're just getting into the fajitas and all that stuff that you could, Sure. do you know what a fajita is? Yeah. Yeah, Yeah. I've been down to Texas a few times, and, uh, had, uh, the pleasure of their good Mexican, cuisine down there. Okay. Yes. They have some delicious, delicious things, and I, um, since I always make chicken burritos and just take chicken breasts Uh-huh. and you boil them, maybe like four chicken breasts, and you boil them until they are cooked. Maybe like thirty minutes Uh-huh. and then you debone them and, and kind of shred them up into the meat that has gotten cooled and you take, um, little bit, maybe two tablespoons of butter and a in a big frying pan. And chop up some onion and put in oregano and salt, Uh, I guess I've always kind of liked golf. I, I worked on a golf course at, at one time and that's how I picked up golf. And, uh, I don't know it's just a, kind of a challenging game. It sure is. I play at least three times a week. Uh-huh. I'm on it, I haven't gotten the chance lately though to play. I'm trying to get back into it. Uh, so, uh, I got to start all over again. It's not like riding a bicycle. You do tend to, forget. No. Well, I'm one of those rare left-handed golfers. Oh. Yeah. And I do enjoy playing. What is your handicap? Right now it's three. Okay. Uh, I was down at about four or five quite awhile ago. It's probably up there to twenty now if I to start again. Well, if you play with some consistency though, you can get it right back down. Yeah. Yeah. I have got to try and get out there. I, I know with our, our long winters I, I enjoy watching it. I don't know if it's just because I like the game or I just like to, to see the warm weather. Uh, well, we can usually play here year around. Sometimes in January it's not too comfortable to play. Uh-huh. But there is usually two or three days in the week that you can get out there and play, and I'm pretty much addicted to golf, so. I get out there one way or the other. Yeah, that's the problem out here with the long layovers with the winter you almost have to relearn every spring to, to get back out. It's a good game though. It's very challenging and the reason I like it so much is because I'm essentially playing against myself. Yeah. That's the way I look at it. I, I play in, in a lot of groups and but I, they keep score and, between themselves but I really don't care. Um, I go out and each shot I say, well, this is what I'm going to try to do Uh-huh. and then I see how close I can come to that. Right. Yeah, you always work on trying to improve each day and, Yeah, and inevitably one facet of my game isn't working at one time or another. Either I'm not driving very well or I'm not hitting long irons very well or I'm not putting well or, but sometimes it all comes together. Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. I, when I used to golf out there I'd putt well but I, I wouldn't, uh, chip well. One of the two, uh, or something would go wrong but I always managed to, to get near par anyway. Well, we just had the tour championship here in Pine Hurst. Oh. And I went to that. Craig Statler won in a playoff. Uh-huh. But we, uh, this is a big golf area. Yeah. We have a lot of, uh, I'd say we probably have within fifteen miles, twenty golf communities built around courses that are pretty well designed and then of course, Pine Hurst and we still have the Greensboro Open here every year. Uh-huh. Do you have, uh, long waits, uh, to get on the course? Yes, we do as a matter of fact. It, it, uh, it's only been that way in the last five years. Yeah. But now you, uh, most of the courses have a, uh, two day advance tee time you have to call, Yeah. Okay. I just moved into this small community so I'm going to try and get into one of the golf courses here. I'm hoping that won't be, I, was from the, uh, twin cities area. That's some cold golf too, isn't it? Yeah Are you sure you guys aren't having the bad weather? We have cold. Yeah. Usually January and the first two weeks of February. Well, I wish that's all we had. But, uh, last week we were in the seventies. Something is coming through now so it's like in the low forties right now. Oh. But, uh, it's supposed to leave early in the week and then be back in the sixties. We have very windy winters and very cold. Yeah But we don't get any snow anymore. I don't, I don't know what changed that pattern. We used to get four or five inches a year. Now we get nothing. It's been probably five years since we've had any measurable snowfall. I see. Well, at least it, that doesn't, uh, get in the way of golfing so that No, Get out my orange golf ball and go out. Yeah. Yeah, that's what they do here sometimes. You hear about it where they will take the orange ball out there but, if you got, Okay. So what do you, uh, think is the, uh, the worst culprit for air pollution? Well, I think it's, it's probably a combination of things. Um, factories that, that burn coal as a, an energy source with sulfur and nitrogen contaminants, you know, and you get sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides. Uh-huh. Uh, those are the ones I think primarily contribute to acid rain, and I think that's, that's probably hurting us a little bit. It's hurting, you know, it's hurting Germany, for example, too, and some other parts of Europe where they, where they have high industry. So we're not the lone ranger here. Yeah. I, uh, I, it's hard to put the finger on, uh, what's worse, you know, the acid rain situation or the ozone depletion, um, with, uh, your hydrocarbons, uh causing the damage in which, Yeah. Hopefully we're backing off from that a little bit, but I know we haven't cured it yet by a long shot. Well, I notice on one of these, uh, home shopping networks they were selling these, uh, halogen, uh, fire extinguishers Yeah. and the halogen is, uh, an ozone depleter, and it got hydrocarbons in there. It's a very clean, uh, fire extinguisher, but it's, you know, really bad on the environment. Yeah. Huh. Yeah, I guess I missed that one. Uh. Yeah. Automobiles of course are contributing, too, and, you know, how, how we are with our love affair with the auto Yeah. kind of hard to do anything about that, I guess. I know, uh, in the Twin Cities area, I just moved out of there and was kind of happy I timed it just right, but they had a new policy where in order to get your, uh, your license, uh, your car license, uh, renewed, you had to meet the pollution standards Yeah. and, uh. We have that here, too, but it's part of the inspection sticker, you know, they put a probe in your exhaust pipe and, and the computer reads whatever the ionization is coming out, and so that's, you know, that's the way they're dealing with it here. Yeah. Yeah, uh, yeah I guess that was just mainly in the cities there, and as far as where I live, I don't have to do that, but I have an old car which I doubt would, uh, would, uh, pass the inspection, a seventy-six, Yeah. and, uh, you know, there's no way I would put in a lot of money to, to repair it to meet standards. Yeah. It'd probably be difficult anyway. Yeah. So, although I do what I can to, to cut down pollution, but, uh. I was just reading an article in, uh, MOTHER EARTH NEWS, MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine Yeah. and, uh, they've got a new, uh, you know a lot of places are burning wood Yeah. a lot, a lot of people are burning wood, those of us who have, I've got a place in the country, you know Uh-huh. and, uh, they've had catalytic you know, catalytic converters on those, on, uh, I think they're required in California and Oregon and, and Washington, but they've had up those for quite a while, and somebody's come up with a new one that, uh, sort of, it's a, it's a catalytic converter, it's, it's a plate that fits in, you know, into the smoke pipe Yeah. and, uh, apparently it sort of feeds itself. The more smoke is produced, you know, after you get to like five hundred degrees, the higher it gets the more complete the combustion is. And it sounds real neat. I haven't seen them priced anywhere yet, but that, that sounds like that might help solve that problem even on you know, old, old, uh, older stoves that don't have any kind of E P A requirements on them. Yeah. That might help a little bit, especially in some places. We're really lucky here. We have a prevailing southerly wind that blows just about everything out. Yeah. Now sometimes we get a kind of a, especially in, in, uh, autumn it seem like we get kind of a brown haze sitting on us, but most of the time it's blowing out pretty well. Yeah. Probably blowing up there to you guys Yeah, well, well around here I, we get, uh, well it depends, you know, either in the, in the winter time it, it blows it your way, and in the summer time we probably get yours. Yeah. It comes back. Yeah. I really think, uh, you know, we're doing some, some important things. Education, raising consciousness awareness, uh, I know school kids, I work for the school district here, and, uh, you know, this is one of the big things with kids. Kids are writing letters to the newspapers about, you know, telling adults to clean up their act Yeah. and, it's uh, you know, I hope we're not too late with it. We're, we're, uh, we're having all kinds of recycling. Yeah, well, it, uh, that's a big thing, too. I know it has nothing to do with air pollution, but I kind of look at the way people treat our, Surprised they get anybody this time of day but, I've been trying all different times, Uh-huh. but I don't get anybody at five thirty, don't get anybody at nine at night so thought, I'll try , Oh, well, I'm at, work and I just happened to walk back into my office. Oh I've been gone for a little while Oh. Well, I go to school so I'm home certain days, Uh-huh. and, uh, I really haven't been making any phone calls, have you? Got, I don't, I haven't ever made any. I just receive them Oh Have you, have you received many? I haven't here lately. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, uh, well, the first time we were on this it came just about every day. Yeah. I never had to make one. They just always came Yeah. Exactly. People must be tired of it or something. well anyway I guess we're supposed to discuss this, uh, subject, what do you think? Well, I never gave it any thought myself I was hoping you could tell me what you thought. Oh. Well, I don't have any objection to people doing that. I think it might be good for them. Uh-huh. But as a mother of two daughters I might be afraid of where they were sent. Exactly. I'm just concerned about their safety Uh-huh. because if they do good work in America they'll probably be sent to a ghetto Uh-huh, uh-huh. And if they were sent to a third world country I couldn't help but wait worried, you know. Yeah, yeah. That, that would be my main objection. I don't think, Uh-huh. I don't know I think maybe it's, it should stay on a voluntary basis it will probably never happen but, Yeah. Yeah, I, I think it would be good for, uh, everyone to do something like that but I, I guess I don't feel like it should be something forced upon you. Yeah, well it, it probably won't. Uh-huh. I don't, I don't even know how we'd pay for it anyway. We can't, uh seem to pay for all the little things we have going now Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's another consideration Exactly But, uh, I don't know some kids are so spoiled nowadays it might be a real eye opener, you know Really I mean, sometimes my kids are on the other side of town here and they just see some really tiny modest wood frame homes and then they think, they're just kind of shocked at that side of town, you know Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I probably lived in one of those when I was a little girl I have a girlfriend that every time her son starts taking things for granted she threatens to send him to Mexico with her relatives and let him get a taste of that for a while Oh Well that would be an eye opener, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it though? I mean right next to us is such a pitiful country. Uh-huh, it is. I know. Sometimes I wish we'd help them out instead of going all across the world, and helping some countries I never even heard of. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I know it. It seems to me we are, it would be to our benefit to strengthen that country. Right on our borders. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, what do I know, right? I'm just sitting at home and, and, uh, doing laundry today and certainly not up, nobody has called me from Washington Oh, but, uh, anyway, how did you get on this program? I work at T I. Oh, you do work at T I? Oh, you're in Lewisville. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. I just went by that place. We were going to a football playoff game a week or so ago which we lost and, uh we went by. That's the first time I'd seen it. It looked really nice. Yeah. A lot of trees there. It looked like a pretty little, a sight. Hang on a minute. Sure. to someone in the No, I don't think so, Yeah, Patty might. I'm back. Oh, sure. But how did you get on it? Well, my husband works at T I over on Central. Oh. Uh, why we're living in Arlington I'm not so sure but, he works over there and we did it last time. Uh-huh. And, uh, so I'm, just my daughter and I are registered this time. I don't know, they didn't even ask him back Really? That was weird, wasn't it? Huh. But like I said I hardly ever get any calls this time. Uh-huh. I don't get too many. And I can never find anybody. Huh. So, um, The first time I used to get calls from far away too. Right. Like Maryland, and New Jersey, Uh-huh. and but now it just seems like it's in the Dallas Fort Worth area that I get calls from. Yeah, I've had the same experiences, Uh-huh. all right around here. Uh-huh. Yeah, I don't know, uh, I wonder if they really, I don't know if they could possibly teach a machine to recognize all the different accents. There's just, there's so many with this one town you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. even in some families some people talk a little bit different. Oh, yeah. Yeah. My husband is from New Jersey and one of his sisters does things that really sound funny to me and he doesn't pronounce them at all that way, and that's one family, right? Of course, I think everybody in New Jersey sounds a little bit funny but Oh, I agree. You know, how that goes Oh, shoot. Oh, God. Well, I'm surprised she hasn't told us to cut it off yet. Sometimes she says at night. Or, or or overloads Yeah. so please end your conversation. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Right. Well, do you have any more words of wisdom about the subject? No, I sure don't You don't have any kids you want to send over here? No, no kids Well, is Oh, shoot. Well, uh, I don't know if mine would want to go live in the ghetto. Well, one of them is real idealistic, she might My sister is, I'd be more suited to that than her she's just bugs, Okay, you ready? Yeah, is that it? That's it. Okay, Uh, well, we, I guess we have to talk about magazines and, uh, what, what, What, what kind do you subscribe to or do you? Well, I subscribe to well, I did subscribe to PEOPLE for a long time. I do, you know, I enjoy PEOPLE. And now I'm, uh, I, uh, subscribe to, uh, LADIES HOME JOURNAL. I, uh, take a computer magazine. And, uh, also, uh, BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS. Uh-huh. Okay, are you interested in, in computers? And my pet peeve with magazines is all the little cards inside. And the cardboard pages Yeah. Uh-huh, yeah, well, that, that would be one of my peeves. My pet peeves with magazines, the woman's magazines especially, I mean, it's, it's really geared to, all they have, you have too many recipes first of all. I just don't, you know, that's what I don't like about LADIES HOME JOURNAL magazines. Too many recipes, too many, uh, can this marriage with saved nonsense. I, you know, I like to read articles about things that matter. Well, of course, PEOPLE magazine is not, you know, one of your, uh, your more intellectual magazines, but it's nice, light reading You know, if I want something intellectual, I usually read a book. Well, that's true. I, uh, I like it when they have short stories. Like REDBOOK used to always have a good short story in it. Well, that's true, yeah, they did. And I haven't bought a REDBOOK in a while so I guess Yeah. I, I really very rarely ever pick up a magazine anymore Well, is REDBOOK still in existence? I don't know if they're, if they're around anymore. Yeah I think it is. it's an institution, surely it would have to be. Yeah. But, Well, I'll tell you, the only reason I bought the, uh, I subscribe to the JOURNAL is because of, which I think it was either, yeah, it was Publisher's Clearinghouse Right They told me, you know, if I didn't subscribe they were going to take me off their, their winning, you know, their list So, Mine, too This was it, my last chance Yeah, my last, right, my last chance to win ten million dollars, so I figured, hey, look For twelve dollars, you know, Well, I, I, I went ahead and sent in my subscription because of that uh, to, uh, ENTERTAINMENT. That's it. Oh, yeah, oh, uh-huh. And I was real disappointed with it. Yeah. I, I don't know, it just, not enough stories with some substance that you can really get into. Right. It's little short articles more than anything else. Uh-huh. And that's one thing I don't like about PEOPLE. Uh, it 's just, you know, doesn't seem to have enough story to it. Well, I don't know, I just think, uh, you know, it's, It's light reading. If you've only got a short time to read You know, you don't have, well, you don't have to concentrate, you know you know. No, that's true It's entertaining, you know, and, uh, that's, I just, I enjoy it, I, you know, I, uh Well, that ENTERTAINMENT is, is very, wasn't that similar, or isn't it similar to, to the TV GUIDE? Uh, no, not really. I mean, not the one I take now. It's a, it's a magazine and it goes into all the movies, previewing the movies that are going to be released or behind the scenes. Oh, uh-huh. Oh, I see. And, uh, I'm a real movie buff, so that's why I thought I might be interested in it, but it just hasn't been what I thought it would be. Oh, uh-huh. And, uh, my mother has subscribed to, is the reason I get, uh, the HOME JOURNAL and the, uh, computer book is because mother got a subscription for it and sent it to me. Oh. Otherwise, if, if I really want to take the time to read a magazine and I see one on the grocery shelf, I'll pick it up then. Rather than having them delivered and think, oh, I really need to read this Right, right. Well, I'll tell you, since I've been getting the JOURNAL, like maybe, maybe I'll read two, maybe three, if I read three articles in, in, you know, one of the JOURNALs, I figure, you know, I did really well. Yeah, Because there's just nothing in there that interests me. I don't, you know, I don't, I'm not into, you know, recipes and Well, I, I do like recipes and crafts. See, now, and I'm not into crafts, so, you know, that, that eliminates, like three quarters of the magazine You know. That's true. Well, I just got the new issue, they have Bette Midler on the cover, so that should be one article that I'll read anyway Do you, uh, So, how is the weather out there? Uh, it's really cold and it's supposedly for this time of the year it's unseasonably cold and they've gotten more snow than they've ever had. Oh, really? You have, breaking records for coldness and all that kind of stuff. How about you guys? Um. Uh, it's just, it's a, it's about same. The usual, I think. Oh. So, nice for skiing and all that kind of stuff It's good. Yeah, well the weather, let's see, well, the snow here is different from Utah's, because I have lived in Utah for like ten years. Oh, really? What part? And, uh, Provo. I was going to B Y U. Oh, really? Okay. Yeah. And, uh, the snow is like, really cold. I mean, it's, like, really humid so it seems wetter or something like that. It's, It's more humid in Utah than there? Uh-huh. Or there? It's more humid in Iowa than Utah. Okay. Right. Yeah. Okay. And it seems like when the winds blow, it's really, it goes right through you. It's really different from Utah's weather. I thought Utah was cold, but I think Iowa is a lot colder Yeah, see, that's how it is in Texas, too because when it's cold, it's really cold. So, Yeah, I don't think there is any mountains to stop the wind What's that? I don't think there is any mountains to stop the wind. Right. Yeah. So the humidity is I think what does it Yeah, I think that's true. Because I, I noticed when I got here, too, because like I'd, when it would snow in Texas uh, I would just, I mean we'd be really cold Uh-huh. and we'd have to get really warm, and here you can almost not even wear a coat outside when it's snowing and you don't you don't feel super cold. Yeah, yeah, that's true. It was weird. Yeah. But, so how long ago did you graduate? Or did you, or, Uh, I graduated in nineteen eighty-seven. Oh, really? Yeah, my husband got his doctorate at B Y U, so that's, and so he just graduated this past year. Oh. So you just barely moved away? Uh-huh Yeah, Well, we really miss Utah Do you like it out there? We miss the mountains. You do? Yeah. Because it's, like, really flat here Well, not flat, but hilly. But no big mountains or anything. Uh-huh. So you just moved away a year ago? Uh, in August. Wow, really recent. Yeah. But, uh, see, see what else can I say about the weather. Uh, well, today was warmer It was like forty-five Oh, warm So, what's the temperature up today over there? Oh, man, it's got to be like, it's probably fifty, fifty-five, maybe. Oh, really? Maybe not that warm. Probably about, uh, yeah. It's not, it's not that cold, really. And whenever I remembered the weather reports in Utah, I never really remember them talking too much about wind chill. Yeah. But they talk about wind chill here all the time. Yeah, that's a big deal in Texas, too. They said it could be, like, six degrees out and, like, negative forty-one wind chill. Um. So, that's what we're not used to Yeah, that's true. That makes a big difference. Huh. So, oh, I, So, did you used to ski when you were out here? What's that? Did you used to ski when you were in Utah? Oh, I've only, I've only skied in Utah once. Oh, really? I only skied once my whole life But, do you do a lot of skiing there? Uh, not tons, but I like to when I get a chance. Uh-huh. I've only been once so far, but had the opportunity a couple times since then. Just saving my money for Christmas things and that. Yeah. So is this your first year in Utah? Uh, no, this is actually my third year. And you're going to school there? Uh-huh. Oh. Yep. At U of U, or, No, at B Y U. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh. So, but, I'll be here a long time at this rate. What's your major? Uh, it was nursing, but I'm in the process of changing it right now. Uh-huh, oh. Because it's really, really competitive at B Y U. Yeah. You have to have like a three seven to get in so, It's really, That's true. I'm going to look into some other fields. I'd like, all the science classes and that, I'm just not really enjoying too much so I think I better get into something that I can enjoy the process of going to school Uh-huh. so, Yeah, that's, that's a good idea. Did you graduate in a certain field or, Uh, education. I got a double major. In, Uh, elementary and special ed. Really? Uh-huh. That what my sister did. Oh, really? Yeah, you might know her. Here name is Lori, Bird. Maybe not I think she graduated around then, too, though, eighty-seven probably, but, she got her Yeah, well, I can't, there are so many girls in all my classes, I can't remember how many people. Yeah, yeah. Because they, since, uh, stopped that program. I mean, where you can where you can get it double pretty easily. Oh, have they? Oh. I mean, it's, it's really, We're set. Okay. What changes do you feel have happened? Oh, I guess the first thing has been the, uh, for the right, for women to vote. I think that has been a major change and also the fact that, uh, there are so many more women in the work force nowadays than there were and that's probably going to increase. You know. Right. Increases each year, doesn't it? I'm sorry? It increases each year I think. It sure does. Yeah, there is a lot more women in the work place nowadays. Well, and I think women have kind of had, uh, in the past the real subservient role. Role? Right. And, uh, That's changing Well, we do to some degree Right. but, uh, uh, I think it's not as much as it was. Right, yeah, I, I agree. It definitely has changed. I, And especially, I think with women increasingly working, they're going to have to demand more from men. Uh-huh. Because there is just, impossible to keep up on everything else. Yeah, yeah. Have more of an active role in taking care of children, more of an active role in taking care of the home. Well, you know, they've been talking about and I don't know, uh, what the status is on it, but, you know, women get maternity leave and stuff like that and I know that they've, there has been discussion about men also getting maternity leave to help out, Right. but you know, I haven't really heard much about that recently. Well, you know, there is a lot of companies that won't give women maternity leave for that very reason. Uh-huh. Uh, in fact, I know the school districts down here, you, they don't have maternity leave. Uh you simply have to take, accumulate your sick leave. And take your sick leave. Oh, is that right? Oh. Uh-huh. And I don't know, uh, if bigger company companies do, but when I was employed with the school district, I didn't have maternity leave either and that was the reason because they thought was showing prejisim to women and not to men but, So, uh, Huh, that's interesting. That's a bummer, though Yeah it is. I mean, You got to take the time off You have to save all of your, uh, vacation time. You do. You have to save all your vacation time and that's usually how it's, uh, happened, Yeah. but, uh, Uh-huh. What do you see, uh, changing in the future? I think that we're probably going to see a lot more companies, uh, run by females. Right, and, and top level. And we'll I'm sorry? Maybe top level. Right, right, upper management, more women in upper management and probably, uh, we'll see more females in political roles. More governors and, I think, you know, roles like that. That would be kind of nice Well, we've got, in Texas, we have a female governor. That's right, that's right. And we had a female mayor here in Dallas, and she just, her term just ended and, uh, so I think we're probably going to see more of that in the future Yeah I think that's probably good. A little more integration. Uh-huh. And, uh, maybe not so much that we sit on the back burners and, Right, you know, I mean, and that's fine with me I think, but sometimes, I mean I'm not a women's libber by any means, but I do, Right. there are issues that, you know, as far as, like, equal pay for men and women and that kind of stuff, I totally am for. Right. But, I don't get into the, uh, the real women libber movement, you know. No, I don't either. I don't think they're ever going to prove that men and women are equal Yeah. We just function differently Right, right. And, uh, I'm not capable of lifting what, uh, a man can lift and you know, that type of, that type of thing, Yeah. but, uh one of the big changes, uh, they're doing in Salt Lake is, uh, Right. and they're probably, I'm sure, in Dallas since you're big places, a lot more women are, uh, working right out of their home with their P C's or with their lap computers or whatever. Yeah, I, I've heard of that. Uh, I haven't really talked to anybody that's, you know, too involved with that. But, I mean, I think that is a, I think that, Like the cottage industry. Is, is that what you're talking about, women working out of their homes? Right. Yeah, uh, I think it's wonderful Right. You only have to check in with the office once or twice a week and, Yeah. Course, they're talking about, uh, that we're going to be able to do our grocery shopping and banking and everything like that, Oh, I By the phone and all that. so, uh, it would be kind of exciting in some ways to, to see a little bit more of that and some ways, it might be kind of scary. Right. Think anybody could do it, but, Anyway, Right. Yeah, I wouldn't mind just calling up the grocery store and giving them my order and going an hour later and picking it up Right. Right, but then you know, there is the process of selection. Would you have to give them the brand You know, when you shop, you usually compare the prices Right. Right. and, would be nice, though. How big is Provo? Um. That a little town or, or a bigger city? Um, it's not one of the bigger ones. It's probably, um, I compare it to the size of Plano, maybe a little smaller. Plano, Texas. No *nn Oh. I talked to someone that was only a couple of thousand in her town, I think. Yeah, I forgot the name of the town. I thought maybe it was you Oh, well, anyway, we're supposed to talk about education. I certainly have some ideas since I'm studying it now in college. I'd say, first of all, they need to go back to spending more time on the basic reading, writing, arithmetic in grade school, Uh-huh. because they really teach you about forty percent less than they used to, and it shows up. That's one idea. Do you have any? Um, I don't know, I'm pretty, I think I'm pretty satisfied with, um, I I grew up in Plano Uh-huh. and, and my dad is actually on the school board there, so, I kind of kept up with a lot of things that went on. Yeah, it's Plano, uh, improved greatly in the last twenty, twenty-five years Yeah. that's for sure. It used to be the pits. And Arlington is excellent now, but I'm just speaking overall across the country. Oh. Yeah. Something is definitely wrong. Uh-huh. And, uh, one thing, they don't spend as much time just teaching reading and writing, so a lot of kids are just being promoted from year to year and they truly can't read Right. so I don't know how they expect them to, uh, pass history when they can't read anything, you know, even read a word problem in math. So, um, that's definitely a problem. Another problem is you're going to keep the smarter people in the system too long paying the wages they do. Right. But, um, So do you, what do you think is good about the schools? That is good about, well, it depends on where you are. They're all so different. That's another thing about the United States. Yeah. There's no national curriculum, you know, I mean, what they'd be teaching in an Arlington school they may not be teaching in a Plano school Uh-huh. and in the same school district, you may, even in an Arlington seventh grade for instance, you may have an English class you may have half literature for the whole year, whereas in another one they're going to concentrate on grammar and give you a little literature, Grammar. it's up to the teacher, in other words. So that's kind of you know, that's kind of odd to me. Yeah. It depends on, uh, what school you're in and who your teacher is, actually Uh-huh. or is how you end up Overall, Arlington is good, one of the better ones in the state, so I guess we lucked out when we moved here. Uh-huh. So, yeah, that's the thing is just to look at the school system in the area that you move into before you. Uh-huh. Of course we have a slight problem in that, uh, the number of the illiterate in America is mushrooming at this point, and, uh, you know, where our kids might be in a great school, we're still paying an awful lot of taxes for people who are on welfare and unemployment because they can't read, you know. Uh-huh. So. But do you think that there should be, um, nationwide, um, curriculum? I don't know. I just read about that the other day, and I had never even thought of it. Actually it makes sense to a certain extent, because sometimes, like a third grade teacher will get kids from second grade that didn't even learn what, uh, they should to do the work that she is supposed to teach, you know. and according to her plan, Uh-huh. so I guess if there was a national curriculum we'd at least have a certain amount that all kids would learn. Right. But, uh. We actually rank forty-ninth in the world as far as just plain literacy goes, you know. Um. That's, that's pretty low that there's forty-eight countries ahead of us that have more more citizens percentage wise that can read and write, Yeah. so, um, unless we want to keep paying, paying for these people that can't make it in society, we're going to have to do something. I don't know. Obviously nobody's smart enough to have figured it out yet, so I probably can't But I do think that we have to cut out some of this folderol stuff and go back in the first five, six grades and just keep going over and over and over until most of those that are capable can at least learn to read and write because they can't even get the menial job without being able to read something nowadays you know. Right. Uh, you can't, you can't even work an answering machine if you're at work and had to get a message or something you know, or fill out an application to work at McDonalds if you can't read. Uh-huh. Yeah *aa So, uh, I think that's, that's a start at least, going back to the basics in the early grades and, um, they say that the average English student nowadays does at least fifty percent less reading and writing than they did twenty years ago, and that's a big jump. I believe that Did you go to school in Plano? I did. Through high school. Uh-huh, uh, Up, up there, maybe, maybe you guys don't have as, uh, big a problem with air pollution as many, do you? We, we, we have a terrible air pollution problem. Do you really? Our summers are extremely, uh, hazardous Uh-huh. and during, uh, certain wind directions because we get the, uh, Gary, Indiana Chicago pollution Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and we can look out on the lake and just see the brown haze, uh coming up along the lake. That's horrible. Uh-huh. And they do post, uh, uh, warnings for people who have, uh, heart diseases or respiratory problems during that summer season. Uh-huh. In the winter it's not as severe. Right. But, uh, if the wind comes basically from the south it can be really bad. Uh-huh. Uh, the State of Wisconsin, as a matter of fact, uh, started some litigation against Illinois because of the air pollution we were getting. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't think it's going to go very far, but it, it was, uh, a way of, uh, triggering, uh, awareness. Right, right. So what's the conditions like in Dallas? Well, uh, in Dallas, I, I haven't seen air pollution quite on a, quite on a level that we had in Denver. I grew up in Denver, and, and I've lived there most of my life, and we used to have those, uh, you know, the posted warning days. Uh, however, in Colorado now, they have the emissions control law, which has really cut down, probably only once every couple of years do we ever have pollution so bad that they have to post warnings now, you know, as far as health concerns. Um. Uh, due to that the, the emissions, uh, uh, control on the vehicles, seems that all of our, all of our, uh, smog was caused by vehicles rather than industry. Wisconsin has a, a law in which we need to take our cars in every year when we apply for a new license tag and they are tested for, uh, their pollution control equipment, Uh-huh. and if they don't qualify then they have to take it to a mechanic and have it gone over and then verify that it, it is drivable. Um. So, they've, they've tried to do a lot of that Uh-huh. and I you know, there seem to be, at least in certain little pockets, and we were talking earlier about Madison Uh-huh. Madison has one of the nicest, uh, bike, uh, road, uh, sharing programs of, of any city in Wisconsin Oh, really. and all Wisconsin has probably the most extensive number of, uh, bike trails for recreational use of any of the states. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And there is a, a real promotion of, of biking Uh-huh. but, um, there are still a lot of people who insist on, on driving their own automobiles uh, to go everywhere. Right. I find that a little irritating, because I don't think it's always so necessary. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, it, it becomes, uh, maybe to you and I who have grown up in some in, uh, uh, some more beautiful parts of the country, uh, I think that, that, uh, we become a little more aware, uh, rather quickly of, of what's happening with air pollution and how, uh, how horrible it really is. Um, I, I notice people in, in Dallas seem to say, Well, sure, there's air pollution, but, you know, really, how bad is, how bad could this problem really be. Send, send them to Wisconsin, and we'll let them try to drink out of some of the lakes and try to fish in some of the lakes that have been suffering from, uh, the, uh, acid rain Oh really Uh-huh. and they'll, they'll, they may wake up, you know, Uh-huh. how'd you like to own a piece of property where your lake is going sour because of acid rain. Right. Right. It's, uh, really a serious issue for those of us up in this, uh, sector up, up here. Do you find that, um, or, or do you hypothesize that, that most of the, uh, smog or, or air pollution comes from vehicles or does it come mostly from industry up there? I think it's mostly vehicles although it does come from some of the industry of, of the Gary area Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. that causes the acid rain. That I'm a little uncertain of, but I do know that, uh, it is a problem. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I had talked with my parents. I, I grew up, uh, I was born in, uh, Muncie, Indiana, and, and grew up a little bit in Terre Haute, and I had asked them before, uh, I went back to visit recently, about a year ago, and I asked them, I said, did you ever realize the air pollution that was, I'm sorry, um That's okay, I didn't hear. hobbies. Okay. Let me see, I don't know if that took or not, I'll do it again. Okay. Okay. What are your hobbies? I hear you have kids, right? You heard her in the background That's babies. That's your full time, uh, hobby, right? Takes a lot of time, huh. I like, uh, most sports. I like to do that. I kind of like to do a little bit of sewing. Uh-huh. Oh, little bit of embroidery work, once in a while. Uh-huh. What do you like to do? Um, I try to do some painting, although I'm not very good at it Well, I'm sure you probably are. Well, no, not really. You like it, that's the main . Yeah, I, I have, you know, I inherited the genes that make me think I'm creative, but not the ones that give me the ability to be. That's right. So, I always try. I, I do some sewing, mostly out of necessity. Um, I'm making drapes for my house, just because I'm, Oh, boy, that's hard sewing. Yeah, well, it isn't and it is. It is, you know, actually the sewing isn't the hard part, it's just being able to lay out the material and measure it because you need so much room. Measure it and get it to, Well, if it, it depends on how elaborate you get it. If you get pleats and all kinds of, Yeah, I've been doing that and, That, That's a lot of work. yeah, that, but usually have to do the pleats by hand. So that, at least I can do, you know, watching T V or whatever Oh. but, Right, right. Yeah, and I've, I've gone and, you know, put the needle through my thumb a few times trying to get it through but, That feels really good. Yeah, so that's not really my favorite thing to do or anything, but I, I need to do it. To do it, right. I have, let's see, I have a dog, and a lot of fish. Keeping fish, I guess is my biggest hobby. Keeping fish . Well, they're probably easier than keeping dogs, though, aren't they. Um, yes and no. It depends on how frequently they die, and how much that bothers you. Oh, no. How much that bothers you, and you probably have to clean out the tank too. That's, you don't have to do as much as, as I thought. In fact, my problem, I had fish as a kid and they always died immediately, Oh, no. and, what, I'm, what I think now is the reason is I kept the tank too clean Oh, you're kidding because you have, because they need to have a little bit of the, Right, you need to let the bacteria build up, and then it keeps all the chemicals in balance. I see. And I would just take everything out and just like, you know, wash it with scalding hot water Oh, no. and it would kill all the bacteria, and that would screw up all the chemical cycles again And so you'd have to start all over to build that up probably. so. Right. That's right. So now only, I only clean things to make things look more aesthetically pleasing Right, right. and I don't try and sterilize things Don't go through the whole nine yards and they kind of need a little bit of that. That's right. That's right. So you've had fish for a long time. Well, I've had them, I guess it's been two years now I've had a, a tank here, and then back at home I used to have a small, you know, five gallon tank. But that never worked well. I have fifty-five gallons now. *sd What size do you have now? Oh, that's a good size. It's a lot easier. Have you ever had it, uh, crack or break or leak. No No, not yet. Fifty-five gallons, you'd hope it would never do that. That's right, I really do. But, you know. Do you have all kinds of different fish or, Yeah, I just have, you know, what they call community fish guppies, and platies and, and basic things. Uh-huh. I don't get into the Real exotic. right, right. The expensive ones. Well, they're probably hardy, harder to take care of and, They are. They're very expensive and, you know, when you die, it's like, when they die it's more like an investment. Yes, I bet it is. You lost an investment so, Do you have problems with them, uh, the fish eating each other? No, not really. Only if there's baby fish. Right. You always have to isolate those. Then you have to, how do you isolate them? You get a A jar or something or. well, no, they have breeders. Okay. It's a little plastic things that sort of floats Okay. and you put the mother fish in there and then it's got like a trough underneath her Okay. so as the babies come out they fall down in the trough and there's a hole in the middle so they fall into the bottom part of the chamber so the mother can't get to them either. Oh. And that's, you know, it kind of works, but it's also got slots in it so the water can circulate Right. it'll fit out the slots. It'll go through the slot. That's right, so. But, you know, it works, I guess. That works all right then. They don't, uh, want the mothers to be with the little fish either. Oh, they'll eat them. They will. Yeah. Isn't that odd. Yes. You wouldn't think that. It, and it's funny because the one I have, every single month without fail she has babies. You're kidding. Oh, no. All the time, and, um, I, and she's supposed to, her variety, it says they won't eat the babies, and I've seen her do it. So. And that just makes you sick almost, doesn't it? Oh, it's well, it makes you understand that, you know, things are different Things are different in the animal kingdom, huh. We might, right. We might decide what's proper and what isn't, but you know, that's the way it is for them. Yeah. That's kind of the way they do it. Yeah. That's it. Survival of the fittest or something. Yes, because if the baby is strong enough, it can swim away fast enough and go hide. Right. Go hide from them, well and then, you think, well, how did they do it out in the real world anyway when these fish are in the tropicals or wherever they are kind of trying to keep up with that, So. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. but. If you're like me, you never have enough time for the hobbies. No, not really. I, I try. I also, I play a couple of instruments. Uh, well, uh, the Cowboys are my favorite team. That's pretty easy to say nowadays Lot easier than it was a couple years ago, but they had a big win today. Uh, did you get to watch it? No, I didn't. I, uh, have been at my computer all day so, Oh. Are you a Cowboy fan? Well, I used to be a real big Cowboy fan and, and, uh, I'm not a Jimmy Johnson fan. Being an Okie I just really don't care much, uh, Right, yeah. it's, it's kind of hard not to be a Cowboy fan, though. Uh-huh. They've always been, you know, my favorite. Right. But, uh, and and I guess I still have a soft spot. Yeah. I just hate that that's the coach that's leading them. Right. Right. So, now have they, they're in the playoffs, right? Yeah, they made it to the playoffs finally like just, you know, two years ago they were one and fifteen. They won like just one game and so pretty fast turnaround. But this year they made it to playoffs and today was the first game and they beat the Chicago Bears so everybody's really going crazy, you know, down here. I'll bet they are. They're going crazy, so, so they turned it around, but, you know, they have a lot of young exciting players now, uh, I mean, everybody was real upset, you know, when they fired Tom Landry, but, you know, now it's like, you know, they're doing good so everybody's forgotten about that. Uh, football fans are probably the most fickle people in the world. Uh-huh. Hit a bad season and it's, you know, the coach's fault, let's, let's dump him. Right. First good season, the coach can do no wrong. Right, exactly. You know. But they Dallas has always been good ahead, you know, heading good players and both running, running backs and, and defense. Uh-huh. Right, yeah, uh, you know, they have a young team. It's, you know, a lot different than the teams they used to have where it's the same old, you know, players every year and, you know, same coach, same everything, so, now it's, you know, like a taste of something different. They're all not, you know, mister nice guys like they used to be. Now it's like, you know, tough and dirty team so everybody is really excited. And, Who is the competition going to be? Well, it's supposed to be the Redskins, but you know, we beat them already. We beat them this year in, in Washington so, you know, so everybody has the feeling like we can go all the way to the Super Bowl, but, you know, it's just that we have to play every game away, you know, it's going to be tough, but, but the competition is, are teams that they've already beat this year, so, I mean, Atlanta, they're in it, too, and we beat them and, uh, see, Detroit, we play them next week, but, you know, we should beat them. Everybody feels like we should be able to beat them so, it's, so everything's, uh, looking real good. Course, I think, you know, you can't really go by what happened earlier in the season injuries that heal Uh-huh. Right. and, you know it can be a or injuries that, uh, have newly happened and it could be almost a totally new team out there than the one we played. Right. Right. Yeah, well the Cowboys are on a roll. They've won, like, I think six or seven in a row now, so they're supposed to be the hottest team in the, in the league going into the playoffs so, But, but since you have an O U drop out as a quarterback, Right, yeah, Troy Aikman, he got hurt at O U, so he transferred to U C L A. Well, Well, he, he really didn't feel like he'd be able to do a lot of passing at O U. Right. O U has always been known for their running game. Uh-huh. More than, They're playing tonight in fact. Right. I'm watching them on T V right now. But they're doing some stomping on Virginia. Oh, I tell you, they've, they've not had much of a team this year, bless their little hearts Really? Well, they're doing good tonight. Are they? Yeah I haven't been watching. they're winning. They're winning forty-one to seven. Well, good for us Yeah. Right. Oh. But, yeah, and, uh, that's right, Aikman did go to O U. I forgot about that. Yeah, they then he went out to S, to southern Cal. Is that where he went? Yeah, uh, U C L A. Yeah. Yeah. So, But, the Cowboys did good today. I mean, I was proud. I thought, I thought they would get beat today because, I mean they're so young, you know, playoffs, You bet. They tell you our topic? Uh, pets. You've got it. Do you have pets? Yes, we do. Uh, my wife and I have a dog that soon be eight years old, and we have a, a cat, which is, uh, I guess about five years old. Oh, my goodness. How about you guys? We have three dogs and two birds at this point. Three dogs. And two what kind of birds do you have? Parakeets. No, kidding. enjoy them? Oh, have a ball with them. You let them out and let them fly around and everything? Well, no, because my dogs chase them. Okay. So in order to have the birds not stuffed I have to keep them in their cages. You know, this is like a cruelty joke, and I apologize if you're a bird lover, but, uh, we had a parakeet. And, my fault, put up our first electric fan. And never thought about it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Knocked that parakeet right out of the air. Well, we had that happen once, um, my son had the bird back in his room, because it's his well, the first one that we had was his bird, and I had a ceiling fan put up, and it, the bird got away from him one afternoon, and I mean that sucker hit that fan and went flying up against the wall, I thought, oh so much for the bird. It killed him? No, he's still alive and kicking. Oh, that's, well, it killed ours, I'll be darned. No, I guess we didn't have it high enough or he didn't get hit in just the right spot, but it threw him up against the wall, you know, and he slid down the wall. Oh, I hate them. *sd Well, speaking of pets, I'll tell you, my, my kids are older now, my, both of them are either in or out of college, but, but we had for years, about five years I guess, had a, my son had a Burmese boa constrictor, and that thing grew to be seven and a half feet in, in length, and finally my wife, wife, bless her heart, got rid of it, because I didn't really like it. We also had a, one year down in Florida on a vacation, for Father's Day, my kids, years ago, maybe, uh, ten years ago, go, bought me a skunk from a exotic pet shop. It'd be like, it'd been like deactivated as far as smell and everything, Oh, my goodness. and we had that darn pet skunk for about five years, and, and my son left, went to school, we finally sold his boa constrictor, but my son needed some money, and we, we sold it for about two hundred and fifty dollars. You're kidding. So, when the guy came over, he was infatuated by that skunk, so I made him a deal, I said, You take that skunk, and, he said, I'll sell that snake to you for two fifty. I said, otherwise I'm going to give it to this other man. So he took the skunk, too. And the skunk was a good, a decent pet, but, you know, does his little jobbies in the litter box, and is, is. Oh well, that's pretty good. And it was sort of a neat, but, they just stink too much Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. That was sort of fun, you know, I tell everyone this story because my wife is a real pet lover. I use to visualize my wife, many times my wife would be lying there on the sofa, and this snake honestly would be stretched across the top of her body and with his, with his head right on her neck Oh, you're kidding. Oh. and the skunk would be sitting at her feet, but the cat would be on the back of the sofa, and a dog would be running around crazy Oh, my gosh. I can not I just, I don't, in fact my brother has a, uh, a exotic pet shop out in California, and he keeps threatening to send a snake through the mail, you know, I'm going don't do that, because they won't come in my house. Oh, gosh. Oh, my son bought this snake, uh, someone gave it to him when he was in junior high school, and it was just a small thing then, but it got to be pretty big, and, you know, you'd feed it, you'd feed it, you put, feed him small mice to big rats and things like that Uh-huh. it's just, uh, too much. That snake used to watch our cat walk around. I always told my wife, I says you know, your friend's going to get our cat one of these days Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. That is wild. Oh, I just can't do those, and the lizards and the all those those things, Oh, me neither. they, they need to stay outside, far away from me. We're down to a simple dog and cat now, and that's the way it should be, and. Yeah. Haven't had any parakeets for quite a while, birds. Uh, customer of mine has a parrot, and, uh, gosh, sticks in my mind he paid eighteen hundred dollars for a parrot, and that was just mind boggling. Oh, yeah, they are so expensive. Well, my son was just dying for a bird, and I'm really allergic to them, so I try to stay away from them, except I've gotten real attached to this one, Are you? and, and, uh, we went down to Canton one time oh, gosh, two or three years ago now, Uh-huh. and he'd saved up his allowance, you know, and picked him out a bird in a bird cage and, and that stinking bird, when I brought it home tried to take it out of the little box that they give you Yes. clamped onto my finger and would not, I mean, I had to literally shake him off to get him in the cage, and he has tried to bite me for two years, and all of a sudden this bird and I have become wonderful friends. Oh, gosh. He gives me kisses, he talks now That's neat. and it's just hysterical. I'm the only one that pays attention to him. Why, sure. And I'm a substitute teacher and one of my fifth graders last year came up to me and said, high-pitched like a child's my mom's making me get rid of the bird, we have too many pets. I thought, yeah, right come tell me about it, you know. Come to my menagerie. They knew the sucker when they saw one. So now we have two parakeets. Yeah. Okay, so you enjoy camping? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I, uh like you, I haven't done any in quite some time except for what I call living now which is, which is very close to camping Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah Is it? Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, I, uh, camped in the Boy Scouts and, you know, my dad and I went out sometimes but uh, even my first, uh, eight or nine years of working, I camped almost all of the time because I was in construction. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And it is cheaper to pitch a tent and cook your meals out by the fire than it is to rent an apartment add to stress. Yeah. I mean, when you have to have it, you have got to have it. Uh-huh. And, you know, in those those kinds of situations, uh, room rent which is outrageous. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, my buddy and I, we just camped Uh-huh. And we figured, what the hell, we did it when we were kids and we loved it. Uh-huh. Of course, we didn't really rough it that much. When, when I was in high school, he is a couple years older than me and, uh, he graduated and went off to college and, uh, during the summer we would camp out at the lake. Uh-huh. But it wasn't very much like camping because we had a refrigerator and a stove Oh, well Yeah. You know, I had a little boat house and floated it out on Lake Grapevine. Uh-huh. And, uh, well, it was fantastic. We would get up in the morning, go skiing, uh, that substituted for a shower Uh-huh and then we would go to work and uh, come back to the, uh, you know, boat house at night and, uh, in the afternoon, you know, it is still four o'clock. You have got four hours of day light, good skiing left. Uh-huh. And, uh, it was great. Yeah. But, uh, you know, now all my life is more like camping than not camping really. Uh-huh. Do you have electricity out there. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You've got a phone obviously Well, actually as a matter of fact, they just ran the phone three years ago. Uh-huh. We didn't have a phone. Uh-huh. They didn't have phone lines. You just couldn't get phones. Yeah. And, uh, we are on the, we are third from the end on the electric string. Uh-huh. So, we are at the end of the mail route Yeah. Like I said, we are probably as far as you can get from the Seven Eleven and still be in Texas. Yeah, I guess so, huh. But, uh, you know, right now, uh, what we did, my wife and I, is we got a mobile home. One of these twelve by forty-eight's that got repoed, And, uh, swapped them a Cadillac for it and put it out here on the land figuring I would build a house some day, you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I'm in construction and, uh, you know I just had this place you know to shower up while I was you know out here, you know, putting up fence and building a driveway and drilling a well and all that stuff you have to do before you can even put a house in you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, I came home from work one Friday afternoon and our truck was back. Everything we had was in boxes and my wife said, uh, we're moving. Uh. And I said where. And she said out to the trailer. And I said, oh. She said yep and I said okay Uh. So, we have been roughing it out here for about three years, but it is not bad. I, we have color T V, microwave you know Yeah. it is not horrible, but it's, it's a lot like camping. Uh-huh. Yeah, well I grew up in California, in in central California right in the valley. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So it is a forty-five minute drive to the mountains and, uh, so my dad loved fishing and camping. So we would go up. First, we went up just to, uh, with a Toyota pick up truck and laid out our sleeping bags under the stars and you know cooked our, uh, hot dogs by the fire or whatever. Sure. But then later my mom and dad got a camper so, uh we have kind of moved up. Became civilized. Yeah. A little bit in the world. Yeah, my mom goes camping you know. She takes her, uh, motor home. You know, she's got one of these huge Winnebago's with a refrigerator and air-conditioning, color T V, microwave oven you know Yeah. She just, roughing it for me is going to the Holiday Inn and getting a shower. You know. Yeah. But, you know, she has a lot of fun. Uh-huh. And mostly, it is just a way to, she, she goes to dog shows. Uh-huh. See, she shows dogs and, uh, you can sneak a dog into a motel Uh-huh. but you can't sneak ten dogs into a motel. No So, she, uh, you know, takes the motor home And she made a deal with my dad that she would take all the dogs with her when she went dog showing. Uh-huh. And she, if he would buy her a motor home So he did But as far as camping, my wife and I have plans to, uh, not really camp per se, but to drive up the, uh, you know, Highway One there in California uh, as soon as we get this house finished. Uh-huh. Yeah. Oh that's, uh, That will be pretty. I am going to need a vacation That's really pretty out there. There are a lot of nice places, Well, what kind of vacations do you like to take? . Well, we've, uh, we've been fortunate enough to take a couple of trips over to Europe so So, I, I guess those are the types I like Uh-huh. Uh-huh. We've really enjoyed them. Yeah. Where have you gone there? We've gone to, um, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and England. Uh-huh. We've been to Germany twice. Uh-huh. But, um, I guess my favorite is probably Switzerland and Ireland. Uh-huh. Yeah well, I've been over there too. Uh-huh. Where have you been? I even. Let's see, um, mostly Germany and France. Uh-huh. I lived in France for a year and a half so I was able, Oh, how neat. but, I, once when I had a chance in France to go on vacation instead of travelling around France I went to Germany Uh-huh. because, uh, I've got relatives there and I just like it there. Oh, that's neat. Uh-huh. So, but, um, Austria, I found really pretty and Switzerland, Uh-huh. yeah, and I, I lived in the Alps in France so I anything in the mountains over there I just love. Oh, how neat. Oh, yeah. Then I finally made it to England, too, uh, on my way home, um, I lived in Africa, actually, and on my way home from there. You lived in Africa? Yeah. Oh, my goodness Yeah. Wow. So, um, and you always have to go out, fly through, or unless you fly from Nairobi, you have to fly through, um, uh, Europe on your way home. Uh-huh. So, I went to England, and I really liked it there too. It's so expensive over there I know, it's true. That's the one thing. It really is. It just, it's, it's, I love to go over there, but it's so darn expensive to go over. Yeah. Yeah, actually now you can get some really good deals flying over, but it's Yeah. once you're there you still have to spend money Unless you know people, you know Oh, I know, just. Right. Then you can stay with them, and yeah. Uh-huh. That helps a lot. Yeah. But. You know there's a lot of places in the states that we haven't even gone. Uh-huh. You know, I'd like to go to Hawaii some time, and and, uh, we made it, Yeah. we've, we've at least gone to the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. So. Uh-huh. Yeah. Feel like we've accomplished a little bit here. I haven't. I've been, I've, most of my vacationing in the U S has been on the West Coast Uh-huh. or this summer I went to Colorado Uh-huh. and, uh, I'd love to go to the East Coast, during the Fall. The, oh, the it's, oh, I've always wanted to go there. I've seen pictures, and, and it looks gorgeous. Yeah. We, um, we made a trip up the East Coast. It was, uh, in the summer Uh-huh. and it really is pretty. Uh-huh. It's, uh, both coasts are really pretty Yeah. but, um, I love the Carolinas. It's just gorgeous over there. Uh-huh. I haven't been there, anywhere on the East Coast. Yeah. I think Tennessee has been the furthest east I've been. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, you'll just have to plan a vacation some time and, and go over there. Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, but there's, you know, there's a lot to see here Uh-huh. but I just love going over to Europe because it's so, their way of life is just so different than ours. Yeah. You know, we're so fast paced here, and over there, you know, every time we'd go and, and eat dinner or lunch or whatever we'd always have to ask for the check you know Uh-huh. Yeah. they're so leisurely over there Yeah. and it's kind of nice to, to have that. Yeah. So the type of vacation you'd like, um, like, would you go over and spend a lot of time in one place, or travel to whole bunch of different places in one week? Well, usually a bunch of different places. Yeah, mainly probably because you want to see everything. Right, see as much as you can while you're there. Yeah. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Yeah. How did you like Africa? Well, I liked it. I was working in Cameroon, Africa Uh-huh. and it's not a, it's not a place for tourists, I mean, they're not used to having tourists there, so it's, Uh-huh. you're kind of roughing it. But, um, I liked it, I liked it. Uh-huh. The people there are just very, very friendly and. What type of work? Um, I was working with an organization that does Bible translation. Oh, okay. So I was doing linguistic work actually, travelling around, finding out about languages, and uh, what they call survey work. Oh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Find out where the languages are. Uh-huh. So, I travelled a lot around the country and met a lot of people. Yeah. Um. That's neat. Yeah, I enjoyed it. So. I've, I've always, um, I've talked to people who have been to Africa, and they, and then of course when that movie OUT OF AFRICA came out Yeah. Um, but I've always thought it would be neat to go on a safari over there. Yeah, my cousin came over while I was there, and she came to Cameroon and then she went over to Nairobi and took a safari around you know, close to Nairobi in Kenya. Uh-huh. Oh how neat. So, she'd always dreamed of doing that too. Yeah, that's great. So. Yeah. So is there any place you would try to talk me into going to Uh. It sounds like we've been to some of the same places. Yeah, it does. Well, uh, I don't know. I think the budget is really out of hand right now, and especially in this election year, I think that, uh, there ought to be at least some conversation about what we are supposed to do about this. Uh-huh. Yeah, it kind of seems to me that everyone's offering, you know, their token little tax cut program, you know, when it's when it's just such a bad time for it. Right. Right, and, uh, well, as you said, mostly they are token cuts. Uh especially what, for instance, George Bush is offering. Yeah. The ninety-seven cents a week Yeah, ninety-seven cents a week. Now what, that's really not going to do a lot of good, it doesn't seem to me, to your average middle income person, you know. Uh-huh. Another ninety-seven cents, hell you can buy a coke or something for that. Yeah, I mean, mostly it's, it's not actually a, a, a cut, it's just a cut in the withhold, in the amount withheld, you know. Yeah. Um, yeah I don't see this changing my lifestyle a whole lot. That ninety-seven cents really isn't going to do it for me either. Huh-uh. Uh, I, I haven't really heard much of what the other people, other candidates have said that have made a lot of sense to me either, especially the Democratic candidates don't seem to be coming up with much that really sparks my interest as far as yeah, maybe that could do something to affect our budget at this point. Uh-huh. Yeah, I mean, you know, in retrospect, um, was it, was it Mondale or Dukakis that said, you know, I'll, I'll tell you right now I'm going to raise taxes? I believe it was Dukakis It was Dukakis, yeah. but I, I can't. I have a lot of respect for him Yeah, I mean that's better than George Bush who came out and said, No, I will not and then, you know, ten months later he said, well, sorry, you know, I, I can't follow through on this. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But it seems to me that, uh, that the budget is so out of hand, and especially now that they say, Okay, the cold war is over and we're supposed to be getting a peace dividend of, you know of X number of billion, trillion dollars a year. Uh-huh. Well, I'd really like to know where that money is actually going to go, because, in my opinion, I don't think I'm ever going to see any of this peace, so-called peace dividend. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's, it's. I mean, if they could actually put something together and make, I'm not really in favor of large government social programs, either, because I feel that they waste money, also, Uh-huh. but with this peace dividend, it seems like you could set up some kind of like public works projects like they had in the thirties, or whatever. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah, I, uh, I, I think that would be a great idea, you know, like the conservation corps, you know where. Right, Exactly It it it would help unemployment greatly. And it. and in that way we could really focus on building the infra structure of the country. Yeah, infra structure is in, is in, I mean, we, we, we have hurt ourselves incredibly last fifty years in the cold war. Yeah, and and there's no way that we can ever really recover from, from the state that we're in right now, unless, at least I feel, unless we focus on the infra structure, and I surely don't hear anybody saying that right now. Uh-huh. Um, yeah, I, I agree totally Um, I mean, this, this, it just seems so, you know, so ridiculous that it was allowed to happen. Um, I, I'm in college right now, and. So am I. Oh really, where do you go? Uh, I U. Right, I go to Georgia Tech, um. Uh-huh. And, in, what, I had you know, the required political science class a couple of years ago. Uh-huh. And one of the things we discussed was, you know, where our, where the budget how the budget situation just got so out of hand. Right. And essentially what happened was, I think it was like in the, um, tax year of eighty-one, um, Ronald Reagan basically said, you know, I'm going to give this much of a tax cut to the tax payers and, and, created this, this ludicrous budget that he knew, that, that, um, that the Congress would not in their right mind pass Right. and Congress, realizing that they were going to lose a, the Democratic Congress realized that they were going to lose a propaganda war, you know, bye-bye, you know, bye-bye removing the tax cut further cut the taxes and created, you know, that, that, that, you know, created the huge deficit that year which moved us into the trillion dollar deficit. Uh-huh. Right. And you just, . You, you just have to wonder what they're thinking in Washington. I mean, it's just like they're playing chicken with a loaded gun. Yeah, uh, well, it's, it's more than a loaded, it's a loaded cannon. I mean they've got trillions of dollars to spend every year, Yeah. and they, in my opinion, don't do a very responsible job of spending that money. Uh-huh. *b Uh-huh. Well, yeah, um, what really bothers me is it just seems like if, if anyone were to say, you know, well I'm going to raise taxes and cut the budget and we're , we're going to have to do some unpopular things, I mean, he wouldn't have a chance of getting elected. I mean, it's kind of like Rome and the bread and circuses thing, you know where people just want, want to have, you know, whatever will make them feel good, right now, you know. For, for the moment, and that's what really is getting me about what George Bush's stand on the budget is right now is that he is saying, I am going to give you this ludicrous little tax cut so that you'll be happy come November, and you'll elect me again Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then I'm going to go on and just forget everything that I said Uh-huh. or you know, it doesn't seem that it's going to make much of a difference. Uh-huh. It, I mean, I don't know, I I don't, I don't think George Bush will make the American people happy with ninety-seven cents a week. No, no, not at all. I just don't think it was a well thought out incentive. No. , how do you feel about crime in the city? You say you're from Atlanta. Right, I, I, I actually I live in the city Uh-huh. and, uh, I guess it is a concern of mine, uh, you know, for my own safety. Uh-huh. I mean, do you, do you find crime in Atlanta really I live in Atlanta also. Well that's right. Uh, I think it is bad in certain areas, *sv Uh. however I think, the area that I live in it's not, uh, the crime level is not as high as it is in other areas of the, of the city. Uh-huh. I think it seems that there's certain areas where, uh, the crime is focused uh. Uh-huh. Well what do you think can be done about the crime in the city? Well, I think it's, what's been happening over the last several years it seems they've been beefing up the police patrols, trying to put, put more guys, more cops, higher visibility, and, uh, they've had some impact, but not a tremendous amount, Uh-huh. and probably, um, they need to try to increase community involvement, that sort of thing, I think . I probably agree with that. Yeah. Uh. You know, particularly in some of the housing projects, uh, you know, that's, that tends to be where a lot of that crime is focused Uh-huh. and they've got to do more than just having, having cops there. They've got to kind of change the way people think about it. Yeah, that's probably true. Um, so, um, well do you think Atlanta's as bad as most other cities? Um, well, I've been to, I'd say it's, it's probably in the top, top ten in terms of crime. Um, it's nowhere near as bad as New York City for example. Uh-huh. Probably not, not as bad as Detroit. Uh-huh. I don't think it's as bad as L A either. No. We, I don't think we have as much of the gang problem as a lot of the other cities have. Yeah, that seems to be true. Um, yeah, if you've ever been to like New York City and you can just, you can just, as you walk through the street on a given evening, you can see crimes being committed. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. It's that obvious. Yeah, I don't know, I came to the conclusion also that, you know, just, if you are walking in a downtown area, you know, where there's a lot of crime, a lot of that's going to just, just keeping your senses about you and, and trying not to look like a victim, you know. Yeah, that's true. You know, walk you know, walk with, you know, with just walk in a confidently, With a big stick or. and, you know, don't, don't be looking around like you've never been there before and you have no idea where you are. Right. Sure. Right, don't, don't walk down a, an alley or don't get Yeah. just try to keep yourself out of a bad situation Uh-huh. but, yeah, there are times when you can't avoid all that Uh. and, and then you're kind of on your own Yeah. have you, have you ever, have you ever been mugged in Atlanta? Uh, no. The only thing I've ever had, was I've had my wallet lifted Uh-huh. but that was in a more of a, a setting where there was a number of people around, and I kind of got, I was much younger at the time Uh-huh. and kind of a couple of people, they just took it from me without me knowing really and kind of passed it off, so I didn't know who had it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I've had that happen, but that's, that's about it. Yeah, I've been pretty lucky about getting mugged. Um. Yeah, Oh, yeah. I think I've only actually seen like one, you know, one actual robbery with a gun Um. and that's been about the only, you know, real violent crime where, you know, potentially violent crime that I've seen in Atlanta. Really, well, I've had my. And that was just a guy running out of a store that he just robbed. Uh-huh. I've had my car stolen, so maybe that counts. Oh, really. Yeah. Oh, where was, where, where was that? Was that downtown or, Oh no, that was in the northern um, up near Cumberland Mall area. Really. It's actually Cobb County, but it is Atlanta Metropolitan, yeah. and, uh, there's a lot of car thefts in that area. Yeah, I've actually, I've known, known some people that have had their cars stolen. Uh, and, uh, and, you know, about half the time they seem to, the A P D seems to recover them, you know in various states of disrepair Up on blocks. Right. Yeah My friend had a V W Rabbit, and when he, when he got it back his, um, dashboard was sitting in the front seat Yeah, mine was just, it had been wrecked and some superficial type damage, but they didn't, they didn't strip it Uh-huh. so I got it back. Well, you're probably luckier than. Yeah, than most. Uh-huh. Um, so like does insurance pay for the body damage, or was that all there was, body. Right. It was about three grand to put everything together. They cracked the steering column of course, to steal the car. Yeah, you got to, you crack the steering column and you pull the, there's a pin in there that you can pull on these G M cars Uh-huh. and you can start it up, basically pretty easily. Uh-huh. So how do you know this much about, um, stealing cars? Well, after I found mine I had to, I had this, So, how you like New Jersey? Uh, it's pretty good, you know. You get, uh, closer to the, uh, coast here, and you do get a good bit of, uh, smog and stuff, especially from all the, uh, fuel cracking towers and chemical plants. Right, I guess, uh, I don't know what part of New Jersey you're in, but I guess it's, uh, fairly industrial? Yeah, it's, when you get further east towards New York City it gets very industrial Right, uh-huh. but I'm, I'm about, uh, thirty miles west of there so you have, uh, actually green trees and such that you don't notice that, that other part of New Jersey exists. Yeah. Yeah Right. Actually very, you know, you go even a few miles out and you got, uh, farms and everything so you, relatively clear air. Right. But, uh, Well, I don't know about you, but I've always considered automobiles to be, probably the, the prime contributor. I mean there's a lot of contributors, but it seems that automobiles would probably do more than their fair share of that. Oh, definitely. It's Yeah. uh, you know, there are a large number of them on the road. They're all, you know, going, and a lot of them are in relatively poor repair. That's, yeah, that's, that's a big issue is, you know, a lot of states don't have a, uh, inspection law so you get, you get a lot of people out there without E T R, emission control systems on their cars and things like that. Oh, even where you do have the inspections, you know, the inspection is once a year. Yeah, and it's like, You get the car that's in the accident and muffler falls off or something Sure. and guy keeps driving along for long period of time after that. Right. I guess, from what I hear, though, uh, next year Ford is coming out with their electric cars. They're actually coming out with the first prototypes in California. Yeah, that, and I think also some of the, uh, car companies are coming out with, uh, gas powered fleets so you, Yeah. natural gas powered rather than, uh, gasoline. Right. I hope, I, I'm hoping that comes along quick Uh, I was reading a, an article in TIME the other day about the ozone layer and how fast that's going and I guess it's, it's really disappearing a lot quicker than people realize and I know that's not due to, uh, it's not due to, to gasoline or to, you know, carbon monoxide so much as the C F C but, It, it is coming from cars, though. Uh, yeah, I think that's a, that's a contributor definitely. I mean, the, uh, car air conditioners is one of the major leaking sources of, uh, the, uh, freon. Which is one of the major fluorocarbons. Right. Right. Yeah, I guess right now what they're, what they're primarily worried about is third world countries because I guess United States and, and Russia have kind of taken the lead in terms of eliminating C F C production, but it, Well, it, it, go ahead. No, it's, it's the type of thing there that, uh, you know, the Third World countries are less industrial and they want to become industrial Uh-huh. so they're on the different part of the cycle of the U S. The U S used, you know, all the air pollution stuff and air polluting technologies to get where it is today. Right. And that's one of the arguments that the Third World countries have been using is, that basically they don't want to have to pay for our mistakes if, if that makes any sense. Uh, in terms of, Or, or they want the right to make the same mistakes themselves to bootstrap them up to the way, where we got to. Exactly. Exactly. Uh, those of kind of, yeah, those are joining arguments, but, uh, I don't know, that's, that's kind of an interesting situation there. Uh, what they don't realize, those third world countries, what they don't realize is how quickly the ozone is depleting. I guess the latest figures are up to fifty percent at the Poles and it's, it's increasing even as far near the Equator as like Florida and Cuba and those places. Yeah. So it's kind of an interesting situation. It's not not a real good one actually. No. But, Well, you also have the very close related thing of the, uh, rain forest destruction which is the main source of what's clearing out the atmosphere and replacing some of the pollutants. Yeah. Uh-huh, yeah. Yeah, you don't get that, that source of cleansing anymore. Are, have you been in big cities a long time? Mostly, I've mostly been in the east coast, so that's going between Atlanta, D C area, Okay, so you've got, Yeah, those are actually areas that are hit pretty hard, I would think. Well, not, not as hard as some places out west because you don't get the, uh, major pollution sources as you do out in Denver with the inversion and Los Angeles and rest of California which is just terrible it sounds. Yeah, Denver's definitely yeah, that's one of the worst. Sure. Yeah, Denver's that, that real good that real good, uh, example of sitting in a valley, kind of like Mexico City does, I guess. Uh-huh. Mexico City is historically been one of the worst in the, in the world for that. Yeah. But I've been pretty lucky, I've lived in cities that really haven't had that much of a problem, although, uh, I'm really kind of based in Orlando, Florida and there, you can tell that it's getting worse. I mean, it, it definitely it's not at a level comparable to Los Angeles or Denver but you can, Yeah, there, it's almost all automobiles because there's not that much in the way of heavy industry, you know, that would be causing it. Exactly. Yeah. And there's not that much in terms of, of public transportation down there. Uh-huh. There is, but it's kind of it's, what's your, uh, Uh. are you into the Cowboys? Oh, God, no Uh, no, I'm not, I haven't been, I grew up in Dallas but I'm still not a Cowboys' man. I like Philadelphia Eagles. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Well, that that's all right. That's my favorite team, so. Uh, now that Randall's coming back next season, I hope they'll be, do a little bit better. They didn't do too bad last season. Yeah. But, I hope they can do better. How about yourself? Well, I don't know. I kind of go back and forth, uh, depending on who's really hot and who's not. I guess I'm kind of a fair weather fan in a lot of respects. Uh-huh. But, uh, I guess if I have, uh, my druthers, I'd probably go for the Seattle Seahawks. Oh, I kind of like them. Yeah. That's another one of my favorites. Yeah. They're kind of, They're not, they're not my favorite totally. But I do like them. I like, yeah. Seahawks are good. They, now that Steve Largent is gone, I kind of lose a little bit for them but you know, he, Yeah. To be honest with you, I, I probably watch, uh, college a little bit more than I do pro. Really? Yeah. Huh. I kind of like college actually. Quite a bit. Yeah. That's kind of, that's kind of strange. It's too much running for me in, in college football. I like I like the pros. Is it? They do, you know, it's more high tech, more, you know, players are apt to act a little bit different when they, when their jobs and their, when it's a job and not just, you know Yeah, yeah. That could be. when you're getting paid millions to do it, you I think they take it to another level. Yeah. But I can see it's more, you know, grunted out, run the ball type. College football is a little bit different but, Yeah. You probably wouldn't like my favorite team in college then. who's that? Notre Dame No. I root for Nebraska quite a bit. Nebraska Yeah there's a running team. Yeah. That, that, that's boring for me. I, I'll take the passing teams any day. Yeah. But, Well, I can see, I can see definitely how you get into that. I, to be honest with you, I find that too much running gets pretty boring as well and. Yeah. It's just, it's four yards, three yards eight yards, tackle. Right. That's, you know, it gets kind of monotonous. After awhile, I, I prefer forty, a nice forty yard flea flicker every now and then just, just to juice it up a little bit Sure. and but, Well, I think they're starting to realize that. A lot of the, like the big eight teams that used to run so much. I think they're starting to realize that they just can't compete anymore. Yeah. It's high dollar. You know, it's all, it's all money now. Even college is all can we get on T V Right. so. Yeah. That's, that's, So, uh, what's this World League is coming in? Uh, that's getting ready to start up, right? Right. Yeah. Have you followed that very much or, Uh, not really. I, I don't think anything will ever take over the N F L. I think it's basically, you know, it's, it's an institution. Yeah. It's like if we tried to start something to take over major league baseball. It's just, I just, you know. Yeah. I mean, it, it, it can be, it can take over part of it. But it's never going to be the next, Right. It can take over a small market share but nothing really, Yeah. it's going to take a little bit. Some people are going to watch it but it's not going to be wide spread super bowl and every Sunday afternoon or anything, you know. Right. It's just, it's never going to reach that, that standard but, Yeah. I think I agree with you. It's, it's kind of interesting to see, uh, to see their claim of, you know, like world football. But, when in reality, it's really Americans playing somewhere else you know Yeah, yeah. It's kind of, it's kind of strange. Uh, I guess we're the only ones, who take it that far. Everybody else still nuts over soccer but, Yeah. Actually, uh, I kind of like soccer. I've never really played it Yeah? but, uh, I like the idea. It's, it's an interesting game to watch. That and rugby. I've like to watch, rugby every now and then. Yeah or Australian rules football. That's, Yeah, whatever you want to call it there. Yeah. That's some brutal stuff there. That's, that's worse than football as far as violence I think. Golly. Those guys kill each other out there. Rugby is something else. Yeah, . Yeah, there's an element there's definitely an element of stupidity in there somewhere Yeah. That's just wild. That's why it's a a big college thing. Yeah Rugby is definitely big in college because it's something a bunch of fraternity guys can get together and get a good beer buzz going and do Right, exactly Yeah. So, yeah, I could see the feel for that. But it's, it's pretty, it's fun to play. Yeah. I'll give it that. It is fun to play. If you don't value your *listen--missing a word? very much. You've played it then? But, you know, I don't think rugby will ever be professional but it, it's, it's, No I doubt it, you know. Not, at least not in this country anyway. No. You can't stay healthy and do that. That's a rough game. Yeah. It is. But, uh, I don't know. I don't know how my Eagles are going to do this year. So you, the, the Seahawks are an up and down kind of team. They really are. Yeah. Yeah. My, my, it's kind of odd. My roommate that I live with here, he's, uh, he's lived in Pennock, Minnesota. *two utts? Do you know where that is? Uh, no I don't. To tell you the truth, I'm, It, it's a small town. It's about two hours, it's in like central Minnesota. It's a couple of hours, uh, west of Minneapolis. Okay. But, uh, To tell you the truth, I'm not even really from here. You just live there now. Yeah. I'm, I'm up here for a year on an internship. Uh-huh. Well he's, But I, I actually live in Florida. Live in Florida. Yeah. Like the Seahawks Well, you know, I I mean, who, who who the heck is going to root for Tampa Bay, right Hey, I, I I've only been to Philadelphia twice and I, you know, I, I still like, Really, really. I mean, I guess I could go for Miami but I don't know. Yeah, but. I'm from, I root for Nebraska so I'm, I don't have a real love for Miami anyway. But, I don't know, I, I guess, I get, into pretty much, What do you think? Well, uh, I can't be terribly authoritative on what life was like thirty years ago, uh, because I'm not that old yet. Uh-huh. Um I can be, but go ahead Uh, I know that, uh, I mean obviously you look at, at the technological aspect of, of social change. I mean you didn't have, uh, you didn't have video games. You didn't have home computers. You didn't have Xerox machines. Right. I mean, uh, you, you try to, you go into a, a business today and, you, you try to imagine the whole thing except running off of carbon paper and it's almost inconceivable now because the Xerox machines and, and everything have become such, you know, such a, a a part of the way we live. Right. We fax everything. And , Yeah. We don't even wait for the mail anymore. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah, uh, a business associate of mine was, was talking about how it used to be where you would send things through the mail and you had to do something, this was concerning the S E C, and so if they had business to do, they had to finish it, you know, three days in advance so they could get it through the mail. Because you can get it there, you know *"Because" as connector; sd in, in a matter of minutes you know, through a fax machine Right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh Right. and because of that, these quote, unquote convenience type items have made work that much more intense and that much harder. Right. Because you're expected to work on stuff up until the last minute. You're expected to, exactly. And I recently read an article on just this, that said stress today is so much worse It should be less because we have a microwave and our grandmothers had to bake brownies and we can throw them in a microwave for two minutes but the more conveniences we have, the more that's expected of us Uh-huh. and we have no down time. Like we don't stop and wait for things to happen because we don't have to. Yeah. So we keep moving. We don't stop and wait for the things to bake and this to happen and that to happen. We just hit buttons and keep going to the next thing. So we have no relaxation time in between Uh-huh. so they say that's really a bad thing. That you need to learn a lot of ways to, to deal with that and get your, your time in between things. Uh-huh. So that's good. That's an interesting point. But I just think our, our family lives have changed drastically. And I think that's of course a part of it is technology. I mean our kids, where would they be without Nintendo and, you know, their T V shows and some of that is really bad I think. But, we have all single families. So many single families now. Uh, a lot of working, both parents are working. So there's a whole big effect on our kids and not very many of my daughter's friends really are on their original mother and father. You know, I'm wondering what this is going to do in ten and twenty years. Well, there's that and there's the fact that, you know, nowadays fewer and fewer couples are deciding to have kids which generally tends to happen. I mean the U S would be actually declining in population slightly if it weren't for the fact that we, have continuation, large scale immigration into the country. You're probably right And I'm an O B nurse and that's never really occurred to me but that's, that's interesting. I never really thought about it that way. Yeah, yeah. I saw that, the numbers on that awhile back and I was like, uh-huh so Yeah, yeah. That's true. When is this good or not good. *listen Well, uh, In terms of the long term effect, effect on, on America, in terms of the culture and everything, I don't know. We don't know that yet Uh, Most of the, of the next generation is going to be in, or, or an, extremely large part of the next generation is going to be, you know, second generation, uh, from immigrant parents. Yeah. I don't know either. That's true. And they're going to be really struggling and I don't think that America is currently the type of environment where struggling up from the bottom is necessarily considered to be good Right, right. I mean, it's no longer the, the, uh, the accomplishment that it, that it once was and not that many people are really trying I don't think Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of scary. Huh. Well that's true. But, I, it's just very, very different and I guess every ten years it's just been very different. Yeah So. And I don't know what's going to happen. Uh, I know what I'm seeing here at my job is that people are having their children much later in life so that they're establishing careers Yeah, and they've got their homes and they've got, Okay Randall, uh, uh, do you have any special interest in, uh, space flight? Oh yeah. Ever since I was a young and, uh, used to watch the old, uh, Apollo missions going off in, uh, classroom T V Uh-huh Uh, I suspect a lot of people, uh, uh, got, uh, turned on by watching, watching those go off. Uh-huh. Uh, very exciting. Yeah. The, uh, uh, I've I've always, uh, wanted very much, uh, to, uh, be somehow involved in all that. And, uh, to, uh, meet and, and to see, see it actually happen. Uh-huh. Of course, I've really wanted to actually manage to get into space someday. Uh-huh. But, uh, that seems rather unlikely at this point, unfortunately. What do you do now? Uh, computer programmer Oh. Unfortunately, that can be done from the ground Yeah. To bad, huh. *spelling: too Yeah. Made the wrong, wrong career choice to get up into space The, uh, uh, I used to think when I was, when I was younger that, uh, by this time we'd have lots more in stuff in space than we do now. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, frustrating at times. Uh-huh. I don't know what you think about all that. Well, uh, I, uh, I'm kind of young. I'm only twenty-two and so, uh, uh, I'm not, you know, there's a lot that's happened in my lifetime as far as, uh, you know, with the space shuttle and all. Although plans to, uh, go to other planets have somewhat been thwarted in comparison to, uh, the sixties. Uh-huh. Uh, although I have a and whatnot, Yeah. Yeah. it would be great if we could find some way to, to, uh, use that to boost the economy. Well, the, uh, uh, I've always, uh, felt that, uh, uh, one of the long-term solutions that, at least a few of our problems would be to have, uh, some sort of, uh, solar power satellites up. Uh-huh. Uh, because that's a, uh, you know, in singularly renewable resource that doesn't do it, that doesn't require, uh, uh, any particularly nasty environment impact. Exactly. And you can just get as much power as you need up there. Uh-huh. It's just a matter of how big you build it. Uh-huh. Uh, and, of course, the side effects of this is that you have to have, uh, lunar mining bases and space stations and easy transport into space and no things that I think we should be doing. So the side effects of doing that which I think would be good, you know, very, very good for for everyone in the long run is, uh, is it, some of the other things I'd like to see happen would happen also, so I'm, Right. Yeah. It seems like, uh, there's, so you're talking about positive side effects then. Yeah, right. Okay, I understand. Right. Right. Sure, that makes a lot of sense. The only problem is, of course, that, uh, that requires significant commitment from people to actually decide they want to put things like that up there. Uh-huh. Yeah. And they want to do the research and uh, they're all you know, Yeah. the only commitments that they're interested in making or even talking about are ones for flash value like, uh, the trip to Mars. Which is, would, would produce some useful scientific research and so forth, Right, exactly. but the same money could probably be far better spent on, uh, uh, lunar bases and solar power satellite research and, you know, so forth. Uh-huh. It, it would it would be being done for the, uh, glitz and show factor to get politician votes instead of, instead of for, you know, Uh-huh. we should eventually send someone, people to Mars but not just because it's glitzy to do so. Right. We should do it because, for, for the return we get for it. Uh-huh. And, uh, unfortunately, that's not what I thinks happened *listen Exactly. Least not, I, I would settle for the for the glitz if the side effects were useful, like the, uh, but, uh Yeah. the downside of that is you, after you do one of those, people say well we did it. Right. Now let's now we're done Now we're done. No need to use this to play around with this space stuff anymore. That's what happened with Apollo. But, uh, I'd give almost anything to get into space *sd Yeah. I think you're right. I would too. I'd, I'd, uh, was it John Denver that that tried to buy his way on to the space shuttle? I guess, I guess by what you said you're, you don't feel your, uh, privacy has been invaded anytime recently? No, not really. Uh, uh, the only thing that annoys me is when, uh, people call and they, uh, you have solicitation calls. Uh-huh. That's the only thing that bothers me. That's not really invading my privacy Right. Uh, do you feel that yours is invaded? Uh, no I wouldn't call it invading my privacy by any means. Uh, you know, I would, there, there's a lot of times though, uh, you get those calls and, you know, when you're sitting at home wanting to relax or, or whatnot and, you know, next thing you know, uh, someone calls and wants to sell you this or that and it's real hard to, to tell them, you know, that you're not interested. Or you do tell them you're not interested and they still keep asking you, you know, and keep badgering you about it, and that aggravates me. But I don't know that you could call that invading of, invading my privacy because, you know, if we don't want that to happen all we have to do is just call the phone company and say, look, you know, I want my name unlisted or want my, you know, But, but that doesn't work. It doesn't? Uh, no, because they, a lot of times they dial sequentially. They get your name from, uh, if you enter any type of contest or anything. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, you enter a sweepstake in the local department store for a shopping spree or something, you put your phone number on there, they pass your phone number on to another company. Oh. Uh, or you, uh, or, or like the newspapers, they just dial randomly or and stuff. They even call, the newspapers here even call people who already subscribe And, uh, while I was subscribing to the paper, I got so upset at them that they Uh-huh. you call me one more time, I'm going to stop subscribing And the local, local papers ask them to remove your number from their list and, uh, yeah, you call up their regular, during regular hours their, uh, they have a special department, they'll take your numbers out of their lists. Uh-huh. Uh, but the, uh, Orlando paper, uh, yeah, they, they refused to take it off of the lists and they call every month. Huh. And when you have more than one phone number, you get a call on each number you have Good grief. Well, let me ask you about this. Here's something that, uh, has been kind of concerning me lately. My fiance received a bill from a, a Lord and Taylor company, Uh, you know, they're a, they're a department store. Uh-huh. She received a bill from them, uh, that she had visited some and, and I think it was there in Florida, maybe it was in Miami. That, uh, she had visited a store there and, uh, they had this bill, uh, that she had bought such and such amount of merchandise, uh, over two hundred dollars worth of merchandise. Uh-huh. Uh, and the date that, that she supposedly made this purchase, she was in Denver with me for Thanksgiving. Uh-huh. Uh, and apparently what had happened is someone used her social security number. Uh-huh. Uh, and, and I've, I've heard recently that, uh, uh, that this is a common occurrence where people are using you know, they use Joe Blow's uh, social security number, uh, and can, uh, potentially ruin someone's credit. Uh-huh. If you know a person's social security number and their mailing address, and their mother's maiden name uh, you can, basically, become that, uh, person. Huh. Uh, if the purchase was made mail order, they should have a record of where it was shipped to Uh-huh. and since it wasn't shipped to her address, she could prove, you know, that it wasn't her. Uh, if it was some you know, coming into the store and stuff, then she would whoever made the purchase would have had find some kind of, uh, you know, document Yeah. and, uh, the signature, uh, they should be able to provide you a copy with that signature and if they can't provide a signature, you know, they'll have to eat the charge Yeah. Well, But if the has, you know, their social her social security number, I'd be real concerned that they, uh, that she's not, uh, blacklist on, uh, what is it, it's Telecredit or something? Yeah. Uh, because she won't be able to cash checks because most places verify through there. She probably won't be able to open a checking account or anything without a lot of hassle. Yeah. Well, we got it cleared up eventually. What happened, uh, Have you ever gotten one of those calls that is either generated by a computer or somebody going down a list and their either offering a service or they're introducing some new product in the area and normally when they call, you're either in the shower, or you're in the middle of cooking something and you have to stop everything to run to the phone. Yes, yes. Is, is that one that you're talking about. That was the big one I'm talking about. I work weird hours, and invariably just about the time, I'm going to sleep, the phone tears off the wall. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And you are trying to crawl out of a half unconscious sleep and answer the phone, you either hear, the as soon as you say hello, you hear the click of the recording coming on, Uh-huh. or you hear somebody all ready starting, reading off a list of stuff that they've read probably a thousand times that day already. That's true, or the ones that are, are generated by a computer. It's just a computer voice that comes on the line. Those are the ones that I really, really hate too. I've even had some of them, the, they're voice activated and you've got to say hello twice before they'll do anything. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, sometimes I, I get them on my, uh, answering machine at home so, and I hate that when I've got a whole bunch of messages and I go through them and most of them aren't from anybody at all. What I would love to see done to stop all of this, Uh-huh. we've got a thing in this country, you can have your phone number unlisted, Uh-huh. and I think a law should be passed to where any of these people, I think it's great, that you know, freedom of speech in this country and everything, but if they're going to offer these services, or these recorded message, everything, they ought to be stuck working with the phone book like everybody else instead of using a computer to go through and just go down every sequence of numbers for this certain area code and call them. Uh-huh, yes, see I have an unlisted telephone number, but I still get all of those calls and then some of them are speaking in a foreign language that I don't even understand. So, yeah, I do, I really feel that's, uh, an invasion of my privacy. I agree with you on that particular subject there. Let me see. That's about, that as far as any other everyday occurrences, I put a stop to some of them as far as the door to door, either religious groups, or people peddling products. If I wanted their products, I would have either gone to the store to bought it, or I would have called for their salesman to come out. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, that's true. Living in an apartment complex though, you know you can't, um, you can't really stop those people from coming around even though they put up signs out front that says no solicitations, uh, but they still come up to the front door and, uh, you know, walk around. So, usually what I do is I'll call the apartment manager and tell them hey, there's people coming around, you know, and they're trying to sell something or, or they're from a religious organization and I really hate that. I really, really do. I had somebody come to the door about two weeks ago and, uh, gosh it was about nine o'clock at night, too. It wasn't even what I would consider, you know, family hours, time to, you know, start going to bed and uh, and it was somebody from, um, oh what was it, the, uh, Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and uh, I've read a lot about, uh, that particular sect and I don't particularly care for it, so I especially don't like for them to come up to my door and, and try and talk to me. Now, I agree with their right to, uh, pursue their religion of choice, in that, whatever manner they want to, but I think they should also respect the sanctity of the American home, whether it be in a house or in an apartment. I'm on my turf, if I want them there, I'll call for them, otherwise, I don't want to know they exist. Yeah, yeah, no, I, I agree with you there. If they want to choose that particular religion that's fine with me too, you know, as long as they don't try and pull me in and drag me in. And, and I don't like the way that they do it either, and, and, it's their mission that they do it. They go door to door and they go out into the public and they actually have the, uh, teenagers serving two years like you would say like in an army and two years in going around and doing missionary type work and, uh, I don't know, I just, um, don't particularly care for that at all. And that, that's one thing that I feel really strongly about though, is, uh, you know, people coming up to my door, and especially religious organizations and wanting to uh, you know, to try and get me to join or, you know, become interested in their religion, because I have my own. Now the part about where you said the apartment complex puts up signs that says no soliciting, I've even gone so far as to put that, I've got a storm door on the front of the house and I've put, in, I don't know how much clearer it can be, it's a red sign with silver letters saying no soliciting. I should have, I guess I should make another one that says religious or otherwise, cause I still get, Yeah, yeah, that's true, yeah. No I don't, uh, I don't have, I didn't go that far but, uh, yeah I probably could do the same thing, uh, you know, I don't have a storm door, but I'm sure I could rig up something. But you know I don't think that that would stop people. I, it's like they see that word and it says go instead of stop. Oh, goodness. and then reverse it, and do, well that would be technically illegal, it would be harassment. Oh gosh. But, I consider an invasion of my privacy, a harassment in itself. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true, that's true, um. Well what else? I believe we've pretty much summed everything up. I know, but I remember you, you talked about something, you started off and said, well let me think, you talked about the telephone calls and people coming and soliciting and selling things at the door. You said something else. I can't remember what it was, and I thought yeah, that, that kind of touched a nerve right there, but we got uh, we got to talking about the, uh, uh, people coming to you at the front door. I'm drawing a blank. Oh goodness, okay, is our five minutes up? Uh, pretty close to it. Pretty close. Well I've enjoyed talking with you. Well it was nice talking to you too Jim. And take it easy now. Okay, thanks, bye. Good night. Okay, so we've got to talk about music. Okay. Well, no that's really when I grew up, And, um, do you like classic rock, or modern rock, or which kind? No, not a seventies baby. so that's really what I like better, is that kind of music I mean, Is it disco, or is it like, No, no, no, not that kind of music but, No, more like, uh, rock, um, you know, like Led Zepplin type Oh, okay. So, so they can get like the Doors and Led Zepplin. Right. Yeah, that's cool. Right. And, how about the Rolling Stones? Oh, sure, sure I went to their concert last year when they were here. Oh, that's when, that's when they took, toured. How about, um, Pink Floyd? Sure, yeah, I like them. Okay. So, so then we got, we got some same things because, Okay, well, I just didn't know that much about music and I wasn't sure what kind of music. No, it's very hard because, see, well, I mean, in the whole spectrum I'd rather listen, you know, I listen to heavy metal or classic rock. What, what kind of heavy metal are we talking about? What, We're talking about what they, what they call hard rock. Okay, like, give me some examples. Like, for example, let's see, uh, Bad Company, what, Oh, well, Bad Company's not bad, that's not, well, they're like, for example, A C D C. Yeah, A C D C Why, have you heard of them? Yes Okay. And, stuff like that. That's, that's, that's not really hard rock. Well, okay. Okay, I guess I didn't really consider that heavy metal. Okay. I mean, I, I think, when you say heavy metal, I'm, I'm thinking about like Cinderella, you know. Well, Cinderella is, is hard rock, heavy metal. Well, see, I don't really care for Cinderella But, I like A C D C's okay. But, see, for example, they have, see what, but other bands consider it like really hard rock. It's like brash metal, which all they do is like, they have this guitar and they just bang at the guitar, and the guitar is set like, really low, Yeah. No, I don't really care for that too much, I guess. and, what happens is like, oh, everybody gets like totally into the music and then they start dancing around, Uh-huh. and they just bump into each other, Uh-huh. like, like they hit each other with their shoulders, Uh-huh. and, then, you knock people down, and what you do is, you also try to get up on stage and jump down on top of all these other people. Is that the kind of music that you like? No, I don't like that music. Oh, okay. But, that's, that's what they do. That's, that's what some people call like really heavy metal. Oh, okay. And, see, the difference, I guess, between hard rock and heavy metal is that the lyrics also. Like really, like heavy metal, is considered, like the words heavy metal and, like, you always thought about, like, suicide. And killing people and stuff like that. Yeah. And, just hard rock has, they, they don't talk about that, they just talk about, like, life in general. Right. Like, Queen's Reich, if you ever heard of them. Oh, sure. Of course. Yeah. you, you're talking Queen, is that what you said? Okay, well, no. I said Queen's Reich, but, but, oh, but you got to like Queen also. Oh, oh, oh, okay, Right. So because, Well sure, because Queen was real popular when I was growing up. Yeah, especially, uh, oh God, what is it, A Night At The Opera? Don't they have a, no let's see, the one that they have the, the whole opera singing in the background. Oh! Right, Bo, Bo, Bohemian Rhapsody. right, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that, that was great. I heard that the other day on the radio and I pumped it up. Because, I mean, I just love that song. Yeah, that, that was a real good one. Yeah, but they had, that, that whole record was pretty good. But then, they started going downhill like everybody else. Well, that's true. They came up with some pretty weird stuff after that. Yeah, they're, they're still around, they've got a new C D out, but I, I wouldn't buy it. Because see, what happens is, the old, see I like, I like the old Rolling Stones. I don't like the new stuff. Of the Stones? Yeah. Yeah. I agree. That's the the older stuff is the best of it. The, the new stuff's kind of more like, today's rock and roll, which I, don't really care for today's rock and roll too much. Yeah. Well, for example, I used to like old Phil Collins. Right. Yes, definitely. I agree. And, and, then what happened was that Phil Collins said, hey I can make money, a lot of money doing this, and then he came out with, uh, see, for example, his, his record like, No Jacket Required. Uh-huh. That was good, but it was on his way of going downhill, because he said, I can make a lot of money just singing alone, and then he came out with the Invisible Touch, with, uh, Genesis and that really, like now, I hate Phil Collins, I can't stand him. Right. Because, I look at him and I say, you know, you were singing at this time, and with these people, and you were great, and now you're singing all this stuff that, doesn't matter what you, what you sing or what you record, it's still going to be a number one hit. And so, that's, that's what gets me mad. Yeah. But, did, did you go see that new Doors movie? No, not yet. I guess I've been, kind of considering it. Have you seen it yet? Yeah. I saw it when it opened. Was it really good? Yeah. you know, like those guys that criticize movies? Uh-huh. Right. And, they both loved the movie, right? Uh-huh. They said the music's great, it took me back to the sixties, and stuff like that. Uh-huh. And then, one of them said, well, everything is great, but I'm going to give it thumbs down. And they go, but why? Because it's like, the end is, like, really depressing. And so, Oh. But it, but it's like the movie is so well made, and the music that goes with it just picks you up, see, I was never, I was born in nineteen hundred sixty-nine. Oh, okay. So, I mean, so for me, So, you didn't really grow up with that kind of music then. No, but you learn to. I mean it's just that, like the, the sixties music's got a lot to say. Right. I, I never found out what a lot of the seventies music had too. You know, I was like, Well no, I've never liked disco. Hey, but I bet you were out there with your bell bottomed pants, Well, that's true That's true. But, I was more in the late well, I like mid to late seventies, like between seventy-five and, and, seventy-nine, was more my era. Yeah, yeah. Did, did you go to college? Well, no. I'm going right now Oh, that's cool. But uh, no I didn't go then. But see, I graduated high school in seventy-eight, Okay. so, you know, in seventy-eight, you know rock was starting to get really heavy, you know, and real, um, I don't know, Yeah, yeah. disco was pretty much dead by then. Yeah. So, so that's what I mean, disco wasn't really my time. Well, they always say that the seventies was the lowest point in, in progression, ever in history. So, About music? No, about everything. Oh. Okay. So, it's like, nothing happened during the seventies. Everything happened during the sixties, the seventies I don't know what they're called, you know, it's like, like the, the eighties are called, like the progressive years, or the, or, you know, like the technology years, because of all the computers and stuff. Uh-huh. But the seventies got nothing. I mean, nobody cared to name it That's kind of funny So. You're right. I never thought of that. The disco years, that's what they're calling them, are gone. Yeah, I know. Can you imagine the, like a big picture of John Travolta, ta-da, what is it SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER? Him just standing there. Yeah, right. Yeah, that's a good example to look for in history. Well, from now on we're going to go from the, from nineteen sixty-nine when they took the first step on the moon, to nineteen eighties. Okay, what happened in the middle? Don't worry, don't worry, you're not, you're not missing anything, you know, so, That's true. Well, except for Vietnam. Yeah, really. And, that's, that's why I guess, everybody, You know with, yeah, it's like they don't want to talk about that, so they just, don't name it. I mean, it was, it was, I guess it was pretty bad times. Yeah. Well, that's very true But, Oh, well, let's see, yeah, okay, we've been talking for seven minutes, so, Oh, good. I haven't even been keeping track. Okay, all right, so um, I'm going to leave you alone. Uh what, what are you doing? Do you have a family? Uh, yeah. Okay. We're kind of, I was kind of in the middle of supper, but it's not a big deal, Oh, I'm sorry. I just left it. No, it's okay, because see I didn't, see somebody tried to call me last night but I didn't have my number yet, I just got it today. Oh, okay. And so, you know, it's okay. I, I told them I'd be available during this time, so, anyway. Okay. All right. So then, uh, have fun doing this. It is not, that bad. Okay, thanks. Bye, bye. Great, Bye. All right, um, I think the topic was crime in the city. Right. I do not live in a city. I live in a real small little place. Where is that? Uh, it's about thirty miles from Sherman. North, south, east, or west? It's north of Sherman. Well, you live almost in Oklahoma Not too far. Yeah . That's kind of ironic, because I don't live too far from Oklahoma either. Huh-uh. You know where Saint Joe is? Uh, I've been through there. I'm about eight miles south of it. Okay. Oh, yeah. I had been through Saint Joe, but, um, just as far as watching the news and reading the papers and all that, it sounds like the crimes in the cities are really getting bad. Well, you know, I've, I've seen those statistics and everything, and you know, what frightens me, is that, you put a half a million people out in the middle of the desert with high tech weaponry, you know, Huh-uh. I mean, the Iraqis didn't have a lot of high-tech weaponry, but they had mortars and machine guns, tanks and all that. Oh, yeah. Sure. And, they didn't kill as many people in, in forty-five days, and they were intending to kill people, Huh-uh. I mean, that was their job, as they killed in Washington D C. Oh, I know, I know. I know. Um, I think nowadays people just, really just, murder is nothing to them, you know. Well, I formulated a pretty radical theory over the last ten years, I guess. And, I've come to the conclusion, and this is a pretty scary thought to me, even, that if a guy is convicted, or a gal is convicted, of a crime, rather than put them in prison, because prison's proven not to work, just let them go. Say okay, you're convicted Huh-uh. and just let them go Yeah. and if they get convicted again, well, just kill them. Yeah, because, uh, most likely that will happen, won't it, that, you know, Well, I think that the best hope to eliminate crime, as we know it today is to eliminate the criminals from society. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. If someone is known to have been in prison, they can't get a job. No. You know. Yeah. They can't be accepted into society. You know, if they're not going to be accepted into society, then everybody's going to become sociopathic. Huh-uh. And, you know, who's to put the limit on it? I mean, I was watching a thing last night, up in Washington State. If you get convicted of, uh, sexual offenses, on a regular basis You know, I mean, some of these guys are forty years old and got ten convictions. Huh-uh. And they're still let out on the street after one or two years. Well, in Washington State, if you're a habitual sexual offender, they just don't let you out. Um. So you serve your prison term, and then you go into the mental hospital, and if you're pronounced cured, they'll let you go. Huh-uh. Well, they may find a cure for it, but there is no known cure now. Um. So you're, you're kind of thinking, in other words, if you get, if you do something the first time, that's not real bad, you know, Hey , people make mistakes. yeah, to go ahead and let them go, but if they do it again and they really need to face the consequences then, uh. Well, yeah, use that or, you know, there's other consequences rather than killing them, you know, you could, always make them the slave of the people they committed the crime against. Oh. Huh-uh. You know. Yeah. At least they might have get some benefit in that, and if the people they committed a crime against, feel, at some later date, that these people have learned their lesson, are, are okay, you know, well, they can free them. Huh-uh. But, uh, you know, with the technology we have today, you can put a collar on a guy's leg that will knock him down if they leave the property. I mean, it will just in incapacitate them. Huh-uh. And, you can put a collar around a guy's leg that will prohibit them from committing any kind of prohibitive act. Huh-uh. But, you know, putting them in prison, my God, that doesn't work. No, apparently not, because look how many years they've been doing that and look I mean, yeah. Well, you look at places like Turkey. Turkey has the death penalty, for just about everything. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. I mean, if you get convicted of, uh, you know, drug trafficking, they just kill you. You get convicted of, uh, you know, heinous crimes, they just kill you. I mean there's no two ways about it. Huh-uh. And, uh, you look at their society and the repeat offenders are very few. You know, and you look at our society, almost everyone out on the street that has been in prison, has been in prison three or four times. Three or four times, yeah. I mean, You know, the way to stop that kind of behavior is, is two-fold. That is true, I know. Yeah. One, you need to make it illegal for both parents to work while the kids are under seven. I, I think that's very important. Oh, I'm, I agree very much so on that, I, yeah. And then, if a parent has proved to be unfit, for any reason take the kids away from the parents. Huh-uh. Yeah. Because, you know, we are what we teach. Huh-uh. Because that's what our society becomes. We have, We have just a bunch of people, comes, yeah. and I've, and I've, I've lived in that, that environment for quite a few years when I was doing construction work. You know, and these guys, they come to work every morning and they're stoned to the bone. I mean, their so high, they could fly up to the top of that building *spelling: they're and they work all day, and they go home and they smoke their dope and drink their booze and shoot their drugs and when they run out of money, they go down to the corner store and pop the guy on the head and take his money, and then they go back to work on Monday. Huh-uh. And, the kids of these people . Sure, they just think that's the normal thing to do, don't they ... They're sociopathic. Yeah. And I worked in a first grade classroom for one full semester Huh-uh. and these kids were more foulmouthed than I've ever been. I had one kid threaten my life, Threaten my life. In the first grade Told me that daddy's going to whoop me to death. Oh, know You know, and they flipping me the finger and all that Huh-uh. and I just said to this kid, I said, you got two choices kid, you can step into mainstream society or you can die. Huh-uh. Because you will eventually be killed. And, I just, I'm just totally aghast at a what's going on. Oh, I know. I know, um, I work in school. You know, that's something I do and I, it really is I'm like you astonishing what the younger ages know, and they react to what they see at home. You know. Huh-uh. If they see violence at home, that's what you're going to get from the kids at school. Exactly. You know. It really is, and that's kind of sad. Well, you can see it in the work place, you know. Used to be when you had a personality conflict you just, you worked with it and you got through it. Huh-uh. Now, you know, people get fired, or what's even worse, is they promote them into a position that they can't handle and let them get fired. Yeah. Or, one thing or the other. You look at another kind of society like the Japanese. You put that many people on that small of a space, they've learned to live together. Okay. It's in their culture. Huh-uh. And one of the things that's in their culture that I really think the major corporations should pay attention to, is the fact that, while Japan was becoming a great power, financially, the people that worked for those companies, worked for the same company they worked for at sixty-five, as they did when they were eighteen. Teen. And the company, took it upon itself to find a position for these people. If they weren't fit for the job they were hired for, they didn't just can them, they made a position for them some where. Huh-uh. You look at Frito Lay. My wife used to work for Frito Lay as a typist. You know, transcribing stuff into the computer. Huh-uh. Well, she could type about one-hundred and five words per minute, but she don't like it. She just doesn't like to do that. I mean, she will. Yeah. But, you know, her preference is to be in an office situation where her job is have ... Um, what kind of hobbies do you have? Um, I do a lot of cross-stitching and painting, when I do have spare time. Really, I like cross-stitch too. Oh, I love it. I just have a hard time finding any spare time lately. That's my case also. I've got a new born and there's just no time. Uh-huh. Have you been cross-stitching long? Oh, several years. My husband is even interested in it now. He likes to help me design, um, you know, projects that are, a little more customized. Oh, really. Mine, sort of, he looks at the pattern and he says how do you get that from there to the material Not that hard. Oh, it's not. I really enjoy it. Uh-huh. I do a lot of my own patterns also. Yeah. In fact, I did one, BILL THE CAT, you know, from Glenn County that, uh, was a real good one to do. Oh, yeah. It was tough, but, uh, yeah. Do you have any others, or is this mainly cross-stitching? Um, I do mostly that, um, not very artistic really for like painting and stuff. Oh, uh-huh. Um, Yeah. But, now I don't know. I'm still trying to get all the D M C colors Oh, really Yeah, I've got the kits to put them all in. I don't have them all yet certainly. Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah. I got to counting the other day and, uh, I think I have, what was it two hundred, and I got to thinking the money that I've got invested in this is, uh, it, yeah, it can add up quick. Oh, yeah. I just, I just keep an inventory of what I currently have, and then when I start a new project, I go through and see if I, if I, you know, just buy the colors that I need of what I'm low on. Uh-huh. Right. I see. Well, now can I improvise with adding and using another color instead, you know, what comes close. Because a lot of them are similar. Uh-huh. Yeah. A lot of times you can do that. I think, I the pinks, there's like forty-two different shades of pink. Good grief Yeah, there's lots of pinks and greens. Pinks and greens. Yeah. There's lots of shades of greens. But the colors, I just love all the different colors. Yeah. They had quite a few new ones come out last year, that they added to. But, you don't have much spare time either? Well, not lately I just started a new job and trying to get acclimated there. Oh, yes. And that does take some time. And if we're trying to get acclimated with the, uh, with having a baby, and . Yeah. How old? He's seven months old. Oh, yeah. And just into everything, so there's not a spare moment. Oh, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've been trying to do some bibs for him. And, uh, work on his Christmas stocking. Oh, yeah. Yeah. We missed it last year, so hopefully this year he'll have one. Yeah. Well, last year he was a little bit young for having one. Right. He wouldn't have enjoyed it anyway You would have but, Right. If it tasted good, yeah. All he liked was the lights this year, so. Oh, yeah. Oh, well, that's neat that you like cross-stitching also. Yeah, that's, that's kind of strange that we got the same call. Yeah. It's a call. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. No, that's okay. Okay uh, but, yeah, I've been doing it for probably ten years or so. Oh, wow. No, I just started about, well, five years ago, I think. But it is peaceful, I mean it is relaxing to do, once you find the time to do it. Uh-huh There's also a couple of large projects, baby afghans, and I got one done and I think the other one is going. The child is going to be in high school before I get finished. On that, uh Bear thing . is it one of those afghans that I've seen in the packages with the, with the large squares? Well, yeah I just, I bought the cloth and the pattern for it. I didn't, um, I didn't buy the, uh, I didn't buy a kit. Oh, uh-huh. Well I've seen the afghans in the stores that are designed for cross-stitching. Uh-huh. It's that cloth. Oh, okay. It's cloth I think. Uh-huh. And it has the borders and everything already. Yeah. Those are pretty. Number one turned out just great, and the lady said she couldn't believe that they know that I had done it in the colors, that they had decorated the nursery and I didn't even know it. Oh, that's a . I gave it to her and she said how did you know those are the colors we used. I said didn't That was a good . It worked out that way. That's great. Uh, that, uh, now I've got the material to do an afghan that I just never did get around to finishing it. Uh-huh. I like those. Those are pretty. Yeah. Lilly, Lilly , she said, she said it's for your daughter to use. Oh, no. She said, I know she doesn't get to touch it. She hung it on the wall. Yes, my, uh, grandmother, um, made us a couple of quilts for the baby, and I was like, oh, I don't want to mess those up. Yeah Uh, they're just too nice. I mean you don't get many hand made quilts anymore. Yeah. Oh, yeah. True. Well, I've enjoyed this. Okay. But, uh, well keep up the good, um, keep up the cross-stitching. You too. All right, thanks. Uh-huh, bye bye. Bye bye. I was trying to think about some of my favorite people that I liked in music and they're, none of them are recent, right. Uh-huh. So I like Gordon Lightfoot, do you know who he is? Yeah And the Moody Blues, and I like to listen to piano music a whole lot, and Willie Nelson. Uh-huh. So you like a, a variety. Yeah. Sort of easy listening because you like country but then, But not all country. I don't like that, when they start, Um. I don't know. I just like Willie Nelson I guess because he's such a character. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah, I, I like some of his songs, though. They're, they're not so, they're not so sad country all the time. They're just kind of sweet sometimes. Yeah. You know, I mean they're not the, the typical country where they're just, you know, my wife left me, my dog left me, you know My truck is broken down. Yeah, my truck's broken down and my house just burned down, you know. Yeah. But, There, there's a guy, have you ever heard of George Winston, he plays piano. No. I think he's dead now, but he plays wonderfully. Uh-huh. I like that. Are, are you, do you play the piano, is, or you just like it? Very badly. I've got a piano, Yeah. my mother got a piano and, uh, vowed that someone in the family was going to learn, so we all had to take lessons, and I was the one that did the least poorly, so she gave it to me. And it's sitting here mostly taking up space, but sometimes it makes you feel good to sit down and play it. It is real relaxing. Yeah, it must be fun to be able to play it and, you know, if you can play tunes that people can sing along to it'd be, it'd be kind of fun, I think. Yeah. because I mean, I play the flute and not many things you can play that'll, you know, people will sit there and sing along to and you can't sing along either so, but, uh, I like a lot, uh, I like classical music just because of the, when, I, I don't play, I like jazz music but Oh, so do I. What's that? Forgot about that. What's that? I said so do I, I forgot about jazz Yeah, I like a lot, like, I like, uh, is it the New Age music, like with, uh, uh, the, I don't know if you've heard Neurotic Collection. Yes, we've got about five of those. I love them. Yeah, I love those, too. They're just so relaxing. Uh-huh. I'd never heard them before until I went in a music store and you know how you put the headphones on and listen to it Yeah. and I just, I heard a piece and it was just so wonderful. Yeah. And then even my eleven year old boy loves to listen to it. Isn't that nice. I mean it's nice when you have a piece that, that is so, so peaceful, that everybody likes, you know, Yeah. and, uh, it, it, it, it, you know, it has pieces that are uplifting, but, it, it's mostly relaxing and you don't, because it doesn't have words, you know, you don't feel like, there's anything you have to remember, you know, as far as singing a song or something like that or interpreting what they mean or, but, uh, I mean you can just sit, you know those little booklets that come along with it Yeah. and you can just see the things that they're trying to show with music. Yeah. My, my little boy has gotten so into it that he's identified the, the people that have written certain songs, then he buys the pieces that have that person. You know, on it. Yeah. Oh, I see what you're saying. Huh? Yeah. I mean, I don't even know who did which ones, but he does. I, I can't identify them either. I just like them. I could, I know which ones come next, but I don't even know their names. Most of them I don't know their names of the song, but I, I can identify them. But I like that and I like, uh, course I, I like classical music. Yeah. And, uh, Were you in the band? I was in the band, yeah So was I. and I was in, like, chamber music groups and stuff, so I'm used to pieces and, and I played classical flute, I didn't play, play jazz flute or anything like that, so. I I can relate to it, I suppose But, uh, and I like, I'm like you I like the older stuff, too, because I like Chicago Yeah. and I like I like, uh, uh, let me think who, uh, you don't know Hebert Laws, but Hebert Laws a flute player, he's a jazz flute player and I like, uh, uh, Chuck Mangione, do you know who Chuck Mangione is? Yeah. Yeah, I like Chuck Mangione Trying to think of all, uh, oh, what's his name, plays the trumpet. Yeah. I like the Moody Blues. Did you like them? Yeah, I like Moody Blues. I, I like mostly the older groups I think. Oh, but we do have, I like Simply Red, we got Simply Red. I figure all our C Ds that we have what I really like And, uh, I like Breeze, I like the group. I think just because they all sort of sound, they sound a lot like uh, Simply Red. Uh. So what type, Simply Red, I've never heard of that. Is it just instrumental? No, it's, it's got people singing, but it's it is instrumental. But it's, it's got people singing but it's got a, like a whole bunch of people singing. Yeah. You know, how many people are in Simply Red, Stuart to someone else in the he can't hear me. I, I don't remember how many people, but, it's, it's got men and women and it's not, it's, it's nice, I mean it's pleasant, you know, music. It's not where it's, it hurts your ears to hear it. But it's not as, it's not like, uh, Chicago where it's got that much instrument to it. You know, it doesn't have, like all the brass and everything. Yeah. Yeah. Well my husband is telling me we have to hit the road We're going to go to Commerce and see a friend. And, then I'm going to go to Sulphur Springs. Oh, you must live in this area. Yeah, where are you? We're in Sherman. Okay. So we're in Garland. Oh, okay. You're going to Commerce? Yeah For East Texas or something? Yeah, yeah. Oh, okay. Just because there's a friend up there, not because there's much else Oh, okay. Well they're having a lot of recruiting this week in all the different areas. That's why I was just For colleges? Yeah, East Texas is recruiting for, you know, their fall semester Well, they're not and they're, they've been doing a lot of that in the area. They're not going to recruit me anymore, I'm through. No more for me. No more, huh. What, what do you do? Well, right now I'm just a homemaker, but I'm going to school, uh, for legal assistant and that's what I know, so, and, uh, just nothing basically Are you going to go to East Texas for that? No, no, it, no I don't go to East Texas. I got a degree from T W U, but I'm really interested in legal, you know, in the legal environment, but I don't want to be a lawyer so I said well, I think I'll go back to school and see about being a legal assistant. That'd probably be pretty interesting. I was summonsed down to the courthouse last week. They had summonsed eight hundred people, about four hundred showed up, and it was for a murder trial. Oh, uh-huh. This guy had supposedly, uh, strangled this woman and stuffed cotton toweling down her throat and up her nose Anyway, this is happened in nineteen eighty-three. Yeah. And they had us fill out a long questionnaire. We stayed till about one thirty and they're going to call the ones that they're interested in from the questionnaire two to three at a time and the trial won't take place until June. Yeah, that's how it works. And they say it's going to last about two to three weeks. And this guy in front of me said, I can't believe I was summonsed. I was an investigator and I was tailing the woman that was killed. Well, then I have a friend at school that has a boyfriend that's a lawyer and he said that this woman this socialite in Plano had hired four guys to kill her husband and the one that's accused was the one that actually did it. And she has since taken off with another lawyer who had been, uh, getting cocaine from his client and then selling it, and he had skipped bail and they finally extradited him and he's going to testify for the State against her so he'll have his sentence reduced. And this is the man that was in front of you? Yeah. Oh, well they'll, weed him out. The, the investigator. Yeah, he, he got off right away. Yeah. And I wrote that down on my questionnaire that he'd told me that, Uh-huh. so I figure that that will make me biased and I won't be chosen. Well, not necessarily Hopefully but there's probably something else that might make you. Because you could know about, you could know about the crime, but not necessarily be taken off the jury, you know, not be accepted for the jury. Yeah. No. *aa I mean, pretty much a lot of people would know about it, you know, and, and know some of the different things about it but, uh, they, they might weed you out some other way. You know, if you, if you don't believe, like if this was a capital crime and, and you don't believe in if you don't believe in death penalty, you're not going to be picked at all. So but, I said that, I could believe in it in certain instances, but I would be, I'd find it hard to levy that against somebody. Yeah, so, see, there, there they would have a doubt about you, that, you know, You know. Uh-huh. because if that's what, if that's what the punishment is in that, in that instance, then you're always going to say, you know, not you're, you're not going to want to have him have that uh, that punishment. So, Yeah. But then when you're, when you're picked, see I was picked for another murder trial before Uh-huh. oh, gosh and it's so hard because, you know, everybody is wanting to go on and get the sentence done, and if you're trying to hold out, you know, there's so much pressure on you and you've got to come up with a decision. Well, especially with something where you have to you have to find it beyond a reasonable doubt. You have to find whether they're guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and it's like, do you really feel that sure about, Okay, well personally, I don't have any children. I'm twenty-two and I'm doing my Master's at N C State Oh, uh-huh. so, uh, uh, children wouldn't be very convenient for me right now. Well, no, would they, no. So what, what, how do you spend the time with your children? Well both of mine are boys. They're eight and eleven Um. Okay, and did, and they're into sports Yeah. I mean, as a matter of fact, that's what we're doing tonight What, what are you doing? Baseball has started. Oh, okay. Do, do they play like, uh, like does the eight year old play baseball? Oh, oh, yes, we start here at, uh, five. Okay, and, and in, in his league do they have like a pitcher, or do they have a standing ball or a machine, or what? Up until, it's coach pitch, until you get nine which my little boy will be nine in May. Okay. So he's going to be with, uh, regular pitching Oh, okay. and my eleven year old, of course, you know, is pitching. Yeah. I, I used to play soccer when I was that age up in New York, Uh-huh. so. But yes, we're into baseball, and it seems like soon as that over with we get into basketball. We even have peewee basketball here. So there's always something. Yeah, and how about, how about like on the weekends. Do you do sports or do you go out? Both. If we're not doing sports we go somewhere. Do you go, how about like for, uh, do you go for long vacations, like a week or something when they have school off? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. In the summer or like in the Easter time, like around now? No, usually in the summer time. And where do you go? Different places every year. We, Have, have you been out of the country? No Oh, okay, well, first, they always say, get to know your country first before you leave, I mean I, I lived in places, like Uh-huh. when I lived in Washington, uh, Washington, D C, I never went to the Washington Memorial, and then when I went back to visit, I went to the Washington Memorial. You know, I've heard, we have a couple of friends that goes to Washington quite often, and that must be the thing. They really hadn't either. They went to the Memorial, you know, when they go, it's on business Right. it's not really just to getting to sight see. Right. Well, it's, it's a beautiful city. Oh, I bet it is, too. But, the problem is , like first time I went out of here, and they took me to Las Vegas Uh-huh. and that was the most boring place on earth. Oh, now my husband and I, we go different places. But our but when we go with our children we usually kind of stay close. Yeah. Did, uh, did, like, did you go to Disneyland? Oh, yes, yes, yes. Oh, okay. So, but um, now, I don't know, but um, but let's see, when I was eleven I went also to the Caribbean. Oh. and, uh, then after that, I, my sister lives in Turkey, so when I was like fourteen, fifteen, I went, I went to Turkey. Oh, And this Christmas, I went to Turkey. But basically, it's a, for the past couple of years, I, since my parents are, are, well, I'm from Argentina, and my parents live down there. So, all the traveling I do is alone. Uh-huh. And, uh, we were never much of, uh, a very, uh, family thing, you know, made, like go skiing in Vermont or something. Uh-huh. That was, uh, that was a lot of fun. Yes. But, what happens is we used to fight a lot, so there's never much of a family family thing. You know, one of those hell family vacations. Oh, yes, but we try, you know, I try, my husband also, we're involved in everything our kids does Yeah. because, uh, my dad died, you know, when I was less than a year old Yeah. so I always just had a mother. So I always thought, when I have kids, you know, I really want to be involved with them. Well, my dad, all he, all he wanted to do was get money for us, so he could buy us material things. Material things, yes, that is, yes, And, and to me, you know, it's like, now I'm twenty-two, but I still feel, you know, it's like yeah, we never threw a football or something Uh-huh. and the way I was brought up, and he wants me now, he, like he, you know, like he wants to be best friends now Best friends, now. and it's very hard for me because, you know, it's like you grow up to be twenty years old, and it's always the same man Uh-huh. and then suddenly he sees that he's getting old, and he wants to be best friends Yeah. but, uh, you know, it's like, I can only express myself so much, because, you know, um, everything that he taught me, you know, that my family taught me, which is very hard to change that all of a sudden from one year to the next and say, I'm sorry, you know. It's like, you know, I love you and let's go out and do things together when I don't feel like it, you know Uh-huh. and so, that's that whole thing that he'll say when, like, like I've seen my uncle and his family, you know, does everything together, and you know, his kids are, you know, when his little girl was five years old and everything, they, uh, they would go to the beach, and she could go to sleep at two in the morning you know Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. and, uh, I was brought up the same way, it doesn't matter what age you have, just so long as you can get up to go to class the next morning, you can stay up you know, Uh-huh. but his, what he does is, when he gets home, he separates his work from his house. Yeah, you have to Yeah. I mean, you honestly do. Now I have friends that I love to death, but, and they have children, but their children does anything, we have to take them, and, you know to do it. Yeah. And that really gets kind of aggravating after a while because you're saying, Well, I work full time too, you know. Yeah, yeah, but, uh, it's just, it's just something that, you know, my theory is, you know, when, when you have kids and all you, you want to do, well, what I'll do is, you know, like, I mean, you might have problems, but it's not your kids' problems you know, Yeah, oh, yeah. and you got to try to be with them as much as you can and to, you know, like, thing is, is, that, you know, like if, if they would ever happen to have a drug problem, suppose, that they could feel comfortable coming to me and saying, I got a problem you know, Problem, uh-huh and, uh and that would make any parent feel good and bad at the same time, you know, Yeah. first of all you're coming to me and let's see how we can get rid of the problem, you know, and that's uh, that's very, that's very hard to do, because once you're best friends with your parents, then, I think everything go a lot better. Uh-huh, yeah, I agree with you very much so. Now, we waited several years before we started having children because we was still in college, and we knew time wise, or, and money wise, too Yeah. would, it would not have been a good idea to had them then. Yeah, my, my father was raising four oh well, three kids before he had me, so it was, uh, you know, you're trying, to support, uh, four kids, and it's pretty hard you know, Yeah. and I, I told him, listen you could have had a lot of money if you would have only had two kids. Uh-huh, yeah. He says yeah, but then I wouldn't have you, I go, yeah, but then you would have a lot of money That's right, but you can't take this money with us, though Yeah. that's how I keep looking at it. But, you know, like, four, I mean four children is expensive, especially when you consider like, especially for me, which I'm paying out of state tuition. I'm paying, you know, three thousand, no, what is it, two thousand six hundred dollars for one semester. Oh. And, you know, people say, you know, it's expensive to think it's college, but, if, if everybody would be a little bit responsible, you know, it's like, what does it, what does it cost. It costs five hundred dollars a semester suppose. Now they go to a state college and they live at home you know, Uh-huh. and well, it costs two hundred dollars for books, but you know, seven hundred dollars a semester, a lot of people can spare that if they planned ahead, you know, like Oh, yeah, if you if you can, yeah. I mean, it's like, if you plan a year ahead, you can probably save up seven hundred dollars you know, one thousand four hundred dollars to send your child to college, you know. Yeah. What are you learning to be? Oh, oh, excuse me? What degree, I mean, what are you wanting to do after you get out of college? Well, I, I'm doing computer science, computer engineering. Oh, that's, my husband's into, uh, computers. Yeah, and, and now I'm looking for a job before they have to send me back home Uh-huh. because since I'm an international student, they want to send me back to Argentina. Yeah. Well, my dad wants me to go back. So. And you don't want to? No. No, no. No, because if you go back there, then you can never get out. Oh. Like you don't have any money to, to, get out. Oh. So, uh, and, uh, I was thinking, you know, like, Oh my God, you know, I go back there, and then, and I get married there, and now I have kids there, and then I'll never leave the place, you know. Then you'll never leave. Yeah, I know, and that's, that's what happened to my brother. He came to school up here, and then when he went down there, he was just so bad off, you know from not being able to stay up here that his life just went down the drain. Oh. Uh-huh. So. Well maybe something will open up for you. Yeah, I've been calling a lot of companies. There, some of them are interested. Well, at least for a year and a half I can work, Uh-huh. so. Well, well I've enjoyed talking to you. All right, same here. Okay, bye-bye. Bye-bye. All right. Well, on this subject, I really hadn't had to deal with putting someone in there yet, but my mother's always been administrator of a nursing home Uh-huh. so I've always been involved, you know, in one. How do you feel about them, I mean, since you've kind of been close to that. Well, I've Well, I can kind of see both sides, you know, I really can. Uh, nursing homes to me, I would personally be the last resort you know, I you know if I had to put someone in there. Uh-huh. Well, I've had a touch of experience. My, um, dad had emphysema and got to the point where mother couldn't take care of him Yeah, if it's a have to thing, yeah, I, yeah. and, uh, she put him in, but he wasn't there very long before he died Uh-huh. but, um, I guess, um, the one time that I saw him there, you know, as far as the surroundings, that seemed okay. Uh-huh. But, um, we kind of thought that maybe they just wanted to give him some medication to sort of, you know keep him real out of it all the time Yeah. Yeah. and that's always kind of bothered me. Yeah. Uh-huh. that's like everything else, though. I have a sister-in-law who runs a nursing home, but I've never actually been there Uh-huh. and I know that she's the kind of person who wouldn't allow, you know, a lot of the horror things to take place that you hear about. Yeah. Yeah, but, But still I'm sure there are, you know, aspects to it that aren't really desirable. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I know, I've always, well, my sister's involved in one also, and I really think they really do a wonderful job. But still there's those little things that happens, you know Yeah. there really is, which I think, it's a wonderful place, you know, if it comes to that, you know, if you just can't take care of them any more. Well, sometimes you don't have any other alternative Uh-huh, that's it. family and friends are usually, well family's tied up with their own lives and things, and usually working Uh-huh. Other things. and it's hard to, Yeah, yeah, yeah but I think when the time comes, I, I hope to have the time to really look around, you know and pick one that I really think my mother would be happy at. Yes. Uh-huh, I think that's important, too, in fact there's a, I do too. Outside's awful deceiving sometimes you know. Yes. There's one close to where my mother is, but in order to get in, you have to be able to, um, walk in on your own, in other words, you can't be in, you know, too bad a shape to start out with. Yeah. Yeah. But then if you deteriorate, um, they have a separate section for those who need care you know, all the time. yeah. Yeah. But it's always, well, and they have a long waiting list, too. So there's always this feeling of, well, golly gee, you know, you've got to be able to walk in the door, so you can't wait until you're too bad off Off, yeah. but then, you don't want to go do that when you don't have to because like, uh, you have to give up your automobile or whatever. To, no. Uh-huh, and everything you worked so hard for all your life Yeah yeah. and if you're still capable of driving and doing those things, then you feel like, well, gee, I'm, you know, I'm isolating myself here for no reason at the moment. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So it's kind of a, that's a hard one, but it is a very nice nursing home. Now there is some really nice ones. There's also, you know, some private ones, you know Uh-huh. but of course, I would never be able to afford to put my parents in something like that, you know, Yeah, that's the problem that's way out of my reach. the expense of it all is, and, uh, what I, another thing I hate to see is when someone has a small amount of money, and they go into one of these places and they just eat it all up immediately. Oh, yeah. But those who don't have money can go in and get the same care. You know Uh-huh the very same, yeah. So I don't like that aspect. No, but I, there's, I think there's ways around it, though, that, you know, like, they could put it in one of their children's names or something you know. Yeah. But still, a lot of them doesn't feel comfortable doing that. You know, it's their money. That's right. You know, that's how I feel about it, anyway. Well, yeah, I've talked to my mother about that several times lately, and I, I said, I want you to have control of your own business. Yes. But, you know, what if. Yeah, my mother's seventy now, so naturally she's retired, but she's still on her own, I mean. Yeah, yeah, my mother's, uh, seventy-five and still has her own home and everything. I think that's wonderful, I really do, just as long as they can, and then on the other hand, I've seen some people go into the nursing home and just so happy you know. Yeah. That's true. They have a lot of people around to do things with. Uh-huh, they're not lonely. Some of those places have wonderful activities and things, you know, lots of stuff going on. Oh, yes, uh-huh. And they'll take them places Yeah. so. I don't know, it's not all bad No. but I guess once you get ill, then, you know, you really have some problems if you can't get around and do things. Around, yeah. But I really don't know what the other solution would be you know, No. I really don't. But no, when the time comes I'm really, hopefully we'll really look around before I decide on one for my parents Uh-huh. really do, because I have been raised in one, you know, so there's lot of things I know to look for. Yeah. And I don't think they'd want to go where they used to work, either you know Yeah. I really don't. That might be kind of tough, huh. It really would, yes, yes, and like I said, my sister's still in it, and I really don't think my mother'd want to be there, either. Oh. Well, it's been nice talking to you. Well, you too. And I guess we'd better get back to work, huh. Okay. All right. Bye-bye. Bye. Well, in the in a normal route of way we do things, how about the ladies go first? All righty Um, well, I, uh, have a four year old who will just be entering public school next year, so I'm really just starting to get involved in, uh, in what's out there and how they do things. Um, as far as the system as a whole, I really don't see a problem with it. I do see a problem with graduating people that, that can't read and are not, you know, productive in society or productive to themselves and, uh, I think that's the main problem at this point. How about yourself? All right. I 'm, live in Plano, Texas and, uh, uh, today we're not even suppose to be in school because the, uh, the way the taxation and all that crap is, there really legally isn't any funding for the school systems in Texas today. Uh-huh. Right. So, uh, I mean, when you, when you take, uh, uh, professionals and put them in situations, they have to make decisions based on money to fund public education, and they can't get their finger out of their ear long enough to, to get that major subject in line, something's wrong. So, I think here in Texas mainly that the, the, they're not serious, they're more serious about what the salary should be for senators than they are for what, how the level of education should be for children. I have a one year old so I'm not, I'm more opinionated about the observations than, than the true facts, but, it's just a shame to me that, that the, our firemen, our policemen, and school teachers are the three least paid utilities, um, that have the biggest impact to our well-being. Uh-huh. That's true. I have, I have a real issue with that. Um, I think that if from every year when they, when they pull in the, the, the, uh, test that the last three years, you know, ten, eleven, twelve year, uh, graders take, and, and then you see that their education is below the norm throughout of all fifty states. They're not saying that something's wrong with the educational system here in Texas, I have a real concern about that, um, as a matter of fact I'm very content to spend my daughter out of state to college in Virginia, uh, verses having her go down here and not learn anything, Uh-huh. and then, uh, so I'm, my opinion I think there's a big concern hope, hopefully the new, uh, education, secretary of education will do something to fix the problem but, uh, I don't know, they've got to quit worrying about, uh, the, uh, religious, uh, overtones in our textbooks and get on with teaching the product. Yeah, I think they get bogged down in a lot of small issues that people, you know, special interest groups can blow up, and, uh, and not really get down to teaching what's important. Uh-huh. Teaching these kids, you know, how really the basics is what it comes down to. Exactly. I was astonished to find out that, that across the United States in all public schools it is not mandatory for them to take phys ed. Is that right? they don't even, a lot of the school systems don't even, uh, the kids nowadays don't even know what, what the president's fitness education program is all about, Huh. they don't have to do sit-ups and push-ups and all that crap we had to do when we were going to school. I remember. And, yeah, and, uh, I talked to a thirteen year old last night who 's, uh, goes to, uh, one of the Plano high schools or junior highs, I guess, and she said that she had a choice, she could either have taken tennis, or weight lifting so she choice to take weight lifting, over the regular gym, I mean, give me a break, I mean, the kids sit there and they, and they drink cokes and eat popcorn for, for lunch and, then go out there and lift weights and don't learn anything, And talk, yeah. it's just a real, I have a real problem with the whole system. Huh. They need to put some sternness back into the, into the teachers and let them be able to, uh, get the old whip out and get some discipline. Yeah, then it comes down to what you said before though about them being some of the lowest paid public, you know, public service, employees that there are, Uh-huh. I used to, I used to date a girl who taught English at ninth grade level. and yet they're so important. Uh-huh. I mean, I was absolutely flabbergasted at what, they what she was paid. True, she was young, you know, but still it's the principle. Right. Of course, if she got her Master's degree it would all be different. But, uh, Well, you know, it's hard though because then you start talking taxes and, that's a bad word Oh, taxes Lord Lord forbid, taxes. Goodness gracious, if we would, uh, plan our expressways a little better, that ten dollars for the bridges and the roads, we'd cut that in half and get some teachers we might have us a problem There's an idea. Maybe I should run for office, huh? Run on that then, no income taxes in Texas, huh? That's true. I'm in Texas too, so, That's funny, that's funny. Well, that's about all I have here. Well me, too, I, uh, I think we both agree there's some problems there but, we'll, maybe do our small part to fix them up. ma'am. Surely. I've enjoyed it. All right, you too. Bye, bye. Bye. So, do you have any hobbies? Well, right at the present time nothing real special. I kind of like gardening and I'm kind of into camping and, you know, vacationing, that sort of thing. Yeah, uh, I don't have any real serious, I'm an avid gardener, oh, Oh, okay. I think you're , Um, I consider that a hobby. I don't know, they were like suggesting, like handcraft things which, Uh-huh. I guess that's a really true, true hobby, but I, I think anything that you enjoy, Yeah. Yeah. um, it doesn't really have to matter, I mean, it could be working on cars could be your hobby really. Really yeah, I kind of enjoy doing that a little bit, too. No, I, I guess if you make money at it, it becomes a vocation well, I don't know, I told my husband, I said, you go out some to work on the car, it's not worth getting all mad and fighting and hollering at each other when it goes wrong. I says, you go pay to have someone do it. Yeah Because it always seems it goes wrong when you try to do something. I guess as far north as you are if you like gardening, you've still got a couple months to go, haven't you? Oh, yeah. Um, well, right now we, um, start our seeds inside. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah, that's right, you would, yeah. We'll start them inside and, uh, In cold frames or whatever the, Yeah, well, we usually start them right in the house. Uh-huh. My sister tries to set up a greenhouse on her back deck and, and the and a wind storm come and knock it down. Huh. But she's had really good luck. I mean, next month, well, actually, it, if you, if you start it in a couple weeks and you can get your plants outside, pretty much the end of May, you can leave them outside. Uh-huh. You might put them in the ground just the first week of June Yeah. but we can put potatoes in the ground in the middle of May. Yeah, I've, I've lived in, in Texas and New Mexico most of my life, but I did once, I spent one winter in North Dakota, Oh. and I, I remember that it was on into May before it really started warming up, and, uh Yeah, well, well, we live, we live really close to Lake Champlain, which is in the Champlain Valley, Oh, yeah. so we're a little, we're about two weeks ahead of everyone else out on the outskirts so, Okay, because that kind of moderates the weather a little bit? Yeah. Yeah. We are a little lucky. Well, my brother lives ten miles from here You're at, and he gets frost and, his crop gets killed. Yeah. You're right across the, uh, lake from, what, Plattsburgh? Yeah, from Plattsburgh Air Force Base. Yeah, yeah. But, um, Yeah, I had, I had a cousin that was stationed there, Plattsburgh for a while. He, he remembers lots of snow Yeah, Plattsburgh's kind of a, it's, uh, it's, uh, depressed economically. Oh, really, oh. When you go across the lake, um, I don't know why we have so much going for us, I really don't. I'm, just wrote my resume up because told we might be facing layoff over at Digital and they've never had, well, they've had layoffs recently, but when we got hired here, no, no, never any layoffs, never, never, and now we're looking at serious, I, I mean, I'm a technician. Yeah. When they start getting rid of technicians, Yeah, well, I'm, I'm working for T I, Texas Instruments, down here. Well, I interviewed with them. Oh, yeah? But I didn't want to go to Texas. Oh, Even though my, um, mother's people are from Georgia. Oh, Yeah. yeah. Well, I guess we have to get back to hobbies since, Yeah, we're getting to where, we're straying, I guess, Stick on the subject. yeah. Well, interesting thing that I do is with, gardening, uh, my sister grows flowers that you can dry, Uh-huh. and you can make uh, dried flower arrangements and you can get real handy with the hot glue gun. And we made some really nice Christmas wreaths with, uh, dried red flowers and dried white flowers and, uh, eucalyptus. Huh, yeah. you know what eucalyptus is? It's, Yeah, yeah, the, they uh, it's sold in the hobby stores and nurseries. Yeah, it's got a It's got a kind of a peculiar smell to it but, Yeah, at first I'm like, oh, how, why do people like this, but it, it is kind of a nice smell after a while. People put them in, Yeah, I didn't realize what it was for a while. I'd walk into a room where some of that, and I'd wonder what is that, you know, and then one day I, I realized that it was eucalyptus. it's, it's, it's, uh, like a fad thing. I, I don't know. It's, I've never heard of it, in the last five years I've used so much of it that, Yeah. I hate, Is that the stuff that koala bears eat in Australia or something? Yeah, it is. Maybe that's why they're so slow. I guess they're stoned on the stuff or something. Yeah, it, it looks really potent stuff. Yeah yeah. But, uh, it's, yeah, I think it's the greatest stuff in the world, though. It's, jeez, they, I make all kinds of things with it. We make all kinds of things just with dried flowers. I, I almost want to start a business doing it, but I don't, I, I'm so, uh, timid when it comes to starting a business. Yeah, that's, that's a big step, yeah. Yeah, it is, especially with the, being in on the creative aspect and the crafty end. Yeah, uh, You know, after a while you make some stuff, then you start looking at it, go, boy, this, this is kind of ugly But I know someone who does a lot of woodworking for a hobby. Um, he does it, believe it or not, I wouldn't imagine why, but to get out of the house, away from his wife, because he's a seasonal worker, he works in the construction. And up here it's almost a pattern, and you see your fathers do it, then their sons do it. What they do is they work construction, then they get laid off for like twelve weeks in the winter. And, uh, this guy was going nuts, and his, uh, son built him a garage and got him some, uh, oh, I don't know what the equipment's called, but planers and things and set him up, Uh-huh, shapers and planers and routers. and he makes, all kinds of furniture for, um, his kids, and he makes, uh, uh, like little kids' furniture. He gets right into it and, uh, There was a program on T V down here on the educational channel here a while back about a lot of little, little companies of one and two guys, you know, up there, this particular one, I think, was in Maine and New Hampshire, where out in the, just kind of out in these little towns they'd be in, they may be the same kind of people you're talking about. You know, they've, they've got twelve weeks to do something, and they, they're making furniture and just, you know, things like that during the winter and then they go off and do other things during the summer. Yeah, it's a, it's a really, good thing because it's keeping him sane, So, yeah, Yeah, yeah. Yeah. and plus it's keeping his marriage Yeah. so, and, and plus he's getting on in his years now. He's, he's not that old, but he's getting to the point where he needed an extra boost, to, to do something like that. Yeah. And, uh, it's really, it's, it's, uh, hard work. I couldn't imagine taking lumber, raw lumber and trying to make something out of it. He He dowels everything. That would be really you know, like say the, Oh, man, yeah. And it's all got to line up. It's, and, uh, I don't think he goofs too much, I don't to, see too much scrap around. Yeah, yeah, that's, that's something. Now our temperatures down here, we're starting to get pretty consistently in the seventies and eighties God , I'm envious and, uh, so, and, uh, so as far as, you know, planting outdoor stuff, matter of fact, tonight I just got through, I was planting some, some trees out back tonight, and, uh, this is, uh, it's really nice, out tonight. Is it going to be, Is it going to be really dry? Almost hated to come, you know. Uh, are you are you, now I always plant trees in the fall. I don't know why so the, the cold weather can kill them Yeah, these were, uh, trees that, that wintered. but I guess, I don't know where they came from. They come out of nurseries mostly in Missouri and places like that. And they come down here and they'll sit in the nurseries here and they'll go ahead and, and, uh, leaf out. So what I'm planting or actually transplanting is a tree that's, or trees that are already leafed out. Oh, that's good. I guess they, they say you can plant them in the spring or the fall, all . Yeah. Mostly, I think in a place where it's really cold they do it in the fall, let them winter you know, through the fall, Yeah. but, uh, down here, well, it's done both ways. It, it just kind of depends on what you're, what you're planting, but, uh all the shrubs and, Yeah, and, uh, when you have time to do it Yeah. My sister does, uh, flower gardens. She gets right into it. Uh-huh. She spends lots of money on them. And I guess a lot of people do, do do that. They landscape their whole house with flower gardens. Yeah . She's got like, just a small patch of lawn and just flowers and mulch tree bark all over her lawn Yeah. Flowers, during the summer down here, the, the normal kind of flowers, there's very few of them that will really do well. Everything does real well here in the spring until about, oh, first part of June and then the the heat sets in. It gets, And June, July, August are, you know, most of the, those kind of plants just, are just barely staying alive, let alone make flowers. Do you have a lot of shade trees around your house or is it, Uh, we're in a relatively new area. We're kind of out of, uh, the natural tree area. We're kind of up on a, on a higher, on a slope. So you don't have a lot of tree coverage? So we don't have, where we are right now there are very few trees. Because going to make, This was, this was, this was pasture land, but down the, down the hill here a little ways there are parks that are, look like jungles, you know. They're really, Yeah. See, um, uh, where my, uh, well, my grandmother passed away, but where aunts are they have these huge pecan trees, Uh-huh. and they just shade everything. Now where is this? Uh, it's in Georgia. In Georgia, yeah, yeah. It's, yeah, it's right outside of Macon, and, and it's just a, I like the way that, I like the way that idea of the south is, but when I think of Texas, I think of nothing but, no trees and just grass Well, I tell you what, now, see, East Texas, there's two parts of Texas, East Texas and North Texas. Atlanta and Dallas are almost identical in every way, weather and everything. Yeah. The two cities are very, very identical, so if you were familiar with Atlanta, uh, So it's that dry heat? Uh, well, no, it's, it's, uh, not dry at all. It, it's humid. Well, where is it, is it wasn't it Houston's humid? Houston is awful Yeah. Houston is really humid. No, It's humid. Well, ironically enough I'm sitting here with a cast on my leg because I resumed an aerobics class the night before last. Oh, no. I ripped the ligaments in my right ankle. Gosh. Yeah so, Exercise is not supposed to do that to you. That's what the nurses kept saying as they laughed all the way, you know, down the hallway. Do you do anything on a regular basis? Well, off and on, off and on. Right now I've been off but, I've been going over to the fitness center. Yeah, that's a good, yeah, I, My husband's a T I in the unit here. Yeah, three times, Well I try to go over there at least three times a week, and I try to walk, um, at least five times a week. Do you, when you go to the , I have to ask you, and if this is getting to , we're not supposed to get too particular, but I'm just curious, when you go over there does it bother you in terms of how things are arranged, either at the Dallas location or the Spring Creek, in terms of, there's so much, it's so much of a weight orientation, weight lifting, et cetera. Yeah. Uh, well, I've been going to Spring Creek. I haven't been to the Dallas one now in, oh, a couple of years. Uh-huh. At least since they've redone it, supposedly redone. So I don't really, Yeah, well, it's not that great, and I go to the Spring Creek one on and off. But my husband's working over there and he just goes to the Dallas one. But I just don't, I mean, it's just so much weight lifting. Even the Spring Creek one has a lot of weights in it. Yeah, that's true. Or is that what your into or, No, No, well, I've used the Nautilus equipment. And the bikes, and stair climbers, and stuff like that mostly. Uh-huh. Yeah. I don't use the free weights but, I like the tread mill and the stair master myself over there. Yeah, I like those too. And the pool when it gets warmer. And the pool, yeah. That's great. Yeah I know. Well, what I did was I went to a jazzercise class in a new location in Richardson near where we live in North Dallas, and long story short, I hadn't, this is really a stupid thing that happened, but they have like the gymnasium flooring and then like they had about three feet of linoleum around the perimeter in the back where I usually stand in any class like that I go to. Uh-huh. Instead of having that level, you know they had a chrome strip that wasn't level, Uh-huh. and it was about four inches deep and then about, oh a seventy degree angle. Oh, my goodness. And as we were jumping around or doing something I just jumped up and came right down on it. Um. The orthopedist called it a, uh, basketball injury where the ankle just rolls under you, and it snapped. Woo. I know. We went to , well whatever in Plano, and the emergency room was like a bad comedy show And the doctor said, you didn't do anything. There's only a one in five hundred chance that the radiologist will call you. That was Tuesday night, and Wednesday night the radiologist called me at work and, uh, I was on crutches, and he said, I think you better call an orthopedist. So we went to one and he just put a big old cast on it. Put a big cast on it. Yeah, for about four weeks. Four weeks, yeah. Well, I like aerobics, but I'm not so sure that, Well not that much, though. No, I've never, I was off for about six months too just for some other surgery I'd had, but I've never, I'd, you know, I was pretty much in shape walking and, and, you know, this is one of those things, like this orthopedist said, he said you'd be surprised how many how many people come in here with things like that because they are active. Yeah. You know, I was real embarrassed, but I felt kind of stupid Well, those things happen, though. Yeah, they do. I mean, I guess I'm glad, you know, that, um, nobody really noticed, I guess you could say. Yeah. Because I got up and started jumping on it again. Well that did a lot of good, I'm sure. Yeah really. I enjoy aerobics, and I do it because I like it, I mean, I like the music and that kind of stuff. Yeah. I like the music, but I've been unable to do that, because I hurt my foot about five years ago. I broke my heel. No, Oh that makes my foot, how'd you do that? In aerobics? no, actually I was up on a ladder, and, uh, fell off. Leaned the wrong way. Oh goodness. Uh-huh. And when I came down I hit with my full weight on my foot, but on concrete. What'd they do for that? Did they have to cast it? Yeah, they had, well they had to go in and do surgery. They put a pin in it. Oh, so the aerobics, the impact, would not be good. Yeah, as I permanently damaged the, the cushion under my heel the normal cushion that you have there. Oh, goodness. Uh-huh. I can't do any jumping up and down because it makes it hurt. Oh, that makes sense. So, I mean, are you, in terms of other things, like, like, not running, but playing a little bit of tennis, or can you not do stuff like that at all? Uh, well I haven't tried that. I don't know. It's been I bet it's been thirty years since I played tennis. Yeah. It's been, Mostly into just walking and stuff like that. That's probably the safer way because I notice in aerobics a lot of the women that don't look like they shouldn't be doing certain things Uh-huh. I'm always afraid they're going to fall over and have a coro, coronary. Yeah And there was my ego when I went ahead and I went, oh, I can do that and half the time though I don't jump half as much as, Uh-huh. I mean, like, I'm real tall, and, you know, I'm not heavy, but when you go easy a hundred seventy at my height, um, I'm five eleven you need just take it easy. Um. Sure. Um, but when I see some I mean, and I just don't think it's healthy all that pounding all the time. It isn't, really, it's not really good for your knees. So, yeah, that's the other reason, and, I don't know, this was just, I guess, something freak that happened to me, because I wasn't familiar with the, Well, the floor was uneven. Oh, it was completely, I mean, it literally, the two dissimilar floor floor coverings were not level. And at first after it happened I thought, maybe that's a handicap access, and then I said no, that's just the way it's constructed. Yeah. And my husband being a T I engineer, I said a few things to him when I got home, I said, who has engineered that? Really But I, sounds you, like one thing that I like, like swimming, you like that a lot? Uh-huh, I like swimming. Uh-huh. do you like to exercise because you want to or because you have to? No, I like, I liked it because I want to, it makes me feel better. That's how I am. Yeah. Yeah. If I don't do it I just feel like I don't have as much energy. Uh-huh. And it's real funny because if you, you know, it seems like when you exercise and expend the energy that you'd be tired, but it's the other way around. Right. It curbs the appetite and helps with the calories and all that stuff. Yeah really. Yeah but, Yeah, and I need all the help I can get. That gravity factor, I know Uh-huh. It does get you. Like that orthopedist said to me, he said, don't worry Diane, he says, he said, uh, you're at thirty something, but you're on the upper side. He said that, don't worry, he says, even if you weren't doing anything your body would start, that would start to happen to you. Yeah, thanks a lot. Yeah, because I was saying to him, I said, I'm not that heavy, I'm not heavy, you know, maybe ten to fifteen pounds like any other human being. Uh-huh. I said, uh, why do I feel like I need to start pushing myself more. And he goes, human nature And then, you know, you see these little girls in these little bitty things, and they're all like twenty-one years of age Uh-huh. But luckily at there's a little more diverse clientele. That's true, they do. Except for the guys that lift the weights. They do intimidate. Yeah. I try to go real late or real early before they get there Yeah. There some things I'd like to try, but, you know, sometime when I ask, I just feel like, boy, am I stupid or what. Uh-huh. Well that's one thing I like about the Spring Creek place. At least the fellow that's there, one of the fellows that's there at night and on weekends is real helpful. Uh-huh. And his name is B J. I don't think I've ever, I think I've, there was some girl there. I've been there like, maybe a dozen times. Uh-huh. But I actually like that site better than the other one just because of the type people that go to. Uh-huh. It's terrible. I don't know if the Dallas location, it just seems that, um, sometimes I feel like I'm in a singles bar Yeah, yeah, that's true. And I haven't noticed that up at Spring Creek. No, I haven't either, and I just, uh, it's not that far of a drive and I'm glad they did that. Um, you're not missing anything at the Dallas renovated site. It's not at all anything worth talking about. Yeah. Yeah. I thought maybe one of these days I'll drive over there and check it out. Yeah, but if you don't live near there that's not worth, Yeah. I live in Richardson, but it's about half way between the Spring Creek and the, the Dallas site. Yeah. That's actually where this happened to me, out in, I say Plano, but it's all the same to me. Richardson, over on Campbell and Park Hill there's a new recreation center. Uh-huh. And as we were doing it, too, everybody noticed that there were all these big guys of assorted nationalities. walked out, I was one thing, oh great, I have purple tights on, you know. Uh-huh. And they're going yes. But in general I like to I, I like dance a lot, so I mean aerobics is something I'd hate to give up. But he, he kind of said something to me about probably not as bad as your foot, but he just said to me, maybe you ought to try bicycling or, Yeah, you probably will for a while, because it's going to be real tender. He told me eight to twelve weeks. Uh-huh. Not anything, you know. I said, but you're only going to put the cast on for a couple of weeks. He said, yeah, but that's just, they tried to put me in some kind of immobilized walker, because he doesn't like to put casts on when it's warm. But I just, the more they tried to get my foot in the more I screamed, I couldn't, you know adjust that. I know what you mean. You know more about this stuff than I do, obviously then, Not fun No. Well, you're walking okay now obviously, and you can, Oh, yeah, I have a slight limp from it, but it matches one if I have one on the other side. Yeah Well, anything else about exercise we can talk about. Well, other than I need to go. Yeah, me too, me too. I need to go actually get something to eat here. It's great though, I really do enjoy it. Okay, thank you, Sandy. Sure, thanks. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. I don't know, um, do you do a lot of camping? Well, my husband and I haven't done a whole lot of camping, we, but we bought a van last year, Yeah. and we were hoping, uh, to do some camping in the van, um, we did go camping in not Arkansas, Oklahoma. Uh, last year in, we camped in a tent, and, uh, there were two other couples with us and there was, uh, state park. Oh, so , And it was really nice. Yeah, um, up here some of the state parks are really nice and some of them aren't, some of them are pretty rough. Really? Um, yeah, they, they just have like outhouses, they don't have like a shower room or anything, yeah , but some of them are really nice they have showers and full bathrooms, Um. um, but I don't know, I, I've been camping a couple times but I'm not a real avid camper, uh, a lot of people I know are, but, um, I don't, I don't . I, I don't like really camping in the rough. I like the, the, the little necessities like having electricity available and running water and showers and things like that. Yeah, we went, we went once to a lean-to and it, um, I mean, there wasn't any electricity on the camp site but it was all right, we only spent two nights there. I wouldn't want to spend more than two nights. I wouldn't want to go for like a week, but, um, two nights is good. Yeah, that would, that would be much. Um, especially there was a little store close by, so, it was pretty nice. Yeah, the campsite that we went to was an area that, it's right on a big lake, and there's a lot of boating out there, and we, we went up there to hopefully be able to get on the water a little bit but it was still, uh, it was still, too, cold. Oh, really? Oh. Yeah, it, it was pretty early in the year. Um, yeah, up here you got to wait until, August, until the water warms up . Yeah. Well, it's not that bad but it's still pretty chilly. Um, I don't know, I was, I have a tent and I fluff out in it, in the backyard and stuff, but this thing about camping that bothers me is you've got to pack everything and another thing is the thing seems to get, it's dirty you know, Yeah. so, you can't keep the dirt out of the tent. I don't know we have a seven year old, it's pretty funny, like stay out. Yeah, we, we have, we have a dog and that's just about as bad as a kid Yeah, boy, he doesn't go in and out of the tent a hundred times . And use it as a play, uh, Uh-huh. they like to play in them. Yeah, I don't know how you can really keep, uh, the inside of a tent clean. Yeah, I don't know . Other than, you know, taking your shoes off right before you walk in or something and, and sweeping it out everyday, it's really hard to, to keep the sand and dirt out of it. Yeah, well, what we were doing, we were just going to say, we're just going to sleep in the tent and hang out at night, so, you know, no going in and out, and, or what he wants to do, we had brought his friend along, was play in the tent. It was like, no, this is not working, you can't do that, you get the tent all dirty. Did, Plus you get it all wet, we were at a beach site, too. Uh-huh. Um, did you have another, a big tent, like uh, um, like a, looks like a sitting area type, you know, like a two room type ? No, but, you know, I was just thinking of getting one those for the yard because they are really nice and, um, up here we have, uh, we have quite a few mosquitoes at nighttime. Yeah, yeah, we don't really have a problem with that, um, in these areas, um, and even, even when in Oklahoma when we camped I really didn't notice a problem with bugs. And I noticed that, I know that I said, that's, I've, I've lived back east before, um, they, They're terrible, they're really terrible. Uh, but, there's this one campsite, that it, just some of them are known but there is one that's out in this big lake and its, its, its, mosquitoes are terrible and then there's this, there's this other one that's more up in the mountains but it surrounds a man-made reservoir and there's no bugs, that's the whole thing that everyone told me, oh, I'm, I was going to go to, Little River State Park, that place is great, there's no bugs. Huh. But, oh, okay, because, uh, we were having a really big problem up here in certain areas, we were really affected bad by it , but really got it, um, almost destroyed the the tourism in one town, because of the mosquitoes, they're so, bad. Really? Yeah, that was, it's a really nice area, I've been there before and it's, I, I couldn't imagine living just sixty miles north of them but they were plagued, they were plagued with them, with mosquitoes. And you can go out, outside in the daytime, all right, but the minute the sun went down, um, that's when it's usually, the minute the sun sets the mosquitoes come out. Huh. I mean, just the very second, it's really strange. They, uh, they must, uh, work on that, you know, the, it gets cooler when the sun sets and then they all come out. Well, have you ever, have you ever taken any of those, um, what do they call this, lights, have you ever used those? Oh, yeah, yeah, I never really noticed how effective they were, but, um, because that wasn't really, I bought them, I really didn't get to use them like, oh, there's mosquitoes let's turn them. We just sort of lit them. Uh-huh. And, um, we weren't bothered that much by mosquitoes, so, we didn't really contribute it to that. But, um, I think in an area that's really thick with mosquitoes, I can't see all this little, uh, smoke buckets I call them, Yeah. they work, but they're suppose to work really well. Huh. Oh, I'm in my paperwork here, that's what I do when I wait for a phone call, I get in my paperwork Oh, to find my most important parts. But I don't know, I don't know if I'm going to go, I wish was an avid camper and I could really talk about like gardening or something, you can talk about that a lot, Uh-huh. but, um, I do want to go again. We just moved to a new into a house, so, I don't think camping, maybe in the backyard, but I don't see going on a camping trip probably until next summer. Yeah, I'd, I'd like to go camping cross-country, um, I just got married less than two years ago, so, we don't have any, any children yet, um, So, it's easy for you to go. Yeah, so, easy to pick up and go, and, we have a van and we can just throw a couple of sleeping bags in the back of it. Um, oh, God So, it's not really, I guess, camping the way most people picture camping in the tent but, I don't know but that sounds that my, my kind of camping, it really does. Yeah, okay, um, well, um, that is is to have a, a nice vehicle where you can have everything in it, plus your tent. Yeah, or, or get, my brother has a real nice pop-up. Yep. And he just, he just tows it behind his truck. Um, And he, he's got three kids, so, his kids will sleep in the truck, in the, in the back of the bed. Um, and they sleep in the pop-up. Well, those, they're kind of nice but they're also, um, flimsy when you really look at them. But when you get inside they're really nice, you know, Yeah. everything's really, but then when you look underneath them, it's just got these little wheels and this little axle, it's like, oh, my and then a big windstorm it would pick you up. Yeah, he did have a problem, uh, when he went camping last year in Beavers Bend, Oklahoma, um, a, a storm came in and it started raining really heavy and they were all, everybody was trying to flee the campsite, everybody was getting stuck in the mud. Oh, jeez, And, uh, yeah, what do you, what do you do when you get a, I mean, like a really violent storm like a tornado, just stay in your truck. I mean, I wouldn't stay in the, um, Well, theirs was so bad, and they were so close to the water that the water was coming up, Oh. and they had to get out of there. So, then, were they successful? Yeah, they, yeah, they were. But it took them a little while? But, yeah, they they decided that, that was enough camping for the weekend. Yeah, so, did they get stuck? No, they ended up getting out. They ended up helping several other people though that were, that were stuck. Yeah, huh. Well, so, they evacuated it Yeah, yeah, they, the whole, the whole campsite was evacuated. Wow. I mean some, I think some people that had fairly sturdy, um, vehicles or whatever if they had like a Winnebago or something and they were farther in away from the water, I think they stayed. Yeah. But everybody that was real close to the water ended up, it was either that or their truck was going to go floating downstream. I know I always I like to get right on the water, yeah, by the campsite, it's so, Yeah. we have lean-tos up here. I really like them, like I say, they're kind of, just kind of more sturdy than anything, you know, just, just, They have them right at the campsites? Yeah, they're, they're lean-tos. Yeah, they're pretty nice, Wow. they're, they're, uh, it's like a little house except the whole face is open, and the one time that we went, we got one, it was overlooking the water but it was a big embankment, I wanted to get one right on the water. we had an electrical storm too, and it was really, it was neat sitting there watching it, I mean, it was raining, when we called home, everybody said, oh, we were worried about you in that storm ... All right, well I have a lot of different teams that I like to, to keep in touch with, of course, Texas Rangers being one of them, I mean, uh, you know, you can't live in Dallas without, you know, Well what are the others? Well, uh, I originally came from Saint Louis, so, uh, the Saint Louis Cardinals are one, uh, I moved to Kansas City, see I have, I have a tendency to, a, adopt teams when I go to a uh, go to a town. Well it's helpful. Yeah, so, uh, I lived in Kansas City for a couple years and I adopted the Royals, I lived in Houston for two and a half years so I adopted the, uh, uh, the Houston Astros, so I mean, you know, I've got quite a few. Well do you keep up with the statistical stuff? No, I don't, I don't get into that too much, every once in a while, I will keep in, in touch, with maybe, like who's in the top five of hitting, or something like that but I don't get into, you know, how many errors somebody has or things like that. Well there's, there's a guy on, that was on show that I listen to going to work in the morning who does, uh, uh, Uh-huh. it's essentially trivial statistics Uh-huh. but they've got a it's a statistic that has to do with winning and losing one run games. I've heard of that one. And apparently the Rangers last year, won a lot of one run games. Well I didn't know that, that's supposed to be a real good statistic, uh. Well, it, it, it is but it's the, it's, it's a reverse indicator. Well that's true, they don't have the offense to, uh, to get out, or to have the, the more runs, so. Well what the, what the argument is and it, it, it, it's one of these statistical, gee, how can you draw a conclusion from it, but they find that, there's a connection between that and how they do in Spring training the following year. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's strangely enough, it's almost like the law of averages catches you on the following year. Huh. Which means that if you have a good year winning one one run games that the following year, you'll have a bad year. And they, they've got, um, they've looked at I think twenty-three teams, uh, and, and, the, uh, statistics are something like twenty-one out of twenty-three. It was, which means the Rangers are going to have a terrible year, I, uh, Which I was kind of leaning toward anyway, to tell you the truth. Well, I mean, and it's, uh, uh, I don't know, what do you, what do you think of Incaviglia's loss. I kind of think it was necessary, I mean, I, I don't, I'm not a, a big, um, pure power hitter anyway. I mean, I don't like these guys that get up there and swing for the downs every time. I mean, uh, I think that, uh, that a player ought to hit a home run if he's got the pitch to do it, but when you get two strikes on you, you have a you know, you should, you know, shorten your swing a little bit, you know, if it's a perfect shot, go for it, but I mean, you know, the strike outs were a big problem for him, and, uh, plus supposedly what I heard, he was not much of a team player anyway, so. Well it, it's an interesting concept, though, when you look at, uh, of, of how baseball, how apparently, I was reading in the paper tonight that the Detroit Tigers are going to sign him. And, uh, and the point of, of, I guess, I don't understand the, the strategy of how baseball works, but it seems that, you know, they can sign him tomorrow, Uh-huh. and he could go in the team the next day, and, and, and they put him in the lineup and he hits a home run and all of a sudden he becomes a hero. Yeah, well that's true. And, and all he has to do is hit the ball, I mean, you're not, and all he has to do is one, you know, hit it once. It doesn't, he can, he can he can swing a couple times, if he fouls it up he can swing as much as he can. Right. It's an interesting, uh, an interesting concept of, of how they do it. But I agree with you I think that, I think that's part of what, uh, baseball needs more of. I, uh, I, I guess what bothers me is, is that when you go, um, you wait and wait and wait and finally a guy gets up there and blasts a home run and that's all the game is. I'd rather see the ball hit around and have the people, Yeah, well there's, there's another point to that too. They said the, that um, that he was horrible at, uh, at batting with, with men on base. Now having somebody get up and hit a solo home run does you, you know, gives you run, obviously. Yes. But I mean if you can't do it with men on base, there's something definitely wrong, um, you know, you, you've got to be able to get the two and three run home runs, you know, to, to be able to, uh, score enough runs to be able to win in these, uh, in this day and age, so. Yeah, well how do you think the Royals are going to do? I think the Royals will do okay. They have, they have several pitchers that had badly years last year and they are, they're these, uh, cycle pitchers, they, they pitch one year bad, one year good, one beer bad, one year good. Saberhagen has won, uh, supposedly the Cy, I think he won Cy year, uh, two out of three years, and, uh, you know, so he's very much due for a good year. Well are they going to beat, are they going to beat Oakland? Well now see that's a good question, I, that's, I don't know how Oakland's going to react to being, uh, swept in the World Series last year. They could very easily, uh, take that as a challenge. Which is the way most teams you know, naturally do. Uh, and, and, just go out and not give anybody a chance to beat them, Yeah. so, Well I go to Saint Louis from time to time and I watch, I, I watch their sports up there and they're, uh, they're certainly intense about the Cardinals they, Uh-huh. Oh yeah, baseball is their, is their life up there like football is down here I think. did you actually live in Saint Louis? I lived in the suburbs of Saint Louis, yeah. everybody does, right. Yeah, that's true too, I think that's all that they have. I had a friend from college that lives in, uh, it's well, I should say on the west side, I mean everything's on the west side. Manchester? Uh-huh. Uh, out that way, Um. and I went and visited him, but anyway, it is interesting. Well how are the Cardinals? Do you still keep up with them, or Yeah, oh yeah, I, I definitely do, in fact I've got family that still lives up there. Um, from what I hear from everybody up there, they're not going to have a good year because they let too many people go. But I've been following Spring training and they're like one of the best teams in spring training so far. Well is that a good indicator? That, well it can be. It, it really kind of depends on, on, um, what they were, you know, what they were looking for. In other words, if, if in Spring training they were looking at all their kids, like a lot of them do, um, then it really doesn't give you any indication. But if they were, uh, playing the people that they're going to play, then that might be pretty good indication, so, you know, it's, it's not a great indication because there have been teams that have just, you know, come out and just won all kinds of games in Spring training and then gone on a, you know, fourteen game losing streak in the first of the season so, You know what I think is remarkable is, uh, it seems that what you really need to do to win though, is to have a team that has reasonable talent and has some people that have, have, have real breakthrough years. Exactly, yeah. And, and the question is how do you forecast that, You can't. if you had to, if you had to bet on who would be in the World Series, I mean it would be really tough. Right, I think the best thing that you can do is go with, um, the players that are, that have the talent to do the best years. And, um, that they hadn't had these, uh, gigantic, uh, career years yet and, and just kind of assume that, you know, one of them is going to break through eventually, Yeah. so. And I, I think they said the Reds, um, this last year, I'm not sure that they said that they had that many people having career years. Yeah. You know, and, and so they may be even better this year. Well, well when are the Rangers going to come through Uh, that's a good question. I, the Rangers have a, have a pitching problem and whether or not they can fix that or not is going to be an interesting question. They're doing the right thing, though, uh, they are going with their farm system. They're letting their farm system, uh, build up and stuff like that and, Well is there enough money, that's part of it, I, uh, that was part of Skip Bayless' argument. Uh-huh. I don't know if you read Skip Bayless, but a, a local commentary No. and, his argument is that uh, the ownership is not inclined to lose big money long enough to, to bring in the big dollars. Uh-huh. Um, that's probably true. Would you, would you agree with that? Well considering what I've seen in the last, uh, you know, two seasons, I'm beginning to agree with that, yeah. But I mean, you don't have to spend the big money, as far as I'm concerned to, uh, to win. You just have to spend it if it's necessary. Uh. In other words if you've got a player on your team who's helping your team, then keep him there. Don't let him go away. Yeah. And I think that's really what's been hurting, uh, the, uh, Rangers. Well didn't Kansas City put up quite a bit of money for their pitching staff . Oh yeah, they, they spent more money, last year than any other team in the, in the league and they were, you know, toward the bottom of the league. Uh, so it's like I said spending money doesn't guarantee you, uh, winning a pennant. Yeah. It really doesn't, so. Well and that, I think that's maybe part of it that, that the, um, and it, you know, if I owned the team. I think you'd like them to do well but the question of losing big, big money that what, did, did, did Steinbrenner actually make money on the, Uh, you got me. I, you know, I think that there's coming to a point real soon when ticket prices are going to be to the point where the average fan can't go and once you do that, you lose everything, I mean. Well it's, it, it, yeah, it's a little bit like any other sport, you know. When it starts costing you fifty or a hundred dollars to go to a game Uh-huh. and, uh, you know, I mean, I, I guess as we get older, you're probably going, if, if you, if you compare to go to a, a sport, a, a say you go to a rock concert, or, or even a performance, a, an opera or the symphony or something, uh, Uh-huh. if, you know, but how, how often do you do that. Right. An I, I, I would, I would think baseball probably feeds on a number of people that can go out there, you know, several times a, That, that's the whole point. There are so many games in, in a year that they've got to have repeat customers. Yeah. They can't afford not to, and, you know, that's one of the things that I think Saint Louis has done, um, I mean, their, you know, their ticket prices are, you know, I guess as high as anybody else's but what, somehow or another they, attract, uh, so many people from, I mean they're a, it's a small market and yet they attract as many if not more than most, uh, uh, most, other cities, so. Yeah, but don't you think there's a, there, there are older fans there. I, I don't mean older, um, you know, the fact that, that it's, it's a better established and that the, the city is, is, is more, of a ... Okay, um, what baseball team are you familiar with? Well, I'm only a little bit familiar with the Red Sox because I lived up in Boston for a while, Really? and, um, and that's, Oh, now come on, no Texas Rangers? after that, if you asked me that I wouldn't have been able to tell you if that was football or baseball. Really? I guess they paired two women together on this call for a reason which is something we can think about later but, um, I understand a little bit about the Texas Rangers. I know George Bush threw out the first pitch hitter bounced off the ground and that, um, yeah , I heard a joke on the radio yesterday that, in regard that he didn't design the patriot missile system, and, uh, the radio's kind of cruel, I mean, think, the, he, this chain that must have been on President Bush to bounce the first pitch off the ground, I mean, how humiliating for a man to do that, any man. I don't care if you're President. Yeah, but at the same time, I don't know, it's pretty far to throw that far I couldn't do it. I know but he's a man come on, men know how to do that, right? Right, he's supposed to be able to do that. I know so, I felt kind of sorry for him. that must have been hard on him because he's just a person but, um, I never , a major owner of our of the team here. Oh, really? I didn't know that. Yeah, he's like, I thought he was the owner but it turns out my Mom said that he's part owner but he must own the biggest chunk because that's all you hear about is, if, you know, about Neal Bush I think is his name. Uh-huh. See, I even know his name because he's on the news a lot, and I never had to watch the news not, you know, not like some people hour and a half a day or anything. Yeah, and I've been watching, uh, my husband's French and so if I've been watching the French news, when I watch it. Uh-huh. It's incentive , speaking of Bush, we're going to get a little off topic but speaking of Bush, they that had a story where he went to visit some little, uh, elementary school students, and stuff. Oh, I saw that. Did you see that, where he, the guy asked him for proof of who he was, Yeah. he said his . I want to see your driver's I, I, I don't, I know and see a credit card you're not President Bush. I know and he said yeah, it does so fast , I heard it on the radio. I heard the audio portion on the radio in the car but I didn't see it but, It was so funny to see, it was a really cute little kid too. That's about my extent of, um, about baseball, I don't know, that much about it. Well, I can tell you, that the Mets opened, I think, two days ago, Uh-huh. because my brother was supposed to go to the opening game, and I couldn't tell you who pitched, Uh-huh. but they won, the Mets won. Did they? But, yeah, not my a lot, *sp? by and then somebody else lost, maybe it was the other New York team which is the Yankees, Uh-huh. but I don't even know if they're still New York Yankees, or New Jersey. That's so stupid that you all have two teams. Yeah. That's really stupid. Well, but it, then they can have them play against each other. Yeah, I know. I think it's still the New York Yankees, you know, Yeah. I thought they were moving to New Jersey This is how much I know about baseball. The Texas Rangers, they, they lost, I think. Uh-huh. But I know that last year we did go to a baseball game last year. We got free tickets because someone at our church, one of the deacons at church, um, parks cars at The Mansion at Turtle Creek which is like one of the, uh, the places and stuff. Uh-huh. And he's their head chauffeur, is this funny, as they're parking the cars the valet service. Right . Yeah, he makes good money too doing that, you'd be I was shocked, but anyway, someone gave an Iranian a tip of four Rangers tickets last year, Uh-huh. and then the Iranian couldn't, he didn't want them, so he gave them to Alan, and Alan and his Dad had plans that night so they gave them to us, so he decided that some wealthy man tipped this Iranian, with baseball tickets, With baseball tickets. and we ended up with them, right. And so we were, walking up Yeah . and I looked at my husband and I said, you know what Kyle this is The Mansion at Turtle Creek a tip I bet these are really good seats and so we ended up on first base right down there on the floor, Wow. oh, yeah, we they called us at five and the game started at seven so we just threw everything together, ran over and got the tickets and walked and so we took two kids with us and nobody brings two children in these seats, you know because, Because they're fancy seats and stuff. yeah, and you just sit down and all the girls were all dressed up you know, I just was there, you know, like I'm loaded, I'm here, you know, and, uh, it was just kind of funny because, you know, but we got to sit by first base if they did hit a ball I would have been afraid it would have knocked my face in, you know. I know I'm always scared of that whenever I go to a game. I rarely go but we went last year because my brother, my brother is impossible, when, um, he does football leagues and baseball leagues and all kinds of stuff, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and if there's a game on, he's watching it. I mean, that's all there is to it, Really? and he's like glued at the T V. I'm glad my husband's not like that. Oh, I'm glad my husband's not like that either, I'd kill him My brother's like that and, um, see he goes to a lot of games, not a real lot, but he tries to go, then my father got us some tickets, Uh-huh. so my brother's wife and my husband and I went. Last year we wanted to show my husband what a baseball game was because, you know, being a non-American you want to see what a baseball game is like. Uh-huh. And he describes it as, you sit there in a crowd, it was nice weather and stuff, it wasn't a real problem, but you sit there in a crowd, and you're waiting and waiting and waiting and you eat these lousy the hot dogs um, because we made him try a hot dog, you know , That's funny. and, um, so you sit there and you wait for the longest time really bored, and then all of a sudden something happens but you happen to look the other way during the time, You miss the whole thing. yeah, and so you're basically you sit there and wait for something exciting to happen and when it happened he missed it, and didn't understand it Um, he grew up out, well, he grew up in , which is the, sort of O strip east to west, eastern part, That's funny. Where is he from in France? Uh-huh. but that , Yeah. I have a, I had a friend in college from Strasbourg, Yeah, he's not that far, he was sort of in between Strasbourg, and Paris. Uh-huh. Paris. And my cousin lives in Paris and she's lived there for like, oh, off and on for twenty years. Oh, is she still there? Uh-huh. Because, Saint Claude is that sound familiar? Yeah, Saint Claude, Yeah. yeah, we used to, that's one of the, um, entrances to the periphery to get in and out of the city. Oh, really? And it, it, it, it sits right at the limit, Uh-huh. I exactly where she is. But, um, we met in Paris. That's neat. Yeah, she married and they have twelve children. Twelve children? She has twelve children. Oh, my God, the poor woman. She looks gorgeous, no she's gorgeous and she just liked having kids and she's thin and, I mean, four or more children are thin, Were any of them twins? I mean, I'm not kidding you. You probably can't afford to eat if you have more than two of them No, your, I have a friend now that has seven. And, um, and they're all eight and under, and nine and under, Uh-huh. they're all real young, they're just raised right that's what God's told them to do but they're not condemning you, if you, we only have one child, you know, they don't say, they don't put on bad or anything which is good because it would be easy, I'm sure, for them to do that, you get a conviction like that and you think everyone should have it. And so I'm real proud of them because they're aren't really, they don't do that at all. Uh-huh. You go in their bathroom and there's ten tooth brushes in there. And I always give her a hard time whose toothbrush did you really use this morning But how do they afford to even have the kids, uh, we're expecting our first baby, almost any day Uh-huh. Uh-huh. They live lean for one thing and they tithe and they it puts a whole in your money bag, *spelling: hole we don't honor God with this portion and so they, I think that helps a lot. I think that's the key, in he, like his sales last year he just works a normal job. He probably has an income of thirty-five thousand, but last year he made that got him a bonus of twenty-five thousand which allowed him to pay cash for a full size van. He loves God, I mean, it was the biggest thing that any one in this company had ever done, Wow. and he got to do it and so God just really blesses him in ways like that, do trust God because, I don't know, kids are a blessing and, and some people you know, we think of blessings as nice furniture and things like that, but kids are just as much of a blessing inside these material things but it's a different kind and a lot times people think, oh, well, I'm not blessed I have an old car. But you've got five kids, you know, Uh-huh. you're just as blessed, probably more, because if you follow this, there's a good book called WHAT THE BIBLE HAS TO SAY ABOUT CHILD TRAINING, by Richard Fugate Uh-huh. and he's, you know, a lot of wisdom in it. And the kids at BIBLE talk about anything but training, and training is different than anything else in, in psychology doesn't address it. A lot of the psychology stuff, the good stuff that's in psychology it just comes out of the BIBLE and they don't quote you the proverb out of it, but the things that work in psychology other the years that they've proven to work, they just come out of the BIBLE and so this book it just really all these things and how to train the child so they're not going to be a curse to you when they're thirteen. Uh-huh. What I mean how to train them so they're going to be a blessing and so, you know, they do that and they, they just live lean pretty much they don't, she doesn't shop at Foley's you know, and stuff like that. But a lot women die or shop at Foley's so things , I, I don't know what Foley's is It's like a Macy's, kind of store, Uh-huh. it's pretty nice and everything's pretty expensive and, you know, you just can't do that and you don't go to baseball games as much or you get pictures like we did. You know what I mean? Yeah. You do these fun things, you know, in other kinds of ways and I know Manhattan's real expensive but, um, it's kind of a different situation because you're probably living in an apartment, right? Yeah, well, that makes a really big difference. But, but, still it's just as hard as having, that, Yeah. but your cousin could have a baseball team with twelve kids Well, church softball leagues, so, Uh-huh. they're not all boys and right now we don't have a girls' league because I'm the one that's supposed to start one and I just haven't gotten around to doing it. I keep saying we need to have one. They go, okay, then start one. But everybody wants to do it but, you know, God's sitting on my heart and I just hadn't gotten around to doing it, but anyway, so they could really only have four members on the team. I think they only have four boys . I don't even think they have but two old enough to play yet. Uh-huh. But, um, then you didn't believe me about her kids *listen: this and utt2 as one utt are the they are so good. I'm not kidding you but she does work with them and it's a commitment and, that, that's what they're called to do. Uh-huh. I have a, most of my friends, I admire someone that can do that, you know, I really can. I know, I do too, I, most of my friends have three or four kids and they feel like, you know, that's really why God and some of the people in our church use birth control and some of them don't, I had my tubes tied so you, Well, this is a good subject, isn't it? Yeah. It's, it's something that you can really talk about. Yeah. Um, I don't know what we're going to do about it, but, but it's certainly something that has a lot of things to talk about. Uh-huh. Um, you know, when they say the Middle East, it's such a big area Uh-huh. and there's so many different problems there. Uh, what do you want to concentrate on. It doesn't matter to me. Well, uh, I'll tell you something, um, I, I have a sister-in-law from Israel, Uh-huh. and, and they're really quite, uh, arrogant about it all. They, they believe that they, they belong there and they've belonged there forever, and, the Palestinians and the Arabs are, uh, more or less, they, they consider them second class. Uh-huh. So, they're really quite arrogant about it. I don't, uh, I don't know if that contributes to the problem. Well how did they feel about the, uh, the United States intervening with Patriot missiles, did, did they, Oh, uh, I'm, I'm sure this is the one time that the Israelis are really happy to have their big brothers, the Americans, Uh-huh but, I didn't really talk about that with her. She, um, um, my sister-in-law now lives in, um, Switzerland. Oh. But, um, when they were living in Israel, it was, it was, the, the Palestinians, they, they come in an, and they're, they're nothing but really servants for them, and they really treat them like second class citizens. They, they don't really want them around but they like them around because they do all the menial labor and such. Uh-huh. But they, they really do, they look down on them. And, I don't know, being, I, I live in, uh, Vermont and being up here we pretty much treat everybody, you know, as someone that has merit, even if they're poor, or if they're Hispanic or if they're black. We give everybody pretty much the benefit of a doubt because we don't see all the crime and, all the hurt in the big cities, you know. Uh-huh. if I lived in Washington, D C I think I'd have a different attitude about Black people because I've heard that it, it, the, they're terrible, you know, it's just like it's a dog eat dog world. And here, you know, all, all my black friends are professionals and they're, they don't, you know, they don't go out and abuse drugs and they, they send their kids to school and they, they, they uh, you know really encourage them to go to college and stuff. Uh-huh. So it's just a different world. Well I live in San Antonio and fifty percent of the population is minority. Oh, um, I talked to someone about San Antonio, Uh-huh. and, um, they said that they, they have, you have quite the problem with, uh, the ghettos, I don't know, do they call it the barrio down there. That's the barrios but it's, it's I don't think it's any different of a problem than any other major city. It's just Hispanics here instead of Blacks. Yeah, but I heard that San Antonio, unlike like, like a city like San Diego it it just has a really bad problem. I grew up outside of Houston and I don't think, uh, as far as gang violence and things, I don't think it's any worse here than in Houston. Yeah, like say Houston. Now I would, now me not even knowing anything about Houston, I would think that it's a pretty calm city. Houston is not at all. No, huh, there's a lot of crime? Yes there's quite a bit of crime. Oh, my, um, yeah, like I, we're so protected up here, it's, it's really strange. I mean our red light district, I mean, uh, you could go walking around down there and pretty much not fear for your life, you know, Uh-huh. and we're just so protected. But, it's, it's, over in the Mid East, especially Israel, it's just like Israelis have a like a totalitarian system, when it comes to the Palestinians. You know, the Israelis can do anything they want but when it comes to Palestinians, if they're out in the street at night, it's, it's really looked on as odd. Um, usually they're, they're bussed in to the, the, um, Jewish neighborhoods, and the Jewish cities and then at night they're bussed out to the occupied territories. Huh. So they don't have that. But, uh, what do you think about the mess that's, we've created in Iraq? I think it's unfortunate, uh, as far as the Kurds are concerned, it, I It's just what do you do for them, you want to do something for them, but you don't want to get so directly involved that you're occupying the, the country. Yeah, yeah, we can't get involved in their civil war, um, unfortunately, but we've kind of driven these people out. To do it, yeah, but you see President Bush is telling them rebel, you know, uh, uprise. And that's what they did and now they're like asking him for help and he's like, no we can't get involved. What my husband had very strong feelings, he, uh, agreed with, um, the General Schwartzkopf, he said, um, he should have let, Bush should have let him finish his job. Sure. He should, he should have let them, um, corner the Republican Guards, Well I think the war ended too soon. Yeah, exactly, that's what everyone says. Yeah. everyone I talk to, they says, you know, it's real easy to say that. We, we didn't damage enough of their arsenal. We damaged most of it but we, we should have gotten, made sure we got everything. Yeah, I don't think the higher ups were thinking about what this guy's going to do with the rest of his war machine. They're going, oh, well it's not going to hurt us so we're just going to let them go, but really we didn't think about the people that he was going, and I mean, he, he's just, Unfortunately though, the, the original goal of the mission was to drive them out of Kuwait. And once that was accomplished it, They, yeah, they, they did, they stuck right to their goals, Yeah. and right, what they were going to say. And the American people, when this first started, they were even reluctant to let them do that. Yeah. So they were, they were playing it very safe, but, you know, it, an ounce what do they say, an ounce of hind sight is worth, whatever. Yeah. they, I don't know, they, it, Schwartzkopf knew what had to be done and it's too bad that he just didn't have the ability just to do it, to you know, the, uh, the go ahead to do it. Yeah. Because he had the he knew what was going to happen, more than any of us. it was going to make such a mess. I mean I feel really sorry for these people, these people are middle class people, just like us. Can you imagine if someone started bombing your neighborhood, Yeah. and you knew this, these people are going to come and if you were in your house they were going to take you and beat you. Of course, you're going, just going pick everything up that you can carry and you're going to run. Uh-huh. And it, it's just too bad that we couldn't see that. I just have a feeling that the military involvement isn't over yet. That I, I still feel like there's more to come. I don't think this whole issue is settled as far as we're concerned. Well you know what I was hoping? I was hoping Iran was going to take a very, um, dramatic stand and invade, you know, and then like Iran's the big bad guy, you know, but, really, if, if they were going to save people's lives, They've got sixty or so of Iraq's planes. Yeah, I know, it's like they were using them as friends when we were having the conflict but, I, I, you know, I almost swear, I'm kind of disappointed with the Iranians, why they didn't go save, I mean, I don't know if the Kurdish, I know the Shiites are their people. Uh-huh. But, I don't know, I think they have a bond with the, the Kurds. There are some Kurds living in Iran. Yeah, I, I think they should have just done more, uh, and maybe if the world could have given them some type of aid. It's, it's just so complicated. I was real surprised that Israel stayed out of it as, as much as they did. Oh, yeah, well, you, knowing them, they're very, um, oh, I don't know, almost compare them to a very egotistical man. Uh-huh. You're damn right, I'm going to protect my family, you know, so, I, I was amazed too. I was really, I was really, um, proud of them, though, that they stayed out of it. But, Yeah, it and from, from what I can tell if they had gotten into it, it would have started a whole new war. Oh yeah, I was, I that part scared me. That, that, um, the Egyptians would pull out and I just saw atomic bomb, Uh, I have, uh, I guess a lot of thoughts about the Vietnam War, um, I, I guess I feel like I was pretty young while it was going on and so there's probably a lot of things I remember and a lot of things that I really didn't have a clue as to what was happening. Yeah. Um, looking back, like maybe some of the things that I know now, I, I'm not sure I do believe it was worth the cost in dollars and lives. That was one of the questions that she asked us to think about, because I, because we never went to war. I don't think we were committed to winning it and getting out and I, I feel like it went on and on. Right. And I, I guess I see such a contrast like as opposed to the Middle East War we just had, where President Bush went out and got worldwide support for, for what was happening. Right. You know, I just feel like maybe we went in to be policeman and I'm not sure that's our role, but. Yeah, I, I agree with that, I was, I was fairly young at the time too, I, I really don't have very many memories about it at all, in fact. Uh-huh. And, uh, my husband is a Vietnam veteran and you know, he in looking at the Persian Gulf war that just went on, he, it frustrates him because of the support that they have and the support that the Vietnam vets did not have, from the people or the administration, either one. of static throughout Don't you think that maybe that's why we had it this time? I mean I do think that, it's been too long in coming but I feel like maybe the American people and, and the government are aware of the things that we did wrong that we didn't support that that those, Right. so many people were opposed to the war, what it translated into was they were opposed to the folks that were there fighting it and those guys were there doing their duty. That's right, I mean, they weren't there by choice and, and, Yeah, and I, I think that we learned from that and I think it, it's one of those things that you learn the hard way. It was a tragic mistake, Right. the way that they have been treated over the years and I believe that's just now turning around. Just now, you know, trying to be rectified and I'm, and I'm not sure you can undo the damage that was done emotionally, on so many of the people. Right. No, I don't think you can and I, I agree with you that I, I think that the, the time difference between the two wars has allowed a lot of people to see the mistakes that were made in, in, in every aspect of it and I, I agree with you also, that I feel like it was not worth the money spent or the lives lost to fight that war. I mean they're still not settled over there. No, they're not. And I have a feeling that the Persian Gulf crisis is going to be the same way. Yeah. I think we're going to end up back there in a few years or, if, if not sooner. Well I, I appreciate the I feel like President Bush is in a hard spot. He went over there to get them out of Kuwait, which he did. Uh-huh. And then he has backed out, he has pulled out. And I realize they're still saying, well here you're encouraging us to get rid of Saddam Hussein, so why aren't you helping us? And you see, I think him going in and doing that would be putting us in another Vietnam situation. I think it would too. And I don't think the U S will stand for it. I don't think he would do that, No, uh, I think we learned too much of the effects. Yeah, I agree with that. Uh, you know whether it was justified or not, I know, that they probably felt like we were going in for a good cause. I, I feel like maybe they felt like we were doing the right thing to try and help maintain the democracy over there and, and beat the communism, Uh-huh. but, but I think somewhere that got lost. You know, in the long term effects of the, of the war Yeah, yeah. and, you have to, you know, you have to give Bush a lot of credit for he, he said that's what we were going there to do and he did what, what he said and he did pull out before it got any further than that where, where it would have turned into more of a police action. Uh, or more of a political action I guess, you getting into their governmental affairs which you really can't do as, as another country. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, my, my biggest problem with all of these wars is we spend all of that money on all these other countries and we have so many problems here at home that we don't address. That we don't get fixed. That's right. I know. And, and that's what frustrates me more than anything. And I, I believe that we have to have a military and I believe that we have to have a defense to keep anybody else from walking in and doing it to us. Right. But I also believe that we need to turn so much of that inward. I think there's a lot of waste and, and they don't, if they could just cut out all the fat and, and get it lean, and start addressing some of the other issues, I think we could take care of everything. And quit taking care of all these other countries all across the world, you know, who just end up using things against us later on anyway. I know, I do think that in the Middle East war, um, I think that maybe a lot of the Arab countries that were so hateful towards the United States have come away with, uh, kind of a different attitude. Uh-huh. Uh, I think that maybe we're not their big bad enemy any more. Right. An, uh, and I think that's good, you know, Yeah. I think that's a good, Yeah, a lot of good has come from this one. I think so too. And I think, I guess, in, in, uh, ironic way a lot of good came from the Vietnam war toward this war because like we, we said earlier, that, you know, the a lot of eyes were opened after years and years of, of that war and and, And perhaps the reason that good came out of the Mid East war is because we had the experience of Vietnam. Right, exactly. So, I, I, I do think that, we've learned from it, Uh-huh. you know, I, I, I wish there weren't war Yeah, no kidding. But, uh, I do think we learned. And I just, I just hate the emotional price a lot of the Vietnam people paid, for, you know, nothing. Yes. I mean, it was, they're, they still don't know what they were there for. No, there was no feeling of accomplishment, no goal, no, No. we went in but what did we do. We lost lives and, and what were we trying to do. Who knows. Yeah, that's true. And, I, I think you're right, uh, I think you're right there. Um, I do remember when it was over. I remember when they were coming home. Uh, but, I remember the feeling back then, you know, like I feel like right now, I feel like this country has been behind this war. Uh-huh. Uh, yeah, there's a lot of people that aren't for war. I'm not for war, Right. but I believe that the way that it was done and the way that was handled were right. I don't remember that feeling back in Vietnam. Right. I just remember, oh yeah, our guys are over there and it's sad and we shouldn't be fighting a war but there was no, let's support them, you know. Right, the, when this war broke out it frustrated me all the antiwar people and, you know, their, all the demonstrations that were going on. Yeah. That's right. I felt like they got way too much media coverage and publicity because those kind of people, I mean, you know, they're the kind of people who are, who've always got to have a cause, whether it's good, bad of indifferent. They've got to have a cause and, and, I, you know, nobody says because you're supporting the troops that you're, you're supporting the war. you have to support the people that are there. That's right. And for some reason those people don't see that. They don't see it as supporting the folks, the people. No, no, they don't and, you know, they're just real shallow people. I would agree with you there Yeah. I, I agree. Um, and I, and I recall when President Bush said that, you know, he said look, I, you know, I'm sorry that you're opposed to the war. There's a lot of us that are opposed to war but, uh, you're not helping the people that are over there by what you're doing. And I remember a lot of it kind of stopped after that. Yeah, But, I mean they're not helping anybody. That's the, that's the whole point, not. they're not doing anything for anybody except themselves. That's true. And I don't even know what they're doing for themselves. You know. Uh. Giving a soapbox to stand on Yeah But, well, I just, I, I'm glad we've learned. I'm sorry we had the experience of Vietnam. Yeah. And, uh, and I'm, I'm, I'm especially sorry for the people that are, you know, have spent all these years trying to deal with it emotionally, because, you know until the past four or five years, nobody ever really worried about that, for them. That's true. Yeah. And, and I think that's where we as American people really failed, you know, failed them. Uh-huh, yeah. So, I don't know. Well, do you have anything else you want to say on this? No, I guess not. I think this is the first time that I haven't been cut off by the computer I know, we get cut off all the time, too Usually I can talk all day but this is something to me that's sad Yeah, it is. So, well have a good day and I appreciate the conversation. Thanks, same here. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. So the general topic is hobbies. Yes. Let's hear about your hobbies. Well, let's see, what kind of hobbies do I have? I guess, uh, I, it's more not so much a hobby but things I enjoy doing. I enjoy playing basketball and, and basically all kinds of sports. And, uh, Any handicrafts? Excuse me. Any handicrafts? No, not, not really, um, no, I'm really not too creative well, I, uh, you know, around with my hands and things like that I leave that more up to my Mom So, um, I think I'm in handicraft. Oh, yeah. I think it will become resume writing. Oh, well, let's hope that you, you aren't employed by that craft for too long. Uh, yeah, I, I hate to think about it and, and I'm getting rather good at reading want ads. Uh-huh. Yeah, it, it, what kind of time frame is it, uh, looking for the, uh, different shifts up there? I who knows. Is it, uh, basically, I had read that they're just looking at relocating them all to McKinney is it, Texas, No, all means about fifteen to twenty percent, of, of, oh, Oh, wow. I'm sure the number's somewhere classified but some of the internal news and the news services, so, it's approximately six fifty, Uh-huh. so ten percent of six fifty, is sixty-five and twenty percent would be one thirty. Wow, how about that. Yeah, that's what it did report was a hundred and thirty relocating down to McKinney. Yeah, that's possible. How about that. Well, that's, uh, that's unfortunate is there many other, are you in the defense? Oh, yes, . Is it, uh, many other corporations in the area? Uh, I saw Seven Eleven that was hiring. Well, I'm sure with the new, uh, contract awarding I, I think it went to Lockheed, didn't it? Yes. That, uh, I hear they're hiring all over the place for that. Yeah, uh, no, Apple's coming to town and, and that has some opportunities Oh, really? and, uh, and, Now is that ad good just to Colorado or to Colorado Springs? Colorado Springs specifically, yes. How about that. And, uh, and, uh, M C I coming if, if, telemarketing is your bag. Uh-huh. Personally I'd rather die a slow painful death but, Well, you in the, uh, computer operations or in the actual, uh, manufacturing? Uh, I'm a defense worker. I'm, government tool control specialist. Right, yeah, that's why I was in the Deseg down here in Plano also. Are you still employed? Am I still employed by T I, no, I took a leave of, of T I back in November. Oh. Actually, December was my first month away from them. Exempt or ? Exempt. Oh, yes. It, uh, unfortunately I guess for myself it wasn't, uh, it was purely by my own choice. It wasn't, uh, there was no incentive for myself to leave, but it was just an opportunity arose and decided to take it. Oh, so, you didn't even get the severance package. No. I should have taken the, the, the, you know, uh, option when that was there, but it was just, I missed it by a couple months. But, you know, what can one do. I'm just happy still to have a job. So, are you happy with what you are doing now? Yeah, I am kind of happy with it, it's getting better all the time, I knew it would be different from the very beginning, but, you know, as you get to know more of the people that work there and more of what's going on with the system, so I was in the computer operations it's, uh, you know, it all starts to become similar there's, you know, there's benefits and there's things that weren't as good, Yeah. but as an overall package, I'd say I'm pretty happy so far with the way it's turned out. Good, good. Well, it hasn't been a long time T I or I, I'm significantly shaken by the situation, but not devastated. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. Well, the one thing I guess at least in your favor is the, the fact that, that is more in the support of the manufacturing and there's lots and lots of companies that have maybe not in the the defense area but manufacturing in general. To tell you the truth, I'm, I'm, I'm not really worried. Uh-huh. That's great. That's good. And, and I seem rather happy about it most of the time, just, just to know, what's, possibilities are, you know, what might happen. Uh-huh. Sure, yeah. Sometimes it's good just to have everything out on the table. But still in all, it feels funny. It may be a blessing in disguise. I know a number of people who are, uh, surplused and they're just, actually, what the positions that they found outside of the company were much, much better than the ones that they currently had inside. So, despite the fact that I should be tying flies or fly fishing or, or going for walks in the mountains, I can't seem to get into it right now. Exactly. Uh-huh, well, I'm sure it's just with the, the, the, the way that things are so topsy-turvy right now as soon as you decide on a pass , Uh, situational. I've, I doubt I'll be here in six months. Uh-huh. Well, would you like to be there? I, all things being equal, yes. Uh-huh. But, or, or even somewhere better, Sure. but, God this is much better than west Texas. Uh-huh Well, just take the day, But then they, they tell me Hell is much better than west Texas. Well, actually, uh, the, the Plano, Dallas, Houston, you know, Austin that whole area is, is actually quite, quite nice. I, my little brother lives in Austin right now. Oh, that's a beautiful place. Goes to U T. Uh-huh. That's just fantastic down there. Take it more as a, this is your opportunity to do whatever you want, pick out where you want to live, and then once you pick that spot out, pick out what you want to do. I see that's the problem. For the last many years I've more or less let them direct what I want to do, and where I want to go. And just kind of go with the punches. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Sure. And now I feel lost. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's a, it, it takes a bit of a shift doesn't it. Oh, I had job offers. Uh-huh. But, I never found the one that was worth it for me to leave. And that, Uh-huh. Well, the best thing about it is that you can, uh, try something if you don't like it, shoot, move on to something else. That's the way I would have looked at the whole thing here, I'll take a chance, if I don't like it, I'll go someplace else, do something different. Oh so, had you been with T I long when you changed? Five years. Yeah. I've been with them sixteen. Yeah, I can imagine, you know, the longer and longer it goes, Actually, seventeen now, and, oh, yeah, momentum is, uh, driving force in our lives. Uh-huh. But so, yeah, I'm looking as, as a opportunity. Well, that's good, you've got a good attitude about it. And, and I'm looking at it as a change. Uh-huh. And I'm looking at it as, as an adventure. Right, there you go. That's the way to do it. And maybe I'll wet a fly line this year and do some camping if I don't get laid off between now and then. There you go, that's the thing to do. That's much funner than doing any kind of job. Ha, how about we end this? That will work out just fine. Nice talking to you. All right, nice talking to you. Bye. Good-bye. What's the, uh, in Texas law has a, uh, what does it have, it has a death penalty doesn't it? Oh, yes, yeah. They just, uh, started it again, too just late, or, within the past few years You know for quite some time, just about every one of the states had given up the death penalty. But now it's coming back into favor. Uh, yes. Well, they find it is more deterrent. Well, my sociology class at S M U's taught us that it was not a deterrent. Uh, but now that's just what they said. Uh, I don't know maybe, maybe if I went back and took a sociology class now they'd say it is a deterrent. Well, uh, if you, You know, compare the figures, I think that's where they're, uh, they're coming from. Maybe they've changed their minds. The, uh, Maybe that's it. Maybe that's it, because that was back in the seventies. Oh, they're yes. They are. That was before the, uh, uh, they adopted the death law again But, uh, I, I myself am in favor of it, uh, particularly for, uh, well I think Texas has a good, good law. Uh, crimes, murders related with, uh, drugs or killing a policemen. I think, I agree. But I think it ought to be expanded to include children. I, I think they're, they have they're working on, uh, something in Austin now, Uh-huh. and I'm not sure what it is, I just remember seeing a, uh, kind of a synopsis of it. Uh-huh. Well, why stop at children? Why not go to adults, too? Well, uh, I'm, I'm personally very in favor of it. Uh-huh. Uh, why should we let them set in prison and work on their college degrees after they've mowed down a class yard full of kids or or tried to, or done their very, you know, given their best effort at doing that. Uh-huh. Yep. I, I don't care to support them. Well, I don't either but, uh, uh, but there is something to be said about or, uh, uh, just for the sake of argument, I'm taking the, a con, Sure. I'm, I'm against it. Uh, you know yourself how many times have you heard where, uh, uh, a citizen was wrongfully arrested, and served time at a penitentiary, uh, Uh-huh, uh-huh just recently this, uh, black man served nine years was it, for robbery. And then, there was the black woman that, uh, robbed and shot the furrier. And she was set free, too, just in two examples in Texas recently. Uh-huh. But she actually killed the furrier. Or someone, she was charged with murder and then, then they decided it was a case of mistaken identity or something. I didn't, I don't, I didn't retain all those facts very well. But I know what you're, what if we make a mistake. That's it. And that's not one of those things that you can turn the wheel back and reverse everything. Uh-huh. Well, right now our laws are so liberal that, uh, even with the death penalty in effect, I don't think that, uh, they're going to use it, uh, too frequently, uh, unfortunately. I, like you, say yes let's have it, put them all, give them all a shot, get rid of them. Well, Well, I guess, though, where I would have a problem with it if I were on the jury that, that, put, that handed down the death sentence because it was my judgement the person's guilty. Why should they be sitting in, uh, prison getting their college degree. Uh-huh. Now that's tougher. It's easier to say it on the telephone and everyone agree that, yeah, the death penalty's the way to go, it's a deterrent to crime, they shouldn't catch themselves in that circumstance anyway. But to be the actual one of the ones that decide, that would be tougher for me. Yes, very true. I, uh, I agree with you there. Uh-huh. I think I'd probably do it but we could never say what we would do if we're not in the circumstance. It, that's, that's, that's a real easy thing to say that, oh, sure I would, but I don't know Well, I myself wouldn't want to be on the jury like that. Uh, I, it, it's, uh, that's an awful lot to, uh, to expect of a person, to, uh, to kill somebody is what it amounts to. Well, yes, but, you know, that's what they did. It, true. Very true. But they, they did it because they have a warped mind for some reason. Or rather than have a warped mind it was just the only way to get whatever they wanted. Yeah Uh-huh And they, they wanted something worse than they, more than they respect the human life. Yeah, exactly. Well, anyhow I guess we both agree that, that it is, it should be in effect. Hang them. Yeah, I agree it should be in effect. Also I agree there should be a lot of care in the enforcement, uh, so I guess I would say I want it to be in effect but I want maybe well, I'd, I, now I have a problem with this, too. I think our courts have too many opportunities for them to go back and get one more chance. Oh, that's true. Well now any, uh, just believe in just about any state in the union, uh, uh, a death, uh, or, uh, yeah, death verdict is an automatic, uh, appeal. That's correct. It is, it is. And, uh, uh, yes, I'm inclined to agree with you. I think so, there should be a limit as to the number of appeals. Now, there's some, and maybe, now, I don't remember if this is Texas or not, that has something about all drug dealers can be sentenced to the death sentence. Um, um, well, Not just for dealing in drugs. Convicted drug dealers. It, uh, Is it, what is, what's the There are certain circumstances, and I don't remember what they are. It's something of the they're on the distribution end. Uh, yes. They're not selling them, they're distributing them. It's for the large dealers is what, it's reserved for. Uh-huh. And they, they are in effect killing people. Oh, oh, yes, yes. I, I believe it's any capital crime related to drugs. Oh, okay. I think that's the way it's worded. Is that how it's worded? I knew it was there but, I, I, or or is it proposed or is it passed? I do believe that's in. Uh, I wouldn't swear to it myself. I believe it is, But I thought it, I thought it was in effect. I believe you're right, though. I think it is. And I have to agree with that. Uh-huh. I, I think it certainly should be one of the options. Uh, I've been fortunate with my children and grandchildren, so far that I know. I qualify that heavily, because you never know, but to the best of my knowledge we haven't had a major problem yet. Well, my children are about in the same age bracket. Uh-huh. Oh, it does. Uh, I have four sons myself and the youngest is twenty-eight, so they are all pretty well grown up and they all went through it, you know, going through high school and everything and knock wood that, uh, they have not, well I won't say they didn't try it, uh, I wouldn't know, but, uh, they, I doubt very much that they're, they're using it now. In fact I'm sure they don't. I think, let's see, the oldest is thirty-two and the youngest is probably twenty-seven, twenty-eight. Huh. So, it's the same age bracket. Yes. And there's four, two girls and two boys. And I think one of each experimented very slightly with pot, Uh-huh. and I think that was the extent of it to the best of my knowledge. Yeah. That's usually the way it is. It, it's just, uh, try it out with their peers And none of them even smoke. They don't, uh, they never, strangely enough, uh, their mother and I both smoked when they were growing up. Now, my, my, my wife, my ex-wife, she quit, uh, well, when she was pregnant with the last one and she never started up again. And I just quit, oh, about fourteen months and two weeks ago. Boy, that's tough. Yes, it is. I, and it seems to be getting tougher as time goes by. My husband hasn't quit, yet. And he knows he has to and he knows he should and he knows and he knows, Um. but he hasn't. I do respect the fact, though, that he refuses to smoke in the same room with me. He, he's very conscious of, of passive smoking and he's concerned about it but, hasn't quite made it yet Well, Well, when I was still smoking, I, I felt that way. If I was in a public restaurant, seated at table with, uh, non smokers I would try to pick a a, a my, seat where the smoke would blow away from them. Or I'd hold the cigarette under the table. Yeah, I've seen all of this, yeah And, uh, but, uh, now I'm on, the shoe's on the other foot Uh, I'm aware of other people smoking now. Well, Charles will actually, Charles will not smoke in anyone else's house except our own. Um. He will get up and he'll go outside, you know, and he, he's so, when we're invited to people's house, he will not smoke in their house. Which I think is good because there's a lot of people that are very, Yes. particularly if they have children. Uh-huh. But, uh, and he's, you know, he tries his best, but the actual quitting he hasn't done. He changed brands to a brand he doesn't like. He put up all of his ash trays. He will not smoke in a comfortable position, you know, but still he's done everything the Smokers Anonymous tell you to do except quit smoking Uh, uh-huh. It's a, long process. Well, the, there's a trick I use. They used to leave my cigarettes in the glove compartment. Oh, how neat. And every time I wanted one I have to go outside and just take one. One at a time. And, uh, that, that 's, gets to be, uh, a deterrent. He has his in the kitchen, It seems to me that one of the biggest differences is the computer revolution. Yeah. And, I can very clearly remember ten years ago I was just beginning to explore computerizing my office and, and trying to find out what kinds of computers might be useful and we did end up with, uh, I B M, P C which I now would not have chosen Really? But that was before the Macintosh. Yeah. And twenty years ago I was, uh, in graduate school pecking out a dissertation on a manual typewriter Oh, I know it. So I would say that's one of the largest changes in, at least in my life. Yeah, I, I've seen that just in the last, uh, even five years how much they've uh, increased in use. Or probably eight years, when I was a freshman in college uh, my degree was in computer, uh, technology originally Uh-huh. and it seemed like it would, they were just getting out with the, you know, the disks and all that, getting away with the cards, you know, doing away with the, the programming cards Uh-huh. Right. and, uh, Yeah, thirty years ago I, I had a college job, uh, working as a programmer and we had to write code in binary and, uh, have it punched in on those little cardboard cards which, I don't think exists anymore. I know. No. You never see one of those punch cards anymore. Uh, I think T V has a lot to do with the changes, too. Don't you? In, like, people's attitudes. Well, very possibly. Uh, I'm not sure in the last ten years it's been very different from before. Uh, certainly in the last thirty I would say there have been significant changes. Even, even the change from black and white to color television. Yeah. Thirty years ago I guess there were color T V but I sure didn't have access to one. Oh. And, uh, but, twenty years ago, practically everybody had a color T V, and now I think they're as, almost as many, well, there are more T V than households, so it's close to getting, uh, one T V per person they say Yeah And now everybody, uh, has V C R and two or three V C R and that kind of thing. Uh-huh. Yeah. Certainly ten years ago, uh, V C R were just coming on the market so that's made a significant difference in the way I watch television for instance, because, uh, now I almost never watch a T V program when it's on. Yeah. I know. I tape it and then watch it when it's convenient and that way I don't have to worry about being interrupted. I can just put it on pause Yeah, and you can, you can flip through the commercials so you don't have to watch the commercials. Right. That's always convenient. Uh-huh. Yes, you can watch a program in forty-five minutes instead of an hour You skip the commercials. Uh-huh So, what was our question about, decline in Wasn't the decline so much. I think they just said the changes in, uh, social, social changes in the United States. Yeah. How was life different ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. So, Well, I can't really remember back that far, but ten years ago, uh, I don't know. I'd say, like in the nineteen seventies you remember how kids would walk around with A M, what do you call those, little A M radios Yes. and now people have jam box with C D players in them, you know. And, hand held T V and car phones. Yes. That's certainly, a difference. Yeah, that's another one, yeah, car phones is a good point, and, uh, cellular phones of all types and beepers. Uh, ten years ago I was working in a job at a medical center Yeah. and I had to carry a beeper around and they were kind of bulky and all they did was just, uh, make a beep noise and then you had to go find a telephone and call in to find out what they wanted you for and who you were supposed to call. Uh-huh. These days they have these tiny little things that are only about the size of two or three pencils and they fit in your shirt pocket and they have a little display screen that shows you a message and either tells you a person or a, a phone number to respond to and, Those are cool. Yeah, those are pretty neat. And they have the kind that just vibrates so you can shut them off, in a theatre or something Yeah. and you can still get your messages Yeah. But, let's see, social changes, uh, uh, Where do you think it's, where do you think it's going to go in twenty years? I haven't the slightest idea. I was just thinking, though, about a, a huge social change in the last ten years is AIDS. Yeah. It was just beginning to be recognized and noticed ten years ago. I, I know that because I was writing a paper about it. Uh-huh. I was writing a, a journal article. Uh, and they still didn't even know what caused it or anything. And, uh, there was a suspicion, that it was a virus Wow. but nobody had identified it and they were really just going on epidemiological, uh, uh, guesswork, uh, because the way it was transmitted made it look an awful lot like, uh, hepatitis Uh-huh. and then, from, from the spread pattern of hepatitis, they could work backwards to the transmission by, uh, blood and semen. Yeah. And then I, I'm curious what was your, uh, graduate study in? Well, I, I was in English as a matter of fact, and medieval studies, Oh, wow. Uh-huh. uh, but I went to work as an editor and writer, so, uh, uh, the, ten years ago I was working in the medical center, uh, publishing a journal and writing about medical topics Yeah. And, let's see, twenty years ago, I guess we 're were just beginning to get into what they were calling the, uh, the sex revolution where, uh after the pill Yeah. and, uh, uh, freed people up from worries about, uh, illegitimate pregnancy and, I guess in the seventies is the, the time when that was supposed to have exploded. Thirty years ago there was no pill. Uh-huh. You think that's caused a lot of pressure on, like younger kids today, to make choices that they probably shouldn't have to make? Yes. I do. I really do. I have, uh, four kids in college right now, children and stepchildren Yeah. and I know that the expectation for them was, uh, to have sex and, much earlier, than the expectation when I was in college. Uh-huh. Yeah. In my day, we talked quietly behind our hands about people that we suspected might be, sleeping with their boyfriends Yeah. Yeah. But, they certainly didn't expect everybody to and it was really only, uh, acceptable if you were engaged and planning to get married in, in the relatively near future. Uh-huh. And I certainly know from talking to my stepdaughter that girls in high school were under a whole lot more pressure nowadays. Oh, yeah. It's kind of scary when I think of what will happen in twenty years, you know, when I have kids and they're grown and uh, just kind of some of the changes that will happen even more so. And I guess the answer, is, is, stay flexible because nobody can predict what's going to happen in twenty years Seems like it can't get much worse. Yeah. I certainly wouldn't have been able to twenty years ago tell you what, uh, my kids were likely to be like. Course, one of them was just a, a, a brand new baby twenty years ago, so I sure wouldn't have been able to predict for him. Uh-huh. Um. And some of the other ones weren't born. Yeah. So, sounds like America's going to become even more communication society with faxes and cellular phones and worldwide communication Yeah. and, Electronic mail. Yeah. I just got on that this past, about a year ago and that's made a difference in the way I do my job because it's so much easier to get hold of people and get quick answers to things. Even when they're on another continent. Yeah. It's pretty wild. Yeah. Even, you know, that reminds me, Federal Express was around ten years ago, but it was used as kind of an extreme emergency Uh-huh. and nowadays people use Fed Ex, all the time. Yeah. Sure do. Huh. People do seem to travel more. It's much more common for people, even teenagers to be going to Europe and South America and, Asia. Yeah. Uh, I was almost thirty before I got off this continent. Yeah. And, uh, both my kids had been abroad when they were still in high school Yeah I know that's what, uh, what my family was talking when I picked up and moved to Texas from Indiana and they were like, well, you know, thirty years ago we wouldn't have done that, you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, especially come home every couple months. Yeah. You know, and, Okay, what do you think are some current trends in, uh, the way families spend time together, based on what you've seen. Um, I, I think that it's getting to where they're not spending time together. Yeah Um, I think, uh, like in my situation, today, on a weekend when couples are supposed to spend time together, my husband's been off doing his thing all day today, and I've been off doing my thing all day and I haven't seen him since eight o'clock this morning. Really. So, uh. Are you newly married, or, Um, two years. Yeah. Same, same situation here, I've been married about ten months, so. Yeah, I can, I can, I know what you mean. It's, it's really hard, hard to find time to spend together when you both work full time and, uh, you both have hobbies that are different. Yeah. you know, if you have hobbies that are the same, then, you know, you can enjoy your hobby together, but my husband and I have different hobbies. Is he a hunter and a fisher and all that. No, no, he's a record collector and a Hot Wheels collector. That's that's wild. Um, so he was off today, uh, looking at, at records. Uh-huh. So, uh, and I was off, you know, doing, you know, household type things. You know, laundry Yeah. and, um, did some shopping and stuff. Um, from the people I've talked to, I don't know if I should bring this into it, but, um, a lot of the dads said that they would probably choose careers that are more, um, where they could manage their own schedule and, uh, they could spend more time with their kids Uh-huh. because they look back and, you know, they're all like, um, kind of regretful, I think. Yeah, I, I think, I think that would be the ideal situation, I think that would be the ideal situation. I think that a lot of people, like in my case I, I do shift work. Uh-huh. I don't, I don't have that choice. Yeah, same here. Um, I have to be at work at, at X hour, you know, at just, at, at a certain hour and I can't, it's not flexible. Yeah. Um, it, it would be nice to be able to have flexible hours and, and maybe after we decide to have kids I, I might find a job that has flexible hours. I I hope so anyway. Um, but I would, I don't know. At T I, is that where you work? Uh-huh. It's really kind of sad, some of the people that I work with they, like when I worked on second shift, um, their their kids go to school during the day and then they wouldn't see them at night, because they would be in, you know, at work and the kids are all ready in bed. Uh-huh. And so it was kind of like, they see their kids for fifteen minutes and the same with their spouses. This relative may work even a weirder shift like weekends, or something, you know. Yeah. So it was really sad, you know that a lot of families, um, have to, well, you know, have to have dual income. A lot of people choose to, which is fine. Yeah. But, uh, you know, then the kids kind of suffer. Yeah, I, ideally, it it would be nice to be able to just have, like, back in the old days, you know, back like when I grew up, you know, Uh-huh, huh strangely, high Yeah. the, the mom stayed home, you know, and raised the kids. My mom didn't go back to work until I was in junior high school. Yeah. Um, so she was there pretty much all my, you know, formative years. Yeah. And that was nice and I liked that and I would hope that I would be able to give that to my kids. Uh. But I think with the way the future is, um, economy wise, I don't think it's going to be realistic. I know. Unfortunately, that's probably true. Um, do you think the, the parents spend quality time with their kids are do you think it's more like watching T V and stuff like that, not really, uh ... I, yeah, I, I think that, I think very few spend quality time. I think most of the time the kids are usually off watching cartoons or playing video games or stuff, stuff like that. Yeah I think that, um, uh, most, most kids that I see don't really, they don't really value quality time. Yeah it's always that way until it's too late. Until, until they're older and then they look back. Yeah, it's true, um. What's, what are some other questions they have, , I'm not sure. I know my parents are growing up, I guess they never spent much time watching T V. In fact, I've never seen my mom turn on the T V, we didn't really have one . Oh really. Yeah, and, and they spent a lot of time like outside with us and stuff, but, you know, my dad had his own business and it was easier for them to do that, but, I, I don't know, it was, I guess I didn't realize what a luxury it was at the time. I, I think kids now a days are raised on T V. I mean that's, that's almost like a T V a surrogate parent. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good way to put it. And not a, and not a very good one at that. Yeah, that's a pretty good way to put it If I had kids, well if you had kids, what kind of things do you hope to do? like paper Um, I, I hope to, of course, be able to teach them right from wrong. I hope, I hope to be able to spend, um, their growing up years, being in the home, you know, not having to work. Um, and being able to do, Yeah. I, I, I know a lot of people who, um, um, I work part-time also, and I a lot of people that I work for are, mothers that stay home. Uh-huh. Um, and they, they do a lot of volunteer work and they're real active in the community and, um, they do a lot of things with their kids that they wouldn't ordinarily be able to do if they were working. Uh-huh. And I'd, I'd like to be able to do that. I'd like to be able to stay home and be able to spend time with my kids. Do volunteer work and, be in clubs and stuff, Yeah. yeah, I agree. I hope that happens, in my case. Yeah, but, I think that's for the, the few and far between. I think that, uh, probably ninety percent of the, of the, um parents out there are, are probably working parents. Yeah. Yeah. Huh And I, I don't, I don't really see that, that trend changing much, if anything, I think, there's going to be fewer and fewer, uh, single income families. I know. Yeah, and what's sad about that is day cares end up instilling values in your kids. That may not necessarily be consistent with yours. Yeah. Exactly. See I, I never, I don't even know what day care is really all about because I, I never went to a day care center, Yeah I never, I never had that kind of experience. Huh. I, well I don't even think we had I don't even remember them being around when we were little. Yeah, I, I see, it seems like that's, that's a big trend, you know, in the last ten years. Day cares have, have, have popped up and become a lot more, um, a lot bigger part of, of the kids' lives. Yeah. It's like a home away from home for a lot of them. Sure, is, um, well, I guess we could ring this off since we, we've exhausted all of our ideas, we seem to agree. Yeah, I, I think, yeah I think this is a good closing point. Yeah, so, Well it was really nice talking to you. Yeah, you too, I wish you the best. Thanks you too. Okay thanks. Uh, bye, bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, do you vote regular? Yeah, Every one. But, uh, that's just since, in the past say about six years. Before that I really didn't pay any attention at all. Well see, that's me. I've never paid any attention to voting. Oh, you haven't? Huh-uh. Yeah. I didn't use to, but now I really, because I get so angry about what goes on and then I feel like I can't really complain too much, unless Unless you have something to do with it. Yeah. Right. But the problem is, that I am very liberal politically and so I hardly ever have anybody that wins that I vote for Oh, liberal, by, what do you mean by liberal, um. Liberal politically, I'm, you know, like pretty left wing Democrat, so. Well see, I don't know anything about politics. Oh, you don't? Uh, what's the main, what's the main difference between Republicans and Democrats? Okay, well, there's a lot of them, um, it depends on what issue you're talking about. But Democrats are, on a lot of issues are more liberal than Republicans, and well it used to be, it's kind of hard to say now, especially after Desert Storm, but, um, I think back in the times when, uh, my political opinions were being formed like in during the Vietnam war and stuff, the Republicans were more, you know, what they called Hawks, which is more like aggressive in war and more pro war, and pro aggression Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, um, the Democrats were the Doves, they were more for peace. And I'm not sure how much that holds true anymore, I think, you know, the issues are, Okay, and you vote for the Democrats or, Yeah, Usually. yeah and Democrats usually are more supportive of public assistance programs, Uh-huh. and, and programs to, um, the big Republican thing is that they don't, they vote for less government, they want less government involvement, in society Uh-huh. and so they're more, less apt to vote in, you know, more aid to people, or more, uh, they're less apt to vote in programs that involve the government running things. Huh, okay. So, so have you ever voted at all? No, I never have. You haven't? Huh-uh. How old are you? I'm twenty-six. Oh, gosh. I know, I I, Well. well, I don't know that much about it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I don't keep up on it and I don't feel like I have enough knowledge on it to even, you know, to pick the right person. Yeah. Yeah, Uh-huh. So that's what they need, well, it, uh, they said something to improve voting. Uh-huh. If they could make it more, oh, easier to find out, you know, what's going on. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Like, uh, like to me, I don't, I didn't know what would have been wrong with, I can't even remember who ran for president against Bush. I think it was, uh, that woman, wasn't it a woman. No, it was Dukakis, from Massachusetts. Dukakis. Okay, didn't he have a woman, or wasn't, or was that Reagan. There was a woman that was running for vice president for a while. Oh yeah, that was, Ferraro. yeah Ferraro. That was a while ago, that was a couple elections ago, yeah. Okay Yeah, that's okay. Well, that's what I mean, like I didn't know what the difference between Dukakis and Bush was. Uh-huh. You know, I didn't know anything about Bush or Dukakis. So what do you think about, uh, what do you think about what you see on T V about them, like in the news or on the ads, do you kind of just, Okay, I don't remember anything about Dukakis, You don't? but, well they're all saying that they're going to do, you know, whatever is best for their campaign anyway. Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's what I mean, if they had some kind of public programs where you can just go out and, Uh-huh. I don't know, like you know, in school they didn't teach you about uh, the government, not really. Right. You didn't get any government classes? Huh-uh. Yeah, it's really hard too, because before they used to have, um, a lot of, it seems like the stuff that they put out now, it, I mean, I, doesn't just seem like it, I know for a fact that the, any kind of stuff that if you, wrote and asked for material, well what do you believe in, what do you believe in, they don't take any stands on anything. They kind of say, well what do you want me to believe. Yeah. Or they word it so that it's really hard to tell where they're standing on certain issues. Well I'm not sure they're, yeah. I know how they do it. Uh-huh. It, like with the abortion issues and stuff. Uh-huh. Yeah they have to kind of take a stand on some things, like abortion and things like that, so that's kind of, how I judge. There's a few things where they have to say yes or no, like abortion or gun control, or let me see, I try to look at what, if some of the newspaper articles, or the, I don't trust T V as much, but newspaper articles can show how they voted in the past and, but you get, you know, Right. it all depends again on who's writing it and who they're for, because they can slant that too. Right, and like I said most of the the politicians, I'm , also the politicians put out what makes them look good anyway. Uh-huh, yeah, yeah. And everybody's got, you know, stuff they don't want known. Right, everybody's got a secret So, Well anyway, I'm sorry I didn't, I didn't have much knowledge. Well that's okay. Do you think, do you think, um, I don't even remember this being on there. I mean, what would it take, like, God, this is really good actually, for to talk to somebody who hasn't voted, I mean, what kind of, Incentive? how would it, how, what kind of stuff would they, would you like them to do so that, that you would know more about it. Like send stuff in the mail or have it at the library or, I guess that would be good, now I'm sure they've got it at the library, you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I mean if I get to the library. I've got two babies, so, I don't, yeah, Oh do you? Yeah, that will tie you down a little bit. But I, I don't know. Or do you just not, do you feel like it's not really going to make that much difference if you don't vote or, Oh, I know if enough people think like that it, you know, would make a difference, if people stopped thinking like that. Yeah. Yeah. Um, well a lot of people, they'll vote the way their family votes, you know, Then like your kids or whatever will follow you and just vote Democrat, Uh-huh. Uh-huh, yeah. right. Uh-huh, I mean, Well, not in my family No. We're kind of, we're really independent. All split. But a lot of families do that. I know a lot of wives feel like they have to vote the way that their husbands vote. Right. And that kind of keeps from getting a lot of issues resolved Golly. I lie. Huh. But well, I don't know, if I did understand politics I probably would vote more, Uh-huh. But like I said if I voted for Bush, or like when, uh, Gary Hart was running, a lot of women would have voted for him just because he was nicer looking, Hart? Uh-huh. not that I think he was good looking, but, he was young. Yeah. Yeah. And then, I didn't think that was right, because he may have been a good president, or whatever. Uh-huh. But because it, what, he had an affair, Yeah, yeah. and it just threw him out of the whole running. Yeah. And a lot of people go by their, uh, personal life when they vote and, Uh-huh, yeah. Which I guess if you got turmoil in your personal life, you're going to let it come into work but, I'm sure there's a lot of people that have had, Uh-huh. I think everybody does, it just depends on how well you can hide it. Yeah. You know, and I, that's very true, I, I think that doesn't really have that much to do with, um, unless they've done something really horrible, you know, or something real abnormal. Well, Well, criminal or something like that's different, Yeah, right, but, if him and his wife weren't getting along, but otherwise. Uh-huh. I mean, what is, what effect does that have on him running for president. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. It's all so secretive, see we really don't see the, the true person anyway. That's right. I think that's, that's having a big effect on how poorly that the country is being run, is that, um, the, the election, the people that want to get elected are turning it into a popularity contest by advertising the things that, you know, that really don't have anything to do with how well they do the job. Right. But see they're trying to find an excuse not to deal with what, you know, the issues that people really want to know about, because on those issues you have to say yes or no. And if they don't say yes or no, then maybe somebody will vote for them that wouldn't have if they had come down on the wrong side. Do you know what I'm saying? Right. So they just try and make it a personal thing, I mean, if you remember any of the T V commercials from the last presidential campaign, in they all had, uh, pictures of Bush with his grandchildren, walking around with his grandchildren and even from Reagan, it was all just like, looks like a McDonald's commercial, you know. Uh-huh That's about what it looked like. Well what did you think of Reagan as a president? I just thought he was really inept. I don't think he did anything at all. He, they just kind of sat him up there like a puppet and the people that were, Do you think he won from Carter because of the, um, the hostages that were held at that time? Well I think that was part of it, I think there's a lot of the economic problems that the country was having at the time and the, the recession and stuff, Uh-huh. people just had a picture of Carter as not being real capable, but he, actually, all right, this I thought he was great. I thought Carter was good too, and that was, yeah, Did you? I always liked him, I thought he was great at the time and I, I just couldn't get over the fact that Reagan beat him. I, you know, that I just couldn't believe that he got voted out. But, I think I wasn't, well let's see, that's been about ten years ago, right? Uh-huh, yeah. Okay, so I was only fifteen or sixteen, but I remember Carter and I liked him. You did? Have you heard stuff about him lately, do you know what he's doing? No, I sure don't. Well he is just, he is really active still politically. He's been overseas. You remember when he was in office he did a lot of stuff for the Middle East, for Well, what are your, did you like, do you use credit cards? Uh, not very often. I usually, uh, the ones we use is like Visa and we always try to pay it back at the end of the month. Huh-uh. I have, uh, uh, . So it doesn't get , uh, uh, the credit, uh, Right. the interest rate is so high that you're really, if you're going to use credit cards you need to use that policy, I think, don't you? Yeah. Otherwise, you end up paying so much more for your merchandise that it's hardly, uh, it's not a very good idea. That's right. Do you have a lot of credit cards? Well, I have a lot of them but I don't use them very much, though. Right. I use them mostly for big things, like maybe, sometimes, uh, tuition if it's, you know, if I'm short, to go ahead and get it and then try to get it saved back as quick as I can. The other thing, I, I think if you do get overextended a little bit, you need to be sure and pay it off, uh, more than one at a time, because I think you could run forever paying what they require. Oh, yeah. Just goes on and on. Which is what they want. Yeah. I think a lot of people go in debt because they think, oh, you know, I can just charge it, but really, I mean, if they don't have the money then, they aren't going to have it in a month, so, Yeah, that's true. they, uh, make the mistake of, pushing all their cards . There are times, when it's, when it's very useful, like, uh, emergency trip, or something. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes when you, when you, the money will be available, but it's, you know, not immediately handy. I think, uh, they're very helpful, plus the fact that it's helpful not to have to carry a lot of money sometimes. Right. But, uh, I, you really do need to be very, um, oh, responsible about it or you end up in deep trouble. Yeah. I made that mistake when I first got a job and that's kind of like, it took me quite a while to pay them off, Uh-huh. so after that I decided, well, I'm not going to use them at all, and just try to pay cash for everything and that worked for a while and then we got married so we decided to, you know, if we used them we would pay them off as we go. Right. So, Right. That can be very handy under those kind of circumstances. The other thing about them is too, if you really don't, you really need to get some and use them because if you have never used them and developed, and haven't developed a credit thing. It stops you from doing a lot of things. If you, if you pay for everything by cash, uh, there is a lot of things that a lot of people who will not give you credit when you need something like a house or, a car. Right. That's true, yeah. So, so they, they have become a very vital part of our, of our monetary system over the last few years. Uh-huh. But, uh, it's true, you have to be very careful or you end up, uh, going in the deep end and, uh, and an awful lot of people are in trouble. Uh-huh. We have a boy living with us who works for a credit card, uh, company that, and he makes calls to people who have problems, you know, credit problems, that are trying to work out Huh-uh. and, uh, Poor thing he comes home very depressed every night because the world has so many problems of that sort, Oh. so it's, it's, uh, it's, uh, it's a really big problem I think, and, um, takes mature people to, to treat it, uh, Yeah. so that it's, so that it's a real advantage to you, instead of a disadvantage. Right. I think, um, the way the tax system was, they encouraged people to use credit cards, you know, with a big write off at the end of the year. Yeah. But now, it's like, it's punch money, because Right. It didn't do you any good now, does it? you cannot, right. You cannot write off your interest. Even before it probably wasn't, though, because you didn't get anywhere near as much as what it, you didn't get to claim anywhere near what you ended up paying. Yeah. So, well, I'm not, other than that, I don't have too much on credit cards but, It's good to talk to you. Yeah. You, too. Thanks for calling. Uh-huh, bye now Bye. So. Okay, do you exercise regularly. Yeah, I sure do. What do you do? Uh, I ride a bicycle quite a bit and uh, work out with free weights Okay, I love to ride a bicycle. I live right near White Rock Lake, so I used to, I try to ride, about ten to twenty miles a day. But, I haven't been doing so well this year, Oh, that's good. but, I went an, last year I went an was exercising on a bike for a while and I, when I'd gotten back I had gotten some sun that day, the sweat had built up on me and built up under my skin and caused me to peel. It was the sweating, not the burn Oh that's weird . that was wild But, I exercise, I don't exercise now, I just had a baby three months ago, I haven't really gotten back into exercising. Oh, yeah. But I exercised real good for a couple of years. It was aerobics and lifting weights three nights a week and it was running three nights a week. So what's your motivation? What, what's my motivation? Yeah. A friend of mine, always pushing me. This was in Louisiana. And she would push, you know, she was, hey, let's go do it, and you know, she wouldn't take no for an answer Was it for health, or, to look good? Oh, I I just wanted to look good, yeah, I was think, it wasn't really health related. It was just a side benefit. Yeah, yeah, because I'm not , I'm not big or anything, but I'm not in great shape, so. But when I worked out, I got in pretty good shape. I didn't build up muscle, though, I just got real good and toned. Yeah. I don't think women look good with muscles. Up to a point. Up to a point, no, yeah, Yeah. It's just some of those women that come up there looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger's sister just doesn't get it. Yeah, so what was, what was the other question, let's see, do you do it as a task or do you enjoy, enjoy working out. I guess it's a task 'cause I can't make myself do it lately. Yeah, I think I, uh, I enjoy it sometimes and there's other times when I just get tired of it and, and I feel like I'm obligated to do it, because I've been doing it Yeah. so I should keep up. You don't want to lose yourself. And there's some days it's just like it's the hardest thing in the world to, to get started. Well how old are you? I'm, uh, twenty-seven. Okay, so you're still young. Yeah, still young, getting older. We all are, so. Yeah, but, uh, It's not hard to stay, well if you keep working out when you're young though, when you get older, you know, your body's not going to look as bad. I seen an old woman today, she was about eighty and she looked so good, Yeah. I mean she was standing just as straight and tall and she had a small waist and she didn't have, you know, like, you know, how some older women will get the big bulge right in the middle. Right. she didn't have that at all. She, her lips were a little bit wide, but a lot of, back in her time, they liked women with big hips anyway Right. so she may be keeping that on purpose, so Yeah, I notice if you, uh, if you stay in shape you don't age as bad, Uh-huh I think, too. I was, I go to school, too, at night and last semester I had stopped working out 'cause I hurt myself and started smoking a lot, and you just, those kind of things age you more. Well smoking ages you quick, Right, an it puts those little wrinkles around your lips. right an you can't, and then, you know, it just kind of feeds itself. You smoke, and then you don't work out because you, You get winded. Right, and so, Oh, I smoke a pack a day an, I finally quit because, like I just, all I was doing was going down hill fast. I can't quit smoking, I've tried. I was telling a friend of mine that I'd be almost as bad as being an alcoholic, Yeah. I can't quit smoking. I've tried, I just can't do it. I quit when I was pregnant with my kids, but, you know, as soon as I had them, right back to it. Right back to them. Yeah. Yeah. It was like, you know, that was the only reason I quit. I didn't want to. Oh that's, And I don't want to quit smoking, I enjoy that. I said I have very few vices, I'll keep this one thank you Yeah, yeah. But, uh, did you ever go to like one of those health clubs or anything? I went to health club a few years ago, and now I work out at home, because I don't really, my schedule with school and work, I don't have time to get down to one. Uh-huh. There used to be one that was a twenty-four hour that I used to go to but, uh, I actually prefer to work out alone. I like to work out with people, Really. I need, like you, I, I need competition, is what I need. Yeah. I've got to have somebody to compete with, or I don't want to do anything. I wouldn't mind having, you know, working out with a friend and, and stuff but when you get into some of these, some of health clubs where you just stand around and wait. Uh-huh, are you, You know, I like to start, get it done and get out of there. Uh-huh, are you married or anything? No, I'm not. No, well, get your girlfriend to work out with you. A lot of women like that. I'd love it if my husband would ask me to work out with him. He doesn't work out very often. Course, he don't need to. He's small and he works as a laborer on the railroad. Yeah. So, you know, he's building his muscles up all day, he doesn't have to do anything. Right. He can eat like a horse, too. And he don't, you know, he don't gain it like I do. But, uh, Uh, especially having a kid, I guess, tends to just gain weight because you have to, to, to, uh, Yeah, you have to. Well you can gain too much weight. I gained a little bit too much, but I looked, with my first little boy, I did gain a lot of weight, I got, I got about fifty pounds overweight with him and I didn't loose it until two years ago and then I got pregnant and, you know, ruined that, so Just have to start all over. Yeah, well, actually, like I say, it ain't as bad this time, because I was in shape when I got pregnant. Right. I wasn't out of I wasn't overweight when I got pregnant with him, I just wasn't in, in shape. I don't know the difference but, Yeah, some people are a little bit fanatical about it. You know, I, About weight? Well yeah, and about, working out and fitness, you know, Exercise. I like to, to work out to look good and stay in shape and, you know, I know it's good for me, but people that live for it and, you know, eat a bunch of different pills, and, all that kind of stuff, it gets a little bit obsessive. Well that's what my friend did. Well, she was, she was with the wheat germ and all the vitamins and everything else and really, we was, you know, even with her taking all those expensive vitamins and stuff, we stayed right on the same track with each other, you know, developing and everything. Yeah. Yeah. Now there, you can take those, uh, what is it? Steroids. Steroids, yeah, I couldn't think, Yeah, there's really bad for you. I was I was trying to say hemorrhoids, no, I was trying to say hormones. hormones. Yeah, hormones, but yeah, uh, steroids. But, I stay from that crap. Yeah, it's too dangerous. Oh, I wouldn't, I could just see hair start growing out of my upper lip or something. Yeah, I had a friend whose brother did steroids and as soon as he stopped working out he just ballooned out. It all turned to fat and he just, really looked bad. Really. Ugh. But, uh, I didn't know it did that. I don't know if it does to everybody, he was, it, just that's how it affected him. And he, I don't know, just, Yeah, but I've been wanting to get me a bicycle, or a bike. I've been wanting to get a ten speed to ride around. I'm scared to run, for dogs. Course I know dogs can get you on a bike too, but, seems like it, Yeah. At least you got a chance to out run them that way. Yeah I don't like to run myself. I've thought about it several times and I just, it, I like to move a little faster and cover more ground. Well they, yeah, they've come up that running is not as good for you as they thought it was. It's probably, I would think it would be hard on your, your legs and your joints and stuff. Yeah, it's real hard on your legs and it's hard on women. And it, it just makes stuff move down. Yeah. And, uh, but I, I, I like jogging, I don't mind that. I can get out and do that, as long as it's not hot. Uh, I can't. If it's hot, you can't do that. But in the rain, oh, I love to run in the rain, just, you know, be careful not to slide. Yeah. But you can't ride your bike at all in the rain, can you. No, you can't, it's dangerous. You slide. At least maybe some of these mountain bikes you could but a regular ten speed with those skinny tires, you slide all over the place. Uh-huh. Yeah. Oh, I, when I did ride my friend's bike, that one time, I had, uh, I don't know what I was trying to do. I was trying to make a U turn and I never could make a U turn in a bike, I can do it in my car, but I tried to do it on that ten speed and wrecked and I told her a dog was chasing me But I wrecked it into the curb. I didn't hurt it too bad. I scratched it on the, the oh, she had some kind of fender thing going over the back tire, I think. Yeah. But oh well. Anyway, it's been nice talking to you. Yeah, well. And, uh, Well good luck with the, the new kid. Thank you, she's, it, she's good. Anyway, have fun exercising. All right. All right, bye-bye. All right. Do you have a bunch of factories and stuff out there? Um, we've got quite a few, actually. What we're more concerned with is the inner pollution in the city. The, uh, Um, we've actually had some warnings in, uh, Raleigh uh, on air pollution. Oh, you mean for like smog and stuff? Uh-huh, because of there so many cars, and we have a belt line around Raleigh where we're trying to divert traffic. Huh. And, um, you know, it's still, it's just surrounding the city, and you can actually see it. There's a couple of, uh, tall buildings in Raleigh, Uh-huh. and, and you can actually, you know, they're blurred, they're even dark, and what it is is the pollution. Huh. What do you think of that, uh, the greenhouse effect that's going on? Well I guess that's the fluorocarbons Yeah and, uh, that's causing the hole in the ozone. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's very serious. I mean, we can, we're even feeling the effects of the weather from, uh, uh, the shift in the jet stream. Uh-huh. It, it is scary though, isn't it? Oh yeah. I mean, uh, the last two, uh, years, our winters have been absolutely nothing. Right. I mean, maybe, one snow. Well, all right, North Carolina. That's up there by Kentucky, isn't it? Kentucky? Uh-huh. Uh, North Carolina is all the way on the east coast. Okay. It's further west than Georgia, it's, uh, right below Virginia. Okay. Well, Kentucky's next to Virginia, I'm pretty sure. Well, I'm from Kentucky, I should know but, I don't, I'm sorry. But Kentucky, we use to have severe, I mean, just real cold, cold winters Uh-huh. and we'd have three and four feet of snow. Course here in Texas they don't have snow, they don't know what snow is. They freak out when there's snow on the ground Uh-huh. Originally I'm from Texas so, I mean Amarillo. So, uh, Oh, Amarillo? Uh-huh. Well that's close to here. Yeah, real close. How long have you been in Raleigh? Um, I've been out of Texas about ten years. Well, how old are you? Oh, twenty, uh, seven. I almost forgot my age. Okay. Well, we're the same age. Oh, really? Yeah, I forget my age all the time, so that's okay. It's, I think it's just something that goes with the territory. Um But to me, Texas, see and Kentucky, we had to have ice on the ground for them to close school. Okay? Uh-huh. In Texas, I'm serious, if it gets cold and it looks like it's going to rain, I, I swear they close everything down. I just laugh. I mean, I do, they get, I mean, and traffic slows down to nothing. Actually, they've been doing the same thing here. It's, you know, it's kind of funny, they, um, I guess northerners are different, but even, uh, North Carolinians, they don't know how to handle cold weather. Oh, well, no I'm from the north, that's why I said we, in Kentucky, we, I don't know, you just get used to the weather, and of course the people down in south, they they're not used to cold weather and stuff, and, uh, it just, Uh-huh. I don't know, I just laugh every time they have a, every time they have snow, on the ground everything's closed up. And you know, you can have snow on the ground and not be slick on the road That's true. But, uh, Do you all have much pollution there? No, not really, I mean, not to see it. Now of course, there's, you know, T I is here, Oscar Mayer Uh-huh. and there is a few factories, but I don't see much pollution going on. Well, you know, what irks me is these cars that are driving down the road, Uh-huh. and you have that black smoke coming from their tail pipe. Well, see, they have that, um, what is it a test, or something like that they call it. Uh-huh. And, uh, that's supposed to cut down on it. Well, supposedly that's supposed to catch it. But I'll tell you what, and even these buses, oh lord, it real bad. These buses in Raleigh, Yeah, school buses and the commercial buses, Oh, yeah. yeah. I mean, school buses are notorious. Well, they're burning that diesel fuel is what it is. Oh, yeah, yeah. And, uh, it, it gets bad. Well, you know what they've started doing is, is instead of the tail pipes being at the bottom of those buses they've started putting them up at the top, Uh-huh. and that way it gets above, um, other cars on the road Well, that's a good idea. and, uh, it really does make a difference, although it, it settles, you know, even if it's at the top and it's a lot of black smoke coming out, it still settles, and, and, you know, if you're going to be jogging on the side of the road, that's, that's even more miserable. I would, I'd have to go out to the country to jog. Well, uh, the, you know, pregnant women aren't supposed to walk along a highway because of that smoke fumes. No, I didn't know that. When I was pregnant with my first little boy, I had read it, because back then because I was walking back and forth, well not back and forth, I was walking home from, uh, the college I was going to in Kentucky. Uh-huh. And I was having to walk along the highway. It was just one day a week. But it was, in, I, I have no sense of smell, so I couldn't smell this, but it would make me sick, and I'd be real tired anyway just from walking along the highway. Um. Uh-huh. Golly, that's, that's bad. But, yeah, it's, yeah, all the exhaust. Uh, well, that was four years ago, too, it's probably a lot worse now. Oh, I'm sure. Yeah. Well, they, um, you can really feel it, you know, in your breathing, even normal people, and if you're older, um, I mean, you can really deplete your oxygen, and it'll, you know, pass out, Uh-huh. and it's, you know, it's killed several people. Do you, uh, smoke? Um, actually, I'm a very, I just smoke one in the evening if that. So, I'm a very, very light smoker. yeah, it's kind of It was kind of funny. They were doing some, uh, ozone testing, and, uh, the E P A and they were just screening some candidates, and I don't think I'd ever, you know, do that, but they, uh, asked me if I was a smoker, and I didn't fit into the smoker's category, and I didn't fit into the nonsmoker's category. Um, it was, you know, I was just one of those Yeah, because you do smoke one a day. yeah, in between people. So that kind of threw them off. Um. Uh, But they're doing a lot of research here, uh, the E P A For the air pollution. For ozone, and oh, yeah, all that. They're, they're real big into it. They've got Research Triangle Park here, and they're, you know, they're just doing a lot of, uh, lot of stuff. Huh. But, they, I don't hear much about it down here. Course, Texas, we don't have a bunch of pollution. Huh-uh. But, too, we've got that air coming in off the coast. Oh, uh-huh. And you know it'd blow it up north. Uh-huh. So, maybe that's part of the reason it's not so bad down here. Uh-huh. But, no it would seem like it would be the same way in, on the California coastline, wouldn't it? Oh, gosh, I think I would hate to live in California, the smog there. Uh-huh. I mean, I can't believe they have warnings here, which it, it's mainly just when it gets real, real hot. Uh-huh. But they usually have that everywhere because of the humidity especially. Really? well that's kind of good to know, because I thought lord, I thought I lived in a halfway decent area. I think they do that for most everybody. Um. especially, it's usually for the young children and the older, the old people older old people. Uh-huh. Well you ought to come to North Carolina. It's a big change It is? Yeah. There was no trees where I was from, in Amarillo, and here they've got the mountains, the beach, the trees, you know, it's they've got streams, rivers, ponds, Oh. it's really pretty here. Oh, well, this is pretty wooded area down here so, Is it? in a lot of parts, yeah. I know Texas is supposed to be flat, but they've got, you know, down by the Denison Dam there's a lot of, uh, Uh-huh. Sherman and Denison, do you know my grandparents live in Durant? They do? Yeah. They live close then. Yeah, real close. I go there, In Durant, Oklahoma? Yeah. You go where? Uh, you go to visit them? Oh, uh-huh. Oh. Yeah, we used to go fishing in Lake Texoma. Yeah, well, down by Lake Texoma there's a bunch of wooded area. This, but, but Kentucky's beautiful. They've got trees, and trees are supposed to, you know, purify. You know what the best indoor purifying plant is for smoke and stuff? huh-uh. It's a philodendron. Oh, really? It's supposed to filter the air for you, in your home. Well, I'm going to have to get some. I had one. My husband bought it for me when my daughter was born three months, four months ago. Uh-huh. Do you smoke? Yeah, I do. Do you? Yeah, I do. Did you smoke when you, when you were pregnant? Yeah, I did. I couldn't make myself quit. Well. I did cut down a lot I mean I can understand that, actually. I got, I, I've got one vice and smoke is, smoking is it. Well, I don't, I don't drink, and I try not to cuss, and I do, I do very little, and smoking, I just, I got in the habit of it when I was about thirteen. Yeah. Well, one thing I miss is, uh, is the people from Texas, are, are, you know, I miss their morals, their values and everything. It's, uh, Yeah, we're down here at the Bible belt, aren't we? Uh, I wasn't saved until I got down here, and people down here are just, there's so many Christians, and it's so different from Kentucky but, Uh-huh. How'd you get involved in this research? Um, I worked at T I for a while, but then my brother-in-law works there, and he got me into it. Oh, I see. Huh. How'd you get into it? Um, I, I was taking a voice I O class and, um, and actually doing some research, and so they told me about this project. Well, it's fun, I like talking to new people. Uh-huh. And I, half the time, well a couple of times I've been interrupted by my little girl, I've had to hang up and stuff. Uh-huh. But I enjoy it. I talked to people from, well, what, Carolina now up in, uh, Boston, and New York, Uh-huh. well Boston is New York, isn't it? No. Uh, no, Boston's above. Boston, Massachusetts Uh-huh. But I've talked to people in New York, but I've talked to a lot of people in Texas, because I guess, it's because T I down here. Yeah, I've talked to a lot of people in Texas. I had one call actually from Charlotte, North Carolina, and Virginia, and, um, I can't remember where all. From up north, like you said, I think one was from Boston. With Boston, I love their accent I do, I love the Boston accent. I met a girl from Boston one time. My husband was in the service, so we went from Kentucky to Louisiana down here to Texas, Uh-huh. and his family's down here. Uh-huh. We're out of the service now. Oh, I bet you're glad. Yeah, he got out of it, his unit, right after Panama. We went to he went to Panama when Noriega was doing all that. Uh-huh. Oh, gosh. And, uh, he ... Well, uh, it seems to me that, uh, that I do not know whether the jury system, uh, I, I should not say I do not know. I do not feel very, uh, stronger that the jury system should be changed. It seems to have worked, uh, time immemorial. And when, uh, difficult decisions, uh, are made, uh, uh, uh, they generally prove out to be right by things that occur later on. Uh-huh. Uh, I know in some cases now in some states, depending on the criminal code, uh, a unanimous verdict is not required. And indeed some juries are no longer twelve people, they are down to as little, as small as six people in, I think, in petty, in, in, uh, in, uh, in minor felonies, and, uh, and misdemeanor trials. Uh-huh. Uh, I think that the judges should be left to do most of the sentencing, simply because, uh, there is always, uh, there is, there is always a jury that might be swayed, uh, by the moment, uh, to either to be too lenient or too vengeful, I guess. Yeah. On the other hand, uh, attorney, uh, uh, justices are more apt to, uh, understand, you know, the the prison crowding problems and things like that, and have that sway their decisions one way or the other. You know. Yeah. But, I mean, is not that, uh, is that a reflection then of what is really happening in the real world? If, if, if they keep giving everybody hundred year sentences, and the people in various states, it does not seem that people want to be taxed to build more prisons. Or even in, for that matter, uh, repair the, uh, the lack of judges and, and, and other, uh, Yeah. I think that is what is happening. I think, uh, the judges are trying to save the people from having to, the cost of new prisons. Yeah, They, yeah, you know, that might be it. I mean, they, they certainly, they are saying, oh, well, you know, the, the people cannot afford it. I do not, I don't know how it is in Virginia, but in Florida now, uh, uh, uh, at eighteen years, someone was just sentenced to eighteen years, I heard it on TODAY, uh, without any specific recommendation for, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, waving the normal, uh, procedures. And the eighteen years will, uh, translate into something like, uh, four point seven, if every, if the, if the prisoner is a model prisoner, Yeah. and indeed the present overcrowding conditions, uh, prevail. Plus, I guess, there was some credit for time this guy had already spent in jail waiting for trial. Right. So, uh, yeah, you might be right about that. I, I, I do not know, it just seems to me that only about, uh, from what I read, only about ninety percent of the only about ten percent of the cases come for trial anyway. Right. And, uh, only about, uh, four or five percent of, uh, in the, in the very end or less than, less than half the trials that go to, uh, less than half the cases that go to trial, uh, end up with, uh, with the jury actually making the verdict. With a conviction? Oh, okay. That most of it is plea bargained, uh, half way through or, or most of the cases are plea bargained anyway. Right. But, uh, uh, how do you feel about the, uh, about the jury system itself? Do you, do you think that should be changed? Or do you, do you know in Virginia whether it is, if they have smaller juries or, Uh, I do not know exactly what the size of the juries. I know one of my friends was, uh, uh, brought up for jury duty. Yeah. For, and he only heard very, you know, piddly type cases. Most of it was, uh, robberies or things like that, you know, it was not any serious crimes. So apparently even for the smallest crimes, they give the person the, you know, any felony anyways. Yeah. Well, I guess we, they give the person the option for a jury. Yeah. I guess we always focus on criminal trials with with the jury. But I know you have a right to ask for a jury in, in any sort of a case that even where damages are, are, are, uh, are the result of some sort of a, uh, an action that you are bringing against someone else. You can ask for that to be heard before a jury. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Takes a heck of a long time, I guess, to get there in some states. Uh-huh. I, I, I do not know, uh, I should imagine Virginia, from what I read, uh, uh, is like every other state. It, it is faced with, uh, uh, enormous costs to maintain the jury system and the prison system and the entire trial system. Because I guess, everywhere I read that there is a shortage of judges. Right. Right. Not that they won't appoint them but there is no budget for them, I guess. Or, and the courthouse that goes with them and the bailiffs and the clerk, uh, court clerks. Huh. Yeah. Whatever. So it seems, uh, no, I, I, I do not think I would change it. The more I verbalize it, I, I do not think I would want to change the system. Right, I do not know what we would replace it with uh, I do not think I would either. Yeah. I know, it, uh, does seem like the, the, the, the purpose of getting people in jail so that, you know, the, the, I cannot think of the word I am looking for. Anyway, the deterrent. For people to, to commit the uh, to not to commit the crime is sort of gone away. Yes. People have, I do not know, they just do not care any more. The benefit, I guess, of crime outweighs what the deterrent is. Uh, and yet there are, there are so many, there are so many people in prison. You know, people that, I mean the prison population, uh, as far as I, I, uh, you know, my impression of it is that it has, that it has doubled in the last ten years and tripled in the last twenty. Um. I mean it, so has our, I guess our population has grown some too. But there, there definitely is, uh, uh, you know, to me the, one of the worst things that could ever happen, uh, from what I read and see and understand. I mean I do no think I could handle prison. Yeah. I mean it would be very difficult, Well, I would be interested in finding out what the, uh, percentage of drug related type things are, Well, there must be a, a, a, a very great degree of that. and, uh, Yeah. But, but there again I, I do not know if the, the jury system itself, uh, comes in to play there. I would think that, one of the things that sort of bothers me is the ability, of course it is a constitutional right that the press must have here, is the interviewing of jurors after the trial. I mean that, it seems to me that, that, that when a jury makes a decision, they should not be asked, uh, before television cameras and newspaper reporters how they reached that decision. I mean, I do not, Yeah. I imagine there is a certain, certain right of the press to have the ability to ask that. But I, I would think I, if I did anything, I would protect the juror from, from any sort of an inquisition after Well, I know, uh, on the other hand though, when, after the Barry trial, up here, you know, the big local trial, as well as national. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, I do a lot of business up in Washington. I was there during the, during the trial actually, yeah. Yeah. And the opposite was true of me. Uh, after the case was over, I was like, somebody get ahold of these people and find out why in the world did they vote the way they did, you know Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like, well, a picture is not good enough. We want to see, I do not know what they wanted honestly Did they want the guy to, I do not know. *qy but its' abandoned I mean, just because you feel like he was being kicked on, which he certainly was, you know. I think, I, no doubt in my mind the federal government picked him out and selected him to be prosecuted. Oh, I felt that way. I felt, I felt, But it does not matter. The guy was obviously guilty no, but, Yeah I always balanced in the, in the situation. I remember the jurors, uh, I thought to myself, how did, how did they only, I think they only, uh, found him guilty on one count. Which was, uh, not even, which was a class something felony. Which was not even punishable, uh, uh, to the degree that they thought it. One, one count. Yeah. But I do not know, maybe when you are there in the in the courtroom yourself and you are sitting there and you have got to make a judgment on somebody. And the prosecutors do a lousy job, or maybe the evidence was not as sensational as the media presented it. I mean, I, I am not making excuses for Yeah. That might be it. Well, yeah. I think we are getting, I think I am getting a call coming in. Oh Okay. All right, nice talking with you. Well, it has been nice talking to you. Thank you. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Okay. What you mean, my voice? Yes. Oh, no I am from Kentucky. Originally Oh, well. So, Well, the topic today was gardening, and lawn care? Uh-huh. Ooh. I know, we are about to hit it in ten, few minutes. I figured I could make this call and get it over with. We are going to mow and trim and edge, Yeah. and that is all we have been doing all weekend. You know what? It seems like we are doing it here forever. We bought a, a large house that was completely unlandscaped. I mean, it, it was probably was up to your shoulder in, in thistles. That was all that was there. Uh-huh. And we hired a professional landscaper to do it. And I have since then probably ripped out half of what he has done because it has always been incorrectly planted or the plants do not make the winter time. And so I am kind of at this point getting a little bit broke and deciding that what we are going to do is we are just going to struggle through the rest of this year, probably through the Fall too. And, uh, rip up, rip out all the rest of these junipers or anything that requires, uh, more care than I am willing to give the kids and replace it with hollies. Uh-huh. Uh, how many kids do you have? Just two, Okay. but they are just eighteen months apart so it seems like a lot more. What year, I mean, how old are they? Four and five. Four and five. Goodness. Uh-huh. I have got a four year, uh, a four year old and a four month old. And an eight year old stepdaughter. Oh, well, I have a twenty six year old stepson, and I do not know if that counts. Well, you do not have to tend to him. Well, I did for many years. So, Oh, you did. Okay. It is over with. Yeah. He is gone. Yeah. It is over with. Uh, back to gardening. Are you one of these, uh, Howard Garrett, organic enthusiasts or a, Neil Sperry, nuke the lawn with chemicals? If I can just nuke it, I would do it. But I do not. I just, it is like, oh, I will get out there and pull my weeds. I do not have a real big front yard. But I do have half of it is a flower bed, just about, all by the porch. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Because the porch is pretty big, I live in town. But just pulling all the weeds out of that just drives me nuts. I do not like it. And I just went out this weekend and bought me some plants and stuff. And I just plowed through the whole nine yards. Got up everything. There was some plants that are just Spring bloomers Uh-huh. and I, the when the blooms died, the leaves were just horrible looking. Uh-huh. So I just broke all them off. It was a hyacinth. Have you ever seen those? Oh, yeah. Oh, they are pretty in the Spring But the leaves, I do not like them. You know, once, All right, now are you sure they are hyacinths? Because that is a bulb. Yeah. It is a bulb. Well you should of just ripped the whole thing out. No, because I do like the, I like the plant in the Spring. I love those pink flowers. They are just pretty. So I just cut the leaves off and transplant and put some other plants down. Because I want them to come back up next year. Have you had, is this the first year they have been up? Yeah. Well, let me tell you, they do not come back very well at all. Maybe they will if, up further north. But down, and you are not that much further north. I have probably planted oh, around here, um, maybe six hundred bulbs. Of hyacinths? No, I have probably have done hyacinths. Oh, of everything. But I have just learned from doing hyacinths that if you really like them what you do is you dig the bulbs up and then you throw them away after they are done blooming. Because they do not take the heat here. And if they do come back next year, they are going to look real puny. Oh, they will? Yep. Huh. About the only bloom, bulb that repeats well in my area is the, uh, uh, daffodil and some of the narcissus bulb. Okay. Now I have got some daffodils. And, everybody down here calls these flags. Uh, the irises I guess, uh, They call them flags? That is what they call them down here. They get, uh, just one bloom on the plant. I do not, I am not sure what they are called. When does it, when does it bloom? But I do not much, Well, I think they are stopped blooming now, in the Spring. It has got And what color? oh, they come in all different colors. The blooms are, on some of them is yellow, purple, white. Just all different colors. And you only get one of them? Well, I mean, per bulb. You get one big flower that looks like a lily. I do not know what they are called. I have always called them, well, I do not know what I have called them But when I come down here, everybody told me they are flags. You know what I bet you they are? And I am a pretty, I am a pretty good gardener because I have killed a lot of things here and, and I have planted a lot of them. And, and I work on a, uh, landscape committee for our neighborhood. Uh-huh. And our neighborhood is a planned development with, I think, it is seven hundred and fifty-five families. Uh-huh. But we have about sixty acres that we have to plant. I am going to bet you that is a lily. Because it is, Yeah. It is some type of lily. And I will get, uh, is it, what color is, is yours blooming? I have got some in the backyard that bloomed blue. Which I would not, would have liked those in the front because they match my porch and stuff better. And then some on the side of the house with the dusty purple color. With little purple spots that it, it will fade into a solid purple. And what does the foliage look like? Does it fit that, Green spiky leaves. Now it looks almost like a hyacinth only a, a lot higher. Oh, And it is a bulb. oh, oh. Oh, I bet you those are, I bet you what those things are, uh, is a Dutch iris. Dutch irises. I bet you it is a Dutch iris. Uh-huh. Does it, does it on its little, on its, on the flower, does it have a beard on it at all? Any kind of fuzzies? You know, I, I really do not know. I am going to bet you that, that has got to be blooming this time of year. It has, No, they are, they have, they're died down. I am sorry, they are dead now. Well, I was just going to correct myself. They bloom in the Spring. Because they would have bloomed pretty early. Yeah. Well, They bloomed in the Spring. Yeah. Right about after the daffodils? Right about the same time or after. Okay. I will bet you those are Dutch iris. I would took, I took and just mowed over them last year. Uh-huh. And, uh, we have been, I, I do not much care for them. After the bloom dies, they are not pretty. And to me it just looks like a bunch of leaves. Well, But I took them out of my front yard, and I just threw them on the side, intending to transplant them or throw them away or something. And forgot about them through the whole Winter. Yep. Well, I went out there this Spring, and they had took root right where they were, on top of each other. And they told me that they are the hardest things to, you know, to kill. Well But they are real easy to grow. Ooh. Does that help? Well then it is not, it is not a Dutch iris then. Oh, gosh. I do not, I am not sure what it is. They said that they are irises. It is some type of iris though. Huh. But they call them flags up here or down here, down here. Well, I am not so sure that Texans know what, what they have got. Yeah. I do not know what it is. I am, I am not on, I am just getting into gardening this year. Did you just move down here? Uh, we moved here a year ago Yeah, last Spring. We moved in here May, this house, May of last year. So it was really too late to do much. Um. Who, who, who, who. Because I have got a flower, I have got, I have probably got, do, do, do, do, I do not know how many square feet it is, a big circular driveway. The whole, uh, perimeter bordering the house is all in Texas wildflower beds. And I am into that. Oh. And it, and it looks quite formal. I mean it really does, it looks quite formal. Well, that is, But it has been about three or four years of, uh, uh, playing around with flowers to decide which ones actually grow here. Well, what kind of blue? I am wanting I want blue and purple and, you know, just different shades of that. Because my, my house is gray, You want blue? and blue looks so pretty against it. Uh-huh. Ooh, blue is hard, you know. Do you want a perennial flower that will bloom all Summer? I bought, well, I would like to have one that would bloom next year too. That will come back up. Okay. Put in a perennial blue salvia. Now it is going to grow about, um, the plant itself will grow about eighteen inches tall. Uh-huh. And it will send out a flower spike. You will see them blooming now. It is a wildflower here, but you can get them in the nursery. I am looking for a pen. I want to write this down because, well, that is where I went this year. Because I waited too late to really plant stuff. But I did not know that these hyacinths, like I said, I do not know anything about plants. I did not know the hyacinths were going to die. Right. Right. Right. You are finding out who you are. But is not that difficult to do when you are working full time and have to come home and prepare a meal and, get homework done, Well, I think, and, you know, where do you find the time. Um. Well, in the first place it's not your homework, it's your children's homework. Uh-huh. And I was always very careful to be there only when they came to me and asked me for help, Uh-huh. I helped them with exactly what they asked for and that's all. Yeah. That's a part of the problem that women have always had and that is accepting responsibility for things that really are other people's responsibilities. That's very true. They, They, And then that way, we have not changed in, hundreds of years, have we. That's right. Yeah. That way husbands are crippled, Yeah. they are intellectual cripples, Uh-huh. and so are children. Uh-huh. They do not know how to think for themselves and be responsible, for themselves. Uh-huh. I do not know why God made women brilliant I, Didn't he though Yes, but I do not know they tend to look at the mother as the one who solves all problems. They, are all things to all people, That's very true. and that's never changed. That's, that's very true. I, as a matter of fact I was talking to a friend yesterday, who said she has a new policy in her home and when her, her family comes to her and says, fix this, you know, I am having a problem with, you know, another member of the family, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. she said I have taken a new stance, and I say, no, I will not. Uh-huh. You know, you work it out for yourself. Uh-huh. And she said, it's amazing, she said, you know, Uh-huh. every single person in this family expects me to get, and they suck me into these arguments and, these conversations That's right. and I I am supposed to be the one who is going to fix it all and, and soothe everybody. And she said I am not doing it anymore. I, I just, You know I think that's one of the things that we have today that is very useful, and I think every woman ought to deal with it or, ought to at least be exposed to it, and that is mediation training. Um, uh-huh. Uh, we are not talking about strikes or things we are talking about mediators who get involved in family crises, parents and children, husbands and wives, uh, you know, boss and employee. Those kinds of things. Interpersonal mediation, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. because, the mediator is an unbiased bystander who, We're to discuss a little bit about the process of putting someone in a nursing home and making the decision on a family basis and, probably the first question would be whether you've ever had to go through that process. Well, not so much personally but my, um, husband has an aunt who has been like a second mother, I mean always lived in the same town and took care of him and such. They live down in College Station where, his parents do too. And they put her in a home last year. Uh-huh. She appeared to have a couple of light strokes and started to, uh, not be able to be in her apartment on her own. Uh-huh. So they found a, a place nearby that they put her in last year. So it was pretty much a physical decision? Uh, yeah, although she is, uh, in pretty good health and she's, doesn't take any medication, it's just she had had her own apartment and drove a car and everything up until that point. Um. Then she was starting to get, uh, you know, lose memory sometimes and, which is kind of frightening when she's in the car. Yeah. Uh, My husband's family are reaching that point but it's, it's so difficult. Was she in favor of it or, or was she kind of opposed to it? Well, yeah, when it finally came down to it, um, she just got to the point after the, I mean, it wasn't a very, um, strong stroke. It was just kind of all of a sudden she wasn't herself anymore. Uh-huh. And she got kind of fearful of being on her own. She never really ate very well. It was one thing. She hardly ever took care of herself Yeah. and she didn't eat. She ate very poor so I think she was, you know, bad, uh, nutrition on top of it. And, uh, she got to the point she didn't want to alone anymore. So, So often I think though, elderly people don't realize that their diet is that bad. I work with a lot of elderly people, I'm a trust officer Um. and so often they think they're adequately caring for themselves when they're really not eating very much or very balanced meals. Well, she was almost ridiculous. Like she'd eat ice cream and cookies. She'd, Yes. Well you know that's part of the aging process, That your taste buds goes back to the sweet taste. Didn't one, It really is. Oh really? Yeah. Uh-huh. Well she didn't want to cook for herself anymore. Yeah. Oh, that's too much trouble. That's too much trouble. Didn't want to cook. And the portions, people don't want to try to figure out little bitty individual meals. I do that right now, Yeah. and I'm not near nursing home age. Although they've got, uh, Meals On Wheels, Which I understand is a really good, you know, way to handle that so that at least they eat. Yeah. Uh-huh. So as a family you all just visited nursing homes or probably in College Station there wasn't a whole lot of choice. No, I don't think there was. Um, I know a little bit more from a, a co-worker. Her mother-in-law had been in for quite some time and had different degrees of a place that she was in. Uh-huh. Um, she was ambulatory and so there was a lesser care. Uh, then she got, uh, uh, hip broken and then, uh, she wasn't as ambulatory so they were almost, you know, to the point of saying she can't be here anymore. Uh-huh. But, I remember from her checking around, she ended up staying at the Arkansas House I think out in Arlington, something like that. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know the type of facilities whether it's a shared room or two separate rooms that share uh, a, uh, bathroom. All of them all seem to say that people there are going to steal their items Oh yeah. That's a given. They're always saying that somebody's going to, and some of them, I think unconsciously do it, you know, as a just, you know, half Uh-huh. And sometimes the, the help there does it, I think. Uh So, they, they, uh, don't have too many facilities it seems for their personal items. Very limited space waste Uh-huh. but, um, at least they all seem to have, uh, you know, people that monitor their, uh, medication intake and dining facilities, you know, go to the dining room and, and eat some good meals. Uh-huh. I know when my friend's mother-in-law first went in, I mean, very antisocial. Maybe it takes a while for them to say, okay, well I'll be with other people but, Adapt. Yeah, I don't understand that, they, they don't want to be with anybody else. Yeah. I, as I think I mentioned, I was in the trust business and I've seen so many elderly people. Usually there has to be some wealth involved, which is great, if, if you're financially, if, if you don't make the decisions so late that you're worried about money but the, the places like Presbyterian Village and some of the, the retirement places where, where they have different levels of care seems to be so much better, as far as elderly people adapting. Uh-huh. They're able to move in while they're still independent and still social Uh-huh. and, and they do group things. And then if health or, or mental capacity deteriorates, they're able to take the next steps without so much change and oh, I wish everybody could go that direction rather than just all of a sudden moving out of the home they've always been in. It's really kind of difficult. Yeah, I have a, um, my aunt's mother is, uh, gotten ill recently and, uh, she lives in Pennsylvania, they live in Alabama. And they're saying, hey, we need you to be closer and you have, women like that, Yeah. I don't to men, it seems like the women out just out live their husbands, but, very reluctantly, that whole, I mean Uh-huh. they don't get out of the house, they don't socialize but it's my home and I don't want to leave it. Well and it's the first step in, in actually accepting that you are failing and, and aging. Uh. You know once you make that step you know that it's just going to be downhill from then on and, and I've seen people really fight it that desperately needed to make the change. Um. They, they became, in fact, that's probably what's going to happen with my husband's mother. She's going to endanger herself before she'll willingly and probably will never willingly make the decision. And that scares me the, the thought of forcing somebody to do something. But it's, it's so lonely, you know they can't get out and see anyone and I mean, it's hard for, for someone like me to understand that Yeah. because I I think, what do you have there? It's a house, Uh-huh. it's walls and it's furniture but there's nobody there. Not as independence. Don't you want to be close to me? I mean, you know be with other people. Yeah. I just don't understand why they, so much want to just stay in that building. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And there's no family there, they don't get to see their grandkids, they don't get to see their children, they just there in that house. Yeah. And the quality of life really isn't there. Yeah. Oh it's tough, it really is. That's from the child's standpoint. The child is going, why don't you want to be close to me and your other family. Uh-huh. What does that house got attraction? Well, they fear being dependent on somebody. I know they're really proud of independence. They, they fear being a burden to, to family members. Uh. My husband's mother will have major surgery and we'll find out about it in a casual conversation. She'll let something slip and we'll say, wait a minute. And, and that's it, she, just, well I didn't want to bother you. She can't accept that we want to be the care givers. Well, when she got home, who took care of her? Yeah. Well, she stayed, she stayed in a temporary nursing home. Until she was okay. Oh. You know, it's just, but it's frightening to us because we live pretty far from her. She's down in Temple Uh-huh. and we can't see her often enough to really know what's going on. Um So, it's difficult, it really is and we're all heading that way and, Yeah, my, husband and I, we have been thinking about his folks are in College Station and we've pretty much planned that we'll be here in the Dallas area and there's nothing to hold them there in College Station since they're retired. Uh-huh. So we thought maybe we could get them to move a little closer here. Yeah Okay. We're talking about capital punishment. Right. How do you feel about that Lenore ? I am very much for capital punishment. Well, wonderful. I am too, one hundred percent. My Dad retired from the federal prison of bureaus. Uh-huh. And I've been raised around prison prisons all my life. All your life. Uh-huh. And I believe if you don't have a punishment befitting the crime, there's not any deterrent There's no deterrent. That's right. There's just no deterrent. That's right. And so many of those kind of people, they got, they have a better life in prison than they have on the street anyway so, you know, unless they really make it rough on them that's not a, going to prison for a little while is not much of a deterrent I don't think. Especially not a federal prison. Right. Well, I don't know what Oklahoma's laws are but Texas's I don't know are, I don't know it's, it's no one's I mean it's not the judge's fault I don't think. It's just the way the law is down here. Man our our, uh, prisons are so crowded that, uh, they can commit some pretty serious crimes and be set free within a year to two. Well, see we were under, uh, the state's prisons were under a mandate to, uh, it was over crowded and the federal came in and said, hey, you know, you have either got to build more prisons or let people go. Well, that's what ours did, same thing. And finally our governor at the time which who is not in office now came in and said, okay, where we draw the line is no sex offenders will be let loose. Under early bail, you know or early, uh get out. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh, we have, the death penalty is not given often. Huh-uh. But there have been It's not here either really. And you know, I, maybe it should be, uh, well, it should be given, you know, I, I won't say sparingly, but I do believe it should be befitting the crime. I do too and, and you know, but the way the courts are set up they've, they've got so many chances for appeal, but I think I think it needs to be expedited. You know if they've been convicted and given an appeal and they're still convicted of, of a crime that's deserving of, of a lethal injection, let's do it and not waste so many years to do it. Right. Of course, you know, they're, they're entitled to a speedy trial. That's right. But then they're, they're also entitled to drag it through the courts for years and years and years on appeals. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So somehow, you know, it doesn't really balance out too much. Yeah. That's right. Somehow it just doesn't, it works and then again it takes too long for it to work. And it seems even though, you know, that they got , the prisoner himself can come to the point that, hey, I'm tired. I just want out. Uh-huh. You know, I'm tired of fighting it. Uh-huh. Then the system just keeps on. Uh-huh, yeah. Yeah, it And at that point you know I, I really think there needs to be maybe a shorter appeal process. I do too. I think that needs to, and I don't see why it couldn't be shortened considerably. But, you know Well, part of that is the overcrowding of the court system. that's true. It is overcrowded because there's so much drug, uh, problem with the people on drugs because that they, with the drugs they're, they're robbing and killing and, uh, that's why it's filled the prisons up so much I think. Uh, it doesn't, it doesn't help them any at all No, it doesn't. and, of course, your court system when you get into the appeals, I don't believe criminal is in a court by itself. And the whole judicial system is backed up with a lot of junk that shouldn't be in there. Yeah, that's true. With all these lawsuits and people suing people over ridiculous things but, We've gotten into a very litigious, uh, type of life. Boy, haven't that we though. We really have. But anyway I'm glad to hear that you agree with me on the capital punishment. Well, I just, I'm, I'm very muchly for it. Always have been, always will be. I just feel like their crime and punishment and if, if you don't have the punishment, you double your crime. And the, you know, that is just personal feeling. It's not going on facts. I think the facts would probably back it up It could be supportive. It, it's it's supported with facts though. but, What? It could very easily be supported with facts. Well, yes. I, Um, tell me some about your camping experiences, Carolyn. Well, um, I have gone to girl's camp a few times, as a, you know, a chaperon or a leader, whatever Okay. where do you go camping at around here? and, uh, I enjoy camping. I, we we have a tent, and we've gone, even with our family a few times out camping and have a camp stove, um, I guess our, our, my biggest memory is when we froze to death We just didn't take enough blankets and whatever. Uh, we went camping at, uh, Lake Bonham, which is, is pretty close here. Um, we went fairly early in the season for this area, which is probably April is when we went, Okay. and, and it got really cold at night, and of course we were close enough that we could go back and get some more blankets and things in the morning, Sure. but, Uh, what, uh, what activities do you do when you're camping? Oh, we take little nature hikes and, and, uh, we take along games that we can play with the, with the kids, and just that kind of stuff. Usually try to have a, uh, occasionally a camp fire at night, you know, and roast the marshmallows and what all. Uh-huh. Well, that sounds like fun. I, uh, I grew up in South Dakota, up in the Black Hills Oh. and so we used to go camping, my dad would take us, there was, there was four of us kids, we'd, he'd take us, and we'd all go camping, my dad and my mom and, and the kids, and it was always fun, uh, because what I always remember is, my dad would let us pick our camp spot and, uh, he'd always tell us, you know, okay, look for, you know, a nice flat little area where we can pitch our tents, and it always had to be somewhere near a, a river so we could go fishing, and hopefully we'd catch our supper, but we never did Um. but it was, it was always fun. We'd always, Mom was always prepared and she'd bring along, you know, something, because tradition had it we would never catch anything, so we always had, something along to eat, but then we'd roast, roast marshmallows, and it, it was always an enjoyable experience. Uh, about nineteen eighty-two I moved from Rapid City in the Black Hills, I crossed the state to, to Aberdeen, and, uh, there's no hills, it's flat, and then I was in high school, and, uh, couple of friends, couple of my high school friends and I, we'd go camping out by a river, of course, and, and go fishing, but by then, of course, I was able to catch, uh, catch some things, but, it, it was always fun. It was a different experience camping in the hills versus camping just by a river Uh-huh. you know, in the hills we, we would do like you you folks did, you folks did, would take the nature hikes and, you know, and look for animals, and we always, you know, in the hills, you can see quite a few different animals, but, Uh, Go ahead. We used to live in Utah Okay. and, uh, of course, there's lots of mountains around there to camp in, and, and streams and stuff. That's, that's a great place to go camping, and the hiking is just really great. You know, hike up those mountains is just really fantastic. Um. Sure. Now is there anything, uh, are there any mountains or big rocks a person could hike around this area. I'm not acquainted with any, you know, I, there's woods and things out in East Texas Tyler area, you know, Okay. there's a Tyler State Park that's, uh, really a nice camping area, but it, it's just a lot of trees, it's not, I don't know of any place in Texas that has, uh, really big, you know, what I call mountains Uh-huh. I, The Rocky Mountains are so much, uh, bigger than anything that they've they've got down here that, Right. Is the one in Tyler, has it been pretty commercialized, I suppose? No, it's not, well, it's not too bad. They have, um, screened in areas, you know, they're not really cabins, I wouldn't say, I guess they could call them that, but they're, they're more just a screened in, uh, camping area whatever, Okay. they're, they're not bad. Helps, helps keep the, the pests out, I suppose. Yeah, yeah Well, that sounds, I don't know if I can rate camping, but, you know, it sure beats driving a thousand miles, to to find a mountain, I guess. Yeah, that's right. I, I take it you haven't done a whole lot of camping in this area. No, we just moved down in, in June. Oh, I see. Well, you're still, uh, you're just trying to get over the culture shock still Yeah, I'm still trying to find my way around. I, if I can get on Central from anywhere, I'm happy. Yeah. Yeah, well, really the ideal times to camp in this area are early spring, and, in, in the fall. Okay. It just gets so hot in the summer you can hardly, I mean, there's, there's a lot, Okay. What type of things do you feel would invade your privacy every day? Um, huh. Well, I don't like it when, uh, people listen to my phone conversations, like if they're outside my door while I'm talking in my room or when people like look through my things in my bedroom Yeah, that's right. That is really an invasion of privacy. Yeah. I, I find it very annoying when I've worked all day to come in and my phone to ring constantly, the solicitors, and the carpet cleaning companies and, Uh-huh. Does that happen in your part of the country? Yes. Uh-huh. I, uh, I come home Definitely. and I am trying to get a few things done and I can't do anything but answer the telephone. Right Some evenings are worse than others, but I wish I could put a stop to it, but I don't know what to do to stop it. Right. Even, uh, we used to have a sign on our door that said no soliciting, and they would still come to our door and knock and Uh-huh. They would think it didn't mean them, I guess. I guess not, no. Everybody but me Yeah Oh, goodness. Are you do you live at home with your parents? Yes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. So your privacy is invaded probably by other members of the family. Yeah, mostly. Yeah Now what can you do to stop that? Oh, I don't know. Well, I am used to it now, but sometimes it sort of gets, gets to me but there is not much I can really do. No. No. Just have to live with it, I guess. Yeah. Try to remember to respect their privacy, and maybe they will respect yours and, Well, I don't know I always, Do you have brothers? Uh, no, yes, I do, but they don't live at home. Oh, okay, I was I had two younger brothers, and they nearly drove me crazy listening to telephone conversations and, Oh, I used to do that though because I was the youngest, I would pick up the phone and listen to theirs But I, I would get in the bathroom and lock the door so maybe they couldn't hear me, and then they would go get on the other extension Oh. and I could hear them, but I couldn't get them to hang up, you know. Yeah But I stopped doing that a long time ago, and they still do it to me. Even it, in the office I, uh, find that people walk up and, and when you're on a conversation instead of walking off or just making themselves busy, they'll stand there and listen to what you say until you hang up. Oh, like, yeah, this lady does that to me at work when I'm taking an order or something, Uh-huh. and she'll just sit there and listen like I'm doing something wrong, and she just started and, she is nice but. to someone in the Okay. But, you know, it gets annoying when they stand right over you watching everything you do. Yeah. But, Let's see, I can't think of anything else I'd really consider an invasion of privacy other than the phone solicitors. No About the only thing that really bothers me I don't have that many people coming to my door. Right. Well, occasionally we'll have a person here or there, but not, not as many as the phone calls, you know, Uh-huh. so. But, And I guess that's really the thing that really bugs me the most. I can't think, our kids in our neighborhood used to bother me, but they've all gotten grown up now Uh, and we live in a neighborhood where there is not any little kids to bother me, since mine are all grown up, Oh but. What else would be an annoyance? Well, I guess traffic could be an annoyance. Oh, yeah. Especially when you're in a hurry Do you have a lot of traffic in your area? Um, it can get busy, yeah. Usually in the week I'm . Uh-huh. Some days it's real, real bad here, and you would like to, feel like it's an invasion of privacy because you can't even ride down the road without people all the way around you, you know. Yeah, uh-huh. But, Yeah, I've traveled quiet a bit, and I've been through Dallas, Texas. It's pretty busy It really is, and pretty noisy. Yeah It really is. Yeah. I live right on a main thoroughfare, so when I first moved here I probably did consider that an invasion of privacy because it, at first you'd hear a lot of noise, especially at night you know, when you go to bed. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. And every time a, a fire truck or anything went down the road, I would wake up, but I guess I have gotten used to it because I don't even hear it anymore. Oh, yeah, I suppose you do. And, uh, I just close it out, I guess, because I don't, I don't remember waking up in several years at night when I'd hear a fire truck go by, you know. Uh-huh. Yeah. I think they would probably have to pull into my drive before it bothered me Yeah. I am a real solid sleeper though so that probably wouldn't bother me. I'd sleep right through it They would have to chop down the door and get you out, I guess. Yeah. It takes a lot. Let's see. What else is an invasion? I had an old boyfriend who looked through my notes one time Oh. I was mad because those were mine , Well, did you have has name all over them? No It was a, a letter from a girlfriend of mine. I, I just, I was upset because those were mine, and, you know, I thought he, That was yours. Yeah. Right. I thought he would respect me more than that, to look through my things and not trust me, Yeah. so that was upsetting. I was mad about that and my privacy there. Yeah. Uh, well, I guess social change takes in a, a big category, but, uh, I guess the, the one aspect of it that I took in, uh, consideration is more economical. Um. I, I know that the amount of, or how far your dollar goes probably more than anything has, has greatly changed. Yes, I agree. I know, they, they did a, it was on a talk show, they took, uh, the parents and then the, uh, the son, and they compared income at different points in time when the, when the father was, you know, was a little bit younger and more in his heyday Uh-huh. and they, and they compared to the son's, that he was making now. And even though the son was probably more successful, you know, higher up in the, the management ladder uh, his, he was actually making less money when you when you go by costs of living. Right. Um. Right, uh-huh. And it's depending on where you live, though, too. Yeah. I know just, uh, just with me, ten years ago, I was comparing the, I think I, I was living better ten years ago than I am now, even though I'm making more money now, but my dollar went a lot farther. Yeah. That's true. Ten years ago I was eleven Oh. I remember though, like buying candy and stuff that was a lot less expensive than it is now. And gas, Yeah. and I used to hear stories from my Grandpa, and, you know, he could see a movie for like a nickel and things like that. Yeah, well, I, I know gas prices have definitely jumped, uh, from, uh, I know I used to pay twenty-five cents a gallon and now it's over a buck. Yeah. I don't know what it's, uh, by you. Around here Minnesota, Wisconsin area it's, uh, it's dropping, but I think it's about a dollar fifteen on an average. Yeah, I'm from Wisconsin, yeah, . Okay. Well that's, uh, that's most of the people I talk to are Texas, so. Oh, yeah, I spoke to a person from Texas, too. Yeah. This is only my second phone call so I'm waiting for mine. Oh. I suppose this will be one of my, towards my last one pretty soon, so they'll stop me Um. but, uh, I'm, uh, I'm pretty much out to the things to say. Oh, like, like social changes. Yeah. Um, um, and I don't think this would have anything to do with it, but like clothing and styles, lot of those changed. Okay, yeah, I, I, I don't think they, they consider, like I say, it's a broad category, it's just I'm not economical but uh, even attitudes on, on clothing and stuff, uh, I know. Yeah. Uh-huh, definitely. Towards each other. Yeah, I, I, I know a lot of the things that, that we wear, men wear nowadays were, would have been considered, uh, feminine, uh, many years ago, but. I know, it's been, it was hard for me at first, Uh-huh, yeah. but now I kind of like, you know, a lot of the bright colors. Yeah. I mean, like I used to be more, uh, conservative and just your basic colors, but now I, I do like some of these, uh, brighter, fluorescent colors. Yeah, but they, styles come and go all the time, though. It's just ridiculous, fads in and out. And even, um, clothing from the sixties came back. Yeah. I see a lot of, um, girls wearing sixties clothes. Yeah. I, I, I guess the, the best thing I like to see from the sixties and seventies is, of course, is the mini skirt, of course One of the nice things, but, uh, yeah, I don't think that there's anything as original, it's, it's all based on, uh, one of the past styles, they just, um, make their, uh, circle and come back again. Yeah. So if you hang onto your clothes long enough, uh they'll, they'll be back in style in a few years Yeah That's true, maybe some day I probably won't be alive to see it, but prices might go down lot more. Yeah. I don't know though, doesn't look good. Well, I think, thinking back, I think the only style I hope doesn't come back is bell bottoms. Yeah, I remember that, I do I guess when I look at pictures of myself in the bell bottoms I say God. Yeah, I didn't really care for them either But now I, I was going to say, my, uh, college is Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and our head football coach, Dennis Muir used to be an assistant coach at B Y U. Oh, really. So I thought that was kind of an interesting coincidence. Huh So you went to what college? Uh, Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. And what did you graduate in? I in what major or what year? Yeah, major International business. Oh, really. Yeah. And you? I'm going to B Y U, and I'm going into nursing Okay. so. Well, that sounds interesting. How long of a program is that? Forever Seems like, anyways. It's about five years, but it's probably going to take me longer, because I didn't decide to major in that until, uh, about a year and a half after I was already in school, so. You know, I read a study once, and it said that, uh, like thirty-four percent of, uh, college students actually graduate in four years from a four year program. Oh, really. That sounds. It took me, it took me five years. Yeah So, you just, you get started and you change your mind, or you want to pick up a second major, if you're management, you, you, thought, I, I'll take that marketing, it's just only was three more classes you know, Yeah. and you, just doesn't happen that you get out in four years. Uh-huh. But. So what is your advice to picking a college. My advice is is, uh, look for, at the student to faculty ratio, you know, if you're going to go to a college where student faculty ratio is three and four hundred to one, I don't think you're going to have as meaningful of a college experience as if you're down to the thirty to forty to one. Uh-huh. Is that, what was yours more like? Yeah Was there a, it was about twenty-six to one. Really. Yeah. Oh, that's great. Which is, you know, it, it's interesting, but it, it's what I thought was nice is you could there was always time to talk to professor, you know, and, and they knew you. Uh-huh. You weren't just in their class, you know, and so you could, you could go talk to them in their office almost at any time, and, or if you ran into them in the student union or whatever, you know, you could sit down, talk to them about a problem. They're always willing to help you out. So, but I, I's, I, I put that against, uh, my high school where we had, uh, a biology class of three hundred and fifty students and. Wow, in high school? Yeah Oh. it was a biology lecture class Wow. and, you know, it, it just wasn't the same. You're sitting there, and you're taking notes and, you know, you got a computerized test scores, multiple choice, because there's no way they could correct a three hundred fifty point short answer test uh, you know, a three hundred fifty person short answer test. Uh-huh. And, it just wasn't the same. You, you'd run, you'd pass the teacher in high school and, even in high school you could say high to your teachers, unless you're in that biology class, and they just, they'd look at you like, do I know you? or should I know you? Uh-huh. Yeah, there's, it's, the classes here are pretty big, so, it's hard to get individual help It's kind of, you're on your own Do you get, uh, a lot of tutoring, or. No Very little, I mean, well, like my, for example, I have, I'm in a chemistry class right now Uh-huh. and there's tons of students in it, and there's one T A for the whole class. And he only has certain office hours, and so there's only certain times you can talk to him, and. And you could get there and his office hours could, I mean he could have like a nine to eleven in the morning office hours and have forty-two people waiting to talk to him, and you still didn't get to talk to him anyway. Right, yeah. Well, what would be your advice to a parent of a child thinking of attending college? Oh, man. I think your advice is good. Um let's see. My advice would be to pick a major before you get into college That's excellent advice. because I, I didn't, and I took tons of classes that I didn't need to, and, um, I don't know, I just feel like I'm, it's, it's going to take me a lot longer than, and not that's always bad, but it's, I don't know, it's frustrating, I guess. Well, it, it, it does get it. You know, you get to the point where it's, I'm never going to get done. Right. You know, I, I mean, I was taking summer classes and let me get out of here. Yep. But, uh, no, that's good advice. Even if you don't have your major decided on, have an idea what you think you might want, you know, so you don't want management, but you think you want business, Yes. I haven't, uh, talked to anybody outside the Metroplex, so I didn't even think of saying Arlington, Texas. This is a real first Yes. Are you at work? Yes, I am. I, I, I've been trying to get people at five thirty and six thirty in the evening and I thought, well, I'm not having any luck, I'll try the middle of the afternoon. Well, I'm, I'm happy we got through. I am, too. Well, do you have any, uh, opinion on the subject? Well, I'm, I'm especially interested with what, what's happening in the Soviet Union, uh, the, the move to, uh the, the, the, Ukraine's vote to, uh, basically to secede and set itself up independently uh, is quite a remarkable, counts, Democracy. Oh. is that, is that reported in the Texas papers? Oh, sure, we, uh, we hear a little of the news Uh, yeah, I have heard about that the last couple of days. How, how big is the Ukraine, the area, do you know? Uh, as an area, it's not, Or a population or anything, I'm really uninformed. I, I'm afraid I don't have the statistics in front of me. Uh-huh. It's a, it's not a tiny area. Uh, if I was looking at a U S map, I would say it was sort of reminds me of, of a, uh, it's not as big as California proportionately. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, but, but it's, it's more significant, in the sense of, it's a great agricultural region. Oh, I see, oh, I, I didn't really know that, I know a lot of their, oh, their countries that they had overtaken, or wanted to be independent or several of them, right, Yeah. And, uh, what about Astonia, are they, They're completely out now. Right, I thought they were. Yes, the three, the three Baltic, uh, republics got out as quickly as they could. But, but, the, the Ukraine is especially significant because it, of the agriculture? Right, it's, it's very important for the economics of the whole, of the Soviet Union. Uh, so there were probably really fight to keep it in if they could. Right, uh, except they can't fight No, they don't, It's done democratically, uh, And Bush has already given his opinion on it, right? Yes. Didn't I read that? Yes. So, now, uh, not that they may, that may matter, I don't know, anymore. I, uh, fear for the Russians from what I read, you know, I wonder how they're going to get through the winter. Food wise or any wise, Uh, sounds to me like they'll start rioting soon, or not that that would do any good, but I guess people do that when they're desperate. That, that's true, uh, hasn't happened here for a while, but it, uh, Well, that's true, since the Depression, I guess when the veterans went to Washington Uh-huh. and well, you know, the war riots, of course. Let's just hope we don't get to that point Things are not so good in Texas job wise. No, I've, I've heard they're, I hear you have some problems. Well, we do. We have lots and lots of, uh, layoffs here. Lot of companies folding, lot of layoffs and it's pretty scary. Do, do you, do you blame the, the government in Washington for this? Well, I don't understand economics that well. I don't know, I, I know that we have a terrible situation with foreign trade and that other countries put a lot of restrictions that we don't Yeah. and so I assume that that has some effect. Or a great effect. Yeah. Uh-huh. And I do, uh, I mean, they said during the way, Reagan-Bush years, the rich got richer, the poor got poorer, the statistics prove that so, uh, I, I guess, So then, you think it's, it's, you think it's Reagan and Bush have done this or is it just coincidence it was during this period? Well, I really don't know. I think maybe they, uh, maybe they contributed to it. Maybe they should pay more attention to these trade, or, you know, to the more equalization of the trade. Uh-huh. Of course, if somebody in, in China can make something for ten cents and we have to make it for ten dollars because we have unions, well, I don't know what's going to happen then. Oh, the Chinese use slave labor, too. Right. That's, that's one of the ways they get away with it. And child labor. Yeah. Right. Well, I don't know. What do you think has caused our horrible situation? Uh, I don't think there's any one simple answer to the whole thing. One thing. I mean it's, that's very complicated. Right, well, they say, too, that having a democratic congress and republican President is not good. I mean, I've read that is a theory. So which one are we going to throw out? Well, I hate to say it, but, I, I'm tending to go straight back into my original democratic party. Uh-huh. Uh, Texas, Texas used to be a democratic state, didn't it? Oh, I know, it used to, right. Well, you don't want too many democrats anymore and for a while I kind of deserted the party, but now it's looking better to me. I like your governor. Oh, do you? Oh, I'm glad to hear that. She's an impressive woman. Well, I think so, too. I, I just, admire her a lot. Yeah. And, uh, I I really hope she does well. But she's, uh, you know, probably more popular out of the state than she is here, although she did manage to win. Right But look who she was running against, you know Well, yeah, anybody could beat Claytie in Texas. He shot himself in the foot so many times How did you get on this T I thing? Oh, I, I know some of the people. Okay, go ahead. Well, I, I, uh, we're going to compare notes. Uh, Yeah. I, uh, I often desire to exercise, often believe I should and rarely do. Don't do it Well, I tell you, I, I firmly believe in exercising. I think it's a, I do it every day on a regular basis. I, What, what, what sort of, of regiment do you have? Well, I just got back from biking twelve and a half miles, but this time of year, you can't get much biking in. Uh, but every morning I use this President's, uh, council of physical fitness and it really is, uh, uh, it's worth doing, and you can do it anywhere. I, I travel quite a bit in my in my business, Yes. and you can do it, you know, wherever you're at and if you do it, I, I do it every morning after, uh, usually after breakfast before I take a shower and get, you know, dressed going you know, to go to work. Yes. Uh-huh. And, uh, now what I do, I mean, I've done this for, you know, like fifteen years, so you don't start at this kind of regiment, you know. Yes. I, so, what I'm telling you isn't something you go out and do and, and you'll hurt yourself Uh, every, every, uh, it takes me about fifteen minutes to do this now because I do it all the time, but I, uh, I do twenty-five, uh, uh, where you have your arms above your head and and your body twisters touch right, you know, left and right toe Uh-huh. and I do, uh, ten, uh, right and left, uh, trunk twisters. Uh-huh. And I do, uh, about sixty, uh, bicycle, type, uh, leg thrust type things. Uh-huh. And I do, uh, twenty, uh, leg lifters on each side. You know when you're laying on the floor. Yes. Yes. Right. And then I do fifty push-ups and do a hundred sit ups and, uh, then I do about, uh, My goodness, you do all of this in fifteen minutes? Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. And then, uh, thirty, uh, now if you did football, like the old grass drills where you're on your stomach and you Uh-huh. you know, prone type things, where you're kind of rocking on your stomach type thing, and that takes about, really about, maybe about thirteen minutes, uh in the morning. Yeah. Now what, what keeps you doing that. I mean, I, I sometimes start little, much less, much more modest efforts, but I give up, I just find them boring. Hard to find the time for it on a given day Well, uh, and, Years ago I used to, uh, referee football Yes. and, uh, to stay in condition, I did that, uh, just as a normal basis, Yes. and, uh, uh, I tell you just by doing it, uh, well, example, this summer I, I was about fifteen pounds heavier than I wanted to be so I, I increased, I do three hundred sit ups a day now, but not at that, in the morning, I do a hundred then and then I do about a hundred before supper and about a hundred before I go to bed. Uh-huh. I lost fifteen pounds just by doing that because you tighten your stomach muscles Yes. and, you know, you can eat anything you want, drink anything you want, but you don't, you know, within reason, you know, you can lose weight or maintain your weight and your physical being Uh-huh. Yep. and, uh, I just, you know, you're ready to go at a, I, I, I think it's really important. Well, I, I, whenever I do it, I feel good. I mean good that I have done, good because it's, it seems right and good because it has good effects. Good. But, but it's this maintaining a, a regular habit that I just can't seem to do. Well, that's why Chuck, I think, uh, if you did it on a daily basis and you didn't need elaborate things, you know, where you can make excuses like, Yeah. well, I, I like biking and during the summer, I'll do, you know, at least seventy-five miles a week and when I really was doing it maybe a hundred and fifty, Uh-huh. but you can't, you know, Uh-huh. there's excuses, weather Yep. or you don't have time or something like that. But if you do some basic exercises and you say every morning, just like brushing your teeth you're going to spend fifteen minutes or a half hour. And you get up a half hour earlier Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and once you start getting into that, one, you just feel good Yes. and you look a whole lot better. Yes. Do you, do you does your wife participate in any of this or, Unfortunately not, and there's no way I can get her to. Uh-huh. It's a, like it's something you either just really want to do it or you can't talk anyone into it. If you don't like to exercise, you know, it isn't going to happen. Yes, yes. I, I sure wish she would. She's, you know, unfortunately overweight, and, but she's a wonderful woman and you know, no sense getting in arguments with anybody, about it. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. Well I, I, uh, I keep saying if somebody else would do it with me, I, that would be, little bit of peer pressure would help considerably. Well, But you seemed to have solved that problem without any, any external help. No problem at all. And, uh, if you get one of these mats. You know, go to a store, they normally have these exercise, things, these A B C of physical fitness on them. Yeah. One of my kids got me one of those for Christmas one year and, uh, What, what, what, what's on, what's this mat, I mean, It, it, it's just an exercise mat that rolls up so you can put it up, you know, just in the corner. Is it like the sort of thing you take on a camping trip and sleep on it. Well, yeah, you can do that. I mean, it's that, it's that kind of like half inch of foam or something. But, but it doesn't, Yeah, it's a foam thing, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and it's, it's just about six feet long, rolls up Yeah. and I don't take it on trips with me. I, you could, but, uh, I don't mind, uh, you know, if I do like sit ups, I'll throw a, a towel down or something. You know, Yeah. so you don't have the abrasive, Okay, what do you think about, uh, the self insurance business? Well, I watched something on T V a couple of months ago by, uh, General, ex, uh, Surgeon General Koop. Uh-huh. And he talked about Canada's system and it appears to work fine for the normal colds and things like that, but the expensive stuff, heart, uh, operations and things, they have a managed scarcity. And they said that in Canada, there were as many heart, uh, trauma centers as there is in San Francisco. So in one city of, in America, there's as many, uh, hospitals that are equipped to do uh, heart operations as in the entire area of Canada, and that's kind of spooky. Well, I, uh, I understand what you're saying, and there's probably some truth to that. I think that, uh, generally I don't welcome added government responsibilities. However, when a, anybody can't police their own profession, it eventually leads to that, and I think the costs and the, uh, the way the medical profession has, every year I, being in my own business, uh, in the last six years, every year there's been at least minimum twenty-five percent increase in health insurance costs, and I think eventually the number of people that can afford health insurance, as, as it is now getting squeezed and squeezed tighter. Uh-huh. Uh, I think they're asking for it. I, I think the medical profession is just, just pushing until there's no option but the government take it over and, uh, Do you think that it's just, uh, medical guys? What about, you know, you know how expensive new equipment and technology is. That's where I think most of the cost is coming. Well, I, I think a lot of it is, uh, I, I don't disagree totally with that, but, uh, my wife this last summer, uh, when we were on vacation tore up her knee, and, uh, uh, it was ligaments, uh, in her knee, as it turned out, uh, Uh-huh. she came back that, uh, we were out at Cape Hatteras when this happened and, uh, she got home, and the leading orthopedic man, who has handled football people for years and is as good as they come, I mean, he knows knee problems okay, Uh-huh. I mean if anyone does, this guy knows it. Well, she goes in, he says, well, I think this is what it is, but, uh, you better go to the hospital and have one of these M R I things. A thousand dollars for this, uh, oh, magnetic, uh, resonance imaging type thing. And my wife said, well, do I need that? And he says, well, uh, you know, it, it'll help me diagnose this. I mean, uh, you know, I, I suggest you go have this thing. Insurance won't pick this up unless you're in the hospital. Now, a, thousand, uh, uh, dollars for thirty-five minutes. Oh, great. I mean, doctors routinely send people in for anything. Now, for years they didn't have this and they solved these problems, and, you know, Yeah . I said to her, well, look, you know, if you feel you got to go, go, but I, I think a thousand dollars, these guys, I don't know what it is, but there's, no doubt they get kickbacks to fill these machines up night and day. Uh-huh . And even if they cost a hundred, two hundred, five hundred thousand dollars, at, uh, roughly a thousand dollars every half hour, uh, that's ridiculous. I, I don't care what anyone says. You know, the costs are not, it's a picture. It shouldn't cost more than thirty-five bucks for something like that, you know, reasonableness. But they aren't reasonable. Fifty, a hundred dollars. They don't have to pay them back in three months time. No. Yeah, I'll have to agree, with you there, You know . but there's another problem, and that's the, how litigious our society is. If the doctor makes a mistake, he can be sure that he's going to be hauled into court. Well, I think that should be, that, that's a, another problem, but that's part of our legalese problem. And that, the government eventually will address too just, you know, because it's out of control. I, I agree with you. You know, uh, I was on a jury or I, I didn't make the jury, but there was a, deal where a doctor was going to be sued for malpractice on the death on an infant. Uh-huh. Like it was three days after it was born, and he was the one that delivered it. And they got four attorneys, one guy out of Houston, he introduced himself as snake so-and-so, and he says, well, anyone have trouble awarding five million dollars, and I says, yeah, I got problems with I mean, you know, five million bucks isn't going to bring this kid back, you know, I mean, as sorrowful as it is. Uh, you know, if the doctor is wrong, you know, he should be pulled from his license, but five million dollars and away he goes because insurance pays for it, you know, it, it doesn't make logical sense to me, but, uh, No, it doesn't. Uh, that's, You think about AIDS research? Well, AIDS is a nasty, terrible disease, and you die from it. So I think that, uh, they need to look into it and it's kind of like cancer. I don't, you know, how many years have we tried to find a cure for cancer. Uh-huh. I think it'll probably be as difficult. Uh, how about yourself. Um, well, I'm certainly in favor of AIDS research, and I think probably the government could spend a bit more money on it than it does. I think that because, besides the fact that it's a deadly disease, that it's a contagious disease, so that it's, um, although it is not killing that many people now, it still has the opportunity to get out of control and become a huge problem. Yeah, they say a million people are infected with the H I V virus, Uh-huh. and, uh, yeah, I think, That's in the world, or in America? You, Uh, in the country, America. Oh, really? Yeah Um, that's, and they have millions. Whose figure is that? I don't know. I've just heard it on the radio. Okay. Sometimes you hear things that, on the radio that, you know, could be true or couldn't be. Uh-huh. Uh, do you feel like this is, I, I guess they're spending a billion or so a year on this AIDS research. Uh-huh. Do you think they should spend more? Uh, I, I think they should, actually, although perhaps not a, an incredible amount more than what they're doing, and I don't necessarily think that they should, uh, fund AIDS research and, in the process, neglect cancer research or whatever. I think that it would be a good thing for the government to increase funding for medical research in general. What do you think, Doug, of Mister Johnson? Um well, I, well, I am sorry that he has the virus. Magic? I, um, I don't know, I don't, I think it's very strange that the media hasn't, um, questioned him more strongly to, about gay sex or intravenous drugs or anything like that, as they probably would for a lot of other people. Do you think he's the hero that he's being called by a bunch of other, a bunch of the media? Um, well, not, not really, though I mean, I think he's probably doing the right thing for a man in his position, but I don't think it's anything exceptional that he's doing. It's what many people have done already, who were just less famous. You know, I took advantage of the opportunity when, you know, he came out. I talked to my kids about it, you know Uh-huh. it's something that I hadn't, hadn't done before. Uh-huh. Uh. Well, that's good. I'm glad that Mister Johnson's changed his tune on, uh, safe sex to abstinence, or I was glad he did that, for young kids, because a lot of kids would have ended up dying because of what he was promoting. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, let's see. What are some of the other questions. Uh, you don't, uh, let's see. I don't have any friends that have the disease. I guess you might, might not. Um, yeah, I do. My cousin, does, for instance. Is it pretty nasty? And, um, Yeah, yeah it is. He's actually, um, he had AIDS related complex for a while, and he is now in full-blown AIDS, really not doing very well, and has a brain tumor or that sort of thing. Yeah, it sounds awful. Yeah, it's, it's a very nasty thing. Is it just that the immune system ceases to function properly and, Um, yeah, that's, that's basically it, that, um, the immune system can at first slow down, and the white blood cell count goes down, which is, that's AIDS Related Complex, but then when things get completely out of control and it basically hits bottom, that's AIDS And, and in that case, you know, people are prone to getting any kind of, you know, weird cancer that only animals got before Oh, really. and, yeah, that sort of thing, Okay well, There we are. All right. Um, um, well, uh, tell me about the car that you've got. Well, I have a Honda, um, hatchback, nineteen eighty-four. Uh-huh. And I had a hatchback, a nineteen seventy-eight version before this one. Uh-huh. And, uh, I'll be honest with you. I have never found any automobile that has been more conscientiously constructed and, and, uh, put together and it, it does its job. All I have to do on my Honda is change the oil and the filter every thirty-five hundred miles, and I, I did have to put two, two new front tires on at fifty thousand miles, but that car just purrs like the day it was built. I get forty-two miles per gallon on the highway and uh, twenty-eight to thirty driving around in town. It's a five speed straight stick machine. Uh-huh. And, I can carry more in that, uh, that trunk area in my little Honda than I can in the big cars, and I have a large, um, Pontiac, and I have a sixty-nine Cougar, which really is, I'm saving because it's, it's old, but it's in beautiful shape. Uh-huh. But I can carry as much in my Honda or more than I can in, in those other bigger cars. Well, that's very interesting. I've had, I've had exactly the same experience with the one that I've got. It's a, and surprisingly it's also an eighty-four Oh, oh. and, uh, L X? Yeah, I'm still here. Um, I'm sorry what? It was an L X? Yes, it's an L X, it's not a hatchback, but it's, um, it's, uh, Uh-huh, yours is a four door. Four door, yeah Uh-huh. and very, very comfortable car. Big roomy trunk Yeah. uh, and, uh, and very happy with it, and I must admit it's, you know, if, if, if, uh, my only consideration were, were, you know, buying another car just to tool around town in and make, you know, brief trips and things like that, I would very, very seriously consider buying one. Uh, I think they're extraordinarily reliable cars. Yes, they are. Um, my, my real concern with, uh, uh, why I'm not sure I want to buy a Honda, is because I have to make a kind of a, a steady, um, trip down the road about once a month, because I'm divorced and I have a daughter that lives down in North Carolina Um, uh-huh. and, uh, I drive, down Interstate Ninety-five, and it's just an absolutely wild highway. Ninety-five is wild in any car. There's no doubt about that Yeah and, because I, I, I run over to Crystal City, or used to, I'm retiring the end of this month Uh-huh. but I'm very much aware of the crazy driving that goes on over there. And, you, well, you've got it, and, uh, so having precious cargo in the car with me as you can well imagine, it's very hard for me to imagine that, that, uh, a Honda's going to be as safe a car as, as the one that I've got my eye on, which is a Volvo. Uh-huh, uh-huh. In, in fact, quite frankly I've owned a Volvo in the past, and uh, I've, I've, Uh-huh. they're expensive cars to keep up when they need service, but, uh, I've found that I've had a lot of luck with them. Uh, course I'm a mechanically inclined kind of person, and I always wind up getting under the hood and finding out all the things that, you know, need to be taken care of, and so forth. And I guess that's one thing that, that recommends the Honda to a lot of people, is is there's just very little that you have to do under the hood, and, uh, Yes, it just, just sits there and purrs, and you, all you got to do is the main major thing of changing that oil and that filter. I get six hundred miles on a tank of gas. Oh, I know. It's really amazing. Yeah. It's, uh, Beautiful, beautiful machine. Absolutely, incredible So, um, yeah, anyway, I've been looking at the prices of these cars and, and so forth, and I think that it's, it's very surprising some of these very expensive Volvos can be gotten for a lot less money than you would think if you're willing to buy ones that are about, the vintage of the cars that you and I currently own Is that right, uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, um, Well, a brand new Volvo costs, what, thirty thousand dollars? Well, certainly some of the top end ones. You can still get, get, uh, even the, the low end wagons, um, for less than twenty thousand dollars Uh-huh. and, uh, we get, you know, in the Washington area, of course, being as affluent as it is, there are lots and lots of Volvo dealerships down here Um, uh-huh. so there're lots and lots of them available in the paper at any, any week, and I sort of, you know, scan the paper and look at them, and so forth and so, um, anyway, and that's, that's the other thing is that I've, I've never really been too terribly much of a new car person. Yeah. I think I've bought one or two new cars in my life, and I've tended to, um, to, uh, buy cars that are, you know, two or three, and sometimes even four and five or six years old. This Honda that I have I bought used, and, in fact, it had an extraordinarily low amount of mileage on it. I've just rolled seventy thousand miles, and it's a seventy-four, I mean, an eighty-four. So Well, my, my eighty-four just has seventy-seven on it Yeah. and I've made many trips to Washington and down to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where my mother lives, and things like that, and I drive it, about the weather Oh, yes, very appropriate, I guess. Uh, you ready for this? Yeah. Okay, John, just a moment. Well, guess what, we get to talk about the weather The weather is, uh, this time of year has actually been kind of unusual. I haven't expected it to be colder until, you know like we've gotten the last couple of days. Uh-huh. I don't know. I fly for a living, and I've, uh, the weather's been terribly unusual every where I've been. Oh, you do Yeah. so you, you, you probably go everywhere and have all sorts of weather. Yeah. I imagine it's kind of an experience also trying to land and take off in the weather. Well, it was around here last night, I'll tell you that Well, actually I'm, I'm, I've heard on the news that we, uh, will be setting a record here in the State of Texas for the, uh, large amounts of rain and moisture we've had this year, that it's going to break all kind of records that were set, set, set back since nineteen thirty-two. No kidding. So, yeah Um. If it keeps on raining like this, and I understand it's supposed to rain until Saturday night. Saturday or Sunday they were saying, yeah. Oh, yes. Yeah, I know the systems have been real strong out. I went through, uh, Phoenix on, twice on, uh, Wednesday morning Uh-huh. and, uh, approaches to low minimum both, both times Wow. and Phoenix never gets that kind of weather so, And so are you an airline pilot? Yes, I am Oh, great. for Southwest, yeah. For Southwest, fantastic. I have a brother, I have a brother that's a pilot, also, with American. Oh, is that right? Yeah. So I imagine you, uh, oh, with all this kind of weather it, uh, makes it kind of dangerous for you. Well, now, I wouldn't call it danger. This is, uh, this really isn't bad stuff to fly around in. This is much better than dealing with the thunderstorms in the Springtime. Oh, I guess so, yeah. Yeah, the, the air systems are reasonably calm. We don't have, uh, the turbulence have a, uh, little bit of chop, Uh-huh. but it's not like it is in the spring time. Oh, yes. Well, we moved actually down here from another location, and it's spectacular the, the thunderstorms and rain storms you get in the spring time, the torrents of rain. Spectacular is the right word for them. Pardon me? Spectacular is a good word for them I've never seen a thunder show like I've seen down here before in Texas. It's amazing. Lights up the whole sky and even on a, on a, actually I've, I've seen it where there's not a cloud in the sky, it's a cloudless night, and the rain isn't falling, but you can see the thunder, and, excuse me, see the lightening going horizontally across the sky and back and forth, and what a light show. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah It's, it's fabulous. cloud to cloud it can be real, really sensational here. Yeah, that's true. Where are you from originally? I'm from, uh, northern Utah, and that's a very arid climate, from, uh, Salt Lake City area Uh-huh. and there's always a lot of snow. In fact, where I grew up we were about an hour's drive from seven to, uh, twelve different major ski resorts, and so there was an awful lot of snow, Oh. and because it was an arid climate, the snow was always a crisp, powder, light snow which made it fantastic for skiing and, and sleigh riding and everything else. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So, we had a great time. Were you near, near the Park Cities area. Um, yeah, in, uh in Snowbird and Solitude and and Brighton and yes, all those areas. Beautiful area. Uh-huh. So I imagine, have you skied before? Well, we've skied, I have not skied that area. Uh-huh. I've driven through it several times. Uh, I skied, we skied California a bunch when we lived out there, and and, uh, um, and, of course, grew, we grew up in Minnesota, Uh-huh. and we do some skiing there lot of cross country skiing there. Oh, yeah, Yeah, great. Well, do you think this, the, the weather is typical for this time of the year? Well, not really, I, you know, Minnesota's gotten just hammered with snow, um, the, um, uh, we've gotten a fair amount of rain for this time of year already I think Yes. Yeah. and, uh, I've been surprised that we haven't seen more of the temperatures that we've got today, you know, that moved in last night. Yeah, it's been, it's been cold. There was a time, though, in the, uh, middle part of November that got really cool, really, really unseasonably cool Yes. Yes, it did. and then it warmed right back up, and I thought, great Yeah. and that's, that's a fun yeah, my wife was just listening here and she said, yeah, it froze in fact. Yeah, it was, it was real cold. Yeah, but that was very unseasonable for us down here. And, uh, but, uh, I've really enjoyed the weather down here, too, because, uh, two years ago we were the day after Christmas able to go out in shorts and play tennis in the nice sunny weather, and it's not as severe, I should say as the weather that I've experienced up in northern Utah. Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's, that's real true. Same with us from Minnesota. It's, it's, uh, in fact, I've, I've played golf on, on, uh, New Year's Day one year. Down here? Yeah, yeah. Not in Minnesota No no, no no. I have a brother-in-law that lives in Minnesota and they say, boy, six months out of the year it's bitter cold, and and the wind and the blowing snow and everything. Oh, it is, it is. Well, and they've had, uh, you know, usually in Minnesota they get their snow in January and February, Uh-huh. and they're up over sixty-five or Okay, I guess tonight's subject is, uh, woodworking. What kind of woodworking do you do? Do you, uh, Well, kind of, mainly the woodworking I've done lately is, uh, made like, uh, for example a little nativity scene. Uh, not the, uh, the whole figurines and so forth, but mainly the stable, put some shelves in and, and some odd stuff around the house Uh-huh. and so I, I enjoy doing a little bit of woodworking and I do it out of hobby more than, uh, you know, something I have to do. How about yourself? Uh, well, I like to think of it as a hobby, but I, I guess also, partly out of necessity. Just repairing things around the house. Uh, a few years ago, uh, we needed, uh, they needed some book shelves and I kind of drew up some simple plans to make some book shelves and, uh, it actually worked pretty well and over the years I've, I've refined those plans. I got myself a router and I'm, I'm very good at making book shelves. Uh-huh. It's, it's also a way of relieving stress. My wife kind of laughs, at me that anytime I get stressed out I just go out in the garage and we've got more book shelves. Well, I'll have to come and see them That sounds like a good idea. I, you know, and that's, that is right, it is out of necessity because lot of the things that, uh, well, we can't be able to afford, but also I, I sometimes think that, uh, I enjoy doing that and I like to get out and, and, uh, to work with my hands and, uh, sounds like you got some real nice tools, too. Do you think you would be able to do some more if you had more tools and different tools? Uh, well, yeah, I mean, little by little, I, I started out with just basic hand tools and kind of added on to things. Uh-huh. Uh, gotten a, a good belt sander and, and, the router, uh, helps a lot because you can make better joints with a router. Uh-huh. The latest project that I've been working on and this has been kind of sitting here for a few months is a, a cabinet to, to put a T V in. Oh, a entertainment type center? Right. Oh. And it, that's works well because you can design it to, to suit whatever equipment you have so I designed a space just the right size for the T V and then the, the V C R and shelves on the side for my stereo equipment. Right. Right, right. And, uh, that's worked pretty well. Uh, with, uh, with the router you can make nice, uh, I guess dado joints is what it's called. Right, or yes, I, yeah, I'm aware of that. Uh, And it's, uh, And also with a router, you can, uh, make ornamental facings, too better than a just straight wood edge. And, Uh, And, uh, casings and so forth that are, that are real nice, That's right. That's right. So, so that's, that's good. That's good. But what I need next is a good table saw. Yeah And I, I debate whether it's better to get a, uh, just a straight table saw or to get one of these, uh, rotary arm saws. Oh. Radial arm saw is, I guess, what they're called. Uh-huh. Uh, it seems to me the radial arm saw is, is better, well, it, it takes up less room. Yeah. I mean, you, you set the wood down and you move the saw. Yeah. Whereas if you're ripping wood, you're probably better off with a, a table saw. Well and with a radial arm saw, if you do have a, a big piece of wood that you need to rip, like you say, or cut, you wouldn't be able to do that. Uh, but, uh, yeah, a table saw does take a lot of time, excuse me a lot of space and is a pretty big investment. Yeah. And, Uh, that, that's partly my problem now. I don't have room for this. I, uh, I, where, uh, where we lived before up north, uh basements were, were common Uh-huh. and, I used to put all the stuff in my basement, but not so here in Texas. Uh-huh. No, they don't have basements. Well, I'm from up north also and, and, uh, no there's no basements down here and it's kind of, uh, hard to get, uh, shop space unless you have a dedicated shop or a dedicated room for that. Yeah. Yeah, lot of the equipment, too, that I've, I've used in the past, uh, I you know, I've used in school and, uh, I would, I don't know, I'd, I'd kind of like to, to look at equipment like a lathe or like you say, a table saw and some of those things that would make, uh, some pretty nice, uh, pieces of, uh, well, wood, for, for different things for tables, for, for, uh, chairs, for, you know, decks and so forth so, I don't know, Uh-huh. I, I just enjoy woodworking and I think the, the main thing is, like you say, it's a, it's a good out. It's an opportunity to get out and relieve some of the pressure that you feel day to day and it's a great stress, stress reliever. Have you ever used a lathe? Yes, I have, in school I have and I've made, uh, uh, different things, uh, uh, tables for chairs and I've made, uh, bowls, and, uh, and, uh, Did you hear our topic? It's in regards to discussing homes. Homes, yes, sir, uh-huh. What are, are you settled in a place? Yeah, I'm settled in a place. I've been in it for twelve years, since nineteen, uh, actually thirteen years, since nineteen seventy-eight and it's in Richardson, Texas, which is north Texas or north Dallas. Right Uh-huh. And we've lived in two houses in Richardson. We moved here in seventy-four and, uh, changed locations in seventy-eight. Okay. How about yourself? Well, we, uh, left here in seventy-six. Uh, we were here for a few years, then we, uh, have come back just this summer. Right now we're looking for housing, uh, somewhere down in the Duncanville and Cedar Hill area. Are you familiar with that? Yeah, it's a nice area. Yeah, it is. The kids are in school here in Duncanville. We're in a temporary place right now and, uh, so they've enjoyed the school, so we're kind of trying to stay here but, Are you finding it tough trying to find what you want or, Well, what, the problem we got is that we've got five children Oh, boy. and so, uh, we really want four or five bedroom house and, uh, you know, everybody says, you know, how many houses are on the market and all that kind of thing right. so we, uh, we look at the paper, we look at our, talk to our realtor and you can cut, you know, the listings, uh, in about a third when you go from three to four bedrooms you know, or five. Sure. Are you looking or you settled, I mean, No, we're settled and, uh we're, uh, having, I'm probably older than you, I'm fifty-two, but anyway, I, my youngest is getting married this year graduating college, Oh, great. so I can board up their rooms, and look forward to retirement maybe. That empty nest syndrome is going to set in, I guess. Oh, gosh, so, we're looking forward to retiring in about three years and maybe relocating to Florida or somewhere. Closer, closer to our families. Great. Okay. Okay, you, are you from Florida originally? No, from West Virginia but everyone's, uh, my wife's parents are from the New York, New Jersey area Yeah so, but everyone seems, uh, has seem to relocated down that area. Oh, yeah. Seems like a nice place to go Yeah, yeah. We've got five and the oldest is, uh, ninth grade and the youngest is second grade and I think they're going to be, uh, with us forever. I don't know if that's true, but it's sure, you know, we're not anywhere near looking to, uh, uh, cut down in size. We're, we're trying to find, Oh, I understand. You need very minimum four and probably five. Oh, yeah. In fact, six would be real good. Right. My wife and I can share a bedroom It's tough to find a five and six room, bedroom house, isn't it? Either, Oh, I don't think it's possible unless you, you know, multimillionaire, something like that. Oh, I know. Uh, Seems like you get in that category, you're in the three hundred thousand dollar homes or whatever and it's that's an awful lot, you know Oh, yeah. Yeah, it is, yeah. Uh, we're having, actually, if we find something for, uh, I'd say less than a hundred and twenty thousand, we'll be doing all right, you know. Right. That's, uh, but I think the thing's out there, it's just a matter of, uh you know, looking you know finding the right place, uh, Just, Matter of looking, right. Lot of people will buy, in your situation will buy a four bedroom house and convert maybe the garage or something or the, or do something. I had a young lady used to work for me at my office from the high school and she had, uh, there were seven kids in her family. Wow. And they converted the dining room and, did this and that, but they always seemed to get along fine, you know. Oh, yeah, yeah. I think once we get into a place, it will be just fine, but you know, it's until then, it's, uh, oh, a little stressful, you know, just looking all the time and that sort of thing. Oh, sure. Oh, I know and it's, there's nothing harder than that. I always just sort of a, assign my wife that chore, then I would let her narrow it down to three or four, then I'd go look because women seem to like to look a lot more than men do. Oh, yeah. Maybe that's the case. At least she's got more opinions, you know, there's, uh, seems like there's more constraints more things that she thinks about. You know, openness, uh, the size of the kitchen and all this kind of stuff that I would probably gloss over and, maybe even ignore, you know. Yes. Why, certainly. I understand that. So. What kind of business are you in? I'm in the, uh, sporting goods business. I'm a manufacturer's rep. I represent fourteen different hunting and shooting type companies. Oh, yeah, great. What, who are you with? Uh, we're with an organization called, uh, Wycliff Bible Translators. Uh-huh. It's a, a missions organization and, uh, doing, uh, translation, linguistics, that sort of thing. Well, great. Uh, it's got an office down here in, uh, in, near Duncanville and we just moved down to be on staff down here so. How, how was the, uh, you say you lived in the Denver area before? Right. How did that compare with this area as far as housing prices? Uh, we were, uh, really surprised to find that they're higher here. Uh, No kidding. When we moved from Louisiana to Denver, it was astounding, you know, to find that prices were, oh, I guess almost two or three times as high as we'd expected. And then, uh, to come down here, we thought things would be lower, and they're not. I guess, uh, really, prices for housing are just, Okay, should begin. *listen; could probably code if we could tell if it said "we" or "you" Okay. All right. Uh, I can begin this, um, basically I work for Honeywell in Minneapolis Uh-huh. and the, the benefit program we have here is really quite good. I'm, I'm pretty pleased with it. They cover, uh, just about everything, vision, dental, medical Uh-huh. uh, you name it, and for me this is the first job I've had where they've covered that much, so I'm pretty satisfied myself. Uh-huh. Um, what's your situation? I work for the University of New Hampshire, and uh, our benefits package isn't, uh, isn't quite as good in some ways. Uh, you know, Oh. overall I'm satisfied with it. We don't have the vision care, we do have the health care and the, uh, and the or the dental. Uh-huh. Uh. Are you a professor there? No, I work in, I'm a, on the professional administrative and technical staff, and I, effectively I run the telephone switch at, uh, at the University of New Hampshire. Oh, I see, okay. Uh, so the, uh, the benefits, uh, probably the main thing I like about the benefits is the, uh, the, uh, very generous vacation time and sick time. Oh, no doubt We get fifteen days a year sick time, and, uh, we get twenty-four days a year, right from the day one when you start work, you get twenty-four days a year, uh, time off. Right. Well, that's good. Yeah. Yeah, that's one of the things I guess I would change about Honeywell, is, uh, I used to work with the Army Research Institute, and being a, uh, a government organization you got quite a few holidays off. Right. But here you don't get that. You maybe get two or three a year. Uh-huh. So it's really, unless you, unless you have some vacation time or some, some sick leave or whatever, um, you kind of have to finagle your way around to get that time. Uh-huh. So, that's, that's kind of a drawback I think. But, uh. I don't know. What do you consider most important, you think, in terms of, of the different benefits? Well, I think, uh, the, the health care, of course, is an important, and has to be the single most important benefit Uh-huh. and, uh, the rates that we keep paying seem to keep increasing, uh you know, Yeah. I'm, I'm a little disturbed about that, but I think that's a national trend, and I don't know that, uh, I don't know what the solution is to it. It's bigger than just the benefits part. Yeah, I don't know if you saw on TWENTY TWENTY the other night, they, uh, they basically reviewed Oregon's plan or The Oregon Plan toward, uh, nationalizing health care and that kind of thing. Uh-huh. Right. It's kind of an interesting plan. It's kind of cold though. They've essentially made up a list of, uh, oh, all the different, uh, medical maladies that you can have and then basically made a cutoff, Oh, yeah. about six hundred and eighty-seven and below will not be covered by, by, uh, subsidized health care, and the ones above would. Um. So it's kind of like drawing this line and, and if you have it great, if you don't, you're kind of out of luck Uh-huh. but, um, it was kind of an interesting show. Um. I think you're right, I think health care is probably the, the most pressing uh, the pressing one, Right. but I'll tell you, I, I don't mind having dental, you know, sometimes dental costs can be, um, just about as expensive, if not more, and I know historically a lot of companies I think carried dental as a rider along with the medical Uh-huh. but I'm not sure that's, that's widely followed any more. I'm not sure, how, how does, uh, University of New Hampshire handle it? Well, we have two different plans that we can subscribe to under dental, uh, depending, and, and the cost between them is very, is very little. I think it costs me something like five dollars a, a month for the dental plan. Um. But it pays, uh, a substantial amount. I mean, the examinations and, and, uh, checkups every year, or every six months are free Great. and, uh, it, it covers the bulk of the dental expenses. Is that, uh, let me interrupt, is that the same for both, uh, professors and, and also staff and administration, is that generally across the board, do you think or, Uh, yes, it is. The benefits plan is different for operating, for what we call operating staff, which are considered to be, uh, clerical personnel, accountants, things like that as opposed to what they call the P A T staff, which I belong to Right. Uh-huh. but the main, I think the, the health and all that and the dental is the same for everybody, and the retirement plan. But the main difference is in the, uh, the way sick time is accrued and vacation time is accrued. Uh-huh. Oh, okay. Uh, for the operating staff it's on a seniority, it's, you know, based on how long they've worked there. Right. That determines how much, uh, vacation time they get. Yeah, I'm kind of interested because I'm actually, that's the route I'd like to take when I finally get my degree is to, uh, is to teach in a university. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I'm a doctoral student in Florida right now Oh. but, uh, yeah, that's, that's interesting. That's one of the things I'd like to think about is in what kind of benefits they would, uh, they would cover and things like that. College programs belong to this T I A A, uh, C R E F retirement fund. Oh, is that right? Right, and in the case of the University of New Hampshire, uh, Okay. All right. What's your view. Huh? What's your view? Well, I have a hard time thinking that they can control guns. Personally. Yeah Yeah, that's true. I mean, You know, even if they give it a shot, it's still going to be black market all over the place, you know, That's right. That's right. I don't know. Coming from Texas you're probably, I don't know I shouldn't make stereo types, but gun control is probably frowned on quite a bit down there I would think. Yeah. It is, but I'm not really from I'm not really from Texas, I just live down here now. I've I've lived down here a couple years. Oh, you're just live down there? Yeah. I'm originally from Colorado, but yeah Oh well. there, uh, there, uh there's a lot of hunters here. Yeah, well I know how you feel. I'm, uh, I grew up in Nebraska and, and we always use to go out and hunt all the time, you know and man, there's no way. There's no way I would ever go for a total ban on all weapons. Uh-huh. That's just, I don't know. I just think, I think it's ridiculous. Yeah. I mean, It doesn't sit with me very well. I don't know, I, anymore I keep a thirty-eight in my truck, you know. Really. Yeah, I just about all, well I live in Minneapolis and I, well actually I live in Florida, but I am staying in Minneapolis for a year and you know, both areas are pretty crime ridden right now Uh-huh. Right. and it's just, you never know who is out there. Right. You know it's just for self protection purposes and then of course there's the hunting issue, so Sure. yeah that's good. What do you do, Jeff? Uh, I, I'm in, uh, program control for a company up here. Oh, yeah. Yeah. All right. We do schedules, for programs, schedule programs. Yeah. What do you do? I'm, uh, researcher of Honeywell up here. Oh, okay. So, uh, yeah. You guys uh, do you get much of a chance to hunt or anything or, Uh, I haven't had a chance to do any hunting since I've been down here. I don't own a shotgun, but I'd like to go bird hunting. Yeah. You know that's something I miss quite a bit. So. Yeah, uh, when I was in Colorado we went deer and elk hunting you, you know, quite a bit Yeah. but, Yeah. All right. Yeah, my brother was, uh, a guide for bear and elk hunts out in Idaho for a while and, uh, really enjoyed it quite a bit, but I don't know. I guess that what the scale now is, it's zero for, uh, for a complete, One for a total ban and, uh, That's right. I guess I am about eight or nine Yeah, I, I agree with you there Yeah, no doubt about it but, uh, I mean, if they can anyway get it, keep criminals from having guns which they can't Yeah. I, you know, I'm not for it. Yeah, if there's if there's a way, you know, to limited it to people that, I don't know that they, I guess they passed a couple of, uh, uh, laws a here while back in some states in terms of a waiting period where you know you go to buy a hand gun Uh-huh. and then they actually, uh, I know it's this way in Florida. They have a waiting period where you buy one and that's a week Uh-huh. and then they check you out and make sure you don't have a record you know and things like that. I think that's a pretty good idea. Uh, and that's, I don't know, that's not a bad idea, but then again you can always get around that. You could go through the black market like you say. You know, you always be able to get around but, uh, Sure. Yeah, it's one of things but, uh, I don't know. I guess, I guess some forms of guns should probably be controlled just like I'm not real sure why anybody would need a full automatic weapon. Yeah, I don't either Yeah, I'm just not, I think those have been pretty much, you know, banned altogether anyway. Yeah, I There, fully auto, but, even well, I mean, a semiautomatic, I guess that's, It kind of takes the sport out of hunting Yeah. Right. You know, it's like what can you do with that, that you can't do in a self protection situation with like a seven or a twenty shot twelve. Sure. You know, you might do the same thing. Right. And so it's like, I don't know. It does. It takes the sport out of it. For me I would much rather have a bow anytime Oh, really. I, I like bows. You know, I have done some bow hunting and I, uh, I get into it and I think it's more of a challenge, you know. Yeah. But, uh, I don't know. I guess it keeps the shell makers in business. Sure. But, uh, I don't know. Anyway, that's about where I stand Me too. You, uh, Yeah, I am about the same way. And you, uh, have you eaten yet or whatever. Yeah. Is it seven o'clock there? Uh, yeah, it's about seven fifteen. You guys central? How is the weather up there? Oh, it's not too good. It's kind of rainy actually. Is it? Around this time of year you expect it up here to get down to about, uh, I don't know, ten or twenty degrees Right. and it's been up around forty. So people are, people are whining about the rain and stuff, but not too bad about the temperature. Ice is starting to melt and stuff like that so. Yeah. I am just up here for the year and it's kind of shocking. Wendy, I guess we get to talk about budgets tonight or lack of budgets if, uh, if that may be the case and any kind of long term financial planning or anything like that, uh, Right. let me ask you the question, do you have a, uh, budget, or a monthly budget, or a long term budget that you stick to? Right now I'm in college and I'm on work study Uh-huh. and so my budget comes from my dad's help. Uh-huh. He helps me out a lot and I get paid monthly, so that's kind of hard to have a budget. My mother, uh, doesn't get paid much money, so her budget is, uh, just, uh, planning for I R A's. I see, I see. Well, good, I'm kind of in a different situation, but I, I, I went through that, too, when I was in school, but, uh, I was, I was working to get through college and, and, uh, trying to make it through that, but, uh, I'm married and have, uh, a, a couple of children and we have to, uh, pretty much stick to a budget. Uh-huh. I'm on a salary so I don't get any overtime or anything like that but, We have a fixed income Oh. and we have to make sure that, uh, every dollar we have will, is spent accordingly and, uh, what we try and do to, to stick to our monthly budget is we pretty much have, you know, the house payment, Uh-huh. we have the insurance premiums, uh, utilities and so forth and we do sit down at the beginning of every month or the end of every month and write down how much we know we're going to spend and set that money aside, and we also try and set aside money for savings, set aside money for the the kids' education college education, the future and, uh, set aside money for bonds Uh-huh. and, and we also set aside an emergency fund because we've, uh, we've been married for about ten years That sounds good. and we find out that, you know, no matter what kind of budget you stick on, there's always going to be an unexpected car repair or something happen with the house, that you have to have money for and, uh, not enough to go and to take a loan out, but, uh, you have to have money for. Right. Right. And, uh, then we have, you know, whatever's left over is disposable disposable, yeah, discretionary income, that we use for the rest of the month, so, and it's worked out very well. It's, uh, it's helped us, so that we haven't been, you know, too long on the month and too short on the money and uh, try and stick with that Well, that's good. and, nice thing about it, I, my wife is, is excellent in that we both work together, we both have a budget, and we stick to it Well, good. and there's no surprises in that With two kids, that could be hard. Well, actually I have four kids. Four! So, yeah, I said a couple of kids, I, I guess I should have specified, I have four four little boys, Oh, my goodness. yeah. Four boys. You bet. Oh, my You bet. It's just me and my sister. All right And my parents divorced three years ago Uh-huh. and my sister had gotten through college, but I was still in high school, and my mother paid for a lot of my sister's college while my parents were together Yes. and then, uh, before the divorce she had saved for my college. Uh-huh. But, uh, when we had the divorce, she just didn't get much money out of it and had to spend it all on getting another house. Oh. So now my dad's paying for all of my college of Well, good, good. And financial aid and scholarships. Uh-huh. I'm a music major, so I have auditions coming up. Yes, well, what year are you in in college? I'm a sophomore. You're a sophomore, so you have a few more years. Right, right, I'll, I'll probably have about, two, two and a half years left. Uh-huh, well, good for you. Good for you. Yeah, I imagine it, uh, is a little difficult to stick with a budget during that, during school and so it forth. Oh, it sure is. I, I know how much my dad is going to give me every two weeks Yes and I, and I don't spend over that Well, great, great. And sometimes that's a little hard with books and music and, and sheet music and stuff you've got to work on, too. Oh, sure, there's, there's always music books to buy. Lab fees and all, Oh, yes, oh, yes. Well, you're not a starving artist, yet, are you? Oh, no, no, no. Good. I don't plan on being a starving artist Well, good. That's why I'm in college there's enough of those in the world, huh? Right Good, good, I'm glad to hear that, Wendy. That's usually because they're not real educated. They can't afford to have a really good job. Who's, who's not very well educated? The starving ones. Oh, yes, yes. There's enough out there that if you have, if you're educated enough, then you can make money. That's true, that's true. I found that out. So that's why I'm planning and, and preparing for the, uh, education of my children, also try and set that money aside. Right. What did you major in? I majored in business administration. Well, good, you know plenty about planning a a budget. Yeah, but, uh, once again, Not very good it's not been a good day I went, I turned mine in about twelve hours early at noon. I don't know. I finished mine up about eleven and left it here with Carolyn so I hope she's turned it in. Are you eating? Uh, I go ahead, I'll stop eating. I just barely got home from the university. No it's, Say what? I just barely got home from the university. Tell you what we can do is, uh, I can punch the, uh, one, and then after five minutes when the, uh, uh, voice comes on, we can talk all night if we want Okay, go ahead, fire away. Uh, I love the irony of, uh, talking about this subject on April the, fifteenth But, uh, I'm afraid I'm, I'm probably in the minority. I, I actually don't think that we, uh, pay too much in this country. Uh uh, particularly, uh, in this part of the country I agree with you uh, I guess I do have a, a bone to pick with, uh, uh, the way taxes are distributed Uh, I just finished fuming at the fact that we pay an eight and a half percent sales tax and no income tax when the income tax could have been deducted from the federal form Huh. and the sales tax can't. I think that's regressive and, uh, uh, it's kind of dumb. I hate the eight and a half percent sales tax. But, on the other hand, I don't mind that it's only on, you know, things that aren't like groceries and that, it's not on that. Well, I mean, nobody taxes groceries. Oh, yeah, they do. Where? In Arizona. Is that right? Uh-huh. But we have a pretty low income I mean pretty low tax rate here. Oh, I think the, the sales tax, they just got to do something about it. Right. But that's the politicalness of trying to not create any new taxes. Right But I guess when I hear, when I see the comparison between the United States and, uh, any other western country, uh, their, their rates are like, uh, forty-one, forty-two and ours are like thirty-six, thirty-seven, you know, if you compute as a percentage of total income, all taxes lumped together, we actually do pretty well. there's no other country that's, that is taxed as low as we are. Well and I still think that, having lived in Europe for awhile, you know, difference in living conditions are certainly well worth, uh, what we pay for it. Yeah. Uh-huh. I'm, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Well, I mean, I think, I was in Germany, you know, for several years Right. and I'd a lot rather pay taxes here and have what we have, then have to live there. Oh, you mean, lowest end of living in spite of lower, higher taxes. Yeah. Higher taxes. Yeah. I suppose that's true, yeah. Uh, probably less so now than it was ten years ago or whatever but, Still's that way to some extent. Yeah. I think the other problem is, you know, it, it's easy to complain about taxes because there's something you, theoretically, can do something about. Right. But I look, for example, and you're not quite in the same situation but like school taxes for me biggest bargain in the world. Right. I wish I didn't have to pay any more to my physicians in a year than I had to pay for all of my school taxes. Right. Yeah. Yeah, since, uh, I send my kids to parochial school, that . Yeah, that, that's probably a little tougher on you It's not, it's not quite the bargain that . But, I mean, I pay them gladly. That's a decision, I think it's a dumb decision on our part because countries like Canada and England and Germany do perfectly well with a, uh, two tract system in which religious schools coexist with secular schools with the same tax money. But, uh, I mean, that's, that's the way Americans want to interpret it, I guess that's all right But, yeah. I, and if I were, uh, when I was single and again when I'm retired, I will not mind paying, uh, what it takes to keep the schools good. That's always been a high priority No, I think that's just you though. I do, yeah, that's true. I think in places, I think in places like California, people are beginning to find that in, in areas that are fairly well off, if you add the, uh, uh, people of various sexual persuasions and those who never intend to marry and those who are retired and those are, uh, just looking for fun, people with families turn out to be such a small minority that they can't get a tax bill passed no matter what happens. Yeah. And, uh, there are big sections of the country where people with children of school age are such a small minority that they can't get anything done. That seems a, a, like a cultural lapse. I mean, people always used to be willing to ante up for the schools. They, Of course, I think with the graying of America, we're going to see that problem in lots of places. Right. Yeah. People would rather, uh, increase the fire department and cut down the schools because it means more to them. But I think it's sad selfish and shortsighted. Or build roads. Yeah. Well, Okay. Wonderful touch tone telephone there. Uh, what kind of books do you enjoy reading? Uh, haven't, have, I have a wide variety of, of hobbies, therefore, my, my reading pleasures are quite wide. Um, I get a charge out of, uh, TEXAS HIGHWAY, which is, uh, very colorful, and, uh, not being a native of Texas, but being here eleven years have a tendency to, uh, find out the, uh, about the different areas of the of the, of the state by reading it. Oh. Right, I've read that one too. I only had a subscription once, but my mother always gave me hers and I, I really enjoyed, you know, all the little things that you find out about Texas. Oh yeah, it's, it's, uh, absolutely, it's great the way that it's broken out and you can, uh, set up little trips and day trips and things. It's pretty, pretty neat. Um, oh, I like photography, um, magazines. I don't take a subscription or anything like that. Um, things, oh, being an engineer in facilities I do read a lot of, a lot of, uh, building magazines and, and, and plant engineering magazines and, read up on different ways to do things and energy management type of magazines and, and, uh, kind of strange because I, it's not unusual to, uh, see, uh, an engineering manual or something laying around the house Uh-huh. and then I'll sit up and read just to refresh, uh, you know, to keep active on it, but, uh. Uh-huh. How about yourself? Well, um, I have an interest in art, so I, frequently purchase and read, uh, books, mainly on water color because that's my big interest at the moment. Oh, that's great. And, uh, oh, I guess I like a variety of things, uh, lots of fiction, uh, type books. Uh, right now I'm occasionally reading on a book about, uh, the Mardi Gras in New Orleans and its history. Uh-huh. That's fairly interesting. I bet that would be, rather interesting. Uh, that's, uh, self improvement, that's, that's well, that's kind of a hobby but it is self improvement from the standpoint of probably relaxing, uh. Yeah, I don't know that I read anything strictly labeled self improvement. How about you? Um, well I hate to, yes, I do We, uh, we have these classes we attend, uh, management classes and, and they give you books and, and the last book, uh, matter of fact I read was, AT AMERICA'S SERVICE by Carl Albrecht . It talks about, uh, who the customer is and being customer oriented, uh, which falls in line with the T I culture here at Texas Instruments. Yeah. Uh, one of its great slogans is if you're not serving the customer, you better be serving someone who is. Uh-huh. Uh, so that's all in self improvement to stay focused on who the customer is and as you probably well know, all of us are our own customer. You're my customer, I'm your customer, sort of thing. Right. Um, every now and then I'm loaned a tape I can stick in the, uh, in the car cassette set on the way home to make the drive more enjoyable, talking about, uh, better outlooks on things and the philosophy of, of Pat Hagerty and these kind of, uh, mind stimulating philosophy type. Which all, you know, betters yourself. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, well, uh, maybe I am into some things occasionally that I don't think of in terms of self improvement. Uh-huh. I mean they are but I don't label it as such. Like what for example. Well, I don't know, um, I, uh, have attended some seminars that had some tapes that went with them, but, uh, I guess not so much books although they sometimes have manuals and things, but, uh, they would be things on like how to be successful and sort of talking to yourself. You know getting your, yourself in gear to, uh, sort of pull yourself up by your boot straps and do what you really want to do. Convincing you that you need to get on with it. Sure. Sure. How about items like, um, THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER, which used to be a big, okay. Yes. So those are self improvements. Sure. Um, our supervisor, uh, subtly bought all of us a book called WHAT EVERY SUPERVISOR SHOULD KNOW. By a man, man named Doctor Bittel, B I T T E L it Um. and it's a very layman's, uh, uh, approach towards managing different types of people. And the very last chapter, and I haven't figured out why that one was last, is how to manage engineers So it's, it's it's interesting, here again it's, it's casual reading and it's not eaten up with a lot of, uh, mechanical stuff and it's really excellent fast reading and, uh, but as you say it's, it's sometimes it's difficult to, to know if it's, you know, I think if somebody would say hey, read these ten books because these are self-improvements, I would probably be turned off to them. Yeah, yeah. If he casually just walked into it and, uh, put down a Stephen King book and I picked up one of them I might be a little more interested. I don't know, I'm not sure I could take too much of Stephen King. That's a little, little heavy for me. Yeah, they're, uh, quite, uh, they're hard to set down because it's so interesting and, of course, they're all just a little spookier than the movies, but, uh, it's always, they're always challenging to get through one of them. Yeah. I have a hard time finishing books. Well I guess I also have been reading, uh, a lot of things on, uh, quality improvement and that type of thing because that's what I'm involved in a lot at work. Uh-huh. In quality, especially now days, uh, that's almost everything that comes across the, the, the airways . Oh, yeah, you could almost label everything quality in some sense or other but, uh, I think sometimes the word is a little over used Exactly, exactly right. but, Yeah, we, we have, I think we, we name drop it a little too much and, and don't fully understand what, what it is we're saying. I think it's just focusing in on the issue and walking your talk and, and all that kind of rolls in together there, Yeah. but, uh, that's just kind of part of it. Okay, well, any other comments. Uh, not that I can think of. Um, I think I'm under my quota a little bit. I need to probably make a phone call or two Well we just started, right. Uh, this is true. I've enjoyed it. Well you too, and uh, good-bye. Have a good day. Good-bye. Bye-bye Okay, um, I don't know about you but where I am we have a like an extremely lax dress policy at work and it varies like every day. I mean from jeans one day to business suits the next It's pretty bad, but it's true, you know, in they tend to try to be, you know, real lax and supposedly the policy is like, you know, we, you know, we, hire these wonderful creative people and we don't want to smush their creativity, you know. We want to go ahead and let them do what ever they want. And, you know, you really will see people in in jeans one day and business suits the next. Well, I'm kind of that way too. I work in the legal department and where we are now, what we're doing is some very big lawsuits that happen to have a heck of a lot of boxes of documents. Yeah. And I get to toting around boxes of documents several times a day, it always seems like I'm doing that and I can't see getting dressed up and wearing heels and stuff when you have to carry, you know, boxes of documents around, so, if I'm just going to be there working in the litigation center and doing, you know, odds and ends and stuff with the boxes of documents, I dress down. But if we're going to have a meeting, where we're having the attorneys come in, or people from, uh, other party's attorneys and stuff, then I normally dress up. Yeah, and I'll wear a dress and hose and stuff. Yeah, you know, we're kind of that way too. I try to, I'm the same way you are, I kind of try to judge from day to day. I know, you know, where I am we work a lot with the customers and we have a lot of government folks come in all the time and, and, you know, if I know that they're going to be there, you know, you, I try to really watch it and like you say, you know, really dress up Uh-huh. and if I know they're not, you know, I, I've been doing a lot of reorganization, you know, the last couple of months the same way you are, you know, Uh-huh. and it's just , it's just impossible to crawl down on the floor and dig through boxes in a dress. That's right, that's right. It is and so, As a matter of fact, I thought I had one funny story when, uh, I was at T I the first year or so, we were sent out to our record retention facility to look through two thousand boxes. We had them in the warehouse, Uh. and at that point, it, the warehouse was over across the road and it wasn't air conditioned, and, it, we were there like in the middle of the summer, it's unair-conditioned, it was dusty and dirty, uh, there was like a fan at the very end of the row and that was it. And so, we didn't really know we weren't supposed to, we thought T I dress code was just dress appropriate to your job, Uh-huh. we wore shorts. We didn't know that was a big no, no. Oh no. And the supervisor from another area came up to us and, you know, this area where record retention is, there's only a few people that work there, and he, he knew who worked there, he should have realized that we weren't regulars in the warehouse there. And he came up to us and he just said, who's your supervisor. Well he called our supervisor and our supervisor, and our supervisor's supervisor, and it went up all the way to the head of facilities, complaining that we were wearing shorts. Oh no in He didn't at, at least say to us, did you know you're not supposed to do that. That could have alleviated a big problem. We ended up getting called out on it. Oh, how awful. It sounds like Mister Power Hungry. Yeah. You know, just yesterday, though, I saw a girl in the spine out here at Lewisville that had on a pair of shorts. Uh-huh. And I don't care, you can call them split skirts and you can call them culottes all you want but these were shorts. That's all they were. I don't care what else you call them, you know, if they're below the knee, okay, maybe you can call them split skirts. If they're above the knee they turn into shorts, you know. And these weren't even really full ones. I mean they had a problem out here with it last summer, wearing these shorts that were, you know, the real wide full ones, you know, and these weren't even those. These were like pretty short, black, and they were very dressy, the were black velvet shorts and she had on black hose and black heels and she looked very, very nice. Um. But, you don't wear shorts to work. You know, I mean, as far as I'm considered, she was in violation and nobody says anything to them. It's always been a big problem in Lewisville in the summertime. Um. You know, if they just, you know, the management doesn't ever seem to want to take an, cut off, you know, that no, this is wear we're going to draw the line. This is shorts, you know. Yeah. And, and nobody will ever kind of take control and do that, you know, Um. so, it always gets annoying because the rest of us are going, well God, we have a pair of those at home too. It sure would be cool and comfortable to wear, you know, but. Well I've seen some people try to just come in like over the weekend because they want to use the TexTeller machine. Yeah. And they have said no Yeah and then during the week you see these women, in the you know, just because you put on a pair of hose with them doesn't make them not shorts anymore, you know. Yeah. I mean I've never seen them do it without hose, I mean they always have hose on, but still, it's, they're shorts, I don't care what you say, they're shorts. Well I think T I's dress code is pretty lax considering everything, anyway, you know, uh. I know, I didn't know that E D S has a very strict dress code, I had a friend, Oh do they really? Oh definitely. I had a friend who worked there for a year or so and they spell it out. For men it's particular suits, uh, the pin stripe, and the particular colors of shirts and wing tipped shoes. Oh, my God. Oh, it is definitely lined out. Women are not allowed to wear slacks, you wear coordinated suits. I I couldn't afford to work there. And, and a particular kind of shoe, you know, so high heel, oh it is spelled out. Oh, no. When I was looking at her materials when she first started, you know, she had her benefits package and all that kind of stuff. Uh-huh. And it told about the dress code and it said, these are the color pastel shirts you may wear, or white shirts with this kind of stripe in it for the men and this kind of shoe and, hair just this way. T I says no shorts and no halters I know, that's it. Yeah, and E D S is very particular about this, hair cuts, Wow. I mean it was like you can't have, you know, such and such facial hair, no beards, you know, and just really detailed. I don't know that that would be a good environment to work in. I mean, I see, I, I am more, I don't know about anybody else, and a lot of bosses may say I'm nuts, but I am more productive when I'm in pants. I, I am. I work faster, I get things done faster, than when I'm in a dress and heels, you know, I, and it's weird but I, it's I do, I can, I can get so much more done if I'm dressed comfortable, you know. Well the, the time we were there at the warehouse we felt really bad because we had, uh, another person coming from Washington, our outside counsel. And she was told that we were going to be in a warehouse but she really didn't get the idea that we were in the warehouse part of the warehouse not the office to the warehouse, but the warehouse. Right. And she came with skirts, just like she'd be going into the office. Yeah. And we'd try, we'd try to say, didn't you bring any pants or anything. We're, we're out here in the warehouse, you know, you, you got your skid of, you know, that wooden pallet of boxes. Uh-huh. and you're going to have unload you skid look at the documents in the, in the boxes and then repack your skid. And she And she was so, she was so hot and miserable, you know, in the skirt. You can't do that in a skirt poor soul. Oh yuck. She finally tried to go buy, you know, a pair of pants but, you know, I mean it was just completely miserable for her. Yeah, that's terrible, that's terrible gosh. Well I don't know, I just figure, you know, yeah, sometimes I worry about, you know, if I go in in pants, and I never, I never ever, ever, ever go in in a pair of jeans, you know. But I'll go in in pants. I mean today I had on a pair of, you know, navy blue dress slacks and, and, uh, like a peach colored top and, you know, not cruddy, but not a dress either. And sometimes I wonder if stuff like that would, will hold you back, you know, if you don't dress in, you know, your dress for success business suits everyday if, you know, if upper management doesn't notice that and remember that later on, but, you know, I don't know if they do or not. You know, I see a lot of the managers and they're in jeans, so, you know. Some of our people in the legal department, we have, um, assistants to the general counsel and it's funny because, there's one that always wears a suit. A matter of fact, he's never seen without his jacket to the suit on, buttoned. Really, wow. And then there's another one who's, who's a little younger and a little more yuppish and he's always kind of like in the khaki pants and, you know, a shirt, Uh-huh. and sometimes he wears the jacket to it. Yeah. And some of the patent attorneys have been real casual in their clothes and then other ones tend to always wear a suit with a very starched cotton shirt. So that's just, Isn't that funny. With the, you know, the little suspenders or something on so. We've, we've kind of had a variety there That's great. but, I think a lot of times it's, it's mainly who they're going to meet with, or they're meeting with people that they know is going to be dressed that way then that's how they are. Yeah. If they're just going to be meeting with T I like to talk about a patent kind of thing and the, they're engineers that they're talking too, they dress kind of like how the engineers are dressed and they're usually casual. That's the way to do it. I mean that's the smart way to do it. Yeah. It really is, because your making, you know, if when they're meeting with the engineers who they know are going to be dressed down, if they come in, in, you know, a six hundred dollar three piece suit, it's going to make the people they're meeting with feel very uncomfortable, you know, or it would me, you know. It's one of those slippery attorneys coming in here. Yeah, yeah, look at this slick guy, I wonder what kind of money does he make, uh-huh I can see it now. Well it was good to talk to you. It was really enjoyable. Yeah, this is, this is kind of a fun project. It really is. I've done some of the other speech programs, but we've never got to talk to another person, it was always just talking to the computer. Oh, yuck, yeah. So this is a little different. Well it's kind of enjoyable, I'm really looking forward to it. Yeah. Well thanks a lot. Okay, bye. Bye-bye. Okay. The question was, um, what, what is your opinion of youth, uh, spending a year or two in, in public service. I think it would be a great idea. I'm not sure about requiring it, you know, of people, because people are going, you know, feeling resentful. I don't know, but I think it would be a great idea. Yeah. Seems like there's so many kids that don't have any since of, you know, what they want to be or do or, you know, they could learn something and maybe help other people at the same time and we, sure, our country, all countries sure need help so, Huh-uh. Would, uh, would you be more in favor of, uh, you know, like a local, uh, my only experience with it, I was in Central America for a while, and, uh, in San Salvador, in El Salvador, Huh-uh. Huh-uh. For instance, everybody had what they called there social year, that they had to put in Oh, really. and basically it was a, uh, repayment for, for, uh, high school education, Huh-uh. and most of them joined the Red Cross and it was done internally. I just, there was very little external. I think possibly what, uh, they're thinking about here, more external Peace Corps, Type things where we're sending people off shore. Yeah. Well, I think that would be real interesting for people to do, but, I guess, my concern about that would be the cost involved trying to train people in a new language and ship them, you know, to other countries, Huh-uh. and, but, I don't know. If you did it internally and it was just people in your own country then maybe countries that are so poor that they wouldn't be able to really, you know, send children to do that. Yeah. I didn't know. I don't, I don't know how the Peace Corps works, I, guess I was of age when the Peace Corps came in, and all that. Yeah, I was too. I thought seriously about joining at that time, I thought it was a fantastic idea. Did you ever get any information on it like, I sent off for stuff on it, but I don't remember that much. about it. I know that they trained you in the language and, um, That's what I was wondering about was whether they actually, You actually got paid too, while in the Peace Corps, it wasn't much, Yeah. but I guess, they, you could put some money aside while you were there, your expenses and, Wasn't Jimmy Carter's mama that was in the Peace Corps? Yeah, I think so, yeah, yeah But it might be interesting to see what would happen if you took kids at a, and then took then to another country instead of having being exposed to all the drugs and violence and sex and everything here, and take them to some other country that had different moral values like Saudi Arabia where they couldn't drink Where they couldn't do that. Yeah, you might end up with a revolution. I don't know which end though. Really Yeah, yeah. That's, that's been interesting, though, the kids that have been over, you know, coming back right now, you know. Yeah. You wonder if being exposed to that for a while, what percentage of them would actually say, Hey, that's not a bad way to do it, because from what I understand, from some of the guys I know, you know, crime, uh, is punishable, just almost, uh, instantly and public, Public hanging. yeah. Public hanging and this sort of thing, you know, so you don't have just a whole lot of, what we consider street crimes. Yeah. Yeah. I've heard that like in China and stuff, there is virtually no such thing as rape, because if you rape somebody you'd be murdered, you know, on the, you know, street so, Yeah. Well, I guess that's, uh, the price of freedom, I guess, is a little, anyway, the, uh, uh, the, the public service thing again I, I, I guess, in my own, having had the whole three or four minutes to, you know, give it a great deal of thought, you know, Um, I, I think I agree with you one hundred percent about it being some sort of voluntary, but when you do that then it becomes almost, uh, a , or it can be, Yeah. You know, there have, people will kind of set up their own little club, Yeah, that's true. And, uh, but if, you know, People that might benefit most from it might not go in that situation, you know, like people that really are trapped in a ghetto or something like that. Yeah. Might not go if it was voluntary, but I don't know how they'd enforce it, if it was, Yeah, well, if they went AWOL, what are you going to do. Yeah. Shoot them. Put them in jail I don't know. Send them over to Iraq Yeah, right. Have a vacation in Iraq for a year I know my dad always talked about, uh, he was in C C C during, uh, Yeah. And he was, uh, a rock rib Iowa type republican and the only good thing he could ever say about, uh, the whole Roosevelt administration was, uh, civilian conservation corps, Huh-uh. because he was in it. He thought that was great. Yeah. The rest of it was all hog wash, but that was great. Well, it seems like it would develop pride, you know, in people, if, if, it's in their own country. It would certainly help them to appreciate some of the things that we have here and develop some pride in them, if it was handled that way. I, I, it would take quite a few people. I think it might build jobs for people, you know, that were administrating and running and training and coordinating and all that, so maybe that part of it would be helpful too. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah the only, Like to have a volunteer come here and rake leaves and mow the grass and Well, you know that brings up the interesting subject too, you know, what would you have, who, who, who would determine what these people do. Yeah, yeah. You know, if, uh, you know, if it's run by the individual state. You know like C C C was run by the army and in effect, Huh-uh. and the only opposition to it really was that it was, you know, starting some sort of a military elitist type, you know, special corps of cadre of people and that sort of thing. Huh-uh. And, uh, when the politics get real confusing, Yeah, really there could be, um, some scandals involved, if, you know, it wasn't people that were really fair and you know, in a legal way or something, Yeah. they could send all the people over to, uh, you know, one particular part of town or one particular project, that somebody had paid somebody to, you know, get supported, or, Yeah. Well, We've gotten to the point where, you know, if, if, well, if the racial make up of the group was such and such, you know, they'd have to do that percentage of work and what is perceived to be that part of town and, you know, That kind of thing. Yeah. That could be a complicated too, couldn't it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Suppose, uh, well, you know, they had a group who were construction oriented and they went and they, they built, uh, can't think of a good example, a swimming pool, or anything, you know, and one, you can, you can only build it in one place, you know, and know matter where you build it, somebody else is going to scream, well, you didn't build one over here. Yeah. That's true. Unfair or something, yeah. Yeah. I think, uh, oh, boy It's one of those things on the surface, you know, it seems like a great idea. It's like a joke I heard once about, uh, elephant foot soup, you know, it's easy to do once you find a elephant foot. It's, uh, the logistics of the thing that, uh, gets you going. Yeah. Really. Yeah. Well, it seems like there's, there's a lot, you don't hear much on the news about young people really, you know, wanting to do anything good or anything like that, but you know, I'm sure that there are a lot of young people out there that really do have good hearts and are willing to help and serve and that kind of thing. I just, I saw on the news the other night that the, uh, the little girl that used to be the littlest girl on the Cosby show, Kisha Knight Pullman, was starting a, I guess now she's practically a teenager, Yeah. She started some type of, um, national organization for youth to volunteer to teach, tutor other kids to read and, you know, do different service projects like that and trying to get youth more directed towards, you know, helpful things, and I know everyone like in the high schools in Dallas, there's a couple high schools that have wanted to start like a, um, minority, you know, I think it was in a Hispanic area, they wanted to start like a club for the teenagers, instead of, they said, all these gangs kids could join to belong. Huh-uh. But they didn't have anything positive the kids could be doing, helping, you know, Yeah. so they were trying to start that out, so if there's people out there that are willing to, you know, kids that are willing to sacrifice their time and energy. Gosh, we ought to use them. You know. If their willing to do it. Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's , it's just the, you know, here you are to the logistics of the thing again, you know. Yeah. Who's going to run it, you know, what, how, oh, it's just so many Yeah. Like, like I said at the beginning I've got so many connections with people in Central America. My daughter-in-law is Panamanian, you know, Huh-uh. and they have situations like, like that down there. Where they, they have, these, the social, in some sort of way, Huh-uh. if you want to go to school outside the country, and many Salvadorians did, they'd go to school in Cornell, Iowa, of all places, Huh-uh. and when they came back, they'd have to serve this, this year, and it turned out to be kind of a joke, the ones I knew, you know, always chose the Red Cross, because they didn't do anything Oh, I see. And they had all kinds of, uh, things they could go into, agricultural, and you know, Really good stuff, Yeah. but, uh, unless there was a flood or a fire or something like that, Red Cross, it was so many of them in it, that at any particular chance, your chance of having to do something was, it was very slim. Yeah. Yeah. And so, Well, we, um, belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is like the Mormon church. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. And, um, there, there is men and also women, women aren't nearly as frequent, and also that have elderly couples once their kids have left, that can volunteer to go on a mission and, um, they're all over the world. And, its incredible logistics, I mean, they have a training center where they teach them, it's called the Missionary Training Center in Utah, and they have, to be taught the language and customs and all those kinds of things, Yeah. and then they, um, you know, go and actually live in that country for the, the, uh, young men do it for two years and the young women for eighteen months. Okay. Then that's, uh, kind of a private organization, Right. you know, I'm, I'm familiar with, my instructor pilot was a Mormon, he was, he was a good construction, uh, you know, instructor pilot because he considered himself indestructible, Oh, yeah He had a direct connection somewhere, uh Yeah, right He felt that he really had an in so, You know, things he would do with an airplane, Yeah. but any rate that's off the subject, Yeah. But, I, They, they don't get paid for it, and, um, but there is funding that comes, they're supposedly saving up on their own and the church helps them out some, Huh-uh. but, you know, that it is incredible, you know. I see how they were organized in, Central and South America Yeah. and, uh, it's, uh, Yeah. Okay. I'll let you start first, okay? Okay. We, um, I'm presently living in a house, uh, first time, uh, we had the house built and so this is our, our fifth year in it I guess, and, uh, um, it was a real excitement to, uh, to go out and select the house and have one made and built and like you wanted it, we were the fourth to build out of three hundred and forty houses. And, um, as we did with probably ninety-five percent of the people here in Dallas-Fort Worth we bought a Fox and Jacobs home, and they're good for about five years or four years and after that they start falling apart. So, I would, uh, not recommend F and J house for my dog to live in, uh, because they're overpriced, uh, but they're a cheap house. If you can't afford something good, you know, they're good for that, and, um, you can call it a home because it's a place to go home and keep the rain off your head, but as far as the costs for what your getting, uh, the longevity of the house is not, uh, is not worth it. How about in your case? Well, in my case my husband is not a carpenter, but, in fact, he's in electronics, but he knew the only way we'd ever have a new home is if he would build it. So it took him about two and a half years, but, uh, he built us a house, it's, uh, we have thirty-two hundred square feet, and it's a brick house, and price-wise, it was great because he did it all himself, you know, so that way he could, we could kind of control, in, control it, Uh-huh. and, uh, we live in kind of a small town, Uh-huh. and I mean it's nothing fancy, you know, it's, it's a house, it's nice, and it's real pretty and we're all comfortable in it. Well, that's great, that's great, that's, uh, I've heard, I have another gentleman, friend of mine, who, uh, who had a house built as a matter of fact another guy is building one now, he's been doing it for three years and the city's a little upset with him, but I understand you save a lot of money off, uh, by doing that, and, uh, Oh, you can because that way your not having to pay the middle men and everybody else. Nothing wrong with that, You know. uh, I'll vouch for that. Um, But, uh, of course, my husband did everything except my brother's a trim carpenter, and he came in, you know, and did the inside for us, and that helped. That was a big savings. And, uh, yes, and, uh, we had to hire, of course, the plumbing and the brick and everything else, nothing, you know, Well, that's great. uh, have you been in it long? Oh, really, well, have you any plans to, uh, maybe, uh, expand or move onward? no, we're, well, uh, our kids are kind of still small now, and we had thought before maybe a lot older we don't need such a large house that we'll sell it, but he will not build a second one himself. Because he says age-wise he'll never be able to handle that again I see, well, First one is always a bear. Yes, yes. We're having a, an architect friend of mine design a house for us and that can basically be, be put on any lot, in any state, any you know, so that's kind of, we just got with him and told him what all we wanted, Oh. Uh-huh. and he's charging us about a buck a square foot to design it and he's certified, and registered so at least we know we're, it's not going to fall in or something if it's built. Yeah, oh. But, uh, I have heard that your approach is, is right, you can actually go out and sub it, if, even if you don't want to get hands on, Uh-huh. you can even just sub it out to concrete and those kind of things and, and that's kind of the plan I have so, I'm, uh, Yeah. everyone I talk to, uh, I file in my little book and do other things with it . That's great, that's great. But, uh, like I said otherwise, you know, the expense, but, you know, we could not have one as large as we have if, you know, we hadn't did it ourselves. Sure, I can imagine. Yeah, I mean it's not an Eldorado house or anything like that, but, you know, it's ours. If your happy with it, that's all that counts. That's right. That's right. That's all, you only have to, uh, satisfy yourself and no one else. apparently the appraisers likes it because our taxes sure is high Oh, that's, uh, that's, uh, an encouraging sign if you ever want to resell, I guess. Isn't it? It really is because I, I'm always shocked at about, you know, what they have it appraised at, I think, oh my goodness. Well that's great. Well, yeah, I guess that about does it. Okay, and it was nice talking to you. Nice talking with you, too. Okay, bye-bye. Bye. Okay, I think we're supposed to discuss our view of the Soviet Union as a continuing threat to the United States. Okay. How do you feel about that. I don't really, I more, I don't know about the government as much as, uh, the people, uh, I wouldn't consider to be a threat at all and I really don't feel much like the Soviet Union itself is a threat anymore. I'm, I'm worried about them. They're in a very, uh, tumultuous state right now with the kinds of, uh, adaptations that they're attempting to go through, uh. I'm concerned about them not as a military threat, but as a burden. They're very large Yeah. and they can become very quickly a large financial burden, as, as one more stepchild we have to carry around. Yeah, I think that's, that's a real important aspect and that, uh, as the, the the most, the let's see, the more that we do, that we do or that we can do to help them become self-sufficient is going to eliminate more of the risk of that becoming, uh, you know, a reality. I know that, uh, this last winter was very hard on, uh, several areas in the, in the, the Ukraine, particularly the coal mining regions of Siberia, uh, the people there have money, that's not their problem, but there's no food for them to buy, and its, you can't eat money. And they have, a, a problem, their, their whole attitude, uh, I, I'm not sure which crop it was, but they had a crop that rotted in the fields because they couldn't get anyone to harvest it. Yeah. And the people in the city were saying, well why should I go do that. Make the government do that, that's not my job. Right, they've got a lot of adjustments to make with coming out of what they've been through now, and, uh, they've been, they've been under, under the oppression that they've been under for so long that now they have some freedoms but they don't know how to act yet. They don't understand that to make that work, they've got to take some responsibility for themselves. It's not just the government's responsibility anymore. You can't just blame it on the government when they give you the freedom to take care of yourself then that puts some responsibility on you as well. Absolutely, and, and I think that they're having a hard time with the concept of you can not go back. People only go forward and I think that that is giving them, I'm expecting a call and unfortunately, I think it's come through. I've enjoyed talking to you. Okay. Thank you, bye, All right, bye-bye. Real problem the last few days, one of their, uh, young hopeless stars has apparently ruined his knee for this season, it was a catcher. Uh-huh. And they really don't have an excess of catchers and it's really kind of, kind of late to, you know, to start, be trying to trade for somebody, especially with the salary cap that the Rangers have. Yeah. They're not the highest paying ball team around. Oh no, no, they're not, are they. But I, you know, I would, I would gladly take the salary of most of the guys, I'll tell you. Oh, goodness, I would too, even the bench warmer, I would. Yeah, that's right. I really haven't been an active Ranger fan in several years. I used to go, take my son, you know, when he was in high school, he enjoyed going to baseball games. Uh-huh. I'll have to admit I kind, I kind of went more to see, to see the other team a lot of times than I did the, did the Rangers, Uh, yeah. But, I think they're doing better. Well, I do to, uh, I have boys, you know, like eight and eleven and we go quite often, to watch the Rangers. Yeah, I can imagine. I used to love to play baseball when I was a kid. Uh-huh. Oh yes, we're heavy into that too. I think it's more fun to play than it is to watch. Oh, I do too. Yeah. And I think, uh, what caught so many of our attentions last year was that Nolan Ryan, you know, yes. Oh of course, of course. As a matter of fact I read in the sports page this morning, he just pitched his first, uh, exhibition game a day or so ago, Uh-huh. and he pitched five, uh, yeah, five full innings. That was almost unheard of for a pitcher to, you know, to start out that strong. Yeah, yes, uh-huh. no big deal, you know, it's just part of a day's work. Yeah, I know it, yeah, yeah. He's something else, he really is. He really is an, you know, as far as predictions and stuff, I really think the Rangers may come out real strong this year. They could do very well, they sure could. They because I don't know but last year I just figured they was under a lot of pressure because of all the publicity and everything, Uh-huh, uh-huh, right. I really do. Yeah, they've got, uh, I guess all, well all their players are signed now. Some of them are not too happy about it but there, there's no hold outs. Yeah, yeah at least, that should help, So that should help. it sure should. Yeah, it should, uh-huh. But in a way, I really do, and of course, there's a few more, you know, I think are good ball teams also. Oh yeah, sure. Like Oakland A's and the Giants I really do. Sure, sure, uh-huh, Cincinnati. Yeah, there sure are. I like to go watch the Giants when they come to Houston some times. Uh-huh, uh-huh, that's right. But, uh, I've never seen the Astros play. Oh you haven't? Huh-uh. Oh, I have a few times. Uh-huh. Uh, they're a good ball team. That's right. They really are. They sure are. Wouldn't it be something to have a World Series between the Rangers and the Astros. Oh, wouldn't it, wouldn't it though Boy, I tell you that would draw a crowd, wouldn't it. Wouldn't it. It sure would. Oh my goodness, we might actually get to go to a World Series, huh. That's right, wouldn't that be something. Oh, yeah. It sure would. That's something you dream about. Absolutely. But there are a lot of Ranger fans around. Oh, there sure is and, uh, that, I mean they really are. Uh, now Incavalia I don't know how familiar you are with him but, last year I was kind of thinking he sure did get in a slump. Yeah. But they're saying this year, their predictions is that he's really going to come out of it and, be on top. Uh-huh, yeah. Uh-huh, boy, he's a bull, isn't he? Isn't he though, He really is gosh. he sure is. He either hits home run or strike out. Uh-huh, that's right. There is not ever a in between for him. That's right, it's kind of like Babe Ruth. Uh-huh, yeah. Yeah, they were saying something about this may be his last year with the Rangers though. Apparently I think his contract is up after the end of this year and they're not sure they're going to be able to sign him again. To sign him again, yeah. Huh. Yeah, that, you know, may or may not happen. Yeah, oh you never know. That's right, it's a long way away. That's sure if you offer them money, I'm sure they'll, they'll do a little bit of everything. That's right. That's right, unfortunately the Rangers don't spread it around quite as big as some of the other teams do. No, no, no, like that Joe Hosago you know. Yeah, that's right. I mean, oh. Is there going to be a ticket increase this year, price, do you know. I hadn't heard. I haven't either, I, I really haven't, uh, The, uh, those Cowboys have increased their prices again this year. Oh yeah. But I didn't know, I, I don't think I've heard anything on the Rangers, or I don't remember it if I have. Well I hadn't either, Yeah. We hadn't, you know, like I said, we, I don't even guess they've even thought about sending the schedules out yet. Yeah, I guess it's too early. Yeah, because we usually get one. We usually order our tickets way in advance. Uh-huh, it's a good idea, yeah. We, we try to go so often. Uh-huh, yeah if you have young, young children, you know, they, they get a kick out of it. Oh, they do. Uh-huh. Well, I've enjoyed talking to you. Well you too Lori And, we'll hopefully we'll get to talk again. Right, you take care. Okay, bye-bye. Okay, bye-bye. okay. What, what is, do you have a favorite recipe? Um, yeah, that's what it said to discuss some maybe a recipe, well, it says, why would you, what you would have for a dinner party. Um, this is strange because I pressed one and I thought it said begin. Oh. Okay, maybe, maybe we're all set. Okay, we'll talk for five minutes, they interrupt at the end. Um, yeah, it says what you would have for a dinner party, I just happen to plan one out for Saturday I'll tell you, what I'm going to have. Um, if I can find it. Oh, that's wonderful. Okay. Well, I have this new fondue pot and I was going to do basic cheese fondue, and I have two different kinds of breads and some ham and I was going to try something weird which, you know, when you have fish au gratin, I was going to make some, uh, like fish chunks and dip it in the fondue. I don't know if it will come out. That's, what kind of fondue, the cheese dip or, Yeah, the cheese fondue I make, some people like swiss, um, I prefer cheddar. And I'll mix, I won't make, I won't have a sharp cheddar because it, for fondue I think it should be a little calmer than real sharp, cheddar. Right. Yeah. And then I was going to make other things like potato skins. Oh, that sounds good. see you don't necessarily have to dip this stuff. And, um, I was going to have broccoli and cauliflower for a, a vegetable. That's always a good thing. Vegetable trays always go over so well, because I think people get tired of eating junk. I mean, I think they like to have healthy stuff too, you know it's, Oh, yeah, it's amazing how vegetables trays will go at a party. Oh, definitely. I think better even than, than other kinds of food Yeah, instead of something greasy or, Right, exactly. Yeah. my, uh, girlfriends do catering and they always, about every party they do is they have a vegetable tray. I think they try and suggest it. Uh-huh. What I've been doing when I get invited someplace and bring something, I make, uh, food kabobs. You take little toothpicks and cut up, uh, pineapple and strawberry, and even banana if you can do it just before you leave. Oh. Yes. Right. It stays nice and fresh. Right, that's true. Or even have you ever seen where they, they'll take a watermelon and just cut the top out of it and then hollow that out, and then put the fruit in the watermelon that is really neat . Yeah. Yeah, I like those Yep. Um, they, they made a couple of those, uh, they made one for my, uh, bridal shower and I was pretty pleased. I never made one for myself though. But they look easy enough to make it's not, Oh, I think it would, it would be a lot of work but, um, you know, because it's, you know, Yeah. you have to cut each thing or, you know, use the melon baller and stuff but, but I think they're really neat and, you know, I think they're worth the time, you know, because they, Yeah, you probably get this, probably pretty sticky after you get done. Oh, yeah Then you've got to drain the water out of the watermelon because, you know, when you scrape it, it makes the water. Right. Yeah. Yeah, um, something I do is a fruit, is, I'll get, um, make chocolate sauce and dip strawberries and bananas in them. Yeah, I have two nieces and they, they they go melt some chocolate chips, Go buy me some strawberries. Is that, is that good? You know, I've seen that so many times, strawberries dipped in chocolate but I've never tried it, are they really good? Yeah, you know, if you get a sweet strawberry they're much better, but if you get a sour strawberry, Oh, I bet it doesn't mix well, does it? Huh. Yeah, no, they, um, the strawberries are coming in season now from , they're, they're coming up from Florida, of course. I live in Vermont, so. But they're really reasonably priced, they're coming up from Florida, so. Oh, well, that's good because I know they've been really expensive lately. Because they weren't in season, Yeah. of course, they had to be, be, uh, grown in greenhouses and stuff and in , Yeah, I think the, uh, actually I think they get, um, some of them from South America. Oh, is that right? Yep, they, a lot of, um, of a, um, winter produce comes from South America. Oh, I . Of course, their seasons are switched. Uh-huh. Right. So, um, do you want to discuss the recipe? Well, I have a recipe if you want Okay, sure, Um, it filled , a lot of people try to stay away from this but I make my own homemade pudding just because I don't like box pudding. Is that right? I've never heard of that. Yeah, it, and it if you, um, well, first of all I take about a quarter and a half of milk and I put it in a two quart saucepan and you put it on a really low heat. Uh-huh. And you want to use one of your good sauce pans that dissipate the heat because it, it ends up burning, I mean, no matter how careful you are you still might get a film on the bottom of the pot. Uh-huh. I don't let that worry me. And I get the milk lukewarm and then I pour about a half a cup of cornstarch in it and I have this thing it's called the slender blender, it, it makes the, uh, it makes, uh, a whip topping out of milk if you get the milk cold enough. It's, uh, I don't know, they're called moo goo leaves or something they're I think I know what you're is it like a hand held? Yeah. They're real neat. The, yeah, okay. I think they're real reasonably priced, some of them, they used to be a hundred dollars and they used to whip skim milk into a dessert but I didn't get that one, I got the Black and Decker kind. But, uh, it's real handy because it doesn't have a cord and you beat this cornstarch right into the the milk, you know, and it does an excellent job, or just hand beat it. I guess you could use a hand mixer but I don't think it I don't think it gets it good enough. Uh-huh. Huh. And then before the milk gets too hot, um, I add two beaten eggs and I really mix them in good. And then about a half a cup of sugar and I let it pretty much, I beat it like every minute for about ten seconds and it's, it starts thickening, when it thickens the cornstarch might get a little, I don't know, it gets like little globs of this rubbery cornstarch, and you just keep beating it in. And it's the, the trick is, is to have this blender, so, if you were, you'd have to probably almost go out and someone who's just going to make it first time, it's, you'll have much better luck if you had one of these little blenders. And then you can add cocoa powder to it to make chocolate or after it's thickened I cook it for a good, once it starts boiling, I just, I cook it for a good seven minutes, seven to ten minutes Uh-huh. and then you can make chocolate or you can take it off and let it cool you put, um, really good vanilla favoring in it and some butter and that makes french vanilla, um, custard. Yeah, Oh, wow. That is really interesting. Are you saying to use like, um, for chocolate like, unsweetened, A chocolate powder. unsweetened? Yeah, that cocoa, yeah, the unsweetened. It comes in like a real dark can, Yeah. our mothers used to use it. And then, I have some Yeah, we all used to, I just want to, yeah , it's the unsweetened kind it's not like Nestles Quik. Right. Okay. I suppose you could use that. Cooking chocolate. Yeah, but, um, That's really interesting, I've never heard of anybody making their own pudding before that's really neat. Well, I used to make the regular pudding, the chocolate and put it in the pie shell and if it would sit in the refrigerator for a day, where you cut the pie, it would soak into the pie shell and it was like red, and I'm like, oh, this is kind of groedy . Well, how did you get a recipe for pudding on your own? Um, actually I found it in one of my mother's, um, homemade cookbooks, I mean, something she had collected out of WOMAN'S DAY or something. Is that right? Oh, neat, So, that is just really neat. Because I, I think you couldn't make it with a hand whisk or, or a regular beater but, um, It would probably be a lot more work and probably not turn out as good. Yeah, but I still think a beater would do it good enough, um, the trick is to get the cornstarch, Uh-huh. um, yeah , right in the, in the lukewarm milk. Sometimes I put the cornstarch in a separate bowl and I would put it in the sink and I'll take my lukewarm milk and put it in the cornstarch and beat it good. It seems to be better than putting the, the cornstarch into the liquid it, once it hits the top of the liquid it seems to make little balls and stuff on the top. So you put the milk in the cornstarch? Yeah. And I'll do this, uh, sometimes I'll put my after I pour that into my, back into my saucepan. I'll put the eggs in the same dish and beat them up and then pour the cornstarch and the milk mixture in the egg. So, And then put that back in the saucepan? Yep. And then, you know, if you can put your cocoa in with your cornstarch if you wanted to. The cocoa even seems to thicken it even more. Huh that's, Because by the vanilla doesn't seem to thicken as well as the, sometimes the cocoa is like, my husband really likes it thick he says, I can stick the spoon right in this. Oh. Because I'm always worrying it won't firm up because it, when you take it out of the saucepan it's like, boy, I hope this thickens a little more because it's not like real package thick, you know, when you cook a package, it's, it's a little less, Uh-huh. but I put it in a nice glass bowl and, um, some people don't like that, that, film on the pudding so you can put, uh, Saran Wrap over the top. Uh-huh. And then once the pudding starts cooling it makes little balls of water on the Saran Wrap, so, when you pull the Saran Wrap back, you sort of should be a little careful, pull it back and shake the water off the Saran Wrap and I might put it back on. But, um, Do do you put it in the refrigerator then or Yeah, after, well when it starts steaming a lot, uh, I definitely, yeah, put it in the refrigerator, Uh-huh. but, um, I, my father always told me if you put hot food in your refrigerator you're going to make it work too hard. Right, that's true. I knew that. That's , yeah, Yeah. so, that's why I do that. Yeah. So, well, I don't know that's my, my great hard recipe. Okay, have you ever served as a juror? Never. I've never been served on the jury, never been called up in a jury, although some of my friends have been jurors. Uh-huh. I never have either. You haven't, huh. If you were, uh, what do you think about the whole concept of a trial by your peers? Well, I think it's a good idea. I think our justice system needs a major overhaul, and I'm not sure what needs to be done to fix it. But I think they've got a lot of problems. I think the major thing they need to correct is how long it takes something to get to jury, and to get to trial. True. And I don't know if that's just a pure volumes number or, or what, but, uh. Sometimes I think the jury is ignorant in the facts of law and how things should be determined, and they're too easily swayed by their emotion. Yeah, I think that's true. Hence is possible error as you can see in all the IRONSIDES, T V shows. Yeah. Do, would you prefer all trials by a judge? No, I think there are certain things that, uh, the jury can determine as far as, uh, guilty or not guilty, but as far as the affixing of punishment and fines and things of that nature, I don't know if that is best left up to the jury to to award, you know. Two point two million dollar kind of settlement versus a judge knowing, you know, it's true that, you know, this may be sad and all that thing, but, uh, the jury I think is best, in most cases, suited for determination of guilt and innocence, but not the award of, of penalties and fines and punishment. Yeah, I would agree with that. I think you're I think they sometimes get carried away by the circumstances and make huge settlements thinking well it's only going to cost the insurance company, and, Uh-huh, that's true. But, uh, I do like the idea of the jury being the, the people who decide in the matter of, uh, if it's a jail term versus life and death you know, the death penalty and such. Uh-huh. If they give them all the information. I don't know, when it comes to sentencing phase, I guess they tell them if a guy, if the person has a previous record and stuff. Uh-huh. Sometimes it seems like during the trial part, the jury's not, you know, misses some of the best evidence because they make them leave, and the judge decides whether or not they should hear it. Right. Yeah. Uh, it, it, it's kind of difficult, and I guess the whole system is set up to rather let, uh, some guilty people go free than to put an innocent person in, in jail although you still hear about those occasionally. Right. Yeah. Do you think the verdict should be completely unanimous by the jury? Um, I don't know. I, you know, I heard a very interesting, and maybe it's just the T V show or movie I was watching, they were going through a trial, and I think it was like on one of the, the documentary T V shows where they ask for the, the verdict by the jury Uh-huh. and they went by each one, saying guilty or innocent, guilty or innocent. Uh-huh. And they took it more as just like a majority. Oh. So I, I, Some of them disagree, I mean, some of them said one way and some the other. Exactly, but they took, you know, whatever the majority was. So I didn't know if that was just something for drama or that's truly the way it is. I always thought it had to be unanimous. I think it does have to be unanimous. But, uh. Rather interesting. I know they can poll a jury, make sure everybody agrees with what they said the verdict was, but I thought that they all had to agree or else they, it was a hung jury. Uh-huh. And, I did, I did also. Yeah, I I don't know how I feel about that. I think maybe, uh, majority might be sufficient. Uh-huh. It's hard to say though. What about in international trials. Do you think they should have a jury there? Oh. I think that would be kind of interesting. Yeah, I hadn't thought about international trials at all. I guess the, the problem with that is there's no true authority in any kind of international verdicts like, you know, the old day with the rack. Right. We, they're going to say, Okay, you're guilty and you have to pay Kuwait four million dollars. Well, whose going to really make them. Yeah. Nobody. Yeah, So. But I think it would be kind of interesting to incorporate that concept of, you know, people from different countries, uh, in as international law also. Yeah, I think maybe they'd need to be more knowledgeable though than just your average Joe off the street for something like that because of the cultural differences. Things like that. Uh-huh. Right. I don't know how, what it would take to be, come up with a true perfect system, or if one exists. But, Yeah. Uh, is that the crime and it's already, some chart and determine the punishment, or. Yeah, like if you're convicted of a certain crime you automatically get so many years. It's not a discretionary thing. Uh-huh. I think there should be a core minimum that they get Uh-huh. but, uh, I guess there should be some flexibility because every situation may be unique, that the judge can either increase that or keep it just at its minimum, things of that nature. But, Yeah. I wish that when they sentence someone, if they're going to sentence him to five years, then make him serve five years. Yeah, that serves a kind of if they're, I guess, uh, if you sentence someone to life, life is only forty-nine years, something like that. Yeah, I, And I guess you're eligible after twenty-seven for parole, even though you're in for life. Yeah, and sometimes those people are, are young enough, they can still get out and cause a lot of trouble. Yeah, although I guess it's, you, you want them to rehabilitate and become better rather than sitting in there and being a drain all the time. Yeah, I don't believe that very often happens. No. Because uh, inside the jail there, I don't think there's no real rehabilitation. I don't think so either. In fact, I think they end up worse, because the conditions are so bad. Yeah, it's another war zone. Yeah. But, who knows. I think, I think maybe they ought to just be punished with some, some kind of real punishment, like hard labor for a shorter length of time, you know. I agree, get them out there, Actually make them do something that's not pleasant and do it and get it over with and get back in the, you know, world and not spend so much time sitting around, letting the bad influences of the other ones rub off on them, and, Sure, they should have them go out and doing stuff. Cleaning up, or picking up dirt, or weeds, or who knows what. Something for the, for the state, Yeah. since the state is paying for them, they should get some kind of, kind of work out of them. Yeah. Something besides license plates and tiddlywinks. Exactly. Yeah. Trading their lives for cigarettes those kinds of things. Yeah. Well good. Well, I think that covers it. I think so. Nice talking to you. Nice talking to you also. Bye. Have a wonderful Easter. You, too. Bye. Bye. Well, how many credit cards do you have? Um, I've only, I've got about four maybe. I try to limit them because I, well one, I don't use them too much. And I use my Visa just for for about everything, and I pay it all off. So I try not to, I just use it for free money for thirty days basically. Sounds like we have no conflict. We had, for a while I was carrying one card and my wife was carrying a different one. And since the slips all look alike, uh, you commingle them and then you get the statement and you try to sort them out, uh, and it, uh, it caused more confusion about it. I finally said, Gee, this is kind of a waste of time. And then when A T and T came along and offered a free one, uh, I accepted that, and we've been using that one. Uh, the interesting thing is, is that, uh, the amount of money you can can run up on them. I don't know, do you know any people that run up big, big bills? I'm, I'm you know, I'm in the age group you get out of college, and I think a lot of these people have them maxed out. Well, did, um, were you able to get one while you're in college? Um, I don't think I ever tried. Just curious, because I have a son that's a senior this year, and he's heading off, with any kind of luck, but there has been, I've had a couple of ads for, for, for to provide a card for a college student. Uh, what do you think about the idea of providing one for somebody like that? Um, well, yeah, I, I, you know, it's, you know, feasible, I mean, I know a lot of college kids who have them, you know, who had them, but just depends. Well, that, that, that, I guess from the, from the card issuer, uh, that since, since it's, it's in, the parent gets it for them, that really the parent becomes the one that's responsible, but it's, Yeah, so basically if you want to take the risk Yes, it's whether the parent wants to take the risk. It's your risk, do you trust, your, your son, Yeah, to, to go run up a big bill and, the thing is, there some advantages, if he got off some place and stranded. Uh-huh. I, I'm, I'm leaning towards doing it for, for a convenience, Uh-huh. I'd say, you know, have one with, you know at least a thousand dollar credit limit or something. Yeah, and the idea that, you know, if he got in trouble, there's some, some ways of getting out, and that he doesn't have to carry cash. The, uh, I, I like the idea of credit cards that, uh, I don't, I don't, I don't carry cash around, and, and, uh, I don't even carry checks around. I let my wife take the checkbook, and she writes the checks, and I record them. So it's, uh, it's, uh, it's, but it's interesting that, uh, the people that can, that can, uh, the amounts of money you can run up on, on credit cards, and, uh, I, I had recently had some dealings with a fellow that they had run up, he was making, oh, considered a modest salary for an engineer, and he had run up, uh, more than a years salary in, in various debts to, and he wound up declaring bankruptcy but there, it, it's hard to believe that you'd run up twenty, thirty thousand dollars of, uh, well, it was a combination of things he had, Uh-huh. there were, there were several credit cards, and then there were several other businesses, The, the extended loan payment for your car. Yes, yeah. Yeah. I saw that. The interesting thing about that is, is that, uh, that, that they're encouraging you to incur more, incur more debt, and, Well, it's, it's, it's business, and they're making money off that. And they make more money if you extend your loan. Yeah, and, and it's, so it's business, so, and you notice that they're, they're only going to do it to like cars that are one or two years old. Yes. And so they've already shifted the risk. If they assume that car, then they just have to sell it themselves, and they'll recover the loan, And they know that people own a car that new unless absolutely die of service *listen; can't be right transcription they're not going to keep on if the car were older. Uh-huh. The interesting thing about it is is that from a, uh, uh, an economy standpoint or in economics, I, I thinks it's, I think it's poor, poor, uh, economics to, to carry all that consumer debt at least from a tax standpoint, Yeah. so. It's interesting that, that the American public is encouraged to incur all that debt and then next year none of it will be deductible, and this year it's ten percent or so. Yeah, uh. It's, uh, it's interesting that, that, uh, they encourage us to do things, What, now what's ten percent, we can deduct, I think ten percent, yes. I didn't know that. Of your, of your consumer credit. Oh, if you had a thousand dollars, that means there's another hundred dollar deduction I've given you. I didn't think you could, any thing on a loan or, I mean a mortgage I know you can, Yeah, it's on, uh, yeah. Yeah, on the, the, there's, there's, there's a place for consumer debt and then you take ten percent of it, on the, Oh, I've never itemized yet. Oh, okay, So maybe that's. Schedule A or, It's on schedule, um, Schedule A under, uh, well, it's the same place, it's the same place you put, uh, interest. But, but see that's what, that's what makes Texas squirrelly laws that you can't, you can't take out a, a second mortgage, like some states where you can take out the mortgage and declare that, and so, uh, it's fully deductible. The laws are a little squirrelly, but it basically comes down to it's not in your best interest to borrow money from a tax standpoint. Yeah. But, uh, anyway, Yeah, I try, I, I really do, I just try to stay out of debt, and I, and I use my Visa for, for as much as I can, and I pay it all off, and, Sounds like you're, you're very very financially responsible. It's, uh, That's, uh, Uh-huh. there're a lot of people who really run, my boss drives quite a ways to work, and he's got just enormous debts, and he's, but, I mean, what do you say, it's like, Shucks, Boss, I'm sure sorry you've got all that debt. Well, he's had, had two kids in college and, and this kind of thing, and that Uh-huh. I think that the whole credit card issue, I think they certainly encourage people to run up the debts and, but I agree with you Yeah. I don't, I my debts. Well, I did buy a new house last summer. Hell, I took a five year note out on my car when I, right when I got out of college, and, uh, I'll never do that again. I still got a couple of years on it to go, and I'm, It's, it's remarkable how many people as soon as they get out of college buy a new car, and that, uh, apparently that's been going on for a really long time. I didn't do it. I, I bought a second hand car when I was, the middle of my senior year. Well, you, you think you're starting out well, until you start paying all those bills. Uh, apartment rent, Yep. and, Miscellaneous things like food and other things, Yeah. these habits you get into, eating and, and, uh, it's, it's, it's amazing how it, what you learn. Yeah, so. Well, anything else good to say about credit cards? Um I might just, you know, they're convenient, you know, that's probably one big thing about them, and, uh, You don't have to carry the cash, and, and, uh, and it's, it's, it's certainly accepted more places than, the places, you know, it's hard to cash a check if you're out of state, and, Yeah, well, I was used to using my credit card, like at Skaggs Alpha Beta in Dallas, and stuff Yeah. and now I'm out here in Phoenix. They don't allow, they don't do They, they, none of these grocery stores take any credit cards, so now I have to carry cash when I go to the grocery store, which is new to me, you know, I got to have sixty bucks on me or something. Yeah. So, uh that was interesting, cause I always, you know, Carry all that cash with you. you didn't have to worry about carrying that much unless I knew I, Well, you know they, they they've started towards a little bit of the debit card, have you seen the debit cards where they actually debit your account when you, Yeah, I've heard about them. Yeah, and I think that's where, That's mostly locally, the banks will line up with, uh. Yeah, I've seen a couple, although the, so many of the grocery stores don't do that because of the, the time frame which they get paid, in general, that, uh, they, I've seen checks deposited the very next day, I mean, cleared my account the next day. My wife will write a check for groceries and, you know, almost, well I guess it's the day after, uh, technically it's two days, but they took that check and scurried it to the bank and the bank scurried it back to my account, and you thought there'd be just a little bit of float, but apparently that's why the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, grocery stores are reluctant to do that, because their volume, that is quite high, and they have, uh, the costability of the cash flow is a big issue for them. Yeah. Anyway. Well, it's good talking to you. All righty. Maybe we'll get across, we'll cross paths again. Good night. All righty. Take it easy. So what kind of weather have you had in Dallas? Well, it's been very windy, Really? Yeah see, I didn't, I don't, I thought, uh, I thought, I lived in Euless and I thought it was pretty normal, but anyway, but I guess you're right though it has been real hot, because it, um, I've had to use the air conditioner in March, we've already had to use that, my husband usually, and we've had like, I mean, this is probably typical though, uh, we, like tornado weather and tornado warnings, and, uh, Uh-huh. so, uh, you know, I, I forget from year to year. I'm getting too old. But, the, uh, it, the wind's blowing very hard, Yeah. but I guess, you know, we're just out of March, and, uh will bring the rain in, uh, April. Yeah, I know, The trees are real pretty right now and everything. And, uh, I don't know. I know the pollen is real high, Yes, it is. Seems very high. It hasn't bothered me, but I know that people that have allergies it seems to be pretty high. I know. It's been bothering me a lot, but yeah, I think, I think the weather overall has been, um, probably like you said, probably a little bit warm and, Uh, A little bit warm and a little bit blowy, I think. Anyway, so we basically live in the same area so it's real hard to, Really hard to make too big of different comparisons, right? I know. Yeah. I just think it's been warm, and it's been hot, and I liked it, and it's beautiful, and all the trees are pretty, and I wish it would stay like this all the time Yes, I could stand this all summer. So yeah, I could too. And, uh, gah, I don't think we can say anything else really. I don't think we can either, let's cut off. Yeah, that sounds like a good deal. Well, you have a nice day. You too. And we'll talk to you later. Bye-bye. Bye. Okay, um. Let's talk about the Middle East situation. The U S involvement in there, then I guess even though. Now that's it's all over with, you know. Well, it is over but I don't think we're out of there by any means, and uh, I wonder are we going to set up you know peace keeping type forces for long term. You know, is that something we should do or shouldn't do? I don't know. I don't know I understand that the U S is talking about leaving more of its planes and things over there. Uh, I guess, they, uh, they're anti U S in that region and now they're, you know, like Syria and Egypt, you know had some pressure against the U S, but now they, now they wouldn't allow us to have a base in that region but now I think they are rethinking that. I think that's true because of all the support that came through. That's right. The other thing that I think is good for like American businesses are to be involved is the, the reports that I hear back and of course on the news I try to listen and also read between the lines you know Uh-huh. But, they said that because the Americans you know took such a proactive stance involvement in the war that like so much of the business and the rebuilding in Kuwait and things like that will go to American businesses where as before they may be dealt with Japanese firms or other people. Uh-huh. They said even though the Japanese were involved monetarily, uh, they still like the first, first priority ought to go to American businesses, which I guess will be good you know which will be good for our economy. Right, right. But, I, you know. They get so much of our money from oil anyway Boy, don't you know, I mean we don't seem to slow down even when there is a crisis No, no. But. Yeah, I think that's a nice gesture, on the Kuwaiti government part to do that, and a few people I guess will make a few people pretty wealthy in construction and so forth. I imagine. Your oil companies, they may see, probably the first big rise in business they have seen in years. Right. Go over there and rebuild all those. Uh-huh. I think it's such a shame that the Iraqis had to just go destroy everything. I just. I do too. I mean, what's, what good is that? If I can't have it, you can't have it, you know that sounds like something a little kid would do. You know. Yeah, but look at their war, that was his whole war is, is I'm not satisfied with what Iraq has, I want what everybody has. That's right. And, and you're right, it's like you see two little pre-school kids fighting over a toy, you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, I am a little concerned about you know, I know they are putting President Bush right now in an awkward position concerning the, The treaty over there right now. The, The deal with the uh, supporting the Kurds. You know what am I trying to say? Well supporting the Kurds but, uh, you know the cease-fire, Right, right, the cease-fire. I'm trying to say another, because he yeah. You know because he, he wants them to uphold their end of the deal as far as the cease-fire Right. Right. You know if it's an internal thing, I don't think we can walk in and say, Gee, I think you're right, and you're wrong, you know we're not the judge and jury. Uh-huh. Uh, but I know that that's causing him a little bit of unpopularity with the people over there because they feel like, Gee, you told us, to stand up against him, but you're not helping. Yeah, to help out. Yeah. So I think he's in a pretty awkward position now and I, I think we ought to help, you know. Maybe supply some arms or something. Yeah, supply arms and support them if they need help but I don't think we ought to be over there fighting it for them, and and, so I think he's done good on that stance. Yeah, I think Bush handled, has handled this whole situation quite well. He stood up to, to the bully and, didn't back down Yeah. and uh, and uh, Saddam Hussein miscalculated all along, thinking that he wouldn't commit U S lives and, and forces and, and monies to, just to liberate a little country. Boy, I would say. That's right. And, uh, then he underestimated his ability to, to wage a war with us. I mean, one thing when we all came over there and said, Okay, here we are, get out, and he said, No, I can, I can win a war with you guys. Yeah, yeah. And that was a horrible miscalculation. I agree, you know they'd advertised and said in the news and said he had the fifth largest army. Well, he may have but you, Not any more Well not any more but, you have to have loyalty, you have to have people who believe in your cause. Right. You know, I know they tried to turn it into a holy war, because to them that is what's honorable. You know, if you die in a holy cause, Right. but I think they are smart enough, to see there's nothing holy about it. Yeah. We just want to go in and took it. Right. You know. Saddam Hussein is not a religious person, but he uses it. When he sees it to his advantage. Sure. Sure. And, uh, and I think the people were smart enough to realize that, and I think they're afraid of him. Is what they are. Uh. The population is afraid to speak out against him and I don't think he's going to be there too much longer. Well, I hope that's true. Someone is going to assassinate him, you know. I would think so, I would think that , you know, I guess in the back of my mind I think like maybe the Israeli Massad probably has ideas of going in and, huh. Yeah, yeah. You know, I thought they, uh, showed a tremendous restraint in their reactions towards everything, Uh-huh. but I don't believe for a minute that that means that they don't have ideas and plans of their own That's right. But I do agree with you, Yeah. I think President Bush handled it all politically very smart, you know, giving the support of, of the other Arabs and other nations in the world and I think, that's how you have to go into something like that. Right, right. I've heard reports that President Bush was staking his future on this, uh, this war and that setting a precedent saying that this League of Nations will always combine against bullies and to stop this kind of stuff in the world. Any would be bully would think twice if he knew that, you know, there's this United Nations or world government or whatever they keep talking about that the whole world will deal with you. And don't you feel? *listen And you can't, you just can't do it and get away with it, you know, hoping that you know, That's right. because it's a world thing and the nations will combine against you and you can't, you know, you can't just do this. And don't you think that long term that's been a big boost for the United Nations. Oh, yeah. I mean the United Nations been there for years, but all of a sudden. Had no, had no teeth. Yeah there are some teeth behind it and the fact that when they have sanctions and we support things like this, it means something. Right. And I think that's good for the strength of the United Nations. People, I guess, I feel sorry for just the average, you know, Iraqi, who has had to go through all of this and the suffering. I'm sure with no water, No electricity, no sanitation, Yeah. And rebuild from nothing. Yes. must be terrible, living conditions must be terrible. Yeah. and it's not getting any better, the sanctions are still on. That's true. You know, except for a few medical supplies they are allowing through now and then powdered milk, I guess, for babies and things and until they, I guess, yesterday they came out with this, these rules I guess or whatever. For a permanent, permanent cease-fire Right. They supported it. and the Kuwaitis said, We don't want to have to repay Israel for all the bombing that we did that was in there, you know. That is right, But that's only fair. Yeah, they did ask that they build up Israel and Kuwait. Yeah. And I think they should have to. Yeah. They lost It's going to be really tough for them to swallow, but we don't want a Kuwait there that's also, you know, just has no power at all, and that, that you know, because Iran still isn't too friendly with them. Well, that's true. And we don't want, you know, to be stabilized to the point where Iran will say, Now is our chance, you know, to go in and wipe them out and, Well I don't think Iran is under the same type of madman type leadership, Yeah, yeah. but there's always the possibility, I guess. Yeah, yeah since Khomeini died over there, things have gotten a little more normalized. I think so. Not quite as radical a stance, more moderates are in power now. I think the person who really may be at this time has a hard road to tow is Jordan's King Hussein because he really kind of, really tried to kind of straddle the fence. Yeah. Put in the middle. You know, he wasn't necessarily for Iraq but at the same time, he didn't feel like everybody ought to be going against Iraq. And yet so many of the citizens are the uh, the Lebanese. Who were hoping this would evolve into a war against Israel. And uh, trying to connect with Israel all that time Yeah. Right. and there really was no connection at all. No. And, uh, but boy those Lebanese in Jordan, they were saying you know, this whole war is Israel's fault because Israel told the United States to attack Iran it was like, it was like you know Israel controls our government. I know, isn't that amazing the way that they will find their cause no matter what situation they see they're going to find their cause whether it truly exists or not. Right, but one thing I did learn was how deep the the hatred runs toward Israel by a lot of countries. I know. They just hate, I mean, anyway they can, you know, they can see to connect into something and hate it more, I mean, they just, I understand most of the land is now Israelis, they bought, and actually purchased it and then, and then moved in and started a country. That's true. But, see you are also getting back to the ages old problem of Arab-Israeli conflict, as far as personalties and who is the selected one of God Right. and theirs tie so much to their religion. Yeah, right, right and they both have holy sanctions. So, very different things than what we face. Okay Well, what, what do you is think is the, uh, the main change in? What generation are you, I'm, I'm thirty years old? I'm twenty-nine. You're twenty-nine, okay, so we're, we're both children of the very early sixties. Right. And, I have, I mean I've seen some change, like I know, um, when I was young most mothers pretty much were housewives, and stayed at home with the kids, Um, um. Uh-huh. and to, to me it seems like its almost the opposite now where the, the woman is working and, and they, you know, take the children to child care, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. or maybe they work part-time or something. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, that seems to be a pretty big change. Yeah, the family structure in general is being really restructured from one income to two incomes which means from one parent to two part-time parents, if you're lucky Uh-huh. Yeah, right. Um, I, uh, it, it's funny, it's both of us then were really just adolescents when, when, I think, most of the major changes for adult women were going on, in America. Uh-huh. I don't think, changes are still progressing, but it seems to me that the, uh, really the seventies, the early seventies was a period of the most change, Uh-huh. and, if I had to somewhat abstract about it, it seems to be the major change has been that woman have acquired more choice. Uh-huh. Oh, that's true. That's true. Uh, I mean, that's sort of the overall, the meta, the meta change as it were. Uh, where that woman really have more of a choice now about what they do. Uh-huh. Uh, course, they find that the choice creates its own hardships in a way because life is not quite as simple even if it is for your, you know, you can share something you really want, which is a wonderful thing, Uh-huh. but, it does seem like an awful lot of my, uh, my adult women friends are anguishing over, over some of, some of these choices. Um, Right. Well, I know, the choice to either work or to be a mother is probably pretty difficult because I think women just naturally tend to have those instincts that you, you know, you protected the children, and you want to be with the children, Uh-huh. yet there's so many material things to be had out there that a lot of people think, oh, but, if we both work, we can get a really big house, and we can have two really nice cars, we can take a vacation, we can do this, Yes. Yes, yes. and it's kind of almost expected of you anyway. People kind of look down on a, on a, you know, the role of a woman as a housewife, it's kind of like, oh, well, you know, she didn't go to college, and she's just a housewife. Right. She just settled for that. Yeah. Right. Right. Even though there's probably women with M B A's, maybe even Ph D's, that are staying at home with the children. Um, Well, I only know, I have, of my friends who have, have children, uh, I only know of one woman who's decided to go that quote, unquote, traditional route. Uh-huh. And, I have a lot of respect for her, because she made it as a real choice. Uh-huh. She really knew that she didn't have to do that, but she decided that was what she wanted to do in her life. Uh-huh. and, she wanted that role. She's a marvelous parent and I, you know, I say all power to her because she's an example to me of someone who really does have the choice. Uh-huh. I feel that a lot of, uh, women don't, all right I said they have the choice but they don't necessarily feel that they do because they no longer feel like if they were just to be a parent rather than, uh, you know, a sort of super woman success in the business world as well, they would somehow be perceived as a failure, in their own eyes or in others, Uh-huh. Right. and, and then you, and then it's not a choice anymore. Uh-huh. Uh, and frankly, it's the way that men are. Uh, men don't have this choice, Uh-huh. they don't feel this choice. Maybe sort of feel like he isn't that success that he could have been. Uh-huh. Yeah. Right. So, it's, um, There's some T V show on now and I, I think I've seen it once. I don't get to watch much T V, but, uh, there's a T V show where the man is the one raising the kids, and the wife is, Uh-huh. and I, maybe they based it on that MISTER MOM movie, but, uh, but, uh, there is a T V show out there. I didn't happen to see that. I guess they're trying to gain more public acceptance of things like that. Because I know there are cases of where that happens and, Oh, yeah. I knew, I knew people who did that years ago, Uh-huh. but they were very apologetic about it because you could tell they were used to people saying, What are you doing that for, you know. Right. It's probably getting more and more accepted today, in fact it seems like it's kind of like anything goes now, you're not too surprised on much of anything. When, you know, the husband's the one at home raising the children, the mother works, Yeah. that's not real surprising. And, Yeah. I've seen more and more companies that have, uh, parental leave, not just maternity leave. Right. They can have paternity leave, as well as maternity leave. Yeah. In fact I'm pretty sure TI has something like that because, uh, one of the area supervisors, uh, in my area, as a matter of fact, took off, um, for a couple of weeks, when his wife had their baby. Uh-huh. Now it might have been just to take care of her and the baby, instead of having a, you know, a, a nurse, or someone come in, or, or something like that, or whatever, mid-wife or whatever they call it that they have for the first couple of weeks. Yeah. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. But, I don't know if he took that out of his vacation or if they really do have a paternity, he put paternity leave up there, but it might have just been him describing the fact that he was taking vacation days to go be a father for a little while, Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. I don't know. But, I'm not real sure how that goes. Yeah, the other big change I see in, in woman's lives is, um, to remain biological they, uh, women because they have choice are having children much later in life. Right. Uh, I mean, my friends who are having children are having them at age thirty. Uh-huh. And, uh, if I'd been a couple of generations ago, they would have had kids running around by then. Right. Well, people they, in general, are just getting married a lot later. I'm still single so I'm sure I'll be one of those parents that's, you know, one of those women in her thirties when, when I get around to, to ever getting married and having kids. Yeah. Yeah. That's, uh, I think, I think that's getting a little more common too. Yeah. I actually think that I'm, I'm somewhat encouraged by that trend, because after all people live longer lives now, so, it's not like, you know, it's not like you're going to, uh, you know, pass away before your child is an adult, I mean, barring, you know, unforeseen circumstances. Uh-huh. Right. And, I think, most people make better parents when they are a little bit more mature. Yeah. I really do. I think it also gives a woman a chance, if she does have a job and a career, it gives the man and the wife both the chance to both be working and maybe save up some money and then it gives her a little more option if she wants to stay home with the children while they're young, and, be a mother for awhile, Uh-huh. and then once they've gotten to school age maybe she could go back to work. So, she's kind of got that option, if, if they wait till later, they've saved up some money, Yeah. that it's not as difficult for her to stay at home with the kids and live off one income, or something. Yeah, yeah. That's true. So, I guess, I, I'm pretty encouraged Yeah. I really am. But, then I'm a product of my generation, I don't know, if I had been born a hundred years ago and were looking at this time, I might not like it, but it sure seems nice to me. Uh-huh. Uh, I mean, I have other things to complain about, but in terms of, uh, woman's roles, um, things really seem a lot more flexible. Uh-huh. I seem to see more women in, uh, in leadership type roles and management positions, in politics, Yeah. I mean, it's still, it's still a small minority, but it's, but it's an improvement. Yeah. It really is. Like the Mayor of Dallas is a woman. Oh, really! And, I'm sure that twenty years ago that never would have happened, but, Uh-huh. yeah, she's, I think, she's in her second term now. So, she's, she's, yeah, this is her second term, I think, she's going to, going to, uh, not going to run again after this. Uh-huh. But, but, uh, we do, and we have several council women that are women, but, you just start hearing more and more. Yeah. In fact, oh, the, the Governor of Texas is a woman, too Oh We can't forget that one. So, What's, what's her name? Ann Richards. No, it, we don't get much Texas politics out in California, to be honest. Yeah. She was inaugurated in January, so, so, you're starting to see more of that Uh-huh. and I know when I was younger it was all the Presidents, and still all the Presidents are men, but I'm sure that one of these days, well look at Ferraro ran for Vice-President, and I guess one of these days, we'll, we'll eventually have, That's right although during, during the Presidential debates, there was some really nasty patronizing, stuff toward, Uh-huh. I don't know if you saw those, but, I thought she was treated badly for being a woman, frankly, I really did by, by, uh, the the then vice-presidential candidates, uh, who really, I thought, had a demeaning attitude towards her. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, it was sort of, it was acceptable to say certain types of things to her that she couldn't say back, that kind of thing, which, I, I, I found myself getting quite enraged about. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, really, that's a previous generation. Uh-huh. I don't, it's harder to imagine people of our age doing that, and not feeling really stupid. Right. Right. Right I agree. Well, I think we've, we've gotten our five minutes or, Well, they've gotten their five minutes worth of us. I've enjoyed talking with you. It was nice talking to you, too. Okay, take care. You, too. Bye, bye. Bye, bye. Okay. Well, how do you feel about, uh, drug testing? Um, personally, I don't have a problem with it, uh, I think, uh, as far as, uh, protecting fellow employees, protecting their reputation of the company and the quality of work that the people do, um, it's justified. On the other hand, um, I do agree that it's, it's a, it's an invasion of privacy as far as a person's involvement outside of work. Yeah. Um, I would never, I would never have a problem with anyone testing me, but I can understand why people would object. So, I guess, uh, I guess, uh, I'm kind of mixed on it, still at this point. Yeah. I am too a little bit, I mean, I, I don't want to be around people who are really on drugs and that sort of thing, Uh-huh. and, and, you know, obviously they're probably not going to be doing a good job and so forth, but I don't really like having to do it. It, That's right. And I don't like the idea of it, it's, it's, makes too much of a big brother type of thing. That's absolutely right. It, it, uh, I guess it all comes down to, uh, you know, a, a definition of, uh, how much out, outside activities affect your work and, uh, uh, granted, you know, that, any, any kind of drug use on, on company property and whatnot, is, is definitely not acceptable. Yeah. Uh, uh, I don't think anybody would ever argue that. Or, uh, any, any after affects carrying over into the workday Huh-uh. but, um, you know, I don't, I'm not particularly concerned with what people do, um, after they leave for the day especially if I don't, if I don't, uh, see any results of it the next day. Yeah, yeah, I think so too. But, you know, it's one of those things. Well, it, it is, it, you know, on the other hand you, you've got, uh, you've got the, uh, the possibility of people, oh, you've got some people could be arrested for, uh, drug use, drug dealings and things like that, and, uh, if their, if their employers name hits the papers and that it's, it's, it's a mark against them, Yeah. the company and, uh, you know, what kind of people work there, what, uh, Plus, I guess, if they are in problem enough to be jailed or something of that nature for any length of time, then the company has lost what they've put into that employee, and their expertise or whatever. That's right. That's right. Right. even if it is, you know, a company policy of, uh, immediate termination or whatever, they still have to replace them. Yeah. And, uh, there's, there's a lot involved there. Well, do you think that, um, it should be like we have this sort of random spot testing type of thing or do you think it would be more palatable if we had some sort of regular schedule or would that just allow everybody a chance to get out of it? I think, I think the regular schedule stuff, um, that when you say everybody get out of it, that's a good point, I never really thought of it that way. Well, you know, if, if they have time enough they can, stay off of it. Yeah, if they really can, um, I think the the biggest problem I've got is, is forcing it on someone after they've already agreed to the terms of employment. Yeah. Um, as far as the new hires, I, I hired on just early enough that I, I missed it. Um, where the new hires were concerned but, uh, not, nobody, no, I don't think anybody questions that, um, testing someone as a, as a precondition to being hired but, um, for the conditions that, for our employment to change while you're on the job that's, I, I don't know, that, that's where I think that most people get upset. It's, uh, you know, it, it's changing the rules in the middle of the game basically and, uh, It's just, it, it's a really tough question Yeah. and it, you know, it, people have, have really quieted down after everything started but I still think there's a lot of, there's a lot of resentment. I think so too, uh, I know the, the group I was in at the time this all came up they, uh, were quite vocal about it, through electronic mail, boy, they just really, you know let them have it from one end to the other, vehemently Uh-huh. You bet. but, uh, it has quieted down, but I don't think they probably feel any differently, No, that's right. and some, some of them did quit the company. Yeah, I, I know of some people who did, uh, it was, it was indirectly related, you know, they could always come up with other reasons but it, it had a lot to do with it. Just the, the whole attitude, because it's really, uh, it's just really, it, it seems so T I, you know, with the, the whole relaxed atmosphere that we have, um, to all of a sudden, uh, search for attitudes and whatnot. True. You know, there's not a lot of pressure to, to vote the right way or anything else around T I. Like there, like there is in some companies or at least, you know, from what I've heard, Uh-huh. but, uh, yeah Yeah, I wouldn't like anything of that nature, you know, Uh-huh. No, I, don't tell me what to do, you know. Absolutely not, you know, it's, it's, it's, you know, if you hired me I'll be, you know, supposedly your grade was a little majority of my views and my qualifications to begin with so, uh, you know, let's, let's stick with that original trust, I guess. Yeah. But, uh, it's, it's still, it, it still remains a tough question and, it's, there's a lot of, you know, the whole, the whole department of defense, uh, reasoning behind the original plan and whatnot. There's a lot of different things that, uh, come into play but that was, I think everybody, everybody pretty much knows that that was kind of a smoke screen to implement it throughout the whole company. Yeah. Well, I guess too if I thought that this would help really and truly do away with the drug problem, then that would be one thing. But I think it's too minor and too, you know, Uh-huh. in, in the whole scope of things this isn't going to, to have any real affect on, what's going on in the street. I really don't think so. Yeah. I really don't because, some people are going to, are, are going to risk it, um, it may prevent, I, I guess, I guess what I'm trying to get at is, if it, if it, if it does help a few individuals maybe, maybe it's worth it. Yeah. Um, you know, it may prevent somebody who was, was teetering on the edge of experimenting or whatnot but, uh, I don't know if, you know, the, it's, it's a needs of the few and the needs of the many type situation I don't know if everybody should have to sacrifice quite as much. There, there's still a big question in my mind that, the, the absolute refusal to accept the possibility of, of mistakes on the testing, is something that still bothers me. Well, yes. It, it's, That, yes. I, I think that could be a big problem, you know, I would just be irate if they said it was positive and I knew it wasn't, Uh-huh. you know, that just really rubbed me the wrong way. Uh-huh. Absolutely. And that, I, I don't know if, uh, I don't know if everybody understands all the implications on that too. even if you, you know, if you take, uh, a, a drug that was prescribed for you but the, the prescription has run out you still had some left and you happen to take an extra penicillin, well, penicillin's not on the list but, you know, Yeah. yeah, I, I think you understand what I'm getting at, Yeah. it, it can still show up and it can still flag as a positive and, and those kinds of things obviously that's not the intent, Right. No. and, uh, those are the kinds of things that still can show up. I guess the one that really got me too was that, uh, let's say your spouse is on a particular drug and you know what that is, Uh-huh. and then you end up with the same problem and you take their leftover medicine, that's not allowed. That's right. You know, that's, that's totally out. That's right. I even had friends when I was going to college who were in, uh, pharmacy school and they could legally, um, provide medicine to their family family members and friends certain medicines were, were legal now I, I, I believe, you know, any of the, any of the ones we would, we would be tested for wouldn't be on those lists, Uh-huh. but, uh, um, there were certain things that they could provide without a doctors prescription based on their qualifications and, that can happen. Oh, that's interesting. But, uh, Well, I guess we've exhausted that one. Yeah, yeah, I think so enjoyed talking to you. You too. Good-bye. Good-bye. Well, what's your views on it? I think it's, uh, a good idea. Um, I grew up, uh, my teenage years were spent during the sixties, graduating, uh, high school in sixty-eight. Um, I remember when the Peace Corps movement first came about, and I thought it was a very good idea at the time. I was one of those, uh, Kennedy children, if you know what I mean. Uh-huh. And, uh, right now I see a lot of kids who get out of school, have no idea what they want to do. Yeah. And there's a lot of things out there that we could do, uh, for our own country, Sure. let alone other countries, Sure. and I think that we've got the, the people power to do it, it's just, uh, we need to channel it and focus it on some things that, that need some fixing up. Um, some examples are this, uh, some of the things, like Jimmy Carter's been involved in, uh, a little program to, you know, fix up housing for people. Yeah. Uh-huh. And there's a lot of housing, Yeah. I know in the area that I live in, that's run down and beat up, but it could be fixed up and used, Uh-huh. and it's just, you know, sitting there wasting away. Yeah, we're not too far behind I graduated in seventy-one, so I'm, I'm same generation. I, I'm, it's going to be a short conversation because I agree with you. I, I think, uh, I don't, I don't even think it ought to be, uh, voluntary, I think it ought to be mandatory. Uh, for kids to either, either do military service, or public service, one of the two. Uh, a lot of reasons for that, not, not just because I'm a, I'm a hard ass or anything. Uh-huh. It's just that, like you say, kids are getting out of high school not knowing what in the heck they're going to do, and either the military or public service organization can give them a lot of focus. And, I think that it might stop us some problems later on. I mean, you know these kids will get their, their heads on straight, and, and figure out what they want to do, instead of hanging around street corners selling drugs or something. Uh, it's, I think it would be good for them, uh, it helps mature them a little bit, and helps them understand the world, the way it really is. Yeah, I think a lot of people grow up with, uh, with, uh, preconceived notions what the world's about. Oh, yeah. A lot of it has to do from too much T V, Oh, yeah, yeah. and, uh, you know, it's, there's, there's a heck of a lot of difference between, you know, the intake that you get from T V and, and movies, and what you hear in school, and then what reality is. Uh-huh. Uh, I remember, uh, I've, I've worked since I was, well, I started delivering papers when I was ten, and I had a real job when I was thirteen, so I've, you know, worked most of my life. But I remember when I got out of high school, all through high school was, boy, I can't wait to get out of high school, I can't wait to get out of high school. And I wanted to go to college, and I had the grades to go to college, and I got accepted to college, but when I got out of high school, I kind of said, you know, what am I going to do now? Uh-huh. You know, it's like, you know, when I actually started working full time, and I, I got married shortly after getting out of high school. I, uh, thought I was smart, ran away and got married, and, uh, I remember there was a time, and within the first year of marriage, I said, boy wouldn't I give to get, be back in school, and just have to do homework, and, and go work my part time job. Uh-huh. Yeah. Because, life, and the reality of working for a living, and trying to make ends meet, is just so overwhelming to someone, if they aren't prepared for it. Yeah. And, and most of them aren't. That's true. I mean, you look, you look at the number of marriages that are occurring right I mean, even in high school, and, you know, you wonder, where are the parents in all of this. You know, why isn't somebody stepping in and, and putting a stop to this. Kids in high school are just too young to be married. Yeah. They they have no idea what the world is like. They don't how tough it is out there to make a living. Yeah, a, Uh, I mean, I was in the same boat when I left high school. I, my parents wanted me to go straight to college and I didn't. You know, I was ready, I was ready, I had wanderlust, I wanted to get out and see some things. So, I joined the Air Force and ended up staying there for thirteen years. Um. Um, but, I had lived in my own little bubble up until that time, and, and after traveling around the world a few times, I realized that, things ain't the way they seem. Yeah. And I, I did a lot of growing up there, uh, Yeah, I think once, once kids get out and see how other people really live, and know how bad off some people really are, and how good they've got it, and what it takes to have that good life, if you're willing to work for it, then they're probably be more inclined to work for it. Uh-huh. Yeah. That's right That's right. Uh-huh. Well, you know, it's just like you say, there's so much stuff that needs to be done here in this country, and, uh, you know, if, if you could have a thought of something like, uh, like a, uh, uh, a Peace Corps sort of organization. I mean, this would be so useful, just in, uh, for instance, just helping old folks. Uh-huh, exactly. You know, they, you know they need help, they don't have anybody to depend on, and it would be nice to have somebody come over and cut their yard or paint their house, or do minor repairs, or something like that. You know, I've, I've I, my, my parents are in their late sixties now, and, um, so many of the people that live around them are unable to do those things for themselves anymore. Yeah. And, it's, it's really hard on them, and the, you know, the thought that I, I see the, uh, the mall rats, you know, walking around the mall, nothing better to do than just walk around the mall all day long, when they could be doing something to help someone. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, you know, there's a, uh, a nice warm feeling, I remember getting out of doing things like that when I was younger, Yeah. I mean, I was a Boy Scout and the whole bit and, Yeah, my mom's in the same position, late sixties, and, and it got to the, got to the point where, I mean, me and my brother both were, were gone, and she couldn't maintain the house, without large expenditures of money. Yeah. You know, it finally got to a point where she just had to sell it and move into an apartment. And, uh, I, I'm not, I'm not saying that that wouldn't have happened anyway, but it would have been nice if there had been somebody to come around and take care of the little things. You know, like the, like the yard work and little repairs, and painting and stuff like that. Yeah. I think there'd, there'd be a, you know, a, uh, economic benefit for, you know, everyone concerned, those doing the work, and those receiving the, the, uh, the services. Oh yeah, sure. Sure, I mean, I mean, the kids who would be giving the service are going to get a lot more out of it than just money. Yeah. You know, that, I, I remember when I was a kid, I used to do little, little things for the old folks around the neighborhood, and, uh, I know how it made me feel. You know, you uh, people just don't help people anymore. They're, they're out for themselves and, Yeah. I think, uh, President Bush covered that in his, uh, State of the Union Address this year when he said that, you know, it's time for, you know, the individuals to start thinking about what they can do to help each other out instead of counting on government to do everything. Yeah, well that's, that's the, that's the point we've gotten to, you know. Every time somebody wants something they always turn to the government. And, the government's going to be limited. I, where are they going to get the money? They're going to get it from us. And we can do it a lot more efficiently than the government. Yeah. We don't need to add fourteen layers of bureaucracy to a program. Exactly. Um, the thing that Carter works on, uh, Habitats For Humanity, I was involved in that uh, in Montgomery, before I came up to North Carolina, Uh-huh and, uh, it was, it was a pretty neat little program. We'd just go out, and they would buy a plot of land, and contractors and builders, and everybody else would donate their, their time, and, uh, the materials were at cost. And we'd put up houses. And, that was kind, that was kind of neat. I, uh, in a way, I think it's a little bit inefficient, but, but it's better than nothing. Yeah. And, and at least I had the opportunity of seeing two families move into decent housing. Um, course, on the other hand, I can start complaining very loudly about people on public assistance who are quite capable of doing something for themselves, but just won't. Because it's far more advantageous for them to sit there and just draw, uh, welfare money than it is to work. Yes. Uh, we did a, uh, a cost comparison in one of my courses, and we took all the benefits that a family, that a, a married couple with two kids would get under welfare, and what they would be making at minimum wage. And they came out four thousand dollars better a year, by taking welfare. Yes. So there's no incentive for them to do anything. Far better for them to sit on their butts and draw the money. Yeah. One of the things they tried to push through in Maryland, and, uh, weren't very successful was that if you were an able-bodied person on welfare, you had to do some work. You had to do something. And, Yeah. and that's been tried, that was tried in Alabama too, and it got shot down. Yeah. I and I don't understand the reasoning for it. I really don't. It, it seems perfectly logical that if somebody's going to take public money, then they should return something to the public. I mean, if nothing else, go out along an interstate and pick up garbage. That's exactly what they were trying to get them to do. Yeah. What do they, what do they do in Maryland, do they use highway people or do they use prisoners? Um, both. Yeah. that's the way they did it in Alabama, too. Yeah, they use both. usually you'd see these big chain gangs out there, picking up trash. Uh, they have a, they have another program in Maryland that's called Adopt A Highway. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, we have that here in North Carolina. Well, good afternoon to you, Mary. First, let me ask you, what's, what's the weather like up there to begin with? And good, Well, well, today, uh, when I got up it was twenty-nine degrees. Yes, and it managed to get up to about fifty this afternoon but it's been cloudy, overcast and threatening rain all day. That sounds more like our winter weather down here. And we've also had extremely strong winds, fifteen to twenty miles an hour, for the day. Um. Well, you know, I bet that's what we, that storm we had last night. Is that right? Oh, we had a frog strangler go sweeping through here, uh, yesterday and last night. And we're expecting another one tonight. Oh, really? Oh, I mean it was raining so hard you could swim down the street. We had one of those two days ago. But not, uh, but, uh, no rain at all yesterday and, uh, no rain today. Uh-huh. Well, it's probably on its way up there. It was heading north. Thanks a lot couldn't you send us some nice weather? Well, it was nice today. Oh, was it? Uh, in between the thunder showers, yes. Well, the, one thing's for sure we can always discuss the weather, how some ever we can't do very much to change it. Well, you know, what they say about the weather here in Texas? What's that? If you, if you don't like it, wait five minutes, it'll change. Oh, yes, well that's about the way our weather is here also. Uh-huh. And I grew up in Saint Louis, and Saint Louis was much the same. Uh-huh. Well, tell me, uh, is, is it normally that cold up there in, in the Spring? No, it's not. This is, uh, about, uh, ten degrees cooler than usual. But about a week ago we were up to eighty and eighty-five degrees. You're kidding? No, no, it, uh, it fluctuates from one extreme to the other it seems. You, are you sure you didn't leave your refrigerator door open? I'm sure I didn't. I was ready to turn on the air conditioning. It, no, it really was extremely warm. It only got down to about sixty-five in the evening. Um-hum. We had about three or four days of that, and then all of a sudden a cold front came down and, uh, temperatures dropped thirty degrees in a very short length of time. And, uh, it has gone down gradually each day. This morning it was twenty-nine, yesterday it was about thirty-two. Uh, cars were scraping, ice off their cars this morning if they've been sitting out all night. Oh. So it, it really wasn't too, wasn't too pleasant Oh, Mother Macree. No, I should say not. Well, I, I, sincerely hope that you don't have that terrible storm we had. Oh, I hope, not. I hope, it doesn't reach you up there. Well, they are predicting rain and thunderstorms, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised by what we would not be getting the same weather you had. Well, I, let's hope it, well, if it's the same as what we had, at least it'll be warmer. Uh, yeah. Yes, warm rain, well, of course, by the time it gets up here it may run into a cold front coming down from Canada. Yeah, oh, boy, the, that, whew, that would be tear disastrous. If you, had that rain storm and freezing weather. Yes. Yes. Oh. We had, uh, a week ago they had golf ball size hail coming down in one part of the, uh, of the city of Dayton itself. Uh-huh. And, uh, then we just had about an inch and a half or two inches of rain in less than an hour. It was just coming down by the bucketfulls and a great deal of lightning. Oh, yes. So, it, it wasn't, uh, it wasn't conditions to being out in it and I had just gotten home. We had a lot of tornado warnings also. And I had gotten home shortly before that, uh, the rain started. So, uh, I felt a little more secure that I was at home rather than having to be out driving in it. Uh-huh. Well, uh, I heard on the news this morning that, um, one of our local schools, uh, lost the roof of their gymnasium. Is that right? And they suspected may have been a tornado. Uh-huh. But, uh, uh, thank God for small favors, the, uh, uh, what do they call them? The, the, the marching band or something? Yeah. Uh, uh, had just quit rehearsal about a half hour before. Oh, they, that was, very, very fortunate for them because that could have really been disastrous. Oh, and how. Well, of course this is tornado season, uh, in to, uh, we have many tornadoes spawned in this area. And northern Indiana, now we're in the southwestern part of, uh, Ohio, just forty miles north, due north of Cincinnati, Uh-huh. and, uh, but, uh, northern Indiana, has many tornadoes come roaring across. And we get the backlash off of it, if not the part of the tornado itself. Uh-huh. So, uh, we, you know, we get a lot of bad weather in this area. But of course you're supposed to be the sun belt, and I do know that you get some freezing weather down there on occasion. Oh, yeah. Well, during the winter, yes, we do. Uh, we've had, uh, well, past four or five years, I guess, at least one day during the year when just everything would just close down because we'd have freezing rain. Um-hum. And, uh, of course people down here, they just don't know how to handle themselves and, Right. Yes, I was going to say that it does make a difference when you're not accustomed, to, uh, having to, drive in it. Well, uh, not only that, but, we're, we're don't have the equipment to handle it either. Right, right. Uh, they go out there, And, and the, well all you can do with, with, uh, freezing rain of course, is spread sand on the ice. Right. And, but, uh, you know, we don't even have vehicles that will do that. Um-hum. Right. Well, uh, well here what they do and I, I contend that it's certainly not the right thing to do, they spread salt. And of course the salt does melt the ice, but then what melts immediately freezes and becomes, uh, a perpetual problem. Oh, it sure does do that. Yeah, they, well we, they do that down here too. They mix the salt in with the sand. Well, sand, and, uh, but I have learned to do, is, uh, now that I am alone, is, uh, to carry bags of salt in the trunk of my car. Um, not only in case I need it for that for traction but for additional weight, in the, back of the car. Yes. Uh-huh. And then of course kitty litter is also excellent for that. I don't know whether you've ever thought in terms of, that Uh-huh. I've, but, no, I'm a dog lover myself. yeah. Well Well, the dogs don't use litter. But kitty litter is excellent for, uh, getting under the wheels of cars and what have you and giving you traction. I guess it would be. Uh-huh. Yeah, it, uh, works out, uh, really quite well. Course I have, I have a dog also. My son brought me a little Lhasa Apso, uh, for my birthday last Thanksgiving. Oh. He brought him from Dallas. He, Oh, wasn't that nice of him? Yes, that, uh, he just thought I had been without a dog, uh, for three years. That was long enough. Uh, He, he had, I have, uh, a, a Chowperd myself. Oh, a what? A Chowperd. Now that one I'm not familiar with. Well, she's part Chow and part Shepherd. Uh, okay. Okay, that makes sense then Uh-huh. But she's the best, the best of both breeds. I believe, Yes, right, well, I've always had big dogs before. Never had a little dog before. Well, June, is medium sized. And, Yes well, Oh, well, I had a German shorthair that was frightened of storms. But she is scared to death of thunder storms. The minute it would begin to storm, he would just panic. Uh-huh. And, uh, I had to push him down when he was fourteen, and two months later I had to put my yellow Lab down, because he had leukemia. Oh. And, uh, then, uh, then there was no point in having all my acreage. I had four and a half acres with game preserve on three sides. Oh, that must be nice. Oh, well, it was great. I loved it. But then I didn't need all that anymore, so I finally sold that, and I'm in a fair size condo. And I have a nice size patio. Uh-huh. And, uh, so this little dog has plenty of room to run. Well, good. Yeah, and he is a, a cutie and, uh, but I've never had a dog I had to keep taking to the groomer's to have groomed either No, well, now, you know, it sounds like you ought to be in a condo down in Miami Beach somewhere. Or better yet, down around Saint Petersburg, Florida. And it's, Is that right? Uh-huh. That's what I call home. Oh, is that right? I lived there for ten years. Oh, well I was there once way, way back in nineteen-sixty, I think for just a week's vacation. Uh-huh. But, uh, I, that's about the only time I've been to Florida, except passing through on the way to someplace else. Yep. But, uh, Well, I lived there in the seventies. Uh-huh. And, uh, I, I love it. I have two sons still living down there. Um-hum. Well, uh, uh, most of my friends do spend a lot of time down in Florida. But, uh, I have just, that's just not been my thing. We used to always head west or head north. Now that I'm alone why, uh, I, uh, prefer to travel overseas if I'm going anywhere. Oh, uh-huh. And, uh, course there too you never know what the weather's going to be. When you, start getting over, to, Well, that's, that's why I was suggesting, uh, that Saint Petersburg is got, got to be the finest weather in the world. Oh, is that right? Oh, I, I loved it down there. Um. Course you could tell, always tell which were the, the and which ones were the snowbirds. Yeah. Oh, is that right? Yeah, the snowbirds were the, Okay, so I think, I think what we should talk about is, uh, the war. Okay. The war that just went on. See, I, I don't agree with it. First of all I don't believe in war. Uh-huh. And then, the United States has this attitude by saying, you know, thank you for keeping us our freedom and stuff like that. And I think it's all independent because, it's, it has nothing to do with the United States. You didn't gain anything from it. Uh-huh. And it wasn't our freedom that you were saving. It was just, the thing, the thing that, that, that I saw was okay, Iraq wants to raise oil prices. Uh-huh. Kuwait wants to take Iraq out of the whole system, by leaving them independent. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so, when Iraq, you know, saw this, they said let's take over the country, which is a good idea, right? Uh-huh. Then the United States says, okay, our, our oil prices are going to go up. And like for example, see, okay, like Lithuania right, they declared themselves an independent country with a president, right. Uh-huh. Russia goes in there, well the main government in Moscow goes in there and they kick everybody's ass. And the United States doesn't go in there and say, listen, they were, you know, named an independent, you know, state with a president and everything but we're not going to go into your country. Uh-huh. But these countries here, which, you know, are, you know, like in NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR, have you ever read that book? No, huh-uh. Okay, NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR there are like three big continents and, uh, there's just this area, like around Egypt and stuff, that everybody's fighting over. Uh-huh. Now the problem is, is that nobody's going to invade anybody else's boundaries. Uh-huh. Right, like their immediate boundaries. Like you're not going to go, you know, it's like the Army's not going to go straight into Russia because there you're, you're invading their border, right. Uh-huh. But all the other countries, you can fight about. Uh-huh. And so the thing is, is that you're wasting so much money to send, you know, it's like how much money did the U S spend when they could have paid so much money for each barrel of oil that was being, We'll probably never know how much it actually cost. And you know, it's, it was basically all based on oil because nobody actually, like for example, if, uh, let's say if, you know Brazil took over you know, Surinam. I don't think anybody would care. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, and, uh, that's something that, that has been, you know, very, because, see the thing is, is like every time that I see a war, I see myself on the front line, and on the other side I see myself again, and I've got to shoot myself, you know. Uh-huh. I got to shoot somebody that's got the same family that I do. You know, the same relationships that I do. Uh-huh. And just because I was born here I've got to shoot them down. Uh-huh, oh, it's never a pleasant thing, that's true. And, uh, but at least it was, it was over quick and there weren't that many deaths. Yes that's, Now the only problem is, is the aftermath, that you're having so many deaths in the border with, uh, Turkey. Yes. Yes, that's really unfortunate, it really is. I don't know if we stopped too soon, I don't, I don't, I really don't know what we need to do about that. Well, there's something that, that the U S did right which is say, say, you know, okay, let's kick him out of Kuwait, which was our basic goal. Uh-huh. And, uh, now, indirectly let's try to overthrow him, you know. Uh-huh. And they're not going to do that directly. But the thing is, is that, they, they didn't go into, into Iraq and say, you know, because they have the force to go in there and say get out of the country. Uh-huh. You know, you can seek, seek asylum here, Yeah. and you can go there, but no way are you going to rule ever again. Uh-huh. I've been hearing some talk too of trying to bring Hussein up on, you know, criminal charges. I don't know if that will ever happen or not. Well the thing is, is that first of all they got to, they they have to get him. Uh-huh, which is very difficult to do. And, and there's no way that you can get them, unless it's by force. Uh-huh. You know. And then you can put him on trial. Obviously, he's not going to turn himself in. No, no, I think, I think he'd rather commit suicide than turn himself in, because there's, I mean there's like, it's like there's no hope, you know, like what Hitler did, you know. Uh-huh. You know, like if you were going to put on trial you get to live the rest of your life, but where. True, yeah, uh-huh. You know, and so, um, the thing is, is that once you've done something wrong, which is you know, internationally recognized, then you're going to try to get out of it and the, there's no way, you know. And especially since he's got inside Iraq for using, you know, chemical weapons and stuff. Yeah, true. Uh-huh. And you know like he sent planes over to, to shoot the people down that were on the border with, uh, that were on their way to Turkey. Uh-huh. He had a couple of them bombarded. Yeah, yeah, obviously human life means nothing to him. Huh-uh. But, uh, you know, he's got, uh, millions of dollars, like, I think it was like, I don't know if it was fifty billion or fifty million, which is really, doesn't make any difference Oh yeah. That's true. Past a point it doesn't make any difference. Yeah. Yeah, that's really, really unfortunate. It really is. But it's just, it's just that, uh, you know, you know, like the, we just put our goals in different, you know, levels is like saying, you know, it's like yeah, sure, we need oil, you know, Uh-huh. and we need it desperately. Yeah. But the other countries, that, you know, that have oil but not as big, you know, like they say, you know, like when the prices went up and then they went down. Uh-huh. When they took that big dip it was because they discovered another big oil well somewhere in Saudi Arabia, or something. Uh-huh. Seems like the prices never go down to where they were originally, though, before, before the increase started. Well, it, its an advantage. Uh-huh. You know, it's like you're saying, okay, I can bring my prices up to a dollar fifty a gallon and I'm not going to bring them back down to, you know, ninety-nine cents. Uh-huh. Why, because people are willing to pay a dollar fifty a gallon, so if I leave it at a dollar ten, people are still going to pay. True. You know, I went down forty cents, Uh-huh. but I went up ten cents. Yeah. Yeah. About the lowest I've seen gasoline in the Dallas area is, uh, I guess, about ninety-two point nine now. Ninety-eight? Ninety-two. Oh, God. Here it's like, it's like a dollar five. Oh really. Yeah. Well there's still a lot of dollar five places here but you can find some that's under a dollar, but not, not a whole lot. That's the lowest I've seen. But still the, I mean, have you ever checked, like, uh, the most money-makers in, uh, in nineteen, uh, ninety. Uh, you can see that, uh, Exxon and Amaco and uh, other companies, oh God, I forgot their names, but, uh, Exxon was the number one money-maker, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and that was just because of, of the last quarter. Right, I think Mobil was doing very well, too. Yeah. Well I, I assume all the major, major brands are. And, uh, that was, I mean and what other companies are, went up four hundred and some percent. Uh-huh. And that's practically impossible to do now a days, for a company to, to shoot up in that way. That's true. Yeah, yeah, that's true. And, uh, it's just that, you know, people, people take advantage of that. You know, like the, the companies are saying we're trying not to raise our prices but when, you know, when we get a barrel coming in at more than what we're selling it for, we've got to raise our prices. Uh-huh. You know, but still if you realize that, uh, one barrel has like, how much was it, like, um forty gallons, Yeah, something like, yeah. it's got forty gallons and they're selling, you know, you know, you got to pay forty dollars at least and, you know, for, uh, for one gallon Yeah. and it's, it was selling like at twenty-five or something. Uh-huh. So you're making, uh, you know, fifteen dollars profit, easily. Yeah, yeah, sure. And, uh, everything, I mean, and, and, the expenses, you know, of the war, you know, it's like, uh, it's like who's gaining on this. Uh-huh. Okay, because, uh, does, does the U S government own any gas companies, like, like, you know gas stations and stuff? Uh-huh. I, because, see like for example, I don't know if the British government owns Shell. I'm not sure about that. I'm not sure either. But the thing is like the U S government got nothing out of it. Because, well, you know, it's like the other independent companies, the gas stations, you know, they did. Uh-huh. And, uh, then the taxes go up and then everybody else loses. Uh-huh. But, um, you know, they're just, they're just some things that might not be worth it. Yeah, that's true. You know, and, and first of all how many, how many people had to, had to die before the war, you know, it's like transporting stuff and things like that, before, you know, it's like Uh-huh, yeah. yeah sure, you know, like to, to a couple people that died there, their families don't feel it was necessary to do that. Sure, dead's dead. Yeah, yeah, you, you could, you could never bring them back. That's true, so. Oh well. Well, I don't guess we resolved anything but it's interesting. Yeah, so, okay, nice talking to you. To you too, take care. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. All right, I, I think our experience of camping is, I, I am the, the passive member, I get things ready and then I enjoy. Uh-huh. Uh, because, my, my husband is a good camper and so they, he manages the troops and they do the work and I have fun Uh-huh. Well, uh, uh, your, you said your family was uh, all grown up now, how about when they were younger, did you go take them camping? That's when we camped the most. Uh-huh. When, I thinks it's a marvelous activity for younger families because, uh, I, it seems like I would go through a period of time where I just, uh, was really overworked, you know, and, and getting out into nature and relaxing, and having the family do a good share of the work, you know, Uh-huh. and the part that I did was more fun than, uh, than labor because they did the, the running and toting chores and I just helped cook and kind of organize, you know. Yeah even cooking over an open fire is a little more fun, isn't it. It is, isn't it. It isn't. what kinds of things have you tried? Have you done, uh, uh, uh, the big pot cooking? Oh, oh, uh, well, it was really my ex who did the, the, uh, uh, the cooking back when we first started and we found that the, you know, what was one, one great handy things was this, uh, uh, uh, hamburger helper. Because all you needed was a big frying pan, Oh, yeah. Big frying you dumped everything in together and it was enough for all five of us, six of us. Oh, that's interesting. You know, interesting enough, uh, the food part was kind of, uh, important thing in our camping. Uh, when my oldest son, uh, always at the beginning I did all the shopping and everything. But the, the neat breakthrough was when my oldest son Mark took his, uh, uh, cooking merit badge in, and, and Mark was the kind of camper who ate beef stroganoff and, uh, I mean, you know, he did it up really good Oh. And so, uh, after he took that merit badge, he did all the shopping and preparing, getting ready for it. Well that's great. It was, it was a marvelous experience because after that, then all I had to do was, uh, follow the instructions, you know and do. And we did a lot of interesting kinds of things like I would take corn bread and, uh, cook a pan inside of a pan over a, over a camp, uh, stove. Uh-huh. And it works real good. It's like an oven. Well, cooking was our secondary interest, Just put, uh, put a thing on it. I mean. What did you like to do most? Well really just commune with nature. That's neat isn't it? We started out, uh, well we were living in Florida at the time and we, early in life, we discovered that six people all going on vacation gets to be very, very expensive. Right. I agree. So my ex decided, we're going to try camping and she went out one day on the spur of the moment and bought a tent. And that's how we got started. Huh. We did it for years and years, uh. Well now in Florida, is is there are there times of the year when it's very comfortable to camp or is it always kind of hot. Well, uh, yes and no. I mean, um, in the winter time yes, it's, it gets kind of chilly or it can get chilly. Uh-huh. But, uh, there's really no time of the year that you can't go. Oh, is that true? Uh, Now, now we're, we're in Texas now and you're in Texas, right. Yes, I'm in Dallas. Okay, uh, we have not camped a great deal here because, uh, a good share of the time in the Summer time, it's too hot really to be very comfortable camping. Well, it just depends on where you go, for instance, if you went down to the sea shore, it would be wonderful, a nice breeze blowing in from the water. I Yeah, yeah, we have done that But, but we camped mostly, when the kids were little we were in, we were in New Jersey, and Uh, in, uh, Allendale and, uh, and, uh, Waldwick, it's just about twelve miles south of, the New York border. And we'd go up to the Adirondacks and camp and it was so, you know, pick your own, uh, blueberries and make blueberry pancakes for breakfast Oh yes, yes, Uh, also, I I come from up in that area, go ahead. I'm a New Yorker myself. Oh, are you? Where did you live? A little town called Tuckaho, over by White Plains. Oh, oh yeah, I know that. I had a cousin who lived in White Plains, that's a, that's a neat area. But it's a, that is a particularly neat area for camping because, Well that I wouldn't know I left there when I was quite young. Yeah, it is neat though because there are lots of lakes, fairly near by, you don't have to go very far. Uh-huh. And, uh, and there's, uh, a lot of trees, lot of mountains, and lot of, uh, hiking sort of things and, and we had, uh, collapsible boat which we, clipper, little clipper sail boat. Uh-huh. And so we would sail and, and, uh, did a lot of camping that way. Well, uh, me, I outgrew, uh, sleeping bags and, uh, tents, and I now have a motor home. Oh, do you. We've gotten out a time or two on a rented basis and it's fun, too, I think. Well I live in mine. Do you? Yes. That's neat, so you kind of, uh, uh, an everyday camper Uh, well, yes I consider myself what they call a full-timer. A full time camper. Yeah Well now, are you living alone now, or, well just me and my dog. You and your dog, huh, Yeah. Hey, that sounds great. Well, we don't, we don't camp quite as much as we used to, but, uh, I still think it's a great way to spend a time with your family, and enjoy nature and, uh, kind of wipe out the stress of everyday life. Oh yes, definitely. I'd always, Nothing like the fresh outdoors. right, I'd always come home just relaxed and, uh, comfortable and ready to go at it again, so it was a neat activity. Good to talk to you. Tell me your name again. Jack. Jack, Uh-huh. all right. Are you, uh, from Dallas too, Beth. yes, we've been here, we're, we're in Plano, Oh! but we've been here about, uh, eighteen years. Well that's where we, that's where I am, Plano. Are you, are you, how about that. Well we're all, lots of people from T I up this way. Uh-huh. All right, good to talk to you. Nice talking to you too, Beth. All right, all right, bye-bye. Bye. Okay, how do you feel about them? Well, I keep trying to get away from them, I used to use a lot of credit cards I guess for a while I would use, you know, a variety of the Visa and the MasterCard and the stores, but I think I, I impulse buy too much with them or I buy things, you know, I see it on sale and I think, oh, it's on sale I have to get it, and I really don't need it or I really haven't budgeted for it so, um, the last couple of years I really have tried not to use them at all. Yeah. What about you? Well, we have this philosophy, we use it when we go off somewhere but we pay for it as soon as we come back, you know, as soon as we get our bills, we pay it off. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And we only have one. We tore all the rest of them up. okay. Because I don't like credit cards for one thing, you know, I mean, they're okay, I guess, if you're on a trip or something, you don't have to take a whole bunch of, you know, cash with you, Uh-huh. Right. but I don't like using them because I've seen too many people that used them and ended up bankrupt or on, chapter thirteen and stuff like that. Huh. Uh-huh. Because they have this weird opinion that if you use that card, you don't have to pay for it. That's true if, if it's on the credit card it doesn't seem like it's money out of your pocket. Sometimes you may think, well, I don't have the money so you use the credit card it's like fake money or something. Yeah, yeah, and it gives you a, um, a false sense of security or something it seems like because you say, oh, well, I don't have to pay for it now but you're going to have to pay for it, and it seems like ... Yeah, you think, well, I don't have it now but payday will come and then I'll have the money. Uh-huh. But that's probably paying for things that were still owed from last time, Right. Are you married? Yes. Oh, okay. Well, I know that a lot of young people, you know, I, it took me a long time to get it through my child's head, I mean, that was her goal, you know, uh, got to have a credit card, Uh-huh. but now that she has one, she's only used it one time but she wanted to establish some credit, Uh-huh. but I think it finally sunk in, you know, because she saw some of the other people and just like she heard them say, you know, well, I used a credit card. And my husband's sister is the world's worst at, oh, well, I'll just use the credit cards and she has all of her credit cards up to the limit. Huh. You know, and I'm, I'm thinking woman, wake up and smell the roses before they come and get you. But ... Right. Besides the fact that how much interest you pay and then this ... Right, and people don't see that either. Yeah, this thing that you thought you got on sale, by the time you get done paying with that with all the finance charges because you pay it off over a long period of time, you've spent a heck of a lot of money on that thing. Right. The only one that we, we have that we kept was the Discover card, Uh-huh. and it pays you to use it. I mean, if you pay your bill off right away, if you don't ever have to pay any interest on it because they give you a certain amount every time that you use it, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you make that money as long as you don't ever have to pay them any, uh, interest. Now it's, and people say, well, you know, I'm making money by using this credit card, but they don't realize that if they, I mean, it only takes one time for you to use it and not pay the interest, I mean, you have to pay the interest, not pay it right off, Uh-huh. that's going to take up what you would have made. Huh. So that's the only reason that we kept that, we debated for a long time plus they don't have that, um, charge on it, you know, like ... Service charge you mean? Yeah. Yearly fee, yeah. Right. They don't have one of those. So, it, we decided that was it, you know, and, I mean, everybody calls us and wants to give us a credit card. We have, we could have credit cards running down our ears. Oh, you get that stuff in the mail all the time. Yes, yes. And then, I'll have, just like , uh, department stores. They'll call me up, you know, and I'll say, look, I don't want the credit card, well, we're just going to send it to you, you know, you don't have to ever use it if you don't want to. They'll send me any credit card, I tear it up. I just can't see it. What I really hate in the mail is like for the credit cards that I do have still, that they send you these things that look like checks, Uh-huh. Yeah. and they say, hey, you know, two thousand dollars, you know, free to you kind of thing, you know, all you got to do is go cash those things and you've got a short term loan. I hate it, I know it, and you know what ... I can't believe they have the nerve to do that. What's really bad about those though is just like young people if they don't, you know, we take the time to, you know, help my daughter, she's in college, Uh-huh. but it, this is her first credit card thing, well, when she got her first one she was so excited it was unreal. Look at this they sent me this money, you know. So then when I explained to her, look you have to pay this back and they are going to charge you interest, and stuff , of course, she tore it up. But a lot of parents would not take the time, you know, and they wouldn't even think of it or their kids may not be as close as my daughter and I are, and, uh, you know, they may not even discuss it, they go out and cash their check thinking that, you know, they've got something, maybe they've won something. You know, somebody sent them something free. Uh-huh. And go out and spend it. And, um, it's just unreal. I mean, I don't like credit cards, I wish that they would come up with some other way to, you know, the only way you could use them is if you were, like on vacation. They would let you use it maybe once a year. You know, I mean, of course, I guess some people go out and spend their whole entire limit on it like that at that time but, um, I have seen so many people and I have a friend right now she just got off of thirteen. She got, uh, I can't remember what she called it, it's some kind of, maybe it's sure or something like that, it's something, it's some weird name of a credit card, Uh-huh. and she is charging out of her mind already. And I'm going, you just got off. That's how you got on to it to start with, you know, what is the matter with this person, Yeah. But, um, it seems like people just, you know, they just think, well, I can just have anything I want. And I just don't see it like that. Of course, I always see pay the bills first and whatever's leftover, that's what you have, but, um, maybe a lot of people don't see it like that, but I can't stand owing. I mean, I cannot fully tolerate to owe something like, you know, I guess it's just because I've been brought up like that. But, um, I could not charge to the limit and knowing that I was going to have to pay this thing out for ever and maybe suffer from having to payout. But, that's just the way I feel about it. Yeah, I think it's, it's somewhat a, uh, symptom of our, me generation and that, we think we need all these things and I think my parents always, you know, did without or saved up to, you know, buy things and we consider that so many of these things we just have to have, you know, like when I first got my apartment and I was setting it up I did try to economize some but, you know, I was just like, well, I have to have it all furnished and I have to have all of my kitchen setup and you don't, you know, do without too much and, you know, that's how I got started kind of with setting up a household all up, you know, it kind of like, in the short amount of time. You know, you just have to have these things just, you know, have them at home, have to have them at my own place and that's, you know, a big expenditure to start, um, buying all these things that you think or, or have to have and actually they're kind of luxuries or you should save up slowly and keep buying them and not just rush out and furnish the whole place, you know, going in one big swoop, save up and then buy it. Right. yeah. But we're not into that. We're into like, have to have it all now. oh, yeah. I guess it is like that though because it seems like more and more people are like that. But, um, I guess it's because I'm older, I mean, I'm not real old but I am older and, um, you know, I didn't feel like that I didn't feel like I had to have everything. I guess it was because, well, I had everything when I was at home but I, I don't know why I didn't. Well, we're geared to that. We're like, okay, like I want a living room set. And instead of sitting back and, and going, okay, well, it's going to cost maybe a thousand dollars, two thousand dollars and I'll save for two years, uh-huh. people go, oh, well, I'll just go buy it, put it on credit and they'll pay it off. yeah. People aren't tuned in to like saving for it and then buying it, they just put it on a charge card, put it on account, and then pay off the bill because they want it now. Huh. It's always have to have it now. Yeah, well, it didn't hurt you, did it, to, I mean, you didn't go out and charge a whole bunch and lose everything, did you? no, no, but I have had some times when I've had some pretty good balances on there and, uh, you know, I finally, you know, paid them all off and thought this is, you know, kind of nonsense. So, we don't, uh, have big balances on them at, all now we're, we're, you know, we, I use it occasionally but I pay it right off. We're ... Yeah, well, you learned then, right? Yeah, you learn the, you know, the hard way, you hate paying all that interest and I've never been one to itemize on my income, tax and never had enough to itemize and so it's just a big chunk of money and you realize that you're not buying anything on sale your paying, so much more for that item, because you've got finance charge and the cost of having that card every year which is what, forty dollars sometimes just to have the card. Yeah. That's, a lot of money that you went to buy this item. Uh-huh. And then you never feel like you've got anything to to put into savings or anything, you're always just paying bills, paying bills, you know, you don't feel that you have any extra to save. And I hate, I hate living paycheck to paycheck. I like to have a little there, you know, that I can, save so I can feel that, you know, if something comes up I've got the money to pay for it, . We're supposed to talk about the Middle East Crisis, and should we be involved and, uh, what's it going to cost us in the long run. Oh, okay. Okay. Are you ready? I guess so. The Middle East Crisis should we be there? Oh, dear that's a hard one. That's really hard for me because, uh, you know, I really, I have a son that's sixteen and I think, you know, eventually, you know, he'll be of, of drafting age. And I think gosh, do I want him to go and yet I'm proud to be an American and I know that we have a country that, you know, people would give anything to live in, a lot of people anyway because we have so many wonderful things that they don't have. And yet, I don't know whether I'd be willing to give his life for, for this country and yet, and yet, I know that I, that, and I, I, when I was in school it was always the tired, the tired excuse that we went to war to save us against communism but I'm not sure that that's the reason anymore. I mean, not sure that communism is, is as strong as it once was. And I'm not sure that, that that's the reason why we're, like we were in Vietnam supposedly so. Well, you realize why we were in the Middle East. Why we invaded Iraq, why we were in Saudi, why we attacked Kuwait and we we're, why we are still fighting Iraq. Well, with the, Well, it's because of oil isn't it? No. I really believe it's because, I think it has something to do with oil, don't get me wrong. Uh-huh. But Saddam is, Saddam is a madman. Oh, yeah. I agree with that. Anyone that would use chemical weapons to fight his own people, Oh, yeah. Well, yeah, he's, uh, a bad person, very definitely, And, obviously, that has something to do with it. yeah. Oh, sure. And, and if, you know, I can see that he was in Kuwait Uh-huh. Kuwait was the nonaggressor Uh-huh, uh-huh. and the Saudis are our allies. We have several treaties and several alliances with the Saudis that range back for probably forty years. Yeah, many years. You know they've been our friends through thick and thin. Uh-huh. They, were at the Saudi border. And ready to storm into Saudi. Well, Uh-huh. Shouldn't we try and help our friends? Certainly, but what at, at what cost, you know, that's the, uh, the thing, it came out, it came out wonderfully supposedly I mean everything is What did we lose, forty-one Americans, lives. and we won. Yeah, and that, that's wonderful but what if, if that wasn't the case. What if we would have lost thousands of young men. Would that, would it have been too much of a price to pay for that? I don't know. See, and I think there are a lot of things that we don't know but, that, Oh, of course, our government is full of liars, thieves, and crooks. the American people, Oh, sure. Well, and there's a lot, that we, And that's, our own fault because we elected them. Yeah. I think that's true but I think there's a lot that we, the public doesn't need to know. I think there's some things we shouldn't know just for national security sake. And I, you know, I think if we did know I think there would be a lot more chaos than there is because I don't, I don't think people could handle it. So I think there are things that we should not know, the masses shouldn't know but I also agree that there are a lot of crooks and liars too. You know, it's, uh, I went on jury duty here not long back. Uh-huh. And uh, one of the guys that was on the jury they were asking him if, if you could believe a lawyer or if a, lawyer's reputation was so tainted that he couldn't be believed Uh-huh. and one guy being selected snickered and couldn't keep his head up, you know, Uh-huh. and the guy said, Well, can you share it with us what you, what you find so funny? He says, Well, I already told you my sons a lawyer. He said that when he graduated, the day after his bar examine there in Houston. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. He told him, Dad, you know how to tell when a lawyers lying to you? His lips are moving. Oh, my gosh Oh. And ninety percent of all politicians, and lawyers, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Have a lawyer background, yeah. Have a law background, you're right. So by definition all lawyers and politicians are liars. The fact that they take our money and don't do what we think is right makes them thieves. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, that's true. So what's it going to cost us in the long run there in Saudi? Are we going to lose more lives there? See, and I don't know, I don't know I can't tell the future that's what scares me so much about it. I mean I thought the war was going to go on and on. I really was surprised when it ended so quickly and, Well, we hit them with more in one month than we used in three years, the last three years of Vietnam. I know. Yeah. And whenever you strike on open terrain with that sheer volume there's nothing they can do about it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. You know it's not like we threw eight aircraft over there all by ourselves and said this is wrong. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. We were there, the Brits were there. Right. The French were there. This is with U N backing Uh-huh. and to some level even Russia was behind. Uh-huh. Right, they were. So honestly if there is, was a well perceived war, world wide this was it. Oh, sure. Sure. But what I can't understand is then many of the Kuwaiti youth didn't fight, wouldn't fight. Uh-huh. It's okay for us to go extend our youth's lives like so much water in the desert. Yeah. Yeah. And it's not their job to fight for their own land. Yeah, that is very it's very strange. Uh, and yet, you know, see that's another thing that, that's difficult for Americans, their culture is so much different than ours, you know, I've heard from many people that we could not even begin to understand how they feel about things because their values and their perceptions are so much different than ours and, um, they just don't think the same way we do. Their culture is completely different and almost opposite. And really from all I can from all indications the Iraqi beliefs, if you will, are more similar to our own. Uh-huh. that's true. And the Kuwaitis aren't even helping rebuild their own country. The Kuwaiti young won't rebuild anything. They won't work. Uh, I didn't realize that. Yeah, it was on the news last night. Oh, my word. The, uh, U S Army is doing it all. Uh, yeah. See and that's another question you have to ask, is this our job? Is, are we, should we still be there even, you know? I don't know the answers to those questions. I think they're tough and I think, you know, it's, I don't know that anybody knows the answers. I think they know what they believe but I'm not sure they really are one hundred percent sure. Well, they talked to one Kuwaiti woman yesterday. Uh-huh. And her biggest concern in life was that she couldn't get a housekeeper. You're kidding. That's unreal. And, do you have a housekeeper? No No, and don't plan on having one either, ever. Well, I wouldn't mind having one. Oh, I'd love to have one but, you know. But, you know, I'd like to make sure that I have a job tomorrow first. Sure. Sure. That's right. That's right. It, it astound, you realize that the Kuwaiti government gives every Kuwaiti man, woman, and child money. Uh, no. I wasn't, I didn't, wasn't aware of that, no. For nothing. For doing nothing, yeah. For for, for doing nothing. For sitting on there kiesters. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, that ought to give their programming trouble shouldn't it? Uh, they do nothing. They hand them money each year and they're part of, I'll let you go first. Well I think, I don't know how your schools work back there but we support our schools here with property taxes. Uh-huh. And the land owners or home owners are the ones that pay the school tax. So if you're renting a house or doing anything else, you're not actually contributing to the education of your children. And I think that's wrong, I think everybody should contribute to the education of their children even if they had to raise the sales tax by one percent then everybody going through the state would be supporting our education system. So, as it turns out, we don't really have a tremendous education system because they don't have the money they need to run it. Yeah, I, uh, I spent a couple, uh, years down in, uh, Plano, Texas. Uh-huh. And, uh, I was one of the home owners down there that got taxed to death, for the, uh, Plano, uh, school system. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, I, you know, I know that Texas doesn't have a state tax, No, huh-uh. and so all the things come out of the, the property taxes, Yeah. and I was, uh, really shocked at the amount of taxes I ended up paying. I was, I was better off paying a state tax back in Maryland, where, Yeah, yeah you would be. than I was, uh, paying the, uh, property tax down there. Uh, what they did in Maryland to get around that is they, uh, they developed a renters tax solely for the purpose of paying for the services, that the renters were getting including the, uh, educational services. Oh. Yeah. And, uh, the tax was administered by, uh, the, uh, rental company that actually was managing the apartments so when, uh, long, long time ago, when I used to live in apartments, I would pay a rent payment every month and a tax payment every month. Oh. Gee. And the tax payment went to pay for the services that I was getting as a, a resident of that particular county. Yeah. And, uh, that's the way it worked. Here in Maryland we have, uh, a certain portion of your, your property taxes, uh, goes to education, Yeah. but also a portion of the state tax that you pay goes back into the county that you live in, to pay for the educational system. Oh, well that's pretty good. And so it, it works out nice, it, it, it makes it so that the, uh, whole county now, I, I know the concept of counties in Texas is quite a bit different than it is here in Maryland, uh, like Collin County, uh, would only equal about maybe an eighth the size of Baltimore County, here in Maryland. Oh, yeah. I mean the, the counties are much larger. Yeah. You know, in the, the whole state of Maryland I believe there's only like, uh, fifteen counties. Gee whiz. And, so, uh, you know each county has their own school system an, and it works out real nice. Um, the, the flip side to this is, are we getting what we're paying for, Yeah. and I don't believe so, um. A lot of things have come to head recently and I heard a report because, of, uh, uh, the emphasis that the President was putting on education, you know, uh, him running as our education president and then finally a couple of years later getting around to doing something. Uh-huh. Yeah. Um, they said since they imposed the federal regulations on education, in other words, they came up with this federalized system where everyone in the third grade would be taught basically the same thing. Yeah. And, then, at the end of, uh, school year they would be tested and then they go into the fourth grade and everybody in the fourth grade's basically taught the same thing. Yeah. So when they came up with these, this nationwide system of public schools, uh, they gave some figures out and since it's inception, uh, they've, the price has gone up per the prices paid by the federal government per student has been thirty-three percent. Yow. And so they're actually spending thirty-three percent, and that's real dollars, you know, adjusting it back to, to the days, you know, when it started, uh, probably, you know, seventy years ago. Yeah. And what they've said is that we haven't had a thirty-three percent improvement in education. No, huh-uh. We've actually gone backwards. Well they say that Texas schools are some of the lowest in the nation. That our high school graduates can't even match the national average. Yeah. So, you know, our school system down here is no where near perfect but they keep complaining they don't have the money to do it. Yeah, well, they, they've been having some problems, uh, even here in, uh, like Baltimore City which is, a, a, pretty good good sized city. Yeah. Uh, they've been putting a lot of, uh, stress on it and of course, speaking of stress the teachers are all getting stressed out from trying to, you know, do everything they're supposed to do and of course they've, uh, been cutting the teachers salaries, because they say we don't have the money to do it Oh, yeah. and, all the services are costing more money and, and everything, uh, Yeah. but uh, a lot of now is being put on, you know, when children used to be taught, you know, like, uh, uh, each child is individual, Yeah. you know, they're not all the same and some students do horrible until like eighth grade, Yeah, they need to take things at their own speed. some do horrible, you know, until they get to like tenth grade, Yeah. and then all of a sudden everything clicks in, you know. And then there are some students that, you know, read well at five years old, and, you know, seem to excel. Uh-huh. And so that, the, you know, one of the things I heard proposed on, uh, one of the public radio stations up here was that we should go back to teaching children at their own speed. Some Yeah, Yeah. they can't keep force feeding things to each other and, or, you know, at the kids. And, and, uh, and on top of that they, they make the child feel inferior, because he's not as good as another kid his same age. Uh-huh, because he can't do it. I mean, it's like, you know, that's ridiculous. And it's not that he can't do it, he just can't do it quite as fast, or, Yeah, and, uh, you know, I have, uh, I, I have five children total, Yeah. and I've got two out of the house already and I I have two that are in, uh, eighth grade this year. All right. And prior to their, um, when I, when they were in elementary school they were identified as being slow. Yeah. And so they put them into special programs and then we actually held them back in fourth grade. Um. And it wasn't until the last two years, um, last year my, uh, they're they're a set of twins, um, a boy and a girl. Uh-huh. Last year the, the, uh, boy twin started doing real well. All right. And it, it, everything started to click in for him and he knew what he needed to do. Um, and this year it, it happened for, uh, for the daughter. Um, all right. She just has been, really doing great this year Jumped on out there. and she has the right attitude towards school and everything. That's good. And I think it's just a matter of everybody has to find their own path. I remember when I was in school, I did horrible up until about, yeah, about the seventh, eighth grade Yeah, I did too, up until ninth or tenth grade. I, I, I started to, to come around and realize an, and basically I got interested in math, and, uh, never really did well in english Yeah. but, you know once you got interested in something and things started to click in place then after that you take off. Yeah, and see when I was a kid growing up and going to high school if I wanted to take a little electronics course, I had a electronics course I could take, but we lived out in the country, Uh-huh. and we didn't have all that fancy stuff to worry about, you know, we had our auto shop out there and our ag shop and, and, you know, we had just about every thing that we needed Yeah. but they don't have it anymore. There's a lot of things that they don't do in school anymore. our oldest boy goes to Lubbock High down here and they go to school four and half days a week, so. That's pretty weird. Gee. Yeah it is, um, my children had a, uh, real culture shock, uh, when we lived in Plano, I guess, I don't know if you've heard about the Plano school district, but. they're uh, they really stress academics there. No. Uh-huh. And, uh, God, if your child is not an honor student, well then, you're, something wrong with you as a parent. Gee. And that's kind of the way they are there. Yeah. And, uh, when we moved back to Maryland, um, I moved to a, uh, a, Baltimore County which is a northern county in Maryland, Uh-huh. and it's basically a rural county, once you get above about the half way point. Yeah. And we lived, you know, in the northern part of the county. Uh, we went from a, uh, middle school in Texas that served fifty-five square blocks to a, uh, middle school in Maryland that served fifty-five square miles. Yeah. And it was just a complete culture shock, because I mean, they, they're riding on the bus in the morning with, uh, other kids that, you know, are a sleep because they got up at three o'clock and were doing chores I can imagine. and, they you know, Yeah that would be quite a shock. it's, and they had, uh, ag, they had an ag course, uh, I forget what it was called, uh, but it goes along the, the lines of industrial arts, but it's, agricultural. Uh-huh. And where they had to raise a small animal. Oh, like, Four H then. Had to learn how to drive a tractor. All right. They actually had to take a driving test on the tractor, I mean, they just couldn't believe this and it was great. They loved it. All right. I mean they really enjoyed the courses, um, and it, you know, it made school fun for them again because prior to that school was just a big pain, a drain. Yeah, just something you do everyday. Yeah, and it was, you know. It was like, kind of like the way we feel about going to work Yeah, yeah, just something I have to do everyday. But, uh, up here they seem to have made it, uh, a lot of fun for them and they, they seem to really enjoy it. That's good, our oldest boy went into school politics and made vice ... All right, uh, you have pets, I understand, a couple of them. I, I, Well I have, uh, these, What are they? well I don't know if they consider themselves animals anymore. They actually, you know, sort of take over the place an, and we're kind of their pets. Pets get like that don't they, they think they own you Don't they really? They own the place and naturally these are cats, so. Okay, these are cats. I remember one time, uh, I used to get a chuckle out of, out of Pogo. That dates me quite a bit, you probably don't know Oh, Pogo, sure. Yeah, he, when Beauregard was talking he was the dog, remember. Uh-huh. and he used to say, pets can be most as much trouble as as kids, if they work at it a little bit, and even more when they work at it a little bit I agree, And I think that's true, I, don't know, I, I, I think that, um, my husband and I are in such a situation that, uh, um, I'm kind of, um, not able to do a lot, I'm, I'm kind of in a wheelchair, I mean I kind of am, Oh, uh-huh. just good company, huh, that's neat. but, uh, yeah, I've got these two cats that hang around with me all day, and I don't what I'd do without them. It is and, You know it's funny how pets get to be so, uh, they really, you really do mourn them after, when things happen. Now we don't actually have a pet right now. okay. But, uh, but we have had some and, and I I it's always hard for me to believe how close I've gotten to them. We had a little, uh, uh, oh, dog, it was a little, uh, I got it so it wouldn't, wouldn't shed, one of these, French Poodle, a little French Poodle. Oh my. Oh, really. Yeah, and, uh, he used to, I used to come down stairs in the morning to feed him, you know, and I'd let him up out of the basement where he was sleeping and he would just dance around the floor and I just got, and we only had him about three or four weeks before he was hit by a car, Oh! but I cannot believe the whole family just, he just got in to us so quickly, Oh! I could not believe it. That, yeah, that's, I, I have to tell you about our most interesting pet, though. Okay. Uh, we had an iguana living with us for about, uh, about two years, two and a half years I guess. Oh, uh, by choice? It was about, uh, oh, three feet long, about three feet long. It was a beautiful animal, name was Clyde. Clyde the iguana. Clyde the iguana. And, uh, my son Dan went to, uh, to, uh, Hawaii for the summer and when he came home, uh, he didn't bring the iguana with him but for some reason or other he had a thing for them. I don't know whether he'd, I think there was one in the school, uh, zoology department, you know, or biology department, one or the other, anyway, uh, Uh-huh. and anyway, he just, he went and found this guy in, in Dallas somewhere who had picked up one in, I guess in in Mexico, I don't know where. But anyway he brought this home and I looked at him and I said you've got to be kidding, I'm not going to live with a lizard Yuck! But you know I visualize that animal racing about, and you know, like you think of lizards doing but they don't do that. They're very much like, uh, well, the thing about them is that they hold so still you don't notice that they're there and then they move and about scares you to death sometimes. Did you have him in a cage? No, Oh no, he had full run of the house. Oh no, oh no. He just loved to sit on the back of my dryer where the air, the heat came up out of the dryer, you know. Uh-huh. It was, he was really a neat pet and though I, you know, he'd when we'd have family home evening and everybody would sit in the living room and the fire would be burning he'd walk across my feet sometimes Oh! And it, it was a long time before I could really pet him and, but I fed him and he, he knew how to get me to feed him. He'd come out to the kitchen, just kind of look at me until I went and got him something out of the refrigerator. Uh. Oh no, I mean you don't argue with an iguana, do you. But he was really a neat animal. He, he'd lay in Dan's lap, you know, and just, uh, when he'd pet him, he'd just stretch and, you know, you could see him just enjoying it like a cat does. Oh no. It was kind of interesting. But he did a lot of interesting things and, uh, Dan carried him around and he liked to ride on the back of his, up on his head, you know, with his tail wrapped around his arm so he wouldn't fall off, an, and scare everybody to death and kids loved him, Oh, my goodness. kids just loved him. Kids just came from all over to come and see Clyde and visit with him and, and he tolerated them, you know. He'd even tolerate him petting though, he didn't like them too well at first, but he, he got tame, you know, so that, uh, people could go in there. And Dan was a drummer, Uh-huh. and he didn't, he, the only thing he didn't like very well was the drumming. Was the drumming. When Dan would drum he'd sit there and scrunch up, you know like he was trying to protect himself, And cover his ears. and then he'd leave the room Isn't that funny the way we put, you know, um, human characteristics on an animal like that an, an, it's, Oh yeah, they really are, they're interesting, well they take on human characteristics like, uh, our other animal, I guess they do. the next year our, our son Ken went to Hawaii and well, while Dan was in Hawaii, Ken decided he wanted a dog and he, and he looked around a long while and he found a Norwegian elkhound and he just brought this Norwegian elkhound an, home Oh. and he was so funny. Uh, for a while they built a, a run for him out to the side of the house, you know. He'd been on the patio but they put the run out there, and he didn't like this run because there were no people that came by and sometimes he would just make a racket until you came and got him. And one night we'd forgotten to put water out for him and, and Hal and I were in bed and all of a sudden there was all this noise out to the side the house and, and he'd pick up his dish and throw it in the air And then bark and march around, you know, He used a classic illusion . and then he'd pick up his dish again and throw it in the air until we came out and gave him some water. I forgot to ask you, did the iguana catch flies for you? Did what? Did the iguana catch flies for you? No, he didn't eat flies. He didn't eat flies. No, they eat, uh, they eat greens. Oh. Uh, we fed him the outside leaves of lettuce, you know, I'd get lettuce at the store and he'd eat the outside leaves. Oh. And then in the summertime you could put him out and he'd eat outside except you had to keep him away from the garden because he liked to eat the little peas as fast as they came up, you know. I bet It was really it was s really a of things that were fresh sprigs, you know, he liked that. Well can we ask you whatever happened to Clyde? Well, yeah, when, uh, when Dan went up to college up at Ricksun , Idaho he took him with him, Oh. and, uh, everybody was used to him and they just loved him and what not and this his roommate put him out one day and Dan didn't know it and it got dark and he didn't get him in again. And they searched and searched and searched for him but, uh, uh, it got too cold up there and he, he died in a tree. they found him the next day in a tree, but. Oh, oh my. So you you have to be pretty tender with them, we had a, he had his own heat lamp and, uh, and, uh, hot pad he laid on, you know. That was another funny thing, he had a hot pad and it, it burned up one time and boy, it was, that was funny too, watching him kind of burned up but anyway. Uh. An we got him a new one, he had a blue one before and when we got him a new one it was brown and he wouldn't lay on it until we changed the covers. Oh, really, No, he wouldn't lay on it. because that was like what he was used to. so they really are, they really pick up things. He was, he was a clean animal, uh, we, he went to the bathroom in the bathroom. How did he do that? well we put some papers on the floor, underneath the john Okay. and he went there to go to the bathroom. You had to be sure you left the doors open, you know, he didn't like to go anywhere else, he'd, he'd scratch and do all kinds of things to get you to open the door, if you happened to close it on him or something, you know, but, but even when he went, when he had an accident or something, uh, Oh, no. if you just let it dry, it dries kind of like, uh, especially when he was inside and just eating lettuce, it dried up a little bit like ashes and you could just vacuum it up. Oh my goodness. In the winter time there was no smell at all, no odor at all to it. And in the summertime when he was outside and eating outside the smell was a little bit like a cat, you know. Oh, yeah. But, uh. But that, that's incredible. It's a different little things, Yeah, he is, he was a really interesting animal. Oh, that's, I, I just, uh we just really and you know, to this day I still miss him and that's been years ago. Well see, I guess it's because you lived with, you know, him an, and overcame some fears to get used to him. Yeah, he was just, Yeah, yeah, I think, I guess so. But it's, it was interesting. Yeah Well, what do your cats do besides sitting and purring and letting you pet them Oh, my goodness, these guys, they, well actually they're my husband's pets. Yeah, Oh, and you just kind of took them, over, huh. Well, well actually it's like he's the cat person you know, and I've, I was always kind of nondescript in that category because I always liked dogs. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And they've kind of taken over and, and, uh, you know. A little bit easier to have cats in this kind of country, though isn't it, uh. I think, Maybe it is, I, they're so independent, well I'm glad we have two of them, otherwise, I think they get neurotic if there just one of them. Yeah, that could be, could be. They get real crazy. But there, brother and sister from the same litter. They look totally different, they are, they are, well they are Siamese cats, Oh, pretty ones. but one is, one is, uh, um, they're both registered, you know, one's a seal point, she's the little girl and then, uh, Newhart is the, uh, the, the, Newhart, he is something. He's like a dog, he really, he just he just wants his belly scratched and that's it, you know. And he's just the warmest thing in the wintertime, Yeah, he just sits on your lap, sits on your lap, but they're like seven ... Tell me what books you read. Oh, boy Well, um, I haven't been doing a whole lot of reading for enjoyment lately. I read, uh, one book a friend recommended to me. I can't even remember the guy's name. It was a science fiction, Dean Cole, or something like that. And it was so frightening and it had so much violence in it I just could hardly stand it Um. I try to avoid the, Yeah I didn't think it was so great. She thought it was riveting, you know, but, I couldn't deal with that. But, um, mostly I read, I'm a marriage and family counselor and mostly I read things to do with raising kids, and now I have two little kids, Uh-huh. or co-dependency, or, you know, fifty thousand things like John Bradshaw's books on, uh, THE FAMILY and HOMECOMING and INNER CHILD, and so Uh-huh. I read usually that kind of stuff. If, and right now I'm reading, um, Judith Viorst's book called NECESSARY LOSSES, where she talks about different losses that we've had in our lives that we have to get past if we're going to mature and so, Uh-huh. in in my spare time with a two and a half and a three and a half year old I, I read That does cut into your, reading time a lot. Yeah. That's really changed my reading habits, because I used to read so much, especially when I was in school. Yeah. You know, but, gosh it's, uh, it's getting pathetic now If, I get through a magazine, I've been, Well my, my kids are up, and out of the house now. So, you know, I will, uh, encourage you that you do get a little more time to yourself later on Yeah. I, won't say what. Later you're, probably looking for your kids so you can talk to them when they're out running around with friends Yeah. Yeah. What do you read? Oh, uh, well, I read for a living. Uh, I'm an editor. You do? Who, Oh, well how interesting. And so, I, I'm at the What kind of books? Center for Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences and therefore, I read, uh, psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, philosophy, linguistics, history, uh, Um. Oh, my goodness. yeah, and you name it. I've read some of it. Yeah. Well that sounds like a fascinating job. It really is. It's, it's a great place to be Yeah. and the, uh, it's nice to work with people uh, who are not required to use your services, and so therefore, are grateful and not arguing with you about them. If they don't, want an editor, they don't come Yeah. That's true. That's true. Well, you probably, I, I seem to remember that, uh, little byline on a lot of things I've read. Um. Um, is, is, is that, um, do they have a mail kind of campaign that they send to professionals in the, social, No. We, don't. No? Uh, normally we don't publish, uh, things under our own imprint. Um. Uh, we have books that are written here that are then published by all sorts of different, uh, commercial and academic publishers and university presses. That sounds so familiar. Uh-huh. So, uh, I end up sometimes reading the things that are written here all the way through, sometimes just a few chapters because that's as far as they get Yeah. But, I also get, of course, lots of references to neat stuff to read about. Yeah. So, I'm, uh, I was just thinking when they told me the topic, I should just, I should read the, uh, titles of the five books that are sitting on my desk right now that I'm in the middle of. Yeah. Oh, that sounds interesting. Yeah. Oh it causes the, uh, uh Saint Anthony's Fire Disease, where, people fell into fits I thought that was going to be Oh. and, There is a, a theory, at least, that a lot of people who were accused of witchcraft were actually under the influence of erga. Oh, my goodness. Huh. And a book called JOB CUES, GENDER CUES, which explains, uh, how certain professions and vocations get, uh, flip flopped from one gender predominance to the other, like uh, nursing, started out all men and then in the nineteenth century, began to have women. Uh-huh. Nursing or, And now it's practically all women. Yeah. And that, uh , Secretaries. I bet that used to be mostly men who were secretaries of any type for business. That's right. And the, thing that changed that was the manual typewriter. Yeah. It then it became, you see, just sort of a clerical task. Oh. Yeah. When you wrote it out in long hand you were a, Then you were important Yes. You were a confidential assistant to the, person. Yeah. Yeah. Like the scribes who did the old documents, you know, for churches and, Right. yeah And then, I've got a book called FASHIONS IN SCIENCE, which is a sociology that explains, uh, why certain theories get to be popular in, uh, sociology. And, uh, how difficult it is to swim against the tide if you have a different idea that isn't vatted by your peers Well, that's interesting. Uh-huh. And then I have one novel that's called FIRST LIGHT, that's about, uh, archaeology the British novel. Um. So, it's really quite interesting. I haven't, got too, far into it yet. Gosh. Really. So, are you reading these in the form of just like printed manuscripts, that have not been Uh, those are, all books that are out, uh, published and bound now. But, they're just things, that, , pertain to various things I'm working on or were, uh, mentioned prominently and attracted my curiosity. Huh. So I got them out of the library and decided I'd read some more in them. Yeah. My goodness. Well, that's fascinating. Gosh. So, I read a lot of history and, uh, a few novels, occasional mystery stories, just, for fun. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah I never have gotten into any of the romantic novels or any of that kind of stuff. My husband reads a lot of the, um, well, he did before we had kids the STAR TREK, and all those kind of sci-fi kinds of, things, you know Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But, he's got a, quite a collection of those. But, uh, my stuff uh, revolves around, uh, one one let's see, I've got one called ONE THOUSAND PRACTICAL PARENTING TIPS, which teaches you to put elastic instead of shoelaces, in your kid's shoes Oh, hey. That's, a nifty idea. Hey, I've done that to every pair my three year old has. Great. You know, really. Oh, I think the, the boom to parents and the, the shoelace department was those little Velcro tabs And, uh, Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think that's incredibly . but there's a surprising number that are still around that aren't, that don't have those, so that's an alternate means of dealing with Uh-huh. but, um, I'm trying to think of what else I've got. Uh, since I'm, um, a therapist and all, I've done recently a lot of research into some of the twelve step groups. So, I've got all the different alcoholics, what they call the blue, the blue book, the big book, and all the O A literature and all the CODA literature, Yeah. so I'm trying to get more familiarized with that because I refer clients and different groups and, uh, well, let's see I'm trying to think of the, Uh-huh. What do you think is, the most promising, or practical book, uh, of that kind you've read recently? Um, Oh, I I have a love affair with John Bradshaw. I just have found everything I've read of his to be fabulous, um, Um. he started out with one called THE FAMILY, which does the family systems and people's roles in the family. And then he did, uh, HEALING THE SHAME THAT BINDS YOU, about how shame can just be so paralyzing and people isolate and withdraw. Uh-huh. And then the third one that he came out with is now called HOMECOMING Uh, and, uh, there's a subtitle to it, I never can remember what it is. It's something like, um, A JOURNEY IN, IN YOUR INNER, CHILD or something like that. Yeah. I knew, his literary agent in Houston when she was just, uh, convincing him to write all this down. He was teaching, Oh, he's just great. And now he's had the, the first, the first one and the third one put into a ten session, uh, P B S series. Yeah. I I saw one of those episodes on P B S. Uh, from time to time out here, we have four different P B S channels that we can get on the cable Yeah. And, they'll have all ten of those shown back to back, in the middle of the night for people can video tape them. Oh. I know Yeah, so people can just tape them I guess, you know Yeah. But, I definitely have gotten a lot out of his lately He's just probably been one of the most, there's an author that's in, um, that's in, uh, Arizona, who used to be in Dallas. It seems like we have a lot of these that have been in Texas, called P M Melody, who does a lot of writing on co-dependency. Uh-huh. And she's got some fabulous workbooks out and a whole series of tapes and, uh, a workbook called BREAKING FREE, and just some real, uh, helpful, practical things for co-dependency. Huh. Uh-huh. So that's been another one that I've thought was real helpful. But, other than that, uh, my reading centers on PADDINGTON BEAR, and WINNIE THE POOH, and DOCTOR SEUSS Oh, yes. Oh. But, I really have enjoyed exploring children's literature because there's so much more, uh, new things out that, you know, I, I'd pull out the classics once in a while for my kids, but there's such cute things, out for kids. Oh, there's some, absolutely wonderful illustrated, children's books. Oh, I know. And I just go to the library because I just, they're expensive, Yeah. I mean, it, and they go through them so fast, you know. Uh-huh. So I just, I really have been going to the library and getting my ten books out and they just love to sit and read. And now finally the littlest one is oldest to, to sit, you know, and watch the pictures instead of grabbing it and trying, to rip the pages out. right. Uh , well, So, that, that has been fun to do do that you, know, go through the children's literature, and, uh uh, Yeah. I read, THE PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, uh, which lists all the upcoming books, forthcoming books, and, uh, there are so many that look like they would just be absolutely wonderful. Uh-huh. But I was tickled to see that some publisher is, uh, reprinting the, the James Thurber books for children. THE, WONDERFUL O and THE THIRTEEN CLOCKS, that have been out of print for about, oh, I think about twenty years. Oh, wonderful. Gosh. Really? Well, I'm going to have to, look for those. Well, I had those for my kids Yeah. and they really did, enjoy them. Oh. Oh, but they were, old copies then. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't buy them when my kids were little. And so, they probably were out of print all of, already when my kids were small. But, um, I, was really happy to see that, Yeah. Yeah. yeah, I guess it's in honor of his hundredth, Okay, well, I I mean, what thoughts do you have on the subject? Uh, you know, we even lived there for a, a while when my husband was in the Navy. Oh, you did? In fact the first year we were married, he was already over there, had been there two years when we got married and so our, we had a one year honeymoon. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, Uh, it was very nice, um. That's wonderful. Well do you have, you probably have a different sense than I have. I went to an inner city high school in Chicago. Uh-huh. Um, and that's not where I am originally from. It was a divorce situation of my parents. Uh-huh. And it was a, a cultural shock to me. Uh, in terms of what I went through. I'm sure. The high school is now called, in fact, it was called Tulley High School and now it's called Roberto Clemente Roberto died while we were down there as a matter of fact. That, yeah, that's exactly, about twenty years now. Yeah. Uh, what was it like living there, I mean did you find that people appreciated having the privilege of being, It's like anywhere else. People are individuals and I find it really difficult an, and, frustrated trying to make stereotypes, you know. Right, I agree with that, yeah. And, uh, I can understand the, the frustration you must have gone through, uh, going to the, the school, uh. I didn't mean that in a totally negative sense. No, no, it's just, if, if it's not part of your culture, and you come upon something that you're totally unprepared for, uh, the Right. Uh-huh. I had gone to a very, uh, uh, um, conservative, uh, college and when I started teaching school it was in an inner city situation, although it was not Puerto Rican, it was, uh, a Mexican American and black students. Uh-huh. They weren't like any of the Mexican American or black people I had gone to school with so it was, it was very, very, different. Right, that you had ever been. Right, I mean, I'll give you and idea that I had, um, and I would say, I would say the ones, the majority appreciated what they were having in this country. Yeah. Uh, but a lot of the ones that didn't even in the minority, not in the sense of the cultural world, word, they made it worse for the other kids in school. And, you know, Chicago, back then, even had bilingual classes. Oh, really. Yeah, and I mean, I had geometry, the teacher was from Cypress Greece and, it was, Spanish and English, Huh. so if you can imagine how I even Oh, my. And, I mean, and I guess I look at is as an enlightening sense. Yeah. Um, but I think basically, I think they should leave things the way they are right now, I mean, I don't really have enough in terms of an argument, pro or con in terms of making any type of change. I'm not, so much against their making, uh, it a state. Uh-huh. But I would want a very, very, very clear majority, because if the minority can be so, vociferous, whether you're talking this group, or, or, any other group that, that has a stake in something. Uh-huh. Right, that's exactly. And they can make, as you said, uh, so well, the, a, a few can make it so miserable for everybody else. And that's exactly, I mean, I can remember instances that, uh, wasn't as, uh, you know, bad, Lord, I don't know how it would be today. Well I know what it looks like, I've been back up for a reunion. That, that my give you a clue. It does, yeah, um, but its', but it's an experience I wouldn't change, I mean my husband, um, grew up in, um, a majority, uh, WASP, southern Ohio, you know. Uh-huh. So that, um, when he saw where I, you know, saw my later teenage years, he was just, I hate to say aghast, because that sounds so trite, but he was. And yet, how did I turn out the way I did turn out. Yeah, And I said that's really irrelevant. What you find is that, um, if you can talk to like, I mean, I learned a lot about the, um, Island of Puerto Rico from talking to these kids. You know, and you lived there so you know that parts of it are beautiful and parts of it are squalor. Same as, as any other part of the world, Like here, yeah, it's the same. really. I, I don't, I don't think it's really to their best interests, to, uh, uh, attain statehood as it is right now, Uh-huh. they have the best of both worlds. They have, uh, representation, Uh-huh. but they don't have to pay all the taxes and so forth that we do. This is true. Uh, being that it's an island economy, um, everything is imported and yes, the cost of living is super high, but, but they're protected in so many ways without having to, to pay for the rights and privileges. Uh-huh, I know what you're saying, yeah, So, so you know, I, I would just as soon, an, an, and, if, if they voted to, for independence, I would back them a hundred percent. And that's, that's, because, I, I guess, because I'm not into territorialism or whatever, that we have been in the past. Uh-huh. Right, right, I probably would say the something if I knew that intellectually that it was good and emotionally that the people there wanted it. Right. You know, it's just, um, I mean, right now they have the privilege of voting with the United States, don't they. Yeah, yeah. They count, yeah, as a principle, that's what I thought. Um, but I've also been down there. We traveled a lot to the B V I, the British Virgin Islands. Oh, yes, uh-huh. So you always pass through San Juan in going to places like or . Uh-huh. I, um, and it's just, it's, I think what they do need is an infusion of some of the United States, um, privileges, some of our resources. The educational, the teachers, the, um, academic opportunity, you know, Uh-huh. I don't think we do do enough of a resource transfer, if there is such a thing. Part of that though has been, I think, uh, selected by, by them, in that, that whereas they want the benefits of some of, of what the continentals can offer, Uh-huh. they, they want to maintain that, um, culture of theirs, which, which I understand. Uh-huh. Uh, Uh-huh. And, and so often when you, when you bring in the advantages, the resources and so forth, there, there is a trade. They'll lose their ethnicity as they say, yeah. That's, Most of the people who that that I know about who really, uh, would, favor statehood, have pretty much assimilated into the, the continental states already. Uh-huh. See, Or they have family here and this way they can go back and forth and, and it's not that much of a strain, and, you know, they're kind of lackadaisical about it. At least at the present time. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's the way, the way the pendulum seems to be swinging, right now. It sounds like you probably know I mean to this day are you still in touch with any native Puerto Ricans that you have made friends with, or, No, we really didn't keep that up, it's just, No, that's natural, I just thought I'd ask that because I wondered what you thought they might think. Um. Because I really don't have any, um, personal or professional or familial ties down there. I don't know, the the, the, the, that's just children, but the, the people that I went to high school with, um, I think the majority are in that, the, probably the generation, yours and mine and the one right after us, that, um, their parents did not want to acclimate to the United States. Um, in terms of retaining, um, Uh-huh. and my background's European heritage and their background it would be, you know, the, I guess I would say the Latin or Latino heritage. Uh-huh. Not speaking in English, um, having the children drive them everywhere, and these were not old people. These were like in their early forties. Um. Um, and I always, that always bothered me and then there were some children that I noticed as soon as all the kids were out of high school, I mean they went back to Puerto Rico to live. You know, they had made enough money here. And so But on the other hand, I guess it's all about choice in everything. Yeah. Um, was it, I mean how were they toward, that's interesting the, the way, term you used continentals, which I'm sure is the proper term. How were they toward the United States in terms of just general, relationships, I mean, were they glad? There really were three major, um, camps, Uh-huh. and there were those who, who, uh, were very friendly, very open, any, anything we can do for you, uh, uh, either way, you know, was great. And then there were those at the other end of the spectrum and those that, ho hum, whatever, you know, Yeah. and, and, uh, it, it was interesting, the whole time we were there it was very, very political. There was always some, on Sunday afternoons, uh, going through the, all the little urbanizations, the little neighborhoods with, uh, blow horns, oh, Uh-huh. I can't think of the term but, you know. I know what you're talking about yeah. And with banners and, and a parade of vehicles with their, with their colors of the, of a particular party. Uh-huh. So they were very, very, um, passionate, about their beliefs Uh-huh. but it, it, it kind of broke down that you couldn't really see, I couldn't see that there was a clear majority that, that stayed. It seemed to shift as, as, Yeah, I don't, I don't predict, what you're describing is actually a conflict, very hello, uh, you know what, I've got to go, because that's my cordless battery going. Oh, oh, I see, okay I'm sorry Well I have enjoyed it. I enjoyed talking to you and, uh, thank you for your time. Uh-huh. Okay, bye-bye Bye-bye. Well, I think health care is real important, and dental coverage, but I guess medical insurance is probably what I consider the second most important. Yeah, I agree on that. And, you know, it seems compared to what we, our salary is versus what our health care is, our health care keeps increasing, increasing, increasing and not to the same rate as our pay Uh-huh. Right, right. I know no matter what you do about that, yeah, unless you're like a Senior V P or something which I am not Right. Me either Yeah, I know. It's, um, I don't know. And then when you interview for a job or something sometimes people, um, expect the benefits to take the place of a certain salary level. Uh-huh. You know, they'll say maybe we'll pay you X amount annually, but then we, you know, ten percent to fifteen percent more are your benefits and if you're like, are you married? Yes. Um, like my husband works, and I do so I don't take some of, I have certain things that I take, and he has other things he takes. Right. So I mean in that kind of situation it's really almost, redundant, you know, Uh-huh, yeah. You know that some of the benefits, I would rather have, um, money. Money instead. Yeah, more money, actually, um, Or flex time or something that was a little more personal, you know. Yeah. Right. I feel the same way, actually. Um, we don't use any of T I benefits other than I, I buy bonds and, and, um, that's it because, You don't use, you don't use the medical insurance? Not at all. You use your, your company's? My husband's, yes, we use my husband's. Where does he work if you don't mind me, He, he works for Bramalea Company, and they pay one hundred percent. Not one dime is deducted from his check. Oh, you're kidding. What's the name of that company Bramalea. What do they do? It's a security company and, and building, they own a lot of buildings and lease buildings. Uh-huh. And, Are they a big Company or, Yeah, actually they're from Canada. They're Canada based. Uh-huh, that's, see, that's probably why cause Canada has the, the, um, government run health care systems, social medicine. Uh-huh. And you don't pay them. If you live there, it's like Europe. You don't pay a dime. Right. You know? Right, yeah, it's all taken care, Yeah, but our prescriptions and everything, our visits to the doctor, our hospitalization, Sounds wonderful. the only thing we pay for is if if something happened, an emergency, and we had to have an ambulance, it's twenty-five dollars. I mean that's nothing. Yeah, if I were, him, I'd tell him make sure he stays there. Really, yeah, well, T I was getting, for the both of us, it was like seventy-five dollars a month. You know, deducted for an H M O, Oh, my goodness. Yeah, yeah, I don't work at T I. My husband works at T I, but, um, I work for E D S, but it's like, um, You know they're both basically, E D S is a little bit better than T I but, Um, and we take my dental, my dental, his medical. Uh-huh. And the medical is just, I mean, I think it's terrible, you know? Uh-huh. twenty, but they're, then they're getting ready to change it again for Aetna. Okay. Um, I don't know. I just don't think companies, um, they want you to feel responsible and don't abuse the medical system and, you know, Um, T I just did the thing where, with the smoking premiums. Uh-huh. We don't smoke, but did you, do you know about the smoking premiums? Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, do you guys smoke? We don't either. Oh, yeah. Neither one of us do. But then, you know, like a lady in my office said, she said her husband works for T I, too. And she said what about the people that are walking around, and I hope, Uh-huh. Right. Yeah. You know, who's going to croak first? The people that smoke or, you know? Uh-huh. Seems like, an unnecessary penalty, Exactly. yeah. Yeah. I mean I'm not all for smoking at all, but I just, you know, I don't how they can do it. Uh-huh. Yeah. Carte blanket . *listen: probably closer to "carte blanche" Exactly. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Or something. Yeah, it's like, stupid, but, That's why I'm not a boss, I guess I don't know. Yeah. I mean I don't know, um. What other, what other type of benefits do they have that, I mean, Canadian based companies . They have to be a little bit different than the American, um. Yeah, they are as far as their like pension plans , Uh-huh. they're vested a lot earlier. I think at T I, it took five years. Yeah, T I is at least, five years, yeah. Five to seven. Yeah. And they're vested after their first year. totally vested. Oh, my goodness. And they have the four one K and the usual benefits like that, uh. Uh-huh. That's kind of nice. Yeah, T I has that, but that's a pretty standard thing anymore. Right, right. You know, um, um, your husband's company probably matches more than T I, though. No, they match the same amount. Oh, they do ? Yeah, well, they match four percent which is the same, You know, fifty percent or four percent. *listen; particularly nonsensical Yeah, it is. That's still pretty good, though. I mean the fact that your vested that quickly in the pension. Uh-huh. Yeah, I know, um, E D S has eight years? I think E D S has seven to, to eight years. Uh-huh. So it's like T I in that respect, you know? Yeah. And, and, I mean, and I'm working for a company that's making money Yeah. You know, E D S has a cash flow problem as they say but, um, not E D S, T I, um, Yeah. Uh-huh. but I, I don't know. I think everywhere they just need to sit down and hire some people, the grunts, as I call them, like myself to tell them, Right. yeah. I mean, I don't know, It's, but if I were to rank them, I guess I would say next to income it's really just health benefits. And then, um, for most people I know it would be day care like T I has, no day care. Right. Yeah, that, and I know that's a big issue because I, I belong to a women's forum group. Uh-huh. And some of the questions we're getting are, are on site day care and things like that. Uh-huh. That they consider a very serious benefit. And I can't tell you anybody right now at T I that's, uh, considering that. Oh, I don't, I would, think so, yeah because, They should be though. Yeah, they really should because they're big enough, um, and the other thing I think is really good is that E D S is much better than T I at, I think, right now than, that we have day care, um, they, uh, the health, the health program like T I has Texans? Uh-huh. Right. But it, I don't think it, that it's developed as much as it could be for the size company as T I. Right. I mean if you ever walked into E D S health, corner court health clubs on site and you walk into Spring Creek, well, Spring Creek's better than the one on Dallas Parkway Uh-huh. but, I mean, yeah. Yeah, a lot better. E D S is is better than Spring Creek? Oh, it's really nice, yeah. Oh, man. You know, instead of like six, um, treadmills, you've got like twenty. Yeah. And E D S can't even compare in size. In terms of the number of employees. Oh, yeah. People, yeah. So I, don't know. I guess it's just where they, um, and like E D S reimburses you for adoption. Oh, I see. And T I doesn't have anything like that. Right. You know, so I guess I, I wish the companies like T I and a lot of others were more progressive in that respect Yeah. so, That's good. That's a, that's a fortunate benefit, you know, that they're so active for their employees. Yeah. Yeah, and there's, I mean they have some strange things. I mean they have very strange like dress codes and, you know. Um, uh-huh. Um, you can't wear slacks at the corporate site and that kind of thing unless you're in a, you know, Right. but it doesn't, there aren't manufacturing environments because of the type of company it is. Uh-huh. Um, I don't know. I, I guess I also wish that, uh, companies would look more at cost of living increases instead of just merit reviews. Yeah, Yeah. Me, too. Me, too, because, you know, with utilities and, and homes that are, uh, price of homes have went up drastically. Like an average house is now a hundred and thirty thousand. exactly. And that is unreal, because we've got people out here that are just poverty level. I know. But then we've got these million dollar homes so you know, where do you find a happy medium? I know. And how does your salary deal, with that? Uh-huh. It's not. Uh-huh, and I mean, I mean, I don't know how you and your husband are, too, It's just not doing it. but I mean we have friends that laugh at us and we, I clip coupons. And I said, hey, I'll probably do this even if I'm a millionaire which I won't, ever be. Yeah Yeah But, I mean, it's like, because you just can't, I mean, it seems like every time you try to get ahead and take a vacation or something well, the car insurance is due Uh-huh. That's true. That is exactly where we are. I mean, yeah. It's so strange I know. I don't know what we're going to do about, Common problem. Yeah, you, want to rob a bank? No, I didn't say that. Yeah, really. I didn't say that on this line. I don't know. What else about corporate benefits? I can't think. It's probably been too hot today for either of us to, Uh-huh. Um, kind of nice to talk to somebody in Dallas. Usually people are all over the country. Right, yeah, and I think Dallas, as far as, um, economic uncertainty, is better than what most of the country is. This is true. So somehow, we're better off than a lot of them. Uh-huh, and that doesn't definitely make it any better. It's, just something you have to keep telling yourself, you know, that, um, that's what I want, that, uh, you know, No people are lucky to have jobs, and people are lucky to have any kind of benefits. Uh-huh. When you see people that don't have, um, anything but H M O or, you know, I mean really can't even afford to get in a job that costs, like, we had a guy fixing our air conditioner. And he said he didn't even make ten dollars an hour, and he has three kids. And I went, oh, you know, that has to be rough. Uh-huh. Um, but benefits, I don't know. I guess, I guess one thing I'd like to see, too, and I, I don't know how T I is about this, but I'd like to see, um, employees rank and file be able to contribute more to their, um, the execution of their job. Yeah. You know. Empowerment issues. Right yeah, that's a good word for it, um. Right. How is T I in that mode? Well, very well, um, it's slow, though. Uh-huh. At least they're making the effort to put it out there and make it available and and, cultural change within the management first. Uh-huh. And now it's kind of filtering down to the peon level. But, uh, I think they're really trying. Uh-huh. It's going to take years, though. Yeah. I mean it's just, it's that mind-set, has to change, All part of a good old boy network, yeah. yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. E D S is, oh, they're better, but they're a little bit too, um, stiff collared in terms of, you know, what you want to do. They're pretty much put the, if that's where the widget goes, stick it in the hole, you know. Yeah. They're kind of formula oriented. Doesn't want to change. Yeah, and, and you can't really argue with them because they've always been successful so, You know, what can you tell them Right. Yeah. Really. Yeah. Well, I guess that's what I know about benefits. Okay. Yeah, Okay me, too. good talking to you. Good talking to you and keep cool. Thanks. Okay. Bye-Bye. Okay. Bye-Bye. Uh, I guess my feelings are that, uh, we almost have a universal health care system, uh, to a great degree, except that now I read where we've left out about thirty-four million people. Oh. And, uh, I don't know exactly how we're going to cover many of these people, because I'm sure that some of them don't, uh, don't have the wherewithal to do it themselves, so, uh, I, I have a feeling, since I have just about as good a health care coverage that anybody can get, that this, uh, then becomes an obligation of the government, because it's going to become an obligation of either state, local or federal government, anyway. Yeah, because when people can't pay, they end up going to clinics or, you know, to public hospitals, and that kind of thing, and, you know, Well, it seems to me that, that I'm paying anyway, because when I go, or my insurance carrier, anyway, when I pay something, the bills seem inordinately high. Oh, definitely. And the reason that they're inordinately high is because that has, to cover the costs for the indigent people who apparently don't have the money or the wherewithal to do that. Right. Yeah, yeah. It would seem to spread it out a little better if the employers who, uh, employ these people, and pay them, uh, you know, subminimum wages or whatever, were asked to share their fair burden of this too, just as my employer is. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And myself, I guess. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. My only concern is what happens when you turn things over to the government, I don't know Well well, who, who else is going to do this, then? Do they wind up with more red tape, and more problems then? Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's worked successfully in Europe. Uh-huh. I've heard all these stories about, I travel extensively and spend, uh, maybe half a year in Europe every year, Oh. and I find that the health care programs there, uh, are administered with, uh, at least people I talk to, with, uh, a great deal of integrity, and, uh, people don't seem to be reluctant to use them to any degree. Yeah. As a matter of fact, if I'm injured or have an emergency when I'm, say in Germany or France, uh, that, I'm automatically taken care of, Wow. I mean I don't even have to pay. Yeah. Well, I think part of the, the tremendous benefit of that is that there's so many people who wait now because they don't have the money, until, you know, they have no preventative measures People, um, you know, just go on and on and on. I mean, so many people don't even get prenatal care or, and it just extends with if it, what would be a minor problem to deal with if they had a help available early on becomes just this horrendous, you know, burden on the taxpayers. They're saying now that one out of every ten child born in public hospitals is addicted to crack. Well I, uh, uh, I know it. Well, you know I have a solution, you see. my solution, even though I'm rapidly approaching the, uh, the age when I'll qualify for Medicare and Medicaid, I, I, my mother and father both, uh, uh, well, my father's not living but my mother is, Uh-huh. and they are, um, of an advanced years, and when I see the money that's poured down the, down the drain on Medicare and Medicaid, I mean, the, absolute uncontrollable situation that we find ourselves in, Yeah. and the extraordinary amounts, I know that, because those people vote, I mean, they're the ones who get out and vote, that's what's robbing a poor mother of the prenatal care. The young people aren't getting the proper care that they need, and nutrition, I think, Yeah, yeah. and we're spending on these useless, many times useless and inordinately complex unnecessary tests in hospitals for older people. Oh, it's unbelievable how much you go through. When I just had a problem with my neck and they ended up doing a seven hundred dollar CAT scan, and, I mean, a chiropractor got it in one time That's right, I mean, it does, seem like we're, it was just strange. now I noticed just the other day in the paper that, that Medicare will be based, payments will be based not, uh, just on cost, but on cost effectiveness. So I Oh, well, that should help. Well, I don't know, uh, we'll see how that goes. Yeah I think that was just a regulation that was up for comment, but we'll see what happens. Oh I see Oh, gosh. Well, listen, uh, I think I've, I've exhausted my, uh, self on, at least I've blown off steam of the way I feel about it. Okay, well Okay? Okay, thank you. Bye-bye See you next time. Bye. Well, I know that, uh, I have only like two or three favorite television shows. Uh-huh. I think one of my favorite then is from the guy Stephen, is it Brochco, who does like L A LAW Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. uh-huh, and, uh, he also did HILLSTREET BLUES. Yeah, I like those type of shows. Yeah, we really enjoy that too. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't get a lot, to watch a whole lot of T V. We have a couple of young children, and so we're usually outside, Uh-huh. and so it's usually the nine o'clock shows that if we get them in bed, we usually watch that, and L A LAW is one of my favorites. Oh, yeah, me, too. I know, they, uh, I think they're different than a lot of other shows of which they have like the re runs in the middle of the season Yeah. and then towards the end when everybody else is showing reruns, they start showing some of their newer stuff. Yeah So I thought that was really interesting the way that they did that. Oh, and so you must watch a lot of, uh, Disney or cartoons then? Well, we have on SESAME STREET and MISTER ROGERS, that kind of stuff, and I think those programs are really good for children. I know that both of mine have probably learned quite a bit from there. Uh-huh. It's kind of nice to know that they're just going to be seeing, you know, not a lot of violence and that kind of stuff Right. and they usually, uh, show a lot of things that really teach them different things about the world. So. Uh-huh, uh-huh. My older son, he's going to be five, and he's more into watching the cartoons and that kind of stuff now. Oh, that's true, that's true. Well, I noticed that, my kids are, uh, older now, they're uh, getting close to the teenage years. Uh-huh. But they did, we watched all of MISTER ROGERS and everything, but even some of your, uh, cartoons can be very violent Yeah. and, you know, they talk about death, and, we were watching, uh, oh gosh, BUGS BUNNY just last night Oh, yeah. and, um, I think it was on, I have to remember which channel, but anyway, uh, we were watching that and it was talking about opera, and they showed like what they thought an opera would be, and one of the things was to kill the rabbit, kill the rabbit Oh. and I thought, Oh, how violent, you know, to kill the rabbit. So he ended up killing the rabbit in the end, uh, but then of course, the rabbit comes back to life and says, well, see this is how an opera is supposed to be. And I thought, gee whiz, if a little kid was watching this, you know, that would be pretty violent even for a small child. Well, yeah, and you know, they, especially boys, I mean, they're always talking about shooting and killing and all that kind of stuff Uh-huh. and I don't think that they really realize that death is forever, you know. Right. And showing them something like that really doesn't teach them that it is. That's right. That's right. Well, I don't think cartoons portray that but like, No, and to get them to feel like that that's just pretend, I think is the hardest part, you know. Yeah, Yeah. A cat has nine lives Yeah. but they don't, they just have one like we do Oh, so that's really funny but, uh we've gotten, uh-huh, go ahead. I was just going to say, I know that, at least before our kids were born, we used to always enjoy watching the COSBY SHOW, Thursday nights usually had pretty good, with that, and as far as very good comedy. Uh-huh. I like to watch DESIGNING WOMEN if the kids are in bed by then. Yes, Yes, yeah, that's true, that's a good show. I used to watch, uh, DALLAS. We're, we're in Dallas. yeah. I used to watch DALLAS, years ago. And somewhere in the middle I got, uh, bored, and, uh, so I, in fact, I didn't even watch the finale. Uh, you know, that's about how disinterested I had become. Yes. Well, I did watch it just to see what it was Uh-huh. and it wasn't really that great. So. Well, I think, after a while, they just kind of, you know, there's no new stuff they can do, uh-huh. they've done everything dirty in the book you know, Yep. so, Yep, I know, I know. Was it actually based on a book? Well, no, I imagine, Oh, but you were just talking about, okay, okay, Everything you could think of, you know had a hard time, Yeah, right. and I think maybe with DALLAS, as far as, they lost a lot of characters that had been around at the first. That's true, that's true. Where, I don't know, I never watched KNOTS LANDING, but I think they've had a lot of their characters stay around. Stay. Uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, and if you notice on DALLAS, they lost all the women. Yeah. Yes. So the men mainly stayed but the women were the ones who left, and I thought that was very interesting and wondered, kind of wondered about that. Uh, well, anyway that's a whole new issue Yeah Oh. Oh, goodness so. Anyway. I don't know if our five minutes are over yet But we, uh, we also have the paid, uh, television channels. Uh, the only thing I don't like about it, especially with teenagers, is that all the violence, the sex, the nudity and the curse words you know. Uh-huh. And so, I know they didn't pick up these curse words from me. So, uh, they had to have picked them up from, uh, the T V. Yeah. One nice thing though about the cable company we use, they have, uh, they have that little parental, uh, uh, key, Where you can lock up, the channel or whatever? Yeah. Yeah, uh-huh. So, I, I have that at home, and I keep the keys with me. Yeah. And that's about the only way that I can, that I can do it. Because their natural curiosity, you know, to go towards that way and want Yeah. yeah. And I don't know the way the generations are growing up now, I mean I just think they watch so much more T V. I try to limit what they watch. They aren't sitting in the house watching T V all day because I think it's good for them to have physical activity and that kind of stuff, too. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. And especially in the summer time we aren't in the house very much in the evenings. It's the only cool time to be outside That's true, well, and here lately it hasn't been that cool anyway with the humidity being so high. Well, true, Well, it was nice talking to you. Well, it was nice talking to you, too. Okay, talk with you later. Okay. Good-bye. Good-bye. Okay. Um, does, is this something that concerns you? or Well, I think it does, um, especially because I just moved to Massachusetts and, uh, they're having real problems because they have so many, uh, police layoffs. Uh-huh. And, uh, personally I don't live in a real bad section of town but, uh, just because of the general area I live in, the insurance rates are real high on your car and, there's a lot of crime within a few miles of me Right How about you? Yeah, well, I live outside of Dallas and it's kind of in a little suburb. So, I feel pretty safe out here but I know the murder rate is going up every year in Dallas Yeah, I, uh. and that worries me. Yeah, I recently moved here and when I was looking for a job there was a lot of openings right in, the, in the worst areas of town and, uh, my husband, was, was, what he his concerns were well not that I think you'll get involved in anything but it just be an innocent bystander, just to be in that location and I thought how sad it was that just to be in a wrong location at the wrong time Yeah. and, and a lot of kids, you know, are caught that way. But, Yeah, there's a little boy just got shot and killed like last weekend down in what they call the projects, which is you know, sort of a bad area. Uh-huh. But he was just out riding his Big Wheel and a couple of drug people got into a fight with a gun and he got hit and killed by a stray bullet. Yeah, that exactly what happened down here. That's really sad. I've, so you know it must be frustrating for the parents who can't get out of a situation like that. Uh-huh It'd be so scary. I know they asked in the topic for ideas on how to control crime and it doesn't seem like anything is working It really doesn't, it's kind of scary. I think that, uh, I think the laws have gotten so lenient, you know the court systems are too lenient. I think that's part of the problem. But, in, in, on the other hand they have to be because the jails are full. We can't, at least in this area, you know, they don't have any room to put anybody so a lot of people just get out, you know, back on the streets because there's no, they can't keep that many people in the buildings they have. Yeah, they do that here, too. But I say, you know, they commit crimes let them be overcrowded, you know let them suffer a little bit. Uh-huh. I know it, they have all sorts of, of rights, that, you know, are questionable. Maybe they gave up that right when they committed the crimes. Yeah, I think so. I think if they knew it was going to be really horrible, wherever they were going, maybe they'd think twice about doing it. That's true, maybe the punishment should be more severe. Yeah. You know, the other thing that worries about it is, kids that are doing such bad crimes so young, you know, like eleven and twelve and thirteen year olds that just go out and kill people. I know it. They, I don't know if that's just a symptom of society and the breakdown of family and everything but that worries me, I wonder what the next generation will be like. Yeah. exactly because they get involved in things so young that they don't really, realize what they're involved in. Yeah. And, uh, some people prey on that, you know, they'll take, uh, kids who don't really realize the seriousness even at fifteen. And, uh, get them involved in things because, uh, Yeah. well I don't know, I was watching on, a movie on T V, I don't know how true those can be, but you know, they, one guy got all sorts of kids under eighteen to do it by telling them, you know, you won't have a record because you're under eighteen. They'd steal cars and everything. Oh. So, I guess if they had, more of a deterrent, if they had more severe punishments it might be, but the courts are so backlogged right now it takes forever just to go to trial. Yeah. I think it would concern me even more if I had children, which I don't, but if I had children I wouldn't know where to raise them to protect them. yeah. Yeah, because it seems like now, even in the country, you hear about bad things happening. Uh-huh. It's true, they, uh, and they, they talk about too, the gangs spreading, you know, like everybody thinks of them only in L A and New York but they spread out to cover more area and, I don't know, if, if gangs occur much down in Texas. Do they? Yeah, I think they have them in Dallas because I hear them talking about in the schools, different things happening, and they've had some drive-by shootings outside of the schools. Yeah, the same in some of the areas around here but I've never had any personal, you know, I never met anybody that I knew had anything to do with it. Or seen anybody, Me either but, uh, that's a scary thing too because at that age kids want so much to belong to a group. And, I think that a lot of people that sort of control them, control what they're doing are older, you know, business, you know, trying to control whatever. You know, Yeah, seemed like, like in the fifties when gangs were big it was just to be part of the gang but now they're so much into selling drugs and weapons and all that, Uh-huh. it's pretty scary. It's true. And the weapons, my God, the weapons that people have are, some people are seemed to be armed better than the military or the same as the military. I don't know where they get them Really, yeah, those machine guns and all that. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's scary. It's a wonder there's anybody who's willing to be a policeman anymore. That's the other thing, uh, is it's hard to even, I can't even think of what the benefits of the job would really be. Especially if you're an inner city, you know, you can't really feel like you're putting much of a dent in what's going on. And, you're putting your life on your, on the line everyday. Yeah. Dallas, they were saying in Dallas that they can't hire anymore policemen but they keep losing them all the time and that, uh, you know, eventually we're going to be way short on the number we need because they won't let them hire any new ones I, and they keep leaving. Uh, Yeah. I just read an article yesterday, um, where this, what used to be a nice town in this area, they had a lot of budget cutbacks. Massachusetts is broke right now and a lot of the towns are declaring bankruptcy and, they had to cut twenty guys from their forces and the crime wave rate went up almost instantly because it was so well publicized that everybody in the area knew that town wouldn't be patrolled as well. And so, it's like Yeah , they figure, what a heyday, huh This is a depressing conversation though It really is Well, there's someone at the door so I guess I'll have to go see what my dog is barking about. But it was nice talking to you Okay, I hope things look up Well thanks same for you. Bye-bye. Bye. Where have you been on a wonderful vacation? Well normally when we go on vacation we go home, to Colorado. Oh, that's where we go home, too. Really. Yeah, Colorado Springs is where we're from. That's where we go. How funny. Yes, my husband's family lives just off of Academy Boulevard at Maize land. Really? Yes. We live up, up, uh, Lake, in the Broadmoor area Uh. that's where my my in-laws are. Oh, we've been there. We haven't skied at Broadmoor. We went there last year at Christmas time and it was twenty-seven below. Oh. So we had to cancel our ski lessons Uh-huh, as of you can't even ski there anymore. Really? Yeah, they closed it down. Oh, just this year? Uh-huh Oh, my, they don't have enough money to keep it going, Uh. it doesn't, doesn't pay. So. So that wouldn't be a good spot to go on a vacation, now if you were a skier. Well you know, well, now I don't know. Now Colorado Springs is real accessible to Lake Breckenridge Uh-huh. it's only a couple of hours away. And, uh, so, it's, it might not be too bad if you want to go skiing somewhere else. But, you can't, can't ski up there any more. No. Oh, I'd like to go on vacation. I my husband and I want to go to Florida to go to Disney World, Uh-huh. but we have two little ones that are under two right now, Yes. so we want to wait until they're a little bit older to do that, Oh. and, Well, we went on a family cruise last year, on the Premier Family Cruise Line and then we went to Disney. It was all part of the package. Oh. And on the cruise ship they had Mickey and Minnie and Chip and Dale and Goofy and Donald Duck, and it was really oriented toward little kids. Well, how fun. So the kids could eat with Chip and Dale, you know, and, you know it was just a lot of fun. Oh yeah, Oh, I bet. So then we were on the cruise for three days in the Bahamas, and then landed at Cape Canaveral and then drove over to Orlando and spent four days at Disney. Wow, well that sounds pretty, Yeah, that sounds pretty good. Yes, that was the way to travel. Yes. And it was all a big package deal where you just pay one price and get everything? Yes. That's right. That's right, and kids are really cheaper, too. Really. We really lucked out because the ship we were supposed to be on developed engine trouble two days before our cruise, so they said we could either cancel, reschedule, or take whatever was available. So we took whatever was available, and we left a day early, and they put us up at the Cocoa Beach Hilton, and the ship that was available, the only, uh, rooms that hadn't been booked were the suites. Wow. So we got the suites at the same price as a regular cabin. Oh what a deal. Yeah. So then our cruise was actually extended a day, and our Disney was extended a day, so we turned a seven day trip into ten Great, and they paid for everything. Well, that's great. Yes. Oh. So that was a wonderful vacation. Yeah, I bet. That sounds like the way I'd want to do it I think. Yes. Well, what kind of things do you like to do when you go to Colorado? Oh, well, we like to ski, of course, so we spend so much time with our families uh, and seeing our friends, Yes. because we moved to Texas about two years ago. So when we go back we are just jam packed full of people to see and things to do Yeah. so we don't, we don't get a lot of time to just vacation. We did, um, last year, though, go to San Antonio for Memorial Day which was fun just to get to kind of walk around and see the sights down there and do that kind of thing. Oh. Uh-huh. Uh, but, you know, other, other than that, with, with both my kids being under two, it's real hard to do any, any kind of events that, uh don't, don't require as much, Right. That would be, Yes. I know, I think one of the places I always hit in Colorado, is that current outlet store. Yeah That's what, you should mention that, I just got my catalog this morning and was looking through it. Oh, with the Santa Claus on the cover. Uh-huh. Yes, I've already ordered from that one, but we will probably be going up at Thanksgiving this year, so. Oh, do you live, where do you, what state are you in? Texas. Oh, you're in Texas. Yes, I'm in the Dallas area. In Plano. So am I. I'm in Garland. Uh so that's not too far. Yeah. I talked to somebody from Wisconsin or something the other day. Oh. Yeah, so I guess they get people from all over. Yes. Yeah, driving for Thanksgiving, that's going to be quite a drive for, Well it was when we left last year. We left on the eighteenth, right before that big snow storm hit Colorado Uh-huh. and we pulled in just as it hit. Wow. So, how do you go? Do you go up through the Raton Pass, when you go up there? Uh, no, oh, well, wait a minute, yeah, we do, we do. That's on like Route two eighty-seven or something like that. Yeah, uh-huh, and then we go straight up through Trinidad and straight up I Twenty-five from there. Okay. Okay, we, uh, went a different way when we went last Christmas because of bad weather and because we were pulling a little U Haul trailer, because we had to take our dog in the car, there was no room for luggage. So, we went all interstate. We went up, um, through Oklahoma City and then up through, uh, Kansas, and then turned left and went in on I Seventy Uh-huh. Oh. and it wound up only taking us about an extra hour. It was a little more mile wise Uh-huh. but because you could go sixty-five miles an hour on the, All set. Uh-huh. Actually I'm in Plano, too That's okay. I say Dallas area when I'm talking to people elsewhere. That's okay, it's more, uh, concentrated, so they know where you are. Yeah. Uh, anyway, I know here in, here in Plano some of the things that we do are, um, Kroger and some of the other stores, too, have said, If you bring your bags back to, to the store to recycle, then they'll pay you a certain amount of money, and that's one thing that started in the community. They actually pay you money for that? Uh-huh. Um, um, Brookshires up in uh, Allen, uh, you bring your bags back, you know, they, uh, the plastic bags back or the paper bags, you put them in the receptacles there, but I didn't realize some people are actually paying you for that. Um. Uh-huh, yeah, I know Kroger will do it, and I think Albertson's does it sometimes, I'm not sure. Um, and, and yet, I know that, uh, some of the stores will actually help the community, not pay you the money back, but will pay the, the, uh, community, like through the schools or things like that. Uh-huh. Interesting. So, um, that's always helpful, and I know that we we have the, the can, the can, different can banks around the city that you can go to and do that. Right. Um, one of the ways, I don't know, uh, if this would be helpful. It said on the, the computer, what do I think would be helpful. And I don't know if it would be helpful or not, but I know on Monday, the, the garbage men pick up like just, um, any limbs or any extra trash that you might have, Right. And that might be an extra day to put out things that might be recycled if we had a, a certain colored can to put them in or something in the city to put, like either glass or newspapers or whatever. Yeah, I think they already do that out East. Um, they have to, it's a little bit more difficult, because people have to remember, Okay, today's glass okay tomorrow's plastic, and all that Yeah. Yeah. but I think that's the way we need to go. It's, uh, it's pretty bad. All these years we've been, especially in this country, all the, uh, the plastic and the paper and everything, we just used to throw out. Yeah, uh, I know getting a newspaper everyday, I know I could just, you know, do that because I have to pick it up, Uh-huh. and it just goes out with our trash, and I guess I'm not as, um, recycling minded as I should be but that goes out with the trash, and it really could be recycled. Yeah, about six months ago I started Did you? yeah, and, uh so what I do is, uh, Tell me. it's not bad, you just have to have a place to keep everything, but, uh, it, you'll be amazed if you ever start doing it. Just put your paper in the same place every day, and it'll start stacking up. Take your glass, um, you know, pickle jars, or, or whatever, uh, liquid jars, you know, just rinse them out a little bit and put them all in a place, and, uh plastics, Don't you have to take like labels off of those jars? No, from what I understand, uh, you can leave the labels on, um, although I rip, rip them off. Yeah. I don't, I don't scrub them or anything, I just tear them off Take them off, yeah. throw the lids and everything out, but, uh, put all the glass in one place, and plastics, like milk jugs, uh, orange juice jugs, things like that. Soda, both liter sodas Yes can you do that. those also. Okay. Um, and then, of course, uh, cans, coke cans, whatever. Right, right. But, uh, I haven't been down to the recycling center yet to find out exactly what they need or what they take, and all that, I've just read a lot about it, and I'm keeping these big piles of it right now I going to try to dump it out this weekend in fact. But, uh, you'd be amazed how quickly it all stacks up. There's a lot that we throw out. I, I know with our family that we could really be helpful if we could find a way to just, um, get it into different categories like that, and I, I don't know what it would take to, to get my children to start working on it. Uh-huh. I have two older ones that probably would go along with the, if I had it arranged so that it wasn't a big project, you know. It's, yeah, it's not a big deal. You get used to it. One, let me tell you one interesting thing Okay, when I went back to the store, and I said, Hey, um, I understand you all are taking these bags back, uh, you know, what do you do with them. And they told me, they look through them all and throw out the ones that don't belong there and then, you know, go and recycle the rest. And I said, What do you mean the ones that don't belong there? Yeah. And they said, Well, people come in and put anything in the receptacles. And what I found out is, if you look at the bottom of those bags, Kroger or whatever the plastic ones, they've got numbers on them. Uh-huh. Oh. Yeah, and if it's got the little recycle symbol and inside it it's got a number, like bags from Drug Emporium have a ... Hello. Hello. Hello, Hello, Hi. Boy it took forever to find somebody. Oh, well I'm glad you found me. Good, well I'm, my name's Gail, and I guess we have to, talk about credit cards. Yes. My name is Carolyn. Okay, well, if you're ready, then uh, Okay. I'll just let you start, Okay, I'll press one Okay, well, I'm not, this is kind of an interesting subject to come up for me, because credit cards are my downfall. I just find it so easy to, to charge something when I don't have the money to pay for it, and I'm really trying to get out of that habit. So. I think they're kind of dangerous. I think they are, too. And, unfortunately, um, we use ours in, we don't use them all the time, but we use them like at Christmas time, and then it seems like it takes all year to pay them off when you use them like that Uh-huh. But, um, I would love to just take some scissors and cut them in half. Yeah, me too. I think sometimes when you look at the interest that you're paying on them, um, that's what gets to be the really scary part, you know, if you think, when it comes around to income tax time, and you look at how much money you paid out just in interest all year, you could really get a lot more stuff if you were just able to pay outright for it. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's true, that's true. Seems just like our society is so, um, pushes so hard for, you can have it, you know, and then no interest, no payments for a year, and stuff like this, they're really trying to get you into that situation, because they know they've really got you then, so. all I know is some of my credit cards, like, um, we have a Sears one, and we always get a maintenance agreement every year Uh-huh. and it's just easier to say, you know, just put that on my credit card. Well that's probably four or five hundred dollars, you know, that goes on at that point Uh-huh. and then it seems like takes forever to pay that off. It's funny, that we've got a Sears card, and we bought a washer and dryer on it, four years ago, and we still owe. I mean, I, I think like half the amount that they cost in the first place. Wow. It's just, uh, you know, you never, never get it out, and now that's real irritating. It sure is. We eventually did, one time we just borrowed, took a personal loan and paid off all our credit cards, and the interest on the loan was cheaper than it was, you know, to just have that. Uh-huh. We haven't done it lately. We probably need to do it again. Well, we did, you know, one time, we wanted to buy a truck, a used truck, and so we went down to the bank, and they said, Sure we'll give you a personal loan. It was only a thousand dollars that we needed for the truck. Uh-huh. And they said, sure that's no problem, but, you know, why don't we consolidate your bills, and at the time we thought, Oh, that would be great, you know, we could, and it's going to be a lower payment than it was for all of them, you only have to write one check a month, not all those. You never miss one or whatever Uh-huh. and we did that, but we didn't realize at the time, until several months later, that we, we were real, I mean this was four three years ago, we were pretty young and we were just kind of like, well, I guess that means these credit cards are closed, and we didn't, you know, about six months later we realized we could use them, and so we charged them all up again. Oh, no. Yeah. So then we were not only paying those bills regular like we were before, but also adding the lower payment for all of them, So we were paying like twice. Um, so we didn't ever make that mistake again, luckily But, uh, we're definitely working on not doing that credit thing. We just, as a matter of fact, this, it's real interesting the subjects I get. They always seem to be so pertinent. But we just discussed this last night at church, talking about debt and things like that. It's so, so alluring, and uh, so easy to get, Uh-huh. uh, sometimes, I know, they really encourage you not to go into debt for anything except for maybe your house and your car. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, And, uh, if you could stick to that, you know, we'd get rid of a lot of indigestion and everything else. Yeah. That's true. Oh, I just picked up my daughter and she was eating a cupcake and now her crumbs all over. Oh, dear. Yeah. What a mess you are. Oh, so I don't know, if I, if I, I just feel kind of. My big thing was my husband really wanted to get rid of our Visa card, and I just thought, you know, if we ever had something go wrong with our refrigerator or something, you know and we had to, had to buy one, then we would really need that, Uh-huh. and so he said, Okay we'll keep it, and then we weren't smart enough to not use it, so. You know, one thing you might do with, in a situation like that, though, it's just like keep, Okay, so you're into microwave cooking. Yeah, it's just, it's so easy nowadays, you know, and it's, uh, especially when people are working just to come home and pop something into the microwave and it be ready in just a few minutes , yes, and that's what we all are looking for, isn't it, something that we can just cook in a hurry after we get off work. Yeah. I've gotten in the habit of cooking something big on the weekends so that I have leftovers all week. All week. Well, we've done that, too. There's just my husband and I, and he, he sometimes makes a huge spot uh, pot of spaghetti Uh-huh. and, you know, we're eating it for a week and a half, and I kind of get sick of it after he I know. I try not to make too much. It's just my husband and I, too Uh-huh. and I try not to make so much that it lasts more than that week Yeah but, uh, I usually, I usually like to make spaghetti or soup or chili or, you know, something like that or sometimes a roast, Right. but, Right. What's your favorite thing to cook if you're having a dinner party? Um, I have a great recipe for sour cream chicken enchiladas Oh, oh. it's, it's really good, I got it from a friend of mine that I used to work with Uh-huh. and, uh, every time I've served it, everybody just loves it. Ooh, that sounds delicious. So that's, that's one of my favorite things to make. Uh-huh. What about you? I end up with an old stand-by that we call Russian chicken, because it's so easy Uh-huh. and, uh, it you have to cook very little to go with it, just some rice and some salad and that's about it, you know. Uh-huh. Well, what do you put in it? Uh, you make, you just take your boneless chicken breasts and then you take and make a, a dressing out of, uh, Russian dressing, one bottle of that and a package of Lipton Onion Soup mix and three ounces of apricot preserves Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Ooh, that sounds good. and you mix it up, and you just put it on the top of the chicken, and then I cover the pan with foil and put it in the oven for about an hour Uh-huh. and then I take the foil off and let it brown takes about another twenty minutes Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and it's delicious Ooh, that sounds good. and it's so simple, because I can pop it in when I come in the door, you know, and then, uh, go about my business, and by the time I've got everything else ready, the chicken's chicken's done. Is done, right. So that's a real easy thing for me. Yeah, that sounds good, too. Uh-huh. I've got a, um, a great recipe for cheese cake. Oh, really. I don't know if you get SOUTHERN LIVING, but No, I don't, my mom gets that, but, they have one, if you like to cook, they have, every recipe I've tried out of that has been a really good one Really. and, um, you know, every month they've got all different kinds of recipes, but, I got one in there about a year or so ago on cheese cake, and it's just a regular cheese cake, and then you can put raspberry, uh, topping on it Uh-huh. but inside the cheese cake, uh, recipe you put, um, lemon peel and orange peel Um. and it's just enough to taste it, you know, when, when, when you're eating the cheese cake, and it is wonderful, but it takes a long time, because you have to cook it for forty-five minutes, and then you turn the oven off, and you leave it in the oven for another forty-five minutes and then you open up the oven door and leave it in for another forty-five minutes and then you're supposed to, um, I think, chill it to room temperature Um. Oh, my goodness. Uh-huh. so sometimes I'll do that overnight, and then put the topping on the next day, but it's, it's very good. Well, I love cheese cake. I have never been, I don't know, the ones I have made I have not done that well with. Uh-huh. I like a baked cheese cake, you know, I don't, I have had a recipe that someone has given me that it's kind of like you just mix cream cheese and stuff and refrigerate it, you know Right. Yeah. but that's not the same as a, a New York style cheese cake. No it's not. And, uh, the recipes that I've used, everybody will say, Oh, this is real simple, and then I make it, and it's, it's really not very good Right. but yours sounds good. I bet that lemon and orange peel gives it a little bit of tartness. It does, and it, it, it is really good. Um. Well, that sounds interesting, so there's your good dessert for your dinner party. Right Are you into serving wines with your dinner party? Oh, sometimes, but I mean, I'm not a wine connoisseur by any means. Me, either. I wish I knew more about it. I've been to, you know, some wine tastings up in Napa Valley Uh-huh. but, um, you know, and I learned a little bit about them then, but you know what would be fun, they have some of those classes you can take Uh-huh. They would be, if you just had time to do it. yeah, and then there's places, um, do you live in Dallas Uh-huh. okay, there's places here that, um, offer, I think it's like once a month, you can go and, to a particular restaurant or whatever, and you can kind of take a cooking class Uh-huh. and then you get to eat everything afterwards, and then they also go into the wines, you know to serve with, you know, different types of of meals and that kind of thing, Well, how neat. Uh-huh. and it sounds like it's a lot of fun. We have some friends who've done that, and they've really enjoyed it. Um, well, I didn't even know they were offering that. I guess I, Yeah, this place is called like Medina's or Messina's Kitchen or something like that. Uh-huh. Oh, well, I bet that would be a fun thing to do. Yeah, it, it sounds like, like it, Jay, um, my kids are, are both in college, um, and I'd, I played a fairly active part in helping them decide where to go. On the other hand, they really decided themselves. Uh-huh. Um, what, what kind of experience did you have? Well, I, uh, one girl went in, in state and has graduated, and then, uh, that was, uh, you know, that was her choice pretty much where she wanted to go Uh-huh. and I have, uh, one, out of, two out of state, both in Missouri, and, um, I teach, uh, in a college, and so I they had heard me talk about it, and for years, that I didn't think it really made too much difference where they went for their undergraduate. Uh, so, that was pretty much, uh. Um. I see, well, I, may, maybe I'm wrong, but I think it makes a big difference in terms of finding a school that is sort of right for the child in terms of his or her happiness and, and, and the appropriate support environment and things like that. Oh, oh, if they, if they're content there, I mean as far as the education, as far as looking at the degree at the end, that, uh, it's very little difference is paid to it, where you get that bachelor's. Uh-huh. Uh, if it's a halfway decent school they should be happy naturally, Uh-huh. and if they can get, uh, um, two out of, let's see, my son got a full total scholarships Uh-huh. and so there's, uh, there's plenty of scholarships out there, and so people should be advised to look for those, and, um, Did, did you play a, a strong role in helping them pick schools or did you just sort of say listen to your guidance counselors Uh. and, Well, they, uh, I went, we went around, my son was a, graduated from a Jesuit high school Uh-huh. and so he, he was pretty much looking for a Jesuit university, and so there you know, Uh-huh. that was limited to five or six different places and, um, so he's in Saint Louis U, and I guess I played a role in that. I, I just sort of, uh, let them, um, you know, they'd all been, uh pretty efficient as far as studies Yeah. and, uh, so I didn't have that much to do, they just, uh they just knew they wanted to go to college, Yeah. and I, you know, helped them get there as far as traveling with them to look at different places. Yeah. Yeah. We did do that, and I would suggest a person always goes and looks at the school before they sign up. Yeah, I think that's a great idea, I mean, that, Some people don't do it, and then they get there and hate it, or whatever, so if it's possible. Right. It's, it seemed expensive at the time you're doing it, but, but the compared to the, the total decision it's nothing. Right. I think in the short run it is expensive. In the long run it's very, uh, reasonable if the person, Yeah. my daughter has been in, in Missouri for a second year, now she's coming home at the end of the semester Uh-huh. so, uh, you know, she's already twenty-one. She started late. So that's, you know, strictly up to her, and, uh, she'll finish down here, uh, uh, finish this year down here and then decide what she's going to do next year. Yeah. It'll save me a lot of money because I'm not going to have to pay out of state tuition Yeah. but again, that's her decision Right. so, uh, but I have so many students in my classes that have dropped out and come back, and they're much better students at twenty-five, twenty-six, may, twenty-eight. So, you know, I don't, I never have pushed them. I just say that education is important, you should do it, uh, but, uh, they have to do the work Yeah. so, uh. Yeah, well, back, back to this visiting thing, I mean, I found that my kids had no conception what college was really like and, and that the process of going around to a few schools with them really helped them understand Right. Yeah. and being able to go with them to at least some of them gave me a chance to explain things to them and to, uh, in reference to what we had seen. Oh, I think so. And also I'm opposed to the, to the size. They've just gotten so huge, and so my daughter first looked at a place that was forty thousand, see that's just too many. Good grief Ended up going to where I used to go, and that was twenty-five hundred when I went there, it's twenty-one thousand, now it's too big. Good grief. So, What is twenty-one thousand? Pardon? What school is that? It's Southwest Missouri State University Uh-huh. and, uh, it was twenty-five hundred when I went there forty years ago, and, uh, my son's in a school about seven thousand, and that's, that's not bad Uh-huh. I teach in a school about eight thousand, and that's, that's even a little large Yes. but it's much better than twenty-one thousand. But they do have to visit, and if, if the parent can point out all the different places to look for for scholarships, Uh-huh. and then, oh, those rating, uh, the magazines and all those things are doing the ratings now and everything, I don't think it hurts to look at them Yes. I don't put that much stock in them, but Uh-huh. probably fine just to compare. Helps to at least set up range of things to look at. Right. If they, you know, uh, they need to, Okay, who do you like? Okay, What kind do I like? I like just about any kind except country and western. Yeah, that's the same with me, same with me. It's, it's, course country and western even I've gotten a little bit used to because it's not like it used to be. Uh-huh. Like Clint Black, he's pretty good, and who's the other big guy? Well, in Oklahoma we say Garth Brooks Garth Brooks, yeah, that's, yeah, that's the other guy I was thinking of was Garth Brooks. Yeah, in fact I think both of them have performed here. And Kenny Rogers, he's kind of country western verge, you know on the verge of country western. Right. Of course, Garth Brooks lives about, uh, you know, his, his home town is about, uh, fifteen minutes away Oh, wonderful. so he is, he's a home boy Well, then, of course you like him. That's great. But, well, I have teen age children, and so, you know, I'm, hear the, the rock music, not the hard rock, but the, you know, Michael Bolton type stuff. Uh-huh. He's my personal favorite. My son is, uh, twenty-eight, so, but he, he's real unusual in that, uh, he likes a little bit of every kind. He likes jazz and, uh, blues and, and course the rock Oh, that's good. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I, I can't say he's real crazy about elevator music, as he calls it. No, no, I, I don't, I don't, actually, we don't listen to any elevator music at my house. But I've got teenagers, so. Well, my teenagers are all gone. I can listen to any music I want to Yeah, that's good, I, actually, when I'm home alone, which isn't too often, but, uh, our Public Radio Station has wonderful classical music. It's just very wonderful. Soothing, and, you know, uh, lot of symphonies and, I just, I love that, that's probably my all-time favorite. You know, uh, I, I teach Um. and we can have music in the classroom, but it, you know, it can't be the rock or anything like that Right. and I, I find that the classical music is very good for the kids too, it doesn't disturb them and yet it's, it's, it stimulates them, Right. Relax, and and, uh, Yeah. What do you teach, what grade? Well, it's ninth, nine through twelve Good for you. and, A certain subject? Well, it's, uh, business technology. Good for you. But, uh I was just sitting here while she was trying to find, a, a, another caller, uh, I was reading my, my husband and I are taking a computer class at our junior college oh, boy, Yeah, it's pretty good, it's just a real basic class, but we're learning a lot, and we have a home computer, so it's, it's very interesting. Uh, yeah, I'd learn it too. Uh, back to, I guess we'd better get back to music, though. Yeah, the subject of music I, uh, do you play any instruments? I play, I play piano, I took lessons for thirteen years, and right now my nine year old is taking piano, and I just got a whole mess of music, I, I play the, volunteer to play the piano at the children's Christmas program for the whole grade school, which is K through six five hundred kids. Ooh, you took on a, good job. I did it last year, and, and, um, I, I just sub at the school, I don't want to work full time, so I just sub at the school, and that's kind of my volunteer thing, so that, it, it's really neat, and my older daughter plays the saxophone, my next son plays the drums, and my third son just started baritone this year, and my little girl will start French horn next year, so. Oh, well, my son played the sax and drums, my daughter the piano, organ and French horn. Oh. So. French horn is absolutely wonderful instrument. It's just my favorite. Of course that's what I played, and so I'm pushing that on my daughter because I want to play in our city band, not the symphony, with just the city band once we get the, the French horn Oh, okay. and I get a little bit more time. Right now I'm busy chasing my kids. Yes, sounds like you've got a houseful. I do, I do, I love it, but we have a, a marvelous band instructor, and, and he's just, he's wonderful. We have, uh, couple of hundred kids in the band, our junior high band is just wonderful. Oh, that's a, He, lot, and their concert band, and then he has a jazz band that my older daughter was in, and my son will be in next year that's, I mean, they play college level music in junior high, he's that good of an instructor, and the kids just love him. Oh, that's wonderful, So it's really good. It is wonderful. I, I have totally, totally a tin ear Oh do you and I love music. I cannot carry a tune in a basket. I know what I like, but I Uh-huh. you know, and I love to listen to it, love to sing, and I, my kids, when I was little and, they were little and I was rocking them, singing to them. Uh-huh. Oh, I guess, uh, this is a, a topic near and dear to my heart, since I am a, am a healthy eater, Well, I, I try to be as well, Well, I'm not, uh, I, there really isn't any kind of particular food that I, I don't, don't like really, and I like a good Italian restaurant or a good, uh, uh, Uh-huh. especially like good prime rib Uh-huh. so if it's, uh, nice to get out and find a good restaurant like that, and I live here in, uh, Rome, New York, and there are a lot of good restaurants around here. Oh, you're in New York, I was going to, there's a place, if you ever make it to Dallas they have the best prime rib. Uh-huh. It's called Lawry's, like Lawry's seasoning salt Uh-huh. and it is absolutely wonderful. Really. And, uh, we were there a few months ago, and it, I mean, it's kind of pricey, well, from New York it probably doesn't matter, but Oh, no, I'm in upstate New York, and it's actually very inexpensive, I, there's a there's a place, um, half a mile from me here that, uh, has, uh, fantastic prime rib for, oh, eleven dollars for a whole meal, you know a potato and salad and soup, and the whole, whole nine yards, Oh, is it, okay. Wow. Uh-huh. so that, Yeah, well, I think the cheapest there probably starts at eighteen, and it includes, you know, salad and rolls and, oh, some other stuff, but it is absolutely wonderful. Right. It's the best I have ever had. Uh, I was going to this place up the street from me is the best I've ever had, so, I'll have to go there when I get to get to Dallas. Yeah Well, Yeah, well, we like, uh, lots of people down here like Mexican food Uh-huh, sure. so, um, that's, I, I think Italian and Mexican food are probably my favorites. Uh-huh. But, um, I'm not into sushi or any of that kind of stuff. No, no, I'm not into the, the, don't do the, the raw, raw fish like that, but I do like, uh, like a seafood bar, like a raw, raw bar like oysters and things like that, uh Uh-huh. that they, uh, I go on, I'm an officer in the Air Force and travel quite a bit on business Oh, okay. so I, uh, find myself down in Melbourne, Florida about once, once a month, once every two months or so and, uh, go and hit the, the oyster bars down there quite a bit Uh-huh. Oh, yeah but, I love that, fresh seafood down there, Yeah, and, um, and, uh, Maryland's great, you get the crabs Uh-huh. it's like, I can't go anywhere where I where I don't enjoy myself, Yeah so, Yeah, seafood seems to be a a little bit more expensive than, than other types of food. That's true. But it sure is good, and it's supposed to be good for you. Yeah, well, uh, it's really strange that, that, that seafood is so expensive, because when you, in reality, uh, uh, I, say that, uh, the oceans have the greatest resource of food on the planet, Right. and yet, we haven't, as human beings, haven't figured out a way to harvest it economically Right. so, we managed to, uh, figure out how to get at just about everything else, but, uh, but not, uh, not seafood. Uh-huh. Do you like spicy foods or, Yeah, yeah, I like, uh, I make a, a wicked chili and around here the big spicy thing is like, uh, buffalo wings Oh, uh-huh. and so, uh, it, people, they, you know, you go out to get the chicken wings and those are really hot and the hotter the better, Yeah. Yeah. Well, we, uh, we like spicy food down here, especially, uh, the hot sauce, Picante sauce, or salsa whatever you all call it Right. Sure. and, uh, we, we sure go through a lot of that Yeah. But I like it hot, but I don't like it real hot because then my nose starts running Uh-huh. My, generally my, my scalp will start, I can feel just the top of my scalp getting hot, the weirdest, weirdest sensation, almost like a tingling, but, uh, I don't know, but, uh, yeah, well, there isn't, isn't too much in the way of restaurants that I don't like. Yeah. Things that are kind of oddball, like, uh, Thai cuisine, I never been really fond of that stuff. You talk about spicy, that'll, that'll literally blow your head off, it's so hot. Uh-huh. And, uh, and I can handle just about any kind of food without, uh, um, well, but that, that stuff is, goes one notch beyond, uh, my tolerances, Uh-huh So. Although I guess on this topic are to talk about the, uh, service in a restaurant is always nice though, too Oh, yeah, that's one thing, and the price. And the price. Make you want to come back. What's that? Yeah, Well, I find that lately that so many people are working, you know, working waitressing jobs or waiter, Go ahead. Um, I haven't given this a, a lot of thought. I'm, uh, that, that's a whole, pleased with the practice that is they, I, uh, I don't, you would favor invasions of privacy on the other hand that's arguable but that, that, uh, people who's jobs are critical to public safety should have to meet special standards. Uh, I haven't given this matter enough thought. Do you work for T I? No, uh, Oh. I'm in the Washington area. I work for N I S T . Oh, okay. Oh, all right. Well, see we have the testing already here. We've had it for, oh, about five years. Uh-huh. It used to just be for new employees. And now it's for all employees. And now, They, uh, randomly select employee numbers and, uh, the day that they select you is when you have to go and, and be tested. Okay, and how do people feel about it? So, we're familiar with it. Oh, we have a lot of, um, people upset about it at the beginning. Some not all. But what was happening at T I is that they found certain parts of the company there was a lot of drug abuse. Um, mainly the areas where they were doing a lot of, um, manufacturing type things and what they ended up doing is, uh, kind of like doing a little bit of an undercover agent to watch what was happening, and we had people using on the premises and actually selling and dealing, you know, on the premises. Well, okay, that's, that's a very different issue. Well, yeah, it was, you know, combination of, of, uh, both activities and, uh, and using too so they developed this, uh, drug policy so that, uh, to eliminate, there's some parts of the company that we do, uh, government contracts, and I think some of those require the drug testing, but now T I thought well, we'll just do it for all employees that, um, not just because of safety issues but because we want a totally drug free safe environment for all people to work in and that we shouldn't have, um, people on drugs within our, you know, offices and such. And, I haven't personally ever been tested, but I don't have a problem with it. Um, does the testing cover alcohol as well as illegal drugs? No, but one thing that to, to me was, um, going on, stretching it a little too far was that they also check, um, if you are taking somebody else's prescription drug. You know, it happens a lot of times like some member of the family gets the flu or whatever and, you know then they give it to everybody else in the family and don't always go back to the, you know, doctor and get another prescription. Well , Well, according to what they do at T I, if you take a prescription drug it has to be in your name. It, you know, it can't be in your spouse's name so they will look, I mean, the testing will look for, I guess, any kind of drugs, and you have to tell them what they are taking a prescription for. So they ask you to declare beforehand what prescription drugs you are taking? Right. Yes, yes. When you get tested you are supposed to tell them, you know, everything that, that might be there. And then if they ever, um, question you or something you may have to show proof that you do have a prescription in your name. Okay. Well, it, I mean, it's, I guess that, in fact, they don't test for, for, they don't routinely test for very many prescription drugs but that I, but they don't say in advance , uh, so, Well, what they be testing for are the ones that would have like, you know, barbiturates or codeine things like that in them. The ones that would kind of constitute controlled substances or something anyway . Right, right. I guess that's what they wouldn't be looking for penicillin and antibiotics and stuff. They would be looking for the, yeah, controlled things, barbiturates amphetamines. So what they are asking you to tell them is all the prescription drugs you are taking which are controlled substances. Right, right. You pretty much, you know, put down what you remember even if it was just Contact or something like that. But afterwards, uh, maybe if you had a controlled substance Well, Is Contact a, you, you probably put down, you know, you had Drixoral or Contact if you would remember that you did it. Okay. Is Contact a, substance? No. I'm, just saying you probably put down on the sheet anything you have taken. Okay. Okay. But if they had a controlled substance, maybe they would ask you then to show that you had that prescription in your name. I know I had one contract employee through Manpower was not a T I person, but was a contract person, Uh-huh. and they test them too even if you are not a real, uh, T I If you are a contract employee here they test you too. Uh-huh. And he had taken some kind of, um, oh, you know, uh, just, he had some kind of flu or something. He got a real bad migraine and he took his mother's, All right. What is your favorite show? Well, I was just trying to think. When they called, I didn't have as much time to prepare for this as I did some of the others. Um, I love watching some of the, uh, new, new shows basically. Uh-huh. And we, uh, we subscribe to C N N and we took that, and we started watching a lot of those especially during the war or during anything kind of thing like the earthquake, and I have gotten stuck on a lot of this. The new shows and the stuff that comes on that, that it, you know, like the, uh, at night the discussion talk shows and things. Uh-huh. And we really haven't gotten a lot into the sitcoms that are current, uh, especially with the kids here because we have to kind of filter it before they get here. Sure. We have little ones. Uh, we do let them watch NINE ONE ONE, Uh-huh. and we think that's kind of informative to teach them, how to handle things in situations. It really is. Uh-huh. What do you watch? I watch just about anything, but not a lot of, T V. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I mean I'll watch, you know, maybe a little while when I first get home in the evening. Uh-huh. And I usually watch, you know, the news and then I'll watch that HARD COPY or or that kind of thing, you know, Uh-huh. That's the same thing we do. and I like the NINE ONE ONE, and UNSOLVED MYSTERIES. Uh-huh. Yeah, that kind, that's the kind I like really more than, the sitcoms. Uh-huh. I haven't gotten, into many of those. Now, I do, like, my husband is really crazy about EVENING SHADE that comes on, on Monday evening. I have heard that's real good. And I, uh, That's, Burt Reynolds, isn't it? Uh-huh. Yeah, I've heard that. And I've got to where every Monday I rush around so I could sit and watch that with him because it's really funny. Now someone told me that and also, uh, I meant to be trying to pick up on MURPHY BROWN, because they said that that was really good this season. Uh-huh. Well, his favorite night is Monday night so we've got to where we will sit, and watch it on Monday night, You've got to yeah, Uh-huh. because that and then that, uh, oh, I can't even think of the name of it. Like I say I'm not, DESIGNING WOMEN is on that night, too. Yeah, and the one with the, the sergeant that married the woman with the kids, Sergeant McGillis . Huh, I don't even know. Sergeant, uh, MAJOR DAD. Oh, okay. Now I, we've never even seen that. Yeah, that comes on right after, uh, the EVENING SHADE and then MURPHY BROWN, and DESIGNING WOMEN. Uh-huh. So we always, he watches that and I kind of I watch the first one then kind of sit in on the others, as I can. On the others. Well, you know, on Friday nights especially, we like to watch TWENTY TWENTY. Uh-huh. Or, um, Uh-huh. It's kind of a competition on Thursdays between PRIME TIME and KNOTS LANDING. Yeah. But, uh, we used to like KNOTS LANDING a lot. Oh, excuse me just a minute to someone in the The money is right there on the thing and the coupon. Well, you can't hardly watch KNOTS LANDING with the little kids around though. Oh, I know. That's the thing. And so, we, Except they, probably are in bed, by nine. Uh-huh. Well, they are. In fact, on weeknights they are in bed by eight, but we have just gotten any more that where we just keep it off. Did you get your pizza taken care of? Yeah, he has gone to get it. Thank you Um, but I was to say on Saturdays there is absolutely nothing and that's the day my husband, wants to . Well, do you know, I have picked up a show lately on Saturday night that I've really liked and that's SISTERS. Have you watched that? No, but I saw that advertised today and it sounds like it's not fluff. It sounds like it's good. It's really, you know, it's really pretty good. Uh-huh. I mean, it's kind of like, you know, um, soap opera I guess. Yeah, that's what they said it was kind of, a little more drama to it. But it's a, So far it, I've watched it about three times now and it's really held my attention. It's been pretty good. Some, pretty good acting. Well, and and another one now that it's getting darker and you are wanting to cocoon more, that they said is excellent is the I'LL FLY AWAY and BROOKLYN BRIDGE. Some of these, that are nostalgic. Now I watched, BROOKLYN BRIDGE this week for the first time, Did you, like it? but I haven't, I did. I liked it. Did you? Well, they said that one and I'LL FLY AWAY are really quality, you know and, Now I haven't seen I'LL FLY AWAY yet. I haven't seen it either. I think what I need to do is kind of read to see what is on these days because by the time we get the kids in bed at eight o'clock and then I get my bath it's, you know, it's almost too late to start, something new. Uh-huh. It's nearly, too late for T V. Yeah. That's the way I am. I get in, from work Yeah. and I'm tired and I sit and watch for a few minutes so I have to get up and do dinner, and everything. Uh-huh. Yeah, and then we've gotten to where we rent videos for weekend nights. Uh-huh. So, it's like, we are kind of, tuned out of our T V. Yeah. That's us. If we are home on the weekend, we always watch videos, so. Yeah, well, we do too. But there are some good shows on. I, I really probably should watch more of them than I do. Yeah. But I like, I don't know I, I'm always in to making things and, And I don't just spend all my time, I don't know, yeah. There's a lot more to do with, with your time when you get into it. and I, my husband, now he sits and watches T V constantly. Uh-huh. Well, my, my sister and them and her husband do on weekends. They don't have children yet, and they just turn it on when they walk in, they turn it off when they leave. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So they are used to that too. I could be around here for hours by myself and never have it on. Yeah, I understand. Same here. But, uh, but there are some really good new shows that I have enjoyed, and I'll have to watch that I'LL FLY AWAY this week. Yeah, it's real good. And then of course, in the afternoons if I get in from work in time I watch OPRAH, some of those, you know, talk shows. Yeah. I like her. I never get in in time for any of those. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's, it's nice talking to you. I guess we've kind of exhausted this one, but it's nice talking with you. Well, it's nice talking with you. Thank you. Bye. Bye-bye. Uh, I guess it's, uh, watching the the T V today there had a lot of stuff on, on, uh, crime. In our state right now, uh, recently they've had a lot of, uh, uh, the rapists, uh, murder type, uh, killers going around and well, I, I, Oh, gracious. they've caught them and they, they're in there. Uh-huh. Wasn't it your state that had the, uh, guy that committed all those murders? There was that, uh, Well, yeah, Wisconsin, uh, and Milwaukee area, you know. Yeah. Yeah, that was really on the national news a lot. We heard a lot about that in Texas. Yeah. So that's, well, I, I live right on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin so I kind of get both, both news and, I know, in Minnesota, uh, they had, uh, the one that just, uh, got out and went after a, uh, college student and raped, and killed her Oh. and they are not too happy about that now, I guess, so. Well, I can imagine. There . It seems like the violent crimes are increasing a lot to me. I, I don't know. I don't know if statistically they are but it seems like you sure hear a, maybe you just hear a lot more about them on the news I don't know. Yeah, uh, that's hard to say for sure. I, uh, sometimes I wonder if these people aren't don't it just for the publicity and, They, they get their names in the, in the paper You wonder about that sometimes. and they become big celebrities. But, Uh-huh. That's kind of scary. I, I wish there was some way that we could change the news media so they didn't feature these way out stories. Maybe it wouldn't give other people ideas. Well, uh, I know one I, I think Texas has the death penalty, right? Yes, we do. Yeah. Do you have it up there? No, no. I see. See I, I Do you think that's a deterrent? Yeah, well, it's, it's, it's not going to prevent any people from doing it but, the person that's caught, he'll never do it again if he gets the death penalty. Yeah. And that's, and there are a lot of repeaters. Uh, Uh-huh. I guess that's another thing that to me is a, a real problem, and I know we have got so many people in our prison system now, at least here in Texas Yeah. I mean, they are really in a crisis. There has been times they have had to just close off the prisons and leave them in county jails or whatever because there just wasn't enough room for all of them. Yeah. And a lot of them they put out on parole and then some of the ones that they put out early, you know, do repeat offenses and, the crime rate is the worst than ever before. Huh. Yeah. Well, some, I'm just wondering a lot of times they will put, uh, people, lesser crimes in, uh, with, uh, people that did more severe crimes than they, maybe they just tend to learn from these people and they, and when they get back out, they just go into worse crimes. I think that could be true too. Maybe they should try and separate them a little bit more. Uh, I think the whole parole thing, you know, if somebody is convicted of second-degree murder or something gets fifteen years, well, they are out in six or seven. You know, outbound on the streets again Yeah. And to me that's really scary. Some of these crimes that they commit, you know, seems like the punishment is not really equal to the crime. Uh-huh. Well, uh, I don't know with, with my limited, uh, psychology background I do have, I don't, I don't even feel that prisons and stuff are, are the answer. If you want to stop the crime, I think you've got to get, uh, the people when they are kids. Oh, yeah. A lot of this probably just starts with, from the, from the homes. Also from the, the, the media, the T V the, uh, Uh-huh. all these, uh, gory movies on there becomes, uh, just a natural fact of life. Uh-huh. They think it's okay thing to do. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a very good point. You know, I, there's a lot more working mothers, a lot more kids in day care centers all that kind of thing. Morality is being taught more by the schools a lot of times than in the home anymore. And, Uh-huh. Well, a lot of the European countries, uh, they tend to sensor, well, they probably won't sensor so much the sexual stuff as much as the violent. Uh-huh. And they have a lot less crime. Huh. Some of, some of those European countries are, are, you can leave your, your, uh, doors open and, and, and be safe. Uh, even, uh, I think New Zealand is one of, one of the places, uh, that, Well, Sid, have you established what kind of requirements you are looking for, for your next vehicle? Well, I don't know if I really have a, a lot of, uh, requirements. Uh, I guess I look at, uh, getting the best deal. Uh, that's my main objectives normally. Whoever is willing to deal and, and give me a good price. Okay. Well, I, I tend to be more methodical I guess. Uh, I determine first of all what I'm going to use the vehicle for, whether it's going to be primarily as a family mover or as a, a personal mover. Uh, where it's going to be driven, you know, what types of, uh, driving I'm going to be doing on it, primarily highway or, or local mileage more often. And, uh, hanging in the back of my mind is always the knowledge that I tend to drive cars for about ten years and a hundred fifty to two hundred thousand miles. Uh-huh. So I'm, I'm real picky. if you are going to keep something that long, you know, you better get something that you wanted to begin with and that you are going to like for a long time. Yeah. I don't know I've had pretty good luck, you know, even if, if you take any car and, and you care for it well enough, uh, you are going to get some good life out of it. Uh, my, my Oldsmobile right now that I have, uh, is getting near eighty thousand and it's still in pretty good shape. Uh, there was a flaw in there where a, where a head gasket bolt broke, and it cost me some bucks to, to fix that but that was, you know, something that was unforeseen. But I still think I I'm going to get probably a hundred fifty thousand or more out of it. Sure. Well, it sounds like you tend to drive your cars quite a ways also then. Well, I, I drive like the song says, THE LITTLE OLD LADY but, uh, but not FROM PASADENA But, uh, yeah, I, I baby them as much as I possibly can. Uh, it's a pretty big expense nowadays. Uh, and I guess I like to take care of it, uh, so I don't have to buy one too often. That's true. Uh, do you have more than, than one vehicle in your fleet? Uh, do you have a family fleet or, Yeah, I, I, I got an old, uh, seventy-six, uh, Grand Fury that, uh, doesn't want to die on me so I, I just keep running the thing. Don't want to sell it or get rid of it until it quits, but it just doesn't seem to want to. I'll probably have, uh, three, four hundred thousand before it wants to die. Well, that may be. They, Chrysler made some really good old engines back then like the, the three eighteen was particularly an exceptionally good engine. Oh. I've got the big three sixty in there, gas guzzler but it runs good. Yeah. At the moment I've got, uh, Cadillac Cimarron which is approaching its tenth year of age and a, uh, reasonably new Plymouth Voyager. It's only a, a couple of years old. But that's the second one of, of those that we've had, and that's the, the family travel vehicle. You know, not only does it do all the, the, uh, carpooling around during the week, but it's also the vacation vehicle that we all drive in. I think that what I'm getting ready to get next is probably a Suburban unless they drastically change the, the vehicle a lot. Uh, I'm just getting tired of when I do get hung up in traffic, not being able to determine what the problem is and, and come to some resolution of whether it's better to sit in the traffic light and wait or get off at the next exit and that kind of stuff. Just because I can't see, you know, Yeah. I'm to, my Cimarron is just so small and so low to the ground that I can't see past any vehicle that's in front of me. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm considering probably some kind of a pickup truck myself for the next vehicle. Uh, I just have so many hauling projects a lot of times and, uh, I, I'd like to just start doing some, uh, carpentry, uh, type work around. I just feel that, So, so what have you seen lately that, um, you think is worthwhile? Um, the last movie I saw was REGARDING HENRY. Have you seen that yet? No, I, I saw the previews. It's really good. I loved it. Um, it's, um. Does, does he, does it have a happy ending, or. Yeah, really good ending Uh-huh. um, uh, it was the, it's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I generally don't get into movies that much, but I saw that one, and then before that one, I saw, um, oh, NAKED GUN TWO AND A HALF. Oh, that was funny, wasn't it Yeah, did you, have you seen that one? Yes, and, and, and, and the regular NAKED GUN and AIRPORT and, you know. Yeah, it's exactly like AIRPLANE wasn't it Yes. But it was silly. Right. So, now these are for two very different movies. One, one, uh, absolutely slapstick comedy and one clearly, you know, serious subject. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I, I guess I have similarly broad tastes. Um, my most recent, um, movie that I, that I liked a lot, not my most recent movie, was HENRY THE FIFTH. I only rented it, you know, maybe a month ago Uh-huh. and it's been out for a couple of years, but. Have you seen that? I haven't seen that yet. Well, it's, it's a, it's an adaptation of the, of the Shakespeare play, and it's beautifully done. Um, I believe that all the language is as Shakespeare wrote it, except it's been shortened a little bit and there might be a word or two changed. Right. Uh, but it's, it's, it's a glorious movie Um. Such as um, and I like, as you know, these, these, these silly movies, and I also like just some strange movies. Do you have any. Well, the, the one that comes immediately to mind, I, um, is the THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, HER LOVER. Um, but there are also these various, um, David Lynch movies. Uh-huh. Um, I got, I got hooked on TWIN PEAKS. That made me go out and watch every David Lynch movie I could lay my hands on. Oh, really. I haven't seen any of those. Oh. Um well, I don't, I don't especially recommend, They're really good? I mean, you have, you have to just sort of like this thing, you have to like, did you see TWIN PEAKS? Huh-uh, no. No, so, okay. So, if you weren't, if you weren't drawn to watch that, you, maybe you wouldn't be drawn to these movies, either. Uh-huh. They're, they're just strange. Are they, I mean, is it, like mystery, or suspense Well, uh. I think suspense is the right word. or, Uh, and, but, but, a little bit strange and esoteric and, uh, in the case of TWIN PEAK a little, there's some elements of the supernatural in it, too. Oh really. That was the television show. Um. Um, there's also a, a a producer of movies in Baltimore called, um, John Walters, who, who puts, puts on even weirder movies. Uh, his most recent ones have actually been fairly mainstream, like HAIR SPRAY. Um, but back in his early days, he, he, he had things, um, um, what, what are the titles, I can't remember the titles any more. But, some really weird ones, uh, with quite a random crew of, of characters. Um, it would have made, you know, these Fellini movies look normal. Right. So do you like, um, movies a lot? See I don't do, I don't. I do, I do like movies a lot. Right. See, I don't do that, I don't go to movies that often, but, just recently I've been to a couple Do, do you rent them, or. Um, no, we, I just go to like the dollar movie theater around here generally, Yes. but, I don't know, I just, I usually fall asleep or I get bored pretty easily so. Yeah, that's what my wife does too, um, I mean, she falls asleep Uh-huh. So we have to, we have to pick just the right kind of movie to, to, to, to appeal. Yeah. Right, that's exactly right. Well, well it was good talking to you. Yeah, it's good to talk to you, too. Take care. Uh-huh. Okay, bye. Bye-bye. Okay, did they tell you our topic? Uh, no, somebody else answered the phone and put my number in. Okay, it's, uh, Uh, what is the topic? The topic is cars. What kind of car will you buy next and what kind of decision you'd, do you think about getting, you know, pick that car out and, uh, and why. Okay. Uh, my next car to buy probably would be a Cadillac. Okay. I've had, uh, well, I'm on my third one. And I'm not real sure that I'd be in the market for a car for quite a while. Yeah, I'm the same way. I was, uh, I had two Cadillacs. I went to my first Lincoln this last time. I travel and, uh, my grandfather worked for Ford Motor Company so he always said why don't you drive a Ford, or why don't you try a Lincoln Uh-huh. so I finally tried one after fifty years My, and, uh, I've had, I guess, I guess four Cadillacs and, and one Suburban in my last five cars, but I bought a Lincoln and I like it. My dad has been a, a, uh, Lincoln man for a lot of years, but I've always been a G M man. I'm in the auto parts business myself. Oh, are you? And, uh, the last Cadillac I bought was an Allante. Uh-huh. And I just love it to death. I'm not sure I'd ever get rid of it. Well, I'm a, I'm a traveling salesman. I travel on the road so I like a little heavier car but, I used to do that quite a bit myself. So that's why I choose, you know, to drive a heavier car and more luxury car. Yeah. But, I tell you what, I will probably get a Cadillac the next time quite honestly. Really? Yeah, because I like the Lincoln but, there's just something about that Cadillac that, whether it's a G M C product or whatever. Seems they handle better. They seem to put, They seem to be put together a little bit better. I think so, too. And, you know, the buttons on the controls and things like that are a little easier to get to than Ford products and I think that's one of the things that makes me shy away from, uh, imports is they put so much, you know, gadgetry on the dash and, and the, the buttons are so small to push Yeah, they really do. and G M doesn't seem to do that. I kind of like that feature, so. You know, I'm a funny duck that came, it comes to the simple things like front end alignments Uh-huh. I have never had to have a front end alignment on a Cadillac. I don't know why, why whether I just seem to drive them better or what, Uh-huh. but, I've never had to have a front end alignment on a Cadillac. They always appear to hold well. I've, uh, I had an Eldorado, was my first one, was an eighty Uh-huh. and, uh, I think at about sixty thousand miles I finally had it lined up. Did you. And I had them do all four wheels. And the only thing I miss about a Cadillac is, a Fleetwood Brougham was my last car and I traded it in, traded it in on my Lincoln and they're just not as large as before. I do miss that. That's true, yeah. But, what is big today. Well, you're right. You know. Lincoln is still as big as it always has been but, Yeah, it's big, but the trunk space for me, uh, what I usually do is I usually take the back seat out of my car and that's where I put my samples because trunks just aren't big enough. You know a car I ran across recently that has a tremendously large trunk is the Lincoln Continental. Yeah, now, I have the Town Car and it's, it's a deep trunk, but not as broad as the, uh, the Cadillac. Well, the Town Car, I noticed, uh, or with the, with the Continental, uh, I was, rented one, one time uh, we could, uh, put golf clubs in them. Uh-huh. Oh, good. You know, straight across. I mean, They went all the way down? Front to back. Well, that's good. Not going from side to side. That's good. And we got three full sets in there and still had room for luggage. Yeah, I sell sporting goods, uh, hunting related items, I sell guns, gun cases and things like that I see. Yeah. and I need to, you know, that's about the same size as a golf club. Uh-huh. They need to, samples need to stretch out and gun cases and things like that and, I don't know if you've ever looked at a Continental. Nope. Uh, it's not as peppy as a, as a Town Car Right. because it's a V Six, but it, uh, I I drove it from here to Memphis and I really enjoyed driving that car. If I was going to buy a Ford product, that's what I would buy. Yeah. I drove mine a couple weeks ago to our, one of our big national sales meetings in Nashville. I usually fly. I drove it with another one of my guy that worked for me. We drove it ten hours to Nashville, and it, it handled real well, but, my main thing is space, so if a Continental, I might consider it the next time, a Continental has more trunk space. You might take a look at them. They, they had a, a lot more trunk space. As a matter of fact, they had more trunk space than my, uh, Sedan De Ville had. You always have leather interiors on your Cadillacs? Uh, all three of mine have had leather interiors, yeah. Yeah, I like leather interiors also. Uh, I had a eighty Eldorado, which was leather and, uh, then my eighty-six was a touring sedan. Uh-huh. And, uh, it had the gray leather package in it and my Allante has, uh I guess saddle, saddle colored type thing. That's a nice car. You bet, and I'll, I will say one thing about Cadillacs versus, Uh, so my favorite team is about the Rangers. Is it? I'd have to agree with that. They are my favorite team, too. Yeah. A little disappointing the last few years. I'm telling you. You think they'll sign Ruben? You know I really don't. No? I just don't think, you know, with that guy from Pittsburgh getting all that money, twenty-seven or twenty-nine million or whatever it was, I just don't think that they're going to be able to sign Ruben Sierra and it's just going to be a shame for, you know, our area. Right. Yeah, I think it's going to have a big effect if they don't on the other, uh, Hispanic players. Oh, I do, too. I just, I think that's going to be the big problem. The main thing, It's just going to effect on the, the team, you know. Right. We just can't seem to, you know, I think we've been in this spot, I think we finished second once or maybe even twice. I don't know, I I'm, I haven't been to a baseball game in a couple of years. Yeah. It's just, it's just too disappointing. I just watch them fall every year. Right. I was a Pete Incaviglia fan and, uh I liked him, Oh. but, of course, I understand baseball decisions are all just, decisions like that have to be made by someone Glad it's not me making them. Right I think they just want to stay mediocre and draw their two million fans out there and then be happy with it and not have to pay the bucks to get a contender in here. But, They say as long as they draw up two million fans that Greave and Valentine will be there. Right. Right, yeah. So, and that's the name of the game, too. You got to make money. You know, pay these players so much money, Right. now, it's just it's frightening. Right. You and I should be so lucky to, you know, to go out and swing a bat and get two thousand dollars every time you swing the bat or something like that. That's true. But, uh, they were talking about trading him, if they're not able to sign him and, uh, use the money that it would take to sign the guy, you know, to pay for pitchers or, you know, what it, what it, what they, what else they need. Because they've got the hitting, but they need the pitching. Yeah, they really do. Um. I think they, uh, I think they need them all. I just don't I understand the big cities, like in New York or L A or somewhere because big cities and, you know, a guy, a pro athlete can go out there in the afternoon and probably make five thousand dollars just by doing a personal appearance at a at a men's clothing store, or something, or sporting goods store, Oh, I know. but, I realize the difference, but, I just don't understand, Yeah, it's sure aggravating when you go out and bust your butt working, you know, your day job and you can work your day job the rest of your life and not bring home as much money as they bring home in one game. Oh, I know. I tell you. It's real aggravating, but, But, one thing I don't understand is why a group, you know, headed up by George Bush would buy the Texas Rangers and not really get behind them because I tell you, we need a winner in this town. It looks like our Cowboys are coming back but, So that's, that's going to be a big help to Dallas, That's right. but, you know, in the past half a dozen years, all we've had is the, uh the soccer team. It's always got, Yeah, it's always, it's always wondered me why, I mean, they act as though this area is not, you know, a big metropolitan area, but you think we'd, someday get an owner in here that could afford to buy the, the, the players we need. Oh, I know. It's, Just real aggravating to because I've lived here, you know, since, well, I was born and raised here, so I've been a Ranger fan since about seventy-seven, so it's a lot of losers Oh, I know. It's about to get, you know as bad as the Cubs or whoever, you know. I've been one, Yeah, I've been, I've lived here since seventy-four and I've really been a Ranger fan for the longest time and excuse me, I don't miss a time picking up the morning paper and checking the box score. Right. I mean I follow them and I follow them like I follow the Mavericks and like I follow the Cowboys, but, and I want to see them win, because you know, damn it, they, the fans deserve it. I mean, it, You know, we have pretty, uh, great fans, put two million people in that stadium. Right. I'm telling you. I love Nolan Ryan. I guess you probably love him, too. Right, I think this town would go crazy if they ever got a, even a playoff team. Oh, I do, too. I mean, It would be packed. And they got that new stadium they are building. So, at least, at least that will be exciting when we get that, It will. but, Well, where do you think they are heading this year? Uh, it's hard to say. It's going to be depending on where the, what they do with Ruben Sierra and, uh, I mean, I'm getting tired of them going into each year saying, you know, Bobby Witt is the answer and Kevin Brown is the answer, Right and, man, that's getting old, you know. These guys have been pampered. I mean, it's time to, to either, you know, put out or shut up. Yeah, Bobby Witt gets forced into wins like seventeen games or whatever And, and they have the later ten game winning streak Right. and they give him all kinds of money and then he just goes right down the tubes. And Valentine and Greave, they're about to get, you know, they're about to get old. But I like this Sandy Johnson. Hello. Yes, I forgot we had to hit one Our time will be up. Well, I hit one and nothing happened. What's going on? Well, just go ahead and talk, that's all. Are you sure? Yeah. Don't they usually tell you to say something? I don't think so. Oh. Uh-huh. Okay, we're supposed to talk about lawn and garden. Yes, I'm, I'm supposed to find out what you do for your lawn and garden. What do I do? Uh-huh. Well, I, uh, I cut it occasionally. Good. Uh-huh, you're ahead of me. Is, uh, is that good? Okay. That's better. And I edge it occasionally. Oh, that's really good. Yeah, see, am I good, or what? Yeah. And, uh, Uh, much beyond that I don't do I don't do any of that. Really, well, I call my lawn man, Eric, whatever his name is, I can't remember. Who's going to come and build me a fence, too. Uh-huh. Oh, he is going to build you a fence. Well, he's giving me an estimate. Uh-huh. And for ten dollars a week, I don't see any reason for me to be doing it. What, for a fence? Oh, well, I thought, isn't he the same one? he is. Yeah. Yeah, but ten dollars, or what what does he charge, not even that. What does he charge me? Well, my, I don't know. It's like next to nothing. it's ten because I, it's forty a month. Yeah. But if there's five weeks, I still pay forty. Yeah, but you know, you ought to get him to pull the weeds. Well, he won't pull weeds. He says he'll spray them, but he won't pull them. Oh. Uh, he won't cut them is what he won't do. Because he said with the rocks that it's too dangerous for him to take the, the trimmer over the rocks Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. and he's right. Yeah. That's true. But he just says to keep spraying them so, Well so, Anyway, Gene sprayed them once or twice for me so that was real, Yeah, so you haven't, you haven't pulled any weeds lately? No. No. There are two out front I thought I'd grab one of these days, but I haven't bothered as I walk on by. Yeah. I started to pull the weeds in the rocks out front Uh-huh. and all of a sudden I came cross this big clump of weeds and there was dog dirt in it Oh, oh, goody. and I threw the gloves in the trash bag that was out there and I left the whole thing and that was about a month ago. I thought you were going to say there I thought you were going to say there was a snake in the weeds I would rather a snake, no Oh, God, oh I just left the whole thing. The bag is still out there because I haven't touched it. Yeah. I haven't gone back over there. It really made me mad. Oh, God. So anyway but, But, uh, how are your, your flowers, your little things you planted? Did they die or what? Oh, yeah, now they died. Oh, they're all, so they, oh, are they going to come back in the spring? I don't know. Oh. I don't know, and then I got some nice, uh, mums at Thanksgiving that I put in the pots out there Uh-huh. and I thought they were supposed to live through all the cold weather. Yeah. They looked real pretty until about a week before Christmas, then they started to die, too. Oh. So, I don't think any of it comes back but I don't know, Yeah. maybe these, sometimes things do that aren't even supposed to. I don't know, uh, So, Those flowers, remember those little ones you gave me? Yeah. Yeah, well, they're, I know they were still blooming up until about a, a few weeks ago. Really? Yeah. Well, that's good. They're the best kind. Yeah they, They're really pretty. They, they're like indestructible. They really grow nice and sometimes, they're not supposed to come back, but lots of times they do. Uh-huh. So, Yeah We'll see. They're letting us have a lot of time on this aren't they? Yeah, I mean isn't it supposed to be five minutes? But that's because we didn't hit one for a long time. We didn't disconnect, did we I hope not Neither one of us is getting paid for this. Boy, I hate to think I hate to think I'd be talking to you without getting paid Yeah, really, I know it. I can't believe this. I got somebody from Utah and somebody, What? Uh-huh. where was the person last night was from far away. You're kidding? Really? And we get each other down the street. This is so funny. Well, the, uh, I, I talked to someone woman from Oklahoma City and some woman from Dallas and that was it. Yeah, I've had Dallas, Arlington. I've had, uh, one Plano and then a lady from Brigham, Utah whose son lives in Plano on Ranier someplace. And then, uh, another state, Uh-huh. Wow. Really? I can't remember, but she told me about the Utah Jazz, we talked about basketball. Oh, really And I don't remember what, what the place was last night, but I'm thinking Colorado, Yeah. but I'm not sure I'd know the place, anyway. Uh-huh. So, I don't know, But mostly they're from the area. Yeah. It, Well, there isn't really much to talk about as far as lawn and garden goes. Not for me. Not for me either. You know, not not for me because all I have is rocks and weeds. What do I, Yeah, but I don't, you know, I, what do I do, cut it one, you know, and, and edge it and that's about it. I know. What do I do with it? I know, we're not typical Texans. No. What's going on, are they going to tell us to stop or what I don't know, I hope so. Come on, come on. Isn't it five minutes? I don't know. I, I mean, I'm all talked out about gardens. I know. Well, we can talk about something else. It's just a suggested topic. Oh, oh, it's just suggested? So, how's the baby, do you think What? How's the, We could talk, Let's talk about the baby. Let's talk about the baby. Do you want to tell me about your budgeting plan? Yeah, our budgeting plan includes me getting a job We're, we're at the point now, I I quit working about six months ago to start this house Uh-huh. and I'm out of cash and I'm not out of project yet. Oh, no. So, uh, I'm going to go back and do some consulting work. As far as budget's concerned, I'm, I'm fairly fortunate. Uh, we've, we're right now where if we don't buy anything extra, we can make it on what my wife makes. So, you know, the project's kind of halted until then. But as far as budgeting is concerned, you know, we have, uh, some pretty strict guidelines that we go for, you know, we always put ten percent back, and that's a never touch. Uh, into savings. Yeah. Oh. Either savings or investment, one of the two, but we don't ever put it in a high risk. It's just always going to be there. Well, that's pretty good. And as far as the rest of it's concerned, we don't have any kind of, uh, what I would call extravagant expenses, you know, we, uh, we pretty much live on about eight, nine hundred a month, you know, just travel to and from work and clothing and food Boy, that's pretty good. and the rest of it, you know, we pile into the house. And, uh, you know, I'm fairly fortunate. I mean, our credit cards are out to the max right now because I'm a little behind on that, Sure. but, uh, we're still making the payments on them. It's just, when you, see in Texas you cannot borrow the money to build your own home and do it yourself. Yeah, it's, it's tough here too. You have to have the contractor sign with you. Right, exactly. But it's easy to find a contractor for a couple of hundred bucks who'll sign it and let you do it Yeah. , where I live, that is. And where I live, it, it's pretty scary, because Texas is one of those strange states where if you have a contractor sign on your note like that and you screw up, you don't get it finished, Uh-huh. the bank can eat the contractor. Oh, bad for him, huh. Yeah, bad for him. But, the homeowner can't be touched. Um. It's a homestead state. Is that right? Yeah, see right now if I quit paying any of my bills, the only thing they could do is cut off electricity. They can't take your land unless you don't pay your land taxes. Period. Wow. You know. They can take your car and your clothes and your, anything that's not the tools of your trade, but as far as, uh, you know you're pretty much bullet proof in this state. Well, that's kind of handy. Yeah. I just finished James Michener's TEXAS book. Uh-huh. Pretty interesting. Uh-huh. Texas has quite the history. Well, you know, we're, we're not ones to budget much, you know We just going to spend it all. That's kind of what we do. We, uh, we're L D S and so we pay ten percent tithing Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then, you know, we put I guess it's like fifteen to twenty percent into a savings account. Uh-huh. But that sometimes we use for emergency type things. Yeah. But, uh, and my wife doesn't work. We're fortunate that way, that I make enough to do what we want to do. Yeah, yeah, we're pretty, pretty fortunate as far as the, uh, the budgeting is concerned, because, you know, we don't have any long term debt. You know, uh, we paid cash for car. Well, we bought the car on time, one of them, but we, you know, we since paid it off. Well that's pretty. The land is paid for cash, so we don't have to worry about that. That's a great position to be in. Well, it's fraught with other problems Is that right? Yeah, I'm not very motivated Oh What kind of consulting do you do? Uh, systems consulting. Computerization for construction firms. Is that right? Yeah. I'm into computers, too. I I'm a E D P auditor. Right. Oh. And. You into mainframes? and P C s. oh really? Yeah. I'm just brushing up on, well, C plus plus. Are you really? Uh-huh. And, I just got that a few days ago. Three oh? Oh, gees, don't get me to lying. I bought it at a fire sale. Oh. This guy's place burned down, and he had a bunch of computer stuff, and, you know, I bought it all. It was two hundred bucks for everything he had. You got a buy. Well, some of it wasn't worth anything, you know. Sure. You know, a lot of the, uh, diskettes were just totally unusable. Melted, or Just wet or, Well, yeah , or wet Okay. But I did get out of there with, uh, Vermont Views, which is a huge, Okay, Cindy, you there? Yeah. Okay, what kind of dinner parties have you had? Well, I've had them, uh, where I've served up to twelve to sixteen people. Uh-huh. Uh, and I had help with them. Uh, and part of them I did were like a buffet Uh-huh. and, uh, it, I had, uh, just different, uh, side dishes and appetizers and one of them that, that I'd remembered was, uh, some, uh, sausage hors d'oeuvres and, uh, anyhow, uh, you take, uh, a couple of, uh, cups of Bisquick and, uh, sausage, oh, like a, a Owens mild, Uh-huh. you can, I guess you could use the hot if you wanted to. Whatever you like, huh? Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, you put that in and then you get some real sharp cheddar cheese and put that in and a little bit of milk and make it all doughy Uh-huh. and then, like, I just put them in little balls and bake them for about fifteen minutes Um. and they are so good. Oh, that sounds delicious. Yeah. Yeah. It's making me hungry for them right now. Yeah. You know, I've made like little Swedish meatballs, but they're just made out of the beef, you know. And, uh, with spices and things in them. But never anything mixed with Bisquick. Have you? Yeah. Uh-huh. I, I've used that quite a bit and it, and it seems to work real well. Uh-huh. Uh, Um. And, uh, uh, when I've had so many people, uh, to feed, like I try to do a ham and a turkey and and, Yeah, that's my, that's my parties mostly is at Christmas time and Thanksgiving time. Yeah. You know, I've, uh, I had an open house party here once when, after we moved in here, uh, which I had things like that, but I always cooked them ahead of time and then I just sliced them. You know, and had macaroni salad with, uh, shrimp in it. Uh-huh. Have you ever had that? No. What, Put some fresh, little fresh shrimp and it's, in your macaroni salad that you make. Uh-huh. The shrimp just gives it a really good flavor. Oh, I'll bet. Yeah, I don't like the can, but the fresh. Yeah. You know. I'll have to try that. Yeah, that was really good. I like things that are easy and, and, uh, nutritious. Yeah, right, right. But, uh, at, uh, Christmas time we just have a regular sit down dinner, you know. Which is kind of hard because you got so many people Uh-huh. and then by time you pass everything around, it seems like everything on your plate's cold. I know. I know So, Well, But anyhow, I, Thank God for microwaves, you know. Yeah, you can, always take your plate and just heat it up, you know. Yeah. But, uh, other than that, I, I don't have too many parties. Uh, you know, I have, like, maybe just a another couple over for dinner. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh, other than, than, than that I don't have, you know a whole bunch of people like except, except at Christmas Yeah. and I have my family. Right, well I don't anymore. it's been a few years and, and, uh, I don't have, you know, over a couple either and and, uh, I try to, uh, have everything all ready Uh-huh. and, and it, it just makes it a lot nicer where a don't spend all my time in the kitchen. Yeah, right. And, uh, Spaghetti Right. and, Yeah, that's easy. I always like to have that, too. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody seems to like that, too. I know, I don't think I've ever met anyone that didn't. No, everybody likes that. Yeah. And, then, uh, if you have a nice big roast that you can throw in the oven, then you can put your potatoes and carrots or whatever else all in there, you know. Especially if a pork roast. Oh, yeah. That's what I love, with my I like it, too. I do, too. And, uh, other than that, in fact, I'm just thinking of what next weekend when the Super Bowl's on Uh-huh. I've asked a couple people to come over and I just, uh, had been thinking what to have for that Yeah. Well, have you had any good ideas yet? No not yet Oh, okay. No, and I, you know, I don't want to have to come away from the T V. I want something that I can just take them and serve them while they're sitting in front of the T V. Yeah. You know, so, I'll think of something, just that we can munch on over there, you know. Yeah. And they can just fill their plate up at intermission and then go back over there and sit down. And that's the way to do it, too. Yeah, yeah. I think it's, you know what's I think is so nice is that in this day and time that we can have good food that's good for you and you don't have to spend hours and hours and hours in the kitchen. Yeah. And, And it makes an awful lot of difference, doesn't it? Preparing it, right. Oh, it sure does. Well, Well, when I was brought up, you know, we didn't, Uh, go ahead, tell me what you think. Do we get our money's worth? Hey, listen, if I had my way, I wouldn't pay my taxes. Not with the, not with some of the things that I hear that our tax money is going for some ludicrous things. Yeah, did you see SIXTY MINUTES last night? No, I did not. I, Well, they did a thing on the thirty-five billion dollars we waste every year just on storing stuff for the military we don't need. And, uh, it's staggering. Well, how does this grab you? How did this grab you? Uh, this, I, I mean, I'm, I'm a lady, but this, I heard this on a Christian program and it was, uh, about the N E A and, that's the National Endowment for Arts, and they fund, they funded this thing, this act on a stage and did a study on it between two lesbians and two homosexuals and wrote a report about that with our money. Well, there are a lot of things that people, I think general, And then it just frosts me terribly. Well, I think it's interesting to look at, uh, where the money goes, and it goes a lot of places where it probably ought not go and and I don't think generally, I think what's interesting is that we probably represent the majority of people in this country in terms of their feelings about the government Absolutely. and how it serves us given the extraordinarily large sum of money the government has to operate with. I believe that's true, yes. And that, what I think is going to be really interesting is what we do about it. I mean, we are going to have to change the people who represent us. That's correct. I mean, and I think it's going to be real interesting to see and, and then force upon them, uh, Heavy involvement from the public. Yeah, right that's I think that's the only thing that's going to change it. Uh-huh. Yeah, heavy involvement from the public. Our anger is going to have to, to give rise to, to more activity on our part. Yeah. Uh, I've, I've said for years that there's full employment for the politically active and in our society, uh, there's very little full employment. Most people in this country are getting worse off, not better off. Absolutely. Eighty percent of the public, according to Bill Moyers', uh, recent, uh, piece for, uh, Public Broadcasting, which, by the way is a very good use of government money. I think P B S is wonderful. But this special focused on the fact that eighty percent of the people in this country are, are seeing their real incomes, and thus, standards of living, decline. And twenty percent are seeing theirs improve. That's not a formula for a better society. No, it is not. It's lopsided, very much so. And the government really plays a role in this. Uh-huh, that's right, they pull the strings. I mean, well, they are the people whose strings are pulled and by I guess powerful Right, the, yeah You know, and it's really interesting to see how that affects people because essentially more and more people in this country are not likely to revolt in the way that people used to think of, of the voter revolting. But people are pretty much getting the picture that some people get taken care of and others don't and they think it's unfair, and when they recognize that it's their tax money, they're going to do more about it. I I'll tell you one quick, uh, one thing very interesting. C B S, after the State of the Union address is going to open up a telephone line, an eight hundred number and people can call in and say what they think about what's going on in this country. Uh-huh. They expect, opening it for one hour, that they'll get three, hundred thousand telephone calls. I'm sure they will. And I've thought for years it would make a lot of sense to create an eight hundred number for voters to call and, and vent their frustration with government. Like one, eight hundred capitol or something like that. You know, just a number you could call from anywhere, anytime. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I think that's coming and I think once, once people really start to communicate how they feel, things are going to change. Until then, I think, you know, it's going to be really painful. So the question is, how soon are we going to start to get our money's worth and, as you said, it's how soon we get involved, and I think we need to create mechanisms to allow us to get involved, like allowing us to call a toll free number and say, hey, look, do it this way, not that way, or I like this, or I don't like that, or this is how I feel about your spending my money on art that I don't think is art. Yes, I understand that, but hopefully that the people that are listening to what our comments are take some action on it. Well, that's the good thing about what is happening because I think more and more the news media, which takes a heck of a beating and, and deserves some of it, is telling us, you know, about the problems. So the more we communicate, hey, look, we want a change here, because, you know, as it turns out, we've wasted a tremendous amount of money on our defense spending in this country. Oh, absolutely. Over a very long period of time. Right, absolutely. Uh, and, uh, We only see the tip of the iceberg only. Right. You know, there's so much of it going on that it would really, you know, uh, set us into a deeper depression if we knew the whole picture. Yeah. Well, you may be right. What I think is really going to be interesting is to see how, uh, we as a society deal with it and I, and I think it is, what you say, it's, it's a, Well what do you think about the everyday occurrences that are, that are an invasion of your privacy? Well, the, uh, what I really, I don't like is the the constant calls, people selling things people telling me I want things. You know, people trying to solicit for different, you know, organizations. Oh. Right. You know, that's what I really. Yeah, I think that's, that's the only thing I wrote down also, because that's just a, it's terrible today, I mean, my wife and I, seems like we get home at five thirty and the damn phone starts ringing and rings up until ten, eleven o'clock sometimes. Never stops ringing, right. That's right. Well, you know, the, the great, uh, thing for that, it's, uh, is, is an answering machine Yes, I know, that's true. I mean, this is, this is the, one of the best inventions ever, you know, you just switch that thing on, and, uh, Yeah, that's true. Yeah. But, you know, people, it's like your name must be on a list or something, because I know at my office, I get calls, I mean, I must get at least, I probably average at least a call a day, and a lot of days I'll get two and three calls, from from people selling insurance you know, to the small business man Um, even in an office? Uh-huh. Right. and, uh, you know, I think Dunn and Bradstreet puts your, according to what I understand, Dunn and Bradstreet puts your names, your name out to people also, as far as brokers all, I get calls from brokers in New York, and, uh California, always trying to sell something, oil, oil investments or stock investments or whatever. Uh-huh. Right, right. And now I'm getting the same calls at at the house. Uh-huh, I know. And they get your, and they get your name from Dunn and Bradstreet, and, uh, credit card companies, they sell your name. Oh, yeah, uh, well, you know, these people, they sell your names, I mean I know. Yes. you know, I, that's also an invasion of privacy. I think it the whole thing is, uh, American Express does that, by the way. Oh, they do? Yeah, I understand they sell it, you know, they sell names because it's quite profitable to them. Well, sure it is. And that is an invasion of privacy, you're right. That's right. Well, you know, if you've ever gotten anything, you know, in your life, your, your name is somewhere I know, that's true. I mean, one magazine, and boom, they got your name forever. Exactly, magazine companies, uh, uh, from, from subscriptions do the same thing Uh-huh. it's the way they make additional money. That's right. But, it's, uh, you know, I guess, it, uh, you have to be a certain income holder to, uh, have an American Express card, so your name is valuable to, I guess, X amount of solicitors calling. Yeah, that's right. So, I don't know. What, what do you, where are you from? Oh, I'm from Texas. Oh, okay, well so, yeah, we live in the Dallas area, Richardson. Oh, we're in Plano. Okay Well, you know, the only call I really got that, well, was out of state, I got one from Oklahoma City, and one from California. Did you? And that was, uh, California, I was thrilled to death, because that's, you know, the furthest I'd gotten any call from, you know, and, um, Yeah, I got, I've talked to people in Utah, people in New York Oh, really. and a lot of times I'll call eight or nine o'clock in the morning and I'll get people you know, from out of the, uh, out of the state. Oh. Yeah, see, well that's, uh, the, there was another call on Saturday, Saturday that was also from, uh, that was the one from California. I don't know why I ask people on the weekends from out of state, or, uh, I don't know, you know, but, I'll be darned. Where you from? Not from Texas. Uh, originally from New Jersey. New Jersey, right. Yeah. Yeah. My wife's from New Jersey. Oh, really, what part? Yeah, from, uh, Saddle River. Oh, that's nice over there. She, Yeah, we're from more, uh, from sort of towards the shore, central New Jersey, you know, Okay. we're like, uh, Well, that's nice, too. Yeah, oh yeah, it was beautiful, that's why I, I really miss it. I, I don't really like it here at all Really, yes, my wife's been away for twenty-five years, so she's been away for quite a while. Uh-huh. Her dad was from Little Rock, Arkansas, and her mother was from New York, so they just they over there in New Jersey. Yeah, so they, Yeah Uh, and anyway, this topic is, is a good topic, as far as invasion of your privacy, but that's the, the biggest one I can think of is just, just all the solicitors calling. Well, yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah, and, then, of course they call, you know, before I got the answering machine, it was ridiculous I know. you know, I said, this is absurd, I, you know, I, the minute I get home the phone would be ringing. That's a, that's a good suggestion. I might start using the answering machine more, because it's so hard to not pick up that phone when it rings. Oh, it's great, I mean. Well, you know, in fact, I've been missing calls from the T I switchboard, because I, I always have it on you know, Right. and I'll get that, that message that says, uh, to, uh, um, you know, uh, end this call, press three Sure. and I assumed I, you know, it was from the switchboard. You know Yeah, you're probably right. Yeah it is, because one day I listened, you know, and it was you know, but, um, I, I just got totally disgusted, and then, you know, people asking for, for money for everything, you know, I mean. Exactly, I understand. I mean, I, it's hard to believe there's that many deputy sheriffs associations and, and, you know, the policeman's associations. I know, they call you one time to send three kids to the carnival or circus Oh, I used to do that. and, Yeah, I used to do that, I'd send, or three kids to the movies or something Right. There's always a and I, my, my pat answer now is, well, you just called me the other night, Okay, Gene So, it's nice to talk with you and, um, food is a very intriguing thing. Our lives are, are built around foods that we like and, nutritionally good for us. Yes, sir. What kind of dining out do you like? Well, there is two kinds. One I guess I'd say is with my wife where we enjoy, uh oh, I guess we usually enjoy a good seafood restaurant. Oh. Uh, you know, something nice. Yeah. And the other is with my whole family whom we, uh, go somewhere that the kids will enjoy Uh, recently we have been hitting Pancho's up. It's a local Mexican restaurant. Uh-huh. because they have got a good rate on, you know, good prices and everything. Pancho's, that's, a new one. Yeah. Yeah, Uh-huh. it's, it's a chain down uh, it goes up into Colorado and down here. I don't know where else it is. What about you? We have one called Chi Chi's in in our area. Oh, yeah. And, uh, we had a restaurant called La Bamba but it's just, it closed recently. But Chi Chi's is a national restaurant, I think. Isn't it Mexican? I think, think it might be. Do you have it there? I've I think I've seen it around. Yes, sir. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I love Mexican food myself. Oh, do you? Yeah. But you go ahead now Oh, we, we do too. We, uh, we enjoy Mexican food. I'm just not impressed with the quality of it. It's just primarily the price that's, uh, satisfying at this point. But the kids, seem to enjoy it. Is that right? Uh-huh. Uh, and, uh, let's see. We've, uh, just recently discovered a super restaurant down here but it's, uh, not part of a chain it's just an individually owned seafood restaurant. But the first one we've been to that, uh, I don't think there was anything on the menu, that, that any of us had that was, uh, not just really super. It's nice to find a place like that. Oh, boy that is wonderful. Yeah. Well, I, I agree with you on that. And I was really a seafood addict myself. I, I love crab meat in particular. Um. I, uh, I can almost live on, on seafood and almost live on the crab meat if I had to. Oh, boy. Have you ever been to, uh, what is it, Original Book Binders in Philadelphia? I, uh, know the name but I haven't been there. Uh, that's an old established, uh, restaurant. I used to go there when I was in college. Uh-huh. Where did you go to college? Uh, I went to the Naval Academy. Oh, the U S , Naval Academy? And we used to, we use to go up there on, uh, for football games sometimes. And have some liberty. Uh-huh. And, yeah, we would go over there to, uh, pretty sure it was original, Original Book Binders I think it was, yes. I'll be darn. I haven't been back there in years. Well, we're, we're supposed to be talking about dinning out, but I'll just make one comment that, uh, I just retired from Penn State, and, uh, all my work has been in research for the Navy Okay. What area? Underwater acoustics. Is that right? Did you have any dealings with the, uh, underwater sound reference laboratory in Orlando, Florida? I have dealt with nearly all of the, all of the research laboratories that the country has. Yes, sir. My dad worked there for years, and years. Uh-huh. That's that's, uh, that's where I grew up was down in Orlando. So, Oh, you grew up in Orlando. Uh-huh. That's, uh, that's interesting, Well, I was in submarines. Uh, Well, that's what I worked on. Okay, yeah, must have had some interesting, uh, assignments for you there. when did you retire? The end of last month. Well, great. I'm sure you've seen some interesting developments in acoustics. I certainly have Yeah. So, I hate to, uh, I wish I could talk to you about that, uh, but, uh, I guess we should continue on, uh, Okay. Okay. Right. Where's, How do you like Chinese food? Oh, we, we do enjoy that. Yes, sir. Uh, I don't know if we are particularly adventurous, we find something we like, uh, like cashew shrimp or something that's got a good, uh, at a particular restaurant and then we usually stick by it. But do you, What about you? Uh-huh. Well, I, uh, enjoy the Szechuan type of, uh, Chinese food. Hot? Yes. Uh-huh. Yep, uh, it's, uh, I, I do a lot of Chinese cooking myself. I have in the past. I haven't done recently, but, uh, it's in the sweet and sour porks and things like are just really delicious meals. Um. Where did you learn how to do Chinese cooking? Uh, just at home. Uh-huh. I, I enjoyed the food and I bought a lot of, uh, good cookbooks, and I've been following through on that. When you find the right cookbook, why it works out. Uh-huh. What's a good reference cookbook for Chinese food? Okay, well, that one's a good question. Here it's right under my nose if I can find it Oh, boy. I guess one of the things we've, uh, started avoiding is the, uh, run of the mill chop suey and things like that. Yeah, right. But we enjoy trying, uh, different kinds of chicken or, uh, you know, even, uh, shrimp, uh, dishes that are fixed in a Chinese restaurant. One of this book I have is called CHINESE COOKING MADE EASY. Uh, it's a paperback and I think it's by someone named Chang. Yeah, Isabelle Chang. Okay, thanks for that, uh, reference. Yeah, yeah. I think you will enjoy that. Okay, good. Yeah. Well, it certainly is nice talking with you Gene. And, uh, what is your phone at home? That's it. Yes. What do you think are possible changes in the, uh, way trials are conducted these days? Do you like the way some people in there for instance, really take over and, uh, we have no way, uh, of knowing whether they are legitimately right or wrong and so forth. Yeah. What do you think about these things? Well, as I look at our trial systems, I think they've gotten to be quite a joke. The way the people can appeal and file for mistrials and they've taken a lot of the things that were set up to make it be a fair system and used it to their advantage. I think that a jury should listen to the courts, uh, to, to the hearings and to everything, but I think they should only weigh fifty percent of the decision. I think the judge should hold the, or maybe even forty-nine, and the judge should be able to rule one way or the other. so you're saying you think the judge should actually have the final say? I think he should. And I think that there should be more than one judge. There should be maybe two, at least that sit in and listen so that there's no way that you could have like a crooked judge. Huh. Do you know what I mean? Yes. I know what you mean. Um, and I think that there, it's important to have a jury, but I think the way that they go through so much time to get it a fair one. That's okay too. As long as it's not used to delay the trial so much. They need to have a fair jury but they only you know, would cover forty-nine percent of the decision or fifty percent and then the two judges would go ahead and make the final decision. Well, I hadn't, uh, thought of it from that point of view before. How do you feel about that? I have been in a fairly important trial, and, uh, what bothers me is I was concerned of the ability of some of the people in the jury to adequately understand what was being presented so that they themselves could make a proper and, uh, accurate decision. Right. That's the part that bothered me about it. Um, I really think that the, the, the jury ought to have more say so in the selection or in the determination of whether they are guilty or not. But I also think that the jury should be, uh, very, very, uh, carefully, more carefully selected to make sure that they are entirely intelligent people and that they understand some of the details that are involved so that they can make accurate decisions. Right. I hate to see people brought in who basically have lived out in the country and don't know much about any of this stuff, and, and they just make a decision based on whether they like the dress she wore that day or whether that guy smiled or growled all the time. Right. That's no way to make a decision on some terrible problem. Right. Well, what if they used, you know, I just had a thought come as you were talking. What if they used law students and had that be credit hours to sit in trials? That would be certainly nice let's say we, we would have fifty percent of them law students, anyway . Yeah. Yeah, at least. At least, on the jury. Yeah. And that would give them, experience in the courtroom, Uh-huh. and it could count as some aspect or hours going into their major. That's a very neat idea, and they would learn a lot about being lawyers later in life when they see what it is like to be in the jury side of a trial. Right. That's right. That would be a really good thing to do. That would be a, a really good thing to do. So it's I have a girlfriend that just went through a three year trial, Huh. and what happened was her husband was, uh, involved in a motorcycle accident where a drunk driver ran the stoplight and he ran into the motorcycle. Huh. But the reason, the actual reason that the motorcycle person, her husband, was killed was because his brakes went out on his motorcycle. He was just taking it home from the place. It was brand new, and his brakes did not work. For goodness sakes. And this expensive, big company that owned these motorcycles, um, railroaded this into three years worth of trials for this lady and she had a son that was just only two years old when it happened Uh-huh. and they were following him home in the car. Saw the whole thing happen. Oh, they saw the husband, get, That's right. They were following him home from the motorcycle shop. Yeah. And they railroaded this whole trial into mistrials, um, this and that and the other. Every time she'd get a verdict that would be in her favor of her, of a settlement, Uh-huh. They would find something wrong with it. Until finally they won and, said that it was the drunk driver's fault Did they really? Uh-huh. but I just felt like justice wasn't served because they had the money, the big lawyers, and she didn't, That is a shame. You'd think there would be enough, uh, people who saw the accident other than his wife, to, to also, uh, make statements, Right. and they have nothing to gain one way or the other. So if they say a certain way, then why not believe them. Right. And I don't know all the details on that, but I certainly think that we've come up with a good idea with the, the the students coming into the jury. Yeah. And I don't think that it would be such a bad idea even if the judge didn't have the final say. Uh-huh. Do you have any? Yes, we do have a pet. We have a, a dog that we got from the, uh, well, we call it the S P C A. It's the, uh, from an animal shelter. Uh-huh. Uh, he'd come in there as a stray. All right. Uh, he's a Pomeranian and Sheltie cross. Yeah. Uh, well, he was very well trained when we got him. Uh, he's, Oh, that's good. You don't often find that, I don't think. No, uh, we suspect that he was hurt in an accident, you know, got away from somebody traveling through, and hurt in an accident because a dog that looks as good as he does and is trained as well is someone that has lost him and not have been able to locate him. Right. Uh-huh. And, uh, if they were local people, they would have been able to find him. Sure. There's a, okay, uh, that's interesting. Yeah, the only pet that I've had, uh, I'm a, I'm a doctoral student right now Uh-huh. and in my, in my earlier days as a student I kind of time shared on a dog with a, a good friend of mine and, uh, it was an amazing dog, it really was. They had, he had gotten it from the pound and, uh, it, it's a Spanish Pointer named Domino. Kind of looks like a a Dalmatian Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. and we trained it from a pup, and basically it, right now it, it's fully trained and it can do a lot of things. It will get beer for you out of the fridge, and it will get the newspaper and do all kinds of stuff. So, it's really, it's, it's kind of a show piece and whenever anybody comes over, we all have to show him Domino you know . Oh, I think so. Yeah, it's, uh, she's been a real good, a real good dog and, uh, just, it's kind of a shame that I'm, I'm I'm away from it now. I, I I actually live in Florida Uh-huh but I'm on an internship up here for a year and then I go back down, but, uh, yeah, Domino's a real good dog. Yeah. Uh, what, uh, possessed you to get the dog? Well, I guess, in one sense we felt that, it, it's nice to have a dog even though there are, you know, complications come with it. Yeah. And then with our children, uh, at the time they were, oh, grade five and, and grade eight, so it was an age where it was, uh, we thought it was be good for them to have the discipline that goes with, with having a pet. Uh-huh. Sure. Uh, Sure learn a bit, learn a little bit of discipline and how to care for it and things like that. Yeah, right. That's good. That kind of builds some character a little bit. So , Well, that's the idea. I think the reality of it is, that they perhaps, uh, it depends on the, on everyone's discipline. Uh-huh. And, uh, from that aspect, I'm short on the discipline, because I don't, uh, enforce that the kids look after the dog and, uh, we've had him about four years now. Uh-huh. Uh, but I think it does, it, it, you know, it's necessary that individuals have the discipline to look after the animal properly, uh, Yeah, that's something that's important for sure. Yeah. I think, uh, do you live in a, in a, in a fairly rural part of the, uh Uh, or, Actually no, we live in a, in an area that's, oh, probably about two and a half miles from the university. Oh, I see. Uh, we live right, might say we live right in, uh, in the middle of a residential area. Um. And, uh, so that is not as good, uh, you know, this dog, being a small dog it's, uh, more you, more acceptable Yeah but again, it's not that big of a problem. With Domino, she was full grown, I would estimate seventy pounds. Yeah. And, you know, we lived in Oviedo, which is a small town, it's a suburb of Orlando Uh-huh. but there's not, there wasn't a lot of room for her to run around, and she was a dog that loved to run, so that was the biggest problem I saw, and I think that's one of the, uh, the issues people need to think about before they get a dog is, you know, do you have the room for this dog to run around, or, you know, I guess you can't really say for cats. Me and cats don't get along too well, uh but, you know, that whole space issue, I think, is real important. Yeah, it's, uh, that's one of the biggest concerns. It's like, uh, there's a lot to be gained from a relationship with an animal, but the same time, one has to recognize the reality of physical requirements of of the animal Right. Yeah, that, that, and the larger they are, the more room they need to exercise. Sure, and that's all part of of keeping your part of the relationship. You know, showing the maturity and responsibility to recognize those, uh, those issues. Right. Well , You know, and also, the whole, whole thing with noise. My mother, oh, she freaks out because she's got neighbors that have dogs, that don't train them Uh-huh. and, you know, we we had a neighbor in Nebraska when we lived there that had, uh, Brittany Spaniels and they're very high strung animals to begin with, but, uh, Okay. How do you get your news mostly? Generally, I get most of my news from, uh, the radio. And then sometimes, uh, if I've got time, I'll be reading the front page of the newspaper and just fall off on the articles that I like. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, also, since my wife likes to watch T V, sometimes, uh, having just being there I get, uh, you know, I have to watch the news late at night with T V. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. How about you? Well, I can hardly wait for my morning paper to come. Uh-huh So that's the first thing I want is the headlines. It's really funny because because, uh, uh, my sister grabs the sports and I grab the headlines Uh-huh. But, uh, and then when five o'clock comes around I just want to get in the house and turn the T V on to watch the news. Um. It's really weird. Uh, I don't stay up late to watch late news because my eyes won't stay up that long. But, uh, I love to watch the five o'clock news and I, makes me angry when my paper boy's not there on time where I can read my paper Um. Uh, I do have my radio going most of the day though, so about every hour it breaks in and gives me news too, you know. Okay. Do you get like one of the talk stations, the news stations? But, No. Uh-huh. *listen; mistranscribed 'uh-uh' I just have a channel that has music except for, like every hour, you know, say eight o'clock, nine o'clock, they come on for just a little bit of the news. Sure. Right. But as far as the actual news, I get that from like a call from the, can you hold on just for a second? Sure. Just a minute. answers the other Hello sir comes back to speaker Yes. Yes, I'm sorry to keep you waiting Okay Uh, I was calling from work so and that was a call waiting. Right. it sounds like you, uh, like the news a lot more than I do. Me, I figure if it's something really important, somebody will tell me about it. But, uh, you know, I, the thing is if, if I catch the news all the time, it just makes me depressed because they tend to produce a lot of bad news. Or that's what comes on first. Yeah, That's true too. And, uh, you know, also late at night, you know, I don't like watching the news late at night but my wife is usually up then and so I can't go to sleep with the T V on. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I, uh, but, you know, I, I wish I had, uh, more news on things like, that I consider long range. Things like science and medicine Uh-huh. uh, I'm more, I guess I'm more into science and science fiction and, uh, there's, you know, not that the news is science fiction, but, uh, uh, I'm more interested in that. Things like, uh, is NASA ready for another space shot. Uh, you know, how hot are they on the trail of a cure for such and such cancer Uh-huh. and, uh, uh, you know, a lot of the news isn't that interesting to me. Yeah. Well, you're right. There is a lot of it that's, that's just garbage, as far as I'm concerned, you know. Uh-huh. But I just like the, more or less, the, the daily news, you know. Just, uh, especially the weather. Yeah. I like that Me, too. Although they're usually wrong Yeah, Georgia here, they're usually wrong too. We have weird weather systems. Uh-huh. But, uh, like I say, as far as, as actually listening to the news, it's mostly T V, five o'clock to six thirty. Uh, that seems like a long time for news but that's how long it is. Yeah. And, uh, seems like they have the local news and they have the world news. Uh-huh. And then, uh, my morning paper. I can hardly wait for it to come. Yeah. I'm you know, I, I just, uh, I would, And, uh, I, I, I'm not a morning person so I would begrudge the time it takes me in the morning to catch my morning news. I get up just barely in time to get up, get ready and get off to work and then at work I have no time to read the news. Oh. Yeah, right. Once you get to work, I wouldn't either, huh-uh. No But I've always been a morning person to get up, you know. Uh-huh. but I can't stay up late at night to watch the late news so I guess that's why I watch it at five o'clock Yeah. But anyhow. Well, listen, I guess that's about it then. Okay. It's been nice talking to you Tony. Nice talking to you. I'll probably talk to you again. I had a friend who was in this and he said that he got calls from the same caller sometimes. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, well that hasn't happened to me yet. So, you never know, it might this time. That's right. Okay, Tony. Take it easy. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye All rightie. Okay. Do you have a budget that you go on? Yeah. I sure do. Uh, I have, it's pretty much a ledger sheet and I just write down all my bills, how much I'm going to have to pay and I do it per paycheck for me which is every other week. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I mean I include everything from groceries to insurance to car payments to credit card payments, you know, everything. Uh-huh. And it tends to work out pretty well that way. I can anticipate, you know, a little better. I usually try to guesstimate and then when the bill actually comes in, I go ahead and fill in the actual amount. Uh-huh, uh-huh. That way I know how much pocket change I'm going to have left at the end of the month or at the end of the paycheck anyway. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh So that works okay for me. Uh-huh. Well, my bills I usually know approximately how much they're going to be. Right. Each month they are more or less just about the same, you know. Uh-huh, same here. Uh, very seldom are they any different. And then, uh, like for groceries and everything, we try to put, like, two hundred and fifty dollars in a little can in the kitchen Uh-huh. and then that's what we use to buy the groceries with. Oh, okay. And then we put our receipts in there, you know, and usually that's enough. Uh-huh. And, uh, but I don't have any, you know, small children to have anything extra come up, you know, like, uh, running to the doctor or something like that with them. Right. Luckily I don't either. I mean, you know, maybe my cat would get sick but, I mean, usually that's not so much that it would throw me off Yeah, yeah, right. In fact, I did have to take my dog to the vet the other day But you so you know what I'm saying, yeah. Yeah. that, it's worse than having a kid, huh? I, sometimes it can be. Yeah. Sometimes it can be. I guess the worst thing I've ever had come out is like car maintenance kinds of things. Uh-huh. But I do try to build in a little extra money each month to, to be able to do that type of thing so. Yeah, uh, I'm not working right now. I worked for P I E and then, uh, they went bankrupt so I just went ahead and took my early pension. Uh-huh. Oh, uh-huh. But I only get that once a month. Oh, that's tough. Yeah My roommate only gets paid once a month and that last week's pretty lean generally speaking Yeah. So, so. Yeah. So, you know, I really have to try to budget, that I don't go over that amount, you know, each month. Right. I, for, for years got paid once a month and, and in ways I liked it because I could go ahead and pay all my bills at once. Uh-huh. There's always one or two stragglers that usually they were, for me it worked out that they were the smaller ones Uh-huh, uh-huh. but I would pay all of them at one sitting and I would know okay, you can go spend this much on groceries now and you get this much a week and that is it. Yeah, right. And, and it worked okay for me. Uh-huh. I don't know. And, Right now I, I'm in the mode of trying to dig out of debt, I think as everybody is and so, Oh, yeah. Right now it's terrible isn't it? It's, yeah, it's really bad. Yeah. But, uh, it's going pretty well and I've got a real good plan mapped out here, so. Uh-huh. I also like long-term Christmas club you know. I used to belong to a Christmas club, last year I didn't. Uh-huh. Then, so then, naturally, Christmas comes along and that puts you behind too, you know. So this year, now I have them taking out fifty dollars a month out of my checking account for my Christmas club. Oh that's, Yeah. So I figure, you know, that's going to help some. That'll cover your gifts come Christmas time. That'll, yeah, Yeah, right, you know. That'll be good, yeah most people are spending three or four months you know, at least, digging out after Christmas so. Right, right. And I'm Yeah, I, I was pretty fortunate this Christmas I didn't get in debt, so. Oh, that's good. I'm taking like, uh, sewing lessons to try to learn how to sew better than what I can Uh-huh. so I won't have to go out and buy the ready-made clothes anymore. Oh, uh-huh. It's so rare you hear anybody doing that any longer I know. I even bought myself a Surgery , you know, and I just love it. I haven't learned everything to do on it yet but I figure that will help me save you know. Yeah. My, uh, roommate does sew some and, and, uh, she hasn't sewed anything in a long time but I, I'm sure that she could pick it up again. My mother always sewed. She tried to teach me when I was young but not interested Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, see, some people are, some aren't because I have some sisters, I have three sisters Yeah. and none of those are really interested in sewing. Yeah. But that's a real good way to save money, though by doing that. Yeah, and then I can also, you know, do some crafts and sell those at garage sales. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, which I've been doing. Well, that's a good way to, to make a little extra money. Uh-huh. Well, this is another way that I'm making a little extra money so that was, you know, nice that I tripped over this opportunity and you're actually my first call. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh. I had not, uh, done I, I guess today today's my first day that I could even do it. Well, have you called? Oh. Oh, it is? Yeah, you beat me to the punch, here Oh, well, that, that's nice you know. I, I was about to call to get, to see if I could get on with somebody, so Uh-huh. so that was great. Yeah. Well I guess that's about all I can talk to about budgets. When I was working, I, uh, bought a bond a month out of my, you know, they automatically took it out of my out of my payroll. Yeah. Yeah. I take, have some money taken it and put in a Four Oh One K, So, what sort of car are you interested in getting next? Well, actually, I love the car I have. I have a Chrysler LeBaron convertible. And I love it. Ah. And I would get another one in a minute. Unless I could afford what I really like which would be a red Ferrari or, you know, a little Corvette or something like that. And that's what would influence my decision to change because I like a really sporty car. And I'd love an expensive one but I probably, can never afford it so Uh, well I understand and can sympathize with that because I also enjoy driving performance automobiles. Uh, I currently have an eighty-seven, five liter Mustang G T that I've done a bunch of modifications to, to make it, uh, handle and perform better, Uh-huh. and I suspect if I were to be able to get another car where object was, uh, the best car I could get regardless of money, uh, I probably would be tempted by something along the lines of a Lotus or possibly a Ferrari. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I'm a nurse here and we have a doctor at this hospital that has a beautiful new red Ferrari. A, a three twenty-eight G T S? And I couldn't tell you but it's just beautiful. And I go out and I love to touch it but I can't even do that because of the alarm. You just go hunting? So, I just look at it a lot Go out and lust after it. Really Exactly. But it sure is a pretty thing So have you had the opportunity to drive a Ferrari? No. I'm working on it No, I really haven't, no, huh-uh I did test drive a Corvette last year. Maybe the year before. It was brand new, white, it was like a big marshmallow. When you sat in the seats, they adjusted to fit around you. uh. I mean they came in and up and out and I mean, they did whatever and, and we went for a test drive in that and I was able to open that up pretty good and that was really fun. And I wanted it, but I had a choice of that or my house and I thought that I'd continue, to live in my house so. Yeah, there, there's something about having a place to live, I don't know. Yeah, you know, it's just necessary. And I did, I thought well a tent wouldn't be bad but probably not practical. Could sleep in the back of the 'vette. Yeah, right So, I find that, uh, that the Corvettes are, are becoming really, really nice cars. They are, they're pretty aren't they lately Yeah. And they, they've improved, the performance and the suspension such that they're actually a lot of fun to drive. They really are. Really. It's not like driving a, a Winnebago or something. Oh, no No, no. See, I'm not into station wagons and vans and things that people are really buying now and they go isn't that a nice van and I go, um. Not really, you know. How about a Greyhound bus Nice. Yeah. Nice isn't the word I'd choose. Maybe practical. Yeah. I mean that, you know. Isn't that a practical van. There's some that are prettier than others and yeah, the new type is prettier than what their, they used to look like but I sure don't think it's attractive, you know. It's not like, like driving a little sports car. Yeah. It, it's very hard to find something practical that's also attractive. Yeah. I don't think that happens so, but I, I love mine, so, and I, I bought it because I drove a friend's in Hawaii and I just went home and I walked in and I picked it out and he said take it home and bring it back if you want to, and I never did. I just went back and signed the papers and I knew nothing about my car when I got it. Nothing. I didn't know how anything worked. Well, so it was a completely new experience for you. And I'm sure you enjoyed every minute of it. Yeah. And I've had it, it's almost three years actually. And I've, I still love it. I put the top down everywhere I go. I timed it when I first got it and it took twenty I mean twenty seconds and so, I figured there was nowhere I was to late to go that I didn't have twenty more seconds. Right. So. And, and you couldn't get, how long does it take to go back up? About the same time. Twenty seconds, yeah. That's all it takes. I mean, it's just a button, that's it. You release it right at the top, Yeah, so so you don't have to get out or anything. So you won't get, Yeah and twenty seconds you probably won't get caught in anything too substantial. Well I did, actually. Last week going to the airport, I just hit a downpour and I was on a highway going like eighty. So I really did. I mean I was soaking wet. I thought I would drown in the seconds that it took me to pull over Whoops. But it all dried out, you know. Didn't take long when the sun came out Yeah. but it was kind of funny. I'm sure people around me really enjoyed it but, Oh. No I was just down in Austin last week and the weather was pretty nice too. So, Oh and wasn't it pretty last week with the Bluebonnets and everything, yeah, yeah. With the Bluebonnets out, yeah. It really was. Yeah I decided that Austin is certainly someplace that I could handle living. is Yeah. A lot of people say that and it's pretty far from where I live I'm ready if you are. Okay. Um, where do you stand, uh, on, Well, I think that people should be allowed to have them. Especially if they go hunting, Oh. which my son goes hunting. He goes deer hunting. He goes duck hunting. Uh, he's read books about guns since he was like probably eleven or twelve years old. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I just think that, uh, as far as that's concerned, he should be able to have them to go hunting with, you know. As far as just having handguns around to, to have them, I don't believe that you should have handguns around. Right, right. Right. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I agree too. I, uh, it's, it's, as far as the ban goes and everything, I don't think it's possible, uh, to completely ban guns. There's just too many. Well, no. There's too many sports people out there that, that do do these things. Right, and I, yeah, right, I mean, yeah, that, that's true. And I mean the, the technology's not that hard. I mean, you could make a gun, you know, from simple, you know, you know. Yeah, well I suppose you could. Uh, You know, if, if you really wanted a gun, you, you could make one. Uh, Uh-huh. And I think if they want one, they're going to get one. Oh, you know You know. true. That's true. The bad guys are, you know, like I say, if they want a gun they're going to find out somehow to get one. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, it's, yeah, I mean, yeah there's, there's no way to stop, uh, stop anybody from getting a gun. Uh, I think there should be more control as, like, uh, like maybe waiting periods and things like that, you know, uh, Well I agree with you on that because I know, uh, in fact I had bought my son a rifle like for a Christmas present one time. Uh-huh. And for a rifle there's no waiting. There wasn't anyhow. Now there might be now. Yeah. But there wasn't anything for, you know, rifles and things like that. Uh-huh. I guess it was just handguns that there was a, some kind of a waiting, you know, two weeks while they checked you out or something. Sure. Yeah. Right. But, uh, most of these people that's got these guns that's going around, you know, robbing people and shooting people, Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, I, I know my friend is, uh, really into guns and, uh, uh, I went a couple of times with him to gun shows, you know, that come through town and everything Uh-huh. and, I mean, they just have, I mean they have anything you'd want, I mean Uh-huh. you know, you know, anywhere from rifles and semiautomatic weapons and there's, I mean, there's nothing. You can just go buy one and take it home and it's easier than getting a, like a video membership card at, you know, a video store. I, see now, I know they were having a gun show about a month ago and I was just wondering how that did work, if somebody wanted to buy a gun at a gun show. Uh, yeah, yeah. You just go and, uh, buy the gun and, uh, There's no restriction though. You don't have to wait or nothing then huh? No. Well, except for the, the pistols and I'm not sure how they do that. I know they, Yeah, I was just curious, you know, because, uh Uh-huh. I know at, at the regular gun show, you know, gun shop that you, that you do have to wait for pistols, like a couple of weeks Uh-huh. Right. and then they check you out, then they call you up and you go pick it up. Yeah. I think that's, Which I think they have to do on rifles and things now too. I think there is some, something like that. Uh-huh Anyhow, here, out here in California, I think there is now. Yeah. Yeah But, I'm not sure, I'm not really sure but, what uh, the gun laws in Pennsylvania are like. Uh-huh. Now we don't have guns because we don't go hunting or anything like that. No. Uh-huh. But like I say, my son, he's, he's always had a, like, I think his first little rifle that we got him was like he twelve or thirteen years old. Uh-huh. But he's always, he went to the, to the school to learn how to shoot it. He goes to the pistol range and and the rifle range to shoot them. He likes to go to that, uh, shotgun thing where you shoot at those, uh Oh, yeah. The skeets, you mean? yeah, right He likes to do that you know Uh-huh. But, uh I don't know. Yeah. I think they should try to control it and everything, you know. But as far as just banning it completely, there, that's not going to happen. I don't, yeah, I, I don't think it can happen either. Uh-huh. I just don't, I don't see, and, then, I, I think, uh, hadn't thought about this before but if you do that, if they would, uh, uh, decide to ban guns, it would just open up a, a market, you know, a black market for them. Yeah, right, right. And so, you know, they, they would just, all the profits would go to, you know, Now I do believe though, like in California, if a little kid gets a hold of a gun that someone has I think they're liable now for, Yeah. they can be, you know, put in jail and everything. The, whoever owned the gun. Oh, Oh , yeah, the owner's responsibility? You know, now when they have kids around, you'd think that they would be locking them up Yeah. or, you know. Yeah, yeah, you know, that's, that's true. Uh, you know, I, I had a friend who was a, uh, a policeman in a, in a local borough just a small, uh, one of the little neighborhoods, you know, one of the small towns, uh near Pittsburgh. Uh-huh. And, uh, she said that, that, uh, you know, he used to always keep his guns locked up and everything like that but, I mean, you know, you're, you know, people make, you know, they forget or, you know, you know, kids get in, the way kids, the way kids are, you know, I mean, they can, you know. Well they can get into almost anything anymore Right. Okay Uh, let me see. Unfortunately, we are not much into recycling. Uh-huh. We don't, we don't do enough. I know we don't so Uh, although lately I've been, uh, a friend of mine that I spend a lot of time with does recycle quite a bit and it's, it's, it's, uh, interesting to watch some of the things that she does and then she's almost had an impact on me, uh, where she doesn't say anything to me when she comes to my house but I can kind of tell it bothers her so, just unconsciously I've, I've stopped buying a lot of, uh, uh, paper plates and paper cups and I don't do that anymore. I don't know why, I just don't I just, just from socializing with her so. How do you, how, uh, is recycling done in your community? Is, It really, it, there's not a whole lot, there really isn't. Uh, I know in my mother's neighborhood in San Antonio, each, each house has, they're, they're given three baskets Uh-huh. and they put them out on a certain day of the week Right. and each, uh, home does participate but we really don't have anything, uh, close in this area that, that do anything. And, and some of the communities that do, the residents are having to pay to participate in it. Which really doesn't make sense. Oh. Right. Over here, they, uh, have several private companies that you can take, uh, recycled, materials to. But, uh, if you want to take them all to one place, they have, uh, the first Saturday of every month, they have certain places that you can drop them off. That's what I do. Uh, and I, I recycle aluminum, glass, uh, newspapers. Yeah, that's good. So it's nice to have, you know, one place that you can take them all to instead of driving the glass to one place Yeah, yeah. That's another thing. You have to go to different places to do that. Right. So it's, so that's nice. It would be, it would be really nice if they, uh, came to the house to pick it up and they just were talking about a bill in Tucson about that, but, uh, uh, it didn't go through. Uh-huh. But I heard that most homes that do participate in that are having to pay a monthly fee to do that. Which, uh, I don't know, it just doesn't make sense to me. Right. I guess what they, what they were talking about here was, uh, was reducing the garbage collection in order to make that up or something, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so I guess that's one option. Yeah. That's good, that's good. I guess one thing they're working on now is recycling plastics too. Like, uh Uh-huh. have you noticed that on the bottom of plastic goods, they have this little number now that tells what kind of plastic it is? Huh. No. Yeah, I guess the problem with plastic is there's so many different kinds that you can't recycle, you can't just throw all plastic into one recycler. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. So now they're like marking, uh, they're, I don't know, there's six, seven, eight different kind of plastics and they, they mark on the bottom what kind it is. Yeah. So I guess that makes it easy to recycle and then they're, they're, uh, trying to make plastic goods that don't have a bunch of different plastics in them, you know, that are, that are only made out of one kind of plastic so that that makes it easier I guess. Uh-huh. Well, that's good. I, I'm, you know, unfortunately Garland doesn't have, doesn't, they don't, I don't know, they don't do anything like that or I, you know, I read those little slips that come in to your, utility bills or your, uh, garbage collection Right. and they haven't, you know, talked about doing something like that Where does your friend go to to recycle? She lives in Garland and I'm not sure where, what she does. But she's, uh, oh she's very heavy in that and she takes her own bags to the grocery store Uh-huh. Uh, she has, I, I really don't think she has any paper products in her house. Yeah. Uh, and just a lot of things I've learned off of her that, to start doing. And she does make a lot of sense. Yeah. Just her whole house is like wow. I guess that's how it gets passed on. You know, when one person, you hear from another person Yeah. and then, uh, and then you, and then you pass it on. Yeah. It seems to be catching on, uh, slowly but surely, I guess Yeah. And, uh, my little boy has, watches a program that was really neat. I sat and watched him. You know the Barney? You know the little, I don't know if you know the little character Barney. Uh-huh. They had one, uh, on that kind of, type of thing and how children can, can do that and how to save water when you brush your teeth in water and it's really caught on and he's only four and he's really caught on. Uh-huh. Wow, that's cute. That's neat, yeah. When you, And keep the refrigerator door closed and that kind of thing. He's really caught on so that's really neat Well, when you start early, I guess, Hi. How are you doing? What, I couldn't hear you? I said, how are you doing? I'm doing fine. I'm, uh, just editing a spreadsheet right now. I'm trying to figure out how I can retire without having to work until I'm ninety-five. Yeah. We've been doing that too We're trying to retire in our fifties. Yeah. This is a very appropriate topic for our, uh, conversation today because what I'm figuring out is that I'm going to have to put in a lot more money than what I'm making Good luck on that one, then. What is that? I said good luck on that one, then. Well, we've got a pretty good situation, my wife and I, since our property is already paid for. You know, the main things that I like about the uh, in the job benefits would be the, uh, the availability of the health insurance and the availability of, uh, you know, being able to transfer around, inside the organization without having, you know, when they cut off a system and they don't just can everybody that is working on it, like some companies I know of. Huh-uh. You know, they give you an opportunity to either transfer into an on going, on going project. So you work for it T I then You can't say? Yeah. Yeah. What? Yes, you do. Well, I work for D I S D and I don't know what your talking about when you say health insurance, but Dallas doesn't pay. It pays most of mine, you know, now, after you work I think five years, they begin to pay most of it. But then, for the, the family, you know, I put my kids on my policy. It's like two hundred dollars Huh-uh. and it's gone up quite a bit and they predict, you know, of course, it's going to keep going up. I wish they could go on and pay for all of our coverage, at some point. And benefits, you know, I'd like to see child care paid for or on-site child care sometime. I think that would be a , Huh-uh. and it would make women go to work sometime if they knew their kids were being taken care of. They could go visit them during the day. What? Yeah that's uh, something I hadn't really thought about because we don't have children. But, I can see how it would be a a real benefit. Yes I do. Well, we keep a shelter, also monies that we're going to pay in for child care too. You know, go on and pay a lump sum and as long as you pay that amount you're okay. But if you paid in more than you actually used, and the same thing for insurance, what you predict your going to be paying for insurance, as long as you pay, actually pay out that amount of money, you're okay. But if you pay out less, then you lose that money. Um. I don't like that part, but you don't have to do that option if you don't want to. Well, that could be, I could see where that would be important. And then we got that cafeteria plan, do you have that? No. No. I don't know what it's about . You can, uh, well you, let's see, it, it shelters you're money that you pay for, for insurance. It takes it out of your salary before taxes. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah we got that. Okay. Pretax insurance? Yeah. Yeah. But we call it the cafeteria plan, I wonder why. Um? I said, I wonder why. Oh, it's probably what the first guy who did it, called it. Cafeteria? Yeah. He was probably in the cafeteria when he thought of it Maybe so. Let's see what else can we do? Changes, I'll tell you what we could do. What? We could prohibit people from being hired that are historically going to cost the company money. You know, do a little bit better research on who gets hired Uh-huh. Because you know, You mean, like for health insurance? Well, not only just health insurance, I mean for the whole benefit of the company. See, I look at it this way. If the company folds, I got to go find a job. Yeah. Okay. Now, if we got somebody in a position to affect the way the company performs, just about anybody in the company, and they're not doing their job or they're not capable of doing their job, then we should find a place to put them or you know, boot them out. Well, that's easier done in a company than it is in, uh, school teaching. Well, frankly, I think school teachers ought to get about ten times what they're getting paid. Thank you What? I said, thank you. Oh. We're both school teachers. Oh, I'm, I'm, But it's hard to get rid of a teacher if they're not good. I know. It's almost impossible. Well, there's two schools of thought on that. You know, I, I'm looking at trying to get into a university job position as a a professor Huh-uh. I got about eight years of education ahead of me before I can do that Um. but, once you get that job with the university, you've got ten years of probation. Huh-uh. Then you have tenure. And they can't fire you. Huh-uh. Well, you know, in a situation like that, I don't know if that's good or bad. I do know that I've had tenured professors that were just sorry. Right. And I've also had tenured professors that were the best things on two legs. Well, they did away with tenure in teaching along time ago, you know, in the public schools. But in addition. It makes you more at ease. You know, you knew you weren't going to lose your job unless you really did something horrendous. Well, they, they really can't fire you without cause, you know the governments taken care of that, but, um, what I'm looking at is, you know, there are a lot of teachers that aren't getting paid what they need to be getting paid, and there are some teachers out there that aren't worth having around as janitors. Right. You know, and I could see a point protecting someone's position, but, on the other hand, I don't think it, you know, that someone that teaches, uh, say shop, for instance, should have to have degree at all. Well they don't. Well. In some places they don't. In some places that don't. Do they? But, you know, you, you get specialized education now, for instance, take computer science. We've got kids twenty years old, right now, that could beat any computer professor at micro computer applications. I know we could. And these people can't even get jobs doing anything besides digging ditches, because there's no comprehensive test that they can take, that would allow them to, to step into that position without having to go through the rigamarole of college. Yeah. You know, I went to college late on in life and I realize that hey, it's nothing but four years of endurance and you might be teachable, you know what I mean? Yeah. I mean, my agree is absolutely worthless. *listen; agree is probably degree It's my experience and, and my knowledge that, that is beneficial, but then, you know, like I said, I came in backwards. What did you get your degree at? Industrial Marketing. And what's your job now? Well, actually I'm selling computer software. But, the two are mutually exclusive. Because, the, the experience that got me the job that I got now, was my experience in the construction field, prior to going to college not my degree, which is I think kind of bizarre. Huh-uh. Maybe. All right, what else could we change? Oh, I'd like to see flexible hours. And teaching, shared, job sharing, more of that. Well uh, We've, we've, we've already got that. Well, see, we've got a little bit of it, but not much. It would be nice if you had full insurance coverage if you were doing job sharing. What else. I'd like to be able to, to evaluate your boss and it really carry some weight, and you get to choose your boss. Well, yeah. Supervisor evaluations have always been a tough one. Especially in my line, because, you know, my supervisor has nothing to with my job, except to make sure I get my check. Huh-uh. Well, so you get to evaluate him though? Well, not really. You know, I mean, there's, what's to evaluate about him, you know, I mean, my, my, supervisor level is like practically zero. I run the whole show. And when I need something, I tell my boss and he gets it for me, because he knows, that I know, what I'm doing. Yeah. You know, and uh, that, that is something that I think needs to be expanded on, specially in the large market place. You know, the major corporation, because so often, you know, you get a guy who's got eight or nine or ten people working for him in separate areas so to speak. Yeah. You know, it's, it's hard for me to, you know, especially since I'm in marketing sales, you know, I make more than my boss. Because he's salary and I'm not. I make as much as I earn. You know, if I don't make a sale, I don't make anything Huh-uh. Yeah. Well it's tough, but, uh, you know, there are requirements, and quotas, what not, for me to make, but, um, the bottom line on, on that kind of thing is, you know, we have a lot of people, especially in major corporations, who aren't doing a damn thing. They're just there. You know, the work they do could be totally eliminated, and not that they aren't worth or not that they aren't trying or anything. But, it's just that their jobs are useless. Take, for instance, um, a large construction company I used to work for. Ed Swampers. Swampers is a guy, who's in the union. He's a laborer. And he's assigned to, Yes, I saw HOME ALONE with some friends just a couple days ago. I wanted to see it, uh, because there was, uh, much recommended, for months and months and months and it was a, a genre that I wasn't in the least bit interested in, and I usually, when I hear about a movie that's supposed to be very good even if it's in a genre I don't like, Uh-huh. I figure, well, I should go see it, because if this is, you know, the best of the genre and I should know about it, or something like that Yeah, right, uh-huh. and I usually come away thinking, no I really don't like this show Yeah, I, I, I, I feel that way when movies are like blown up, out of proportion, you know Yeah. usually people tell you how good they are, and you always, you know, end up with expectations too high or whatever, Yeah, yeah. Right. Well, the, the problem I had with the movie was the problem I've had with a lot of, uh, I guess, Hollywood movies which is they are, it's a formula movie, Uh-huh. and they're making the movie according to certain formula that's a good formula Uh-huh. but they seem to fall short of, of being really creative with a lot of things, I mean here's the situation of this kid at home, you know, Yeah, uh-huh. it's a classic slapstick situation with these bungling burglars trying to get in Right. and, you know, he did some clever things, but given the size of the house and how clever the kid was, it seems to me they could have done a lot more, I mean, you know, basically stepping on things and yelling in pain Yeah and it seems to me they could have been a lot more creative stuff used. Yeah. I was very surprised that did do a slapstick movie, because that's, uh, not really the way comedies are right now Uh-huh. you know, all the comedies are more like jokes and, you know, gags and stuff like that Uh-huh, uh-huh. there's not as much slapstick anymore. Well, I guess it was a, uh, a very successful movie financially, so we may see more slapstick. Uh-huh. Yeah, well, that's true, it's very cheap to make a slapstick movie. Yeah, it is, it is, and I guess you don't have to, but, you know, if you look at oh, have you ever seen any of the movies? Excuse me? The French movies that . No, not really, the last movie I saw I guess, uh, was, uh, uh, the one about the French, the Frenchman that leaves and comes back, and he's someone different. Um, he's, uh, well, it's about a man, uh, that, uh, leaves his home and comes back to his wife, and his wife's all excited but the guy that comes back is not her original husband, but, um. O'Gear um, I'm sure you've heard of it, Um. it was a very famous, uh, popular movie. Norman Gray, Norman Gear. No, I'm not with you so far, Oh, shoot, I'm going to hit myself after I hang up. I'll remember the name. But, uh, anyway, that was a French movie Uh-huh. it was, um, that was the last one I saw downtown, but I live in D C well, actually Falls Church, Virginia, outside the city Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, so a lot of times they have the, the, the, international films downtown Oh, yeah. but, uh, so this, uh, French I guess are into the I guess they would like Jerry Lewis, too. They have, they have a Yes they like your Lewis much to the chagrin of sophisticated of sophisticated American everywhere. Right. But they have this one guy who does slapstick comedy, and there's something about it that's so innovative, you know, he'll have trouble picking up his hat, or catching his umbrella blowing in the wind, or something, but there's something about it that just, it isn't just slapstick, there's something about the human character in it Oh, uh-huh. and that's what I find lacking in a lot of, you know, like HOME ALONE. There was a lot of the human character when he was home alone and he was trying Right. and there was a lot of human character there, but when it was, the real slapstick moments, him versus the criminals kind of thing, it just sort of lost the human element and became purely a caricature Uh-huh. Right. does that make since to you? Yeah, uh-huh, yeah, I see what you're saying, there's less character development, rather just the, the, the funniness of the gag, rather than Yeah, yeah. Did you go with kids though? and how it fits with the character , right. Did you go with kids? Excuse me? Did you take kids along? No, we went, uh, without the kids, it's was a night out, away from the children. Oh, I would have liked to have a kid with me, I think, preferably someone seven or eight just, just to get a sense for, you know, how, how it affected them. especially to come home Oh. and, you know, I would have gotten in trouble the next day, I'm sure. Uh-huh, yeah, that, that's true. I, I was thinking about that too, I saw that, um, that's why I watched another silly movie, um, um, with my cousin, was uh, uh, the one about the, um, the turtles, Oh, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. Right Uh-huh. yeah, I saw that with my cousin, just to see what, you know, what the kids are into And your cousin's a kid, and that is, yeah, he's a little Uh-huh. yeah, he's, anyway, and that was just excessively violent. I was worried Yeah, isn't it amazing. it's like golly, if kids start imitating that they'll knock each others blocks off, Yeah. Yeah, it was all bloodless Uh-huh. and the good guys can get hit all day long Uh-huh. and they have to shake it off Yeah. they don't, they don't, you know, get, uh, epileptics, that sort of thing from getting hit on their head Right. you know, it's a little disturbing the violence in these films, partly it's supposed to be a little bit more okay because it's comic book on the other hand it makes it seem like, Uh-huh. I read an article one time talking about even the quote unquote realistic movies, don't have very realistic upsets of the violence. The violence can seem very realistic, but the aftermath is usually not there. Right. So you see people who are severely injured, very, very badly, lose control of body functions Uh-huh. they thrash around, they scream, you know, uh, it's just a very, very bad thing, and they never present that, even the movies that want to show violence as real, they don't really show you what happens with that real violence Uh-huh. and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. Uh-huh. Uh, on the one hand I'd like it to be a warning, on the other hand I wouldn't want people who currently get sort of enjoy their violence fixes from these movies to start thinking gee, now we want to see the aftermath all the time either. You're right, uh-huh, yeah, it's true. But yeah, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES was sort of the same way, they, I guess they figured, I mean, they know what they're doing, and they make the movies good enough, I guess I'm a bit of a snob, they make the movies good enough to be successful Uh-huh. and then they don't, and they, but they could make them better, you know Uh-huh. they could try to make, I mean, as far as I was concerned, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES could have been a classic of world theater Really. , it could have been, you know, it was, it was innovative, uh, a completely new approach to making a movie in a lot of ways, and yet it ended up not being anything particularly memorable, because the, the story was stupid, and, and then things like that, and they built up, I remember feeling annoyed, again, I didn't have a kid with me, and I remember feeling annoyed that they had this whole thing about the Master and the passing of wisdom, the, from older to younger generation, it was, it was a classic Greek, you know, you know, a sort of, European mess going back three thousand years that they're playing with Uh-huh. um, and he had to , and he told them, remember , remember, you were united, you can succeed, individually you will fail Yeah, right, right. and then there was a big climactic fight scene, and they didn't remember that, they didn't fight together, they fought individually, and they failed individually, and then that was it, then they had to have the Master beat him Right. and the Master should, according to the classic myth, the sort of Joseph Campbell type myth, he, the Master should have died at the end because the, the lesson was passed to the young generation Right. and the older generation is not needed and is reborn to the younger generation, and on and on and on, and all this wonderful mess Uh-huh. and it still would have been every bit as accessible a movie for the kids if they had included all this stuff that, I, anyway as an intellectual adult would appreciate, it wouldn't have hurt the movie to do that, and it would have make it, uh, broadened the audience that it could have been targeted for, I thought Uh-huh. but, I, uh, I'm truly enough, you know, I'm truly an intellectual snob, to be going to these kinds of movies, I realize that. I mean, to go to these movies and expect them to be, you know, other than just, just good entertainment kind of thing. Right. That's true. Yeah, there's not too many that are, uh, that are good just on their, you know, that, that you wouldn't want to change something, and there's always something that, uh, Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. I, I, I, I'm very, I'm very critical, I, I, I'm actually originally from Hollywood, and then, then, then and my father works in films and such, and I tend to, tend to be hypercritical of these things, and then, perhaps, perhaps it's unfair, because I, I, I must admit I enjoy these movies Yeah, right. and that's what they're for, but I don't, don't remember them, and I think it's, I think, I can think of movies I have less fun during and then after the movie's over, I remember it so terribly well because it, it had some, some meaning to me or something. Uh-huh. Right, exactly, yeah, there, there, there are several movies that hit home like that. Of course the ones I always remember are the, the older ones Uh-huh. I always like the musicals, and uh, those ones, that just stick in your head. Yeah, yeah, they leave, yeah, they leave, they leave some songs with you, I don't know what it is Uh-huh. but it just, I mean, I don't know if this is old fart talking here or something, because I'm not that old No, it could be. you know, those old movies seemed to have had something that, uh, that was memorable somehow, Uh-huh. I don't know what it was. Um. Okay, well, I guess I got to get going, Okay, well, um, thanks for hearing me rap, I guess Got to go take care of the children, All right, nice talking with you. Yeah, nice talking with you. Are you calling from Texas, by the way? No, I'm in California . Oh, okay, the first person I've talked to outside of Texas. Yeah, there must be Texas people, as near as I can tell. Well. Yeah, okay, well, thank you very much. Okay, well, I'm from the . Bye-bye. All right, bye-bye. Okay, we're rolling. I, uh, what, what would you, what would, has your experience lead you to advise, uh, if my child were thinking of going to the Air Force Academy, what would you say? Well, I'd encourage it. Uh-huh. It's a good general education for a, a bachelor's degree. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And obviously, and obviously it's where they don't have a, any post graduate program there, but you get a, an excellent, wide, uh, basis of topics. You know, you get a good broad education out of it. Uh-huh. You don't, they don't graduate the best engineers or the best English majors, but maybe a graduate pretty good overall students out of there. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, How do you feel about, it must be a somewhat different environment from a regular college. How does that, uh, how do you feel that is for someone at, at that phase in their life? Well, the for some people, it's good because they maybe they need a little discipline, need a little reining in at that, that stage in their life. Uh, other people, it, uh, it's, uh, suffocating, Uh-huh. you know, you kind of choke on it Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. uh, it, it depends on the person, on the individual, Uh-huh. but, uh, the one factor I think more than anything else in this day and age that's got to be a big factor in your decision's just the, the cost of, how much you're going to pay no matter where you go to school. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And if you've been in for twelve years, I'm sure you've, you've got a, your share of student loans that, uh, you're probably going to be paying off or have been or, Well, I sort of, one of the reasons it's taken so long is I've been working all, you know, sort of half student, half working and source of income and stuff, Uh-huh. so I'm actually managing to do this with zero debt. Oh, that's good. Uh, I couldn't, you couldn't do it otherwise. Oh, I mean I know people that graduated, or that I went to high school with that went to civilian colleges and they, they've got twenty, thirty thousand dollar debts, I mean you could have, uh, Yeah, I think if there's any major piece of advice I'd give, is to find a way of getting an education that doesn't incur that kind of debt. Yeah. It's not, I mean, I remember seeing an article one time about, you know, if the average person who spent that much money going to college just took the same amount of money and put it in a, a, in an investment fund, they'd be considerably wealthier than they would be from the job they'd get after college. Exactly. So, it's, it's really kind of crazy. It's, it's staggering when you think that, just here in central New York, is, uh, Hamilton College is just a few miles south of, you know, maybe about twenty miles to the south from where I am Uh-huh. and, uh, they're looking for twenty-two thousand dollars for tuition and room and board now. Really? A year. Huh. At just a small, I mean they, they, they are it is a select, college. Yes, yes, I know. I was actually, I I was thinking of trying to get a job there I heard of it. Oh, yeah. But, you're talking incredible tuitions now. Uh-uh. I don't know how many people actually pay the whole shot. Very few I would imagine. Yeah. But, uh, I get, I just couldn't I mean it's more money that I make in a year, so You know, it, you know, me being one person with a above the median income, for New York state, you know, Yeah. I'm a I'm a second lieutenant in the Air Force now, and, uh, I, Uh-huh. even as a somebody making twice what I was making, how could you put half of that into, to your child's education Uh-huh. and then just when they make, made, make it to the college years it's, Yeah, yeah. My God, I can't imagine. Well, my, my real feeling about, about the purpose of undergraduate education is it's really the time, yes, you do get an education, you do learn some things, but you eventually forget most of it. Yes. But what you don't forget is the growing up. It's really the period when people become adults. I mean people who don't go to college become adults in other ways. But, really, it's the entry into adulthood, I think. And I think that the best way to choose a college is to decide what kind of environment you want to be fostered in as you become, you know, as you gain new social skills, as you become, you know, more of a functioning member of society. And maybe the Air Force Academy is a perfect, as you said for someone who, you know, a more, you know, who needs to learn self-discipline and so forth would be appropriate for them. Or, it's also a good environment, it may be good for someone who already has self discipline, who has a certain amount of leadership quality in their own, that, Yeah, and want to develop that. And, that, yeah, the it's the same. Uh-huh. It can benefit different people different ways. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, uh, you know, I, I agree with that, because I see people that I know again, from high school, that I still keep in touch with, that didn't go to college Same patterns of behavior, same, uh, same socializing, same exact crowd that they hang with Uh-huh. Uh-huh. The same patterns of behavior, you mean? Yeah, yeah. and it's like, it's like frozen time, you know. Exactly, it's I find it kind of sad, I really do. It is. It really is that they haven't found anything, anything better that, uh, or their, their experiences haven't been broadened at all, to, to you know, you know, Uh-huh. it's, it's a, it's a tremendous thing when you sit in a, in a college environment and discuss some issues and really sit there with people with disagreeing opinions and you hear all these different sides of the story that you never thought of Yeah. Right. and, uh, that's another big thing I think people get out of college is the appreciation for different point, differing points of view, you know, or different opinions. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, in high school everyone sort of tries to have the same opinion it seems. Yeah, exactly, yeah. Yeah, the, the one thing I think that's no good for anyone is these monster institutions. These institutions of thirty thousand students and such. Oh I, And I see some freshmen wandering around in there and they're they're just like, you know, someone from the country lost in the big city, I mean, they, they, Yeah. I don't see them getting, I mean when I was undergraduate, I went to a, relatively small school for my first two years and then I transferred to a very large school. Uh-huh. And that worked out pretty well. I went from a, you know, a second rate institution to a higher rate institution. Uh-huh. But the first couple of years it doesn't matter to me what the quality of the education was. I needed to make friends. I needed to sort of learn the ropes. You know, there were things like that, that mattered a lot more and I needed basic, really simple education that you can get, pretty much anywhere for the first couple of years. Well, your education's a lot what you make of it, too, so, Yeah, yeah, exactly. And if you're alienated, I mean I see people at supposedly really good universities who are just having psychological problems, that, you think this isn't sinking in. Yeah. Well, I, I've seen more graduates from M I T and that, Uh-huh. being, I work in a, in a an Air Force laboratory and so we've got a lot of, uh, M I T graduates that are in there and they are the biggest collection of screwed up people that I think I've ever run into. Yeah, yeah. Even, even more so, uh, like, military academy grads are a strange lot, too, I, I mean I have to confess to that. Yeah, it's sort of a, a rare select environment. Yeah, and they have their own quirks and tolerances and, you know, certain things that don't bother us at all, that would drive other people nuts Yeah. and then certain things that ways, things we do, the way we do it that drive other people nuts that, Right, right, sure. But, these M I T grads are off in their absolute own world. It, it's a, I, I have more I have a lot of respect for M I T master's and doctorate, uh, degrees, Yeah. It's a top rated institution and now I, but they're undergrads are like, I, I'm amazed, at, at that's a lot of them even graduated. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know. Well, I, I had known a lot of undergraduates who pick schools because they want the best reputation for a school. Not realizing that the reputation for M I T is because of the, of the doctorate research, and the professors who go there, Right. Right. and you're not going to see the professors Nope. you know, you're going to see some T A, you know. Uh, so they they, they want, you know, they want the best and they don't think, they think what the best is, is, reputation for, for research Yeah. and that's a one standard, but it's not relevant, to what they need. No. It's interesting that you mention, and I didn't think about that before when you were talking, but the service academies have all, all the faculty, uh, for the most part is, is military with a few exchange, professors from other, schools. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, uh, having the military faculty is really beneficial because they see it as doing their job and spending time with the cadets there, uh, is investing in the Air Force, and it, Right. or the, the military itself, it's the future officer corps and so, I hear horror stories from friends of mine that they could never see their instructors, they could never get extra help. Uh-huh. For me any time I needed extra help any time of the day I had all my instructors home phone numbers Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and could call them, you go to their office anytime. I had some instructors that, uh, would invite me over to their house for extended study things on weekends, when I was having trouble with something Huh. and, Yeah, you won't get that at M I T or virtually or anything like that. No, no, and that, And you you know, and you can't blame the professors either, because you look at their job description, No. you'd you know, teaching is third down on the list of importance things and, Right, right. Publish first, and the yeah, and, and that's appropriate if the university is trying to do serious research, because it's hard to be a researcher and a teacher at the same time. Right. So I'd say go to a, go to a college that has teachers. People who really are committed to the students and can afford to be because that's their job. Yeah. But, oh, well Yeah, it's, there's a lot of factors that people don't ever, ever consider in, in their selection of a college Uh-huh. and, uh, I don't know, maybe, I wonder if, if they enter these conversations that people have been having, uh ... what kind of fishing do you enjoy? Well, uh, normally I like to, to go out fishing in a boat, and, uh, rather than like bank fishing, and just like to try and catch anything that's swimming, because I've had such problems with trying to catch any type of fish, that, uh, I just really enjoy doing the boat type fishing. So, you like fresh water. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I've never tried like with, deep, uh, sea water fishing because you get, I get sea sick Uh-huh. Oh I see Well, one of these days, I'm hoping they'll have some kind of medicine, so I can go out and go, uh, deep sea fishing. Now, that would be nice. Well, I was raised on the Texas gulf coast, in the summers, Uh-huh. and during the Christmas holidays we'd go down to our house on the coast Uh-huh. and so, I thought fish came out of the ocean Oh, my goodness. and anything that was fresh water was muddy Uh-huh. so I didn't learn to fish in a lake until I was well into my twenties so I had, I had always been a, a sea fisher type which is a lot of fun. Uh-huh. Oh I bet it is. There's so many different ways to catch fish. Uh-huh. You know, at night you can go walking in the shallows, and gig flounder and things like that. Which isn't technically fishing, but it's a lot of fun. Uh-huh. So, I, I grew up fishing. Uh-huh. What area of lakes do you like? Well, uh, now, I haven't done much fishing here in Texas, uh, because I moved from Ohio, Oh, I see. uh, but, uh, we did a lot of fishing when we were up there. But down here, I have a brother that likes to go over on the east, in East Texas, and do fishing. I can't remember what the name of the lake is, and he was just here this past weekend. I could have, I, I think he mentioned it again, but I couldn't remember what it was. Uh, I want to call it Salt Fork, or Lake Fork. I, I can't remember, but he said it's one of the best bass fishing places. Oh, oh, oh, uh, I think I know where, uh, Lake Caddo, or something like that. I, you know, that may be it. That may be it. If it's supposed to be one of the best bass fishing places. They hold tournaments there, and everything. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, and he said that he has never gone anywhere before, and he's fished all over the United States, in which they can catch the biggest bass that you've ever seen. So I would love to go over there. They were talking about going over there, and, and some time in the spring, and I was thinking it would be great to go over there to go fishing, and, uh, and catch some bass. I would love to do that, but they have snakes over there, and I'm not too welcome around, I don't, I really don't want to share a boat with a snake. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I just, I, I, I don't see it. Yeah. I just, I don't I think that I perhaps would let them have the boat or something, I'd make some quick arrangements That's true. and I've told so many stories about the snakes Uh-huh. you know, when they pull in, there's a snake instead of a fish, and things like that Yeah. I'm just, Oh. I don't know, Yeah. What's the largest fish you ever caught? Uh, gosh, I think it was only like three and a half pounds, and for me that's big. That's why I'm saying I love to go fishing because I've never caught anything really, really big. Uh, so, because it's always been, you know, in the, on a lake, and, uh, I know they have bigger fish than that but, you know, three and a half pounds, and that was, huge for me, Oh, on a lake, yeah. On a like that's not a bad size fish. *listen; transcript should probably read "lake" not "like" yeah, that's a good size fish I would be impressed Yeah, yeah. So, uh, but yeah, I'd love to go catch like the Marlins or whatever in the deep sea fishing. I've never done that. Uh-huh. I've, I've seen it, uh, and, and I have no problem going out in a boat, uh, it's just so dreadfully expensive, and there's just so many other ways live down there. Yeah. It's not a treat Uh-huh. it's what you do every day. That's right. You know. That's right. Uh, one of my favorite things was, we were forever catching crab and steaming them you know, out on the, on the beach and you know, just, uh, pitching them out, on, uh, on, uh, what am I trying to say, newspaper and, and, breaking them up and sitting out there and eating them, and then digging a hole and pitching the whole thing in it you know Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Wow. Uh-huh. and, and that's it. Yeah. And, uh, but, the other little creatures would take care of what was left. That's right, So, going out on a boat, never did appeal to me simply because it, you know, there was so much else to do. that's right. Right. Right. Well, do you live like along, uh, Houston, down there? No, no. I live in Dallas. I lived in Dallas. oh, okay. But you, uh, We had a house in Port Aransas. Oh okay. It's a little fishing village that is, Corpus. That's close to, uh, South Padre. Well, uh, South Padre is on down the bend Oh Corpus. Okay. Okay. Okay. it's like if you drew a line from Austin straight down, it would be in that region. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Small island. Yeah. Uh, Yeah. I, I've been to Port Aransas but, it was when I was a child. Oh, okay. Yes, because I have relatives who live in Houston, so when would go, and we would go to Port Aransas or then, on down to Corpus or further, yeah, like what your talking about. Because I was just wondering, we went to Galveston this, this summer, even with all the oil spills and everything, I mean, I was, oh, it was horrible. Was it bad? I well never, ever go back. I don't think. Uh, Oh, I hate to hear that. and, yeah, and that, that's true, uh, uh, you know, the, the water was murky, and I would hate to think about catching fish or anything there Huh-uh. huh-uh, no I wouldn't want to eat them. No, So, no, no. Yeah. You went to Galveston. Uh, I have a favorite hotel that extends out over the water Uh-huh. the, uh, what is it, the Flagship? Yes. Uh-huh. Is it still there? It sure is. I like that place. Yeah. Yeah. It most certainly is, so, uh, so that, it, it was, it was certain things that were enjoyable about it, but, uh, I don't, I think it's lost a lot of it's appeal since then, because of all the oil spills that they have had, and, uh, it always smelled the entire time we were there. It was, I didn't realize that had happened, for some reason. Yeah. We went swimming one time, in the whole week that, we were there, and the rest of the time we stayed in the pool, because the water was so awful, and, Well, of course, being raised on the water I'd never swim in it. yeah. Huh-uh. Yeah. Swimming is for swimming, pool. Yeah. That's why they call them swimming pools Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's where you swim. You do not swim in the ocean. No. No. No. Not anymore. I've seen what comes out of the ocean, and I have no desire to share, any space with anything like that. But, really, but huge sharks are down there. Uh-huh. I mean incredibly large sharks. Uh-huh. Uh, some of the young dread naughty boys in my family would fish for them all night Uh-huh. it was incredible the size of them, Wow. the next morning they would have them strung up across the getties Uh-huh. and it, you know, so, just strung up, their tails would still hang on the bottom of the getties yeah, just, Wow. Wow. Yeah. Now I never knew they were that, that big, huh, I won't have anything to do with. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Well, it was nice talking to you. Well, it certainly was, uh, Maybe you can get, how many, have you had very many of these calls? Uh, yeah, almost ever day. How wonderful. Yeah. Almost, almost ever single day from when they started it. Yeah. Maybe I'll just be so lucky. Okay, I enjoyed talking to you. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye Phil, I guess a good question to ask is do you do your own work, or do you like to do it? Yeah, well, I, um, about, or just over a year ago I bought my own house, so this has been the first opportunity I've had to, uh, be working on my own lawn and garden, and, uh, you know, when, back when I was a kid, you know, mom would send me out to weed the garden. I, I'd hate it, you know. Yeah. Now, I sort of take pride in, uh, in the yard, and, you know, how the place looks, and, uh, so I don't mind doing it so much anymore. Yeah, so do you have a, do you have a garden, or do you just do your landscaping now and your lawn? Well, it's, yeah, it's, it's primarily just, uh, like landscaping a little bit. You know, I've got some, uh, bushes around the you know, foundation planning, things like that, and then there's some, just some little flower beds, and my mom grows, she's an avid gardener, and she starts her own stuff from seed now, and she gets a little over zealous when she is planting these seeds in the wintertime and starting them. Uh, she ends up with so many plants that she can't fit them all in her garden. They have a huge yard and a huge house, and so she brings them up here from Philadelphia and gives me all her extras. Well, that's pretty good. Yeah. My, my sister is very over zealous, too. She's got some really nice flower beds. She puts a lot of time into them. This is my first year in a, in a house where I'm thinking about doing some flower beds and stuff. Oh, we, I've always had crude ones at my father's, but this is the first time that I really have to landscape a house. Yeah. His house is more like a farm house. It's not on a main road. Uh-huh. My house is on a main road, and it has nothing Yeah. I mean, nothing. But, um, what I do do, and I've always done it is, at my father's house, we have, my sister and I have a couple of gardens. I think we figured out total, this is for vegetables about two thirds of an acre. Uh-huh. So we each have a third of an acre we do. Jeez, that's more than, that's more than the property I have right here, that you've got as a, uh, garden, That's a lot that's amazing. Yeah, well, it's my dad's, and we've had it for he's been there for a long time Right. so, um, it just happens they built a shopping center next to it Oh, jeez. but, um, they put up a nice fence, so we still have a lot of privacy, and we grow a lot of food. Uh-huh. Uh, I enjoy it, um, the gardens are kind of old, you have to step down in them now because we've tilled them so much, Uh-huh. but there's still, we, we, my sister uses probably a fertilizer. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But I wish this phone would stop screeching, Are you getting a lot of static on your end of the line? Yes. I'm trying, I don't know if it's my phone. This is bad. It's not getting any better. Yeah, I can't even hear what you're Oh, okay. Oh jeez, it's gone. I don't see, I don't think my phone really does that, but every time I have this phone is a little weird, I mean it's been dropped on the floor a hundred times. Well, I don't know, there was well, whatever it was, there was a second there I couldn't even hear what you were saying, but, um, Yeah, I was beating on the phone going, Can you hear me. Yeah, I guess I was having a hard time there too. I thought it sounded, well, I guess we better stick to the subject for the benefit of the people uh, uh, doing this work. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, I mean, that's a heck of a you must have a lot of different stuff you get out of there, especially up in Vermont there, you should have, uh, some really nice soil. Yeah, we grow a lot of, uh, the basic, corn, potatoes. Uh-huh. She likes to really get into her pumpkins and see how many she can grow. corn, potatoes, and, uh, acorn squash are good winter keepers. Yeah. I mean, things the way we grow are carrots, cabbage, that sort of goes to waste Uh-huh. you know, we eat it, we, just too much. She, she starts her own plants. She plants a lot of tomatoes Uh-huh. I let her do all the planting and putting, and I, I do a lot of the, uh, a lot of the, the the back work, and stuff. But she does, she helps me a lot, too. Uh-huh. She puts a lot of financial. She plans it all out. Beans like to be near certain types of plants. Now, they find that tomatoes don't do well if you put them next to something like, uh, peas, I don't know. Something, Oh, really because of like the cross-pollination, or, No, it's just like, something like an onion and a tomato would go together, but you're not supposed to put your onions near your beans. I guess it's, it's just what scents it gives off, they just don't like each other. Huh. I mean, she, she reads all kinds of books, so. I wish I knew more to tell you why, but, Huh. My mom put, uh, cantaloupes and cucumbers near each other once, and the got cross pollinated by the bees Yeah And we ended up with these, these, like things on the cantaloupe vines that, I mean, were looked like round big huge round cucumbers. Oh, that's really weird. Yeah, I mean, there, these were like some mutant. I've put my cucumbers down at one end of the garden and like I'll make an L shape I've put my cantaloupe. So they've been pretty close together. Huh. But I don't think the vines. They don't they don't have to be touching or anything, like you say, they cross pollinate just by bees, No, it's just the, like the bees and insects will do it. Um, Either that or my mom just had some bad seed or something. Something weird. Yeah. This year, this last season it was too wet up here Uh-huh. we lost a lot of our root things, our squash and our potatoes, and we got half our yield. Oh, well. It was really bad because of the water. Yeah, when I, my family used to live in Littleton, Massachusetts, and when we moved in there we had a, a really wet backyard, and, uh, my mom wanted a vegetable garden. So we trucked in, uh, I think it was seven, what was it, cubic, seven yards, cubic yards, I think that's how they measure dirt Yeah. yeah, seven yards of sand. I got to shovel it all, lots of fun. Yeah, I have to do that, I want to make some flower beds, and I'm going to have a seven yard truck come in with some top soil. Uh-huh. And I'm going to, my problem is I want to use those rail ties to build up a planter Sure. but I don't know if the creosote in the rail ties is going to do something, you know, if I want to grow a tomato or something in there Right. Well, it seems, I mean, I guess it'd go with my flowers. I've seen a lot of people use them, you know, for flower beds, but I don't know what, whether they'd have creosote would do anything, I mean, Yeah, I don't, I don't, I just don't think you, I always thought I'd put a tomato plant in there or something weird Uh-huh. but I don't think I could really eat the fruit off it without wondering. And I don't know if they make landscape ties that aren't treated. Well, you can get, um, you can get pressurized lumber, Yeah, but they put, some kind of chemicals in there too. Oh, that's right. there's even, there's bad chemicals in those too. Yeah. Well, I'm not really worried about it, it's mainly for flower bed, so I'm not going to, no I'm just not going to put that tomato plant in there. All right. But, I, yeah, I do want to have a raised bed. I've never, my flower gardens are always been like on the ground. Right. They don't, it just looks so much better when it's up against the house, tiered up. Well, you can see it a little better and it stands out. Yeah, this house that I have is just a three bedroom ranch and I can tell you there's nothing around it, cement foundation all the way around it. Not a shrub, not a bush. Um. There was a lilac tree, and the landlord cut it down and said, Yeah, that's one thing you have to do is keep that lilac bush cut down so it doesn't rub up against the siding And I'm looking at him like, Jeez. People would kill to have a lilac bush and he's cutting it down So. That's all right. Flower beds are all right. Anything, as long as it doesn't rub up against the siding. Rub up against the siding. Uh, Yeah, that's what he's worried about. The trees, or a bush, because lilac bushes, they, they grow fast. Some people, uh, would really like to have them, and then the people that do have them, they spread, and they sprout all over their lawn. Uh-huh. So, they're kind of a pain, but, you know, people who don't have them think they're great. And people who do have them, curse. Right. Another thing I have that, um, is weird is the, a locus tree in the back yard. As a matter of fact there's three of them, very badly trimmed, they aren't trimmed at all. Uh-huh. And I can imagine if I had to mow the lawn in the back, which we said we'd do, if the trees hang down so, and the locus trees have like three quarters of an inch thorns on it. Yeah, they're like, I think I've seen those before, but I don't remember what they look like. They're a pretty tree, but you just, when you walk up to them they're covered with thorns. So we're going to get a chain saw and limb it extensively so it gets the trees up overhead, So it'll give you room to get under it, sure, Yeah, because I can just see brushing up against it, that it would rip your skin. Yeah. It's worse than a rose bush. Um. Many times worse, because of course, it's a tree. Oh, a tree is always something very nice to have. Yeah, my dad used to work on them, so I don't think I'll have a problem. My husband will have problems borrowing one. then you got to get him to, if he's going to do it, you've got to twist his arm to get him to go do it. Well, if that's not the problem ... Okay, did you vote in the last, uh, national election? Yes, we, uh, uh, I haven't missed a one since I've been eligible to vote. Oh, that's good. Did you get to vote at the last one? I voted in the last national one. Yeah, I'm not sure *slash error; one utt with next if I got the last local one. Oh, uh-huh, yeah, and sometimes the, the local ones aren't as publicized it seems that, uh, they should be. Yeah, you're not sure where to go and vote and all that. Right, and, uh, there's usually nobody running against, you know, the incumbents. Right, or you don't know what they you know, where they stand or anything like that. Right. So, uh, but I, I feel that, uh, a lot of people have gotten lazy about voting. Yeah, I think you're right. And, it's, it's, they're, and also they're fed up with the system, and they say, well, why should I even vote. Yeah, or sometimes they don't like either of the choices for the candidates, Right. so they think, well, you know, why vote. Right. The lesser of the two evils is how we usually look at it. Yeah, really, especially in Texas Oh, I know it The last gubernatorial race was, oh it was awful. It really was, yeah. So I don't know, I, I, it'll be interesting to see how the next, uh, few years go. Yeah Did they get the serious problem that half the people don't vote. Yeah, I think, well, it's, it's definitely a problem, and I think it could get worse. Yeah. You know, we get this lackadaisical attitude, and say, huh, you know, why should we vote, then, you know, it could, uh, it could lead to some serious things. Yeah. It also seems like maybe another candidate that nobody wants could slip in if, you know, not enough people are voting. Uh-huh. Right, uh, yeah, we can get, uh, yeah, if we get someone in there like that, then, you know, they could make all sorts of changes that they were, you know, had enough pull. Yeah, it's kind of like in Louisiana where that, uh, guy that's like a Ku Klux Klan member something got elected. Yes. Uh-huh. Kind of scary when you think about that. Yeah, and, uh, who's the other guy, LaRouche that, uh, is sort of the, uh, socialist, not socialist but he's so off the wall that, uh, he's gone in and tried to get into city elections and, uh, but he's got, he's been put away for, uh, credit card fraud, I believe. Oh, gosh. Yeah, Lyndon LaRouche, that's it. Yeah. And, uh, yeah. Yeah, people will sit home and assume, oh, that guy would never get elected. Uh-huh. Next thing you know, you've got him. Right. If you don't go and vote, then, you know, very good chance that they, they will because a lot of the people like that, they'll strike a chord in something, you know, in some of the people, that so will say, look, you know, this guy's got everything together. Yeah. You know, I like what he says, and he'll be so far off the wall that they'll elect him. Right, yeah. And, uh, I think that's sort of what happened with Louisiana because, because, um, the guy did get elected, correct? Yeah. Right. That's what I thought. Yeah, he sure did. And, uh, , but you know, they can always fool us, you know. He might do a good job. Yeah. I think one thing that maybe would help people vote is if the polls were either open more days, or you could mail it in, or something like, if you have, if you have real strict work hours, and you can only go like at seven in the morning or after work and you have to stand in line for so long Oh, yeah. I think that discourages a lot of people. What we do, usually, is, uh, vote, uh, absenteeism Uh-huh. and, uh, I know, here, you know, you don't have to have any reason, you can just go and vote Right. and the polls are open, what was it, a couple of weeks, the hours are good and they're even open on Saturdays and a couple of Sundays. Uh-huh. And so we've got plenty of time to go, because down here in Houston, it's, uh, the lines are long. Yeah, I'm in Dallas, and they're long here too. So, uh, but, uh, Yeah, I voted absentee one year. I really was going to be gone. So, I did it, but, uh, it was nice. I would be tempted to do it again. Well, uh, I recommend it, because you just walk right on in, and there's usually not anybody in line Right. and, uh, you know, that vote's just as good as, you know, the one on election day. Yeah. I think they should change the whole system so that it's easier Uh-huh, yeah. I think more people would do it if it wasn't such a hassle. Um, yeah, I've been involved with, uh, some of the campaigns and the state conventions of the, of the Republican party. And it's really interesting to see the process as far as what goes through as far as the voting and the, uh, how the, uh, the not the ballots, but, uh, my mind has gone blank. I've been all evening How they develop, uh, what the candidate stands for Uh-huh, you know, the views, and, uh, you know, everybody gets to vote on, you know, well, should he be for this and on and on and on, and, uh, it's, it's interesting. Yeah, that would be. I usually vote. A lot of times I'll vote a straight party ticket just because I don't take the time to find out what every, you know, other than the major candidates, what they stand for on what issues, Uh-huh. so I'll just trust well, the party kind of goes along these lines so I'll go ahead and vote. Right. There for a while, that would, that worked. We've, uh, I know I have, um, I'll stick to uh, to the, you know, sometimes I'll stick to a certain party, depends on the guy. Uh-huh. But, uh, if it, uh, gets down between two, then I'll, I'll vote for the party because I know, you know, something about the other guy Yeah. or, you know, they're both just as bad, and I'll say, Well, I know what this guy stands for as far as for his party, and, um, but yeah. You know, that's not the best way but, No, I guess it'd be best if you knew each person and what they stood for and why and everything. But it gets to the point where, I mean, you've got to have the find the time also to read about the guy and, and be able to find the information about what he stands for. Right, and try to determine if what you read was objective or not. Right, or what you've heard on T V, which I think is just outrageous. Yeah. I, I don't agree with how the media handles elections. Yeah. I, you know, I'm tired of hearing about the polls, you know, you know, this is how he stands such and such a day the way they break it out, Yeah. it's just, it's just ridiculous. Yeah, I think it could affect the outcome, you know, could make it unfair. Uh-huh, it really could, and, uh, then, how, sometimes, how the media will blow things out of proportion and will run an issue into the ground which is good and dead, and they keep dragging it on, and it could hamper the outcome of an election for the guy that should have won. Oh, yeah. Yeah, so, uh, Yeah, the press has a lot of power. They really do. I, I sometimes think that that should be limited more. Yeah, oh, but, boy you try get into that, you'd really open a can of worms. Oh, yes, or they, I agree with the freedom of the press, you know, and all the amendments, but sometimes it's for the public's own good that we don't hear things. Yeah, seems that they should regulate themselves a little bit, and I don't think they ever care to. No, they don't. Well, I can't think of anything else really about the polls or voting, to talk about. Well, I enjoyed talking to you. Well, it was good talking to you. All right. Bye. Bye-bye. Okay, so do you all keep a budget? No, we don't. You don't? No, I, I make so much money here at T I that, that we just spend it. And we never have a problem meeting it from paycheck to paycheck. It's pretty neat being that independently wealthy and working for a major semi-conductor firm, you can just spend it well. Are you being smart, or are you serious? I'm being facetious. I'm being very comical. Uh, we have a budget, um that works well. Uh-huh. I kind of look at it for more of a, we have a financial, uh, analyst, a finance administrator, I guess, that, that, uh, I guess the financial planners, the training now. We've had it for about four years here. Uh-huh. Got our businesses and, and, and our life in line, how to manage credit cards, how to put away, say for, you know, money markets and this kind of thing. Yeah. And, there's some freebies out there are you should put ten to fifteen percent of your monthly bring home in some sort of savings account. Uh-huh. Yeah. That being money market, uh, bonds, , savings, uh, or just a liquid account which, which we do. Uh-huh. Um, you should always have three months of your salary in a savings account in case there's a major need for that. Uh-huh. Okay. You should always have an umbrella permit that bridges your life insurance and your medical and your, uh, uh, car insurance in case you run into a lawyer and you break his arm. He's going to sue the pants off of you. These kind of things are about a hundred dollars a year. So you know, these are all equivalent to the monthly budget things. Uh-huh. Some of them are there to pacify situations. And some of them are there to prevent things from happening. Uh-huh. But, uh, I guess we kind of got away from about the last sixteen months as far as saying, two hundred dollars for food and three hundred dollars for this and two hundred for that because we had a child which is about a year old, and then uh, we've just been kind of working on, Uh-huh. I've been developing it, but it's kind of hard. Diaper prices are going up, you know, and formula and stuff, you know. Uh-huh. That's funny. Yeah, we have a, we're twenty eight, and he's been working at T I for five years, and that was pretty much his first real, really major job of any, you know, professional, because he had worked, you know, part time during school and what not, and, uh, he was a little late graduating, so we're, you know, uh, and we have a nine and a half year old son, and it's because, you know, we were eighteen when we had him, so, we're, we're kind of looking at this from the other aspect of, we, you know, we have a lot for, to be our age and, you know, just everything, and having the responsibilities we've had on us for, at such a young age. You know, we have a, like a nice house. People, you know, are really shocked at how nice everything is in our house. But, we don't, you know, live in a brand new house, either, maybe a ninety, hundred thousand dollar house Uh-huh. but we're in a thirty year old house that would probably sell for forty-five thousand. Uh-huh. So, you know, we have trade-offs. So we're more, we have a monthly budget with this, this, this, this. But, we have no savings, which isn't real wise, but we just, we don't have the income at this time really to have any, because we have three debts that we're trying to pay off from both of our student loans. We're still paying trying to pay those off. Uh-huh. And we have one car payment that we don't, I think we have about thirteen months left on it. Uh-huh. And after that, we either, what we want to do is begin doubling up our car payment, um, they'll pay, our car payment is equivalent to both of our student loans. So what we want to do is next year keep driving the same cars and, um, pay on the student loans, split that car payment in half and pay, you know, double up payments on both our loans. And it'll work out perfect. Do you have your, uh, loans through the Texas Credit Union? No, we don't. Okay. Thing about the credit union is, it's, the way it's set up is if you have two thousand dollars left, let's say, on, on the loan. Uh-huh. If you go up there and write them a two thousand dollar check it doesn't all go towards principal. Uh-huh. They take out for the, for the finances the finance charge, which is kind of, you know, it's like one of these lose or swim type of credit, one of those loans is. Not really the best in the world, but. But, you know, they're, uh, since your husband is, is, is, um, a T I but doesn't have the loans with the credit union, they're offering something that might be worth taking a gander at. Really. I don't know what your percent is on your, on your car payments Uh-huh. but they are, they'll take any T I non-credit union loan like if you have a fourteen percent loan for a new car. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, really. Uh-huh. One of the secretaries we have down here is paying twelve percent through G M A C or something. Uh-huh. And she's doing it. I mean, it's not like, it's like. Does she have to pay to have it refinanced? I think they even cover that because they want you as a they want the T I to be part of the credit union. Uh-huh. T I to, See, we got ripped off buying our new car. We both come out of, uh, drugs and stuff, and we became Christians about five years ago. Right when he got home from Terrell. Right before he got hired for T I, he had gotten saved and stuff, and so, I mean, when you get come out of drugs and stuff, you have nothing, I mean, you know, you don't have anything. You have the clothes on your back, and you might have a car, and that kind of thing. And so, when he, when he started working at T I, we, uh, you know, we really felt like God told us to buy a new car because he had an older car that was going to need to be fixed and high gas. But we got ripped off on it because we wanted it financed at four years, and we were young and we'd look about nineteen. People still think we're about, they ask us where we go to high school when we get our hair cut and stuff, both of us. And so, it's just kind of strange, you know, so five years ago we probably looked like real ding dongs, you know. Yeah. So we went in, and the financed the car for five, and we didn't know that. We got kind of taken, just a little bit. So we're kind of upset that we're having to, you know, pay this fifth year on the car, because it was just not a wise thing. But we learned a good lesson. So, you know. Well, five years is not that, uh, five years is not that bad of a problem only because you're paying more interest, but your payments are lower. Yeah, but they, they would have only been about twenty dollars a month higher, and he Oh, really. Yeah, he just told me this last week that he, he said, don't you remember I asked them to finance it at four years and they came back and they said that they had it figured for five and we'd already signed the papers. And I maybe, I might have been there. I don't remember hearing that. But, I also wasn't the one in charge of it, so I wasn't paying as close of attention. Sure. But, anyway, instead of putting our foot down about it, we just went, okay, whatever, you know. So anyway, so next time we'll do that different. We want to next time pay cash for our car, too. We want to pay cash for everything we can possibly do. When we buy a house, we attended a Bill financial seminar, and he has a lot of wisdom on that, just on Biblical, you know, principles to finance. Uh-huh. He runs a big, the largest real estate company in Fort Worth debt free. And we really believe in debt free living and debt free car buying and debt free house buying. And if we do take out a loan on a house in the future, what we'll do is pay twice a, twice a month on it, and, because you save a lot in interest, just doing that. Yes. And then, You save a lot. Right. If, if, if, if, and you need to be very careful, if the loan is set up to have bi, they call it a yuppie loan, if it's set up for bimonthly payments. Right. If you, because you'll save fifteen to seventeen years off the end of the loan. Right. I'm sorry, seven to nine years off the end of the loan. Right. And there are, there is a local firm that'll actually, if, if, like in my situation, I don't have that, because the loan was not available. I can have, this firm will pick up my loan for a six hundred fifty dollar fee. So I can cut that much off the end of, but I'm not interested because we're moving out of the house next year. Oh really. Yeah. But, uh, those are all great. Uh-huh. The, the interesting thing, we're getting ready to have a house built Uh-huh. it's not, a lot of the firms that offer, mortgage loan firms, aren't offering, um, that loan. Uh-huh. You can ask and you can wheel and deal, but it's not as open as it should be. Yeah. It's a great idea. Hell, I'd love to cut ours in half, but, uh Uh-huh. man. And if you figure, get with a financial person. Yeah. And you can figure up exactly when like the eighteenth month of a loan, if you make like a four hundred dollar payment over and above your house payment it'll make, uh, Uh-huh. it has a magic with numbers. It, I, it'll shave almost, you know, X number of dollars off, Right. Yeah, we we've become aware of that. We have a, there's a loan officer through our church, too, that I think could help us better. You know, he does that full time with the bank, you know. Uh-huh. And so we're going to use people that we're in a relationship with that we know, that, you know, we know are people of integrity. So. Sure. You know, that is another thing that, you know, we feel like our long term goal is going to be benefitted by next time we buy a car we're not just going to go to Toyota of Irving, you know, we're going to go to somebody that we know, we're going to take someone with us older, and we didn't do any of those things. Somebody you trust. You know, there are so many rip-off artists here in this town. It's, it's, uh, it's really a sin, it really is. Yeah. I got taken on some on firewood. Really. I mean, uh, uh, the guy shorted us a half a cord of firewood, and my wife didn't know, and I stopped payment on the check, and he'd already been paid by a cashing firm. And, and they're suing us, they're suing me on this, and it's for a hundred and thirty-four dollars. Oh, my. Absolutely pathetic. I stopped payment on a check. Oh, that's funny. Oh, this last week, we bought a sewing machine at Zak's, and then I found that you could get the same machine better for less locally. Not much less, but it was enough less, and I found they locally serviced it. And we just stopped payment on the check. So I hope they don't sue us over it But we never received any merchandise either, so I don't think it would hold Anyway. Oh, okay, well probably something like that, did you call them and tell them you just, you just. No, we didn't even call them. We just did it. Maybe my husband should call today. Might be a good idea, because you're going to get, what, a, a check, Well, this is kind of ironic because I work in T I legal department. Do you? And although we don't have any criminal actions here, we do have other, um, lawsuits that do go to trial from time to time. Uh-huh. And, uh, when was it, a couple weeks ago I was asked to go to, uh, jury duty I, I wasn't selected but, um, for some of our cases in particular we have, um, very technical cases from time to time because of like our patents and such. Sure. And it's very difficult for lay people for somebody who might just, you know happen to be selected in our jury, to understand what we're talking about. Well, I do think that the cases like the, uh, oh, say something like Texaco versus Pennzoil, Uh-huh. or, or the Texaco Pennzoil problem, uh, is ridiculous for people just taken off the street to understand, and, really should have some better way where people who understand both the circumstances and the complex issues involved, should handle cases like that. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah, you know, some I don't, you always have the option, now in criminal I guess you always have a jury, but in civil cases you have the option of whether you want a jury or not. Oh, is that right? Yeah, and in some incidences I think they ought to, ought not to have a jury, Yeah. um Okay, boy. Or, uh, or there should be some way where it could be opted for them not to have a jury. Uh, I was only on one jury ever, so far in my life, Uh-huh. and, uh, it really was a pretty trivial, case and it seemed to me all the time I was thinking of all these people in the courtroom over the case that involved, oh, a couple thousand dollars I think, it was, it was really just, uh, uh, terrific waste of everybody's time and money. Uh-huh. Um. And it finally ended up that, uh, even though we had reached a verdict before we were allowed to give it, they settled the case. Oh. They they had settled while we were deliberating. Yeah. Now, the one thing I did approve of there was that we didn't have to be unanimous because it was a civil case. Uh-huh. And, uh, we were split, uh, ten to two so, it was, uh, a good thing that, it wasn't a total waste of time to have a hung jury on a case that trivial. Yeah, well, um, I've never fully served, I mean, I've been asked twice to go down but I didn't get elected on the panel, but, I know, that, um, for a lot of the civil cases it's rare, I mean, if your a lawyer, um, there, you could be a lawyer who never actually gets into the courtroom there's a lot of attorneys like that, that never get to the courtroom. Some, their kind of law doesn't get them to the courtroom, but even in, um, litigation which is doing lawsuits, is a lot of times that you never get to the courtroom itself Well, I think that the trial in a sense, is kind of a threat to hold over people to try to get them to reach an agreement out of court, because it does cost so much money. But it's a shame that, oh, it's not so bad for the court system because the money there isn't being spent but there's awful lot of money in time and effort spent in preparing for trial only to then finally get scared enough by going to the court and usually it's the scare kind of, of the jury because you really don't know one way or the other how that jury is going to feel. Uh-huh. You could feel that you really have a very strong case and that you're very much right but the jury may or may not see it that way, Sure. so you get a little you know, anxious there and go well, you know, I don't feel that sure Yeah. and who knows what the jury will say because sometimes, you know, the juries come down with a result and you go, gee Yeah, I was a witness in a case, in a criminal case. Uh-huh. And it was absolutely horrifying to me how that operated because so much evidence was excluded, and that the jury was never allowed to hear and they convicted the defendant, I, on as far as I could tell, very flimsy evidence and two perjured testimonies. And I knew the people involved, both the people who d and the people who, uh, were defendants. Uh-huh. And, yeah, I think that was just a, a horrible miscarriage of justice because of the, uh, you know, staying by the absolute strict rules and not allowing things to be presented to the jury, that, uh, were highly irrelevant to the case and could, I thought, have established the defendant's innocence. Yeah. So, uh, I do, although I'm a lawyer's daughter and I have lawyer's, and judges on both sides of the family, and uncles and cousins and things like that, I really think that we have gotten into much, too legalistic of society and that we, we spend far too much on the fine points of the law and far too little on achieving justice. and it seems a lot of times that, uh, especially in criminals that, their rights are so protected but what about the rights of, you know, the rest of society, I mean, we're protecting this person's rights who has broken the law, um, Uh-huh. and we protect him so much, but what about the rest of the society, you know, what are we doing for them, we're kind of, you know, forgetting about them and, I think sometimes that a criminal should kind of, if he breaks law, especially it he's a repeater, the law shouldn't just always cover for him, that some of his rights as should be taken. Well, and then in a lot of, Yeah, in criminal cases, uh, for instance, you can't bring up prior convictions unless they are somehow directly related to the case. And it seems to me that a jury can make a much more rational decision if they know somebody had fifteen convictions for a similar crime, Yeah. now it's possible that he didn't commit the but the likelihood certainly tilts it . Yeah. With a record like that. And, that was one of the things that we're not allowed to, was not allowed in the, uh, trial I went to, Yeah. though, uh, one of the two people who gave the perjured testimony, had a long criminal record and had been, you know, a real sleaze bag. And he came in and was presented to the court as a standing young man who had, uh, been in seminary to become a priest, and, but I happen to know his background and I know that he would have sold out his mother for, uh, uh, shorter sentence. Jeez. And, you know, it's, it's really annoying when the, I asked the defense attorney later why he didn't bring up all this other trouble the guy had been in. He said that, that was barred, uh, by the court. Um, So, we do have some problems and it seems to me that, uh, maybe it's time to just scrap all the case law and go back to general principles and start over. And then make a legal system that carefully protects people but, uh, where you, Yeah, I'd even go for, for trying to get some truth out of the witness stand if they come up with some pretty reliable, uh, um, lie detector tests that we can see right then and there whether they're lying or telling the truth. Yeah. Yeah, that would be wrongful . Yeah, you know. Sure would. Yeah, I witnessed one trial many years ago when I was first, um, studying to be a paralegal and, uh, uh, they barred priors on this, uh, person and they never then told us, I guess, because priors had a reason as to why these two people were very much in hatred of each other. Um. And they never told us why these two people had such a vendetta against each other and the crime was, uh, uh, attempt to commit murder, you know, Um. but they never told us why these people were mad at each other and gee, you know, that's, And you think that would be relevant. Yeah, you know, because they, they told us in school that, you know, crime has to be an intent, you know, has to be not just the act but you have to intend to do it because there could be accidental kind of things, you know, Right. but they never told us why these two people, hated themselves or if one had done something to, you know, really aggravate the other there was never any motive, given Uh-huh. and, and I had a tough time with that and, and being a person who saw what the jury didn't plus what the jury did, because we were just observing, you know, there in the courtroom, at the end of it all, I still didn't know Uh-huh. Yeah, right. I still have a lot of reasonable doubts and I've seen everything presented and, you know, they just haven't done a real complete case here to my thinking. Uh-huh. I don't know that I want to, sit on a jury like that I think so, and I, and you'd still, you know, I want ask some questions here Yeah, that's something I thought would be a very good idea of when juries come in they are told just to shut up and listen. Uh-huh. And it seems to me that you'd get a lot more, uh, information if your questions were heard, if you were allowed to ask the witnesses things, or if, or the lawyers things or even the judge. Uh-huh. Right. But particularly the witnesses. Right. Yeah, allow them to, uh, go back and, and deliberate and, uh, you know, after each days proceedings come out with some questions that they want answered like the next day, bring those people back, Or if they would allow them to, uh, give broader answers, they, it's really kind of, uh, choreographed. It's like a script has been written when people testify. They aren't testifying really in their own words, Right. Yeah, I can remember, uh, friends of Daddy ... There we go. Okay. Well, uh, what do you think about taxes, do you think we're paying too much? Yes and no. Income tax, no. I, uh, I look at it this way, uh, you've got to pay for the privilege of living here. Uh-huh. But, uh, being a, uh, a rec vehicle owner, well, in fact, I live in a motor home. I'm a what they call a full timer and, uh, it burns gas like crazy. I only get seven miles to the gallon. I really resent this fact that they keep adding on gasoline taxes and they call it, uh, uh, what's the word they use, anyway, a, a luxury tax. Yeah. They add it on on to tires and gasoline, cigarettes, liquor. It doesn't bother me any because I've quit drinking and I quit smoking. So, that doesn't bother me but I don't think it's fair. Yeah. It's too, um, um, it's attacking just certain people. How true. Even with the gasoline tax. Yeah. Well, gasoline, especially, in this part of the country we all use it all the time, you know, it's, that's not what I would consider a luxury. No. Uh, fifty years ago the automobile was a luxury but it's a necessity today and, uh, as hard as they try to get these public transit things going I have never seen nor heard of one that really got of the ground. Or that accomplish what they set out to to accomplish. Yeah. What are your feelings on it? Well, um, I, I think that we probably are paying a little too much tax considering what we're getting for it and how it's being managed and so forth. I mean, I, I think there could be a better system and we would get more for our money. It's totally out of our hands so we don't, we can't really do a whole lot about how that money is spent and where it goes and, uh, Yeah. That, that's, that's so true. I mean, they say well, you voice your opinion, uh, uh, uh, on election day. But not really. No, you don't. Look what happened on the last presidential election, read my lips. And what happened they turned around and double crossed us. Yeah. So, uh, I mean, you can't believe what you hear. Well, I think too, one of the things that rubs me the wrong way the most is those programs that are funded by Congress and, uh, that don't seem to have any validity at all. I mean, they're always far out and, uh, you know, they're studying some obscure bug, you know, in some other part of the world or some such thing, Oh. Uh, yes. and our tax money pays for those things and I think that's wrong. I, I agree and, and, uh, I, I also think we extend too much help to other, uh, countries we need enough help here in this country. That's right. They're still people starving people here *They're There're why should we help starving people somewhere else. Yeah. And I think here lately they've been saying quite often and maybe somebody's coming to realize we're the nation in trouble. Absolutely. Now I can't wait for, uh, I, I could just picture what's going to happen here in the not to distant future. We keep hearing well, we're going to receive, uh, eight billion dollars from Japan for the, uh, uh-huh, the, the, the big, war over there in the Mideast. The war. Uh-huh. And, uh, so many billions of dollars here and there and everything and, uh, the next thing you know we'll be turning around just like we did to Poland and say, well, just forget it. Yeah. And I think that's a mistake. Oh, definitely. Somewhere, you know, we have to realize that we can't just keep giving it away. Well, another thing now they keep decontrolling different things. First, it was the airlines then it was banks and, and, uh, um, savings association, and whatnot. We know what trouble they got into Exactly. And the same with the airlines back in the days when they were, uh, controlled and, and, uh, Transcontinental or, um, um, Interstate, uh, Trucking. I mean, as soon as the federal government gave up control on all that, they just went to hell in a hand basket. Yeah. Prices went sky high. Then, in, in the case of airlines, of course, they became highly competitive and they cut each others throats until they're, they reach the point where they're cutting their own throat. And, uh, well, of course, that's getting away from taxes isn't it, that's government controlled. But, uh, Well, I, I think another thing too that, um, I've had a little contacted with, uh, in regard to taxes let's say that, uh, you have something that the I R S disagrees with or, you know, says, hey, we're not going to allow that. Well, I think they're very unfair in the amount of penalties and interest that they can attach to that because you, you will not only payback that that you wrote off but you will at least double that amount and, Oh, by the time you get through with the, uh the penalties. Yes. And that's, to me there's something wrong there, you know. Yeah. I mean, I can see paying the interest and some small penalty but they really stick it to you big time. Uh, I agree. I think the I R S is, uh, just too powerful. There should be some sort of a control on it. And they should be a little more humane. Uh-huh. Absolutely. Uh, the, uh, typical bureaucratic, I guess. That's, that's one of my pet peeves. I came up with a brilliant idea how we could reduce the, the budget. Uh-huh. Very simple. Give, uh, uh, uh, government employees the average number of, uh, holidays as the, uh, private industry. Yeah. I mean, you think about it now, they, they get about sixteen holidays a year. That's a lot. It sure is. And I think here at TI we get, what is it nine or ten? Well, I haven't counted. I, I would have guessed eight even but you might be right. I don't have any idea. Well, I remember, uh, uh, thinking, I think it was the last time I did hear that we get about the average. Maybe even a little more, a day or so more than the average. Yeah. But, uh, government is ridiculous. Wow. Just think of the money they could save. I mean, they're, they're paying out this money anyway. Yeah. Why not get the work out of the people. Yeah. And, well, anyway that would, of course, eventually come back to taxes. But, uh, as far as income tax is concerned, I can't complain too much about it. Uh, I'm single, I have no, uh, dependents or anything, my children are all grown and they're out worrying about their own income taxes. Yeah. Well, I, I have another thing that I thought about too, for instance, when you try to save money and you earn interest on whatever your investment is and, you know, we're not typically talking about big dollars but here you feel like you've, you've done something good you've, you've earned your interest and then you have to go back and pay taxes on it. So, the real amount of your savings on that is, is, not much. Uh, very true. That's, You know, it's kind of a vicious circle there. And then they tell you to, uh, well, invest it in, uh, is it I R A or something and, and, when you turn, When you turn sixty-five why then you pay the tax on it And then, at a took that away as far as being, and the tax is a lot less. Yeah. But in the mean time you've got your money tide up in a low, relatively low interest bearing investment. I mean, it's not making ten, fifteen percent like a business is today. Huh-uh. Uh, me I'm a firm believer in that if you got it spend it. Well, you can come over to my house and spend it Well, you, well, do you, do you need some help spending yours? I wish I had some to spend. No. No. I just don't have any. Oh, uh-huh. Well, that's my problem too. I'm, I'm trying to figure out from one payday to the next whose going to be the lucky one this month that's going to get paid. Yeah. That's the way it goes Well, I guess we probably talked just about long enough. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, let me ask you something. Did you get a catalog or something from these people? Yes. You did? Uh-huh. I've, everybody I've talked to has received one but I haven't gotten mine. Uh, I don't know. Um, well, anyway Ellen, it was nice talking to you. You too. And, uh, until next time. Okay. Bye-bye. Good-bye. Uh, no I think that maybe the, the automation people that are very discrete. Or not discrete, electronic devices. Oh, okay. Oh. So, and, did he, is he the one that got you connected with us? Uh-huh. Okay. It's a lot of fun. Yeah. You want to punch the button and go? Sure, you ready? Yip Okay. Well, are you going to buy a car soon? Well, it won't be too much longer because my husband and I are both going to retire. And when we retire we're going to buy us, a, you know, a new one and, and get rid of the two that we have right now. And what are you going to buy? I I don't know, we're either going to buy a pick up, or we're going to buy a van. Or we're going to buy an economy car, how do you like that Well, have you been listening to Iacocca's arguments that, uh, that Chrysler products are the only ones that, that all have air bags? Uh, yeah. Does that make a difference to you? Yeah. It sure does. I really would like to have something like that, and I'm hoping that by you know, that's like, right now, my husband would like for me to buy another vehicle right now. But I keep saying lets put it off, lets put it off, because I'm hoping they'll get so many better features. Yeah, like what? Well, just like that air bag. I think that thing is fantastic. Because I've seen some of the, you know, like the head on collision type things, when they had it and people walk away from it. Yeah. We had one here, I guess it was about three weeks ago, and the people walked away from the, wreck, with no scratches nothing. You know, a few bruises. That's . did you see the, uh, I don't know if it was TWENTY-TWENTY, last Thursday or Friday night on, on seat belts? Uh-huh. Did that scare you a little bit? With the lady being thrown out and run over. Uh-huh. You got it. I, I, tell you what, I would not, I would not buy a car that had the seat belt where it was hooked under the door. that really I, I guess, I, that, that a little more than scared me, that irritated me, uh, that, because it, it, it surely didn't come as a surprise that, that if the door came open the lady would fall out, I mean, and, Well, you know what the average person, would you ever have thought of that? uh I mean now no, probably, well, you probably wouldn't have, I might, the problem is I'm really into cars, and so it's not a, uh, for me it's, it's a real, it's a real consideration, uh, uh, and, and, uh, the, but no I probably wouldn't have even though I'm really quite into cars it's, it's probably my main hobby. Right because you always think, I mean, I don't know, maybe you don't, but just like me, I always think well, you know, these things must be safe, but that's just like, I don't know if you've heard about it a few years ago, they said, you know, before they had the, like the shoulder strap thing where it was just like a seat belt that goes across your waist? Yeah. All these people were, and, and it, it was on one of those kind of shows like TWENTY-TWENTY Uh-huh. these people were like paralyzed, and because, it threw them forward, but they were hooked at the waist, and so it like, you know, did something to their spinal cord Yeah. then they were like paraplegics. yeah, you know, ROAD AND TRACK had a, had some articles on, and particularly with, with back seat, uh, with some, where kids, were, were sitting in the back seat with seat belts on, and they were thrown forward, into the front seat, and there was enough stretching, the combination of stretching the spine to, uh, I mean, the serious injury, even though they were, they were still locked in the Right. they were forced to go, so really if your sitting in the back seat, your better off not not to have your seat belt on, if it's just a seat belt. Yeah. We have a van, that, uh, just has seat belts in the back doesn't have a shoulder harness Well, tell me about your van. Do you like it? I have an Arrow Star van, we really do. Uh, it's, it's a mini van, we've had it, goodness in May will be five years and, uh, they replace the engine at sixty thousand under extended warranty. And the transmission was replaced but they really are nifty, uh, the mini van, it's actually, we had a station wagon before, and it's a foot or two shorter than a, we had a regular size station wagon Uh-huh. and it really, uh, we like it, it, the interestingly enough one of the features we like are the electric locks. Huh. The reason that we're thinking about something like that, we took a trip in my brother in law and sister in laws to Florida Uh-huh. and, like I said, I mean, we're not that old but my husband works for the State, and after a certain amount of years you can retire. And when he retires I'm retiring. Well, as soon as I get my quarters in, I'm, retiring period, Uh-huh. that's it, Yeah. you know, no more Well, but, the, did you, did you go to Florida in a van? As though Uh-huh And we wanted to travel, well, that was really nice traveling but you know, I like to know more, I mean, hear about more people that have things like that you know? Yeah. And see what they think of them, the different kinds Yeah. because I've only ridden in the one, What, what kind was it? that's it. Uh, shoot I can't even think of the name of it now. What, what was remarkable, this van, even with, the, we have two kids, and we went to Disney World Uh-huh. uh, actually I grew up in Alabama, and I went to see my mother, and then went on down to Disney World, and it got better than, I think twenty-two, twenty-three miles a gallon. And this was with the air conditioner on and, and you know four people with, with luggage, Yeah. and, uh, course this, grant it, that's, you know, it's been four years ago, but it's remarkable that the, that the bigger vans, uh, they're, uh, my boss just bought a, a pick up truck, and, uh, he only gets seventeen miles a gallon. Yeah. But it, it has a big engine, and it, it, pulls a boat and stuff, but it's, and it, it's got the seats that, and the other thing that is interesting, is it has, uh, rear air conditioning. Uh-huh. And that, that makes a lot of difference in those of us that live in warm climates. Yeah. Well, now, this one that we went in, it did to baby what kind of van was that that we went to Florida in? Ford. A what? Ford. A Ford? Ford what, you remember? conversation with He was trying to think of what the name of it was, Well, the big, you know, the big vans are all, real nice, this was a big one. I mean it was a big one, yeah, oh those are it has the front and the back and you know, it has the uh, back seat let down into a double, I mean a queen size bed yeah. Yeah. and then it had the two swivels in the middle, and then the two swivel chairs on the front All right. and, I mean it was fantastic, Uh-huh. and it got good gas mileage, but I don't know I don't really, I don't, I want something I can drive too, you know, Well well, the mini, that, and I was scared to drive that big van. you'd be surprised if, if you drive a, one of the, the mini vans, uh, more or less alike the, the, uh, Chevrolet and, uh, well of course, Oldsmobile has got one, and Chryslers got one, but they drive remarkably like cars. Well, do you, does yours have that this one had it where you know, you would see something coming in the rear view mirror, I mean not the rear, those little side mirror things Yeah. and it would look like it was further back than it was. Yeah but, the little, thing etched in it, say objects are, are closer than they appear or something Yeah, does yours do that too? Yeah. Oh. I was wondering if all vans did that, Well you, you can, you can, uh, install those mirrors, we've got the big side mirrors, which are really nice. I don't know if you've, well, if you've driven a pick up truck, you know, these are, these, uh, mirrors must be six inches across not nearly a foot high, Uh-huh. and they're really nice, uh, got them on both sides, actually they, they fold, so when you get in tight situations, you can fold them back. Yeah, But they're well, see that's the reason we couldn't make, really make them, at first we were going to get a pick up truck, with a camper on the back of it, of it, uh-huh. but then that gas mileage was just atrocious, I mean it's, unreal, Uh-huh. it's, it just practically don't get any. Well, they have got, some of the newer ones they, you know, with the aerodynamic features, you can get pretty, pretty decent gas mileage. Yeah. And then, uh, he talked about a van, and I said, well, you know, I don't know, I don't know how the gas is on most of these. And another thing was that's the reason I said you know, there was such a big difference you know, in a little economy car, but I said maybe we might have to get us an economy car to pull along when we went somewhere. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. But really and truly the safety features but I wouldn't get one that, if it had, the seat belts on the door now I wouldn't get it. Yeah. Period. Ford now announced I think in ninety-two, they're going to put, uh, air bags in their, in their vans. Oh that would be good. So, uh, and I think, I, I believe safety, I, I, I, I really do believe in this stuff, uh, and I, I think it can go, , I'm not, the air bags are a good deal but, uh, surprisingly, uh, they're, uh, you really need to do, you need a combination of both the air bags and the, uh, and the seat belts Oh I think so too, so, I don't think they should do away with the seat belts now. Yeah. I'm but I think you need the shoulder thing Yeah. I think you need the thing around your waist, but, I think you need that bag to pop out too. Yeah. You know, because I know so many people, here that have been killed in head on collisions, where maybe if they had, had that, that air bag, they may still be walking around. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, I think it's fantastic. I wish they required it in everything. Every new car that came out, I wish they would require it in it. It would be that would do to our insurance rates, you know, if, if, uh, if the insurance companies says it, says we're not going to pay, you know, a claim, if, if the car doesn't have, uh, air bags. Would be interesting wouldn't it? Yeah. Uh, that wouldn't be fair but, uh, Well, no because what they would do is, that's what they're going to plan on, you know, they would have to do it, the insurance company would have to do the same thing. They're given like, a ten year time limit where, Yeah. okay. These cars, I guess they figure all the old cars, will be off the roads or something by the, in ten years Yeah. and then, you know, if you didn't have a car that had one, then your insurance would go up enormously, Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh, I've got to go my son's in a performance tonight, I have to leave, in a couple of minutes. Oh that's okay, Uh, I think we've probably spent a reasonable amount of time. Okay. It was good talking to you, Well, you, you too. Okay. Good night. All right bye bye. Okay, Dee, are you familiar with the Latin American policies? Yeah, to a point, it's not my best subject. Really, yeah it's not mine either, but, uh, I know, I know our policy, like in Nicaragua, I am familiar with that because we have, uh, some friends that live on the Nicaraguan border and they are missionaries there and they, they live there and they have to travel by boat forty-five minutes to get to their car and stuff, and uh, I know that they helped a lot of those Sandanistas refugees coming across the border and they housed them and stuff. They have been down there about three years now, and they wrote that it's kind of weird they have bats in their roof, but the bats eat the bad spiders so they leave the bats, you know. So. Yeah. It's a whole, whole different culture or, It, it's weird down there because there's always lizards and things running around that people live there, Uh-huh. they just, they take it for granted and it's like we go down there on vacation, it's like oh, how can these people live with these lizards and like bats in their house? Yeah. I think their policy with them that though, is, uh, I don't know, I think, I wish we would have just, I'm not that up on the policy of ways. I know that's kind of old, but I don't know, I just, I'm glad that the Sandanistas aren't in power anymore because I think that they were very wicked. And, uh, probably some of the biggest drug dealers that the world has probably ever seen, and I feel like most of the leaders in Latin America are probably, you would be safe to say that they were just very very, you know, big into drugs. Very very corrupt, like the Panamanians are, were very corrupt. Right. The thing about it though is the Panamanians is, a lot of servicemen down there. A lot of, a lot of American servicemen are involved, Uh-huh. because I guess there was a big, big, uh, scam that, that all these guys up. Thousands of servicemen, got caught for running a drug ring. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, it's, it's like everybody is into it, it's just greed. Human greed. Yeah. Interestingly in Honduras, It's very pro-American. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And we have I, my girlfriend used to, uh, be in the Navy and she was based, uh, based in Panama. Uh-huh. In Honduras, very, uh, uh, pro-American. Uh-huh. And there's a lot of men, I don't know how many American, uh, soldiers are there, but there's a lot. I mean, they, uh, and you can't, the American government you can't trust them either, because you think, you don't know how corrupt they are. I mean they keep people in power like the Shah of Iran and, things like that, Uh-huh. I mean, it's the lesser of two evils, they will probably say this is the lesser of two evils. Yeah. But I don't know how corrupt the Honduran government is. But the, Yeah, they need to have more checks and balances in their government to get rid of the corruption. But I think first though, I don't know, they need to, I think they need the repentance on the leadership of the different nations for all their, uh, you know the atrocities that they commit and the drug dealings, and in the, just in the drug crimes, because I feel like a lot of the leadership in those nations are so engrossed in the drug crimes that until they repent or they are moved from power, that you know, because there are so many of them that the next one to come up, if you just knock one off and then have another one, and I know a lot of those nations, there's, uh, Brazil, I know, is like forty percent evangelical Christian. Not just go to church but, you know, really on fire for God, and they are just surpassing America, Latin America by the drugs. You know, it's just incomprehensible, and, uh, so I just think that, I think that God is going to honor that and that he is going to put in some good leadership, and I know, the president of, I believe Costa Rica is a Christian. And he goes to, no Guatemala, because he goes to virgo church in Guatemala City. The church is in real close relationship with him. And he is a former president of Guatemala. He's an elder at virgo church and, you know that, that God is doing something and he is raising up some leaders and the people want him back as president bad, but they have a rule in Guatemala that he can't have another term and so the, the people are trying to override that, I mean not just the Christians, but all the people because they see when a righteous man is in authority, the people rejoice. Yeah, good. See, that's the thing, that it's going, have to, Yeah. that's the undoing of everything, and it's the, we have no morals, when we, talk about the crime and all that in the city, it's just the kids have no morals. Right. That's the thing that will eventually, you know, if anyone is going to be saved. Uh-huh. It is having a good moral background. And it's funny you mention Costa Rica, because they are just, they are one of the most successful and peaceful countries, in Central America. Uh-huh, yeah. So, I was reading an article in the, uh, National Geographic and, I don't know, I don't think they have any more money than any of the other countries, Uh-huh. they don't have oil or anything, and they don't have big tourism. So maybe it is their faith that enables them to keep the crime out. Uh-huh. I know that Costa Rica, they don't allow anybody to come that, uh, to come any, uh, what do you call, what do you call immigrants? They don't allow anything like that like I could not go to Costa Rica and live as an American citizen. They would not permit me to live there to work. They wouldn't. Their jobs are there for Costa Ricans. They don't allow people to move in, like less nations, you know, They don't, they don't probably take a lot of refugees from other countries either. take the job. No they don't take any. I mean I couldn't even go there. My husband had to receive all this special permission to go, so even with, uh, you know, in, uh, inner company, you know, transfer, or something, and I have another friend in, uh, Costa Rica that, she was born there. She's Costa Rican. I guess I do know a little bit. I went to Mexico City one time and stayed. I have been there twice and stayed and, that, aw, that was just really sad. But, a lot of it though is their debt. I think that we should not loan them anymore money, that if we still want to give them money, give them money, quit loaning it to them. You're not going to get it back. Don't be indebted to anybody. Don't be the loaner or borrower. It's just not good. We need to, if we feel like we need to give them money then give it to them, but quit loaning all the money out. Which I don't think we are loaning anymore now, but that's how we got into a problem. If we got, the, we have, we went in the hole by us loaning them all of these billions of dollars. That's common sense, you could just look at it and say they're not going to be able to pay us back. Yeah also, uh, uh, Mexico, uh, we will loan the money in uh, a lot of the higher, the higher people, were just stealing it and, building these beautiful homes, and nice ranches and things. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. So we are, we're suckers. Yeah, we, we are, it's like we are partly responsible for their problems by loaning them all that money, that was really stupid on our part to even loan it to them. You don't loan money to people like that. I mean if you feel like you need to give them something to help them out, fine, but you don't go making billions of dollars of loans in, to people that you can just look at the situation, They know they're not going to pay it back. Yeah, and know that they are going to be capable of paying us back, and that puts a bondage on them. It makes, you know, pressure on the nation, and on the people, and on the leadership, and makes their inflation go up, and it's just a big mess. Did you go to Mexico City, uh, anywhere near when the earthquake hit. No, but I knew people, I was there before that, but I knew people, I got a letter from a friend of mine that I had met there, that who, who the apartment building was destroyed and they were living in a tent, so it's kind of weird, you know. To these people who were on U S dive, the Mexican diving, we went to the pool together, and watched them dive and all this, so they were you know, just normal people, weren't squatters or poor people or anything that, uh, I did, I knew all of my friends there, but none of them that I know of, got killed in it. But, uh, they're all Christians though. God really protected them. See that broke out a revival in Mexico City. That C B S news and A B C never told you about. There's been a real revival in Mexico City since that earthquake, because there's a lot of, you know there's a lot of sin in those nations and a lot, lots of witchcraft, a lot of witchcraft. A whole lot of witchcraft. So, a lot of it in the name of Christianity. Oh, I can imagine. Oh, really. Oh, yeah. There's a lot, you know they call themselves Christians, but you know they are over there doing witchcraft and stuff, and just a whole lot of the generational things too, like the Mayans and the Incas. You can't find a trace of them because God totally destroyed them for how wicked they were. And yet, they are revered and honored and almost worshiped by so many people, even now in America, you know, we wouldn't know the truth with all of Indian groups that were totally removed from the face of the earth, because of how wicked they were. I've been down to the pyramids and I have climbed to the top of the pyramid where they used to take a beating heart out of a young thirteen year old boy, and they hold it up to the sun God, and that's pretty of heavy duty. Yeah, is, is there still blood stains on the altar or has it worn away through the years? I don't think so. The little box is black on the top of the pyramid in the sun. It's black, so yeah, you can't really tell, but it was kind of weird, you know, you think, wow there is where they did sacrifices to false Gods. Do you get spooked, you feel, or do you get butterflies in your stomach when you go there? Because, Uh, at that time, I kind of did. It really impressed me, just you know, feeling but I wasn't a Christian when I went there, but, uh, I think that a lot of those, those you know, generational things I think, that God sees I'm praying, you know, that keeps the Christians that are beginning to rise up there to be able to pray, because that does affect that things, you know, in your background. Hi, Maureen. How are you? All right. Well do you have a family budget? No, we probably should, but we haven't. So why don't you explain to me some good tips about what you've done, which you've found useful and workable. Okay. We do a few things, and I have to say we're, my husband and I are both from financial backgrounds. I, I'm an accountant. Uh-huh. And, uh, he has an M B A, so, uh, we were sort of, you know, keyed in on expenses and things like that. So Um, okay. Um, coming from that background, what we pretty much do is we, in our household, as far as living expenses, we live on a cash budget. Every month, my husband, uh, goes to the credit union and withdraws, you know, X amount of dollars for the month, and then that money is used during that month. We have a certain budget. Uh-huh. Excuse me. For instance, I control all the household expenses, the groceries, uh, the haircuts, the gasoline for my car, any miscellaneous expenses, baby-sitting, things like that. Uh-huh. And, uh, excuse me, if, uh, it comes the end of the month and I don't have any money, uh, we don't buy any more milk Uh-huh But, uh, we've gotten pretty good at it, we've been doing it a couple of years now. Uh-huh. So, we, our budgets are realistic and they are not so stringent and, you know to make us feel uncomfortable. Hm. And I, I really try to stretch my, my dollars here and there, shopping, uh, at warehouses sometimes, like at Sam's and things like that. Uh-huh. But, uh, we live, we live on, on a cash budget and it, sometimes it's tight come the end of the month, but generally, we always make it. What do you do for the surprise things that you don't necessarily plan for, the, you know are sometimes several hundred dollars, like, uh, tires for the car or car repair of some sort, or, like a, a dental bill or something that you're not prepared for? Right. Well, uh, most of our medical things, we don't, uh, have to worry about, because of insurance and they're, they're relatively small. Uh, we've been lucky. In the past we didn't have that problem but right now we don't. For the other things, the things that crop up, that we aren't really expecting, we have different funds set aside for different things. Like we have a car fund and we put a certain amount of money into that every single month whether we need to or not. Oh. So, I mean, and I, I can't really remember what it is. Do you kind of continue, call this like, a part of savings account or a different savings account or, It's all part of the savings account. We just keep track of it on paper. Uh, you know a certain amount goes straight to the savings account. We decide, okay, you know, let's say it's a hundred dollars. You know, every month fifteen dollars is for car fund. You know, Oh. Ten dollars is for vacation fund whatever. Uh, and we just, we constantly do that, so that there's a buildup of money for those things if something does come up. Like I know that my washing machine is going to go any day. Oh, okay. So, but, we have the money set aside, so if it does it's not going to kill us. Hm. Uh, so we're, we're actually, we're pretty disciplined, so it makes those surprises not so difficult to get through. Okay, then, so like your pay, what kind of a percentage do you basically keep out that you think that, you know, will cover all of the expenses, kind of thing? Well, in. Or like what, what percent, do you then save or something? Uh, we have a lot of different things. Right now, we save about twenty-five percent of our, of our pay. Hm, okay. It, and it goes toward different things, it's for, you know, for vacations like I said, for, you know, emergencies like for car, uh, breaks down, something like that. Uh-huh. Uh, and we also put money aside for our kids college. Uh-huh. Neither of us had any help with our college degrees, and just this last month we paid off my final school loan. So Oh. We're starting our kids a little bit early. Okay. Do you, uh, use a lot of credit cards or your checking account when you go out and buy things? Checking account a lot, uh, not so much credit cards. Sure. and so pretty much now, uh, we don't use them too much. If we travel or something, yeah. But, you know. Standard, we usually don't. Uh-huh. Or if it, it is a purchase, uh, then it's paid off when the bill comes. You know, so it isn't any extended, uh, it may be that I picked up something at the store, but then when the bill comes we always pay it off then, so it's not any, you know, uh, build up on the charge cards at all. That's good. And, but that hasn't always been the case So, I'm kind of, I feel at least better now that I have finally gotten some of those things, uh, you know, in the past, and I don't have, you know, big cumulative amounts due to those charge cards, because that interest rate just is a killer. Oh, and it's not deductible anymore. Yeah, well, I've never been in the situation of itemizing anyhow. But, uh, pretty much when I always, I go to the grocery store or something I just always write checks. Yeah. We did, we did that for a long time and it got to the point where we had no idea how much we were spending on things. Hm. And it seemed like we didn't have enough money when things cropped up, you know, Uh-huh. so we decided to put ourselves on a cash budget. Well the first time we did it, we just took some arbitrary amount that we estimated it would be, Uh-huh. and then we kept track of everything for a month. You know, how much we spent on food, how much we spent on gasoline, how much we spent on everything, and from that built, you know, a cash budget. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So now, I mean, I have, I don't remember what it is now, four hundred dollars for the month, let's say. Uh-huh. And, uh, I mean some months I may spend three hundred on groceries and a hundred on everything else, and some months it may be different. Uh-huh. It's not as though we feel like we have to keep ourselves, you know, down to the dollar or the penny in certain categories kind of thing, but the way we set up, you know the amount that we want to save and the amounts that we have to spend for, you know, uh, utilities and, uh, the house payment and all that. Yeah. those are things you don't really have much control over. Uh-huh. Uh, the cash budget just fits right in there like I said if we don't have, we also set aside money for entertainment. I mean, but again it's a set amount every month. And, uh, on special occasions, I mean birthdays and things like that. Uh-huh. We, we don't, we still have fun on things Yeah. Uh, we are in the process of trying to buy a house, do you know, how did your budget work or did you have a budget to, uh, get your down payment going to get a house? Well, no not originally, because when we, we did buy, when we bought our first house, it was at a time where you and the kind of loan we got, you really didn't have to put down anything. Huh. So, we got into it fairly cheaply, and then, uh, after we sold the first house, we were left with enough cash that there was enough to make the down payment on this house. Oh, okay. So, we, we got out of that one pretty easily Okay, uh, yeah, I just keep thinking all the time I mean, it, it's really rough to keep yourself on a strict budget for a long long time when your, you know, your priority, at least mine is to save for the house. But then it's awful hard to really scrimp for a long, long time and keep putting all the money into that down payment. You feel like you want to live a little bit in the meantime. Sure, I know. That's how I feel sometimes about my kids' education, I mean jeez, they are one and four We have got a long time to save, my husband, he's the real, he's the real disciplinarian when it comes to that money usually. Uh-huh. Oh, no, no Well, I know, but there are times when I sit there and I think, wow, you know we make X amount of money and where is it. I mean you look around and you go, where is it, What do you do with it, I know. you, you haven't made, uh, big purchases and that's the easier thing to see, if you can see a big purchase and you go okay, well this is the year that we bought the couch or the T V, or something like that. Uh-huh, But, all those, just monthly payments and stuff that just go out the door and there's big chunks of your money to pay like the utilities and the gas and the groceries, and stuff. That you don't have tangible, I mean the perishable kind of things that's gone, used and gone. Yeah, it's, it's amazing how much we spend on some things. My husband cut himself down to ten dollars a week for his lunch at work. Oh. And that's all he has, he has a ten dollar bill. Huh. And, I mean, so I'd say at least, two usually three times a week he takes his lunch. Uh-huh. The other times, he'll, uh, I don't know go out somewhere, eat in a cafeteria or whatever. Uh-huh. But, but he keeps himself on that, I mean, he found it's, it's so easy to spend five dollars a day on lunch. Uh-huh. That's a hundred dollars a month on lunch. Uh-huh. That's, that's twelve hundred dollars a year just on lunch. Yeah. When he can take a sandwich, you know. Well, how about you, are you an exercise fanatic? No. Me either I'm definitely I do like to walk. Do you? Yes. Since T I has, uh, uh, instituted that, um, walkabout, I have gone out and started walking even more, bought me the, you know, the proper shoes and everything to get started, and, uh, park out there, you know, way out there in the boondocks. Yeah. Wonderful. Uh-huh. It was so funny the other day, I took some guys to, to lunch and when we came back they said "Oh, there's a parking space real close," and I parked way out in the boonies, Way. *what is this? and I said "you can walk off your lunch." That's the way to do it. Yeah. I'm kind of like you, I've never really gotten into it, it's just a, it's just a chore, you know, Um, um. Oh. and I finally decided one semester, I'm in college and I'm taking night classes and I still don't have any of my P E classes, and so one semester I thought, okay, that's what I'm going to do and that will get me where I'll have to do it, you know, Uh-huh. and they were offering a, a walking class, where you, you know, you have to walk, you know, that like for every mile you walk and every so many minutes, you get, you get points, you know, Um, um. Um, um. and then you have to go in once a week and log your points so it's not like you can do the class like anytime you want, you know, and, at the end of the semester you go back in and your, like your final exam is a three mile walk. Oh. And if you walk it in this many minutes, you get an A, this many minutes you get a B, Uh-huh. and, I thought, oh, this will be an easy class. and, you know, and I did it, and I did it for a long time like about the middle of the semester I ended up having to have surgery on my foot, Oh, no. and this has been a couple of years ago, Uh-huh. and, you know, I had, I did that, and I just ended up having to drop the class. Oh. you know, by the time the final came around, I wasn't even where I could wear a shoe yet, let alone walk three miles, you know. Oh, no. Yeah. But, that was the only time I have ever been able to like start an exercise program and really stick to it, because then I had to, I had to go every week and log in what I had walked, Um, um. Right. and, my teacher looked at it every week, you know. Uh-huh. But, other than that I just, you know, I kind of get in the mood every once in awhile, say, okay, I'm going to start going to aerobics now, you know, Uh-huh. There you go. and, I'll go for like two weeks and go, this is for the birds, this is too much work. Well, you know, I have noticed too that, uh, when I started the exercise, uh, not the exercise but the walking program, uh, that I did tone up, you know, like all over, Uh-huh. but it didn't get the upper part of my body, Uh-huh. and, uh, so, what I do, is I bowl. I am a fanatic when it comes to bowling, and I used to bowl five times a week, Wow. so, I really loved it, Yeah. and I still bowl at least once a week now, on a league, on, on a, and I'm bowling on the T I league. Uh-huh. Um, but I've noticed that what I do is that I have my towel that sits on the floor, so that every time I get up to bowl, I have to bend over to pick up my towel and that way I get the little extra exercise. Uh-huh. I'm always explaining to people, I do little things like that, like, you know, take the stairs instead of the, um, the elevator, Yeah. and, I do silly things like that versus a, a regular program that you would have. But that's, you're amazed at how much that adds up. It sure does. I was on, uh, Nutri Systems for a while, Uh-huh. and, that is one of the things that they really stressed doing, you know, when you come to your Nutri System meeting, don't park in the parking place outside the front door, park at the other end, you know, Yeah Right. I mean, and they stretched, stressed things like that too. You know, during, when you're sitting watching T V at night, during every commercial get up off the couch, go to the living room and get a glass of water, go to the bedroom and make the bed, go do something, but get up during every commercial. And, things like that. Uh-huh. There you go. And, you'd be surprised at how much just that little bit adds up, you know, just gives you a little more activity so, That's true. especially when you're like us and don't really want to do it anyway. No, I used to, I really did, uh, years ago and, uh, I was thinking about that not too long ago that I used to walk and not only did I walk but, I used to watch all those exercise programs on T V, and I would tape them, Yeah. and then I would do them like two times a day, but I don't do any of that kind of stuff anymore. I think having children everything just kind of, everything goes by the wayside. Well, I can't use that as an excuse because I didn't do it before I had mine either. I've never been, I just, I'm more into, you know, sitting, than I am Yeah, yeah. Me too. so, but, you know, I have found that with, I have a two year old, Uh-huh. and I have found really though, I'm kind of the opposite, I'm more active now with him, than I was before, because now, you know, he'll "I want to go outside" and I'll go outside with him Yeah. and we'll walk up and down the street, and we'll go to the park and I'll run around with him and stuff like that, that, so I'm getting more, you know, more exercise that way than I ever did before I had him, you know. Um, um. Um, um. so, I think, I think that has helped a little bit, I don't know. Yeah, yeah, Just chasing him around the house, you know, will be plenty for you. that's enough. Well, mine are older now, doing, uh, their own things so, Right, right. You've kind of gotten out of that little stage there. Oh, yes. Yes, I have a thirteen year old and an eleven year old, so. Oh, lucky you, Yes. you're getting into even more interesting stages. Yeah, yeah. We're actually going through the same stages the two year old and the teenager Uh-huh, yeah, yeah Yeah, you watch it'll be exactly the same Same thing, huh, it repeats, the terrible twos repeat at about thirteen It does, it, it absolutely does, so. How interesting, I can hardly wait Yeah, I, I, I know, I just know you can't. But, no, I don't get as much exercise as I used to but, I at least, since T I has implemented that program, I do, I'm more aware of it, Yeah. and, you know, that I'm need to do this, that and the other and, uh, so, I try to do combinations of things but not, like go down to the President's Health Club, like I see all these people do. Right. That, that walkabout's a good program. It is, it is. It really is, you know, when they first started it, I, I got all the information, of course, but just like everything else, I was real gung ho with a friend of mine, "Oh, we're going to do this, we're going to do this," and we did do it for a long time, Yeah. and then I started school, you know, Um, um. and like two nights a week I was going to school and then the other two nights a week my husband worked, so I had to pick Ryan up, you know, Oh, yeah. there's always an excuse, you know, to not do it Oh, yeah. so, And, it gets worse, it doesn't get any better. Yeah, oh, I'm sure, I'm sure. Yeah, because I'm constantly running my children around someplace and that's where I actually get my exercise, is running them from here to there, in the car. Yeah. here to here, here, Yeah, yeah, to the mall, to the movies, to the friends, to the, There you go, that's it, that's it. Sounds like fun. Well, it was nice talking to you. Well, it was really good to talk to you. Yeah, well okay, we'll talk to you later. Take care, talk to you later. Um, um. Bye-bye. So, do you fish? Oh, yeah. My dad has a lake cabin, and so we go there for the small lake, uh, just outside of the Dallas Fort Worth area. It takes us about three hours to get there. And we go, and we fish, and we catch a bunch of junk Nothing, nothing to talk about for the most part, but it's fun. Uh, from a boat or from shore? From the dock, from shore. Oh, that's nice. Uh, mostly catfish or, Oh, mostly we catch carp. If we're doing good, we catch a catfish or two once in a while. And, you know, we go ahead and eat those. But we've never caught enough to really have what you'd call a fish fry. What we normally do is just, uh, go ahead and clean it up, and then, uh, you know, put it in a bag and freeze it. And, and somebody takes it home and eats it then when there's just a couple people instead of a whole crowd. Usually, there's a pretty good crowd there, so we don't ever catch enough to eat. Carp is usually pretty much fun. Because I've caught up to about an eight pound carp on a little, you know, a little pole with twenty pound test line. And that, that's a pretty good fight. So that's a lot of fun. Yeah. A real light line, real light rig? Yeah. Well, that sounds like fun. They fight hard. Fish in Colorado different than that. Yeah? Mostly trout in the mountains. Yeah, and in the rivers and stuff? Yeah, yeah, mountain streams and rivers. Are they good to eat? Uh, yeah, very. Yeah, very much there, you know. Oh, you mean size wise they're not very big? Um, by and large, no. But, but they're big fun. Yeah. Well, I've been, is that mostly, uh, fly fishing when you're doing that or, What? Are you fly fishing or are you using a bobber? I, I, I'm a fly fisherman. Yeah. Yeah, I, I cast a ways. I'm not highly proficient, but it's fun. I've never even tried that. My, if I don't have a reel with a button on it, I tend to get so much backlash, it's not worth the trouble Well, let me explain fly, fly fishing to you then. You're not casting a weight on the end of the line? Uh-huh. You're casting the weight of the line. With the little thing on the end. Yeah, well, the fly on the end weighs nothing. Yeah, I thought it had a weight. It weighs less than the line. Oh. So what you do is, you strip off, oh, four, five, six little rolls, coils, of line into your hand. Uh-huh. And you whip the line. Um. As you whip it, over your head, or side to side, you slowly feed out more and more. Uh-huh. Um. So you're fishing downstream so it will carry some? Well, no, no. You fish upstream. Oh, you fish upstream? Right. And then you let it carry it downstream. Uh-huh. And then you reel it in, and you do it again. You hope that they think it's a bug and, and eat it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Jump at it. Uh, from what I'm seeing and hearing and all, the, the big pattern that's really looking forward for spring is the grub pattern. That's a fish? No, no. It, it looks like a grub. Yeah. Oh, it's a, it's a lure. Okay, whenever you, yeah, a lure, a fly. I see. Whenever you have a, something that looks like something else Uh-huh. and it's a fly, you call it a pattern. Oh. All right, uh, you know, there's bumble bee patterns there's excuse me. Uh, there's bumble patterns, there's mosquito patterns, there's wasp patterns, there's grub patterns. Uh-huh. Um. Uh, Did someone just come up with this design, and, and you're going to make one for yourself, Uh, or are you going to buy it? You can buy them. Uh, I've got some. And, They seemed to have been hitting real heavy on it in Fall. Uh-huh. Oh, it's just, that, that just happens to be what the fish like this year, huh? Yeah, yeah. Um. You know how that changes, the phase of the moon and, I guess so. We tend to use just bait. And, a few lures, Yeah. Yeah, I, I, You see, I'm from west Texas. but bait tends to work the best, just some blood bait. Oh, are you? Yeah. Where are you from? Lubbock. Oh, I'm from Midland. Oh, another west Texan. I went to college at Tech, so. You've been out to Buffalo Gap fishing. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I've been up there. It, It, it's kind of nice way to get away from everything for the day. I didn't catch anything, but I've been up there Yeah, it's fun. It's lazy. Take a picnic lunch. I used to do that with my dad. Every once in a while we'd go out on a Saturday and just spend the day. Before it got too hot. Yeah. Well, there you fish mornings and evenings. And nights. Yeah. Yeah, we do most of our fishing at night. Yeah. Just from the heat of it all. That's one advantage you've certainly got on us. It, at times, gets incredibly hot here. It does? I've only been up there once. In the summer. Well, no, I've been up there twice in the summer. But both times it was really pleasant. In fact, it snowed on us in, in, gosh, when was that? June? We were in Mesa Verde Park, and it was like the end of It was just before July fourth. Oh. And it was twenty-eight, twenty-nine degrees. We were out in this silly tent with regular little sleeping bags, not knowing any better And here it went and it froze, and it snowed on us. Yeah. We did not know what to do about it. Fishing is not just, just dragging fish out of the water. It's, it's a total experience, you know, getting out in nature and, hearing the crickets, and listening to the birds and, seeing the squirrels and, camping out, and eating out, of doors Yeah. Uh-huh. Do, Yeah. and, Do you have to, do you wear waders when you fish? Uh, I probably ought to. I just freeze. Oh. Goodness, it must be a little bit cold. Yeah, yeah, well, you know, ankle deep or standing on the bank, and slipping it out there. That's cold water around there. Um. Do you have any, You know, I always intend to just stand on the bank and just kind of slip it, out there, Oh, I see. and you know how it is. The water's kind of, Yeah. And you get, you get a little more carried away with it, and you move a little closer. And then you're in to it just a little bit, and then you splash in and, the next thing you know, your knees are wet. Yeah. Do you have any kids that you take fishing? Uh, got a stepdaughter. Uh-huh. She's real sweet. And, uh, at times she enjoys it, at times not. Yeah. A fuzzy little dog. I have a three and a half year old and a one and a half year old. Oh. And the little one, of course, is, could care less. Yeah. The, uh, three and a half year old has just gotten to the point, we got him a little pole last year, and just put, uh, his big thing last year was throwing it in the water and reeling it up That was what he considered fishing This year, he's gotten to where he can. We, we were at a friend's, uh, stock pond, we were out at their farm, and, and they had been fishing and let him use the pole while we we all walked off a healthy hundred yards or so and let him fish. Yeah. And he started trying to cast it. So, he, he was kind of getting there but he's, He's at a dangerous point right now Yeah, you guys sure want to be out of range. He understands the mechanics of pushing the button and throw, but not necessarily the direction it's going to go in. It takes time. Yeah. Yeah. Last year, we had a, oh, just a wonderful trip up to Travers Lake. * Trapper's Lake in Colorado? Oh, it was cold, and rain the whole time. And we still had a good time out, of the deal. Yeah. Well, that's good. Uh, and Colorado is a beautiful place to live. Oh, yeah. My husband would like to live there, but I don't know. All of our family is here so, Well, and you've got to have, you've got to work for a living. Well, yeah, but T I is up there, so that part of it would probably work out What division you all in? I'm sorry, what? What division are you all in? We're both, uh, I was, uh, military, but he's division three. It goes back and forth. Division, well, maybe division one right now. He's in computers. Oh. So, Well, the only thing up here, is division one. And he's in school, and everything else. I have some friends who work up there. Oh, yeah? Kathy and Kevin Guy. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And they like to fish. They've been inviting us to come up there in the summer. Her dad has a cabin, and they go fishing, up there. Oh, fishing's, fishing is fun up here. So that would be neat to, try it some time. It's not, It seems like the success ratio, the success rate here is not as good as on some of the better lakes there. But it is fun. Yeah, You know, The, the experience is, is better up here, I think. long as you have a good time, that's the main point so, Uh-huh. You know, it seems more relaxing, there's more to look at. Definitely more to look at. And, and there's something about listening to water run that's relaxing to the soul You know, if you're, if you're just sitting on a nice hot lake, Yeah. Yeah. The only thing you've got to watch is when that creek comes up. We camped next to one, one time when we were there a couple of summers ago. And we figured we were up a long way off. And then it rained that night, and we thought, well, wonder how far off we are? And we got up the next day, and that creek that had been fifty or sixty feet from our site of our tent was now about three feet away And it's like, oh, well, maybe we ought to move just a touch. So, that was kind of funny. Yeah, it, it is interesting to watch that water rise all of a sudden. Yeah, I just love the way it looks. I could almost just watch the we, in fact, we have gotten out on, on trips before and just stopped and watched it because there was so much, and if you were there. I mean, it was, one time we were there, and I guess it was late May, so it was really your spring almost, you know, at, even though it was, it was really summer down here. Uh-huh. And, and the, I guess the creek, the mountains were really starting to melt, and the creek was just wild, just running. And, and all the white water and noise and the, it was just beautiful. Yeah. it gets foamy almost. Uh-huh. And you know it's just pure and pristine. And the froth Yeah. and, Okay, um, I have two children and they're older now, but, um, I found it very difficult to find good child care when I was looking for a place to for stay while I thought school, Uh-huh. and, um, I wanted when they were very young when they were babies say till they were about two years old I preferred that they had an individual take care of them in a home and that's what I looked for and I was lucky enough to find one right across from my school, and that worked. Well, that's good. Yeah, that worked out real well but when they got older I wanted them to be in a school type situation, three, I think they were both three when they started where they could learn to interact with kids and, and be around kids their own age because I think that's that, that would prepare them for school also, it's real important , that they do that, um, that they get that preparation for school, Uh-huh. Yes, yeah. Uh-huh. so but I had, I have switched schools several times because I, I really didn't care for what was going on at that the school. I wanted them to learn to play I didn't academics forced on them at an early age. Yeah, I, um, that, that's, oh, oh, you mean you switched schools for the kids. Yeah, for the for the kids. Uh-huh. Yes. well, I'm just recently married. Uh-huh. So I don't have any children. Though we plan on having them soon Okay. but I think, um, that I, that that's probably one of the biggest difficulties, uh, I think, um, I'm lucky though that, um, my wife will probably not have to work while our children, are under four, or five. Oh. Wonderful. Yeah, I'm a college professor, Oh, so, great. and that's also, and it's nice for me because, um, most of the time you have so, so much flexible hours so that I could probably work two or three days a week, and then one or two evenings, so that if my wife does, um, does go back to work part time, um, there probably will be a possibility that I could stay home two days that she would go to work and that I would have to teach at night. Um. Great. Oh that's, wonderful. Yeah, so it will probably workout real nice for us, uh, Yeah. I think we're very lucky because just my job sort of builds in flexible schedules, That's wonderful. I can even teach on Saturdays and, and things, like that. Oh, great, Yeah, um, I do know that my brother and his wife have a terrible time finding, uh, child care, Right. and one of the things they made in, um, uh, real they're number one priority was that, um, they're children didn't have to leave their home *transcript error--spelling of initial "they're" should be "their" Oh, that's, wonderful too, So, they, um, um, my sister-in-law is a, uh, um, a clinical speech pathologist, Uh-huh. so, she is I guess her most recent position after she returned back to work, she applied for a director's position and got it. So, I guess she's very well qualified for her field I guess and even though she took off two years for, um, I guess four years all together, Uh-huh. it would be three years, how old's Kayla three, yeah, I guess she took off three years all together, um, for cause I guess they have a four year old, and yeah, and my nephew is two, almost two, Uh-huh. so I guess she took off three all together and then when she decided to go back to work, um, she was able to find good position and pay for somebody to come into their home. Oh, that's wonderful. Yeah, I think they were really lucky there, but I think they've lost this woman she she will not continue. Oh, dear. And, and she won't do it in the summer because her kids are home from school. Sure, yeah. So I don't know what they are going to do. Oh, you know that's an ideal situation, Uh-huh. but not many people can afford, something like, Yeah, I think, I think they they're both, they were both professionals unlike me they're, um, they were married, my brother's five years younger then she is, Uh-huh. so she was probably twenty-seven when they were married, Uh-huh. so she already had, had gotten bachelors and masters and established herself in a, in a practice almost. Um, where, you know, he then they waited a couple years Sure. Uh-huh. and, and he got himself pretty far along, I guess they didn't have kids until he was about, twenty twenty-six so by that time she was so well established, you know, I guess it made it a lot easier. Right. Sure. but, uh, I think the longer you wait the easier, the easier it is, if you have that, that professional occupation where you can change. Oh, I do to. Oh, yeah, Yeah. but they're they're are just so many people out there that aren't that, uh, lucky, uh, Yeah. That's right, that's true, yeah. uh, because I'm a single parent, Uh-huh. and I, uh, you know, my husband and I, ex-husband and I got a divorce, um, when the children were small and so I, uh, was a teacher I, uh, still am teacher, Uh-huh. and it was really difficult to find affordable child care that was that was what I wanted, where I could, have piece of mind and when I taught school * transcriber spelling error--"piece" should be "peace" Yep. Yeah, and I knew my kids were being taken, care of. Yeah. Yeah, and, uh, plus I, I, uh, wanted them to get something out of it, I just didn't want it to be a day where they went and slept and ate cookies and, that's it . Uh-huh. Yeah that, yeah, that's, you know, that's so important I, um, I, I guess it's so funny now with schools, you know, they don't take kid into kindergarten, and when, I guess when they're five, Uh-huh. and sometimes they flunk kindergarten now. Right. They don't let them into kindergarten unless they can count to ten and know their A B C and I think that's so funny because, um, I don't, I don't know if I want Sure. and I, it's a very important part of your life and I hope to read with my kids, but I don't know if I want my kids to go to school. At four, or three, Well. I agree with that. you know, I can see that when you make that point. Well, the thing is, I teach this grade and I, I can see very readily the kids that didn't never learn socially how to get along with other, children Yeah. Uh-huh. and they're the ones that are having problems not only getting along with the other kids but academically, because they were not, they're should be, there's to many things in their way, *to should be too Uh-huh. Yep, uh-huh. and so I want my I wanted my children and they did learn to get, to get along with other people. Uh-huh, that's a really important point. Yeah, and I mean I feel a lot of maladjusted adults and I bet if we trace back to their, early childhood we could see some, you know, times they didn't get to play or be with other kids their own age really learn how do get along with, people. Yep. I think that's really, that's important I, I've seen the same thing I, I think you're exactly right because, you know, I've gone or before I was married I went out with a girl, and you know, um, boy, after, you know, after about two months I realize this girl really has some deep set emotional problems. Uh-huh. And I bet, and they could be traced back to just not being, uh, you know, being moved between day care centers when she was one and two and three years old, and never, always being a bit snippy and spiteful. Uh-huh. I bet you could trace all the way back I bet you could too, because it, you know, kids have to learn how to get along with other people, Yeah. Uh-huh. and if they don't they just don't turn out to be really, you know, good adults or, successful adults I should say, That's true, yeah. Uh-huh. you know, really but, uh, it is a big problem and you I have lot of friends right now that, uh, have young children and they daily have problems with, with whoever is taking care of the child, Uh-huh. or they switch a lot, which is not good for the child either. Yep, that's true. Yeah, that's really true. So you need, cause you need that consistency when they're young like that, and it would be ideal like you, you hope when you have children, your wife gets to stay home, Uh-huh. Yeah. I would have, have given anything if I would have been able, to stay home with my children. Yeah, I, I think I'm, I'm very lucky. Yeah, you. Um, because of having, you know, flexible higher education provides a flexible schedule. Right. I teach a computer classes so, it's, it's one of things where I'm paid a little bit better then a History or an English professor Oh, great. and I'm also, um, you know, they have vocational type courses on weekends, almost everywhere, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, you know, you can take you can teach two three hours classes on a Saturday, which means, that, you know, whole week's worth of courses Oh, that's, wonderful. so that lets you be available three days during the week, you know, Oh, great. so you be will home with your kids I you know it's really funny is that I, I picked this career when I was in college because, uh, I think with my commitment to family and, um, wanting to spend more time with my children, because my dad had very, um, nine to five type job, with, uh, forty-five minute commute into the city, and a forty-five commute home, Um. You're very wise. Uh-huh. so, by the time he got home he was so tired and he was all rung out from the day, Sure. and I think he, he missed a lot of, um, our up bringing. Sure. You know, my mother I, I came from a family, that my mother stayed home until we started school. Uh-huh. thirteen and a sixteen year old. Um, and I, I don't, uh, It's probably costing you a fortune. Oh it is, they really are expensive, yeah. My goodness, if, if you want them to be able to drive the car, the insurance bill. Exactly. um, Well, and they most of the area where we live in most of the kids have cars. Oh. So, you know, right now I'm looking for a little truck for my for my son, Uh-huh. so that you know an older, older, older, truck so I can afford it, Yeah. but, you know, I, I just look forward to him helping me out because I for years just car, drove in carpools all over the place Carpools, uh, and, And it will be nice just to be able to have him say will you go to the store, will you take his sister somewhere, something like that. Yeah, my parents did a lot of that. That's right. Yep. And just to save you trips to and from, you know, uh, ball games and athletic events, and activities at the school. Right, exactly. Right. That's right. Yeah, isn't that something how, you know, you think about child care and it lasts along time. *along a long It, does for ever. It, it lasts a long time. And then when you get through with your own you've got grandchildren, so It's not ending is it You think we've talked a long, a long enough time? Oh, they come in, see this is the first time I've done this. Oh, in ten minutes, you have to talk that long. Well, you don't have to but they, they, Uh-huh. um, you go the length and sometimes if it's a very busy time period you'll go about seven minutes. Oh. Depends on how old the tapes are at that time. I see. Uh-huh. I see. Yeah. Are you from the, where are you from? This is Baltimore, Maryland. Oh, my gosh, I'm from, uh, Plano, Texas which is, which is outside of Dallas. Yeah, well, most of most of the people I talk to are from Texas. Yeah because that's where T I is Uh-huh, yeah, and I've discussed, I've discussed, um. That makes sense. Okay. Guess we can go ahead. Uh, well, I guess you know it's, you know, since living in Dallas it's always so hot, so in the summertime, I just, I wear lots of shorts, so because I don't work during the day. Uh-huh. So, do you work? Yes, uh-huh, yeah, I do work. Oh. Uh, and, but I work at a manufacturing plant, so I wear a lot of blue jeans, and T-shirts. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But occasionally I have to get dressed up and wear panty hose and a dress, and high heel shoes Uh-huh. and I feel really uncomfortable doing that and, in the plant so, uh, it's, it's a problem for me. Yeah. Uh-huh. But, normally I just wear blue jeans and a T-shirt. Uh-huh. Very, very, comfortable. I like that so much better than having to wear dress clothes. Yeah, yeah, and buying suits and stuff, yeah, because just being at home and, I work at home, so, I just have, you know, I just wear my, you know, my shorts and stuff like that. Uh-huh. I don't go out and spend lots of money on, uh, different, you know, suits and stuff, you know. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But when I, before I got married, you know, I was working so I, uh, you know, I had more suits and stuff then but, Right Worry about all that kind of stuff Well, I have plenty of suits and dress clothes because I'm like you, when I first started working, uh, I have all these suits and blouses and skirts and mix and match, and that kind of stuff Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but now that I, you know, work in the manufacturing plant, then it's just, it's so much more difficult for me to, to actually get dressed up to come in to work like that. Right. Uh, but occasionally I have to because, uh, part of my job is teaching, and training, Uh-huh. and, uh, so you have to look just a little bit nicer than your normal, garb When you're training, right. Yeah. Than your normal garb But I'm like you, too, uh, I moved from Ohio down to here Uh-huh, moved from, Winter. and I had mostly polyesters and, wools and winter clothes and buying all these cotton clothes, Uh-huh. and then, of course, you have to iron them all the time. Uh-huh. That's really, that's been a problem for me. Yeah, because I came from Wyoming and I had wool suits and wool skirts and, You know, I've got all these clothes that I never wear, because you can't wear them here. Right. Right. And, uh, the seasons are just so much different. You have so much summer. Uh-huh. And, uh, so then when I, you know, I finally get a chance to go out with my husband it's like a real chore to find something nice to wear That's true, that's true. Yeah Well, I know, I was just now, uh, uh, putting away a lot of my winter clothes, Uh-huh. and I was going through here and I was thinking, I haven't worn this in three years. Yeah. And, because it's a wool skirt and there's just not that many opportunities to wear it. Yeah. And I have five or six wool skirts, Uh-huh. so I was thinking well, maybe, you know, I need to think about getting rid of them, but no, I folded it up neatly and put it away maybe next year Yeah. You hate to get rid of it, because you know how much you spent on them. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And it's real hard to get rid of some of that stuff, I know. So, Well, I know last year, uh, well, this past winter, it wasn't that cold. Uh-huh. But the previous winter we had more, uh, cold weather where I was able to actually wear, your double and triple layerings of, uh, clothes yeah, like you would when you're up north. Uh-huh. Clothes, yeah. So that's really interesting. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, and I, I just don't spend, you know, right now my clothes come from Target, you know Yes, yes, yes, and they're all one hundred percent cotton and Yes, and they, you take them out of the drier and they're wadded up in a ball. Yes, yes, I know. Oh I'm so glad to meet somebody that, that their iron board is their permanent fixture in their house. It is, it is. You know, I have very little furniture, but my ironing board is part of my decor so, That's true, and, and I've been looking at these, uh, uh, like in Home Depot where you can go and they've got, that ironing boards that will just flip right down off of the uh, uh, what, the, the, the door. Uh-huh. And, uh, and then you can actually have one where you can put it inside of a wall, you know, to have it, permanently attached, Uh-huh. and that's what I'm thinking I'm going to have to do because mine's sitting right out in front of my bedroom and it's just, it's just an eyesore, I think, with all the, Yeah, well, yeah it is, it is, but it's like, uh, I just don't want to do it Uh-uh, uh-uh. Yeah. No. I've been thinking about putting the ironing board in the closet, and, and running, you know, a line in there for my iron so I could do it in there Uh-huh. and I wouldn't have to have that eyesore Yeah that's an idea. Yeah. Yeah. So, I have a big closet. Yeah, I, you know, if I have, if I know I'm having somebody come over to the house and there's a possibility they might be going back into my room, I will put it away, Uh-huh. Yeah but I iron our clothes as we go along, Uh-huh. so, you know, I no longer do that weekly thing, because I have so many, Right, no. and I'm like you, I, the night before or that day, I will iron whatever it is that we need Uh-huh. and that's it. Uh-huh. Because it's too many, hundred percent cotton. Uh-huh. You can't iron it all and, Uh-huh. Yeah. And then with my kids, they're always getting into, you know, they can't decide what they want to wear so they, change their minds, you know, I know, I mean my oldest is only four, Uh-huh. but she's still changes her mind two or three times, before she figures out what she's going to wear Right. so, Right. Oh, I know, I know. And then they never put anything back. No, no of course not. No, that, uh, that would be too simple. Uh-huh. Yeah, Absolutely not That's right. Our lot in life is to make her life miserable so, Uh-huh, absolutely, absolutely. Uh. Oh. Yeah, well that's, it's been good talking to you, to see somebody, hear somebody that does the same thing I do because I tell people what I do and they just go, oh, how do you do that? It's like, it's easy, you just do it, you know. That's right Uh-huh. So, uh, but, yeah, I, uh, I know several of my girlfriends, though, we, uh, we all keep our ironing boards out and just, uh, an ever present thing in our household so, Yeah, yeah. I don't think I'd know what to do if it wasn't there, you know. My husband wouldn't know where to hang his dirty clothes. There you go. You know. Things that need to be mended, things that have to get ironed, Yeah. He wouldn't know where to put things so, Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. That's true. Yeah so, Oh, well, it was nice talking with you. Oh, it was nice talking with you, too. Okay, take care. Take care. Bye-bye. Uh-huh, bye-bye. So eating out. What are you interested in in restaurants? Right, uh. So. Uh, once a week, twice a week? Oh, at least once a week. We're, we're retired now. When we working out we ate out more than that Yeah, I understand. Uh, but we both work and we have a daughter, and we normally manage to eat out once a week anyway. Well, what type of restaurant do you like, Richard? Uh, really, I'm kind of open on food. I'm what you might call a culinary adventurer. I'll, uh, try anything once. Right. Been on a real barbecue kick lately. Oh have you? Yeah. We like Chinese. We eat, a lot of Chinese food. Excuse me. Uh, yeah, we usually have Chinese once a month. What do you look for in a restaurant? I hate franchised restaurants. You what? You, I despise franchised restaurants. Oh I, I, I, I always prefer to go to something that seems more family run. Uh, some place where you seem to have the attitude like you're going into their home for dinner almost. Right. I know what you mean. I like some ambiance, and I like good food. I don't like fast food hamburgers and all of that. I don't, but I don't like something fake or put on either. Uh-huh. You know, if I could have a good small restaurant or a good large restaurant I'd go to the good small restaurant. Uh-huh. And I don't know why that is. I think it's probably due to pricing, often. Right, uh-huh. I don't care to go to a place just for the price of it Well, yeah, yeah, I mean, it's like continental French restaurant or something really with high prices Yeah. and seven courses isn't what I usually look for It is what you look for? Oh, isn't, isn't. Uh, I try to get my money's worth. Right And not just that, I try to, well, that's a big part of it. I try to get my money's worth. You know, and not just in quantity, you know, but quality, and, and flavor and texture and care. Uh-huh. Presentation and, Well, presentation's not always all of it either. Well, like we, we've been eating some in a restaurant that that just changed hands recently, It's, it's important. and we're trying to give them a little patronage. But Sunday we went there, and I had a pretty good meal of grilled pork chops and a baked apple and potatoes. Uh-huh. So I said if they would just add a little bit of cranberry sauce, something like that Yeah, yeah, something a little extra Yeah, that's what I mean by, and just for color if nothing else. Right, uh-huh. It would mean a lot to the looks of the plate. Yeah, yeah. What I miss up here is, I'm originally a Texan, and I miss home cooked Mexican. Tex-Mex, Tex-Mex. Yeah, home cooked Tex-Mex. Uh, Mexican restaurants where it's not owned by an Anglo or a corporation. Right, I know. Uh, we have a daughter in Texas and one in New Mexico, and we've really gotten to like, we like the real Mexican food better than Tex-Mex. Yeah. Well, there's real Mexican food and there's real Tex-Mex Mexican, you know, by third or fourth generation Americans of Hispanic heritage. Right. It's all pretty good, isn't it? Oh, yes, and, and there's big differences, of course, and, of course, when you talk about Mexican cuisine you, that's kind of like talking about American food or Chinese food, in because its regional, too. Right, uh-huh, that's true. So. I'm originally from Maine, so we like seafood, too. And that's something we don't get here, and we're in the mountains in Virginia. Oh. And most of the seafood's frozen. Uh, yeah that's the way it is here in Colorado, also. No fresh, or almost no fresh seafood Right. and in Texas we got it from the Gulf. Uh-huh, that's true. Lots of shrimp. And, yeah, here a couple years ago my wife and I went to Seattle on vacation. And I think everything except breakfast was seafood for almost a week. I know it And it was, I was like a man starving at every meal. I know the feeling. We do the same thing. My son-in-law is a Texan, and when he goes to Maine, he eats lobster, I guess, at least twice a day, all the time he's up there It's a lot cheaper there, isn't it? Lobster? Oh, yeah, yeah. It's like two ninety-eight a pound for a pound lobster. It's like shrimp on the Gulf. Two ninety-eight a pound. Yeah. That's as cheap as steaks some places I mean in a grocery store. Oh yeah, cheaper, right. Right, yeah. A lot of the restaurants you can get two two one pound lobsters for like ten ninety-nine. Oh, my gosh. I've got to go to Maine then rattling in You may have sold a trip for some time. Yeah, it's a good place to go. Uh, it sounds wonderful. Uh, so, Lots of little restaurants, too, with home cooked food, that's up there. That sound good. Uh, down in the Gulf I've eaten a bunch of those little uh, seafood shacks, we've called them. Right, uh-huh. And, uh, it's just so much different than to eat something that's been frozen. You know Uh-huh. We went to shrimp straight out of the bay. We were in Galveston last year right well, the first of this year, actually. Hm. And, ate in a restaurant, and they claimed to have the best shrimp on the Gulf coast. Was it true? No. It wasn't. On the way across Louisiana, we pulled off, we saw a billboard and just pulled off taking a chance on a place. And they had, it was a small restaurant, just kind of out of the way, and they were set up with two buffets, one for their regular Sunday chicken and roast beef and vegetables and everything. And then one complete seafood buffet. Hm. Huh. That was the best shrimp I have ever had in my life. They had shrimp fixed probably six different ways. Uh, yes, the cajuns. Uh-huh, right. It was wonderful. They can, they can do things to shrimp that, that no one else can. Uh-huh. So, have you eaten crawfish yet? Uh, I tried it, but I didn't care for it. Not there, but at my brothers I tried it. Oh, as with anything, it's preparation. That's probably true. It, We just, he went down and bought some at a local place that steams them, just so we'd try them. Uh. Uh-huh. It, there's all kinds, Probably needed some cold beer with it and So you do eat out a lot. Quite a bit. One of our other real problems with going out to eat, Sunday morning brunches. Oh. You know, Sunday brunch, all, all you can eat brunches. Right. We used to do that, once in a while, but we don't anymore. Uh, we still find it fun. Uh-huh. It's fun, but it's just so much food Hate to come away feeling uncomfortable Well, I work in machine shop and do a lot of physical labor. Do you, well that makes a difference. And so, Where do you go to brunches? Like at hotels, or restaurants there? Yeah, uh, actually one of our, one of our favorites is a chain. Shoney's. Oh, yeah, uh-huh. We eat at Shoney's. Yeah, in spite of the fact I've spoken so badly about chains, chain restaurants, uh, we, uh, do like Shoney's pretty well, but then there's a place up the pass, up in the mountains that we pretty reliably like to go to on some Sunday mornings, drive, drive up to, I think it's about eight thousand foot elevation. And, and drive through Woodland Park and go for a short drive in the mountains and have breakfast. Oh. Uh-huh, that sounds nice. It, it, it's the way to spend a nice Sunday morning. Right, I imagine it is. I think it's as much the, the trip to the mountains as it is the breakfast brunch. You know, and it's not that far. It's thirty miles. out of, which direction? Colorado Springs. Out of, which direction from there? West Uh-huh. west out of Colorado Springs. What are your favorite programs? Uh, it's kind of hard to put my finger on a, on a favorite T V program, however, uh, one that I've been watching for a number of years is DALLAS. And, uh, And, uh, it's going to be going off the air, uh, let's see, a week from a week from tonight. Oh, how funny. It's going to be its last show. So I've, I've kind of enjoyed watching over the years. I've been disappointed in it and also pleased in it. And, uh, I was, uh, greatly disappointed, uh, when I did move down to Plano to, uh, find out that the, uh, the, uh, great South Fork Ranch was really only a one bedroom house. I've seen the sign that goes to there. I've, well I think I've seen it in the distance. Uh-huh. But I have not even seen it. And I have not seen the program. Oh well, That's a shame. So And, and, uh, I know when we went to London, it was really funny. Uh, people recognized Dallas, Texas, by the, the Texas, uh, the, the cowboys and by that program. Uh-huh. Yes. And that's, that's the two things they associate with Dallas, Texas. So, I, and I, they asked me, uh, several times, several times they ask me, why are there two bridges? And I didn't know what they were talking about. It took me a long time, they're talking about the viaducts. Uh-huh. Is that, that is right, isn't it? Yeah. Because they ask me, why are there two bridges going into Dallas? Darned if I know I was blank looking, you know. I felt really dumb. Well, it's, it's, uh, when you look at the, uh, you know, route seventy-five, coming down there. I mean, it's actually a bridge, but it's a bridge over top of roadway. There's no water there. I mean, uh, Well, there's water in the Trinity. I thought it was to, going to Oak Cliff over the Trinity. Yeah. Well there's, there, uh, well they, I think when they open the show up they give you two different views of Dallas. Oh, do they? One from the east and one from the west. Uh. And that's why. Oh, I see. But it kind of confuses people. But, uh, uh, I enjoy, uh, uh, a lot of different comedies. Um, I think it's mainly for an escape, um, you know, you, uh, my job is not the most thrilling in the world and, uh, I enjoy laughing and, uh, some of the shows that, uh, are on the air, some are just purely, you know, brain drainers. Uh-huh. And then there's other ones that, uh, deal with, uh, in a funny manner, uh, socially relevant things. And, uh, one show that comes to mind is like DESIGNING WOMEN. Uh, I think that is just a hoot. That's one of those few that I do watch when the television is on. My husband likes to watch T V. It's on. I usually read and watch T V. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. But that's one of the few that I just actually watch. Because it's funny. Yes. I really enjoy that one. Yes. It, uh, it has been very entertaining and, and also, uh, the, the issues they deal with, uh, really tends to open, open your eyes as well as your mind to some of the problems. And, uh, I've, I've really enjoyed that one since it came on. Um, I don't like the politics surrounding the program though, but, I mean, other than that, you know, there seems to be a little in fighting going on between the producers and one of the actresses. But, uh, and then, uh, I've kind of gotten hooked on P B S stuff, uh, public, uh, T V. Uh, I like things like NOVA and, uh, some of the, the special programs they come up with on nature and stuff. I just enjoy watching that stuff. Now, we watch a lot of those. Uh, and the ones that sometimes will hook me, to put down my book, will be the one, there was one, uh, recently about the Gettysburg Address. Uh-huh. And they wrapped a fictional story around it. Uh-huh. And I thought that was well done. Uh-huh. And, and it, it caught my attention. I wound up watching the whole thing. Uh, I guess the awards ceremonies, and there seems to be dozens of them per year. Maybe I've spent two minutes watching to see what they on and if they make a fool of themselves or not But they could take that whole collection and it would disappear Yeah. I, I, particularly take issue with those. I, I really dislike those. Well I'm one of those rare guys, who, I, I rarely ever sit down and watch a whole sporting event, um, if ever watch one. Uh, there's just not that much I'm, I'm interested in. Um, for a while, I, I, I watched some football, but I've just got too many more important things in my life now than to sit around and, and watch a baseball game. You know, my husband used to just be riveted to the Dallas Cowboys. And now, we're out running around, and if they're, if they're playing, he'll turn it on while we're in the car to see what the score is, and he'll listen. But, even I've said, hey look, you're fascinated with this, you sit and listen to the Cowboys. Let me run in here, and I'll do some things and I'll come back and you don't have to miss, he'll say, na, na, na. And he doesn't, he doesn't watch it. He like I say, if it's convenient he'll listen to it. Uh-huh. But he just doesn't watch them on T V like he used to. Well I think it was great when they were, you know, like world champs and they were doing real well. I, uh, I personally, I, I came from the Washington area. And so I was a big Washington Redskins fan. Uh. Oh, those people. Yeah And, uh, when I came down to Dallas, it was, uh, you know, I found myself rooting for the home team. I, uh, in fact I have a, uh, a baseball hat that was signed by Tony Dorsett and Hershel Walker the only year they played together on the Dallas Cowboys. Oh, how neat. Well, I actually got to go see them win in the Super Bowl when they went down to New Orleans. Oh, wow. And, I, I, I make the trip and did the whole New Orleans before the game and the game and everything and, uh, that was, that was a lot of fun. But, I don't know, I haven't been as, I'll tell you what I love to watch. And this is not, this is rarely on television. But what is a lot of fun to go attend, is this arena football. Huh. Yeah, I like it so much better than straight football. No, I haven't seen that. It, it doesn't, it has a lot of different rules. Uh-huh. The field is half the size Uh-huh. and there's no, they can't call time and things like that. It moves a lot faster. uh. Gee, I'll have to try to catch that sometime. It's, Uh, again I think it may be on cable more than anything else. Yeah, We don't have cable. that's probably true. Yeah, we don't either. I, uh, I couldn't rationalize paying, you know, it's like if I pay for a movie channel, then I have watch what movies they want me to watch when they want me to watch them. And if I, you know, if I didn't use cable for anything else other than the basic, well I can get that for free. And well, I really don't need C N N, I see enough bad news all the time. I don't need to see more of it. So I, I've kind of, uh, rationalized that it's, it's probably a lot more economical for us to just go rent the movies we want to see. Well, And of course when we were living in Texas, it was real convenient with Tom Thumb. Oh. You know, having movies, uh, back then it was ninety-nine cents. I mean, go, They're everywhere, they're on every corner. Yeah. Everything you've ever wanted to see. Um. You can see them a lot sooner than you can see them on any of the stations like H B O or Cinemax. Well, and I like to rent tapes because you can put the thing on hold if you get a telephone call or something like that. Uh-huh. Or it becomes snack time for various reasons. You can put, you know, the only thing, this DANCE WITH WOLVES, I want to see it in a theater. Oh, yes. I do too. Because I understand that, that your, you'll lose fifty percent of it if you don't. Yeah. And I, uh, I've been trying to get my wife to go with me to go see it. She, she doesn't like going to movie theaters because usually they're dirty, and, uh, you know, she just doesn't like them. And, um, she doesn't think that she could sit still for three hours and watch the movie. And I've told her, you know, everybody I know that has seen it has said that the three hours go really quick. That's what I hear too. And, uh, so I'm, I'm hoping I can get her talked into it soon. Well, my husband smokes. He's one of the dinosaurs that still smokes. Um. And you can't smoke in movie theaters. And that has really slowed down the forward progress of going to movies. But I haven't really cared up until this point. But I, we are this weekend going to go see DANCE WITH WOLVES. It's, that's it. We will do it. Um. So, That's great. Yeah, finally. Yeah. But as, as far as, uh, regular T V shows, I mean, I've got some, some shows that, that, that I would be afraid to admit to you that I've actually sat down and watched And then there's, there's others that, uh, uh, I wish I had time to see. It's like I enjoy watching CHEERS. It's very funny. Some of the things in it are mindless, but I, I just don't have time to watch it. Um, I think about the only night that I really sit in front of the T V set all night long probably is on Monday night. Because, um, I work so hard over the weekend, doing other things with the kids and stuff and going to work on Monday. Monday night I'm just worn out. So I kind of use it as the time to catch up on correspondence and, and look over things. And I can sit in front of the T V set and look at, you know, do, go through my mail and, and watch T V at the same time. Well, I tend, my job tends to be very demanding. Uh-huh. And to sit down and to mindlessly either read or just mindlessly stare in absolute comfort isn't as bad as it used to, I'm actually at work. Oh, I'm in facilities and happen to have, uh, weekend duty here. Oh, okay. What building do you work in? I'm in the South Building. Oh, okay. Okay. We, we pull mostly evenings. We are having, there's three of us, uh, facilities' managers are covering the off shifts. Just to have somebody here, uh, from management to, uh, see if they need anything. Oh, okay. Okay. Oh, the, how many calls have you made? I've only made a few. Okay. Um, I'm, uh, getting close to twenty. This is the, yeah, hopefully you have a lot to talk about in this one, but I don't really have a lot in this one. Usually I can talk for hours on most of the subjects they pick . Go ahead, you first Okay, our topic for today is invasion of privacy. So, I got a good one. Okay, good. When the phone rings and you've got a recording, and this always happens like around five or six o'clock, at night. It rings and you get this recording Okay, yeah. and then it won't go away and any, any of the type of solicitation that, where they call all the time, you know. There are evenings especially Friday nights, Thursday and Friday nights. Well, we must get in the neighborhood of anywhere from three to six calls about that time of night. More people call, that's where you want to jerk the phone out of the wall, you know, your sitting down to eat and the phone rings and, it's like, I don't want anything, thank you very much Right. Yeah, I, the worst one, I guess, is like you, when it's a recording. I I don't mind so much someone calls and it's a, and it's a salesperson, at least you can chat or whatever and say, okay, now, we want to go and then when, when they actually start off with a, a computer, and expect you to talk to a computer, uh, that's where I draw the I just hang up immediately, you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. Uh, shut my other radio off here Yeah, that's, that's real irritating to me. Uh, I guess they get their I'm, I'm amazed the question about that the, my concern would be everyone seems to have an answering machine and I have one too, Uh-huh. and they say that they can tie up your answering machine and just have a big long, if they catch your answering machine, They can leave their whole spiel on it. Yeah, they, they can erase all your others, you know, because if you have, I think that's the way it is, no, mine, I guess, if it's full, it will not take it, I'm not sure. But they can certainly, uh, block your answering machine so someone else calls you, uh, and your answering machine is full, you know, it won't erase. Huh. Yeah I, But your right. *your you're That was a good one. yeah, that's, that's a high irritant for me. Drives me crazy. And it doesn't matter if you have an unlisted number or not because a lot of times these computer things will just make up numbers at random and just call them. Uh-huh. And so it really, really doesn't make much difference as to whether or not, you know, you have a unlisted number or not. And they pass around, uh, cards that have everybody's name on it. Like if you order something through a mail order catalog, you know, then you'll start getting a bunch of stuff in. And a bunch of stuff and a bunch of stuff because they sell their customer list, Uh-huh. or they sell their catalog list of people, to different companies and everything. Yeah. but it's, uh, annoyance for me in the office with, uh, speaker phones. You know, I, they're great for an office but this one guy next to me, who's not here just so I could talk about him, he uses his speaker phone all the time, and it carries over and so not only would you hear, it seems to me that you talk longer from you kind of yell into it. Right. Right. Uh, and so he yells into it, and you hear the other person too, so it's kind of a double annoyance. He actually, uh, ruins my privacy you might say because the, the T I offices are so open anyway. Uh, that I'm amazed that, the fact that I'm about ready to say something, uh, if he's even thought of that that's a real uncourteous thing, an, an invasion of everyone else's time and, and concentration to just be loud. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I don't know whether that's an invasion of privacy just being loud and, and annoying, you know. Uh, that's, perhaps not quite an invasion of privacy Uh-huh. but I think it is, and we both picked phone items there. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Let's see, I'm trying to think. Oh, have you heard that, that, I'm trying to think of what company it was, there was a company that was going to, uh, be giving out information about your financial status. Oh, yeah, I heard something about, not that exactly, but go ahead. Well, um, I work in the computer science center and so we hear a lot about things that are, that computers are capable of doing. Yeah. And, uh, this was a software program that a company was developing that was going to have X amount of million peoples financial history and information on it. And they were going to sell it to companies who would up in turn solicit you for business et cetera, et cetera. Uh-huh. And, uh, they finally, uh, stopped production of it because of all the hullabaloo it caused, because it was such a big deal. Uh-huh. And I wouldn't have been too thrilled about it either. I mean, there was a lot of stuff going on about it. Well, I, uh, heard something similar to that. I listen to, I'm a, uh, uh, talk show person. And there was, Okay. when I, when I do my chores up at the I'm a radio person I guess is what I mean. Uh-huh. And so I listened to, was it five seventy, which has continuous talk on the weekends, and Neil Sperry and everybody, I mean, the lawyers and veterinarians and all that. Uh-huh. And, uh, I don't know if it was a lawyer or whatever it was talking about when you make out a a financial application, all that information on there is really not necessarily, even a, your Social Security number, you know, they, you should just put down the basics and put N A, where you don't want to answer. Huh. Uh-huh. Whether it's your personal salary or whatever. Uh, if your just making out a credit card application you don't need to put down and I was curious as to you know, what specific things you, you did have to put down. Huh. But he says Social Security, you don't need to put that down there. Which I thought was surprising. So maybe there's something along that same line where, you know, in all these financial, uh, applications that you make out, you don't have to put all that stuff down there. It would be nice to know what's, what was, of course, of course, they could say, well, I can't give you a card, and you could say, fine, but, you know, some things will be private, you know, but he said just put N A and he said usually you'll get approved anyway because they just want your money they want your card. But if you don't feel like putting it down, just put N A, you know. Uh-huh. Well, that's real interesting. I know that a lot of times they ask for information that they don't really need, on several things and, you know, your credit ap and all, all they ever need you to do is give them permission to, to pull a credit thing on, on yourself Yeah, yeah. and there it is. That's all they really care about. Yeah. They just want that credit history to see if you're a person. If you're going to go ahead and pay your bills on time and things like that. I haven't, I don't have any friends down at the, the Austin plant, but I heard that they were really upset about the drug thing, and we seem to up here have just breezed through that and apparently some other companies are having trouble that, I don't have any trouble with it. Uh, it's kind of unusual here we are in Dallas, you know, the biggest location and, and it just breezed through and wasn't really, no one was, I guess, was really too concerned about it, uh, yet in Austin, there, there were, whether it was a class action or how far it got, I don't really know because T I only had a few things on T I NEWS I think about it, that they were objecting to Uh-huh. but the, some people object to that which I don't mind, no problem at all, you know. Oh, I know that there's several people I've talked to that really have a problem with it and, I'm former military Huh. so you get kind of used to, to going through stuff like that. Yeah, right. You know, you don't pay any attention to it. I mean, Right. once you sign over your soul to Uncle Sam, , you know, you just kind of, kind of blow it off I know. but I know, yeah. I served my time too, yeah. So, I think, I think the people who have, who have been down that route or have had it, to deal with anything like that have learned, you know, it's just one of those things. You just do it and be done with it and don't worry about it. Yeah. But I do know that there are several sites . I didn't, I wasn't aware that Austin was one of them, but I think Johnson City was one. Oh, did they object too? Yeah, there's, there's several of the cities that have been having real trouble with the issue. And the, but also on things that I'd heard too from a stockholders meeting was that there were people, uh, there were, the same places where they had a real bad problem with people fighting it were also places they had a big bad problem with the drug usage too. Uh-huh. Yeah, well, I'm, I'm all for it. I, uh, it doesn't bother me that whether they do it in high schools or, you know, carry it to wherever you want to carry it really, uh, uh, of course, that would really be a big thing in a public school Uh-huh. but, uh, I'm saying certainly at work I have no problem with it. Uh, uh, and I think it is, they, they found that it's been very low really. Uh-huh. I guess maybe at the locations though, I don't know if they have it done but, done it by location. I don't really know if, uh, they need to publish that really. Oh, I don't think it's a necessary thing to publish it they just need to deal with it and, , on an individual basis. Right. I mean, if they're going to do it, just deal with it and, be done with it. Right. Right. But I think that was an actually a good thing that happened, uh, I never considered it, I guess, it's an invasion of your privacy but it's something that is for the good of so many people, you know, to, have everyone, uh, take the test right away Uh-huh. and, uh, and hopefully, maybe some people will convince other people that are on drugs that, well, uh, I might as well get off, you know, if I want to stay so, you know, if that was an invasion of privacy maybe it was good. Oh, I, Oh, I think it's a safety factor too because, you know, when people are inebriated, whether it's alcohol or drugs or whatever, they are very unsafe for the, their co-workers, you know, it's like, you know, my father was a fireman Oh, sure. and I can just imagine if, you know, you know, some guy being on drugs they go there and, and, you know, you've got somebody that's supposed to take care of you Right. and they fall, they fall out because of the drug issue, Uh-huh. but the use of drugs or anything like that, will, uh, be a problem. Right. this is, this is a tough one, I don't, really haven't thought about any of this. They had gardening yesterday and all the repairs, and, boy, I could, Okay, what did you buy? A Ford Explorer. I'm sorry, what? A Ford Explorer. Oh, really. Yeah, one of the new ones. Yeah. And, um, I'd, I'd probably buy another, this is the first American vehicle I've owned. Uh-huh. So I would probably purchase another one, um, I would be more selective in the dealership that I purchased it from but as far as, uh, the quality seems to be there, um, it's quiet, it's, it handles well, um, but I believe I'd get that or a Porsche, one of the two. Oh really? No, not Um, if I had the money, I think I would love to own a, a B M W. And why would that be? I don't know, I, from what, or either that or Mercedes, just because they're put together so well. It seems like they last forever. What's wrong with the Volvo. Oh, I don't know, they're, they're not as nice looking. Oh. Uh, to me, I don't know, I'm sure there are some that are, but everyone I've seen is kind of plain, but. What, what city are you calling from? Sherman. Oh. Where are you? Up in Dallas. Dallas. Um. Yeah. B M W or Mercedes, yeah, well that's a, that's a, If I had, um, had the money, I mean that's just, I know I never would own one, but, uh, I don't know. I like, my actual favorite cars were, uh, like the Ford Thunderbirds of nineteen eighty-five. Uh-huh. I really like that body style, but I don't own one of those either What do you presently drive? Uh, Mercury Topaz. Um, fun. Cheap taste, cheap taste in cars, okay Well there nothing wrong with those, uh. They're, they're nice they're nice vehicles, nothing wrong with those. Yeah, It, um, it's just everybody has their own taste, but man the Mercedes are expensive. My wife has a Volvo and it, it's nice, I mean, you know, it's okay an. Sorry I roped on Volvos then Huh? Sorry I roped on Volvos then. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no it, it, I, I kind of wish we would have maybe gone for the G L rather than the D L Oh, is it? See I don't much about them I guess. Yeah, there just safe to just, that's the reason why we mainly got it. We got white and it's the safest four door, you know, it's good for, if you have a family, which we do. Yeah. We just, we just one out and so it's, it's, uh, um, you know, they're kind of low to the ground after driving the Explorer. You know, I presently, I used to have a two, eighty Z, and I'm a tall guy an, and, uh, they're hard to get around in traffic to see. Really. Because you can't see a car ahead of you, but they're fast as lightning and all that crap. But the Explorer, I mean, you're sitting up on top of everything and you can really see real well. And I just, it's so comfortable So, you're, Uh-huh. what are your feelings about American versus European cars? Um, I like anything besides Japanese. Of course everything has Japanese parts in them anymore. I don't like Japanese cars, Why not. But, uh, European, I don't have any, I mean, those are the kind I usually end up liking the most. American cars, a lot of people say they, they don't last long but I've never had any problem with, um, my Mercury, or, my my husband has a, uh, Cougar and he's never had any problem with it either, so, I don't know. That's the way it goes, I guess. Well what are your, I guess this is your first time to buy American, so. Yeah, I was real hesitant but it was Yeah. I don't know, uh, I mean, I think European cars are great, course you've got to have metric wrenches and stuff and they're some, some of them are easy to work on. A Volvo, being a four cylinder is very easy to work on. Really. Uh, excellent warranty, I mean, just, unbelievable warranty. And, and, uh, of course, Ford isn't too bad. I think Chrysler would probably make a good vehicle, uh, but all of it has to do, in my opinion with the service. and the attitude of the service, of the dealership. Yeah. Yeah. I wouldn't send my dog to buy a car from Middlekauff Ford. Where? There's, Middlekauff Ford in Plano. Okay. Their just, their attitude is just slimy. And, and, uh, I've written a, a letter to Middlekauff and I've told them that, matter of fact I got another letter last night from the Quality Ford Division, their still concerned about my attitude *spelling "their" should be "they're and it, it will never change about that place. And, uh, but, uh, anyway that's my own personal comment I guess, but. Yeah, this girl that works for me just bought a car down there and they, they had a problem with they, uh, took their Camaro in to get it traded and they, they hadn't signed any papers and they had all ready, uh, taken it in to paint it and everything and everything was stolen out of it and the people, um, wouldn't reimburse them for anything. Middlekauff wouldn't? She needs to find herself a lawyer. She'd, she'd come out like a champ on that one. Yeah, so, I've heard some stuff about them. But, um. So have you been using, well anyway. What. That was, I was asking you some questions about the telephone and how long and how many have you been doing, but that's, Oh. they, they don't want to hear that. Oh, just about a week. Is that all? A week. Yeah, yeah. Good Lord, I think I started in January or February. Really. Oh God, I've, I'm like twenty some phone calls. Oh, wow. That's why I, I wasn't sure if this was the second time around or what. Well look, I've enjoyed speaking with you. Yeah, you too. And keep smiling. Okay, thanks. Bye, bye. Bye. So, child care, your views. Uh, well, we only have one child right now and another one on the way and right now I'm, I'm all with her during the day. I, if I was looking for outside care I probably would stay away from professional child care centers and try to find, if I was close to home, relatives or people with it is same values and possibly religious faith or something similar so that she would be raised in an environment that would be similar to what we would have in our own homes as, as parents. And what religious faith? Uh, Latter Day Saints. Oh that's, that's good. So so that's what I would try to do. With a teaching background I've, um, had a little bit of experience with the child day care type situations but I've seen some good ones and I've seen some really bad ones. Uh, they do seem to be at the outside edge of both extremes don't they? Uh-huh, And, whenever they are they seem to regulate the good toward the bad instead of bad toward the good. and so, Right. By trying to get them to conform to concern standards they, uh, kind of, uh, eliminate a lot of the, uh, Better situations. Yeah. The, the, uh, what am I trying to think of that, not the imagination but the creativity in, in the situation and so, Yeah, yeah that's, that's very well phrased. Uh, so, have you ever used outside child care? No, I haven't. We've had like people come in and baby-sit for an hour or two but I've never had, um, Real day care. Right. She's, she's not even a year yet, so, we haven't been in, you know, a lot of need yet. Uh our step daughter's ten now Uh-huh. and most of the day care has been provide for by Grandma. But, quite honestly what I believe to be the best day care situation was while we lived up, the Pass of Woodland Park there was, uh, ex-school teacher that, uh, did a small amount of before school and after school, you know, kindergartners, or half dayers in her home Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and they would read and play, Have a relative a structured, activities and not just, you know, stick them in a corner and say you're on your own. seem to be, Uh, yeah, and, uh, despite our beliefs, she was, uh, one of the more, uh, Charismatic Christian faiths Uh-huh. and it worked out wonderfully. Yeah. I know that, uh, that I guess if you have the opportunity to pick and choose and you've got the time and that, uh, I don't know if the resources are the proper term, you know, just the, the know, knowledge of who's a available, then you could probably find some really good care. Uh, yeah, but I don't know that it would be state approved. That's true. You can get somebody maybe willing to baby-sit but actual, you know, that's sometimes different, done on a different scale. I have even considered, you know, baby-sitting myself, I have a teaching degree, and, uh, thought well, you know, I could structure and then for one reason or other decided not to, but I think if you take more than three children in, well, that was how it was this Virginia, we've recently moved here to Texas, but in Virginia I think if you take more than three children in on more than a several hours a day bases you have to be licensed. I, now I don't know what the current Texas laws are but I, but I do know that the license doesn't seem to, uh, guarantee quality. Yeah, a lot of times you might just need to go now and feel, file for it just like a business. You may not have to prove any type of qualification for it I don't, Uh, now here I believe that child care meets, by in large, certain standards for, uh, balanced food, if they provide food, cleanliness, and levels of supervision levels being defined as number of working adults for number of children Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's, uh, kind of a minimum there that you're getting. Your covering basic care there and not all the extras that most people would like to see done with there children, you know, like the educational activities, the supervised play and so forth. uh, my wife is, uh, agnostic and I'm, uh, a backsliding Presbyterian I like that term and, uh, get, I really believe that this Charismatic care, or the Charismatic belief when emphasized on care, or semi Charismatic I might say was quite good. Uh-huh. Yeah, it was a good influence for your daughter, uh. Yes, very Well, that's good. and, and, uh, the care is what I guess you should emphasize in the term child care instead of the child. Uh-huh. Yeah, a little bit of love and, and attention is what most of them need. You know, even if it's not a real educated program you can have good educational program and, and, And not have any care. Right. And, and that's not certainly what you want for your child or what you would give your child yourself and so, And I'm not sure that really child care per se should instill any education per se. Do you know had a I'm saying? Well, even educated play, uh, supervised play, can teach without, and I'm not saying talking about sitting down and teaching them math or, or, or something like that but just kind of promoting social skills and, uh, uh, you know, like my, my child that, she want be an only child for long, but, you know, she was an only child, or maybe your daughter, not having, Proper interface. yeah, yeah, just, It's just, just correctness of, of social skills, if you will. Right, those basic things that, uh, they would, that, you know, you would be a little bit of, uh, I don't know if manners is a good term or not but, you know, dealing with other through proper mannerisms and politeness and so forth, you know, that sort of thing, you'd want your child to learn that, from the experience of someone else, certainly you wouldn't want your child's day care person to yell at them and scream at them and say do this, do that, you know, you'd want them it promote politeness and niceness, you know, the things that you would want any child to learn and, the reason, that's done through example, you know, not an actual sit down learn situation so, Uh, yeah, uh, it's a very broad issue. Uh-huh, it is And, you know, it's a shame but most people doing, child care earn almost no money. They operate at, you know, the owner of the of a, you know, a large child care facility now, Uh-huh. we're not talking somebody that does six kids, in their home or three or whatever. Uh-huh. Somebody that doesn't really put a lot of overhead whatever into it. You mean somebody that has an actual establishment. Right. Yeah. Their employees earn almost nothing. Yeah. I know I, I did that for summer so I can, I can vouch for that And that's really, really a shame too because, do you and your husband both work. No, just he does I'm, I'm here during the day with her. Well, that's wonderful if, if you can make it that way. Well, we, we decided to, we live on a lesser budget so that we have that, that's more important to us, you know, as, as, uh, there may come a time when I will be working again, you know, but right now that's what we've chosen and we wanted to have several, we got her and we've got another on the way, and maybe another, one soon after that, Well, like I said, that's grand if, if you can pull it off so Right. but more and more we're being forced into a situation, we as Americans are being forced into a situation, where you've got to have, Well, I'm talking to you from Dallas. What part of the country are you in? Oh, boy, this is going to be tough, I'm in Plano Well, we can, uh, complain together or swear we can complain together about the humidity Exactly. I guess the weather hasn't been too different between us. No, I don't think so, I wouldn't think, yeah. I, what part of Dallas are you from? Far north Dallas Oh, north Dallas. Yeah, about a half a mile from Plano Well, jeez. So we're in the, Well then you've been getting quite a bit of rain also. Yeah, it's been very, very rainy, I know. Oh How about that. How does it compare to the years past? um, I don't know, I haven't lived here, let's see, we lived out of state in Wisconsin and we just we lived here ten years ago, and when we first lived here, we we were in Garland, East Richardson, and, um, doesn't seem like it was quite as humid. Uh-huh. Oh. And, I don't know, then we went, we lived in, uh, Madison, Wisconsin for five years, um, for my husband's schooling, graduate schooling, and it just, it's a lot cleaner up there, but, um, it's a lot colder too. Huh. Well, what brought you guys down to Texas then? Uh, his job, he came back to start work again for a different company, so, said, Here, here's a How about that. here we are again. That's great. It just seems a little more humid than it, I don't ever remember, of course, you know, you only remember the good stuff, but, um, I just don't remember the humidity. Right. Well definitely, I'm sure, the winters are more mild here. This much rain, and this much humidity. Uh, yeah, they are. Actually, though, it was a lot rainier here in the winter, uh, we came back last August. Uh-huh. It's just a lot rainier than I remember it, all through the seasons, you know. Sure. Um, It seems that progressive, I've, been down here five years, just over five years now, that, every spring and summer seems to get more and more rainy. Yeah, and I think it's because it's just getting more crowded and more polluted. I really do think that's part of it. Huh. Um, uh, in, in Wisconsin and Minnesota, when they get winters it's, um, the winters are bad, but not what you hear about. It's just like down here, when you hear, when people here think it's a hundred and six, people up north think it's a hundred and sixty down here. A hundred and sixty. I'm making that up. Uh-huh, right. You know, when it's only like ninety-five. Sure. Um, it's just like up there, when you hear it's forty below, it's probably really only five below. Right. Um, and it's so dry, that it's, it's like going to well, probably what Arizona used to be like, you know, it's just dry and cool, Uh-huh. so it's not, it's not what you think it is. True. Um, no, there have been times, though, when it gets so frigid that you you can't stand it. Where did you move here from? Colorado. Well, there, you could talk about that, that's, that's a strange state for, Oh sure, I, I'm uh, I'm very familiar, my grandparents and all my relatives are from Wisconsin. Oh, there you go, okay. So, I'm, uh, quite familiar with how it is up there, and if you, kind of interesting, uh, the people down here typically don't think it gets above, you know, fifty degrees This is very true. And it's always snow, you know, but, uh, Yeah, right, well actually, the summers up there, we thought, were the most beautiful time of the year. Oh yes. Um, in terms of Colorado, I know my husband likes to camp and backpack and all the stuff I don't like, um, but I'd, used to go on, I worked for a mortgage company in Wisconsin and I did a lot of business in, uh, um, well, Denver, and that's, that's probably one of the stranger things, when you see the air inversions, and then you go into the mountains Uh-huh. and it's snowy and uh, it just was a very mixed bag in terms of Colorado. Oh sure. My parents just live, uh, thirty miles south of Denver and it can be sunny and, and no problem in Denver and they'll be having snow Isn't that strange? So it's pretty amazing, it can be that drastic in just a short distance Yeah, and then things like are there tornadoes in Colorado, yes or I don't, Uh, it's getting to be more and more of a possibility. Yeah. It used to be no problem, just because it was such a, a rugged terrain and with trees everywhere, but now, as they start to clear more things out. The mountains, yeah. Even, I mean, I'm originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and I can tell you that, um, they've even had, in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, they've even had, I'm going to say, mini tornadoes for lack of a better word. Uh-huh. And, and that's just a part of the country that it's rolling hillside. That was unheard of, you know, twenty years ago. Right. Um, so I don't know what's happening, if it's, you know, we are, the greenhouse, I don't really know. Yeah, me neither. It's just, you know. It's definitely not as, um, But, I know I associate the pollution with weather in general, so I guess one thing we do miss, is that's a smaller town, and it it was, it just seemed a little bit more pleasant in terms of the atmosphere, you know. Sure, sure. Well, it's been good talking to you. You too. Good-bye Okay. Good-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, what kind of things do you like to do in your spare time? Well, uh, I have two children, Uh-huh. so I do not have a whole lot of spare time right now. One of the things that I have made time for is, uh, playing softball. Uh-huh. I really enjoy, I enjoy softball, but I enjoy all kind of sports. I enjoy watching and participating. I really like water sports like swimming and skiing, but I do not get to do that too often. Yeah. And then I, I really enjoy sewing, but I do not get much of a chance to just really sit down and do much sewing. How about you? Oh, I, uh, like sports type things too. We like to get out and walk, and we like the water sports too. Uh-huh. But like you, unless you have a pool in your backyard, it is kind of hard to get to do that very often. I, know it. It is. Do you work full time? Yeah. Well, part time. We are going to have a baby in July. Part time. Oh. So part of my big hobby has been trying to put together a nursery and all that kind of stuff, lately. Right. Yeah, that definitely takes over your time. Yeah, it does. I have been, Is this going to be your first? Yes. Uh-huh. Oh. I have been doing some cross-stitch for something I wanted to put in the nursery. So, I have not done that in years, Uh-huh. but I have kind of enjoyed that. Yeah. It is just hard to find the time to sit there and do it. Right. Well, that is, it sure is fun to do that kind of thing because then you have got something to show for it. Right, yeah. Yeah. That is neat. And I guess I kind of consider shopping a hobby Yeah. I do too. I just go out just to, just to enjoy it and not really spend money sometimes, just look. Yeah. Yeah. But you will probably find after your children get bigger, uh, like when they want things like tricycles, toys, things that cost quite a lot in the store, you can find that kind of stuff at garage sales for just a few dollars. Yeah, yeah, we bought some baby clothes, yeah, last weekend at a garage sale. And, Yeah. Yeah. So, I am, I have become a garage sale shopper. And it is fun. Uh-huh. On the weekends I drive around, look to see, you know, who is selling what. And I found my little daughter some tap shoes for her tap class. And just, you know, all kinds of things like that, that you would probably pay thirty dollars for, Oh and I got them for two dollars Wow! Yeah. Yeah. So, Yeah, at a lot of places. Yeah. Yeah, it is. It, it does take more time. But I do not work, so, uh, that is something I have decided I am going to make sure my kids have a, have a happy growing up years and Right, yeah. I think that is important too. I am not going to work after the baby comes. Yeah. Well, Well, that is good. So, I guess, hopefully I will have more time for hobbies. I am glad, I do not know Well, at first, when you first have a baby, you, uh, seems to take every moment of your time. Partly because you are not used to, you know, juggling your time around like that. But, eventually the, you will, you will be doing lots of stuff. Right. So, Yeah. But I think, my husband is real into sports too. He plays on a T I softball team and the church softball team. And by the time he plays two games a week and I play a game a week, we go to lots of softball Wow! Yeah But the kids enjoy going because there's usually a lot of other kids for them to play with and we, that is getting outside and, you know, doing things they like to do too. So, Yeah. So that is good. A whole your whole family can enjoy those hobbies. Yeah. And one other thing we are doing this year is, uh, we bought Wet and Wild passes. Oh. We have never done that before, but the kids are always wanting to play in the water. And, uh, like you said, unless you have a pool in your backyard or access to a good place to play, it is kind of hard. And, uh, they have real good kiddie areas, uh, at both of the Wet and Wild's around here. So, we are planning on going two or three times a week Oh, wow. That will make the summer go by in a hurry. Yeah. I think it will. Keep the kids busy. Yeah. Because my oldest daughter is in school, and she gets bored real fast when she is home with nothing to do. Right. So, I think that will be a lot of fun. Yeah. So we are looking forward to that. Yeah. Uh, do you consider yard work a hobby at all or is that just a chore? Well, when I got married, I thought it was going to be fun Uh-huh But my husband and I both, I think, consider it a chore. It's, Yeah. our yard has had so many problems. It has completely died out two times. Oh, no. And, uh, we have had to start all over trying to plant grass. So it has become a chore Huh. Do you and your husband like to work in the yard? Oh, well, we like it once in a while but not as often as we have to do it Yeah. I like to put flowers out and, you know, a few little things like that. Uh-huh. But as far as mowing every week, and finding time to get all that stuff done, it gets to be a chore. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That is true. Seems like sometimes hobbies do that. They kind of take over and turn into work instead of fun. Yeah. Well, that is how sewing. I love to sew, and, uh, I wish I had more time to do it. But sometimes I will get started on a project and then finishing it is more of a chore than Yeah. If it does not go quite, quite right. Yeah. Another thing I enjoy doing is cooking. I, I like especially, it is real strange, but I like to cook for other people. Like I have a friend that is, uh, pregnant but she can't get up and walk around right now. Oh, no. So, I enjoy, you know, cooking things to take over to her house or, Oh, that is nice. Yeah. And it, it is fun for me to do that. It is, it is something I enjoy doing. It is funny though, it is like I do not really want to cook for us It is kind of like when you are a kid and, and someone else's house was fun to clean, but you did not want to do your own Yeah. Your, How funny. I think I will enjoy cooking more when I am not working, when I do not get home until five-thirty or six, and I have to cook and clean up, Yeah. Oh, yeah. it is not, it is not fun. But I think I will like it better. Yeah. When you are home it's, it makes a difference. Yeah. It sure does. Uh-huh. Well, do you guys go camping or anything like that? Uh, yeah, we have done a little bit of camping. We like that. It's, there again, it is just so hard to find time to get away for a whole weekend. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, that is something that we are planning to do not this weekend, but the next. My parents go camping a lot, and they invited the kids and my husband and me to go with them and, Oh. That sounds fun. Yeah. We are really looking forward to it. The girls love it. They have been a couple of times, and, uh, just getting to be outside, you know, all the time and sleep in a tent. And that is really fun to them. So, We are looking forward to that. Yeah. Well, that sounds nice. I, I think that would be a good family thing to start doing more often. Yeah. I think so. Yeah. My, uh, my husband loves to fish. I am not much into fishing, but, uh, my daughter thinks she wants to learn how to fish so I think it will be real good for them Uh-huh. They can go fishing. Yeah, we have camped with some friends who have young children and, uh, if you can find some place where those little sunfish are right around the shore where they can just pull in a line. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, they have so much fun doing that. Yeah. And they think they are really great fishermen because they are catching so many Yeah, yeah. Oh, I know. Yeah, uh, she is really looking forward. I am hoping, that is another thing though, when sometimes your, uh, hobbies can interfere with each other. Because my husband is afraid he is going to have a softball tournament that weekend. Oh. And I am saying, no, no Yeah. Skip this tournament Yeah. If you are doing a lot of things, sometimes you have conflicts, and you have to decide what you enjoy the most. Right. So, Yeah. Do you do any other crafts or anything besides your sewing? Well, not really right now. I keep thinking when the kids get bigger and I have a little more time, uh, I might take up, there is, I would love to cross-stitch. I think cross-stitching is so pretty, but I have never done any. It is not too hard. It is, Yeah. I do not think it is as hard as like knitting or crochet or something like that. Yeah. Yeah. I, I crocheted when I was younger. It is funny, when I was in high school, I made a blanket. And, but you know, I can't even remember how I did it now Yeah It has been so long since I did it that but, Yeah. I started to to knit a sweater. Uh-huh. And I got off on my rows somehow, and so what should have been the back all of a sudden was on the front. Oh, yeah. And then I tore it out and threw it down. And I never have, picked it back up again, and now I can't remember anything about it Yeah, well, I did the same thing. Uh, when I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was really bored, and I bought one of those latch hook rug kits. Oh, uh-huh. It was a real pretty rug. And I thought, well I could use this as a gift or something, you know. And oh, it was so, it was beautiful, but I did not realize how long it took. And I got about two, two-thirds of it done, and then I just, I had the baby Yeah And then it was just like I forgot all about it. Forget it. And every once in a while I will be digging through the closet, and I will find that thing. And I will think, oh, maybe I ought to get the rest of that out, you know, and finish it. Yeah. But, uh, for a while there latch hook rugs were a real big, uh, hobby. Yeah. I remember that. It seemed like people did them a lot. Yeah. Uh, uh, people do not do that much any more. So, it was something easy I could do Yeah, yeah. They are pretty easy. Yeah. Well, it has been real good talking to you. Yeah. You too. And I hope you enjoy your camping trip. Oh, thank you. And thanks for calling. Uh-huh. *used to mean "you're welcome" Bye. Bye-bye. in Well I always think I'm paying too much taxes. How about you? Yeah, oh definitely Seems like, Although at least Texas doesn't have a state income tax yet. I mean, you know, they keep threatening us that maybe there will be a day that they're going to, uh, enact this I think, uh, the, um, other means of providing income for the state have been dwindling so they keep trying to say we may need a, uh, state income tax Yeah, I think that, uh, we probably will have to have, have to, uh, have a state income tax because, uh, Texans don't approve of such things as lotteries, uh, well I, I, come here from New York and New York had a state lottery, Uh-huh. and it really raised a lot of money for the, for the state. Uh, although we, in New York we had to pay a state and a city, uh, tax. And it was really a great relief when I got to Texas that I didn't have to pay that city income tax, though. Yeah, makes quite a bit of difference in your, uh, well your income level. Right. You know, because other states quite a a chunk out for, uh, city and state taxes so you're, uh, looking at your yearly salary, it makes quite a difference. It sure does make a difference. A little more take home here Uh-huh. Do you live in Dallas? Yeah, Richardson area. Oh, you do? Yeah, I work at, well mainly the Expressway Site is where I work like Oh, I do too. Oh, okay Okay, and then, you know too, that, um, taxes are, are less, like if you live in Mesquite. Yeah. You know, some people will go shopping in Mesquite at the malls out there, uh, Or up to Collin County, somewhere that you're getting out of the, um, Dallas County area because, what do we pay, like eight and a half percent, something like that for the, uh, sales tax. Uh-huh. Eight point five. Uh-huh. Which, yeah, that really is pretty high. Is it the is it, uh, less in Collin County than it is in Dallas County? or I guess maybe if I was going to buy a car or something, maybe I would consider where I was buying it, to try to, you know, save a little bit on that sales tax, because on a car that really kind of mounts up Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, it sure did and then once you could deduct at least some of that, um, off, off your income tax and you can't do that anymore. Yeah. It really hit me yesterday, I had, uh, air conditioning service for my car done. And I had a little, little, uh, coupon special that was twenty-two dollars for, um, air conditioning service where they, uh, checked it and recharged it and put one, one pound of freon in Uh-huh. and if you needed another pound of freon they it, it was like seven dollars and something. And then with the with the twenty-two dollars and the seven something, it all came out to, I, I ended up paying like thirty-four dollars. Yeah, yeah that's true. Although I I wish, you know, overall they'd try the lottery again. When did you first come to Texas? Really, where did you come from? Um, well, Ohio, kind of. My parents live in Ohio. I had lived a little while in Michigan, Oh, uh-huh. but, you know, basically I went to high school and college in Ohio and lived there uh, more years than I ever did in Michigan. Uh-huh. Well, uh, I did visit, uh, Michigan, I visited Kalamazoo once. My sister used to live there. Oh, okay Uh-huh. But you know, when we first came down here, I really thought this place was somewhat backward, I mean, I was just shocked that we couldn't shop on Sunday. Remember that? Uh-huh. But, uh, there were stores that you could go to, uh, you know, like discount stores and stores down in the village and just all over the place where you could go to and you could shop until like twelve or one o'clock that night and that was like, that was really the only night they were open that late, but it was Christmas eve. Uh-huh. And when I came to Dallas, I thought I was going to do that Christmas eve and I couldn't find hardly anything open, after five o'clock in the afternoon. Were you shocked like, oh no, I'm stuck I need to buy stuff. An I was, oh, I was, I really, I really was stuck And I think Target was the one that stayed open later than any, anybody else. And, uh, I was able to pick up a few things in there, but, boy I was, I was really shocked. And then another shock I had well, when I went to, um, to buy a slice of pizza and found out that I had to buy the whole pie. Uh-huh. Oh, few places now seem to do it by the slice but, Yeah, now, but they, back then they didn't. Right. When I first came, no. Anyway, Well the, the, uh, there was other things too, I mean, I think it's taken us Yankee's influence down here, to get them to, uh, come to the, you know, the correct decade here and century. Um, I couldn't believe that you could have open containers of beer, alcohol, whatever, in the car! Right. Right. voice says, that's not the I mean, you could always, um, uh, be careful about that back then because, uh, you know, if if a cop stopped you then you would, um, you know, get arrested or what not. Uh-huh. Yeah, and talk a talking about alcohol and beer, look at the taxes on that, and the taxes on a package of, of cigarettes. And people would just drink openly. I used to smoke, you know Uh-huh. and, uh, that would have been enough to, to make me, me give them up. The price of them now, but I gave them up a couple years ago because I had some sinus problems. Oh. I don't smoke, so I don't really know what the, taxes are and stuff on it. Well, Well they're like two, or, I, I believe they're hitting two dollars a pack now. Um. A little bit, a little bit more in some places. So you end up about paying about twelve dollars for a pack and two dollars of that is taxes. Huh. Gee. Um, because I remember we went to, to Oklahoma to this bingo place. This Choctaw Bingo, uh, a couple weeks ago and somebody that went with me bought a carton for, uh, ten dollars and something and they really thought they were getting a big discount. They're cheaper there? Well because, it's, you know, the Indians, I don't think they pay tax. Oh! In, in Oklahoma. Oh, I got you, okay. And, uh, it was a Indian, well it's a bingo hall for the benefit of the Indians there. Uh-huh Although I didn't see very many Indian people in there There were just bus loads of people that come from everywhere else to play that bingo because it's, it's, the stakes are higher and payoffs are bigger and so forth. Well how did you do? I won a dollar A dollar, oh well, but you had fun playing, right. Yeah, I had fun, uh, a couple on the bus won some money. One, one guy won Okay, do you have any pets? Yes, I've had, I have had a number of them in my lifetime and I've, I am a Golden retriever fan, Oh. but I had to replace it with something that the kids could carry. Oh Yes. Yes. Instead of being carried Yes, well, they were, they really wanted something teeny tiny, and I, uh, really wanted that retriever's disposition. Uh, the ultimate to tolerant, trainable disposition, Yeah. Really. so I called four or five dog trainers because I don't like the little dogs. Uh-huh. And, and I asked them, you know, these are the ages of the kids, what do I get. And they all said, Golden Retriever and I said okay, put it under twenty pounds. And the only thing that they could come up with was a Bichon Frize which is a, Huh. Do you know what that is? Yes, I've seen those. They're cute. They're cute. They look like an air headed let me tell you. They're calm, they're not yuppie , they're trainable, they're, uh, very personable in a different way that a Golden Retriever is. They're not dignified like a retriever can be. Uh-huh. Yeah. So how old is your retriever? Oh, she's about four. She's not completely pure. We got her from the, uh, Humane Society when she was a puppy. She looks like a she looks just like a Golden Retriever, but she's a little bit smaller. She's like fifty-five pounds. Well, actually, you know, that's the breed standard for females. What you, Is it? yeah, what you see shown and bred now as Golden Retrievers, this, you know, plus eighty to a hundred pound range. Uh-huh. That is not breed standard. Huh. Fifty-five is the minimum but they usually run about sixty to sixty-five. And the ones that are shown, they are inside that weight allowance. Uh-huh. You cannot show your retriever if it's, you know, a hundred plus pounds. Oh, huh. So don't say she's small, just say she's perfect. Yeah. She's perfect. Well, she's got a brown nose instead of black too. Uh-huh. Which makes her, I guess, unshowable, even if she had papers which she doesn't Yep. but, but we love her anyway. She's just a lot of company to us. We didn't, we haven't had any kids and we're expecting a baby this summer, but up until then, she's been our substitute kid and she was a lot of fun. Well, they are, they are the ultimate dog to have around kids so long as your kid is not scared of a big dog, because I had a retriever, actually I had a retriever Irish Setter cross. Which is a really nice animal Right. Oh. and fortunately it was just like a retriever and then I've had a retriever. I bet it had a pretty coat too. It was gorgeous. It was just gorgeous. I mean just gorgeous. Um, and they both, you know, both the half breed and the pure breed had the, uh, what I consider the, the, the perfect disposition. But you know what, you know what scares me about Golden Retrievers? Since they've become so popular you get what I call backyard breeders. Which is probably where yours came from. People that don't know what they're doing, and they breed them, you know, for a certain characteristic. And in the retrievers it happens to be they like them big, for somehow big is perceived as the better. And when you start doing that you really tamper with, you know, the, all the, the years of, uh, culling litters and, and, uh, you tamper with what the dog innately is. Yeah. We when I was, when I bought my last purebred retriever I mean I looked all over because I wanted one that still looked like a retriever, you know, the short to the ground, stocky, golden, uh, trainable, tractable, quiet animal that could hunt and still be in the house. Right. And I ended up getting one that, uh, came out of a, a, a hunting stock because I wanted one that could still perform like a retriever did. Oh. And I've seen an awful lot of lately really dumb, dumb retrievers and I'm, and I really fear for the breed because I love that breed, Yeah. but I really figure right when it becomes really popular that it's going to be ruined. We have some friends with a brother and sister Golden retriever and those dogs have been having seizures, and I wonder since both of them are having them if it's some kind of breeding problem. Oh, yeah. You bet you. You bet you. You know how they came up with the retriever, don't you, the Golden? Huh-uh. It was bred out of several different retrievers, and they bred it for companionship and, uh, uh, disposition and, and ability to hunt. It was kept only by kings. Oh. But they selectively culled those litters, I mean, for many hundreds of years and since it slept in the castle with its master, I mean it had, it had to be of a disposition to make it, you know, an animal you could keep around that closely. But they would go through all the litters and destroy the puppies if they were anything other than perfect. Now, you know, that seems like a cruel thing to do. Yeah. On the other hand, you sure, you know, they sure created a, a wonderful breed, I mean a wonderful breed. Yeah. They did. I, I had never really had a Golden retriever before. We were going to get a shepherd and something mixed because my husband's family had had shepherds and all the other, we looked at some of the shepherd mixes and the puppies weren't very, uh, social and stuff. Uh-huh. And we went to a pen of a little bit bigger dogs and all the others were standing there barking and jumping up and down. And one dog would stand there wagging her tail and smiling And that, was mine. Well, I tell you, you know the, the German shepherd is the classic case of what I'm talking about because in America that's called a Rin Tin Tin phenomena. Uh-huh. Only in America is there a dog called a German Shepherd. Oh, really? That dog is bred out of three European dogs. The Belgian Tervurien, a German Skutzhund, and a makes a I always forget the third one. I can see it. Uh, uh, but the third one is a children's dog. Oh. And there are distinct breeds in Europe. Now what happened over here was is that people saw the, the first, um, which would actually have been a Skutzhund which is what Rin Tin Tin was. Uh-huh. And everybody wanted Rin Tin Tin. And it was known as a German shepherd here. So they created a breed standard. The American Kennel Club did. Oh. That said anything that is a Skutzhund, a, a Tervurien and, uh, Alsatian that's the other one. Alsatian, any inner breeding of that can be called a German shepherd here. Huh. And what happened is, is that people wanted this shepherd to shepherd and protect. And they bred a dog that I it's called a, an animal's critical span which basically translates to how much shit will it take before it bites you. That German shepherd, the American German Shepherd here was a, a, a such an unreliable animal that the American Seeing Eye Institute refused to use them, because they would turn on on their handlers. Uh-huh. Huh. Uh-huh. And even, um, uh, police corps which started, you know, finding other breeds to use because this thing, this, this thing known as a German shepherd here, its personality and its dependability and its reliability was just terrible. So about fifteen years ago the German Shepherd Club of America decided amongst themselves that they were going to change this. So they went back to Europe and brought back some good examples of each of the three breeds and bred to a standard what they wanted an American German shepherd to be. Which is a very heavily now Skutzhund and Alsatian, Uh-huh. and it's the Alsatian that's the kid's dog. It's just, you see them in Europe and they're just lovely. Huh. But you'll see, I mean, if you ever start looking in papers now and you start seeing these ads for German Shepherds, they will say on them, bred for disposition, A K C conforming which means that their advertising that this is no longer an indiscriminate dog. Huh. This is bred for, and they had to go through and destroy a, for a while there, about seventy-five percent of their puppies that they bred. Wow. Because they were looking for this disposition. And nowadays you, you'll get, you'll get a dog trainer to recommend a specific, you know, breeder handler. They will recommend their shepherds as a children's dog. Huh. But ... Okay, well, I'll start off being controversial. I'm in favor of it. That doesn't necessarily mean you're controversial. Well, it seems to be in the current situations but, uh, I still feel that it could be a deterrent to crime. Particularly with the increase of serious crime that's going on now. Well, I think that those crimes which are punishable by the death sentence, need to be reevaluated. Okay. I think there are other crimes that could easily draw the death penalty and not make me feel bad at all. Yeah, I think, uh, Crimes against children is one of them. Oh, definitely. Any, any crimes against person, uh, I feel, uh, there should be more than a slap on the hand, and being sent to prison and being released in, uh, two or three years. Yeah. Uh-huh. Actually, I would like to see the system revert a lot back to some of the forms of punishment that exist in Middle Eastern countries. If you steal, you lose a hand. Oh, yeah. That's a, You know, uh, if you kill, you lose your life. What's wrong with that? I don't see a thing wrong with that. Yeah. I believe that, uh, Well, it's just an, an example. Uh, I think there's, uh, someone that's on trial right now here in the Dallas area, Uh-huh. and they were interviewing the, the, a young lady was killed sometime back, a young girl. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, how do you feel about this? Uh-huh. And, you know Uh-huh. and they want the person punished and punished, properly. Uh-huh. Uh-huh Deciding what that proper punishment is, is one thing. I think that there should be no way, I, I realize that innocent people could go to, uh, what is it, lethal injection now. Yes. Innocent people could do that, but for every innocent person who would be executed, hopefully there would be ten guilty. Yeah. Well, I feel like the, the cost of someone who's quoting figures made the cost, at like thirty thousand dollars, a year to keep someone in prison. Uh, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. To maintain a prison that's right. That's stupid. And, well, the problem there is they're not keeping the right ones in prison in many cases. Uh-huh. There are more, and more instances being on the news, Sure. Uh-huh. or this individual was out on the streets, on probation or parole and killed someone else. Or, seriously injured someone. Uh-huh. Sure. Sure. Well, I don't have solutions to the problems, but you know you have these, this would be nice if and there's probably thousands of holes in that theory, blinded her. Yeah. I think then that a life sentence to restitution is appropriate. Yes. I think he should spend the rest of his life working to support that individual or the family of an individual. Uh, who has been harmed you, you, you know. Yes, indeed. Yeah. People who kill policemen. And I Yeah. No. Here again, anytime anyone goes out with a gun in their hand and crime on their mind uh, the opportunity exists for someone to get killed. Uh-huh. That's right. Now I'm not in favor of gun control to the degree or anything because, uh, there are uses for guns which are noncriminal Uh-huh. but it seems that the criminal element are the ones that are using them. Uh, aside from domestic disputes, husbands shooting wives or vice versa. Uh-huh. But these individuals, if they have a gun with them, I think that the, the sentence should be even longer than if they don't. I don't, I don't agree with the length, of the sentence though. Well, Well, but here again, uh, if a matter of expediency, part of these costs like the people on Death Row is that their appeals can take years and years. I think expediency is the answer. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's right. There should be some, uh, I know there's a law, I believe, that it's automatic appeal if it's a death sentence. Uh-huh. Well, I think that automatic appeal ought to take place, uh, within a reasonable length of time, say six months. Uh-huh. And a decision be made and not drag out in the courts for years, because of misplaced commas or whatever technicalities, there might be. Uh-huh. That's right, technical, I think that there should be a statute of limitations on appeals. Right, there's got to be a, there's got to be a time limit. you can appeal it once. I think if it is appealed one time and the appeal is turned down or the sentence stands, then you might be allowed one more appeal if it is, if, if it is, contradictory. A, a legit, legitimate appeal, not a technicality, of, uh, if, and they're not arguing that the guy or woman committed the crime. Yeah. That's right. Uh-huh. They're arguing over, well, were his civil rights violated because, uh someone didn't file the proper paper at the proper time. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Those are the things that have caused them to drag out I think. That's right. Well, one of the sad things is that so many of these never actually come to trial because of, of the process in which the criminals were apprehended. Yeah. I mean, uh, you know the guy is guilty. You know he's done what he's done. You, you may have stood there and seen it. But because he wasn't read his rights whenever he was arrested, you know, he, he goes free. He didn't see his, lawyer as quickly as he should have, or some, some Mickey Mouse type thing like that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Right, and I realize that that is designed to protect the innocent. It's also designed to line the pockets of lawyers. Oh, yes And, uh, I, I just don't think that, I think we could get along a lot better in our criminal justice system if we had some statute of limitations on lawyers Yes. I hope you're not a lawyer No, I'm not a lawyer I, I'm an accountant and I agree. Yeah. We practice law ourselves because it's too expensive to hire lawyers, to a degree. Absolutely. That's why you check books out from the library. There you go. But I really believe that our justice system is, is the best around but it's not perfect, and that doesn't mean that you leave it in tact. *in tact intact Well, it's, it's a case that we have a, a legal system which the criminals have found a way to use and a way to benefit them rather than the public itself. That's right. So that's how we get caught in this, uh sort of a catch twenty-two. That's right. Uh-huh. That's right. But you have to continue, uh, to protect the innocent you're giving an open door to the guilty. That's right. And, and, it, I don't know there just seems to be so many clever ways to avoid the real intent of the law by following the letter. Yeah. And that just, that really does ruffle my feathers, at times. Yes It does, most people. I mean I can just get so, aggravated about it. But, you know, it's, it's going to take smarter people than me to solve the problem And I hope, not lawyers Again one of our one of our problems is that, uh, our legislature and the state and our national congress, the majority of the members thereof are lawyers. Well, uh, if you had to pick a, a type of music that you like, would you be able to? *functions as a qw Well, I could pick country music. *answered as if to a qw Country music? I, As I've gotten older, I've started listening more to the words of music and to the softer melodies. Not originally. Not originally. Where you from? Georgia. Georgia. Okay, well, see I'm, I'm from Chicago, so uh, I'm kind of in a different category here. Uh, If you had to pick one, what would you choose? Uh, I would probably go with, it's tough, uh, I think I would just stick with the classics. Only because, uh, I like music just for music's sake and uh, you know, I'm from the era where, you know, we had all the rock and roll. I'm forty so I'm, you know, part of that whole deal and, uh, that was a real interesting time and, you know, the music sort of made the whole time very rich with sound. Uh, but I think I'd stick back with my Beethoven and my Bach and my Mozart I mean because it's just, it will always be there. It's classic and I don't have to worry about, you know, what's current and what's not because I haven't been current with music for a long time. But, you know, same, uh, and, as far as country music is, I've never really, uh, listened to it. I mean because that's just, it was, it wasn't part of what I knew, so, there you go Well, I understand what you're saying. I think if you would listen to it a little, you would discover that it has a lot of roots from the, both from the classics and from some of the rock and roll of the era that, that we both lived through. Right, yeah. Uh I, it's, it's a different perspective on everything, too. I, I know, well, whenever they talk about, uh, country music, it's about, it seems sad to me. It's always about some guy losing some girl and then, you know, playing the guitar and singing about it. Well, there's some joy in it also. But, mostly it, it just tells a story about life. Yeah. Well, I must say, though, uh, I listen to Amy Grant. Do you consider her country? I don't know. I'm not all that familiar with her work. Uh, uh, let's see. Well, name some people that are country that I should listen to That would be good. Well, I kind of like, uh, I like groups like the Statler Brothers. And the Judds, certainly. Okay. Oh, okay, I, I must admit that's, yeah, they're fantastic, so, uh, uh, Reba McIntire is a little too country for me. She's something, though. She's got so much energy That's true. Well, I guess I, I have listened in on some of the stuff and not really realized it that I do like some of that. Uh, Dolly Parton, she's kind of, is she kind of country? Oh, yes. Kind of That's certainly where her roots are. Right down there. Uh, uh, how about the Oak Ridge Boys. Very much so. Very much. Okay, well, I like them, too. So I guess I've had a smattering and I just, uh, you know, picked, I've picked up a little bit along the way that I probably wouldn't have if I'd stayed up north, you know. That's true. You know, so, well, I think there's music all around anyway. I mean, I think life is just music, so, you know, you can hear it wherever you want and, uh, and I've, I've kind of shied away from some of the new stuff because I just don't understand it. But maybe twenty years from now they'll look at it as classic rock and roll which I really like so, Well, it's just difficult for me to believe that anybody's ever going to make a, a record of the rap songs of the eighties. Yeah, the greatest hits, right, Yeah Yeah. Yeah, so, I mean, it, it, it'll, if it stands the test of time, we'll see. That's true. And, uh, then it'll, if it survives, then it'll just probably be one or two songs that sort of, hey listen what we listened to Yeah Can you believe this sort of thing, but, uh, you know, I, I think of, I get real tickled when I listen to some of these old Beatle, uh, music, you know, the orchestration of it and that it's so popular still and, and, uh, you know, all these rocks, rock stations call it classic soft rock, you know Right. But we used to listen to it full blast Of course. Yeah. So, it's kind of funny the way we listened to the stuff, but, I don't know. Well, you got any more? Well, the big key is that, I think you've already stated, that all music is rooted in the classics and it has grown from there. this short. Well, that's, Okeydoke, well, it was great. Yeah. And we'll, uh, listen to some more music and, uh, I'll look at some country. You bet. Okay. Bye-bye Bye-bye. Okay, we can start. Okay. Hi. Hi. How many children do you have? I have four. Oh, four, okay, okay. How many do you have? Well, I have two children and, uh, two stepdaughters. Okay. So we have four altogether, too. Okay. Yeah. Are you, are you running ragged these days? Well, no, because mine are all grown Oh, they are. Oh So the topic for me, I, I can only relate now to my grandchildren. Oh, well good. I do keep my, Impart me some wisdom, Catherine Uh, I do take care of my youngest granddaughter, uh, most every Saturday. Uh, my daughter and her husband work Saturdays. My daughter is, uh, uh, doing a schedule of, uh, twenty-four hours on the weekend, but she gets paid for forty. Uh-huh. And Dave is, uh, in supervisory work and he has to work almost every Saturday so, Uh-huh. Uh, How old is your granddaughter? She's three. Oh, so she's a little one. Yes. Yeah. She's, she's little Yeah, yeah. She's says how are you doing grandma today. Oh Whoa Are you surviving. Is she your oldest child? Oh, no, no, no. No, she's my baby. Oh. She's my baby, yeah. Oh. She was a miracle baby. Was she? Yeah, she really was. Yeah. Uh-huh. Oh. Yeah. Oh, that's nice. Now do your other grandchildren live in the Dallas area? Yes, they do, uh-huh. Do you get to see them? They really do, uh-huh. How nice. What a treat. You know, being from Plano, you know, I know so very few people who have extended family in town. I'm real jealous when I hear that somebody has a grandma around because we don't, Oh yeah, that's really, and, that's really wonderful. It is, it is. Yeah. And, you know, just so that they get to know their grandparents, but also for help Yeah. We don't, we don't have that luxury. But, we have lots of friends, and, and everybody tends to be in the same boat. So we, we trade off a whole lot with friends and, you know, run here and run there. We're right smack dab in the middle of baseball season right now. And we have three playing baseball. Oh, that's marvelous. So Well they keep you hopping, I'm sure. They definitely do. Well, I know, uh, that, uh, one of the ladies I know, they are very involved with their little girl and, and I think it's excellent because she's getting qualified quality time for, uh, her musical, uh, talents her sports abilities Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, I think because she is, uh, the only child that they concentrate, uh, they would like to have more, but that hasn't been, uh, possible. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, she's tried many, uh, avenues Yeah. and, and so now it's just, you know, that she's kind of resolved herself that, yes, this is going to be the only one Yeah, and she devotes, yeah. And they're focusing on all of her, uh, welfare. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, well, our kids, you know, uh, my daughter uh, sings with Younger Generation, I don't know if you've ever heard of them. There they're a singing group here in Plano. Oh, okay. And they're part of the uh, Plano Children's Civics, Civic Chorus. Uh-huh. And they're going to Washington, D. C. next December Uh, to sing for President Bush at the White House at Christmas time. Oh, how wonderful. Isn't that neat? Yeah, so, So we have been really up to our eye balls in fund raising and trying to get, uh, That's wonderful. Well, that's wonderful. Yeah, it is. It is. So, you know, and then she plays softball and my son plays baseball and my stepdaughter plays softball so we, we tend to do a lot of running. Things are very different nowadays than when I grew up Oh, they are. and I'm sure when your children grew up you didn't, you know, I don't remember doing all these things. No. I certainly don't remember my parents running me here and there and supporting me in all these things, but we had more, I guess family time alone where we did nothing. Which was good. Yeah, you're, Now I think everything is doing, doing, doing, out of the house. Which can be very hectic. Yeah, yeah. It can be and, and sometimes I, you know, I kind of long for the good old days when we didn't do all these running. Yeah, it wasn't so But on the other hand, we just love watching the kids play and getting to know the other parents and we've had a lot of fun with that, too. Uh-huh. You have to look on that, on the, uh, positive side of that. It's just different. Yes, it is. Yeah. It's just a different lifestyle. It's just very different. Yes. Yeah. Uh, Yeah. My, uh, second grandson is in A Cappella and I know what you're talking about when he's involved, you know, the children are involved in that, Uh-huh. and he's been, he has traveled and they have won awards, so I Oh, really. Yeah. Uh-huh. And, I know where you're coming from Yeah. and it's, it's very nice. It is very nice. I think, uh, uh, those type of children, uh, that are involved in things like that, their, uh, goals are going to be set higher than the average child that are not participating in things. Well, I think so, and, and I think they've learned a whole lot about being part of a team, whether the team is your singing group, your band, your your sports team you know, you all have to pull together. Right. Going to, Yeah. And, uh, A, a, a team effort, yes. Yeah, and so I've been real pleased with that, too. I think they've learned some real good life skills. Uh, you know, being involved in all those things. That, That's wonderful. And, uh, That's really is nice to have in your background, that, you know, then you can, you're, you can be very flexible. Yeah. Uh-huh. And, uh, there's less, uh, friction involved in relationships when you add that skill of teamwork. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I mean a lot of people that are adults are having to go back and learn those basics when our children are already learning that. Yes, yes. And I think it's a step, a, a giant step of progress, I really do. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, uh, I, Give me some wonderful advice Catherine. What is the best advice of mothering that you know? The best of, Well, uh, Cathy, I think if you look to the Word of God and, uh, think on the things that are pure and lovely Besides don't sweat the small stuff Uh-huh. Oh, that's good, that's real good advice. and, uh, keep your mind off of negative things. Uh-huh. And keep your mind on positive things and, and stress that to your children. Uh-huh. And, uh, even if they're, even if they're discouraged, tell them that that's just a passing moment and to dwell on those things that are, uh, not negative and that are positive things in their life Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, I think you'll see a lot of growth in, uh, in their ability to, uh, control their thought pattern and, and when you employ the Word of God there's nothing as powerful as the Word of God. Absolutely. Well, I would agree with that. We're also real active in our church and my kids do an awful lot with that. Allyson sings in the choir. I told her that's a gift from God and you need to return that back. Oh, absolutely. That's right. And you owe, you owe that back to God because he's given you that ability and that talent Uh-huh and and that's real nice. Right. I'm real proud of her. I'm equally proud of her when I see her in church as I am when I see her performing. You know, that's, that's real neat. Well, if she looks, if she looks at it as you suggest that, that that's, that she can give her, her talent back to the Lord for His glory and she can look at it that way and, and, uh, that's ... Uh-huh. Okay, uh, do you work outside the home? No, I do not. Okay, wow Do you? Have you? Have I? Yes, uh-huh. Uh, no, not actually Okay, well, yes I do. Okay. In fact, I am at work right now. Uh, and so let me take the lead, uh, Angela. Uh, I think what is really important, uh, of course, salary is very important, because that's why you are working for your, for the money, but, job satisfaction to me is also, uh, very important in having a job. And, uh, one of the things that, uh, she asked us to discuss was benefits. Uh, I'm assuming that you are married and have a husband that supports you. Right. Okay. And so we could, we could talk about, uh, that path, you know, how important you think his benefits are. And, and, and, uh, how important you think they are and if, what would you like to see increased in his benefits. Okay. Like, uh, perhaps, uh, he has, uh, the benefit of having eyeglasses for the family, uh, uh, and how much coverage, uh, it provides and also, your hospital coverage, and, uh, um, probably dental. How important you think that would be. Right. I, I think that job wise benefits are just as important as salary is. Because they, of course, if you did not have them, you would be pulling from your salary, of course. Exactly, Right, exactly. right. Especially when you have a family, with children, and you are always going to the doctor for, And they always have surprises for you. Exactly, With children, they always do. You know, and so, it's, it is, uh, we could not do without the benefit package from, from any company that we worked for, whether they be a conglomerate or just a small, uh, uh, business. Yeah, I think any, any, even if your insurance policy is not the greatest. You would still have something. Exactly. You you would not be pulling it out of your account all of the time just by yourself. Right. Also, for working women uh, I think a lot of the companies should start providing for day-care in the, in the, in the building. Yes. Uh-huh. They are getting a handle on that, in fact, uh, my oldest daughter is, uh, is uh, a nurse and she just received her masters degree and she is now into consulting and that's one of the areas that she is working on. To have, uh, uh, a day care center for the the children of the, of the nurses that are staffing the facility. Right. And that is true in many, many areas of, you know, uh, job titles and professions. Yeah. Like in may case, I have three children *spelling: 'may' should be 'my' from ages nine to two. And, it's just unfeasible for me to try to get a job because all the money that I would, be making would be going to day care. Uh-huh. Sure. Would, it would, It would be just futile. And it would be just, And they would not have the quality, basically be me working to pay for them to be at a day care, center. And they, would be deprived of their mother. Exactly. Yeah. No, I understand that totally Besides which, it would be easier, uh, there's a lot of single mothers out there now, from divorces and a lot of, women are starting to have babies without a partner. Oh, I hear , Yes, that's true. And to go to work, you are worried about your child, besides which you have to get up earlier to take the child to day care. Right. And if they were in the same building then you are going to the same place, Uh-huh. and you could go for your lunch hour down and visit with your child, or, you know, and take your breaks with your children, or something. Yes. Do you, Do you think that you should fund that if they have that as a benefit, if you would fund that somewhat from your salary that you are getting? Do you think that would be, acceptable? I think I, think it would be fair. I do too. I think if, if the company could not provide it all on their own, for the, for the people that would be using it, you know, a certain amount of their salary would go to it. Right, that you, Right. That's right. But it would still probably be cheaper with the company helping, our if everybody, you know, pulled their own weight in it. With the company than, than having to go, That's , that's right. Yes, I, agree with that. I think it would be really. really great. That would be fair. Yeah. Yeah. I do. Uh, and how, how do you feel about, uh, let's see, eye care? Eye care is good. I do not, I am not I do not think we have that on our policy. Okay. But, uh, we, Vision, I guess it's called, vision care. Yeah. It would be great, I mean, uh, the glasses that, the exams themselves are not expensive, it's the glasses. It depends on who examines your eyes. Yeah, that's true. If you have an, an optometrist or an ophthalmologist, there's a vast difference in those two, uh, professionals. Right, now like my ... Right. Well, like my mother, she has to go for testing cause she has got, Glaucoma. Well, she does not have it, but, she is like, on the verge of it or, something. Oh. Oh, okay, so, Her eyes are changing, Yes. and she has to be tested periodically. And, and those are expensive tests. Uh-huh. Yes, they are. Now, I think your insurance covers her on that, Uh-huh. but you know, for something like that, that's just as bad as a medical, you know, that's, Right, that's critical, because she's in need of it so often. Right. Yes, and, you know, we have, uh, needs in our life that are unique to us and, uh, you know, people have needs in their life that unique to us, to them. Right. I mean, we are all different so, Now, I would like to see better dental insurance to me. Was that our beep? Well, no that's my other phone. Oh. Huh. So, that's it that's okay, my, that phone is ringing to an empty desk and she's on vacation, Okay. so, it's okay. But, with the three children um, orthopedic care, um, not orthopedic, orthodontic care, Uh-huh. That's very expensive. because on, on a lot of the dental insurance, they do not cover that well. For the, the orthodontia stuff. Yes, that's true. Orthodontic work is terribly expensive. Yes, it is. Especially when you have a lot of problems with the children teeth, and, and you have to really get them when they are young, in order to have, uh, not, uh, a decent smile when they are fifteen, sixteen years old. Uh-huh. Right. I know, two of my daughters had to have that and they started having extractions at age eight, uh, because they just had too many teeth for their size mouth. Yeah. And we footed the bill, because there was not any such thing and when they were young. Right. My middle child needs to have, uh, orthodontic, he's because his, his pallet is squared, not rounded. Oh, uh-huh. And it affects his speech a little bit, not, not anything, you know, Uh-huh, major. Right. Uh-huh. But just enough that his bite is off a little bit and it's like four hundred dollars, and my insurance is only going to cover like fifty of it. Well, I tell you I, I just read an article in the paper about what they are doing, I think it was an ad in, in our publication at Texas Instruments, where they are breaking the jaw and, and lining the jaw up with the teeth. Oh. It's, it's less painful and less expensive. Really. Yeah. That sounds like it would hurt more. I, I know, but it, it's, it's, uh, easier on the patient in the long run, which amazed me. Oh, gosh. I, I would much rather that, do that, to myself than make my five year old go in and do it. That would kill me. Do you have any personal feelings on, on uh, the subject? Well, uh, capital punishment is a hard thing, but, uh, there's been several, there have been several things that have happened where I felt like if I had been involved in it I would have had to, to go along with, with that being the punishment given to, to the people. Uh-huh, uh-huh. There have been some things, you know, there's things done that are just So outrageous. I know, I know. Yeah, that I do not know how, I do not really there's any other way to deal with it. Right. Well I, I guess my concern is what we are reading, especially in Texas right now with them letting out the people out of jail as soon as they are out of prison when they do and having them go right back the day they get out, back in crime. And especially when they are assaulting, people and then killing people, I mean, the man who, killed those three sheriffs deputies, he is out free, walking the street. Yeah. I think that that, that, that's a really, I have a real problem, with that. Yeah, if it's a, if it's a clear and present danger, I mean it, I think so. But, it's something that's really hard to deal with, the way that our justice system is right now, is basically set up in lawyers and, and anybody, will tell you that, uh, it is set up right now, all the laws protect the criminal. Right. Right. They are the ones with the rights. They have the right to, uh, you know, I think I watched something last week, uh, , I am sorry, the accused has the right to a speedy trial. But, the victim does not have the right, does not have the same does not have the same, the same emphasis on those things, as far as they are concerned, so, now the accused can, can ask for delays and extensions and, what do they call, Right. Right. whatever they call them, you know. And meanwhile, the witnesses, move and die and and they, Uh-huh, uh-huh, exactly. Continuance, and there's no one to face them. They can get continuances on for years, before the thing ever comes to trial and that makes the victim suffer, more. Right. Right. Well, they can not get any, if the judge is going to have any award to the victim, it just puts off their collecting it. *probably should be cannot The , Yeah, that too. It's, it's really bad, Um, it, I, I think that, uh, you know, that there needs to be a way that, you know, once someone has gone through, you know, a trial, I do not know how to fix it. I mean, it just seems like there, there should be a limit on how many appeals can be made. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, when someone has been, A time limit too. Yeah, when someone Well, even when someone has been convicted and, I mean, it's just so, so abundantly clear that they did it. Right. But appealing, you know, and continuing to appeal, like four or five or six times. To have convictions overturned and then they have to be retried and all that. It's such a waste of time and energy and money. And it, it just, that's what keeps, that's what is keeping all the, the, you know, the criminals in a position of being able to be released all the time, like this. Right. Do you feel like there's any certain type of crime that this should be the results, they should be consequences of capital punishment, or, or, are there some murders committed that you think leniency should be shown. Oh. Well, I guess there's extenuating circumstances to anything like that. Uh, you know, like I, I could see, uh, a first time offender being, you know, maybe, in a, in a robbery situation, trying to hold up a store and getting scared and, you know, firing a gun and accidently killing someone. Uh-huh. Okay, I could see that that might be the situation where, uh, the person could be rehabilitated. But, I think just out and out murder, and I am talking about, uh, cutting people up you know, where there's shown to be pathological tendencies where this person has done it over and over again, in a serial fashion or whatever That those, kinds of things and any, any kind of violent assault, rape included, needs to addressed in, in, in that context Okay. Right. Uh-huh. And how do you feel about murders of law officers or fire people or something that are, because they have had them, they have had them killed when they have, Well, what bothers me, that bothers me a great deal, I had a friend who was a police officer, who was killed in the line of duty. Um, um, um. And the thing that was the worst about it is that these, that, uh, two of these individuals were, well all of the individuals involved were very young. One was technically a minor, and they had told their teachers that I mean, repeatedly during high school, they had told their teachers that they were going to be, that they were going to graduate from high school and kill cops That was what they had told their, teachers, Oh. and so that's what they did And, uh, they were, they were given, I think, That would be premeditated Oh, absolutely. He stopped them for routine traffic violation and they uh, several, several things happened that night but they, they beat him up and took his gun and shot him with it. Uh, uh, uh. And it was, it was really terrible. I mean, uh, I had seen him like three or days before that. Uh-huh. He, we had gone out, uh, with he and his wife and that was really, really disturbing you know, that that happened. Uh-huh. And these people, you know, in the, in the course of the trial, you know, came up with, with all these, you know, things about well, you know, they were disadvantaged and all this stuff. Well, nobody is that disadvantaged No. Well, that's right, there's no reason, for murder. And there's just no I mean, No. I do not care if you are poor or if you are rich or if you are, ugly or what there, that, that's just beyond, the, Yeah, I think so too. And that's, uh, so, I, I do feel strongly about. and the, all these kids, they have got an excuse for everything. Yeah. And I can see it continuing on when they are adults. I just, Yeah. It's, it's, uh, I, I sometimes think if I were on a jury and had to make the decision could I. And I like to think I could, like you, if, if especially violent crime, where serial type killer or maybe a child has been deliberately killed. Uh-huh. The thing that even though juries sometimes make the decision and still the people, nothing ever happens to them. Right. You know, they stay in jail, they get off time for good behavior and all that stuff, and they get released Uh-huh. And they go right back and do it again. Okay. Do you work? Yes, I do. I think that's the main change. What do you think? Well, I think that's a big part of it and I, I think it maybe started because women wanted outside of the home and, I almost think with our society and, and inflation and the cost of things it's anymore it's almost couples have to work outside the home. Right. That's right. But, but yeah, I think that's a big change I'd like to not work. What about you? Well, I've worked all the time up until just about a year ago. Yeah. And I just, physically I wasn't able to and I mean, I love my job. Uh-huh. But I have four children, and that's real hard. You have children? I assume so. Yes. I have two and that's been a big deciding factor because I mean I never wanted to be a career woman, Right. but as long as I you know, was going to work I was going to do as, as much as I could, as well as I could et cetera. Right. Right. And I, I wanted to stay home when I had kids. Well, I have two. I have a four year old and a three year old. Oh. And we would like two more but I, it's like, we talked. Uh, I don't want two more unless I can quit and stay home and take care, of them which is, something right now financially it takes both people to work. Right. Oh. It's real hard. Yeah. It's real hard. I mean even I, It's full time work. Yeah. It was so hard for me to work full time. Uh-huh. Of course, my kids are, are a little older but then you, then you give up the money. Yeah. You know? You do there's of course, you know, everything you give up something but I just, I, the kids are so wonderful Yeah. . But I do think that's one of the major changes. You know, my mama I remember her being home uh, you know, she made breakfast in the morning for us. Yep. Fine . Yep. I know. And if she worked it was part time and it was work that was done while we were maybe at school, and she was there when we got home. Yeah. You know, and, Well, I've decided now in fact, I'm just, I'm substitute teachers aid which is a, afar cry from my travel agent career, which I loved. Uh-huh. But I'm, I'm there in the same school as my children, my two littler ones. Uh-huh. And I'm home when they are home. In fact, I've had an offer to just work the Christmas season at a local jewelry store, and I'm just really hesitating, because I've, I enjoyed my, the first summer home ever, so like seventeen years with my kids. Yeah. Oh. Oh. I mean, well, I didn't have babies or day care or working as a travel agent and it was wonderful. Yeah. My kids and I, we just had a ball. See, and I think, Of course, their, their ages, they are almost seventeen well, sixteen, fourteen, eleven, and nine Oh. Oh. and we are just running every direction and, But see, it's such an important time to be home. You know. It is. And that, was important to me enough, It is. you know, my husband was raised, uh, his, his parents were divorced when he was young so his mom always worked, Always worked. and he's like well, you know, what's the big deal about being home, for your kids. What, yeah. Well, as our kids are getting older, you know, he sees it more. I said, Russ, you don't understand what it was like to have her home or to if you needed, Mom at school, you know, she was there to help Right. or, she was there to take you, Right. and, and I want to be able to do those things so. I think that, you know, it's good. You know, sometimes I'll have the cookies ready when they, come home Yeah. and, and a lot of my boys, uh, my older boys' junior high friends will come over. In fact, everyday, I've got boys hanging around, and it's wonderful I'm real close to the schools and, you know, we are just I, I'm very happy to be staying home. I think that's wonderful. But again I miss, the . So, where do you see, us changing in the future? I don't. Well, see that was one of the things the, the question I think is, you know, what changes do we see I keep on working . Right. and I'm, I'm not sure I, I see it go anywhere. I think they are still going to have to work. That we are because it's so expensive. If we want, uh, extra clothes, the extra car, the extra, Right. The thing is, when a woman does work, then there is the clothes to buy, Uh-huh. and then there is the gas, Uh-huh. and then there is the lunches and then the day care. The day care eats, me alive. You must pay for , day care. Yeah. You know, I pay four hundred fifty to five hundred fifty, a month for two kids Oh my gosh. Yeah, for two. They would eat you, alive. It's almost hardly worth it for you, to work until they get in school. I know. Then you work summers unless you are a teacher. Are you a teacher? No, I'm not, and I would love, you, you, you talked about having the summers off and I thought, oh, that would be so wonderful. And I love the little preschool they are in. It's wonderful. Uh-huh. You know, so I feel good about them being there but it's still not the same. No. It's not the same. It's just not. I, I don't see things changing really, and, and it's terrible for divorced women you know, who are forced to work who maybe don't have a college education. Uh-huh. Thank goodness I have mine, and I could get a real good paying job, if I wanted to, you know, in fact, I still have offers, you know, please come back, Uh-huh. Please come back to work. and we'll pay you this . Sure. Yeah, yeah. And it's been a real tough decision but I'm very happy to be here with my kids. My kids, we've seen a remarkable difference in, now that I'm home. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Yeah. I'm real, and I'm, but I've been doing a lot of volunteering at the schools and playing lots of tennis I like that. Yeah, yeah. I know . Well, we're working on it. I'm hoping in about three to five years I'll be able to stay home and my kids, of course, will be in school then but I'll, be there mornings, I'll be there noons, I'll be there afternoons and all. Right . Yeah. I feel like, that's good Well, and I can work part days in my husband's business, you know, so that, he can afford for us to do that, you know. Oh, that would be great. Right. I think the, the other thing that, that has changed for woman because we are working is we are having less children. So, Utah. Yes. That, that's, that's the state that got, was famous when they executed somebody. Gary Gilmore. Gary Gilmore. Yeah. By firing squad, as I recall. That's right, and we still have a death penalty. Uh-huh Some, a gentleman, uh, that was one of the hi-fi murderers just had his conviction overturned, well, appealed again. I guess we have the longest, uh, running inmates for death row too. Uh-huh. And then we had another guy, uh, Ronald Lafferty, that thought God told him to kill his sister-in-law. Yeah. He just got a, a new trial because, the judge felt that he was incompetent. Uh-huh. Uh, how do you feel about the death penalty? Well, I, you know, until recently I've been sort of, could go either way, you know, it, it, sort of doesn't much, you know, it didn't, it wasn't a strong issue, um, I guess it still isn't a strong issue. But I must say, I find it very silly, the way politicians are running around creating more and more capital crimes, um instead of dealing with you know, the real problems that, you know, that they're, they're getting votes presumably by, um, Oh. I assume they're doing it for that reason Well, I'm sure that's . By, by by saying well, this, doing this particular crime in this particular way is a capital crime now. Well, I kind of agree with terrorism. I think those guys should be done away with. That's one of the worst, crimes in my book and, uh, drug dealing, um, that's close but, uh, terrorism definitely. And uh, selling out your country. Uh-huh. It's not, it's not enough just to lock them up forever. Uh, no, it's got to be something that is going to cost them, because we never lock anybody up forever. Not often. Not very often at all. We've got these guys in New York that, uh, I'm sure you heard about, the ones that killed, uh, the gentleman that came from Utah to watch the tennis people. Yeah. Yeah And I guess they got convicted, the four, of uh, murder. Uh-huh. Right. So you've come to a definite opinion on it now? Well, I, I've it, it seems like it's gone, gotten carried away, um, and I, I do find it hard to know where to draw a line, and so if I had to draw a line, I'd say just no capital punishment. I mean, I don't, I don't, I don't see that it accomplishes a whole lot, whereas I do think that convicting people and, and incarcerating them for a long time, if that could be improved upon, that would have more impact, I think. Yeah. You kind of hate to, No, what about the argument where, where somebody who is committing one capital crime chooses to commit a, a more serious capital crime? I mean, murder, um, because that one at least, you might escape from because his victim, you know, his witnesses will be gone Doesn't this, doesn't this encourage, Uh, More . You mean uh, violence? Doesn't this, yeah, I mean, doesn't this encourage murder, in order to wipe out the the witnesses? The witnesses? Well, maybe it would. Uh, I kind of have a problem with our legal system at the moment, uh, as it is. I think that people who, uh, infringe on other people's rights, uh, and screw up their whole lives with rape, uh, child molesting, uh, terrorism, just uh, Yeah. There's just like five things that I think they ought to be snuffed for, but I'm, I'm for it for certain reasons. Uh-huh. And I think that things like rape, uh, you can't get over, uh, it takes a lifetime. I see, so, so if, if William Kennedy Smith had been found guilty, you believe he should have been, uh, executed? Uh, if it was, Yeah. A six person jury could have decided either way, of course If it was, it would probably have to be a pattern. You know, we have plenty of convicted guys that go into jail and come back out, do the same thing and go back, and, uh, if they're habitual, like three times caught for rape or child molesting then snuff them. Uh-huh. Well, the problem is that they've just been let out of jail. Pardon? The problem there is that they've been let out jail. If they've been thrice convicted, they should have been kept in longer. Yeah, but we don't seem to keep them long enough, and then they learn such bad things in jail. That isn't a place of rehabilitation. Yeah, well. Yeah, that's, that's for sure. Yeah, it's a tough question, isn't it, on whether, at what point do they become so detrimental to society that society can't afford to keep them around to keep giving them chances. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, let's see, so the other question that they wanted was whether the place that we live in, uh, compares to how we feel What's the laws there in D C? Uh, it seems like an unusual subject this time of the year but, uh, it's, it's camping. Really. When was the last time you went? The last time I went camping was about, uh, in the middle of October, and we went up to Lake Bonham and really enjoyed it. Had a real good time with the family. We do an awful lot of camping. How about yourself? Well, I haven't been in probably about three years. Uh-huh. And the last time we went was in, um, well, I guess it was, it was like hunting season, and we went down to like a hunting ground and a lake Lake Sam Rayburn which is in East Texas. Uh-huh. Yes, oh, Very good. I bet it's pretty over there. It is real pretty. Um, let's see. What do you think, what kind of camping, uh, are you talking about? Do you do a lot of fishing? Do you go out, and is camping for you in a motor home, or a trailer, or do you actually put up a tent or, One of the ones that you pull along Oh, okay, so you have, and then is it pop-up? Yeah. Pop-up. A pop-up trailer, huh. Yeah. What do you have? We have a tent. A tent? Yes So I guess we really rough it. Really. And we really enjoy that. Uh, one thing, uh, I've done all sorts of camping. I've, I've camped, uh, in the snow on a glacier. I've camped, uh, basically almost anywhere, even to the point where we've had to backpack in and everything you carried in was what you had to use to sustain you for that, that camping trip and had to pack it back out. So you're a serious camper. Well, we enjoy it, yeah. But since I've been married and with a family, uh, we have to go where there's restrooms And playgrounds, and so forth, Well, that makes sense. so, we really enjoy it. But also while I was growing up, we did have a trailer, and, uh, I camped in that trailer and in a tent and in, in log cabins and so forth too. So a lot of different things. And yes, I, to answer your questions earlier, yes, I, we do enjoy fishing, and I do go fishing. Haven't done a whole lot down here. We recently moved from the Rocky Mountain area up in, uh, northern Utah down to here because of work, and, uh, haven't been able to enjoy fishing like I used to up there, which is, uh, clear water fishing and streams and, and rivers. But when you all went camping is that what you normally, I mean, what did you normally do? We normally, yeah, we did, we did a lot of the fishing, but mainly what we did was we did a lot of hiking and exploring and, and just going out and seeing what there was to see, uh, in the area. I guess probably just wherever you live at has a lot to do with where, what you're going to do when you go, and you do actually camp. Oh, yes. That's true, that's true. Did you ever like travel around to what's that, the little K O, K O A camps whenever we never did that. ever done that? They although I've stayed in K O A campgrounds, uh, we've never done that just to go around and camp. Um, personally, I, when I, when we were growing up and when we were going camping, I thought that was a little too structured of a camp ground. Yeah. Um, you know, that was mainly for people in motor homes or, or had trailers or, and so on and so forth, where, you know, we really wanted to go camping in a tent Uh-huh. and, uh, K O A is, is geared for the people that have a hookup. That actually travel, what, city to city, state to state. Right, exactly, and, uh, I started out basically camping when I was, when I was in Boy Scouts, and we did an awful lot of that as, as a Boy Scout group. As I mentioned earlier, we went into wilderness areas and we camped in the snow, and in, uh, snow caves, and, and, uh, That's probably where I first started, was in Girl Scouts. All right. And you got a lot of that in, huh? Yeah What do you like to do when you go camping? Um, well, let's see. I just, I mean, I just like to go and, normally I go with a whole group of friends Uh-huh. and we just kind of go and hang out and just do fun stuff. Enjoy it, huh Roast marshmallows. Tell scary, or scary stories around the fire and, Yeah, or, um, take a deck of cards if we can actually see and, um, play cards and stuff. Oh, yeah. You know, lots, a lot of people I've talked to have said, well, isn't camping boring? Don't you get, don't you, uh, get bored and not have anything to do, but I've found out that actually we, we really enjoy getting away from the television, the telephone Yeah, it's relaxing. and, yes. Exactly. Get out, getting out and enjoying nature and each other as company when we're out camping. Plus, you, um, kind of makes you appreciate some, a lot of the things you take for granted. Yeah Running water Running water your hair dryer and a private bathroom. curling iron. Yes What about your family. Do your kids and everything like to? Yes, they really do, they have a great time, and like I mentioned, uh, the, we, we've been camping a couple of times this year and the last time was in October and we went up to Lake Bonham, and there was a playground for them so they had swings, Hi. like child's Hi, I'm Carol, and I'm calling from Garland, Texas. Yeah, this is I'm in Dallas. Oh, okay. Because yesterday I talked to someone upstate, I'm not even sure where, and my husband talked to the people in Utah, so. Um, anyway, let me press one. Okay Okay, um, let me see, I think we've only planned one family reunion in our life, so we don't do this too often. I. Um, most of my family's in California, but my husband's is in San Antonio, and so we did this in San Antonio, and, um, it was an experience that I, I won't do again How big a family do you have? Um, well, it wasn't that big of a family, but, um, it just got out of hand, and, um, so many people were coming that we were trying to figure out how much food we were going to need and, and, um, how much, um, beverages we were going to need and this and that, and oh, it just grew and grew and grew, and, um, when the time came, only about half that amount of people came. So, it wasn't, you know, you have to really just get an accurate amount, and, but overall we all had a good time. We saw people we hadn't see in a while so, Did you have people coming from far away? No. It was all in the San Antonio area Well sometimes. But it, it just kept growing and growing and growing and growing, and we're going, Oh, my gosh. So. Well you have, you have the family lives too close together, they see each other too often they don't take that kind of thing seriously. Uh-huh, basically. Yeah. And if, uh uh, they come from far away, it's, uh, it, it, they take it more seriously Yeah. and, Uh-huh, I think you're right. Yeah. Yeah. My family's not very big but, uh, we're kind of. Your family's from where? Well, I have a, a, a brother lives in Indianapolis, a sister lives in Chicago, and my folks live back in Buffalo, New York. Oh, no. Uh, I guess we have reunions about once a year or so. Uh-huh. We got together over Christmas. My wife's family, they're, they're all in, most of them are in upstate New York. They have regular, uh, regular family reunions every summer. Oh, those are nice. Yeah, it is. And I'm, I'm sure they're a lot more organized too, because they've done it before. Yeah, and it's, it's just something that they, they plan on doing every summer. They just have a weekend picnic, That's great. and every year everyone asks when is it happening and where is it happening Oh. Yeah. and they just plan on being here. That makes a big difference, too. I know everybody's real eager to participate. Yeah, well that's great. Yeah, they, they had a family reunion for, uh, well, for my mother-in-law at her seventy-fifth birthday, and they managed to get just about everybody, everybody into town, uh, last November including a number of people from out in California. Uh-huh. Oh. So it was a, it was good, it, uh it worked out very well. Uh-huh. One interesting thing that they did at the time is they, um, they videotaped the, the whole shebang which, it made a nice remembrance of, of the entire party. Uh-huh. Yeah, more people want to come back again. Yeah, they want to come back. Yeah, that's good. So, so that, that works pretty well that way. My, uh, my grandmother in California is, um, this is my dad's part, side of the family is planning a reunion, um, this spring, but we won't be going because, um, I don't know how they thought of this, it's going to be on a cruise, and, um, it seems like most of the family is, uh, going, you know, all the nieces and all the grandchildren and all that are, most of them are going, but it's too costly for us. But anyway, they're going to go on a cruise, and, um, it sounds really neat, it really does. Yeah, I, I can go for that. What, what do, I guess interesting if you had a, a, a very extended family that, that kind of involved a lot of people that cousins and things that you don't really know, that you've never met, it'd be interesting to meet a lot of those people. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, I don't know how you would go about, uh, getting them together, but that, that would be, uh. And a friend of mine, um, she plans her family reunion, um, every year, and they go camping, and she says they have the greatest time, and she says, usually everybody shows up in exception to maybe one person, but she said they all go camping, and they have a really good for the whole weekend. So, that's. Yeah, I kind of wonder what, what kind of tradition we're going to establish for our family. I had hoped that our, our kids get together at least regularly. Yeah, yeah. Right now we only have two children so I, What are your favorite T V shows? Uh, I guess one of my favorite ones is CHEERS. Yeah. I always liked that one. They're always so funny. And I also like the COSBY SHOW Yeah. Yeah. Those are probably my two favorites. Yeah, I, I, I rather enjoy the COSBY SHOW. My wife and I both like COMMISH. You know, I've watched that one time and it was really good, but now that's on, what, Saturday night? Uh, Is it Saturday night? It's either Friday night, it's either tonight or tomorrow night. Uh, around here at least. Uh-huh. I guess it depends on what channel you're getting. You know, what system you're getting it through. I can't, Uh-huh. Yeah. I, yeah, I saw it one time and I really liked it, but I just haven't, uh, seen it, you know, watched it since. Uh, we, we always enjoyed it. It, it seems to be kind of halfway between, uh, something like ALL IN THE FAMILY and, uh, HILL STREET BLUES. Yeah it's a good show. Yeah, the episode that I watched, uh, I liked him because even though he's a law enforcement officer, you know, sometimes the laws are kind of ridiculous You Yeah. Yeah. And he seems to do that sometimes he's tender hearted fellow. Yeah Yeah. I think that's what first drew us to him, the, uh, the, the relationship between he and his wife kind of looks a lot like ours. Uh-huh. But, uh, Yeah, I thought it was a pretty good show. Yeah, uh, Yeah, I always like, I, I like to watch like SIXTY MINUTES and TWENTY TWENTY. uh, I know we, uh, we watch COMMISH any chance we get. Uh-huh. Uh, used to be a big fan of STAR TREK, but that's kind of, it's gotten more and more to where they are so totally against, uh, anything spiritual. Uh-huh. But, uh, anyway, I've never gotten into the STAR TREK era Yeah, I, I used to be a, used to be a real big fan of STAR TREK. Used to be a Trekie, huh Uh, pretty much, yeah. Uh-huh. I always enjoyed the show anyway Yeah. And STAR TREK's in a or the, uh, STAR WARS set Uh-huh. uh, one of the first STAR WARS movie? Yeah. I think I watched it like nineteen times. Oh, my goodness. You must have some of their lines memorized Uh, I did at one time Anyway, Oh, I I was a pretty big fan of that sort of thing. Wow Yeah. Used to, used to read a, read a lot of science fiction work, too. Uh-huh. going to say, I hear a baby in the background * B.66 and slash units? But, uh, no, it, uh, we don't do a whole lot of T V watching, but that, uh, I don't know if you heard them or not, I got a twelve year old, twelve week old baby. Uh-huh. Yeah, that, between that and school it's not , I imagine that keeps you busy . Between him and school, there's not much time left for watching much T V. Yeah. Well, we're, we're expecting our first in about three months, so I know we won't be watching as much as we do now Yeah, this one here is our first. And we're both full time students so, Oh, wow. Yeah. That must be tough. What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl? It doesn't matter, just a healthy baby. Well, we had a sonogram, but we told him not to tell us, so it's going to be a surprise Yeah. That's the best way. Yeah. I mean, it's like finding out somewhere in July what you're going to get for Christmas. I mean, you know, It's not as much fun. Yeah It's, it's not quite the same. Oh. Yeah Anyway, I agree I'm sure we'll be watching more, uh, children oriented television shows. Oh, I'm about half kid at heart anyway. Oh, I am, too. I, I, I still watch cartoons sometimes, every once in a while when my sister comes to visit so, The new cartoons don't seem to be worth much, but the, uh, well, a couple of the, uh, ones Disney's doing aren't too bad but, Well, you know, it seems like a lot of them are a lot more violent than they used to be. Oh, yeah. You know, I remember, like, the FLINTSTONES and the JETSONS and those were just kind of good old cartoons. Yeah. The, the, the worst of the violence in the FLINTSTONES was when somebody gave Fred a poke in the snoot. Yeah But, oh, shoot, I mean, blowing up galaxies and and putting a curse on the whole planet, or, or, or you know, or on all the, you know, everything of this species, you know, just all kinds of crud Yep. Yeah, and they wonder why kids turn out the way they do nowadays Yeah, everything's mutations and, and and killing Yeah. and, Gone are the days of those things they Uh-huh. what was it I, uh, T N, Turner Broadcasting Network used to, used to, uh, do the Saturday morning and Sunday morning cartoons, the old cartoons. They used to put between the first and second feature at the theatre. Uh-huh. Those old little ten minute jobs where, uh, the real ballooned looking art work, you know Uh-huh. and, Oh, so what would be the, your favorite meal to cook? None to cook. I don't like to cook Don't like to cook, huh? Spaghetti, I guess, though. I make a mean spaghetti. Make a mean spaghetti, huh? Yeah Uh, got kids? No. married? Huh-uh. *According to the following utterance, this is an AFFIRMATIVE answer, so should be "Uh-huh" Just my husband and I and the two dogs. Yeah. So what about yours? Well, my wife and I and we've got a thirteen week old baby so don't do much cooking for him yet. Uh-huh. Uh, So I guess it's supposed to be dinner party, is that what they said? Uh, yeah what kind of menu would you plan for a dinner party and, uh, what kind of dishes you might have for it, or some sort of thing like that. Uh-huh. Huh, we don't, Let's see, a good dinner party menu. Think you, I suppose it would just about depend on who was coming, I guess. Uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, uh, something light and easy. If it was pretty informal about anything. Uh-huh. Sometimes we'll have, uh, we'll have a bunch of people over and cook deer. Breast of chicken Oh, gosh, yeah. How do you usually cook your deer? Huh? How do you usually cook your deer? How do we usually? Yeah. On the grill, we'll take the back strap and soak it in Italian dressing for a couple of hours and throw it on the grill Yeah. and it is good. I imagine. Real good. I would imagine it is. Either that or hamburgers, we really don't have dinner parties. Yeah. Yeah, I understand. We just had, uh, deer stew sort of uh, it was deer steak stew. Uh, well about a day, day and a half in the crock pot, uh uh, some deer steaks in kind of a mushroom gravy. Uh-huh. Ooh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, some veggies in it. Did you kill the deer? No. No. No, the times I've been out deer hunting, I, I can go out in the woods unarmed and deer will be tripping over me and vice versa. Uh-huh I mean, I get close to the woods with anything resembling a weapon and suddenly there isn't a deer within fifty miles. So, no, this was given to us by some friends. Uh-huh. Uh, guy was in a, uh, in a hunting club Uh-huh. and, you know, but the whole group goes out hunting and then at the end of the day, they split it Uh-huh. and whoever brought it down gets the lion's share and the rest of it is split with the rest, with everybody in the group. Oh, well, that's nice. Well, he they, they went out last year and almost everybody got it, the limit Uh-huh. so there's, everybody had deer coming out their ears. So, Yeah, we still got some from last year. Yeah, they, they gave us some deer and some of it's still in the freezer and they, about eight months ago they gave it to us. Yeah. We, we either crock pot deer or we'll, uh, you know, put it out on the grill so that, uh the bulk of the tallow will dribble off of it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. We we usually have most of it made into, uh, hamburger meat, though. And cook, you know, spaghetti with it. Yeah. Yeah. Chili. That is good. So, Deer spaghetti is real good. Uh-huh Anyway, uh, no, I think if I was going to have a dinner party, I'd probably have, uh, sandwiches or something along those lines and then, uh, uh, you know, just something light finger food sort of something or, Or maybe have something roasting out on the fire. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. Oh, well, anyway. Uh, we don't do much in the way of entertaining. Um. Usually it's, one other couple come over for a dinner. Uh-huh. Let's see, what did we have the last time we had guests over. Ah, yeah, we had a, uh, a turkey loaf. Oh. Which, uh, kind of taco turkey loaf. It was good. Uh, scalloped potatoes. Oh. No, mashed potatoes. Uh-huh. Mashed potatoes with, uh, cheese melted over the top of them. A couple things like that. It was pretty good little dinner. Yeah, usually it's This isn't a good topic for me right now. I'm on a diet Oh, don't you hate that? I've got a, I got a few pounds to lose myself. That's okay. Um. I've been fighting my weight since I was about ten years old. Yeah, I have, too. I was real skinny till I was ten. Yeah, yeah, I was, left the fourth grade weighing about a hundred pounds and started the seventh grade, grade at two, I guess we're ready to talk. How you doing, Howard? This is a, a subject that I'm not real well versed on, but. Well, let's talk about air pollution. Okay. What do you think causes air pollution in Dallas? Or where are you from? No. Maybe you're not in Dallas. Okay, I'm from the, uh, I'm from Dallas. I'm in Richardson. Okay. Uh, What do you think as far as air pollution in the Dallas area? Well, I have some small experience in this area. The brown haze that you see if you look down Central towards downtown a lot of that is, uh, tied up with the oxides or nitrogen although some of the kind of bluish gray stuff we see sometimes is tied up with particulates. Right. But, uh, the, one of the major problems that Dallas has is oxides and nitrogen. That's because of all the equipment that's being operated. But at the same time, uh, because we don't have, we don't burn a lot of coal and solid materials we, don't get a lot of particulates. Now particulates would come from trash burning or incineration or something like that here in Dallas. Right. Uh, power plants since, many of our local power plants, uh, are natural gas most of the time, uh, the things that come off of those plants are carbon dioxide, and N O X. There's no particulates in natural gas, of course. And we pick up a little bit of sulphur off some of these products. We're burning fuel oil and a few other things, but gasoline, of course, now the lead's out, at least theoretically, uh, I guess you could say we're picking up some sulphur because a lot of the fuels does have sulphur. That's why we get that rotten egg smell sometime off the catalytic converter the sulphur, yes. Oh, really? And that's, uh, course hydrogen sulfide, which is when you burn gasoline, you also produce some water vapor and that goes back in with your sulphur Sure. and under the right condition you get H two S. But, anyway, uh, Well, you are, you are well versed on the subject, I tell you. Well, I don't know. This is not one of my better ones. I guess, I guess I notice it the most just, uh, in driving around Dallas with all the, the highway equipment that's working on the on, six thirty-five and seventy-five, just the cars in general. Uh-huh. That's where I see most of it. uh, Ron a lot of this is caused by the fact that cars sitting in traffic tend to run rich because the way the pollution is. Right. And when they run rich they, they spit out a lot of hydrocarbons, and that's another part of the problem. The gas is not being burned completely. But, uh, hopefully, if we ever get our road system fixed up, this will get a lot better. Oh, I don't know, I've lived here since seventy-four, Howard, and, I I think, I think they been working on the highways around here since I've been here, and I think, I think they'll be working on them long after my wife and I are gone. Well, I guess, I, not trying to top you, but I grew up in Dallas county and I can remember when they built the north part of North Central which was built after the south part of Central Right and, uh, I can remember coming over the hill down there long about, uh, I don't know, little bit north of Mockingbird on up in, over those hills and I said I wonder if they'll ever need this road. Course, it was designed for most of us to go about forty-five miles an hour because the short on ramps and are, off ramps, but, gosh, seems like, uh, those ramps might kill us yet. I, hopefully the new ones will be a lot better. I understand. I sure hope so, I tell you. You know, you get out on the, uh, interstate highways versus, I travel quite a bit and traveling from, like, Dallas to Austin to San Antonio it's the same thing as far as the pollution created by the automobiles in the, in the stalled traffic and the busy highways, you, you, you're at your best and, I guess when you're out on the interstate, heading north or south and you're just cruising right along and there's no build up of cars and, Yeah, Ron, have you noticed when you're driving south on thirty-five, I guess towards Waxahachie, Hillsborough on down to Austin, you hit a point down there about, I think where they call Bear Creek exit on just this side of the county line Yes. Right along in there somewhere, suddenly the air feels cleaner. Have you noticed that? I tell you what, I, I don't think I really have, but I'm going that way Tuesday and I'm going to make it a point to. Well, sometimes it depends on which way the winds blowing Sure. but, uh, I also travel a little bit and, uh, I don't know, it just seems like there's a certain point down there where you can breathe easier. It may be all in my mind. Oh, I know. I know going to, uh, uh, I detest going to Houston because it's such a, Mike, I'm calling from Dallas, from Richardson. Oh, okay, great. I'm in Addison here. Okay, well, good. You know, our subject is on boating and sailing Right. and, quite honestly, with the exception of being involved in a part ownership of a little bass boat, I have never really got into sailing or boating. I do, uh, quite a bit of sailing. I own a sailboat that I keep it parked up on the scout lot of my scout troop Oh, do you, well, great. and we take it out and we do some teaching of sailing with the scouts, but I haven't really been taking it out, recreationally too much lately Well, that's neat. It's just I don't have a trailer hitch on my car anymore Right. so it's hard for me to get it somewhere but, I've seen some nice, nice sailboats. The guy that used to live next to us in Richardson before we moved twelve years ago, or whatever, he had a sailboat, used to park it right in the, uh, driveway and it seemed, uh, I think it held probably, uh, it must have slept four people anyway. Yeah, this one is not that big. It's a day sailer. It does have a little kind of cabin thing that you can store things in Right. but you couldn't really sleep in there unless you sort of stuck your body out the hole, back into the main part of the sailboat. I I understand. But, but it's, they're, they can be black holes to throw money into I tell you, Oh, they are, Boats are kind of expensive to maintain. and, you know, we have a swimming pool at our house and I think of all the time, now that my kids are gone and away and married and going to college or whatever, that I put in there, I just could not imagine a boat because I know it's a lot of maintenance. Especially a bigger one. Oh, gosh The bigger they are, if you get a big cabin cruiser or or a big ski boat, power boat, then there's always, uh, stuff to go wrong with it. yeah. You bet. A sailboat at least doesn't have an engine to mess up, but you still have to worry with the hull and the condition of the sails and spars and rigging, uh, everything that's in it. Sure. It takes a, a pretty good amount of maintenance to keep one up it's a lot of fun, I think uh, just from the standpoint of getting away from the dodge here, You bet. I know, my wife and I were first married here aunt and uncle, aunt and uncle up in New York, they kept a boat on Jamaica Bay and we used to go out with them and back then they had bought an older Chris Craft and we were involved every weekend in just, uh, as we visited, we were involved every weekend in just helping them redo this and refinish that. We just worked all the time. But their boat slept about four people plus had a little kitchen. It was sort of neat. We, but I think that was the last time we were really involved, and that was twenty years ago, or twenty-five years ago. It is a lot of fun. and when you work hard and you're under pressure and everything all week long, a boat can be a lot of relaxation, uh, to especially with a group of friends and cook out or camp out or whatever, uh, or a cabin or something, depending on how much you like to rough it. You bet. But, but it's, uh I visited my cousin a couple of years ago, my wife and I and our daughter and he had a place on Lake of the Ozarks and he had a boat and, uh, the I never seen so many boats in all my life. People actually park their car when they get to their place they're staying, townhouse or condominium, whatever they own and they, they go boat. Use the boat for transportation. I mean they go, if they want to go to the lounge to have a cocktail, they use the boat. They just go across the boat and get a, and tie it up and go in, huh And that was sort of neat. That, that, that's true, that's exactly how they do it. They go to dinner that way, go to all the restaurants and that was sort of a neat setup. I enjoyed that. We spent a week with them. I enjoyed that. I'm envious, I'm envious of people that have the big boats That would be fun. and, uh, I've just never I've never moved up to a really big class of sailboat. Uh, once I get my son into and through with college, he's going to be starting, uh, Rice next year so he's going off, but uh, once I get to that stage where I'm not paying for something else and, uh, I don't have to worry about a lot of other scheduling things, where I've actually got the time to go out and enjoy it, uh, I might do something differently. You bet. I might just donate my little one to the scout troop and let them, keep it and maybe consider getting a, a better one for me. Uh, Think, you think you'd really enjoy it? Yeah, I think I would. Uh, the sailing part of it I like because it's so quiet. Yeah. And if you get a big enough one, then you've got a little motor on it also, where if it's light wind, you can still putt around a little bit and have fun. Oh I, Or if, or if the wind dies, you're not stuck in the, middle of the lake. I've, with my little one, I've been out there many times on a calm summer day, where all of a sudden the wind stops Yeah, that's great. and you're just stranded out there trying to pick up what little gusts you can to work your way back in and and that gets hot and, and wearisome, doing that. Oh, I know. And if you if you're a big enough boat to have the little auxiliary motor on there, at least you can kind of drop the sails and putt on back in And putt putt. Sure. Well, that's neat. But it's fun. Where do you work? Who are you with? I own an insurance agency, a managing general, a wholesaler of insurance, uh out in Addison Well, good. and, uh, I'm a scout leader, though, so I'm, I'm out with, Um, So you have a son? I have an older son, yeah. He doesn't have any children yet though. Uh-huh. Uh, he's thirty-seven and I don't know if he's ever going to have any or not, but I do have some neighbor kids, lots of little neighbor kids. Uh-huh. That, I go out and, uh, I play ball with them. You know, it's, because like this one that lives right next door, her mother does some work at home on computers Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and it just seems like she doesn't have any time for her. Which is kind of sad, you know. Yeah. So the kids are kind of hungry for someone to play with them. So I will go out and play catch with them or you know, we let the dogs outside and they will roll around on the ground and play with the dogs but, uh, actually I do think that the parents should have, you know, a little bit more time to spend with their kids. I would think so. When you, when, when your son was at home did you, uh, working? Did you work or were you able to stay at home with him? No, when my son was at home, I, I did work and then he went to a baby sitter that this lady had about five other kids that she baby sat, you know Uh-huh. but we always had our days off together and we went camping on vacations. So we had a lot of time together that way you know. Yeah. Well when my mom, uh, when I was growing up my mom worked too, but she worked nights and, uh, as a nurse Uh-huh. and so she was always home for us Uh-huh. and I always, I really appreciated that. Having her there when I was, you know, when I came home from school and when I worked, but now when I look back at it, it must have been a really difficult thing that she did for us. Yeah. Oh yeah. Well I am sure it was, you know. But, uh, I don't know what the families are going to come to now days because they, there just doesn't seem like they do have time for their kids. Because most, most of them, the father and mother both work, you know. Yeah. So, it's really rough. Uh, I have one neighbor that's, uh, the father is a fireman and he works like four days on and it seems like he is suppose to come home for like three or four days, but he can't make enough as a fireman to support his family, you know. So, he's got a second job. Um. So he's, you know he's not home very often. Yeah. And that's, you know, the kids I know miss that. They really do. You know. Uh, a family without a father, it's, it's, uh a really hard thing. Yeah, you know and I don't know, I, I suppose they are trying to get through to them that well daddy is not home because, you know, he is out working trying to make some money for, you know, we can buy you this bike and that toy and so forth, you know. Uh-huh. But, uh, Kids, I think would much rather have dad there than the toy anyway. Oh, I am sure they would you know. So, are you planning on, to having any children or, Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But we are, we just got married like, like December, so we are going to wait a year. Um. Yeah. And, Then we will try. Well that's good. That's what my uh, daughter-in-law told me. That they were going to have kids probably after two years of marriage. Uh-huh. And they will be married nine years this year. So, I don't know. She's a nurse, you know and, uh, she has brothers and sisters that has got lots of little kids, so maybe they just decided that, uh, if they wanted to have kids around the house they would just you know call one of their sisters or brothers up and tell them to send the kids over for the night. Yeah, that's a possibility. You know. But, uh, Well, We really want to have a family. We feel like that, that couple you know, you are not giving enough of yourself and you should, you should be sharing your family. And giving your values, you know, making something better of the world by raising up good kids and letting them know they're loved and stuff. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, so, Right. Right. Right. Give them, give them an edge, but, we feel like, like the first year needs to be devoted to, uh, making the family, the couple strong and secure in their love for each other. Uh-huh. Right. Right. But then, a family is, is definitely a high priority. Yeah, uh, do you plan on staying home after you have your children or do you, do you work or what? Well, well I, uh, I am in, I am in a different situation. I am a missionary Uh-huh. and I am home on furlough. It called, like I have worked for four years in Africa and I come home for a year. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And then we go back for four years. But my husband and I will do the same job and we will be living in, in Africa and we will be working together. Uh-huh. So, uh, we will, we will share the job of raising the family. I mean as a mother I will have certain responsibilities that he might not necessarily have but, still we will share that job. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But we have, then we have decisions that we have to make that are hard about schooling, like do you want to home school your kids on a computer program you know, that kind of thing Uh-huh. Uh-huh. or do you send them away to boarding school and if you do that when do you do it and that's a, Do you play? Yeah, I, uh, consider myself a hacker. How about you? Well, I'm into it. Uh, Yeah, uh, I'm not as good as I'd like to be but it's a, Is anybody? No I don't think so. Uh, I'd started playing when I was in elementary school actually. We lived really close to a par three golf course. Really? And I'd go up there with friends after school a couple of times every week and then for, uh, for years, I don't know, after elementary school, all through junior high and stuff, I didn't play cause I think I just got so frustrated when I was little I'd, my body wasn't, you know physically developed and all that kind of stuff Oh, wow. Right. and then I'd started picking it up again a couple of years back and I've really been enjoying it. Super. Yeah, that's kind of the way I did it too actually. I, I played, uh, just a tiny bit when I was real young and then, uh, I I got on to a team in high school but wasn't very good still. But, and then quit for awhile Uh-huh. and recently I picked it up, like you say, about a couple of years ago and, uh, I've been playing, you know, off and on when I can. Right. Up in Minneapolis it's not too easy to play in the winter of course Uh-huh. but I actually live in Florida so, uh uh, I'll be going back down there in May and hopefully be picking it up a little more regularly. Uh-huh. Right. the one factor that really bothers me is the expense of playing golf. I was going to say I mean it's a great game but I mean to play a really nice course, you've got to have a really big wallet I mean. Yeah, that's, that's true, all too many times. Yeah. Fortunately, uh, down where I live in Florida, there's some golf courses that are pretty reasonable if you know where to look. Uh-huh. Uh, one of them is the University of Florida golf course which is open to the public Right. and that's pretty, pretty good. Yeah. I, uh, attend the Indiana University and it's the same way here. They have a really nice championship style course that is fairly reasonable to play on. Yeah. Can you get like a, a student discount type of thing or, Uh, a little bit but not a whole lot. I mean I, you'd think you would but, uh, you don't so. I, Yeah. What, what, what are green fees run there? Uh, well they range anywhere from about five bucks for your basic city type course up to fifty, sixty dollars for a really, really nice course. Okay. That's, yeah, that's about the same I guess as it is in Florida. But, Uh-huh. My dad is a member of a golf club over in my home town and I can play for free there and it's a pretty nice course. Really. Oh, that's super. Yeah. And I guess , well it's free for me Yeah, uh-huh. Somebody's paying but not me. Well, that's the way to do it though. Yeah That's the way to get in some good practice without having to pay for it all the time Yeah, definitely. As far as watching golf, I mean, I can watch it on T V but it's kind of boring. Yeah. It's nice to see those who , guys. They have such good style that, uh it's, uh, it's pretty fun to watch. Yeah. They need to get a new photography method. Because once the guy hits the ball and they got to try to follow the ball that's, that's a little difficult. Right. Yeah. I mean, it, they do, they do a generally okay job but like you said, it's, it's kind of boring actually. Uh-huh. What I really, I, uh, had a chance, they had the P G A tournament up in Indianapolis last year Oh, yeah? and I was able to go and see one of the rounds of that and that was really fun. I mean you knew it Yeah. I bet that would be . I never really thought it was, would be that much fun to go to a big golf tournament and watch but, man, it was, it was something else just to follow those guys around and actually watch them play. Yeah. Yeah, I've never been to a tournament. Uh, you know, looking at it on T V, you're thinking, man, what a boring thing, you know. Right. But, uh, that's, that's wild though. I'll have to see if I can't get a chance to go, You got I mean it's, uh, it's a lot more exciting than actually than watching it on T V. And if you pick a group of golfers and follow them around, I mean, it's just, watching them the whole time instead of like on T V, you get to see them make a tee shot Right. and then they go off to some other hole and they come back when they're putting, but, you know, it's really something else. Yeah, I can imagine. What do you do for a living? Uh, I'm a student right now. Oh, you are? Yeah. Which, uh, which university? At, uh, Indiana University. Okay. All right, great. What are you going into? Uh, I don't really know. I'm a math computer science major right now. Okay. Definitely not golf, right No I it'd be nice to be a pro golfer. I mean, it seems like that, that would be an okay life just to hang out and, Yeah. If you're good, you can really rake in the bucks. what was what was that movie that they had out? Yeah. there was a movie about a professional golfer and I, I can't remember. Huh. It was on network T V a couple of times. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Well, you know, it seems like, well you go to work every weekend. Play, maybe, one, two tournaments a month. You come in about tenth, you'd still be doing pretty well. That's right. . So. Yeah, that's a good thing. Yeah. But, uh, yeah. I guess when I get back, I'm going to school in Florida actually. Uh, and, fortunately, I've been able to, to play some golf on a student budget which is real helpful, you know. Uh-huh. But, it, it's unfortunate, you know. You hear about Japan. I guess, you know, it's, it's like two hundred fifty dollar minimum or three hundred dollar minimum just to, like to practice even . Right Yeah. And those fees to join a club. Like a million dollars or whatever is just Yeah. that is out of control. I mean you'd really want to really be liking your golf. Yeah. I guess they have those, uh, driving ranges that are actually stacked one on top of the other. Yeah I saw one of those on T V. That is pretty wild. . Yeah. Yeah, I, I played, uh, uh, eighteen holes with some Japanese guys in, in Gainesville, as a matter of fact. And it was really wild. They were into it. Yeah. You know, they kicked our butt all the way to, Hi Okay. Do you work with a company that, uh, gives drug testing Sort of. I'm a, I'm a student but, uh, I'm in the National Guard and they do a little bit of drug testing. Oh, they do? Yeah. Uh-huh. What, uh, did they do that before you went in or what? Uh, they, they do it before you go in and, occasionally they'll have a, a random urinalysis. Oh, they will, huh? Yeah. So you can't be smoking marijuana in, in the military anymore Oh. Okay. Well, I've, I worked, I don't work right now because my company I worked for, P I E, went bankrupt Oh. but, uh, they was getting a program set up, that for all new hires they was going drug, uh, give them drug tests. Oh. But, uh, they didn't hire very many new hires because all the people that usually work there, you know, just stayed there because it was, they had been there for a long, long time. Uh-huh. But, uh, actually, I think they should do it. Yeah, I, I believe they should too. You know, uh, I don't think anybody needs anybody that's, to be working for them that's on drugs of any kind you know. Uh-huh. Yeah, definitely. But, uh, I don't know whether I believe that they should just randomly do it. I think they should kind of warn them, like, you know, well we're going to do that or maybe tell them before they do get hired, you know that this is what is going to happen. Oh. And then if you don't like it, why then, you know, you'll have to go look for a job someplace else. Uh, But after you, you have, to do randomly otherwise people will cheat. Well, I suppose you are right there too, you know. Yeah. Uh, personally I, They, I know when I was doing my, uh, basic training in A I T there was guys who would fool around Uh-huh. and then when that urinalysis came around they would be all scared. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Huh. The only problem is, you know, if you have done drugs but you've stopped and, uh, you do get caught, it is kind of, kind of harsh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I suppose they fire you and everything right then, huh? Or what do they do with you guys if, that you guys get, Uh, we get counseling and, uh, I think part of our pay is docked if we're first time offenders. Oh I, Oh, I see. I really don't, I, I haven't, I don't do any drugs so I don't know. Yeah, well I don't either. I wouldn't even think about it I think anybody that does them are dumb, you know. Crazy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah , really. You're so stupid, God and you just watch it on T V and see how it just burns your brain completely up, you know. You don't, Yeah, wastes your future. Yeah, really dumb, huh. Yeah. But, uh, Let's see, what else was I going to say here. Uh, what do you think about our, uh, like, uh, other government agencies testing? Do you think our government agencies should test? Yeah, I think so. I think they all should test really you know. Yeah. Uh, it just seems like there is so much more of it going on anymore that, I don't know what's wrong with the people, uh, Yeah. but I think that the, the government should do something about stopping it completely. About it coming into our country. You know, they just slap somebody's little hand, and, you know, well, don't do that again and and then you know, they'll get out Oh, I know, yeah. They aren't . and they're right back at it again. Yeah. Right now it is, it's too lucrative for the drug dealers so the risks are worth it for them. Yeah. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. But, uh, other than that, why, I don't know. Like I say, maybe one of these days I'll get a job because I am looking still for a part-time job, you know, since my company went bankrupt and I'll see what they do, you know. Yeah. But, like I say, I, I wouldn't care because I, I don't, I don't even smoke so they can test me all I want. Yeah. I wonder what if you take medicine if that would effect it. Oh see, that's, it is a problem. Sometimes some medicines will give off a, a false positive. Yeah, see now that that would be really unfair then, huh? I've heard of, I've heard of that, yeah. Yeah. You know. I believe you should have the testing but they should be, like, if you get, if you get a positive, they should double check you and still give you the benefit of a doubt. Yeah. Find out what, you know, if you have been taking some kind of medication and, you know, if that would effect it and everything. Uh-huh, yeah. But, uh, well I guess that's about all we can talk about. I think our five minutes is about up anyhow. Well, it was nice talking to you Rose. Okay, Lewis, and maybe I'll talk to you again. Okay Alrighty. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye Okay. Uh, we keep a monthly budget. I just recently stopped working so I can be home with my kids so we keep a monthly budget and we try to stick to it are kitchen noises I know. It, it's really difficult here. All because there's always something breaking. Car needs tires or you know, something. Yeah, yeah. That's the kind of things that throw you off. Uh, uh, we do ours more monthly than long range. Uh, we, uh, my husband gets paid once a month Uh-huh. and when he gets paid, I pay all the bills. Uh-huh. And out of his check they take a savings and out of my check, they take savings and retirement both, out of both checks. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, as far as extra savings, we really don't have that much extra to save. Yeah. Uh, his check, once a month, pays all the bills. My check, weekly, buys groceries and gas and you know, that kind of thing Oh, how nice. Yeah. and it works out real well that way. We don't run into a lot of problems Yeah, yeah. but budgets are horrible. Well, I know. We do, my husband gets paid twice a week and so we pay all of the little bills, uh, one paycheck and then like the mortgage and the electric bill, you know, those big bills the second second pay Uh-huh. Yeah. and then, again, he does have a savings that comes out, you know, for Christmas and stuff, that kind of thing. Yeah, yeah. When the car insurance is due and you call the credit union and tell them, well send me some money Yeah, that kind of thing. Yeah. it, uh, it would be nice if we didn't have to touch the money he has taken out and put in savings but we do. But it's nice that it's there, you know. Yeah, it, I'm just glad that it is there for car insurance, medical bills, whatever happens . Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, Yeah. It's nice that it's there. I know. But I, you, it's just really is difficult. Uh, neither one of us has had a raise in a couple of years. Yeah. And, of course, the cost of living keeps going up so much. Yeah. Groceries are outrageous and I keep saying my check does less and less but, Yeah, yeah. That's kind of how I felt when I was working because it seemed like we spent more. Uh-huh. We bought more things and it seemed like we spent more. Then a lot of it was going to, uh, daycare and that kind of thing. Yeah. So it just seems like with me staying home, we had that big cut but we save more I don't know how and I don't know why but we Well I, uh, I know that since I do work, I buy a lot of quicker cuts of meat and, uh well the frozen things for the microwave and things like that. it seems like we do. Yeah. Yeah, you kind of try and buy bigger quantities. And I'll stop by the deli and pick up, uh, chicken or whatever. Where if I did not work, I'm sure that the grocery bill could be managed a lot, a lot, uh, better. Yeah. That's how I felt too. It just, you could take a little longer. And just watch a little bit more I guess. Yeah. Well, I guess that's kind of like the way we do. We, I, I don't, I don't know how it comes out. It just seems like we save a little bit more whereas, where I was working, Well, I'm sure you do. Uh, I do not, well I do not have to pay child care during the winter. My son's old enough that he likes to come home uh, from school. Oh. But in the summer he's still young enough that I cannot leave him by himself. Yeah. So in the summer I have that extra and ours is seventy dollars a week plus all activities Yeah. and that's usually movies one day, skating one day Yeah. Swimming one day It adds up. Yes. So you usually end up paying close to eighty dollars a week and that's a lot of money. Yeah, it is It is, yeah. But you know, if they're going to be in daycare then they need to have some activities other than just being there. Uh-huh. do you have two children? I have two. One is four and a half and the other one's two and a half, so. Well they're expensive too. Uh, just the outgrowing of their clothes Yes so I'm sure the budget, Yeah, that, yeah. I just came back to find jeans for the little one and it does add up. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, And medical bill. Yeah. Although the insurance we had was good, uh, when Thomas was younger. A lot of the stuff had to be paid up front and then you were reimbursed. So it was nice when you'd get a couple of hundred dollar check from the, insurance, but in the meantime you had to put out the money first. Yeah, yeah. But, Well, that, that's, that's hard. Yeah, it is. But I'm enjoying my stay home for the little time that I can Oh, I would too. For the, I would, I would advise anyone that could possibly do it to, to, I know it's not forever and that's what's so sad but, Well, you probably wouldn't want to do it forever. I don't know though Okay, uh, well, we just got our income tax return and I'm perfectly happy. What about you Well, let's see. I haven't got mine yet because my parents are getting all that stuff at, uh, at home in the Bay area. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, I'm not sure how much I'm getting back but I'm pretty sure I should get back a little bit since student, so Yeah. It's not too much. Yeah. Not too bad though But as far as writing checks out and paying taxes, I think it's pretty high. But I, I'm, you know, Yeah. It, it's one of those necessities of life that we all have to, you know , pay taxes but, although it is kind of a pain sometimes though. How high are the taxes going to be when my children are my age? Uh-huh. You know, that, that's, that's scary too. Uh-huh. Because it's not anything like the way it was when I was young and small and a child. So, you know, that, that's a scary part too, that you have to think about. Yeah. And, and like, as time goes on, you know, things get more expensive and because we were increasingly complex society that day by day things get more, uh, things get more expensive as well as more complex. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, you know, taxes are one of the ways to help pay for a lot of the things that are needed in this society. Yeah. I mean, everything from, you know, from medicare to, uh, to social security to, uh, to feeding the to, uh, to, you know, feeding the homeless, to maintaining prisons, to maintaining polices or fire departments and things like that. And it's, now there's more and more things that need attending to and that sort of thing. And, you know it's, it's becoming a larger responsibility Uh-huh but someone has to pay for it and that's us. Yeah and then you find out about all these things about are your taxes, you know, taxpayers, are, is your money going to where you want it to go and. There's going to a special this week. I, I can't, I can't if it's TWENTY TWENTY or one of those things where, uh, I think it's one of the local news. I think they're having a documentary. Something about that. About their trying to catch some people that not spending your tax monies right and fraud and that kind of thing, you know and that's kind of scary too Uh-huh And, uh, so that would be interesting to see I wanted to see that program. Yeah. And, and, even, even today it's like the amount of taxes that, you know, we're paying for. But you'd think that we're still in , that we're still not able to pay off things just because the budget's not big enough as it is. Oh, I know Yeah. And, makes you wonder when there's, you know, countries out there that have, you know, tax rates of like close to fifty percent or higher. You know, it's like fifty percent of everything you make is already gone before you even get it. Uh-huh. And that, that's kind of a scary thought. I hope it doesn't come down to that. Yeah But, on the other hand, they also, while those countries that have high taxes, also have things like, uh, socialized medicine, things like that too, which are nice fringe benefits of it. So everyone has, everyone has the access to medical facilities as well as the doctors. That sort of thing. Uh-huh. And it's good but it's, it's the price they pay Yeah. I mean it can be argued one way or another whether economically it's actually good for the country or good for any given country to have that because those countries tend to be, uh, as far as cash flow, a lot, uh, have be, tend to have a much slower cash flow and don't generate a larger a, a large amount of revenue because there's so little, uh, currency flow through out the economic system Uh-huh. Huh. Well you sure do know a a lot Well, just keeping up with the times, that's all. Yeah yeah. As, as it turns out, you know, it's one of those, one of those interests , you know, I kind of like to keep up on. Because, well it's nice to know that when I'm actually, you know, I do start working that, I like to know where my tax dollars are going too. Uh-huh. work hard to get, you know. I like to know where it's going to. Yeah, yeah. That's true. Uh-huh. What do you think about these items that are going to be, uh, taxed even more. Like, uh, tobacco and that kind of thing I think in a, in a way it's good, in a way it's not. Uh, but I think in general it's probably good. I mean, a lot of things like tobacco and alcohol and things like that have been, have been, in the past, uh, have been not taxed because there's been such a large lobby against them, against the taxes for them. Sponsored by the alcohol and tobacco companies. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And it's things like tobacco are, uh, they're, they're a proven health hazard to smokers as well as nonsmokers Yeah. Right. And it's, as far as the safety thing, in, like in San Luis Obispo, for example, there's an ordnance which states that, uh, there's no smoking in any public areas. *typo ordinance And so if you walk into any restaurant or any hotel there's no smoking allowed anywhere. Oh, really Okay Uh, I just currently quit my job and so I really don't receive any benefits right now Right But my husband does and, uh, I think one of the, uh, my, first of all, always salary and the second thing is, uh, because we have children, so it would be, uh, health benefits and medical benefits and and, uh, right now we have probably some excellent benefits right now. Yeah, yeah. Definitely. We have with Aetna and, uh, I don't know if you're familiar with them but we're real happy with them. Yeah. Yeah, I've had a variety of different jobs with a various types, uh, in the computer field. And so I've seen a variety of types of benefits. Uh, I've worked for, for for awhile and they are, you know, a really academic type of place. And then I've worked with regular, you know, industry type places. And then with others that are kind of half way between and stuff. So I've seen a wide range of both, you know, nonsalary type benefits and other stuff, you know, like health care that's either fully or partially paid and, you know, some have like bonuses and others have had lots of vacation time but not much other types of benefits and so, yeah, I would Uh-huh. I'd say health care is way up there, especially anybody with kids. Uh and that's one of the big things that we always look at, you know. When we, when I think about changing jobs is, you know, you know, what kind of health care they have Yeah. and does the company pay for it. You know, all or partially or how does that work. Uh-huh. And, uh, also, uh, vacation time too is a, is a big one for me. Uh, and I guess support for whatever, whatever other, you know, kinds of professional activities you have at, you know, work. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, cause I've been at places which offer a lot of support and others that don't offer any and some that, sometimes that's coincided with a place that offers more vacation time though, Huh. Right. so that's not so bad, you know. Yeah. You know, it's kind of a give and take kind of thing, I think. Uh-huh. Uh, I say that health care is probably definitely number one though. want to just, you know, all your salary can't even begin to pay for what you can wind up losing, you know in a major illness or something. Uh. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Uh, and, and, and another good thing is with the health benefits when they give you more than two choices on who to go with. Yeah. And that really helped us out a great deal. So. But my husband does get vacation and it's worked out really good for us too. Uh-huh. So But. Yeah. Flexible hours are, are pretty important to me as well. Yeah. Uh, cause that makes a big difference. My wife works part-time. Uh-huh. And she works, uh, as a assistant manager in a fabric store. Uh-huh. And so she works a lot of evenings and weekends and so two days a week, I, uh, manage to get home early enough to meet the kids on the bus So she you know, goes in early those days and works like, you know, noon til close. Uh, so we have Well, that's great that you all can work that out. That's really good. Yeah, and being on a, you know, rigid schedule wouldn't, there wouldn't be anyway to do that at all. Right. And I think it's kind of neat to be able to spend the afternoons with the kids occasionally too. Uh-huh. I mean usually, you know, you go to work before they're awake or as they're getting, up for school and you get home and it's already dark unless it's summer time, you know. And even in summer time, sometimes you get home so late that there's, you know, you can't do anything with them. Yeah. And especially in the winter. I mean, you get up in the dark and come home in the dark you know. It's like, it's like a vampire sometimes Yeah. It's the same with my husband cause he's got pretty flexible hours if, as long as he puts in the hours he needs to do . Worked out really well for us too. Yeah. Uh. Well is there anything else that you look for or, Uh, a lot of I guess is. You've hit pretty, you've put a lot of the main points in. Yeah. I think some of, is how the, uh, you know, I guess it's not really a direct benefit but how your, uh, performance is rated and stuff like that at work. Uh-huh. Cause I've been, uh, especially in large corporations. You can really, you know, wind up getting, having, you know, real problems I've found out. I've worked for a few, you know, several thousand plus, you know, type companies. And it, and especially if you're doing like professional work. Where you know, it's kind of ethereal as to what you're doing you know. Yeah. Yeah. If you're, like I've, I work with, uh, computer systems a lot. So it's kind of hard to say, you know. If you're, you know, a brick layer, somebody can look and see, you know, well, yeah, you laid, you know, fifteen thousand bricks today and they were all straight and your building didn't fall down, you know Yeah, you did a great job. But if you build computer systems, like, well, you know, what does that computer program really do, you know. Or, especially if you write like papers, you know. Or do design studies or something. Uh-huh. It's real hard to rate something like that. Uh-huh. It's like get a painter, you know, or something, a artist. It's like well you, how do you really rate, you know, Michelangelo, you know How would you tell if he was, you know, really good or so-so or whatever Yeah. And that does make a a person want to stay an interesting topic. Yes. The, uh, type of cars that I was, uh, I would be most interested in if I was going to buy another car now would probably be something like a, uh, Mazda Miata. Uh-huh. Uh, the, uh, I'm very much a, a fan of sports cars. Ah. Boy, you and my husband would have a whole lot in common The, The, uh, uh, uh, though, actually, in actually if I I have I've avoided buying a new car for quite some time. I'd rather put my money into, uh, restoring my old cars. I have a old Triumph T R Six. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, so, uh, but if I was to buy one, probably something like a Miata. It's certainly, I wouldn't have to worry about it breaking down all the time Oh, really. Yeah What's the, how old is your car? Uh, well I have a, I have a nineteen eighty, uh, eighty-five C R X. Oh. Uh, which is, you know, it's, it still works fine Yeah. Right. But it's, it's actually, it's kind of annoying cause I've got no reason to replace it Oh. But, uh, Oh, those are, Yeah. So what do the Miatas run? they're about, uh, uh, thirteen to fourteen thousand dollars and, you know, a bit more if you add some some options and so on but the, Well, that's not too bad. uh, yeah, that's a pretty good price and they're, they're, they're, they're so nice to drive. Yeah. Really? I've never driven one. Uh, uh, it's, it's, it's nice. They're, I've been down to a dealer and driven them. And I've also driven one at a, something Mazda put on where, uh, they went to, uh, autocross events across the country. Uh, which is where you race in, uh, you race on, in a parking lot or something like that with a bunch of, uh, cones to see who can get through the fastest. Huh? Uh, you know, about a minute or so. And, uh, very twisty stuff. Uh-huh. And oh, it handles so nicely. And so you've done this? Yeah. Oh. Okay. Yeah. Oh It was just, it, it's just so smooth and. Really? Yeah Yeah. Nice car. What are you interested in? Whatever my husband buys Yeah. You you don't get involved in, uh, car decisions? Oh, not too much. No. We, uh, we just got rid of a full conversion van that, that I, I, that wasn't me. That was my husband. He wanted a van and he wanted to drive that van and travel and wanted everything in there. T V, you know, the whole bit. But I never drove it so it just, it wasn't me, you know. Yeah. I can understand. And then, Oh, I'd want a minivan yeah. They're nice. Because I'm with the kids all the time. Oh, yeah. That's perfect for that. Yeah. Yeah. And, It's not, it, it's small enough that it's easy to drive. Yeah. You pick up I pick up my little one from preschool Holds a lot. and the whole parking lot's full of minivans. Yeah. But, you know, I, I drive a little Subaru. Yeah. And, uh, we, I love that. I, we were going to trade that in for the van but I just wanted to hold on to it cause I just really enjoy that. Right. And, uh, that's really all I needed was for something just to go here and there and back. Yeah. Minivans are nice. I have a friend who has a minivan. Uh-huh. And, uh, I've driven it a few times and, uh, it's nice, it's nice. Of course, you know, my my family has always had cars like that. Uh, in that, you know, my father's had a, had a, always had a V W bus every since, uh nine, about nineteen sixty or so. Oh, really Oh, really. Uh, uh, they, well, he, he used it, he often has to transport plants or, uh, things like that cause he's, he goes to orchid shows and, and, you know, fills the car with plants. And so on Yeah. or . Yeah. It's amazing what a minivan can do. We went camping this past weekend with some friends that had a minivan. And pulled the, uh, the little trailer behind. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. The pop-up trailer? Uh-huh. And, uh, it's, so it's really amazing how much a minivan you know, what it can do. Yeah. And they're not that expensive. No, they're not. Yeah. They're probably . Mainly because everyone makes them, you know Yeah. You can take your choice of how expensive you want it to be. Yeah. And we, we do a lot of, uh, driving. We do a lot of traveling. By car. Uh-huh And so that's the only time that the, that the, uh, conversion van came in handy. But it really didn't cause our, our kids are still little. Uh-huh. So, uh, that was the only time we really needed it. Other than that, it got terrible mileage and. Yeah Yeah. Minivans do pretty well. You know, twenty, twenty, twenty-five miles per gallon or more. Yeah. Yeah. Some of them probably even do thirty. Yeah. The, uh, yeah. There, there's some other cars I'd like but I, I would never be willing to send quite that much money for, uh, like, uh, uh, I'll drool over them. Okay. Uh, mandatory service. Yeah. I don't think it's a good idea, uh, because we'd have to change the constitution to, to, uh, allow, uh, involuntary servitude, uh, in service to the government. And I'm not sure that we could, do that in such a way that we could avoid winding up a slave state. Uh-huh. It's, I like the, idea. And, In what way are you talking about. Well, I like the idea of volunteer, voluntary support. Right. I mean they might be able to, ah, say that anyone who does that, uh, gets certain benefits that would not be available to someone who didn't do it. But to use force, uh, really sets us a, a, essentially says that your body, there's a title to your body and that title belongs to the government. . And you are not a free American citizen. Yeah. Right. The idea itself of service is good and when someone is say, out of high school and not sure about college or out of college and not ready to go into a career and they're not committed to huge amounts of debt, that's the best time to be able to do work that doesn't pay very well. See, I, yeah. And I also thought that, uh, that would interfere with, with college work. Yeah. Unless it were tied directly. And they didn't, Yeah. You know, if someone were studying something, take something obscure. Somebody was studying economics, the State Department could offer to send them to the Soviet Union for two years to teach them how to run their country. Yeah. As an extreme example, right? But, in reality, I think what you would wind up with is a political football where they would see all these body counts that they can use to, for their own will and I just don't think it would work. When do they assume this is going to be proposed or mandatory? Or when, when, what, what year are they looking at? Well, they're not. It's been suggested. Uh-huh. And it's sort of a topic of debate. Every time it comes up it gets voted down. The people who are promilitary oppose because they don't want people to have the right to opt out of the military into something else. Yeah. And the people who are proconstitution oppose it on the grounds that the government shouldn't even have the right to enforce you to join the military unless the United States is actually under attack Yeah. Right. Right So, mostly, it's just kind of one of those things that goes away. Yeah. Ah! They've got a noisy line. I thought that was your line Yeah. Well, it's somewhere between here and there. Uh, what age group are, are they looking at? Uh, oh eighteen. The draft age. Eighteen. Yeah. Yeah, that seems, normally that would interfere with college, I would think. Wait a, yeah. Let me see if I can get on a cleaner line. If it's my line, uh. I moved. Maybe that is, that's part of it. Yeah it is my line. I was on a radio phone. Oh. All right. That's better Yeah, now their, they, they figure that they can draft you at eighteen. They usually do draft you at nineteen. And that's the, age they're looking at. Oh. Um. And, of course, they're, this one the women would be equally grabbed and they're almost on the verge of saying that you, if you're going to draft men, you're going to have to draft women. And you're going to have to put them in front of the guns just the same. Right. So, uh, if you're near that age or you know somebody who is uh, you know, be aware of that. Uh-huh. Yeah Well, that's kind of scary Yeah. I'm not near that age I'm way over it but I do have children to think about, you know. Oh, okay. Yep. And you don't want them sent off to the Middle East to help defend Bush from Saddam after Bush gets done arming him. That's kind of scary. Right. You know, we only find out about that a year after the fact. Yeah. So, it's another thing. When in doubt, don't trust the government at all It's really reached that point. Oh. Uh-huh. Huh. Hey, you're in Perot country. I'm really thinking that this guy might be good for us. I do too I've been, it seemed dangerous. I thought is the guy a closet fascist? And then I find out that he helped rid the United States of the gablers. He's, he's helped out in a lot of ways. Yeah, he's, he's from Dallas. Or he's in the Dallas area. Yeah. And, uh, he's very well known around here. So. Okay. Well, I'm in the computer biz too so I know he's well known in the industry. Uh-huh. They, uh, I, I have high hopes for him. And I think that you know, if he could get people interested and encouraged and to believe that the government was actually for us, then I'm for him. Yeah. I, I. I mean in the Democratic primary, I'm going to vote for Brown just because I kind of like Brown and his attitude. But when, uh, when it really comes down in the fall, I think I know where it's going to go. Yeah. Yeah. I, I think he's got a very good chance. So, there's a lot of people here pulling for him. Uh-huh. So. I don't know Yeah We'll just see. How You know, did you, uh, you work in the, uh, computer business, is that what you said? Yeah. I'm an end user. I teach people how to use MacIntoshes and how to buy equipment and desktop publishing magazine production and things related to that. Oh, okay. Uh, my husband works for, uh, Texas Instruments. Uh-huh. And, so, uh, that's how we found out about the Switchboard. Oh, yeah. Oh, that's their project too, isn't it? I found about it on the network. Okay Okay Carol. So, air quality. Yeah. Is it, like water running and she is doing I know in here, uh, downtown Dallas, it's, you, I mean you drive by and you can just, you can see it. Uh-huh. But, then again I originally was from California and, uh, there is a big difference between Texas and California. And, uh they'd have their smog alerts and where you'd have to stay indoors for so many hours with an air conditioner. Surely. And, of course, they don't have that here in Texas so, there's ... You mean they don't have the, uh, the smog alerts? No, not in, not in well not in Dallas, that is. Right. I, I, yeah, I spent a summer in Tyler so I know, just east of Dallas there. Yeah. We're going there tomorrow. Oh, really Uh-huh We're packing and getting ready to go to . Yeah. Actually, I'm a California born person. Uh-huh. I was born in L A so I know what you're talking about. In L A, it's pretty bad. Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah, you do then. Uh, the worst city in the, in the world is actually, uh, Mexico City. Is it really? Yes. I would not imagine that. The worst one for smog is Mexico City. Huh. The most polluted city in the world Huh. You learn something every day. . Yeah. I know that they've, they're looking at, uh, uh, you know, uh, you know, better running automobiles. Uh-huh. Yeah, I've seen that. Uh, some things they do, one of them is they're using corn in fuel. Huh. You ever heard of that? Huh-uh. Yeah. Methanol? Huh. No Yeah. Well that's big up here because of the, they grow a lot of corn Oh, yeah Yeah. Uh, that's one thing that they do. At that, it's pretty easy to do. Uh-huh. And the, uh, unfortunately, it still contributes to global warming cause, you have to, you know, wipe out forests to grow corn and things like that. Yeah, that's true. It doesn't make sense. Uh, but it's, you know, one of the most, uh, productive crop in the world is corn. Right. Huh. And, of course, I doubt if there's any, you can buy regular anymore. You buy unleaded. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Huh. Drive cars with catalytic converters, and all that. It's interesting. They're, they're looking at, there's some work being done on, uh, automobiles that are electrical powered Uh-huh. And, uh, they're looking at where you have a battery operated car basically, but it has a, a engine in the back that charges it. Uh-huh. So the engine kicks on when the batteries need power and it turns off. Uh-huh. Interesting thing about gas is when, I mean, about battery powered cars is when you're at a stop light, you're not using any any energy Huh That is good. Unlike a car where it's running. Yeah. A electric car it's on demand. I mean it's either on or off. Yeah. Basically. Huh. You don't have to shift So you, cars become very simple all of a sudden too. Oh. Very interesting. That would be nice. I think I saw that on T V one time. They, maybe it was C N N where they were demonstrating that. Or something similar to that. Yeah. There's, there's a race in Australia with solar powered cars. Huh. And Ford and General Motors and all those compete. But what, I think that was a, a, a setback. That they, I don't know, they went, I don't know, how many miles an hour. I think like Right. Yeah I don't know. Huh. * See note above G M, uh, Chrysler announced that they're going to, they're, well they actually have an electric minivan. Yeah. Their, their Caravan. But it costs, uh, fifty thousand dollars right now. Yeah, and they're, they're very expensive too. . To operate, yeah. But, you know, people are buying them. You know whose buying them? *"whose" = who's" The power company. Free, you know, free for them. Well, yeah. Yeah. Kind of interesting so see. Well, it doesn't make sense. Because if they want people to convert, you know. They should make it worthwhile. Uh-huh. Yeah It's top speed is something like eighty miles an hour. So it's a good, good vehicle. Yeah. Yeah. Um. Well I'll tell you. Sometimes it's, it's pretty bad here. Like today I think it was pretty bad. I don't know if it was, if it's just, uh, the allergies or what but some days it's very nice here downtown Uh-huh and other days it's just really bad, so, I don't know. So what, what kinds of things did you experience in L A when you were there? Or can you remember? Were you there at a? Oh, I wasn't there too long ago. Uh. Cause I haven't been there probably ... Well, you know, going over the hills, you know, coming into the valley? Yeah. You can see that horrible, horrible brown haze. Well, we were there when they had a Uh, do you have a pet Randy? Uh, yeah, currently we have a poodle. A poodle, miniature or, uh, full size? Yeah, uh, it's, uh miniature. Uh-huh. Yeah. I read somewhere that, the poodles is one of the, the most intelligent dogs, uh, around. Well, um, I wouldn't, uh, I definitely wouldn't dispute that, it, it's actually my wife's dog, uh, I, I became part owner six months ago when we got married, but, uh, it, uh, definitely responds to, uh, to authority and, I've had dogs in the past and, uh, it seems, it seems to, uh, respond real well, it, it she's, she's picked up a lot of things, uh, just, just by, uh, teaching by force, I guess is what I'd like to say. Oh, uh-huh. So, you, you've only known the dog, how long did you say. Well, about a year I guess. Oh, well, uh, is it, uh, uh, how old is the dog? It just turned two, I believe. Oh, it's still just a pup. Pretty much, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I have a, uh, well a mutt, myself. I call it a, uh, uh, Chowperd . Okay. It's, uh, part Chow and part Shepherd and it, as I understand it, uh, both sides of the, were thoroughbreds. So, she's a genuine Chowperd . Oh, that sounds interesting. She has the, the color and the black tongue of a Chow, but, uh, she has the the shape of the, uh, uh, Shepherd. Oh, that's, that's neat. How, about how big then? Oh, she weighs in at about fifty pounds, so she's a medium size. Yeah, yeah. Most definitely. Yeah. and right from day one, she was teaching me. Oh, I wouldn't doubt it, yeah. She's the most intelligent dog I've ever seen. Course, I'm a little prejudiced, of course. Well that's understandable, yeah, it's, uh, You know, the first time I brought her home, she was only, uh, was it six weeks old. And I spread the newspapers out in the kitchen area. Uh-huh. But, uh, next morning, she let me know in no uncertain terms that she wanted to use the bathroom. Okay. So, on next night, I spread the newspaper in the bathroom and she used them there. Oh. But it wasn't too long until she, uh, found out she could wait until I let her out in the morning. Yeah. And since then, I, I live alone, Okay. and, uh, I live in motor home, by the way, I'm, uh, an R V, full time R V and it's, it's such a pleasure to come home at night and you can see her smiling from ear to ear, she's so happy to see me. Yeah, definitely. And, uh, I don't know if you get that kind of greeting or not. Yeah, I can honestly say we do, uh, we, uh, just recently put a security system in our house and so now, uh, in order to, uh, to accommodate the motion detectors we have to keep her, uh, uh, locked up in the, the master bedroom during the day and then she's got the, the bedroom and the bathroom to, for free run during the day but, we've always got, uh, got a nose and tongue pressed up against the window when we come walking up to the front door. Uh-huh. She's definitely ready to get out and run around. Really. Uh, she'd rather sleep outside on the, the cold ground at night. Oh wow. But, uh, I do make her come in. Yeah. And I feed her indoors, that's to lure her in, but during the day I have her on a, uh, on a leash, which is, uh, on sort of a run. Okay. I have a, a thirty foot cable, running from one stake to another, Okay. and then attached to that is a, uh, twelve foot leash, Okay. so she can cover quite an area. Most definitely. And, uh, she's the best, uh, burglar alarm going. Yeah, yeah, yeah that's, uh, definite security involved in, uh, in a dog like that. Oh, yeah, she, uh, it's the strangest thing, though, uh, children, no matter how strange they are, or how new they might be can walk, uh, right up to her, Uh-huh. but adults, if they're strange to her, or, or they look suspicious or something, boy she acts like she wants to chew their leg off. Wow. And I have not discovered yet where the, the line is between children and adults. Yeah, that's interesting. But, uh, she is a great comfort to me. Yeah, I know our dog has had, uh, some different reactions, she's never really been around children and, uh, if, if the child is, is pretty straight forward, um, she's fine. If, if a child is a little intimidated, she'll jump around and, and yip and bark quite a bit, and if the child gets scared, uh, she's still trying to play, but she doesn't completely understand what's going on and we've had a little confusion with, with, uh, with younger kids. Uh-huh. But, uh, you know, that's, it's a matter of exposure really. Um, we, uh, took her home to, uh, my family's place in South Dakota, and she was the one that was intimidated then. There was about seven kids ranging from about, uh, three years to ten years running around the house all at one time, you know come to visit Grandpa and Grandma Oh, uh-huh. and, the dog kind of, kind of felt out of place then because she was, she was being fed, and everything else from all directions. She really didn't know how to handle herself. You mean she didn't appreciate all that attention. She really did, she just, uh, she, she was she was just inundated with, with all the attention. Uh, she, she kind of, she kind of sat and it all in for a little while and then she'd go get back in and try to play and, and what not, but, uh, it was, it was just such a, such a new experience for her. She's only been around one and, and sometimes two people at the most so, uh. Uh-huh. What's her name by the way? Uh, pardon? What, what do you call the dog? Oh, it's, uh, Mitzi. Mitzi. Yeah. Mine is Gin. Oh, okay. As in, uh, martini. Yeah. Actually, it's Gin two. I, I see. Because, uh, when I was a teenager, in high school, I had Gin one, but then when I went out in the world, I couldn't take her with me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I had, uh, a similar, uh, experience. I, I grew up on a farm so I always had, uh, outdoor pets and, uh, the dog I had when I moved to Dallas about five years ago was a, uh, Springer Spaniel, black Lab cross. Uh-huh. And he was a real, a real lovable type, but, uh, definitely not an apartment type animal Oh yeah. so he, uh, he had to stay home. Oh, what a shame. Yeah, yeah, it really was. He, uh, apparently had a tough time with it for a little while and then he, he got, he came to accept the fact that Mom and Dad were his company from then on, but, uh. Uh-huh, oh well. Yeah. Well Randy, we've just about used up our time here, Okay. and I must say it was interesting. Most definitely. I enjoyed talking about pets with you. Well that's great. Maybe we'll get together again in the future. That sounds real good. Take care now. You too. Bye. All right, Amy, how are you doing today? Fine, fine. All right, I think we know what we're going to speak about. Yeah. Uh, I tell you what, I'll start off. How's that? Okay, you go ahead. Um, I personally think to set a mark with the judicial system and we're talking about criminals, criminal cases that they should bring back hangings on weekends, in public places. Uh-huh. In public places. There is one state that does that, by the way. Really? What is that? I want to say Oklahoma, I saw something the other night about it. Um. They don't do them real often. Which is obviously the death penalty. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but I think if we quit, uh, building, these Taj Mahals with the color T V and sixty sixty thousand a year to keep an inmate in there on a, on a, on a life sentence, we should start hanging them and get it over with and let's just screwing up the system. Yeah. Well, the sentences are so unbelievable. I just saw on the news last night, that they said the average time a sentenced murderer, you know, is in jail is two years before he's paroled, and a rapists is like six months, and a burglar is like two months. That's pathetic. That's pathetic. Because they just say there's either no room in the system, you know, in the jails for them or, you know, it's just that, it seems like the automatic sentences, if, if a judge has leeway, on what he's going to, you know, sentence someone for between, you know, two months and fifty years and, you know, what's his whim to decide it should be two months. This is true, You know, it's crazy. an, and the way the law reads, uh, if they sentence you to life in prison, then he's available for parole. If it's life and a day, then he's not eligible for parole. Yeah. So, what, you know, let's quit B S with the system. Well even if it's life, like you say, we end up spending sixty thousand dollars a year to keep some, you know, joker in there for life. We could spend that money, you know, for children that are starving, or twelve million other things would be more useful than that. Exactly. So to me if somebody has life, you know, beyond a reasonable doubt they should, that should be it. A life for a life. You know particularly for some of these really, I mean, there are so many just major, major serial murders, it's not just like one instance, or something, it's just, uh, horrifying, some of the murders that go on. The old Charles Manson case. I mean the guy is really, just shouldn't be allowed to, to even, even live. Yeah, an, yeah, there's just everyday you hear on the news of another one like that. Yeah. Uh, about the issue about sentencing by the judge. Uh-huh. The, the judge presently has an opportunity to intervene, uh, when there's a, my understanding, when there's uh, a verdict and it for example there's a hung jury here in Fort Worth, today, in eight to four and bam, bam the guy got off. Uh, he was, he was a veterinarian, and killed two, a father and a son, okay. Right, yeah, I heard about that on the news. Uh, it kind of gets back to the second request, we've been asked to look at, is most criminal cases requiring an unanimous verdict. In a situation like that, I'd say no, let's just go like a regular vote. Eight to four tells me that there were eight, there's a certain percentage of the people there, with sixty percent of the people, uh, seventy percent of the people said, hey, they guys guilty. Right. Rather than have to retrial the whole, whole thing and spend all the money for people to, uh, you know, go back to court and all the lawyers and, I mean it just winds up costing the taxpayers a, you know, a fortune to keep doing that. Exactly. And the victims, you know, the family of these people that have been murdered, they just have to have it dragged on for years and years before they ever get any resolution. Exactly, because it's not next day they have, the, start the trial, it's X number of months and just prolongs the situation that much more. Right, yeah, yeah. I think that, that if it's, if it's not a split decision, go with the highest number and let's just get on with the program. Yeah, yeah. But as far as the sentencing by the judge, I would have to vote against that since there is a jury, because that's what the juries are for is to make the decision. Yeah, yeah, Uh, what are your feelings? Well if I, I saw on one of the talk shows this woman judge, I believe from Florida, and she just has, just really stiff penalties and I saw that in, in the hands of a judge that really was conscientious and really, you know, took the pains to give a sentence for what was deserved, it could, you could have a, a judge that would really make a good impact. But likewise, you could have the flip side, and have some judge that was paid off or, you know, had a good old boy network or for whatever reasons, you know, politics, just let all kinds of people through so, he, he would have a heck, or she would have a heck of a lot of power, you know, if used wrongly. So at least the jury system does something to prevent that, you know, or help it with it anyway. I don't know if it prevents it, but, seems like the jury system does have it's advantages. But I also, I've also heard on trials that sometimes they go through like three hundred jurors before they hand pick these jurors that they think are going to be the ones that are going to be the most lenient, you know, and I don't know how much they're getting just a jury of their peers, at that point, they're really getting a select group. It's not just random people. Um. It almost should be the first twelve people that they, you know, have on a list are the ones that are on the jury and that's it. Yeah, I get back to Price's comment when he, uh, was found guilty he said well he didn't have any blacks, uh, you know, from his neck of the woods. Well give me a break, you know. He'd have to have his whole family up there for him to feel like he's got his peers or something, yeah. Exactly, yeah, yeah. I mean you're, you're in Dallas so everybody, I can't believe they can, uh, like in a murder situations, they look for juries who don't know anything about the system, well or know anything about the, the occurrence, you'd have to be pretty dense, Yeah. you'd be, you'd either have to be in a cave not to know what's going on, or moving it to Lubbock, or somewhere, possibly is not the answer. Yeah. Oh, they'd have to move it to Taiwan for people not to know about it practically. This is true, so true. Yeah, yeah. Well this has been an interesting conversation. Well, really, this is, breaks up my afternoon from changing diapers and mopping floors, I mean, what can I say. So, you're at the house you're not at the plant. No, I'm at home with two little preschoolers. My husband works for T I. Oh, that's good, that's good. I thought I heard a holler there in the background, but I wasn't sure. Oh yeah, I've got the dog and two kids waiting here, I'm just locked up in the laundry room Oh goodness, well, I'll let you get, Okay, thanks a lot. Bye-bye. I enjoyed it. Bye. Okay, Ellen what kind of a car do you think you're going to buy? and background Well, as a matter of fact, I was thinking about that the other day, and, uh, I really don't know the answer, uh, I would sort of like to, uh, think about something in the way of, uh, uh, sort of a sporty car but not any, not, you know, a luxury type sporty one. Yeah. But, um, something that still has a lots of amenities and, you know, gadgets and things. Oh, you do want a lot of that stuff? Yeah, well, yeah I like, I like some of those things. They come in really handy sounds in What kind of, uh, things are you going to consider, you know, what, uh, you said something about the, about the, well, what do you call them, you said amenities, that they have, Amenities. but what about, um, their reputation of the company or the price. Yeah, well, of course, I guess, uh, price is always the big consideration, but, It is for me, other people, don't seem to have the same problem yeah. Well, that's, that's a big one in my book, Yeah. but, uh, um, I have preferences for, uh, for some, uh, makers over others, um, and I would sort of like to buy American, Yeah. but, you know, I'm not so totally hung up on that, that I wouldn't buy something else, how about you? Well, um, the last car we bought was American because of, because of that reason, but have not been entirely happy with, uh, several things about the car, it doesn't seem like the quality is quite as high as I expected it to be. Oh, really? Because several things, minor things sort of, but still they cost us money, um, that we didn't feel like we should have had to pay, on a car that, that was that new, you know, Uh-huh. we bought the car new and after, um, well, well, well under two years we had to replace the clutch. Oh. And, they just said, well, you know, clutches are disposable , and I said, since when? Yeah. Brake pads are disposable , you know, Yeah. we know that, but I never thought a clutch was disposable. Yeah, I wouldn't have thought so either. Yeah, so that was, that was kind of a shock Oh. Yeah, I, I guess there's a lot to, to think about when you're trying to make that decision. Yeah, you know, the less actually, the less you spend on a car it seems like luxury cars, they're called luxury cars even though they're much more expensive like, like, uh, uh, a Mercedes Benz, they don't have the history of breaking down or things like that, that would go wrong would definitely not be considered disposable. Right. You would never think of having to replace the clutch in a Mercedes, especially not after two years. No but then, No, but on the other hand, I guess, too, uh, whenever you do have to have some major work done on one of those it costs a fortune. Really? Oh I don't know. Yeah, I've, uh, worked with a couple of people who have owned, uh, various years, uh, Mercedes Uh-huh. and, even though they do a lot of the work themself then just buying the parts and everything is, is pretty expensive. But for them it's, it's sort of a hobby, too, to own them . Yeah. What kind of, what brand of car are you thinking about buying or like what things are you looking at? Well, I haven't really gotten that far with it, um, I've always sort of liked General Motors, a little bit better than some of the others Uh-huh. but, uh, oh, I guess, I really don't know. How come I've been kind of, um, I guess the commercials are getting to me, the Toyota commercials, Yeah. and I know that a lot of people I've, I've known that have had Toyotas have been just extremely happy with them, that hardly had any problems at all. Yeah, that, I think that's, I think they have a really good, uh, quality. Uh-huh. My, uh, daughter has owned two different ones, and, uh, you know, we've had some work done on them but it's not too bad, and the reason, one of the reasons we, um, bought the first one was because a friend of ours had a Toyota that he just really drove for years and years and years and he lived way out in the country so he put a lot of miles on it, Uh-huh. and, you knew it had, had been through a whole lot, Uh-huh. and yet, you know, it, it held up pretty doggone good, so, I thought they would Yeah. They seem to be really durable. Yeah. So, I don't know, I'm, I'm not ready to buy a new car yet, but I don't know, if, if the next time I'm going to try to, to stay with buying something American or if I'm going to go for a little more, what I would consider to be a long-term investment Yeah. Well, and I guess, you know, you always have to think about things like, your gas mileage and stuff like that, you know, you ... Oh, it's easy to get gas mileage in this car, Yeah it gets excellent gas mileage. Yeah, that's one of the big throwing cards for, some of the foreign ones like one music Uh-huh. Well, we talked long enough I think so. Okay, well, enjoyed it. All righty, thanks and background Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, well, go ahead, I'll let you start. Uh, I was thinking about whether or not we should have people, uh, be required to do public service for a year or two. Uh-huh. And I was thinking that you needed to put some waivers in there for the handicapped and also for people that had to stay home and maybe be wage earners for their family, or they had somebody at home that was ill that they had to tend to. I mean, you can't make it everybody. Right, yeah. But then you need to make it sure that the rich people can't buy somebody off and, and maybe send them in their places or get out of it some other way too. Uh-huh, or it could be like the draft where, you know, before they draft you, they uh, you get a physical anyway. So when they send you a draft notice and then they give you a physical and if there's nothing physically wrong with you, then you're drafted. It doesn't matter how rich you are. That would be good. And then we could maybe give physicals to the rest of the family members, right. What did you say? Give physicals to the rest of the family members and they all had to pass. Oh, yeah. Uh. Uh, I thought it a good idea too, though would be to extend this and make people that are accepting public welfare have to do something along this line before they got any money. Uh-huh, that's true. And, uh, if they did this, maybe help them out in their college cost and maybe they could pay people for doing this, at least something, so they could subsist. Well that's true. America's paying all this money to have other people give, uh, aid to other countries, so they could be paying their own people and training their own people at the same time. Yeah. Because, actually, when you, when you do, uh, service overseas you end up learning something, usually that's, that's really useful, plumbing, or farming, or, or something like that, so you're really learning a skill Yeah, and you know all these old people, they would get out of this right. All the ones that are already retired. So what we could do is take all the retired people that are going around in their big mobile homes and they could do public service all over the country. What did you say? Uh-huh. I'm just teasing Yeah, I, I, think, well that's probably the idea, I don't know whether the idea is to be within the country, or outside the country. Well I thought it would be a good idea if maybe you took some of the kids and had them go over to other countries and children from their countries came over to ours too, a trade off. Yeah, that would be neat, yeah sort of like an exchange program. Yeah. Uh-huh. And other than that, I can't think of any other ideas. Yeah, that'd be sort of neat. I like the idea of, uh, being, uh, a mandatory thing for welfare. Course that's what, um, that's sort of like what Truman had, or was it Roosevelt, I can't remember, um, with the big, Oh with W P A. Yeah. Yeah. Getting people, uh, the, the work program and all the, all the make work jobs. That was sort of public service in a way all the highways they started building. And we're still using those things too. What did you say? We're still using those things. Yeah, that's true a lot of them are still out there. Like all these wonderful highways in West Virginia and no one knows why. They built lodges before too, like at Caddo Lake. Lake what? Caddo Lake. Caddo Lake. It's between Texas and Louisiana, it crosses into both of them. No, I've never heard of it. Well, it's real pretty, it's like a swamp. Oh You know with all the Spanish moss on the trees, it's really, it's eerie. Oh okay, real pretty, like a swamp, oh yeah. Yeah. Oh, okay, yeah, I been, uh, I got, uh, talked to someone else before that was a, uh, a Texan, but I guess that's, uh, that's what we're going to have. This is, uh, a T I experiment to see how talk, Texans talk to other people. I don't know, where are you from? Uh, Virginia. Virginia, oh, that's neat, I talked to somebody from Ohio the other night. Oh yeah, it is neat to get other people. Especially since you got other, uh, ideas about how people, uh, how people react to things and stuff. Especially when it comes to, um, social services. Uh, uh, I'm glad they have a lot of, uh, um, you know, topics on social services, because, like this thing, this is a pretty good idea. I didn't even know if they were thinking about it. I wonder if they thought about it themselves or whether someone, somewhere is really thinking, that, uh, it would be a good idea to have everybody spend some time in public service. There is somebody and I, , uh, I can't remember who it is but there's a really famous, of dang, I can't remember. Politicians pushing it, or, uh or Mitch Snider. Or Mitch Snider. That proposed it, I read something in PEOPLE about it. Huh. Mitch Snider, I don't know who Mitch Snider is. Oh, okay, well see that's a D C thing. Mitch Snider is the, the advocate for the homeless that, uh, he, he's said it out here in Washington but he started the um, uh, the movement for creative nonviolence. Yeah. Yeah, he started that and that, that was basically a, you know, donate time and money to, uh, help the homeless, but, uh. uh, What have your other topics been? the other topic was, like I said, uh, something about politicians. I can't remember exactly what it was. It was real general statement I had one that I hated. It was what meal would you cook for, uh, uh special dinner Gee whiz yeah. How far can you go with that one, right. Yeah. Another one, though, that was good was, uh, what do you think about the social changes for the last ten, twenty and thirty years and what do you think has caused some of the social problems. Uh-huh, that would be neat. I'd have to basically say my birth. *humor That's probably the best one. And we had to talk about air pollution too. What do you think is causing it and what should we do about it? Uh-huh. Well that would be sort of interesting because then you get people from other countries, I mean other parts of the state, you know, of course Pittsburgh, would say, you know, oh, find the better cheaper ways of burning coal, you know. Uh-huh, right. Cleaner ways of burning coal and people in the South would say don't burn coal, you know. Because we don't have much coal. Oh we have a lot of coal In Virginia. But, uh, it's, uh, it's a dirty fuel, that's for sure. Yeah, well how did you get into this program. Excuse me. How did I get into it, oh, I'm an electrical engineer here in Virginia. For T I. No. No. Uh, no, they, I'm in a telecommunications company and they, uh, sent it out in our bulk mail so that if any engineers wanted to participate, you know. So does your company have something to do with T I. Um, not really, I mean no more than any other company, you know, we buy their parts just as much as anybody else. But, uh, no, no real association with T I other than being in the same industry, electronics industry. Huh, uh-huh. They just, uh, they just sent out a letter to everybody they do business with saying, that you know, if you're interested we're doing a study and, and since, And do you know how much, how long this is supposed to go on. I don't know, no I don't. I don't either. I mean it says just keep on until and they'll notify you. At first I was thinking it was just a week because that's all it shows, you know, on the schedule but then it seems like it might be longer than a week. Right. So what do you think we're going to get? What do you think, what. What do you think we're going to get for this? Get. Money, prizes. Oh, I don't know. Do you know anybody that's ever done this? Get your own, you're going to get you own T I seven thirty-two or something. I know T I gets prizes. Oh, I didn't hear about that. Probably for T I employees. I was led to believe that if you weren't T I that you get money. I'm not T I. Oh, your not, *typo your you're you don't work for Texas Instruments. Huh-uh. Oh, okay. Let's see, one of my friends had a roommate that worked for T I and she saw this on her computer and thought it might be neat, Oh. so she ran off copies of the thing. Oh. And I just signed up for it. Oh, oh, that's a neat idea. Yeah. Uh-huh, yeah, well he's gotten a good mix. I was saying because I've, like I said, I heard some other people talking that they've talked to different people in different states and stuff. Uh-huh. That's good, especially since you call that one eight hundred number so, so probably knock T I profits margin way down. And it shouldn't be too good right now anyway, because they've been laying off so many people. Yeah right, this is probably some government study program. Yeah really, so we're footing the bill on our taxes. Okay. Okay, well I enjoyed talking with you. Okay, well thanks a bunch, we'll talk to you later, bye. I'm going to save my two year old from the pile of grapes she's diving into. Well I'm going to try to clean up the house after my two children for about an hour see if we can walk around. Okay we'll I'll talk to you. Bye. Bye-bye. Okay. All right. Last thing I saw was, um, I think, uh, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY with Julia Roberts. Oh, I hadn't seen that, but I've heard that it's real good. My husband didn't like it that much. I thought it was okay. It was a little strange, you know, this woman supposedly is, um, being mentally abused by her husband, you know, he keeps her pretty much terrorized to stay in the house, and she figures out this way to, um, to leave him secretly. You know, she fakes her death kind of thing and he tracks her down Uh-huh. Oh So, the, the end scenes are, are kind of suspenseful, you know, when she realizes he's in the house, you know, after her, but, uh, kind of had the feeling along that, uh, why didn't she just tell him to straighten up. Yeah. You know, why didn't she just tell Hey look bucko, you don't get away with this nonsense Oh But anyhow, um, what have you seen? Well, last week, as a matter of fact, my children was on Spring Break Uh-huh. and we went to two movies. We went to see AWAKENINGS with Robin Williams. Um. Uh-huh. And we went to see KINDERGARTEN COP. Yeah. And I really liked both of them. I really did. AWAKENING was, it was kind of sad to me. It really was, and it would, it would be to anyone because, you know, they really don't know that much about it. Uh-huh. So this is where the people have been kind of I don't a better word to say than like asleep or in a coma, for a long time. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And the drugs let them come back. Uh-huh. But the drugs didn't work for long, and they started having real bad side effects. Oh And this is about nineteen sixty-four, I believe, or something like that, and there still hasn't been any, you know, new development in prescribed drugs that can help it. Um. But, yeah, there, you know, it, it was a big breakthrough, but in time, you know, the, all the side effects started showing. Well, how bad were the side effects? Bad. Oh. Yeah, yeah. They was actually went back like they were, you know, Oh Um. yeah. All it was, they wasn't mild, you know, they was just bad side effects. Um. But I really enjoyed it, though. Um. You know. Well how about KINDERGARTEN COP? Oh, yeah That's strictly for entertainment That was just it was, You know, Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting to be, uh, a bit of a variety actor, you know. At first he was just a big muscle man. Yeah. But he's kind of branching out. He sure is. He is, as a matter of fact, um, Sylvester Stallone, is that his name? Uh-huh. I really believe Schwarzenegger is really going to be a variety player more so than he is, because he really played the part good. You know, he could be this rough, tough guy and then, you know, this substitute teacher. Um. It was really good. Well, there was a movie out, it's been on cable, I get cable, and there's this thing with, uh, Danny De Vito called TWINS. Oh, I've seen that. Yes. I thought that was just great. It is, it is, isn't it? Yes, yes. I even like some, I mean, some of the original stuff, like I like THE TERMINATOR. At first, you know, it was kind of strange, Yeah. but I still like watching him in THE TERMINATOR. And, and some of the other things. Uh-huh. Um, TOTAL RECALL last year I thought was really good, last summer. Oh, yeah. Guess it didn't last too long at the box office, Yeah. but I thought it was pretty good. I did too, I really did. And, I enjoy a lot of movies. Now as far as, let's say, heavy violence, I can't handle Um. I'm not into that, you know, I like RAMBO and all that. Um. I, that's just something I just don't want to watch. Yeah, yeah, and I, I have some, one person at work I know gets really into those goofy horror flicks Oh. and I just keep telling her, how can you do that? And I told her when she had her, her little girl. I said, now you better get out of the habit of watching those. You shouldn't be watching them with your little girl, and she says her little girl's into it now. Oh, my goodness. And she she watches these really gross things you know, like, THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, and, The, you know, that kind of, junk. Yeah. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah, uh-huh. Oh. I don't go for that at all. I guess I'm a little too scary for that. I remember when I was real little, I, we all went to some kind of scary movie, and it was like this big house had a basement, and there was all these weird things going on in the basement, you know, and I was scared to death of our house had a basement for years. Oh, uh-huh. You know, and I got a lot of really weird ideas, from that goofy movie. Yes, yes. Yes. You know, they tell you that kids can, you know, be impressed by all that stuff, and it's true. It is, it really is, yes. I, I had a lot of things that I, I, nobody told me that it was all fake. I was just sitting there watching it, going a scared Oh, jeez yeah. Watching, yes, if a scared oh, I don't want to go home, yes, yes Oh, goodness. But I think a lot of kids, it's funny, get the same kind of fears, like there's somebody under the bed. Yes. Oh. Where do we get that from? Yes, I know, uh, I have two children. I really try to watch what they watch, I really do, because my youngest one, he watches something, you might as well just plan on staying up all night, because you know He'll come in, Mama, I think the ghost is in the house, Mama, I hear it, don't you? They're eight and ten. So they're, you know, it's just a movie, you know, I try to say, it's just a movie, but no, Mama, I've seen it Oh, but I remember, I was with a friend of mine, had, uh, three kids, and the little boy must have been, oh, maybe about ten. And we rented CHARLOTTE'S WEB. Okay. Oh, uh-huh. And he just bawled at the end and just a crying uh, she's not going to die. Oh, Oh. And we were trying to say, Kenny, it's okay, and he didn't want to listen to it. Oh. He just was beside himself, you know, this is supposed to be a nice children's movie, CHARLOTTE'S WEB. He just couldn't stand it that Charlotte was going to die at the end. Die, oh Oh It's funny how your little minds work, isn't it? Oh, yeah a crying She's so nice, she can't die Oh Oh, it was Oh, I guess that's why the actors and actresses make millions of dollars, people like us, you know Oh, Oh, goodness. Well, well I've enjoyed talking to you. You too. And maybe we'll run across each other again. Yeah, this is kind of neat. I haven't ever initiated a call. I've just been called, you know, by the switchboard, and, uh, well, the first week, I think, a lot more people were doing it. But I normally get a call like every other day. Do you? Well, as far as, we could not call in last week. Um. You know, from where I'm at. We couldn't call in. Uh-huh. They said it would be up Friday, the, March the fifteenth before it was prepared. So I missed several days, because I was getting quite a few calls. Um. How weird. I don't know, and they, they do have a variety of topics. My first one was the toughest, it was something like discuss pollution. Oh, uh-huh, oh. It was discuss air pollution, causes of it and cures. Yes. I was going, oh, well Oh. Well, my husband, sometimes, you know, he'll receive a call and he's at work, Uh-huh. and, if I, you know, if I know the topic I'll go ahead and accept it as mine, but the other day I got one about fishing and I thought, oh, my. I don't know a thing about fishing, so I'm not even going to try Because when they listened to that tape they would have really had a good time, believe me. Say, well, I know it takes a fishing pole and some bait, and some water Yeah, but I'm really not for sure, though, if Well, I'll let you go, and we'll talk to you later. All right. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Here we go. Okay, um, have you ever been involved in any trials? I sure was. Two years ago I spent some Fourth of July to Labor Day on a jury that was, uh, a change of venue from Columbus, Ohio for aggravated, uh, murder and kidnapping. Wow. Yeah, it was quite a session that disrupted my whole summer, of course, five days a week, Sounds like it. but it was an absolutely fascinating experience. Oh, it sounds like it. I haven't had any actual real life experience but, uh, my father-in-law's been involved in, uh, several trials including, uh, a couple murders. And, uh, you know, talking to other people who have been there and so I don't have any real experience with trials but I do, you know, I, I've, I took a little business law in, in college and, and I've, you know, try to keep abreast of things. Uh-huh. But, uh, I think that the, uh, trial by jury is, is a great idea at it's inception back two hundred years ago. Um, right now though it's, it's so difficult because there's so few courts to, to get anything really done as you know you spent, you know, a whole summer on one trial, Uh-huh. and it's just that I think they're just tieing up the, um, whole judicial process. *typo tying Um, there's a lot of things they could do to, uh, make things easier and, uh, you know, like, uh, the suggestion that, uh, maybe be, uh, a judge should be the one who decides on what the sentence should be rather than the jury. Uh-huh. Well, I think that there are many cases where, uh, the judges probably do make the decision rather than the jury. Our situation was somewhat different, uh, in view of the fact that, uh, we haven't, we were a landmark case, it was the first time in the state of Ohio that, um, D N A testing was entered as evidence. Uh-huh. And they were being, the judge was being especially careful that everything was done correctly so there couldn't be a, a mistrial of any kind. Uh-huh. Uh, the, um, uh, the interesting thing was the tremendous selection of jury process, uh, that we experienced. That took one full week, uh, to get forty-three people qualified to sit on the jury. And then it was a matter of the selection of, uh, twelve people after that. Actually it was fourteen because we had two alternates. Jeez. And the judge was extremely concerned for our welfare, if we were well, if we were comfortable, and, uh, things of that nature which made us feel good. Uh-huh. Uh, and we were sequestered but the makeup of the jury, uh, was truly a cross section of, uh, you might say a cross section of a country. Uh-huh. There was one other person besides myself, we were the only ones that had ever been to college. Um, one was a former student of mine a few years before who was out of work. Uh, Gee. two others were ones who had never finished high school and were out looking for jobs, yet. Um, a couple of them were housewives who had never worked, and then some are people who did work. So, we had quite a cross section of black, white and women and men. Uh-huh. And, uh, it, uh, it was interesting just to listen to the rationale, uh, being proposed and the logic of some of the people, uh, it was also extremely difficult to stay awake sometimes because there was so many witnesses, and we were not allowed to take any notes of any kind. Uh, and I thought that that was a failing because, uh, from the standpoint that it was difficult to try to remember everything, Yeah. and, and yet the judge said, well, um, if you're taking notes you're missing something, and he was right, there also. Yeah. But, uh, I certainly, um, have that rather than trial by jury. Uh-huh. Yes, yes I agree. Uh, would surprise me that, uh, when I was in Texas I had the, uh, displeasure of getting a, uh, traffic ticket. Uh-huh. And, um, I went to court and you can even get a trial by jury for a traffic ticket. You're kidding. No. And I thought, my God talk about tieing up things for, for, *typo tying Yes, and money. Yes, I mean that's extremely expensive. I mean, the first thing you had to do when you came before the judge was waive your right to a jury trial. I'm like God , this is ridiculous Yeah. Yeah, I do think that, that, uh, I do think the jury system works but I'd, I also feel, as you said, that the original concept of the jury as it was originally setup, uh, back, uh, in a hundred years ago was fine but that it needs to be more refined for today's standard of living and the, the, uh, level of education of them, of so many people now, uh, Uh-huh. by the same token we had, um, uh, some people who wanted had vacations planned and one man in particular had reservations made, plane tickets made, everything, and the judge called and had it all canceled so he could get his money back and then he wasn't selected on the jury. Oh, my God. And then another young fellow had to meet with the judge and the prosecutor and the defense attorneys on three different occasions before he was finally excused from the jury because his wife was about to have twins. And they had, he had to go through all of that if in three days to get excused from that jury, to be with his wife on the birth of the twins. And, uh, you know, some of it just seemed rather extreme. Yes. I, I think they can probably come up with some ways to insure that, uh, you know, people would get a fair trial, and not have to go through this process. Yes. Right. I mean, some things are just so cut and dry. Um, in the, in, you know, the, the level of evidence that they come up with now, I mean, you know, when you start thinking about well, they've got video tape and, and audio tapes and they've, they've got, you know, they've got ways to nail people to the point where they, they really shouldn't even be going to trial. Uh-huh. Right, well, I guess he'd have to be careful whether, with entrapment or some of those things, Yes. but, uh, I don't, I assume you have seen on television recently, as probably the whole country has, the beating of the man in Los Angeles. Oh, that was horrible. Isn't that terrible? And, uh, you know, and that certainly, uh, cannot be said to be, uh, something that happens everywhere, That it , but the fact that it can happen, that it probably does happen in many places, it's, it's horrendous and it's just a stroke of luck, that someone was able to get it on tape and then, uh, to listen to the tape recording, uh, at the police station of the whole conversation afterwards. Yeah. Yes, I know. I mean, I only heard portions of that but it's absolutely, terrible. Yeah. And, you know, if you beat a dog like that, they'll put you, in jail, you know. Absolutely. Well, we get a few other case, uh, like up at the end of last year where one police officer, it was on a drug raid, uh, was trying to extra, extricate, um, a confession or information from a drug dealer and did so by placing a hot, a hot iron on his chest, his bare chest, burned him. Jeez. They wound up paying him, uh, the officer, of course, was fired, but they paid the defendant, uh, three hundred thousand dollars or something to drop the lawsuit, and then last week someone shot and killed the former policeman. Huh. So, uh, as some of those things, uh, are absolutely horrendous and we do need an an overhaul and we just need more discipline country wide. Yes, I, I believe that too. It would , then we'd need it on that, yeah. Well, it's been very nice talking with you. Well, it's been nice talking with you. Yes, and, uh, good luck on, on calls. Okay, thank you, you do the same. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, I was just looking around my house and thinking about the painting that I've done. Uh-huh. And the last time that, um, we tackled it, I did the kitchen. And I had gone through a period of depression at one time and painted everything a dark, it was called a sassafras, it was kind of an orangish brown. Okay. It was not real pretty. Yeah. Anyway, so the kitchen was one of the rooms that got hit with that color. Uh-huh, I see. So I tried to cover it with white, and it was quite a, a feat getting that dark a color covered, and then just the hassles getting around the cabinets, and know if I look underneath my cabinets, I'm not satisfied with the jobs I, I did on it because there're splotches. Yeah. But, I'm glad it's done, because it's brighter. Yeah, yeah, that's for sure. Well, we, uh, I just got married about six months ago, and we bought a house at the same time. So we're, I'm sitting here in my forty year old house, and we're about halfway through the painting process Oh, lord. So, uh, the only, uh, I guess the, the big discussion, just kind of what you were mentioning, has been the color. We ended up with our, our living and dining room are now, uh, kind of a, a light peach color with, uh, and it's got all the old, original hardwood trim and stuff, so we've got the trim in kind of, uh, kind of an off-white. And this is really the first, uh, interior painting project that I've attacked. And, it's, it's been, uh, it's been something else, to say the least. We, we had the same type of situation. Uh, the walls were, uh, uh, well, they weren't, the color difference wasn't so bad, but, uh, there was semigloss underneath Uh-huh. and we put a flat over the top, and everywhere you'd miss there'd be this little bright spot you could see It seems like you could see it through about three layers of paint. Oh yeah. Every time the sun would come up in the morning I'd see another spot and have to drag out the paint can. But, uh, we've learned. We, we, uh, we worked, we've worked our way back into the hallway, and, and we're in the middle of the bathroom now. But, uh, it's, it's been quite an adventure. The other, the other thing that makes it, uh, a little more difficult, we've got all hardwood floors, and, uh, we, we've learned to be a little more careful about covering up the floors since the, since the first time we spent a lot of time on the floor with a tooth, toothbrush and what not cleaning up. So what are you going to get it off with if you get it on and it's dried? Well, it's, it's not too bad. It, it, uh, the floors are finished with a polyurethane, Uh-huh. and it's really not to bad to get off, *typo to too it, it, we're just using latex, and it's not too bad to get it off once it's dried even. It, it, it, uh, comes off with like a mild abrasive pad, like a scotch-brite pad or something like that and and soap and water. So, we got pretty lucky on that. And it's not scratching your floor, because it's so thick. No, not really. Oh, that's pretty good. But. We painted every room in this house, some of them like two, three times. We have two children. Okay, yeah. And, they just, they ruin, it's just terrible what they do. Yeah. And then I have been coloring my hair, and I'm real haphazard when I do it. So I've got dye on my bathroom door. Oh, gosh. And I haven't figured out how to get that off. I guess I'll have to take that door down and really get it good. Yeah, yeah, probably so. And then we have a two story. Okay. We did the outside of it one summer. Yeah. That was horrendous. I mean, I, I couldn't stand the back side going up that high on the ladder. I could get up on the roof and do that. Yeah. But, I dread that the next time. Yeah, I, uh, Yeah, we, uh, our house was painted as part of the purchase contract, so we didn't have to mess with that this time. But I've, I, I grew up on a farm, so I, I've, I've messed with outdoor painting a little bit, uh, but most of that, it was done with a sprayer and, uh, up in the bucket of a loader tractor, or something like that, so, it took a lot of the hassle out. And then they're, Uh-huh. we're not, you know, you're not nearly as concerned with a barn or a grainery, or something like that as you would be with your own house. No, I wouldn't think so Have you guys tackled your ceilings yet? Uh, a little bit, yeah, yeah. Oh, we got to do that this summer. We're dreading it. Yeah It's like, they're dark. Yeah. Everything else is white. Oh, gosh, yeah. Just, just the opposite of what everybody's, uh, working towards now. Now have you thought about this? That wherever you buy your paint, you need to make sure that that store's not likely to go out of business. Yeah, yeah, absolutely Yeah, we, uh, we stocked up the first time around. But we've definitely got all the formulas on file, and, uh, we're, they'll be there for a while. We're, we're pretty comfortable with that. But, yeah, it, it, I'm, I'm real nervous every time I, I open a new can. I'm wondering if I shouldn't buy about twenty gallons at one time and keep it all in a, in a washtub or something somewhere because I'm I'm always afraid that the next coat is not going to match. Uh-huh. But, uh. It's gone pretty well. It just, it, it, takes, it takes some time. My problem is, while I, I'm not overly proud of it, but I'm a self-proclaimed, proclaimed perfectionist, and it, it takes me a long time to do trim and things like that. And I'll find, I'll find something as I'm going along, something not related, like, like, uh, I've gone about changing out all the outlets and switches because, they, they really didn't match. They were, a few of them were broken and things like that. So, I always pick up these little extra tasks as I'm doing this, and, and the painting actually takes probably, uh, a fourth of the time, and I'm always doing all this other stuff, and my wife's hollering at me and wondering what else I've come home with from work this time to, to put in, a ceiling fan or something strange like that. So uh, it, it, it always, it, it, it gets you to look at everything real hard when you start putting a coat of paint on everything, you start to notice where all the dents and scratches and things are everywhere. Oh, but I still feel good, the minute I put that paint on, even if it does got a dent in it Yeah. I do. Yeah, it sure makes a difference. Oh, what else can I tell you about painting? Oh, and I get it all in my hair, too. Do you do that? Yeah. Spots in it. Yeah, it's, it's been, uh, we, we bought this house with the idea that we were going to spend, you know, spend a lot of time working on it, and, uh, it was part, you know, part of the excitement was, was getting a good deal on an older house that just, it really hadn't been taken care of very well. It, it was actually, it was rented out for a couple of years and things like that. So, we uh, we ended up getting a fairly good deal on it. But, uh, there just isn't enough time, I, I, I find myself going to work knowing that, that there's a job about half done at home, and I really, if I would, if I'd just stay home and finish it, I'd feel a lot better, but, uh, I'm, I'm starting to learn that there's always something else. Once you get done, you can always start over and, and you make up all kinds of excuses. Are you having to repair the walls at all? It, they're, they're in pretty good condition, um, as far as, uh, major repairs. You know, a lot of little filling holes and nicks and things like that, but, uh, the only, the most major things have been, uh, oh, I guess I, I moved a couple of outlets, and, er, uh, switches I should say. For some reason, they put a bathroom light switch in the hallway and, uh Um, that's smart. yeah, and I, I didn't like that very well, so I, I moved that, but, uh, most of it, most of it's in pretty good shape. So where do you live? Uh, live in Dallas. I'm in Garland. Okay, okay. Did you try to call this weekend? Uh. To that switchboard, did you keep getting that it was down? No, no, I haven't, uh, I hadn't tried. You didn't? In fact, we were, we were planting flowers this weekend So, uh, I was pretty tied up, but. Yeah, well, I've never tried any other kinds of painting besides on a surface like the house like to paint a picture or anything. Uh-huh. I don't know, I can't think of anything else to say about painting. Yeah, that, uh. It hurts your back, and it hurts your arm. Yeah, you know it I get a I get a sore neck from looking up all the time, yeah, things like that Yeah. but, uh, no, that pretty much covers my experiences. But you're glad you're doing it, right? Oh yeah, most definitely. It, it just, it makes such a difference. I, like I say, the overall appearance of this house is what really devalued it so much. Uh, I, you know, I, I don't want to put a price on it, but I just feel like we're, every, every gallon of paint adds a tremendous amount of value to the house. You know, every time I do something, aside from that it just makes me feel a whole lot better to come home, an you know, the walls are clean, and they match, and all those kinds of things. Uh-huh. Do you have one of those straightedge things to put underneath when you're doing the baseboards? Yeah, yeah, we do. It, uh, it sometimes works and it sometimes doesn't. It's a, uh, when I start doing trim, I, I've gotten to where I, I tend to freehand it because there's so many layers of paint on this house after forty years that, uh, it, it's so hard to tell where an edge is anymore, and uh. On your baseboards? Yeah, yeah, they You don't have any carpet down in your house? No there's no carpet in the house right now. See, we've got carpet, and, I haven't figured out how you're supposed to paint it, on down, so that you won't see where you stopped off and still not get it on the carpet. Um, Because every time you move that edger then it gets the carpet into it. Well, you know, um. You can't hold it there until it's dried. Yeah, I, I've I've seen, uh, they're, they make some plastic edging stuff that comes in like three foot lengths. And, you can, uh, you can tape them together and, and, and put ... What do you think about, uh, the way the criminal justice system handles trials? Well, you know, they tell you that you get tried by a jury of your peers Yeah. but, you know, it's pretty hard to try, let's say, the man down the street that's living on Social Security or somebody that's on a limited income to be tried by a jury of his peers if most of the people, like the juries that I've served on, are businessmen. Uh-huh. Okay now they don't understand that, you know, maybe he needed fifty dollars so he held up the seven eleven. *Seven Eleven Yeah. Okay they don't understand that because they have fifty dollars, all the time, so, you know, I think that it, a trial by your peers should be exactly that, someone in your own age bracket, someone that, you know, you can't really do it ethnically, you know, but you could do it, you could probably get it a little closer. Yeah. But then there's another thing that I disagree with in Texas is sometimes you have a jury of six and sometimes you have a jury of twelve. Yeah. And I don't know why they do that. Do you have any reason, do you know of any reason why they do that? Well, I think the six is called a Grand Jury and that's mostly to decide whether or not the person's actually going to stand trial. Okay, see Whether they're acquitted or whether they're actually going to be accused of, you know, and held over for trial. Okay I don't know much about the Grand Jury. How do you feel about the, in Texas I noticed since I've been here, in twelve years that they, they break up the, the trial and then the sentencing part of the trial. Yeah, I don't know. I, I think that, uh, I know that judges aren't supposed to be crooked. However, Well, we know there's a few out there. Yeah. It seems like if you break the sentencing away from the jury and give it, you give it to one person you're letting there be a whole lot more of an opportunity for something to either go wrong or for, you know, if, if, if the judge is not of high moral standards he could be bought off, much easier than twelve people could. Uh-huh. Yeah it's, Yeah, would be pretty hard. Well I don't think, you know, I don't think that, if I was the criminal, that I would like the judge passing sentence on me. If the jury found me guilty, then they should be able to decide at the same time what my punishment should be. And I think it's, not only that, it's a waste of our money. We have to have a trial for this person, then two weeks down the road we have to excuse me, set a sentencing date so now we're back in court again Uh-huh. and that's more money spent. It's not so much that I, that, I haven't seen a lot of really bad sentences passed either by trials or by judges. What bothers me is that, uh, they really don't mean anything. No. Someone could be sentenced to thirty-five years and yet, you know, the, the parole system, it's going to let them out in, in three years for good behavior. And it's not working either. No, it's not. It seems that we have more and more repeat offenders. Uh-huh. I know, I don't know how you all are there where you're at, but where we're at, now our jails are overcrowded. We just built a brand new one two years ago. Oh, I think they're all overcrowded. And it's overcrowded. They've, uh, So now they start turning them loose. I think I heard Fort Worth that, uh, they've been ordered to do something because their jail is so overcrowded. They're not allowed to accept any new inmates. Now what are they supposed to do? They turn them loose. Well, no, I mean, they're not allowed to accept any new inmates. Yeah. So what are they supposed to do with people that they need to put in jail? You know. Well, the way, it seems the way it's been working here's, There, yeah, Go ahead. * LISTEN are utterances 1 and 2 really from the same speaker? It seems the way it's been working here is they let those out that have spent two or three years out of their five to twenty sentence, or five to life. Uh-huh. Something that is working and I, I really like the system of house arrest where a, a, someone's wear, someone wears a bracelet like a ankle bracelet that's a monitor, Yeah that, Yeah, and they, They keep, and they are not allowed, I mean, some of them are even allowed to work, they can go to their regular job, they come home, they have to be home by such and such a time, they're instructed, uh, so that, this, this electronic monitor is turned on at, at a certain time Yeah. and it connects them up to a system where they know their whereabouts. All right. And, uh, they can put a, they usually install a video monitor in the house and when the parole officer calls to check on them, they're instructed to turn it on and stand in front of it. So that they can see that this person is actually at home in their house doing what they're supposed to be doing All right. and that's working rather well. That's a good system. That allows people, to actually continue to be productive members of society while they're, you know, paying back for whatever crime they've committed. Yeah, instead of being completely penned up. And that way it would give, you know, the probation department and parole department, they've got to be overloaded with as many criminals as we have here in, in Lubbock. Oh, yeah, yeah. And that would give, you know, at least they don't have to drive all over town trying to find one guy, or trying to see six or seven people. Uh-huh. I, I've really, I could go on for hours about the criminal justice system and what I think we ought to do about it. But, Something that I really don't understand is when someone goes to jail and they have a job in jail and they work, that they should, Sometimes it's pretty messed up, isn't it. Uh-huh. I, and this may sound cruel, but I do not think that they should be allowed cigarettes. I mean they're in jail for crying out loud. Yeah. What do they need cigarettes for? Well, see and there's another thing about the justice system that I don't like and there's a lot of people that tell me that, that maybe my thoughts are wrong. I came from California Uh-huh. and when you're in jail, they take you out just like they do in Alabama or anywhere else, what they call a chain gang. Uh-huh. And they clean the city parks. Oh, I think that's a wonderful idea. And they clean the city streets. But you know, we have criminals in jail that do nothing but sit on their duff all day and here it costs us seventeen to eighteen thousand dollars a year to support a prisoner, More than that. and I know, yeah, More than that. but I know families myself that have three and four children in Lubbock that don't make that much. I know. And they're not, you know, they're not doing anything to support themselves, while they're there. The thing that, the thing that gets me is that while we're supporting them, they're working. Yeah. When they get out of jail they get handed all that money. Yeah. That really ticks me off. I think that while they are in jail and they are working, their wages should go, Yeah. like, I don't know, they could, some percentage, like eighty-five percent of their wages should go toward their room and board figured on a whatever basis how much it costs to actually support them for a year. Yeah, well, Uh-huh. See now . And when they get out they should have a, I don't know, you know, some reasonable amount of money to start, like a couple of thousand dollars, Yeah. but there should be a limit over which they, that it all goes back to the State. Anything that they've earned while they're in prison should go back to the State except for that, you know, there needs to be some allowance for when someone gets out that they have some money to start with. Yeah, but at least they would, at least that way they would be helping pay for their own. Exactly, absolutely. And something else that I would, And something else that I would like to see is, is, uh, victim reimbursement, you know, because they, you know, like you say these guys are in jail That's the part that I really think we need to change. and they're working, they're getting paid, but the guy that they messed over to get there or they stole something from, or beat to death or, Has nothing, right. has nothing, you know. Our, our victims are victimized, period, and the law has no, no, uh, regulations to deal with that. Absolutely. They, they know how to deal with the penal system and they know how to deal with the criminal, but they don't know how to deal with the victim because we as citizens, I guess haven't laid anything up there for them to deal with on that aspect. Yeah. But it's, but I sure don't, I, I strongly disagree with any judge passing sentence on a person himself. Uh-huh. There that, I think it works much better if it's, if it's the actual jury. Yeah, because, well, see the jury is dealing with the seriousness of the crime, Uh-huh. the jury gets to see the whole trial, as does the judge, but you know, if, if they figure there's maybe litigating circumstances, or something like that whereas maybe the judge does, just doesn't care, you committed this crime so I'm just going to throw the book at you. Uh-huh. Whereas the jury may have a little, shall we say, sympathy, you know, he did this, but, you know, why did he do this, Yeah, in some, cases it would work that way. is there, is there a basis for it. In some cases it would work the other way. Yeah, in some cases where the judge says okay, I'll give you, you know, two to three years and, The jury would, would, slam them and, and I think that, that the jury probably has more of a right to sentence than the judge all the time. Yeah. Well, they have a stronger debate, too, because there's twelve people there. They have to decide whether or not he's guilty and then they can sit in at the same time and decide what his punishment would be, Uh-huh. and you'd have more than one person's input on it. Yeah. I think that's probably a much fairer way. And, you know, we're supposed to be, and I quote, in a democratic society. So, you know, if you can find me guilty, then you ought to be able to pass sentence. Yeah. And a lot of jurors, not that I know of, but, you know, a lot of jurors may just sit there and say, yeah, he's guilty, but I don't have to deal with it from here, you know, so the judge takes care of all of that. Yeah. It might be more, it would be more work for the jury, but it would be a more responsible way to deal with it. Yeah it would, yeah, serving on the jury would be definitely more you'd have to be a definitely more responsible person. The thing that I, I don't really like, I, I don't know, if, uh, a lot of jury selection processes that I've seen have been a, Okay. Hi. Hi. Okay. You want to start? Um, yeah. Sure. Um, I think, I think we should have a balanced budget even if it means that services are dramatically cut back. If you can't pay for it, you shouldn't have it. Period. And, That is very true. That's just. However, our whole economy is based on loans. Uh-huh. Uh, uh, but, bet right this moment, you probably have several loans out or you have borrowed money against your credit card or something Well, Master Charge. I don't have a Master Charge, thank you But, see our whole system is built on owing not borrowing. Right. But, that's the problem, see. Our system shouldn't be based on owing and borrowing and all that. Uh, true. But, uh, uh, without it, people wouldn't be able to own automobiles or they wouldn't be able to own a house. Yes, they would. They just wouldn't be able to own the kind of automobiles that they think they deserve to own. Or the kind of homes that we think we deserve to own. We might have to, you know, just be able to, I think, if we, a generation went without debt, then the next generation, like, if, if our, our generation, my husband and I, we're twenty-eight, if we lived our lives and didn't become, you know, indebted, like you know, our generation before us, that, um, the budget would balance. And that we became accustomed to living with what we could afford, which we wouldn't be destitute, I mean, we wouldn't be living on the street, by any means. But just compared to how spoiled we are, we would be in our own minds, but I feel like the generation after us would, oh, man, it would be so good. It would be so much better. It wouldn't be perfect, but then, they could learn to live with what they could afford to save to buy. And if you want a nicer car than that, well, you save a little longer. Well, now I agree, uh I agree with you one hundred percent. Uh-huh. I'm just taking the other side so we'll have a discussion here. Uh, but I still go to right back to what I said. When is the time you had fifteen thousand dollars all at one time to go out and buy an automobile? But, see, we made poor choices in college. We took out two, both of us had twenty thousand dollars in loans, for student loans Uh-huh. and I look back on that, and I bought shoes. I went shopping. I did not need that money. I did not need it. I didn't need it. I shouldn't have even qualified to get it. I didn't need it. And it would have been a little rough, I might have eaten some bologna instead of roast beef out of the deli, but I did not need it. And as I look back now, now we're paying that back. I told my son, if you have to live in the ghetto to go to college, do it, but don't take out ten thousand dollars in loans. Don't do it. And I don't, I hope, don't think he'll have to do that but, I just feel like if we didn't have those loans, we could have saved in the last five years the money for that, and I believe we would have, because God's really put it in our heart not to get in debt, you know. But we have friends in church that do this on a constant basis, that are totally debt free. And they pay cash for everything they buy. Uh-huh. Including new vans, and, so, so I guess, I've seen it done and I know you can do it, you know. But you have to drive that old car until you get that money saved up for that new van. And that's where Americans don't like to do it. And so and we don't want to cut back our services from the government, because we're spoiled. Well, I have one way to suggest reducing the budget. What? Very simple. Just take all these civil service employees, and, uh, uh, take some of those holidays away from them, like Columbus Day, President's Day, I mean, they, they get all these days off. I know. Yeah. Now give them, what a, a week, I think we here at T I get a total of eleven a year. I know. Uh-huh. And that's about, uh, three or four less than civil servants get. Uh-huh. Now just look at that money the government could save if they didn't have all of those days off, all those holidays. Yeah, that is true. Because I always think the mail never comes on these days and you're like, well, what is it You don't even know it's a holiday Well, now don't forget the mail is something else again. That has nothing, they're not civil servant people. But isn't it federal, in the federal budget? No, no, they have their own budget they go by. But isn't it part of our income, it's not part of our taxes? No. It's not? That's why the price of mailing a letter keeps going up. That's why it keeps going up, uh? You know, I could I can remember the days when it cost only three cents to mail, uh, uh, uh, a letter. That's another topic Those stamps are valuable, now. Yeah. They probably, hey, I ought to go looking through some of my old mail. That's funny. Yeah, and that is a good short term thing, though. That little things like that, that overall, though, I just think we're just going to, I don't know, see, I know, I guess I'm kind of leery of this topic, because I know that Bush is real for the new world order. The one world government, and alleviating all, you know, national debt between all of the nations. But I see that to be a potential power problem later, with, um, who's going to be in charge with this new world order. And I, you know, I'm uncomfortable with that much power being in one place. But, I know, we already have a new money system. We already have new bills printed, for, the U S Treasury already has our new bills printed for new currency, and I've seen them And so I know that the long-term vision for the U S government is to alleviate all national debts and to start over afresh, but I'm concerned with who's going to have the power over this new world order that they keep talking about, you know. That's a lot of power for one or two people to have. And so, um, I guess because I, I guess, in fact, I know what their long-term vision is. I'm kind of like, you know, yeah, the only answer is to start over or to totally change our lifestyles. And I don't think Americans are willing to do it. Well, what about, uh, uh, sending all this money overseas supporting other governments, third world governments. How do you feel about that? I don't, I don't feel we should loan them money. If I, I wish our leaders were really seeking the Lord on these things, and if we feel led to give a country money to help them, fine. But I don't feel we should be loaning money like that. I mean, it doesn't work, I mean. Well, in so many cases, it's not a loan, it's just a give away. But it's not, but it's not set up as a giveaway. If it were set up as giveaway, and it was something, that, I mean, our, our President and our leaders could be seeking God saying, God is it your will for us to bless this nation with this money, is it your will, this money and your will for us to give to them, and I believe if we gave it, no strings attached that God would bless our nation. But because we're, our motive is interest, our motive is not pure, it just backfires, I mean, none of these nations have paid us back. But, you understand, it's, I guess it's a principle of giving and receiving. You give it, no strings attached and they may never give you anything back, but because there's no strings attached, it like gives them a freedom to give us something back. And it might not be money, it might be, um, no taxes on our things, our computers going into their nation, it might come back in another way, but it would be come back. But because we're loaning it, I think that's the problem. And I don't mean give it to everybody that asks. Use a lot of discernment. Don't give money to every nation. You know, what I'm saying, I think we're loaning money to too many nations, but I think if we gave to a few select ones, that really needed it, that it would work out better for us and for them. And so now we have all these nations that owe us all this money and so I just think, we're never going to get that back, you know. Do you understand? No. That, that's true. I, I understand that France still owes us money from World War I. Uh-huh. And, uh, World War Two debts have never been repaid. I think the U S just wrote them all off. Yeah. And said, well, we'll cancel it just like they did to the, that Polish debt here, uh, last week. Yeah. Uh, uh, half the countries of the world simply canceled the Poland debts to help them. Right. Long, long term though, do you think it would best to see a one world, you know, you can't alleviate all national debts or do you think it would be better for our leaders to just start seeking God on how to turn our nation around financially? That's my opinion. My opinion's the latter. Uh-huh. Well, uh, I've got to respect your opinion. You have some solid ideas. Uh-huh. I know. What's yours? Do you agree or do you disagree or I mean, what do you think long term? Well, I don't believe in a single government or a single control for the world. Uh-huh. Uh, that's asking for trouble. People are too different. Uh-huh. I mean you could travel from one coast to the other here in the U S and find a tremendous differences between the peoples. They have their own ideas how things should be run. Uh-huh. So, therefore, I don't believe there could be a single government for the whole world. There's too many societies involved, uh, the language barriers. Uh-huh. Uh, oh, sure, somebody said years ago, well, let's make it English, uh, international language. Uh-huh. That's a big laugh, we can't even make English a national language here in our country. Uh-huh. We've got too many, uh, uh, immigrants. Yeah. Yeah. I know. They don't call them immigrants anymore, that was back in my granddaddy's day. Yeah. Different ethnic groups Yes. Yeah but, Yeah. I know what your saying. *typo your you're My grandfather came over from Lithuania back, uh, just before the turn of the century Uh-huh. and, uh, as a matter of fact he's a draft dodger. Uh-huh. He, uh, was supposed to serve some time. Well, he did serve his time in the, uh, in the militia. Uh-huh. And he came back. He was a civilian again and his father said well if, Uh, tell you what. Um, I'll let you start Okay. My major source of information, I guess, is T V news Excuse me. I, uh, wake up to it in the morning. This is my, I guess, my prime time for news, first thing in the morning while I'm getting ready to go to work. Oh, I quite frequently glance through headlines or, in the newspaper. But, uh, primarily mine is T V news. How about yourself? Yeah. I have to, have to agree with you, um, I normally don't have time in the morning to, to watch any type of T V. Usually catch it going to work on the radio. Or when I drag the paper in from the front and it catch the head lines, which is normal what you see the night before on the evening news. Huh-uh. * I think this, and successive "Huh-uh" answers, should be "Uh-huh" True. So I've, I've kind of, we have a one year old in the house so it's kind of hard sometimes to watch T V during the night, but I usually try to catch the ten o'clock or, um, those type of . Huh-uh. I have to say, during the war we're, the American public was probably flooded with too much information and as far as the sub question about the, was, am I satisfactorily covered , I have to say yes. But when it came to the war issues, who's telling the truth. Between the channels there was, uh, the casualties, the amount of missiles launched were different and it was almost too much information, over communicated. Well, that's true, but I, my personal opinion is that the various network news medias were trying to interpret the news to the best of their abilities since they were not very well informed by the military. True. I agree with you. Now, I can appreciate that, especially after what happened in Vietnam. Yeah, which is a joke. Uh, let's face it, today's, uh, means of communication, we could, a newscaster could very well giveaway a piece of top secret information. And, uh, pat himself on the back for, for, uh, making a good scoop. Huh-uh. Yeah. That's a good point. Um, but I would have to say across-the-board, I'm satisfied with the way, uh, the news is spread. Um, of course here at Texas Instruments, uh, the rumor mill runs rampant. The secretary's probably the best resource, of what the layoff status is. Very true. I find T-News very enlightening, too. Yeah. And I check that everyday. Of course, with that goes along with the stock price of T I. Yeah. I agree you. I think, I'm glad you mentioned that, because I think I have to, since I don't have the opportunity in the morning I'll probably catch the head lines on T-News . That's a good point. Of course, T-NEWS is more or less headlines, Huh-uh. Uh, I don't think much of their sports coverage. Yeah True. Kind of, Only give the scores. Yeah. But, uh, that's all right. I'm not, outside of pro football, I'm not too interested in other games, other sports, anyway. Huh-uh. But, the, uh, T-NEWS is a good way to keep up-to-date. I think they do a pretty good job of selecting the most important items. Yeah. They do. Surely do. Uh, anything else crossed your mind. I guess most of us go by the audio, which is the television or the radio. Huh-uh. Um, but you need to continue to read, so you people learn to read, you know Well, I spent twenty years in profession, commercial broadcasting radio and T V, and I know what it takes to get some of those little bits and pieces of news on the air, Huh-uh. I mean, there, there are times where, uh, the reporter actually will risk is life, life and limb. I've seen it happen time and time again. And, uh, well, I remember one time up in Nashville, Tennessee. One of the fellows got mixed up in a riot that was going on down there, Huh-uh. but he was lucky he got out of it for some reason. Because he was carrying a camera, uh, they left him alone. Ouch. Everybody got excited. Huh-uh. That's tough. That's tough. Well, I've enjoyed speaking with you. Nice to talk to you, too, Jim. Did you get your catalog on your, your gifts? No. Really I just got mine in the mail so, it kind of sparked me to keep calling Oh. Well I'll be looking for it then. There not to shabby. *Correction "They're not too shabby" They're pretty good. Is that right? Yeah. Have a great day. Bye-bye. Now. I'm sorry, Ready to go. Okay. excuse me. And, uh, I do that, we recycle, uh, newspapers. We take, you know, the DALLAS MORNING NEWS daily, and the Plano paper daily Right. and, you know, after a month of that you got a ton, of newspapers. Oh, I know it builds up really fast. It really does, Yeah. I do recycle, newspapers and, uh, glass. Yeah. Uh-huh. We don't really have enough plastic to mess with, we don't, you know, like we don't drink milk and we don't have children so we don't have, you know, six thousand plastic milk jugs, a month, you know. Yeah, we do, With two, a two year old and a, three year old Yeah. and, so it really builds up with us. Right. But there is, you know there is a place you can take those also you know at the same place just put them in a different, uh, container. Yeah. And, uh, Plano has plans I believe it's tentatively scheduled for sometime in May of this year, the city is going to leave, uh, receptacles at people's home. Oh, yeah, and they That would be much more convenient. It, certainly would Yeah. and they can separate it and then the, you know, trash guys will pick it up. Which would really be handy, you know, for people like shut ins, or, people who can't or don't drive, you know, Yeah. Yeah. Or it just builds up so often, they can't get to the these centers. Yeah. And I'm sure rather than try to, uh, ask someone to take them for them they probably just pitch them, you know? Yeah, yeah. But I think that's probably a good idea. They used to have several places, um, that were a little ways out in the community that did the paper and all, Uh-huh. and they stopped doing it because they said it wasn't profitable. Right. So finally, um, they, the people put so much pressure on the city, Uh-huh. they did a survey of everybody, Uh-huh. and they took a big huge bin that has paper and plastic, um, and put it in front of the Wal-Mart store in town, Uh-huh. and they, it just really, every time you went by there it was just over flowing, That's right. and so Wal-Mart complained Uh-huh, yes. so they moved it behind the store and nobody knew where it was, Yeah. and so people kept piling stuff in the same place, where it used to be. Uh-huh. Great Oh, it was just like a dump there, I bet it was. and so finally, you know, I called and they said, you know, it was behind there and I started taking my things behind there. Uh-huh. So we do that with, because we have milk cartons, you know, constantly, with two little kids, and the paper, Uh-huh. Sure. but it just builds up, Uh-huh. it would be so nice if they had it, you know at your home, where you could just turn it in so they, they final had enough of a response that they decided to try a small target area in one neighborhood, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. and they have pickup there, it's, uh, I think once or twice a week. Uh-huh. And the first couple weeks they did it nobody got their stuff out so they had not much participation, and they were going to cancel it, Uh-huh. but then finally people started getting the message. Yeah. It's just a matter of education, I think. Yeah, and I think that, you know, if they can get enough going, they'll continue it, you know, throughout the rest of the city Uh-huh. but it's not, I think originally people thought it would be profitable for cities to do this, Uh-huh. and it's not going to be, Yeah, I don't think yeah, that's right. Yeah. I think basically it's a good idea, you know, I hope it works. Yeah, I do to because it's amazing, how much, you know, trash, we can generate, Absolutely. absolutely. I know this year we took our Christmas tree they had a place, in the park where you could go have your tree shredded Right. and they gave you a little, um, seedling to plant, you know Uh-huh. Right. you could take the, the mulch home with you, you know, and take buckets of that home, Uh-huh. so that was really good idea, Sure. I thought. Absolutely. And there's just, you know, the two of us my wife and I and it's amazing how much stuff just the two of us generate, Yeah you know, I can imagine a family of, you know, four or five. Oh, yeah it's really, it adds up so fast. It really does. Yeah. As far as new stuff to recycle, you know, I don't really, I don't really know, I really hadn't thought about it to tell you the truth. Yeah. Well, they're working on diapers, which would be great, That's right, I was, Uh-huh. I've read so many different things about diapers and now their saying that originally they thought the disposables were just awful, Uh-huh. but now their saying that they're, really not that much in comparison to the others because you don't have to use the water to wash them, and, you know, all different kinds of things too, That's right. so the diaper service, trucks apparently the fuel that they use and the fumes that they produce to deliver, and drop those off Uh-huh. Yeah. So I don't know what's the, you know, right thing to do but I really would hope that they would come up. I know there was a brand just briefly on the market that was recyclable Uh-huh. but the landfill have to do something special, you know, for those, I see. but that just generates a tremendous of volume of trash too, so, Oh, I'm sure it must. Yes, you know I'm not personally involved because I don't, you know, I don't have any children that wear diapers, Yeah. but I'm sure it creates a large amount of, you know, uh, refuse. It does, and you just feel guilty if you don't do, something with them, you know, That's right . That's right. because you hate to contribute to the problem, Absolutely. but on the on the other hand the alternatives aren't to great either That's right, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, I don't know what else they could recycle more of. I guess we don't really use that many tin cans. I guess there's some places where you can recycle aluminum but I don't know about like cans that you keep vegetables and stuff, in, Uh-huh. I don't know if those are recyclable or, I think they're made out of aluminum, Um. Yes. There are, there is a receptacle, you know, at the centers also for aluminum, Yeah. but again we don't, we don't generate that much so, Yeah, we don't, we don't either, Yeah. we usually use frozen vegetables and things so we don't really have, much of that. That's right. that, ninety-nine percent of ours is newspaper and, uh, you know, uh, glass. Yeah. Well, now when we lived out in California they actually had places where you could recycle if you change the oil in your car, or for aerosol cans and things, like that because they say it's not safe to put those things, in the regular trash Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's right. Car batteries. Yeah Uh-huh. Yeah. I don't, you know I don't change my own oil, so I don't, I don't, uh, don't have that problem. Yeah. Yeah, well other than that I'm not really sure, Yeah. we, we try to recycle old clothes Uh-huh. Yeah, well we do to as a matter of fact. *typo too Our church has a place, where you can take them Right. and they, you know, pass them on to, other families, Yeah. so. Yes we have one of those in town. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. You know, our church each year has a, one of their major fund raisers is, you know, a garage sale. Oh. And there's a ton of clothes always, you know left over and I take those down to the, uh, it's called the Clothes Closet, Uh-huh. that's what it's called here in Plano. Right. Uh-huh. Yeah. And they distribute them to the people, that need them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah that's, that's real helpful, too. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I'm not sure I can't really think of anything else that we could recycle. No, I can't either Yeah. I really can't, um, no, I, I really can't either. Okay. Okay, well, it was nice talking to you. You to. Take, care. Okay. All right. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, what types of music do you like to listen to? Well, I primarily listen to classical music when I have my druthers, partly because I find it more soothing. I don't know a lot about classical music so far as, uh, any background in music, but it's the the music I enjoy the most. How about you? I like classical music also. I, uh, like you, I don't know a whole lot about it, and I, I would like to buy more classical tapes and stuff, but I'm not sure which composers or which I really like, Right. so I kind of hesitate to buy something. Uh-huh. There are certain kinds I like and certain kinds I don't. I tend to listen to the classical music, uh, on the radio a lot. There's, uh, one particular, well there several stations in this area that play, uh, classical music all the time, but there's one in particular that is on both A M and F M so I can listen to it without, uh, worrying. It's cute, though, because my children, when they get in the car, and I have, uh, the button pushed for that, they always switch it to something else Because naturally that isn't their taste at this point in time anyway. Yeah. Yeah, I understand that. Are, are you involved in music? Uh, no, not really. My husband is, but not, I do, uh, the world a favor and I don't sing aloud, to anybody but myself Well, my whole family is somewhat musical, um, and not from training, but just because we sing in our choir and my daughter's quite involved and all that sort of thing. So, um, I think that one of these days maybe she'll get involved in classical music, too, because that's usually what happens if you, unless you get into rock, which isn't her voice style. So, Yeah, I, I don't care for rock, at all. I guess I'm real old fashioned in my musical tastes. No, I, well most of it is not all that exciting in that it is terribly repetitious. Yes. It's loud and repetitious without having a great deal of meaning. Now I do like folk song. Um, and there have been some nice folk songs over the years that, you know, kind of still hang around. Right. But, um, but, uh, the more popular music I don't care for, usually. Yeah. Um, even when I was a teenager I didn't really like the music of that period so much because I found I liked, um, a little bit more melodious music than what was often the popular, rock and roll kind of sound. Yeah, I agree with that too. Although now I kind of enjoy hearing the rock and roll, I guess it makes me think I'm young again Yeah, now rock and roll seems tame compared to like the New Age and all that stuff. Isn't that the truth? It's funny. In fact, it's interesting to me that so many of the songs, now I grew up in the late fifties and early sixties, and so much of the music that was popular at that time, has come back. Uh-huh. And, you, you don't hear everything all the time, but you hear much of the same music, perhaps a new version of it, but it's the same stuff. Um, which is always kind of funny. Right. Um, and I remember my older sister. I have a sister who's sixteen years older, and at the time that I was a teenager, a late teenager I guess, I can't remember the year, SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES became popular. I think it was done by maybe the Platters or something. Uh-huh. Then, and she laughed and she said, Well, you know, when I was a teenager, that had been, you know, some years before, she said, that was a version of, you know, a song then. And she said, It's very similar, but they've changed a little bit. She said, I like the original version better. Well, they did it again, about two or three years ago, and I laughed again. I said, Oh no, here we are Crops up every so often. Right, right. It does indeed. I listen to, um, the Christian radio station when I'm in the car. K L T Y. Uh-huh. I like to listen to some of that. Yes, now there, there's some wonderful Christian music when you can find good stations. Yeah. Uh, the problem that I found, um, in this area is that the, there, there is inconsistency in the quality here. Uh-huh. If you get someone who's very good at selecting, it's okay, but sometimes they kind of get on a, a, a binge, and they play the same sort of thing over and over again, without really necessarily quality. Yeah, where do you live? Uh, I live in the, uh, Washington, D C area, Maryland. I thought maybe you lived in Dallas, because that's the complaint I make to my husband about the radio station too. I said, Oh, they're playing one of their ten songs. Yes. It seems like every week they pick ten and they just play them over and over, Uh-huh, and I, I, you know, there's so much available that I don't understand why they do that. Yeah. Yeah. But, um, now my children have, have sometimes, um, they've gone to a few of the concerts and so on of Christian musicians that come to our youth group at our church. And, um, and when they buy a tape or something, sometimes that's fun because it's different and something I've not always heard, and, you know, I enjoy that. Right. My husband likes Sandy Patty songs. He likes to sing those in church. He'd buy all the sound tracts he could get his hands on *typo tracks if he had the money to. Oh, wow. Yeah, that's nice. So, is your husband a singer? Well, just an amateur singer. He sings in the choir and he likes to do special music and stuff at church. Right. Yeah. Well, that's a good thing to do. Yeah, yeah, I like to hear him sing. a very soft He does a good job. That's nice, uh, well, do you have children? No, not yet, we're expecting a baby in July. Well, wonderful. I guess we'll start listening, That'll be a musician. Yeah, maybe so. We'll start listening to children's music Oh, there's some wonderful Christian, uh, children's tapes. You can, uh, you can get, Yeah, there are. and I know when my children were younger, um, we found a lot of really nice tapes that they, that they liked. Um, there was an Agape music group, and, um, I, some of the songs I still find going over in my head over and over again because they were really, um, very memorable even though my children are now, Uh-huh. my youngest is almost sixteen. Oh, uh But I still find some of the same tapes, I, uh, some of the same songs from those tapes I enjoy. Uh-huh. Um, there's one that's, um, a little girl singing Practice Makes Perfect. Uh-huh. And, uh, she's playing the piano. Oh. And so she, she gets the wrong note every now and then. But then she keeps repeating it, practice makes perfect, and then you know, talking about that so far as Christian life, too, and it's really cute. Yeah, that sounds really cute. Yeah. Uh, I tell my husband to sing to my stomach, because they say that babies can hear quite a lot while they're still in the womb, and I said, then when, when it's born you can hold it and sing that again Yeah, right. and maybe it'll comfort her, you know, when she's fussy and stuff. Yeah, well do you know something? What? Because I have always played classical music, uh, or classical style, it's not always classical as, you know, the official, uh, word might go, but, um, even when I was pregnant, of course I listened to that, and when our first child was, you know, an infant, um, of course, when I was around the house, I played that music, too. When he first made sounds that you could detect they were in the scale, the music scale. Huh. Someone else noticed it How strange. and I said, well, I guess that's true. And it was somewhat melodious, in other words it wasn't just Uh-huh. Babbly. you know, it was really funny I'll say, that is Well, we'll have to keep up with that then. Right, right. I do think there is probably an influence there, because I noticed that even though popular music, the, the wilder stuff, was around when my older children were, were, you know, adolescents, early adolescents, when they first start listening to music on their own they first get, ask for a radio of their own, and so on, Uh-huh. um, this same child, um, really listened to more, um, ballady or, um, pleasant sort of songs rather than, and even classical, rather than the real hard rock stuff that so many other kids listen to. Huh. And I, I never, I didn't want to say too much for fear he would think it was wrong and wouldn't do it anymore Right, yeah, have something to rebel against Right But, uh, then I must say they all kind of like a variety of music, which is nice, I like that. Yeah, that's good, yeah, variety is good. Yeah. Well, I guess that covers it. It was real good talking to you. Well, it was nice talking to you, and good luck with the baby. Well, thanks, bye. Bye-bye. Okay Charles, uh, gun control, what are you, uh, for, in favor or no comment? I'm very much in favor of gun control. Oh, you are? Yes I am. Well, this should be very interesting, because I'm against it. I don't, I don't mind people owning guns, I just think it should be a little, you know, a little, a little more regulated. Well, you know, uh, now here's something that, uh, first occurred to me when they started having all these problems with these automatic, uh, weapons. Yes. Uh, now there always has been a federal law against fully automatic weapons. I believe that's correct, uh-huh. And, yet, their, uh, the gun control enthusiasts are, are, uh, preaching about the gun control and how they should be, we should have stronger laws and what not. Uh-huh. I don't understand why we don't enforce the laws we have. That would certainly help, I'm sure. Now this is not just a state law, this is a federal law, controlled by the Treasury Department. Uh, for fully automatic weapons. Uh-huh. Yep. Uh-huh. And, uh, all right, now for instance, in California where they passed the uh, uh, semiautomatic Uh-huh. or, or, uh, now what was it they called them? The military version, attack weapons, or something? Yeah, right, uh-huh. Uh, how is that going to affect the, uh, sports weapons? I mean, rifles, that are automatic or semiautomatic? Uh-huh. Yep. I really don't have any problem, Jack, with, you know, uh, people using firearms for sporting purposes. I don't have any problem, the only thing I, I am in favor of the seven-day waiting period. I would like to see that, see that happen. I, Uh-huh, well, now, uh, I've got to admit I'm inclined to agree with you there uh, even though I am a member of the N R A, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and they are they, their reason being that well, if you let one little law get through, pretty soon one's going to stack up on top of another, and so forth and so on. Right. Yeah, I understand that. And you've got to admit that Congress does kind of look at things that way. Uh-huh, that's true. I, I, like I say, I don't have any problem with people using firearms, you know, for sporting purposes or hunting purposes, I just think it's just may be a little too easy you know, to acquire one. On, on a whim of some sort. Uh, That, that's true. Uh, now did you hear about the, the control that they have up in Virginia? I'm not sure I have. Uh, it, it's, it's a little hard to believe, but they can, uh, of course, like just like just about every other state in the union they have a felony law. Anyone ever convicted of a, a felony is, cannot purchase a weapon. Uh-huh. and they don't have a waiting period, because they have access to computer records concerning all these felons. Uh-huh. And uh, when you go in and buy a weapon or a handgun in, uh, uh, Virginia, the salesman just calls some number and, uh, punches in your name, and if it comes up negative, okay, fine, and you get your your gun right then and there. I see. Uh, but they are the only state that does it. Hm, that's interesting. And, uh, according to Virginia, it didn't cost all that much. Uh-huh. and frankly, I, I don't understand why a state doesn't have those records available anyway. Yeah, Uh, uh, at least uh, records of, of, uh, known felons which are available to local police departments. yeah, you would think they would. Uh-huh. Yeah, right. Yeah, I'm surprised that more states doesn't do that. Uh, uh, uh, certainly those, those records are available, Uh-huh. and all they would have to do is expand it. To, uh, uh, well, connect them into a modem somehow. Yeah, right. Uh-huh. I wouldn't think it'd be that difficult to do. Well, Virginia is not a particularly rich state, and they managed to squeak out a few bucks to do it. Yep, right. And, uh, it's, uh, uh, one-hundred percent successful. Hm, that's interesting. Yeah, I just heard about this last week. Uh-huh. Uh, they were bragging about it, Yeah. with, uh, uh, they should have, have pride in this because it's, it's a good system, Absolutely. and it's working well. Yeah, I agree. And they don't need that seven-day waiting period. Uh-huh. Because the whole idea of that waiting period was, so that, uh, it, uh, the police could check up on you. Yep. Well, you know what's going to happen there, those files are going to back up on somebody's desk, just some of that typical bureaucratic work. Uh-huh. that's another, uh, uh, thorn in my side, bureaucratics, politicians. Uh-huh. Yeah, right. I agree. Yep, right. I was, just thinking there's, So anyway well, we seem to be one in favor and one against. yeah, I guess that's about right, Although neither one of us are, are, uh, really uh, uh, dyed in the wool. Uh, Uh, we, but we both, Yeah, I'm not totally rigid on the subject, I just think there should be, you know, shouldn't be quite so easy to do. well, there should be some way of checking, Uh-huh. now here in, in Texas, uh, all you need is a driver's license. Right. Uh-huh. And, uh, even felons can still get a driver's license. Sure, uh, So I, I don't think they are too, well, they're not rigid enough here, in Texas. Yeah, that's true. But don't tell the N R A I said that. I I promise. I won't They're liable to tear up my membership. Okay, I promise You say you retired a year ago? Yes, I did, uh-huh. I'm looking forward to it in about a, just, just over a year, myself. Yeah, I really enjoy it. Uh, I stay pretty busy. Uh-huh. I do quite a, not quite a lot, I do some, uh, volunteer work here in Plano. I, I have a few, uh, handicapped persons that I, you know, try to do things for, help them do. Oh, uh-huh. Well, uh, I bought a motor home here four years ago Uh-huh. and I have been living in it ever since, That's, uh, and I'm looking forward to just traveling. Sure, I can understand that. I have four sons scattered all over the country, and a few grandchildren. Uh-huh. Yep. And I'm looking forward to just traveling around visiting them. That'd be neat. Sure would. Well Charles, good luck to you on your, Okay. Nice talking to you. Yeah, nice talking to you, too. Okay. Take care. Take care now. Bye-bye. Bye. Hello. Hello I was, I was thinking about our topic for the night Um, immigration problems. We have immigration problems and what do, do you think about it? Well, I think it's a very, very complicated, Huh. and I sort of, I see perspectives on all sides. Um, and I've have no hope for solutions. But, uh, I do keep myself somewhat abreast of the issue. I have worked with, uh, uh, a little bit with refugees from, Southeast Asia, uh, who've come over. Uh, you know, to escape the genocide programs that are over there. And seen, you know, heard about some of the problems that they've had. And I'm also fairly sensitive to the issues about how open should the borders be. Because I, in general, like a smaller rather than a larger population, to the land area. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I'm in California, which has a lot of immigration. Probably more than any where else in the country, though I'm not sure if that's the case. Where are you? See, Well, we've got a lot too. I'm in Texas. Uh-huh, yeah. In Garland, right outside of Dallas. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, we're getting a large oh, gosh, I don't know, I think there's like twenty-six different languages now, that are spoken in I, the I S D. Dallas Innercity School District. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Cambodians, uh, Asians, Vietnamese. We, we're getting a lot of, uh, Mexican Americans, you know, we've had, those for a long time. Yeah. Sure, well, Texas, used to be part of Mexico, or most of it Yes, oh, yes. to child in No, I'm busy right now, Steven. Steven wants me to do popcorn right now. Huh. to Okay. And I don't know what the solution is. I, I don't either. It's a really delicate, uh, moral, issue. Because, if you have, well, I guess the one thing I do see that is, is that needs to be a solution is, that if you do let people into the country, I do feel you have a certain obligation to, to get them on their feet. To get them on their, Yeah. Because otherwise what you're doing is you're letting people in and you're, you're dooming them to being underclass people. Right, You know, you're dooming them to ghetto life or whatever. And I know that, that the Southeast Asians, the Hmong people that I've done some work with, uh, feel very quite hurt and, and unsure of themselves when here. Because they're coming from, you know, from the slash and burn intercultural society, you know, they're coming from the middle ages, basically. And they're being plunked down, plunked down into America. Many of them had been promised by the C I A, during the war over there, that because they co-operated with the C I A, and they helped the C I A out, that when they came here, the C I A would help establish them in America, and the C I A, of course, isn't doing that. Um. And, uh, so they come here and they don't know what the heck they're doing. And they're finding themselves adrift in the big cities. And, of course, there are people in the big cities who would do, like nothing better than to take advantage of them. Uh-huh. And they're, they're incredible victims of crime. And part of it is this lack of, lack of basic information, being dissimilated . And I'm not saying it's easy to do, and I know there are a few people who are trying, but, but the funding isn't there for very much work to be going on. And there's a lot of graft, like people trying to tell them, oh, giving them information that was free to them anyway if they just knew how to get it. Uh, yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean, these are people who don't have the foggiest idea about what America's like. Right. Um, and it's, it's, I, I couldn't really conceptualize how hard it was to understand that until I, until I met with them. And I realized that, they, some of the information that I just, you know, don't even realize and know is information, they don't have. And I never thought, well, I guess that is something you need to know, you know. People getting into trouble because they come here, and so they start farming on, uh, available land, you know. Like the median strips on freeways because no one's using it. But then someone comes along and says you can't do that, you know. Why can't they? They have no idea why not, some, some of them, you know. The ones that have been here longer and have been in, you know, understand now. But when they initially come over, You mean, really trying to plant something? That's what you're saying? Yeah, Farming? 'cause they're farmers. These, are all farmers coming over, Oh. and they're being put in the middle of the city Oh that's terrible. I mean they're nomadic farmers, you know, they're people who farm on the hillside and then leave the hillside to another hillside and farm on that hillside. Uh-huh. These are people who've never seen flat ground before and people who've never seen property rights before. You know, these people who've never seen any machines other than those used in war. And, uh, they have, you know. So I, I, I do have a lot of sympathy for them, and I feel that America could try a little bit harder to, to help people adjusting to the American way. Because if they don't, you're just going to produce, you know, you're going to produce an underclass, you know. You're going to get a situation that I think a lot like what happened to the blacks, being sort of led out of slavery and then, then many of them ended up just working the same jobs they were as slaves then. And there was no, real up, upward movement. And not being cared for. And, not being, you know, Yeah. That's true. Um, Well, what did you do when you helped these people? Well, How did you, what did you do, I, I wasn't helping them. I worked with them, not to help them, but for my own purposes. I'm, I'm a linguist and I was, uh, doing a language, trying to learn their language, a little bit. And I actually, um, I mean, helped them them in the sense that they received money for working with me. But I didn't, I didn't, I wasn't a social worker or anything like that. All right. I do have friends who have tried to do more, social work, you know, by explaining to people how the language, and what the problems learning English might be and such. Uh-huh Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Because all the models of teaching English are based on teaching English to Spanish speakers or to other European language speakers. And people don't realize how different some of the languages they speak are. Well, I'm an E S L teacher. Oh, you are? Yes. Uh-huh, well you, I got my certification. But actually they did not teach us very many things about how really to go about helping people to learn another language That's, that's been my impression. I mean, it's like people don't know, what they say, Yeah. It's, it's not, they're not withholding information, it's not step for step. they just don't have that information. Yeah They, they haven't the foggiest idea. But anyway, I enjoy it. They, they, the kids I've worked with so far have been Spanish speaking. Yes. And And Spanish is, pretty close to English, really. but I'm applying for, What? Yeah, it is. And Spanish is a lot like English. A lot of our words are the same, Yeah. like, you know, they just change the pronunciation a little bit. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But, I love it. I love the culture, uh, the way that they, uh, they respect education and their teachers their parents, so much more than, than my children do. You know, Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. and I like it. And what I've been thinking about doing is volunteering for this, uh, Asian center that, a Doctor Falk has started, that works with the school district. Uh-huh. And doing what, trying to get them set up, inculturated, into the system. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I thought that would be good experience for me. Oh, I'm sure it would. And, I've applied at another district where many of the children are Asian. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And I think that would be wonderful too. Yeah, it would be a good experience, and you'd be helping people, I'm sure. Very much. And and I mean, not to put, not to trivialize the problems of any immigrant group but I do know the Asian groups are having a lot of trouble. I mean, and part of the problem is that, a lot of Chinese and Japanese immigration from, you know, decades ago has been very successful because they valued education and so forth. Right. They became a very successful immigrant group. But, and, but a lot of people coming over from Vietnam, right now, coming from worn torn countries, are, are not having the same success. I think some people have just assumed, well, why, why can't you be successful? The Japanese were, or the Chinese were, or something. And it's really much more complicated. Well, the times were different too. Yeah, the times are different, yeah. My neighbor, let's see, is Jewish. And he's going through the, I don't know, the Jewish League or something. And helping a family that's come over from Russia. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And he spends, well, right now, he's down to like once a week, but he was going over there several times a week to be with the family, and help them with the language. Uh-huh. And he thoroughly enjoyed it. Oh, yeah. I, I think it's a wonderful thing to do. And there's a lot, there's a lot more, I guess another possible solution is, since taxpayers aren't going to start paying more money for this and, and other budgets aren't going to be cut to pay for it, uh, more of the volunteer network service. No. Because everyone gains from it. Uh-huh. Would be, would, might be really useful. Uh, and if it's, you know, uh, just people helping people I think makes, makes the community so much happier. Uh-huh. What's so sad about this is both of the, the man and the woman had a degree having to do with computers but, their training isn't what we need in this country. Uh-huh. Yes. And because they're so deficient in English, they haven't been able to get jobs. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So they'll have to go back and get a degree here. You know, almost start all over. Yes, yes, I've known people with effectively worthless degrees in this country. I mean, and they're highly educated people, but of course, if you're educated and you don't speak English, no one thinks anything of you. No, no. And this woman was, uh, stocking the shelves in a drugstore. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I feel sorry for her. Yeah, I do too. Well, It's been good talking with you. Well, thank you. Uh, okay. Have a good night. Okay, it does sound like you have some children to take care of Okay. Yes, I do Uh, Okay, bye-bye. Okay, Bye. I just pressed my, uh. We're supposed to talk about recent political developments. I got one that's interesting, not too, not too controversial, I, you know, not, doesn't matter whether you're Democrat or Republican. I, I do get somewhat of a kick out of, because Schwartzkopf, or the other generals, who I admire, how everyone wants to make, get them in politics. I think that's kind of an interesting recent thing, that I could think of recently that, uh, Uh-huh. I was wondering what you thought about that making the general, uh, getting a general into politics. Yeah. They want him because he's popular, not because he can do the job. Right. Well, I've, I've been thinking about it, and I, uh, I kind of get a kick out of they always want the hero, those, we're looking for a hero. Well, TIME magazine was saying that in essence the general's staff was comparing to corporate presidents, and they said in general, generals are more familiar with training, that they believe in training more. Uh-huh. They are much more educated than the average corporate president, and so they really were very positive on a general's staff person having a, a very much better education than the average, uh, corporate president. So, I thought well, maybe. I, I think they probably have a better education than the average congressman. Well, that, too, that, too. And, uh, you know, they talk about the Army and because of the war and why did we win, and all that, and they talked about how the training was so important. And that's so important in industry, so, you know, they're liable to be right. That generals, generals in the service, and Schwartzkopf, uh, you know, might make a good, uh, politician, whether it be Governor or whatever, you know. He, he, you know, we know he's a good leader, we know he's a good organizer. The question is, you know, can he be the man who's ultimately responsible. You know, like what he said is, you know, a lot of times in his interviews he was talking about, you know, people asking why are you doing this, why are you doing that. He says, I'm following the orders of my president. I'm not the one who writes the orders. I'm just the one who follows them. Yeah, it's interesting how they say that when they're usually the top dogs, you know, everyone has a boss, of course. You know, Schwartzkopf was ordered to get Iraq out of Kuwait. Yeah. And so he went to the President and said, okay, here's how I want to do it. But he wasn't the one that decided Iraq needed to get out of Kuwait. No, that's true, that's true. Uh-huh. Uh, you, you pick one. I just thought of that one when, when they brought up about politics. That was, uh, pretty easy Yeah. you don't have to pick Democratic or Republican, you can pick anything you want, go ahead. Well, the thing that I'm wondering about is how we get a new congress. How do we get some of these guys that have been in there for so long, how do we get them to not get reelected over and over again. Well, I have an easy answer for that, oh, I wish they would do it, is that limit it, you know, to eight or ten years max. Yeah. You know, whether that's two five year terms or whatever. I yeah. Yeah. That may be our only answer, but I don't really like it. I don't like the fact that the President is limited in the number of terms he can serve. Oh, you know, you're not. I think if the President, be him Republican or Democrat, I think if the President can prove that he's popular, you know, that he can do the job then the people should be allowed to elect him as often as they want. Yeah. I think the reason why we've got these guys in Congress is because of the fund raising rules. I mean, how many of these big campaign contributions that they're running on this year, did they get after they were elected, just, you know, just after they were elected two years ago. Yeah. Basically the people, as soon as they get elected, the people dump all kinds of money on them and say, Yeah, yeah, you're my friend, you're my friend, and two years later he remembers that. And what they done is they've bought this congressman for two years. Yeah, I don't know, I do like the limitation of the President, and I think there is a needed change. I think the same thing should happen for Congress. I, I'd you know, that would be my answer of an easy way to get these guys out of there for twenty years. Yeah, well. My God, it's ridiculous, you know. That's, that's the easy way. I think the harder way out would be to make the guys that are in there and the guys who are trying to get in there run on more level ground We had. That's what the financing rules and the, uh, the mailing rules and the size of the office staff and all that stuff. I think voting is, is a I think I had one of the subject about voting, and, uh, voting apathy, or something like that, and I think that, uh, the voting rules need to be changed where you have a little more time. I can't believe that a country our big votes for a President from seven o'clock in the morning til seven o'clock at night, you know. Yeah. Of course they have absentee which is getting to be more, a lot easier, and I, I vote as often on absentee as I can because it's so easy now. But, I think, gee whiz, you could make it a couple days. It's just, if you really want the majority of the people to vote then give them a couple of days. Yeah. Well, I think a lot more people could vote if they were somehow persuaded that it's something worth caring about. Yeah, yeah. You know, like, you know, the, the recent election about how the Dallas City Council should be made up, that election last December. Are you in Dallas? Yeah, I'm in Dallas city limit. Boy, I, I, I live in Arlington. I am so happy not to be part of Dallas when I see those folks there. Yeah. It's an ugly mess. I mean, I don't know if you like the mayor, but I think your mayor, the city council, the, what is the woman's name whose, us, not the mayor but the, *typo should be who's The manager. Yeah, the city manager. All of them need to be thrown out. I mean, they're just awful, just awful. Well, what get's me is this thing, it went down to defeat last December by how many votes, by just a few hundred votes. Uh-huh And if it, if it had passed, if these people had gotten out the vote, it would have passed and there'd be no more argument. But they're still fighting about it because of the way the election went last December. I know. It's so awful that politicians always spent consulting money. That we put them in office and then they go out and spend a couple hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy consultants, and then they don't even do that recommendation, you know. Uh-huh, yeah. I mean, it's amazing the money that they spend once they get in. But, but this is for, supposedly to benefit the minorities, and all the minorities had to do was go out and get a couple more hundred people to vote Well you're right there. and they would have had their way. You're right there. Uh, uh, people are, uh, uh, politics, uh, the voting is still not as much as you think in all kinds of issues really. Yeah, it's pretty sad. Yeah, it is. Uh, hopefully people will get more involved. My, my position is people who don't vote don't have any right to complain about the way the government's going. Oh, yeah, but those are the ones that are complaining, I, I think, a lot. I see it here at T I. The guys that don't take any interest in, and, and constantly on the negative of everything. Uh-huh. And, uh, Is that right? Ooh. And, and you ask them why they don't vote, they say well they don't want their name on the, uh, jury duty list. That, that's where they get the jury duty list, is from the voter registration. Right, you're right, you're right. I think they could do more about, uh, voting. I think they could. What are the issues? I, I'm a Democrat, I want to just say that I'm so sad that there isn't a strong Democrat. I don't even know, I could go out and debate George Bush better than I see any Democrat doing it. Uh-huh. You know, I mean, at least I'd like to see because I like competition, you know. Yeah. I think rolling over and put your belly up and play dead, I'm so disgusted with the Democratic party, I can not believe it, you know. *typo cannot In Presidential races that's about what they've done, but they've got a pretty good lock on Congress and a lot of local things. Yeah. Yeah, but I still think in the last ten years, you know, of course that's not a recent event, that's only my opinion, I guess I really shouldn't talk about that. But, I don't know whether they're recent events. I guess they on this, uh, speech thing, they want us to use a variety of words. Right. How many times have you called, by the way? Actually, I haven't made any calls, but I received about a dozen. Oh, really, I, I, I, I think, yeah, I have to make these, but I get distracted and get to do something else, and all of a sudden my phone rings, and go, Well, what the heck, we'll talk for a while. Yeah, I've already got twelve cards. You get any cards in the mail? Yeah, we got a whole bunch. I can't remember how many. I don't know, I'm amazed by, of course, we're not talking about politics, but I am amazed by, people say they got thirty. Well, I wonder why you need thirty renditions of the persons voice, but I'm not in voice synthesis. But I'd sure like to see a summary of it. We'll get to politics, I'm sorry Well, I think we've used up as much time as we're supposed to anyway. Yeah, right. We're supposed to do five minutes, and that was three minutes ago. Yeah. Hey, well thanks for the call. Yeah, bye-bye. Yeah, bye. Okay, yeah, I'm originally from New York and I go visit a lot and their real estate up there is, I mean ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. Oh. An apartment here, like I live in an apartment and my apartment is three fifteen a month and it's just the one, it's a one bedroom. And how big is it? Which is still kind of expensive but I prefer to live in, uh, in a nice part of town because I feel safe here. Yeah. And I, I, I pay more to feel safe, you know. Right, well what's included in that? You mean in a one bedroom? Like washer, dryer or, Oh, nothing. Nothing. Huh-uh, I mean just nothing, no microwave, we've got, I have ceiling fan, Wow. I guess that's something. Yeah. Which one is it? It's Wood, uh, listen to me I can't even think of the name of my own apartment. Woodhollow, Where is right next to Village Green, it's on, Oh, okay, okay. yeah, kind of far north Waco. Yeah, I, I used to live in Waco so, Oh, okay, yeah, far north, like on Lake Shore where all those apartments are, Yeah, yes, yeah. it's right up there, so. Yeah, uh, we live in a house here, Uh-huh. and, uh, it's a three bedroom two bath, Uh-huh. and, uh, I, it's, it, I don't know I got two numbers today, actually we were talking about mortgage insurance today with my agent, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, uh, it's about sixteen hundred square feet, which is fine for the two of us. Uh-huh. Right. But it, it, you know, we looked at a lot of houses that were, had more square footage, Uh-huh. but they didn't use it right, you know. Right, uh-huh. It was a bunch of empty, you know, hallway and stuff that that could have been used as yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, really. So we've used every bit of it and our house, um, we bought it for sixty-four, Um. and, uh, the neighbors house next door to us sold for seventy-five, Uh-huh. so, you know, I think we were you know, got a good deal on it. So that looks good when you all get ready to sell, you'll probably do really well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. My father used to live in Dallas, uh, now, he, he went back to New Jersey, we're originally from the East. But he, Oh really, my husband's from New Jersey oh, really, he, uh, well actually right now he lives in Rhode Island, he lived in New Jersey for a while, now he's in Rhode Island. And, uh, he used to like to go, and we used to go, just every weekend just to look at houses, for no reason, we weren't buying one every weekend, but just to look at them. And so I got a pretty good feel of, you know, what I want when I do, you know, get my house, whenever that is, um. What was I going to say about that, I completely lost my train of thought. Um, but we, we enjoy going looking at houses and, and, uh, we now, I kind of have a good idea of what I want. I know I want a big family area, Yeah, that's what we were looking for the first thing. uh, yeah, fire, a fireplace, I saw this awesome house the other weekend, it was a great big family room and it was circular and the other side was the patio and the backyard, and it had a built in, uh, grill and every, Wow. I mean, it was, it was just, an the ultimate party room, you know, Uh-huh, yeah. I was just going I could have a party in here. But that's pretty nice. But that's what we had, uh, uh, that's what we had looked for, was our main concern was a big living room, you know, and big closet space, you know. Uh-huh. Right, yeah I like a lot of closet space, I don't like because, I don't like to have a lot of things out, you know, just all over the place, Yeah, yeah. I like to have them kind of tucked away. And, uh, so that's, that's what we went for first and, and it, you know, we, we don't, we just have a big living room an, and a dining room is separate, Uh-huh. and, you know, some places have, like the house next door to us that we looked at, had a living room, a dining room and a den. Uh-huh. Right. But to stick a wall between two rooms didn't do anything for us just so we could have a living room and a den. Uh-huh. So, we opted for the just, the whole wide room, that went from one end of the house to the other, just about. Uh-huh. My father had, uh, I keep talking about my father because he owned a house, uh, he had the kitchen, kind of a kitchen and a very long family room, Yeah. it's just kind of one room and what he did, he put, uh, a bar right in the center, and put some, uh, a glass rack down, so you had like wine glasses hanging from the ceiling and then the bar Oh. and it just kind of, it kind of separated it. It was still, you know, together, but it just looked a lot better. Because I personally don't like the combination rooms. Yeah, right, I, but I, I think for where we are, um, I think we got a real good deal on it Uh-huh. and we, you know, we have a, uh, the backyard is just huge. Uh-huh. It is just really, I think another house could fit back there. Yeah, I'd like a big backyard. And, uh, we really liked it, of course, when you have to mow it You know in, uh, middle of August, it's, it's kind of, a little hot, Oh really. A little hot. yeah. Try to do it early in the mornings. But, uh, it's, it's nice and that was, you know, a big selling point too, and I think another thing that was really nice was that our neighbors on the other side of us bought the lot right next to us. Uh-huh. And they've lived there and have it all built up, you know, they've got a whole garden and trees and everything so it's not like, we're, uh, kind of secluded, you know, Wow. we don't have a neighbor's fence coming up to ours. You know, right up to our bathroom window or whatever it is. Like a lot of the little model homes that they you know throw up in three days. Uh-huh, well that's good. Yeah, yeah. That's true, they do throw those up. And, uh. Are you all planning to move anytime, are you looking for a house, or not. No, no, not at all, Uh-huh. in fact, uh, we, we talked about that just a little bit, you know, Uh-huh. we were joking around about, uh, winning a sweepstakes, and what would we do with the money Uh-huh. and Steve said we'll I'll buy a bigger house and I said no, I would just fix this one Yeah, really. You know, there's, you know cause we, I like where it is and I like how it's laid out and it took us forever to find it. To find it, uh-huh. But when we found it, it was, we knew it. You knew that was it. Yeah. Uh-huh, I'll probably, I'll probably move, but I'll probably move to another apartment or something because I'm, I'm, I'm really, uh, what's the word, I move a lot anyway, because the job I have I only work, Yeah. like here, I'll be here for like a year and then I'll move off, I can move up, and so. Where? I'm a, I'm a news reporter. Oh, okay. I work at Channel Six. Oh, okay. and so this is like my first job so I won't be here very long, Right. so I'm not even looking to buy anything as permanent as house, you know, Right. so I'm staying in an apartment and I'm not married or anything, so. It's no biggie. Um. Yeah, and that's, and that's one thing is once you, you know, you get into a house it's like, you get more stuff, Uh-huh. and to put it all back into an apartment would just never work . Yeah, yeah. God, I can't believe we moved out of an apartment and had this much stuff and it actually fit, you know. Yeah. Of course we got it on, a little bit of more furniture and stuff, but it was just unreal. Yeah, like I'm amazed at how much stuff I've accumulated in my apartment, because, up to this point I was in school so I'd go home every summer Yeah. and I could take all my stuff home, because I didn't have a bed or a couch or any, any of that, Yeah. but now I could not move back home. And I just realized this, you know, the other day, I'm going wait a minute, I can't go back home for the summer or anything, I have too much stuff. Yeah. So, it was just like a weird transition out of home so I have to move in apartments just because I have so much stuff. Yeah, and that's, actually three fifteen over there's probably not real, real bad. No, it's not, it's not. For, for Waco and, and for as many, gosh as many as apartments and condo's are over there, Yeah. Oh my goodness, yeah. I mean it, it's just, and, and especially around Lake Shore area, that area's picked up quite a bit since we were there, and, uh. Uh-huh, yeah, uh-huh. There, there are tons of apartments down here, I mean, and it, Yeah, because I, I had lived in the, gosh, I'm not sure what they're called now but they were Lake Shore Apartments that are like right next to the baseball field, M C C Baseball field, but. No, M C C, yeah, yeah. I, I think they're called Lake Shore Villa or something. the ones next door to those, there were Lake Shore, Um. there's a, I don't know what they look like now. And it's a nursing there was a nursing home or something right there. Yeah there was a nursing home and then there's an apartment and then there's another apartment. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And we lived in those, those third ones and they we moved in when they were brand new, uh, you know, Uh-huh. we drive by now and think, gosh, you know, look how much it's changed an. Yeah. How often do you all come through Waco? Oh, every now and then, Uh-huh. it just, we, Depends on what's going on. It's, uh, yeah, and it's not really, now that it's sixty-five it doesn't take hardly anytime to get there, you know, run to the mall or run to Sam's or, or whatever. Uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah. We used to run to you know, Red Lobster but now they've got one in Killeen, so, Uh-huh, all right we don't have to run that far So that's, that's about how things are and the, seems like the market here's picking up. You think, uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, I really think it is. Um. Just for the fact that the, you know, it's, it seemed like as soon as we bought this house we saw all these houses for sale, you know, Um. and I think now a lot of them are selling and a lot of sellers are getting close to what they want instead of, you know, just having to give it away. Waco to me seems, seems like it's pretty steady. I mean I'm not a real estate person or anything, Yeah. but it, it's a real college town and so you know, you have these apartments and then the, the houses are all, most of the houses are pretty nice, Yeah. and I don't, I don't, you know really see a lot on sale or anything and people are pretty stable here. Yeah. You know, I kind of see this as kind of a retirement community, as I always call it. Yeah, I, I saw, I see that a lot too, there. Yeah. And it's nice too. Uh-huh. I liked living there. Nice and quiet, so. I don't think I could live here much longer but I'll deal with it. Well, Well it , I guess we chewed up the house market, and apartment market for a while. Yeah. Really, okay well it was very nice talking to you. You too, Tanya. Okay, you take care, All right. Okay, bye, bye. Bye, bye. Well, what, what kind of car, did you just buy a car or are you in the market to buy a car or, Actually, I'm real close to being in the market to buy a car. Oh. I've got, uh, a couple older cars, they're both over ten years old Uh-huh. and, uh, they've served me well, but I kind of would like to get a more, uh, gas efficient car and a newer model, something looks a little nicer. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, I've got three children at home. Two fourteen year olds and a twelve year old, and so I need to make sure I've got one that I can fit, all five of us into. Uh-huh. And if you, if you know anything about teenagers it's kind of hard to get them to sit together for any amount of time. Yeah, I, I seem to remember when I was young that was a problem Well, uh, I've kind of been leaning towards a Caravan. Uh-huh. Uh, now I know that, that, uh, they've gotten quite pricey in the last couple of years, but, uh, I like the Dodge products and, uh, been, uh, couple times I've had a opportunity to rent one Uh-huh. uh, I've been really pleased with its performance and with the size and because if you get the seven passenger version you can put some space between the kids. Yeah, yeah. And, uh, I think that would, that would serve us well. Plus it's got, uh, good storage capacity in it for, you know, taking things along, going to the store, Uh-huh. Which is the one that has modular type seats? You know which one I'm talking about? They have the commercial on TV where you can, you can pull some seats out, Uh-huh. and you can move around. Exactly correct. Yeah, if you want, Is that, is that the Dodge Caravan, that does that Yes. or, Yeah it, uh, the Dodge Caravans will do that. Uh, you can take the, uh, uh, usually there's a, uh, a double seat behind the, uh, front buckets. Uh-huh. And then if you get the, and then there's a three seat that goes or three person seat that goes in the back. Now what you can do is you could take that middle seat out and just have the three seats in the back, and the two seats up front, Uh-huh. or you can take the, uh, three seat out and just use the two seat or you can take the two seat and move the two seat to the back. So it's very versatile. You can move, the seats all around. Yeah. About the only thing you can't do is take that three person across seat, and move it forward. Uh-huh. Well, the one that, I can't remember one it is, if it's the, it it's the Toyota or, or one of the other ones. I don't know if it's one of the Americans or the import ones where, uh, they actually have like, uh, some bucket seats in the back but you can actually pull them out. I mean they're really easy to pull out. Uh-huh. Uh, and you can, uh, move them around and stuff and it, it, to me, that, that would be real good for us. Uh, my husband and I, uh, like to go camping and stuff, Uh-huh. and right now we have a van which is, it's an older van and we're, we're thinking about buying another sedan, uh, probably next year. Uh, right now motorcycles takes precedence, since that, that's what my husband really wants right now. Yeah. But, uh, next year we'll probably buy a new car and we're looking at, uh, possibly the Honda Accord. Uh, that's kind of, uh, as far, as far as the interior, it's got the luxury interior, but it doesn't really have the luxury price tag that a lot of the other cars have, which is one of the things that we were looking at. You know, finding something that's, that's fairly affordable, but, yet has all the nice luxury items that we want. Uh-huh. Yeah, I think that's getting to be kind of important now that, uh, the price is becoming the driving factor, Yeah. and then you look at, once you realize how much money you've got to spend, then you start looking around at, at what you can buy with it, where before I think you, you looked at the car you wanted, and then you looked to see how well you could afford it Uh-huh. Yeah. Or how you could afford it. Well, I think it's going to be a lot easier now. I just heard that they lowered the prime lending rate, so I think it's going to be a lot easier to, to be able to get a car now and finance it. Yeah. I think banks are going to be a lot more, a little bit more lenient. Yeah, I know they're trying to do everything they can to, uh, end the recession. Yeah. And dropping the prime is probably one of the things. I just bought a new house so I got a, a, uh, nine and a half percent interest rate. Uh-huh. I'm not sure I could do much better today. But, uh, that is also effecting buying a new car Yeah. I can imagine. You got to kind of work, work that into your budget. Well, that and that, Balance that and the house payment, and of course, uh, is if you buy a new car you're going to, are any of your kids driving age yet? Uh, two fourteen year olds will be, uh, fifteen on the fourth of July so, Are are they twins? Yeah, they're twins born on the bicentennial. Oh, wow. You're going to have twins have them on the bicentennial, is our motto. July fourth seventy-six So, uh, uh, I've still got another full year and three months before they're going to be behind the wheel, of a car. Uh-huh. So America's safe for another fifteen and, uh, after that, now I may keep the, uh, one or both of the two cars I, I currently have, for them to drive. You know, they're, they're, they're small enough that a first time driver could handle it, yet big enough that I feel feel safe that, if they were in an accident they would survive. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Know what I mean. It, I don't get that kind of feeling with the kind of car like you talked about, the Honda. They're just, Well, the, the Honda's have been, have been very safe. In, in accidents, uh, more so that a lot of the American cars. Uh-huh. Is that right? Matter of fact I just heard something today on, on the news about those, uh, automatic seat belts that are attached to the door Uh-huh. Right. uh, they're questioning the safety of those now saying that, and they showed, uh, a simulation where there they had a dummy in the car and the door opened and the dummy actually fell out of the car and the car rolled out on top of him. Jeez. So they're saying they're not as safe as, they give the appearance of being safe, but they're really not as safe as they, as they, uh, appear to be. So, uh, I'm kind of concerned about that as far as, you know, the seat belts. Well, Uh, I don't know if Maryland has a, uh, a seat belt law, but they do have one in Texas. Yes. And you're, you're required to wear them. Definitely. The thing is that they're, I think it's a two part seat belt, though, there's the, uh, door belt and then there's one, a lap belt. Exactly. But, ninety, uh, probably about, well, I don't know about ninety, but probably fifty percent of the people that have those probably don't wear the lap portion of it. I know my brother doesn't and he has one in his car. Make sure you smack him around then So, I mean, it, it kind of gives you a false sense of security. You think, oh, I've got one portion of my seat belt on, uh, but if your door comes open, you know, it's not going to do you any good. Yeah. So, that, that, that's a concern of mine as far as, uh, what I'll be looking at with buying a new car. Uh, I'm not really sure if I would want the seat belts attached to the door. I think I would feel better with them attached to the actual car. The inside where they're normally attached to, like behind the door. Yeah. Yeah. The, uh, the supports. Uh, a good source of information I've found has always been these, uh, used car manuals because you can flip through the used car manuals Uh-huh. and they'll give you a list of all the problems that the car's had in the past. Um. And you can look at the, uh, the track record on, a car over the year, Yeah. and, you usually notice, uh, a lot of problems at the beginning and then things kind of iron out, to where, there's fewer problems. Yeah. Yeah. And you get an idea on how well the, the next car's going to be. Now as long as they aren't changing the model, you know, like when the, uh, Pontiac Grand Prix went from being a huge car to a small car they had a lot of problems, with the smaller car. Yeah. As long as they aren't, Yeah, the, the Le Mans is like that, too. Uh, we used to have a Le Mans when I was in, in high school, uh, and it was a big car. I mean it was like the, uh, the Grand Prix, Uh-huh. and in, I think around nineteen eighty, uh, they changed the model and it, like, went to half the size. Yeah, sure. Literally, I mean it got chopped in half and it wasn't even the same car anymore. Didn't even remotely resemble the old car. Uh-huh. Yeah, I remember when that happened. So unless they're really changing the model, uh, yeah, chances are that it's probably going to have the, the fewer mistakes than it had the year before. Yeah. Well, everybody that I've talked to who's ever had a Honda loves them. Uh-huh. And my husband had a Honda, uh, and it was a lease car and he had to turn back in, uh, a year and a half ago. Uh, and he had it for four years and never had a single problem with it. And it was great. Uh, and the only reason why we ended up not buying it was because we didn't feel, the, at the time the residual was like sixty-five hundred dollars and it was a four year old car with seventy thousand miles on it and we thought that was a little bit too much to pay for uh, a four year old car Yeah. Yeah, I agree. So, so we ended up, just went, just went ahead and just turned the keys back in and, and got out of the lease. Uh, one thing that I, that I am curious about is, uh, reading information on air bags, do, some of the vans I think, I don't know about the Dodge Caravan, but some of the vans now have driver side air bags. Which I think is a good idea. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, you know, I, when I was much younger, uh, than I am now, I, I had wanted to go to the Peace Corps and, uh, it seems like I, it, it was something that I, I really wanted, wanted to do. Can you speak up, please. Seems like wanting to go to the Peace Corps was something that I had really wanted to do when I was young. Yes. But, uh, I don't believe they accept you after you, you know, after you're married and you have, uh, kids and all that so I got into, that Uh, and then I wasn't able to, to, uh, participate. But they will accept you later in life also. Oh, they will? Yeah, after your children are grown. Oh, I didn't know that. Yes. Then there's no age limit? No. Your kidding. *typo you're No, I'm not. Some of the people that have been involved with Peace Corps, among other things, were retired teachers. Uh, there was a retired plumber that went to, uh, uh, Uruguay I think and helped them quite a bit with concepts in plumbing, you know, providing for a, for better public hygiene. Goodness I'm surprised. I really had no idea. Yeah, but, so, do you think that people should be required to give a couple years for the good of the country? Well, I don't , I don't really think that they they should be, it should be mandatory. I mean, well, I don't know, Why? I, it's, that just might not be something that everybody wants to do, I mean, there are a lot of people who would like to do it, and there are a lot of people who get into other things and they get all involved and they just, you know, don't want to or don't have the time. Well, I understand, but if it were told to us that we would find the time somewhere between our seventeenth and, uh, twenty-sixth birthday to give a year or two to the, to the country in the form of maybe building better roads or the parks service or the Peace Corps or you know, the military service or something. Wouldn't we have, uh, maybe a better class of Americans? I don't see how that can, can make a better class of Americans to make everybody, to make it mandatory for everybody to participate. A lot of these a lot of our, uh, pardon the terminology, but yuppies, now, are interested in one thing and one thing only and that's themselves. That's true. Well, I don't, I don't think that, And at least if you legislated, giving for a couple years of their lives or, or, uh, a honestly purely giving but, but some sort of equitable exchange, then at least the country would have gotten two years from them where, um, they would have given something to the country instead of take, taking away all their lives. Yeah, are, are you suggesting then that if, if, uh, if I have to go and, and do something for the country for two years that the country will compensate me in some way. Uh, I , I will be compensated for this, I'm not just going to, Okay. It will be a job of sorts, I'm sure, that the Peace Corps pays, it doesn't pay well, it's not top wages, Uh-huh. but, but it does pay. Uh-huh. The military, for young hiring in soldiers does pay, it doesn't pay well. Uh-huh. Okay, currently in our country, especially in some regions, there's an employment problem. You're aware of that I'm sure. That, that, that's true. But in, even in our region there's an employment problem. There's a lot of, uh, people gotten laid off lately. You know, from just companies like General Dynamics, and, and Texas Instruments, And Texas Instruments. Thousands, and thousands of people are out there looking for jobs. You know in , in another time we had the W P A, Works Progress Administration, during the great depression, though I can't see why it was great. no, I'm not, I'm not familiar with that. Oh. Uh, that gave people pay that was halfway between relief which was welfare, and the minimum wage. Uh-huh. I see, and that was, that was that was some, some program where people gave their time, in trade for, for money, In trade for, money, and, and living. okay. Uh-huh. They gave them food and uniforms and, uh, here in Colorado you'll find a great many things. Public roads that were worked on by the W P A, uh, dams that were built by the W P A, uh, scenic overlooks, parks, uh-huh. Uh-huh. We are road, our road system's falling apart. Our our national road system, system of highways, and roads, is falling apart. Uh-huh. Well, then I guess there are a lot of, a lot of things that people could do to contribute to the good of the country. there's a lot of work to be done. Uh-huh. I, I really don't see anything wrong with it, I just don't think that it should be mandatory that every person have to do that. I, I can't see the problem in it for a year. Well, what, what I'm saying is that if it were mandatory, that every person, right after graduation from high school, that were able-bodied, would give a year, well, or, not give a year but, but trade a year, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. then they, at least one not more than say three or four, then it would definitely effect unemployment. All right, I wonder if, if they didn't make it mandatory if they would actually get enough people volunteering to, to do it that it, you know, that they would have enough. I don't know. I mean, I, I'd probably, Well, you know, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, huge numbers of other western states, have no real welfare system. Uh-huh. There's Aid to Dependent Children, and Aid to Mothers of Dependent Children, but there's no real welfare system. Uh-huh. But if we took these people off, off the streets for a year, there would darn sure be more hours labor available in the nation for everyone else. And who knows, maybe some of our graduating high school seniors would find out a little bit more of what the traditional American work ethic means. You know, we have had some problem with that in recent years. Oh, well, yes, we have. With, with, uh, recent generations I, I know exactly what you are talking about, I, I mean, I know several people who do not wish to work. Uh, they wish only for the paycheck. Well, they wish for the money and they, they decide that they're going to get the money anyway they can with, you know, without, uh, without, without working in the, the traditional American job market. Really producing. Yeah, be it selling drugs or whatever. Right. So, one other thing, and they, they get the money anyway they can. Yeah, yeah. And maybe if we instilled the work ethic, you know, I enjoy the, I enjoy working. Yeah. Do you all, do you get together with family reunions or, Yes, we try to. Uh, we have not in some years now. And I think we are going to try to have one this summer. Oh, that will be fun if you have not done it in a while. My aunt is planning it. Uh, where is your family from? Uh, Missouri. Oh. Is it? Southwest part of Missouri. So you are going to have to go there? That will, will be where it is. Uh, if, if she gets it planned. Yeah. I have been out of town, so I do not know what she has been doing. But, uh, they are all getting very, very old. Oh. All my aunts and uncles. So we need to see them soon. Yeah. So, My family is from Kentucky. Most of them is down there. Uh-huh. I have got an uncle in Louisiana and another sister here in Texas. Right. Do you all get together often? Or, We did when I was growing up. It was every summer we got together. Uh-huh. Now, my grandmother just passed away this last year. Right. So, you know, I think as we get older, it is more difficult to, uh, when she was all my aunts and uncles are in their eighties now, so it is, uh, Uh-huh. I have to, uh, I will probably have to take charge and do it one of these, uh, one of these, uh, days. Yeah. But, uh, I still have elderly parents alive. Well it, It sure does. So, uh, it takes a lot of effort to either get everybody called or written and settle on a date, you know that, And if they are, Well, we, in Kentucky it wasn't hard because everybody lives so close together. We just did it word by you know, by word of mouth. Right. You know. And, uh, my uncle in Louisiana, he is the only one that, you know, had to travel. Uh-huh. And now I have got a sister in Germany, and we are just scattered all over the place. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. So it is going to be hard this time. So the, But we have got a huge family. Yeah. And we need to have more and more of them. I I think, I hope that is not a lost art, that people getting together as they do spread out all over the world. Yeah. Because it is so fun. Yeah, I mean, we, my mother has got like thirteen brothers and sisters it is. Oh, I see. Yeah. She has got a huge family. And every one of them have five or six kids. And most of them, you know, have got kids Uh-huh. Sure, that makes a big crowd. Yeah. It is, Yeah. we just, we had two baseball bleachers full of people, Is that? and there are still about eight or six, eight or ten people taking pictures. Is that right? Yes. And it was just, the last time we had one it was so fun. That is wonderful. I hope, Yeah. well, we need to have another one. I hope my aunt is successful as, uh, later. Well, it is probably not going to be done because I have not heard from them. I, it was supposed to be this June, so I do not imagine there is anything coming. This is hardly, almost June. Yeah. Well, I, we have always had ours in a park or something. So, Uh-huh. But it has away been the same park and there is nothing really special there. Only thing is, it is big, Yeah, that is, and it is open. we have it usually at this, uh, at this one park because there is a pavilion there, in case it rains. Uh-huh. And, uh, you have to have it, uh, fairly early in the summer or it is too hot up there. Uh-huh. In Missouri? In Missouri, yeah. It is too it is not, it is just, uh, very humid, and the old people cannot take it anymore. Well, that was part of the problem with the ones we have. Uh-huh. Now, the kids would sneak off. And we were just being kids, and we found what we thought was just an old water hole. So we was going swimming. And, like I said, we was just big kids. We was like eight and ten years old. Uh-huh. And our parents came and caught us. We had been playing in the sump. It was part of the sewage cleaning system. Isn't that great? Yeah, Yeah. to child in Kyle, don't. speaking to I have got a four year old. Yeah. Well, that keeps you busy. Yeah. Yeah. But if we could have gotten it by a lake or something, I thought that would have been much better. Yeah. It would have been. Something for the young people to to do. Yeah. Well they, there was, uh, I am sorry, there was, uh, I remember now, there was like, uh, a baby pool, just about a foot deep. Yeah. Yes, I remember my little brother riding a bicycle through it. We were all kids anyway noise heard in Every family has all that going on, I am sure. So, uh, Oh, but I love it, all the different foods, because that, yeah, Oh, I do too. That is the best part of it. That's the, Everybody bringing something for a potluck picnic yeah. and oh, grand, yeah. So, how long did you say it has been since you all had one? I do not know. I think it has been, uh, four, three or four years. Or five even, uh, since they have had it, tried to get everybody together. They are just spread out so much, and, and we really need to, uh, no matter what kind of crowd they get. Yeah. I hope, Well, I have been married almost five, so I guess it has been seven years since we have had one. Uh-huh. And since then we have lost, oh, well, just our grandmother. Yeah. That is surprising. Well, time flies so fast, it may have been that, that long since we have one. It is hard to remember, but I think it has been about four or five years. Uh-huh. So, uh, anyway I, I hope both our families get to have one soon. Oh, if I can ever get down to Kentucky. It has been like four years since I have been home. Yeah. It is difficult with little ones. Yeah. I know when we had, had our, That is, the reason, that is the reason I don't. I would get on a bus any day by myself, but I won't do it with the babies. Uh-huh. Sure. Because, uh, I have got, uh, a four month old and a four year old. Oh, Lord. So I am just starting. And I just quit too Oh, I am telling you. That is, uh, Uh, I won't be adding any more to the family reunion No, I hope, it, I know it takes a lot of effort right with, with that, with two little ones like that. Yeah. They are good kids though. Yeah. So, uh, I am not too upset. Anyways, I have enjoyed talking to you. Enjoyed talking to you. All right. Good luck in everything. All right, you too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well let's see, um, I, I like to go out to eat, I really do, but being from Dallas, um, I think we have an average of six or seven restaurants that open and close every month and we we have a really high turn over rate. Oh, really? Oh yeah and, and this is, I mean there are streets just called restaurant rows and, uh, you can get everything here from, um, a very spicy Indian meal to, you know, the favorite barbecue and, and, uh, just anything your little hearts desires around here, so, here they have to entertain us to make us come back. Uh. And I guess it's all one big game because you, you just never run out of places to go, you really don't. That's good. Yeah. I never really thought about that, but, uh, a good turn over would be sort of nice. Course if you find a place you like and it works out that no one else likes it, it would be sort of sad to see it go under. Really and, and we go to, you know, like an older part of town and we just notice how many, oh well that restaurant's changed, and oh, gee, there, they've changed and, oh, we've got to go try that one, you know, and it's, it's really, you have the pick of the, you know, the crop here. Are they big into ambiance down there or is it more like, Oh! uh, Texas to me makes it seems like it would be portions would be the big thing. You know, your, your fourteen ounce steak with your potato and stuff. Yeah, right, uh-huh. Um, you can get that too. No, they've got everything here from the, uh, French Room which is ultra, ultra to, um, um, Dean Ferrings , uh, uh, restaurant which is the Mansion on Turtle Creek. I mean we've got beautiful places to go. You can get as dressed up or, you know just going to the local barbecue and just doing take out. Uh-huh. So, you know I guess, uh, some of the foods that we really enjoy though are the, um, um, like Chinese, Um and we're always searching around for Chinese. And now, of course, they've added the Taiwanese, and, and, um, uh, various, you know, any, any part of the country you want to hit, they have got it. I mean, Vietnamese restaurant we went to, you know, last week. It's great, it's good stuff, you Uh-huh. But, uh, it's, so it's very, very mixed and, uh, you know, I think if you like food like we do, I, I don't know if that happened before or after we moved here but, um, you know, you get a lot of, uh, great variety of things here, Yeah. so. But if you were going to a restaurant, say, um, where would you go? Oh, well we had, uh, we have a lot of favorites here, uh, in Northern Virginia and of course we've got D C to call on, you know, Right. and there's all sorts of things down there. One thing about D C is that there are a lot of traditional restaurants where, you know, it's, the guy used to be the cook for the Capitol and so he stays in the same restaurant for twenty years, you know, Oh, okay. and he's got a big clientele and, um, so there are, there are some hang outs where you can go if you want to see people. You know, it's, it's sort of like Hollywood in a way because there's, there's favorite haunts for Southerners and things like that. Oh. Um, we don't hang around with them, because usually it's, you know, ninety dollars a plate or something silly like that. Yeah, right So, uh, but, uh, my wife has a, a friend that runs one of the restaurants down there and we've been down there and had French cuisine, and, uh, I don't know, I don't particularly care for that sort of thing, just the type of food, just because I do like, uh, you know, getting a meal. I see. And, uh, most French food always leaves me hungry for some reason. I, I don't know what they say about Chinese, I'm always hungry after a French meal, uh. That's true too. And, uh, but the, the atmosphere is just wonderful. You do feel like you've gone out, you know, and done something, when you go to a French restaurant, or a restaurant downtown. To another place, yeah. Well as out here you might have enjoyed the meal and go away feeling satisfied, it's not so much a, an event, you know, out in the suburbs when you go to a local restaurant. Yeah, well. And there's, they're starting to get a little bit different, um, they're, they're realizing that more of the, the people with the money are coming out and living in the suburbs, getting away from the city and so there are a couple jazz houses, you know, that have jazz bands playing while you're eating and stuff like that, which is kind of nice, because, Oh, there you go, yeah. Oh, we're sort of in the middle of, uh, the extension of the Cajun country too, so we have, um, a lot of ambiance provided by, you know, the, the bands and you know, like you said jazz bands and things like that. You know, you go out Uh-huh. and you eat your crawfish and jambalaya and stuff. Yeah right. You know, I, I really don't like that stuff but my husband does. He loves to cook it so, he and a friend of his get together Uh-huh. and they cook, I mean, you know, like for a bunch of people and, and, uh, it's really, in fact, we do a lot more entertaining I think at home than we do going out. So when we do go out we really, you know, want to be wowed by, um, the presentation, so to speak. Right. And, uh, you know, but, but there are little places, um, and like I said, some of our very favorites are the Chinese restaurants, just to, Uh-huh. and we do a lot of take out because everybody's so busy running around, Yeah. and it's the fastest thing to do, We have two, uh, two very special places in Northern Virginia that people go to. Uh, one's called Captain Pell's which is a crab house, you know, being so close to Maryland. Oh. Right. Maryland is, you know, a big place for crabs with the, with the bay pretty much taking over most of Maryland. Yeah. And, um, Captain Pell's is a place with the big huge wooden tables inside, and people just go in there and just pig out and everything. And then, um, the other place is called the Vienna Inn which is, uh, uh, Vienna is a suburb of D C also in Virginia and, uh, that place is known for the, the rudest waitresses in the country, are, are at the Vienna Inn. And, uh, people go there to be abused. I mean, you actually go in there to be abused by the, by the waitresses and the bartenders and stuff. And people come all over the country amazed at, um, the abuse they were seized. And then it's on the honor system. You pay totally on the honor system. Um. And so, you know, you tell them what you've eaten and what you drank or whatever and they figure out the bill for you and you're lucky if you get change. Usually they, they take your change and throw you a couple of mints in your hand and say thanks, you know. Because, uh, they, Got to carry through with the abuse, huh. Yeah, carry on with the abuse, they say you need mints, here guy, you don't get any change, you know. Oh, gee. Well that's funny, I, we just went to an Italian restaurant this, um, just wonderful and they, I mean it's like being in I mean I've never been to Italy, okay, but it's just this big beautiful Italian restaurant. Very, um, low key in terms of the people are from California, you know, so they have their own adaptation of what Italian is. I mean, but it's, it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. You know they have, uh, women there going to S M U, going to, uh, Southern Methodist University and, and graduating in opera or something like that and they are all singing arias to you and, and just walking around the restaurant singing Oh, wow. and they make the food right there so it's display cooking and, and, uh, then they have wine casks all over the place so you're lined up waiting in line to this place and you just take a drink of wine and, you know, they don't count that really, they just, Okay, you say you're going to buy a new car. Well no, it's probably going to be a very old used one. My husband had an accident in my car a little over a week ago, Uh-huh. and I drove a nineteen seventy-seven, um, B M W and so I believe and I'll know the answer today, that they're going to total it. I think that it will cost more to fix it than it's probably worth. Yeah. But I'm not interested in having any car payments, so I actually went last weekend with, my father was in town and we went and looked at used cars around town. Uh, and I, you know, I found like a nineteen eighty-four Regency Ninety-eight with only forty-six thousand miles on it and that was pretty good condition, uh. Yeah But I also found a nineteen eighty Volvo, uh, station wagon that was in just super condition. Right. I mean there's not a dent on the outside body, the inside is clean it's had the same owner for years. Right. It, it has about eighty thousand miles on it but that's all right, you know, the engine's in excellent shape, Uh-huh. and I think it would last me probably another fifty or sixty thousand miles. Yeah. So, I guess I'm kind of in limbo waiting to see what the insurance is, you know, company is going to do, to see whether or not I can get one of these cars. I don't want a new car though, a new car payment. Yeah, I, I understand that. We, uh, just paid off one, my wife's car, uh, I guess, early last year and so we're, you know, enjoying not having that, that payment every, every month and, but it's getting up in age, uh, we're trying to hold out a little while longer, uh, we've got a, a a daughter who's almost two now, so, we're getting to the point where we really kind of need something a little bigger than what we've got, Um. but, uh, so I guess if we, when we do buy another car it'll, it'll be something that we can, uh, kind of grow into a little bit. Uh-huh. It's, it's tough on trips because, uh, anytime we, we're getting ready to go anywhere it's, uh, you know, it's, uh, try, like trying to put a puzzle together to make sure you get everything in the car, you know, cause it's, Well not only that, needing the room, you know, we finally ended up buying a Dodge Caravan here about two and a half years ago, because I too, have very small kids. I, I have one that's now, well she'll be four in September and then a little boy that's just turned two. Uh-huh. And you know it's like you go on a trip and, you know, you pull over to the side of the road, throw them on the hood, change a diaper and keep going And I wanted something that I could maybe walk through and get to them and, Right, that's what, I, I ideally, I would like that, in fact, uh, you know, I, I've, I've thought of that possibly, uh, I don't know that my wife would go for it, but You know, I would, I'd like to do that. Well. Yeah. I, I have a truck myself and I'll, I'll take, you know, a truck's a thing that you, you need when you need it, but, you know, the rest of the time you wonder, you know, could I use something else. Yeah. Yeah. So, I, I've still got a couple years payments on it. I may, uh, if we can hold out til then, you know, I may get, get to where I need a something else, maybe, maybe buy a van, because they are, really, really nice for, for long trips especially. We have definitely put a lot of use in on ours and I understand, it is too expensive to have two car payments. See that was the problem, my B M W was paid for, Uh-huh. and my husband's been in business for himself for several years and so he can depreciate cars, Right. but you used to be you kept them three years. Right. Well when they did all the tax law changes you had to keep them five. Right. So I was trying to keep my B M W in tact, uh, for three more years. So that then I could take the van, Um. and we'd trade my car in on a new car for his business. Right. And so basically that's what I'm looking for in a used car. Something that's going to last me at least three years. Well if I can pull a deal on this Volvo, you know, it will last me longer than that. It will actually last me quite a while, but I don't know how families afford two new car payments. It's just, it's outrageous. I don't either. Well, my wife's car is probably around five years old now, Uh-huh. and it's, it's got, oh, uh, I guess it must have seventy or eighty thousand miles on it, you know, and so it, it's getting, it's not, not in bad shape it's, it's, you know, she's kept it up real well, but, uh, you know, it's, it's getting to the point where we really need to do something with it, you know, if we're going to get anything out of selling it. Uh-huh. That's right. So, I'm, I'm, uh, I'm, I'm hoping we that we can work something out here. We've got other bills that kind of precede, or preclude us buying, something, buying something else. Know how that goes in singing whisper type It's the pits, isn't it? It really is and, you know, and you can't, uh, you can't afford, you know, a, a car payment now. It just, will wipe you out every month, That's right it's almost getting to be like the house payment, you know. I know, you can't find what you used to, could find something for, you know, seventy-five, a hundred dollars a month. It might not be brand new but it was a decent car, Right. and you just almost can't find that payment anymore. Right. So, I understand that, it's, it's kind of hard to go do. Well if you do look at them, I really recommend the Dodge Caravan. We've had wonderful, it's the only, uh, minivan they make that's on a car chassis instead of a truck chassis so it doesn't, you know, shake you around like a a truck does. Uh-huh. Oh, I didn't know that. And we have had just wonderful luck with ours. I mean it's, we take it everywhere, it it's been, it, it's so easy to get the kids in and out, see my car was also a two door. Uh-huh. And which drove me nuts trying to get car seats and kids, into a back seat, you know. Oh man, yeah. And so it's wonderful to have the room and the space and you can haul things and they climb in easily and, it's just been everything that we were hoping it would do for us. Right. And it is nice on long trips. In fact, Christmas we drove to California, which is my home, and you can take out the middle seat, Right. and they come out fairly easily, so we took out the middle seat, put the car seats in the back and just had a whole area in the middle, like if we were out on open road and it was their nap time, we just went ahead and laid them down. Uh-huh, You know, I wouldn't do that if we were in a city, or, if there were a lot of cars around or anything. Right. But it made it so much easier to travel. Right, uh, that's, that's our our, our daughter's problem, you know, 'cause when you, when you get out on the road like that and it's just long stretches, you know, where they just have to sit, you know. In town she does okay, you know, and even on the road she does all right for a little while because she'll sleep some, Uh-huh, uh. but, you know, she, she wakes up, she wants to, to get up. I know, uh, coming, uh, right around Christmas we were, we were, uh, right before Christmas we had driven over to Shreveport and we were driving back and it was when all that bad weather was, was hitting, Oh, yeah. and the roads were all closed, and, uh, we were trying to get back and it took us a lot longer and she was, you know, she was pretty good most of the way, but then, get to a point where she just had to get out of her seat and we had to stop, and, and we got out and played in the snow and put here back in *typo her Sure, it's a long time. and she was fine, Uh-huh. but, you know, if we had, if there was something to where she could kind of get up and move around, like you say on, on the highway, or where, where it wasn't, wasn't as bad, you know, just for a little brief period of time, it would be, would be okay, Right. so, I'm, I'm thinking maybe we can, voice in can do something like that later on. Well that would be good. we'll see what we can do. That would be good. Yeah. Well I Well, I appreciate talking to you. Good luck in your car buying. you too, I hope everything works out. Well, really I'm supposed to hear today and I, I hope it, I really would prefer the Volvo, I think, I know it's older than the Regency but, you know, they're built of that unibody steel construction and it would take a hit fairly well, Right and you know, my B M W that my husband was going forty to forty-five miles an hour and you know, it didn't even bend the frame. It bent in the bumper and the quarter panel, but unfortunately they think if it says B M W on it that you have money. They don't know, Okay, what are your favorite things to watch? Oh, uh, let's see, I, uh, I have enjoyed, uh, THIRTYSOMETHING in the past, uh, now that it has gone off Uh-huh. Uh, some comedy shows, uh, I can not, can not think of, off hand, Yeah. but, what, what are your, what is, We do not watch a lot of T V, we try to watch it on Thursday nights, we usually watch L A LAW, I like that real well. And CHEERS Yeah. Yeah. we like to watch that. Uh, we sort of got hooked on LA LAW. Uh, do you ever watch that? Yeah, uh, yeah, yeah, we, we we try to catch that most, most nights. Yeah And I, I have watched THIRTYSOMETHING some in the last couple seasons. I was sort of sorry to see it go too. Yeah. It, it was kind of interesting, uh, some people complained about, uh, uh, the kind of whining or whatever on it. I, I really did not think it, it was, that way. Yeah. I think it had some, some good, uh, good situations that it presented. Yeah, I thought a lot of the, like the problems that Michael and Hope had in their marriage and stuff, I can relate to some of those things. Yeah. Just the dynamics of it and everything. Well, I think, I think a lot of people, you know, kind of felt that way, but they had a lot of, uh, uh, counseling groups that use some of the episodes as, as examples of things that were going on Oh, really. and, and uh, you know, that they called interaction between people and sort of to use as, uh, as a way of getting people to talk about their problems, Yeah. and that sort of thing Uh, we kind of, uh, our T V viewing has, uh, slowed down a little bit since our our daughter came along, so, uh, Uh-huh. that, that tends to, uh, put a cramp in your viewing, because by the time you get through getting her ready for bed and everything, uh, it's, uh, very little T V time left. Yeah, you are too tired to do anything. Yeah. Oh, it's better to spend time with your kids, I think though, than glued in front of the T V anyway. Yeah, that's right. Probably more worthwhile. I just don't, I don't think there's as many good things to watch as there used to be, really. No, I, I can not, uh, *typo? cannot? I don't think there were, Uh, I have not, I have not, uh, uh, there are not as many good shows that I, that I continuously like to watch as much as I used to I, uh, you know, I, uh, I used to could be able to name ten shows or so, you know, that I felt were worth my time to watch, but, uh, I uh, you know very seldom like to watch you know those, there's a couple now that I tend to want to watch. I like, uh, home improvement shows like Bob Vela's, uh, HOME AGAIN on Saturday morning, Right, yeah. it's, I notice it's like, it's like THIS OLD HOUSE, yeah but it's, uh, it's on instead of being on P B S it's on regular T V. Oh. But, it's, uh, it's kind of interesting because they renovate an old house and, Uh-huh. Yeah, I have seen parts of that before, it is interesting. Yeah, so I like to watch that and uh, some, some things on P B S I like to watch but, uh. Do you watch sports much on T V? Yeah, if it's if it's a team or something that I am really interested in I am not one to just watch a football game just, just to be watching it or, or I am not a big basketball or baseball fan, if it, unless it's baseball, if it's some, if it's a team I really like, I may watch Yeah. but, uh, baseball to me is a little hard to watch on T V, for an extended period. Yeah. It's slow. Yeah, it's so slow that you just get bored, you know, I, I will switch between something else and, and a baseball game going back and forth, you know watching it. But, I usually, if, if, if it's a football team I really like, a college team or, or pro team that I am fond of, I usually will sit and watch that. But, uh, that's the Yeah, we are like that and occasionally we will, like on, if we do not have anything to do or kind of bored and we just want to sit in the house or something, we will watch a little bit of a golf tournament. But, uh, you can not take a whole lot of that either, Yeah. it's pretty slow. Yeah, it's kind of like, like baseball Yeah. Do you we went to the movies a lot on weekends and watch them at home, because there's just, on Friday and Saturday nights there's nothing good on and, Right. I think that that's what more people are doing and I think that's, you know, as, as T V, I think the less good shows being on T V has caused a lot of people to do, to do that, uh, you know, get more movies and watch. Uh-huh. I know we, we have done that too in the past, uh, we do not do it quite as much now, cause our baby will not let us watch them. Yeah. But, uh, you know, we usually will, we used to rent, uh, two or three movies on a weekend and, and try to watch. Uh-huh. Do you have cable T V? No, uh, We do not either. we live in, I thought we were the only ones who did not have it. No. No, we, uh, the, uh, development we moved into was, they have it on one like right across the street from us, Uh-huh. but when they built our section they did not, did not put it in and we have been there about two years now. Gosh. and they are still, still do not have it so I am hoping that, that soon they will, they will, Yeah. I have contacted them about this and they say that well, it's, it's, they look, they, every year they look at, uh, different areas and try to determine where, where, uh, the most houses will be, Uh-huh. and so they, uh, they look and they, when they, when we reach a certain number of people in that area they will put one in, put, some in, or they will at, least consider it, Huh. Yeah. so. Yeah. Well, we had it for awhile and it just seemed like we never watched it any we did not have the movie channels, we just had all the normal ones, that come Yeah. and we just never watched any of them, we kept a log for a month of every time we watched it and it seemed like we did not watch even half an hour, Um. Yeah. so we decided to just cancel it. It does improve the reception a little bit though, that's the only thing. Yeah. I have, I put some, put in some, uh, an antenna, a really good antenna and, uh, it's really helped, you know, ours and it's not been too bad. I have not really missed it that much, there's certain things that I have, that I want to see, you know, occasionally, like a football game, a college game or something that happens to be on cable, or some old movie, but the, uh, I, I have not been bothered by it too much. Yeah. So, Well, I can not, uh, think of too much else to say. *typo cannot? Since we are not big watchers. Right. Okay. Well, it was nice talking to you. Alright, bye. Bye. Uh, we are to discuss air pollution and, uh, what we think the causes are. Uh-huh. And I probably would, uh, target, uh, industry as being number one polluter. Yeah, that's probably a major one. I think, uh, individually, uh, just by the vast number of people there are, there's I think cars are also a major contributor to it. Well, vehicles and, and, yes. Yeah, vehicles Right, because, uh, there's a lot of commercial vehicles out there, especially those, the big rigs like the busses and, um, the big, uh, eighteen wheelers and so forth. Huh . Uh-huh, uh-huh. I think they would generate probably, uh, one of them would probably generate enough for three cars. But that's not, and I think it can be resolved if, uh, if they really let go with, the technology that they have at, uh, at their hand, and muffled, talking to Just a minute, I'm on the phone and they haven't released it yet. Uh-huh. I think there's a lot of hold back, uh, because, of, uh, oh, priorities that they have, you know, Yeah. and, uh, it's, Well, it , You have some children. Yes I have, I have five in the kitchen at the moment. to You need to shut the door, please. Shut the door right now. We have the air conditioner running. What do you need? Hurry. I'm on the phone Yes, you may. And they keep turning the tape recorder up besides Oh, okay Do you have, do you watch children or do you, Um, I have three of my own and I have, uh, two that I'm tending for the summer. Off and on, Uh-huh. so, Well, that's interesting. Um, is there anything, They cause more noise pollution than air pollution Well, temporarily they do. That's right, that's right. Then we get out of that phase, soon enough. Yeah. But, um, I think another, you can tell when you go around cities, you can smell specific things from, from, specific industries. Oh, yes. I remember being, I, I grew up in New Jersey Uh-huh. and, uh, I can remember the smell of Newark vividly Uh-huh, sure. And it's the type of industry, you know, which obviously if you can smell it, it's in the air. Uh-huh. Well, I know, uh, uh, in Michigan, uh, the way they used to take care of the trash is they would incinerate it, and the fumes from the incineration was a terrible pollutant to the air. Yeah. And, um, of course, now, Well, people think you burn it, it's gone, but it's not gone. No, and when they, and you bury it and it's not gone either, because it has untold ramifications. Uh-huh. And, uh, And it gets into, into people, you know, which is, uh, the, the most important, um, resource that we have is people, Then it just gets into the soil and into the water Yeah. and they're, and they're destroying us, they, really are. Yeah. We really have to do more, So I think the cockroach will evolve, uh, safely So they say I think we've got to do more with the recycling. That's, I'm, I'm really glad to see that there's more of that happening. Yes, but there's not enough. Yeah. And we need expert cooperation. Well, it's a, we're getting, at least they're starting, you know. Yeah. Education of the, Education of the people is primary, I would think. So at least they're moving that direction. Yeah. And, uh, and we're hard to teach. Uh-huh. Well, We are hard to teach. it's going to, it's probably going to be a generation or two before, before it's really going, very well, because now the adults are more aware of it, Absolutely, yeah. Uh-huh. and the children are being taught in the schools more, it'll be, you know, on down the road this is going to be passed on, which is good. Absolutely, yes. Uh, of course, uh, we would like to see it accelerated because, uh, of the critical nature of it. Uh-huh. The, the learning of it and the, just to, um, think that way, we have to be in that thought pattern and able to, um, motivate ourselves to, um, uh, do what is right for the atmosphere. Uh-huh. Um, I think we're all contributors. I mean, every human being that lives is a contributor, to pollution, Yeah. so, we just um. Yeah. I think you're right, education is a big thing you know, Uh-huh. and as we educate them individually what they can do, people become more aware of the things in industry too that, that are causing problems and, and I think that they'll they'll work towards solving those problems more too. Um, Well, hopefully it can be resolved within a shorter time frame than we have seen it done in the past. That the time frame for cleaning up our air and our, and our, um, land, you know, which, uh, we get our nutrients from. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, I mean, everything goes back to the land. Just a minute and I'll turn it up. I'll turn it up in a minute, honey, when I'm done. So um, it's just, um, very critical, I think at this point to, uh, get that through to the people and get us educated. Uh-huh Yeah. Well, I think science has come a long way to making it so that it's possible to find ways to solve the problem Uh-huh. Um, I, I don't know if they offer classes in, uh, the, uh, in the grade school, uh, uh, subjecting. I think they teach it a lot in science In science, okay. Yeah. I would think that that's where it would come through. What grade level would that be? Would that be, um, perhaps, the first grade level, which would be, I, I think they're kind of getting it in all different grades. Well, I mean, are they starting, though, at, at, with the children that are so, their little minds are like sponges and they can really uh, relate to that. Yeah. I think they are starting probably in the first grade. They're, you know, they're hearing somewhat about it. Um, I know, uh, Target has their program to make kids more aware of it and, Target stores? Yeah. Oh, okay. They've got, if you go in the entrance, they've got, uh, stands usually where they have, um, little, uh, kind of a little newspaper thing that the kids can read Okay. and and they can form a, a group to, um, Oh, I see. Uh-huh, help fight the pollution. Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's wonderful. So, Well, I'm sure that, uh, perhaps they're the leaders, you know, and other will, others will pick up on their example and carry it, uh, further. Yeah. You know, because, uh, thoughts are, Well, I, I know it's it's a hard problem to solve because you, you know, like McDonald's has changed back and forth between paper and foam and that kind of thing, Uh-huh. and they do all these studies on which ones pollute more, and then there's the paper and plastic bag question. Uh-huh. Um, I guess we're supposed to talk about music. Okay. And, uh, let me go ahead and push one here. Uh, do you are you a musician yourself? Uh, well, I sing. Uh-huh. I don't play an instrument. Uh-huh. Where, do you sing in, in a choir or a choral group? Oh, not right now. Uh-huh. What kind of singing do you like to do? Oh, pretty much anything. Yeah, uh-huh. Um, are you, uh, are, are, have you, have you been singing a long time or have you studied? Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. A long time out, all through college and everything I was in the choirs. Right. And I've had some classical vocal training. Oh, really? Uh-huh. Oh, great. Did, did you do that in, uh, Texas, or somewhere else? No, I was in Europe. Oh. Whereabouts? In, uh, in Germany. Uh-huh. Oh, that's wonderful. Um, well, I likewise sang in high school and in college in choirs, and then I didn't sing in a choral group, um, until after I was, uh, married, and I sang in a couple of, uh, community choirs, and then um, waited for a while, and now I've, for about the last eight years I've sung in a church choir here, in Texas. Oh, yeah. And, um, so I, I enjoy, just the chorals singing a lot, as well. Uh-huh. Um, are you a soprano, alto, or, Soprano. A soprano. Yeah, so am I. Do you, and, uh, what kind of music do you like to sing? Um, you were saying you had classical training. Do you have a particular composer that you like or, a particular type ? Oh, well, as far as opera goes, I'm, I think most fond of Verdi. Uh-huh. I've been listening to, um, some, uh, some advertisements for MADAM BUTTERFLY, and I'm wondering if you, if you have ever done anything like that, have you ever done any, uh, if, if you had done MADAM BUTTERFLY. No, no, I haven't done, uh, I'd love to, Yes. but, um, that's, uh, Puccini, I think, right? Uh-huh, yes, uh-huh. Um, MADAM BUTTERFLY was, um, in Dallas, it's been two or three years ago now, and then I went to see that, and, it was really wonderful. Uh-huh. It was particularly well, the acting was particularly nice, I thought, and, um, so, it was quite popular. Yeah. Um, you don't play, um, an instrument so, uh, um, have you ever wanted to, like guitar or piano or Yeah, yeah. That, I think that's always a good instrument for anybody who sings or does, you know, some other kind of instrument, I think piano is always good background, Uh-huh. beginner. Um, I played piano all through, well, I guess from the time I was five until I graduated from college, and, uh, then I was a piano teacher for a while while my husband was in graduate school, so, um, that was the instrument both of my children started on, but neither of them stayed with it Uh-huh. One of them, um, turned into a violist, and the other one is, the boy is, um, guitar and, and percussion, so. Uh-huh. Um, but the, I, I think that the piano background is very, um, useful, and, um, I'm sure that it, for you, it would have been great to be able to accompany yourself, just for practicing and so on. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Do you have any other kind of music that you like? Um, oh, I like to listen to all different kinds of music. Uh-huh. I have a, I used to work with a fellow who had, um, although this was a computer company, he had his, uh, P H D in musical, uh, I guess it was in composition, actually, from University of North Texas, and, uh, yet when I would go into his, his office every now and then, you never knew what kind of music he'd be playing on the radio It may be country, it might be classical, it might be rock, you know Uh-huh. it was just, he said that, that just about what you said, that he just liked all kinds of music. Yeah And that was, that was neat for, for me to hear that somebody is, There's, you know, some of the really totally country stuff, I don't really particularly like but, Yeah, yeah. Um, do you have any plans to, uh, do anything with your music in the near future or, Well, I have, I have like, we, I wish I could Uh-huh. but I, I don't really know how to go about it without having a degree or, Yeah. um I know that there are, if you're interested in choral singing, I'm not sure where, you are in Texas, but I do know that some communities have, uh, community choruses and, uh, that's often a good way to get back into it again. Uh-huh. Um, it's not terribly demanding. You might have to audition, but that probably wouldn't be a problem, but, um, there usually, you know, that they take tours and things like that and you get to know you know, people socially as well as, as in a musical setting, Uh-huh. so that's always fun. Yeah. I think that's, well, that's one reason why I have enjoyed my choir so much, is that not only do we sing wonderful music, but we've gotten to know each other quite well, um, in, on a, a social level, and, and I think we sing better because of that. Uh-huh. I think, you know, I think we sing more like, uh, people who trust each other which is really nice. That's good. Uh-huh, yeah. So, whereabouts in, Texas are you, if I could ask? Oh, I'm in Flower Mound. Flower Mound, okay. Uh-huh. Well, I'm in Plano, so, um, we're just not too far apart, actually. Yeah, that's pretty close. Uh-huh. It was funny, um, uh, it's, you know, I talk to people all over, uh, Texas, um, and only one person outside of the uh, of the state, so I'm always asking where, where in the state, you know, the person is from if they're in Texas. Yeah. Um, are, do you have a family? Um, I'm married. Uh-huh. I was wondering if your, if your spouse, or if, you know, if you had, uh, other musical people in your family. I'm sorry? Uh, if you have other people in your family who are also musical. Oh, a little bit. Uh-huh. Do you come by it naturally? Was your, were your parents that musical? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, yeah. That often is the case, um, the, you know, it's, it, sometimes it will skip. Like my husband is not musical at all, but his mother is very musical, and, um, and his children are very musical, so you never know where the talent is going to show up, I guess, sometimes. So, um, well, I'm not sure how long we've talked. I think, I haven't paid, haven't been paying attention to the, to the clock. But, uh, I'll bet we've done, we've done at least five minutes. Probably Well, I've enjoyed talking with you, uh, Becky, Okay. and, um, maybe we'll talk again. All right, thanks. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay. Okay, now, now we're supposed to talk about music? Right. Why, why did you check music? Why did I pick music? Uh-huh. Oh, because I know a little bit about music, you know, so I thought that I would put that, plus I, I like, uh, to listen to music. Uh-huh. What kind of music do you enjoy? Um, I really enjoy the oldies, is what I really listen to most of the time. Like what, what kind of oldies? Uh, Like the fifties oldies, or older oldies? Usually in the fifties. Uh-huh. I'm not really sure, I think it's, it's a fifties, sixties, and seventies station that I listen to. Uh-huh, uh-huh. They have the same kind of station down here, and when I listen to music most of the time that's what I listen to. Oh, really. Uh-huh. I don't know a lot of the, um, uh, musicians' names or the singers' names, but I know a lot of the old songs. Uh-huh, uh-huh, we just got a disk the other day that was a, um, disk of Nat, Nat King Cole's greatest hits Oh, yeah. and it is excellent. It, it's about twenty of his greatest hits on it. It's really an excellent, excellent C D. We are, we were really quite pleased with it. It was good. Uh-huh. Have you, um, do you listen, have you heard of Nat, heard of Nat King Cole? Yes, I have. Okay. Well, um, um, do you play any musical instruments or anything. At, at the same time, or, *slash error should be qy Um, I played the accordion for seven years and I played the clarinet for seven years also. No, I played the accordion until I got into about sixth or seventh grade, and then in fourth grade I started the clarinet, and I played that all through high school. Uh-huh. Like, so you're in the marching band and stuff in high school. I was, yes. Yeah, I, I played the baritone horn in high school band and in college. Oh, okay. So, and, my wife played flute in high school. Uh-huh. So. And then in concert band I played the bass clarinet. Really Yeah. really. Uh-huh. Actually that's exactly the same thing my ex-wife did She played the clarinet and then she played bass clarinet during concert band. Oh, really. Yes, yeah, so. I like the low notes better than the high notes. So. We didn't have any bass clarinet players so I asked him if I could play it, because I was first clarinet, and they end up playing a lot of the high notes, and I don't, I don't care for the sound of the high notes. So I asked him if I could play the bass clarinet, and he said, Sure, you know, he didn't have anyone to play it. So I played it, and I really enjoyed it. Um. Well, I like it, I, I like the low instruments better, too. Uh-huh. Um, do you go to, do you go to listen to much live music? Pardon me? Do you listen to much live music, like concerts or things there? No, I really don't go to very many concerts. Uh-huh. We're, we're going to one here in a couple of weeks. The, um, um, I don't know if you follow Broadway, much, but, uh, Michael Crawford was in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on Broadway. Uh-huh. You know, you know whom I'm talking about? Yes. And he's coming to Dallas on the twenty-ninth, and we got a big group going down to hear him sing a bunch of, uh, Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. So that'll be good. Oh, wow. My sons are kind of into Broadway. They, they, my, my older son is at Columbia in New York City, and he's been to see PHANTOM, and LES MISERABLES and bunch of other things up there, so, I would love to be able to go see LES MISERABLES. And he does it, he can go if they get sixteen dollar tickets to that thing, Oh, my gosh. yeah, yeah, and one of the, uh, the last time they went up, a friend of his wanted to go, and Chris didn't want to go, so the friend David went, and he went and bought one of the low priced student tickets, and they, they gave him the seat that normally belongs to John Bel John It's his house seat. That's under his control, and he said it was a great seat. Holy smoke. So, he, he's been to, they've been to see it several times. Oh, I would love to go see that, and CATS CHORUS LINE Yeah. Yeah. I would love to be able to go see those. Would they, do, don't any of those ever come to Pittsburgh? They do, but I work, and I went to, I go to college, I had just gotten, I just graduated from college in May, and so I really didn't have the chance or the money to go see them. Sure. Well, we're kind of, you know, they, well, I saw two, two road shows of LES and they were both excellent. Uh-huh. So if it comes to Pittsburgh in the road shows, and I think they have three different companies that tour the U S, um, you should go see it, because it's really, it's really outstanding. Yeah. My brother doesn't even like that kind of stuff, and he went to New York, a bunch of, there was like twenty students from high school that went, and he went to New York with them, and he saw it, and he said it was the best thing he'd ever seen Right. and he doesn't even like that type of stuff. Well, I think it's just incredible. I, and then, you know, those, um, two guys who wrote LES MIS wrote a new show call MISS SAIGON Oh really. Yeah, it just opened in New York this spring, and my son and his friend were in a lottery to get tickets to it, and they got tickets for the opening night. Oh. And they went to it, and they said it was, it was great, it was great. Oh, see now, I like that type of stuff. But my fiancee doesn't really like it. He's more into the New Wave music, Yeah, like Depressed Mode, and, Yeah, I guess, I don't know either, you know, Yeah, I don't too much, but my younger son listens to some of that kind of stuff. Oh, I don't know, uh, really weird names, like The Dead Milkman, or I don't know. Oh, it's you know, really weird stuff, he likes, and I thought, Oh my gosh, So he listens to New Wave and you listen to the oldies. Yeah That's kind of different. Well, Well, that's good though, you know. It's good to cover all the bases there. I pretty, I'll listen to anything basically, except I don't like the real hard metal rock. Uh-huh. I just refuse to listen to that at all. I'll even listen to country. I don't, I like some country. Well, we don't, now we don't listen to much country, but we just, at the same night we bought that Nat King Cole album, we bought Garth Brooks' album, No Fences. Uh-huh. That is excellent. We, Well, we, I've never, never listened. Do you like Randy Travis? I mean, I've, I've probably heard him, but I've never bought any of his music. Uh-huh. Garth Brooks is probably the only country album we have, or, no wait, my wife bought an album of Hank Williams' greatest hits. Oh, Hank Williams Junior? Nope, this is Hank Williams senior, Oh. so these are a bunch of old recordings. Uh-huh. She bought that the same night we bought the Nat King Cole and the Garth Brooks. Oh, yeah, well, those should be good albums. It is pretty good. She likes it. If you have the chance, It's a little, it's a little too country for me, it's a little too, uh, ronky tonk or something. Yeah, uh-huh. I like, I like the Garth Brooks album a lot. Uh-huh. It's pretty good, it's pretty good. Um, I don't know, maybe you wouldn't like Randy Travis. He's really country himself Uh-huh. but, uh, I, you know, I, I really enjoy listening to his music. Which album, which of his albums do you think is the best? Oh, I don't know. If I were you, I would get the Greatest Hits album if he had one, because you know, that would have a mixture of all his, you know, top songs on it. Okay. Uh-huh. But, um, we have, I think, four records of his. I can't, you know, name the names of them off hand Uh-huh. but we have, I think, all his records so far, and all my brothers and sisters listen to them, even the ones that like the heavy metal they really enjoy listening to him, Uh-huh. so. Uh-huh. You know, maybe if you did like Hank Williams and Garth, you know, maybe you would enjoy uh, Randy Travis. Well, I, I think we'll probably get one, one of his albums, because we do kind of like it, but you know, it's kind of different. Uh-huh. Yeah, So, so it's good. Um, do you know any, oh, I was going to say do you know any other country singers that you would, you know, I mean, the women, do you like the , Yeah, we do like the , in fact we have a album ... Now then I think that Uh-huh. are you there? Yeah, I'm here. All right. Do you have any one that has been in a nursing home? Uh, well, only my, um, my grandmother, but for a very short time. Um, she, uh, she was just more or less in a, in a nursing home for, uh, recovery from a broken hip because she could receive more medical attention. Oh. Yes. But, um, that, physical therapy was there and whatever, but I think, in visiting her there, um, it was very obvious to see that a lot of the people in the nursing home that she was in, uh, weren't there mentally. Uh, she was probably the only person in the, um, whole nursing home that, uh, still had all of her mental facilities about her. So that was, uh, that was very disheartening. Well, what do you think can be done about that? I mean, what can we do, Oh, yeah, it's really hard, I guess. I, I come from a family of, um, of, uh, take care of your elders, I guess. Uh, my, my dad's mother is an invalid, and she lives with my aunt and uncle, and they care for her, you know, all around the clock. Though she's not, uh, she doesn't have to receive constant medical attention, she, because of arthritis, she's just unable to get out of bed. So, I guess, you know, there's that family commitment. Um, I know that my parents, my mother is trying to let my grandmother stay in her house as long as she can. Um, Well, I can of course I'm old enough to remember when the family or the church took care of all of this. Yeah. Right, yeah. We did not have to call on, on someone else, and I feel, no, you tell me how you feel about, Yeah, well probably, I think, as long as the person's able to, um, to understand what's going on around them and I think, you know, my grandmother right now is still able to walk around, and she's still able to, uh, to do some things for herself, though she gets Meals On Wheels which I think is a great thing, because, um, it saves people from having to prepare food for her, because you worry a little bit about her leaving a stove on, or whatever, although she does most things very well, it still makes a little bit easier for her. Yeah. Certainly Uh. I worked with an agency in West Texas that they, it's where they really started this concept of Meals On Wheels Uh-huh. and I think it's such a valuable thing for our elderly. Uh-huh. If they didn't have to, you know, go into a kitchen Right. my mother expired just, just a little over a year ago, and we had finally, she didn't want to live with either my sister or me Uh-huh. but we, we got, found a retirement center for her, and it was beautiful and they had all these, they didn't even have nursing care there. So until, as long as mother was, you know mobile and got her food, Uh-huh. Right. and she was with people with whom she enjoyed. Yeah, that, I think, you know, it's really funny, I have two grandmothers still alive, and my one grandmother says that she wants to stay in her house for as long as possible. She's like openly told people. She's always been very good about knowing, yes, she's eighty-nine, and she said that she would really like to stay in her house as long as possible, because it's her home. Sure. But when the time comes, um, she, and she can't do things and she has to be cared for, whatever, she would prefer, and she's actually said this, to move into some type of community where she has her own apartment, uh, probably with like a living space and a bedroom with maybe a kitchenette, so that if she, you know, if she wants to fix herself something light, she can do that, Yes, sir. but if she wants to go to a meal, she can go down the hallway, uh, to a room where there's a cafeteria Uh-huh. and there's other people there, and she can mix with them and talk with them and enjoy their company. Being a widow I find that eating alone is one of the hardest things I have to do. Uh-huh. Yes. Uh-huh. I have just recently retired, and I am finding it extremely hard to adjust to. Right. So, uh, mother had the little kitchenette Uh-huh. and she could do all these fine things that she just, had a microwave, had to pop her popcorn. Right. Now this is wonderful. Uh-huh. But when it came time for a full meal, then mother was able to go with people and, and enjoy. Right, Yeah, I think, I think that probably, until, until they're really invalids, uh, the elderly are invalids, I think that they should be able to interact with other people in an environment that they choose, if they can, if the family can afford it. Oh, I think so. Well. I mean, um, see, I know that my grandmother would like to stay in her house, and my parents actually said, you know, that they may have to take their end, sometime, so, because, you know, my grandma, she says who she wants to live with, she's pretty, you know, she lets people know, Okay, we're being recorded. All right, Ron. Uh, number one, I am one hundred percent for total gun control. I, Total gun control. Yes, I am not a member of the National Rifle Association and, I don't believe in hunting, and, uh, I just have had my fill of what is going on with the crime rate and I really feel that we have to do something in order to, uh, to , Yes, I, I agree something should be done, but I, there, I don't believe there is any way of total control over weapons, because crooks and people who are going to perform things that are not correct will have access to weapons from somewhere and that means they'll always have an advantage over us and, uh, they may even get worse because they know we have nothing to support myself. Now, you know, I, I agree with a lot of the things you just said in your few moments because personally I used to be a great hunter and in the last few years I've said, no way. Matter of fact, if I find a, uh, a, a fly running around in the house, I pick him up and carry him outdoors I, I don't even hit him with a flyswatter, so I've, uh, gotten over this business of wanting to go out and shooting and, and killing and that sort of thing. Uh-huh. But I, I think that, uh, personally, that we do need some weapons available to most of the people. Most of the people really are, uh, honest and, uh, worthy of carrying on their lives properly. Uh, I'm sort of in line thinking in terms, I don't see anything wrong with this five day waiting period if the waiting period is utilized to really look at the background of the person purchasing the weapon. I mean there's nothing wrong with that. Do you see anything wrong with that? No, there's only one problem I have with the whole thing though, is, you know, when they do it, I think our biggest problem is, yes, the, the crooks and what have you are going to get weapons if the weapons are available. Right. I think the biggest problem we have in this country is there are just entirely too many weapons available. And the types of the weapons. I mean there is no, Yeah. I'm I'm against this, uh, automatic and semiautomatic stuff. Right, there is, There is no reason for it. I mean, I don't think we should have access to those. No. Huh And, uh, maybe I'm a little bit strong when I said total gun control. That's, that's really not what I meant. But, I mean we need control. We've got to be able to get a handle on what is happening and we've got to reduce the number of weapons that are out in the, in the in the public. Yes. And the, the people should be, uh, selected so that we know that they are all right and that they're, they're not, uh, acquiring weapons for illicit use. Uh, that is not good. There's nothing wrong with a person that enjoys the mechanisms. As a matter of fact, uh, there's a fellow out there working on my house right now who, uh, brought to me a target from a rifle that he, uh, pretty well, halfway designed and he, he put together the, uh, the bullets in it Uh-huh. and he was showing me that at a hundred yards, he kept five shots within a quarter of an inch of each other at one hundred yards. Now, see from a technical point of view, that is something that, that our military people need to know about. Um. So there are other interesting, uh, facets in, in guns and weapons. This is a, uh, bolt action rifle, I think he has. And he has done other things to the way the, uh, barrel sits in the, uh, the wood part of it. And, uh, he designed the, the, the bullets themselves and he has fantastic accuracy. Uh-huh. Just, just from a technical point of view, that interests me. Not to kill anybody with it or anything with it, but just the fact that a piece of mechanism like that could be made to be so accurate. Yes. All right, you, you sound like you're into the technology of it, which is, yeah, I agree. And, you know, and, again, I'm, my entire family are, they are all hunters Uh-huh. and, you know, they, they don't appreciate my stand, and I I have no, I really have no problem with sports hunters. Yeah. I really don't. It's just when they come out and they say they need an Uzi in order to do some accurate or decent deer hunting, I think I think that's totally outrageous. What's happening is people are losing, they seem to be losing their common sense over the issue. Yeah. And the issue, is, the issue is becoming the focus and not what is actually happening with guns. Uh, I, I think something will happen. Uh-huh. So, Beverly, what do you think about drug testing? I think in some professions it's, uh, essential. Things like pilots and things that involve the safety of other people particularly. Yeah. We've, we got a lot of mistakes here, uh, in the Maryland, Baltimore area because of, uh, train conductors uh, on drugs. Uh-huh. I think we've had two terrible accidents here recently, and also on, um, just like, I bet you within five days a truck where the, uh, a dump truck, where the driver was, uh, high on marijuana, I guess he smoked marijuana for lunch and, uh, drove his truck up the back of two small cars in a tunnel that goes underneath the, uh, a river that leads into the Chesapeake Bay Oh, my goodness, and it would, that would, tied up traffic for a long time, everybody died, the fire was terrible, it was awful. So, yeah, I think you're right, I, I think I, if it's, if you're in a field, but then you know, who would test all truck drivers you know, They, that's, that is a problem and every time before they get into a vehicle I mean. Right, yeah I think, I think, looking at athletes being drug tested Uh-huh. I don't know, even, I think the random drug testing, I don't know in my own mind if it has reduced the athletes from taking drugs, because they're still being caught Right. that make sense? Yes, uh, it may make a difference for some of them because they don't want to lose that lucrative, uh career. Yeah, and then, uh, I think, Yeah. I, I, I think, in the long run I think it's, it would be good. Uh-huh. I think in the short run they think because so many of those tested have gotten away with it you know, the, the test hasn't come down hard on anyone Right. Uh-huh I don't, I don't know. however, here in Dallas uh, we had a, a player, Roy Tarpley on the Mavericks team Yeah. Uh-huh. and he had been suspended a couple of times because of drug testing, and was to the point, he was on probation, he was to the point that if he was caught another time that he would lose his contract, and they wouldn't have to pay him, and the Mavericks wanted to get rid of him, but they couldn't afford to replace him and still pay his contract Right. and, uh, just recently he was, uh, missing from practice and whenever he missed like that, usually he had some kind of problem and so a mandatory drug test was done was positive, Uh-huh. Yeah, so they were able to get rid of him and not have to pay his contract. Get rid of him. Right, yeah. And so, in his case, he lost his whole career, he's been in the paper, in jail, and it's just been awful Yeah. and talk about a terrible role model, Right, I, I think, that, that, that's a terrible you know, it's really funny though, um, I guess, my dad was hit by a, a drunk driver who was also high um, when I was probably eighteen, my senior year in high school Um. Oh, my goodness. and, um, though he's alive today and everything worked out fine, it, it, it happened about two blocks from the high school and a friend came and got me, and I was there, and I could smell the dope, and I could see the beer cans from the guy that hit him Uh-huh. and nothing ever happened, and from from that point on, I became so anti drunk driving now I think people should be allowed to drink, I think that's an adult responsibility, whatever, Oh, that's terrible. Uh-huh. but I really, uh, I'm so anti drunk driving, and, and drugs have, uh, long lasting effects Uh-huh. and I guess when I younger I was, um, probably a little more liberal on the subject. I think most of us are. Yeah, but as I've, as soon as that happened, I guess when I was eighteen years old, if you'd have asked me, I'd have thought it was fine Uh-huh. but by the time I was nineteen my opinion had totally changed. Yes, if you know someone, for example we have, uh, some friends whose son was driving home from work, was hit head on by a drunk driver Uh-huh. the drunk and his wife in the car were killed, and, uh, Bobby missed his whole junior year of high school Right. he went through surgery after surgery Um. Traction and all that terrible stuff. and for a long time they didn't even know whether he'd be normal again. And he, as far as his athletics, he's lost all of that. Right. He, uh, has been tutored, and he'll catch up in school and everything, but, he's still not back where he was. Right, yeah, I don't think somebody, He may never have all those motor skills back. Yeah, you don't, you don't, you don't have the right to interfere in somebody else's life. No. I can't even say, you know, I wouldn't even say ruin somebody's life. You don't have the right to interfere in somebody's life. Another thing that we saw here recently. One of, some of our high school kids were out goofing around in a park area that a, a train track ran through Uh-huh. and one boy who had been drinking decided for some stupid reason to try to play with the train. Well, he, the train missed him, but, uh, a big mirror type thing sticking out, like a metal thing sticking out, hit him in the head Yeah. he was in a coma for four months, Uh-huh. he's out of the coma now, and eventually they think he will come back, but you don't know that, and Right. but he's lost, he was an outstanding football player, So, what kind of a house do you live in? I'm in a, uh, in a ranch. A, uh, it was about, uh, sixteen hundred square feet when I bought it, and, uh, it's about two thousand square feet now, but it's one of those typical, uh, ranches that you find around here. Oh, it's, uh, built in the, probably built in the late fifties so it's not, um, what you would find, uh, where you live. But, uh, for the older, uh, ranch homes it's pretty typical I guess. Uh-huh. Well, our home is, uh, probably, for our area it's probably one of the lower income homes out here. Uh, most of the, the homes that they're building, well, I shouldn't say all of them, but most of them now are up in the millions of dollars. Really? Oh yeah, there's, How many square feet do you have? We have got about, uh, twenty, I'd say about twenty-four hundred. Four bedrooms? Uh, we've got five bedrooms, because we built onto our garage. Five bedrooms. Uh-huh. A, a bedroom for my mother, and, uh, I made a, I made a fourth bedroom out of, uh, a made a fourth bedroom out of one of our, out of our living room and then added a, uh, what we call a sunroom to get the, you know, Oh. when, when we added four hundred square feet to our house Oh, that's great. so that, Well, this, this house is very comfortable. We've got two living areas and that, that's the thing I probably like the most about it. How many stories? Just one? It's just one story. Yeah. It's a Fox and Jacobs home. How are they built? Um, we've been real happy with it. Yeah. I've heard that, I've heard the construction is pretty good on Fox and Jacobs. Of course, I'm not a carpenter or anything like that. They could probably come in and say, gee, this is not straight and this is under something but, But I mean it doesn't give you trouble? No. Uh-huh. No, we haven't had a lot of problems with it at all. No cracked slab or anything like that? No. All right. We've been real lucky. So, And is it, um, a natural gas and, Yeah. You know what I miss though? Basements. Oh, yeah. I I sure wish they could build basements in homes in Texas. Yeah, I, I've heard a lot of people say that. That's for sure. Uh, we have an attic that we've just put, you know, plywood over the beams and things up in the attic and so that, has replaced it to some extent So you, but certainly not, Can you stand up in it? Uh, in parts. I mean you couldn't, you really couldn't use it for a room. So you have a probably a more pitched roof than is typical around here. Yes. ours is pitched so shallow that you, uh, don't get much room in the attic. Yeah. Yeah, we, uh, we've got, you know, I'll store all our Christmas stuff and whatever else junk up there. So, five bedrooms and two living, two family Two living areas. We have a living room and dining room at the front of the house, Uh-huh. and then we have a, the, uh, family room, kitchen, and playroom at the rear of the house which has been really nice. Uh-huh. In fact, I really enjoy the playroom that, you would think that would not be a real bonus, you know, to a house, but of all the rooms in the house I'd say that was, that was the one that's been really nice to have Isn't it funny how families end up living in one room in the house most of the time. I think that's true. You Yeah. Probably our family room is the, the biggest. Uh, Right. Some people, I mean, families seem to migrate towards one, one room and carry on most of their activities there, and, uh, uh, some rooms, we have one room that we never use. Yeah. I mean might as well not even heat and cool it. Yeah. Strange. Well, that's kind of the way our living room and dining room is, Uh-huh. but it is nice to have it because there's, uh, with our size of family it's nice to know that there's one that's always straight and clean if you have someone come just on the spur of the moment. Right, right. Uh-huh. So So you've been fairly happy with it. How long have you been in it? Seventeen years. Wow. Boy, it doesn't seem that long but it is because we, uh, came to this area about the same time Uh-huh. We've been fifteen, fifteen years in the, in the house that we're living in. Oh, wow. And we, the, the principal feature I like about ours is that it's pier and beam. Oh, uh-huh. Yours is a slab I assume. Yes, it is. Yeah, ours is a pier and beam which has allowed me to go under it and do a whole lot of different things that I could not have done if it was slab. Uh-huh. I've done a lot of electrical and plumbing and other work that, by myself and saved a lot of money that I couldn't have done if the house was on a slab. Well, that's interesting. But that's because it's so old. Yeah. It's thirty-five, thirty-six years old when they used to build like that, and, uh, Uh-huh. Well, my husband wouldn't do that anyway. That's his, that's his, I know, he's not a handy, right? worst thing in life is to have to repair something. I, on the other hand, uh, do a lot too much of it So, and, uh, I've gotten good at it which in a, in a way is bad because then you, uh, you start to take pleasure in it Well, uh, that's great. We just kind of save everything for when Al , uh, for, for when his Dad comes to visit and then he does all the repairing, you know, he does Right. My Dad is actually, uh, All right. I guess tonight's subject is to discuss current events and how we keep up on current events, and if we're satisfied with, with the, uh coverage that we receive. Right. That's, Right. Um, thinking about it, some of the ways I try and keep up on current events is, uh, I enjoy reading the newspaper, but, uh, quite often don't have time to read all of the newspaper, and so, uh, I enjoy watching some of the T V highlights and also, uh, some of the news periodicals, uh, weekly magazines, and, uh, at work I also have, uh, management summary reports that, uh, give basically a lot of the current events. Uh, how about yourself? Well, I'm like you. I don't, I don't, I like to read the paper but I basically don't do it every day, and I, um, I usually watch, uh, either GOOD MORNING, AMERICA or the TODAY SHOW, every morning while I'm, you know, Uh-huh. whatever I'm doing, I watch that. I usually watch the news, either at, you know, early evening or at ten o'clock Right, right. so I get it from T V a lot. I get TIME I read TIME MAGAZINE Um, that's one I read pretty regularly. Oh, yeah. Okay. And, uh. The thing about it, you know, now that I've found, is that we get such good coverage on T V, or at least such, I don't know, attempted thoroughness of coverage, by the time you get the TIME MAGAZINE, there's nothing in it you don't know. You think that that's, uh, pretty adequate coverage and you get. Uh-huh. It's historic events, huh. Right. Then you can just sort of have pictures to go along with it or something, because really, I've thought lately, there's nothing new in the TIME MAGAZINE. Oh, okay. You know, it's, it's, basically you've heard everything Yes. and, uh, you might, you might get a little more thorough, uh, account of something, but really, um, I don't know. So I get most of mine from television Yeah. I would say. Um, I found out too, that, uh, quite often if I see something on television that I want more in-depth, uh, understanding or, or get, want to know more about it, that the, the newspaper or, uh, I read NEWSWEEK, can give you a better and more thorough coverage of what I've heard on T V, but, uh, um, I found out that also on, on T V that you can scan through a whole lot of different things on C N N and, and like you said, the, the news shows that are, that are happening, and you can read some more about it if you want to. Um, I found out, though that, or I feel that a lot of the stuff on T V and the newspapers is negative. There's an awful lot of negative news or bad news, or, or bad news. And it'd be refreshing once in a while to hear some good news. Right And, uh. and I, I think there's an attempt to do that. You know, I think people, there's a mild attempt for that, but I think basically, we basically associate news with bad news or, or catastrophes or problems or crises, or, uh, you know. Yes, we do. I think our concept of news isn't necessarily events that happen. It's more negative, like you said. True, true. But, I think people try to, on, on T V I think, they try to throw in good stuff, but it doesn't, uh, it doesn't sway the vote. Uh-huh. I've heard an interesting comment also that, uh, with budget cuts and, uh, expenses the way they are that it's affected the news media, whereas before they would be able to have a in-depth analysis or, uh, investigative reporting, on certain topics and issues, but that takes time, that takes an awful lot of money and commitment, and, and quite often it's a lot easier to listen to the police scanners or what they call ambulance chasing Uh-huh. and go after, you know, it's lot easy to go after and follow a fire department or a police officer, and, uh, find out news from that as opposed to going out and finding good things, so. I don't know, I guess the economy is, is effecting also the news media Uh-huh. and we have to pay that price, but, uh, I don't know, I don't know. It's interesting, and I think that nowadays with communications the way they are also, that we can see global events happening as, as they occur all over the world, like the, Right. You know, the war last winter was certainly a good example of that because we saw every single thing, practically. Exactly. We saw, Yes, you know, twenty years ago, thirty years ago, we wouldn't have been able to have that privilege or, or luxury to, to view that. So. I mean, you know, I remember, well, just the things that are covered. I remember watching the World Series during the earthquake, and just seeing that happen Oh, yes. I mean, you know, that was just so phenomenal to see this stadium shake and the, and the announcers, you know grabbing, Uh-huh. I mean, it's like, that was just something because that was like live and real like you said, Oh, yeah. Yeah. and then, of course, one thing I think, too, is with Okay, Mike, I guess we'll be talking about painting recently. Any kind of recent painting you've done, uh, yourself? Have you done any recently? Well, we, uh, remodeled a bathroom. And, which required, uh, completely repainting the bathroom, Uh-huh. and the other project we've done around here is, uh, we've remodeled all our, all our closets which required quite a bit of painting. Wow, wow, that's, that's quite a chore. Yes, I imagine it did. Did you have that done professionally or did you do that yourself? No, we did it ourselves, did it myself. Did you enjoy that? Yeah. Oh, that's, that's fun. We just recently, uh, had our boys' room, our two oldest boys share a room, and they're, uh, the paint has, uh, kind of faded and deteriorated, and so we decided to paint their room and put up wallpaper and border and so forth, and, uh, looks quite good. We were quite pleased with the result. Is this a project you did yourself? Yes, it's a project, uh, that I did, yes, and, and, uh. What, what brought about the fading of the paint? Well Just sun exposure? I don't think it's sun exposure, but, uh, boys will be boys, and there, there were crayon marks on there and we had to, to scrub the crayon marks off, of course, try and get it clean. Oh, okay, yeah. Latex paint? Pardon me? Latex? Yes it was. It was latex paint, and that's, uh, what we put back on there, was a latex paint. Uh-huh. Plus, uh, they had bunk beds, and the boy, one of the younger boys, when he was younger, about three years old, got a, uh, got a nice marker and got up on the ceiling and decided to draw pictures On the ceiling? Yes, on the ceiling. Yeah. And, uh, you scrub and you scrub, but you can't it all off. No, that's true. And so, that's one of the reasons why we painted, and, uh. Did you go, what kind of paint did you use on the ceiling? We used a flat, latex paint Okay. and in the bedroom, as I understand, that's, uh, one of the better type of paints to have because it's not so reflective and, and glassy colored, Uh-huh. and it, uh, turned out real, real well. Seems like, uh, I've, we've done some remodeling of some, uh, rental houses that we have Uh-huh. and it appears as though that, uh, oh, in the fifties or sixties when some of these houses were built, uh, they used a lot of, uh, semigloss type enamel for ceiling paints Uh-huh. and that was a little difficult to cover with today's paints, it seemed like. We had an occasion, uh, where we had to do some sealing of, uh, the of the, this type of paint before we could paint it. Uh-huh. Oh, you had to prime it and and cover over it. Yeah. Right. Huh. You had pretty good luck with one coat type paint? You use a particular brand or anything? Well, I like to use this, this Sears, uh, the ten year guarantee or the fifteen year guarantee. Weather beater type stuff? Yeah. Yeah. And the reason being is once I painted, I don't want to have to go and do it another five or seven years later Understand. but, uh, and, uh, we're quite satisfied with that Uh-huh. and, and occasionally you can watch for it and get it on sale, and we do, do that. In fact, I was just reading an article, you mentioned painting your bathroom. Uh-huh. I read an article recently that, uh, you have to be very careful on the kind of paint you put on the ceiling in your bathroom because it does tend to, to peel or come off because of the moisture, high moisture content in your bath, bathroom. Yeah, it's a lot like, uh, wall paper. That's true. And, uh, did you have any problems with that or, Well, the particular bathroom that we did is a half bath, so we didn't have a problem with that. Oh, good. Uh, I have had, I've, uh, have never experienced that type of a problem uh, with a latex paint. Uh-huh. Oh, good. neither have I So, you shouldn't have a, you shouldn't have a problem with it. Oh, good. They're, they're pretty well refined today a lot of the paints, Uh-huh. and Sears is one of the better ones. Yeah. I've used, uh, many a gallon of them, myself. Do you, uh, have you ever used an oil base paint? Uh, used oil base paints for trim you know, like around doors and, and on doors, things like that. Uh-huh. why do you use that? I'm, I'm kind of learning at this, new at this, but. It adheres better, or lasts longer? Uh, primarily because it, it seems to be a little more, uh, well, let's say well, not so much that. It seems to hold up a little bit better towards the nicks and dings as opposed to, uh, a latex type paint. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. And, uh, it just, you know, it, it gives you a, a variance even though it's the same color. Right. Well, that's good, that's good. So it's worked out pretty well for us. Uh, have you ever done any painting outside? Uh, quite a bit, painted a couple of houses. Uh, recently this summer we painted a, uh, out building, which is a shed that we have on the, Okay, where does she live? Uh, on Rutherford. Rutherford. I don't know that. It's, uh, corner of New York uh, just west of Mayfield. Uh-huh. It's, oh, oh, south and, okay, yeah, I know where you, I know the area. Uh. Right, that's kind of on the other side of town, so our kids probably never went to school together or anything Oh, okay. Oh, they're, they're little ones Oh, well, I've got one in college Oh. By now. Let's see, we're on government, whether we think it's honest or can be. Right. Whether it is possible to have an honest government. I'm beginning to think it's not. What about you? I, I don't think under the way the system is right now, it is. I don't either. I, I think, uh, even if people have good intentions, I think uh, power corrupts or something to a certain extent, you know. The ultimate power, ultimately corrupts. Yeah, it seems like, uh, maybe more of them come in with good intentions, but it's just so enticing, and a lot of corners being cut and the special deals available, because they're in on the know , you know I don't know if, there is enough money that you could pay them just, you know X amount of money to keep them honest. Oh. I just, I just don't, uh, Right. I mean, you even see people on a small scale cheating when they have certain positions, you know what I mean? Right. Little bitty, little bitty positions in your own home town, and they'll cheat somehow or, you know, bend the rules, use their power. So maybe it's just man's nature We had, uh, here in Oklahoma we had a few years ago a major, uh, corruption on, on our county commissioners Uh-huh. and there were several counties, uh, including the one I was in, that lost every one of their county commissioners and, I mean, it was to the point of not just losing their job, but going to jail. Oh, my word. Oh, wow. What were they doing taking some, Oh, they were taking kickbacks. Oh, no Yeah Oh, gosh. Just a little here, a little there. Yeah, right Major amount here, a major amount there. Right Oh. But I think there was something like, you know, thirty or forty commissioners that ended up going to jail. Um. We haven't had that big a scandal in Arlington, but we do have the people that work for the convention center were falsifying records. In other words, they'd go out and have a big, lavish dinner and then put somebody's name down that they supposedly had entertained, but that person wasn't even anywhere near there, you know. Some of them weren't even in the same city. One of them had, had cancer and died and I mean, that was our biggest scandal for the last few years, I think. Uh, that's, that's small scale. I don't know, you know, I really don't know what could be done. Uh, I don't, I don't either. Uh, to make it totally honest. Uh, I think there's, there's always going to be some way somebody can cut a corner, uh. However, the things that have gone, gone on in the last couple of years, we can't afford too many of those, you know, the the HUD mess or the S and L. That's right. We could almost not afford such terrible corruption. The cover-ups and, Right, right. I think that, uh, Reagan and Bush were up to their necks in that Iran Contra thing, and it kind of makes you feel bad that the top people in your country would be lying to you like that, but, uh, I, uh, I don't know. I just, uh, I'd like to believe that there is some way that our political people would really go there and look out for our interests. Right. I think that's what upsets me worse than, that they're getting a little, you know, uh, on the side that, that, it seems that when they get up there it's, it's what, if I vote your way, what it'll do for me rather, than this is the way my constituents want it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's right, but they stay there, Uh-huh. Right, and this would be for the best for the nation overall. You're right, it's just a, I don't know. I guess that's where they stay in, uh, in, they try to stay in office. But they always please the money people too. They need money so much, because they're constantly having to run, for office again. run, And, Maybe and then you think, well, if it was longer terms then they would never have to try to please the people at home Uh-huh. That's true. Boy, it is a big problem, but I think most people are kind of depressed and cynical about government now, don't you? I don't think that they, anyone has a lot of respect or faith in the government. I know. It's really terrible. I mean, there was a time, I mean where, I remember when I was real young, I just loved Harry Truman. I thought he was great Oh, you know, I had, some of them seemed like kind of, uh, heroic people. Well I wonder if they really were, or if we just really didn't, Okay, Jerry, the topic was favorite T V shows, and what kind are you interested in, and how they, and do they differ from like mine. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, okay, uh, most of, most of the, uh, commercial television these days, I'm just a little bit sick of. Uh, in fact, I don't watch hardly any, uh, television at all with, uh, my other activities. Uh, between my family and my church et cetera, et cetera, well I don't have time, I hardly any time to sit down and watch the news. Right. Now I do watch the Discover channel and some on channel thirteen but, uh, aside from aside from that, I pretty well, uh, turn it off. Oh, do you, yeah. Oh, I'm sort of a, well, I'm different from that. I'm sort of a, a movie buff. Uh-huh. I go to a couple of movies a week, sometimes, but honestly I'm, I'm self-employed, and a lot of times I will, uh, go out and take a lunch hour, go to lunch from like twelve to two, go to a movie and just come back to my office. I don't blame you. But, uh, I do it, it's like entertainment, and I'm pretty much of a, a junk movie watcher by myself. Uh-huh. If I take my wife, then we see something a little nicer, you know. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, uh, and my kids are all sort of movie watchers. You know, we, we've always been to a lot of, we've always gone to a lot of movies in our life. So, but I would just as soon, uh, be doing something else, it's just that my kids are gone now, and, and my wife's a school teacher and sometimes, and she doesn't get home until about seven o'clock. So, you know, I'll come in like five thirty or six, and I'll turn on the tube set there and have my coffee or Coke or whatever and a little T V Uh-huh. and sometimes I set there all evening. Yeah I, well, it, sometimes if, if it's real good, like there's more, there's been more than one evening that I've, uh, caught, uh, every animal show that evening on, uh, on the Discover channel. You bet, you bet. And, uh, because they're, uh, they're, they're, you know, they're documentaries and they're. Well, that's an interesting channel. Oh, you bet, in fact I'm glad that it's part of our, uh, basic cable package. That's great. But, uh, You know, I've, I've just never spent any time watching it and, you know I like my sports and everything Uh-huh. but I, Oh, oh, me too. Hello Watch my Dallas Cowboys. I watched them to halftime before I left and I left at halftime Well, they, they, they whooped up on them. and started driving. They sure did. They just did an excellent job. Uh-huh, and they're in the playoffs, and I'm not sure that the Eagles are not. Yeah, the Eagles I did. yeah luck into it now, I think. Yeah, that's true. Cowboys, they earned it on their own merit. Well. Did you know, everybody, or not everybody but quite a few of the folks were kind of down on Mister Johnson, but, uh, he's, uh, he's brought the pokes, uh, from a, a one and something team to, uh, playoffs, in what, three years now. You bet, as much as everyone, you know, used the word, love Tom Landry, I'm glad that Jimmy Johnson's there. Uh-huh, well, it's, uh, you know, it was the time for the passing of the guard, I mean. It was. And I think Tom knew it. I think so too. So, uh, He wanted to go out a winner though. I think he would have stayed there four or five more years until he could have gone out Yeah, that's true, and I wouldn't, I wouldn't have blamed him one bit because Oh, no, it's, you know he earned his stripes. yeah, but, see, nobody remembers him as a loser because he's too, he's too far, he's far too much of a gentleman and a, and a practicing Christian to, uh to ever be thought of as anything but a you know, but a winner. I know. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he's a, he's a winner in anyone's book Yeah. and I hope he's a winner in his own book, you know because that's the key there. Oh, he is, he is because he has to like himself before he can like other people. Uh, You bet. Little things that disturb me, and I know he's being a little hardnosed about it but, uh, you know, this ring of honor thing, you know, he needs to be there because he's earned it. Uh-huh. He deserves it, and he was the Dallas Cowboys, and he won't do that yet. Yes. So. I hope he makes up his mind to do it, because he needs to be remembered. Oh, he will. Right. Well, nobody's going to forget Tom Landry. No, no, no. Shoot, come now Absolutely not That's true, but he needs to be honored, I mean, I'd not a let's put it that way. you betcha. I'm not a native Texan by birth but, uh, I guess if I, uh, length of, length of time I'm in the state now, is what, after you're here twenty years you're considered native. You bet. I've been here since seventy-four, and I feel like a native. Well, let's see, I came down March of sixty-nine, went to work for T and I. Oh, did you. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, I haven't looked back yet either, so We came, we came down from New York state in seventy-four, and uh, never had any regrets at all. Right. Especially looking at some of the weather New York state has had You bet. It's been. and then look at the weather we have down here. Huh It's a great place to raise our kids, and I've got my last kid graduating from college this next December Uh-huh. she's getting married the month before in November, so Oh, goodness. I will have finished, be finished with that. Well, we're well, we're finished with all but the last one, and trying to get him through his technical school Right. and, uh, we're, uh, he's over halfway, so. Well, good. You know, we're not staying on the topic of television shows, but I'm really not too concerned, are you? No, not at all. No, me neither. I'm enjoying the chat. Uh. Well, I enjoy my T V programs. I like those, I like those detective programs. I like everything. I can watch Bill Cosby because I think he has a great show. Well. Do you have, uh, some strong feelings one way or the other about, about the care of the elderly? Well, yes, I do. Uh, this is a, a question that hit pretty close to home. I had to go through this with my dad about four years ago. He was, his health was failing Uh-huh. and, uh, he was adamant about two things. One was that I take care of my mother, and two, that he not be put into a home. Uh-huh. And we talked, uh, about some length, and I respected his wishes. He, uh, stayed at home as long as he could, and then, uh, he died in a hospital. But, um, I think that, my position is that, uh, you need to find one that you can really have confidence that they are taking care of the, of the, uh, of their clients Yes. and, um, because I've heard about the many abuses, and because he had heard of so many abuses, he just didn't want that. Yeah, yeah. How about you? Well, my graduate work is in speech pathology, and, uh, so, so, uh, I've thought about this more than once, uh, you know, dealing with uh, you know, I'm concerned, we're going to have a geriatric, uh, population, in in twenty years it's going to be, you know, phenomenal. Yeah, almost thirty, all over thirty percent, isn't it. Yeah, yeah. Uh, and, um, but I have been amazed and, and in talking with, uh, some of my fellow students, it looks as though, um, nursing homes are not going to be the only option any more and, uh, in twenty years. Uh, where a lot of students are hoping, uh, to work as an in the home type, uh, uh, approach, where, where the, uh, where there's, you know, the speech therapist, or whether it's a nursing specialist or someone plans to, uh, work out of a family's home and take the responsibility away from the family but yet allow the, the loved one to stay, you know, at home with the family members. Uh-huh. Uh, it's, it's difficult for many families, especially in the case of, uh, of Alzheimer's and, and, uh, some of the more degenerative diseases to, uh, say, uh, uh, leave them, to have them at home, because then the family becomes completely, uh They're captive. exactly. Yeah, and, and did, did you experience that with your, with your father or not? Uh, we had a, at one stage we had care somewhat like, like what you're talking about. We had the Visiting Nurses program Uh-huh. and they sent somebody in, and it, it was a, a nominal charge that this, uh, it started out that the lady would come in I think three times a week and eventually got up to the point where they were coming by every day. Yeah. They would try to get him to exercise. They would try to, uh, you know, they would check him over to, to, you know, the basic checks. Try to get him to talk and be motivated Uh-huh. and, uh, that's what we went through. Uh, up to a point things seemed to be working, and then, uh, I think, he, he became discouraged Right. and they did not know how to take care of that, and then, um, at that point I think it's mostly a psychological problem. Oh. And, uh, but, yes, I agree there's a lot of options. There could be a lot of options. Uh-huh. I think it's time that, uh, we decide to do something about it. Yeah. Um. Definitely. You know, one of the other subjects on the switchboard, and this is one that I've been thinking applies here, uh, where, where, uh, young, young kids, uh, graduating from high school, whether they should do a community service type work. This would be an excellent example of some where, uh, some place where, um, the community could be more involved, you know, more than just leaving it only to professionals. There is a lot the community, the community can do to, uh, enhance the, or, or assist the lives of those who are keeping a loved one at home. I suppose at one time the church would fulfill this need. Possibly before. I don't know now. Yeah, the church or synagogue, whatever because typically these were close knit groups at one time, Uh-huh. but in today's large metropolitan areas, or even in most, even, even the rural areas now, people are not quite as close as they once were. Huh-uh. Uh, the mobility factor, the factor that, uh, oh, we're living longer and people are less trusting, all these things tend to destroy this type of system. But I agree with you, there might be some possibilities there. Uh-huh. Although dealing with geriatrics is something a lot of young people just aren't emotionally prepared to do. I agree. That's a, that's a good point. I think they would have to have some training. Uh, let's see. Personal computers. Yes. So, do you use them? Uh, yes, um, we own one. Terrific. What kind? Uh, its an Emerson eighty eighty-six, um, two low density floppy drives, and no hard drive yet. But, uh, you know, it's, it comes in mighty handy. Mostly for word processing type things? Uh, yeah, a big chunk of it's word processing. We're also taking programming classes, and, uh, so there's a fair amount of programming getting done on it. But, uh, uh, the, uh, right now we got a project going where we're trying to put, uh, all my wife's stray recipes on the disk. Nice. Did you buy a program to handle menus? Uh, it came with a menus program, but, uh, that doesn't, it, it both, excuse me, mostly kind of a pain in the neck without a hard drive Oh, yes. and hopefully sometime this spring we'll be able to get one and get it configured. Eighty eighty-eight is what you said? Eighty eighty-six. Eighty, oh gosh, it's worth your time to just upgrade, they're so darned cheap now. Which, Computers. Uh, impoverished college student. Oh, no. This one went on a credit card, and we got a way out, while to pay it off yet. Uh, I've, I've got one at home too. It's a three eighty-six, thirty-three megahertz, forty, four meg ram and hundred and thirty meg drive and super V G A and, yeah, it's fun. I do programming, too. My job is, uh, E D P auditor, and so I'm into computers all the time. E D P. Electronic Data Processing. Okay, that sounds like fun job. Yeah, I really enjoy it, and it treats me well. Yes. Uh, what are you studying in college computers? Uh. Computer engineering. How nice. Well, computer engineering technology, uh, which, uh, all I can understand is it's a slightly more hands on version of computer engineering. But, I've got a ways to go yet. So far most of what I've done is getting, gotten core classes out of the way, taken some electronics classes, and one class in, um, with computer logic. How they work is fascinating to me. Oh, yes. I enjoy it myself The, uh, lab for that, uh, computer logic class was a lot of fun. Was it. Did, Yeah, we got to hook up a few, uh, counters and, uh, encoders. Hardware stuff, huh. Yeah. What do you think of that fuzzy logic? I've not had a chance to work with it, although, um, my, uh, data structures teacher was telling us something about how fuzzy logic works as far as the concept behind it. Uh-huh. Now how you'd implement that software wise or mechanically I don't know, but, uh, it sounds like a very impressive piece of, piece of work. Yeah, they're pretty amazing. Uh, I've written a couple of programs for, commercially, uh Yes. and it's a fun field. In the fuzzy logic direction? What, no, in, uh, no, just regular, uh, but you have to take into account, you know, with any computer program all the type of things people can do to you to make your program crash or things you normally don't consider. Yeah. Entering bad information of one sort or another and, Yeah, pushing keys certain times and, Uh, messing up your files and things like that. Yeah. Uh-huh. And you're going to be an engineer, computer engineer type. Uh, yeah, well, what the computer, what the C E T program seems to be so far is just a broad based specialized from, you get programming, a fair amount of programming, you get hardware, you get, uh, more or less, uh, you get basic electronics courses that, uh, deal with, you know, not only the digital circuitry but, uh, you know, power supplies and, and, uh, just the whole gambit, but mostly towards, uh, computer electronics. So, the idea is that, um, you can go in a variety of direction from C E T major, but I I have more with the hardware than I do with the software, so, yeah I pretty much plan on, I mean, so far I'm planning to go in the engineering direction. I don't, That's good, uh, Set. Okay. You, you got the topic, right? Yeah. Okay. Uh, well, where in Dallas are you? I'm in Richardson. Oh, okay. So you do do recycling there? Yeah, Richardson has, uh, well, they have a newspaper pick up once a week supposedly, if it's not raining. Uh-huh. And they also have a couple of areas where you can take, uh, cans, plastic and paper, to, uh, you know, dump them off there if you don't, uh, want to wait and have a pick up, least of paper, but they don't pick up the other items. They don't pick up cans or the plastic. Uh-huh. Are they going to later, do you know? I'm not sure. They only started to do the newspaper uh, late last year. Just kind of like a trial basis. And see how it goes, so I don't know if they're going to pick up the other things. Uh-huh. Um. What about you? Well, I'm, I'm in Dallas proper in the city of Dallas Uh-huh. and I know they do have, you know, a pilot program going on but it's not here. Um. So they're not picking up anything Oh. So, I mean, we, we collect everything We've got all these boxes in our garage for, you know, green glass and clear glass and plastic and everything. Where do you take them? Well, there's, there's a couple places. Unfortunately, we can't find a place that will take everything. Um. Uh, there's a lot of places to take, like the plastic, uh, shopping bags like most of the grocery stores. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And there's a Wal-Mart nearby that takes almost everything. I can't remember what it is they don't take. Um. And the library will take glass. So we end up, you know, on the weekend we pack it all in the car and, and as we go places we, oh, wait, we can drop the glass off you know. Um. Drop things off one at a time, but, uh, and it's kind of disappointing, I mean, I would even be happy if they just had one, you know, one place where you could do everything. You know, it would still be more convenient than what we have now. One of the people from my department, I think used to take a lot of the stuff to a recycling center that was for the benefit of the Dallas Shelter. Um. I think it was closer to downtown. Where is that? Uh, she's not here anymore Oh. but, uh, yeah, I'm pretty far north. I'm not, I'm, I'm, I'm just, I'm north of Addison actually. Oh. So I'm, I'm really Yeah. I'm, I'm in Dallas, but only technically Well, sometimes we take our, uh, we always keep our aluminum cans. Uh-huh. Yeah. And a lot of times they take them over to one of these can banks. Yeah, I've seen those. You don't get too much money back. I figure it pays for the gas to take my cans over there. Yeah. But normally I collect, oh, like three trash bags full Yeah. and I take them over to that can bank and it's more fun just to kind of like crunch the cans in the can bank. Don't get too much money for them but, Well, you get something Uh, Yeah. We used to do that, but, again, that's another stop Uh-huh. and it doesn't take plastic bags and, and all that sort of thing, but, uh, I think that, you know, I heard that it was going well in the pilot area wherever that is and so hopefully they'll do it soon. Uh-huh. That would be good because we have two trash pick ups a week Uh-huh. and, where I grew up we only had one a week and that was certainly sufficient. So if they just do, one of them will be trash and the alternate time would be recyclables, that would be great. Yeah. So, Yeah. Uh, I'm disappointed sometimes they're not always consistent in picking up those papers, you know. I seem to put them out there on Wednesday Uh-huh. and like sometimes they come by, sometimes they don't. Oh. I'm not really sure why they're not always consistent in that. Um. But I could certainly have, uh, three bins out there for, you know, plastic and and tin and paper, whatever they were going to, uh, separate into and, and have them pick it up on, on one of the two days per week. Right. That would be easy. Yeah. Do you have to, uh, sort the paper and take out the glossy pages and that, that sort of thing or do they take the whole thing? You're not supposed to have, like the coupons in there. Oh, okay. Uh, or you're not supposed to put magazines in there Uh-huh. and you can't take newspapers. Now at work, uh, you know, we have changed our recycling. At first they were kind of finicky about what kind of paper you could recycle. And not too long ago they finally decided if it's anything that's paper and tears, you can throw it in there because at first they said, Let me guess you work at T I, right? Yeah, at first they said, They said, no telephone books. So do I. Yeah. You know, well, that's stupid and then they said no newspapers. Um. Well, in the, my department everybody gets the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Yeah. There was like a lot of paper coming out of our department that wasn't recyclable. Yeah. So I thought that was pretty good to expand upon it, say, Well, and they take cans, now, too. Which is great. Yeah. I still put my cans in with the cans. I mean, I don't want it with paper. Somehow that just seems weird to me Well, our department used to collect the cans anyway for the Christmas tree project. And, In fact we got, this past year, we got all of our money for the Christmas tree because we saved cans for the entire year. Oh. Ooh. And it worked out really well. Well, we had the one person who used to take things to the Dallas Shelter. Uh-huh. I think that's what that was called. Uh-huh. She collected, she used to collect from the whole department, but she took them all down to that Dallas Shelter place. Uh-huh. I wish I could remember the whole name of that place, but it's a charity for the benefit of this shelter. Uh-huh. And, yeah, she, she used to collect them from everybody in the department. Yeah. She'd go up and down with her little bag collecting from everybody. Yeah. Yeah. Because we would get it, Okay, you got any hobbies that you want to talk about? Well, I, uh, don't seem to have as much spare time as I used to, but, I guess I'll have to say my computer has probably taken the place of most of my hobbies. What in the world do you do with your computer that takes so much time? Well, I sit and design cards Oh, really? and, uh, oh, I, I'm really into graphics, so, it, it just, I sit and learn new programs and I play and I do this, and I do that and, I'm, I'm starting a side business in desk top publishing Did you have, uh, your own business or you do that as, just on the side, or what? Uh-huh. and, uh, it's just getting going. I, I'm teaching in the daytime Well. and, uh, I teach business and computer technology. What do you teach? Oh, that's good. Well, I guess It's, uh, to high school kids, it's, uh, alternative learning Uh-huh. and, uh, it's, it's really a challenge, but. What hobbies do you have? Well, I, uh, play trombone in the Plano Community Band. Ooh, neat. And I, uh, like to do a lot of bicycling when the weather allows, and during summer when there's daylight savings time's when I get out and bike. Well, I hope you all had as pretty a day today as we did. Well, it wasn't too bad, other than the Cowboys didn't do so hot. Oh, well now, yes I don't think you can blame the weather on that. We had. No, just a crummy, well, actually the Lions are pretty good, I'm afraid, they a lot better team than the Cowboys were today. And, uh, . On any given day, they say. Uh, I haven't, I haven't played in a while, but I do, when I get time and it's pretty weather and it's summer I like to play golf. Oh, okay. I, I play that about six times a year and every year I hang my bag up if I get that five or six and I swear, swear that game off for another year, but I always go back to it Oh, I, uh, oh, I take spells, I'm, I'm kind of a compulsive obsessive person and when I start something, I, I go into it a thousand percent I understand that. and then I get, I get burned out on it. But, uh, I do some counted cross-stitch and some painting on shirts. Well, you do lots of stuff. Well, it doesn't seem like I get anything done, but I guess I do and, I, I like to bake. It's just me in the house, so, when I bake it's usually to take out for something. Gosh, I come up there I'll have to stop by and have, try some of your baking. Well. I call on people in . My business is, uh, machine tool sales, and I have some, I, I cover Texas and Oklahoma. Oh, okay. So, I, what I said that I wasn't being real facetious about that. I got customers in Oklahoma City and Tulsa and Perry, Oklahoma and Eda and all that, all that way. Oh, how neat. So you do quite a bit of traveling then. Yes, yes. I, about thirty-three thousand miles a year. So. Ooh, well that doesn't leave a lot of time for hobbies, does it? Well, I usually, see, we, we have our, our band practice is on Monday night, and during the summer we, uh, we have concerts every Monday night in the park, and, uh, we, we have, you know, some concerts during the year, and, you know, various people in the communities want us to play for things, but those are usually on the weekend, so that isn't too bad. How big is your band? Well, we got, uh, pretty good size band. Not everybody shows up, but if everyone did we'd probably have over a hundred but we only average about forty to fifty people a, you know, usually. Ooh. Well, that's still a pretty good size band. Yeah. It's not like there are four or five of you there. Oh, no, no. This is a, it's a concert band, and, uh, we have a lot of, I, I don't pretend to be that good, but there's a lot of people that, uh, you know, are band directors at schools, or have been, or, uh, you know, there some people that are actually music majors. They don't necessarily follow that any more, you know, that isn't necessarily their career, but, uh, we have some extremely good talent in there, and, uh, as a rule, it sounds pretty decent, so It's fun. I, I have absolutely no musical ability whatsoever, and I'm always very envious of people who do. Well, I don't know if I have any or not. I, I've always enjoyed it. I sing in a church choir on Wednesday nights when I'm around, and play in the band on Monday nights, and keeps you out of trouble that way. Well, I'm probably one of the few people that the, Okay, Lee. Tell me about your ideas on this, uh, the U S government supporting health insurance and so forth. Well, I think it's inevitable that we are going to see national health care and the reason is because the market place doesn't seem to have performed adequately, uh, the invisible hand that which Adam Smith wrote has, uh, provided some very good health care and, uh, much, I think inadequate health care. Uh, and in some cases, the absence of health care has resulted from market place forces and I think, uh, it's inevitable. It is just a matter of, uh, time and mistakes and they're both inevitable. Well what is this going to do the insurance companies who are supporting this work now and hopefully are doing, uh, a good job? Well, it's going to make it tough for them and it's going to be a difficult transition. I don't know, uh, how it's going to, uh, play out in terms of the particulars, but I don't think that society will be willing to tolerate the current health care crisis for too long. Our, uh, physical and mental and spiritual health, uh, it's really, uh, very costly. Yes. And, uh, as a society we are paying a staggering price for this. Well this is what's bothering me, Lee, another question, My, do you think that there should be some control, uh, innovated such that the doctors are not allowed to charge ridiculously over priced things. We realize that for the individual person, some things are very important. Uh, matter of fact, in some respects their life might depend on it. Right. But, by the same token some of these charges they make for well, minor endeavors, shall we say on the parts the doctors are really out of line. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, there are they're abusive of privileges There should be some control of that. Yes and that is what is giving the local, uh, insurance companies hard times. That is the one thing we have no control over are these charges that happen when you go to hospitals and you get something done and they want to charge twenty thousand dollars for it. Right. Well, this I think is one of the things that national health care of some sort of evolutionary process over the next ten, or twenty or thirty years will address. Because I know this is, addressed by, uh, in Canada. I, I have a good friend who is, uh, a physician practicing in Canada. And they made the transition, uh, and I think that the, uh, for example the duplication of magnetic resonance imageries uh, Yes. We have had several of them. My wife and I both have had that recently. I've, I've had one myself and, uh, they're wonderful technology, but cities have three or four more than they need or three or four times the number they need. So, I think that what the market place doesn't do because of the way the system has worked and it doesn't allocate resources oftenly because there is a tendency, uh, at least there has been a tendency to drive up the price of medical care primarily because the insurance companies could pass on the bills, but it's begun to change all of that. The people paying the bills, uh, employers ultimately, have begun to squawk because they have seen their health care cost rise two hundred percent in the past ten years. Yeah. So, I think the evolution will be interesting. Uh, Hawaii has a system that is apparently working and, uh, it will be interesting to see how, how, uh, much more attention we pay to that. I do think though that it is inevitable primarily because of the pain, uh, that people are feeling, uh, under the circumstances. Uh, I believe that it will contribute to something that we would at this point call national health care, whether it's subsidized by the government and and operated by private insurers, uh, I don't know. I like that idea. I tend to be one of those people who believes the market place can under varied circumstances with the profit incentive work very very well. Uh, I, we would be a lot better off if we, if we, contracted our national defense to a group who rather that operated as a government entity because we would probably have much less waste. See, that, that bothers me about the government see, uh, my, Well that's, that's the problem with government, uh, administration of these programs and that is one of the things that we as society are going to have to deal with. Government is going to have to change in this regard. Do you think that that these insurance things should be covered on a State basis or U S government basis? You know, that is really a tough one for me to answer. I don't, uh, I would like to see the greatest improvement in management. My, my, my field is the cognitive sciences and I recognize that a lot of these things that are done, are done, uh, as a function of the operating systems in place. And those operating systems have to change and and as we become more efficient in developing machine operating systems we're going to develop more efficient human operating systems and so a State or federal application, uh, could work. Uh, it all depends upon the way you structure the environment. We may have to deal with, I'm ready. Well in Atlanta, Georgia you probably have a lot more crime than we have here in Patterson, California. Oh could, could be. Uh, this little city is only about eight thousand people. Huh. So. Yeah, we, is, is crime a problem there? like a major problem, minor problem or, Well in Patterson there's, it's not a problem here. But like, uh, I lived in Oakland, uh, until just recently Uh-huh. and, uh, Oakland, California, God, they've had like, uh, sixty-seven murders so far this year compared to like, uh, forty at this time last year. Yeah. So it's really bad there. Yeah. And, and it's all related to drugs it seems like. Oh, yeah. Is that what it's there too? Yeah. I've only been here for like, uh, probably just over six months I start, I started school here. Uh-huh. Uh, I came from a smaller town in, in New York Uh-huh. and the city was fairly big size or not real big but we had a problem there but here there's just no comparison that, much more crime. Uh-huh. Uh, every night the news is very depressing because it just, they run down the list of how many people were shot, you know, drive by shootings or whatever Yeah. and it's, it, it's pretty bad. They're, they're, it's, things have basically improved here over the last few years. They've, they've actually taken steps to try to make it better but it still, it still is a problem. Yeah. Like I don't know what they can do to make it better unless they just hire more policemen. Well that's, that seems to be what they were doing and it has, and they've started, stepped up more patrols in certain areas and it has has made some places safer Uh-huh. but, you know, it's very difficult. I mean if you don't have an infinite amount of money to, to try to stop the problem although most people wish you could as it is a, it's definitely a problem Uh-huh, uh-huh. and you know, the more, more, less that's done about it the more it seems it tends to spread into smaller areas unfortunately. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well I, I think that if they would do something to these people that they do catch instead of just slapping their little hands Right. and, you know, then maybe those other people would be kind of scared and they would not do these bad things, you know. Yeah, I think, I think that, uh, it's, uh, seems to be that, I don't know, some people they they do something, you know, they shoot somebody or whatever, they go to jail, sentenced to jail for like thirty years they're out in five and they're back on the street and then they shoot someone else and just a, a cycle and it seems, seems as though the, the system doesn't tend to stop them unless something is drastic is done. Yeah. I just don't understand our, our laws here. Because, you know, like in other countries, man, I mean, they're really a lot stricter than we are. Yeah. It's, definitely true. It seems, seems as though we try to play humanitarian I think to, a little to much *typo too and maybe some of the people don't deserve the, the humanitarian treatment that they get. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But I don't know. It's a difficult situation I think and some, something has to be done because I definitely think it's, it, it really plays, reeks havoc with your quality of life when, you know, you can see it's going on around you but then when, once it finally affects you then, then it really starts to bother you. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, But it seems, I mean, people have moved like out of the city because they want to get away from the crime and so they tend to spread the cities farther and farther out but, you know, it's only a matter of time before, you know, it still catches up with them. You can't really run away from the problem Yeah. and something, you know, something has to be done but just that too many people argue about how to fix it. Yeah. I know when I lived in Oakland, it was just that, uh, like, I definitely wouldn't go into certain areas of, of the city by myself. Oh, sure. And, uh, and then, then again some areas I wouldn't go by myself after dark you know. Right. Right. But down here, in Patterson, well like I say, it's so small that you can go anywhere. Yeah. Yeah, that's good . But just, uh, like twenty miles away see in Modesto, they have, uh, those gangs and things over there. Right. And it, it's bad. In Sacramento also, they have, uh, drive by shootings it seems like all the time. Yeah. So, I don't know. Yeah. I just, I just don't know what, what they can do you know. Yeah. It's, it's to bad because it's, uh, I mean, just even the random occurrences where, you know, it's unsafe for a woman just to walk from the car to the, some, in certain areas like from the car, from their car to the mall or something and it's dangerous. I know. And it's just, that's just ridiculous and you know, it's just, that's just not right. Something you know . Yeah, I mean like even, even going to the grocery store. I know we've had this one lady that was attacked, you know. Right, right. I mean, just, you just, you just don't know what to do anymore, you know. Right. And some of the times it's happening in the daytime too, you know, so it's not always happening at dark. Yeah. So I don't know. Yeah, it's definitely unfortunate Okay. Uh, let me see I've been sitting here awhile. I almost forgot the topic. But, uh, it seems like I get most of my news from television. I'm, we only get the paper on the weekends and so I'm not much of a, of a paper reader or but I, I and I'm don't, rarely listen to the, uh, radio so I get most of my news like from documentaries like FORTY-EIGHT HOURS, TWENTY TWENTY, you know, the news at night. News in the afternoon, that kind of thing. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well I get a, weekend paper as well and, uh, in addition to that I get a local weekly. I, I live in suburb of Milwaukee Uh-huh. and they get, they have community newspapers around here so the local, their extremely local stuff uh, is in the local paper that comes out once a week Uh-huh. and then I get the Sunday, uh, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL because I don't have time to read a paper. Uh, mostly that's my difficulty. Right. I, uh, I get my news pretty much from the same sources as you do, although I do listen to N P R which has very good, and that's National Public Radio which has very good, uh, coverage of the national and international news, I feel and does a pretty good job of analysis as well. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Are you in the car quite a bit or, No, I'm not actually. Uh, but I can run my radio in my office. I, I teach at the university Oh. and when I'm not teaching, if I choose to have the radio on I can listen to that station, Oh. so. Uh-huh. Oh, I see. Uh, How are you, are you satisfied with the TWENTY TWENTY and FORTY-EIGHT HOURS and the things that you do watch? Yeah. I, I, I pretty much am and I watch the news at least twice a day. Uh-huh. So, uh, if I've missed something and, and I've just recently decided to stay home with my children and so it seems as if I catch the news right as it happens, you know. Uh-huh. There was the explosions and that kind of thing. My husband will say how did you know about that. Yes, it happened at such and such time And that's so, that, that's different for me. So I usually find out exactly when it happens and that kind of thing. Is that the aspect of the news that you're most interested in is, is the timely noting of the events as they happen? Is that what you feel good about in the news coverage? Uh, no it just seems like since I've recently stayed home, that is what's happened, you know. It's just that, uh, now that I've stayed home, I'm, I'm usually aware of when these things occurred Uh-huh. and it happened and, Well, I, myself, uh, the reason why I listen to N P R and the reason why I watch MACNEIL LEHRER, rather than the, than the network news shows at night, although I do watch a local ten o'clock in the evening news which carries over a lot of the national news stories uh, is that quite often it seems to me the national doesn't do a very good job of analysis. Right, right. The local doesn't either but I feel that MACNEIL LEHRER get a little more deeply into some, some of the issues that are really current. Uh-huh And perhaps newspapers do that but as I said, I don't have time to sit down and read a newspaper and frankly when I have read a newspaper I haven't noticed that kind of analysis either. Uh-huh. Huh. So. Uh, there's, there is some danger to that, of course, too. Because if the analysis is inaccurate or biased or whatever then, you know, how good is it. But, uh, I like a little more indepth coverage and I think that's what you're, maybe appealing to you too on something like TWENTY TWENTY or FORTY-EIGHT HOURS. Right. Right. It kind of gives you the whole story or more of the story. Uh-huh. That kind of thing. Yeah. So. Uh, I'm more interested in trying to understand what's going on in the world rather than simply being aware that, you know, there, that an event has occurred Yeah. Yeah. I, I like to stand back and get a slightly bigger picture. Maybe because I'm easily confused by detail. I don't know Uh-huh. Yeah, I know what you're saying. Yeah. So. But I try and catch most of those programs on Wednesday's and Friday's and if I miss them, I try you know, I try and, and tape them if I'm out that kind of thing, I try and tape them and so I can sit back and watch them. And it's pretty interesting. When, you have young children, right? Uh-huh. So those evening shows are probably also at a time when you're at liberty to take some time off and be in front of the T V set for awhile without interruption. Well, yeah. Plus, I find that I have to video tape quite a bit of things Oh, you do? Uh-huh. If I don't want any interruptions, you know. Uh-huh. That kind of thing. When is your good watching time? Uh, it seems like ten o'clock at night Uh-huh. Yes. Yeah, that's what, Unfortunately, but that, that's what it seems like, ten o'clock at night. I have older children and getting dinner on the table. Uh-huh I come from the east coast and I was, it amazed me when I got out here to the midwest and found out that even though they're an hour earlier in time, they still watch the news when, Uh, in Texas they do have the, uh, capital punishment and, uh, I, I I, I'm probably one that has to agree with it too. Uh, there some things that go on that I just feel that I, I, just feel, that, that, that is a need. I don't know. A lot of people don't feel that way either but I just feel that Well I don't know how much publicity it's gotten outside of the state but California we just put somebody to death uh, for, I think it was a double murder. Uh-huh. Uh, to be honest, I didn't pay that much attention, uh, to the details of it. Uh, but it had a lot of controversy out here. Uh, basically, because in California people like to protest about everything. Uh, but I agree, I believe that, that there are a number of crimes that capital punishment is the best way to go. Uh-huh Uh, the big disagreement I have is that in California, the appeals process, uh, is so extensive and takes so long that you end up spending a huge amount of money in like ten to fifteen years before you can actually, you know, put somebody to death for, for a crime. Yeah. Yeah, that is a consequence, yeah. And, I mean, that's, that's ridiculous. I mean if you can, you know, the trial is supposed to prove, you know, within a reasonable doubt that the person is guilty, and then they have appeals. Well, that's fine but it shouldn't take more, than a few years. I mean, I should think two or three years maximum, you should be able to know Right. and you should be able to either put the guy to death or he's innocent. I mean it's, if he's guilty for, for, you know, multiple murders or whatever the case may be you know. Right. Uh-huh. Well maybe that's something that needs to be worked on. Yeah. But I, I just feel that, that capital punishment needs to stay within the system. Not all states have them but I, you know, was that, was that the, I'm not sure if that was in, was that the man that, that claimed he was abused or, Yeah, he was like, uh, the the defense, the defense they're were giving, given was that, uh, like his mother had, had been an alcoholic when, when she was pregnant with him And that he had he , Oh, yeah. and so he, he wasn't, you know, mentally competent or anything else. Which is ridiculous, Yeah. and, and the court found him competent, uh, and he knew what he was doing and everything else. I mean you know, it was, it was the best defense they could come up with. Yeah. And how long had he been appealing How long was that? I forget. I think it was something like twelve years or something. Gosh. Boy. It was, it was something really outrageous. Yeah Boy. Well, I mean and it seems like it, it rarely does happen. You know, it's not, it's not used that often you know. At least here in Texas Yeah. but I think it's something that needs to stay. I really do I think in general, uh, punishment in the United States is a lot weaker than it should be. I mean, it needs to be, you know, it's kind of like the, the justice system in the United States is kind of like the dog poops on the carpet and you wait three months and then you put his nose in it and spank him for it. You know. Yeah. I mean there, there's no connection between the two. Right, right. Yeah. I mean you take these, you know, most of the people who are committing violent crimes, most of them, not all by any means, but, you know, a large percentage are the kind of people who are living very much day to day in the first place. Uh-huh. Uh, they don't really see past next week much less next year. Uh-huh. And to say, you know, well if I kill somebody then a decade from now, I might face the punishment. Yeah. That's not real. It doesn't have any real impact on them. My sister and I were wondering about this recently because a, an old friend of ours in California, this happened about a week ago. Uh-huh. Uh, her husband just killed her and we're wondering if that has an effect. If that, if something, does capital punishment, you know, does it happen with that, within that, uh, I don't know Uh, you mean, would he be put to death for that? Right. Uh, largely depends on the circumstances and generally, you know, from what I understand, it's, it's only the most brutal types of things usually. Where it's multiple, you know. I think you're right. If, if they can say things like, you know, well he was just, you know, temporarily insane because of, some domestic squabble then you know, they'll, they'll give him, you know, twenty years with, with parole in, in twelve or something like that Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, I have an uncle that is an attorney that defends people All righty. Uh, I guess our topic today is air pollution. And we are to just discuss what substances do you think that contribute most to air pollution, as well as what society can do to improve the air quality of the atmosphere around us. Right. Um, does your work entitle, uh, anything of environmental along these lines? Me, I'm in the legal department and, um, we do have, uh, a group of attorneys who handle our environmental issues. Uh-huh. And I don't know too much about the air pollution thing. I do know for other types of pollution like the toxic waste and such that T I has to dispose of that we normally put in the ground, you know, we're coming up with a, uh, a new solution. We have been finding a lot of toxic places to dump and we just transport to these places. But after awhile it always seems that the, um, oh, the site starts to leak and then you have to clean it up and such. But the new idea is to take everything up to Sherman, and we're going have that, you know, incineration place up there and, dump everything there. Right. And supposedly that facility will not generate air pollutants from what I've heard, that everything would be in, in, you know, a confined kind of incinerator and just burn it all up. And that we won't be polluting the air. I'm sure we have to have, uh, permits, you know, for that place. And that there's, you know, limits as to what we can, uh, let, you know, go into the air. Yeah. It's, uh, uh, uh, well, I work in , I work in environmentals, uh, projects right now. Oh, okay. And so the Sherman deal is, um, uh, lost a lot of hair over that project. Oh Uh, what we run into, um, is we have the Texas Air Control Board, T A C B, that send out, uh, jurisdictions under which we have to, uh, uh, reply to. Uh-huh. And a lot of their rules and regulation aren't real clear, so we have our manager of environmental, who assist the T A C B, which is located in Austin, in writing and, hey, look what we've done here at T I. Uh-huh. And, uh, we are presently, uh, in receipt of a site permit, which will allow us to, um, uh, this is our side allow to have certain emissions up to a certain tonnage. Uh-huh. It's in, in, in tons per year. Um, Okay. and so, you know, what we do to make contributions so that, basically, we go and do things like put in high-tech scrubber systems, uh, that, uh, scrub out the, N O X and, uh, V O C's and, and ammonia compounds, uh, like all the acids, to a certain level. We, are very, um, aware of the opacity, which is the thickness of a stack emissions. Uh-huh. So if you don't see anything coming out of a stack the opacity is zero or twenty or thereabouts. And so what we go through is, uh, if you see it smoking there's a problem. And having worked with some of the legal folks very closely, uh, it becomes a real issue, especially, when it's smoking and you have to get it fixed el pronto. Um. As you know, they, they're allowed to come on site, the federaldes, anytime they want, drive through, and see, and inspect. Um. So it's a full time, uh, everybody has their home phone number type of job. Um, Now is that place built or you're still on the makings of it? The Sherman facility, we are still in the, closer too, but still have a little bit of, um, finalization to do. Right. It's been pitched to the Sherman City Council with, um, open arms, as well as the public. Uh-huh. We had open forum and, and, uh, uh, Tom Jones, our environmental, corporate environmental guys handle the project. Uh-huh. And, uh, its real, uh, going real well. I think it's matter, just a matter of fund, funds right now as I understand it. Uh, Uh-huh. but it's, uh, it's something else. Yeah. they're, they're, they're in the same issue. We were hoping on burning a lot of the effluent up there. Uh, because the, the system is setup where it won't have any emissions. You're correct. It will have something coming out of the stackhouse it was, it was human nature. Right. But it won't have can any, uh, any bad stuff. So, uh, I think T I, we spend, of all the major semiconductor firms, we probably put safety and environmental on the utmost, foremost, uh, uh, first thing we always look at. And we probably put more money into the systems and engineering behind the system of any other firm I know of. We eat and sleep the stuff, everything we do over here. and, uh, it's an interesting job. But um, Well, I know from some of the sites that we've had, uh, quite a list of cites that have gone bad and you have to clean up. And, you know the law now is the super fund and anybody who's contributed toxic waste, no matter if you were somebody that eventually, you know, uh, damaged the ground or not. Uh, everybody has to contribute and it's been a lot of big bucks when we've gotten, uh, gotten pulled into these super fund deals to clean it up and, you know, mega bucks to, uh, you know take everything out and redo it and, you know, fill in some other area and, um, certainly, it would to have a better solution, like the Sherman facility than, um, just letting it go in the ground. Because eventually, you know, it, it seems that no matter what they do, if they put it in oil drums and then seal it in some kind of cement lined, uh, dump area. It still only in time starts to leak out. Possibly. Yeah. Uh-huh. There, there was one site that they cleaned up and then the new place leaked again. . Yeah. I'm familiar with that one. We have, we have stuff that's very interesting, uh, we have hoods, we have duckwork and all those type of interesting pieces of equipment where, um, they have, um, that we sample Uh-huh. and it may have over, uh, a certain emission levels, this is on the solid side , and so we take it and, uh, we can't deep well inject something like that because it's a solid. And we mix it with concrete and actually, um, potash, per se, and concrete and then actually put it in the ground. But not so, not in a hazardous waste location because it's, basically, a concrete slab. Uh-huh. Um. It was totally legal. But the cost of doing this is astronomical, they actually show you what duckwork and things. Um, And so we were, uh, very, very, uh, cognizance of, and aware of all these types of, uh, expenditures because it could get very expensive. But I think we, uh, you know, we do all kinds of things to make the, the world a better place to live, you know, I think some of the folks that aren't aware of it will be surprised at how much effort and energy is put into doing that. I really would. Um, I've enjoyed speaking with you, Yeah. This has been an interesting topic. Uh, I was one of the, I was responsible for all the planning and engineering over the corporate, or in the north building Oh, you were? Yeah. Oh, okay. So, uh, I hope you like your office. Yes. Yes. It's a heck of a lot different. And we used to be really embarrassed about the gray metal desk. We were about the only, place in, you know, T I that had the gray metal desk. Yeah. People used to come and laugh and go, gee, I hadn't seen one of those ten, fifteen years. Yeah. Glad to see y'all taken care of. Well, the, uh, I think what changed everything and, uh, is, uh, y'all were, y'all were the only ones that make any money for TI, here in the last ten years, We, finally got a little respect. Nobody thought of us as a profit center before. Exactly. And that's, um, when, when you start, when you start paying your way, uh, you know, Jerry takes a different outlook towards you guys. Right. Right. I was just, Not just overhead. Exactly. I've enjoyed speaking with you. You too. See you later. Bye-bye. Bye. Okay, in order to make the, uh, curried chicken, I just fried the chicken, until it was nice and brown, you know Uh-huh. make sure it's nice and brown on both sides and then you take it out of the fat and you, you let the chicken you fried kind of drain, so that a lot of the oil comes out of it Uh-huh. And then you, you, uh, pour most of the, all of the oil out of the pan and you kind of clean it out and you put back maybe two tablespoons full of the oil and saute some, um, bell peppers and onions in, in that little bit of oil. Maybe one tablespoon or two tablespoons, let that brown, then put all of the chicken back in there. And then you, uh, mix flour and a cup of water, maybe, uh, one tablespoon of flour and a cup of water. Stir it real, real well. Uh-huh. Then you, uh, pour that in there, you know, to make the gravy. And you let it come to a boil again and then you let it simmer and you add, uh, about a tablespoon of, what I'm using now is Jamaican curry powder. Oh. And that's going to, it's going to be really good That's very spicy, too. Yeah, it's, I mean these bell peppers and curry. Right, and then if you like it really hot, you can add some hot, hot peppers and hot sauce and all that kind of stuff. Oh, that sounds really good. Yeah. Huh. I guess it was, is this dinner time for you? Uh, well it will be in a little while, I'm trying to get it, get it ready early. All done in advance, yeah. That's um, I, uh, I'm, I'm not that great a cook but I was single until I was thirty so I did cook a little, you know. Oh. Uh, and I cook a little bit now. What I like to do mostly is stir fries and my wife normally says, oh, Tom, why, why don't you make a stir fry tonight and so we even, we just were recently married so we have a stir fry pan sort of like a big wok. Uh-huh. And we do a lot of, um, stir fry vegetables. What kind of wok do you have, is it, is it a real Chinese wok. It's, it's called a stir fry pan and it, and it fits right on your, uh, it fits right on your burner, whether it's gas or electric so it's, it has a flatter bottom than a normal wok does. Uh-huh. I see. And, um, normally what what we do is, um, just, you know, like two tablespoons of oil, maybe sesame oil or some other type of oil than just regular vegetable oil. But I will use peanut, peanut oil, or things. And then we just stir fry broccoli and carrots and, um, green peppers, and, um, maybe put in a little bit of, um garlic and ginger, uh, beforehand. That gives, uh, uh, uh, spicier flavor and then after the stir fry is over, just mix in, um, a little bit of, uh, sometimes chicken broth, and corn starch and soy sauce Yeah. and that sort of makes a, uh, a glaze, that sticks to the, the vegetables, Uh-huh. I've used, you turn them over. A lot of times when we do stir fry we just put in tofu, we don't put in meat, cause I guess we're, I'm not Uh-huh. but, uh, she likes to watch all the, how much red meat and things, so. We'll do, a lot of times vegetarian. Yeah. But it's a real good meal because you have squash and broccoli and, uh, carrots and celery and green peppers and, um, oh, gee, mushrooms. Oh that's, That sounds real good except the squash, It's, it's a pretty big and we put that over rice. I just don't like squash. Oh, you don't I never did. My mother used to cook a whole pan full of squash and she'd have squash and corn bread Oh. And maybe some, she'd have chicken or something. Uh-huh. And I'd just be, Yeah, see, we never, in fact I never had squash growing up. My, my wife eats more vegetables, ate more vegetable than I did growing up. I'm, I'm from Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh is a very meat and potato town. Uh-huh. Yeah, recipes in Pittsburgh consisted of red meat and a potato. Uh-huh. Red meat and a potato. Oh, that sounds good. We, we were from North Carolina and we had a garden and my mother would, would, uh, grow the squash and she'd grow white potatoes and onions and cabbage and collards and all kinds of, Oh, she had all of those types of vegetables. Right. See, never, no vegetables in my family. Wow. Yeah, it was really funny. You wouldn't believe it, we even raised chickens Well that was a real farm. You ever seen anybody kill a chicken? No, but I, I've, I've heard stories uh, I've heard stories. And they put the head under a tin tub and chop the head off. Uh. And then you hear the chicken jumping around under the tub and finally it dies down, you get just a little patter and then it, Oh, this is you shouldn't be talking about this right before, while you're fixing dinner. Getting ready to eat chicken too. That's right, you should be careful That's pretty funny. But my dad used to tell stories, you know, about the way they eat chickens but I never, we never, we lived in the suburbs, we, we bought everything in a grocery store. Uh-huh. There was no, but it was funny, you know, it so, but when we got married, you know, a lot more vegetables, a lot more, you know, a lot of changes. Well that's good. A lot of people are eating healthier now a days. I think so too, Yeah. but we just went shopping and we came back with, uh, with, uh, sweets, you know, chocolate covered peanuts and uh, we came back with sweets. Ugh. We didn't bring all the healthy food back too. Yeah, I'm trying to learn how to cook, um, deserts without, without all of the sweets, you know, maybe use honey or something. Uh-huh, well that's, that's supposed to be, um, the trend of the future, but, uh, the cut back. Yeah. I, uh, recently was over a friends house that's Indian and, uh, she had brought Indian sweets into the office and it was really funny because they were made from yogurt and carrots. Ugh. Yeah, that was a sweet and I was like ugh. This is a sweet. Oh it is, it's a candy, I'm like ugh, you know, Indian candy is not very good. Uh, right. But everything was, and everything, you didn't notice it at first, but everything was sort of hot. Everything had a little bit of curry in it. The spice, yeah. It was funny, even the sweets did. Wow. When you first took a bite of them you didn't notice it but then after a couple of minutes you could taste it. You know, it had that, that after taste that, very, it was a very Indian flavor. Yeah. Good, they didn't have, I didn't like her desserts very well, they were very, yogurt and carrots and pistachios, pistachio nuts and yogurt. Uh-huh. And it wasn't very good. Well I might have liked some of that I, I like hot stuff, Uh-huh. I really do. Yeah, well have we done our ten minutes. Oh is it ten minutes. Something like that, I think we're, I don't know, do we get a signal. No, normally they just come in and they say you've overextended your, your conversation. Oh, well this is my first one. Oh, okay well that's, you'll see it will normally, it will come on and it'll say you've over extended your conversation, you now have fifteen minutes to fifteen seconds to complete it. Oh wow. But, uh, I've been cut off twice. Uh-huh. So I just thought, in fact I'm just also, I'm hearing a siren outside I think my, my neighbors car must have got bumped, you know, he has one of those alarms on his car, Goodness. one of the, the neighbor has an alarm on a car and it's going off. Uh-huh. So, I was going to go out and see what they were doing. Well, okay. Okay, hey thanks so much. Yeah, thank you, it was nice talking with you. Uh-huh, and you said this was your well you'll, you'll get a couple more probably. Yeah. I, uh, I called yesterday, I, or Friday, maybe I talked to somebody that, uh, I got them on, uh, during the day. It was a housewife and she was home with two kids. Ugh. And while we're talking the kids are screaming in the background, you know, that they wanted something and they were arguing back and forth and she just kept talking the whole time, it was pretty funny. Yeah, kind of hard that way. Okay. Okay. Hey thanks a lot, I'll talk to you later. All right, thank you, bye-bye. Bye. Okay, so, uh, do you own a P C? Um, no, not personally but, But you have one at work. Yes, uh-huh, Yeah, several Okay, and, now because, um, see I'm, I'm doing my, uh, Master's in Computer Science and Computer Engineering. Uh-huh. And, um, and I, I don't have one, but I have to use them, like during, especially during my undergrad. Right. Uh-huh. You, you use, um, like your first couple of years you use personal computers because, uh, you know, the software. You know, like it's easier for you to go to and run a program, you know, through the disk, because, um, the grader can do it at home. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Then, as the, you know, as you go up higher, like in your senior level, you're doing projects which are, are so big, and you have to have so many people sharing the same data, that you can't use personal computers, so you have to use, you know, a main frame. Uh-huh. Right, right. Yeah, I know I, uh, I do have a, uh, you know, a computer at home, but it's one that the company has loaned me. Oh, okay. And, that, that's been my situation, is that, uh, that way I can get in, access our, uh, computers that I have up here and, you know, do work from home. But does it have, uh, like, a disk drive? Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Oh, okay, because, uh, the ones that we use, you know, are like UNIX base systems. Right. Uh-huh. And, so they don't have a disk drive. Right. You know, so you can't, the only way that you can do it is through a modem. Right. And, you, you know, you just do it that way. Yeah. But, that's, uh, that's the only way that you can get to, through to the system, you can't store it anywhere. Right. Yeah, no I, um, I, I have both, because that, that's what I use all the time is UNIX Systems. Um, versus the DOS. But then I teach DOS classes, uh, at night. Oh, okay. Uh-huh, part time. So, And then you also have to do all your grading on the P C. Well, that, that's the really neat thing, I teach in the continuing education classes, so I don't, uh, I don't have to have any grades, no grade books, so that's great Oh, okay. But, no, I find that I use the, the personal computer a lot though for my WordPerfect, and also for my spread sheets. Okay. Yeah. Um, so I think it's extremely helpful and very useful. Well, uh, for us it's, uh, uh, you know, it's like for doing like, you know, like resumes, and, presentations. Uh-huh. Um, um. Uh-huh. We use like for example, a Mackintosh, which is a lot easier for graphics, than the than you know, the I B M P C's or anything compatible with that. Yeah. Right. Due, due to the fact that, well, you know, I, I haven't tested the, the P S two yet. Um, um. Uh-huh. but I don't know if the software is as easily, you know, like you can manage it a lot easier than, than the old one. Right. The old one you had to go pick a line, use little arrows to go onto the screen and check where you wanted to start, and where, you know, with the mouse you do it, you know, like, a hundred times faster. Right. That's true. That's true. And, uh, you also get, you know, when you see it on the Mackintosh with, you know, the one I have, that doesn't have any color, you can look at it and that's the way it's going to print out. Uh-huh. And, especially if you have a laser printer, it's going to print out the same way as it's on the screen. Oh, Uh-huh. And, so, with, you know, with the I B M what would happen is, uh, since the software that I had was, it was basically, you know, you only see part of the page. Uh-huh. And, so, the whole page you, you never can actually see it, Oh. you just draw it and they have to zoom out and zoom in and, you know, it's like, every time that you have to do something is, it's really a pain. What a hassle, yeah, yeah. And, also, you know, it's like for, for presentations, it's like if you have to do any statistical data it can be easily represented on a, on a P C. Uh-huh. it can be easily represented on a, on a P C. You know, like years back when you didn't have that you would have to map out all this, all these numbers. Yeah. and get a graph which you weren't sure if it was okay or not, you know. Right. Yeah. But, with a, with a new system I can calculate everything so fast, you know, like for spread sheets. Uh-huh. Right. Right. You can see what the trend is over the years. Yeah. And, I love all the windows that they have out now too, Yeah, that, that they have really simplified things. I, I had a, I had a program due and uh, one, one window I had the program and the other one I had the program running. so if there was ever a mistake, I could easily check, you know, Right. Right. I could look at the program and say, this is where I made the error. Right. Instead of saying, where did I make the error? Uh-huh. You know, go back and forth and, and, you know, you always, you know, the old ones you had to go out of your program, load up, um, uh, well load up the program again, in this case. Uh-huh. After you load it up change it, hope that's right, get out of that, run the program, run, uh-huh, as long as it took, and then go back and see if that worked or not. Yes. Yes. Yeah. But with windows you can have the program and say it messed up in line fifty-four. Yeah. So, you take a look at line fifty-four, you take a look at the output at the same time, and you can see that, where it messed up, because, you know it's like in the old computers, the ones that, uh, we're using here a couple of years ago, you would always have to have a printout, Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, right, right. Yeah, I know, I, uh, I remember my college days And having to do that too. did, did you learn it in computer science? Oh, yeah, uh-huh. I sure did. And, when was this. Uh, I graduated in eighty-six. Oh, okay. Yeah. So it's been fairly recent. Yeah, I know because, uh, all I know is that when I came here in eighty-seven, they still had, uh, it was the last year to, to put all your punch cards in. The cards. Oh, oh dear. I didn't have to bother with that at all, thank goodness. Yeah. So, yeah. No, but it, it was just sensational because I walked in and they go, Oh, my God, they're still using this. Yes. It was like, this is the last year you can put your punch cards in and get your program out and, you know You can get a hard copy of it, Wow, wow. and that's about it. Uh-huh, wow. So. But, I mean, the price of computers has gone down. They said that, um, if the auto industry would have kept the same trend as the computer industry has ever since, you know, it started, they said that, uh, cars would cost two dollars Uh-huh. and they would run forever. Oh, that would be great. So, I mean it's like, you know, the, the joke with the Yugo, you know, it's like, yeah, you know, like when your, uh, car runs out of gas just throw it away. Uh-huh. And, that, that's the way it would be. Wow. It's like yeah, I think I'll buy a new car today, you know, so, Yeah, but I mean the price has really gone down. I mean, I B M which, uh, an I B M P C in like in nineteen eighty-one it would cost you five thousand dollars, Oh, sure, oh, sure. and now you can get it, you know, like for, one thousand dollars, because, you know, because of the parts basically. Right. Yeah, and the two eighty-six too, so, yeah. Yeah. The parts and the labor is what they're charging you, they're not charging you, you know, over pricing, it because it's like, if we sell it for less, you know, it's like we're losing money, you know. Uh-huh. Right. It's like we want to sell it to break even at least. Uh-huh. And, I think they stopped producing the I B M P C. Uh-huh. And, uh, and the, uh, P C Junior was a total failure, to them. Oh. Yeah. They had, uh, they're trying to get out small computers, but, the only problem was that when they took that one out, the small computer was the I B M P C And, so, you couldn't, you know, it's like, sure bring out. into the market something that's smaller when nobody uses anything that's smaller than, you know, this, you know. Yeah. And, so. Oh. Uh-huh. But, over the past years it's like I B M has been producing like every two years they bring out a whole new system. You know, like the P C X T, A T, and the P S one, P S two things, you know, and so. It's just that you have to always compete and, uh, Mackintosh took a lot of the market from a lot of schools. Yeah. Because of, of their, you know, you can work with it a lot easier. Yeah. That's true. So, that's what they're trying to do. Oh, well, I'll leave you back to your work. Well. Okay. And, uh, have a good lunch. Thanks. Bye. All right, bye, bye. All right. Now, we used to be big time campers but now we're not quite so much since the kids are involved so much in sports. Uh-huh. What type of camping did you do? Well when we, before we had kids, we was in a motorcycle group, you know, Uh-huh. we went like twenty or thirty at a time. We took, uh, just our little tents, Uh-huh. and we did it that way. Then when we started having children we bought a camper. You know, Oh, uh-huh. and we did it that way. Oh, how neat. So, we've always enjoyed camping. Uh-huh. Well, I know I have, um, I just have a tent, and the kids and I like to go out and camp in the tent. Uh-huh. And then I bought a van and that way I can sleep in the van and be more comfortable yes. Now we have friends with a van, Uh-huh. and when they go on vacation a lot of times they'll just sleep in the van, you know. Right. Yeah. Like one night and the next night they'll stay at the motel, you know, or something like that. Uh-huh. And they enjoy it. Yes, I don't, I don't think I'm a real true, trooper, you know, when it comes, to camping. Oh, yeah. Oh, me either. All the bugs and stuff But I, I try I hate to be on all that stuff But, but I try, you know, to, uh, to get out there and enjoy everything. Oh, yeah. But what was so fun though is that I had to take my son to the doctor this morning because he went out camping with some friends and he got poison ivy, Oh. and it's all over him. The poor thing, you know, so, there's definitely hazards to going camping if you don't know what you're looking at Yes, yes. Oh, shoot. Oh. But now, I enjoy it every once in a while, I mean, it's not something I'd want to do real often. Uh-huh. I'm a sissy. Yeah. I either want to do it in the fall or spring. Right. Right. You know? Definitely when it's cool. Yes. Well, have you done much camping around Texas? Well, not really because usually it's when we go off, you know, like for a couple weeks or so. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. It's usually like that. Yeah. Well, have you camped all over the United States? Just about. Wow. Just about. See now I haven't so that, I bet you that's an experience there. Oh, it really is. Uh-huh. It really is. Uh-huh. Also I said we mostly did ours before we started a family. Right, right. It's a lot easier then. Well, I know my parents like to camp a lot, and they, uh, they've been going to Gulf Shores, Alabama. And, uh, which is really, really neat. Oh, uh-huh. They said they've got the white beaches and the sand, Yes. and it's not real populated so they can, they feel like they're in the outdoors and still close to the ocean. Uh-huh. And, uh, from what I understand from them it's really, really pretty there. Oh. I'd like to go anywhere. You know, I just like to go. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I really do. Well, have you done much camping up in Kentucky and, and those parts, in the mountains? No, not really, not that much. Um, we've been, well, we've been to Wyoming, you know, and Kentucky and Montana and, you know, places like that. But usually if we're with a group of people we really don't stay any one place very long. Uh-huh. You know, like if we're just going through and they camp one night and then head on. Right, right. But now that we have children and we go every blue moon, I'd rather just go to Galveston. You know Yeah Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yes, yes. Yes. But we're, uh, we're getting more into it and we've done, uh, we've done quite a bit and, uh, uh, the kids like to go out, you know, as often as they can. Uh-huh. Um, so that's good. You know, they're, they're becoming enthusiasts then of camping. Uh-huh. It is. My children really enjoys it. They really do. But by the time we really get a chance to it's July, you know, Right. and it's so hot. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And our camper doesn't have an air conditioner. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's one of those pop-ups. I'm sure you could put one in probably, Uh-huh. but we hadn't did that. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, well, that's really neat. Yes, Well, we all enjoy camping. And they're, you know, they're in like and scouts and stuff like that, you know, so, they get to go camping in those organizations also. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. At least their Daddy goes with them, I don't, when they do that. Yeah. But, That really is. Yeah. Oh, that's neat. That's really neat. Well, how old is your boys, your children? Well, I, well, I have, um, a son that's, uh, going to be eleven here pretty soon, and then a daughter that's thirteen. Uh-huh. So, they're, they're getting old enough to where they can help out with a campfire and, cooking and, and all that kind of stuff too. Oh, yes. Yeah. Yes. So, that's, that's really neat. It really is. Mine's eleven and eight. Uh-huh. So, they really enjoy it too. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I, I agree with you. They like to get out there and, but this wasn't so fun this last time for Nathan to, to get out there and he didn't realize he was touching poison ivy and it got all into his eye and it was really swollen and, uh, so they had to give him shots and everything, so. oh, well, maybe next time he'll stay away from those particular trees, or what, bushes, whatever they are Yeah, yes. Yes. Oh. But I have, uh, brother-in-law and a sister, you know, that just really just camp. You know, they love to go camping. Uh-huh. They could, they would all the time they wanted, you know, wanted to because there's nothing holding them back. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But I'm just not that involved in it. No, now I like to go out like several times a year. Yeah. But not on a, on the regular basis. I have some friends who go out every single weekend, when, you know, in the season. Oh. Uh-huh. Uh, and, and I just couldn't do that, you know. Me, I haven't really as far as entertainment, I don't know what you would do every you know. Yeah, yeah. But I guess, my entertainment's, television, I guess Just getting away. Yeah, right, right, see, I see, they just want to get away. Uh-huh. But every Friday night they'll go home, you know, straight from work and they'll pack up and, you know, and then they'll leave, and I'm just going, you know, by Friday night I just want to crash, you know, and I want to go home and, you know, do all that, and then, uh, get out on the road to boot, Oh, I don't either so. Uh-huh. But anyway that's their life Yes. But they probably live in a city also, don't they? Yeah, yeah, that's true. Well, see, we're in a real small county area, Uh-huh. and, you know, that makes a big difference. Now that's true. That's true. Because if we want to go camping we can just go just a few miles, you know Yeah That's true. That makes a difference. Well, it was nice talking with you. It was nice talking to you too, Okay. and we'll probably be talking to you again. Okay, well, take care. okay, bye-bye. Bye-bye. So, do you have any credit cards? Yes, I do. I keep, uh, I have an American Express, and a Visa card that I keep, you know, kind of for emergency purposes, and I have, you know, I use a gasoline credit card which I, you know, pay off every, every month. Uh-huh. Okay. But I've, I've gotten rid of all of the credit cards, you know, that I possibly could, and my balances are practically zero on the ones that I have. Especially since, you know, it's no longer after this year, or after tax year nineteen ninety, there's no deductions for, you know, credit card interest that you pay. Uh-huh. So it's a, you know, gosh, credit cards run, what, anywhere from, up to eighteen, nineteen percent, I guess. Yeah. It's just a bad deal. Course, there are emergencies, you know, that you, you know, probably need to have a card. Yeah, I have one card. Uh-huh, that's, that's probably enough. And I try not to use it, but right now, it's maxed out Absolutely. It's, it's very easy to, you know, to do that or, you know, to abuse it, it really is. Uh-huh. It's so easy to pull out the plastic, but we're trying our best not to, not to add any, you know, credit card debt to our structure here. Yeah. Um, I have, uh, the thing that bothers me worse than the credit cards, I think, is, uh, you mentioned the gasoline credit card. Uh-huh. I don't have that, but I've got, you know, one of the the, the instant teller cards that you can use for point of sale purchases. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And we use that usually to buy gasoline, and it's just it's really amazing how quickly that goes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I'm sure you're right. I don't, I don't, I don't participate in that, but, you know, a lot of folks do. Uh-huh. Yeah, at least with the, uh, gasoline company credit cards you have, you know, up to thirty, twenty-five, thirty days, you know, interest free for it. Yeah. But, you know, the instant thing may be, may, may be the way of the future to, you know, to replace checks and every other thing. Yeah, that's what they've, they've talked about it. Yeah. Course it eliminates any waiting period. It certainly does. God help those people who have to float checks occasionally because you won't be able to with that. Absolutely. That's right. Do you get any sort of discount when you use a card like that? No. I see. Oh, it was, well, they consider it to be the same as cash well, cause it actually is. I see, I see. It certainly is, yeah. Yeah. It's better than cash Uh-huh. They don't even have to deposit it, it just goes straight in there. That's right. No returned checks or anything. Right. Yeah. No, I, I understand it's becoming, you know, the popular thing to do. We're not participating in that particular program at the moment, and I don't really perceive doing it unless we absolutely have to. Uh-huh But, uh, I have in times past gotten into a bit of trouble with credit cards. It's just, you know, too easy to do. Yeah, but I'm so glad he told me that when, that they, they got to such a point with their credit cards they didn't want to cut them up because they were afraid sometime they might actually need them. That's right. They paid them off, and then they stuck them in a thing of water and froze them. She said at least before she could use them she'd have to thaw them out. I mean, that's funny. Well, that's a novel idea. Yeah, that would cause you think a little while, wouldn't it. That may not be a bad idea. But I'm kind of getting a little more leery of credit cards, you know, as time goes by. Unless you just absolutely have to. Now, there are times when you'd at least think you do, anyway. Yeah. Yeah. I, I want to still have just one just in case. Yeah. But, I'd sure want to get the, get it paid down and not use it for a while Uh-huh. Yeah. That's right. My wife and I really, I guess are fortunate. We're really not compulsive shoppers, you know. Uh-huh. We, we plan purchases, you know, pretty well, you know, watch for the best buys, things like that. But, uh, some people have a real problem with it. Yeah. Well, our, our limit is, you know, fairly low Uh-huh. and, uh, so that's, that's one thing that's good. Sure. Absolutely. Yeah. Oh, I've got another call. Oh, I'm sorry. Was nice talking to you. Okay. Take care. All right. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. All right. Well, um, we lived, I grew up in San Antonio, and I was used to the heat, and I was used to what couldn't grow down there, and we had a small, um, farm house out in Castroville which is just, uh, to the west of San Antonio Uh-huh. and we in did a lot of gardening out there, and, uh, mostly in raised beds so we could keep the, uh, soil nice, because basically out there it was mostly a clay soil, very hard to, to grow, very hard to cultivate, and when we came up, here, uh, to California, uh, we're in the Monterrey area, and it's very, uh, nice sandy soil, rich soil, and the weather is perfect for growing just about anything you want to grow so we've been out here, well, really in the house since December, How fine. and we've been uh, planting flowers that we could never plant, in San Antonio because the heat would just dry them up after, you know, about three good weeks of nice weather before the heat started Um. and here they are supposed to last year around so we have some really pretty flowers growing, Oh boy. and, uh, we're at the edge of a forest area, so there's a lot of pine mulch Uh-huh. Just about anything you would want in Texas as a gardener is here just around us. We got here at the end of about a four year drought. We've had a whole lot of rain. Uh, it's been raining pretty much continually now, uh, off and on, maybe one day of break, for about a month. So, Oh really. Yeah, we're getting replenished, and so there is, when I first came here everything was yellow, the grass was dead everywhere. And now with all the rain everything is just gorgeous, lush and green and beautiful, and I hope that it holds out here after the summer. Wow. But, uh, that has been the major change that we have noticed in gardening, and that's about the extent of what we've done, just a little bit on the patio, and waiting for the rain to subside so we can mow. We, after about a month, we finally got to mow this weekend. But, um, we're just so happy to see green. It's just so nice. We haven't really done too much else other than that. Um. Well we just moved to our first home, and we had lived in a condominium before. So we didn't have any lawn and garden type duties. So we're just learning the ropes here and, Uh-huh. But when we moved in, um, our backyard has so many tall trees in it that there there wasn't even a blade of grass in the backyard. Uh-huh. So we're, you know, going, talking to some of our friends that are landscapers and things, and learning about different kinds of grass. We trying to go, grow grass, and it just seems so funny to me that, when I grew up in Missouri, and you didn't have to worry about growing grass there. It just happened automatically. So do you have to get a shade tolerant grass? Is that what you're, Yes. We are. We tried, we planted some fescue last, um, fall Uh-huh. and it's really, really pretty, it stayed pretty, pretty green throughout the winter, and it's pretty it's not as thick and as nice, it doesn't look like it can withstand too much, you know. Oh. Does that last through the summer, too? It's supposed to die off like in August, and then you replant it in September and, So, but we don't, Oh. the Saint Augustine and all that supposedly was back there just wasn't, like I say, there really wasn't even one blade of grass in the backyard. Uh-huh. And, um, so mostly, you know, we're not even to the point where we're getting into flowers, and flower beds or even gardens, that, we're just saying, let's get some grass Just get grass to grow. Let's get grass so that the kids can play in the yard and not have to be worried about the dirt so much. You know. Well, when we had our house, um, out in Castroville, the problem with ours is that the, uh, plots there are a third of an acre And trying to keep grass alive during a summer on a piece of ground that big was expensive Uh-huh. Oh yeah. To water it and, uh, and eventually, well, especially when it was so bad last year, well, I guess it was the year before now, uh, it was so hot that year, that was the year that I think it started out a hundred in February. Oh no. Um, we were just watering all the time. Finally what we did was we said, we're going to have to let the back yard die. It's going to have to do whatever it's going to do because, we can't really afford the front yard. On its own, Uh-huh. And so when we left, you know, the back yard had some, um, I think it was Saint Augustine that we had. It had held onto a small portion, but primarily once the weeds start in the back we were just, you know, resigned to, well, the only way we were going to fix this one is that if you plow it all under and put everything back on top of it again. Uh-huh. But, I don't know. That's the bad thing there, is, that we spent so much money, or you would spend so much money trying to keep a large lawn alive. That was the only thing I didn't like about lawns, and we were sitting there wondering, there must be a better way to landscape so that you don't have to spend so much money trying to keep the lawn alive and green and the weeds out. Yes. So. It's pretty remarkable because growing up we've always had a beautiful, lush green lawn, and we never, there was no such thing as watering your lawns in Missouri. Uh-huh. It just happened. Uh-huh. And, um, so it's been real fun here to see, there's a big market for the nurseries and for the landscaping companies, and a lot of people, um, we live in north of Dallas. Uh-huh. And, um, Arlington area. Plano. Okay, Plano. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, up north And so there's a lot of market up here since it's kind of the area that people are moving into in the Dallas area and big market for, for yards, yard work. Uh-huh. Yeah, I imagine So, well everybody, it seems like everyone is so particular, especially in the Dallas area. Uh-huh. There, there's so much money and everyone can afford, they have enough leisure time to afford a nice lawn. And, another thing I've noticed is that the lawns in some of the homes the area is so small that they take great pride in being able to use whatever lawn they do have to look really nice. Uh-huh. Yes, they do. I noticed that they're really putting in small back yards, because they have these, most of the houses have the alleys that run behind, Uh-huh. and, so that really cuts into your backyard space, and. But we don't do our work here out of enjoyment so much as voice in right now, we're just, this is, we just moved in in September, so we're just still at the point where we're talking about the necessity. Right, I know. Oh, it's awful the first house. Our house in Castroville was the first one, too. And we had no idea the expense that lawns and gardening would run into and the time that it took, especially when you start mowing, Uh-huh. and then when it comes to fertilize, then it would come to raking, and then when it comes to making sure that somebody had put the timer on the water. And the one thing that I did notice is that people that have the underground irrigation systems, the sprinkler systems, just, that was the way to go if you could do it. Yeah. People that were building the new homes that put those in, that was, that was the only way to go because it was just so convenient. They would just turn it on and the timer would run and it would water their lawn and they didn't have to worry about it at all. Um. And that was so nice. But, we didn't have that luxury, so we were dragging the sprinkler around everywhere. And so, I hope you can find, uh, I don't know what type of grass grows in the real shady areas. I remember the guy that was on the radio, um, they had a gardener, and he, I don't know, I had this one, well I've still got the book. It's, um, I think it's just called TEXAS GARDENING, and it talks about the different grasses to use for the shady areas versus the really sunny areas. Hm. We, But there is a grass that you can use that is shade tolerant, but I don't remember what it is. But it's got like a boot, on the front of the book. Uh-huh. It's just a real fancy decorated boot. It's like TEXAS GARDENING. And it talks about, you know, different problems that your lawn can have and how to recognize it and it goes into the full gamut of gardening. You know, everything from flowers to bulbs to perennials to grass to weeds to trees and to, uh, how to prune. But one of the things I do remember was when it talked about the grass, and there being the shade tolerant types of grass, Grass, and I think one of them was a blend of two types of grass that they had used. Um. But I don't I don't remember if it was Raleigh and Saint Augustine or, or what. Or what it was. But I do remember they had used a blend. Well, we're going to have to do that because we have the shade, the trees, this is an established and older home that we moved into, and, um, the trees are just so tall and there must be ten or twelve big tall trees out there so that like even if its raining, you can go out in our back yard and not get wet Oh, but that's so neat, because so many homes don't have that. So you'll be cool all year around, in the summer, that's great. Well, that's what we're looking forward to, and that's what they say the payoff is but, It makes the biggest difference, when you have the big old trees. Well, we And the people that moved in next to us, they built a new house on the empty lot and they just had their brand new little trees. They didn't have any shade They, any time they had people over they had to do it on the patio because it just got too hot during the day. Too hot, yes. So, oh, that's great that you have them. Are they oaks? Well, there are all different kinds. Oh that's even better. There are some oaks, magnolias, and like plum trees, peach trees, there are some big tall oak trees ... Uh, so, you have children I take it? like she is cooking, i. e. banging pots, water, No, I don't. You don't? No, huh-uh. So, it's not a very valid topic. No, it's not. Do you have children? Uh, yes. Uh-huh. One. One. Stepdaughter. Uh-huh. Ten. Ten. And, uh, you know how they are at that age, I guess. you having been ten once, yourself. Yeah. Once upon a time I was. Well, I have two dogs, those are my kids. Oh, we have one. What kind is it? A Keeshonden. Oh, really. Yeah, Uh-huh . fuzzy little thing. A what? A fuzzy little dog. Yeah, yeah, they're cute. Rather, rather odd personality, he, he's fun. Uh-huh. Anyway, uh, time we spend with our children. Uh-huh. It seems almost as though children hate it. Do they? Yes. Time spent with Mom and Dad is, uh, next, is probably one of the worst punishments spent on earth to them. Yeah, especially when they get like into the teenage stage. Yeah. I guess. Yeah, I remember when I was that age. They, you know, parents are a curse that they just have to live with. Uh-huh. So, it, it's interesting. Yeah. But we do spend time driving in the mountains, and ... Uh-huh. Oh, how nice, I would love to live up there. Well. Do you work for T I? Uh-huh, uh-huh. You're working then? Yeah. With every passing day we wonder if we will be. That's what I heard. like running I've always thought about maybe transferring up there, and I thought if I do that, I might not have a job so It's, it's better to be employed. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Especially these days where there is not a job right around the corner. Uh-huh. I know it. And that creates family tensions. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure it does. So, you only have the, you only have the stepdaughter at home? Yes. You all don't have any other children around there? No, no. I don't have any, children. Uh-huh. So, how does she feel about going out and doing stuff with you all. Uh, well it varies what it is, of course, but usually, Mom and Dad are a curse. Uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, they, they'd much rather be with friends, Oh, yeah . friends are cool, parents aren't. No, huh-uh. Well, I remember, well I'm sure part of it is a male, female thing, you know, Uh-huh. I, I remember whenever I was growing up, often times spent with my Dad was, oh, just wonderful, you know, go, go hunting, or go to the races, or, or, oh, any number of things. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And we'd have, um, great times, Oh, yeah. and it seems that well now the bank's not available. Yeah. Um. Uh-huh. And, entirely too much time is spent, my wife and I were wondering what if, and, and what if's always rough. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But, you know, we do have our trips and we do have our fun and, I don't know, little girls aren't interested in lot of the same things little boys are or were. Uh-huh. Like fishing and ... Hunting and, and, Looking for arrowheads, and ... Yeah. My husband will say that he'd like to have a little boy to take hunting and fishing and I said, well, you can take a little girl hunting and fishing just as easily. Uh, but they don't like it. That's probably right. There, there, there is a difference there. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, and ... No, if my Dad had done that when I was a kid I probably wouldn't have liked it. I go now, with my husband. And, I enjoy it, but ... Well, girls at that age, Video games, boys and malls. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. Not necessarily in that order, and friends of course. Uh-huh. And, that's a little tough for fathers. Uh-huh. I imagine. Fathers don't even like malls, they despise shopping. Uh. So, is that quality time? Huh, no, I think not. Yeah, if, but there is camping and we both enjoy that. Uh-huh, she likes to do that? Somewhat, yeah, yeah . Yeah , yeah. Well, that's good. Getting up in the mountains and getting away from it all and, that's somewhat fun. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. She ... It's , Huh? so what do you think about child rearing? Is, how, how would you spend time with kids? Probably doing outdoorsie stuff, and keeping, trying to keep them away from the T V, I guess And, McDonald's Oh, yeah. I, I always said that if I had a kid they wouldn't know what McDonald's is. Yeah, but But , they learn from their friends, don't they? Well, yeah, and amazingly a lot of times it's real easy. Uh-huh. You know, a lot of times, whenever we head out of town on a trip or something, it's real easy to swing in there for breakfast. Uh-huh. Yeah. Breakfast and run. Yeah. And breakfast is a kind of a funny meal anyway, Yeah. It is. and, uh, kids eat funny. This lady in our bass club, we had a tournament yesterday and she was talking about her daughter, said, one week her daughter will, uh, be on a no meat kick, and one week she'll eat nothing but Twix candy bars, you know, she just eats weird. And little girls are worse about it than little boys. Yeah, yeah. They ... They're always wanting to go on a diet or something. Or, or something, yeah. Uh-huh. Go on a diet or they, they have a, well, to some extent the public schools, or the schools in general, influence them, the eating meat kick. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, like it's really morally wrong to eat meat or something, I, I'm not sure. Uh-huh. Of course, that's not the way I was raised, being raised in West Texas. Yeah. Oh, is that where you're from? Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Born in Denton, raised in Lubbock. Oh. Um. So, I understand about bass. Yeah Huh. But it, but it is interesting, Uh-huh. I, I will tell you, yeah. Every person out there should have kids, at least once or, or have some they can borrow for a time, because everyone needs some torture in their lives. That's the kind I like. My Mother used to put that curse on my sister. I hope you have kids just like yourself. And, my Grandmother must have put that on my Dad because he got my sister, she's just like him. Uh. But, Jenny is a sweet kid. Yeah, I'm sure she is. And, yeah, we do do things, Yeah. and, it, it's funny, it's almost like a lot of things that were available to us as children, to go do, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. The money's not available. Uh-huh, I know, I don't know how people can afford kids. I mean ... You know , we were talking about how much it cost to go to Disney Land. Uh-huh. Golly! A couple, three hundred dollars. Oh, yeah. You know, for just, for just a day, not you know, a day or two, not including lodging and food and all that. Uh-huh, uh-huh. It's, I don't see how anyone can afford it. Uh. And, I understand Six Flags is real expensive now. It's, uh, I heard it's twenty bucks a whack. For adults. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That is awful high. Oh, well ... Twenty bucks a whack now. Yeah, or twenty-one. But, at least once you pay your way in there, at Six Flags ... Yeah, yeah . yeah, everything's free except for the food. Yeah, yeah, food and junk to carry out. So that's, that's not as bad. Yeah. Yeah. But, golly! You know, Disney World or Disney Land. Uh-huh. Well, our problem is that, you know, a trip to Six Flags or Disney World or, uh, Disney Land, or God forbid, Disney World, would take forever. Really. Or you'd have to pay air fare, Uh-huh. and, ooh, for a family, you know, for a family it gets pretty expensive pretty quick. OH, yeah. Rent a car when you get there and all that. Yeah. That's why I lucked out, my Dad worked for Braniff when I was a kid so we got, you know, our air fare free and we got ... Why don't you go ahead and start. Okay, my hobby is, uh, sewing. I, I've just, uh, started learning how to sew and, uh, I've taken some classes and I've made a few, few garments. Do you sew at all? I used to, uh, Did you? I, I sewed, you know, in high school and when I went to college I think everything in my closet, I had made. But I haven't sewed since then and that's been fifteen years. So, uh, you know, I didn't have access to a machine the whole time I was in college. Oh. And, uh, my sister sewed and she needed the money so I would pay her and she'd make my clothes Oh. And, uh, and then just in the last, you know, ten or I just haven't sewn anything. I would love to, I would like to get back to it. Yeah, uh-huh. Uh, clothes are getting so expensive now in, in the stores and the, the quality is, is sometimes so poor that, uh, it, it really is worth while to sew. Yeah. It is, you know, an even back then, I remember you could make something for, you know, half what it cost to buy and, of course, the quality was just exceptional. Right an, Uh, now it's a little more expensive to make it, because, you know, you start paying the price for the patterns and the material, Yeah. but it's still such better quality that I think it's worth it. It certainly is, and the patterns have gone up tremendously, too, the prices for them, you used to could get, you know, a pattern for two or three dollars, now, they're like, you know, five, six, seven, eight. You're kidding me. Oh, no, I'm not. See I can remember paying seventy-five cents for a pattern Huh-uh, no, the, the cheapest ones now are like maybe, uh, four or five dollars, six, seven Uh-huh. and then you get into the Vogues, they get up into twelve and fifteen and, on like that. Good night. Well do you have kids and a husband, are you sewing for a whole family or, Uh, right now I'm just sewing for myself. I, I do have two daughters that, you know, out, they're, they're grown now though. I wish that I had started sewing, you know, when they were younger. Uh-huh. And, uh, it would have helped me out tremendously But, um, oh, I guess, I, I just, you know, I always, I have always tried to sew and, uh, I didn't like the way it looked so I'd never wear anything. Yeah. But now I, I have bought some, uh, new, sewing equipment. I bought the Singer machine and, uh, it really makes it look professional Uh-huh. and I've taken some classes here in, in, uh, Dallas. Well and that always is helpful for starters. Yeah. You know you have to have something that kind of gets you on the right track of where you're going. Right. I know a lot of people where I work make their clothes. It's just, there's just so many people sewing now days. That's true. Uh-huh. Well do you do anything do you knit or crochet like for sweaters or anything like that? No, I'm not that talented. see, I'm I've not ever been a real craft type person. I have a sister-in-law that, I mean, if it can be done with your hands, she does it. She makes things for the kids for Christmas and nephews and nieces and I look at them and I think, God, you know, I, I should be able to do things like this Right. I have a sister that can, can, uh, crochet real well, or, or knit, I, I guess I mean knit. Yeah. And she knits things like hats, and, uh, sweaters, an, you know . Yeah. Well, when my sister, oh, when my sister had her first, uh, child, my niece, and this is, we're talking fifteen years ago. I was, it was my last year of college, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I asked my roommate if she would teach me how to crochet granny squares. So she did, and I crocheted a blanket for my sister's baby, Oh. and I started crocheting a king size bedspread for a guy that I was dating at the time. Uh-huh. And when we broke things off, actually we were supposed to get married when I got out of college. So when we broke things off, I quit crocheting it and I've never picked up a needle since then, in fact, I think it's still sitting in the top of the closet Oh, my goodness. One of these days I keep thinking I'm going to finish it because it would make a really pretty bedspread But, Yeah, now, now they have the, uh, knitting machines that will do it for you. Fast My problem, I guess is time, you know, I, I talk to my husband, we kind of planning for the time eventually when, you know, maybe I can quit work, while my kids, because, I, my kids are young. I have a three and a half and a two year old. Um. And he says but Bev, I think you'll be so bored, because, you know, all you've ever done is work. And I said, but there's so many things I want to do, I'd like to start sewing again, I'd like to learn how to do this cross stitch and these, you know, knit these things and I think that would be fascinating. He kind of laughs Are you familiar with what a Serger is, uh, the Serger Sewing Machine? I don't think so. Well you know, in, when we used to sew, we'd sew the seam and then we'd finish the edges, Sure. and we, we would, uh, trim the seams and finish the edges. Uh-huh. Well, this machine does it all in one step. You're kidding, so like as you're sewing the seam, it's finishing off the inside edge. Right, and it's cutting off the, uh, the, there, there are two knives and it cuts off the, uh, you know excess seam allowance. Well that takes all the work out of it. Right. And, uh, it, it really makes it look professional. Well, how neat. Especially, on, you know, I mean from the inside, you know how you look under, under something that you've made and it doesn't really, Uh-huh. But, uh, the Serger really makes it look professional. Well that's neat. They're pretty expensive. I like, I paid like about eight hundred dollars for mine, For the machine, Uh-huh. Yeah. So, since I bought it and paid that much for it, I guess I'd might as well get some use out of it. You have to learn how to do it. That's right. Yes, I'm going to have to do it. Otherwise, they hold it over your head forever, right Right. Now I bought you that machine Well that sounds really good. Yeah. Do you paint or anything like that? No. Never. No, I, I play the piano. Oh, so do I. Oh, you do. well I have one here, it's the one that I grew up with, Uh-huh. and my folks gave it to me, and, uh, a couple years ago when they, they sail, and so they sold their home and they, they've been sailing, and, uh, so it's here but I haven't touched one like since college, so I kind of am picking it all out again and trying to remember how to do it again. And of course, my kids jump in the middle of it and want to pound on it and I'd love to teach them to play, too. Yeah. So, I'm not great, but I remember it. Uh-huh, well I'm not that great either. I used to be a lot better than I am now. I, I have played for, uh, the church choir, and, uh, I played for the choral club in high school Yeah. and, but, I, you know, I don't practice a lot anymore, and, uh, you know, you get rusty. You really, You do, you do. I never thought I would get rusty, but I'm rusty now. Well, I, I figure it takes practice and I, I don't, I say I don't have the time, that's not true. Uh-huh. By the time I put my kids in bed at night, I don't want to do anything. Yeah. I, you know, I've worked all day and I come home and I do that, I, and, you know, even hobbies and crafts and sewing things like that, I, I think gee, I could do this or that, I have an hour here. Uh-huh. I don't want to do them sometimes, I'm too tired. Yeah, right. So, I try to save that for the weekend. I need to get better at it though Well, sewing does take up, take an awful lot of time, takes an awful lot of time. Now the part about sewing that I never liked was laying out the material and the pattern and cutting it out. If, if somebody would lay it out for me, then I didn't mind cutting it out and sewing it. I could do that all day long and I, I can remember once in high school, I wanted some extra money, Yeah. and my mom wanted some pants, so she laid out the material and I cut it and sewed it and she paid me I think like two dollars a pair to make her some pants. Yeah. But I, I hate laying out material and trying to get the most out of the material and, make sure it's on the right lines and not on the bias. Yeah, on the, on the, right on the straight grain, and all that stuff, Yes, on the grain of the fabric. uh-huh. It drives me crazy Yeah that, that's, that's the part that I don't like, too. Yeah. Yeah, I, I like sewing, sewing up the garment itself. I really like to do that, but the, the cutting and the, all the, even the cutting I don't like. Well what are some of the other features on this machine? It sounds wonderful. Well that's about it really. It's, it has four, uh, four threads instead of, the, the regular basic two threads. Oh, okay. And, uh, it, Is that for designs, or is that for the regular seam in the fabric or, No, you, you can either use three or four of the threads. Oh, okay. Uh, it's kind of, it the stitch is kind of like a knitting machine, like the, they're loopers under the bottom and then the, there's a seam stitch and it's the loopers that form the, the edge, you know that edge finish. Uh-huh. And, uh, that's what really makes it look professional. You can do a lot with the Serger though. You can make, uh, piping and cording and, uh, you can use all kinds of different, uh, textures of thread. So it has the ability to do just about any type of sewing you want to do. Well, yes, but you, you have to use it in combination with a sewing machine. You can't throw your sewing machine away. you, you need it to do things like button holes, and, uh, seams that need to be really strong, need to be done on the sewing machine. Uh-huh. So the Serger is not a sewing machine, itself. It's something that goes with it? It's, uh, Like an attachment or, No, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a machine, it's not exactly a sewing machine but it it does sew the seam and trim the edges and all that stuff, but there are are other things that a regular sewing machine does that it doesn't do. Like you can't top stitch with it. Oh, okay. You know, you can't do top stitching, or, um, there's, there's a few things that you just can't do with it. It will also do a rolled edge, um, Uh-huh. Gee, it's just so versatile, I uh. Well I'm going to have to go check it out. That's just something I hadn't heard of but it, So, uh, what do you think? I think we're overtaxed to the hilt. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, we're, we're taxed on taxes and, um, uh, most all government entities are just trying to give us a state income tax for those who don't have it that is. I mean we don't have one yet, but eventually they may try to push it through. Oh really. So they have I didn't realize they had no state tax in Texas. No, no state income tax. Oh, that's great, because they don't have it in Florida. In New York they have it. Uh-huh. I mean, you know, like I say, I'm in New York and we have a state tax as well. So that just cuts even more. Yeah, I think what needs to be done is they need to control their spending habits. Right, I, I think that I, I mean, I wouldn't be so upset about the amount of taxes paid if it weren't for the fact that they don't, they don't go to any place. You know, you don't see it going to any place where it belongs. Right. Yeah. but given that it, that it's not spent properly, I think it's a major problem. Well we're really overburdened from federal, state and local, that it takes such a size out of your paycheck that there's not a whole lot you can always do with your paycheck. Uh-huh Well that's certainly true. Well what is it they were just talking about, um, sort of middle income, you know, how, how, middle income people, what winds up happening is, for instance having kids, you know, they wind up having kids as a deduction and after, but the deduction is so little for kids that they wind up having to pay more in taxes than it costs to raise a kid for the year or something. Uh-huh. I think so they want to, you know try I think they're trying, I think I think that most of the politicians understand this. They just don't, they're just not very good at doing what they're supposed to be doing. Well they're kind of put into a trap of being out there to please the special interest groups as well. Right. And, uh, I think the only way that can be changed for us to get a, a better tax revenue that's fairness and all, is for us to limit their terms. Uh-huh. And by doing so, they're not obligated to anybody. I agree, I agree. And, uh, I don't know how we're going to do that right away though, but, what, what in general though that taxes are doing to us is, it's just taking, uh, a bite out of our savings. Right, exactly, and then, and then, uh, I'm, I'm just not sure if I see, you know, if I see it going, like I say to the right places. I mean, it'd be, it'd be one thing if it were taking a bite out of your savings and then you were getting it all back when you got older. Yeah. You know, but I'm not convinced, that's, that Social Security is doing as well as it should and, you know, and, and, and, uh, and, and that, you know, those people who need it for welfare and so forth, who really need it for welfare, not the eighty-five to ninety percent of them who don't need it. But I mean the real people who really need it, you know, should be getting it but instead I think it's going to the wrong places. And I believe the Social Security tax is a great scheme. You think so? Yeah, it's, uh, you know, right now, they're robbing from it to pad the federal deficit. I know and that scares the hell out of me. Yeah, that's illegal, see. If, uh, most company, uh, C E O were to do that within their private company, they'd be in jail. Yeah So how are we letting them get away with it. Yeah, I don't, I don't, Right. it'd be nice if we sort of, as one, band together and, and, uh, and, an performed a citizens arrest, I guess. Yeah. To see if we could sort of clean them up and you know, but I don't know if we can do that or not. A lot of people have become too complacent and believe everything is just the norm as to the way things are going and feel absolutely helpless to oppose a lot of the situations going on, in the taxing system. Uh-huh. I agree, I agree. But, um, yeah, like, like you said, I wonder, you know, if, if it's certainly not going to be a slow change process and I wonder if it'll ever be a change process. Yeah. I sort of, I sort of get discouraged when I think about all the things that I think are wrong You know, all those things that really could be changed that aren't, you know, that, that aren't. And tax is one of those things that just sort of sits way up there on the list. Yeah, uh-huh. So, I don't I, I, I have no idea what to do about it. Well there's no quick solution, or no sure fire easy answer. It's just going to take, uh, uh, really, uh, uh, uh, a combination effort, I think, of the majority of the American people to come to a decisive answer, or vote to limit the way it's spent. Yeah. See, we, we're, we have no say so as to where the money goes in the first place. Right. We don't, I mean, the only say so we have is supposedly by electing people who we think are going to vote one way of another. Right and they are controlled, or pretty much do what they want to do. Right, I've never quite understood that. I've never, uh, you know, even though, um, I, I've never been, uh, sort of politically minded, but it's never been clear to me as to sort of, um, you know, how Congressmen an, can, can just sort of go ahead and vote their own conscience as their own ideas when clearly their constituency doesn't back them up on anything, you know. And often times that will happen. Well they feel invulnerable to, uh, any wrath or, uh, it's, it's occurred so many times that they figure people will usually forget and don't think about it when the election time arises. Right Right. And generally it does work out that way. They do forget, it's true, because everybody, think of what happens is whenever the whenever the one who made that supposed mistake turns around and, uh, his, his or her opponent can say well look, they did this. And they can turn around and say well my opponent did this. Uh-huh. So it becomes, uh, a general battle of the sort of the election of the lesser of two evils, I think, so. Yeah. I don't know, I just, uh, I'm unhappy with it but. And well, I'm, I'm sort of semifortunate right now, I'm a graduate student, so I don't make that much, Uh-huh. and what I make isn't taxed very highly because I'm still in school. Well when you get out into the real world then you'll know. But it's, my, my, my wife has a real job and, you know, when I get her job, um, you know, we, we look at her paycheck, I'm just floored when I see how little of it we're actually allowed to keep. Yeah. Especially around bonus time. Bonus time, you have a bonus? Bonus, she, no, my, my wife does. Oh. My I no graduate students don't get bonuses. Uh-huh. We're lucky to get paychecks the way I figure. So you're taxed on the bonuses too, right. My, my wife is taxed on her bonus as well, and that's a, that's usually a big chunk of her bonus check actually. Uh-huh. I mean her bonus isn't that much, but they tax it as, I, I guess they tax it as if that were her weekly check or something. Uh-huh. So she gets destroyed on her bonus check. Uh-huh. So, she works with in, in, in sales. So a good portion of her, you know, her salary is, is quarterly bonuses. Uh, sales is lucrative but then you're paying really high taxes when you're doing a lucrative job. Yes, well, yeah, she's not entirely sales, so it isn't, it isn't as lucrative as one would hope, but, it, it keeps us supported temporarily, until I can get a real salary and then get taxed more. Uh-huh. So, I don't know, I I guess, I guess at this point in time we're just sort of going to have to live with it, and hope that it gets better Yeah. Well, I have, I guess about said what all I can think of to say. Same here, tough topic so. Yeah, it's a rather touchy topic at that, but I I, I, I do agree with you, most, most wholeheartedly. Well that's great. It's been a pleasure talking with you. You too, and, uh, Thanks for call. have a good day. You too. Bye-bye. Okay he did really decide to go? Uh-huh, sure I'm familiar with it, and it was a very difficult choice And he, well, he must know, is he interested in law or medicine, he must have a definite profession in mind. Oh, okay, Medium size, aren't they? Is he excited? Very excited, Wow, I can, I, Uh-huh while they're east coast, I mean, I don't know anything about their football, but there you go. Well, they're, they're, they're really very strong academic rather than, you know, big sports, Yeah, that's, where, where you at? We're outside of, uh, Washington in Maryland. How about you? Oh, okay, I'm in, uh, suburban Dallas. Uh-huh, do you have children in, No, I don't, I have a husband We don't have any kids yet. Okay, um, About all I can say is I guess about picking schools, um, I guess, uh, if you don't know what you're going to do, liberal arts program is a good idea. Well, I, I, one of the, the advices we've given our children is that you can always learn a job This is true, uh, but what you can't learn, uh, on a job, is a good solid well-rounded education. Right, the humanities, the history, yeah, That's right, you know, the Renaissance man Right, right, no, no, no and, uh, and if you get that you can, and if you do well, you can, you can learn a job, Yeah, but they, you know, if they learn the job and they can go into graduate school usually a company, it will, if it's worth it's weight, will subsidize, That's exactly right. That's right. And, So the advice we gave to them was, number one, visit the colleges that you're thinking about describe first of all, the size school that you might be interested in Uh-huh. This, this is true, Yes. And if you want to go away, right, do you want to go away, how far from home do you want to be. Right. What do you want in a college. Now my son is a national level competitive swimmer Good. so he wanted to swim in school, but he did not want to be in a swim factory. Okay. So he wouldn't have gone to something like where we're at, they'd, in Austin, Texas, University of Texas, That's right, that's the University of Texas at Austin, or Stanford or something like that so he didn't even consider those. Right. Texas yeah, Okay, well that's, I think the other thing is, too, um, I know I went to a, uh, city high school in Chicago Uh-huh. and a lot of the kids weren't as fortunate as say, my brother and I were, and economics was the choice Uh-huh. um, sounds like your son has academically the standing to get into that type of school. He is very, very strong academically, yeah, so, we've just, but, you know, he had to look to see what kind of environment he liked, Uh-huh. and yet he, he did wind up having to make a choice. He did apply to a large, you know, large group, Yeah, University of Penn, I'm originally from Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania, It's got about nine thousand undergraduate. Yeah, that's strong, I mean that's you know Yeah, Yeah. and it's, it's, well, it's a little bit, I don't want to use the word wilder, that's not the word I want. Um, more diverse Yes, and it, but it does have the under, you know, that's total undergraduate with five hundred graduate school, so that the, uh, the college of arts and sciences is, you know, I guess about four thousand. At Williams or Pennsylvania? At Williams, At Pennsylvania. At Pennsylvania. Well how large is Williams? Williams is an undergraduate school only Right. um, and it's a total of two thousand. Well that's not bad. Yeah, so he knew the feeling because my other son is at Amherst which is fifteen hundred Which is a lot, Yeah. and he had visited his brother at Amherst and knew that he liked the environment Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but he did go on college visits, and he liked, That's the thing to do, I mean, I, not having any children, my husband was an Ohio State person, and, uh, that has something like either the first or second largest student population, like fifty thousand. Yes, yes Combined . it's large, and they, both boys had decided no, that they did not want that. Yeah, that is too much, and I mean, I, um, I can only say it's strange your son picked those kinds of college because I spent a year at Bennington in Vermont, Oh, it's, so you, Um, and that was, this was twenty years ago Uh-huh. Showing my age, And did you ever eat at the Blue Bin Diner? Yes. Oh my God, where are you from, well, let's not talk about that No but we've been there when whose gone up there. It's, um, in that area. I mean I just can't say enough about it. Oh, it's, it we went and he was, you know, impressed by the clean air and he, he met the students at both schools and he liked them. Well you know, um, my husband's an engineer and a strong , a strong liberal arts background with, uh, a graduate degree in a technical field will get him much further than say like a, a strong, um, business administration degree than with another M B A on top of it. Uh-huh. That's it. The thing is if, if a person really knows very early on that they want to go in a technical field, than you're not, then it's probably good to go to, you know, to apply to a school with a good technical program, Uh-huh. and they usually, Yeah, but they usually don't. but, uh, for, if you're going into, if you know engineering is the thing if, then you've got to at least take engineering. Right, but they, no but who does. I mean, I think, I think all, I think the majority of people just don't know. That's right. No he looked at criteria such as location, size of school uh, Uh-huh. No he didn't apply to any school further, the furthest away was Bowdoin, in Maine which is about twelve hours. That's still pretty far though. I mean a lot of kids just don't even want to go, Yeah, that was the furthest and then Kenyon in Ohio which was about six and a half hours and Williams is about seven. Oh, that's not too bad. Yeah so, well, I mean he, so it wasn't, he, you know, then the University of Pennsylvania is like two hours from here by train and then Bucknell in mid-state Pennsylvania. Yeah, he will enjoy Williams I think and is a good academic, Yeah, and he will, and if, it came down I mean, as he, he came, he's been talking to them and, and he came down and one of the things that he said is, he went to Pennsylvania this weekend and he had an absolutely marvelous time Uh-huh. he had a great time but then he said, you know, it was such a good time that I almost got the feeling that their emphasis is on having fun. That could very well be and, So he's developing his, his, uh, internal instincts right now. and he said it almost I think it backfired. That's good because I mean I'm sure what he said was true, that, uh, you, So. well actually that's one of the reasons I went to , Kenyon, he he made a good choice. I went, I, well I was supposed to, but I spent a year in Vermont, my freshman year, it was just too far away, it was too different uh, the level of income of lot of the students Uh-huh. and their attitudes was just, um, beyond my, um, in terms of drugs, et cetera, which I thought was shocking. Yeah, yeah. Of course, that period too was probably difficult. Right, yeah, you're right but then I went, But I did, uh, my advice to him, and my was that, uh, he had to really decide what he wanted out of college. Yeah. He had to look at himself. Uh, in a larger school he had to realize that if he was going to screw around it, he could probably slip and it wouldn't be caught up until it was too late where in a smaller school where, especially in a Kenyon or a Williams, where you see the professors around town all the time, you skip class in the morning and they see you, Uh-huh. And you're going to get a little bit more input than discipline That's, yeah, yeah. yeah. And a swim coach is going to be right on top of you, uh, so that, and he will know the professors in a small, Well I don't know how to put this either in this way and then it doesn't sound like your sons would need this but I just think the other thing is with the way a lot of the youth is today, I think the refinement that they get I don't mean specifically or culture but just what you're saying, just a solid background because I just don't think at that age I just don't think that young people know what they want to do. You know Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. That's right, that's right. and, um, And, um, and it's just the personal contact where if you need help That's right. he had, I told him to look to yourself. Are you the kind of person that will go into a large college and if the professor says I've got office hours but you really don't feel that you know him because you're in a class of a hundred that you're really going to look him up Right . Yeah. but if it's a class of fifteen and you need help, you know that it's much easier to do it and especially in the large schools they have lectures This is very, very, Oh. and even though they may break it up into smaller groups Penn is known for having graduate assistance teaching. They have video lectures. Yeah. Video lectures. They have graduate assistants to teach the smaller groups. This is true, and I mean that is very ironic too that your son just made the, did he just make the decision today? he made the decision, uh, I'd say, about, uh, an hour and a half ago How funny Yeah, I mean, that's so funny. I mean, and, and, in fact, he had just an hour before that two, uh, recent graduates from Kenyon spent close to two hours talking with him That's funny. and, uh, I mean, and he, they were really nice, and, but he said is, that they didn't tell him anything that he didn't know, but they helped confirm his decision that a smaller school was better. It was easy for him to rule out. He knew what he didn't want Yeah, yeah. that's exactly, yeah. Now is your other, I mean we're talking about what you think, but obviously you're experiencing it. Uh, Did your other son, um, My other son is just as happy as a bed bug. A clam. He, the moment he knew, he, he decided early on that Amherst was the school. He's a classical guitarist Oh, wonderful. and he decided, he also got into the graduate school of music as an undergraduate for classical guitar, Uh-huh. but he decided he was going to go to the, um the smaller now, and then graduate school later. The smaller and the, And they'll do fine in their studies, and I'm sure they'll go on to graduate school, Well, he's really, my older boy's real happy, and he's minoring in English, and he had thought about economics, and he took a couple of courses in economics and decided that wasn't, or is this early admissions? He's, um, he's going to be a junior. He'll be, he's finishing his sophomore year so he's double majoring. So he's, So he's, yeah, well sounds like you have two talented sons. Well, you know, see the advice we give is to not limit yourself, especially this, you know, go to a school where you're not forced to make too many irrevocable decisions your first year or two. I think, and a lot of people talk about, and it's not the economics I solely zeroed in on, but I think a lot of people think a lot of people think about the tuition level and what exactly are you getting in return Yeah. and I think that a lot of people shy away from the smaller colleges because of that, and I think it's rather sad, Well, one of the things we said is that they should pick the college, this was our advice, too, irrespective of the cost. That somehow we would manage. You are wonderful parents Well, we place a real high priority on education in our family. No, and I agree, I mean, my husband and I, in fact, I'm taking my L S A T um, I'm thirty something and taking my L S A T on June tenth. Oh, good, that's wonderful. Oh, that's great. The point being, and your sons will learn this from you, I'm sure, that, uh, no matter what age you are, you can learn That's right, that's exactly, and, it sounds like they're going to, you know, they're, Okay, I guess I'll start, um, one, uh, big thing that, the advise that I would give to a parent to give to his or her child is to let their, let their child experience college in a kind of general sense. I like large colleges because I went to University of Texas at Austin, they have fifty thousand students there. And I feel like that now if I went, if I had gone to a small college that only had a couple of thousand that I wouldn't have, have gotten as much exposure to different people and different, uh, I don't know, different languages, different cultures, and things like that just by being around those fifty thousand students. That's interesting, I went to a smaller school, of probably three thousand, thirty-five hundred. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I, I thought that was the best experience in that we had more one-on-one since we seemed to know everyone on campus, Huh. and we had a broad spectrum of languages and cultures and backgrounds, and so forth, Huh. so, I thought it was wonderful to be a bigger fish and not so much a number, Uh-huh. um, one of fifty thousand, I was one of three thousand, and, and, you know, different perspectives, Right. Uh-huh. Yeah. I, uh, but it sounds like we were both kind of looking at the same sort of, sort of thing. Yeah, I, I could see, I could see that point, I could see how it would be. I'm sure your classes were a lot smaller, um, because like we would have biology classes that did, main courses that everyone has to take, I mean, hundreds of students in this class, so, actually, yes, you were a number. Yeah. But, um, I, I just, I don't know, I'm thinking in a sense of, uh, just being exposed to more. It just seems like in a larger college you, I don't know, your exposed to so many more people from all over the world, and I'm sure a lot of people come to, you know, small colleges also but just that they're more of, of the different cultures there, Uh-huh, yeah. not that it's, not that it's better but I'm just saying that I think that big, That's one thing to definitely consider. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I think, uh, a lot of, a lot of students now would probably be afraid of a smaller college, a lot of the students that I talked to even here in Waco they go to Baylor, um, they, or they're considering going to Baylor, they're also considering going to U T Austin but one of the big no-nos is because of the fifty thousand students, and I have to tell them that just like, just like I live in Waco it's a large city, I can still function, in my own kind of area, in my own group. I have a job, I have my friends, Uh-huh and I'm really not as, as concerned about the entire city, so when you go to a big, a big university, you're not as concerned about the entire university, but your group of friends, your classes, your interests, your clubs and things like that. Yeah. I think that's probably keyed to me is not so much the size the school, but what, what is the particular needs of the students Uh-huh. and whereas some would immediately feel very comfortable in this, um, larger university setting, some of the students, um, when I was, when I was teaching school would not have been comfortable with that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. They needed, uh, at least at first, they needed a smaller setting that, that was more like family where they could get one-on-one, from, from teachers, professors and so forth, and then after a year or two move on to a little bit bigger pond where, where, when they had a little more self-confidence built up, oh, yes, I can do this, oh, I've done this before, it's just in a bigger setting, Uh-huh, right. Right. Right. and so maybe to me the key would be what is a the, the students needs, Uh-huh. but it's these other things that you and I are, are keying off on, that, that are really more of an education that, Uh-huh. but they're the things that don't show up in, On paper. That's right, that's right. Uh-huh, exactly. That's, that's one important thing that I think about school. I'm, I'm not a kind a person that, I didn't, I, I was kind of a B student, I guess you'd say, and I didn't really, I was I strived to be an A student but it wasn't like a real priority. Right. To my, my priority was just being as worldly as I could possibly be getting into as many organizations as I possibly could, and, and one other point I was going to make, was that I can I can see that probably if I had gone to a smaller school, I would probably have more friends, because you, like you said, you know, you know, everybody knows everybody, Huh. Yeah. and so, you probably come out of it knowing, and by friends, I mean, like contacts for when you get out of school, um, you know, you just, you may walk into a company and see someone you went to school with, more so at a small college then a large college. Uh-huh. Yeah. You may have gone to school with them but you wouldn't, you wouldn't know them. Uh, I guess, let me think of another important thing to look at when you look into college, um, I guess, I guess now I've been out for, I, I'm older than you. I've been out for twenty-one years. Uh-huh. And I was looking at an annual last night, something had it sparked a question, and I went to a small private school, Uh-huh. um, and it was church related. Uh-huh. And I got to looking at my class of sixty-nine, Uh-huh. and I realized that even though that school's two hundred miles from here and I've lived in other states and done other things for the past twenty years, where I go to church now, there are five other people that went to school at the same time in the same class as I, Wow. and it's, it's neat to know that we have that contact that goes back that some of the same memories if not the same education in, Uh-huh. you know, we weren't all out to be teachers or, or whatever so we didn't have the same classes, but we had a common thread, something that still ties us together, twenty odd years later. Right. Wow. That's great. And it's, it's, it's kind of neat just knowing that those kinds of things, those are what I carry beyond that piece of paper that allows me to be an exempt at T I, Right, right. I have something more important to me than that. That's great, that's great. Yeah, that's what I, that's basically what I, and, when I first, I've been out of college only two years now, so it's still pretty fresh on my memory, um, Uh-huh. but now that I'm out, when I went into school, my parents told, well, my, okay, let me, let me go back to my, my sister now is in college, and my father was really interested in getting her in a school that would look good on her, on her, uh, diploma, etcetera, and so forth, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, and I kept pushing her towards just kind of U T or a larger school, and it was just a big conflict between us because my father wanted the academics and I wanted her to get the life experience, out of it, Uh-huh. and so it was, you know, she went the academic way because she's a straight A student, which is, I was going to ask who won yes, yeah, so, she, you know, that's probably, you know, what she, what she wants anyway but that was the big deal and, In, in that case, uh, regardless of what you or your father pushed for it sounds like she was going for what she needed, and finding a school that, that met her specific requirements, and, and made the best fit for her. Right. Right. And that, that's another point is that, the, a parent should tell their child to be or, or to give their child the leeway to choose their school, not so much choose the school for them but, you know, kind of guide them along but let them more or less choose what they need and what they're going to do. Yeah. I think it helps, a, now my grandfather was going to pay if I went to, uh, what's now U T Arlington, because it was there in my hometown, Uh-huh. I could live at home. Right. But I chose to go to another school and even though he was pleased that it was a church related school, he was not willing to pay any at all even the same amount of money, Huh. Right, and I think I value my, my education more because I had to work for it. uh-huh. And because I knew all along that's what I wanted, even though I had to buck the family in order to, to do what I needed to do. Uh-huh. So, Right. Well, that was pretty courageous Um, I guess, I guess it was, it was my mother's support that got me through it, that and ten years of, of, uh, loans after I got out Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm, I'm dealing with the loans right now, Sounds familiar, huh? Your, it's very fresh in your memory. very, every, every month I, That memory just seeps back in my mailbox. Yeah, well, sorry about that Tanya Oh, well, I guess I'll get over it. I'm sure it was worth it though. Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay. If, if nothing else because I work in training at T I now, Uh-huh. if nothing else just those experiences beyond and, and including your educational classes that help give you the self-esteem to do and achieve, whatever you set your mind on, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and the, you, you made the right choice in going to a school that met all of your needs to make, to give you the, the potential to do whatever you wanted. Right, because when you, when you do want, when you do finally graduate that, that's what you need the most. I'm finding out now that what I'm needing the most now is not smarts, not what I can do on paper, it's stamina, courage, uh, , Young lady, you have gotten your education then, words, it, that, that's right. Yes, I'm needing, you know, my, I'm needing to rely on myself, Yeah. And I think I learned a lot of that in school too. Okay, cars, you, you maybe this is a fantasy we can to talk about any kind of car, we want here I want a Rolls Royce and a Cadillac Hey, that sounds like a great deal to me You have great aspirations Well, let's see I, we just bought, uh, a seventy-three Mercedes that we have restored Oh, that's great. I'm, I'm a hobbyist too, and it, I like to work on cars too. Yeah, it has really been a lot of fun. Uh, we found some guys that actually, you know, worked for a Mercedes dealership and, uh, they also repair them for other the people on their off time so have, we, we have redone that thing from stem to stern, I mean inside, outside, you know, we've redone the body, repainted it, detailed it, so, you know, I really haven't thought much past that it seems like, you know, Oh, that's good. I don't know if I'll ever want another new car again, you know. Was you, why they, they didn't, say buy it they didn't necessarily say buy it new they just said, what would you buy, you know. Maybe not. Yeah, that's true. I, I don't know it just seems like, uh, you know, for what we've put into it I feel like that's something that might retain it's value a little bit more, than, you know, Oh, sure, a restored, vehicle is, is great, I think, certainly if it's an old Mercedes will be good. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, right, we, the one thing that, uh, we did decide as, it's, it's, we wanted it to be as authentic as possible but we did break down and put a C D player in it, Well, that's great. that's not quite authentic, but at any rate that, that was one thing that I, one of the features that I did want, I'd passed up on one and put a sunroof in it, Oh, yeah, you all, done a lot more, I had to stop there. when I talk about working on cars I sure don't do that. Yeah, well, of course, we do it ourselves but, like I said, we were just lucky to find these guys that do it, you know, Oh, okay. they're, they just weren't really expensive, Oh, that is good, acknowledgeable people. and, uh, yeah, you know, right, and they work on it, so, the things that can be done here they just come here to our home and, and work on it or work on it, so, That's amazing. yeah, it's, you know, it's really, it's really been nice. We, uh, I, I do all my own work, uh, so, I, I have Chevies, mostly, Uh-huh. well, that's all I've got right now Uh-huh. Yeah. I've got three Chevy V Eights. I'm, uh, I'm, uh, a Chevy, I'm an American car person, You're an American car person. but I do like Mercedes. Yeah, yeah, I, I have always had an American, American car and, uh, I had a real, real bad experience with the Cougar that I had, it was an eighty-two Cougar, Yeah. and, uh, I don't know, I think it just soured me on it for some reason because I had trouble with it starting, the engine blew up in it, I had to replace the engine when it was only two years old so, you know, I, I thought what the heck, you know, Yeah. we'll try something different so. Well, I'm not a Ford person and never have been as a kid, Yeah. and, uh, I do like the V Eight engines and I think the, I went to the auto show with my daughter recently, down in Dallas Uh-huh. and, I, to me the American cars are far superior to the Japanese in styling, engines, right now, I mean, Uh-huh. Really. Yeah, right, I'm not saying that they were, a couple of years ago. yeah. Yeah. I would that that there's, I see a marked improvement, you know, as far as, uh, what I've heard about performance and such, you know, so, uh, uh, hopefully it'll stay that way, I mean, you know, Oh, yeah. I'd, I'd, I would hate to see the American car industry suffering more than it already has you know, even though right now I'm not driving an American car, Oh, yeah. but, uh, I think, I, uh, you know, they said, they said what do we want to buy, I, I'm, uh, not seriously thinking but I, I would like to, put it in that category, uh, by a Cadillac Uh-huh, uh-huh. but I wouldn't, buy a new one Yeah. and, you know, of course, if I had the money I'd be happy to by a new one, Yeah, yeah. but, uh, I do look for a one year old vehicle, with twenty some odd miles or whatever twenty thousand miles, whatever. Uh-huh. Yeah, twenty thousand, yeah, yeah. Well, that's what my parents are avid Cadillac freaks. They had, uh, and I think my, my mother drives the SeVille now that's, uh, I guess it's a couple of years old, and, uh, she had a SeVille before that that had the odd backs that was, that was so, uh, Oh, yeah, I remember those. yeah, yeah, and she, it final just wore out they had, they had purchased it, I don't, can't remember how many years they had that car, but she loved the styling of it. That she may want to save, if she, she doesn't have it anymore. No, she sold it and she, That, since they don't make them anymore, she, that could be turned into a classic, in, in ten, fifteen years, uh. Yeah. I know. Yeah, she kept telling herself that and it's sort of a bone of contention between she and my dad because my dad said well, just let me take it down there and find out what's wrong with it, I mean he came back with a new car No, he wanted new one , yeah, right, yeah. Yeah, I think he had an ulterior motive he could just see, you know, dollar signs starting to flip by as far as repairs went but, uh, they, they really are nice cars, there, there, I'm still a full size person, Yeah. and I like a full size Cadillac, I, I want one of those, I think they are, I don't know, a classic but they're, certainly not, Uh-huh. they haven't changed in about, uh, twenty years, and, and they'll eventually phase them out Yeah, yeah. and I sure would like one ever those, uh, uh, within the next five years, or so. Yeah, it seems funny you how within the last couple of years cars have gotten bigger again, you know, Right. they had, they've scaled everything down so much and, uh, I have, I don't, I've never owned a really large car, I don't know, I think that Cougar was the biggest thing I ever had and, Well, even the Japanese cars are bigger too but, uh, Yeah, I've never had a now the Lexus are very nice looking cars, you know. I've never had, a Japanese car, I, I've had friends who had them, Uh-huh. and I think they're a lot over and they're is just no styling to them, you can't tell one Japanese car from the other, because they all a like, That's true, that's true. you know, I don't mean that as a joke, No, not really, they were pretty much thugs, they weren't scared very much, you know Well, that's good, well, they're Brooklyn boys, I guess. Yeah You don't expect them to be, uh, much of anything but thugs. Really. Yeah, I, I was, I was also born in Brooklyn, so I can call myself a Brooklyn thug, although I'm really not. Okay, okay. Well, I'm not to say that all folks from Brooklyn are thugs, but these two were definitely thugs, and they were from Brooklyn So I'm kind of hoping, I, I, I guess, uh, any more I pretty much pull for the Rangers though. They're, uh, they're, they're they, they have, I think they have the best facilities in the major leagues. Yeah. I love going to watch a game in Arlington stadium. It's great. Well, that, that's actually, I think I make something, because I think, and, and, and in as much as sort of fan support helps. Yeah. You know, it's good to have, um, The only problem is it's not large enough. It only holds about, I think they, when Ryan struck out his five thousandth player, they squeezed about forty thousand people in there. Yes, it is kind of small. Yeah, so they're, they, they have plans, I mean, the owner tried to move them to Florida Right. but, uh, they ended up sticking around in Arlington, and they're going to build a new stadium in Arlington, as a matter of fact, not even in Dallas, Oh, that's great. So, So that's, that's something that we're looking forward to. Yeah, that'll be nice, I mean, that, that, I think, tends to keep, I think stadiums work tend to keep people happy. Oh, case in point, Toronto. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, have you seen a game up there? Uh, I haven't been to any Toronto games yet. But, um, Oh, boy, I saw it, I was up there on business, uh, last June and watched a game in the sky dome. It was just phenomenal. That's, that's probably the pattern for the future of stadiums, I think. Of stadiums, yeah, well, I, I mean to get up there. I mean, the, the best I've been up here so far, you know, up, in up state New York is, uh, is, um, Rochester Red Wings game. Uh-huh. Now is Rochester, where, where is Cornell University. Oh, Cornell is in Ithaca. Ithaca. Uh, yeah, so Cornell is about, um, somewhere, uh, about two and a half hours south of, south and east of us. Okay. So if you know where Lake Ontario is sort of. Yeah, well Rochester is like right on the shores, isn't it? Yeah, we're about ten miles south of Lake Ontario. Yeah, okay. Actually whoever built the city was an idiot, in my opinion, because they built it, they built it far enough from the city that it actually couldn't be a port city. Oh, Um, but they, Well, they say that from that space needle up in Toronto you can see the lights of Rochester on a clear night. Oh, really, I I hadn't actually known that. Yeah. Well, um, but we have our own, um, our own triple A team here Yeah. the Redwings, which are they're a farm team for the Orioles. Yeah, okay. Yeah. So everybody hopes that, uh, they go all the way around here. There's the, they're the big team in Rochester. Those games are fun to watch. You, you, you watch those games? Oh, yeah, I actually, we, we, we make a point of going to a bunch of them every year because they're fun. Yeah. Lots of really big, you know, lots of local fans, you know, small stadium, you know, um, and they'll get a crowd of less than ten thousand sometimes, you know Uh-huh, uh-huh. um, especially, you know, I'll make a day game or something. Yeah. But they really seem to, uh, people really get into it. I mean, I can't, I, I, again, I can't make any predictions about them, Yeah, we used to like watching, my, my folks lived down in Beaumont, and, uh, on the campus of Lamar University they used to house the Beaumont Golden Gators who were a double A team for the Padres, I think, but, uh, they, they were fun games to watch. Those are, those are, uh, I think those are more fun than major league games sometimes. well, there's definitely a lot more hitting Yes, it's true. One of the advantages of not having pitchers who are Yeah. uh, uh, you know, I guess, I guess when you start pitching real well, well, move them up. Bam . Yeah. Yeah, but um. So as far as the major league teams, I don't know, the Rangers have been, you know, every year they always knock on the door early, and then just go into their skid about, you know, the end of June. But they, they've got so much young, raw talent, it's just amazing, and then they just haven't been able to put anything together. Well, the way I, the way I see it, is, I mean, um, you know, I can use a Met analogy here. Uh-huh. If you'll think back a few years to when the Mets were just all this sort of young bunch of guys who really were raw talent but weren't very sort of, well trained Yeah. you know, back to, you know, maybe eighty, eighty-four or eighty-three or eighty-five, you know, when they were first, when they weren't quite the eighty-six team that, that, that they were. Uh-huh. Right. I, I, that probably gives the readers a good shot for you this year or next year, I think, if, I think, the young talent really just has to build itself up. Yeah, I mean, they've been, they've been young for a while, and they're almost starting to age a little bit here, I just, um. Yeah, yeah, they, they really hurting pitching wise. I mean, they've got Ryan, but, you know, who knows what he'll be able to do. He's been, last year he started having some nagging injuries, and but, it'll, it'll be interesting to watch. Right, but. I hope to get up there. We, we usually try to get to opening day game. There's several guys from our church try to go up there. Oh, that must be nice. Yeah, well, I, I guess we're probably, oh, maybe a hundred fifty miles south of Dallas. No, not too bad, but it takes about two hours, two and a half hours to get there. Yeah, well it takes me a good seven hours to get to Shay Stadium. So, I don't know. That's probably because of the roads. You just don't have, we, we've just got a freeway. We just get right on the freeway and just go north. Yeah, well, actually, we can, we can, I can take a highway the whole way down, but it's still, it's some it's, it's almost four hundred Well, it's so crowded up there. I mean, I mean, it's almost four hundred, you know, barring traffic, it's four hundred hours, I mean, four hundred four hundred hours, right, four hundred miles barring traffic, Golly. so, it's, um, it's, it's, you know, it's a heck of a drive. We are substantially north of New York enough that, uh we don't get to go play too often. Yeah. you're, you're like a boat ride from, how far is it across the lake to Canada? Toronto. Toronto? Oh Toronto's only about two hours, yeah. Yeah. Toronto, I mean, I want to go see. Do, do you drive there, or do you take the ferry, or what? Um, I can, I've actually I've driven, but I've heard about the ferry as well. Yeah. Haven't taken it yet, though. Have you taken it? Yeah, it's a, it's a beautiful city. Yeah, um, I, I really love, I think that's one of the most, uh, enjoyable things about being up here. I'm only up here for school. Uh-huh. So, and then, I mean, you go back to New York after school? Uh, no, probably south, maybe Texas Oh, really. Some place south, and warm, I don't, I'm not a big, uh, I'm not a big, uh, cold fan. Well, what kind of weather are you having right now? Uh, right now we're actually having, uh, it's getting nice. I mean, it was in the high fifties today, but three and a half weeks ago, we had an ice storm Oh, boy, yeah, we've been up in the, oh, seventies, eighties, even up in the nineties a couple of weeks ago. Oh, that's great. You know, about that same time branches were falling off everywhere, and we were actually in a state of emergency for two weeks. Golly. Because of the ice? Because it, didn't make the national news too much, which I find really weird Um. but, um, we were, I mean, um, you know, all schools were closed for almost, for over, for a week. Golly. There were certain parts of town where it was illegal to drive. Huh, illegal, Yeah, because they had so many power lines down Oh, yeah. and so many, uh, things like that, so they were ... Okay, we, we can, uh, be recorded while we talk about it. Okay, well is your, does your city have mandatory, uh, recycling? No, we don't have mandatory. We, actually, we're kind of slow up here, and we've just started doing recycling probably last summer. And it's all voluntary. So that's interesting. Cities have a mandatory recycling? Um, there, there're some places that are strongly encouraging it, and that they city will pick it up. That's been one of the arguments here. I'm just sitting here looking. We've got four bins of glass and plasticine stuff. But we have to carry it, uh, some distance, and some places, um, you can sell your, uh, recyclables, and, for example, our church was collecting newspapers. Yeah, when I was a kid we used to collect newspapers and bring them to a recycle thing. We got like a penny a pound for them. Well, it turns out that so much, the problem in Texas is that, uh, they've got so much paper now from people recycling that they've got no way to, uh, reprocess it. Oh, my, It requires an it requires essentially a paper mill to recycle it, and so the value has gone down. It turns out it wasn't worth for the church to do. Oh, I didn't realize, you would think, now up here, I, I suppose they send it all back to the mill and there are paper mills within a couple of hundred miles of, uh. Actually there is one in northern Vermont. So there's probably a paper mill that's sixty miles from here. I didn't think that, you know, in the large city that if the next recycling, if the next mill is more like five hundred miles away it's a lot of money to transport. Well, Yeah, well see, that's, in, in Dallas there no plan to build, I think there, there's some in East Texas there's some pulp mills, but, uh, you have to go to Houston, and, it's interesting, and then there's places that will buy metal and they still buy aluminum can and likes that. *can cans ? likes like? Do you have to buy metal, like copper is a very good one to collect. Even aluminum, yeah, so. Well, do you do, do you do recycling? Uh, we do the recycling, and our city will pick up our recyclables. Oh. They have these little blue bins. Um, I don't recycle personally. I, I'm saying I want to do it, but, I don't get a lot of magazines, I don't get a, I don't buy the newspaper, but I do have a lot of, uh, my trash has a lot of tin cans and a lot of a lot of different papers and cardboards. Well, do you drink soda and such in aluminum cans? Yes, but we have a bottle return. A lot of the northern states and a lot of the Eastern states have bottles. We've had five cent deposits on our bottles for years. Oh, so it's worth taking them back. Well, see, we don't have. We have, we have most of our soft drinks are in plastic liter or two liter bottles. Oh, they should definitely get, um, the nickel returnable. It's great for the kids, because see, a lot of the kids get the money from it, and it's great for the boy scouts running around, they knock door to door and the collect the bottles sometimes. Oh, that's it, you'll, you'll, there is a down side to all this, you know, about no good deed going unpunished, that, uh, my mother sells, um, trees that they make paper out of, and so every time I recycle newspapers, in fact there's a, there's a, uh, Kimberly and Clark, the makers of kleenex and such has a, uh, a big paper mill. Yeah. In fact I almost went to work for them. I was offered a job and turned it down because my mother got it for me. It's twenty or thirty miles from my house. Every time you recycle, that's one less tree my mother can sell, and, uh. So, it's a question should I be diligent and, um, and, and recycle, and put my mother out of her livelihood. And recycle. Oh, yes, I see that. But, it's an interesting point, though, that, you know, everybody's so anxious to recycle, and I suppose it does provide some gainful employment, but, But it takes away employment from the resource and its . Well, but in general I think it's a good idea because like the glass, you can't argue that the glass, I do, too. it doesn't biodegrade, and, and, uh, the plastics obviously, They don't either So we might as well recycle those. Yeah, like I say, it's not a very controversial thing. Everyone thinks we should do it. It's just that we're so lazy, I mean, like personally, I don't want to clean my, I just have can cat food. I don't want to clean the can and take the label off it, and put it in a separate bin. Yeah. You know, I'd just rather get rid of that thing and throw it in the trash. Well, that's what we've got. We started about, New Year's we decided we'd get ambitious. Well, we took one load over there, and now we've got these containers filling up with stuff, and, you know, it's not a very high priority thing to go haul these containers over there. Yeah, I think I would be like, when I bring my bottles back. If they're pretty clean and stuff, so they can sit in my cellar for a couple of months, and I get a whole bunch of them and bring them and bring them over. Now, if I had a recycling center and I kept it clean, like if I washed all the cans and things, I wouldn't mind if it sat around too much, but if, if it stunk or something I wouldn't like doing it. But, um, I produce quite a bit of trash, my, you know, house, and I see it, but I don't see so much that I can recycle. Yeah. Like I say, it's a lot of different type paper and cardboard. I'm not a real plastic person user, but a lot of paper, um, pretty much, and I don't know how they sort that. But if, if I used a lot of can goods and I do use a lot of laundry detergent and a lot of plastic bottles, I would think that I I would have a recycling center. But now, it's just me and my husband, so, I don't know. But every little bit helps, right. Yeah, I know what you're saying. But we have, we have a very aggressive recycling at work, and I'm the one who will pick the newspaper out of the trash and bring it to the recycle bin. See, some people, it's, the recycle bin is on their way out. Instead of carrying your newspapers, when they get done with them at the end of the day, they throw them in the trash. Well, do you have separate trash cans at your desk. Um, no, we don't, but other, other offices do. They have a box for papers. Well, we have, we have one that's recyclable and, and then for uh, lunch sacks and waste food and they gave us a list of things that aren't and it turns out it's not so bad. I, I get a lot of reports that, that are covered in plastic or like saran wrap or something, anyway, and then, uh, cardboard, there's a few, it's interesting that we're, we're recycling computer type paper. Yeah. And, and, uh, one day they'll pick up, uh, the cleaning people come through and they'll pick up recycled paper, and then the next day they'll pick up the other, so. Oh. Depending on how much, you know, and there's a lot of, actually, it works pretty well, and then we have a, uh, waste, uh, cans for aluminum in the, in the break areas at work. Well, that's, that's a really good idea, because, um, like our, uh, fruit juices for some reason when they're in a can don't come with a deposit. Yeah. And they're thinking about putting a deposit on them, because pretty much you have to, you're having a whole separate recyclable bin just for these fruit cans, where they're so much easier just to put a deposit on it, because most, probably ninety percent of the aluminum cans do have deposits, because they're beer and soda, Yeah, but when they sell juice, it's some strange quirk in the law, you don't have to have a deposit on it. And even like, the, a very fine juice jar does not have to have a deposit on it, but if it's got soda in it, it does. So, it's a strange. That's an interesting distinction. Yeah, they should, they should clean, clear that up. It wouldn't take them much to put a stamp on the, uh, juice cans as easily as the soda. Yeah. So, but redemption centers are a big thing up here, they get a penny a can they handle. They give you five cents when they return the can to the distributor. I think they either get a penny or two pennies a can. Well, see, well, see, those of us that don't have state income taxes, yet that's the big debate here in Texas, that the legislature wants to put one in, Yeah. and, it's interesting what people get upset about, uh, it really is. Is is bottle return down there a heated debate? Well, no, Oh, yeah. Well, we, well, here you can't drink, We're not civilized now, you can no longer, you cannot drink beer and drive, but but it was, it was actually legal. Well. Yes, well, I know, I was in Atlanta, and you could walk out the bar with your drink in your hand. But here, Let me put that in a paper cup for you. So that was strange. But, I think, if some people they have, they say, well, we're not going to start a can deposit because you have to get all these, um, the, the recycle center, you have to deal with the can and then you have to, to recycle it, and, their problem's already solved because they can just come to states that do have bottle deposits see how they handle it, Yeah. and see if it's a good way, and then do it that way. Because, as, like I say, people are making money on it. Well, you know, the other, Well the other thing is, it also is, is a, is a, a good habit, uh, to, uh, just to conserve resources, you know, where they, you know, because you get in the habit of that, you think in terms of, of, uh, of, of things like saving The cans do, are worth something. Well, do you exercise regularly, Judy? Um, I try to ride the stationary bicycle every day about five miles Uh-huh and I love to walk, so if I have a lunch hour with nice weather I get out and, and walk. What about you? Well, um, I, uh, exercise regularly. I work at a university, and I swim almost every day upwards of a mile, Uh, very good. but Washington is one of my favorite places to visit. Uh, my daughter lives in Arlington, and when I go to visit her, I love to get out on that bike trail, and either ride the bike, oh, gosh, you can ride a bike practically all the way to Southern Virginia or just get out and walk, uh, or even jog a little, although I don't do that regularly. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But Washington's a great place to do that. Yeah, there are, there are lots of bike paths. I know, my son is a biker and he, he's done the whole canal, I think it's a hundred and eighty miles, with the scouts. Uh-huh. And so, but that somehow takes, organization. For me, it's much easier just the stationary bike, you know, it's at home, I can, I can do some of my reading, Right. Um, but, Do you live in the District? No, I live in Maryland. Because I think there're so many parts of the District where it's not very safe to get out and walk. Right, right, and that's it, um, at work we have a, a nice campus, Uh-huh. I mean, we're within walking distance of, of stores and shops so I do. Now, I think, um, basically, is your motive simply, um, health or because you enjoy it? Well, it's, uh, it's really both. I'm certainly driven by the desire to maintain my weight and be healthy and be in shape, and, uh, and most of the time I enjoy it. Sometimes I don't, but I feel that, uh, that the discipline it affords me when I do it when I don't want to is also worth something. Uh-huh, right. I think pretty much you summed up my, my, my motivations also. And I often find that even when I don't feel that much like exercising, like I'll be really tired, and I'll start swimming, and I'll, and I'll actually get energy. And I'll be, have much more energy when I'm done than when I started, I mean, I just feel great. That happens to me probably one in four or five times that I swim. Oh, well, that's great, that's great. And that's really a terrific feeling, because you just go there at the end of the day, and you figure, God, I'm ready for bed and you exercise and then, it's sort of painful for a while, Uh-huh. but by the time you get done you feeling really terrific. Right. And actually in, in summer I like to swim. We don't have facilities for swimming in winter, but, um, and, and that's true, when I go home from work at the end of the day, if I go up for an hour in the pool, I'm much, much more awake, I'm ready to work in the garden or whatever in the evening. Yeah, yeah. So. So, can I just ask you, are you Canadian? No, I'm not. Philadelphia? No. I'm trying to because you have a, you have one funny vowel that's probably going to drive the T I people crazy. Oh, really. Say out, instead of out you say out. Did you know that? No, I don't know that. But, I, I must say, that, um, when, when I did do a linguistics course in, in school, ages ago, um, the professor had a lot of trouble with my accent. Huh. And it's probably because I, I, I was born in the Chicago area and grew up in California, and at that point that was sort of the limit but since then I've been abroad a lot, Huh. I see. I know this isn't on our topic, but where did you grow up in California? In Santa Barbara. Oh, okay, because I grew up in North Hollywood, California went to U C L A and all that. Oh, I see. Uh-huh. Well, very good, I think we've probably know, know each other's exercise habits Yes. and, uh, it was nice talking to you. Well, same here. Thanks for calling. Oh, okay. Bye. Bye-bye. So, um, well, I'll tell you, my situation is, uh, I have an elderly grandmother that we did just recently put in a nursing home. And, um, her son, which is my father is also elderly, and this is one of the reasons why she had to go to the nursing home, is that she was literally driving him nuts in his later years. Now my father's almost eighty. My grandmother's almost ninety-seven. Jeez. So, um, it's strange, because it, it so, hit so close to home that um, my father's an only child, and really me and my sister are the only ones that will deal with my grandmother. She had many sisters, and a couple of them took care of her. And then one, her last sister died, and it was probably seven or eight months after that she had to go in a nursing home. Because I was pretty much giving up my life, my sister was, and plus she was driving my father crazy. She went through three housekeepers, live-in housekeepers. So, she's kind of cranky to get along with. There's nothing physically wrong with her, except she's very, very old, but her personality is, is very grating. I mean, I hope I don't get like that when I get old. So. Yeah. I'm, I'm, I have some great concerns about, uh, my parents and my relatives reaching that age. Um, around here, where I live in Maryland in the Washington area, there's, there's, and, uh, I used to live down in Dallas, there was just so many stories about, uh, rest homes where the people are being abused, where the people are being kept in filthy conditions. In fact, here in Baltimore they've actually shut a couple of them down and taken all the people out of them because they were so, uh, bug infested and rat infested. And, uh, I, it really concerns me, that, um, first of all, that anyone could let someone live like that, but if you have to, you know, how do you make sure, I mean, I'm sure when you make your appointment and go by, everybody puts on a happy face, um, you know, how are you sure that the home is really as good as it is, because once you put someone into there, you know, they may not like the fact that they've been put in there, and they might complain about the place all the time even though it's the best place in the whole world they could be, just because they want to make you feel guilty for putting them in there, and, you know. Yeah, you don't know if their complaints are legitimate. Yeah. Um, we don't have that problem up here. We might maybe in a rural, uh, maybe there's a bad, uh, a bad home in a rural area, but it would be a very small one. Um, the one my grandmother's in is very, um, hospital like. There were some really nice ones here. All the, a lot of the nursing homes around here have very good reputations. Um, this one is more or less for someone who's poor and can't go there, and my father's, is, he's no by no means wealthy, but he's quite well off. Uh-huh. And he could easily have put her into a nicer, um, home, but up here there's waiting lists. And that was the first one that opened. And I suggested to him, Why don't you change. Um, he said, Well, these people here are, they are very nice to her. And he was saying his excuses, if you move her some place else, the people might not be so nice. So, the, the professionals in the nursing homes really have to want to do what their doing, because it's a really trying job. I mean, I go up twice a week to see my grandmother, and I know the staff very well. So they couldn't, they can't hide anything on you or anything like that. Uh-huh. But I have heard of really awful conditions, especially down the southern part of the the country which is. Yes, uh, that's true. My, uh, my grandmother's, um, last time my mother went down there to visit the, the place where my grandmother was staying at was so overrun with roaches that, uh, she even you know, they went in and she had roaches crawling on her. There were roaches even in her alarm clock. Um, Oh, that's terrible. Yes, it was absolutely horrible. They took her immediately out of there, and they just threw everything away that, that she had from there. I mean, they wouldn't even take the, uh, the, uh, the dresser that she had that was her own dresser, because it was just, you know, full of bugs. They just left everything. And, uh, bought her all brand new stuff, and they, they had called a home where they, you know, where they were on a waiting list to get into there and explained to the person that was in charge, you know, what had happened, and that they had they had to take her out of the home because of the conditions. And amazingly enough, the very next day they had an opening, and they put her into that opening. Well, that's good. So is your grandmother, um, impaired? Is she of Alzheimer's or something like that? I'm not sure, um, what exactly is wrong with her. Up until nineteen eighty-two, uh, actually, I'm sorry, not until, yeah, I guess it was around eighty-two, eighty-three, I found out I had a grandmother. Oh. Prior to that I was told that she was dead, and, um, apparently what had happened was that I had a grandfather who, um, put her into a mental institution. Oh, that does happen. Yeah. And, uh, you know, it was a real hush-hush thing Yeah. and then, I was wondering why my mother always referred to, you know, his second wife as that hussy. You know, my neighbors across the street, their mother was sick at times, and they, they couldn't handle her. So they put her in a home, and then, uh, the old Frenchman, he'd get a little drunk look round at his kids, Oh, you still need your mother. And that happens a lot when people are sick or they just real manic-depressants, they end up being put in homes, and it's like, oh, well. Yeah. But that's, it's, it's, I'm really glad that I come from an area where, um, that there's good people in the homes. But it's just as, it doesn't matter if it is, like you say, the best place, they still don't want to go to these homes. And my grandmother's real, there, I mean, she cries every day. This has been over a year, and she tries to make me feel really guilty. But I have to, you know, I have to put my foot down, where, where my life begins. I mean, if that was my mother, I would really feel a lot more responsible. I would probably take care of my mother. I don't really, um, when my father, when something, if anything happens to him, I don't want him put in a nursing home just for the fact I don't really want to go and visit him at a nursing home. And hopefully that he can, uh, get along with, uh, in-house help. So, he's going to probably, hopefully set it up so that he will be able to pay someone to come in and stay with him probably for sixteen hours a day, because I think that's the best situation, is when you're, you get that old and you've been independent your whole life, you don't want to go into a home, because, like I say, my father's eighty, and he's really active. He still has his driver's license here, I mean, you wouldn't believe what he does. He actually tows cars. And, as the years go on, the tow trucks got better, more easier, and he went out and bought himself a flat bed one so he won't have to do very much work. So someone like that, they, I really don't want to see them go in a home. He's got two dogs that are his constant companions, and he always replaces them. You know, I've had like, over the past thirty years I've had, you know, about seven or eight different dogs all the time. And it's like, you know, it's oops, Dad's got these two and the old dies and the young one goes for a while, and he gets another one. So I can't see him without his animals. Even though it's very expensive to stay at home mentally it's just the best thing for you. Yes. I know. I mean, when you get on in your years it's the only thing you really have, and I'm thinking when I get older, I, I, I think if brought all my precious belongings with me, I think I could live in a home. I don't want to be a selfish, you know, a burden on anyone. That's what I think, because I see what my grandmother puts me through, and I'm saying that when I get older I could probably make the best of this place, I mean. And of course, it's institutional food, and everybody hates it, and it's so ironic is that they go in there and they lose weight. Yeah. It's really, it's a bad thing, but when they go into the homes they lose weight, and, because of the institutional food, you know. I think it's fine, but, you know, my taste buds are pretty, uh, flexible, and here they are, they're always used to these old fashioned foods. They're very set in their ways and used to have what they could get at home, and now they're feeding them, um, quiche and all kinds of strange food that we would eat. Yeah. Just, they don't feed them the old people food, the chicken and biscuits, and things like that. That's, that's the thing my grandmother really misses, I mean, really growls about. Yeah, my mother has made similar statements, that she doesn't want to become a burden to the family. You know, Just put me out to pasture, or shoot me, or something, you know. are the lines that come from her. And, uh and I tell her, you know, No problem, Mom, always got a place for you. Oh. Yeah, I know, if, if, if people would think ahead of time and do things like that, like build the in-law apartment and have it on, you know, one floor and really easy access. Well, that's what I'm telling my father now. He needs a new floor in his bathroom, so you can get in and out ... Okay, what kind of books do you like to read, for enjoyment? Uh, mainly, the, the books I read are, uh, business related, or self improvement. Uh-huh Um, I've got a, a, uh, small company on the side that I, that I do things with, so, uh, a lot of the reading that I, I do has to do with, um, how can I, uh, do better at, at my small-time business uh, important issues such as a, you know taxes and, business expenses and all those kind things. What kind of business is it? Uh-huh. Well, that sounds that sounds fun What kind of business is it? Um, I've got a, uh, small distributorship, uh. Uh-huh. I, uh, sell a, uh, healthy cookie on the side. Really? And, uh, I have a few health food stores that I send it to. I can buy the cookies in a larger quantity than they can, Uh-huh. so I can get a deal from the, uh, from the from the supplier, Well, that's interesting. and then I distributed them and then I I get, I can sell them at a cheaper price. Plus I've got a, uh, drinking water system business that I've had on the side for years that I've done. A what? A drinking water business, uh, yeah Oh, really? Yeah. Well that sounds interesting My mom always wants me to open a health food store but, I'll, I'm not really into it, I don't know the I don't know that much about it, so anyway but, well that's interesting. I, personally, I like mostly um, if I had a book of my choice, I like books, I go to the library a lot and it seems like I always, I never go to the fiction section, I mean that to me is just ridiculous, it's like, life is to interesting to read fiction Uh-huh. but I always get books like, um, I like to quilt, well I'm not into quilting but I check a lot of books out to learn how. I just haven't done it yet because it seems to monstrous to do with a book, but I like to, um, can and do food preservation, and mostly canning just for fun to go pick the things and just to have fun doing it and to give them as gifts and stuff, and I like to check books out like that and I always come away with, I'm a Christian and I enjoy reading books about um, I have a real heart for people involved in cults Uh-huh. and, so I have a real, you know, heart for them, and I'm going to bring my Mormon neighbors some Amish bread today and that's just where my heart is so, I read a lot of books on that and, you know Christian books written by people about, you know to help you out and stuff and I read the Bible. I don't read the Bible as much as I should but but I think I would always think that no matter what I did so, but I do enjoy reading that and, so pretty much we have different interests, I think, in reading, like a but, and I have a neighbor with a big motorbike Sounds like it. and he likes to run down the street with it and you, you can probably hear him. But, um, I don't know so. Do you enjoy reading anything like that? Um. Um, I haven't really read anything like that in, in, in years. There was a time when I was really into the home things, Uh-huh. and I did, uh, had my own garden and I did canning, all those kind of things. That was when I was about, uh, ten years younger and uh, I had, Thirty or younger, Is that what you said? About ten years younger, yeah. Oh, ten years younger, oh, that's funny. And, uh, uh, the problem that I've had in the past with, uh, my children growing up and moving out of the house and, and still having three left at home, out of the five, Uh-huh. um, I've tried to devote more time to them and trying to get them interested in, in reading more and, and spending more time at the library and it, I've been moderately successful, uh, with my daughter and with my son, they both have different interests in books Uh-huh. but, um, they, they, uh, they do read them. Um, I have some books on, on health that I read all the time. One's on vitamins that are good for you and that kind of thing, Oh, really? Yeah, Yeah, Maureen Solomon . I had a, a friend of mine has a book by her right now called FOODS THAT HEAL. They eat a lot of it, you know, you can take your vitamins and she was telling me to take zinc, so, anyway I've been taking enough zinc, you know to kill a horse probably I hope it doesn't hurt me but, anyway, I did read one chapter of that There's a, uh, a couple called, um, oh, Uh-huh. um, and, uh, there's a book called LIFE EXTENSIONS, I don't know if you've ever heard of it, No, I haven't. Okay. It's a book called LIFE EXTENSIONS. There's also a book called THE LIFE EXTENSION COMPANION, Uh-huh. Uh, Dirk Pearson and, oh, I forgot Sally's last name, anyway it's a couple. I've, I've seen them on T V, and, uh, they they are pretty down to earth about uh, what you can take and, and what you can't take The quantities and, and, What's the name of it again? Um, LIFE EXTENSIONS. LIFE EXTENSIONS? Uh, yeah, he's probably about forty years old now, Uh-huh. I saw him probably seven years ago, on Johnny Carson show Uh-huh. Oh, really? and, uh, I was pretty impressed. He had a, he, before he started out on his experiments he had a battery of tests done on his body to determine the age of each one of his organs you know based on how well it was performing, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then he embarked on this, uh, vitamin treatment and then every year he had the same tests run, Uh-huh. and at the age of thirty-two, I think it was, his, um, heart was that of a fourteen year old Really? and all the rest of his organs were all greatly, you know, all tested out greatly below his actual age. And, of course, Sally, uh, isn't a very big woman, Uh-huh. I mean, she's, you know, she appeared to me to be very petite and um, she took a horse shoe and, and turned it, turned it into an S, Oh, really? and, uh, it was all from taking the right vitamins and things that, that give you the strength, and, of course, doing Isometric exercises, uh, together they both exercised about five minutes a day, doing Isometrics rather than, you know physical strenuous exercises. Really? I know there's not any food that you can get, and it's grown on good soil hardly anymore, and I know my, my husband's uncle owns some acreage in, a, Eastland, Texas, which is in West Texas, owns Uh-huh. and he owns a lot of acreage that's been farmed properly, you know Yes. and, uh, we get black-eyed peas off of it and stuff but, I know that, you know, the further we go from Adam the worse the food is for you, but God still somehow makes us all be able to still live. I think it's a miracle we're all still alive after so many generations, well the last couple of processed foods, you know, I mean, but, I don't know. I like to, I like to, my, I like to be able to eat really healthy, Uh-huh. you know, I think Jesus is the only one that can make this earth be restored to what it should be, but, uh, in the meantime we pray over our food because I'm always looking down my plate and I think man this stuff was probably grown in who knows what, you know, kind of environment but I do take some vitamins on the side and, I do like reading books like that I just, I have a hard time, a lot of the books are real new age oriented like Mother Earth and we're going to restore the earth. I just don't see that. I think, I mean, I think to think that is almost, it's hopeless to think that man can do anything with the, you know what I'm saying? Yes. It's and I think God's in charge and God's going to restore it when he wants to so sometimes I get bogged down in the, you know, in the ideology that motivates a lot of health food and motivates a lot of vitamin taking, but, you know there's a balance in it sometimes I read stuff like that and then I just chunk off like water off your back, some of it, and, you know, and try and do what's, what I can do out of it that's practical, Yeah, there's, I've, I've read a lot of things, um, since I got involved in the water business back in eighty-three, Uh-huh um, and it's amazing that the, the legislation they have, um, for food that doesn't apply to water, they don't consider water a food Uh-huh. and, uh, the basics premise is that if water was a food it would be, you know, they wouldn't be able to sell it to you through your pipes because it's toxic Um, chlorine, Because it's what? It's toxic. It's a, Oh. I don't know if your on city water, city water has chlorine in it, chlorine, causes cancer, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. they know that, they've proven that. Um, yet their saying well we're putting such low doses in there, that, well, you don't have to worry about dying from it. Uh-huh The problem is that I've, that I've read books that, uh, have proven that there is a link between the ingestation of chlorine and arteriosclerosis, which is heart attack, Uh-huh Um. and if you look at the history of hear attacks, heart attacks were nonexistent prior to nineteen twenty, *typo hear heart Really? and we started doing, um, large quantities of chlorination of water starting around, uh, where we experimented with it in nineteen oh three and nineteen thirteen most of the major cities had chlorinated water. Really? You know I bet that's why we have some friends that eat only, I just took this Amish bread out of the oven, man, it's going to be good. I had a starter that friend of mine made, anyway, uh, I had a friend that read a book on that and, um, I've, all my relatives my you know, you probably read BACK TO EDEN or something, I don't know, we read a lot, I know people have read all those books but, the, um, they they drilled a well, I don't know how many feet but it's three or four times deeper than it needed to be, Uh-huh. and so their water comes out, they live in Grand Prairie, but it's, they live kind of in a, the planes go right over from D F W, so it's not real developed, and so they have a, probably half an acre, Yeah, I'm very familiar with the area. and, yeah, and they drilled this well and the water comes out at thirty-two degrees, so it's kinds of neat. Would that be healthier do, to do that, to drill your own fresh water well like that? It depends, a lot of, uh, a lot of things were thought that, uh, as, you know, the farmers thought, okay, we got chemicals, we're putting chemicals on the field, well the ground will naturally filter out the of ... Uh, what kind of house do you live in? Uh, we live in a one story, just like a style home, you know, the standard Texas, uh, Fox and Jacobs. Oh, yeah. With, with a yard and fence. How about you guys? Are you in a apartment or a home? I'm in an apartment in, uh, Plano. Well, they say those are easy to or difficult to find. Yeah, they are, if, uh, kind of depends on what you're looking for. Mine's just a one bedroom place, that's, uh, How are rents doing? I haven't looked at rents in a long time. Uh, it's hard for me to tell, because I haven't rented in, uh, probably twenty, twenty-five years Uh-huh. and, uh, just, I'm getting back into apartment life, and it's, What's a, what's a one bedroom, are you in a, um Yeah, well, Plano, most, most complexes in Plano are pretty nice, so you're probably in a, you know, Well, they vary, from place to place, it's hard to tell, you know, how well they've been kept up how old they are, Uh-huh. and these are probably, oh, one of the nicest that I found, and, uh, they're almost five hundred a month for a one bedroom place. Ooh that does get high, yeah, I mean, Yeah, it does, considering that, you know, uh, house payments are, not a whole lot more than that, Yeah, I was going to say, our mortgage is, is between, depending on, you know, it drops, um, seems like in the last six months we, um, got lucky and we refinanced, and it, but it was like eight hundred and something, but it went down to like seven hundred and twenty Yeah. so that's really not, I have friends that pay about nine hundred dollars for a town house in, Wow, that's a lot for a townhouse. yeah, in, actually they're near Plano in North Dallas too, but I couldn't believe it, but, you know, But that's what happens when you get up in this area, you know, you got all these companies are up here, and these Yeah. and, I guess they know they're going to get it, And then I think that, um, nobody was really buying houses there for a long time there because of just, I mean, we've been in ours for about ten years, but, uh there's no investment in it, you know all it allows you to do is itemize, on your on your taxes yeah, Yeah. Yeah, that's true, you just take off your mortgage interest and that's about it, that's really about it, it's, uh, have you ever owned your own home, Yeah, I've owned, uh, several, built several, So you know what it's like, yeah, it's like, when you first, this is our third one, it's not, um, and it's not that exciting after a while Well and especially around North Dallas, or at least in Plano area, they, they basically all look alike because Fox and Jacobs, Yeah, suburban tract, yeah, we, uh, we lived out of state for a while and came back and, uh, we lived in a smaller city, and now we say, Gee, Dallas really is big and polluted Isn't it. I can remember, I've only been here eight years, but I can remember coming to work from, I used to live in Wylie Uh-huh. and I could see downtown Dallas, and now there's this brown haze over it, and it's moving north. Yeah, it's really it's really sad because they're not doing anything, well we're getting off the subject, I guess, but just like with housing, I mean, they're not doing anything about pollution, they're not doing anything about, it's going to look like, have you ever been to Houston? Oh, yeah. You know, um, I used to think that Dallas was better than Houston because their zoning for where you can put a house next to a, Yeah, now it looks just like Houston to me. Yeah, it does. How long have you been in this house? We've been in here ten years. Ten years. Yeah, so we've got, you know, got some investment in it, but, you really don't get anything out of it. No, you really don't. Were, you said you were out of state for a while, was that a smaller town than Dallas area. Yeah, smaller, we were up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. How was it My home town. how were the house prices up there? The prices, actually, a lot better, because Pittsburgh is about the size, I've been trying to think, like a Louisville, or Minneapolis, that type of size. Yeah. And the prices, what you get here for about a hundred thousand you could get there for about seventy-five, eighty. Wow. Yeah, it's really, and we didn't think it was that clean, but then after you're gone for a while, it looks cleaner, you know Oh, yeah uh, well, you know, a lot of these people that I've talked to that are coming down from, uh, like what I call, the back East especially from J C Penney, uh, are selling two and three hundred thousand dollar houses up there and buying a hundred and fifty, hundred and seventy-five thousand dollar houses down here, Yeah, and they've wound up getting better houses here than they had there so in a way, I guess it works both ways. I guess it's, yeah, but, and here I guess it depends on what you want, you know, here, I got a lot of people that work for J C Penney in marketing Yeah. and a lot of the people that came from that area, probably like what you're talking about, they had no, um, they had a lot of property but not a lot of house, and now they have a lot of house and hardly any yardage around it That's a fact, but, but they love it. I mean, they, they, they think they're getting, you know, you say, sun room to them, and you enclose and you can sell it I guess that's true. Yeah. And they don't have to worry about yard upkeep if they don't hardly have any. Yeah, and a lot of them I know, a couple women that work there, and they don't miss, in Public Relations, and they don't miss having a basement to run up and down to, you know, That's true, there's not too many basements in Texas. And I said, You haven't heard about tornados How about those, you know, Yeah, gosh I remember when I was little, uh, we didn't have a, I lived, grew up in southern Oklahoma Uh-huh. and, uh, people across the street had a cellar, and we never did, and it's just like Dallas area, it was tornado alley up there, and every spring mom would drag me up at three o'clock, four o'clock in the morning and pajamas and teddy bear across the street, and we'd go into the cellar, and I to this day, I don't care if I go or not, Yep. you know, if it's going to get me, it's get me. That's exactly, uh, growing, I grew up in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and, uh, we used to call the basements actual cellars, so it's funny to hear that word, because I never hear it, you know, it's like the back porch used to be a stoop, you know Yeah. but, uh, um, the housing is just, we like the older houses, and I don't know if we're going to stay here or not, depends, you know, I mean, You ever thought about building a house? Pardon me? Have you ever thought about building a house? Yeah, actually when we were up north, um, but some family things changed so we ended up come back down here, and all that, because it helped my husband's work, but, um, we really would like to, but we don't know if we're going to do it unless we stay here, you know. Yeah, that's true, especially when, with T I it's like anybody else, you never know how long you're going to be here, be in one place, you know, Yeah, it's real tough, I mean, the economy any more, I mean, I think everybody just lives under an umbrella, the uncertainty with housing and everything, Yeah. you know, it's, Do you work? Pardon me? Do you work? Yes, I do. Well, how do you handle, do you have kids? No, we don't. So you got, he's working and working to get this big house to take care of, how do you manage both of those? Uh, how do we take care of the house. Well, I don't have a I don't, shouldn't say that, I don't have an ethnic maid Yeah. I don't have, we have some friends that live near North Dallas off of Campbell Road, and they have like a four thousand square foot home, and she's got a, uh, a live out nanny. Um, but any rate, I don't have any of that, um, I don't know, it's really not too difficult with no children and just two people, you know. You basically can take care of everything yourself, We have a, Yeah, we have a dog, and we're pretty, I mean, we're not fanatically neat, but, um, we keep things up, you know not like where there is three feet of weeds or anything in the yard by the time you need to, um, get around to fertilizing and cutting in the spring. Yeah, Yeah. What about home repairs and stuff, do you have to do all that yourself, or, Um, no, we're pretty much, um, we, we've been around long enough as a couple that we learned a long time ago not to wall paper together and things like that. Oh, you too. Uh, we pretty much hire, we subcontract mostly everything I mean other than anything that's not a, um, Yeah. I mean, I know how to fix a running toilet Oh, yeah. he does what he needs to, but mostly if it's something major, um, you know, cleaning out the air conditioning ducts or something like that, we just hire out to do that, Sounds like you've already got the makings for being a general contractor, Yeah, no thanks, I, If you don't wall paper it well together, you should probably not build a house together. Have you ever done that, Yeah, I built three houses in my life And how'd that go? the building process was a lot of fun Uh-huh. but puts a lot of strain on things. Getting to agree to things, I'm sure, and I also think that once you get to be, um, you know, certain, when you get to be thirty something and thirty something gets to be a little bit older you start, um, Yeah. the dollar value on things I, You bet. you know, I think people that own homes a lot in North Dallas are very materialistic. Oh, you bet. I know I'm supposed to talk about homes, but people that, the people that own them are the homes themselves, and you know, um, spending sixteen dollars a yard for custom draperies, for custom drapes just doesn't Oh, yeah. Well, to some of them I guess it doesn't matter, you know, that maybe they've got enough coming in to take care of it, Yeah, that's, I mean, and, and you know, you see a lot of these people that came east from, uh, west, from, uh, from New York with Exxon or J C Penney, and it's just a hoot to watch them. Are they, they, as far as they're concerned, they've come to the promised land, you know, they've got it made, Right, right, exactly, so, well was it hard to adjust living in an apartment after being in a house. Oh, yeah, because you're uh, confined by space, you know, I had a, I came out of a thirty-one hundred square foot two story house. Oh, my goodness yeah. And I had room for everything, in fact I had more room than knew what to do with. I don't know Uh-huh. just seems like room, stuff always expands to fill available space, uh. Yeah. Well, in a way you can travel light. you can, you know, you you adjust, you figure out, How is, how is apartment dwelling living in terms of general privacy and noise and things like that? It's not as bad as I thought it was Uh-huh. it's not as bad as I remembered, especially going to college and living in apartments there, you know how noisy that can be. Yes, I do. Uh, there seems to be more a mature crowd in, uh, apartments, at least where I am, uh, even though, you know, there's kids all around and there's, there's traffic and there's people running up and down the sidewalks and stuff like that, but still, uh, Everybody pretty much keeps to their own turf, so to speak. Yeah, pretty much, and, uh, there's never really any, oh I remember in school, there's just, seem like there was a fight or a party or something going on every night Yeah. You don't run into that up here, I think, I think because there's so many, uh, professional people, if you want to call them that that go spend all day at work Uh-huh. and they want to come home and they want some quiet, Relax and try to go to sleep, really, yeah. You see a lot of activity outside, people riding bikes, playing ball, or jogging or they're doing this and that, and they, they're trying to, to unwind. I think Plano in general is getting a little more, well it's gotten so big it's almost a town in it's own right. Oh, yeah, it's a hundred and what, eighty thousand, something like that. Or something, yeah, the price of home, now we paid, oh, we paid, um about seventy-eight nine for our house like I said, about a decade ago, not even, about nine years ago, and, I'd say they appraised it, it's gone up, you now, maybe like five percent Oh, yeah. so it's an investment, but it's something that, you know, when you're first married or starting out, you think if you really have something, but you really, it's just real, nowadays, with the way the income tax, I think housing is strictly to itemize. Oh, you bet, and the thing that, that gets me is, uh, you never really catch up, you never really finish doing things, and, uh you're always paying for something. Yeah, exactly, we, Yeah, and even, you know, I mean, like we had, I called them prefabs, just a tract home, you know, I mean, we, we had one of their homes that was nicer in Pennsylvania, but, um, it was an older home, but then, you buy an older home and you're always fixing things up, Oh, you are, constantly, there's always something going wrong, So, you know, So, uh, tell me about changes from say twenty years ago, since you were an adult, twenty years ago. Well, let's see, well, we assume I was an adult twenty years ago, Um, Well, you're, you're able to, you're able to, uh, vote and go to war and things like that so, Yeah, definitely able to go to war twenty years ago but not vote. Oh, that's right, that's one of the changes Not vote. That was one of the changes that came about in the last twenty years. Um, yeah, twenty years ago is nineteen seventy, uh, nineteen seventy I had been married two years. Uh-huh. Um, we had all the great civil rights legislation of nineteen sixty-eight, Uh-huh. And, uh, around here on the, uh, east coast, uh, we were heavy into affirmative action. Uh-huh. Yes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, the problem was that my hair was too long. Uh-huh. and, uh, you weren't allowed to have a, uh, mustache or a beard, if you wanted to get ahead with the company, Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. well if you were a, uh, black female you were destined to be store manager in six to nine months, if you were white male you're talking six years. Huh. And that's basically where I ended up. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And is the company now, uh, well represented, uh, demographically, at the higher echelons? Um, Did it work? I think so, I, I, I, I stopped working for them in, uh, seventy-eight, seventy-nine. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's, I think they're, they're like all companies, well represented. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know, everything seems to be fine. Uh-huh. I, I've kind of lost touch with the company, we had a falling out, Uh-huh, uh-huh. but, uh, as far as, uh, as their management goes, um, I'm not sure they're any, any better off than they were, were before management wise. Uh-huh. But, uh, other changes, um, just people seem to be more outspoken now individually, rather than collectively. Uh-huh. Um, back in the seventies we had, uh, a lot of, uh, protests against the war, and, uh, bring our troops home and things were, more organized. Uh-huh. And, uh, I've noticed, that now, more and more individual people are speaking out for their own rights rather than massing together. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Um, Yeah, I'm not sure if that was because, you know, eighties was like the, uh, the me decade. The me decade. Uh-huh. And, uh, everybody was into me, and then we are getting back into us. But, um, it, it, it's I've seen, uh, uh, a great deal of change as far as, um, corporate responsibility and things, um, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, people's response to that, you know, at first not trusting and now, expecting more. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And what what about the last ten years that you've been aware. Well, that I've been aware of, I've, at least in my own circles I've been aware of an increasing from my generation, I don't know if I can quite call myself a distinct generation from you, but half generation off, I guess. Um, I've noticed, uh, a certain increase, um, pessimism with America no longer being sort of on top. I had the impression, well, I mean, there was the quote, unquote losing of the Vietnam war, which was a blow, and it was right around that time when I started becoming socially, you know, a socially conscious adult. And, I realize that people of my age have no, um, no major success in the sense that, uh, you saw the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and, um, major social change in that sense, and I, and all the changes that have happened in the last, uh, even during my adulthood, have been more incremental. They've been continual perhaps and good gains have been made, but there hasn't been the same sort of fiery speeches of Martin Luther King or whatever, that has really, uh, galvanized the population. And there's just, instead there's been sort of an increasing, oh, I don't know, Japan bashing and things like that. Uh-huh. And, uh, a lot of, I see among some of my friends and even more among some of my students, who are, you know, maybe twenty, a real sense of, you know, America's losing it. Yes. And losing it in the competitive market, and a real uh, a lack of understanding how that could be. In the sense that how could America have gone from being number one, to possibly being number two, to, you know, our former enemies and things like that and, uh, so I see, I see a lot of, uh, a lot of pessimism growing, um, and at the same time I think there's, there's, there's a growing environmentalist movement and sense of corporate increased corporate responsible towards, uh, you know, environmental safety and things like that. And that might potentially be sort of the civil right, the equivalent of the Civil Rights Act in, in the near future, in terms of, you know, some real landmark bills passing and things like that. Such that, you know, people. The thing about civil rights is people take it for granted now. I mean my generation doesn't, can't rest on the, the glow of having achieved civil rights because we were born into an assumption that, you know, yes there's still some racism but, you know, basically things are, the assumption, things are basically kind of taken care of and there's a notion of fairness. Yes. That's, um, while still far from perfect, is much more established, I think. But even, uh, I think, uh, along the line of the, uh, goals of civil rights, um, there always seems to be some prejudice to someone by anyone. Uh-huh. Oh, of course I mean, you know It's human nature You know, don't like the way you look, don't like the way you dress, don't like your hair, don't like, you know it's just something that always sets people off. You know, you either like someone or you don't like someone or you're just completely indifferent Yeah, yeah And the problem is that ideally you they, you know, the world would like you to be completely indifferent. So, um, but I, I, I understand what you say about the environmental movement, um, it's, it's been a long time coming, Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. And I, I just, I've seen a lot of changes, I mean, from the original earth day Uh-huh. and, um, I'm heavily involved in, you know, my own personal recycling. We recycle paper, and cans here at work Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, you know, I do the newspaper and cardboard and paper and, you know, all that stuff at home Uh-huh, uh-huh. and I'm starting to see more and more recycling centers, cropping up all over the place here, on the, east coast, Uh-huh. Right. And that's a real change, except it sort of, brings back to the nineteen forties more than anything else Yeah, like, I mean, all this recycling used to be in tact, *typo in tact should be 'intact' or not all of it, Yeah. but much of it did. I mean, recycling was a, was a wartime thing. And then they turned around and called them junkyards, and, started making profits off, them after the war. Yes. Yes And now we got to the point where the junkyards, you've got to pay them to take something there, Uh-huh. so, things have really changed a lot. I think the, uh, the other part about, uh, America's decline I think has to do with, A perceived decline anyway, yeah. yeah, the perceived decline, has to do with, uh, um, the attitudes and the educational system, uh, I have children in, in, I have three children in school right now, and I'm not impressed with the teachers that are teaching them. Uh, I had, when I was down in Dallas for two years, I had, uh, my children come home from school with papers that were corrected by the teacher that had words spelled correctly marked wrong, and words spelled wrong not marked as such. Uh-huh. Yeah. And this person's teaching my children? Uh-huh. You know, I had a real problem with that. Yeah. Well, I'd, I'd say actually I mean as someone who's involved in education I'd say that maybe one of the changes is that the, role of the teacher has incrementally gotten lower and lower value and society. I mean, relative pay which is a major way we value people, has been poorer and poorer over the years. Uh, you know, that there's been cost of living increases but not quite in proportion to cost of living and, you know it's just more and more, uh, a real low income sort of job and very low prestige. I mean, there's that, that old saying those who can do it and those who can't teach, this is the way of let's make fun of the teachers those are the people who can't do anything. Yeah. And if you have that kind of social attitude it's hard to get sufficient numbers of people who are going to overlook all of that work for lower pay, work for low social prestige, just because they care about good education. Yeah. And you get more and more people and up there because it's, uh, it's the safety net of those of, you know, average intelligence or something, they can always teach. Um, I'm not sure if your familiar with the movement they have here in Maryland, but they're trying to get a, uh, a, uh, a merit system here in Maryland rather than a, uh, tenure system, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, so, uh, what are your favorite T V shows? One that I can't find anymore which is GABRIEL'S FIRE. Oh, I haven't watched that very much, is that, do you like that? Yes. When was that on? It was usually on, um, Thursday nights. On A B C? I don't know Oh, oh, yeah, well, um, um, it may be that, um, it was recently replaced, by actually by, um, by what may be my favorite T V show of, because sort of, uh, um, TWIN PEAKS. It was same time period, yes. Yeah, so, TWIN PEAKS, um, what happened was, I think, TWIN PEAKS, um, went, went off, they moved to a Saturday night for a while. And then put, and then put something, I guess, GABRIEL'S FIRE on it, and at Thursday nights, and then they moved, um, no, GABRIEL'S FIRE was on C B S, I think, I, I take that back. I'm not sure, but anyway they moved it back and forth and that's when PEAKS was back in that time slot as well. So, I don't know. You don't know what happened to GABRIEL'S FIRE then? No, I have no idea. I don't think, I don't think that was on A B C, anyway I don't know what happened to it though. I don't remember one, from one station to another. I keep forgetting one station. What's your second favorite? Um, it's hard to say I'm sort of a very big TWIN PEAKS fan, and beyond that I just sort of watch anything that happens to be on. I'm, I'm, half the time I'm a T V addict and the other half the time I just ignore it it's really bad. Yeah, there's some new shows that I sort of like, um, have you seen this SHANNON FIELD SHOW or, uh, it's about a lawyer, it's one of these lawyer shows, you know, they seem to be popular these days. And there's a lot of those Blair shows floating around. Oh, is he the reformed, um, gambler? Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. I just like I just finished watching that a few minutes ago, Um, and it and, that, that's a interesting one. I, I, I like that, because there's, there are , I've noticed that every, every major station now has their own law show. There's L A LAW, and there's, um, EQUAL JUSTICE, some other one, LAW AND ORDER or something. Do you like the law shows or, I really don't watch that much T V, what I do is I tape the programs I want to watch, and then on the nights I can watch, I'll pick out something. That, that makes logic , But, um, also saves a lot of time with commercials. you're not kidding. Do you ever watch AMERICAN GLADIATORS? Oh, I have. I've, I've, I watched that late, um, I guess it's on late Saturday nights or something, Midnight. that's entering the day as well. Midnight. Have you, have, have you seen this often? I tape it. Oh, really? Yeah, I tape it because I don't stay up that late to watch it, Yeah. I tape it. But I understand, uh, that in England, they play it at normal times because they don't consider that violent, and the reason they have it on here so late is because they consider it a violent program. Really? I, And, I'm like, I don't believe this. That don't, it , it, it seems like, I mean, if wrestling is prime time, professional wrestling, it seems like it's just, just, just like pros in a wrestling to me, I don't, I don't see any difference though, I don't either. I, I don't understand it, they consider it violent. I have so ever , I have seen it on, where we are , I live in, uh , Rochester, New York, and I think a, You're in New York? Yes. Oh. Where are you? I'm in Dallas, Texas. You're, uh, everybody I speak to is in Texas, oh, oh, yeah, but I'm, I'm in New York and, uh, we seem, we seem to have, um, I think the AMERICAN GLADIATORS is on Sunday afternoons actually around here as well, sometimes. Oh, really? I think it's been on, I think I've seen it during the day. Oh. Definitely seen it on, on, during the day down there , and I don't think it's a very violent show, I think it's funny. I think it's a real good concept, I think it's something completely new. I think it's great. I love watching a microbiologist fighting off with a policemen or something else, and competition. I'm going oh, great, you know, it's a, it's a great role model for everybody. I think so, I think because people sort of get through, you know, um, I think that people sort of learn the importance of sort of physical fitness as well as the, as well as, you know, some mental fitness and I think that people sort of learn good sportsmanship and so forth. Oh, yes, I mean, when I had, uh, I was watching it, the, first time I ever saw a microbiologist on there I thought well, it just goes to prove it has nothing to do with your physical capabilities. And, uh, there she was terrific, she was really terrific. Well, don't they take people who have some sort of, um, big abilities like and, and at least they used to when it, when it, the first ones I saw they had, um, a man on who was, uh, he played college football and almost went pro, and they had a, a woman who was a black belt in karate and she was the, uh, she was in the junior Olympics or something or they seem to have people who have very, very big sports backgrounds. To have they, leaned away from that sort of, They hold competitions in Los Angeles in, um, Florida and Minneapolis, um, trying to think of, I think it's in four places around the United States. They hold competition and the only requirement is, of course, your skill of passing these tests, Oh, that's how they do it. and that's it. And we had a bar man from here in Dallas area that made it. Really? There is a woman that, uh, made, well, she called herself a craft person so, I'm not quite sure what she made. And, uh, she made it. I mean there is no, your occupation has nothing to do with it. Yeah, okay, I just thought they had some, Strictly your skill. yeah, I thought they had some sort of, I mean, I thought they were just poor people like us I guess not, that's great. Huh-uh. But, maybe I'll try it one day. I'll get on there one day and see if I can, uh, um, what, what do they win, they, they win money I think, don't they? I think the last I heard was it's up to about a hundred fifty thousand dollars. Really? Uh-huh. Wow. All that for getting tennis balls shot at you at a hundred miles an hour. Yeah, that's, you know, just minor. Just minor little ball here or there, you know. One little ball here and there, yeah, and this guy's beating you up, so, I don't know the beating up part. I, I actually feel the tennis balls would hurt. Oh, well, they, they come out with a lot of bruises too. They look like, Yeah, they seem like a tennis ball but it almost doesn't look like it's almost livable yeah, the best I, I don't think I could, I, I could handle those tennis balls. So, what else to you tape besides AMERICAN at, there anything else? Hey, Huh? see I tape MURDER SHE WROTE. Okay. I like mysteries. Oh, okay. I like mysteries. I tape, um, FATHER DOWLING, because that's another mystery, Uh-huh. and I don't have to concentrate too hard on them. But, I'm sure that's fun. Um, most of the lawyer programs like, uh, LAW AND ORDER, they're not on the times that I've got, that I've watched because I haven't had T got, T V GUIDE around here in ages. Uh-huh. Oh, okay, well, they seem to be on later, Yeah. all, always right, right before the news is when I catch them. I, I tend to, if nothing else is in the town television at eleven o'clock just to watch the news, and or, or NIGHTLINE or something, just sort of get a good, you know, a good, a good think for the day. Your news is on at eleven? Yes. When is yours on? Ten, I was just in the middle of watching it. Oh, gosh, well, I'm sorry I interrupted, um, Oh, that's okay. Yeah, ours is on, No problem. actually it, ours is on at eleven it, it's, um, eleven o'clock now here or eleven twenty-five now here in New York. Um, I think they they do that, I think they put things on at, um, eleven o'clock here and I think they put it like eleven o'clock, um, California time, like in California but in the middle they sort of, um, like central time or mountain time they, they push things back. So, I was actually, actually I'm not sure , I was in, I was in Iowa awhile ago, and noticed that everything was an hour earlier, so, does your prime time start at seven o'clock? No, well, they have it at six and they have it at nine, Wait, no, no, and they have one at ten. not, not even the news but do they have like, um, do like sort of all the regular sitcoms and so forth, start at seven o'clock? You, so, like, you know, the regular television shows that are, that are very popular, do they start at, seven or, or at eight? I'm trying to think. Both, um, let's see they start, um, EVENING SHADE at seven and then it goes to, um, what is it after EVENING, um, Right, because that would the eight o'clock here. that's MAJOR DAD at eight I think it is. Yeah, that, that would all start at, at, um, that would all start at, at eight o'clock here, that wouldn't start at seven. We have, um, at seven o'clock we just have, um, the, they'll play, you know, they have old reruns of CHEERS or something from seven to seven thirty, and then something else from seven thirty to eight Huh. and ours start at, at, at, at eight and end at eleven, that's why we . I, I would actually like it better if everything started at seven and ended at ten. Yeah, it's, it's stopped around here at ten and it goes into night programs, at that point which could be one of, you know, many different night programs but it goes into night programs. Oh, that's great. But, uh, do you ever watch CHEERS? Oh, all the time. Do you watch CHEERS Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. it's at, that was actually a big dilemma for me now because, um, CHEERS, CHEERS and TWIN PEAKS are now on the same time, So, Jan, how do they recycle in Texas? Well, I, the biggest, uh, way it's going right now, uh, lot, most of the grocery stores have got, uh, things set up where you can bring in your, uh, plastic, and your cans, and newspapers. Uh-huh. And then they've just got different barrels setting out , I shouldn't say barrels, like big John Doors or, whatever they're, called. Gondolas Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Um, they've got them set outside and, Is it, is it all voluntary? uh, Yes. It's all voluntary. Now, they do have some places where you can take things and get cash Right. Uh-huh. You know, they just want to, uh, help recycle. Which is, what we do. You know, Yeah. Uh-huh. we, probably the only thing, sometimes we'll take cash or the cans in and we let the kids get the money for that. Right. Yeah. But, uh, There's, a lot of projects where the, the Boy Scouts and things, and that will, collect your cans Right. Right. Yeah. That's true, but, but that's really the, the biggest thing around here is the grocery stores participating. Uh-huh. You know but, I guess, I, you see, I guess it depends on your landfill space. Uh-huh. I know, I, we're in Maryland, but, my, I from Pennsylvania *missing copula? and my parents how, are forced recycling, Oh, really? uh, Yeah. Oh, wow. Uh, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York are some of the, uh, they're using their landfills up faster than they can get new ones. Yeah. So, it's really, uh, it's, uh, really hard on them. Now, up here in Maryland, though, we're just in a voluntary recycling stage right now. So, uh, so my wife and I, you know, we save our bottles, and we save our newspapers, and we save all our plastic, and all of our tin cans. And just like you say, we go to, uh, a community area where they have it set up and we dump them off there. So, it's Yeah. It's still voluntary, though I think, I think we're supposed to have something implemented by nineteen ninety-three, though where some aspects will be mandatory. you say it is all voluntary. Do they, Will it be mandatory? Uh-huh. Is it all, um, is there any place at all where you do get cash for this stuff or is it all, Mostly just the cans. Okay. And I, Yeah. And that's, and most of the time, like I said, that's, that's a sort of like fund raiser things that, the schools do, or that the Boy Scouts do, or whatever. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. That's, Cans are the only thing I think you really get money for. Well, they do have places around here where you can get money for your newspapers, and stuff like that. Uh-huh. But, you know, I think a lot of people, like I said, are more concerned, with, you know, right now, you know, the aspects of saving the earth Right. Uh-huh. Yeah, I think that's mostly, well, you know, we, even before, as soon as the community said, you know, We're going to put up bins for recycling, you know, we automatically started, doing it. It was, it's one of those things, Right. you know, and just going and taking the time to go and read the signs and the brochures on what they accept and how it should be, separated, you know. Uh-huh. That's, Well, I tell you, it's kind of funny now at, even at T I, I don't, do you work for T I? No. Huh-uh. Okay. Um, at T I they're doing recycling. I mean, for a long time they didn't do this, but now they're, they're recycling cans and paper. We have separate bins uh, separate wastebaskets in our offices for paper. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, and they, I mean it's tremendous how much money they have saved and even saving all these trees and, you know it's really, Right. I can't believe that you know. Because they've got it all posted all over the place how much, they're saving and how Yeah. How much, how well they're doing. yeah. We do, I, um, I, I work in a, uh, speech interface lab, at a, at a, at a college. Oh, okay. And we do basically the same thing. The state of Maryland has lost, asked all the colleges and universities, and some of the large organizations, you know, if they would definitely recycle their office paper. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, you know, in the giant bins around, and it's surprising how much you never realize, because that janitor comes around and empties your garbage, can every night. Yeah. Right. Yep. You don't notice until, you start leaving, you know, they don't pick up your recycling until it's full you just can't believe how much paper that you, uh, Right. I know Reams of paper come, out of an office every day That , took us to recycle. Well, you think about, the waste, even. Uh-huh. I mean, you know, cost wise and and, you know, like you saving trees and stuff like that. Right. I mean, it's just amazing, you know, the difference. Yeah. So, I think, Hopefully, if, you know, I guess a lot of the large organizations, probably T I, did they advertise on television how successful they are? I haven't seen, anything. Yeah. Uh, but that doesn't mean that they don't. I don't watch much T V, Yeah. but, I haven't really seen anything advertise publicly. Uh-huh. And then, like I said, they do a lot of internal, advertising on that kind of stuff. Internal. Uh-huh. But, I haven't seen anything. Yeah. But see, I don't see a lot of T I advertisements on T V anyway. I think they advertise more, um, other places where they're not located. Right. Yeah. That would probably, be true. You know. So, So, I don't see a lot of advertisements for T I. Yeah. Because I know that some of the large industries here will advertise on television, you know, they'll come up and say, you know, they'll show you to encourage to encourage recycling. They'll, say, Right. And here, those of us that Dumavra Power, which is our power company, that, Uh-huh. we now recycle forty-five percent of our solid waste, Right and they, and that, we do this for the community, they put those on. So I, so I think, you know, we're probably reaching a successful stage and, and just with voluntary, I think. Right. Well, even, I mean, in the kid's schools, I mean they do things to try and recycle. Uh-huh. And, I know my kids, um, like if they see litter on the ground they pick it up and say, Oh, look at that. Somebody is not saving the earth, you know. Right. Yeah. So, I mean, the kids, I mean, they really try to educate all ages, you know, and it's good to start the kids real young on, I think so, too. Yeah. I mean, it's like nobody was concerned about it. Right. Yeah. We weren't, concerned. You know, and it's like, Yeah. That's true. You know, it's like all of a sudden when there's noticeable things, saying, Hey, you know, we're ruining the earth, Huh. you know. And now everybody is doing something about, which is good. Uh-huh. But how come we weren't doing this, say, twenty years ago you know? Yeah. I, I think really probably what hit peoples, you know, I know that here in the, up in the, uh, uh, the, the New Englands area and also in, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, the, just run, all of a sudden we're out of landfill. Uh-huh. And, and they're saying, We estimate this landfill be will be full in two years unless we cut back. Uh-huh. So, I think that, that became, that all of a sudden really hit home that there's no longer landfill space, in some of the more crowded states. This is, So, what, you know, and no other state, I'm sure Texas probably still has some landfill space. They're not going to voluntarily say, Hey, ship your garbage here. Right Yeah. That's true. It's really, tough. I think, that it, it really surprises me because of the cost savings. I mean, this is such a tremendous, amount of cost savings. Uh-huh. I mean, why, I can't understand why nobody saw that before. I mean, even, even not even the aspects of not saving the earth Uh-huh. I, mean, it's, so cost, you know, Right. Yeah. But, well, Well, in some ways, I guess, it, it doesn't become really cost saving until you have an industry around it, you know. Because, I know that, like in, Pennsylvania, they require them to, um, put their newspaper for recycling. But, the de-inking process that they have to, they use, to take the ink out of the newspaper so it can be reused um, is very expensive, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh. and also, it it produces a, a waste, a, um, a, liquid waste that they don't know what to do with yet. they still have cost, yeah, cost efficient, yet. Oh. I see, okay. Is not real cost efficient. Oh, okay, okay. Oh, Yeah. I, understand that though. So, but others, you know, like tin cans and plastics, are, are really, uh, efficient, you know. Uh-huh. They, they melt on quickly and can be, you know, just because of the, heating and things, getting glass. Right. and glass. Right. Yeah. Uh-huh. So, Well, uh, since, uh, well, I guess since this time last year I've changed, uh, jobs within the firm I'm with Uh-huh. and, uh, I now am learning to be a sys admin on, on, not only P C but, uh, uh, professional work stations as well. Wow. All right. And these are the big mamas, i. e. sons, uh, Hewlett Packards, uh uh, uh, oh, the big Solburns and, and so forth. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, and, and, uh, we have, uh, two P C here. We have, uh, an X T and then recently we, we made a, the command decision to go ahead and get, uh, the absolute top of the line because spouse is a, uh, programmer. Uh-huh. And so we got one that, Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. So, uh, I, I get to see all kinds of different applications. Sounds like you're an expert at it, too. No, no. Learning, I'm learning I'm learning to be, uh, one who knows what's he's doing Yes. but, expert, no Oh, well, well. I frown on that, that term because, uh, too many people, you know, uh, misuse the word but my area, my level of expertise is increasing almost daily. Well, that's great, And, uh, yeah, so, I've got a P C and a work station at work and I Uh-huh. and we have two P C here at home. Right. And the, a lot of the, the, the new mama we're, uh, I've got Aldus and, uh, Micrographics on it as far as, uh, technical publishing and we do a, quite a bit of church work with ours. Great. And, uh, We do an awful lot of that, too with ours. You know, some, I, I, I've found that, uh, the more we do with it, uh, it seem, and the Lord's just pleased that we're kind of, this is, this is, part of giving back a portion of what He's given to us. So, uh, I don't mind, because seems like the more we do, there's, there's the more stuff that's, uh, available that comes along and so forth. Oh, yes. And, Definitely agree with that. So, uh, rather than being niggardly and, and, chintzy, uh, we've just said, you bet, boss, seeing as he was the one that, uh, enabled us to get the money to buy the Four Eighty-Six. Uh-huh. Because the top of the line we've got, well, we've got a compatible. It, Yeah. Wow, wow, you got, that's a Four Eighty-Six processor, too? Uh-huh, uh-huh. Wow Like I said That's, Yes. you have to have that to support UNIX. Uh-huh, of RAM. and then, uh, it, it, it likes to live on about a hundred and fifty megabyte hard drive. Right So the next size up was a Two Hundred and Eleven and so rather than just have one, we went ahead and got two. Uh, at some point in time I'm going to do the mirroring, uh, experiment to where one disk mirrors the other for fault tolerance. Yeah. Wow, okay. And, uh, oh, speak, speak of the angel, she just walked in Well, good for her T I stuff another So, uh, uh, You say she's a programmer also. Yeah, she's, she's a squirrel for, uh, uh, contractor out at American Airlines. Uh-huh. So, Well, great. Well, she probably needs that kind of a powerful type of a machine to do her work. Okay, you ready to discuss the, the topic? What's the topic? Okay, the topic is social changes and discuss social changes in America and how they relate, or how they differ today than they were ten, fifteen or thirty years ago. Okay. You ready for that? You bet. Okay I'll let you lead out. Pardon me? I'll let you lead out. Okay, well, there's, uh, it's kind of an interesting topic and one that I think is quite fascinating because, uh, couple of years ago, I guess, uh, not very, not very long ago, seemed like the whole world, not just the United States, but the whole world was kind of in a standstill where everyone was basically in, uh, you know, a very comfortable position, so to say, even though the, the cold war was, was in full swing. You know, you had the, the Russians against the Americans, the Communists against the Free World, and in the last couple of years things have changed dramatically, not only on the political front but also on the economic front, where, uh, couple of years ago we had, uh, America was one of the leading powers and one of the strongest nations in the world as far as economics were concerned, and now we're having a very tough time in a recessionary period. We're also have a very humongous trade deficit, and, uh, and that's kind of frightening. Also, you know, a couple of years ago, ten, fifteen, ten, fifteen years ago, an individual going into a career could expect to have that career basically throughout their whole life, and thirty years ago, that was, that was basically it, whereas now we're expected to have a career change every, you know, every couple of years and possibly four to five career changes throughout our lifetime, and so I think, uh, you know, things, there's been an awful lot of social change lately, and and, uh. I think one of the things that's interesting to me is if you look particularly at the political changes is that the, they seem to be social, they seem to be economically driven also. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So if you look at Russia and what's happened over there, I think the change in Communism was as a result of the economic problems that they were experiencing. And, of course, I look at the economic problems in the United States right now. One of the things you wonder is what that's going to do to us. True. I think the other kind of changes like job changes and those kinds of things, I mean, I think it's great to even have three or four different careers in your life. Uh-huh. I think it must have been terribly boring to go through, your life doing just one thing for fifty years or forty years. Yes, yes. Some of that opportunity for job change in the fact that, that aspects changing. True, true. And the uncertainty of whether you're going to have a job is not as good, but, the fact that you really can make major changes in your life and jobs. Uh-huh. Well, do, do you think that's good or bad? I think it's great. You think that's great. Oh, yeah. That's some, yeah, because a lot of people seem to stagnate once they get into position, they, they're very comfortable, they lose the ability to learn, and they in a sense become unteachable. They think they know all there is to know in the area, set path, and you know, come in and put my time in from nine to five, and when that's over with, that's, that's it, without even giving a second thought to , advancing their education or getting extracurricular, um, education, and, and I think that's an excellent opportunity for us to expand ourselves also. I think one of the problems with, with education as it relates to this, though, is that I don't know that education is prepared to help people make those changes. It just seems a lot of the training and education that goes on is gearing people towards a profession and not giving them the skills and whatever those skills are necessary to make those job changes, which I think is going to be a hard thing for, for people to face. Uh-huh. Right. I agree with that, I agree with that. But I believe that, uh, an individual should really learn how to, to learn Yeah. learn how to adapt, learn how to grow in the, in their college or whatever education they might take. Well, that, that's good, that's good. There probably needs to be some training on how to, to, to adjust to these changes as they come about. I mean if you look at the, the high unemployment rate right now and you look at people who are in those situations, I don't know that they have good coping skills or a lot of them, even ideas of how to make those changes now. Uh-huh. So it seems to me that while those changes are taking place, maybe we're not well preparing people to make the changes with them. Yeah, I, I read a few articles off in the newspaper and some publications where stress, uh, for those people that are laid off and also for those people that are not laid off but were threatened with a layoff and threatened with a reduction in their company is extremely high right now. Uh-huh. That stress is a very prominent factor in the work place and it affects, Well, Nancy, what do you think, um, some of the changes in roles of women are in American society in the past generation or two? Well, of course, working. Uh-huh. That's definitely got to be the biggest thing, is that everybody's out there working including me Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, what do you think it is? Um, yeah, I agree. Yeah. I also think that there are more, um, the people are, women stay single longer it seems like. Yes, they do. Yeah. Yeah, they do. I know my mother and her sister were both married by the time they were twenty Right. and I waited until I was thirty-two, so. Uh-huh, yeah. You know, um, I know that. Yeah, that's true. It's a big change. I'm an O B nurse and so I really do see what you're saying there. Uh-huh. It used to be that our list ran nineteen, twenty, twenty-one for our patients' ages. And now our care plans look more like thirty-two, thirty-three Uh-huh. and if we get somebody twenty-one, we go, oh, look how young. Yeah. So, yeah, you're right there's a big change, and we have a lot of first time moms in their late thirties and even forties. Uh-huh. So, it's true. Yeah. But again, I guess it probably does go back to the same thing of women having careers. Uh-huh. If they didn't have, if they weren't out there working and having their careers they probably would be married and having their children Yeah. So. Yeah, yeah. Seems like there's. I guess it's a combination. Uh-huh, go ahead. No, go on. Uh, it just seems like there are more single mothers, too. I mean, that's, there're a lot of, either divorced or, um, you know, never been married, Yeah. so. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's a lot of mixed up families, that's for sure. Yeah, I agree. Well what do you think have been the most significant changes in the past generation or so? Well, just that. I think the families, the, the role in the family, and the mother doesn't stay home and cook the dinner take care of the children, um, Uh-huh. we do it all Yeah. I really think that, and I know that there's a lot more participation by the fathers, but I still think the mothers have the major role. Uh-huh. I really do. I think they're just, they're not doing very much less, I don't think as far as the kids and, and the house and everything are concerned, not from what I see Yeah. Yeah. and, and they're contributing to the income besides. Uh-huh. I think that we're really, really putting a lot of stress on ourselves. Uh-huh, yeah, and it really, it's affecting the families you know, for mothers not, not to be home, and yet, you know, um, I mean, I, I don't blame anybody when they have to work because, um, yeah. Yeah, it's, it's difficult, and I think that, I live in Plano actually, so Uh-huh. it's a very wealthy town, and we're not part of that, but, it is, you know, and, I think what I see a lot of parents, a lot of mothers working just for bigger and better Uh-huh. and I really hate that you know, Uh-huh. I hate to see that, and I, I've been here for a very long time Uh-huh. but, um, I don't know, now I'm a single parent, and I don't have a choice any more Uh-huh. but I used to just work occasionally for extra money, but now I have to work all the time Uh-huh. and that's really hard Yeah. and, and I don't know how a mother does just choose to go out to work, and, and leave the kids. In a way it's good, it's very good to get out with adults, and I think that's a good thing, if you can do it part time. Uh-huh. But to just go out there forty hours a week, at least and and work and, and leave your kids to get home from school alone, and that kind of thing, I think that's not very smart. Yeah. I think that's difficult on them. Uh-huh. So. Yeah. Well what do you think's going to happen in the next generation? You think it'll continue? Well, it's going to be interesting. Yeah. Yeah, I think it will change, but I'm not sure how it's going to, because you see young people today and wonder how in the world they'll ever afford to buy a home and and to raise a family. Uh-huh. I don't know how they're going to do it. Uh-huh. And so I don't know how it can change to where the mother can get back into the home again. I don't that ever will go backwards Uh-huh. but I don't know what effect it's going to have on these kids now when they grow up, how they're going to feel about it. Uh-huh. It, you know, it could lead to another Woodstock type thing, you know, where where there's just too much material things, Yeah. and, and maybe these kids will really resent that their parents are out there working for things Uh-huh. and they might want to do without things rather than do that to their families. Yeah. Uh-huh. It's hard to say. Yeah, it is. I think some, I don't know how many, you know, what percentage, but some are, will move back toward more traditional lifestyle of staying home with the children. I guess I see that happening already. Uh-huh. Some choosing it, and, and they get, you know, there're, people chide them for it, you know, why aren't you out, Okay. And, I've pressed the button. Okay. Let me tell you. I haven't been too many places You haven't been to too many places. No, no. I haven't. Well, okay. I have been to Hawaii. See now, that is where I want to go. That is where I have always wanted to go. I have never been there. It is beautiful. I know. Is it, is it, uh, I had an aunt that lived there and she couldn't stand it any more. She moved out because she said the whole island was, uh, you know being taken over by the Japanese. Well, there is, there is a lot of Japanese over there. And they are, Yeah, and she, uh, also told me that, well not her, uh, necessarily, other people that have been there have said that it is too commercialized. Uh-huh. Is it? Uh, well, yeah. There is, it is commercialized. Yeah. Sure. I don't think I have enough, Oahu naturally has got more people on it than the other islands. Uh-huh. But, it is still beautiful. You have got to see at least once. Oh, well I will. You know, eventually So, Well, what is the most, uh, you know the nicest island? Uh, I like Maui. Maui. I think that is what usually people, uh say they do, they like the best. Yeah. Well, I like it because the beach is nice and white and you know it is like Oahu, you can go over there and lay on the beach Uh-huh. Yeah. But, uh, Kauai, I mean, the beaches are nice, but I don't know, just not nice as Maui. Yeah. And then, uh, where, where have you been? Well, I have been to California. I've been to San Francisco. Oh you have? I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Oh. Yeah, and, uh, How long ago? Oh, uh, eighty-six. Huh. Okay. My sister lives out there My sister lives in Piedmont. Oh, yeah. Yes. Uh-huh. So. Oh, well that is right near Piedmont. Yeah, right. Right. Yeah, that is like a suburb or something, whatever. Yes, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. Okay. Well she was in Berkley also and she Uh-huh. lets see I went when she was, uh, was living, well when I went out there she was in, uh, now I can't, oh, Lafayette. She was living in Lafayette. Oh yeah, right. And then they moved to Piedmont. Uh-huh. So I, uh, I haven't seen, uh, you know, her house in Piedmont but, but I loved San Francisco. I would like to go back. Yeah. Did you go on the cable cars and everything? Oh yeah. Yeah. Isn't that fun? Went to Alcatraz. You know we did the whole bit. And then we went to the wine country. Oh yeah. Up by Napa. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, beautiful. Yeah. And we went to Carmel. Uh-huh. And we took the eighteen mile drive. Isn't that pretty. I love it down there. Oh, it is beautiful. That is really beautiful. Uh-huh. My girlfriend was down there a few months ago. First time she has been down there and they wanted to take that drive and they had closed the whole road because of, uh, uh, fog, Oh, the weather. Yeah. So they never got to do that. Huh. Well I have also been to the Carribean. Oh, I haven't been there either You name it, I haven't been there Well I, uh, have been there a couple of times. Uh-huh. I went on a cruise. Oh, that is nice. The last time I went, I went with my two sisters. Uh-huh. And it was over Christmas time. Yeah. And we really had a good time. Uh-huh. Well they, they had this cruise director dress up like Santa Claus, and we went to the beach and they had put a Christmas tree on the beach decorated it up. Uh-huh. It was, it was a lot of fun. Well, that's nice. So. Is, uh, a cruise nicer than, uh, if you just go, on a regular, uh, you know, to a hotel? Oh, yeah. It is. I have heard it is. Yeah. Yeah, because you don't have to worry about unpacking or anything like that you know. You put your clothes in your room, Uh-huh. Oh, you will have to go on one. You don't get seasick? That is what I am afraid of. No. No, huh. I mean there was, some people did, uh, on that last cruise that we took because they was having a storm come in Uh-huh. but that is unusual. Yeah. Uh, one of my sisters got sick, but the other one didn't Uh-huh. but, uh, it is really nice and they, they just do so many things for you, you know, to make you enjoy the trip and everything. Right, yeah. So, you will have to do that once. I want to go on another one, but I want to go to Alaska. Oh, yes. Now someone I know was on a cruise to Alaska. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Was it to Alaska? Yeah, I am pretty sure. That is right my hairdresser Oh, really? She went last year. She said she went on a cruise. And I was thinking, you know, cruise I am thinking. So on and she is laying on the beach. And I said, well you are not very tan for someone who has been on a cruise She said we went to Alaska Yeah. Right. And, uh, that, that I would like to go, well Hawaii is my, uh, is number one. I would also like to go to Australia and get a, Oh, I think I would like to, too. Yeah. I keep hoping to win the lottery where I can do all these things. You know. Oh, well see, I am, am just in the Publisher's Clearing House and the READER'S DIGEST, because we don't, uh, right now the lottery here, Okay. Well, what do you think about the government providing health insurance for everybody? I think they should. I know I had a job until, let's see, a year ago this past December. I was working for P I E and they closed, and naturally while I was working for them I had health insurance, but, um, for me to try to get it now, it would cost me like over three hundred dollars a month with the same company that was providing health insurance at, at P I E. Good grief. That's just almost unaffordable, isn't it? Right, it really is, and I think, you know, I think, uh, God, the government should come up with some kind of a health plan, or stop these doctors and hospitals from having their prices so high. Well, I wonder if they couldn't just provide, uh, interim health insurance for people who are between jobs like that. That might be a step in the right direction. I don't know. Well, the thing is, you know, jobs are so hard to find you know, Uh-huh. anyhow in the valley where I live at now, they don't want to pay anything for health insurance at all. No benefits, you know. Um. You mean the, uh, the employers? Yes. Uh-huh. I mean, you get a job now, and the wages are really low and, uh. Because everybody's competing for jobs. Yeah, and they don't want, uh, to pay any benefits, so you just, you know, pray to God that you don't get sick. Well, I used to think that universal health insurance was probably the right thing to do. I, I have to think about it some more now, because my doctor is, uh, actually he's Canadian Uh-huh. and, uh, he told me that there're a lot of, uh, lot of counts against the Canadian system, which is basically the one people are talking about for here. Uh-huh. I don't understand the arguments, exactly. He says it restricts your choice of doctors, and, and so forth. I'm not quite sure I understand why government health insurance would restrict your choice any more than private insurance does. No, I don't understand that either. I mean we're on a private insurance plan right now, uh Uh-huh. actually I have my own business, and and we, Uh-huh. our health insurance is through my wife's employer, and, uh, and every year we get another list of what doctor's we can go to, and where we can buy our medicine, and, uh, it changes every year Yeah. It's always so confusing. So. Well, I know the plan that I had with P I E, I could go to any doctor and I could go to any drug store and get my prescriptions filled, you know, then I just sent cards in Uh-huh. and then they would have like a ten dollar deductible per year for my medicine, and then they would just send me a check for what was ever over that, you know. Well, yeah. Of course, the restricted choice in this case is because only certain doctors agree to accept the, uh, the limits of, uh, compensation, Uh-huh. but of course that is restricted choice, so I don't think that the restricted choice really, uh, has to do with the difference between, uh, public and private health insurance. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I think it has to do with the, the, the, uh, attempt to limit cost, doesn't it Um. and everybody agrees that we need to limit cost some way, Yeah, that's true, that's true there. Well. You, you have to recognize that if you're going to have the very best health care possible and, uh, available on demand whenever and wherever you want it, then it's going to be expensive. Yeah, right. And if you want to pay less, then you're going to have to settle for a health system that is not quite that, uh, lavish. Uh-huh. And, uh. But there's just so many people that can't afford to pay anything, you know, that, people that's on unemployment. Yeah, what happened to Reagan's safety net, anyway? I don't Did he take that back to California with him? Using it for a trampoline now? Yeah, probably so. I don't know, but it is, it does seem to be a big problem, you know. I don't know what they're going to come up with, but, um, I sure wish they would come up with, with something, and, uh, like I say, and, and I'm at the age, too, where the, I'll be fifty-seven in June, and the people don't want to hire people this age any more. And I worked for my previous company for twenty-six years, you know, so, it's kind of hard, you know, so. Yeah, they'll be needing you in a couple of years, because they're running out of kids down that, the other end. And. Yeah, they'll be calling at my door, huh. But anyhow. Well, if they're smart. Yeah, now I, I do think the government, though, is going to have to do something, uh, with this problem, because, it, you know, even to go to a little doctor out here, just to ask him anything, costs you forty bucks you know, just for the visit. Uh-huh. And then he, then that's not counting what medicine you're going to buy and everything else, you know. And he might tell you, well, you know, now you're going to have to come back in a week, and then that's another forty bucks, plus whatever else he decides to do to you, Right. Okay, Bill, um, as you think over the plans and so forth that the company you're working with now, who do you work with at this time? Well, I own the company. You own the company. All right. I'm the president and C E O of the company. My goodness. So, uh, I guess, uh, I determine what the benefits are Yeah, I guess you do. But, uh, so what are you asking me, what, what benefits I think are most important? Well, what, what do you think of the, let's put it this way, what do you think are the most important benefits for those working for you, other than, other than their present salary? Um, I'd say in today's economy, besides basic benefits, uh, such as, um, health insurance and life insurance and the, some type of retirement plan I'd say that, uh, most of the employees, uh, um, that we have really like a, a profit sharing plan. Uh-huh. A profit sharing plan, that's interesting, uh-huh. They like to participate in the profits of the company like they're, you know, because they feel like, well, we're contributing to it, so we'd like to participate in it, and so that means I make a little bit less, but the thing is that really you make a little more, because everybody has a interest in, in it working. Yes, because they they have a specific reason to do so, because they themselves benefit from doing a better job. Right. I think most people, uh, don't want money, um, it's been my experience, most people want, uh, to feel like they're participating in something that, uh, that is not a drudgery, you know, that they enjoy, and that they can get some benefits out of. Uh-huh, And it's a contribution. Right. Well, Bill, uh, that idea fits me exactly. I just retired from, uh, the university here, and that's been the goal in my life, was to contribute and, to the work that I was doing in my research, and that's what made me happy, and, uh, that's the type of goal I think most people ought to look for, and I'm sure a lot of them don't. You can't stand in front of a counter and do that kind of stuff all day and feel like that you're contributing something to a scientific level of knowledge or so forth. Yeah, well, uh, our people get a lot of satisfaction. Um, we're a financial planning firm. You're a financial planning firm? Yes. How many, uh. You said you retired, I just happen to have a person that I happened to do some planning for this morning, but anyway, uh, uh, we do, we deal with a lot of people that are retired or trying to retire Uh-huh. Uh-huh, well. and, uh, it's real important, uh, that their benefit plans that they get from their companies and from their work that, where they were, that, uh, uh, that it take care of them. They don't, none of them really want to be rich, but they like to have enough to be comfortable. Well, what, what changes would you, have you considered, uh, in doing it, to, to your company, that might benefit the employees or perhaps the company itself better? Well, um, we, considering instead of tying a profit sharing plan to a, a salary is, uh, is tie, um, uh, a percentage, um of business that, uh, that a person would participate and bring into the company. Uh, pay them, uh, based on the percentage of business they bring, instead of based on their salary. And the When you say bring in, do you mean that they negotiated with people to, to come in and, uh, ask for your support? No, not necessarily. Um, it can be in-house people who help you handle X amount of dollars. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. Even though they didn't bring it in, they help it once it's there. Right well see, we have we have marketing people, Yeah. and then we have financial planners, and, uh, then we have, uh, staff secretaries and administrative assistants, and these secretaries and administrative assistants, um, you know, if we don't have their cooperation and they're not participating in the profit of the company, they, they can get very dissatisfied very quickly. Uh-huh. And, so, uh, we're thinking about paying them, instead of a percentage on salary, paying them a percentage on the business they handle. So administrative assistant that would handle two million dollars worth of business is a lot more valuable than a person that handles a hundred thousand dollars worth of business. And, uh, Yes, but it, it might not be necessarily because he did a good or bad job, but it might be whether the locality there, those people want that kind of support. Well, and, and, but to, see the thing is that they give support to the financial planner that they're the assistant to, or that they usually have several people they report to that, you know, that they work together with it encourages them not to, uh, complain when they realize that they get a part of the, of the action based on their efforts and not based on being sitting back saying, well make me do it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. See, we don't want anybody around here that says make me do it. I don't think any Yeah. I think most people want to be, lack of better terminology, they want to be self-employed, but they don't want to take the risk. In other words, they like to control their own future, but they also want to be somewhat content to go and come as they please without some real strict adherence, That's true. which, that's what we have. Uh-huh. Actually, I'm in, like I said, I'm in Minneapolis and the big thing up here, of course, is the twins. Uh, I imagine you can't escape it No, it's, it's pretty pervasive. It kind of goes into about all aspects of society I think up here. But, uh, actually, I don't know how much of the World Series you caught last year, but that was a lot of fun . Well, of course, it was fun for you Well, to be honest with you, I'm not from Minneapolis. In fact, I've only been up here a few months and I'm going back at the end of next month. To? Uh, Orlando, Florida. Oh, really. So I'm not exactly a real Twins fan from birth or anything. But, I was born and raised in, uh, near Miami and, uh, spent the last twenty years in Dallas uh, where the Rangers played. Oh, yeah. Oh. Uh-huh. And, uh, for the last, uh, what, year, roughly year, I've been in San Francisco where there are two teams. The Oakland A and the San Francisco Giants. Right. Uh, but honestly, you know, I, uh, I do my duty and watch the sports on, uh, the newscasts Oh, okay. but that's about all the exposure I have to sports. Yeah, I haven't followed it real closely at all. Uh, except like I said, last year when the World Series rolled around, I did, I did follow that pretty religiously. Went out into the bars, you know drank a beer, watched the game, had a a good time that way. Uh-huh sure. But, uh, Well, I guess the, uh, San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A were like the leading teams a couple of years ago. Is that right? Well, I well I don't know. That's sort of what I gather. Uh-huh. Um, and, uh, I don't know. What is the prognosis for, uh, this year? Uh, real good as far as I can tell. People are pretty excited about it. Good. I, I assume that means good for the Minnesota Well yeah Sorry about that, yeah. Uh, as far as the Twins are concerned, it seems to be real good. Uh, my roommate went and saw them play on their season opener a couple of nights ago and they, they won that one seven to one, so, uh, that's pretty good I guess. It looks like they'll be doing pretty well. Are you still there? Yep Okay. I heard some noise on the line. Didn't know what happened. I think a train went by. Oh, okay. All right. I know a train went by, I don't know what the noise was but I think it probably was the, the train. Yeah. Well, I don't know. I, I, I don't even know, uh, who has been winning in, uh, as far as the, uh, San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A but I think they both won their opener. I, uh, sort of gathered that in my, uh, subliminal memory. Uh-huh Well maybe that has, has good tidings for their, uh, for their season coming up. I've actually got a friend that's living in San Francisco right now. Uh, he's doing the same thing I'm doing which is, basically, uh, an internship. We, we're both doctoral students and he's doing his with I B M Huh. and I'm doing mine with Honeywell. But, uh, I, I think he kind of follows the sports and I think he's mentioned uh, the Oakland A a couple of times. Uh he may have watched them and seemed to think that they were pretty good. Uh-huh. I guess they are different leagues. Is that right? The A As far as I know, yeah. Yeah . And in the major leagues, I guess there is a couple of different divisions and then, of course, there's the minors. Uh, I don't know. I, I guess I'm one of those people that if I really made a concentrated effort, I could really probably get into baseball. Uh-huh. Uh, but I was talking to my roommate a couple of nights ago, right after that game, and he offered, you know, to take me to one of the games because, apparently, he'd bought, uh, he and four other people from Honeywell had bought a seat, or a row of seats actually, for the home games. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But the thing is, there's like eighty-six home games per year. So there's no, no way that you can ever use them all. Eighty-six? Eighty-six. I was amazed to hear that. Huh! You know, that's just the home games and I, I thought it was a mistake but he goes no . Well they must play every day then. Yeah. Well just about, yeah. I mean eighty-six times two is a hundred sixty. Yeah. And that's, you know, yeah that's almost, And that's, Lord, that's, uh, over five months worth. That's a lot of baseball. Even if they play every day, that's over five months worth. Well, you, if you, if you consider it, the season starts, well it's, the season started about a week and a half ago and it ends with the World Series which usually takes place, I believe, in December or January. No. Yeah, I think so. It did last year, didn't it? Or was it November? That was the Super Bowl. Maybe it was November I'm thinking about. I know it was doggone cold up here. Uh, I don't feel so bad. I think you, you don't know all that much more than I do about baseball Well, I know for sure it was, I see, okay. And, and it was at least two months after I got up here. Oh, really, okay . Yeah, so it had to be November anyway. Well, I, I know, uh, the Super Bowl, Okay. What would you rather have? Or you want salary too plus what? What's most important to you? Well, as far as tangible benefits go I would say that, uh, health insurance of all forms is probably my next most important concern. Right. I feel that a company that can provide good health benefits such as health care, dental and vision as well as good long-term and short-term disability plans, uh, goes a long way toward satisfying my needs. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, I'll tell you. I think that is the most important thing I've, uh, I'm not working right at the moment but the company that I did work for excuse me I had health benefits. You know, dental, vision, all that, pension plan, uh, now I don't have that, although I do have a pension that I'm drawing from them which, thank God, I had. Right. But, uh, man, I think those medical benefits are the most important. Uh, You, you really don't realize how important they are until you find yourself on the other side of the fence without them and having to cover your own medical and, uh, you can quickly see where they become a very important part of your, your compensation package. Right. Uh, I should knock on wood. I haven't, you know, had any serious health problems or anything. I've only probably been to the doctor a couple of times since I left work and it was only for a cold, you know, and they can't really do anything for you anyhow, so you might as well not even go Yeah, they look at you, say, well you're still breathing, so, uh, Yeah. Yeah, right Oh, you've got a cold. Go home and take, uh, liquids and, uh, rest. But, uh, that is definitely, the most important. Uh, pension, I guess, is next. Uh, thank God that I had one. I don't know what happened to the salary employees when, uh, the company went bankrupt but I was union, so mine was being put into a, like a trust fund, you know. Right. So, but I don't know if they ever got anything or if they lost all of theirs or, I suspect that it just disappeared. Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I really feel sorry for all those people that spent all that time there, you know. Right. So where, what company do you work for? Uh, I work for a little start-up company here in Pittsburgh called Trans Ark. Uh, Um, uh-huh. Have you heard of them? No. They, we do, uh, distributive system software for Unix based workstations Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. So. No, I, I worked for a trucking company P I E, nation wide. You probably heard of that Ah, yes, yes. In fact, my mom drives trucks so, Oh, does she really? Yes. Oh, how about that. So, yeah, I see, uh, after the merger, uh, you see a lot of Ryder PIE stuff on the road. Well, you did. So, did, did Ryder get out of the business? Is that what happened or? Well Ryder and P I E went together you know, Right. and then, then that ended it Huh. So that the merger pretty much ended the whole thing. It really did. It's, it started, I think, a little bit before that but that, when P I E and, and Ryder went together, why that was downhill from then on, you know. Yeah, and the, the problem with that is, you know, when you leave a job, you can continue your benefits for some finite period of time. Right. But when, when the company goes bankrupt, I mean, the, they're just cut off completely and you're responsible for your own. Right. And, and that's exceedingly expensive. Yes, it was over three hundred fifty dollars a month if we wanted to continue our own benefits. We could do that for eighteen months. Right. But three hundred and fifty dollars a month. It's definitely excessive. So, but anyhow, uh, and jobs aren't that hard to find, to get another one that does pay your benefits, you know. True. And a lot of them that, if you do get a job, they don't pay benefits. Yeah, they're starting to, to cut back. Especially start-ups. I know here at Trans Ark, we get, uh, we get health care and that's it. Uh-huh. I mean, there's no dental or vision. Uh-huh. And the, the short-term disability policy is, is a ninety day policy and there is no long-term disability policy. Huh. So, you know, at least in the case of this particular company, they tend to scrimp a little bit there. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, you know, of course, they can use the excuse well, we're start-up. Yeah, right But you know what's happening is the, disability plan, you know, so many people are lying about their things. God, there's been big articles in the paper about that. Uh, you know, they claim a back injury and then someone goes out and spies on them and they're lifting refrigerators into trucks and and everything else, you know. Right. So I don't know what's happening and what's going to happen. But, uh Well that certainly doesn't help matters any. I mean, you, you get people who are willing to put their neck on the line to get you, you know, these additional benefits, You want to go first Well, uh, no I I don't get as much exercise as I, as I should as, or as I would like to, uh, uh, these days. I, seems to be to easy to get busy with other things. Uh, I have, in the past, uh, jogged and, and run, and every, every January and every September, I start out again and then it tapers off Really? Uh, what about you? Well, yeah, I do a lot of exercise. Right now, I'm into jazzercise, which I absolutely love. Uh, I started about two years ago because I gained some weight over the past few years and I wanted to get it back off Uh-huh. and I was going through a divorce and I just found that running really made me feel good. Yeah. Got out a lot of aggression. I went to the gym every day and I ran on the treadmill and rode the bike and, uh, I felt really good. I needed to do it and it was really helpful at the time. Now when I do those things, they're boring. I would rather be outside then in the gym doing this in one place. Uh-huh. And so I just recently discovered jazzercise, about two months ago. And I'm getting to be a good dancer from it and I'm just feeling really good. I love the class, it's real challenging, so I'm really into that, I really like that a lot. Well now that, is that, uh, that's related to the, the aerobic, uh, , It is, it's aerobics but it's with dance steps. Okay. It's an aerobic exercise and it's an hour straight. And it's just, uh, it's a lot of fun. Yeah, yeah. and I'm, I'm getting much better. My stamina is getting great for the dance floor so I mean it's just, Yeah. there's a lot of positive things with it, so. Well, uh, okay. Now that's inside again, right? It is inside and I've been doing a lot of bike riding outside with the nice weather we've been having But, and I just enjoy that much more too than inside. Do, do you like to do it with other people. I mean like the, the jazzercise would be? I have a thirteen year old daughter and so we go bike riding and it's nice. We get to spend some time together rather than I go to the gym while she does her homework. Yeah. Yeah. So I've enjoyed that part of it. Yeah. And at the gym, even in the class, uh, I, it's not really a group where you chat a lot. Everybody's on their way to someplace Right. and so, you know, I do have one friend who goes occasionally But, but, basically, I do it by myself in a group of maybe forty so. Yeah, right. Right. But still there are, there are other people there doing the, doing the same thing. There are, there are. It's more motivating that way, I think. Yeah. In terms of motivation and incentive, yeah. You could get a tape probably and do it at home in front of the T V but you probably wouldn't. Yeah. So. Yeah, uh, that makes a difference doesn't it? Yeah. I, I've, one thing, when, when I have run and jogged, uh, I've always enjoyed doing it by myself and, and, not with the sense that it was, uh, uh, chore or something that I was having to do, I, I've really enjoyed just the activity and, uh, I write software, uh, as far as the job and so getting out and being active, uh, is, uh, uh, helps out. The, it's Yeah, yeah, I can see it'll be a good break. The the the change of pace and just getting out and around Right. and I find that I can often, you know, often, uh, when I get around to doing it, then I, I feel better when I get back to work Uh-huh and, uh, uh, also that, that, it, my subconscious is working on things while I'm working and I, I go back and I've got new ideas, but still . I think you do. You feel very good after you exercise. I think it's worth making the time for yourself. Yeah. You owe it to yourself Yeah. and I think you do accomplish more after that. Yeah. And I think that it's just is good for your self-esteem, for everything because when you look better, you feel better and it's just, uh, I think it's well worth it. I just demand that time for myself. Now I've learned to do that Yeah. and, you know, and it's, I think it just benefits you all around. So. Yeah, I think that's, uh, I think that's a good term, demanding the time for yourself. That you've just got to you've just got to You have to. Because there's always more things to do. Right. There is always things that you can make priority to it but I just, I don't demand a lot for myself and so you know, I just feel entitled to it Yeah. and I take it so. Well good, well good. Well, uh, uh, have you, have you done any jogging? I tell you, you said you did on the bike and on the treadmill in, in the, uh, club. No, I've done some walking with friends in the past. Uh-huh. But I find that when you do that, you do more chatting than you do exercise Yeah. and that's not really beneficial, so, uh I don't have time like that Yeah, yeah. and I spend enough time chatting around everywhere, you know Okay. Uh, read any good books lately? Uh, yes, I, I've read, uh, several good books lately. Uh, lot of them related to, uh, business and financial matters since that's what I do for a living. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. How about yourself? Uh, well I'm in graduate school and so I read a lot of books but I don't know if I consider very many of them good Uh, I haven't read a book for enjoyment since, I guess, around Christmas. Uh, I received, uh, uh, several books for Christmas and at Christmas break I read, uh, SARUM by, uh, uh, a fellow named Rutherford. Yes. Uh, it's the history of, uh, well it's sort of the the historical fiction about, uh, the Salisbury area in, in England. Uh-huh. And so, I, I really enjoyed that book a lot. Uh, he's not quite as good as, you know, Michener or some of, uh, some of the other historical writers. But he, he did this job well, so. Well, that sounds good. Yeah. Uh, do you find do you find you have much chance to read for, for just pleasure or mostly for business? No, I read for pleasure some also. I read a book recently called IRON JOHN. Uh-huh. Have you seen that by Bly? I don't think I have seen it. Okay. Well it's a book about, uh, uh, Greek gods and, and Greek, uh, mythology as well as, uh, man and interacting with other men and a book about, uh, men and how they mature through life. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh. And how they deal with life itself Okay. I think I have heard about that. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, that sounds great. Did, did it have something to mention about, uh, sort of, uh, cultural rituals of, of manhood? Yes. Okay. Yeah, I have heard of that. I have, uh, someone suggested that I read it. Is it IRON JOHN? Yes. Okay. Good. By Bly, B L Y, I believe it is. B L Y? Uh-huh. Okay. Great. And, uh, it's a very interesting book. Uh-huh. Uh, what are your favorite, uh, do you have a favorite subject to read, whether it be science fiction or, or history or, Well, it depends again if we're talking about uh, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I read a lot of books in the area of, uh, uh, psychology and self-help type, uh, materials. Okay. Uh, always trying to understand people better and understand myself in relation to other people and try to understand where the people are coming from because I'm in a people business. Uh-huh. Okay. And, uh, so that, that's, my work is my hobby Uh-huh. That sounds great So I, I enjoy it. Uh, who is your, whose your favorite religious author? Well, I don't know if I have a favorite uh, religious author. Uh-huh. I would have to say that, uh, some of the ones that consistently put out good materials, uh, you know, that, that's difficult because one person might write one book extremely well and some other ones might not write as well. Uh-huh. Uh, I had to stop here and think a second. One of the ones that I've read recently that I've read several of his books and I thought that each one of his books were good. He's the man out of San Antonio. And, uh, Max Lucado? Max Lucado. Yeah. Max consistently writes good books. Yeah. Uh, he's a great man. I've met him several times. Uh, Yes. I know him, yeah. Huh. But uh, there's other authors also that have uh, uh, that write good books from time to time, but not consistently put out the materials all the time Uh, I'd say another, which is a local writer here in Plano, uh, is, uh, I'm trying to think of his name. He's with the Bible church. And that is, uh, I see his name but I can't, I mean I see him but I can't see his name But he, uh, he talks about, uh, he talks about a lot of different topics and, Okay, I guess its recording. Um, what kind of hobbies do you have? Do you sing or knit or anything? Well, I, um, I do cross-stitch and I enjoy reading and playing softball. Okay. I, uh, I started knitting awhile ago, I knitted I didn't know, even know what the stitch is called. I just had this, uh, uh, piece of yarn and I wanted to start something so I remembered something I learned I think when I was five years old So I kept doing that, and now I have a little blanket but that's all I've done. Oh, really. Uh. Well, I know that I learned how to knit one time and, um, made a few things but I haven't done it in so long that I probably wouldn't remember how Do you make sweaters and things or just blankets? Well, if I remember I think we made some, like Christmas stockings, you could make the, like the granny squares or whatever, and sew them together and make Christmas stockings and maybe some slippers or something like that. Uh-huh. Oh. I see. Nothing as big as a blanket. Huh. I know that my husband's grandmother does a lot of that. Uh-huh. And she makes a lot of afghans and all that kind of stuff but, I probably won't make anything beyond this blanket I don't know why. It's just too time consuming. Yeah, do you have any other hobbies? Um, I like to sing. I've been trying to get some wedding gigs and things like that. Oh, well that's good. Um, right now my actual job is a news reporter. But, uh, if I could do anything I wanted to do, it would be to sing professionally. But um, So are you on the T V then? Yes, uh-huh. Oh. I'm in, uh, I work for channel six in Waco. Oh, okay. And so I do little news reports and things. It's not as exciting as it as it sounds. But, um, So you don't have too much time for hobbies? No, not much, um, my day is usually pretty full. Yeah. My schedule is like from nine to five thirty, but I could be at work from anytime, you know, from nine until nine at night or ten or whatever, so it's hard to make plans much less, you know, have a hobby. Yeah so. What do you do? Um. Normally. I'm a housewife. Oh, okay. So, unless the kids are asleep I don't get, usually get much done either Uh-huh But I've made a, um, few things, cross-stitch things. I really enjoy doing that. Uh-huh. And um, I made, uh, like stockings for both my children and a Christmas tree shirt and that, type of thing, Oh. and it just takes a long time to get it done but, you know, once you've done something like that it kind of makes you feel good, to, to see it. Right. I I showed mine to my boyfriend and he was like, you didn't make that. Really? Oh, yeah, it looks, uh, halfway decent actually, first thing I did I guess you can make baby blankets that wouldn't take as long How many children do you have? Two. Oh, okay. I hear them in the background there . Yeah All right, that's a hobby in itself. Not quite A job in itself. It's a fulltime job, yeah. Right now I was just sitting here watching T V, I was getting ready to fall asleep. So, um, have you sang at any weddings yet? Yeah, I sang at one last summer. Um, it was my first wedding. I've done, um, little commercials and background singing and, um, I sang all through college and things like that but I really haven't done anything really, professional per se. Uh-huh. But I did one wedding last year and, uh, I just now got some cards together, kind of, uh, business cards that say, singer, Uh-huh. and what does it say, a song makes beautiful wedding or something, and I've been passing them out to different wedding shops, I mean when someone comes in, you know, for a wedding, for a wedding dress, and they, they might ask about it. Oh, that's a good place, yeah. Uh-huh. This one woman even wanted me to bring my tape in because I have a demo tape, you know, if any one wants to listen. Yeah. And, uh, she wanted me to bring it in, she's going to play it on Saturday so that would be great, if someone came and heard it, and they were like, I want that voice, Yeah but, I haven't got any calls, yet Well, that's good. but I only just put them out this week Yeah. and it's the wedding season, I guess. Oh, that's true. Uh-huh. Make your hobby into a business, that would be pretty good, huh? Yeah, that would be great. Then I could be getting paid for something I love to do. Yeah Not that I don't like reporting, but, I'd love it. Did you have training in singing when you were, younger then or, No, I've never, I've never had, uh, formal training. I've just been singing every chance I get. I try, you know, in school Choirs and that kind of stuff? and, yeah, choirs and, um, when I was at U T, I was in a group called Ensemble One oh Nine, just twelve singers and we did, uh, little conventions and, um, uh, like dinner parties and things like that. Huh. Sing pop music. Well, that's nice. So, that's what got me really, really interested in it. Uh-huh. So I'm trying to be sensible, sensible, too, at the same time. Yeah, not just give up your job and jump right into it Yeah, exactly. My parents would have a fit probably. But, uh, I think, I either have a call or, yeah, I do have a call, hold on one second. Uh-huh Hello. Yes. Yes, okay that's my mother on the other line, I need to go, Oh. but, um, I think we are suppose to talk for ten minutes are we suppose to hear a beep or anything? I don't know, I've only done this one other time and I thought that the man told me five minutes. Oh, okay, my mother said ten minutes so, I don't know. Oh, okay. But, uh, okay well, it was nice talking to you and, and good luck with your hobbies It was nice talking to you, too, good luck with your singing. Okay, bye. Thanks, bye. Okay, uh, you want to start by telling me what camping is to you. Do you backpack or hike or, Well, uh, a little bit, uh, nothing overly strenuous. No, the majority of my camping experience is, uh, a tent by the lake type situation or, uh, maybe a canoe trip or something like that. No, I've never done a canoe trip. That sounds interesting. Oh, it, it's, we've had a lot of fun, uh, I, I moved to Dallas about five years ago and we've made three different trips since I've been here. The group of friends that I run around with, of varying degrees, uh, of difficulty. The, the last one we did, and we haven't had a chance to duplicate was, uh, was a canoe trip in Arkansas and the river was, it was up about three feet so it was, uh, it was it was pretty challenging. Oh, man, I imagine. But, uh, and then we, uh, as far as the camping part of that, we just drag along all our tents and sleeping bags and, uh, find, uh, find a clearing in the woods and go for it. So they'll actually fit in the canoe and then you go for days at a time. Well, yeah, yeah, it's the, that, that particular one was a two day trip so what, uh, there's, uh, there's a outfitter and, uh, they haul you up to the headwaters, come down about halfway and then you get to, you spend the night and then, uh, the second day head on down to the, to the pool at the end of the river. God, that sounds like fun Yeah it, it really is. Well the camping I grew up with was like tents and Coleman stove type. And, uh, you know, that just either out in the woods, or actually I, I grew up water skiing. I was, uh, from California, Okay. and so we would go up to the Sacramento, uh, river sloughs, the delta there, Okay. and you just pick a campground on the river, Right, right. cooled off, but, uh, when I got married, my husband had always backpacked. Okay. And so we did that, uh, I guess we haven't done it since my kids were born so about three years ago. And that was a new experience for me but I enjoyed it. I like being able to go back into the mountains, or, you know, where the trail didn't necessarily lead, and where you couldn't necessarily, pitch a tent Boy, I bet, yeah. Uh-huh. But, uh, that, that was interesting. I, I have always wanted to do some white water rafting and so your canoeing kind of made me think of that. Yeah, that's, that was, uh, that's always been our next step. Our, our little group of friends here, we've been kind of getting married off and what not but, uh, Don't let that stop you Yeah, that, well, it, it just puts a damper on things for a little while. I know. But we're, we're starting to get everybody back together. Yeah, we'd like to do a float trip down, uh, oh, like Big Bend area or something like that. Yeah, so you haven't done that before. No, no, we haven't made that trip yet. My parents, uh, were sailing, uh, this last year down off, uh, Costa Rica and they took about two weeks and went into, I don't even know the name of the river there, but they went white water rafting and Mom said it was absolutely just a wonderful experience. She said it was truly incredible. I'll bet, yeah. And, you know, I, there's that sense of it, you know, you're kind of scared, that risk of like gosh, what could happen and then the thrill of, you know, the excitement of doing it, so. Uh-huh, yeah, exactly. Well, do you have anything planned for this summer? Um, not really just yet. We've, uh, well I, I do have, uh, a little bit of property, I grew up in South Dakota, Oh, okay. and I've got a piece of property in Minnesota that is completely undeveloped as of yet. There's, uh, there's a little lake up there and, uh, a group of friends that I, I went to college with, um, got together and we basically own all the land around this little lake, there, it's divided up into ten lots. Oh, I imagine. So, we've got a private lake, and it's completely undeveloped at this point, so, that's a possibility. And the weather is typically always nice up there in the summertime. It, it's, it's about two hours north of Minneapolis. Oh that doesn't, that sounds good. So, uh, yeah, in fact, uh, uh, well I got married last summer and, uh, that's, that's, we ended up there for a couple days, uh, on our honeymoon. We kind of took, uh, a tour of the United States for about a week, and, uh, up through that area. That sounds, But, uh, my wife's real excited about it, so, we're, uh, we're going to hope to get up there sometime early last year it was the end of July and it was a little too late for the fish but, uh, hopefully get up there early enough to, to get into some of the, some of the fish and, uh, the, the good weather and what not. We've been wanting to start camping again this year too. Uh, my oldest child is a girl, was born three years ago, three and a half. Uh-huh. And then I have a little one that just turned two and we are in the process of potty training. I didn't want to go camping with diapers, you know. Oh gosh, yeah, yeah. I, and, and, you know at a time when they're afraid of their shadow all they need is, you know, some skunk or something to rub up the outside of the tent, they'd be awake all night. That's right. So, but I think with him almost potty trained and, you know, she's not afraid of her shadow anymore, that I'm, I'm hoping and crossing my fingers that we'll be able to go, uh, this summer, you know, even if it's like over to Rio Dosa for a couple of days, or something to get them used to it and get them started, uh, with little back packs of their own, and, you know, things like that. Sure. Right. You bet, yeah, we'll that, you know and there's a lot of places with, uh, like nature trails, things like that where they could learn a lot, too. Uh-huh. Well that's true. You know, it's like, okay, this, this is, this is what, uh, a pheasant looks like, you know, and okay, now we'll go look for one. Ugh, I would need that before I could teach them Well, yeah, that's, everybody might learn something that way, but, uh, but yeah that's, there is, there's an awful lot of things set up, you know, just any, anything you want to do. Like, like you say it can be, uh, a water ski trip, or fishing trip or just a sightseeing, bird watching, you know, hunt, hunt with a camera type of thing or, there's a lot of different opportunities for things like that. It's a lot of fun, it really is. Hello. I've kind of gotten out of the habit of doing this. It's been down this weekend. V in Well, I haven't tried, but this is, I haven't called in a couple of days, but education in public schools. I have a son who's graduating, uh, in May, and there's some interesting problems of, of, of how you, how do you challenge the kids today. And I have some real hang-ups. I think that, uh, if your, if your kid's not ambitious, he can sure get lost. In the school systems? Yes. That's right. What school system does he go to? In North Garland, he goes Okay. What school system are you familiar with? Okay, my children go to Garland, and I teach in Dallas. oh, okay, well, I have a daughter that's in the, in, in the I B program at Garland. In the, are you familiar with the International Baccalaureate program. Well, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, do your kids go to Garland High, you said? No, no, they're still in elementary. Oh, okay. So, yeah. Well, there's a, it's, um, she went from Austin Academy when it opened up, over to, uh, to North Garland for ninth grade. Uh-huh. But at North Garland, the, the difficulty I see with the education system is that, uh, is that, you can, you can, you can get some masses, but unless, if the kid's really dedicated, it seems like they do all right. But if, if, if your child is just pressing along, uh, I, I'm firmly convinced that teachers aren't being paid enough. Would you, argue with that? I'm definitely not, are you kidding? No. Well you know the, the, the thing that I don't see, and maybe you would take issue with it is that if, if we went to, if there was an opportunity for teachers to teach year around. No, I want that Well would, I think it would be better for the teachers and for the children, because we would do away with so much of the burn-out that we have. I know when you get the kids that have gone the summer being out of school, then it's like they've lost so much ground, we spend at least the first six weeks just backing up, reteaching what they had the year before. You know. Well how do we how do we get that? Well, we're starting pilot schools. It's Dallas is doing it I know. I think Plano, don't they have some, and Richardson's supposed to start some pilot schools, going to school year around. Yeah. And then we, you know, we investigated this by flying some people out from Dallas to observe some of the schools in California that already had it. Does it work well out there? Yeah, it seems to, and one thing, it'll save us money, because we've got the buildings sitting there, right, and we might as well use them. Well, what about the, what about the issue of air conditioning. Isn't that a an area of concern in the cost of air conditioning? Well, air conditioning, what's, and, and heating. Oh, yeah. Isn't air conditioning less than heating, because we have to, just up like, if we get in the thirties, we raise it up to the seventies, right, that's forty degrees. Yeah. Isn't it less? Yeah, it's, it's less degree days, you're right. But I think, I think, And it's not like the kids are going to go a lot longer, really, if you go year around there's not thirty days difference. Yeah. well how do they do it? Do they put, uh, long, do they put two or three week breaks between? There's different ways to do it. Like I, I think going two six weeks and then having two, two weeks off, each after a two six weeks period is one way. Is that, from, from what you've seen, is that the desirable way to do it? See, I don't know, because I've never seen it in action. Oh, you said you had some people from California. Oh I thought you, No, the school system in Dallas has sent people there to do that. Oh, okay. No. But you didn't go. But I think I'd like it, and I know a lot of teachers that would like to try it. Well, the, the other issue has to, that I hear that the local commentator I listen to some the idea that the numbers of administration and the fact that the principal, do you see that the principals aren't really in charge? The principal's, their hands are tied, by all the administrators, and I heard that in Dallas, it's one out of every three is actually in the classroom of the educators that were hired Well I had heard that one of the comments when they, when they brought it, It's just, you don't even know who all your bosses are. It's ridiculous. Um. Then why the, the one they brought in, the new superintendent for Dallas schools, the um, can't think of his name, but the idea yeah, that he had suggested that, that maybe they could reduce the number of administrators and, and some of the people who were administrators saying, that, that, uh, that's not what he was hired for. Marvin Edwards. But they resented the fact that he would try to save some costs there. Well, you know he did, supposedly cut administrators, but what they've done is create other offices for those same people, and just renamed their jobs and, you know, opened up other other things. Um. One thing we've got going is called reading and initiative, and they've hired all these administrators in on that, you know. Well, you know, the other thing that bothers me is the amount of money that it that it took to contest the, the football, um, issue. Pass or no fail, what is it? Yeah but the No play. I can't think of the name of the school, that, that, uh, No play. but in any event they, they, they kept arguing. Carter High School. Yeah. Yeah. And they went to court, I mean, you know, guess I, I'm sympathetic with the kids, but, but how much money did that cost Dallas to, to, to fight that in court. And all the things that Dallas fights, costs thousands, probably millions of dollars, I bet you. But just think of all the, the, all the lawyers you've kept employed, see. Yeah, I know. And psychologists and stuff. That's right, That's right. and, and all these other people are out running around. I guess that's the only problem with jobs being relatively scarce, so. But you need to keep all these people employed, right? No, we do not. And, and No You mean, you mean, we need a little more of our tax money, like maybe, uh, We need more of the tax money to actually get down to the students, because it's pretty frustrating when you see you don't even have paper, and you're trying to ration it, you know, now that's sad, when there's supposed to be what, you know, one thousand, what, sixty-five dollars, something like that, spent on each pupil. Yeah. Um, it's, it's wrong. Anyway, I was thinking about one thing that's wrong with schools is that we're not teaching to the children's modalities, and I think in nineteen, uh, ninety-three we're supposed to begin that. If, if a child is a visual learner, we're supposed to present him with all these visual things, and if he has to learn just by kinesthetic, we're supposed to teach whatever way that that child has to have it, learns the best way. And that's going to be quite a problem. Oh that's, But if we could do something like that I'm sure it would certainly help. Um, that's interesting, and how many administrators is that going to take? I don't know, no telling, I don't know. And, you know, at nongraded schools. They've had one in Gladewater for years and years and years. If we could just let these kids go at their own rate. I have children even, I, I teach Chapter One, and it's for kids that have fallen behind in their reading according to, like I T B S scores. Yeah. And some of the kids, really they shouldn't be in there, and they're, you know, they're not being challenged, and they're not being challenged in their home, and we always have to teach toward the middle of the road. Yeah, well, that's, that's part of where my son is, um, would like to go to Rice, but I don't think he's, well, the, the difficulty is, is, is the people that get in are, are, are overachievers. Uh-huh. And he's not an overachiever. But the same time, everybody can't go, but it, the question of, of, you know, of how far should you take a kid in the motivation, I'm not sure, I think maybe there's too much responsibility put on the teachers to motivate these kids. I had a, a friend that was administrator in Richardson said if the parents read books, then the kids probably would read books. Right. But that a lot of the schools I would think the kids you're talking to, question of, of how much reading do those kids' parents do. My children's parents aren't even there at night most of the time to do anything with them. Well. Well, but that's the point, as I would say, uh Yeah. and that is, that's what makes, there's a lot of problems. But anyway, um, I'm trying to think how much longer. I had a conversation, week or so ago and we got carried away, and they cut, it beeps in at ten minutes. I know it, I know it I went for a couple and I didn't know that there was even a cut off or anything. Oh another things that's wrong with schools, this is big, there's too much emphasis on test. We're spending the first hour of every day teaching for the test at my school, and we're going to do that until at least the first part of May. Huh. Well see, that's in the Garland schools, the numbers, they, I don't think they have to do that because most everybody passes. But see, they're not in Dallas. Well, opportunity, right? If you get graded on percent improvement. But see, that. Yeah, we're not working with the same type of students that most of these kids in Garland are. Yeah. And unfortunately, the, uh, that's, that's tough, that's a real challenge though. But, uh. But see, what we're doing is we're turning these kids off to school even more than they are. Yeah. And we're not teaching toward the test, we're teaching, you know, I always objected, you know, it's like there's not a whole lot of, you know, fun time like we used to have in school. Like our principal says, I want every child to be on task all the time. Yeah. And you can't do that as adults. But we're expecting kids to. And like after, after recess, play Yeah. we don't get that. Okay. Yeah. If they finish before their thirty minutes is up, then they can go out and play for like maybe five or ten minutes, probably be the most. Yeah. But we always got that, didn't you? Well, yeah, you know, our son had that, he was, had an attention deficit disorder, and they were keeping him from recess and in reality that's, uh, that's one of those really tough situations. I think the kids need some time to play. Yeah. But, people like, if more people like you though that understand the problems get in and and change some education so. Uh, I got some background noise there but I guess ... Well, I, uh, before I was married, I used to play a lot of sports. Uh-huh. And, uh, but when I got married and had children and everything, it seems like I keep all my activity just chasing around fulfilling my obligations so I haven't done a lot of, uh, exercise on purpose. Uh-huh. What about you? Well, it's funny, this week, yesterday I started exercising seriously. Oh, really? This weekend I cleaned out my closets and, uh, a couple years ago I, too, got married. I haven't have any children yet, but this weekend I cleaned out some closets and I found a bathing suit that I had bought. Uh-huh. Tried it on and decided I really did not like how it looked on me. Oh no, that can be awful. So yesterday I went to, uh, a spa. I belong to a private spa and went in and, and got with a trainer and, uh, he checked body fat content Uh-huh. and we set up a program for me to work on, and I went back tonight also. So I've been two nights in a row and I, I'm going to take it pretty seriously. I'm going to start going every night just, you know, even if I, I, like tonight I only went for thirty minutes, but I at least did something. Do you work out on, like, is it the weight machines or aerobics or what is it? Last night I did about thirty minutes of riding a bike and a few, like, three different types of, uh, uh, weight lifting for my legs and, and my hips Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then I did a hour of aerobics. Uh-huh. And that was really tough Oh, I bet. And I was sore this morning when I got up, but then tonight I got into a, a, it's sort of like an aerobics class Uh-huh. but it's only thirty minutes and it's for your abdominals your thighs, and your butt. Uh-huh. Um. So, and that was, thirty minutes was definitely plenty. So, Doesn't sound like low impact. No, it was a lot of sweat Well. Well that's good. So, So are you Have you started exercising at home or, Well, I, like, I am undisciplined in the sense that I can't just go and do exercise, but I like to, uh, play tennis and play racquetball Uh-huh. I, I like to get exercise when I'm playing a game of some sort, and so that's always been the way that I have kept myself in, uh, the shape that I was satisfied with at least. And, uh, then I have given that up, but, uh, I would really like to start that again, because I am now, you know, not in a position that I like myself. Uh-huh. I don't feel good and I get, you know, when you get out of shape and you don't, if, you're easily tired Uh-huh. and so that has made me, but I, I'm not the kind of person that could go to a spa and work out, Yeah. I just, if something like, uh, I mean I have so many chores and so many obligations every day for, to add another obligation would make me feel stressed. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. And I wouldn't enjoy it. But if I have something, some team sport or some activity, then it's kind of like having fun, playing Yeah. and then you, then you get some of the, uh, good exercise and some of the desired results, but you, you're doing it for fun. Uh-huh. Yeah. But I really admire people who can go and work out Well, I don't, you know, a lot of people, I have a girlfriend that goes for the social aspect of it and she walks around, talks to people and and, I don't really get into that. Naturally I'm married Uh-huh. so my husband goes a lot and we'll go and, and just do what we want to do and then leave. Well, that's nice. But, yeah, and swimming is a, is a part that I, I'd like to get into as far as my you know, just aerobic activity they say that swimming is real good, Uh-huh. so I'd like to try that as well. And that's probably something that, that you could do, you know family, included. Yes. It is kind, It is family, and it's fun. Uh-huh. It's a fun thing and kids enjoy that and and all. And also, the nice thing about belonging to a club is that you can have some of the relaxation, you know, like saunas, or you know, uh, hot Jacuzzis or whatever, they have that kind of is, kind of makes it fun and stuff, you know, Yeah. Right. you can relax that way, afterwards and things. Uh-huh. Yeah. I agree Well, I guess it's getting late. Yeah. And I should take off, but, uh, I appreciate that, that helped me, helped motivate me Okay. Think someone can do it. Yeah. Maybe I should start thinking about it again. Well, try it or, or maybe just exercise at home. I bought a tape, and I'm going to try doing that. Yeah, I bought one, I went to the, I bought the low impact first. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's me. So, but I haven't done it. Uh-huh. But I'm going to try it. Well you have a good night. Thanks a lot. We'll see you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. So, uh, what do you think about our involvement in the Middle East? Well, actually, I think it's good. I, I, I hope that we, uh, uh, get a chance to, uh, promote peace out there, uh, because I think without peace we're not going to get stable oil prices, and, and, uh, I'd, I'd really like to see stability in that area, because I'm always afraid that's where another big war is going to start. Not that Desert Storm was a small one. Yeah Well, yeah that's probably true. I, I suspect that if any world war is coming at this point in time, they're going to come from there, uh, I would think, anyway. Just seems to be that that's the most unstable part of the world, as far as I can tell. I saw, um, just recently, where, uh, uh, the U S is supposedly going to be, uh, putting pressure on all the, you know, the Israelis, supposedly, to come to a bargaining table to, actually I heard that the Israelis were even at least mentioned about giving up some of the Golan Heights. Really. Yeah. That would be interesting because I am, actually, um, um, I'm, I'm I'm Jewish and I'm actually sort of not, not, not really a Zionist per se, you know. Okay. But I have a, um, I have a lot of friends, you know, who are sort of adamant, you know, Israel, it's his right, and do whatever they want. And I think they've been sort of hard nosed about the entire thing. And, you know, in some sense, the moderates may be right. They may, you know, may be better if they give up just a little bit to settle things down. Well, uh, I guess it's one of those things that, uh, if it's going to really promote a lasting peace, if there is not going to be a peace, Right, then, then, then, then is it worth it at all. Yeah. I mean, I could the way, I mean, the only way to think about it is Well, they won, you know, they sort of took over the, um, they're one of the only countries in history that has been told that they have to give back what they took in a war, which they didn't start, basically, so. Oh. Yeah So, I don't, I don't know how to, I don't, I don't know what to do about it But I think that, that you know, in general the region is really in bad shape Do you think the U S is going to wind up keeping, uh, military bases over there? Um, probably, oh, isn't, isn't there a plan now to make a command center there or something? I, I haven't heard that. I watch C N N every once in a while, but, I, I haven't specifically heard anything about that. I just heard something about moving, recently, about moving, um there, there, there's some central command post in Tampa I think that they now want to move to somewhere in the Middle East. Actually, there was, um, a small country or small city, I think, or even, not actually in Saudi Arabia or anything, but a little bit off to the, um, east of it, I think. And I, they want to keep something over there, so that they don't have to, um, I guess it's, I guess it's sort of so they don't have to move troops out so quickly or something. I'm not quite sure exactly why they want to do it. But they want to keep some sort of central command post there. What I thought was interesting is that, uh, apparently the formal cease fire has not actually been signed yet. That's true. And, uh, then I guess there's still the possibility that, uh, hostilities with, uh, U S troops could still break out. Yeah, that's, they claim that's why we're still there. I mean, you know, why only, you note it's only, only a small number of people have actually come back yet. Yeah. But I think that's actually the scariest part, because when, in the way, what, what's happening in Iraq right now, you know, in itself, it being so crazy there. I have no idea, I mean, what do you know, just to imagine that one day they're just going to turn around and someone is going to say, We don't like you, and start attacking again, and it's going to be worse. I don't know. Um. Do you have relatives over in Israel? No, I don't. I I, I, I have some friends in Israel, and coincidently actually my wife is Syrian. Um. Oh, really. Yeah, so I am, we are sort of, we are the Middle East peace talks at home. Um. And, uh, pardon me, I'm just sort of putting away some things from dinner now in the background. Yeah. But we, um, we, she has sort of friends and family in Saudi Arabia, who are some friends in Saudi Arabia. And, um, I have some friends in Israel. And we, we talk a bit about it, but we try and keep it out of the home life. Do you, uh, does she ever want to go back to Syria? No, she was, she is actually, um, I think it's, um, for her not really relevant, because she is second generation American, actually. Oh, okay. Her parents who were born here would like to go see it, though, I think. They would like to go to Syria, but they recognize that Syria's not the place that one wants to visit right about now. No. No You know, something about the place makes it not, not quite enjoyable. Do you ever want to go over to Israel? Yeah, I, I've actually been there. Oh, okay. I was there a couple of years ago, when it wasn't, you know, sort of dangerous to be out there, I guess. Yeah. And, I do, I do like it actually. I would never live there. I think I'm too Americanized and, um sort of have too much, you know, too much invested in sort of, the easy life. Yeah. Yeah Okay, well you know, do you have a lot of Kosher foods there at your house? Yeah, actually my house is Kosher, but it turns out that one of the strangest things about, about Israel is that um, most folks don't realize that for all the food people think of as sort of, you know, Jewish food and so forth. Um, and, you know, um, in general it really isn't the food that is eaten in Israel. So you typically think of it, like bagels, right, you know, bagels and lox. Yeah Turns out, you don't, you don't, you don't really find bagels in Israel. What you find is sort of Middle Eastern foods. The same foods that you find in, um, Syria and Egypt and everything else. Eastern Have you ever had those? No, Kish ki's, or knishes Oh, knishes, no you don't, you don't see a lot of, that's basically Eastern European Jewish food. Oh. It's, it's very different. I was actually very amazed when I sort of figured out for myself. That everything I grew up with really wasn't Israeli. It was more Jewish, you know. I got you. It, it, it is very strange. Still get your Passover Matzi and all that, right. That, that starts tomorrow night. That's what I'm making, that's what I'm doing now. I'm making dinner. Oh really. I dated, uh, I dated a nice Jewish girl for many years up in Chicago, and I was the only Goyim at, at all the Seder dinners and everything, and I used to have to go with rolls of, not, pocketful of change to buy all this bread the kids would see me Bought up all the bread from That's good. Well, you've, you've, you've really got a handle on this stuff I've noticed. Not, not, Not, uh, Got the vocabulary down and everything. just, just enough to get by That, that, that makes you real good. Yeah, we, um, we actually, we have the reverse situation. Turned out that, um, um, most of my friends aren't Jewish, and, and my wife's not. Okay. But I, um, I sort of, you know, do a lot of these things, so, so that, um, Seder, our first Seder is tomorrow night. And this is a rare exception. There are going to be sixteen people at my house tomorrow night, which, and five of them will be Jewish. Oh. Two, two years ago we had a Seder, we had sixteen people each night. Sixteen is the magic number for us. Wow And I was the only Jew both nights. Oh really So, which to me is wonderful, because it means that people who never would get to see this, um, so get to see it. And my view is, Passover is, should sort of be, in, in, in, in my mind Passover is sort of a generic holiday anyway, because it, it sort of predates Christ. Yeah. So. Well, they had the, matter of fact I just watched Charles Heston this, uh, this weekend in the TEN COMMANDMENTS. Yeah, I caught the end of that. Did you? Yeah, every year, I try and catch that. But yeah. That's what always amazes me, actually, is that, um, is that, you know, my wife and I always sort of bring this up about her being Syrian, you know, and my being Jewish, you know. We look alike, we act alike, we sound alike, well, not totally alike but you know. Um, um, it's amazing to think that people in the Middle East sort of all hate each other. Well, that's, to me it's really, um, I guess, I guess I can intellectually kind of come to grips with all of that. But, you know, emotionally I have a real difficult time believing that, uh that, that people that believe in God and love, not war and to forgive can't get together. Right. You know, I I know that the problems are so deep. But I mean, even within the Muslim, uh, religions, different sects, they can't get together. Right. That's, that's actually the part that, that, that I find really strange. I mean, I, I, I sort of understand somewhat. I mean, I, I, knowing the history I understand that, the hatred of the Muslims for, you know, the Israelis or whatever, and I can sort of handle that and , but I sort of think about the Muslims sort of running around have jihad against themselves. Yeah. You know, I mean, and, and that seems really weird. Or, the, uh, you know, the Catholics and the Protestants up in Ireland. Right, exactly. You know, I mean, Same, same thing. Yeah. I don't, I'll, I'll never understand it. My view is look, what did you ever do to me. Yeah, yeah. Didn't hurt me, at, at, at the moment. So, um, and, and, and I, I don't know. There's a, there's something about, there's a poem somewhere. I don't know if you've ever seen it or not, but Everything I Ever Wanted to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Yeah. In this, and it talks about how, you know, if we could just all get you know, when we were young everything was great because we all went to class together, and in the you know, we all had snack time together, and then we all took naps and we all held hands and hugged, you know, and, and, and that's what kindergarten was like, and wouldn't it be nice if, if we could solve all our problems by just sort of getting together and everyone in the world sat down and took a nap together. Woke up and had snack time, you know, and then hugged each other as we left. It sounds like a, it sounds like a John Lennon, uh, type. Yeah I wonder if he secretly did that ... Okay . Are you a T I or, No, I'm not. Oh, really, that's great. Uh, my daughter talked to a student. Uh, in general most of them, uh, people doing this are T I but I guess customers too, huh? And, I think a great number of students who got word of it and participated in general and voiced who heard about the program. Yeah. T I got, uh, a lot of advances in it really. Uh, hopefully this will turn out to be a good program for us. We sure need, uh, the business. Okay, Current Events. Uh, you, you've got the question you can go first there, since I called. I rely primarily on, uh, newspaper combined with television. Huh, that, you're the opposite of me. I drive an hour each way to work and so if I just use time and not say one, which quality is the best, I guess, that would be two hours roughly of talk shows and news on radio and then newspapers and T V would be tied after that because maybe I'll catch the, the evening news, like ten o'clock on T V and I, Uh. so that's a half an hour roughly the same with newspaper. Okay. I really, of course, you, you're in a different part of the country, I, I really listen to a lot of the talk shows, I don't mean the gossip ones, but there's a lot of, on the weekends when I do chores, or whatever, I'm a radio hound I guess, I take the radio with me when I'm working on my car, the lawn or whatever, and turn on, they have everything from lawn work, lawyers, news, uh, veterinarians, all kinds of items, uh, so I'm, I'm a real radio buff, especially on the when I'm doing chores. That's rather interesting. Yeah, I find it surprising. Because a lot of times, it, here, you know, I'll talk to some people here and I'll mention someone's, some talk host and I'll expect them to have an opinion on why I don't like him and don't listen, they don't even know, you know, what the guys name is, uh. Bruce Williams who does financial work all over the United States. Most people haven't heard of Bruce Williams. You probably haven't either unless you're a radio buff. I'd, I'd have to say I haven't either. He is in New Jersey and is entrepreneur and kind of a self-made millionaire. And, he has it, I, well it's five seventy here, I'm trying to, it's on Cliff, I don't know what the, he's on all stations. You might remember the name Bruce Williams, and he, he is again, national and talks about a lot of financial things. But, the here, I just get a kick out of, uh, well we do a lot of gardening here, so there's, we have an excellent gardener here, has three hours on Sunday and three hours on Saturday. Of course that's not exactly current events. But, I, I'm, I am kind of a radio buff. I listen to the radio, uh, probably five or six hours a week, but almost inevitably to a station that is a classical, uh, station here , for music purposes. For music? We don't use the radio as a wake up, we have our, a television connected to a, uh, uh, electronic alarm, uh, system that kicks in, Yeah. and it comes on with C N N in the morning. Oh, yeah. That's good. Actually, That we, we wake up to television news and, uh, uh, shower and dress, and whatever to that, and then because of the fact that my wife and I ride to work together, uh, in a car, we, we chat at each other rather than, than something else. Oh, that's good. Uh, and occasionally what we'll each do depending on whoever is driving is have the newspaper sort of on our lap on the way in, in the car, so we have the advantage of being able to, uh, read and drive although there seems to be, from what I've seen on the freeway recently that a fair number of people are reading and driving My wife always wonders about that she says, look at that person he's driving and reading at the same time So, we, we rely pretty, pretty heavily, I think, on a combination of the, of the two. I also, uh, use, uh, NEWSWEEK magazine. Uh, Yeah. we tend to alternate between NEWSWEEK and TIME and whatever happens to be the, the, uh, news magazine of the year for us. Right. we get, and, uh, I read sporadically of commentary and a couple of other, you know, trade magazines, and, uh, uh, such as that, uh, where I might read the, the occasional social and even current event commentaries, and, and everything as diverse as A C M to, uh, uh, some of the, uh, some of the other tabloids I get. So, uh, I guess I use about eighty percent written, is probably my input and twenty percent, uh, television. I, I think I respect the, from a journalistic perspective current events. Go ahead , I've always said that it, it's really not interesting unless it's three weeks old and found its way into a news weekly headline. Good point. That's a good point. Uh, other than that it was a at best. Oh, yeah. It comes and goes. Uh, we're probably not thrilled with our only newspaper that we have in Raleigh. There, there are other, uh, uh, I'm not sure what you would call them, they the small, uh, competing independent sort of newspapers. Little small weekly things, but there's only one daily, uh, called the NEWS AND OBSERVER, fondly referred to here by some as the, uh, uh, sometimes the Noise and Observer. Yeah. Uh, it depends. It, it's, has decent national coverage, but has an extremely focused political coverage, probably steeped in, the southern history and the fact that this is a Democratic State. Local you mean? And, uh, consequently everything is filtered through that, uh, Republican Democratic sort of, glass, almost unnecessarily Yeah. so. Yeah. Don't they have city council meetings and all that. Are you into any of that what, what's going on in the city council and the, and the school boards and all that? We have that addition to our paper. Yeah, we, we have, that is, uh, as a matter of fact they update it once a week with a special section, we, and we pay it sort of glancing nod. We, uh, have a very good friend who is, uh, tapped into the city planning structure. Uh, our developer architect friend and, Okay , you get it from people then. Right. So, I think we find out what's happening in the city, uh, on a fairly frequent basis, over a, over a gin and tonic sort of thing. Yeah. Right. Uh, and that probably gives us a better insight as to the city of Raleigh than, than the paper would have anyway. My wife and I, you know, as mentioned, the question was, uh, do you get it from people too. And, and, I can say the same thing you do that, uh, my wife is, uh, she reads the paper from front to back and so she'll tell me some stuff and she'll always get mad and say, you didn't read the, uh, well, I always read the sports, uh, what am I thinking of, uh, the commentaries, I can't even think of what it is offhand, and she's always reading something, and she says, why haven't you read that. And, I say, I never have time to read it like you do. But, I always get a lot of my information from the, newspaper through her. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, so, I guess we do get it from people too. Oh, you mentioned C N N, of course I mentioned radio and the C N N T V news, you know? Uh-huh. It's the same thing that's on the radio, word for word. Is that right? I'll heard there was some stuff on the, on the radio that was equivalent to C N N. Yeah Okay. and it, because, uh, we have it here at work as a matter if fact, at T I. Okay. We have it in the break area, C N N. And, but the reason I say that is on the radio they'll say and look at this, you know. And when I first heard C N N, it only started about, uh, since the war, you know, or right before that. And, they would always say and look at this, and there would be a pause, you know, would be music and stuff and I realized that it's the exact commentary that you have on the, uh, the news. Oh, That didn't, uh, Yeah, yeah. But, it's still good. It's still, uh, uh, you know, you don't really miss anything. Uh-huh. But, I do, do enjoy since the Gulf War listening to C N N radio too, as well as watching C N N on T V here at work. I don't have C N N at home. Let me turn this radio off, I'm actually at work right now believe it or not. Uh, where was I, I'm, go ahead, your, your turn. Uh, we probably were listening to C N N fairly heavily before the war broadcasts began. Uh, we almost live and, and breathed it for, because during the war itself to the point where we began to sort of have household pact of lets turn the war off and get something done. Yeah, I've, I've heard that, yeah. Uh, almost an addition, uh, and, and, and we could equate or relate relay well to some of the newspaper and television articles about the fact that people where having this problem in, in unhooking, uncoupling from the events, and going on with their. So, Right instead of being, watching the missiles and being glued to the tube or whatever. Uh, and because of that we began towards the middle and of the war, I guess about two and a half or three weeks in, we began to restrict our news almost deliberately where we would, uh, watch, uh, fifteen minutes before, fifteen minutes after six our time which would be national news, or our local news. We would watch C N N until six thirty, then we would watch, uh, a rotating network news of either, uh, A B C, C B S, or N B C and we, we sort of just rotated around the dial each night a different one. Right. and then we would turn the television off and we were sort of limiting or dieting ourselves on, on news that way. And, then we would do a similar thing, uh, at uh, ten forty-five because, uh, C N N would be wrapping their hourly coverage up and then we would get the local coverage, uh, and then I think the local coverage we would tend to watch the same station that would, would have better state coverage rather than local coverage. Uh, three of the networks here, on their local news, uh, that if, if you wish to listen at eleven o'clock you can find out who raped who, murdered who, or stole what. from whom. Oh, yeah. And, that was the sort of thing that I would say is the best MUMBLEx and not news Yeah. unless there's some trend or something that says, Jesus this neighborhood has been hit forty-seven times or whatever. Uh, that's, that's sort of more of, of a pattern news. I never get home early enough for those five and six o'clock, So, tell me about your home. My home. All right, my home is about fifteen years old. All right. It's a two story house, it, it's our first home, and it looks like it's going to be the last, I think we're going to demolish it We've got two children and it's, they have scraped the, uh, plaster off the walls, you know, with riding their little toys through it and stuff. You know, Yes. put dents in the tiles, just multitude of them, I mean even places, it's, it's past the dent stage, we're talking some of it's been peeled away, you know, I don't know what they, We talking from, from dents in the holes. Yeah, dents in the hole , right. I understand, we've got, I've got a daughter. We've got two, one of them's eleven and one of them's seven and then the carpet, you know, we need to replace the carpet. I mean, it sounds like it's just the pits but it's not all that bad, I guess but, you know, they're just real hard on it. Kids are hard on houses. Definitely, I can see why people wait until they get like in high school or maybe junior high and then they get another one. Yeah, yeah. Uh, we live in a mobile home and that's probably not typical America but, I know there's a lot of them. it's, what we have, it's all we can afford. Yeah. And, uh, seems like we're always working on it, as I'm sure, it is with your house. Because they're always, because they're always ruining something? Yeah. How old is your child? Ten, girl. Well, So, you know, just like yours, ours is always, you know, we're, something else goes wrong always, you know, it's, Some appliances breaking or something? No, appliances, we had a couple plumbing problems, we've, oh, who knows, you know, it's always something with homes. And you said you were in Colorado Springs? Yes. Are there a lot of trailers around there? Yeah, there are there's a big military constituency. And is that what you're in? Oh, no, no I'm, I work for T I. Well, then that's why you're doing this then, isn't it? Oh, yes. Oh, okay, well, What division are you in? I'm not in T I. Oh. I had a friend that had a roommate that worked for T I and she saw this come up on the computer screen, and ran it off. And passed it to the people that were interested. It's not a hobby, you know, it's something to do. I get to here about Texas again a bit and get to talk to people all over the country, you know, that I've talked to someone in Maryland, I believe it was. I know, I've been talking to people in Ohio, and, uh, Virginia, and I think, California. It's interesting, isn't it? Yeah, it is. You know, the gal I talked to in Maryland, didn't own a car, she's never traveled anywhere, she's never been anywhere, she, you know, I talked about one of the biggest problems in the United States being our roads, and she didn't understand. She doesn't drive. How does she get to work? Uh, she, uh, lives on campus, she's a college student. Buses and, and, uh, public transportation. Uh-huh. I had a Her, her parents live by the public transportation. and I wish we could down here. Well, it would be nice but I kind of like the freedom, too, don't you? Well, sometimes but I tell you I'd sure like to be able to get on a bus or something and get to work, but if I did it, it would take me an hour and fifteen minutes. I would have to get on one and drive, or walk to a you know, there's one terminal close to us and then they'd drive me to the main terminal here, Right. then, I'd have to go to downtown Dallas and then walk over couple blocks and get on another bus to go to my school. If it's anything like, uh, So that's too much. Dallas always has been, no one wants to be at downtown Dallas much. Yeah, but there sure are a lot of people that work down there. Is the crime rate still bad? Definitely. And I went down there a couple, maybe three weeks ago for a trial, and, I mean, all these people were standing up, that was, you know, during the workday all along the streets, you know, just all around these vacant buildings, just a lot of vacant buildings, Huh. and they're just being demolished, Huh. and, and they stink Yeah. Huh, that's terrible. Uh-huh. So, Garland, how nice is it now, it's been a while since I've been there. You know, I think it might be up to two hundred and fifty thousand. It's gotten big. Yes, it has. I think when we moved here it was like a hundred and twenty, something like that. And I didn't realize, when I moved here, that it was a separate town from Dallas Well, yeah, it is. I know, now but I didn't. Where you from? I'm from Kilgore, Texas it's in east, Kilgore, I know where Kilgore is. Oh, where you from? I'm, I'm originally from Lubbock. Are you? Yeah. So, why did you move up to Colorado? Seemed like the thing to do at the time. Well, it's real pretty up there. I have a friend, in Denver. Oh, I love it, the mountains. I love the mountains, What do you, uh, back to the topic, What? it seems that, uh, more and more people are not owning traditional homes these days. They're not owning homes, period. Yeah, yeah, uh, everyone says, you know, when I bought this several years ago when our local economy was good everyone said, no, no, you're crazy to buy a mobile home. Uh-huh. But now it seems that, uh, with the local economy bad and T I and strange it seems that, uh, It wasn't such a bad idea? Oh, they're doing some back pedaling. So, have you got, uh, land? No, I'm renting at the time, so. I did that one year, I lived with two other girls and we all taught. And it was a two bedroom, so, we took turns, you know, having, sharing the bedroom. Gosh. Yeah. I got to where I decided I wanted to pay more rent and get a private bedroom. And then we had two baths it was just, one, the little bathroom, were the thing that really bothered me because I felt real closed in. Well, mobile homes have changed a lot probably since you had one. That was in the seventies. Ours is wood ours is wood sided, Uh-huh. and it has a traditional V top , roof, I'm sorry. and, uh, it's nine hundred and eighty square foot. What, two bedroom, one bath, rooms are nice sized. Uh-huh. Well, you can imagine nine hundred eighty square foot broke up into two bedrooms, one bath, So have, Have you got it under ? it's, it's comfy. Yes. Are you required to by law? We were down here. It was already setup when we bought it. Yeah, well, I bet it's not bad. Oh, yeah, it's wood sided it has sheetrock everywhere, and, uh, you know, so, it's quieter than you remember mobile homes to be. Okay, but how much is yours? When we bought ours we were paying uh, three hundred twenty-nine dollars. Oh, our payments are like two twenty. For how many years? Fifteen. Oh, so, it was still a lot cheaper, And, uh, what? so, it was still a lot cheaper than what we gave because ours is thirty years, and we bought one of the cheapest houses, you know, a tract house. Yeah, oh, yes. A mobile home's a heck of a lot cheaper, Which probably didn't make much difference. it did. have a in it. No, no, no what I meant, not in quality, what I meant was, four years equity costs five hundred dollars. In the price. Gee, nice, huh. That sounds good. So, you know, there's not that much time left on the loan and, So, if the economy gets better, are you going to get another one, another house? I, don't know. No? Uh, to tell you the truth right now it feels kind of comfy to have our mobile home and have it so close to paid for. You know, it's like me to pickup and move somewhere else, somewhere else is easy. But you wouldn't take that mobile home, right? Sure. You would? Sure, absolutely. It would be cheaper to move that than buy another one. Oh, absolutely. When I, you know, when you talk about the deal like I got, yeah, yeah, it would be cheaper. Uh, especially if it were a paid move or something. You know, there's some paid moves occasionally. T I would pay to move you? I don't know but they did, when I, when I moved up here, so, they might want to move away. So, how many years you been up there? Uh, six or seven. Do you snow ski? Uh, a little bit, little bit, mostly I just love walking in the mountains, driving in the mountains. It's real pretty. I went rock climbing one time. Oh, that's exciting. my friend talked me in that I'm a real, um, scaredy when it comes to heights but once we got on top of the rocks it was quite, So, what kind of neat hobbies do you have? Well, I like gardening a lot, I like to be outside, um. I like gardening, I wish I had a green thumb, though. I've got a brown thumb. That's what everything turns. Oh is, but, do you keep trying anyway? I keep trying, uh, you know, you just can't, can't give up on it, uh, I, uh, I bought some, uh, plants from Michigan Bulb Company they send them to you all ready alive. No, no, I've never had any luck with their's. Oh really. Right. I guess, I guess these are going to croak too. Since I've got cats, I decided to get some catnip. Oh. Lots and lots of catnip, so it's, it's still green, and it's been two days so I'm encouraged No, I, I haven't had, had good luck with that company, uh, I think some of it depends how long things stay in the mail, probably. Yeah. But, I've had to, to get my money back from them and had better luck with, with some of the, the more expensive companies. Yeah, there's a, uh, Because they, I don't know, do you have Lowe's up there? Uh, well, Its, uh, building, uh, or building supplies place. No. Um, they, they also have a garden shop Uh-huh. Oh, that's great, Yeah. now our local stores don't, don't offer any guarantee. Um. But some of the, Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, something like that. Uh, I got a whole bunch of bulbs along with this stuff, so, I'm going to wait on those. Oh, they're bulbs for Spring or Fall? Uh, probably Spring, but, uh, I don't much care about things like that. I'll, I'll make a little sort of greenhouse, a miniature greenhouse to put all this stuff in. Something, something, to keep me occupied, you see. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I'll, uh, buy some plastic and make a little house and, Cute. yeah, and watch the cats tear it up. Right. I don't know that, do cats bother bulbs? I think more the mice or other rodents. They, they just like to get in and dig. Oh, I see so if you have fresh dirt, they'll Oh, they love to dig. I had, I had some, uh, I don't know what kind they are, I've already forgotten, just regular old flower seeds and I planted them and I was so, I was so thrilled because they came up, I mean nice green shoots coming up all over the place. And then my cats got into it and started digging and that took care of that. Uh, gee. So, I have to hang these things high, so they can't get to them. Especially the catnip. How many cats do you have? Three. Oh okay. Actually I just, put a, uh, little fence around my yard, uh, um, which is I suppose, technically illegal, but I had so many groundhogs last year that I think they'll let me get by with it, and it, it's got this one inch mesh and what I've noticed it's kept the cats out and I love it Um, yeah, yeah, because they, they like to get in and fertilize things too. But, uh, why would it be illegal? Well, because we have these uh, I live in a townhouse and anyway all of our areas have associations that you have to get permission. Oh, uh, yeah, right. And, you know, they want, uh, privacy fences. Well, if nobody, yeah, if nobody complains you're all right. Right, right. Well they do walking tours too, so. Um. But at least, because I back up to, um, a hillside where the, uh, wild animals are, I think I can probably justify it. Um, yeah, an, and if somebody raises a stink about it you can always go before the association and argue your case anyway. Right, right, I You know, you don't have to put up with all these wild critters coming into your property. Right, the first year, the deer ate my garden, and I was just astounded. I'm going deer, right here in the city Yeah, right here, Bambi Exactly. Uh, gosh. And so, Well, let's see, other than gardening which I fiddle at, I'm not very good at, what else do I, mostly just computer stuff. Oh. I just like playing with my computer and doing stuff on that. Uh, cooking, that's not really a hobby, it's a necessity. But, but I enjoy it. I like to think that I'm a very good cook. Oh, great. Um, hobbies, that's about it. I don't have much time for hobbies, uh, between being a student and trying to run a business on the side, you don't have a lot of time. Right that keeps you busy. Yeah, and raising cats. I mean that could become a hobby. Well, it's, it started out as a hobby actually. Uh-huh. Uh, it just, it developed into sort of a business, uh, you know, we breed them and all that, but, we didn't, you know, we didn't really start it for the money, it was just, they were fun to have around and we figured if we're going to have them we might as well have some purebreds an. And now it developed in to going to cat shows and finding studs for them, and, you know, all this kind of stuff. Uh-huh. What kind of cats are they? Uh, I've got a, uh, a Bombay, a Turkish Van and a Himalayan Persian. Wow. Yeah, the Himie is probably the sweetest one. She's, she's just a little sweetheart. We, uh, the, the Bombay had a litter, uh, last October and I just got her back from the vet this morning, getting her spayed. Only going to breed them once. Oh, okay. And, uh, she's not, she's not feeling too great today. Um, is that typical, to only breed them once? No, uh, most breeders are in it for the money, so they'll they'll breed them twice a year and I, I just think that it's kind of, I don't know, it's kind of cruel. Uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, they just, they just breed these, they breed them before they're ready, uh, and, you're never, you're never Right. and, and they, they do a lot of inbreeding too, and so you end up with, you know, kind of strange kittens. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And I just don't like that. So will, you, uh, breed one of the litter, then next year? We're, we sold all that litter, Oh. um, we, there's not that much call to, for Bombays. Uh-huh. Um, they're, they're registered but they're not, they're not, uh, they're not show cats. Oh, I see. Uh, so all you can do is sell them as pet quality. Uh-huh. Uh, so what you've got is a registered pet. And, not too many people want Bombays. They want things like Himie Persians and Turkish Vans. Uh-huh. Turkish Vans, if you've never seen one, I mean, you wouldn't know that it was a pure bred. It's just, uh, medium size short hair cat. It's got, he's mostly white with, uh, brown and black patches. Oh. But they have nice personalities and they're very inquisitive. Um, now the Himie, we'll probably breed her a couple of times and we'll, we'll end up keeping one out of each litter and then breeding those. Right. It's just the stud fees are so much, though. It'll cost about three hundred dollars for a stud for her. We, we want to breed her with a champion, so. Right. Now these are long haired? Yeah, the Persian is, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and the other two are short hairs. Right. Uh, that's nice. Yeah, she's, uh, she's sweet. Going to have some nice kittens, I hope. Uh-huh She's, uh, she's, if if you know what a Himalayan is, generally they look something like, uh, well they come in a lot of different colors. People don't realize it but they're sort of like, uh, Siamese in a way. They have the, uh, they have the gloves on the paws and they're, they're usually two colored. Uh, but this one is, uh, is she's, predominantly, uh, black but she has chocolate, uh, paws, chocolate stomach and silver on her hindquarters. Gee. And yeah, she's, she's quite attractive looking. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Hope, hope the stud will find her attractive. And that she has kittens that look like her. And, and that she has a whole bunch of kittens. But we have to be careful, uh, you know, we have to get a particular color point, uh, stud. You can't just breed them with anything. We have to get a, uh, we have to get a silver point Himie, so that the silver will be predominate in the kittens. I see. That's, it, that's the fun part, trying to figure out what you've got to breed them with, can't just go out there and say, okay, you guys breed, you know You can't just tell them that anyway, but That's right. Oh dear. Well it really sounds like, uh, uh, a business more than a hobby. Well actually, I mean, it, it is a business in a way, but it, it's a lot of fun as a hobby. Especially when you go to shows and get to see all the different cats. We're, we're about to get another breed, we're we're going to buy a Devon Rex . And I didn't, I don't like Devon Rexes at first. What is it. It's a, well actually it's a mutant. It, it comes from England and, uh, in the county of Devon. Oh. And it's a mutant cat. And they're, they're pretty expensive, we're going to, we're going to shell out probably about a thousand bucks for one. Um, they're very thin, they're, they're, they're long and lanky and skinny. Um. And they have real short hair. It's curly, as a matter of fact. Huh, interesting. Um, yeah, it, it, it's a strange looking cat. Uh, I didn't like them at first. They've got great big ears, Well thanks for being home, uh, on the weekend, I, uh, I'm actually working at night and, uh, there very few people that are on the list for calls, uh, on the weekends nights. Uh-huh, yeah, well sometimes I'm home and sometimes I'm not, but if I am it's always fun to talk. Are, are you part of the school system out there? I am, as a matter of fact. I'm at, uh, North Carolina State. Uh, the reason I said that because I've had about, uh, three calls and my daughter had one, too, from different students out of North Carolina. I guess they pass the names amongst your computer students, or whatever. Yeah, I think I was the one who did that actually. Oh is that great, great. Yeah, I had a, uh, I teach a course in Voice I O Systems. Oh, is that right? That's wonderful. So, I know, uh, you know, I know about this project, so I got my students to sign up and, uh, apparently a number of them have been participating. Oh, yeah, I talked to one, we're not on the subject. Of course, I talked to one, I think he had a whole bunch of calls. He had a roommate that had calls and everything. Uh-huh. He had way more, twice as many calls as, as I've made, uh, and I, I'm, of course, we at T I just hoping it works out that the new products that they come out will, uh, sell like gang books, busters, really. Yeah. Okay, you first on the subject, what do you think, about Latin America? Uh, let's see, the subject is, Latin America. Latin America, yeah. I don't know whether I have any real profound thoughts about that, I actually was planning a trip to Latin America and I got warned off by some people. They say Peru can't be traveled to and the crime rate in Brazil makes it not a pleasant place to go and so on and so forth. Oh, really. T I had a place, I'm not too sure, I don't think they do anymore, down, I think it was Campinas, I'm not sure and, uh, I guess we were selling parts to the automotive industry, or whatever. And they had quite a few, uh, locations, not quite a few, several, in Latin America. I think the one in New Mexico is closed and I think the one in, in Brazil is closed, but I, I don't know why that is a problem down there and I guess the crime rate is terrible up here too and, uh, an some people say go to New York, but I don't, I don't have an answer to the crime rate. It's sad. That is a sad situation. I, I'd like to go down to Mexico, you know, and I keep hearing that, you know, the government and, and the crime rates pretty high too, that, that is sad. Uh, not that we can, uh, sell any great program we have with crime, Yeah. but, uh. I think, uh, I'm kind of like you, I don't have any strong opinions on it. I guess maybe that's our biggest problem we have with our, our neighbors down there is that we don't have any. We have more, I guess ties, we in the United States have more ties to Europe and everything and we don't really, aren't that close to everyone in South America. I don't really know why though. Yeah, I, I don't understand it either, although I, I think a lot of South Americans regard the United States as, as bullying. And, uh, that's certainly from a historical point of view, would be true. Right. I mean certainly we took far more from Mexico than Saddam Hussein ever dreamed of taking, in, in his wildest dreams from his neighbors. Right. Yeah, I know that I saw in a book, I was reading a Spanish book, uh, not that I read Spanish, you know, I just, you know, reading some Spanish words and there was a comment in there about the Mexicans don't really want us to say, we're Americans. They would like to say that we're North Americans because they're Americans too, you know, and I guess that's true. We don't think of any one else but I guess, we're kind of, uh, the smart asses in the world, I suppose, uh, or of America anyway. We think of ourselves as the only Americans, when they're Americans, too. Yeah, well I think they're going to have, that's a tough row for them to, to hoe because I think most of the world is going to regard, uh, citizens of the United States as Americans and citizens of Mexico as Mexicans. As Mexicans, yes that, that, And they can stand on their heads if they want too, but I don't think that they're going, they're going to change that, and, and, and really, I mean North Americans I think are, when you say that even, I I mean, I tend to think of Americans and Canadians. No, no, I know. I just don't think of Mexicans as being North Americans, although, I guess, strictly speaking they are. Yeah, no, I mean they were saying that of us, that we're the North Americans and they're Americans, they, they, we always say we're Americans, and they, they want us to say we're the North Americans. Oh, I see We're not Americans, we're North Americans and they're South Americans, yeah. I don't know. Whatever, I, I don't want to make, I read it somewhere, though it's not my point, I guess, so Yeah, well it's, it's so interesting, I I just don't think Mexico's problems are going to be cured by semantics. No, no, they, they were lucky enough to have some oil, what, ten years ago, an, and they, they blew all that, and borrowed more money than they can pay back now and, uh, uh, so they're not exactly business men. I do think we should deal more with them. I don't, I do have a lot of sympathy in that we're here in Texas, uh, for the language, you know, is very foolish. I'm relatively familiar with Texas school system and we should teach Spanish at least in, uh, grammar school, you know four or five grades of it so that we can speak Spanish. I think that helps, when you certainly can speak their language, uh, and there are problems with, you know, the wet back problem, you know, for, everyone knows what we're talking about, say wet back problem. And then we should somehow, uh, and I think the governments are working on that, to try to have some, uh, businesses, uh, at the borders of both sides so that you can, you don't have this problem of them trying to come up here an, to, to get the jobs, you know, there, there may be some organized way to do this. Yeah. I, I do feel for them, uh, they are very envious of us, or they wouldn't be coming up here, you know, risking a lot. Not that they're risking their lives, of course, but risking a lot, uh, getting thrown back I guess is all that, uh, happens. Yeah. You probably don't see that. Where, we see it, you know, once a month. I'm sure in San Antonio they see it more often than that. Well I grew up in Los Angeles. Okay, well you see it, saw it out there then, too. And, uh, in fact, I drove a cab when I was a graduate student so I, I knew, uh, the Hispanic part of L A pretty well. Uh-huh. And certainly, you know, knew that problem, knew, you know, knew about apartment houses that would have eight or ten or twelve people living in them, sleeping in the same bed in shifts and all that. Yeah. And, uh, it was, it was pretty wild. I think a, a common factor to a lot of problems, both, whether it be crime, if, if you want to jump on that, is mostly, uh, poverty. Uh, and I think a lot of their problems is poverty. If we could, uh, uh, the problems we have, in this country, is, is a lot of it's poverty. Whether it's the people aren't trying hard enough to get out of poverty, I, that's another story, but, uh, uh, it is sad. There, there's so much down in all of South America, uh, so much potential, you know, we're, T I, of course is, is really pushing world markets in their products and they're, they're mostly in, in Europe now and, in, in, in the Orient, Japan and Singapore now just announced building a plant in Singapore, uh, they're in Taiwan and Japan and they're, they haven't had, what, that much luck in South America and there's got to be a lot of potential for business down there, for the products certainly that we make and everything. Yeah. And there's got to be trade. I guess that's some of the answer, I guess is business, uh. Uh, and I try to be an optimist and say, well that, that's one way is to help any problem whether it be crime, or certainly poverty obviously is to, is to get some business going between each other. And we need, we need to do more of that, uh, somehow. And encourage more business, between us. Yeah. Yeah. They've got to have a lot of resources I would think. An enormous amount of, of well potential that way. A lot of it, of course is hot and jungle and all that, but, uh, there's got to be a lot of potential down there. Yeah, what are you taking in school, I didn't ask you that. What are you taking in school? Well I am actually, Oh, you're an instructor, Yeah. yeah, you're an instructor, yeah, you said. Yeah, I'm the, I'm the teacher, I give, as it were. That's great. Are you teaching Computer Science? you said, what were you saying you were teaching there? Yeah, I'm in Computer Science Great, great. but of course, this project is really one to collect a data base of, of, uh, of casual speech, uh, in an attempt to get some kind of a model of what speech is like. Right. I, of course, I work at T I and I'm a little puzzled as to why when they get my voice one time, why that isn't enough. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm getting a kick out of the whole program but, uh, there's going to be I guess thousands, I don't know how many thousands, or tens of thousands of these recordings and I wonder how they're going to analyze them. Whether it would be listening to them or analyzing, I they've got to be analyzing with a, a voice recorder some how. Yeah, well they record these and then somebody transcribes them so that they, they have, uh, they have a speech signal Uh-huh. and what, and what is said. Right. And they have a, they're able to average it over a number of different occasions because peoples voices change a lot even from morning to evening and that's, uh, a big problem in speech recognition. Oh, yes. I know they change with age, I know mine changes, uh, has changed, uh, although you, you never found, your, your voice echoes in your own head which is, makes it different than what it really sounds to other people. Yeah. Uh, I'm sure singers and professional people know that, and you always hear your own voice in recordings and say, my God, that's, that's not, obviously that's not me, you know. Yeah. But, uh, I know your voice in your own head resonates a different way. Uh, go ahead, you comment on it, yeah, I'm glad that you're in the business. That, I T I gotten with their Speak and Spell and everything, I've told my wife, that one of the reasons they're doing it is because eventually you'll be able to talk to your computer, Right. you wouldn't have to have a keyboard, you'll be able to just give it commands and I'm sure they have some of that now, and not, not, in computers but a lot of potential, of course for handicapped people, I think you got it. Okay. Uh, my first thoughts on capital punishment I, the first thing I want to say is no. Just simply because we as human beings don't have the right to take another human being's life. Uh-huh. Uh, we are punishing someone for taking someone's life, or, in some cases, we are punishing a person for taking someone's life. And so in effect we are committing that same crime. Well, it sounds like you have really strong views on it. Uh-huh. And I can see that point, but I also have this, you know, I, I question. I guess I can look at it both ways. And just to play devil's advocate, it never seems right to me, that, uh, we take in people that are criminals and people that are, you know, low income or even middle income that are struggling to provide for their families, Right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. our taxes are paying to feed and shelter those people. And it just, that, that I find very difficult to swallow, sometimes. Uh-huh. One thing I don't understand is the, the whole concept of death row. Uh-huh. Okay, these people are supposedly, I guess waiting to die, right? I'm with you there. Okay. And there are thousands upon thousands of people on death row. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I'm not saying that, oh, I guess I am kind of saying, what, what are we doing? I mean I guess that's the same thing you were saying. What, what are we doing with these people? They're there, we should either take some kind of action, or take enough or go a different route. Right. Exactly. But they're just, And then when you think of the thousands and thousands of dollars that get burned in court costs, you know, we could be feeding poor people and helping, you know, helping the environment. Oh, exactly. Uh-huh. I mean, prison is such a waste of a human being. Uh-huh. It doesn't do anyone any good. Exactly. Yes, people need to be punished, Uh-huh. and I do agree with your statement that to take a human life is wrong. Right. Um, but, you know, But but locking someone up and not getting, you know, any benefit from that for the person or for society to me is wrong too. Uh-huh. And I guess I see both sides, in that at the, at the same time that I'm saying that, you know, we're committing the same crime, Uh-huh. I also agree that, I mean, if there is somebody out there that's crazy and cruel enough to kill somebody or in some cases, kill several people at one time. Uh, Uh-huh. Oh, exactly there was a case in Dallas, well, I'm sure they haven't gone to court yet, but, uh, apparently two teenage boys held up a Taco Bell. They put four people in a freezer and shot them all. Now to me, that is inhumane. And for two people to be out in the world like that, I don't, I don't want them in my world. That's right. You understand what I am saying? That's right. I'm, I'm, I mean, I'm not for killing anyone, Uh-huh. but I don't want these people around, at the same time, We want a safe environment for ourselves. And we want to remove them. Exactly. But, but I think that the whole crux of the problem is, no one has come up with a solution that is acceptable, that does, you know, basically, you know, Uh-huh. Right. I, I, think, you know, that the whole idea of, uh, the death penalty was invented for two reasons. It removes them from society, Right. and, and, you know, you want to appease the people that have suffered. Right. But it, it really doesn't take their pain away. Uh-huh. And at, and at the same time, like you said, it drains society. Uh-huh. But it's a, We, I think we should be, we, the same money that we're using to build more prisons and make more prison space and keep these people in prison, that same money or half of that money could be used towards, uh, rehabilitation programs of some sort. Something to get, to, to put these people back in society, Right. but prepare them first. Exactly. But that, the the problem is so incredibly complex. I have a friend who works on the pardon and paroles and she interviews, inmates all the time that are coming up for parole. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And she says it is just really frightening how easy it is to, you know, have the prisons release people because they're overcrowded. Exactly. And these people have not benefited from the stay there. She says, just their emotional state and their way of thinking is so incredibly wrong Uh-huh. and there's not anything she can do to keep them in. You know, if they meet certain guidelines, you know, Uh-huh. Right. and those guidelines keep getting lessened and lessened because they have to do it to make the system work. So it's, Uh-huh. And you want people out of prison and you want people to get jobs and, and live happy lives. Uh-huh. But they can't just walk out of prison and do that. They can't just walk out of prison and say, okay, I'm going to go a different route. That's right. That's right. There has to be some sort of buffer in there. Uh-huh. Some sort of program or, and I know this costs money, but it couldn't cost any more money than we're already spending. I know, I know. I, I would like to see the money that's been budgeted, budgeted for new prisons being put into the research of, of alternate solutions to the problem. Uh-huh. How are we going to fix that, Tanya? How are we going to make that happen? Really, how, what can we do? What power do we have? Oh, goodness. I mean, you know, everyone's trying to make it, you know, in their own little world. Uh-huh. You know, I'm trying to make it with my job, and make, you know, myself okay and make my family okay. That's right. And it's so hard to, you know, try and be one of the movers and shakers, I guess you would call them. Really, I know, I know. Uh-huh. But it, it sounds like you are, uh, you know, interested in what's going on around you. Uh-huh. Oh, yes. And, uh, you know, when you have a, a voice, you do contribute, and I guess that's, you know, what, what we're meant to do. Right. Maybe an opportunity will come by that we will have a chance to make a real change. Uh-huh. And I, I'm a broadcast journalist, and so I feel like one day I probably will write a book or, or something, you know, and some of these views will be able to come out. Where do you work? I work at channel six, here. I'm, I'm a news reporter. Oh, you do? That's great! And so, I, I guess, I'm, I'm pretty emotional about crime, things like that now. I've only been in it for a year, but I get to see pretty much, uh, close up, you know, a lot of things that happen that people don't see. Uh-huh. Uh, I got to get to see a lot of crimes, Exactly. and I get to see, you know, people's, uh, pain and things, and so when we talk about, Uh-huh. Most of us are so sheltered, you know. Yeah. And a few people in the news that bring it to us and make us see what's out there. Exactly. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, that's, you're, you're really performing a, a benefit to society in doing that. A service. Yeah. But still, you know, we can't we can't, I don't know, I, I guess I would like to probably editorialize more. We have to just report what's happening. We can't say, well, this is what I think about, you know, the situation. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Sometimes, you really want to say that, you really want to say you think, or what you think should be done, or how you think this court case should have gone, or, you know, that's a, I, I'm just, I'm just agreeing with you. When I think of it, how difficult it must be to just to just give the facts. Because usually on an issue that you really care about, uh, you want, you want to, you know, persuade people to your viewpoint. Uh-huh. And you're right, that has got to be a challenge sometimes. Especially when you are dealing with a, a subject like, uh, capital punishment or something or abortion, or something where there's an, an no or yes side, Right. and you have your side, Uh-huh. and you have to report both sides. Right. But you really don't want to because you have your side. And you have to walk right down the middle with it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So sometimes that's hard I'm sure. Well, that's, that sounds interesting. And I'll read your book sometime. That's good. All right. Well, it was nice talking to you. I enjoyed it. Okay. Thanks for calling. Okay. Bye, bye. Okay. Um, yeah. We're official now, yeah, Yeah, it's um, it's very hot, in fact I've been cleaning, because I live in an apartment Oh, okay, so I can't do very much gardening other than balcony gardening um, you know, Oh, yeah. I have the little flower boxes with, um, a a lot of different flowers, and I do enjoy plants, but I don't have a yard or anything that I can do gardening, really. Oh, you're, you're, you're not the so-called you need a house, I guess, to go through all of that. I have had a couple of houses, and, uh the only recommendation I would have for someone who hasn't gardened is, uh, one, get a couple of good books, of books, of course, Uh-huh. and usually they have talk shows. Uh-huh. Here in Dallas they have two great, uh, talk shows that go through everything that will grow here, which is the opposite probably of what would grow up where you are Uh-huh. Right, right. and so. Uh in fact, you, you could easily do that now, listen to, turn on a talk show up there and see if there, there's got to be some gardening folks on the radio that says when to put your grass in, and, and what kind of grass to grow up in Virginia and everything, Yes, but, so I, uh, for someone who doesn't garden, I'd say, that, that's my biggest recommendation is to, Uh-huh, so you enjoy gardening? Oh, yeah, yeah. I like it a lot, uh uh, Uh-huh. it's a lot of work. I'm an engineer, I'm, I'm with T I. You, are you with T I up there or, No, no, I'm with a defense contractor. Okay. Uh, where was, oh, yeah, no, I, I like it, I, uh, I always know that why I'm not a farmer when I garden though, I mean, it is dog work, and it is tough Uh-huh, uh-huh. I have a lot of trees, down here, uh, the part I don't like, I guess, would be from December through February where you have to rake leaves forever it seems like, Uh-huh. and the wind blows all the leaves on from your neighbor after you rake yours, so other than that, you know, those three months, when it's pure dog work uh, the rest of it's very enjoyable just going through the experiences of, of putting little plants in or whatever Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, I haven't had to plant any trees because I've got so many, but, uh uh, but I do listen to that talk show. Uh-huh. There, there is some great people from Texas A and M, I don't know, maybe you've heard of A and M down here, but there's some great, uh, folks, uh that have been well trained, and, again, uh, to, to, uh, recommend gardening for this area. Uh-huh. Um. Yeah, I'm sure it is, you know, different in the different areas. Um, I'm originally from Pennsylvania, and I do go home on weekends during the Summer and, uh, and, uh, mow my mother's grass and different things like that. Yeah, you probably have rye grass up there. We grow bermuda and Saint Augustine here. Oh, I would have no idea Right, yeah, see, you would have to learn that, though, see No idea whatsoever. Like I said, I'm just a balcony kind of gardener with my little flowers and my flower boxes and my herbs on my window sill, Um. and, Do you have much luck in the Winter, or they're, they're freeze it, freeze out because the roots are all, in the Winter, uh, or do you have to start all over every year? Yeah, I have to start all over every year Right, yeah, well, except, I do have some, um, some day lilies that um, you know, I don't do anything with Uh-huh. and they seem to come back year after year, and I leave them on my balcony even in in the snow and the Winter, you know in the ice, everything, because here, you know, not as severe as the snow is in Pennsylvania, In the same pot, that's amazing. Uh-huh. but here we still do get some snow and ice and things like that. Yeah, I grow a few things in pots, but we have to bring them in here in the Winter because usually, uh, if it's not below the ground so you can insulate the roots from freezing you know, the pots will, will die, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. everything in a pot will die Uh-huh. so, you can bring them, well, we do bring stuff in the garage and everything Uh-huh. but, uh, it's quite time consuming, by the way. I don't know how close you are to getting a house or anything, but it's quite, uh. But I would definitely do it, I'm all for doing everything, whether, whatever subject you pick, do it the knowledgeable way Uh-huh. don't go out there and start digging holes, uh, Right, right, I agree with that. Get some books of whether it be Pennsylvania or Virginia as, as well as, Uh-huh. not your neighbors, of course, they usually know nothing then there's always a gardening part of the newspaper or communications, as well as, I bet there's a talk show up there right now that you, if you turn the dial around you'll, Uh-huh, yeah, Uh-huh. on Saturday, this is Saturday, that you'll find someone, probably in the morning, I don't know discussing, you know, what we do up in Virginia to get something growing Uh-huh. Yeah. you probably don't have to do much over there, the soil's probably so good Uh-huh. our soil's not very good down here. We're Uh-huh. I guess in the ice age, it, it, it's pushed a lot of, uh, limestone and everything, to some parts of Dallas you just can dig a foot down and you hit solid limestone, you know Wow, uh-huh. so, uh, I think all the trees that are here now were planted kind of like the Johnny Appleseed type trees, where people have come from, I'm sure the Indians were here there was nothing growing in this part of Dallas, it's so scrubby uh, Uh-huh. and I think that we even got our famous hundred year old pecan trees from Alabama and all that, too Uh-huh. we, we call them native pecan trees but, they grow wild here, they're eating pecans though Pecans are probably not taken from Virginia, they're probably only in the South for pecan pie and all that, Uh-huh, right I'm, it's what they call pecan, pecan pie up there in the East. Uh-huh. from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, I'm from New Jersey originally. Uh-huh, oh, you don't sound like it Yeah, I've worked on that with a little chewing gum, which I shouldn't do, uh, Uh-huh Go ahead, you, how many times have you called by the way, or how many times have you been called? Um, I've been called a lot, at the times, though, it's been not very appropriate, I guess, that I haven't been able to actually participate. I've participated probably in about maybe, I don't know, seven calls Uh-huh. and you know, I've called a couple of times, but most of the time I notice that, um, you know, it takes forever to get a call through. Oh, yeah, today, that's what I'm saying, today, I was, I got to laugh, because I tried it this morning, and I thought everybody was gardening, I thought, Well, no Yeah. no. This is a great subject because they're out there gardening, you know, Uh-huh, uh-huh. I didn't tell you what our weather is like. It is beautiful here today, Uh-huh. Yeah, it's like eighty-five degrees here, It's not quite that hot. Yeah, we've had a real nice mild Spring. You might have seen, if you've seen the news today about all the tornados here that were north of us. No, I haven't Uh, I don't know if you get C N N. I don't get C N N but it's here at work Uh-huh. in fact, I'm at work today, believe it or not. Oh, uh-huh. But, uh, they have T V in the break areas Uh-huh. and there was some heavy tornados, uh, I guess in Kansas, quite a few people were killed. You'll see that on the evening news. Oh, my, uh-huh. Uh, I'll have to make sure I catch that. Tornados, uh, which is not the right subject, but, uh, they blow through here all in the Spring. I guess it's related somewhat to the weather, you know and, and the plants and all that, that, uh Uh-huh. Uh-huh. sometimes they do essentially nothing, and the weather men yesterday were all alert, say, hey, there's something really terrible going to happen, and they, they sure were right, but it wasn't in Texas, it was north of us. Uh-huh. Yeah, look at the news tonight, they'll, they'll they claim thirty odd people were killed up in Kansas City, Kansas, I'll have to make sure I catch that, Uh, Uh-huh. Anyway, back on planting. Uh, . It is very interesting, uh, subject, uh, when you, when did you get a house, uh, your, your trees grow up so well up there, but I'm sure you have plenty of trees. Uh-huh. That, that is a key thing for shade and keeping your bills down, uh, Uh-huh. I guess you have mostly pine trees, but where in Virginia are you all? Um, right now, the District, Washington Uh-huh. um, in Fairfax, Virginia. It's fifteen miles west of Washington, D C. Oh, do you have the cherry blossoms there, in there or not? Yeah, there's, there's a few, not, you know, nearly as many as what's actually in the District. But, um, they're definitely enjoyable. Yeah. Right now I know the azaleas and everything are out are beautiful. Oh, yeah. Yeah, azaleas grow all over, we grow those here, too, although again, we have to prepare the soil. Uh-huh. You probably have nice big pine, you probably have all kinds of trees, the oaks and everything, that's one thing I noticed there. Yeah, there, there, there is a vast variety here of, you know, trees, like, if I look out my window right now, I can see, you know, couple of pine trees, some oak trees Uh-huh. yeah. Have you ever been down here? Um, no, actually I haven't. Okay, it's interesting country. It is wide open, uh, and flat Uh-huh. uh, and again as I said, I think the, when the Indians were here there, there weren't any trees, but the, the civilization has brought all kinds of experiments with all kinds of trees, and a lot of them have done well Uh-huh. uh, they do have some pine forest areas in in in east Texas where you have native pine trees, Uh-huh. but here in Dallas it's, I think they all were planted by the classical Johnny Appleseed, and Johnny Pecanseed, whatever you would call it, you know, there's a tremendous amount of pecan trees that we use for, you know, uh, for eating Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I think they thought that was going to be a great boom crop, uh, hundred and fifty years ago, because they are all over the place in the South. Uh-huh. What else? Um, well, I guess that I really don't know that much. I don't have any say. I, I, the subjects are usually pretty interesting. I, I'm, I'm, of course, I'm a T I so I'm hoping this works. T I is very good, uh, has done a lot of experiments in the speech, uh speech, uh, synthesis, synthesis, Uh-huh. can't say it. Uh-huh. And they've come out with some new products, in fact this week, they came out with some new math, uh, you might see them in your advertisements, uh, new math, uh, Speak and Math, uh, devices. They, they have had Speak and Spell and all that for years Right. but they've come out with some different ones this past week, Uh-huh. and, uh, my wife and everyone, what, what are they going to accomplish out of all this, and I said, Well, you're not going to have to type on the computer one day, you're just going to have to talk to it you know, Right, uh-huh. so, you, you, it's going to be much faster, of course, you know, the classical thing for the handicapped, too, person who can't type very fast or Uh-huh. like I can of course Uh-huh. not that I can type very fast either but, uh, Uh-huh, but then what about people that, um, I, I, I personally work with someone that, that is deaf, and cannot speak. She can speak, but she can't speak very clearly Yeah. and she in fact is a data entry person, I mean she types away all day, Well, I'll tell you why I feel so, I feel strongly about this topic. I don't know a whole lot about the immigration laws. But I do know that in the, where I live and I teach school, there are so many Orientals that have come here and there's a lot of Mexican people too. Which is not, neither here nor there, but the fact is that all the Orientals that are here are very affluent, uh, very wise in money matters and have have taken over a lot of businesses, and have, Really, it's kind of scary because they're so bright. They're, all the kids that I have that are Oriental are really far above the American kids. And they, and the, the parents are unbelievable because they are just on the way up. And money is their main goal. And it's it really is kind of scary because there's, there's just oodles of them. And you can not believe the businesses and corporations that have been taken over by Orientals. And it's it's kind of scares me, not that I don't want them here and not that I don't appreciate the fact that, you know, that they have rights too. But on the other hand, you feel like almost they're, they're invading us to the point where they're going to take over Right. Actually my son once said that, that, perhaps, uh, what we should do is, is buy a little square of land some place in the Midwest. And, and that might be the solution I think probably that's, Uh-huh. And I was born in Ohio, Uh-huh. so it, it really and there is, there are a lot of Mexican people here because we're so close to the border. Uh-huh. And, and they are wonderful people and, and I'm not, you know, I don't want to deny them their rights. Just that you, you feel like when you were born and raised here and you worked very hard to make this country what it is, uh, it scares you when you feel like somebody's taking over. And a lot of these people plan one day to go back, you know, to, to Vietnam or to, you know, Taiwan or wherever they're from. And take with them a lot of American dollars plus a lot of power in American companies. And it's kind of scary Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, you know, I don't know, I don't know the immigration laws that, uh, that well and I do not, and in fact I don't know them at all. I don't know how many people they allow in the United States per year or if there's even a, I don't even know if there is a number that they allow in anymore. Do you know anything about that? No, I don't, I don't know. I lived in the Middle East for sometime and I, I do believe there must have been some sort of quota system because, uh, I know a lot of people that were, in a sense, not, qualified is the wrong word, but certainly were deserving to come. Oh. Uh-huh. And it seemed to take them a long time or, or there was a lot of uncertainty as to whether they would be able to come Yeah. And so I would guess that, you know, there are quotas for different places. I would think so too. It, You know, I, I, I think there's something about being able to, to claim, um, imminent danger or, I'm not sure what the terminology is. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Maybe political Asylum, of some sort. Yeah. There, there you go. You got the term. Uh-huh. And maybe that's a, an issue with a, a lot of people. I don't know. I, I guess I haven't been in a situation where it's, it's been threatening to, to me. Uh, and, and, uh, my kids go to school in another suburb of Dallas. And, with very, very good school systems. And they're considered, you know one of the top three in the state. Both of them, you know. Uh-huh. And it seems like a lot of the Orientals make sure that their kids go to these schools. Uh-huh. And they're head and shoulders above a lot of the kids here. And the kids in this area are very bright. And come from, you know, parents that are professionals or semiprofessionals and, and, uh, very interested in their education. But, uh, I think in the, last year, I'm not, if I'm not mistaken, in four of the six high schools, the graduating class valedictorian and salutatorian were, uh, half or more Oriental. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, you know, they're just extremely bright kids. And also they value learning. I was going to say, I'm not I, I would guess that it's not that they are any brighter, but they just maybe work harder or, Well, I, I think things come easy for them too. But I do think that they have that work ethic that we somehow have missed the boat in with a lot of kids in the United States. I don't, they, uh, don't want to work for anything. They want it to come to them but and be there but they don't want to work hard. And these kids work really hard. Right, right. And, and they have, but maybe part of that's the problem that here we've, we've let this value slip. Yeah. I know, I agree with that. And they need to have some competition. But what I see is the competition is there, but instead of meeting the challenge, they're starting to resent them. Uh-huh. And it's causing, you know, I think some, some problems. Well, that's too bad. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And it's mainly Black and, and, and Hispanic. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, uh, there is some, there has been some resentment with Orientals in the Black community because they've started businesses there, and the Blacks resent them coming in and taking their money, and there's been some violence because of it. Oh, that's really sad. It is. It's, it is very sad. Uh-huh. So, you know, I really, I, I've, I've always prided myself on not being prejudiced and being, you know, uh, welcome, welcoming everyone that wants to come here. Uh-huh. And even when I was younger when I was in college, I was a member of the N A A C P because I lived up north, and I was very into that, the human rights part of everything. Uh-huh. But I, I've, I've become very cynical in the last three, four years living in Texas. Uh-huh. Well, and it sounds like you feel that there is need for change. Maybe the, uh, you know, the there is too big of a concentration coming all at once to, to allow for adequate melting into the society. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, and exactly, that's exactly true. Plus the fact that these people do come for a short period of time. Two, two, three, four maybe five years and then go back. And pick our brains, which is wonderful, and take all that back with them. And, and, uh, plus a lot of American dollars. But in, in the long run maybe that's going to make a better world too. Right. You know, you just don't know. Exactly. and yet, you know, with, uh, with, uh, there's somebody on my other line but I'm going to ignore that. Oh. Uh, anyway I just, you, you kind of, you you really don't know what to do. And, and I don't, I want my kids to have values where they're accepting and so forth. Uh-huh. And both of my children are really more tolerant of Blacks and Hispanics than they are of the Orientals, for some reason. Um. They feel, you know, like they've taken over. They feel like, uh, you know, they're taking some of the, the rewards that they should have. Right. And I really don't want that to happen. Right, But, but it's happening. right. Right. And I think a lot of their friends feel the same way too. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, and I really do wish I knew about quotas and really wish I Right. I would, I would suspect that they have. Well, I guess, um, I don't have much, much more to contribute to the topic. Yeah. I don't really either. I wish I knew more. Yeah. Probably if I did, I might be a little bit more, uh, tolerant, perhaps. Uh-huh. And I, and even if I, I really wish I knew the situations they were going back to or coming from. Uh-huh. You don't know any of that and you feel, you know, you can't put yourself in their shoes or really understand them. Right. Unless, and for some reason Orientals are very, uh, my good friend calls them pushy, but I call them very, that they know what they want and they go get it. Uh-huh. And in stores and so and so forth it's, Goal directed. pardon me? Goal directed. Yeah. But in stores and things, sometimes they can be very impolite because they can, they get in front of you or they, uh, they take something that you had in mind to get before you did. Oh. I see. You know, just going for it, they take it quickly. Uh-huh. And, uh, they don't think anything of that. And I don't, you know, that's makes people resentful too. And so, And yet they have, they have a right to be here Sure, sure. and I know that. Uh-huh. But it's, it sometimes it's gets touchy. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, and I'm sure it's a lot different, you're from Maryland, You said? Yes, What part of Maryland are you from? Up in the Gaithersburg area. Oh, okay. My sister used to live there, in that area. Uh-huh. And I, I'm sure that it's a lot different there. Uh, it's a lot different in than, in Iowa than it is here. Well, no. Is that right? And with the same, you know, some of the, some of the same problems that you've mentioned. But, uh, I don't know, I guess I wasn't involved enough to, to, uh, really stop to think about it. Uh-huh. Well, I, you know, since I teach, I see see it. And, and I feel and I love the example that most of these children give the, our American children. And yet, you know, I can see why some of the parents are that are fearful too. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, and it's a kind of a touchy situation. Uh-huh. And I wish that we could all just learn from each other and not feel threatened. But it doesn't happen that way all the time. Exactly, exactly. Right, right. So anyway, Well, it was good talking to you. It was good to talk to, to you too. And I And have a good trip in California. Okay. And have a good weekend. All right. Well thank you. all righty, Bye-bye. Bye-bye Okay, do you have any, uh, ideas on universal health insurance? Do you have any strong opinions? Yeah, I think it's probably a good ideal, You do? uh, I think, given, uh, given, well given that there are so many people who don't have health insurance. It's probably a real smart thing, at least to have some basic coverage for everyone. Uh-huh. I mean, you hear these horror stories of people, homeless people going to the hospital and, and being thrown out because they have no insurance, and having to go to someplace else. Yeah. Right. You know, it would be nice if, no matter where you are, or who you are, what happened, you know, what happened to you, you just go to the hospital and they say, Okay, just, just take him, and we will worry about who he is later Yeah. Yeah, I feel like there should be some kind of coverage made, but I, I'm really leery of a, kind of a government administrative health insurance or medical plan, because I just feel like everything that the government takes over is just going to be run much poorly and it is going to be about six times more expensive. Yeah, I know, that, that's certainly true. But, I wonder about like, like in Canada. Uh-huh. In Canada, where everybody, uh, everybody automatically has insurance in Canada. Right, and they have that in England too, but I think that it's a pretty poor, they get a lot lower quality care than we do. Now, I know some people don't agree with me, but, uh, I know you have to wait real long time to get, for certain surgeries that aren't emergency, and you don't have the kind of choices that we have here, Yeah. And, uh, I've worked a lot in doctor's offices and hospitals and I really don't want to give up having those choices. That's true. That's, that's true. I think, I mean, there is a night and day difference between good doctors and bad doctors, and good hospitals and bad hospitals. That's true, that's true. And in England, at least at the time when I was familiar with it, about ten years ago, they just told you what day you had to show up and where you had to show up and who your doctor was going to be. Oh, you so didn't get any choices at all? No, no. I mean that. Oh, that's a problem. Yeah. Yeah, because I know, I know even among, even now, the way we have it now, there are still. It's getting worse, isn't it? Yeah, I mean like we have, an H M O allows us to pick our own physicians. Yeah. Right, right. I mean I picked a primary care physician and just didn't like him, you know. Uh-huh. I had to switch because I just thought he was a quack. Right. That's exactly the problem, there's just so many, such variation and it's, but see, I guess, what they had in England, and I guess in Canada is socialized medicine. So maybe, that's like the extreme of it. Do you think? Yeah, yeah, that is the extreme, and what that, what that I think that tends to do though is I think that tends to, it probably has two, a good and a bad side, for young people wanting to become doctors. Which again a lot of people who are motivated, because the money isn't, I guess, as much, for doctors anymore, Uh-huh. Right. Right. so you wind, you wind up getting the people who really want to be doctors, being doctors, Really want to. but then again, you know, you don't get those people who would be good, and are real smart and decided, Hey, I want to make a lot of money, Right. so I will go into medicine. You don't get those. Right, or that, yeah, exactly, or people also get the feeling that, well jeez, you know, you don't have to worry about, you have a lot of job security there, and it's more of, uh, seniority, I would imagine kind of thing, instead of having a skill or, or whatever to advance, Yeah. That's true. so you don't necessarily get the kind of quality control or the kind of, I don't know. Yeah, it would be nice to see something where at least, I think we have to have something. We really do. I mean, even something that says you know look, free major medical for all, you know, everyone and then, beyond that, you could work out on your own if you want. Yeah. Yeah, I know, I, I don't know, I, having worked in doctor's offices and stuff I see it from a physician's point of view. And I, I think the problem with the skyrocketing cost right now is the insurance companies because, I don't see doctors getting real rich, Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. and I think hospitals do make money, but not nearly as much as insurance companies. Oh, right. No. I think they are really making a killing and nobody is talking about it. Nobody's, Yeah, they are the ones who make, I mean they are the ones, they have, you know, the although, I mean, it's the unfortunate part of that is that the people, I think, tend to forget that doctors are humans as well. Uh-huh. So that insurance companies have to charge a substantial amount for certain people, or certain types of, of doctors, given that, you know, someone decides to have a malpractice suit against them, well, they could take, you know, it could be millions, I mean, unfortunately. Right. And if the doctor, whether, it was, you know, I mean I'm sure there are those cases where, where the doctor is wrong or malicious or something. Right, right. But you know their, you know. Mistakes, you know. Their mistakes are made. Right. Everybody makes mistakes, unfortunately. Sure. It shouldn't be a billion dollar, you know, industry. Yeah. and this is, this is their compensation. Not, So, yeah, I think that's the legal part of it coming into it to. Yeah, that is a big problem. I wonder if we should have a limit on how much people can sue for. That would be nice. Or, or, I don't know because then that's where the insurance company, Uh-huh. It would be a lot better. Yeah, Yeah. I mean I'm sort of in a, in a government run medicine program. Sort of. I'm in a, Are you? Well, well I'm a graduate student. Okay. And, uh. At where? Oh, okay. Uh-huh. I'll bet you are in Texas. I what? I'm in Texas yeah, yeah. I was going to bet that, okay. Uh, yeah, Uh-huh. Oh, great. Yeah. And because the university, the university offers me two plans. They offer what they call the mandatory version, which is basically major medical Oh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. And, they don't, and even though my, my wife's insurance covers me, for everything, I still have to pay them a hundred and some odd dollars a semester. Yeah. Uh-huh. Oh, no. And that's for the mandatory portion of the insurance. That, that, that can't be legal. Yeah, I'm not actually sure if it is or not but, people sort of keep fighting it and I'm, and I mean to keep fighting it, Oh, my gosh. but you know, it's just one of these things where I just don't want to spend my time. How can they, how can they make you pay for insurance coverage? Well, the reason, their rational is, is they make everyone pay for it so that it, it keeps the cost of university health services down, and everyone can use it. You know it. How, how does it keep the cost down? Because everyone is now forced to pay for this. And there is like an, Oh, so they just use the money for something else besides your insurance policy? Well, no, well, yeah, well what they use it no, what they use it for is, is, is university health services. We have a, we have a hospital here, and a subportion of the hospital. So you're subsidizing the hospital. Right obviously, we're paying for the welfare state. Now, as it turns out, as it turns out, uh, my wife and I have chosen to use the university as, health services as our primary care facility. Uh-huh. We can do that. Oh, good. So, in, in, but in effect, I'm paying twice for one service. So, You are, you are I know. And see that's the thing, that is the thing, now that I'm in my thirties now, and I have three kids and I mean, I'm very liberal. I'm extremely liberal, and, uh, I, but now I just in the last couple of years. I have gotten to the point where I am saying I just cannot afford to pay anymore, to help people out. Uh-huh. I, I want to keep helping people out but I need for the government or the agencies, to find a way to do it on the amount of money, you know, that I can afford. Yeah. I just can't afford anymore. Yeah. It's, it's just outrageously. It's just starting to get me angry, and for the first time in my life. I am starting to feel like I, I. Yeah. Well that's, that's certainly true, I mean, if I can't afford to have some kind of optional operation for myself. Because our, our medical coverage has gotten increasingly worse over, let's see, the past five years, to the point now where even if we need surgery, our insurance only covers eighty percent of it. Right, which is ridiculous. And, right and so no matter what happens to me, if I get in a car accident this afternoon, I have no way of, you know, no way of being able to afford the outrageous medical costs, because my insurance is now only eighty percent of whatever it's going to be. Yeah. And, uh, so on top of that, uh, then, what if I, what if we decide to have universal health insurance, I'm subsidizing, Everybody else. And what if they are lucky enough to get into a doctor and a program that's going to say, Okay, well, you really need to have those varicose veins fixed, or your teeth fixed or something like that. Right. And I am paying for it. You know, stuff like that has happened with education and with other things that you hear about and it's just, Wait a minute You know, my kids aren't getting that. How come their, their kids are getting that? Yeah. Exactly, I don't, I don't, uh. And I know it's only in a few cases and I don't want them to, uh, to cut funding for welfare programs or anything. I don't want them to do that, because I know a lot of people, they live right on the edge and they need that. Uh-huh. But, but. Yeah, it's, it's one of the strange, I think it's strange that as you get older. Uh-huh. I think, I think the tendency is that as people get older, and gain, I don't want, I don't want to say more responsibility, but you know, things like homes and kids, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. Well, yeah, that's, and it's, uh, it's funny because a couple of years ago, I heard a quote from Winston Churchill. Let's see if I can remember it, anybody who's not a liberal in his twenties has no heart, and a person who is not a conservative in his fifties has no brain. It was something like that That's probably very true. Yeah, and I don't know, I guess that's what's happening to me, but I, I think it's just starting, uh, it's, it's, I, I don't know maybe other people, I, do you think it's a sign of the times, that people are starting to say, All right, we really mean it, no more taxes or maybe this is just my own personal. No, I think, I think people are starting to really mean it, I mean everywhere you, you look, you are getting something new. I mean, you start off, you know, especially, uh, Yeah. you guys I believe in Texas you don't have state tax, do you? No, no income tax. Right, we have, we have federal income tax. State income tax, local income tax. Yeah. Oh. Oh. Wow. So on top of the federal tax on gasoline, we have state tax on gasoline, Yeah. so we are just. Yeah, but I tell you, uh, we have incredible property taxes down here. Oh, that could be, uh, making up for the difference. Yeah, and we don't have the services either that other states have. Okay. All righty. Uh-huh. Probably some of that is divorce and some is they're more educated than they used to be I think. Uh-huh. Uh, I think sometimes, uh, leaders in government they've become more, uh, adroit in that area, too, instead of just men all the time. Uh-huh. We have more women in government. Uh-huh. And, now I'll let you say something Well, uh, I probably a little bit older than you are, so what I see, uh, is, the change that I see the most is, is that, uh, women have much more, many more occupations and careers to choose from than when I went to college. When I went to college you could be a teacher or maybe a nurse or a secretary, or, but there were very few women in business at that time. A few, but they were the oddity. Very limited. And now I see and, and I see for my daughter, which is wonderful this, she's thirteen and I see a whole wonderful world out there that she can choose from, Uh-huh. so many different jobs, which I think is terrific. Yes. Because I'm a teacher and, I mean, I love teaching, but, there, I think there are a lot of other things I would have liked better. Uh-huh. And, uh, not that I would give the career up because it's, it's a safe career, plus, because I always have a job plus I am a single parent, too, Uh-huh. and I I need the income. Right. But, uh, and I think that's the reason why a lot of women have, have started to work, too, is because economically it's just a must. I think that's right. Uh, you just, it's very difficult to get along on one income unless uh, the male, uh, has an extraordinarily good job. Uh-huh. And especially men who teach school, they don't make that much money, and, and most all, they always either have they're either moonlighting or else their, their wife works, too. Right. Uh, it's just an economic need now. I really think women have so much more responsibility than, you know, as far as everything. Oh, definitely. And, like you said, uh, one, women today have so many, uh, the average today of having a, a single family, you know, with the mother as the head, you know, it just really, uh, so commonplace, nowadays. Uh-huh. Oh, yes, exactly. We have quite a few teachers at our school that are single parents and, uh, the majority is, uh, married couple with children, Uh-huh. but still there's a lot more than there used to be. And see you never picture yourself in a situation like this. When I married, I thought I'd be married the rest of my life. Right, right. And, uh, but I'm all, I'm really grateful that I went to college. My mother always said, you know, get an education in case you need one, because my father died when we were, I have a twin sister and we were eleven when he died and she had a nursing degree, Uh-huh. and she was able to make it. But, she said in you never know what's going to happen and I thank God that I did go to college and got a degree because otherwise I don't know how I would be able to raise my children. You know, isn't that funny, uh, because the same thing happened to us, except I was twelve. And my mother had a nursing degree and was able to make it in her profession, Isn't that something. and was, Yes. Yes. and even today I think the chance for education is is, is so much, uh, better for all of our girls, and, and boys, too. Oh, yes. But, but the girls especially. Yeah, I do, too. But I think it needs to continue to change and I I think it, there's still not equality as far as, uh, paychecks for men and women. I think that the, we still have a long way to go. A lot of things, yeah. Uh-huh. And I think that, uh, I think by the year two thousand it, we're going to see some, a lot more changes, uh, hopefully, that women are, you know, able to get the, the executive jobs, and hold positions that men, men do because they can do it just as well, you know, Right. if they want to dedicate their, most of their time to that they, they're, they can do it. Yeah. And I also think that in the future that, uh, it's going to continue. We're not going to see a lax off of women in the work force. Uh-uh. I think they're going to stay there and I think that they're going to, uh, uh, be really responsible and, and do everything just like, what you said, you know, make, make it the grade and, and make it so women can be the top people in their, in their field. Exactly. Exactly. And I think that's the way it should be. I think it Oh, I think so. I mean, not that I, I think that I'm equal to men because there's a lot of things that men can do that I, could never do strength wise and so forth Right. but, also there's some things women can do like have children, that men can't do. Right. So, you know, it, I don't I don't want to be equal but, I, I want to be, I want to get what I deserve and I want to be able to be on the same level with them. If I can do a job as well as I man I think I should get the same pay, you know. Exactly. And, And I just, I'm not a women's libber. Exactly. I really am not. But I, I think that that we have just as many rights as they do. And I feel like if there's a qualified woman to do the job and if she's good or better than a man then she they should get the job with the same pay. That's right. And I think that is happening more and more. I do, too. I think it's just going to take a little bit longer. Oh, I do, too. Definitely Well, great, okay. Well, it was good to talk to you. Good to talk to you, Sally. All right. Thanks. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay. Um, I don't have any, I guess, definite views about elderly care. Um, the first thing that comes to mind is kind of those horror movies that you see, where elderly people are abused and things like that. Uh-huh. Yeah. I think that's one thing that I would look at if I was putting my grandmother or my mother, uh, in some sort of home. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I agree with you. I, um, a group that I'm a part of goes once a month to a, um, they call it the Heritage House. Uh-huh. It's, it's a nursing home for elderly people. Uh-huh. And this particular one has people that are in pretty bad shape. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, um, I watched, the interesting thing was I watched this particular one change hands. It started out just being a terrible place for the people, Uh-huh. and then a new company bought it, and came in and remodeled the whole place. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Hired new nurses and, uh, just really, just redid it, you know. Just out of curiosity, what, what kinds of things were they doing when they were considered a bad place? Well, to me, it was dirty, for one thing. Uh-huh. Uh, when you would walk in, the smell was just, awful. Uh-huh. The, you know, the floors, you could just, if you're walking on them, feel how filthy they were. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, there were a lot of people just kind of up and down the halls laying in their beds hollering and, you know, crying, Oh, my goodness. Of course, I don't know how many of them were, you know, not in their right mind. or how many were, Uh-huh. In pain or something. Yeah. Yeah. I just really don't know, but I feel like they were neglected. Uh-huh. And, um, yeah, that was what I was going to say. It sounds like just neglect all over. Right. You know, neglect to cleanup. Right. I don't really think anyone was being, you know, cruel or, or trying to mistreat them or anything. Uh-huh. I just think they were not doing anymore, you know, than they had to do. And, um, just kind of letting everybody live in a not very good environment Uh-huh. But this new company came in and they, like I said, they remodeled the place. Uh-huh. And it smells nice when you walk in. And it looks nice. And they got like several new color T V's for the people, And redid the dining room, where they made it, you know, a lot more place for them to be. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. They made a little patio area where they can go outside. That's great. Yeah. Just, you know, small things that make it seem a lot more homey. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, it's a lot more like an apartment place instead of just, uh, I would, I would personally hate to know that my mother or grandmother or anyone is in a home like that. And my biggest fear would, that they would be, is that they would be lonely. Right. And I would like to know that there are, you know, just a lot of activities, like you said, you know, just putting a plant in a room, You know. Just makes, just brightens and, and, and just makes them, just a little more active. Right. Right. Television, Uh-huh. They can go outside and, just to know that they're not, you know, laying in a room, looking at gray walls. You know, that, that's what would just really kill me. Right. Exactly. Yeah. I'd like to know that, you know, they have friends there, Right. and they have little conversations and things. Right. I'd like to know there's a lot of interaction and, maybe some kind of, of activity, little field trips or something. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how they would do that. But, Well, they, uh, this place that we visit, it's really neat. They have, everyday, they have schedules of groups that come in. Uh-huh. And they will do bingo. Our group does a church service once a month. Uh-huh. And then other groups come in and do the services, you know, other Sundays, Uh-huh. So that they have at least one service every Sunday. Uh-huh. So there are a lot of things. There are places that have a lot of things for them to do. But you really do have to kind of seek it out, you know, and make sure that it's not a place like this one was Uh-huh. I didn't realize that there were groups that go in like that. That's, really neat. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's real nice. And, um, I know our church does it and there are a lot of other churches, and they are just like civic organizations, that do. Right. Uh-huh. And, uh, I have other friends. It's kinds of neat, they take animals over and let the people pet them. Oh. Like they also have a dog that maybe needs a home and they will wash it all up, and make sure it's, it's a friendly animal, you know. And take it in and let, just let the old elderly people pet the dogs. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's great. Yeah. That will be something, you know, they would look forward to if they knew, you know, that the puppy is coming on Wednesday. Yeah. You know, that would be something to look for. That's really neat. Yeah. Yeah. That really is. I thought that was a real unusual thing, for someone to do. Uh-huh. So, yeah, there's a lot that can be done. Uh-huh. It's just a matter of people not being lazy. Right. And, you know, doing the best they can. Again, I don't know what I'd do if it was my own mother or grandmother, you know. Yeah. Putting any of my family in an elderly home, to me would be the very last resort. Right. You know, it, um, and I know it's hard for a lot of families if you're trying to, to work or trying to take care of your own family, it's kind of hard to, to because an elderly person sometimes can be totally dependent, you know, on you. Right, Uh-huh. And I know that's hard sometimes and, but it would really have to be a last resort, because that would just, Yeah. Yeah. I would feel so guilty. Yeah. Yeah. I would, too. I don't know. Yeah, right. Yeah. I know. I know what you mean. I don't know anyone personally that's in an elderly home. Yeah. Well, I have interesting conversations with a lot of these people because, um, many of them, of course, their minds are not good. Uh-huh. And so a lot them have told me exactly the same story, you know, and tell me something that they did Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. and then the next time I go it's the same thing, you know, that, just somebody to listen to them. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, just seems to make them really feel good. Nod your head and smile at them. Right. I'll tell you the people I feel the sorriest for, there's a guy at this particular one I go to, that I think that he's really an intelligent person, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but he has cerebral palsy so bad that he just cannot communicate. Uh-huh. And, um, he's blind and he has seizures, you know, Uh-huh. I mean, he's just like in a world of his own, and yet he wants so much, to be around people. Right. And if you come over to him, if he can touch your hand, he'll grab it and kiss it. Oh. Oh, and he's always got a smile. I mean, he really tries to, brighten up your life. Oh, it's just amazing. Oh. But he can't say anything. He can just kind of make noises. That's something, that, if I had to work in an elderly home, I don't think I could do it. Yeah. Like I, I would really like to be a teacher, Yeah. But I don't think I could do it. Because I'm very, very emotional. Me, too. And the minute, I mean, the minute something happens, Yeah. I cry on, I mean, Hallmark commercials. I know. That's just the end of me. I know. And so I mean something real life, I just, Uh-huh. I interview a lot of children, I'm an education reporter, Uh-huh. and I always go and do an education things. Uh-huh. I meet these kids who are, you know, dropping out of school left and right. Yeah. And all the sudden, they're in this program. They're making straight A's, they're going to graduate early, Uh-huh. and I'm just, I just want to hug them, and go, you are just fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I could just imagine, you know, working in a home like that, Oh, yeah. And those people, they're so sweet and, and so genuine, You know, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and all they want is just for everything to be happy, Yeah. and you know, Yeah. Oh, it does. Yeah. Yeah, it is, it's really hard and, But one of the neatest things I think though is we always take our kids. Uh-huh. I have a three year old and a six year old, Uh-huh. and they, um, have gotten comfortable being around these people, because they've always gone with us, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and the people love them. I'm sure. And they want the children, you know, to hug them or hold their hand and, so far, my kids will do it. Just real easily, Uh-huh. and I think it's because they've gone since they were real little, Yeah. and they've never been afraid. But that's something, to me children, you know, need to, Uh-huh. people need to take groups of children, Because the kids just brighten up their lives. Right. Yeah. As we walk through the, the lobby they'll all say, bring her here. I want to see her I would love to hold her. And children, I mean, usually a of elderly people like to, they like to, uh, share their experiences with the, with the younger children. Uh-huh. They'll be telling them all kinds of stories. that they don't even know what they mean. Yeah. That's true. You know, they feel like they've lived life so they need to share it. Yeah. And I'm sure I'll be like that, too. Well, me, too. Yeah. Yeah. It's quite an experience. But, that's great. I didn't know there were such groups. Yeah. Yeah there are. And, and, uh, it really helps those people, I think. Uh-huh. But, like you said, I'd really have a lot of second thoughts before I put any of my own family members there. Yeah. Yeah. It would be a last resort. And I would hate it if anyone put me in one. Oh, I know. I'm always afraid like, oh, no, what if I lose my mind. Yeah. Am I going to end up in a place like that Somebody take care of me. Yeah, that's right. Okay. Well. Okay, well, nice to talk to you. Yeah. You, too, Tonya . Thanks for calling. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye. So have you got a pet. no, I don't, an my kids would love a pet. I had a pet when I was a girl. I had a Cocker Spaniel. And I think one thing about pets is they're a lot of company. Yeah, You can, you can tell them anything and they won't tell anybody. That's right, that's like unconditional affection. Right, as a matter of fact, I was thinking that same thing, unconditional love. They just give it, and don't expect too much. Yeah. Anyway, do you have a pet? I had a cat, I've had several cats. My pet, uh, was hit by a car New Year's Eve, but, uh, Oh! like a I'm going to get another one as soon as I get back in town. I'm going out of town this weekend, when I get back I'm going to find a cat. So, Oh, I'm so sorry. But that's good that you're going to get another one. Yeah. I know some of my friends who have pets, uh, and they just are really, you know, the ones that have dogs are very, uh, protective of them and I think that's one reason they have them, especially older people that I know, that have pets. But they just, um, really take care of them, or, uh, are protective of them. I work and go to school and it's kind of nice you come home your, your pet's there for you and wants a little food a little attention. Yeah, an, and my, my kids, And that's, it's kind of fun. um, they really want a dog badly, and they've been looking and looking and want, you know, they'd take anything I think Yeah. but, um, I don't know do you like, I guess your cat was an indoor cat. No it was an kind of indoor, outdoor, it, it was, It kind of traveled around travel . well yeah, I don't, I don't care for the smell of the litter box so my cat was trained to go outside, other than that it was inside when it wanted to be, it was outside when . Yeah, when I had a Cocker Spaniel it, it was an outdoor dog and, uh, I think I liked that better. Yeah, I, I, think, you know, I like dogs, but I think that, uh, I'm, kind of like big big dogs and you have to have room for them. Yeah, that's true. And dogs take a lot of, a lot more care than cats do. Cats are pretty independent, you know, you feed them and they keep themselves clean and, if you, if you raise them right, you know, you don't have to worry about the litter box thing, where with dogs you really do have to let them out and take them for walks and things like that. Yeah, that's true. Take them for walks, right. Yeah, I see all the people on, on Sunday going for a walk with their dogs and, and I, I'm kind of skeptical with my son getting a dog, I'm like I know it will be fun the first week maybe, Yeah. and then mom gets to take care of it, or something. So, I Yeah, I got to take care of a friend of mine's dog. He's just got a puppy and he was out of town last weekend and of course the dog is not trained for anything yet, so it was, go over there and clean up after the dog, Oh, that's exciting. Yeah. And, uh, kids kind of, they want the, they want the fun part and not the, not the work. Yeah, I think it's really important to that, that if you get a pet that they're either spayed or neutered so that, you know, we're not just going on with this pet population and having to, just get rid of them. Yeah. That, that kind of gripes on me some, but, but I don't know. Well if you're, if you're going to have a pet, and not have it neutered or spayed you need to be willing to, you know deal with the consequences, take care of the offspring More and more people are, Right, right. and, and I think, you know, But, uh, when I was growing up we had cats and, you know, just seeing the cats, you know, the, the miracle of birth, you know, put that in quotes, is that's a, that's a neat thing to, to experience as a kid and understand, I think that's really true. and, and it was a real positive thing, but on the other hand you don't want to, you'd be one of these people that dumps the kittens off on the side of the road, you know, Yeah. they're, they're, getting old now, and it's time to get rid of them. Yeah, exactly. So. Exactly. I think our community is a lot more conscious now though too, and, and that's good too. Yeah. Well, I think that's all I have to say. Okay, Okay, have a good night. All right, bye-bye. Bye. Okay, what kind of do you have children? Yeah, we have one that's seventeen, one that's fifteen, and one that's just now six. Oh, okay. And we had kind of a hard time finding someplace we could put Michael's goods , his birthday is the first of September, Uh-huh. and he was going to school at five. Oh. So, he started the first grade when he was five Uh-huh. yeah, first grade when he was five years old. And you had trouble finding somewhere for him to be before he was five. Yeah, Uh-huh. so, we could, you know, we tried to find him someplace where he could learn something. Right. And it was, uh, mediocre expensive, But, it wasn't really that expensive, Uh-huh. but it's really hard to find someplace where you can send your child and expect him to learn something. To learn something. And that's, I mean, that's even not only toddlers but, you know, even your older children. Yeah. It's hard to find anywhere they're really going to learn something. Yeah, well, And then, yeah, you do have to pay, you know, if you, the better the place, the more you're going to pay. Yeah, but parents pay when they stay home with them anyway True, very true. It's, You know, my wife works so, it costs us more for her to stay home more than it does for him to go to the baby-sitter Uh-huh. so. We try to, If I had any children I would, uh, I hope that I'll be in a position to stay home with my child because I'm not real, uh, uh, trusting of a lot of people, uh, especially today. Yeah, see I don't know, People, I work in the news business and I just see different things all the time, Yeah. and people are just crazy these days. They're crazy and, and I don't, you know, Yeah. it takes me a, takes me a long time to just trust someone as a friend, much less to, you know, trust someone with my, with my child. Yeah. Well, see we took our time and we checked it out, Uh-huh. and we found a preschool for him. Uh-huh. And it, you know, through other folks where I, where I work, I work at T I. Uh-huh. So, through other folks where we worked we found a nice preschool it was actually at a licensed preschool, you know, Uh-huh. we, had those requirements, Uh-huh. so, I guess that's the best way, you know, to get, recommendations from your friends or, family members. Yeah. I know, I'm, well, that and, you know, I don't think I would have left him anywhere that would, I would have stayed home with him first, before I left him somewhere that, you know, Uh-huh. they still have unlicensed baby-sitters running around up here you know, I just, I, I don't think I'd take that chance. Huh. Uh-huh. You know, I think it's out of sight or out of mind, for less than, for more than, a minute or so. Yeah, yeah. I mean you have to be, you've got to be sure, that these people, I mean not that they're going to abuse your child or anything, but you just have to be sure that they're going to be watching them, you know, that they wouldn't let them drink something or, you know, eat something off the floor, you know, But you never know. Yeah. Yeah. just simple things, that can be harmful. But you, you know, as, as far as child abuse is these days you never know, Uh-huh. you don't know who you can trust, and who you can't, you know. Huh. Then you hear so much, you know, on the news about, uh, child care places and also, um, senior care facilities, you know, you hear abuse. Yeah, senior care, is getting real bad. Yeah, and so you just, you just don't know, and you almost want to, you know, spend a couple of weeks with, in class with your child just to see how it is or something. Yeah. But, So, you have no children at all. No, I don't. Huh-uh. Gee. No. I'm, Do you miss that part in your life or, Uh, no, I'm only, I'm twenty-three still have a little bit of time, Yeah. Yeah, yeah. um, it's just not in the cards for me right now I'm trying to get my career going. And, I imagine, Uh-huh. yeah, working in the news production, Yeah. anyway back to the subject, Yeah. we should have discussed this earlier, but anyway, it's tough, Uh-huh. it really is, it's hard to find good child care, Uh-huh. and it's hard to find someplace where you can leave your child and trust that he's, going to be fine all day long. Uh-huh. And you brought up a good point, you know, about learning, And, you just don't want a baby-sitter you, you would hope that maybe they'd come home and know some of their A B C's or something, you know, get them, Yeah, you know, and he's, he's doing real well, it, it, it has paid off for him. Uh-huh. He's in first grade now, Uh-huh. and he's, you know, got a second grade reading level and a fourth grade math level. Huh. So, you know, those early ages when he would, you know, when his mom and dad are at work, and he's actually in child care in a preschool not, just child care, you know, we could have sent him to anybody, you know, Yeah. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. there's a lot people at work that would have baby-sat him but sending him to a preschool where he actually learns something, has paid off not only for us, Right. his, his attitude is I think a little bit, tall for a six year old Uh-huh. and, you know, but his, Did you take this same, uh, route with your other two children? Um, they, they were outside my marriage, Okay Uh-huh. so, I don't know. Uh-huh. I was wondering how, I would say, no, but, you know, all my children, excel, Uh-huh. they're, they're really good, Uh-huh. and I guess, no, he learns from the older boys too but, Right. And it helps that he has older brothers, uh, you know, just to have role models and things like that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, seeing like, uh, in one way we're kind of lucky because they're all boys, but in another way we're not so lucky because we don't have another woman in the house for my wife to share, but, you know, Uh-huh, uh-huh. so, we faced that too Huh. he learned quite a bit from, not only from nursery school but he learned quite a bit from the older boys, Uh-huh. and, you know, he's excelled and it's paying off for him, it really is. He's, he is pretty smart, That's excellent. sometimes he's a little bit smart mouthed, Uh-huh but he is smart you know. Well, what kid isn't these days, Yeah. so. But I think it's important, I think it's really nice to know that you can find someplace, I don't know, you know, how it is down there in Waco, Uh-huh. but in Lubbock we have a few that you can send your children to and they can actually learn something instead of just being baby-sat. And, Do they have any kind of program like at T I or wherever your wife works, um, some in kind of day care? No, not in, Huh-uh. We just, Huh, because I know they're, they're putting that into a lot of, uh, corporations now. Yeah, they're trying to. The federal government is trying to intercede on that too, Right. so, no, we don't get, So, maybe that will be an option for, Well, it would be nice, you know, there, But then I, I foresee that being just a baby-sitting thing not much learning but, you know, kind of somebody to just watch your kid while your at work. Yeah, there's not, well, You know, where, where we sent Michael the first few years was, there was different teachers all the time, you know, Huh. and then some substitute teachers in the afternoon, Uh-huh. and they actually taught him something instead of just watching him all day. Right. You know, and then they had a group of kids and they put on skits and they put on plays, Huh. and they did the Halloween thing, and the Valentine's Day things Uh-huh. and it's, you know, it was important to us, Huh. so we, you know, we took a good look at it and made sure it was going to go that way. Do you think it would have been better for him to have, um, maybe one continuous teacher, somebody to, that he could, uh, get attached to Um, or is it better the other way with a lot of different, No, because I think, you know, as a child growing up I think is a task that belongs to his parents. Uh-huh. I don't think he needed to be attached to too, even though he did, Uh-huh. you know, he attached himself to a couple of those, Right. but I think his attachments at home and, you know, he gets the idea of what school is for and, uh, you know, I have different teachers, here Huh. and this person can teach me one thing and this person teach, teach me another and, no, so, I, I, I really can't say that it would be, it's important for him to attach himself to anybody. Right, huh. He did well, Uh-huh. you Right. Yeah, each child is individual, in life learning and things. Yeah, see. But I don't have that experience, so, I can't say that, you know, he did well, Uh-huh. so, I don't think we made too many mistakes. Right. Well, it sounds good, We tried hard. sounds like he's doing real well. Yeah, he's doing real well. Huh, good. And he learned from it so, and that was the most important thing that we wanted was for him to learn not just to sit there and be baby-sat all day. You know, baby-sat sounds to me like, well, you're here, I guess I'll watch you when I get time. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. You know, maybe I'll clean my house, maybe I'll cook you lunch, maybe I won't, you know, Uh-huh. And they'll probably sit him in front of the television, you know, while they do other things, yeah. yeah. Yeah, and I don't, you know, I don't allow that when he's at home so, but we had a good experience, and we really did well. Well, that's good, that's good. So, and he did, he served better than we did, you know, he gained, he actually gained from it, you know, sure we gained from it, because we were allowed to continue our employment and, continue our family Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but I think in the long run he gained from it just being somewhere where we learned something, instead of just sitting around watching T V, and playing all day. That's great. Right, right. And it's important. That's probably what I'll try and look for whenever I do have my children, Yeah. I don't know when that will be, Yeah. but, um, you know, just really look into, it will, it will take me a long time to find somewhere I'm sure, just because I, I just want to be, I want to be so positive that, you know, my children are okay, as well as the other children in the center, you know. Yeah, well, Yeah. Well, you know, his Mom didn't go back to work until, you know, when he was six months old. Uh-huh. And we just didn't want to dump him somewhere, and make him feel like he wasn't wanted. Uh-huh. Exactly. And we wanted his center of attention at home but, we did what we could Uh-huh. and it, it worked out real well, I'm glad, we were so careful. It's difficult these day, It's, it's a lot more difficult these days because you have both parents working a lot of times, Oh, yeah, and, so, you have to find day care, whereas, you know, here, Most of the time now it's a necessity, Uh-huh. you can't afford, Uh-huh. so, you know, I'm not making seventy or eighty thousand dollars a year Uh-huh. No choice, so child care's a necessity, whereas years ago, you know, the husband basically worked and the wife, basically stayed home. Yeah, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, you know, I'm forty now but, you know, when I was a kid Mom was always at home. Right. So, we didn't, I think that has a lot to do with just, just all children how they learn and things just because the basic family is, is breaking, you know, Yeah, it is, yeah it is, the basic family is not there anymore. I'll agree with that, it is. It's, it's not there. Uh-huh. I think that plays a big part in, in a child's learning and, you know, what they can and cannot do in child care. Yeah. I don't think, Okay. Well let's start with you Okay, um, the last movie I saw was the FIVE HEARTBEATS and I liked it a lot because it had a lot of music in it. FIVE HEARTBEATS? Yeah it's, It's, it's, uh, Robert Townsend movie. Who, who was in that. Okay. Um, I, I don't know all the actors or anything, but it was just, it was a lot of music a lot of old songs, things like that. When was it out? Um, it's still out now, uh, it came out I guess about a month or, about a month and half ago, something like that. It's about a Black singing group. It, and, uh, it was called the DELLS, Uh-huh. And, uh, it was kind of like just about their, their life, and their, uh, history and things like that and the way they went from, from, how they went from stardom to nonstardom. Yeah. And, uh, that was pretty good. I enjoyed, I saw DANCES WITH WOLVES. Have you seen that? Yeah, I saw that one, that was pretty good. Yeah, yeah. Uh, that won best picture, I think. Uh-huh. And Costner got best director. Yeah, right now Kevin Costner, I mean, he's starring in everything. He's doing the Kennedy movie that's coming out, um, and there's one, Another Kennedy movie, huh Yeah, yeah, starring Kevin Costner, and let me see, what else. Um, he's doing some other movie, I can't, I think ROBIN HOOD, that's it, the ROBIN HOOD coming out and he's going to be in also. And, let me see, what else have I seen. What have you seen? One comes to mind here and I not sure about the name, has Meryl Streep and, um, what was the name of that? Anyway the the premise of the story is that, uh, uh, uh, you go to a after you die you go to a place called Judgment City. Oh, I know what you're talking about. And, um, anyway, My. uh, I can't the other, the other actor, uh, It's called REVIEWING MY LIFE, or something like that. Yeah and, uh, Yeah, I didn't get to see that. DEFENDING YOUR LIFE. Yeah, that's it, okay. DEFENDING YOUR LIFE, and it's, it's an excellent movie, uh, Uh-huh. it's pretty entertaining, uh. Let's see, what else have I seen lately, um. One of my favorite movies, it's not one that I haven't seen, I, it's not a late movie. FATAL ATTRACTION HOME ALONE. Okay, yeah. It's probably my all time, well not all time favorite, but one of my favorites, that I can watch over and over. well, did you ever see HOME ALONE? No, I never did, I, I heard it was really good, I've never, just haven't gone out to see it. That was a, that was a good one, too. Was that pretty funny? Yeah, it's pretty good, and, um. Yeah, yeah, somehow just never made it to see that, but I need to see it. I can't believe I'm just drawing a blank, because, I've Yeah, FATAL ATTRACTION, that, I don't know why I like that movie so much, I guess it was so much suspense. Uh-huh. And I like suspense. That kind of reminds me like, uh, did you ever see, this is going way back, uh, JAGGED EDGE. Yes, uh-huh, yeah, on that order. that was a good one too, yeah. Certainly is. But, uh. And I liked the woman that played in that, I forgot what her name is now. Yeah that's, Anne Archer she's the one, she was the wife in FATAL ATTRACTION, yeah, Oh, okay. and she played in, uh, narrow margin which was a little more recent, Uh-huh. and that was kind of another suspense type, Alfred Hitchcock type thriller. Yeah. That was good. Uh, God, I guess I haven't seen too many movies lately. I need to, I haven't seen a whole lot either, Yeah. Uh-huh. Somehow, I mean it's hard for me to get to movies now because it's getting so expensive, you know, I'd, I'd rather rent. I know it's it's obnoxious, because you go in there and you spend six bucks a ticket, Yeah. but then you end up spending another six dollars on food. Yeah and that's just for a a bucket of popcorn, you know. And a pop, you know, so it's, it gets pretty, Yeah, yeah, God forbid you should want something to drink with it, but, uh. Yeah like if I, so if I take a date, it, it cost me, you know, twenty bucks, easy. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah easily. And, uh, I don't know. And you're usually going to do, you're usually going to go to a dinner, go to dinner or something with that. I was going to say, you, you know, you can find certain restaurants that are nice, and have good food for eat for thirty dollars. Yeah. It's almost more fun really, yeah, it's almost more fun really to rent movies. You know, just kind of stay at home, maybe. Yeah, the problem is you always have to wait until they're out. Yeah, that's true too. So that's what you're, you're, uh, dealing with. Yeah, but then you can make your popcorn and you know, be comfortable. That's true, that is true. Uh-huh. Well. Well that's about all the movies I've seen recently I ought to open the paper here because I know I've seen a few that have, have played. But, um, I just can't come up with any names here, Uh-huh. haven't, haven't been to one for a little while, but, um. Did you ever see KINDERGARTEN COP? No, I never did. That was pretty good. Was that Arnold Schwarzenegger? Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. But, um. There's a movie I do want to see, uh, I haven't seen it, what is it, oh, KISS BEFORE DYING. Yeah, whose in that? It looks, it looks pretty suspenseful. Uh-huh. Another one I saw is called the OBJECT OF BEAUTY. I don't recommend that, as much as, uh, DEFENDING YOUR LIFE, but, it was, it was all right, kind of funny. Um, but, um, what else has been on and about. Are you looking in the paper? Yeah. Oh. I'm trying to, I wanted to get to the SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, I hear that, Oh, yeah, that was great. Oh, did you see that? Yes, that was, that, that might be one of my all time favorites too, that was an excellent movie. It was pretty scary because I was visiting a V A Hospital, uh, near to where I live and they were saying that some of the patients there, you can't leave by themselves, because they'll make a weapon out of anything, you know, out of a piece of paper, they can kill somebody, you know. Uh-huh. And this guy in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Hannibal Lector, he was, he was that kind of person, and you, they couldn't leave him alone Uh-huh. it was, it was really he was very dangerous, but you were kind of on his side because he was so fascinating. Huh. But, but they couldn't leave him alone at all. And they found out what happened when they did leave him alone one time, but I won't tell you that, just in case you see the movie. Yeah, I'll probably try to go to see it in a little while here. Uh-huh, oh very good. But it's been out for a while. Oh yeah, oh yeah. I'm not sure when it will be hitting video stores, it should be a while yet, though. Have you heard anything on, like, OUT FOR JUSTICE. Oh, I haven't heard anything about it. I, but I don't like Steven Seagal things, uh, so. Has he had, has he had very many other movies out? He's had OUT FOR JUSTICE and there was one right before that with a similar title like, uh, I don't know some, I don't know, some macho title. That's why, I, I just don't like the, Because it's a macho movie. yeah, it is, I, I don't like that a lot. I don't watch a lot of Arnold Schwarzenegger or anything like that either. Speaking of that I think TERMINATOR TWO is supposed to be out. Yeah, yeah, that might be good, though, that might be good. I don't know, I've enjoyed a lot of his movies, Uh-huh. uh, they just, they're action filled, and a little bit of humor, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, uh. I guess, I'm not fond of the action packed movie, where they're always chasing or fighting, or, you know, Yeah. I like the more, movies that make you think. Yeah, did you ever see, um, um, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY? No, I haven't seen that yet, and that's something I really should have seen. Was that good, did you see it? I haven't, I haven't heard much lately. Uh-huh. I just remember when it first came out that it had kind of mixed reviews. Yeah, a friend of mine saw it and she said it was okay, you know, Yeah. it wasn't anything spectacular. You expect more out of, uh, Julia Roberts, though. Yeah, the previews looked so good that I wanted to see it but I never did, uh. Did you ever see the original F X movie. well I saw half of it, and I remember I was in school, I saw half of it and I fell asleep and everyone else watched it Oh, okay, because I was going to say I always enjoyed that, I, I, uh, I remember that movie, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, uh, it was, I mean I got in to it, Yeah. I don't know if, Yeah, yeah, I really need to go see the original one, I'm sure it was a good movie, I just, I probably had a test that day, or something, I don't know. Yeah, it was one of those that has a lot of twists in it, Yeah. yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, uh, I can't put it exactly on the lines of the JAGGED EDGE, Uh-huh, yeah. you get these twists and, it's usually pretty good, but, uh. I think, I think though, that movies are losing their luster. What's that? I think movies are losing their attractiveness, just to a lot of people. Just, I think, I don't know, because of the cost and, I think it, it's just losing its originality or something. I don't, I can't pin, pinpoint it. Yeah, yeah But it doesn't seem like it's as big, uh, rage to get the movie theater as it used to be. That's probably true. I, I, I just you see the same story lines, different characters Uh-huh, yeah, exactly. it's, it's, it's hard to say. An, and I know I don't, you, know, I don't keep up with it, you know. Right. But, uh, I don't try to just for that reason, it is a, it does cost a lot, Uh-huh. so why go out and see something right away, you know, you kind of wait and if something gets really good reviews, maybe you'd finally go spend the twelve bucks, you know to go to it. Right, right, uh-huh. But, um, you know, I haven't been to a to an opening for, oh, you know ages, Just because. Uh-huh. in Okay. Okay. I guess we're set. Um, Current events. I get my current events basically from news, uh, just because I watch, pretty much a lot of television, um, Television news? Is it, uh, C N N or HEADLINE NEWS or just local, news Uh, or, I watch a little bit of everything. I like to tune into, to C N N because, uh, you know, you can tune in like any time of day and pretty much get the update on, everything, in about five or ten minutes. Right. Right. I think news today, um, it's kind of losing its importance. Like on, in, on radio, if you hear any news at all, it's like two seconds. Right. You know, really quickly, on regular stations. Well, on commercial radio, I guess, I, I tend to get more of my news from national public radio of the morning on the way to work, or evening on the way to school Yeah, that's good, too, uh-huh. so, So, I don't, uh, I don't see much T V mostly when I'm in school, I like K R L D. Uh-huh. but I do here. Yeah, where do you go to school? Uh, University of Texas at Dallas. Oh, Okay. I went to U T at Austin. Right. But, uh, I'm a news reporter so I, I should get all I can , my news from the from the T V. Really. But, um, I do tend to throw on HEADLINE NEWS when I'm doing things around the house and just let it play, and listen, Yeah, but, uh, I usually don't intentionally. Although I should, I don't intentionally turn on the television to watch news. Right. Or I don't intentionally turn on the radio to listen to the news. If it comes on, I just happen to hear it. Now, I will intentionally buy a newspaper to to, in to look at the news. But other, Yeah, all I ever get out of the paper is a Sunday paper Yeah, that's true. That's about it. That's about it, yeah. The Sunday paper, it's so full of stuff, but you pick your favorite section, and the rest, you throw away. Right. Right. Although you paid, what, almost two dollars now to get it but, I like to listen to, uh, national public radio on the way to work because it's, I don't know, it's variety, Uh-huh. It tends to get like HEADLINE NEWS if you listen to it for an hour . Yeah. Is it, is it pretty good coverage on there? Yeah, it usually is. They throw in a lot of, you know, a lot of interviews and commentaries. It's kind of like getting a newspaper. There's a lot of sections to it Yeah, yeah. and they, they present different sides of things. Um. Because I find like on K R L D, I like to listen to that, but each story is like no more than two or three lines, you know. Oh, well they spend a little more time, you know, they cover the headlines, Yeah. and then they go into a lot of the issues and things where they, they spend five or ten minutes discussing something and, interviewing people. Uh-huh. Yeah, that would probably be better. And it's, Especially when you look for the, like, popular radio stations like mostly the music stations, news is, is pretty much nonexistent. Yeah. They have little, little, teeny-weeny news, breaks, you know. Yeah, and only in the morning, I guess, there's a little bit. Yeah, yeah, basically. I haven't listened to a top forty radio station in so long I wouldn't know. Yeah. So, So let's see, um, And I guess I get some kinds of other, you know, business related news through trade journals and things but, Uh-huh. Uh, Right Yeah, But, um, a lot of people are. Yeah, trying to get out of wherever they are but, um, I think, I think news is, I'm wondering where it's going. You know how, I think it will be pretty much nonexistent except maybe through the paper. I know the newspaper used to be kind of the only source for news. And now, it's, it's kind of your final choice. You watch, first you go to C N N, then you go to radio or something like that. Yeah, where nobody wants, to sit down and read. And I think it, Yeah, yeah. It's, it takes a lot more time to read something, Yeah. and you've got news, bombarding you from everywhere now. So much more effort. Yeah. You know you, turn on the T V, turn on the radio. Yeah. But I think that soon the paper may be kind of the only source again. Why is that? I don't, well, just because I'm, I'm thinking that it, it's getting so short on radio. You still, you have two or three, I know in Dallas you can probably get two, two all news radio stations out of I don't how many popular radio stations. And then on television, you have just the news at six and ten. Yeah, I just, And I just, I just see that dwindling in, in, I find it hard to believe that people will go back to reading over television, I mean, just given the way society is. And I enjoy reading, but most people would rather turn on the tube and, and, and, flip through the channels, you know, and get the headline news at thirty minutes of, True, yeah. True. That's true, too, yeah. Than sit down and take the effort to read the paper. Right. And they don't have to go get one, you know. One thing I like about the paper, um, as opposed in to television is that, uh, when I, like when I report, because I'm in television, I have to get the basic, the main facts and that's it. That's all you have time for. Right. Right. Whereas in the paper, I like to read the articles because they get every side, every single side, Right. Well, that's why I like, uh, national public radio because they get on one of these little things, Uh-huh. they give you headlines that are brief, just, they touch on what's going on. And then they'll get into something and really explore it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And it's, it's informative. It's a lot more informative than, you know, quick, half hour news shows that they tell you what they want you to hear. Yeah. Yeah, because that's what we do. I mean it's like each story is thirty seconds, you know. Right. So it's like you really have to tell as much as you can which is not much in that amount of time. So, and it will probably get shorter and shorter as the years go by I think. I don't know. Yeah, there's so much going on in the world. Uh-huh. Communication, you know, expands the world now. Oh, yeah. There's too much going on. You can't afford to give more than a couple of seconds here and there. I think that is one good thing, one great thing, about news, and we saw it during the war just now, is that we got all the information within minutes, you know. Yeah. Whatever happened, we knew about it about the same time that they knew about it. And the question is, how much of it or how, some of it, I guess, there's a lot of debate about censorship and and what we're really seeing. Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. Is it, is it the true story or is it a little bit biased. Yeah. Because even though we do get the story right away, they were censored as to what they could tell us. Right. So all we had to sit here and, and ask is well, what aren't they telling us, you know. So that, that was pretty scary. But we, I talked to one woman, and she said that she didn't want to know what was going on because if she had a son over in Saudi Arabia, she wouldn't want to know, you know, that they're bombing or, or this and that's going on. And at the same time, I talked to another woman, and she was so happy to know because she lived through Vietnam. And she didn't know what was happening at that time. Right. And she was so happy to get the information, you know. So there's just a lot of different opinions on that. But, I, I, you know, I like to, to know what's going on. Sometimes I think there's just a little bit too much. Yeah. You know you get in the habit of, like I say, turn on Headline News and it will play over and over and you just tune it out because it's the same thing but, And then, too, a lot of times I think, uh, especially on television they blow things completely out of proportion. Yeah, they tend to, dramatize things. Like, You know, like this Kennedy thing. Yeah. like a It's just, I mean, everywhere you turn. Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy. You know, what kind of shoes did he wear on the night? And you know, it's just like, okay, this is ridiculous. Like who cares? Really. So, Well, But what are you doing? Sitting on a computer? Yeah. I heard the little clicking. Trying to do some C programming. Oh, okay. Well, it was nice talking to you. Okay Okay. Take care. Take care. Bye-bye. Uh-huh, bye. There a lot of places to camp in Dallas? Well, not necessarily in Dallas, but it's a very short drive to areas near here. Uh-huh. Do you do a lot of camping? Well, I have done camping in the past. Uh, I can't remember when the last time I actually went camping was. It was, uh, several years ago, and then I did most of my camping in the mountains. Uh-huh. Well, that must have been fun though. Well, it is. I enjoy hiking and camping. We went to the . I have, uh, some land there, and so it's, it's handy to, to station yourself there on the land and then make trips up into the mountains for backpacking and hiking and, and overnight camping. Uh-huh. Well, that sounds fun. Do you do most of yours in tents? Yeah, we've done ours, I've only been camping twice. Oh, wow. And one of them I don't really consider camping. Um. It was on the edge of the lake and it was at a camp. I don't like those camping grounds where, you know, you got R V beside you and then another people in tents beside you. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I just don't care for that. No, I agree with you. I think it's much nicer when you can really get out far enough away where, that you can't see people right out the window. Uh-huh. Right. But, Well, it doesn't, uh, we, uh, four years ago, it was about four years ago, my little boy was three months old and the first time I left him we went overnight camping. Uh-huh. And we went, and we found this little peninsula out in the middle of nowhere by the lake. And we had a ball. Uh-huh. Just sat out there with our, we didn't even use tents then, we just had, uh, sleeping bags and fire going. Uh-huh. And we fried potatoes and bacon and everything for breakfast the next morning. Doesn't that always taste so much better, when you're out like that. Oh, it did, it did. Yeah. I didn't even think about frying potatoes. But my sister-in-law, she's always done a lot of camping. Uh-huh. And she's good. She'd think about bringing a rake so you can rake your area out. And, yeah. That's right. If you don't you'll find every rock on it when you put your when you put your bag down. Uh-huh. Well, yeah, she was, she is always prepared, I mean, she brought everything from, like I said, toilet paper to the rake. The only thing we'd had to do, we had to go out looking for some kind of a grill, you know. Uh-huh. We, and we, and we seen this old refrigerator that somebody had dumped Uh-huh. and we broke the, I guess it's the freezing component Uh-huh. and we broke that out of there and put it over our, um, hole. Oh, what a clever idea Yeah. I wouldn't have thought about that. Well, it held our pan and, you know, the potatoes and stuff. We had a good time. Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah, we're still waiting to go again. Uh-huh. Well if you get a chance, now there are some really nice camping areas, uh, up in the Wichitas, which is in Oklahoma and, uh, Arkansas. Uh-huh. Arkansas. I can't remember the name. It's, it's on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border. Uh-huh. And it won't take but just a, you know, just a quick look at a map to find where those mountains are, Uh-huh. but I took a drive up through there, as a matter of fact, last September, just took the drive through to see what was there. Uh-huh. They have some wonderful camping areas there. Pretty. Beautiful, beautiful country. Well, I love to swim, so I like to get out by a lake or a, uh, you know, somewhere close where we can swim. Uh-huh. Yeah. Right, well, Lake, Lake Tawakoni is a pretty nice place Uh-huh. and we had a two bedroom mobile home there, but the boys still liked to throw their sleeping bags out by the lake and build a little fire and roast their marshmallows until the mosquitos bit and then they came in. Uh-huh. Yeah. How old are your boys? Oh, oh they're grown now. Oh, so they don't go camping with you. They go camping on their own. Oh. Once you start them, they enjoy it all their lives. Yeah, well, I haven't taken my little boy yet. Uh-huh. I'm afraid to get him out. He is so fearless, he, it terrifies me. Uh-huh He, Oh, don't be concerned. There's much less for them to get hurt on camping than there is elsewhere. Think so? Uh-huh. Well, it's the water he's not scared of. He'll go out into it until it's up to his nose and then try to tread back Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, it's easy to keep him occupied though on land. I know that I took my kids, we'd go out, and I've them walk with me along the lakefront Uh-huh. and we'd have a little contest finding the tiniest shell, and finding the biggest shell. And, or we'd hunt pine cones or we climbed some, uh, pinon pines one year and gathered the cones so that we could eat the pine nuts. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, we did a lot of naturalist work when we were out. We, you know, we, we searched for Uh-huh. and we ate the wild plants and we gathered wild berries, and, uh, it's really, you know Yeah. the, the mountains can accommodate you if you know what to find. If you know what to look for. Uh-huh. I had my boys build their own little you know, three leg camp stools by cutting a branch off the tree and binding them together with bark. Well, that sounds so neat. And, uh, we cooked in a pot. I baked them a cake, right there on a camp fire. They were so impressed. Yeah. I used a tire chain and the bottom of a Dutch oven. Well, I'm impressed My mother-in-law and my, well, they've always done a lot of camping. I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and there wasn't, I don't know, but we just didn't get out. My mother and my father split up when we were young, so, and my mother wasn't into that, and that's who I stayed with. Uh-huh. So we didn't do much outdoors stuff, except swimming Uh-huh. and we went swimming a lot. Uh-huh. And, uh, oh, excuse me, my baby's getting sick. Uh-oh. I know. Well, if our time is up we can quit. Yeah, um, I've got to clean her up I'm sorry, appreciate it. Okay. Uh-huh. I enjoyed talking. Thank you. You bet, bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay. I hope you know more about the subject of baseball and where they're going than I do Oh, I know a little bit about it. I'm not a die-hard fan but I, I enjoy the, I like the Boston Red Sox myself. Well, I, of all the sports that there are, that there is, I like baseball the best. However, I haven't been to a baseball game in years, but I have kept, uh, my eye on the Rangers. Uh-huh. You know and I guess they were doing pretty good up to a point, and then they kind of fell on their face Well, with, uh, their biggest point of interest has been Nolan Ryan not the rest of the team lately, so. Correct, right. Right Oh, it's amazing. They're so astronomical I can't even imagine that kind of money. Right. You know it's just, uh, phenomenal Well, fortunately the Red Sox, last time I saw the paper earlier this week, were in first place and doing quite well. Well, good. Um, I've been really busy at work this past week and normally on my way into work I'll pick up a newspaper and, uh, so every day I'll have a newspaper at work, and when I take a break, I'll take a look at the newspaper. But this week I've been so busy I didn't even bother to stop I understand. I understand. But hopefully, hopefully next week I'll get back to my normal routine. Okay. Uh, you are involved with T I uh, speech, um, recognition? Well, not really. I, um I work at laboratory. How did you find out about it? Oh, okay. From, uh, I'm an officer in the Air Force, I see. Interesting. Oh, great. And, uh, the speech laboratory does some work with, uh, T I, at, uh, not in my office I see. but, uh, in my division they do, quite a bit of speech work. Uh-huh. Well, that's good. Well, that's interesting. And the topics are interesting, uh, they run a whole gamut of, of, uh, subjects, and, uh, I think we can address every topic, but the depth of knowledge is quite different. Sure. Sure. So, uh, when they chose baseball, I mean, I'm, I'm, I can understand baseball, you know, I don't understand football. Uh-huh. Oh, I prefer to, I, I like, I never used to really like watching football that much but more and more these days I'm, I'll like a football game, but I've always liked baseball. I, I prefer to watch, um, I guess I'm one of the few people that also prefers baseball to football. And I, I'd much rather go to a baseball game than to a football game. Well, I, I can relate to baseball because I used to play baseball. But I can't relate to football because I've never, played football and, and don't, and have any interest, Uh-huh. and I said if I ever had a son, he would not play football. And, uh, I had four daughters so that wasn't a question, but now I have a grandson that you know, is gung ho for, uh, football. Uh-huh. Well, Well, there's injuries in a lot of sport. I understand that, I'd, I, but I think the, they happen more in football. I think the odds are cut down. Uh-huh. You know, I, I know they can get hurt in baseball too. The bat is a very heavy object, can do a lot of damage but, uh, I think that they have a, a lower racial of injuries, ratio of injuries in baseball. it's true. I, I would say that baseball tends to be one of the less, troublesome sports, Because Yeah. but, uh, for some people it's just, uh, uh, A love for them. Well, that, not so much that but, uh, even in baseball you can, like when I played baseball when I was growing up, I had trouble, uh, uh, just throwing the ball because I very, I was always very strong and I when I was young I could throw harder, than my, uh, like ligaments and all that should have been allowed to. Uh-huh. I see. And so I was always throwing my arm out and, uh, having trouble. Uh-huh. I, and I was a catcher so I was constantly throwing back to the pitcher and then down to second base and all and that kind of stuff. So I, that was always a problem for me was just, just the constant throwing, so. Did you, did you sustain any permanent, uh, injury with that? No, I did that wrestling Oh. Oh, okay. No, I'd, well, I, I, uh, always been quite an athlete and doing different things and, um, the other thing was I'd never really let injuries stop me. But interestingly enough you mentioned football, is like, now I won't play football anymore because of the, uh, the separated shoulder wrestling, Uh-huh, uh-huh. so. Um, but I stood the, stood the injury wrestling, but it, as long as I let it heal, it never really bothered me then playing football this fall, I, it was just flag football too. I separated it again Uh-huh. and it seemed to be, like the straw that broke the camels back, Oh, boy. so. Uh-huh. Well, I have, uh, I have a broken arm that I had since I was three. It was never set right. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, I liked bowling as a, as a kind of a relaxing sport. And, uh, one of the men that was in our on our league, uh, noticed, uh, you know, uh, my broken arm and the way my ball would do. And he says, let me show you how to use your arm to your advantage. And so he brought me up from like a hundred and fifteen, I had my high game of two eighty-seven. My God. So, uh, yeah Um, it was really funny, you know, that he would tell me where to stand and how to hold my arm and, and how to, uh, follow through with my, uh, addressing that , to put the ball, Uh-huh. the, uh, pins. So that was interesting. So I really, um, I got a lot of, uh, recognition from the, uh, uh, the bowling league, I guess. Uh-huh. I'm not sure where all my pins came from, but it's, but that was quite awhile ago but I, and I never pursued it. And a lot of people said, well, you should have turned pro. And I thought, no, not I don't, my love wasn't there for the game. I liked to as a, as a method of, uh, entertainment and I, uh, fellowship Sure. but outside of that, no. I didn't. And I, and I still, I like to bowl, but, uh, I don't have, uh, Jack standing behind me to tell me what to do Are you on, you on any leagues now? No, I'm not. Oh. No. No, uh, at T I they have a sponsor, a junior league achievement and, uh, it's true bowling and I've never, uh, shared that with them. I would have to brush up on my bowling before I even tried to, uh, win a lot of money for the junior achievement, uh, organization. Uh-huh. But that's the only thing that I would, you know, be to do. Right. Well, my grandmother has been bowling for, gosh, maybe thirty, forty years. I don't know, Uh-huh, uh-huh. a long time. Uh-huh. And she still, she's got to be, Still carries a good uh, average? Well, no, she Okay. So, what's it been doing up there? It's real dry up here. Oh, really? Yeah. We need rain really bad. Oh. Well, All the farmers, you know, well, it's good for hay. You know all the farmers got their first cut of hay and everything, but they're going to need some you know, rain to get the second cut. Oh. I, I'm working for a lady who has a strawberry field, and if we don't have rain, she's going to lose a lot of money. Oh, my goodness. Well, we have been drenched. Oh We have had so much rain for May and June that we've got all the, uh, weather people down here really confused. Oh, my. Uh, we, it's probably, it, it's just, It's usually dry down there, isn't it? Yeah. Right now, by now it's usually, no, you know, it's quit raining, you know, by at least a month. Uh-huh. And it's still, we're still having April showers, for June. Oh, I hope they come, this way. Yeah, uh, I don't know where, where it came from but it's been really, we got a lot of, uh, we're in central Texas and it feels like we live in Houston. Oh, really? Yeah, it's, it, it, you know, like it rained today and then it just kind of steamed everything up, you know. Uh-huh. Uh, it's been great because we haven't had to use our sprinkler system, We've had some with really, really high winds that have trashed trees and, everything else. Oh, my. It's just, Now see, every, everyone up here with their gardens they're not going to have much of a garden this year because it's so dry. Yeah. Well, I hope you get some of that. Yeah. We got enough. We have had plenty, and we're still, uh, forecast for more. Really? Yeah. Well, gee, So, uh, does is California getting rain then? Uh, I'm not real sure. I think a lot of this is coming out of, I think what's of it's coming out of Canada, Out of the Gulf? and it's meeting what's coming out of the Gulf. Oh. And it's just causing chaos Yeah. so it's been, it's been, uh, wet. Uh-huh. And we've moved our yard I think three or four times in the last two or three weeks. Oh, my gosh. I mean just because it just keeps growing and growing and growing and, and one, one week it just rained, thunderstormed for a day straight and you couldn't get out there. Uh-huh. You just couldn't get out there. By the time you finally got out there where your lawn mower wouldn't sink, we were, you know, yeah, lawn mower broke So, Oh, well, see, now we need, we could use two days straight of rain. Oh. It's really drying up, up here. Well, what always works for me is if I water my plants or we wash the car, it usually rains. If not that night, the next day Does it? I was telling everyone, hang your clothes out on the line and it's surely going to rain. Yeah, yeah. Whenever you hang your clothes out on the line it always rains Yeah. Uh-huh. Um, We've had real hot weather. Hotter than usual? Yeah, yes. We, you know, and, uh, let me think. I got out of school in May. In March I was wearing shorts. Wow. I was wearing shorts in March up at college, and, uh, we, what they said is that this area has had its summer weather in the spring. Huh. Is what they said what happened. Huh. I hope that, Oh, I don't know. But, I hope that doesn't mean we're going to get an early winter. No. I wouldn't think so. I wouldn't, not as early as it came. I mean your talking September, maybe. Yeah. That's a little early. Still the, Uh-huh. Yeah, I was wearing shorts in March. You know it was nippy Uh-huh. but, um, like it was still in the seventies. Yeah. You know, high sixties low seventies in March. Yeah. And we were there, we were in New Jersey last October Uh-huh. and it was hotter there than it was here. Yes. It was just like a heat wave. Uh-huh. Yeah, we haven't, and we just died. Oh, my gosh. It was really hot, so. But I like it here. Huh. I wouldn't, I wouldn't trade it for snow any day. Really? Yeah. See I like, I like the snow but I like to watch it fall, and I just like it where it's deep enough, you know, but not too deep. Right. And I can handle a vacation in it and, you know, but my husband is from New Jersey and he wouldn't go back either. He did all the, shoveling and everything else. Really? He said it was a pain. So, Well, isn't it weird at Christmas time without snow? No. I don't think so. Well, see last year we had snow at Christmas time. Oh. So it really wasn't, it was weird because we had snow It's like, wow, it actually fell on the right day. So, uh, no, it's not. In fact, uh, you know, we're used to running around in, you know, spring clothes in December, and so when it throws in a real cool winter, we get broken pipes and, and all that kind of stuff and because Texas is, just isn't built for you know, real cold weather for long periods of time. Yeah. Well, it's real dry down there. You don't have the humidity either, do you? No, not, not were we are. Now in Houston and stuff they've got it, they've got it where no hairsprayer works. It's so humid at times, but here it's, it's just about right. It's, it's pretty dry and, not too dry where, you know you just, it hurts to breathe, Uh-huh. but we're just about right. Yeah. We're just having this, all this rain, and late rain has made it kind of uncomfortable. Made it, the humidity real high. Yeah, muggy, huh? But no, I like it. Well, we're right in a good stop because we're, you know, we get over in the, over the hundreds in the summer, Uh-huh. but it's, it's not, it's a dry heat and it's not really as hot and muggy as it would be being over a hundred plus ninety degree humidity, ninety percent humidity, Yeah. so. See that's what's bad up here is when we do get the real, you know, hundred and the high nineties, we have the humidity to go with it, Oh. so you're like real mucky and you, you know, your legs stick together just from walking you know. Yeah. Yeah, I know what, So, um, So we like it where we're at. If it's not a whole bunch of everything at once type stuff. Uh-huh. Yeah. So. But no, it's interesting when it gets really cold here and people forget that they're, live in Texas and they don't know how to drive in snow and, you know. But, uh, I wouldn't trade it for anything Oh, that's good. I was born in Texas and I visited other areas, and I'm just a sun person I think. I've gotten used to it. Well, I don't know Well, I guess that's really about all. Yeah, weather is not real hard to talk about It doesn't last real long either. I thought the weather is the last thing you talk about, but in this case it's the only thing to talk about. But, well, Michelle, it's great talking to, Okay. Um, the last movie that I have seen, it's been, it's been a couple of months. I saw, um, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY and FLATLINERS. Yes, I saw that one. Those were the last two that I've seen. What was the second one? FLATLINERS. I didn't see that one. Oh. Did you see those because of, uh, Julia Roberts, or for, uh, the subject matter of the two? Oh, it was just, well, someone had, I had seen the advertisement for FLATLINERS on T V, and I thought I'd like it, and then, uh, one of my friends who went to see SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, and she told me to go. It was good. So that's why I saw that one. Uh-huh Well, I've, uh, I saw SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY and I, um, I've seen, uh, well , just recently, um, WHAT ABOUT BOB? No, I haven't gotten to see you know, any real recent ones. I like comedies better than I do dramas. I, uh, am not one for the, uh, I don't need the suspense movies or the, the movies with lots of, uh, the horror movies with, uh, trying to shake you out of your chair. Uh-huh. Did you care for SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY? Um, I'm not sure I, uh, I saw it and, uh, because my wife wanted to see it. Uh-huh. Uh, but on the other hand, I'm not sure I would have gone otherwise, and having gone, uh, well, it really wasn't on a theme that I was, uh, uh, that into, or, as I say, I prefer the light movies that, uh, my style of entertainment is, is comedy, uh, primarily and then into action films. Uh-huh well, I didn't care for the movie myself. What? I didn't really care for the movie either. Yeah, you kind of have to like to be, uh, drawn to this point where you aren't sure what's going to happen. Yeah, uh-huh. Well, okay, on likewise then, did you see PRETTY WOMAN? Uh, yes. Do you enjoy that one? Uh, it was interesting, Uh-huh. well, I'm trying to think of the other one I saw recently, the one on, um, DEFENDING YOUR LIFE. Oh, I haven't even heard of that one. Well, that was one where, uh, it's kind of like, to me it's somewhat like PRETTY WOMAN. The, the story line, um, if you accept a few of the basic starting points, I guess the rest falls in place. Uh, it was hard to accept that, uh, this, uh, multimillionaire wheeler dealer would, uh, would, you know, find himself and allow himself to get into that situation. Uh-huh, yeah. Well, I really liked PRETTY WOMAN. You know, I just, well, you just kind of went with it. Like you said, you had to accept the beginning of it and just kind of go. Yeah. It's sort of a modern CINDERELLA type of story. Yeah. But, um, FLATLINERS, now, it's a drama, and I don't usually like them, and I really enjoyed it. I, um, I don't know, it was kind of, it made you think a lot I think. Uh-huh. Did you see GHOST? Yes. Okay, now, did you care for that one? Uh, that was, I enjoyed that one. I, in that I, I guess I, I hate to be too surprised in a movie, and in that one you could, you could pretty well guess where it was, going to end up. You weren't sure exactly how it would get there, but you knew where it would end up. Uh-huh. See, now, I didn't, I thought it was an okay movie, but it wasn't something that I would enjoy seeing twice or three times. Uh-huh. I didn't think so, um, I really didn't care for the ending of it. I thought it was just of like you didn't know this was going to happen, when, you know, but, um, I don't know, you know. Well, of course, uh, a bunch of girls had told me and warned me, and they said, "Oh, it's a real tearjerker," and da, da, da, da, da. Meanwhile, I sat through the movie and said well, when are you, when are you supposed to start crying, you know Yeah. I didn't really, Uh, I didn't really find it to be a tearjerker Well, whenever she starts crying Well, do you go to many movies more than once? Um, if I see them more than once, I see them on video. Uh-huh. But like you said, I, I enjoy the comedies a lot better. In fact, that's where I've seen most of my movies, have been on video. Uh-huh. Well, these days it's, uh, You see it on video just as soon as it is on the movie screen. Well, if you don't, with some of the movies, if you don't go to them within the first four weeks, the movie may have, uh, left town, never to show up again until it comes back in video. Uh-huh. So, uh, unless a movie is popular and stays around, uh, you probably will see it on video these days more likely than at the movie. Yeah, uh-huh. So we have, um, well, I think just most people have V C R now and we probably watch twice as many movies at home as we do at movie theaters. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. No, I saw one, it was a drama also, and I can't think of the name of it now, that, um, it was a book before it came out in a movie, and it was, it it was a drama. Did you go to DANCES WITH WOLVES? I wanted to see that. I didn't get to. I, at least what I hear on that one, that it's coming out a second time in a, in a longer version even though it was a long movie. Oh, really? It's sort of the uncut version. At least that was some of the rumors. We'll have to see, because it's, uh, there was some talk about that. I, maybe it will come out this fall. There, we're sort of in the middle of the summer, um, season of a lot of new movies coming out, but then there's these, um, periods like early fall before Christmas or early spring when there's sort of a quiet period where if you bring something out again, it, uh, will increase the revenues from the movie. Uh-huh. Well, um, what movies are showing down there now? Oh, I, I'd actually have to get a newspaper out. My approach to movies is I kind of hear about them, uh, I keep track of them a little, but, you know, ask me to name the ten that are out there right now, and I'd have to say, uh, I, uh, I don't know. I, I just look at the newspaper before I decide to go and, Yeah, that's pretty much what I do. I, I know for sure that that one about, what was that one about Bob? Uh, it's kind of, WHERE'S BOB? or WHAT ABOUT BOB? I think it's just, Yeah, I think it's just playing now up here. Yeah. Because some of them, they, uh, they'll start in one area of the country, and if they it's, or radio heard faintly in Okay. I, I guess first of all I'll just say we haven't done much, uh, gardening. We do lawn work all the time. But, uh, our gardening we lost, remember the last two freezes, I don't know how long you've been here Yeah I do But we lost our bushes in those and have been waiting to plant new ones. And so, as far as our bushes, we don't have any but we do have some blackberry bushes. And and they were really hearty and stayed on Oh, really. and we've done really well with them. Did you plant those yourself? Uh-huh. Yeah. Oh. And so they've been really good and the kids, I had to, the first year I had to tell the kids not to pick them when they were red because they were supposed to be blackberries. But, uh, we go out, it, it's hard to go out when it's this hot. Uh-huh. And, uh, but, uh, keep the weeds out of them and, and keep them off the ground so the ants don't eat them. And they're okay. Oh. Yeah, That's nice. I, I love blackberries and we, uh, when I was smaller, we, my family lived in Tennessee and there used to be wild blackberries that we'd go out and pick, my brother and I. But, I don't have any down here. Yeah. Yeah, uh, we have some flowers that have, they're just are real hearty also, and they're bold and they come up every year but, uh, they're getting too thick, I need to go thin them out. I don't know what kind of flowers they are. They're real common around here. They're, they're orange and they look like a lily, sort of. Oh, I think I know what they, I can't remember what the name of them are either. No, but I think they're real pretty when it rains because their petals don't soak the rain in. They, they keep the, the rain on the outside, little rain drops Oh. and, and they look real pretty after the rain. And so I really like them but I need to get out and, and, um, do that. Now as far as our grass, it grows crazy here. It just keeps growing and growing and sometimes my son does it. But it just is, I don't, I don't know. I've lived in Utah my whole life and we can't seem to get ours green. I don't know. Down here, the grass? Yeah Well, I'm, we've had problems with our yard. We, it was one big weed is what it was. Uh-huh. It was just horrible. And my neighbors on either side of me have beautiful lawns and we have this God awful ugly thing. And and I know they must think, you know, I wish those people would do something about their yard. Crappy I know, we have that too. But my husband got some new fertilizer and stuff, that, that seems to be helping and he put it on the front yard to see how, you know, it would do and stuff before he put it on the backyard. Uh-huh. But we've got a Great Dane in the back Uh-huh. and she has eaten everything I have put out there. She's eaten my crepe myrtle trees. Oh dear. I know, and she's eaten the bushes. I've tried to, I spent like eight hours planting this nice garden out there No. and I barricaded it up, so she couldn't get into it. Uh-huh. And I went and took a shower and looked back out there and she was already in it. And I was so mad. Had somehow gotten in. So I can't do anything back Yeah. Yeah. But I've tried out in the front but like you said that, that freeze that came. Uh-huh. I had some bushes that, uh, some shrubs I put out front and it killed those too. So, I'm just real discouraged with the whole thing. I just don't even want to do anything. The, the other problem that we have, well it's funny because the one, the two bushes on the ends of the house that I think are ugly, they lived and so I, I don't know. Yeah, that, that happened to us. We have these, So like I wanted to go out and kill them too. I know. They had no right to live. But anyway, uh, under our trees we get a, a north sun and, uh, the, it looks like our trees don't have any grass under them. Oh, I know. Ours don't. And we just can't grow, uh, grass underneath there. I know, we can't either. But I've got two good size cottonwood trees out in my front yard. Uh, you know one on either side of the yard. Uh-huh. And, and they're big and they're real full and everything, you know, in the summer time but it, it's killing everything underneath where the leaves are shading the tree Yeah. but toward the end of the summer, you know, when everything starts dying off and whatnot and then the light can get through the tree, then the grass starts growing. But, by then it's so late then the winter comes and it stops. You know, it's, it's it's a never ending cycle. Right. It's a vicious cycle, isn't it? Yeah, it really is. It just really, So we've been trying to get something or to pull some grass underneath there and, and whatnot. So, Well, I don't, we've never done anything like this but we've been thinking, you know, if we built up, uh, you know, either a wood, wooden like trench thing around where our bushes were and filled it like with a nice dirt then maybe we could plant some either flowers, or, or some new bushes in there that would live. Uh-huh. And so I think that we're going to try that. Huh. I, I think the I think that's pretty much what we have decided. Now I have two long windows Yeah. Really well I don't really have to worry about that that much because my sons' bedrooms are in the front and they've got mini-blinds and stuff. Yeah. But only, only one is really like in the flower bed part and the other one is out on the porch. Yeah. So there's not really much I can do about that. That's what our two rooms are on the front, too, with these long windows. One is a bedroom for our, our oldest son and one is, uh, an office that my husband and I work in. And so, I, I really don't like it too much because then the back of our house faces that, well, the flowers are out by the back of the house, so, and that's why the front room is. So that's not too bad. Yeah. But, I like to look at the flowers. They're pretty. I do too, that's why I look at my neighbors yard Yeah. I don't have anything to look at so I look at theirs. But it's funny because, uh, you try so hard I think sometimes to, to, anyway I do, to do our yard Uh-huh and then it's like the wind blows everything whether the weeds from your yard to your neighbors or yours to them Yeah or and so even if you did get it under control, it seems like in just a few months it would all be back and Yeah. It, it's really a pain. My husband works a lot so, um, a lot, It's hard to get out a lot and do that yard work. Yeah I'm, it's usually me and the kids that go out and mow the yard and and I just I really do not appreciate having to go out there and do it. Uh-huh. I hate to mow the yard, more than anything else. I hate to mow that yard. I know. It is, it's not my favorite, thing in the world either. I'm glad I have an old enough son to do it for me now. Yeah, well mine's getting there. He helps, he does half and I do half, Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah Well that is one chore that we will pay him for, if he'll go do the yard work out, outside, Oh sure I'll be more then glad to pay him if he'd just go out there and do it and, and do it to where I don't have to go back out and redo it. Right. Exactly. That, that's my only thing with him. Exactly. That's why I'm help, having him help me now fade at end of Okay, well, some of the things I like to do are, I like to knit. I knit sometimes, and I sew Uh-huh. and, uh, I like to sew sometimes for my kids. I, I sew clothes for them every once in a while. Uh-huh. And I make quilts. Oh, wow, that's the next project that I'd like to learn to do. I do mostly hand needlework like cross stitch and crewel embroidery and I'm, I'm beginning to get a little bored with cross stitch. I was thinking maybe need to learn to quilt. After a while, cross stitch, I I don't know. I have to put it away It gets boring. and then I have to bring it back. Uh-huh. You know. And, and, uh, I don't know why that is. I don't know if it's looking at the little things every time. Well, it reaches a point where it doesn't seem to be very challenging, I think. Yeah, that might be it. But I do a lot of it in the car. That might and yet, there's, We, Oh, do you? Yeah, we commute from Plano to Dallas Oh. so I have nearly an hour both ways that I can really get a lot of work done and I found that cross stitch is the easiest to do in the car. Oh, I bet. Yeah. I don't know that I could even think about quilting. You have to have a pretty good frame, don't you, to do any kind of quilting work? Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I've not really done any, too much challenging, uh, stuff. I, I can do it with a, a needle and thread you know, but, uh, and get about five small stitches in, which is pretty good, Uh-huh. but it's very long. Uh-huh. It's very tedious if you don't have a whole group, you're not finishing a quilt in a long time Oh, I bet. So, uh, But, it's such a lost art. So, uh, I like to just mostly do the tie quilts. Uh-huh. That's so much easier. Yes. But, uh, the other ones are very pretty. They're, uh, we have a quilt on our bed that's, instead of, like, yarn they tied, uh, ribbon into it. Uh-huh. Oh. And it's real pretty. I bet. It's real pretty. There's so many things I wish I had learned to do with my mother. She had crocheted a full bedspread. It's kind of a hobnail looking thing. Oh, wow. And when I look at it now, she's been dead for a long time I think oh, why didn't I learn these crafts and skills from her because she could crochet and do so many of the old things that aren't in vogue right now that people just don't know how to do. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Now did you say you could knit? No. Oh. Uh-huh. Haven't tried that either. Well, I was going to say because, Because if you could knit, you could crochet. I want to learn to crochet. I, Really? It's just like doing one handed as long as you learn how to, to weave the, the yarn in between your fingers on your left hand. Uh-huh. And then you just use your right hand with the hook. Uh-huh. And that's not, it's really not too difficult. You could learn that, I'm sure and pick that up. Yeah. Yeah. If you, I think if you can do any handicraft, you can learn to crochet. Uh-huh. It's not too difficult. It's funny, when you were talking about sewing, I love to do anything by hand with a needle. Yeah But I'm totally intimidated if I sit down at a sewing machine. I never learned, and I get real nervous whereas usually the other needlework stuff is relaxing to me. Isn't that interesting. But I just have a phobia about not being able to actually sew. I think that's really interesting. Uh-huh. Huh. And yet, you know, I think about, you know, you said you do a lot of needlework and, and there are some beautiful, just gorgeous patterns that people do. Uh-huh. And I, I just think that, uh, that's one of, one of the arts that I think are really pretty. And a lot of people don't do that either. Uh-huh. You know, and so, Well, it's hard to find the time. I, I wouldn't if I didn't have this car time ability probably because at night if I sit down, I'm doing something with the kids or just not sitting down at all Yeah. Yeah. That's true. You know, and, and I always think, well, I can do this and watch T V or something you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, it seems like I always get my mind carried away to something else and then it doesn't quite work Well, it, or, I'm at the age where bifocals or trifocals would be necessary. It's so I find myself putting glasses on to, to watch T V and then taking them off to do needlework and I get frustrated doing that so Just give it up. And, you know, I like to sketch. I can, I can sketch something, like if I see a picture, like, out of a book, I can sketch that Ooh. and that's nice and everything, but, you know, it's funny, I can't I can't draw it out of my own head kind of thing. Uh-huh. I wish I could. And, and yet I can't do, you know, like, like, uh, craft, uh, on wood. Uh-huh. I can't do that painting thing. Yeah. And yet, I'm the same way. If I see something, I can copy it, but I certainly can't create. I admire people that have that in their minds already. Yeah, me, too. Me, too. I know a woman who's just wonderful at that. Uh-huh. And I look at it and, you know, you look at those things and you wish so badly that you could do them. I guess, if you wanted to, you could take classes and learn. I guess that's the only way I could do it. Well, sometimes, even with that. I, I think you have to have some, Okay, what kind of fishing do you do? Well, mostly, uh, a, a little fresh water fish, but mostly lake fishing like rainbow trout and stuff because I used to live in Utah. Uh-huh. But, uh, down here I haven't fished much in Texas. That's one of the few things I've ever fished for is rainbow trout. Oh, they're really not, I think they're good to eat. What, what kind of bait do you use to catch them? Oh, just, usually worms, night crawlers. Sometimes fish eggs. Oh, really? Sometimes Fish eggs? Yeah. Oh, I didn't know that. Huh. Just little, just little fish eggs. Uh-huh. And, uh, there's this one kind of cheese that you can put on the end of a hook and it will stay relatively well Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah That's a great way. and, and they really like that. I think that would probably be a good way to catch catfish, Now I have never caught catfish. personally I like to catch large mouth bass and catfish because they fight the best Uh-huh. Because they fight the best But a, a catfish will really just tear into anything like that, like liver or, uh, cheese or anything that smells terrible Oh, is that right? Now in Amarillo did you fish any of this ? Uh, no. Actually I always used to go to my grandparents' in Oklahoma and they have the, uh, Lake Texoma right next to them. So the, we used to catch some, uh, sand bass off Lake, there's a Roosevelt Bridge and what we'd do is let the line all the way to the bottom and crank up, you know turns on the reel about six to twelve times Uh-huh. Right. and the fish would be sitting at different levels. Oh, how about that. So, yeah, you just leave it at that level and in no time something would hit it and you could pull them up two and three times in a row, but you had to find out what level, how many cranks they were off the bottom. And if you left it on the bottom, there was a good chance that you'd catch catfish. Oh. And, of course, depending on how big your bait was, uh, you know, would be depending on what you caught. Oh, I think that is really interesting. Yeah, that was a lot of fun. My grandfather used to do that and we used to have a light at the top of the water. Uh-huh. He'd really spoiled me in that respect. I think they're, see, and I wish I could go fishing here because I don't really know much about the fishing here. I guess it would, if you did it like you were just, uh, saying, that's pretty much like rainbow trout. Uh-huh. You bait the hook, you throw it in, you troll it a little bit Uh-huh. and then you wait Yeah. and they troll it a little bit. Well, if you, do you have any friends with ponds? No. I don't I, uh, well, if you can well, or even a lake. If, uh, seems like every time somebody's on the bank, all they want to do is throw it out just as far as they can and, uh, bring it in to you. Yeah. But it's the opposite when you're fishing from a boat. You, you want to make it land right on the shore and then drag like a plastic worm and just have it come into the water like a, a regular animal or, or fish uh, well, you know, something coming off from the bank like they usually do Oh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. So you don't have to really get, uh, fish from a boat, you know, because they're actually right there at the shore. Huh. But, I didn't used to be sold on plastic worms, but, uh, if, I am now You are now. Oh, yeah I've never used those. That's really interesting. Yeah. It just, uh, just a slow reel and then let it sit on the bottom, but the key is to always have your line tight. Yeah, yeah. And that way you can feel when they're hitting it, and believe me you'll know the difference. Uh, what kind of fish do you like the best to eat? Oh, crappie actually. Oh, do you Yeah I've been fishing in the, the ocean. We're about three hours from the ocean. And I also like Spanish mackerel. And you catch blues and, uh, that's a different kind of fishing off the pier, too. Have you ever fished off the pier? I've done fishing like that but, but, uh, tell me what, uh, where you'd catch crappie. My, my neighbor has gone before and, and done that, Uh-huh. but, Oh, the best thing for crappie is those little spinner baits and, and jigs. Uh, they have like yellow, uh, fuzz on a hook, you know, that kind of comes out. Oh, oh, I know. Yeah. Uh, they're sort of like, well, I want to say flies, but not exactly like, Yeah, get, but they're a little heavier and they're bigger. Yeah. Get the yellow ones. The yellow. Those are the ticket Okay And let them drop to the bottom and maybe do a, a kind of a slow reel. You don't even have to have a good rod or anything. Just, just even a regular line Uh-huh. and you throw it out and, uh, the, the other thing that's real good is small, uh, it's a real small rapalla . It's about an inch and a half long and they're pure all silver, something real shiny about that long. Uh-huh. They'll go after that in a heartbeat also. Just anything that really shines or spins. Yeah, my mom, she just loves to fish and she has a lot of those, those little, uh, they almost look neon. You know, they're just real colorful things on, onto her end. Oh, yeah, yeah. That's it. Yeah. And she she's really a good fisher woman. Oh, really? Yeah. That's neat. Well, you sound like you're a good fisher woman, too. Hi, Clarice. Um, have you had a family reunion recently? Yes, just this last summer we went back to Utah, and we met, it was my, we usually go to my family reunion, but this one was my husband's Uh-huh. and they're usually quite similar, I think. Are you both from Utah originally? No, he's from here Oh, uh-huh. but, uh, most of his people are from Oregon, so we kind of met halfway Uh-huh. and so, this was one, and they, um, planned it up in the mountains and got a cabin and had, you know, Oh, how nice. things like that have to be planned, like they had planned that, we went to the reunion in end of June and first of July that part the fourth of July weekend, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but we had to plan everything like clear in December, January to reserve that. Sure, sure, Now was this his entire family, cousins, aunts, uncles like that or his immediate family? Uh-huh. No Oh, wow. this was everybody. Oh wow, how many people were there? Oh, I, oh, I, jeez, I think over, um, three hundred were there. Wow. It was quite a large Wow. it was a great big lodge, and so we had plenty of room and everything, and some of them live in that area, so it wasn't too hard for them to come in the day and leave. Uh-huh. But, um, that was a great big thing, and we do that with his family about every five years, a great big one. And then like immediate family we do, like we try to do one thing once a year. Now how many, how many people are in his immediate family? Well, he has eight brothers and sisters Oh, wow. so that's big by itself. Wow, it really is, and you get together once a year. Yeah. Wow, So we have a little shindig with them. Are they all here in the area, or are they scattered? Um they're close, in a close proximity. Um, let's see, there are four of them who live here in Texas, and his mom and dad. Uh-huh. So, um, the others live in close neighboring, um, states, like Nevada, Arizona I think like that, Uh-huh. yeah Oh wow, that's wonderful. so, it's been fun. How about you? Well, we don't really get together, I, I would love to, and that's why I checked that I wanted to do that, because I would love to plan a family reunion sometime. Um, I have a sister in Colorado, and, uh, a sister in upstate New York, and a sister in Connecticut, and here I am in Texas. So we're kind of scattered right now. Uh-huh. And, uh, my, my cousins have a, you know, they put on a family reunion, um, once a year, but it's always like the second week in September, so it's, the kids are already back in school Uh-huh. and so, and that's back in the That's hard. and that's in New York, and there's no way, I mean there's just no possible way. Yeah, Yeah. And it's not really a weekend, it's just like a day kind of thing, because most of them are, you know, um, my family moved to Connecticut, the rest of the family stayed in New York and, uh, on Long Island, Uh-huh. and so, they're all kind of local and close, and so they just have a, you know, a day picnic, and, uh, I've always thought it would be so neat, even if it were just my immediate family, to have like a weekend type thing Yeah. that would be so wonderful It really is fun, and my mom's family does it once a year, just like you said Uh-huh. once a year, um, they have a, a, a Wednesday through a, a Saturday type thing. You can come and go as you please type thing. Oh, wow. And they do that once a year. I kind of missed it this year, and felt bad, but you can't go every year, you just cannot do that. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. Um. And do they, they have a hotel, or where do you stay? Um, basically, they just stay with each other, brothers or sisters. There are enough in the area to, to just kind of span yourself out. Take everybody, yeah. Whoever's mom and dad it is, you usually go and stay with them, like I go stay with my mother, and my cousins, they just go stay with their mom and dad, you know kind of thing. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And so it's not hard in, in that respect because they all are pretty centralized in one Utah area Yeah, yeah, so that's not hard, but the real planning, that's the real key Oh, that sounds so wonderful, isn't that nice. Yeah. and they send out, my mom's family now, this is the first reunion with my husband's family I've really been involved with, but my mom's family, each brother and sister takes a turn one year, and that's how they divide it up Uh-huh. But then one brother and sister from each family. Uh-huh. and each one of them take their turn. Oh, wow, uh-huh. And then the, the parent who's turn it is, the child whose turn it is her children help her, Uh-huh. like if it was my mother's turn all of us children would help her put it on kind of thing. Oh, I see, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, wow, Yeah, and, um, the thing is, that, um, the, the real part is there are two mailings that go out, and the first one is to just kind of give an approximate date and time so you can start making, Okay. What do you think of the public school system? First off, do you have children that are in it? I have children that are in the Plano Public School systems and I am a substitute teacher at this point looking for a full-time job in the public school, system Oh, okay So, Well then, you should be a good one to know because I, my children are grown now. I now have grandchildren, in the school system Oh. so, uh, I don't have firsthand experience right now, with it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So what do you think? Well, I think the public school systems are doing a good job. I think they have a long way to go yet but I think that, um, they are starting to head towards more technology and getting the kids computer literate earlier. You know, my kindergartners were on the, were on the computers, and I think that with the way the world is today that's got to be done. And I think that, uh, the schools now are starting to teach thinking strategies more than just giving them, you know, skills. Right. you figure out why you're adding it and what you're going to do with it once you've got it together. And I think that that's something that is drastically needed because most of these kids cannot think, they literally cannot come in out of the rain. That's right You know, and that just, I don't care how intelligent you are if you be cannot make it function for you that intelligence is being wasted. Right. And, uh, this has been one of my pet peeves and probably why I went into education. So I think, you know, they're, they're trying to head them into teaching them to think and use the education that they have, and I think that's very, very important. Yes, it is. I, I agree with you that they're starting children so much earlier on things because our grandchildren, we have a, uh, fourth grader and then we have one that's in kindergarten and, and I know the fourth grader is doing stuff that our children was doing, were doing in the fifth and sixth grade. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I tutor a girl that's in eighth grade and her pre-algebra book is higher then some of my Algebra Two, when I was in high school. Is that scary? And it's like, oh, I going to take this home and study it before I can help you. Right. You know, so they're really, they're really moving them along but yet, at the same time, you know, they are stopping and making them use it and function with it like they would need to do in everyday life. Now, And that's you know, a lot of the things that we did in school I've never used and never will use. Yes. And, uh, so I think that it's, it's appropriate to teach them, you know, why they are learning this not just because the teacher says you have to learn this. Correct. Are you finding that, uh, since you're doing substitute, that you're wanting to do full-time? Um, I have a friend that's a teacher that one of her complaints is she can't teach because she's so busy filling out all the forms. Yes, that's a, And, and are you, do you find that? Well, filling out the forms and also all of these, uh, statewide and national wide testing, things so that they compare Uh-huh. and . You know, you can as far as I'm concerned you can make a survey or test scores say anything you want it to say. Uh-huh. And it's just a matter of how you're going to interpret it. And you waste so much time quote, unquote teaching to the test to make sure that your scores are the very best they're possibly going to be, you know, that I think it's, uh, I think it's crazy personally Be, uh-huh. You know, the the whole first nine weeks of school is, is used as a review but more than a review they're getting those kids primed and ready for the tests that are coming up in, October. So that you know, your school district shines throughout the United States. Coming up, uh-huh. And I think that's totally useless. I think, you know, there's a place and a time for all of the tests and comparisons but I think they've taken it to the extent now that it's just ridiculous. It's like bragging on your grandchildren. Right You know, and everybody's kids are the best kids that have ever hit this earth and nobody else's children are going to ever live up to this, and that's great. But that's what they're doing with the school systems and they're wasting too much time on that, I think. Well, I, I know that this again this, this friend, uh, is in the Plano School District, Uh-huh. and she teaches, uh, uh, it uh, emotionally disturbed children. Uh-huh. And she says she has, um, six graders in there that are reading on the level of the second grade. Yes. But because evidently you receive a certain amount of money when they're passed on or something. I didn't quite understand it. Yeah, there's a, yeah. And, uh, The bottom line is always money, Laurie? Yes. Okay. I'm supposed to ask you, how do you make use of your credit cards and I'm supposed to compare those with my, my habits. Okay. How do I make use of credit cards? Yes. Um, let's see. I carry a lot of credit cards with me mostly because I don't ever have cash. Right. And I I, do you work for Texas Instruments? No, I do not. Okay. Well, at T I we have to use what's called a tex teller if we want to get cash out Uh-huh. and those are only available at T I. Oh, okay. So if I'm in a mall or something I can't get cash out without paying extra money so I'm always using credit cards. Sure. Well, myself I always, I'm, I'm a traveling person Uh-huh. and I'm out of town quite a bit so I use credit cards quite a lot also as far as everything from service work and gasoline in my car to my lounging, entertainment and for everything. Uh-huh. Yeah, me too. So that's, uh, as far as using them outside that I'm not, I don't use them too much but I, I think my wife is sort of like you she uses a credit card, most of the time. Yeah So she does most of the shopping for our household so she'll use them more than I will. Uh-huh. But do you get to pay the bills? Yes. Same at my house So it's me I'm always, I'm the guy that always goes to like Dillard's and I'll go in and charge something and I'll have to give them my driver's license. They'll have to look up the number because I'm never carrying a credit card. Uh-huh. Yeah. But I do carry like my American Express and my Visa which I use for, you know, primarily work type things. Uh-huh. Yeah. This is my first call by the way, so Oh, it's mine too. Oh, is it really? Yes. All right so we're both beginners then. Yeah. I've had this for a couple weeks and I've been out of town so this is my first time to, to use it. Oh, okay. Okay. So, Now, did you pick this topic or were you given? No, I was given this topic. I see. Okay. Yeah, they give you, they assign you a topic, you call the eight hundred number, Right. Have you tried it yet? No Okay. When you call the eight hundred number, they assign you a topic and, uh, pretty, uh, cut and dried Huh, okay. Um, let's see. So how long are we supposed to talk for? I'm not sure. A couple, about two three minutes I think. Okay. But I really don't have too much more to say in regards to credit cards. I, one thing I've always tried to do is when I get my credit cards, I always try to pay them off because I just sort of detest paying interest. Oh, yes. And, uh, Definitely. like years ago my wife and I got married Uh-huh. she was the one with a little bit than I was because I had my credit cards, I think, up to the limit and I was giving everyone ten dollars a month and everything like that. Oh. That will cost you a fortune. That was like thirty years ago so now it's a little different. We, I get a bill and I'll pay it the same day it comes Yes, yes. and I just kind of tell my kids how much I hate paying interest so they should follow the same rule. That's right. Well, yeah, Oh, you bet it's it's an absolute savings. Or if you travel for work and you get your reimbursement before the bill comes in, you get to keep the money. You bet. That's, that's very handy. Yeah. It works great. Well, I think that's all I have. Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you. Nice to meet you and, uh, give it a try. I think you'll enjoy it. Okay. Okay. Thanks. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye. In, in the light of what has been happening lately with the doctors that I know and lawyers and whatnot, I think national health insurance is a way to throw a lot of money at a very small problem. Do you? Why? Why? Well, if you took half the money that they would spend in the state of Texas for health insurance and gave it to qualified students to, so they could become doctors, the problem would go away. You think the problem is not enough doctors? I think the problem is that the doctor doctors have conspired to limit the number of doctors, and that the lawyers have conspired to make sure that if you are a doctor, you are going to pay high premiums on your uh, I mean, on your liability. Gosh, for one thing. Oh? Uh-huh. And you think there are plenty of doctors? Oh, yeah, I don't think there is a shortage of doctors and I do know that O B, which is my field the doctors' health the doctors' malpractice insurance is over two hundred thousand dollars a year that deliver babies. Uh-huh. It's astronomical. Now they can't doing anything about that. I don't think they're in a conspiracy. I think it's our fault, because we as people just sue them. No, people don't sue People are very sue, sue conscious. lawyers sue. If you put a ten thousand dollar cap on the amount of money that a lawyer could make from a law suit against a doctor Yeah. Well, that's probably true, too. But people are very conscious of how much money they can get real fast these days. Well, sure. And, so, But, you know, when you think about reasonableness, now, I believe that a law suit should have some foundation in the tort theory. You know what tort theory is? No. Well, a tort is when you do something wrong. Right. Well, it, uh, an O B G Y N doctor cannot control the fetus in the womb a hundred percent. That's right. If the baby is born dead, well, that happens. Well, If, if they have complications and, It depends. Well, I know, I mean, there are guys that are real slobs, but you know, there are also people out there that are really doing their job. Well, that's true, they are because doctors are performing many more tests. Many of them are unnecessary, they are doing so many C sections just to prevent. Just to prevent a a law suit. Because they have all these monitors now and if anything looks even a little bit funny their only safety precaution is to go in and get that baby, Yeah. and so it's costing more all around in health insurance for tests, for surgery, for longer hospital stay. Yeah. Uh-huh. See, I believe that there, there is a system already in place for health care. So, it's terrible. Uh-huh. You know, they have indigent health care. You show up at Parkland bleeding You'll get it. That's true. In fact, you'll get it at Presbyterian if you show up there, too. Yeah. And we have that happen. We have patients that go through Parkland through the clinic Uh-huh. and at the last minute, they come to us. Well uh, we can't turn them away. Uh-huh So, Yeah, I think that if you just wrote the lawyers out of the equation the problem would pretty much evaporate. Yeah. I'm for that. I've been through a two year divorce where the only one that came out ahead was my lawyer, so I'd like to wipe them all out Yeah. Well, I, I happen to know a few and I even claim one as a friend. He's a divorce attorney. But, He better not be mine I think he'll go nameless for the, for the purposes of this conversation. But I also know an, uh, O B G Y N who has stopped practicing. Yeah, some they do. Uh, he just said, They stop their O B at least. Yeah, I mean, he's not going to deliver any more babies ever. Right, Right. His malpractice was five hundred thousand dollars a year. That's incredible. And, you know, he said, I had to, he had to gross two million to take home as much as his malpractice. Yeah. And most of them are very sincere. Most of them do the best they can. Yeah They are human. Occasionally something will go wrong. Well, you can be human and Catholic. I know you can be human and Catholic, but, you're not likely to find somebody who is going to, you know, have a less conscientious effort. Yeah, no I mean, most of them do. I really believe that. From dealing with doctors, dealing with lawyers, there is no doubt in my mind who is more conscientious. Well, you know, who is getting rich? Insurance companies. Yeah, they are. You know, if you were able to write a malpractice insurance that would negate any financial obligation on the part of the doctor over and above the insurance, say, say you have malpractice insurance and a kid dies or is malformed or, Well, um, I have a, a, a former exercise program. I'm a graduate student, and this semester, I'll tell you what, I, it's been almost impossible for me to get, you know, back to regular exercise. Um, last summer I was a, a swim instructor all summer and, and life guard, so it was really easy for me to get quite a bit of exercise swimming and, um, and since I worked at a recreation center I could, uh, you know, use those facilities quite often. But, um. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. and and it's least hard on your body, Uh-huh, and there's and there's no jarring on the. I, Pardon? It's the least hard on your body as far as, uh, impact Exactly, yeah, um, and yeah, fluid resistance. Right, right. Uh-huh, uh-huh. How about you? Well, I do, uh, little aerobics, oh, three or four times a week, but it's not enough to, boy if I go, in the summer time I try to jog, jog a couple of miles Oh, yeah. and, uh, well, you know, even doing that three or four times a week, when summer hits, that's a hard thing to go out and and go jogging for, uh half hour or so, Yeah. Uh-huh. but so, I'm not quite getting the level that I need to. Uh-huh. Yeah. Do you, do you kind of think it's a chore, or do you enjoy it? I like it. Uh-huh. I like it, uh, part of my problem is I have small children, so, uh, to do a whole lot just requires a lot of, oh, coordination as far as scheduling and that type of, uh, deal, you know, uh, Uh-huh. Sure, yeah. Of course, you got a little different direction going, but, uh. Uh-huh, yeah. Uh, I, um, I used to, uh, I used to weigh, uh, two hundred fifteen pounds, and now I weigh only about one, about one seventy-five. Um, so I drastically had to change the way I ate when I, when I first moved to college, and, uh, I had started weight lifting quite regularly, and so I got my weight down, and it's kind of easy for me to forget about it now, because, uh, you know, when I'm not fat like I used to be I don't worry about it Right, you don't notice it as much, , yeah. yeah. Uh-huh. Although lately I have noticed, you know, even if I gain, like two pounds, I start, I start feeling it and, You feel it, don't you? Uh-huh. It's amazing how, uh, how much, uh, it changes, and I weigh probably about the same I weighed for, oh, I don't know how many years, but, uh, it's changed places And things don't fit just quite exactly fit the same. Yeah. Uh-huh. But, uh, so, do you do, uh, in Texas, uh, does there, probably quite a few facilities. Yeah, there are. Um, I'm living in a dorm right now, and so right downstairs there's a facility. And I really feel kind of guilty for not working out more than I do because there's a facility right downstairs where all, you know, all we have to do is, is, uh, run down there Do you enjoy it, or is it, uh. If you can have, find the time it's just the. Uh-huh yeah, I really do, because I like to get, you know, get off alone and just do that for a while, but that's hard, you know. Yeah, it is hard Uh-huh. it is hard. It's, uh, like anything else whether or not you want to sacrifice another half hour. Uh-huh. My problem is I don't want to wake up another half hour earlier and do more Exactly. Don't get enough sleep as it is, right Uh-huh, yeah, yeah. and, uh, kind of have, if you're having the pressures of school and, uh, everything else, it's kind of, course it's really, you know, as soon as you do it, it's really a release. Oh, yeah. You feel invigorated and you feel oh, you feel in a lot better shape just like eating right foods. Uh-huh. Yeah, ready to go another twelve hours. Yeah, yeah. If I eat very much sugar, boy, just does something. Uh-huh. Do you have to watch what you eat pretty regularly? I do. I have to be real careful. Uh-huh. I stopped eating meat about, oh, uh, must have been eight months ago. Did you? Uh-huh, completely. I mean, any kind of meat or, and I, and I really feel a lot better now. Makes a lot of difference. Yeah, it really does. Well, there's a lot of fat in meat. Uh-huh, yeah, that's it, I mean, that's about where almost all of the fat comes from Right. and so. I found that really helps. And unless you really like, uh, fish. Fish is pretty good for you, but, uh. Yeah, I eat that, I think I've eaten fish like twice since. I used to eat a lot of fish, too, but I just tried to cut it all out for a while and see what happens. Kind of see what happens. Yeah, and I like it. I've tried to do that with sugar I don't know if I'm that brave yet . everything has sugar in it . I mean, if you go, your ketchup has sugar in it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Course, and I like sugar, too, that's that's a problem, Uh-huh. but. Anyway, well, it's, uh, nice talking to you. Think we've, uh, covered all the subject. Okay, yeah, it sounds good. Okay. Well, good luck to you there in Idaho. Well, you, too. Good luck, uh, enjoy college while you can. Let me tell you it's, uh. Well, I'm in graduate school now. I, I, I kind of feel like I wish I could have gone back to undergraduate now It's a little different, uh challenge, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, it is. Well, it's good talking, Where are you going studying? Pardon? I'm studying speech pathology. Right. do you see as, uh, the changes that have occurred in the last , Beverly. I think one of the thing that I notice a lot, I know it's touching social changes, but, uh, to me what becomes socially acceptable, and I, I don't know if it's a factor of me growing older and seeing things through different eyes or if it's a factor of our society actually moving in that direction, but I notice things on T V being more, um, open, more I believe, uh, they portray things on T V obviously that they never would have years ago, and, you know, and specifically, nudity, things like that, uh, I don't know, I, I've said several times to my husband that I feel like gee, in ten years they'll have just full nudity on T V and nobody will think anything of it, and to me that's surprising. To me, that's, that's a big change to accept it, and it comes across, I think subtly, you know, a little at a time, to where you get so used to seeing a little change, that, you know, when they go one step further, you don't notice it that much. That's one of the biggest ones I've seen. Huh, yeah, that's a big one. What about you? Well, I think that society has come to a point where they're not responsible for any of their actions. Somebody else, uh, made them do it. Uh, that's what I seem to see a lot of, that, uh, no one is willing to take responsibility for their life and their choices. It's rather, sue these guys because they made a uh, a seat belt that didn't work right or uh, that's what I think is a big one. Uh-huh. I tend to agree with you, and I think there's a lot of that. Um, yeah, we have become lawsuit happy. Any little thing, it's like let's see what I can get. Don't you think that maybe a lot of that came from, um, oh, you know, the, the, the era we went through that was like, you know, hey if it makes you happy, do it. You know, kind of like, disregard to others, do what makes you happy, and, and yes, we should take care of ourselves, you know, and we should see to our own lives, but not to a total disregard of others. Um, I don't know, I think it's come to that a lot. I see it a lot in my daughter. I have a four year old. Uh-huh. And hers isn't a social thing as much as it's a stage they go through, but whenever something happens it's, you made me hit that, you made me do this, and so I try to tell her, , everything isn't always somebody else's fault. You know, you have to watch where you're going and and so it's what you just said, kind of hits home to me, just through her. Sure. Yeah, and, another thing I think has changed quite a bit is, uh, the roles that men and women play. That's really in the last thirty years has changed significantly. Um, in your opinion, good or bad, or both? Well, both, you know, there's some great things that, uh, have come about with more equality, but I think that also, I don't know what's causing society to have so many broken families and things like that, because I think that's bad for us. I do too. I think part of that, I don't know, I think the role of women changing has been good in that women are feeling like, in terms of their self confidence, their self worth, you know, I can do something, I can be somebody, you know, if I put my mind to it, I can accomplish things too. And I think that's good, but, um, I think when you push, you know, maybe I think when that was first trying come about with, you know, what we know as the women's lib movement Uh-huh. I think it was too extreme. Um, I think you can be feminine and still be all those other things too, you know, and I think there's definite roles, and I think, you know, part of the break up of the family, maybe it's because of the, the, the social changes, I don't know, the fact that, uh, during their early changes where, you know, women did come more, speak, maybe speak out, I was going to say, come more out of themselves, but speak out, I think a lot of men were threatened by that. I think now less men are, you know, because they're used to it, it's around them. Um, but I, I don't know, I, I, I don't know why the families are breaking up. I think that may go back to what you said a minute ago about people not being responsible for themselves or their actions, because it's like they don't go into the marriage with a commitment that this is going to work. They go in and say, well, hey, you know, I'll stick with it while it's good, and then I'll get out. And I, I, I think that directly affects the effort that you put into that marriage or that commitment. Yeah, I would agree with you. Uh, What kind of movies have you been seeing lately? Uh, it's been probably a month or so since I've been to the movies. Course, my, my favorite now is, is DANCES WITH WOLVES. Oh, it's an excellent movie. Uh, SILENCE OF THE uh, of the LAMBS was good. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? Uh-huh. What was that anyway? Oh, it's a, I guess it's a mystery, you'd call it. It's with, uh, Jodie Foster. Okay. And it, uh, it's pretty good. Another one that I think I really liked was, uh, THE FISHER KING. Uh-huh. Let's see, who was in FISHER KING? That was, um, Robin Williams and, uh and, uh, I can't the last name. Right. How about you? What are you? Uh, we've not been having many opportunities to see movies lately. Um, we really enjoyed, um, DEAD POETS' SOCIETY. Yes. Um, several years back one we saw, we saw we really, really enjoyed was, uh, ORDINARY PEOPLE, with, uh, Timothy Hutton and, uh, Mary Tyler Moore, and, uh, uh, who played the father, anyway Right. excellent movie. That was, that was an excellent movie. Have you seen DANCES WITH WOLVES? Yes we have. What'd you think of it? Oh, we loved it. I don't think I can see it enough times. I know what you mean. I know what you mean. Course I'm a Kevin Costner fan. Yeah, I'm pretty impressed with stuff he's done. Uh, he made kind of an odd sounding ROBIN HOOD, but, uh, I mean, you know, basic thick western U S accent for a ROBIN HOOD just doesn't seem to fit. No, but you know, it wasn't a bad movie. Oh, no. It's a good movie. It got such bad reviews, really, and, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I, then I wasn't expecting any classic either. Well, um, they did a real good job with it. I thought so. Um, they didn't try to make him super human or, you know, invincible. They just, just, he worked hard at it. Have you seen THE FISHER KING? No I haven't, not an opportunity to see that, uh, Uh, it, you, you know, I guess it, it really isn't for everybody. It's, it's pretty deep and, uh, uh, philosophical. Yeah. But I thought it had a wonderful message to it. It's the kind you came out and looked at somebody and said, You know, I think I liked that Yeah. And then the more you got to thinking about it, the more you thought, You know, I did like it Yeah. But when you first came out, you weren't real sure. It sounds kind of like one, uh, we saw at home here on the, rented it, um, CLARA'S HEART. Haven't seen that. Um, Whoopi Goldberg. Oh, yes, I did, yes, I did. And she played a, uh, the, uh, she's a housekeeper. Uh, the nanny type. Yeah, she's a housekeeper she. She was a, oh, now I can't say it, a Haitian. Housekeeper, uh-huh. Anyway, she, uh, she seemed to be that sort of person that seems half crazy, but then again, she's got a whole lot on the ball, and the movie had the whole, lot of philosophical content, more than, more than, you know, it wasn't a mystery, it wasn't, you know, blood and guts and violence and, and car chases type thing. It was just a good movie. I saw one the other day that was A KISS BEFORE DYING. A KISS BEFORE DYING. Uh-huh. I had not heard about it when it was on the movies, but was out on video. And. And it's with Sean Young. Yeah. And it's a, it's a mystery. It was very predictable, I mean, you knew, you knew when the murder was going to happen or something, but it was still so well done that it was enjoyable. Yeah. That, that takes a good bit to make one that's predictable that's still worth watching. That's right. I had, uh, uh, I like the, I think it's called the, uh, RAZOR'S EDGE, but, no no, the JAGGED EDGE, the JAGGED EDGE with, uh, Oh, okay . All right. Um, serious problems in the public education and what can be done about it. Well, what do you think? Oh. And, um, I was a teacher for seven years in the public schools, so I know a little bit about it not, a whole great deal. Well, tell me about it. What are, what are the problems with public education? Well, um, there, there's some. There's several It's such a, a broad, you know, topic that you need to boil it down. Uh-huh. But, um, one that, um, I thought was a problem that , I thought it was a serious problem, that I'm not sure it's being taken care of right now, uh, was like bilingual education for, um, different, um, minority groups and like Asians and, um, uh, Mexican Americans and, and just people in general that speak other languages that sometimes come from other countries or coming from different areas and they and in this area, Uh-huh. and, um, as the school district, I'm not sure how to go about it, because it's hard to get one teacher that speaks all these languages Right. and so most of these children are put in, um, either special ed or a bilingual program, and then for just a small amount of time, and then they're into their regular classrooms the remaining of the, part of the day, and so the teachers are not sure how to teach them math when they don't read or speak English. Uh-huh. And so, um, a lot of the money isn't put into that, and so these children are just kind of sat in the corner and, um, you know, there's only so long you can do that Right. And a lot of the teachers, it it was not the teacher's fault. A lot of the teachers were just not getting the backbone or support that they needed or the materials or the extra help that they needed for these specific children . Do you find that those parents, um, I've seen the same thing and heard the same things, and at the same time I've heard that it's even harder when both parents are required to work and can't spend, you know, that, that time, you know Yeah. typically the mother was at home with, uh, the children and, and at least could kind of keep up on what's going on, Yeah. and really society sort of dictates that, uh, you know, both the parents work. Yeah. And, um, I know I've heard some people talk about just the fact that even as far back as the, you know, the second and third grade, uh, if the kids had, you know, proper reading skills or learned proper reading skills that, that would make a lot of difference. Oh, yeah. Oh, definitely, definitely. Yeah. Well, I work at a university, and, and it's really tough when we're, uh, uh, I, I, uh, work at the University of Texas at Dallas Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, you know, there are some students who are in the top ten percent of their class, even some who are maybe, you know, in the top ten of their class, and their S A T scores are very low, and a lot of it has to do with their, uh, their reading ability, you know, their, their language Yeah. and, Oh, definitely, yeah. It, uh, makes it tough because you know when they come in with scores that low, they may be, uh, good students, but they just haven't achieved to their fullest potential and they're going, to fail unless some sort of remedial, uh, education is given to them Yeah. so, And then it, then it comes into, well, who's supposed to give it to them, the colleges and universities or, are they supposed to get that back in the high schools and, the junior highs. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I know Richardson school district has a, has a wonderful program in the remedial reading, um, where, you know, of course, all the children are tested in some, time portion of the year and, and, uh, some children who need extra help are put into this, um, reading program, and it is just excellent. It is, Yeah I wish that all the children could be exposed to that program, you know. And I I know that there are some parents that say how do I get my kids in that, and yet they don't qualify, but it's unfortunate that they don't qualify, because I think everybody would benefit from these programs. Yeah, it sounds like it. It is excellent so, So how many children do you have at home? I have two little ones Oh. Uh, you know, I've been teaching since they were, gosh, newborns and and it just wasn't adding up and, you know, being a teacher, and you see all these parents who are working and working and working and just, you know, don't have the time, time, time, time. Yeah. It was kind of getting to me, where, where I'm doing the same thing And so, um, you know, my children are getting older and I was missing out on a lot, so I just decided to stay home for a while, I don't know how long Well, that's good. Okay, uh, I guess, we are just supposed to talk about things we do in our spare time. Uh-huh. Uh, I basically read books. Uh-huh. It is, I do. Sometimes, when everybody's gone to bed, my kids are in bed and my husband in bed, so I will just stay up and finish a book that I am, I have about three books that I am going on. And I will work on one for a little bit, you know, and then the next one. But that's just kind of, Well, that is pretty impressive to have three books going. Not always, just sometimes. Oh, yeah. And what what kind of books do you read? Uh, just really different ones. Uh, I have one that I was reading on, uh, raising your children and then another one on a, an autobiography, and another one on, uh, uh, uh, like a crime story Oh yeah A true crime story. Oh, do you like those detective stories? Yeah. But this, it was a true one. It was just a little different though. Reading that one last night. Oh, well that is interesting. Actually, I like to read also, but, uh, usually fall into one or two categories, either true science fiction or fantasy on the one hand or highly technical. Yeah, like my husband. Yeah Yeah Yeah, kind of one or the other. You must, uh, work for T I? Yes. Yeah, my husband does too. Yeah, and I am a computer scientist. Yeah. But, I have a lot of other hobbies. Uh-huh, really. Well, yeah, I am kind of, uh, I guess what you would call it, a project person. Oh, really. Yeah, and I love, like I have a shop and when things break around the house, I always try to fix them myself and so, hobby, it's, it's funny, uh, from the one stand point, it is work. But it is a hobby too, that I enjoy to do. Yeah. To find broken, Yeah, yeah. What kinds of things do you fix? Well, essentially anything you find in a house. Uh, a stove, or oven or a broken piece of porcelain or, uh, chipped tile on the floor. I mean just anything. Oh. And you have a shop? Well it, it is not anything elaborate. It is just a work bench and a gazillion tools. Yeah. But, enough that, again for anything in the house I could probably, Yeah, you can fix just about everything and anything. Right. Well, that is great. And in the car, I guess the car too. Yeah. And so, uh, I think I probably would consider that a hobby. Although, sometimes it gets to be excessive. Yeah. That is pretty much like my husband. He is, he is pretty, uh, mobile in that area too. He, he works on the cars. He rarely takes them in Yeah I, and, uh, he works on irons, and all T V and stuff too. We rarely have to take those things in too. Right. Yeah, I think it, it, not only can it be fun, but it can certainly help your finances. Oh, yeah. Yeah, definitely. So, do you have any art, uh, how do I say it, creative or artistic hobbies? Uh. Not really. I mean during Christmas I work on, you know, like, uh, holiday sweat shirts and those kinds of things. Oh yeah, well that's good. But, but, uh, not really Yeah. Well, I don't necessarily either. I can plink out a song or two on a piano Oh. and I can, uh, I don't necessarily draw or do any of that kind of art, I guess uh, graphic arts is that what they call it, Yeah. Yeah. I can't do any of that, but sweat shirts is certainly impressive. Uh-huh. Uh, I belong to this organization for, uh, if, if you have preschool children Uh-huh. and, uh, every once and a while they will have a craft, uh, section for the moms Oh, yeah. and those are really neat and we learn to do the, uh, transfer pictures on the sweatshirts transfer photos Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. and, uh, those are really neat. So we learn different crafts like that uh I see. Well, that is neat Yeah. I guess you could consider that a hobby. Do you, do you cook for a hobby or do you, No I cook dinner That's not something you, I don't consider it a hobby I understand that. But, uh, you know, I no I am not a real elaborate cook or anything like that unfortunately. Yeah. I like to bake off and on. And usually once a week I will bake something, but it's not anything elaborate, you know Right. At least, I don't think it is. Yeah. So, But, I think that still borders on hobby. Yeah. Probably the other thing I do which I am sure will sound horrible to you, but is I program for fun. Uh, on the computer. Uh-huh. So, I have little projects little computer projects going on that I consider hobbies. Uh-huh. But, drive my wife crazy. Oh. Well good. You have a computer at home? I do, yes. Oh, good. Yeah. In fact, there is actually several of them here right now. Oh, really. Not all of them being mine. Wow. Then you are busy Yeah. Uh-huh, that is very good. Uh, I wonder if you can construe raising children as being a hobby? Well, you know one of the books that I did, that I was reading, and I stopped because it was so, it's the book is so detailed Uh-huh. and you have to, sometimes I have to go back and read the page over again cause I didn't quite get it all. And, uh, it is so detailed, Hi. What do you think about gun control? Well, uh, sort of mixed feelings about it, I guess, uh, uh, I, I I lean more towards the control side than, than towards, you know, just the, the free, free army. Uh, on the other hand I, it's, it's sort of an issue of, of uh, I'm not, I'm not a great fan of, of government control in general and so it's, it's kind of a tough issue. What about yourself? Well, I guess that I would like to, to say that perhaps someplace in the middle where people could somehow qualify or, uh, have a legitimate use for the, the, the weapon I suppose because also, living in this area, the, the problems in D C come home very quickly. Uh-huh. I'm, I'm sure, yeah. Uh, so you would take a position where somebody without, without a, uh, uh, specific use, in other words, if they just wanted to have a, a gun to have in their home, uh, you wouldn't, you wouldn't like them to be able to do that? Is that, Well, I'm not so sure about that, but I think somehow, uh, safety courses or, I don't know whether this could be something that was done in school, but somehow people, I'd like to know that the people who had them at least knew what the responsibilities were, whether they followed them or not. but still, I, I have, uh, I have the impression that, that the, the majority of the problems that we have with guns are not, are, are probably not from the people that are, are buying them through legitimate channels anyway. Uh, that may be wrong. Uh, you know, I mean, certainly there, there are cases of, of, you know, children who find their parents' gun or something and, and shoot a brother or sister or, you know, things like that that need to be definitely avoided and that's, that's certainly within the channels, right. Uh-huh. But, uh, a lot of the, the crime, I think, that goes on, I, I don't know to what the degree the guns are, are purchased through regular channels or they're illegal guns. Yeah, I don't know, this morning in our paper, it, there was an article about somebody who had bought three guns in Virginia because all you have to do is get a driver's license, so he went over there and got a driver's license, the same day bought three guns and went up to New York and sold them for, you know, very high markups. Now, in a sense, that's a legal way of getting the guns, Uh-huh. but certainly the the purpose is not very legal. Yeah. Uh-huh, yeah, I, I mean, I think, uh, some or, I, I don't know if it's been actually been implemented, I think so, uh, or at least there's been talk about doing, uh, you know, like waiting periods and and things like that. Uh-huh. Uh, and, and, uh, you know, I, I think stuff like that is perfectly good. Right. I don't know, I've, you know, I, I don't own a gun and, and don't really want one, and I'd just as soon a lot fewer people did. Uh-huh. Uh, but on the other hand, you know, uh, like I say, I kind of, kind of against government control in general. Uh, Right. And I suppose uh, you know, total ban would lead to more illegal weapons. Yeah, and I, you know, something about banning is that, you know, there, there are so many weapons out there that, that they're not going to disappear anytime soon. Uh, and they're already, I know there's a ready market for them, you know, in the the stolen, stolen guns can be sold. I mean, the first thing a, a, a burglar will pick up if he can is a gun. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Right, because, uh, because they, they can be so easily sold and, you know, they're, they're, I don't know how many millions of guns have been sold in this country, but, uh, it's not like they're going to disappear all of a sudden. Uh, even if you do do a total ban on them. Uh, it's a real tough problem. Right. I, I don't know, I don't know where I really come down on it. I mean, I, I grew up, my father was a hunter, right, and that's, and that's sort of almost a separate issue. I think we've generally been talking about handguns and that kind of thing, Uh-huh. and, But that's true. I mean, some people grew up with guns in the house. We never had any in the house Uh-huh. so, to me, the, you know, the first time I saw a gun up close was a pretty scary thing. And I'm not sure that's good either. well we, you know, we, I grew up with them. I never really took to hunting. I mean, I did some of it, but, uh, you know, we didn't have any, we never had any handguns or anything like that. We had, you know, had shotguns for, for quail and pheasant hunting and things like that. Uh-huh. And, you know, it was a whole different thing and, and gun safety was taken very seriously and it was, you know, I mean, before we go hunting, we, we took safety courses, uh, you know, and, and, and it, but, you know, that's, that seems to me to be just a whole another issue. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, the, the thing, the, the, yeah, I'm not certain that people are, are, are terribly concerned about other people. Do you, uh, have a family budget, or, how do you work your budgeting? Well, for many, many years, uh, my wife and I did have a budget. Uh, we were both working at the time and so forth and, uh, that, we had to do that until we finally got the house paid for and, and other big bills taken care of. Uh-huh. Uh, we have a, a budget, but not as strict now as we used to because we don't have quite such a tight financial situation. Yeah. So it, it's, uh, it's helpful. I mean, yes, having a budget is very, very important and that did get us so that, you know, the house is paid for and, uh, other major things are taken care of and now we can relax a little bit more because basically we don't really require as much on a daily or a monthly basis as we did before, so we don't have to have quite as strict, uh, a budget as we did. Oh, well, we don't have a real strict budget. Uh, we have a, a low budget to work on, but we, uh, you know, for like groceries, we say about this much per week and then we just spend about so much. Sure, uh-huh. We don't, I, I don't know of a written figure of expenses that we, you know, keep to or anything, but I know that I go to the grocery store that we always stick within, you know, five dollars between here and there. Uh-huh. A certain amount. I think I've, I do that automatically myself. Yeah. I mean, I unconsciously, uh, you know, stay in a, within a, with a certain amount because I, I have enough food already stored here that I don't have to make any large purchase at any one time. Oh. All I normally do now is pick up little things here and there. If the salt goes out or we need sugar or something like that. Wow, that's great. Yeah, we have two freezers, and, course, we have a large garden here that we grow a lot of our own stuff and we freeze a lot of that, so a lot of the vegetables are taken care of in our own personal storage. Oh. Oh, you guys sound pretty self sufficient Well, we, we keep a little note pad on a, on a wall. if anything is absolutely out, make a note of it and then, uh, the next time I go to the store, why, I pick it up and fill it up. Huh. So it's, it's worked very well that way. That way we you know, if each of us finds something is missing, uh, we put it up. Uh, the other person might not know about it. Yeah. That way we keep up to date Well, that's a good idea. Let's see, the other thing there the topic was talking about was, if, if, uh, all I can think of is if you don't keep a real, a real tight budget, how do you control expenses, but, uh, one, another thing that we do is we always fly back to California and Washington each Christmas. Well, not fly back, but somehow we get back there. Uh-huh. And, uh, this year we did it by train because it was the least expensive and, Well, actually, it's more interesting, too, if you've got the time. Huh? Oh, yeah. And, uh, you know, we could go to both places without having to spend so much for plane fare. Yeah. Sure. Well, I think we unconsciously do the same thing. Excuse me, my throat's not as clear today as it should be. Uh-huh, that's all right. Uh, we are, uh, going to be traveling to Europe with a choral. We sing with a so called Pennsylvania choral Uh-huh. and we make a two weeks tour of, of, uh, foreign countries and, of course, that costs money. So we, uh, each of us watches the funds that we spend and make sure that, that we gather together over a period a time enough money to, to make this trip. So that is another way of, uh, budgeting Uh-huh, that's right. and I think we just sort of unconsciously do it. We, uh, just live a normal life, but we don't throw any money away, particularly. We save it for this trip, which is, uh, always very, very nice. Yeah, well, whenever I don't know if this is part of the topic, but whenever I find, you know, a dime or something on the ground, I, I'll probably pick it up I do the same thing. I have a whole pile of them saved that I have found by parking meters Uh-huh, yeah, I have a special little jar that I keep all the money I found in. You know, just count it up at the end of the year, something. Yeah. Yeah But, yeah. Well, let's face it, the, when we're talking budget, it is important to, to have a budget and, uh, I, I keep track of mine on a more rough basis now by just watching the level of my checking account and I have a money market account also. Uh-huh. And, uh, I keep those levels up above a certain minimum, and I'm always trying to, Well, are you in the market for a new car? Uh, well, yeah, I am as a matter of fact. Well, actually I'm looking for another car, but, uh, uh, new, probably not. Oh. What sort of requirements to you have for your car? Uh, sports car. Uh-huh. Uh, usually either black or red. Uh-huh. And electric windows, and power locks I see Now, Top of, top of the line. Well, not so much that as it is, I've had so many times when, uh, uh, you know, I'll have a friend next to me or I see somebody, uh, guy broken down on the side of the road and try to lean over and roll down the window. Oh. It is just a real pain, or, you know, if I'm driving along and there's somebody next to me and, uh, somebody that I know and you try to talk to them it's real difficult to drive, reach over, and try to roll down the window. Uh-huh. Right, right. And, uh, so, power locks, power windows are just, just things that, uh, just really help a lot Uh-huh, uh-huh. What about you? Well, I guess I'm, uh, more traditional in that I don't like power windows or power locks, because the people that I know who have them always seem to have trouble with them. Oh. And, uh, so I don't, I just don't like anything that I can't figure out why it doesn't work Sure. And then I want, you know, good, uh, gas mileage and I want an air bag and, uh, I guess, Have you ever had a car with an air bag? No, I haven't. Have you? No. Somehow I just think, you know, I like the idea Well, it, it sure seems to save lives and Right. uh, yeah. I, actually, I like the anti-lock brakes. Right, that's a good idea. And I have never had a chance to, I have been in cars that have had them, but I've never tromped on the brakes to see, uh, you know, on ice or water just to see if they didn't lock up. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, uh, you think you'd buy, uh, an American car or a European or Japanese? Well, I, actually I don't know a lot about different brands. I tend to have, you know, my requirements like the last time I bought a car I, I guess I did sort of prefer American and my requirements were basically, you know, good repair record, good mileage, uh, and I needed air-conditioning and, uh, can't remember what my, oh, I wanted uh, stick shift. And, so I didn't have a whole lot of choice There was one car in all of the, the metropolitan area that I could find that, you know, was sort of a medium priced car with a stick shift in it. What was that? It, it turned out to be a, a Chrysler. Uh Lancer. Huh, stick shift, huh? Yeah. Did it have, what, a three speed or a four speed? No, a five speed. And it, basically, it was something that a military guy had ordered and hadn't picked up, and so it had been on the lot three months and they were really eager to sell it. Wow. So, I guess in this area, at least, you know, if it's not automatic, it doesn't move. Well, actually, I much prefer a stick shift and, what, I'm, I'm curious. I, I know why I love a stick shift. Why why did you want one? Well, I just wanted it because, again, I had, I guess traditionally always had a car that had one and I thought it would be more reliable. Uh-huh. Uh, It's hard to find stick shift cars anymore. I found that out. I mean, you know, the people would just sort of look at me like, you must be crazy when I, went in to, and asked and that was a requirement so, Huh, yeah. So, No, I mean most of the sports cars are stick shift. Well, I'm not even sure all of them are anymore. At least in this area. Huh. Not that I was looking for sports cars, but, now the people I've talked to don't seem to have stick shift. Huh. And so why do you like stick shift? Uh, I guess I, I grew up on it and it's fun. It's, it's an enjoyable part of driving. I do feel like I have, uh, more control over the car Uh-huh. and it, it, to me, it gives me more, a lot more control in snow and ice and slick conditions. Uh-huh. Right. Uh, it, it does, uh, I don't know, it, it's really more fun than anything else. As long as you're not stuck in heavy traffic, it's fun Right, and actually it's probably safer on, you know, at long trips because it keeps you more active. Yeah, yeah So, Yeah, uh, of course, I like gadgets and, and, uh, fun things, on the cars, which are all the things, course, the Are we tonight? Yeah. Sure. Okay, well let me go ahead and press one Okay, Leslie, I'd like to find out a little bit about your hobbies. What do you like to do in your spare time? Well, and when I have my spare time I do enjoy, Actually, it's a cherished commodity now days, huh. That's right. Uh, I do enjoy, uh, sewing, I hand, uh, I do some needlepoint. Oh, great. And I, I've been doing a a picture for my father-in-law, but if I, uh, ever get enough spare time, he might see it one day. Uh-huh. And some other things I like to do are, is music and, uh, also reading. What kind of music? Well I enjoy singing. Oh, okay. Yeah. Well great. I enjoy music too and I, uh, one thing that I like to do, uh, is sit down and play the piano. I can't play that well, Um. I enjoy that. Uh-huh. Uh, a couple of hobbies that I also have is, uh, I really enjoy bike riding and the biggest hobbies I have right now are my kids and whatever they are involved in. Yes. Like my, uh, oldest boy is involved in soccer so we go out and play kick the soccer ball around or play throw the football and, uh, we also like to, uh, ride bicycles. So we're riding bicycles and so a lot of the hobbies that I have right now are centered around my, my children and also things that my wife and I like to do together. Uh-huh. And uh, so personally a lot of the hobbies I had when I was growing up and, uh, going to college and so forth are having to change. Uh-huh. I really enjoyed, uh, mountain climbing. I really enjoyed skiing. Uh, and a lot of outdoor activities. Uh there's not a whole lot of mountains here in Texas that I can go skiing with that right now, That's right. but hopefully I will be able to get back to the slopes some day but, Oh yeah. I have not had the opportunity to go skiing but, uh, I grew up in Arizona which has some mountains around it but uh, never did get out and ski Uh-huh. You didn't? No, I never did. Didn't have the, uh, I guess I didn't have the person out there saying hey let me take you skiing and of course, I was at that you know stage of my life where I had to be taken to places. I couldn't go by myself. Yeah, that's true. That's true. And then of course, once I got to the age where I could have done it myself, I had other interests I guess. So Oh yeah. I guess that for me it was very helpful. My two oldest brothers were very interested in skiing. Oh yeah. And so we, we went quite often and, uh, in fact my brother still does a lot of skiing. When I lived around in that area my brother would fly in from Chicago and we would go skiing and enjoy that. Uh-huh. So, but, uh, luckily it's kind of unusual because hobbies, it's a, it's a nice thing to have and it's good to fall back on those hobbies when you have time to. Like you mentioned and I am finding out, a lot of the spare time that I had isn't there. That's right. It's, uh, it's, uh, taken up by activities with, uh, work, with family, with, uh, civic and Church responsibilities for me. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, Yeah, I, I find if I, I make I have to make myself realize that it is important to get out there and you know just even to go for a walk is good recreation for me Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah Yeah. And my youngest daughter is going to be starting up soccer so she's real excited about doing that. Well, great. We will be busy with that again. What, again. So you have participated with that in the past? Pardon me? Have you participated in that in the past? Well, I did with my older daughter Uh-huh. and she was in it for a few years, but she has got so many interests herself that, we had to start eliminating and well the first one to go. She still likes her piano Uh-huh. and she is in band. So, she's got lots of hobbies or, uh, activities going on. It sounds like her life is full too. Yeah. I imagine your life is full taking them around all over the place. Very much. That's right That's right. All right. All right. Well, Leslie, it's been very nice talking to you. Is there anything else that you would like to mention tonight Uh. or, No, I think we covered it pretty good. Oh, okay. Great. Thank you for calling. Well thank you and you have a nice evening. You too. Bye, bye. Bye now. Okay. Well, are you a fisher person, are you? Yes, I love to fish. Great. What kind of fishing do you do? Well, it's mostly from the rivers and lakes. In California? And, yes, and from the banks. I don't like to go out on boats. Oh. Well, what kind of fish do they have in your neck of the woods? Well, it, uh, Uh-huh. Oh. But, I like it all except, uh, really I don't, I don't really care that much for the trout. I think I had rather have a catfish than I would a trout Well, I, I don't blame you. I grew up in Nebraska and, uh, grew up fish, cat fishing in the Little Blue River and then, uh, we moved to, uh, South Dakota and, uh, did a lot of Walleye fishing on the Missouri River Uh-huh. and, uh, now that we are down here, I think a lot of people do some, uh, bass fishing and strip bass fishing but, uh, I still, uh, I am sort of a catfish man at heart. See. Well, uh, like in, uh, Iowa and Nebraska, those little bullheads, they look just like catfish, huh? Yep. Yeah, they do. You know that's what I mean cause I am from Iowa. Oh. And, uh, you know, we use to catch those little bullheads and that's, they look just like baby catfish. Yeah. You know, uh, did you get to go fishing very often? Oh yeah. I like to fish. The only problem is I just moved to Texas so it's been a little over a year now but, uh I, I am not quite sure what residency is for a fishing license here Uh-huh. and I, so really I haven't gone fishing for about two years now Uh-huh. and it's driving me crazy but, uh, one of these days, I will go over to, uh, Lake Lewisville or, uh, what is it, uh Ray Hubbard, Lake Ray Hubbard and get some fishing in and get it out of my system for a while Uh-huh. Well, uh, you like to eat them after you catch them? Well, yeah, sure. Because there's are a lot of people that like to go fishing, Well Yeah. Most of the time, uh, if we catch something, we'll take it home and eat it. Uh, and you're right. I mean I like to fish for trout and they are really, uh, uh, good fighters but, uh, if I went to a restaurant that probably wouldn't be the first thing I would order if I had a choice of fish on the menu. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Well, uh, so, do you just, uh, uh, skin your catfish or do you fillet them out, how do you, how do you, We, uh, skin them. Do you? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Just cut their heads off and skin them and then I just, uh, flour them, salt and pepper them and cook them. Yeah. I don't put that corn meal on them. No. You know, uh, that's the way my mother taught me to fry them so Well, that's how we do it too. Uh, although we, uh, use to set some, uh, trout lines out and we've caught, you know, fourteen, fifteen pound catfish and sometimes those are good to, uh, do on a barbecue grill and just leave the skin on and, uh, do it with, uh, butter on, uh, on, on tin foil Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then the skin just basically scrapes right off and, uh, and it really tastes pretty good. Yeah. Well you know, I don't think I've ever tried cooking those, uh, catfish quite that big. There, uh, Uh, most of them are just the small, you know, pan frying ones. Yeah. So, uh, Well, I am hoping one of these days I'll have the opportunity to catch a big catfish like that on, uh, a rod and reel but, uh so far it's just been on, uh, on the trout lines Um. so, Wouldn't that be something? Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, well up in, uh, South Dakota on the, in the Missouri River there we've, uh, tied into a few northern pike and, uh, they really, uh, in, in, when the water is cold, they are very slow moving fish, but in the summer time, they'll, uh, give you a run for your money. Uh-huh. So when you were, when you did go fishing where did you go? You moved there from where? Nebraska? Uh-huh. Yeah. So, it was just like the rivers and, uh, the lakes I suppose, huh? In, In Nebraska? Yeah. Uh, yeah. Most of the time, uh, we just fished, uh, in the river although there were a lot of sand pits and things like that, that we could fish in. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And a lot of them ended up being close to the river, so if the river every, uh, flooded, you know, then obviously they would dump some catfish and bass and stuff into the into the ponds and the sand pits Uh-huh. and so we would do a lot of fishing there too but, uh, South Dakota didn't really have much for, Afternoon, Doug, it certainly is, uh, going to be a pleasure to chat with you. Uh-huh. And I'm, uh, certainly was surprised to, uh, to hear from you. Normally I talk to people in Plano, Texas. Yeah, me too. How did you get on this list? Uh, through Nancy Dahlgren. She, um, she had somehow gotten the information from T I and was distributing it around. Well, okay. All right. Well, now, what would you say about these everyday invasions of our privacy? What ideas do you have on that, Doug? Um, see, I'm not sure that, I don't think they're necessarily widespread in this country, but I think that the opportunity is definitely there for, um, people to invade your privacy when they want to, I think it's, um, In what manner? Well, it's certainly not that difficult to tap a phone. It's completely trivial to, for instance, listen in on someone's car phone or walk around phone, since they're just radio signals. Uh-huh. It's, um, and let's see, well, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Well, the thing that I thought they were, uh, concerned about was, was people calling on the phone from all over the country to sell you something Uh-huh. and in reality in many cases, they knew, or they had information about you that was purchased from some other organizations. And I thought was, uh, beginning to invade the privacy of people, because the things about where you live and, and maybe what you purchased in past months is then put down and sent to someone else in the same business, and they in return, come back and try to sell you something with this additional knowledge. To me that's an invasion of privacy. Yeah, I agree with you there, for sure. Um, and I think that all that information is quite easy for anyone to get. It's possible for almost anyone to get information about your credit history, for instance, if they just, um, twist the right arm or claim to be from the right organization when they're calling the credit company. Uh-huh. It's, you know, possible for a thirteen year old hacker with a modem to find out almost anything about your personal history, not to mention, change it if he wants to. You mean your history in regards to, uh the charge card company or something like that? Well, um. Well, yes, well, for instance, yes, um, and they'll probably goes into other things, like, you know, your records with the government or utility companies or anything. Do you consider these serious, uh, problems? Um, uh, not, not yet anyways, because I don't think they're widespread enough, but I think they have the potential of becoming serious problems. Uh-huh. Well, what should we do about it, or what could be done about it, do you think to correct it? Um I'm not really sure, because the, I mean society is going more and more electronic, and there are certainly benefits to its doing so, and it's hard to, hard to say whether the, um, risks have potential of outweighing the benefits or not, and I'm not sure what can be done to ensure that they don't. Why, do you see any out for us? Well, I would think that, uh, information held on records, uh, by any company or charge card dealer or person should be absolutely private and, and not be allowed to be, uh, to, given out by those companies. Uh-huh. I mean, it should be made a, a, uh, national or a state law to protect people so that, uh, you would then feel more free to deal direct with these companies. Uh-huh. In other words, if you call the company yourself, directly, uh, and then know that what you tell them will be on their records but will not be available to anyone else, uh, you know, from the outside, so to speak then you would, you would feel more free to, uh, to go into detail with them Uh-huh. Yeah, I. but, but we have no control of that now Uh-huh. and then, uh, you, you're, when you're talking with them you really don't want to tell them everything that's on your mind because you, you feel that it someday might be used against you. Uh, I basically, uh, listen to the news from the T V. That's probably the only time I get a chance to, uh, uh, take a look at it is the evening news and, and then if I'm lucky, I might be able to hear something through news wise. But, uh, other than that that's probably how I get my source unless something really tragic happens and somebody tells me it about through, uh, uh, you know, uh, through conversation or whatever but, uh, most of the time it is through the news in the evening so that's about the, You don't get any newspapers? Newspapers? No, I'm not too much in reading newspapers. Uh, not that I don't enjoy newspapers or anything like that but, uh, part of it is because I just don't feel like I need, the need to have them, uh, with watching the T V or whatever. We get our weekly news around the area and I might look through it real quick if there's something that catches my interest, uh, in regards to what's going on around the county or little bit of the state But the majority of the time now I don't get a daily newspaper where, you know, I get tons of, uh, news coming in that kind of stuff. I'm kind of the opposite of you. I get all my news from newspapers. Oh, you do We have, we have two newspapers. You read it in the morning then? Yeah. Two newspapers in the morning. Uh-huh. And, uh I'm, uh, in, in a government position that I'm in the news a lot Sure. so, uh, I, I kind of look through to see, see what, uh, I'm quoted in. Oh, sure But, uh, how, how bad the quotes are every day. To see if they did it or if they, uh, criticize you or put something in there wrong. Yeah. Sure, sure. Or, uh, sometimes there's, uh, letter to the editor about me or there's a, even, uh, editorials for and against what I'm doing Uh-huh, Sure. Sure, exactly But, uh, but T V, uh, the T V, I, I don't really watch, even if I'm, even if I'm on it. Uh-huh, sure. But just, Well, that's, that's kind of like you said then. We, we are kind of on the opposite where I get home and, uh, while I'm cooking supper the T V is on and watching the news or trying to catch up with what is going on and, uh, very seldom do I catch the ten o'clock so, by that time, you know, old news is probably what I hear through the grapevine or whatever. But, uh, unless there is a big issue going on like when we were at war then I think everybody was glued to the T V to find out what was going on. Right. But, uh, other than that, no. It's, And that's, C N N had the, uh, everybody was watching C N N, that seemed to be the place to be to find out what was going on on that. Exactly, exactly, exactly, sure. Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Well it brought kind of, uh, more of a vivid, uh, look at what was going on when they were dropping the bombs and just a lot of different things. But, uh, yeah, that's true. You know you know a lot of people that read the news to, newspapers to get the news of what's going on and, uh, other people that, you know, do it differently or don't even watch any news at all so. But, Well, the thing is, with, with T V, I, I, uh, a lot of times the, the news on, uh, the local T V is so brief, you really don't get the full picture of what, uh, what's going on. Exactly happens. Sure, sure. That's, And, uh, that's, that's a problem that I have is not, getting just a little brief, uh, idea of what's happening. But, Oh sure, a clip, you know, a sentence or two and that's about it of what went on and, uh, they have so much other information to cover in such a short period of time. Sure. Right. But I like the weather report. Makes sense. Yeah. So, I I alway, always, I always turn that on Yeah, yeah. that's one part I watch because of, uh, I go surfing down here and I always want to watch the weather for when the waves are going to be good. Uh-huh. So you're right on the coast line. You're not, uh, further up. You're, Yeah. No. Uh-huh. Sure. Sure. I suppose you watch for hurricanes coming in and things like that. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. Weather channel's good Yeah, that's about the only time in the, in the summer, uh, if you're watching T V for the weather, even though it's very hard to predict what's going on, they'll kind of say, well, there's a thunderstorm warning or whatever. This is the, what is expected, but a lot of times things happen and change here so drastically, uh, so fast you know, where movement that was coming in has shifted or whatever Yeah. so. Uh-huh. so I can predict my, my week and where I'm going to be. Uh-huh. Sure. So I can be at the, at the beach when the waves start coming in. to take off. Sure. Yeah. That's, sounds pretty good so. Anyway, I don't know if our time is getting up here or it's got to be fairly close to that Okay. So, what is your opinion on, on drug testing? Well I can see it in certain cases where it might be, uh, somebody's in a position that, uh, perhaps a lot of lives are involved, like, maybe, uh, pilots that, uh, you know, fly jets and, uh, maybe people that have a lot of responsibility over a large mass of people. I could certainly see it being done but, in general, uh, you know, whether companies want to do this and I know that companies do. Like factory workers that have lots of accidents are now being drug tested. I know a couple of corporations that are doing that. Uh, so, you know, they kind of have gotten into the idea that let's drug test them and let's put them through rehab. But there's got to be like a limitation. Do we drug test everybody that comes in and or do we kind of say, well you can be drug tested and you look okay because you look this way. You're, you're very conservative and, and there's just no way that we would think that you would use drugs but the guy that doesn't fit the stereotype of, uh, the conservative or whatever could be drug tested. And, uh, you know, whether legal rights and, of that person, I don't know. There's certainly a lot of things to really consider, uh, when you get into drug testing people just at the work place unless, of course, like I said, they have a large responsibility over a mass of people uh, that's about it. Well, yeah, it, it, it's just not the you're talking about company's liability. Uh-huh, uh-huh. If, if, uh, if the company is liable for something that, that, a employee does while under the influence of, of a drug, you know, then by all means they should have the right to, to, to, to to minimize their liability. Sure, sure. And I think that's what companies are doing, uh, more and more because there are products that are out there. And there's also the case about just, uh, uh, health, health and welfare of the, uh, employees. Uh-huh. If a company has a healthy work force, their insurance rates are low. Exactly. Sure, sure. And not only not only low, there's all sorts of a, of a benefits, uh, financial benefits associated with having, you know, having people file fewer claims, being sick. Sure. Exactly. The only thing is, There, there's the whole question that, that a, that a work force that is known not to be on drugs is going to be more healthy I don't think anybody would argue with that. Exactly. Exactly. The only thing is, uh, the one issue that I would take stands with is the fact that the drug testing itself can be done on a person that is actually not on drugs and come out positive. Right. If they have had like, uh, medications in the past, let's say, once a month or twice a month or three times a month or maybe that week they take an Advil and the Advil will, apparently, come out positive as if they smoked marijuana. Right. Uh, and there's poppy seed type things. I think that everybody is aware of that but, uh, where's the line where you, where you say to somebody, I'm going to drug test you tomorrow so please do not take these medications or where's, you know how can how you can do it? Well, the Right. The question becomes what do you do about somebody who tests, who tests positive. Exactly. that's where the real sticking point comes in. Uh-huh. It's not, I don't think there's any problem with testing people. Sure. It's what do you do with the information? Sure. Exactly. and the only thing that I would say on that is it could blacklist an employee later on. Let's say, uh, you've taken medication of some sort, even though they usually have you, at the time, list what medications you've taken. Uh, let's say you do come out positive and you've taken Advil or any of the Ibuprofen products out there. Or you've had a cold and you've been on medication or whatever, you come out positive. Is it then the chance that the employer will look at you in more of a negative fashion and say well, you know, this is kind of iffy, you know, are they really on drugs or, or they on drugs, you know what I'm saying. Where there might be in the back of the mind of the employer that this person, uh, is on drugs Right. or make up, they may make up their mind that let's get rid of this employee, you know what I'm saying? Right. Well, yeah. I think clearly, the person who is the line the line manager Uh-huh. the employee should not be privy to the information of drug testing. That should go to an entirely different, uh, agency within a corporation. Exactly. Uh, And it's a, they can that the, if it does come out positive the first time, they need to go back and find out what medications did that person take, you know what I mean? It, it's kind of like, uh, I think most people are aware, at least now, common knowledge is that Uh, I don't know. Your camping experience is probably, I don't know if they're similar to mine but, uh, since I've had children it has changed a little bit, but, uh, when my husband and I were, uh, camping, we'd take this domed tent that, uh, is easily collapsible and, uh, go camping and, uh, just kind of roughed it. As long as there was a bathroom there and some clean showers and things like that, then it was fine. But, uh, we'd get up at three in the morning and start on our little, uh, escapade for the day and, uh, kind of, uh, do a lot of different things and then stop when we wanted to. But, uh, that's kind of changed now. When you have a small child because they don't want to get up at three in the morning and you don't want them up that early. Would you then go hiking. I mean would the camping be part of a long hike? Oh yeah, yeah. We did a lot of different things. We'd stop when we wanted to, that kind of stuff. So, we kind of did a little bit of hiking, sure, and a little bit of, uh, sightseeing, uh, different areas. Uh, sitting back at different areas and spending hours, we never had really a time limit, we just kind of did what we wanted to do for that day. Um. Very comfortable, so. Were you up in, in Wisconsin or would you go into where would you camp ? Well, there's, uh, places in Wisconsin. There's the Apostle Islands, uh which are in Bayfield which is a wonderful place. Uh-huh. And then there's also, uh, what we found, uh, in the state of, uh, South Dakota, the Black Hills. Oh, yeah. That's beautiful. And we just have this, uh, really good time there. One thing is they don't have mosquitoes and, uh, sorry to say, and, uh, in Wisconsin we do, so, that kind of puts a little bit of a hamper on your, uh, you know, if, if you're going to go camping, who wants to deal with bugs and, uh Right We found this one area that doesn't have mosquitoes. They just don't have them and it's just wonderful not to be bugged all night long with a humming mosquito at your ear, Oh, yeah. Well, most of my camping, I haven't done much since I was a kid but, uh, we'd, basically, take the tent up in the Sierras and, uh, usually just camp near some stream or some lake. Uh-huh. Sure. And, uh, just, it wasn't even a, a full tent. It would be more a tarp, uh strung up between trees Sure. Uh-huh. Sure. and, uh, we just thought it was absolute heaven. Yeah, yeah. Uh, there was certainly nothing like a, a bathroom, a shower or anything, near by It was dig your own hole and, uh and I I'm not sure I'd do that that anymore, That was really called roughing it, yeah. I, Anymore. Yeah, see but it's, it, uh, uh, actually some friends of mine and I are planning to camp this summer, uh, for four days. Also going fishing, uh Uh-huh. Sure. Uh-huh. and I have a idea it's going to be a, a lot more equipment and a lot more stuff than before. Than you, sure. Than it, when you were younger, uh-huh. Yeah. But, it, with kids they don't care if they take a shower everyday. With kids they don't care, you know, uh, a about a lot of things. But as adults, uh, it's like if I don't take a shower every day, I feel like, you know, ooh. Yeah. I, I just don't feel right so. There's lots of places if you're going to go camping. K O A are wonderful. It's kind of it's kind of the, uh, yuppie type of camping because they have showers, they have things for kids to do. They have swimming pools, things like that. If you can find, uh, some really nice, clean, uh, campgrounds versus, uh, if you go to state parks, uh, Oh, my. we have found state parks, not that they're lacking but, uh, they're certainly not up to a standard of a K O A where it's, you know, a little bit cleaner. You've got the showers available. It's not, you know, in the same category. State parks, you know, you get a little bit fearful too, uh, you know, things like that simply because it, they are supposed to be patrolled but, uh, you know, it's, it's a little bit different. But, so we've always kind of stayed with a K O A and then, uh, did other things besides just sit at the campground at night. That's the only time you really use your campground. If you're going to be gone all day long, walking someplace or doing tourism or whatever uh, you're camping really is just for like in the evening to start the fire, to sit back and watch a fire, uh, to enjoy that, you know, and then to get up in the morning and get a shower and get cleaned up, that kind of stuff. Uh-huh. So we never really spent that much time at the campground as much as we did, So interesting political trends or events, huh? Uh-huh. Well, I guess the, uh, most interesting one that's, uh, going on right now, from my perspective, is this, uh, phenomena of, uh, uh, Ross Perot. Uh, caught his interview last night with David Frost and it was the, the first time I had, you know, heard, uh, his views expressed by himself. Uh-huh. I had heard other people talk about what they thought he believed in. Uh-huh. But the whole phenomena of him coming out of, uh, literally nowhere and no party. Uh, at least, no apparent party support on either side is pretty interesting. Huh. Yeah, I have not even heard, believe it or not, of that person. Uh-huh. I'm not kidding. When you, when you said it, it was kind of like a surprise. Like out of nowhere? Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. I, as far as like now, the new house bill that went to Minnesota, uh, being that it is their neighboring state and that I lived in Minnesota, I'm more familiar with the politics that involved with that, and that being passed. Uh-huh. But, uh, as far as politics in the grander, uh, part of it as if you want to look at, uh, election type things, I'm not quite sure even if I'm going to vote. Uh it gets harder and harder each time an election comes up like that, to make the decision on who would be the best to run. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Well, it seems that the decision, so far, has been filtered by, uh, you know, party politics so much that when the candidates finally get party approval, party support and therefore get presented to the public, the, the candidates are already beyond what, uh, most public, uh, feels is acceptable behavior. Sure. Exactly. Uh-huh. You know, the, one of the common criticisms of Clinton is, uh, gee, he'll say or do anything in order to get to the White House. Sure. And, and, up and to the point of, uh, Perot being a serious candidate, it seems like that, that was a requirement of being a, a contender within the party is to have done all those things. Uh-huh. Sure. I mean, here's, here's a guy who for twenty years has been working toward, you know, getting the party nomination and, and preparing himself for the presidency and now it seems like both he and the incumbent President are, you know, pretty seriously threatened by somebody who comes out of a whole nonpolitical arena. He might be a, a one of those, sure. Uh, it, it's kind of when you think back of the old politics where a dirt farmer, uh, when you think of some of the best presidents we've had, in the past, have been people that have struggled to get to the top. I mean, they were not rich in in any means Uh-huh. and it has been kind of, in the past, uh, I don't know, maybe fifty years that in order for a person to get involved with politics, they've had to have money. Uh-huh. And you had to have the views of the people that were going to be paying your way. Uh-huh. Uh, so it makes the common person, uh, not to say that a common person couldn't run for government and do a fabulous job because he's got people that are quite intelligent and I don't know if we'll ever see that you know. Where a common person could ever get in there that has good moral standings and, uh, has, uh, you know, you think of Abraham Lincoln and, you know, just the background of Abraham Lincoln. You know, teaching himself to read. Uh-huh. He didn't go to college. He didn't, you know, do all the other things that, uh, you know, you would think that was real popular to do and to get politically involved in and have money. He didn't come from money. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, and now it's, And, and yet even he was a, a consummate politician in the sense that, uh, not only did he, uh, fail in business twice with bankruptcy and failure Uh-huh, sure. but he lost some eighteen elections before he finally won one. Uh-huh. And the first and the first and only election he won was, uh, the presidency Yeah He, he had lost every other office that he had, you know, he was appointed a couple of times to, like, uh, uh, state legislator. So you really know a lot of his background. Yeah. Then, then when he finally, you know, did win an election, uh, you know, it was the presidency. Yeah. It was the big one. It's the one that everybody wants. Yeah. Yeah. But, Whether or not I, you know, you look at all these candidates that want to become president. I really have to ask them why, you know. Yeah Uh, it's the toughest job in the world to do. And not only that, you don't have that much freedom to make choices. I mean you have to go through so many different, Uh-huh. you have to go the House, the Congress, and all of the other things to get a bill passed. Uh-huh. And sure you can veto veto it at the last minute but then it's not like you have all that power and I think long time ago presidents did have a lot of power. Uh-huh. Um, hello, um, what is your favorite, um, food for a dinner party? Um, I don't know, I, I think I make things, you know, I do things kind of simple because I, you know, I just have close friends over. I make like lasagna and, uh, oh, we like to have barbecues outside so, you know, when the weather's nice because in Texas you have a lot of nice weather, so, we do a lot of, um, things like that. Um, I'm not really into gourmet cooking, so, I don't know how to do that, so, I don't have gourmet foods Do you do Tex-Mex? Um, yeah, you know, like fajitas and stuff like that, so. Oh, fajitas, how do you make fajitas? Um, it's kind of like made out of skirt steak and you marinate it. Uh-huh. You can buy marinating mixes here I don't know, get it up there. Oh. Uh, you can, you know, marinate it in any kind of barbecue sauce you like and then you, uh, you quick fry it real fast with, in hot, hot grease. You know, not a not, not deep frying it but you can either barbecue it which is really good, with, uh, green beans, not green beans but green peppers and red peppers and onions. And, uh, then you put it on a flour, like, you know, you make your meat real, uh, thin, you know, bite-size pieces. Uh-huh. Then you put it on flour tortillas with, you know, guacamole and, uh, sour cream and, you know, all kinds of, you know, it's like a Tex-Mex type thing. Oh, it sounds good. It's really good. You can do it with chicken too. Chicken fajitas and stuff. Okay. So. Well, that's nice. So, what kind of cooking do you do up there? Oh, well, basically, um, because I lived in the Middle East for a while I tend to fix Middle Eastern foods when I have, have people over. And so, um, some of the dips are like chick peas mashed with, um, sesame. Uh-huh. And, uh, cold um, what's it called, I forgot, what it's called, anyway and, and my, You cook them so often you kind of forget their names. That's right, that's right. Yeah, yeah. It's called , now I remember it. Oh. And, um, dipping Arabic bread, the thin piece of bread in that. Uh-huh. Or another dip is made with, very similar but with, um, eggplant which has been actually it ends up with a barbecued taste. I, although we usually bake it in the oven or if we have, uh, those of us that have gas stoves bake it on top just like putting it in the gas flame and sort of getting it black, on the outside but mushy on the inside. Oh. Oh, that's unusual I'd never heard of anything like that, you know. Here in Texas it's all, you know, Tex-Mex cooking and barbecue and, But barbecue is it like steaks or is it, uh, turkey? Yeah, you barbecue Pardon me? Would you barbecue a turkey or a chicken or, Oh, yeah, you can barbecue turkey if you have a big enough grill but my, I cook my turkeys inside, you know, it you can buy smoked turkeys. Uh-huh. And or, uh, but most the stuff that we barbecue is like steak and chicken and hamburgers, hot dogs, you know, Uh-huh. the simple things like that, Uh-huh. You know, barbecue beans and baked beans and, Uh-huh. I'm sure that the chicken that we barbecue from the Middle East has a lemon garlic sauce. I wouldn't imagine that a barbecued chicken would. No, no, this is more like hickories, hickory type, you know, Uh-huh. depending on the it's like a smokey flavor, if you've ever, you know, had stuff like that. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's totally different. Sounds like it would be interesting to eat some of the Middle Eastern cooking, so. Right, right. Yeah. Well, it's been fun talking to you. Yeah, it's been fun, it's been nice, it's, uh, you know, new to learn some, what different people eat, Right. I come from Wyoming and it's basically the same, same type of thing except for you do eat more the Tex-Mex down here, so. Uh, in Wyoming it would be less spicy? Yeah, yeah, you, you know, down there it's just like meat and potatoes, you know. Vegetables once in a while. Yeah, right Oh, dear. Well, it's been interesting to talk to you. Okay, very good. Thank you for calling. Okay, bye-bye. Bye-bye. All right, Yes. I, I, Why do you think the apathy exists? I blame it to apathy. Yeah, um, I, I suspect the apathy is due to something like people just feeling that, that their vote doesn't count anyway. I mean, why, why bother voting if, um, if your vote won't make a difference. So for instance, in, um, the last presidential election, I'm sure a lot of people thought, Oh, Bush is going to win either way, why bother voting. Why should I go out of my way when it doesn't matter. That's right. I think that's, and, and the other side of the coin is, um, people saying, well, if I really like the underdog candidate, I still think they're not going to win, so are only the same two caucuses, certainly not going to win, why bother voting for him. So. I I think that's a big, uh, a big, a big reason for it. How Oh, I think so, too. And I think the other thing is the news media puts such a blitz on it that they had it predetermined with a half of one percent voting, you know. Um, that's true. Actually I never thought about that, that, that's a good And I, I think the, you hear the news, you know, you start out in the morning, and all day you hear the news, That's true, that's true. Uh-huh. What do you think on the local elections though? I think on the local elections it's actually, um, I think, um, I think people vote in the larger elections because they feel like, well, you know, the country's real important, and, you know, if I, if we help elect a president who's going to save us, then, then the whole country will be saved. But they figure local elections don't mean that much, I suspect. So people don't really worry about their local mayor or something, figuring that, you know, and I think wrongly, figuring that, that, well, what good is another mayor going to do anyway because our federal taxes are more important right now, and you know, and stuff like that. So people think that, that, that they don't have, um, that, that it doesn't matter as much, whereas I think it's probably just the opposite is true. I think it's probably the case that people could have more effect on a local level. Oh, I think so, too. Absolutely. Uh, I think another thing, and uh, I'm making a judgment here that may or may, I think it is totally wrong, well. Uh. I think that the people that are, have, um, a lower income, which you automatically equate with lower education tend not to be registered. Right. Um. And they don't register, and they don't understand that you can't go and vote and register all at the same time, or when it gets down to the point of someone saying are you going to vote today, they say, Well, I would Right, but, and I believe in this, but. Yeah, that's, that's possible. I still think that a lot of those people are the ones who really think that their votes don't make a difference, though, as well. I think it's those same people who don't know any better about how we vote, are, are, are a lot of the people who think that well, look at me, I'm just a little nobody. My vote's not going to count anyway. You know, and I think that's probably a portion of the population that massively under I, I, I would guess that that portion of the population is massively under represented. I had an interesting comment one time, a thought that would never have crossed my mind. I had someone tell me that, I will never register to vote because I don't want to serve on a jury Um? What do they have to do with one another? I just, I, they, I just wandered off from that one. I was just so surprised and amazed with the statement that they say only registered voters can be picked for jury selection. Oh, so they didn't want to wind up being a juror ever. So they if they don't vote, they don't have to be on a jury. Oh, I didn't realize that actually. That, There is convoluted logic for you. Yeah, there is. There are much easier ways to get out of jury duty. Yes. Just go in and say, Oh, I want to be a juror, I can spot a guilty person a mile away. Oh, I just, right, right. There are so many other ways. But that one, it just defeated me. I didn't have any answer for that one. That one was just beyond my imagination. Well, that, that just seems to be a person who just doesn't care about much of anything around, sort of, you know, doesn't, doesn't, sort of, likes rights probably, but doesn't like responsibilities. That's a good point, you're probably right. I mean, that's what it boils down to, is people like to, people say, Oh, I don't want to be on jury, you know, I don't want to serve on jury duty, I don't want to vote, I don't want to do this and that. Well, then they could, you know, put them in the reverse situation, in the place where they don't have the right to be on jury duty and they don't have the right to vote Which, I suspect their opinions would change very quickly. And that was what I was thinking exactly about because in the Soviet Union they had an election, and they had, what, like a ninety-eight percent turnout. Yes. A massive turnout. At last, someone wants us to vote. They were standing in lines to vote. Yes, they were, they were doing that. Unfortunately, what, what, they, they had no idea what they were voting on it turns out. And their vote didn't count That's right. But, but it's the thought, they all got out But you wonder, if, you know, if, if now the next election they have, if only half of them are going to show up. Or how many generations it will take until only half of the voters show up in Russia. Or any one shows up. Right. That's, that's true. Total indifference, you know, what difference does it make. Back gone the full circle. Right. Now if things go the way that, that, that they are there, I think that they'll keep voting, but I think they'll wind up like us at some point, where people sort of, only half of them will end up voting, and sort of caring enough to really make a statement, so. You know, I think, I think that, that the people who most need to vote sometimes are the, are the ones who, who are really out to make a statement, because, you know, when, when, when you've got an underdog candidate who represents something, and even if he doesn't win, a large number of people voting for that particular candidate does, I think, make a statement to everyone else. Yeah, I think and I think that's real important. Oh and I think women turn out to vote for women, too. That's probably true. Yeah, I well, I know it's true. You see a lot of that. You know, rally behind the female. She may lose, but by golly we're going to make a statement here you know. Um. That's good, that's actually really good. Well, actually the female who I would most rally behind right now, right, I don't know much about her politics, by the way, the way she makes speeches is a local person for you, is Ann Richards. Oh, okay. I don't know her politics. I just know that, uh, I saw her speak in the eighty-four Democratic convention. And right then and there, if they said to me vote for someone for president, I would have slapped down my vote for Ann Richards. Was, was that the time, no that was eighty-four, that's too soon. She said something about, uh, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, and she did it backwards in high heels. That's very good. She said that, I didn't. Said, you know, don't tell me what women can do. That's, that's, that's, that's very good. That's, I, I like that. So I would, uh, I would vote for her, and I suspect she could get a large voter turnout. I think I did vote for her, as a matter of fact. I'm pretty sure I did. Say, I, I, I would think that, um, that, that people like that, I think inflammatory politicians are, um, or, or emotional politicians, certain very vibrant politicians tend to bring crowds out, I think. I would hope. Well, and some of the issues are so emotional. Uh-huh. You know, some of the really, the really emotional ones. Have you followed the Dallas elections on zoning? No, I've heard of it, but not necessarily the, I've heard it's very controversial though. I, everyone has made so many statements. I don't live in Dallas county. Uh-huh. But, I've heard so many statements that I've lost track. Um. I honestly at this point, it's, it's just too blown out of proportion for everyone. You really, even the news. You cannot follow what the the actual facts are at this point. I don't, I don't really know if some of the poor judges that are trying to decide how it should be divided. Uh-huh. I wonder about them at some point. Um, uh-huh. Well, they were elected as well, so. So. So they're going to be, That's correct. And that's, and that's another interesting question. Should judges be elected or appointed. That's true, that's true. Are they politicians, and you don't want them to have, you don't want a judge to be appointed because you don't want someone's friend to be a judge. Sure. But on the other hand, Or you want to take the other side of it, you can argue, that's one of those you can pick either side Right. and we could spend a lot of time on it because it's, it's difficult. That's right. Uh-huh. It's situational, really. So, how do you think we can get people to vote? Uh, uh, I've had one idea that I think is, is, is completely undoable, but, but I think, but I suspect it would work. And the way to do it is to get an absolutely atrocious candidate, who you never expect to win, to go out and make inflammatory and ridiculous and stupid statements, so that a large population of, of voters will go out and vote against that person for someone else. Oh. So given a choice between, you know, so that, so if you have, so if, if, imagine a world where you have two real candidates and one idiot who goes out and makes, you know, anti, you know, sort of, um, anti women statements, anti semitic statements, anti black statements, et cetera, et cetera, well then I suspect a lot of people would go out and choose a candidate to vote for just, just to spite that person. But I don't think that, that would actually ever work. Um. Well, this is true, this is true. I was worrying along the lines of you get every time someone puts in a ballot in a ballot box a dollar bill comes out the bottom. Uh-huh. That's an interesting notion. That might work in some places. That, that, that, that would be interesting, yes, I think that would work in some places, yeah ... Okay. So, uh, then, do you keep kids? Is this two year old yours or do you keep children for other people? No. I have two children. I have a two year old and a three and a half year old. Oh, that's exactly what I have. Really? Yes. That's wild. I know. I, my, my little girl was three and a half in March and my son was two in January. Oh, boy. Well, mine was two in March and the three and a half year old will be four in, in July. That's pretty close. So that is pretty close Yeah. But I'm home with the kids all day and I have really, uh, tried to make that a priority even though it's financially a big strain on us. Yes, it is. But, Have you been able to do that all along or, Pretty much, pretty much. Uh, I work part-time but, uh, my husband's able, you know, mostly to take care of them when I'm working. So. But, uh, we adopted these two little guys Yeah. Oh, how neat. and that was another reason why I really wanted to be here because, you know, they have had a couple foster homes already. How old were they when you adopted? The baby was eleven weeks old and his brother was twenty, twenty-two months. So he probably doesn't remember. Oh. Yeah. So. Yeah, definitely needed. Well, that's, that's pretty interesting. Well, I have always wanted to be able to stay home with my kids you know. Yeah. That was always my dream, you know. I wasn't necessarily a career person Yeah. but as long as I was single and had to work, I was going to get a good job and do the best I could. Yeah. And my husband was in the type of business that, you know, it's insurance so you have to build a clientele and by the time we had kids I couldn't quit. Oh, boy. And so I haven't been able to quit yet. So I've had to deal a lot with child care and course, we're hoping within, hopefully, the next two years I'll be able to quit and stay home. Yeah. But, uh, I started out, uh, my best friend kept my kids from the time my daughter was born until she went to work last year in August Oh, that's neat. and it worked out pretty good. You know, we had always said from the beginning that if it gets in the way of the friendship then I'll take them somewhere else. You know, the friendship is more important. Yeah, yeah. And, uh, it was a wonderful experience for my kids because she really loved them, you know. She loved them like they were hers and I I knew, you know, Yeah. I had good peace of mind. I knew that they were taken care of and, That's the hardest thing I think, you know to, to deal with is that people love your, kids. Yeah. I put, uh, my oldest in a preschool program just for him to have the experience of two mornings a week of being with other kids and starting to learn some taking turns and, you know that kind of thing Uh-huh. Yeah. and, uh, he was in there for three months when I pulled him out and the, the teacher had eleven kids. It was excellent, supposedly. The reputation was fantastic for this place. Was supposed to be an excellent school and I had several friends who had, had recommended it, too. But it really gets down to the particular teacher. Huh. And she was a new teacher at the school and she had eleven, you know, three year olds in a room and I just think it was way too much. The were almost all boys. But she had no help? Pardon? She had no help? She was alone with them. I didn't think much. I don't think much. Oh, that is hard. Yeah. And she was just my, uh, three year old is real active. Yeah. And she just kept saying how wild he was. Well, you know, there was kind of a connotation there of him being, you know, it being a problem. Like he ran back from the bathroom singing and skipping she said. Well, you know, at three years old I don't find that to be a behavioral problem You know Jeez. I don't either So. I mean, it's kind of like she was, there was so much going on that she felt like she needed to control more Yeah. and it's really hard to you can't control eleven three year olds with one person, you know. You have to let them have some wild time if that's considered wild Yeah, you know. So I just finally took him out. Plus financial reasons. Yeah. It was expensive. But I was real careful and visited and everything ahead of time. But I still felt like even after all the checking I did, you know, you really can't know everything about what's going to happen. I felt safe that the kids weren't going to be left alone somewhere in a room where a teacher could do something inappropriate with them, you know, because there was enough classrooms close together that it was like a house with different classrooms. Right. And I felt like that was a big factor for me. Right. That they would would be safe you know, from any kind of abuse or that kind of thing. Yes. Yeah. Well, when, when my friend decided to go back to work, and whenever we had problems, it worked out okay because she would come and tell me and we'd work it out. Yeah. After that, I found another girl that had gone to church with us that, you know, they needed it financially. She had a little boy that was the same age as my little boy and I though, well, you know, we'll try her. But she came to our house and that just did not work. Uh-huh. Uh, I mean, she loved the kids and she was good with them. But, uh, you know, they were filthy when I'd get home. Now I understand kids go out and play and they get dirty Yeah. but I mean filthy. I'm talking sand in the ears and the eyes and the hair and the Oh, gosh. and I was, like, gosh. And then, you know, my own furniture and stuff was like, you know, the kitchen table, the, I'd find peanut butter and jelly all over the table and the chairs and the, You had to come home and clean before you could even do anything probably. and clean, and I was like, Yeah. And then, in the end, uh, she basically ended up stealing a hundred dollars from me so I was, I had a pretty bad taste in my mouth. She told me about five thirty one afternoon, it was a Friday, that she wasn't keeping kids anymore as of Monday morning. Oh gosh. Well, you know, I work eight to five thirty so what am I supposed to do Yeah. So I, well, I had been sick and I, it ended up that I didn't go to work Monday because I was sick. So I stayed home with them and we went to some of the Kindercares. Oh, yeah. I was, I took the kids there once just to try it. They had a free day at Kindercare. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's what they said. There were two pretty near our house and they said, well, bring them in this week for a free day so I lined up someone Tuesday. They had a Mother's Day Out that my baby-sitter took them to, you know, which was fine. They liked it. They had been going to it for years. Uh-huh. And so I stayed with them Monday. Tuesday they went to that. Wednesday I took them to one Kindercare. Thursday I took them to another Kindercare and then Friday my husband and I split. But on Thursday I didn't like the Kindercares. I didn't either. I had one bad, I had two bad experiences just that one day with medicine that my son was supposed to have for a cold that they never gave him. They, They didn't give him. And the other one was that the, the younger one got bit really badly by another child Oh. Oh, that's horrible. And doing something with him. Yeah. Well, not only was it going to cost me like a hundred and fifty dollars more a month, which I didn't have you know. I didn't, I, you know, Yeah. we're, we're a Christian family and, you know, they, because they're, you know, like public, they're not private you know. They can't pray, Yeah. they can't talk about God. They can't do anything like that and I don't want them indoctrinated you know, So you feel like your values aren't getting, yeah, yeah. but I'd like them to be able to say, gee, God made the flowers, you know, and things like that. Yeah, yeah. God loves you. Yeah. You know, basic things like that. Yeah, basic. Yeah. So, uh, I talked to another lady at church. It was like Thursday of that week and she said oh, I found the most wonderful place that I've been taking my daughter and I've know this girl, I went to college with her so I really, I, you, I, I value her opinion. And she told me about a private one. It, it was associated with one of the churches here. It's not the church I go to but it's, you know, it, it was Lubbock View Christian Church and it's a private academy. Uh-huh. And so I went over there and I talked to the lady. Well, they have like a three year waiting list. But she said, I had a mother tell me that she may take a job in San Antonio and she has a three year old and a toddler, which mine was at the time. Yeah. And she said I should know something by tomorrow, which was Friday, and she said if she leaves, she said, I'll let you have her spot. Wow. And so Friday afternoon at five thirty, she called me and she said she's going. You can bring your kids Monday Oh, what luck. I know. I was just like, God set this, up for me. Really He knew I needed this and, uh, so since October then, they have been going there and I love it. I have been at such peace with myself. Oh, that's great. It's just been better than even when they were with my best friend because we don't have the little day to day hassles and the cost was not near as much as the Kindercares were going to be. Yeah Oh, really? Wow. Did you hear my printer in the background. I'm sorry. I hope you can understand what I That's okay I got the dryer going in the background Yeah. so I was only about twenty dollars more a month than I was paying because being a private institution they're nonprofit. Yeah. So, they don't have to charge as much. Oh, that's great. And the hours are wonderful and I just, I think it's the best thing. I told Russ that we should have done this a long time ago you know Yeah. It's great. So I guess as long as I have to work, I feel good that they're there. they're getting the love, the care. They have a little curriculum. They teach them, you know, the alphabet, the numbers, the things which, you know, if they learn, they learn. If they don't, they don't. I don't feel like I have to indoctrinate them by age three Yeah. but it's kind of neat when they come home with it, you know. Yeah. They think it's fun. It's not a big, you know trauma to them to learn something. Yeah. Oh, and the teachers. Well, Taylor got bit several times and Taylor bit several times and the teachers dealt with that. We're like, hey they're two and we keep them apart and we scold them and we correct them and, you know, they mark it all down and they let you know and, and, you know, they get over it real quick and he doesn't do it anymore and they work at the potty Yeah. I just, just so mu, I don't know. I just feel like a big burden was lifted Really. Because sometimes it is a burden having them all day because I can't do anything with them here. It is. I can't even go grocery shopping right now with the two of them because the baby is so into everything and the older brother is you know, running around all over the place so it is, it's hard. and that's hard. Yeah. Yeah Yeah. So. Well, and it, it, you know, but I I, I, I wish you could find a good Mother's Day Out because that would be good for your peace of mind also. Yeah, I need to. Even for just a couple days a, mornings a week or something to have something like that, Yeah. so I, I think I'm going to look for that. Remind me of that now that you mention it Yeah. Yeah. and that's not that big a deal, you know. Yeah. For a couple times And that's usually like, you know, I don't know when mine were going to Mother's Day Out, it was like from nine to three so that was a pretty good pretty good time, you know. Yeah. My baby-sitter would take them and then pick them up. Yeah So, that worked out real good. That's sounds good. Well, I'm tickled to death. I hope you find something and it was good talking to you. Well, thanks. Did we cover everything we need to? Well, I guess. Okay. It said child care criteria Okay. and I think we both listed an experience Yeah. Okay. Well, great. Well, thanks a lot. You have a good day. And you too. Bye-bye Bye Okay. I was thinking about camping and different people's ideas about it. Uh-huh. We've even seen people with these campers and they got the big old antennas up so they can watch their T V when they're going. Right or their satellite dish That's not, Yeah A satellite dish? On top of the recreational vehicles. Oh, golly! That's not the kind we do. Do you go camping? Yeah. We have a little bit and we've just gotten one of those little tents that we throw out on the ground and that's what we camp in. So we kind of rough it. Well, so do we. In fact, when we first got married, we would try to take these trips to Minnesota to see his family Uh-huh. and we didn't have a tent or any camping supplies so we'd sleep on those picnic tables at roadside parks. Oh no. I mean, I know it's dangerous, I wouldn't do it now but we did And one time we went to Yellowstone and we were doing the same thing. We couldn't find a place to camp and so we were on top of a picnic table with our, our sleeping bags I guess. And this ranger comes up with this light, shines it on us and said that we're just bear bait out there. We had our food you know. and told us to get inside our car. Oh. Uh-huh. Gosh. Bear bait Bear bait. That would make me nervous Yeah. Have you done any camping around here? Yeah. We've got some land at Holly Lake outside of Tyler. Uh-huh. And we go up there fairly often Sometimes we get a lot of people together to do it. Yeah. That sounds fun. And we've done things like when, when it's kind of cold. We take extension cords and we've all got heaters in our tents. And in the Summer Same thing, we get our extension cords running from all these tents but we've got the fans going. Right So we're not roughing it too much. Yeah. And we have taken T V out there for the kids Yeah. And they've got their electrical hookups. So it's not so bad. Yeah. Do you go on long? Like a week at a time or just weekends? I think the longest we've stayed out there is like five days. Uh-huh. And they even, they had a library at one time out there. Oh. So that's really not roughing it so much but we have gone on trips where we bathed in streams. Yeah. Uh-huh. That's kind of different. Yeah I like the campgrounds that have a nice shower And a pool to go to. Uh-huh. That would be nice. Yeah. We've, uh, we camped at the DeGray State Park in Arkansas. In the Fall Uh-huh. and there was nobody else, hardly, around and it was just really nice, that time of year. We had taken our electric, blanket too, just in case it was unbearable but we didn't need it Yeah . Well my husband has even camped at Lake Lavon with one of his friends Oh really? he just decided to take the kids out there. Yeah. I mean it's not very many miles from our house at all. But they had the time of their lives, you know. Oh, yeah Had the boat just pulled up right by the tents. Uh-huh. It wasn't bad. That sounds nice. Yeah. And we've taken, our tents though, loaded them up in car carrier and decided we were going to tent most of the way. And it ended up, when it came time for us to pull in for the night, we'd take a vote. And most of the time we decided we wanted to stay in a hotel. Yeah. Instead of getting out all that stuff, you know. Yeah, it's a lot of work to set up just for one night. Yeah. Then you have to get up the next day and move it on. Right Huh-uh. But we're set now. We've got cook stoves and we've got our bug light and everybody's got their sleeping bags, we got air mattresses. We decided that was easier than cots and more comfortable. Yeah. Those are nice, we have one of those, too. Yeah. Those double ones? Uh-huh. Pretty good. We're on our third one I think. Somehow, Yeah. How do you blow yours up? We've got an electric pump that hooks into the cigarette lighter. Oh. we were looking at those in a magazine. Last time we went, we took our vacuum cleaner with us I didn't know you could do that. And, yeah, you can, if you can reverse the, nozzle on your vacuum cleaner Yeah. and it blows air out instead of sucking it in and you can fill them up that way but something that's smaller would be a lot more convenient. No joke I hope you didn't have a big vacuum cleaner. No. Uh-huh. We have a, my husband and I, we have a pickup truck so there's plenty of room to hold things. Yeah. Now we've used a hair dryer before. Uh-huh. But I put it on hot and also melted it. Oh no I found that you don't do that. Yeah. I didn't realize it would melt so easily. Oh. I don't know. We take, we take our dog camping. She likes to go out and stay in the woods. Yeah. She sleeps, she sleeps in the tent with us. It's fun I don't like it when there's mosquitos so bad. Oh, me either. And then one night we were camping and it came, just a torrential downpour. We had the steaks on the grill. These people were with us. And it, , I mean everything was sopping wet inside the tent. It was just that bad, you know Oh no. And we decided we'd just go across the road to the office and see if we could rent anything. Uh-huh. So I got a condo with a jacuzzi and it was wonderful. Oh boy Yeah. That was lucky. Yeah, it was. We've been lucky. We've never really been rained on the few times we've gone. It's horrible. Oh I bet it, when we were younger, when I was a kid, we camped in Virginia and we had one of those little pop up tents, which is really nice because it kind of gets you off the ground. But it seemed like it rained every weekend for about a the year we were really into camping. You mean that you put on a truck or what? No. It's a little trailer you pull behind your car and, uh, you know, you, the lid pops off, Oh yeah, yeah. the little tent comes up the top Uh-huh. and it had two double beds in it. with How many weeks have you been doing these calls? Oh, since the beginning. I guess it's been two or three weeks. I think this must be into my third week too. So do you work for T I? Uh, well, I work as a temporary in the Speech Lab. In a Speech Lab? Uh-huh. Where they're doing this program. The Voice Recognition Program. And what exactly are they going to do? Oh, they turn them over to somebody and they're going to, I guess they're going to try to teach computers how to recognize voices and search for specific words and stuff. So any voice, no matter what the speech pattern or the dialect or anything. Right. Yeah. Um. I wonder if these are going to be speaking The computers, I don't know. I type up the tapes of what people talked about. Oh, that's kind of neat. Yeah, it's sort of interesting. Do you put all the uh-huhs in here on everything, too. Uh-huh. Everything like that. All the little stutters and everything. What do you write for stutter? That, uh, Like if they say I, I, we just type it in like that. Uh-huh. Well, I guess that's it for camping, uh I guess so unless you want to talk about stakes. What size stakes to put in You need metal instead of plastic. Yeah. And you make sure that you keep up with them for the next time. Yeah. We got one of those kind that have got the, oh what is it? They're plastic and they've got the elastic on the inside of the poles and you just put them together. Oh, uh-huh. That's what we have, too. And it's a dome tent. Yeah, that's what ours is. That's good isn't it Yeah, yeah, they pop up pretty fast. Yeah. Have you ever camped on sand? Um, no. That can be a mess. We camped at the beach one time and that was sort of miserable. You just everywhere you went there was sand. You couldn't, even when you're eating, it, it was in your bed I've done it in a shelter. Uh-huh. It was in Padre Island and in a truck off Corpus, not, but not in a tent. Oh. Uh-huh. Oh well, that's about all . Okay. Okay . Well, it's good talking to you. Uh-huh. Bye. Bye. Get us going. Okay. Are, are you at T I Austin or, Well, I left T I in January but I signed up for this before I did. Oh, that's great. No, uh, uh, my daughter has talked to, my daughter up here with us, I have another one, and she's talked to students, uh, so I guess they have, uh, sent this to their customers and people in colleges and things. So they're, if you're a computer user, so my daughter has talked to two students, uh, that were non, T I Oh, I think that's a, that's a good idea. So I guess, Oh, yeah. All right. we're on finances, have you, have you retired or, uh, Oh, no, no, no, no Oh. Actually I left T I, um, had basically set my sights to leave T I when they announced there would be no salary increases in ninety-one, because I, I definitely need to make a little more money, Oh, yeah. and, uh, I haven't really accomplished that yet, but I'm trying. Oh, yeah, it's, uh, that's, the finances, I guess we're on the subject of finances, it is tough. Uh, I've been with T I, I'm just going to be fifteen years this year and, and that's a tough thing, uh, the salary thing. T I doesn't quite always do it right. Well, what about our, our, our financial budget. Well, you, you should have a lot of information on a budget, then, if you're, uh, I wish I did. I, I hope you're, you're a person who does things better than, I, I don't have a budget. That's one of my goals for this year is to try to get myself in a good, oh, long-range planning budget mode. Um, I'm a single mom and I've been just, uh, trying to get, Well, you, you, you deserve an honor for that, a gold star for that, I guess Thank you, it's nice to have someone understand that. Right, sure. how about yourself, do you have a budget you live by? Well, I guess I do, I do have a long-term budget I got a daughter in college and one going to be in college so that, I've been thinking about that for quite a while. Now monthly, no. I'll tell you a funny story about budgeting, and I've been married twenty-six years and I did, you know, that the macho thing, the man always did the bills for, I don't know, fifteen years or more, Uh-huh. and I got so sick of it, trying to balance the budget, uh, one, and I always tried to show my wife, you know, here's how you, once a year I'd say, here's how you do the budget in case I get sick, or here's how you do the checks, you know. Right. One day I gave her the checkbook and I said, I'm not doing this anymore. You do it, you learn it, and I've been happy ever since. Well, that's great. How about your, She does it all now for about ten years, and I don't even, she complains to me about it, she threatens me to give it back to me, and I said, I've been a happy man since I haven't, fooled with that checkbook, you know Oh. So I know it's a big pain to try to do that. It really is. It, it really is. You know, that was always a, a major problem in our marriage. What I have always identified is I am basically good with money. It, I don't really need a budget to tell me not to spend it. I, think that comes from never having enough. Right. You know, I'm always afraid of I'm going to need some and where will it be. Right, oh, yeah. So, um, no, I, I've, I've finally worked myself into a spot where I can budget. When I, when I was first divorced, I had, um, I sat down and budgeted and I had outgo that was much higher than what I had coming in. Yes, I think, uh, that that is a tough, uh, we all, seems to seems to be that way. I tried to hang onto a house that was way too expensive for me, and, and so now that I've gotten, you know, I lost the house. Now that I've gotten past that, I can sit down and say, okay, Yeah. this is the reality. This is how much money I have each month. The scary thing is, as far as long term, I don't have anything. I don't know if you have an I R A or, uh, you know, and I've got two girls, also, and I haven't saved anything for their college and, Yeah, that's, you need to do that. I'll, I'll, I'll give you a hint. I don't know if you're a a radio talk, uh, person listener. Do you listen to radio talk shows? Sometimes I have. Listen to Bruce Williams, uh, for financial advice. Uh-huh. He's on, oh, I don't know what he's going to be in Austin. He's on five seventy here. oh, he's nationally famous. He's a college graduate type guy. He's been in all, he's an entrepreneur and he gives very practical financial advice about cars, very, you know, not, not nothing college level, basic stuff. His name is Bruce Williams, he's on national radio. Uh, I don't know, what it would be down there. You might want to, whatever your radio talk shows are down there, he's on that channel. It's, uh, it's five seventy up here. Well, I'll check that out. Uh-huh. And I'd listen to talk shows for everything, for gardening and everything, just when I'm doing chores, and, uh, he gives a wealth of information, very practical stuff You've learned a lot. and, and he will help you avoid a lot of little things, uh, financially. Well, that's, that's good to know how, Yeah, there, there's a lot of advice out there for how to get a budget. And I, I'm not expert, again, because, I don't really do it monthly. Uh-huh. Well, you must have done something. You're, you're helping your children in school and you're you know. Right. I did start a college fund. I'm not, uh, I have one again at U T down there now, her first year, Uh-huh. and she's almost gone through her whole college fund, you know Excuse me, Jim, could you hold on? I have someone at the door. Sure, go ahead. I'll be right back. Sure. in Thank you. I think we might have just screwed up the computer but we'll find out. Oh, no, yeah, right , they give us ten minutes, uh. Oh. Uh, the only advice I give you on college would be, there's a lot of scholarship money out there. My daughter got a little bit, not much, only first year she got about two thousand dollars worth, and you ought to, well, as your daughters approach the college age, uh, start finding out about the scholarship monies because there is a lot of money out there and, uh, And, and how did your daughter get scholarship money on? Uh, band. She got, you know, five hundred dollars at a, at a clip through bands, through leadership. Uh, there's all kinds of civic organizations that will give you, you know, one shot money. Uh, you get a president's award if you're, you're in, in high school doing this up by, here in Arlington. Uh, there's a lot of, and, of course, you, if you, you score high on the S A T, you can get, you know, two thousand a year, you know, or more. Uh-huh. Wow. You can get yearly money as long as you keep up your grades. She, she did very well in school and, uh, but she only got first year money. She got about two thousand dollars. It was only five hundred, dollars at a clip from this organization. Uh-huh. We called. There were, there were two or three people, there was some little civic organization in Dallas that gave money away and only two or three people applied. She applied and got five hundred dollars from that. Wow, So, look into that bit, oh, I'm definitely going to be actively looking into that. The year that they graduate, you know, before, though, you know, while they're graduating , there's all kinds of little bitty money that little clubs will give away, churches and everything, and they don't even have a dozen applicants because, uh, uh, the kids are going off after the big money. Uh-huh. Uh, of course, you have to have some sort of record in high school, uh, of, of achievement and everything, but sometimes it's just, uh, like our band gave money away. We're a band booster club. We gave, we give, uh, two five hundred dollar scholarships just to kids, uh, who we think were worthy, you know so, There's money out there. Well, that's great to know. Yeah, that's good. Go ahead, you can talk. I, I don't want to, I want to chew up the whole line here. Oh, well, you're doing, you're doing just fine, and, and, uh, actually I, when I talk I usually like to ask a lot of questions. I was wondering what you do at T I. Oh, I'm an engineer. I'm, uh, in fact, I'm working the night because of the cutbacks and everything. Uh, my job, there were three managers jobs that were just dissolved and so they put me on nights. I, I call this my recession job. Oh, goodness. And I'm working nights just kind of covering, uh, shutdown equipment and everything, and just being available, here. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I don't mind. Uh, it beats being laid off and everything. And, uh, you, you got to be a little flexible. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Uh, in my old age I'm trying to just hang in there until I get my kids through school and then I'd like to teach, maybe mathematics or something. I'm trying to study for that now. Oh, I hope you can do that. Right, uh, What, what I did is I was approached and, and I've, I went to T I just right at the time that, uh, my marriage was ending. I had been a, a stay at home mom and, and I, I was very fortunate in starting, Uh-huh. and I really enjoyed it while I was at T I, but, you know, the cutbacks were really getting to be rather frightening and I had less than five years and, also, I wanted to make a little bit more money. So I decided I'd like to go out and try sales. Oh, yeah. And, uh, I'm, I'm out trying to sell telephone systems to businesses. Right. And the potential there is fantastic. Oh, sure. The reality of it is it's tough Well, it's tough right now for everybody. Exactly. Up here in the Dallas Metroplex it's awful. Hey, I've got another clue for you for college. Uh-huh. Another clue for you for college money. Okay. Go to work for U T. Uh, we have a friend who works, who is a secretary for T C U, you know, up here? Yes. They give you scholarship, a hundred percent, if you're, if you work for T C U. They do? Yes. So check that one out, you know. I'm going to check that. I've got, I've got two friends that work at, at U T. I didn't know that all. Ask them about it. Call them. Definitely, I will. And, because it's full, full scholarship. Now, it's, uh, not room and board, Uh-huh. but it's tuition, full tuition paid if your parent works at T C U. Well, that sounds fantastic. And her, her mother went over there just for that ... Well Brent, I've been, um, I kind of gave up my career about three years ago to stay home with my children because I thought, uh, if it, it's only going to be another year until the youngest is in school. Right. And I thought it was a good sacrifice to make, because, um, it was important to me to, to spend some time with kids. Uh-huh. I know that when I was in school and getting my degree at the same time my husband was, it was really hard on our family because I would, he would come home and I would leave, Right. and then when I would come home and he would leave, and, um, so I think one day one of our kids said, you know, someone came home and they said, well, when is dad leaving or something. It was like that they thought that's the way life was, that you didn't have two parents at home at the same time. Uh-huh. And so I think, um, it's become real important to me that we try to spend time together as a family. So there's one or two nights a week, we have a, on Monday nights we set aside time where it's called, uh, family home evening and we stay home that evening, all of us, and we do things together. Uh-huh. You must be a . Yes. So am I. Oh, you are? Yes, what a coincidence. Yes and, Yeah, I know what family home evening's all about. So you do that and, right, and then we try to do a family activity on Saturday, usually in the morning. Uh-huh. Right, and then the family home evening, too. Right, and then, you know, sometimes we try to do our lesson on Sunday night and then our activity or something on Monday but, We're, it's real important to us to spend time together. Right. Well, that's good. Um, how many children do you have? I have two. Two? Uh-huh. I have a girl and a boy, and the boy's five, he's in kindergarten, and the girl is four. She'll be in kindergarten next year. Uh-huh. I have two daughters. Uh-huh. My oldest is, uh, four and my youngest is about to turn three. Two girls. And they are a handful They are a handful. Yes. We've, my, uh, well, when we first got married, my wife worked for a year. Then we decided to have kids. Uh-huh. And, uh, she, she got pregnant and then we decided she would stay home with the kids. We would make that sacrifice. It is a financial sacrifice to make because we go from two incomes down to one. Uh-huh. And, uh, we made that decision and, uh, so after she had the first baby, she stayed home. And, and we had a second baby and she's still at home Yes. And so, uh, you know, at work a lot of people are, you know, I think well this is not a normal situation anymore in our, in our world we live in. Most of them, uh, continue to work if they have, have kids. Uh-huh. I only have one other person I know in my, in my group here that works where the wife stays home, and that's because of religious values as well. They're Baptists and they, and they think that's important. Uh-huh. But everybody else works and they drop their kids off at day-care and, and leave them and, I don't know, I just don't want, I just don't want strangers raising my children. Well, no, and it's, it's just not, um, it's not as stable for the kids, Right. and they, everybody decided to come over and talk to me right now. But, uh, it's, yeah. That's how it is at our house when you're on the phone. Oh, it's open, anything goes when mom's on the phone Well, it's also important, I think, um, for my husband. I, I try to go out of my way to, to plan things that he can do with the kids because, since I am home with them and so I get a lot of time with them, he needs to have, um, some time with them. Uh-huh. So he, when he comes home, he, um, you know, it's his job at night. He puts the kids to bed, Right. and he reads to them, Right. and he spends about an hour doing that, and that's, that's pretty good quality time, with them, Right. and, um, but it's hard for him on Saturdays. He, he wants, Right, he wants to run out and get things done, With all the yard work and things like that. and so, um, I try to say, well, why don't you go fly kites or why don't you do something. Uh-huh. And if I have something in mind, then he, he remembers that, that's what he wants to do. Uh-huh. Right, we feel that, you know, just spending time together. You don't necessarily have to be doing anything, you know, that costs money or, or, you know, that requires you to go a great distance or anything like that. It's just the kids like to, being together as a family. Uh-huh. Like last Saturday we went, had some errands to run and so we took the kids and, and went by the Farmers Market down in, in, down there in Garland. Uh-huh. And they had a blast running around the Farmers Market looking at all the, you know, the food and tasting all the free samples they were giving out. And they had a little pen there with animals in they could pet, you know, Uh-huh. and they liked that. And then on the way home we drove by the local high school and there happened to be an F A, F A A, Future F A, Future Farmers of America, F F A going on there, Yes. and they had all kinds of pigs and horses and goats and sheep and everything, you know, all out in this, in the, in this schoolyard there. So we just said, hey, let's stop and and the kids got to go around and, you know, see pigs and animals and things like that, Uh-huh. and, and for them that's wonderful, you know. They, they thought it was the greatest fun, you know, and it didn't cost any money. And, uh, you don't have quite as much money when, when the wife doesn't work. Well, that's right. But I do think, um, you know, like the current trends are that, um, the family unit is devaluated. It's not nearly as important. Right. We find that, you know, back just even fifty years ago when people had financial problems, the first place they went to was their family. Uh-huh. And families took care of themselves and, um, but now, you know, people don't, they don't support each other that way. Right. Right. Oh, definitely motherhood is devalued in this society. If you're, stay at home and you're a mother, it's like what a waste. People think, you know, you should be fulfilling yourself Uh-huh. and, and a mother isn't an important important thing as, as having a career That's right and, and, and that should be first and, and children second. But they don't have kind of an, what we call an internal perspective of things. Right, right, But that, And it's not an easy sacrifice for a person to make, because, you know, I, you know, I have interests that, too, No. Right. and it is hard to make, uh, those interests not be as a major part of my life. Uh, at this point. Uh-huh. It's not to say that some day you won't go back to work. My mother's a school teacher and when, when we started, uh, having kids, she had to work for a little while, but then she just started substituting. Uh-huh. So she would just substitute once or twice a week, you know, just for that little extra money when we were in school. Then we would just come home and just be, you know, go to a neighbor's house for an hour, then she'd be home. But she wouldn't do that every day. Right. But now that my, my, uh, youngest sister's at B Y U now, and so they have no one at home, she's back teaching school full time now, again. So if, you know, it's not, it's just a temporary thing. It is temporary. It, in the middle of it, it seems like a long time, Uh-huh. but you're right, it is temporary. Well, I see that we both share the same belief here that it's important that we spend time with our kids Yeah. and, and, in spite of, Yeah, yeah, you, it's, it's hard sometimes at work because, you know, people say, oh, we're taking a cruise, we're going here, we're going there, you know because they have a lot more money. Uh-huh. And a lot of them decide just not to have children. Yes. It's, it's amazing, they either have one or none. That's true. And, and the one person I know that has one, they, they feel guilty. She has this continual guilt trip that she's not doing the right thing, and so on, uh, on weekends she would, you know, spend all of her time with her kids and spend lots of, lots and lots of money. Basically, I think they, they really spoil the child, to try to overcompensate for their guilt feelings. Uh-huh. And, and, and they don't want to have anymore children because they just don't think, you know, that, she doesn't think she could be a mother at home. That's not her bag. So she just doesn't think that she could, you know, the guilt feelings, she can't deal with with it anymore Yeah. so, Well, it is, the hardest thing I've ever done, as much as you'd go out You know, and, Uh-huh. Yeah, my wife, uh, likes staying home. Uh-huh. Uh, she works at home some, though. Uh-huh. The place she works with, worked with before, um, worked out an arrangement with her where she can work at home, part time, Well, that's good. and so, uh, that, it's kind of a seasonal thing. Three times a year she's really busy doing certain things based on that kind of business, Uh-huh. but the rest of the time she's free. She likes to sew and do crafts and things like that So she enjoys staying at home, but, uh, the money part of it is not as rewarding, obviously, but there's different rewards, you know, different kinds of rewards. No. Yeah, I think so. I think it's an investment in your future, even if it's purely not, not religious. You can at least say that it's important to our country, that our family unit stays strong. Right, right, right. And you really have to make, uh, quite a bit of money. The wife doesn't make it worth it, with the cost of day-care. Yes. I know there's, you know, when you adjust your income for what you put out for day-care, you know, you're only making like five. Here we go. Okay, um, now we're supposed to talk about social activities. Right? Well, the changes that's occurred, like it, how was it, maybe ten, twenty, thirty years ago as opposed to what it is today Uh-huh. how we're living socially in comparison to maybe from that time period from ten, twenty, or whatever you remember it to be. I think, um, well, I guess it would be like your generation compared to my generation. I think your generation is, um, what do I say, uh, uh, they're, they're, they're polite, they have more respect for, other people, just in, in general I think, and just, just towards people and property and, um, I, I guess they would, would be more conservative, some of them I guess. Yeah, we are, uh, somewhat conservative, but as far as the, uh, socially, our crime rate has increased, and although it's more publicized as opposed to what it used to be it seems like violent crime is on the increase from what I've seen, Uh-huh. and, um, our prison population has significantly increased I would say. Um, our economy, too, is really, it's just not what it used to be in the sixties or even fifties from history from what I've read, and uh, even the, Uh-huh. well, it started spiraling down, I suppose, in the seventies, and, uh, our recovery, uh, economically has not been like it used to be. To me, also, our nuclear family is not the same because more people are living together that aren't married Uh-huh. Uh-huh. uh, I don't, I don't know if, uh, can't make any judgments of that nature, but, uh, I don't really want to either because I have no problems about it either way Uh-huh. and, um, kids are, I, I suppose have been raised by single parents more than they ever used to Yes, I agree with, women are more on the rise too so far as getting their careers established, Uh-huh. and, uh, they don't no longer feel dependent upon men, Well, Well, do you think that that maybe, I mean, uh, I've heard different, you know, like, um, like I know my mom and like other ladies, they complain because they think that, um, the women now are too busy with their own personal life and career that they really don't have time for their kids. That's probably true, I mean, they, they are, a lot of them that have to put their kids into day care or having more with baby sitters, Uh-huh. and, especially if they don't have boy friends or husbands, and, uh, I guess that's why you always hear these stories about kids being neglected. Yeah. Uh, in fact, uh, there was one lady in this area, she was caught going to work and leaving her daughter in her car all day. Oh my gosh, just a baby. Not a baby, she was old enough to, uh, I would say she was five to eight years old somewhere along that range, Oh my gosh. but that's just an extreme example. Uh-huh. I would imagine, you know, the situations are out there. Yeah. Um, Well, um, um, well, I think the education, like our education has, um, increased dramatically, but then I think also that we're forgetting like basic things, like we should know I agree there. like I, I think, well, um, in the morals and values of like my generation for the most, for most people are totally different from the morals and valleys, um, values of like per se your generation. But I think as we get older, it gets to your, you know what I mean. I think the kids now are, are, I would say, louder now until after they reach like twenty-five, and then I think they really have a strong decline and start to settle down and realize things. Yeah, um, I could agree with that, because used to conservatism was inherent at a much younger age, Uh-huh, yeah, because I think we're given more now, whereas you had to work for everything, and kids nowadays are just given so much that they really don't have to work, and, you know, and they, they don't have any intent to go working until they have to. Uh-huh, that's an agreeable topic there Um, what else considering beside family, economics, um, our transportation system has changed for us. I mean, we can, we can now travel around the world in no time. It's just a hop, skip and a jump to get into a plane to go from the east to the west coast Uh-huh. and, uh, well, I, I think what's happened, too, is just our technology is just advancing so rapidly that, and there's so much information available out there that folks out there just have a hard time keeping up, aside from just going through their daily routine of living to get from day to day Uh-huh. and to keep abreast of the knowledge out there, we got to constantly read, go to school, uh, T V watching has sure hasn't gone too much out the door because T V is still, well, the cable system and the satellite dishes has made it to where a lot of people can just leave regular T V programming and watch a lot of other, a variety of programs out there, as well as use of the V C R Uh-huh. so that, I don't know if it really hampers or it helps our education system. I don't know, because I know I don't watch, while I'm up here at school, I don't watch hardly any T V. Like Thursday night I like to sit down and watch a few shows, but I, Do you watch L A LAW? No, I don't watch that I used to, but I don't any more. I like that. But, all, I mean there are, even though there's a few up here, we call them couch potatoes, they love to sit in front of the T V, I but for the most part, I will, I will, well, I live in an all girls dorm, but for the most part we're all between the ages of eighteen and like twenty-one Uh-huh. and there isn't really a lot of T V watching. Well, that's good, at least you're hitting the books, right. They're either hitting the books or something else, I don't know what, but, I know, oh, well, I guess, they have their crowds, like during the soap operas, you know, like in between classes or something Uh-huh. but I can't say that there's really that many people that like sit in front of the T V all day. Well, that's a change then, oh, of course, going to school, too, it's different from the home environment, Uh-huh, but, then, um, like I know this girl. She's doing her student teaching or she's just working like within the school, and, um, yesterday she was at the kindergarten, and there's this little boy, he like didn't want to do anything, and he said I'm not doing this, I don't like it, and he sat at his desk with two pencils in his hand, and pretend like he's playing Nintendo you know, Um. so, uh, I don't know how, I mean, I never really watched that, a lot of T V when I was younger, but my parents really didn't allow us to watch that much T V, so I don't know. I agree with your parents, because, uh, T V kind of ruined me, because that's that's all that we had Uh-huh. well, not really, but, I mean, it's, uh, for the top medium of entertainment. Yeah, well, we watch a lot of, I guess we watched a lot of T V in the Winter time, but in the Summer, like right now, my mom, well, like she doesn't let us watch T V until like eight o'clock at night, you know, Even at your age? Well, like my younger brothers and sisters at home. Like when it starts getting nice outside in the Summer and everything she'll, she makes us go outside, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. even now when I go home for the Summer, she makes us go outside, and we're allowed to come in and watch T V until it's dark, because she doesn't like the T V herself I see. and if it was up to her, we wouldn't have one. So, you know, she feels that kids are too dependent on it also. Uh-huh. Oh. Is there anything else? Um. Um. What about in our work ethics? Work ethics, oh, I, It's it's maybe getting better. Um, a little, of course, we're having to weather through the savings and loans all the other scandalous items that, well, the greed that overwhelmed us in the eighties Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, I think, I think it's going to have to have it's patchwork put on us because we have so much to pay for now. Um. It's going to be really passed on to your generation and maybe a few others including what's left of ours Yeah. Well, I really can't think of anything else. Well, it was nice talking to you. It was nice talking to you too. And, uh, what are majoring in? Hi, this is Judy, I'm from Maryland and I'm in California visiting right now. Hi, Judy. This is Norma, and I live in Virginia Oh, okay. We got a great topic I know. I'm sitting here going oh, dear Should we give it a try? I guess we might as well Okay Okay. Okay. Well, um, so Let you start So, so what changes have you seen? What changes, uh, I guess the biggest, I don't know your age Judy, but, uh, in my lifetime the biggest is in more women working, definitely. Well, actually, that's what I was thinking too. Yeah. And, um, you know, just to jump ahead a little bit but then we can back up. Is it, perhaps, woman in politics is for the future. For the well, yeah. Because I don't see that really yet in positions of power, really. Right. I don't see them in positions of power in corporation either Uh-huh. not many. That's true. That's true. Um, do you work in private corporation or government? I did work in government. Uh-huh. And before that I worked in a bank for eight years. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And now I'm retired. Oh, you, That's the best status. That's right. Yes, um, I don't, I see, um, and, Which do you work in, excuse me? A government. A government. And I work in academia before. Uh-huh. And, um, actually there's one, um, woman in our, I don't know what you'd call it, uh, institute who is a manager and, I mean, in a since, perhaps, um, a lot of, she gets protected a lot because it's almost like a token. Oh. And, and it's sort of unfortunate because, I think that they don't accept her technically and, but she's a good paper pusher. Uh-huh. And it's in a technical position really. And you know she should be more technical for what she does. Uh-huh. And I think that's sort of unfortunate, because it doesn't, it doesn't really help the cause in the long run Right. But, um, you know, I don't know. And, and teaching I still see that that's where most of the woman are. In teaching. In teaching. And, you know, and it's always been that way. But not at the college level. Right. Not, well, We live in a college town and I worked at the university for a while. Uh-huh. And there are, there are woman there but they're not the high paid professors that, the men are Uh-huh. Not department, chairmen. Yeah. Not the deans and things like that. Well, they did have one woman dean but, and I guess she, she probably did very well but that's the minority. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, and do you think it's because women aren't qualified or, or just don't, or don't want the job or just aren't hired for the jobs. None of the above I think they are extremely well qualified. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't know how, They're just not selected somehow. I think they're not selected, Uh-huh. And, of course, at this university, uh, this, it's a big engineering school and I don't think there are many women in the engineering college. Uh-huh. And that's where the high pay is. Oh, okay. But I'm wondering how many women actually major in engineering. but, you know, I say that but yet I know too. Quite an, well, I think there are more than there used to be. Yeah, I'm sure there are, yeah. But they may not go into teaching, Uh-huh. Yeah, I mean, the two that I know obviously are not in teaching but, um, it's, I suppose in a since I was surprised when they told me they majored in engineering. Uh-huh. I don't know why. I, but I don't know that many men that have majored in engineering, either. Uh-huh. I mean it's just, because I'm in the humanities it's just, Oh, uh-huh You know, it's not, it's not something that I tend to hear about. Yeah. Uh-huh. But, um, yeah, it's a, Well, I met one one day that, uh, had just joined the faculty in agricultural engineering and that really surprised me. Oh, that's interesting, Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I, I suppose that, that it's difficult to really say why because, uh, you know, there, there probably are a limited number of women who are interested in the subject and well qualified. Uh-huh. And maybe there aren't, you know, Maybe they don't apply for the job. I don't know. I don't, I don't know how many go on and get a P H D in engineering. Right. Right. Which could be, you know, partially cultural anyway. That could be. That's true. So that it might be circularly being the same problem of, of expecting not to get hired for the good jobs anyway, Uh-huh. so why spend your time getting qualified. That's right. It's a, it's a rough It's a rough, a rough situation. Um, and I guess what I, what, amazes me is the number of men who are willing to stay home with the kids or and, in our case we actually have one father who works part-time, a six, hour day so that he can take the kids, kids or kid, I'm not sure, to school in the morning and be home when the children or child, comes home in the afternoon. Oh. That's interesting, Is it, uh, was she the major wage earner, This is, uh, I mean, did she earn more money that he did or you know. Well, see, I don't know anything about the family but, but, yeah, I would imagine she might. Um, because he's, you know, he's a really nice guy but he did say that because he was in the humanities and he's now working in more of a technical situation that he had trouble finding a job. Oh, uh-huh. So that maybe he, you know, maybe she was more qualified. But, but still it's interesting that, you know, he, he's been doing this evidently for a, a good number of years. Uh-huh. And, uh, but it's unusual. Uh, I know one, uh, gal that's, she's a C P A, and her husband is a house husband. Uh-huh. Yeah I, And then they had a child and he, he was still the house husband. He wasn't, going to, Oh, he was, even before they had children. Uh-huh. Even before that, right. Oh, now that, that really is She was a little perturbed about it. Oh, she was. At one time. Uh-huh. I don't know how, she's moved away. I don't know how it is now but I know, uh, we're, we all went out one evening and after work and, uh, she was, there was an underlying note she was perturbed about it. Uh-huh. Yeah, I mean I think that would be, it would, it would strike one as strange if there's no reason for somebody to stay home that, Uh-huh. I don't think there was a valid reason Yeah That's true. Because her statement was, I told him let's face it you're a house husband that's what your going, that's what you'll always be. But, but yet, you know we have to think about that because if, if she had offered to stay home we wouldn't have thought anything She wouldn't have be, that's right. Uh-huh, that's right. So, so we're, carrying our own prejudice it would, it wouldn't have been a doubter . Uh-huh. That's true. Yeah. Oh, gee. I guess we can't win Huh-uh. Oh. Because if, yeah, if, if somebody does if and breaks tradition you're surprised. But if That's right Oh, dear. So, so, I think maybe more men would like to be if they weren't put down so badly If they could get away with it Oh, dear. You know, well, uh, I mean it, it's an interesting topic yet I must say it's not one that I've given a great deal of, of thought to Huh-uh. but, uh, in the past. No, I didn't. It's, um, one of those things that, you know, seems to happen. How do you feel your career has gone? I don't, I don't feel for the most part that I've been discriminated against. You don't. That's good. No. I was a department chairman. I, but I don't like administration. Oh. So then I'm, uh, uh, probably a poor example, although, you know, I was an administrator and could still be I suppose. Uh-huh. I was discriminated against very definitely in banking. Uh-huh. It was terrible. Oh, really. You were, you were more ambitious than they would let you be? Right. And the money didn't go with the positions. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I would, The promotion, promotions came but there there comparable pay for the responsibility. Uh, And I was told you don't need as much pay as I have because your children are older than my children, or your husband has a good job and Oh, jeez. Yeah, actually in a since I suppose, when I was hired into the government, um, at, I was taken advantage of and, and that's true that, you know, sometimes other people get, get higher increments, for, you know, even, I uh-huh. I think we, uh, are programmed to just take it as it comes. Right. Right. That's probably true. I hadn't, I hadn't thought about it because I do like what I do and, uh, I just sort of ignore the administrative, part of it since I didn't like it when, when I had to do it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So I, I figure, you know, nobody must, uh, nobody must like it. It must be a rotten job for everybody But I know some people thrive on it Oh, gee. Well, since I don't have a whole lot more to say on the topic. I don't, Yeah, I think, um, this is a tough subject because, uh, when you come from two different parts of the country, uh, the political views are really different. I, uh, I, I guess I've had to discuss a number of what might be considered controversial issues, Uh-huh. I guess like, like they're nothing, I guess, nothing is as awful as abortion but like gun control and, uh, day care an things like that, and there are some very different views, uh, of the people connected with the program which I thought was really interesting, you know. Well, now you, you say two different parts of the country what, are, are, are you referring to yourself or, Yeah, well being in, in Baltimore see, Maryland is, um, is sort of, um, is as, as a hub of liberalism you know, compared to the country, uh, you know, very, uh, in, in many ways, uh, very liberal very somewhat to New England though Pennsylvania and New York, uh, I, aren't actually as liberal, Maryland is a very liberal, uh, state so, so, where here we have, um, we have gun control laws we probably have some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation and most people in Maryland vote for that, you know. Uh-huh. So, it really is a different, um, Uh, well, of course, you talk gun controls down here in Texas and you're asking to be lynched. Yeah, that's, that's right talk to, I had to talk about gun control with somebody and I talked with a woman who actually, you know, had just purchased a gun that day, and was going target shooting, you know, Uh-huh. and it was very different it was a whole, different view. It's really, um, this has opened my eyes to thinking, you know, at one time I just sat here and thought, well, how can anybody believe that because I'd really never met people that did, and now, I talk to people that do. So that's, it's really interesting. Well, it's very true, now I'm a, uh, New Yorker by birth. Uh-huh. Although I claim Florida as my home now, uh, I have two sons living down there but I also have two sons living elsewhere, one in Tennessee, one in Mississippi. Uh-huh. But I lived in in Florida for ten years and I kind of like it down there, but they had a gun control law which went a little bit too far. Yeah. I think uh, well in your words, they were a little bit too liberal. Yeah, isn't it funny. I mean they they I believe if I'm correct I believe they permitted their carrying concealed weapons. Uh-huh. But they uh quickly did away with it. Uh. Yeah. I think in the next session they they uh modified it but it's still legal to own or possess weapons in uh uh Florida. Yeah well you can possess 'em here too but They have to be they're registered and Uh, like uh the the Brady Bill that's currently being discussed nationally and whatever is very well supported here, in gun control avenues, The the one week uh seven day the delay You have the seven day waiting period. Uh huh. Yeah Well I don't mind that too much that's uh that's I'm I'm with the N R A myself. Yeah. And uh, uh Really the only objection we have Is uh you you give a little and next thing you know somebody's trying to take more. Yeah that's true that's very true That's and that's the way I guess most of the um the political organizations work you know the same I know the abortion issue with right to life and right to choose Yeah. and and both of them are both want the extent of extremes so that they don't give anything for a balance you know there's there's always that difficulty Well then tell me do you consider yourself a liberal? Um I would say I'm probably liberal yeah Well let me ask you this then. yeah Sure How is your what is your feeling about uh uh expressing yourself by burning the American flag? Well I'll tell you. I I think you know if they if they didn't give as much coverage to these idiots that burn the flag, it would never happen do you know what I mean? Huh. It's only because they make a big stink over it. But I I guess actually I believe that if somebody wants to burn the flag I guess that's their opportunity They're they're they're right in the sense of freedom of speech But I would never Well now wait a minute there Yeah. you just said it. It's their right by freedom of speech? What does speech have to do with burning a flag? Yeah. Well it's that they I think the idea of freedom of speech goes back to and I uh uh the the the whole aspect of being able to display your uh your ideas you know the what the country stands on America stands on is that they can do that Uh, though I would never even consider it in a million years to do it myself I I I think uh you know but I I still what the flag stands for I guess to me is that if somebody wants to voice their opinion or display their opinion openly and if that is a a way that they can show their opinion then they should be allowed uh Now uh Well I I still go back to ... Unless the burn unless the actual fire hinders somebody's health and well-being you know but I I think that's I guess that's I that's my opinion Yeah I guess you feel differently. Then would you condone the burning of the capitol building? Uh, no but I think that's that's uh it's that's taxpayer's money. If somebody buys their own flag and and burns it that's fine but that that's you know that's destruction and of uh public property and whatever. Uh, then you don't draw a line between public property and uh uh uh what a public uh symbol. No I don't know I guess the symbolism oh I think what America stands for is the right to be able to disagree with the government. Uh yeah Uh I think that's what's made democracy but here again I go back to the second amendment You can disagree by freedom of speech which, has nothing to do with action. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well that's that's true Now I am I am adamantly against that. Yeah But I think I I Yeah I I I guess the idea you know they always keep saying like the framers. Um. there uh one of the Republican the appointees for the the judicial bench and they always talk about they feel that this person believes in the framing of the constitution what the original framers the ideals the original framers set down. Uh-huh. And Um I believe that the idea of burning the flag is is in huh. my understanding of how it was framed is that you this the thing about this country is that you can disagree with its government and you can display that. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh, I Yeah, I and and so that as a freedom of expression and speech and whatever I I think that that's viable. Um as long as it's your flag and and you've made your your point. I think. Yeah Because, realistically, like for you for you you don't think it's right No. And I would never do it. I I love this country too much, and that symbol means a lot to me. Uh-huh. Um. But I guess it's just one of those things where if they if that's what's something it's a need for them you know. Well here again we uh even though you uh physically you agree with me you you wouldn't do it yourself. Yeah. Yes. No. Nevertheless you maintain that it's it is the right of of any citizen to burn the symbol of their country. Right. Yeah. Uh huh. Uh, um so long as it's their possession. Ok, you're you're that's fine up to there except that uh, what that flag symbolizes is uh uh is this country, Uh huh. and I used to know as a Boy Scout but all I remember was the red in the flag represented the blood that was shed to to create this country, and to maintain it. Yeah. And, to me that's uh uh black eye to every man that ever uh carried a weapon or killed for his country. I agree there too. I agree with you there too. I I the um I I it's I find it you know personally disgusting But I don't think that I don't think that uh we have a right to stop somebody from that you know Uh-huh. the same I don't know I guess I get I get uh all mixed up inside. when, Yeah It's It's very easy to do. it when it's uh it's an emotional issue, and you sit and you try and think about it logically and and and you know you try to say to yourself now emotionally this is a disgusting thing, uh but logically um even you know for instance, the pro life pro choice movement, uh you know I don't know anybody that actually supports abortion, but they would vote pro choice. Uh Uh-huh. because you know That's just a disgusting thing you know somebody an abortion means it's somebody's in trouble and that it's an awful thing, you know Well I think it should be permitted under certain but Yeah. but it that's uh that's what I mean, see, but but realistically when you think of it it just sounds like such an awful thing, and it evokes an emotional response. I think that's the hardest thing, I don't know if I could ever be a judge, because some things emotionally just aren't you know Uh-huh. Huh. Well tell me has it ever been decided when when is a uh fetus a human? No, no I think the um sometimes I guess what did I read recently the um the uh Christian uh point is is always the point of well it's at conception but then um a friend of mine's a doctor and argues with others that conception is a biblical term. And there's no concept of conception in medicine or biology. Huh. so then that so that throws out that idea makes it a religious discussion then. So it's I don't know. It's very it's it's uh you know It's a it's a topsy-turvy world and it's really something how um political ideas and viewpoints within one country can vary so much and also within um within a, Or they on their within the own uh society, it can vary. Yeah and how Yeah how it'll sway from one one extreme to another. Uh-huh. Uh I think that uh you know I I just read something I think in TIME magazine uh about um protest Okay. Um, I think that in this day and age everyone needs to have some sort of exposure to community service because it, it seems like and I'm, I'm thinking of the of community of people that are in jail now, I think that maybe if, if, if some of those people had gotten exposed to the community, gotten exposed to working with other people that some of the things that they did they would not have done because they, they understand people more, they understand helping people more, they understand the plight of people. That's true. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I agree with you in the sense that, uh, I think that it's important for people to, uh, also share, give something of themselves Right. and, uh, I think that there's too much in the, in, in a way of self-gratification today, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and there's not enough sharing. Uh-huh. I would think that for, like people that are just filthy, filthy rich, Uh-huh. I think that they would benefit also in doing community service so that they can see and I'm, I'm speaking about people that are like born rich, Yeah. and that's all they know, Yeah. and I'm thinking that community service would help them, uh, just get a feel of what else is out there, how other people are living, you know, if they were to work in, in a, a, I don't know, a soup kitchen or something, they would understand how other people live Yeah. and, uh, you know, on the same note if poor, if poorer people, uh, are working to, to serve the community, I don't know, they probably have a better perspective of, of life itself. Uh-huh. Yeah and I think the Peace Corps is great too, because, uh, it, you go to different countries Uh-huh. and you see, uh, in fact I saw an interview on T V the other night with, uh, Patrick Swayze, Uh-huh. and he's making a movie in, I think it's, uh, Calcutta or either India, somewhere where it's, it's a very poor, poor country, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and he said that people in the west, he said since being there and I guess he's been there about six months, Uh-huh. he said that his whole idea of what's important has changed, Um. and he said that people have no idea, he said, of, of what human sacrifice is, you know, since being there he's, he's learned to, what it is to be poor and have nothing and yet those people have, uh, such, uh, a happy, uh, Uh-huh. demeanor, yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, in, in other words they don't dwell on, on what they don't have. Right. they dwell on what they do have and they're happy with each other type of thing. That's great. He said that out here, he said that when he comes back he knows that it, it's completely changed his life. Uh-huh and I, I think that that, you know, this, on the same note being he was exposed to that and maybe he wasn't before, Right. and now he sees, Exactly. and I think that anybody that works in the, in some kind of service or for the community or something, they can see, you know. Uh-huh. You don't see what, you don't, you can't know what you don't see, you know, Exactly right. so and you have to experience some things. You know a lot of people know that people, that other people are poor but you, they don't know what poor is, unless they actually see it and, you know, help or something. Yeah. Right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well I, I know that it, that must be true especially if you do something along the lines of, uh, you know, helping them learn how to survive, how to plant, how to find water Uh-huh. and I've seen so many, uh, extraordinary things on T V, that people have done working in the Peace Corps and how, you know, uh, the people of the community they worked in is so much better, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. it's like one person can make a difference, Right. and I, I really believe that they can in something like that. There's something I, I've really be skeptical of, you know, you watch television you'll see the service announcement for children in other countries and, if you want to send like, you know, fifty cents a day, or something like that Uh-huh. Yes. and you can help a child. Uh-huh. It's, I don't know, I guess it's just me but I don't know whether to trust that or not, I mean there are so many scams, and things going on, you know, I know and how do I would love to help somebody, you know, Yeah. but I just, I can't bring myself to trust this, this company who is trying to do this or whatever it is, you know, Right. Uh-huh. just because people or so, I don't know, just today people are just so money hungry, that I think they would do anything, I know. It's true, it really is. and so you don't know what they, It's the sad life I think today. Uh-huh. It's, uh, it's, it's not like it used to be even in, in the years of my growing up. Uh-huh. I mean I'm fifty-three years old, Uh-huh. and I have seen a town change from a town to a city and its, uh, people, you know, grow from a small town to a large town, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you would think that more people would be better, you know share more, do more, you know, be more community oriented and all, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but if they just get more, uh, unto themselves kind of, More self-centered, uh-huh. right and, and it's not the sharing of, uh, a neighbor to a neighbor Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and we would go out and not even lock our doors and not even worry about it. Uh-huh. But you can't do that today. But today, I mean, you know, it's like you wouldn't even think of doing that. Uh-huh. If you don't have bars on the window you're not even safe you know? Yeah. Even when, when I first moved to Dallas from New York, it seemed like Dallas was so open, you know, everybody left their, doors open, Uh-huh. you just run, in the store, Yeah. you leave your car running, you know, Yeah. and this was only, uh, well I guess it has been awhile, it's been almost ten years since I moved here. Yeah. And it's amazing now how much it's changed. I mean I don't go out I don't go, outside at night, you know. In Dallas I, I was going to say cause I, I heard I, in fact I was talking to someone from Dallas, uh, just last week and they was saying that, uh, in fact it was this one girl particularly that worked for T I, Uh-huh. and she had gone overseas to Tokyo, Uh-huh. and she asked them there if there was some, anywhere that she shouldn't go because she was alone, you know being a girl from another country, and everything Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and she said they thought for a few seconds and they said, uh, no, there's nowhere that you can go that you would have to be afraid. Uh-huh. They said to her that even if she left her purse on the subway okay, that she would have that purse returned to her, this is how confident they were, okay, with nothing missing Uh-huh. Wow. Wow. okay, this is a foreign country Uh-huh. and you would think, you know, uh, being, uh, an American or whatever, you know, a foreigner there that, that would be all the more reason that they'd take advantage of you. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh God, that would be the exact opposite of here. Okay. I mean if you leave something anywhere you might as well forget it. And she told me she said she could tell them for fifteen minutes places not to go in, in and around Dallas, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and that's where she was from. Uh-huh. That is sad. She said even choosing her apartment she had to be so careful because of being a woman alone, Yeah, yeah. That's, a big, that's a big thing with me. You know she had, there are certain. I live in a one bedroom, I'm single, Uh-huh. and I've, I could live in an apartment, I live in Waco, okay, Oh yeah. and you either live in really low priced housing or you live on the other side of town in the high price apartments. Yeah. And I live, I don't make a lot of money but I live in the high price apartments simply because I feel safe here Yeah. and I pay, I'm paying probably the hundred or hundred fifty dollars more than I would be paying somewhere else but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night Yeah. and that to me is worth the extra money for me to be, you know, Yeah. I feel very safe where I am, you know, instead of, And that, that's why I think if people were more exposed to, uh, Uh-huh. especially, uh, young kids getting out of high school. Uh-huh. I mean at one time they would go into the service, to have the same exposure and, you know, uh, to further their worldliness, so to speak. And go to see, uh, foreign countries that they would not necessarily be able to afford to see, Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. it was like they said, join the Navy to see the world type of thing, you know, Right, right. but nowadays, they don't do that anymore. Huh-uh. It's not a, a thing a, a lot of young men don't even, uh, have the desire to go into the service. Or to, uh, you know, do something for someone else. Yeah, they don't even consider it. Uh-huh. And I don't know I attributed I think, a lot of that to women working. You know, to mothers not being at home. To, Yes! Yes! I was talking to someone yesterday about that. the bonding process, yeah. And we were saying that the basic, uh, the, the basic family is, is disrupted these days, It very definitely is. And so, I think, you know, before the father would work and the mother, you know, would stay home and having that mother there, that base, I think, was a big part of, of family, a big part of, of what, you know, your, your, uh, youngsters thought about, what they did, you know. That's right. Yeah. And the thing is, like I think a man can afford to support a woman, but the woman affords the luxuries. Uh-huh. In, in other words like anyone can live, on a certain income no matter what it is, Uh-huh. Right. you have to, so to speak. Okay? Right. It, it's what's important to you. Uh-huh. Now a family, I, I think that like girls today, have children, Uh-huh. and six weeks later they're back to work. Right. They don't even have a bonding with that child, they, don't ever see the, Uh-huh. it's, it's the most beautiful thing that happens between a mother and a child. The first, like say, six, years of life. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So much, happens in that period of time, When I call, Uh-huh. and I mean once the child's in school if you had a job from say nine to three, big deal, Uh-huh. I mean they, they're in school, you're at work. Right. That's great. But it's kids that come home and don't have a mother there or the kids are at home in the morning and ... Right. Where you on the phone a long time? Yeah, I've been sitting here alternately reading and watching television Yeah. You were, he was waiting for what again? To, he called in to get somebody on the line, it took him about half an hour to find somebody. That's what this was yeah, well, let me go a head and push one okay? Okay. Okay. Well, basically I like comedy shows Uh, MURPHY BROWN, uh, DESIGNING WOMEN . Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah what do you like? Well we don't have a T V, I mean we have two T V but neither one of them work, Oh, okay. so for the last year, I mean we just got married and we decided well, for the first year we, we won't get a T V so I mean I'm totally out of it as far, as T V goes. That's okay we'll been married eleven years and, um, we went through that after about five years of marriage, my old T V that I had from college when we got married finally went out and we went, we made it almost about eighteen months without a television. Really? Yeah, but then all of a sudden when you get one you realize, um, gee I needed that, you know, Yeah. and then you get to remote control the stereo phonic, whatever all of those things, V C R, and everything else. oh, yeah, and then you never use the V C R, and now we have two of them and now it's like we're just glad we never went out and bought a compact disk player cause we wouldn't use it Really. Yeah, I mean it's cause your never home, you know, you're working, you're at school. Yeah. Well, I don't know T V shows, what can I tell you, um, basically junk that's on television Yeah. That's my opinion yeah, um, I like things like I just mentioned, have you ever seen MURPHY BROWN, or anything like that? I don't think so You don't think so, oh, that's the one with Candice Bergen in it, um, Well, see another thing was I worked on second shift for like a year and a half, so. I would never see any shows any way Yeah, that would do it. and then before that I was in college for four years and I never watched T V then because I didn't have time. Right, nobody does yeah, then, uh-huh. I know. I mean I did watch T V it was soaps and M T V cause the girls I lived with never changed the channels . And the, uh, well I don't, you're probably at least ten years younger then I am but I could tell you in school that, uh, the only thing that ever saw in the dorm was, uh, the one soap opera, ALL MY CHILDREN. Yeah. And until then I never paid attention to soap operas. Me too. And to this day twenty years later I'm like, I'm in my thirties, I'm not that old, but I'm going, jeez, I can't believe that thing's still on television I know, I mean I I almost got hooked on it cause everybody would took about it at dinner and everything else it, you know, it was like. Yeah, they, you know, about the only other kinds of things I like, um, I like to watch a lot of news, um, don't you miss that with not having a television so far? Um. How long has it been since you've had one? Well, about, almost a year. Oh my God Yeah. Yeah, you've got about another six months and then you'll get one Well, I mean I never really watched it much growing up By then, but I thought, you know, my husband would really like miss it because he, he was an only child and he he's seen a lot of T V. Uh-huh. And I figured oh, no it will never last but. I mean I don't miss it that much. Yeah. Yeah, my husband is an only child too and he did miss it that's kind of why we got back after eighteen months, That's funny. and I'm trying to think about the only other show I watch. I've seen CHEERS probably five times and I've seen COSBY SHOW probably ten times. Yeah, I like COSBY, L A LAW is probably, I've seen CHEERS more then that I hate to admit but, uh, It's pretty cool I like that whenever I watch it. CHEERS? Yeah, I thought it was good, I've actually been to that bar in Boston it's a nice, you know, it's a pretty funny show. Oh, you have? Yeah. Yeah, I've heard it's pretty cool. It's just a, you know, over priced downtown, Boston yuppie, you know, tourist attraction. Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think what else is on television, I know it's like. I watched a lot of T V when the war was on. Yeah, who didn't? Isn't that sad? And then, uh, I like watching a lot of like college basketball and, and pro football, Uh-huh. I mean that sounds kind of stupid but, I do like it. Oh not, no, I like the pro, actually I like pro basket ball as opposed to, I watch pro football but I like the N B A play-offs, back when like the Pistons were in them Yeah. and now, where are you calling from? Uh, Sherman, Texas. Sherman, Texas, oh, Where are you from? I'm in Dallas I was just saying where am I calling you from, you know, well then I don't know if you like the, the Mavericks or not, they haven't been that good this year. Um, we're supposed to talk about television let's see you don't have a T V. So, are you really from Texas though? Yeah, I'm talking to you from Dallas, uh-huh. Well, sounds like you're from up north. My voice you mean? Yeah. Oh, no, that's just because I've moved around and, uh, I'm originally from Pennsylvania, Oh. so. I was going to say. Cause I wondered if you really, you know, if had any teams you like watching from up north or something. Uh, actually I'm a big Chicago Bears' fan. Yeah. Real big and, uh, um, I always watch them no matter who's on, of course you like them too, right. Yeah. Do you? Well, I'm from Indiana. Oh, okay. Yeah, so I like the Bears. Yeah, there you go, and then and, um, I'm trying to think what else I like to watch on television sports wise. I like, I like tennis I watch, uh, huh. so I mean I'm not, I haven't played in years but, um, I just like to watch, you know, two players really get, go at it, Yeah. Yeah. It gets boring after a while but I don't, go ahead. I used to watch OPRAH a lot in the afternoons, before I went to work and stuff OPRAH and I see her every once in awhile like if I go workout at T I, Uh-huh. you know, they have those T V right, in front of the treadmills, Yeah, on the, on the tracks yeah, is I don't know she's not as good as she use to be but, Maybe cause she got chubby again or something, her disposition's gone downhill. Was she, was her show big when you where in school since you haven't been out that long? Was what? Was her show big when you where in college, since you, haven't been that long? Oh, yeah. It's pretty cool, Was it? I mean back then and the show, did you see the show where she lost all of that fat? Yeah I saw reruns of it, She she wheeled it out on a cart . I saw tapes of her yeah. That was so cool, and then man she's really porked out again I guess but, Gee, I know isn't that terrible. Yeah. I know I guess with that money who cares I don't know. I'd eat too. Let's see what else is on television. Oh, if you don't have a V C R we just got one after nine years don't even spend your money on it. Really. Yeah, cause, you know, if you like movies like we do you do it once in awhile and then, you know, you see it when it first comes out if you really want to see it and then it usually comes on television within two years. You know. Yeah, we got, we've got the dollar Cinema in Sherman so we usually see like first-rate movies, right away. Yeah, really, that's television I don't know in general on this project we're suppose to talk about so I mean, Yeah I'm sorry. That's okay, don't, I mean, I, I always . Well, it's hard to talk about something, it's like me talking about taxes or something, Yeah. I feel bad cause I mean, I should know something about T V shows. Oh, that's okay. I had one lady one time they called in I just signed up my husband had been on this project, um, and I, I, she called in and it was all about, we don't have children and it was all about, um, sending your kids to college, and why you would advise them. And she was from Boston, and she, I shouldn't talk about this but she was, pretend she was a television show, and she was very snooty and, uh, her kids were going to places like Amherst and B U and I said I didn't know what that was I she went, oh, and I thought, um, so I know, I mean it's like don't worry about it television at least, you know, everybody's, at least seen television. During the war did you laugh when they had that man on, uh, what was his name Wolf Blitzer? What was that? That guy that was a reporter for C N N. Uh-huh. His name is Wolf Blitzer. Did you see it, him when he was doing the coverage of the Gulf? Um, I might of. I forget. Was he the guy that got captured? Uh, no, that was the other guy from C B S, oh, what was his name, uh, Oh. I can't remember his name. Yeah, but what about this Wolf guy? Yeah, but just , they made jokes about him like on the CARSON SHOW and all of that, Oh. Jay Leno. You know, what my absolutely favorite show is? Uh-huh. DAVID LETTERMAN. I love that guy. Yeah, he's funny. And SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, I use to watch that like I'd come home from second shift and watch him like for an hour and a half, he's great. Yeah, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE has changed a lot if you haven't seen it in about a year. Huh-uh. I mean I haven't seen it in a couple of months but, Has it gotten better? Uh, yeah, actually I think it has, I mean they finally like and some of those people they really have funny characters on there. Really. Yeah, they have one character on there they just call it Pat and they, you don't know if it's a man or a woman And they say well, they're trying to deduce what he or she is, Uh-huh. so to see if it's a female they say well do you carry a purse and Pat says no I carry a fanny pack So you still don't know because a fanny pack is man, or now days, you know. Yeah. Yeah it's weird That's funny. Yeah, it's, yeah it is pretty funny I mean they do some crazy things. Like when WAYNE'S WORLD, I love that. Yeah, WAYNE'S WORLD, hey man And what's that other one where they, where they do the, um, skits, well, you've must have seen it recently? Well, I don't know, I've seen it off and on, I think. You probably have some friends that have television Uh? I said you probably have some friends that have television Yeah, yeah. That's where I've seen it because I've seen it off and on probably. You know, I mean you're not totally out of the loop. Yeah. I mean, yeah. We, we bug our we, you know, one friend of ours got rid of his because we motivated him because we, you know, cause we were getting along out ours so he sold his. But the rest of our friends we go and watch them. Yeah, I mean you really, you can do without one but after awhile it will start, um, you know, I mean you just kind of all of sudden cause you're going well jeez you hear about something that somebody else talked about, Uh-huh. and you just end up doing it but if you haven't been married that long, you know, you're doing other things Is that on tape? Is that on tape, there you go, yeah. That's funny. Oh, my what else is on I don't know what did they watch in college when you where in, where did you go to school? Oh, Purdue. Oh, that's a good school. Yeah. Yeah, I know about that. They don't have a southern accent up there though. No. You must be native Texan? Why do I, Do I have a southern accent? Well your from Indiana, yeah. *your should be you're Oh, real southern, yeah. Are you serious? Uh-huh. I've been here three years. Deep one, you have a deep one, yeah Oh, wow, that's scary. It is, um, at Purdue I'm trying to think, I went to high school in Chicago, I'm trying to think what Purdue kids watch. We watch, uh, M T V twenty four hours a day and then every now and then they'd DAYS, they taped DAYS, you know, and watch it like four or five times a day. Uh-huh. Okay. That's the girls I lived with and, you know, other then that I'm sure they watched, Do you know that I've never, I think other then accept on a commercial or on news coverage or something, like entertainment tonight I've never seen M T V? Yeah. You aren't missing anything That's kind of what I've heard It's pretty bad. I mean that's, yeah. Especially if you have kids. Don't let them watch it. Yeah. No we don't and I wouldn't even I mean I don't even have cable I don't think it's worth ten to thirty bucks a month to pay, somebody, uh, to, you know, give me a hundred and fifty, um channel access to something I'm never going to, No. I mean my neighbor her husband sits in front of the television all of time and they've only been married five years have a cute one year old kids I swear to God he works from eight, Okay. Well, I heard Dallas is pretty bad with the crime. Well, you know, you know last night I was listening to the, uh, ten o'clock news. Uh-huh. And for the first five to seven minutes of a news broadcast all they were talking about was the number of shootings, the number of drug deals that were going on, and crime and, and it's so depressing just to even listen to the news anymore. Uh-huh The same way here in Dennison. Uh-huh. I mean, uh, back a couple weeks ago they found, uh, some people I don't remember at some fast food restaurant. They had been, I can't remember if they had been shot or if they had just been thrown in the freezer but I'm pretty sure they'd been shot and put the freezer at the fast, food restaurant. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I've worked, worked in fast food restaurants. They don't have that much money on hand, Yeah. they really don't. Yeah. I did too. I remember I used to work at, uh, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Uh-huh. And, and I just couldn't believe, um, you know, that now I would hate to work at a fast food restaurant or even have my children work in one. Uh-huh. And, uh, because of, uh, the crime that they would, um, kill people just for the few couple hundred dollars that they would have in there, uh, in their cash drawer. Yeah. Right. My husband worked at a gas station when he was a teenager. Uh-huh. And he, well I don't know, he decided not to work one night or something and one of the guys that was working was shot, Uh-huh. and, Kenny quit the next day. Uh-huh. He just, he couldn't deal with it. Yeah. yeah. Oh, I understand what your talking about. So, yeah, I have, uh, uh, you know, a real problem, uh, even though I live further out in the suburbs, the crime follows you anywhere, Uh-huh. Everywhere. it, it doesn't matter if you live in a small town or if you live in a small town or if you live in a large city like this. Uh-huh. Um, so, but, I just think about the all the different ways that we have to protect ourselves from, It just seems like a lot of people are attracted to the bigger cities though, Uh-huh. the worst part of it. Uh-huh. Um, I lived in Louisville, Kentucky for a while, Uh-huh. but, I lived on the outskirts too, but Louisville was pretty bad especially during like the, uh, Kentucky Derby. Yeah. At this time of the year it's horrible to live in Louisville. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh. Yeah. So, I don't know, um, you know, it's asking about what kind of steps we can take, um, uh, you know, just as citizens to try and, um, uh, protect ourselves. I know I have, uh, um, home security system. Uh-huh. Plus, I have the, uh, the special lights on, on the outside. And I have, The ones that blink off and on. Yeah, that, uh, By themselves I mean. yeah, yeah. By themselves if you if there's some kind of movement, then they'll automatically come on. Um, Right. but, I mean it's just I'm constantly think about keeping us safe and protected, verses, um, Uh-huh. How many kids do you have? Two. Two. Oh a boy or? One of each. Oh, that's what I've got, Yeah. Yeah. It is scary, are your are they babies or, No, no, there teenagers now. Oh, well good. That they're a comfort to you. I've still got babies. Okay Yeah I've got a, a four year old. He'll be four. And a three month old. Oh, wow. And it's scary sometimes. Yeah. That's a problem. Yeah. I'm used to living in, uh, which we don't live in the city, Uh-huh. but we just. It's still more crowded than what I'm used to, Uh-huh. I'm used to having, you know, eight or ten houses on one street and this one's got houses on either side and, you know, real close together, Yeah. Yeah. and just, Yeah. It's different, yeah, living down here. Now, now the nice thing, uh, I feel a little bit more comfort since we're so close together like this. Um, I, I feel like that there's going to be, uh, less crime or your neighbors going to be watching out for you, um, because it's, it's practically, it's in their backyard, too, Right. Oh, oh well, we think our neighbors are stealing from us, actually my husband. They, uh, well, the one of them's a teenager that lives next door and her friends are pretty wild. They've stolen gas out of our vehicles. Oh goodness. And so he went and got a locking gas cap for his. Uh-huh. They weren't stealing it out of mine so much, because my car, the gas thing is kind of weird where it's hard to, syphon gas out. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So he, he went and got a locking cap and they tried to break that off. Oh my goodness. And you excuse me. He went down to Uba , and noticed that it was hanging off where, where they had tried to break it off. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And they stole our tailgate off his truck Oh goodness. Well, we can't say they did but, Someone did, We're pretty, yeah, Yeah. it had to be somebody that, you know, could do it in the middle of the night and, you know, they'd seen it earlier. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah I know that it's a real problem. It doesn't matter where you are anymore. Uh-huh. It's, uh, more of a matter of what you, the steps that you do to keep yourself safe, and um, so that's, that's why I try and, uh, do, Well, the only thing that we can do as citizens is, you know, like, uh, watch groups that they'll have. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But they can be dangerous too. Really. I've thought about it. Uh-huh. You know, that this isn't like walking around and looking for somebody you can get yourself into trouble. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I was going home the other day and I saw, um, a guy who, who looked like he was breaking into a window, Uh-huh. and I thought, gee whiz, you know, I don't know if he's really doing that or not or if he's, he's the person who lives there. Uh, you know, and, and I was thinking well, I need to call the police when I get back home and because it was about oh about four or five blocks from where we live and, uh, and I thought no, you know, because I wouldn't know if that was really a robber or not because it was in broad daylight. But anymore, you know, the crime happens in daylight, as it does in, in night, Yeah. Well, I watched it on T V, oh, I guess last year sometime. They'll break in at the day, in the daytime, Uh-huh. and, I hear that, you know, it's if you lock yourself out of your house and you try to get in your house Uh-huh. it will you give that half the time it takes you to break in. Uh-huh. Uh, a professional could break in, in, half that time. Half that time, wow. I mean that's so scary. Yeah. It is. So scary you, you think you've got yourself all locked in and safe, and, and, uh, somebody could break in, uh, oh I have a dog, Uh-huh. that's the one thing that I like. I'm getting me, uh, I want a German Shepherd. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, I don't want any of those ones that will up the kids, Right. but I do want a German Shepherd. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Because my husband will leave every once in a while, for, Uh-huh. he works on the railroad. Uh-huh. And I'm scared here by myself. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. So that's uh, we have a little dog now but he is just as vicious as is, you know, if you, And loud. And loud, yeah, and I thought that, uh, you know, we'd have to have a big dog but we doesn't need a big dog. We got this little bitty dog that, uh, part Dachshunds and part Cocker Spaniel. Uh-huh. And he, um, ease very protective, The Cocker Spaniels are loud Well that's, now that's one of the best deterrents for a robber is a noisy neighbor even if the neighbor's got a noisy dog. yeah. Very protective, Uh-huh. That's a deterrent. Uh-huh. Because they know that that dog's going to bark. That's right. But it's easy to fool a dog too. Yeah. you know, throw them meat or Uh-huh. um, a a real intense burglar can just get another dog that's in heat. Right. From what I've you know, saw it on T V. Oh, wow, gosh. Well, it was nice talking to you. Yeah, it was. Okay. And I, maybe we'll meet up again. Okay. All righty. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, there's one, uh, I meant living in Texas, where you at? I'm in Rome, New York. In where Rome , New York? Rome, New York, yeah. Rome, New York, okay, well, Texas, let me look at my husband and ask him, to some one else in Yes, they do He's reminding me of where I live, yeah. Yeah, I, I, New York does not Uh-huh. but, uh, they're, they're trying to reinstate it and the governor's opposed to it being that, uh, the Democrat that he is, and Mario Cuomo Uh-huh. Yes. but the state legislatures are more and more coming to supporting it. Yeah, I, uh, I ethically don't like the idea but, or I should say morally I don't like the idea, but, uh, social and ethics, socially and ethically I think it's a good idea, in certain crimes. I'd, I would agree, with that even more, I don't know if this is cold and too pragmatically but I'm really offended, by the thought that I have to support, uh, just the existence of, you know, murder, rapist, you know, right, that, uh, after they've gone and done horrible things, molested children, and kill, them whatever, that, society has to pay, uh, upwards , uh, thirty thousand dollars a year to incarcerate them. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right, any , on the street, no, I know. Uh-huh. Yeah, and Texas is having a problem right now and it's, the, the, the, the, the I think that's the, the repeat crimes and the repeat offenders is happening down here where they're, they're patrol, the state patrol board is letting people walk that have done, oh, heinous things from from killing police officers to, I mean just multiple, you know, molestations to murders of children, just, you know, really bad things and they're get, these people are getting out like three to five years before they're even suppose to be considered, Right. and now, they can't find them and they're finding bodies in you know, I mean, you think why they say it's because you're over crowd, it's over crowded, and you think how is, is everybody that stupid or is the world really that rotten I, I don't know, I know. it's a hard question, you look at the United States, we have the largest murder rate of any developed, uh, And then, or, uh, I don't know how Americans are about handguns but, uh, yesterday a lady I work with just told me today that, uh, in the state capitol here in Austin, Texas, they had been, uh, looking at a bill, uh, making it easier to accept the bill to access, to access handguns and they passed it, which basically means without an F B I check any person here in this state over twenty-one can get a gun Here in New York it's a lot harder than that, uh Is it, that's good. it takes, uh, it takes almost six months to get, uh, handgun permit, in this state. Say, that good, I think that's, like the state of Virginia, yeah, that's great. Now, the, the, and that's with, uh, you have to have, uh, oh, a police investigation, you have to, have references, Uh-huh. and I know, because a friend of mine wanted to get one and listed me as a reference uh, Uh-huh. and I know it, there is, it's very easy to get, uh, uh, you know, there's no restrictions, whatsoever, on hunting rifles and shotguns and things like that, which aren't the, I, I don't consider to be the kind of crime, uh, weapon, you know, Uh-huh. Right, they're no, the cattiness behind, right, yeah, uh, so, I mean I don't like guns in general but when I think about, uh, this topic like capital punishment I look at somebody, I mean, I just remember when I was in college in a dorm and I think if he'd been around one of my family members probably would have killed him but in Florida, in the state of Washington when they had the Ted Bundy case Right. and how they just well, it hasn't been just but it was in the, I think the second or third quarter of last year, nineteen ninety Right. and I had, you know, I knew some people that said, why are you glad, you you know, this is nothing, and I said just maybe because he got a lot of media hype and all that but I actually, I mean in there should be more cases like that where they flip a I might be too cold too, but they flip a switch, Yeah, yeah, I don't know, well, and the thing with Bundy was though he escaped I mean, and then So many times. yeah Yeah. and did it again and, uh, Yeah, I mean, and that's just maybe because of the little more, they said celebrated that, uh, he's not the only one, you know, No. you, you see somebody's mini series and you hear about somebody's crime, there was something on, and this gets back to capital punishment, but the man had stolen, uh, not stolen but kidnapped, uh, some wealthy ex-athlete's daughter somewhere in Florida and they changed all the facts that they said it was true Uh-huh. and they buried her alive Oh, God. and Peter Strauss had played the lead role and the man, and, and at the end of, you know how they have these mini dramas, at the end they said, this set person was paroled like six months ago and you're thinking oh, that's nice. Great. I mean, you know, I'm not sure that capital punishment serves as a deterrence but it does serve as a uh, definite, you know, lasting Surely, there's and end to, the situation. Right, in that particular instance, uh, but I, but I don't, but I know it's on a and all and be all, Right. that's the problem I have with it, in Texas they think it's and all and be all, they think that if they electrocute or slip, or do something, or gas somebody, uh, that they're not going to have the crimes that they do have and we happen to live in Dallas which is extremely crime, ridden, Uh-huh. and we just moved here, uh, we've been here before, lived in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, uh, which has an exceedingly low crime rate, and then we were transferred back here, and when you're gone from some place like it for about six years as we were, you really begin to see, uh, just how problematic just living is, even suburban, no matter where you are, Right. and how, you're in, Rome, New York, Rome, New York, it's up state it it's, uh, near Syracuse is that and, and, is that like near Albany or Syracuse, it's about, uh, well, I, I actually live in a Village of Sylvan Beach, I work in Rome, uh, What, what type of area is that, It's more rural, is that in term, uh, it use to be use to be a, uh, uh, have a lot of heavy industry, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but it's kind of, uh, all the industry has gone south, Sure. and, uh, now the Air Force is the largest employer in the, uh, area and, uh, uh, so it's, Not too bad, How would, how is the situation in there in terms of crime and, and things that would, it, you know, you still have the, uh, more drug problems and typical, uh, small city type problems, not too bad. Yeah. Uh-huh. but I don't know that there's a real, uh, Not the harsh criminality, that you find in, no there isn't the harsh crime and all. yeah, now, Dallas is a I'm being very sarcastic, it's just a great, uh, on some days, uh, it's, uh, I don't know the good ole boy network here is, uh, very strange, like I said they believe that, if they kill somebody, you know, tit for tat and, deed for deed that, that does something, uh, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but yet they want spend the money to build the new jails that, I mean, they really are over, crowded, Right. I mean, that's, that's just not a cop out, uh, and I just, you know, I'm originally from Pennsylvania which I think is basically like New York these days, I'm not sure if they, I don't think they have capital punishment there. I think, I think Pennsylvania may have just reenacted it because I'm from, uh, from Pennsylvania also, just, uh, just outside, of Philadelphia, Uh-huh. Yeah, and I'm from Pittsburgh so, oh, well, we'll forgive each other Yeah. Uh, because they use to be very, very conservative when I was growing up I and I can't, I haven't lived there in twenty, years Right. but, uh, The west part of the state is and then the east part of the state has got all the bleeding hearts and all the welfare cases so. There you go I don't know that's a different subject, altogether Right. but, uh, I don't know I think everybody would feel it is same way if they were touched by crime. I think everyone would, you and I think are honest and candid because we could do it on, in this, vehicle, uh, Right. but I think everybody if they were touched by it would say, if they had any sense of rage that could be brought out, I think every human does, I think they'd say, yeah, Sure. do it if somebody in my family or if it happened it me, you know, Yeah, uh, if your friends or family got, uh, had that happen to them I think everyone would, I, they'd, probably pull the trigger themselves or flip the switch themselves and with a smile on their face, as they did it. Uh-huh. Yeah, I just, don't think that, uh, you can rehabilitate, I mean I just don't, uh, oh, I did a paper back in college a long time ago for criminal justice class, and I just, the subject, I remember we drew things out of a hat and it was something, uh, it was basically the essence was does the crime fit the punishment and when you see how many repeat offenders there are, uh, check, check fraud cases where they go to jail for five to ten years and, uh, rape, rapist getting their hand, just slapped, you know, and how it is based on the judge and if the time of day that the court is in session, you know, all these, uh, intangible things Yeah. Right. and you're thinking, oh, you would not only would you not want to be a victim you wouldn't want to be a criminal either because you wouldn't know what you're getting, uh Right. Right. but, I don't know, methods of capital punishment I have no opinions on that either I just Well, uh, I, uh, yeah, I don't know I think the old gas chamber seems to be about the most painless because I guess it's a pretty, pretty rough thing to be, uh, electrocuted. Uh-huh. Is it, uh, how about the injection, Oh, yeah, an injection, is that suppose to be. yeah, that would be even, yeah, I didn't even, think about that. Yeah. I'm not even sure, in the split among the fifty states, do you know which way it is the ratio, it's more than, aren't, uh, it's more that don't have it, I think, isn't that correct. yeah, there's more that don't have it but amazingly it's like, uh, Massachusetts went back, and reinstated capital punishment, oh, maybe six or seven years ago, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I don't know if they've used it since then since they've reinstated it but, uh, it's on the books. Yeah, I don't know if they've, they did something about I'm not sure if Texas, Minnesota, I, they didn't, they didn't, they were well, did they have it, they were against it, uh, Texas, as I said, has it but I haven't been back here long enough to, to realize whether or not, if they've done it in the last, Right. Well, I guess it depends on what age. I am in the thirty something, so I know, I mean I lived through it. Uh, are you old enough to know about the war? Uh, just barely. Uh-huh. Yeah, I am, uh, twenty-nine. Okay. So, uh, Well, yeah, you are old enough. Yeah. But But it was on the fringe. just, uh, yeah, exactly. Had some friends that were, that were in it. It ended, uh, when I was in, uh, college. In, uh, when I turned nineteen in nineteen seventy, I cannot even remember at this point. Uh, when I turned nineteen it was the year that, uh, the draft was still going on. If I had been a male or in Israel, I would have been number two. Really? Yeah Wowie! So I learned a lesson in gender Uh-huh. Uh, in terms of the war, I do not know. Uh, actually I do not really know that much about it. I just know socially the impact it had here and what you hear in the media, you know. Uh, I guess I think it was, uh, uh, not that great that we were in there, uh, in terms of for how long it lasted. Right. You know. Uh-huh. What do you think? Well, I think it is, uh, basically the same way. It is certainly has affected, uh, U S policy though. There is, there is no question it had an overwhelming effect of how we approached the, the thing in, uh, Iraq. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Because, uh, the whole thing that was bad about Vietnam, it was no different from Iraq. I mean it was, uh, one country picking on a smaller, weaker one. Right. The devastation, yeah. Yeah. The only difference was that the government said, okay if we were going to support this smaller country, then we are going to support it a hundred percent. And we are going to consider ourselves against, in war, against these people as well. Uh-huh. Yeah. And in full faction, Which, uh, yeah. Right. Which really was not the attitude with Vietnam. It was sort of, of a president's war rather than a country's war. Yeah, it just kind of dragged on. Uh, I do not know how you were historically. But I was a little bit older before I realized just how long it had been going on since L B J and Right. Yeah. It seemed to me like it was, it seemed like it was going on forever, I mean, I Yeah. yeah. It really, well, yeah, in fact, because in terms of when your, there is at least ten years between us, so in terms of when you were in school, I am sure that it was, you know, the majority of your high school and junior high years. Uh-huh. Uh, one of the things I did not like was the weapons, the weapons, I can't even say it, the weaponry systems that they used. Yeah. Uh, it just did not seem that, uh, I do not know, technically we knew what we were doing either. Right. And then you heard about the things like agent orange, et cetera, and you would think, you know, just, uh, how could the government or the Pentagon, uh, or whomever is in charge there been so careless. Yeah, right. Uh, Of course now uh, now everyone's more, uh, you know, environmentally uh, intelligent than they were back then. Conscious, yeah. I mean back then it was not commonly known that saccharin was bad for you and all these other things that people that people know about themselves now. Nutrisweet, yeah, and all these other things. That is true, uh, Uh, monetarily too, I just do not think we have done enough for the, uh, Vietnamese people as a whole. Uh, in South Vietnam, in general, in helping them restore themselves. Uh-huh You know, and I don't know if it is because there are not any oil fields there Yeah. I do not know if they, uh, I do not know if they have that resource or not. Yeah. I mean I do not think they do. But I just think it is kind of a shame that, uh, you still hear things about the children that are orphans there and, Yeah. uh, so on a whole, I do not know, war is not good. And that one I probably, uh, my main opinion would be we should not have done it. Right. Well, that is what I know about the Vietnam War Yeah. Unless you, Yeah, well, you know a little, uh, a little bit more than I do, explain it. I did not, uh, get to live through it. That the people that I know that it did, uh, felt very strongly. Uh-huh. Most of, I work for a government contractor. Uh-huh. So most of the guys I work with, are, uh, oh, at least some of the guys I work with rather are veterans. Uh-huh. Oh, Vietnam? And, uh, from Vietnam. Jeez, yeah. And, I have not talked to any of them that, that were not, you know, glad that they went or, or rather thought that the reason they went was a good one. Uh-huh. You know, most of them are very strongly that, that the reason for America to be there was a good one. And that, that, Uh-huh. They just felt that the way America backed them up was not, was not at all right. In terms of the personal. Yeah. In term of, uh, Yeah. The bitterness is more on a personal level than on a, Yeah. Personal level and, and the finances, how they started. You know, like air attacks and stuff like that dropped off like crazy. Uh-huh. Because the Congress would not approve, you know. The money is So, Yeah. after, yeah. I mean, I think it started actually like, like in the late fifties. I mean like in fifty-eight, fifty-nine. Huh. I, I, So it really, I mean, because I know, in nineteen sixty-three, I mean I was nine years old, when Kennedy was shot. Uh-huh. So, I mean I remember, uh, right around then that's when I first started hearing about Vietnam. But then as I got older and studied in school, I realized it was even going on before that. Yeah. You know, and you think to yourself, oh, my goodness, Eisenhower Yeah, right. That sounds ancient, yeah. And I know, I know, you know, a lot of the Vietnam vets that are my age in their later thirties, uh, guys that I know, that, they are just kind of bitter, you know. They, they, you know, I hate to that movie BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, but it is that kind of idea. Uh-huh. You know, they just do not feel that socially they were given, like a friend of mine called it the yellow ribbon syndrome. Right, Yeah. They were not given the, right, the ticker tape parade and all that. Yeah. So, well, I won't keep you any more. Okay. That is probably as about as much as we both know But thanks for talking to me. Yes. Uh, were you calling from Texas? Uh, yes, is that where you are at? No, I am in Falls Church, Virginia. Oh, I know where that is. That is beautiful where you are at. Yeah, right in, right near D C. D C, yeah. Are you a native of there? Uh, pretty much, yep. Been, Yeah, uh, Dallas, it is, uh, ninety-two degrees here today, but at least the humidity is, uh, below forty percent, which makes it kind of like Phoenix. Yeah. It is about the same weather here. Really? Little bit, little bit cooler, like eighty-nine. Well, you, But, basically the same thing. Yeah, well you are not missing too much then Yeah. Right. Really. Well, take it easy. Okay. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Uh, do you want to give a start on it? Well, I think for me, I, I'm from Alabama. Uh-huh. South Alabama, and so I grew up in the midst of civil rights movement. Uh, in a pretty liberal family for, for that area at the time. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so I was very much a part of all the, uh you know, what was going on there. Uh-uh. Uh, my parents are pretty active and, uh, it was very scary and, but now we've seen, you know, uh, black people have a lot more civil rights in that area and I guess all over than they did, you know, twenty years ago. Oh, definitely. There's still a lot to be you know, to be accomplished, but for me, when I think about social change, that's what I first think of Uh-huh. because I can remember, you know, separate public restrooms and separate water fountains and sitting in the back of the bus and everything. Uh-huh. You can relate to that. Now see, we didn't, we don't have any of that because, well, like, we live in the country in Clarion County Uh-huh. and, uh, we really didn't have things like that going on that we, you know, uh, ran into. Uh-huh. So we kind of, uh, I guess when I think of social changes, I think, think more of, uh uh, visiting habits of families and such. Yeah. Well, that's true. Uh, That's a good one right there. Yeah, that there's less visiting done, I think, on a whole than there used to be. Used to be that you took the family whether the kids wanted to go or not, you went visiting And, uh, today, you know, people, they do visit, but it's not quite the same as, uh, what it was, say, twenty years ago, thirty years ago. Right. And I grew up in, out in the country, too, basically, in a rural area and with lots of family. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And so we were always at family in different family members' homes. Right. Uh-huh. But even now, you know, they don't even do that. Well, they're so spread out, I think has a lot to do with it. Well, and they're so busy. Uh-huh, uh-huh. People, people's personal schedules are so busy. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Mainly because, I, a lot of it has to do, I think with more women working Right, right. in our family, you know, twenty years ago, not that many of the women worked. That's right, yeah. And now, uh, almost all the women work. The majority, yeah. And, so that means, you know, a lot of a lot of the social visiting and all was, I think, probably instigated by women at that time. Probably, because when you work you don't really care to go out and visit as much. Right. And now, That's right. And, uh, And now, uh, I mean my mother does not work and, and she, you know, she's finds herself pretty alone a lot because most of her friends are working women. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. But even just social visits, people don't do that anymore. You're right. No, huh-uh, they don't do as much. And people don't feel comfortable just to drop in on people anymore. Uh-huh. There's a real, You have to make arrangements or have an invitation or, Right, you know, you don't want to, You want to make sure it's okay or, Yeah, yeah. I guess we don't not to make, invade people's privacy or whatever. Well, that could be part of it. I don't know for sure what it is. I know our children mostly are scattered out at a distance, so we really don't have that even. We don't, Well, out of, out of fifteen grandchildren in my family, only two of us don't live within fifty miles. Oh, really? And and most live within ten or, or twenty. Oh, that's pretty good. So, but that's, you know, that is rural, it's a rural family and most people didn't go away. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I'm just one of the two out of fifteen that don't live in the, you know, even in the same state. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, apparently there must be work available, for those that are, Yeah. There is in that area. Uh-huh. Because around here, there's really nothing for the young people, no good, I mean there's jobs. There's minimum wage jobs, but, uh, to make a good living, there really, around here, there just isn't too much. Uh-huh. And I guess, you know, that would greatly affect social i. e., social change. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Probably the job market has and the, the economy has always affected, uh, social change. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Probably. So, well, there's the main things I can think of. I really tried to think of some other things and I couldn't really, Well, I think just, also, you know, the women's movement, too, has affected a lot of social change. Yeah, definitely. Uh, people marry, Some good and some bad Yeah. People marry later. Uh-huh. I mean basically, I think, now, again, where I'm from in, in Alabama that's not necessarily true because people do still get married right out of high school. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But now out here in Texas where I am now, that's very unusual. They'd rather get their life started first before, Most people get I mean get, go to college or at least get a job and even, you know, people are, seem to, a lot of people seem to be engaged for a long time before they get married because they do want to be financially set up. Uh-huh. Yeah, well, even to get school finished, I think, a lot of times it's better if they do finish their schooling before they settle in. Because a marriage takes a lot of effort and concentration and if you're busy with school it's, I think it's really difficult for a family. Right. But probably, uh, you know, more women being in, in the work force also greatly, greatly affects social change. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Because it affects child care and, Right, right. Uh Yeah, I know my, my daughter that lives in Pittsburgh, she has two little boys and they, they've been in day care since, you know, one's four and one's one Right. and they've done well Now, I wouldn't want to do it that way, but, uh, she's quite happy and the children seem quite adjusted. Well, and they're, you know, they're, they're saying right now, we don't know what, we just now are seeing the effects of day care on the generation that's just now coming into the work force and in their twenties. Uh-huh. That's right, yeah. Yes, uh-huh. They are the first generation that basically grew up with day care. That's right, yeah. And so, you know, it remained to be seen exactly what that, what that does. Uh-huh. Now, I'm going to baby-sit my granddaughter. She's just eight weeks old, so this will be new for me Uh-huh. So, uh, but the others I'm too far away to help them out at all. Where do they live? Uh, well, I have a son and daughter that live in Pittsburgh. One in Maryland and one in Connecticut. A son in Connecticut. Well, they're not too far, though. No, but like Connecticut takes eight hours to drive home and, uh, it's too far to, you know, really go too often. Uh-huh. Pittsburgh's not quite so bad. It's just a couple hours. Maryland, maybe five hour drive. Well, I live like fourteen hours from home. Uh-huh. That's worse yet. In fact I'm, I'm driving I'm, I'm driving home tomorrow, so, Oh, are you really? To go be there for the Fourth of July. Do you, uh, stay overnight on the way, or you, No, I can drive it all. It's just me, You're young. So I can make it. How old are you? I'm thirty-five. Okay, well you're young enough yet to Although it's, it's, it is pretty, I don't know, I don't enjoy it that much. Uh-huh. It's pretty much like get there and, It's work to get there. Yeah. It's just not that pleasant. Yeah. Even with other people, I basically just don't like to drive that far. Uh-huh. Now my son, they, they, flew, he rebuilt a Aranca Chief, airplane, and they flew down last weekend. They came down in it. And it still took a long time because it's not a fast, it's not a high-speed airplane. Uh-huh. But they enjoyed in thoroughly. So, When you say you're in the second phase of this project, what is the second phase of it? I'm not sure, but you have to change phones. You have to call from another, a different, Oh. Wondering how you keep up on the news. Primarily with our local newspaper and T V. Uh-huh. I listen to the radio but not, um, not like I did when I was working. I am recently retired to that means I have a lot of time to watch the news on T V. How do you gain your news? I guess the, I get the WASHINGTON POST Okay. and that is a pretty big newspaper and I think that's almost exclusive me, my first of the news. Though I have the radio on when I go to work, I don't think the news usually hits, because I'm not going right on the hour. Oh, I see. You know. Well, that's, that is one of the handicaps with both T V and, and radio. If you're not available on the hour or half hour, then you lose out on an awful lot. Well, what is your newspaper? That is the WASHINGTON POST Right. is that correct? I have read that when we were in that area, and it is a splendid newspaper. Uh-huh. So, what more do we need to discuss tonight? That seems like a very short one. Right. I think that, you know, we, we've resolved the issue and that's what we were asked to do. Well, I can discuss a lot of the news that we have, but, uh, I feel that that's not part of our responsibility. Right. Right. So thank you for calling. Oh, okay. Well, thanks for discussing it. All right. Bye-bye. Good-bye. Okay. Well, Carolyn, the, uh, one of the main things I'd like, like to know is, uh, how do you feel about the, knowing about the environment of a nursing home before you would send someone there to live and so forth. Well. What do you think would be required, and so forth? Uh, I'll tell you, I, I watched what went on, um, with the TWENTY TWENTY show, I don't know if you saw that a few days ago that, that talked about nursing homes, and actually they specifically talked about some in the area where I am, here in Texas, and Oh, you knew of the homes, then. Pardon? You knew of the homes themselves? Well, I, no, I'm not familiar with those homes per se Uh-huh but, um, they were in the area where I live uh, Oh, okay. and it was really revealing to see some of the, you know, the things that go on, I guess, in some of these homes, so I would definitely, you know, want to really check things out and, uh, go, I guess that the big thing would be once you got someone in a home like that, to, to make sure that you went daily, you know and made sure that they were cared for, Yeah. and, Well, from your point of view, how would you feel about actually sending someone that, that's, you know, means something to you to one of those homes. I realize that you indicated you wanted to check out as much as you can about it Uh-huh. and, of course, that makes sense, but how do you think they would feel, I should say, about moving from where they have lived most of their life into a whole new, new home situation? Well, actually, I have that kind of situation, because my mother lives with me, and she's eighty-seven Uh-huh. Oh, okay. and, uh, from the time that we were tiny, she said, you know, I want you to promise that you'll never put me in a rest home. Uh-huh. So I know how she feels about it. You know, if I, uh if I ever had to put her there, I think, uh, it would be probably when I just could not handle it any more, you know, if I she got to the point where she was totally bedridden, and, and I mean, I just didn't have the skills or the strength to lift her or whatever it needed, Yes. Uh-huh. I think that would be the, Well, how do you find that your, your personal relationship is with her, know that you're both together all the time and you are having to do a lot more for her than normal? Does that, does that cause any problems between the two of you? Uh, I wouldn't say any more than usual. Uh-huh. Is she, I think it's very hard for her, um, to be waited upon, so to speak, I mean, I think it's hard for her to have that role of not being able to do as much as she used to. It's hard to accept the fact that you're unable to pursue life, at the level that you did before, isn't it? Yeah, I think that's very true. Yeah. Um, on the other hand, it takes on almost a, a switch of a mother child relationship. It is different. Uh. I had that almost similar situation. My mother lives in an apartment with my sister Oh. and, uh, so I, except for the three or four months this summer, that's the only time I ever spent with my mother, and, of course, since I see her only once or twice a year, I was just thrilled to have her here with me, Uh-huh. and I spent every minute I could to be with her and, uh, cooking foods for her, you know, just to make her, her life as though she were on vacation. Uh-huh. But somehow another, it, that doesn't work between my mom and my sister, and they, they find they, they are, in speaking they, I don't know, my mother feels uncomfortable around my sister, and my sister's uncomfortable because her mother's there Uh-huh. and I guess it's just because they're there all the time. Yeah. So it's, it puts, has put pressure on both of them from that point of view. So that's, that's kind of bad news. And by the same token, my wife's mother is now moved into a nursing home, and after all she has been a farmer's wife for sixty years Um. and now all of a sudden she's had to move off of her farm, into another home where the environment is totally different. Uh-huh. She's relatively happy, but she doesn't like the food. And when she complains about the food then they kind of get angry with her. Huh. Uh-huh. So, that's another one of those things you have to solve. Yeah. Well, that's got to be a big adjustment for someone that's, as you say, lived on a farm for sixty years, and then go to something like that. Yeah, after all, their, their life is so totally different because in those early days, the food, they had to make it from scratch, so to speak. Uh-huh. I mean, you raised your own chickens, and you killed your own hogs, I suppose, and then they they had to store the meat in, uh, Yeah. I don't want to say barns, but they had regular little places they, they would hang it, you know to cure it and so forth. Uh-huh. And, and now, all of a sudden, it, uh, comes in differently, it tastes differently. That's right. Yeah. Do you have a, do you have any, uh, major preferences as far as television? T V, uh, trying to think. I was trying to think of some while they were calling you. Uh, I like Friday, what is it, is it Friday or Saturday night shows I think it's Friday night. Uh-huh, yeah. All the, uh, the one with the two little girls in it, what's it called. Yeah, uh, oh, Or three little girls. Yeah, the, the two twins play the, the twins play that one that the youngest girl. Right. Oh, yeah. I really like that. What's it called? Uh, I don't know, all I can think of is the name of ALL IN THE FAMILY but that's not it. FULL HOUSE. Yeah, there you go. Yeah. Yeah, I really like that show. Yeah, that is good. I, I like, uh, we have cable. I really like watching the old NICK AT NITE shows, you know. Where you get to watch DRAGNET and MISTER ED Oh. and, uh, we, we can watch those all night sometimes if, DONNA REED Oh, really? Yeah. Uh, lately I've been getting into talk shows and Oh, yeah? Yeah, just, you know, controversy and, Which which one does, which ones do you like? Just really whatever. Uh-huh. Just as long, it depends on the subject actually. Right. Where, where it's more interesting. Uh-huh. Some of them get pretty boring but, Yeah. Yeah, uh, there's that guy, I think it's out of Dallas, his name is, uh, oh, I wish I could remember his name. Is he one of the talk show guys? Yeah, he's, he's black Maury Povich? no, he's black and has a bald head and his first name starts with an M. Huh, let's see. Oh, it's like, his first name's like Marlo or Marlin, I can't remember his name. Anyway, he always has like really strange shows like, uh, uh, male strippers or female strippers or just really sensationalistic, you know, like what Geraldo used to be. Yeah. Yeah, see, I don't, I don't like those, I like more controversial subjects, I think. I don't either. Uh-huh. But, I mean, yeah Do you watch cartoons a lot? No. No. I'm, I don't watch T V that much, uh, anymore. It seems like, uh, I'm going to school right now so, Oh, yeah, where do you go to school? B Y U. Oh, really? Yeah, so, and I'm working, too, so everything keeps me pretty busy. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, I'm going to U T D here in Dallas. Oh, really? Yeah. My dad taught there for a while, Oh, really? yeah. What did he teach? Uh, speech pathology. Oh, that's what I'm majoring in. I'm a graduate student in speech. Oh, wow! Yeah, yeah. No way. How long have you been there? Uh, this is my first semester. Oh, okay, so you wouldn't know him. Yeah. Who, Who, who, who, what, when did he teach? He, Uh, he taught about a year ago. He used to work at, uh, uh, University of Texas at what, no, uh, oh, shoot, I can't remember what it's even called now, but, uh, he worked there for like fifteen years and then part time U T D at night. Oh, yeah. And, and then they stopped funding the program there. Uh, Uh-huh. and so now he's at Texas Women's University. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, is he teaching speech pathology there? Uh-huh. Okay, what's his name? Allen Bird. Bird? Uh-huh. B I R D? Right. Yeah, he published a paper, uh, couple of years ago, I think, didn't he, well, one that I read. Does he publish a little, quite a bit? Uh, somewhat and he has, he has some like different programs out, like I don't know what they're called, but they're like, and he has like little stuffed animals with them and like little cards and stuff. Uh-huh. I don't know that, Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, he has a test, he has a testing, yeah, a testing battery. He uses real, yeah, Right. I I remember. Yeah, well, that's interesting. Yeah. Uh, what are you studying? Uh, I was, I am studying nursing but I'm thinking about changing right now Uh-huh. I just, I don't know, and it's really tough to get into the program down here so if I don't do that, if I decide to stay in nursing I'll probably come and go to T W U. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Yeah, I'm living in the T W U dorm across from Collier, uh, Oh, really? Yeah and, uh, My dad used to teach at Collier, too. Yeah, yeah, that's, that's where the speech program is. Uh, I'm living in that dorm and there, all those nursing majors. I, I tell you what, that's, that's a tough, that's a tough, uh, field, though. Yeah. Nursing is. I, I have a lot of respect for those people. I mean, they've spent a lot of hours studying Uh-huh. So, you're at Baylor? No, I'm at B Y U, in Utah Oh, okay. Yeah. Brigham Young. Yeah. I see, all right. So, but, I get to come home at, on the nineteenth and I'm so excited Oh, really? I'm so homesick. Do you like it's in Salt Lake City, right? It's in Provo actually. Oh, is it? But yeah, I really, I really like it out here. Do you? But, I've been, I, I've been away too long. Uh-huh. I'm from Colorado, so I, I've been away from there too long Uh, how, how, Okay, all set. Good morning Good morning. Let's see, music, um, well, I play a couple of instruments. Uh-huh. I try to. What do you play? Um, clarinet is my primary instrument, and I also play a little bit of saxophone, flute and piano when I get the opportunity, which isn't very often. Uh-huh. Really, that's too bad How about yourself? I play, uh, the violin and play trumpet Uh-huh. Uh. and I run a municipal band and I sometimes conduct. Oh, wow. So, I'm pretty busy too. I play in three different symphony orchestras. Wow. We have a nice big one here in State College, called the Nitny Valley Symphony. That's great. Uh-huh. I play in the Altoona Symphony, was about forty-five miles away Uh-huh. and I play in a slightly smaller one called the Lockhaven Symphony and Community Orchestra. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So are you a professional musician? No, I'm, uh, just retiring from Penn State University Uh-huh. only I, I should, should have been. I spend about half my time playing music or preparing for it somewhere. Uh-huh. But, uh, I've been working at, uh, Penn State and using up all my nighttimes, and weekends uh, going to these orchestra rehearsals and, and concerts and so forth. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, I understand, yeah. I'm in one community band here, and that's just, well, we rehearse once a week. We generally have a concert every other week and, You have one that often. Yeah That's amazing because I, I, I have it set up here that we have at least six to seven rehearsals per concert. That's a lot. No, we sure don't. Wow. Well, one thing is, we have a summer summer series, and every single Sunday night we play at the library to have a little out, outdoor stage set up Uh-huh. Oh. and so we do that every Sunday night during the summer, You are busy. yeah, and then, I don't know. We just have an awful lot of engagements, and we're just having to turn a lot of people down, um, because, you know, uh, we don't want to do things like have a concert back to back or even two days in a row. Where do you get all this music, I mean, you, you must back up and play some of the music twice. Oh yes, definitely, we really do. You know, you get your little Sousa book and you just flip through it, and that sort of thing. Oh, okay. So your, you don't play pretty well a full concert band music most of the time then. It really depends on who shows up. Uh-huh. Um, and it's always a mystery, because it actually doesn't matter who shows up, it matters what instruments they brought, because so many people switch instruments so often. Right. Uh-huh. But, um, yeah, in the winter we do more concert stuff and, How many people in your band? Um, I think there's about seventy. Seventy. Yeah, there's a lot. Holy mackerel, that's. But, on any given night there's not seventy you know, Uh-huh. it alternates quite a lot. Boy, that is a huge organization, that's great. Yeah, it really is. Because about the best I can normally hope for is about fifty in, in the band I have here. Oh. Yeah, well. But that fills a stage and keeps us busy, but they were, half have been professionals from, uh, a lot of them are from, uh, faculty at Penn State here. Oh, okay. And so they want to play things that, uh, push them to do. So that's why we have to work real hard when we get a concert together. Uh-huh. We have about four concerts per year indoors and two or three that we play outside. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And the last one we did was in a large, uh, mall close here, we played Christmas about an hour out in this mall. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So that worked out very nicely. Yeah, that's fun. Yeah. Well, let's see. Well, there's another band around here. Someone at work is trying to get me to join that one, because they need clarinet players Uh-huh. and their concert schedule isn't as heavy, but they have more in the summer, I think they have ten in the summer, you know, one, one week after the other. I think they're like Monday nights and they don't have rehearsals during that time period. Wow, that. Are you just saying you, you sight read every concert? Uh, well, it's not really sight reading when you've done it, you know, again and again and again, but some people are, Okay. yeah Uh-huh. some of them are. And where, where does this happen, Laurie, is this in Dallas? Well, they're in the suburbs of Dallas, in Richardson and Plano. Uh-huh. We're real close to Dallas. Well, I declare. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah, well, it's more of a, I think it's very much more of a social group than anything else, you know. Okay. And, and people always bring refreshments for after rehearsal and hang around for an hour or so Okay. and, That's probably why we get so many people. Uh-huh. Do any of your, you, in your group get paid for any of this? Um, well, the conductor gets paid a little bit, you know, we do get some money from the city because we do play at a lot of city events. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, I think he's the only one that gets paid. Uh-huh. And you do have to buy your music. Who, who sponsors you basically, the city? The city, uh-huh. Yeah, uh, my band is sponsored through what they call Parks and Recreation. Yeah, it's a similar thing. Yeah. I can't remember what they call it, but the same type of thing. Uh-huh. Um, but we do get an awful lot of music, you know, we can borrow music from any of the area colleges Yes. or, you know, if some, some group just isn't going to play any more, they'll just give us their music, and that type of thing. Uh-huh. And we do an awful lot of, you know, we don't charge for any of our performances, but we get a lot of donations. Well, I, I work the same way Yeah Well, I'll be darned. It's amazing. Hi. Well, what do you think? Well, providing universal health care insurance for the whole country is a pretty big task and I, uh, personally, I don't approve of it for two reasons. Number one is that I think that, uh, the federal government has a problem with the deficit right now, and if they were to administer this, they would, uh, get us more and more into debt, further than we can ever get out ourselves. Number two I think that the quality of health care would go down because the competition would, would be dried up and really no one would be, would only answer to, to the government to a big bureaucratic mess. And, uh, I've seen what it has done in other countries and so I don't think, uh, I don't think we should head in that direction. Although that we have problems right now and I do agree that they exist because health care insurance for, for everyone is skyrocketing and it's become to a point where basically no one can afford it anymore. Uh-huh. How do you feel about the whole ordeal? Well, I agree that it's a big task, but I think that, I think that the U S should move toward some kind of national health care plan. At least as a long term kind of goal. Uh-huh. And possibly, just starting with more regulation of health insurance and that sort of thing, but I think that ultimately it would be a good idea to, uh, and not have a completely socialized, medical system in the country, maybe something about halfway between that and what we have now. Uh-huh. Okay. It, uh, just because it seems that, uh, health insurance costs are sky rocketing, well, as fast as the national deficit perhaps Oh, yeah. and so that, and that's a that's a vicious cycle, of course. But what, What you're Yeah, so what you're saying though, is instead of having the national government, uh, government administer, giving health insurance to every man, woman and child with, throughout the whole company, you see more of them as regulating the high costs, uh, that people are forced to pay for it right now. Because, Is that is that correct, Um, or do you think that, Well, I, uh, well, I wouldn't exclude the possibility of the government actually administrating it ultimately. I don't think that that would necessarily be such a bad idea. And, uh Well, with the, with the costs as they are right now, do you think that the government, uh, because what that would require is for us to pay, uh, more taxes and the, the the people that can afford taxes, the middle income and the upper income will be paying more taxes to, to pay for health insurance for everyone, whereas right now the, the public themselves get health insurance Right. and they provide their own health insurance. The, well, as it is now, the middle and upper classes are paying more than their share for the health care of the whole country because they're the only people that can afford health insurance and so that the other people have no health insurance and, you know, they'll get medical care anyway at least in emergencies and somebody winds up paying for that and basically the people paying for it are the people who are buying health insurance so I don't see that anything, that this situation would get any worse. That way it might get better. You think it might get better, huh? I, I kind of disagree Uh-huh. The reason being is, uh, we have, I don't know, I guess it's my, my fear of the national government and also because the bureaucratic rules that it would take to administer it Uh-huh. and, uh, the, the health insurance companies right now pretty much regulate and are pretty picky and, and, uh, don't allow cases where they might throw them out of business, whereas the federal government if they took over everything, they wouldn't care because they'll never go out of business. People would still have to pay taxes, the money would have to come from somewhere and so you'd I, I feel that the cost would increase dramatically also. But in the same sense the, the care and the, the attitude of the doctors and the professionals within the medical, uh, field would, would diminish. Uh-huh. Uh, Yeah, well, I think, Okay Yes. First off, speaking of air pollution I'm coughing . Um, I'm not sure what contributes to air pollution exactly. I find it hard to believe that a lot of the hair sprays and things that we use cause the air pollution. Yeah, it, it. It doesn't seem like, but I guess when you think of it everybody has some sort of aerosol in their home you know, Yeah. and it's kind of dangerous. Yeah, that's true. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't know. We live, um, well, I'm close to Salt Lake Uh-huh. and there's mountains, uh, you know, all around. But sometimes I think tend to hold a little bit of it in, you know. Oh, yeah. Really, it's, it's fairly clean, um, I think it's a fairly clean city compared to some, but, you know how quite a, But you think the mountains and the, are kind of a barrier? Yeah Oh . I think sometimes it seems to be but, But, uh, anyway, I don't know. That's an interesting thought. I know there's a lot of plants here, when I drive down you know, along the, just along the freeway, there's a lot of plants that they're burning things Uh-huh. and, Here in Texas I know a lot of the, pretty much every place here is relatively flat, and so I would think that that would probably contribute to us not having that big of a, like a smog problem or something like that. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. We, we have a real fog problem. Um. Um. The last few years just in, through December and January it, it really is foggy and, and seems to just, um, it's kind of like it, it just stays for a month quite foggy. Uh-huh. But, uh, gee, I don't, I don't know what else. I I know cars I yeah, I guess I've never really, uh, thought about the fact, like in California they, they have a lot of smog problems. Uh-huh. And it's real hilly there. Yeah. So that is probably something that plays a big factor. I think probably just, uh, a lot of factories, um, you know, they have the smoke stacks, I guess you call them and different things like that. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's, that's what I see burning a lot. I'm not exactly sure what they're burning. I know, uh-huh, there are some oil companies, and I'm sure that that contributes a lot Uh-huh. just the burning of the Aren't they supposed to be coming out with some sort of, uh, special gas or something that doesn't emit certain chemicals or something? Oh, I don't know. I haven't, I haven't heard that. Um. I know, uh, I don't know how your emissions test is on your cars or anything, but I know I think they, they differ from state to state. Oh, okay. But, um, you know, that's been a new thing in the last few years, Uh-huh. and I guess some cars are a lot worse than others. I think those, uh, what are they, the, I know, a Rabbit's one, diesel Uh-huh, the diesel. the diesel cars. Oh, yeah. Yeah, they seem to put out quite a bit I know a lot of people with diesels Huh. truck, you know. Oh. But, um. Well, do you, um, are you working for T I? No, I don't. Oh, okay. I, I work in Waco at a T V station. Oh. My mother works at T I. Oh, uh-huh. That's why, And that's how you got involved. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. You work at T I? No Oh, okay. we, we have, um, my husband's sister lives in Dallas actually. Okay. And they kind of got it, us involved that way. Oh, okay. Yeah That's interesting. but. Well, I don't, I don't know. What else causes air pollution? Um, Noise. Yeah, noise. Noise causes air pollution I've got, speaking of noise, you can probably hear my little. Yeah, that's why I thought of it. Yeah, he is quite noisy. Yes, gee, I don't know. I know that, um, don't dumps, you know, where you dump all your trash in the, uh. Oh. Yeah. Landfills. Yeah, I'm sure that does. I know they're always churning that up We just. and I, I think they burn a lot there, too. Yeah. We just had a big, uh, thing here in Waco. They're needing to open a new landfill, or to expand onto the old landfill. And, uh, it's, it's really been a big fight because a lot of the people that live by the landfill don't want it expanded, because they're thinking that they're water is going to be contaminated somehow. Oh. And so they, Well, I don't think I'd, I'd like that. You know, we, um Yeah. when we've taken things to the dump, just the dump, uh, that is, uh, you know, closest to us, there's some houses around there, Uh-huh. and I know that on windy days, you know they're always moving the, the trash over to different spots, Oh, yeah. and they've got those big bulldozers, and you can see the dust flying, Uh-huh. and, and I'm sure that their homes are really quite dusty One one of the big concerns is they have a, there's a school right across the highway from the landfill. and, Oh, is there. Yeah. So the parents were really, really upset. Worried about their their kids getting, huh. Yeah. They, they've been fighting over it for the last year, and they just now approved it. So they're going to try an appeal or something. We could talk about my favorite subject Cooking and food, huh. Food What do you like to cook? Uh, I don't cook a lot actually. I have just started baking, so, uh, I am kind of interested in cakes and, uh, muffins and stuff like that, but I can't seem to get them exactly right. So, I am just trying to perfect some things. Uh-huh. I tried to make an applesauce cake. Which I will never ever try to make again. It was horrible Oh dear. I don't know if the cake was horrible or if I made it horrible. Oh, probably not. I, uh, have, uh, a bread recipe that is real easy that everyone always really does like. That, uh, doesn't require kneading the dough. Uh. Oh. Hey And, it is always, it is wonderful. It is, and what is funny is that you use, uh, bran, all bran Uh-huh. and it looks like it is a wheat bread. Uh. But, it is actually all bran flour Uh-huh. and, uh, you know, it is just regular the type that, you know, yeast and that sort of thing Uh-huh. and you let it rise and you can let it rise in the refrigerator and then punch it down, and then, uh, make your rolls. They really are good Wow. and they are so easy to do. Uh-huh. That is seems like every time that we have a dinner party, or that we are going some place where everybody is suppose to bring something and they have had my rolls before. They always ask me to, bring those rolls Uh-huh. They request it. I have not gotten any requests yet. Last year, I had a Christmas party, at, uh, my office, and I, uh, made the tuna fish sandwiches. And everyone, uh, I mean, I think, everyone knows how to make tuna fish, so I thought that would be easy for me to make and I can not go wrong with that, and so I made it and, uh, I used celery seed in my, Do you use celery seed in your tuna fish? No I haven't. And I just thought it was so strange, because I never, I thought that that was what celery seed was for. Was for tuna fish. Oh, how funny. And so, but everyone really, really loved the tuna fish and they just couldn't get over the fact that I used celery in it and it just surprised me. Celery and onion and, Well, see I, I have always used celery, I mean, I have used celery before. Uh-huh. But I never used the celery seed in it. Oh. Yeah. Well, what else do you put in it besides the celery seed. Just like, uh, really fine onions and green pepper and the celery seed and I use like, uh, Miracle Whip salad dressing instead of the actual mayonnaise because I really don't like the Helman's Mayonnaise. Uh-huh. But if you use salad dressing with kind of, uh, you know, kind of, I guess a tart taste. Then it comes out real good. Uh-huh. But, I, uh, it was the first time I have I have ever found out that the, the, nobody else used celery seed. I feel so silly but, See, I have never put bell pepper in tuna fish either. Yeah. Isn't that funny? I was brought up with tuna fish, you know, where you put in, uh, oh, chopped hard boiled eggs which is now is a no, no with cholesterol and, uh, you know, chopped up dill pickles. And that sort of thing. Right. Right. The standard old tuna fish. Yeah. I would put that too. I just did not have those things. Uh-huh. Like I don't think I had eggs that night or something, but I would have put eggs. I would have put eggs in there also. But isn't that interesting? So you, You, you use bell pepper and onion and celery seed. Uh, strange. Celery seed. I will have to try that. Do you use a regular mayonnaise or, The Miracle Whip. Sometimes I do and sometimes I use the Miracle Whip. It depends on what I have. Yeah. And sometimes, if I am using, like, regular mayonnaise, to spice it up a little bit uh, I will use a little bit of mustard with it. Uh-huh. Yeah. I do that also. Uh-huh. Just to, to put a little zing in it. Yeah. But not a bunch. Uh-huh. But enough to, make it have a little bit more flavor. I love barbecue. Anything barbecued I will eat. I like, uh, to barbecue baby back ribs. Uh. And, uh, and, and, they are so easy to do if you, uh, have a good barbecue sauce Uh-huh. and you, uh, just cook them very, very slowly in the oven. Uh-huh. And it is not hard to cook, like some meals are. Yeah. And it is not, of course, it is messy to eat. That is the disadvantage. Yeah. And, uh, I make lasagna from scratch and people really like my lasagna Yeah. I like to make that too. I make that once in a while. and so, uh, sometimes, I am requested to make that. And that is not too hard to do because you can do it in advanced and just bake it. It is not really, once you have all the ingredients Uh-huh. it is just the layering really. And not breaking the, uh, the, uh, pasta. Yeah. Uh-huh. That is the hardest part probably. But, uh, Then, I have a wonderful recipe for strawberry pie. It just takes forever Uh. But, it is, uh, when the strawberries are nice, and big and fresh and yummy. Do you make cheesecake? Uh, uh-huh. I do. But this one is basically, it is like a normal pie crust. Uh-huh. But then you use this sort of, uh, it is a cream cheese, uh, uh, layering, but you, use, uh, thin it out a little bit. Uh, or make it a little fluffier Uh. and you put, uh, line the whole pie crust with that Uh-huh. and so, it is sort of like in a way. Uh, using cheese cake, Uh. but, and it is not a real cheese cake and then you, And just put the strawberries, Ok. Ok, I was watching the soap opera awards. Oh And, uh, it is really making me want to exercise because every single woman in the audience is, uh, about ten pounds. Oh So. Uh, I started anchoring last, uh, anchoring, uh, exercising last, about last Spring, when I, uh, joined the President's Health Club. Uh-huh. And, I was really motivated and going, and, uh, I went, uh, for a little while, uh. I went pretty regular, but it is hard to go regularly for a long time. Uh-huh. And where I live in Waco, uh, they do not have anywhere here that is affiliated with President's so now I do not have a club and I am, uh, I do not have any motivation to just go out and jog aimlessly or something like that, so I am not exercising at the time, at the moment. Uh-huh. So, I wish I could. I wish I did have the motivation to get out and do that, but I just do not like just running with no where to go I just cannot do that. So, Well, I understand that. I have been trying to get myself motivated. I had gone, gotten up regularly for awhile with a neighbor. Uh, she had injured her back and needed a walking partner and I thought that would be the time to get going. Uh-huh. And so, we walked pretty steadily for about three weeks and, uh, then she had to get back to work and which was traveling to New York and so she is not around. Uh. And I just don't like walking by myself at night or in the dark of the morning Yeah. I don't seem to find time in the day time. Yeah. And of course, it is motivation that is keeping me from really looking for that opportunity. I think a lot of the times, if you have someone to, uh, work out with, or walk with, or something, it does give you that motivation. Oh, yeah. And you can also, I mean you can, you know, pretty much do it privately if you had your own private, uh, sort of contest. You know where you would try and see if you could lose more weight than your friend or something like that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that would keep you going. Well, more than weight, of course, I could lose, uh, lose certainly from ten to twenty pounds Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but I think more than that, I also notice I just feel better when I exercise. Oh, yeah. And that is something that I am motivated about now because I do need to get myself feeling better just in better shape. Uh-huh. But, uh, all the same it is connected to my attitude, because I am not feeling as perky and good. I am also, it is hard to get my attitude to, uh, to get myself up there. That is very true. It seems like you walk quicker. You just, perky is a good word for it when you exercise. Yeah. Yeah. And I understand that walking is suppose to be the, like, the best exercise. Better than running. Yeah. Yeah. Things like that cause it, it works everything And you have less chance of hurting yourself. and it gets your breathing up and it doesn't yeah, it doesn't hurt you. Like, I understand running hurt your shins or knees or something like that. Yeah. So. Last time I tried running with my daughter cause she is supposed to be jogging in P E and it felt good, but then I had pulled a muscle in my knee. Actually, I hyper extended it or something, and, uh boy, Wow. I was suffering for about three weeks later. Wow. So, and I have never had that problem before Yeah. but I guess that age just starts to catch up to me Uh, oh It is showing up in the weirdest places. I guess my, my, favorite exercise, in the, uh, in the gym, is the bikes. Oh, is it? To go, yeah, there are these stationery bikes that you just ride and if you watch television, they usually have television in there or something, or if you listen to a walkman, it is pretty, it is pretty okay. Again, that is sort of weird, because you, you, are not going anywhere and, uh, I use to play racquetball Uh-huh. and I really liked that, because, you know, to me it had a point. Yeah You know, uh, there were points you could, you would make and there was a point to it, but running and jogging and just not going anywhere is just, I don't like that, I just can't understand that. So, I don't do, Yeah. Well, I have got a dog now and, of course, she needs walking Uh, yeah. and that is a little less uh, burdensome or boring to be walking at least with her. Uh-huh. And I can put on the earphones to have something to listen to and, Yeah. I know a lot of people just to be safe, like you were talking about, walking at night and in the morning or early in the morning. Uh, Yeah. you see a lot of, uh, mostly older people though but, that, uh, walk in the malls. Oh, yeah. You know, like early in the mornings and things like that. I have never tried that. Yeah. I don't know. You know, I have never even thought about it really. Yeah. That is kind of an idea. We, we have, uh, over here in Plano, a little recreation center that has got, uh, a walking track, that it is also for security as well as the convenience of doing it any time of the year. Uh. But, I find it very tedious because I am watching the clock constantly, and it there is just nothing else to look at Oh. and I actually get more tired doing that, than I could walk for three or four miles out in the neighborhood here and feel real good. There I could barely make a couple of miles Uh-huh. And that is a little less, Well, what kind of music do you like? Well, seeing as how I'm a musician I like all kinds of music. Yeah. All very very kinds. Me too. I mostly like classical and jazz. Uh-huh. Well, I like everything from hard core country to you know Wagner, and Mahler and I like new age stuff. I, I basically have a wide range of musical likes. Do you, uh, are you musical, uh, are you a musician at all? Yeah I play the trumpet. Do you Uh-huh. Mostly the trumpet music uh, uh, uh, baroque and, uh, uh, uh Romantic. Jazz. Baroque and romantic. Uh-huh. Yeah, that is not, there is, uh, things written for Doc Severenson and, uh, a few other people. But, uh, they are just, uh, as far as solos and concertos are concerned, but the rest of them are just parts Right. And, uh, Well, I love baroque music, so, it is one of my favorite periods. Yeah. In fact I I sing with a Texas baroque ensemble. Uh-huh Who are the trumpet players? Well, we used to have, uh, Ralph Dutchen. Uh-huh. But now he is in Massachusetts. He has come back a couple of times. Then there is a trumpet player at North Texas, the, the teacher, the main teacher. Yeah Leonard . And he has played. And the two of them have played natural trumpets And occasionally, when she can't get those people, we use you know, just uh, E flat trumpets, with valves and like Glen Bell plays. Yeah. Uh, Rick, uh, Bogarts played too Uh-huh. so but actually, I like trumpet and organ together. It is a nice combination. Yeah. Richard Jung Julio recorded an album at the same time as , didn't he? Yeah, I think he did. Yeah. With Paul. Yeah He is wonderful. Both of them are. Uh-huh So do you like romantic music? Well, that is what, that is mostly the rest of good trumpet marks are romantic music, Mahler and Ruckner and Strauss Uh-huh Do you like opera? Uh, I like, I am liking it more and more now. Uh-huh. Getting use to it They are mostly, uh, mostly Mozart. Uh-huh. I mean there is not any kind of trumpet parts, but, uh, you know, the, I just like the melodies more and, uh, libretto. Uh-huh. You don't like Puccini? Uh, yeah. I like Rossini better than Puccini. Uh-huh. I like more comic licks. Uh-huh. Are you going to go see the Elixir of Love? No. Do you ever go to the Dallas Opera? Uh, no I have never been to a Dallas Opera only the Fort Worth Opera Uh-huh. And my trumpet teacher used to play in the Fort Worth Opera. Who was your trumpet teacher? John Nelson. Uh-huh. I know him, I kind of know him. Uh-huh. Is he still around here? Yeah, he plays in the Fort Worth Symphony and Fort Worth mostly. Because I don't, I have not seen him playing anywhere lately, but maybe it is cause he is playing in Fort Worth Yeah. Yeah. Well, I am basically a Church musician. I do a Church in Plano. Uh-huh. And we do all kinds of music at my Church and we hire lots of instrumentalists off and on for, uh, different things. So, I am always making music of one kind or another. Uh-huh. Which Church is it? The Christ United Methodist Church in Plano It seems like a lot of Churches are hiring more musicians now than they use to. Yeah. Most Churches have the, well there are some of the few organizations that have the funds to, uh, you know, do like big big works Uh, but we hire, you know, we hire an orchestra at least twice a year and then different instrumentalists off and on through out the year. In fact, we have, do you know John Qumenato? Yeah. He plays at our Church a lot. In fact he is playing this Sunday at our Church. But he plays pretty regularly. He is still teaching at Brookhaven, isn't he? Uh, I think so. He teaches a lot in Plano at high schools Uh, yeah. and, I think he teaches at Brookhaven. Yeah, because I heard Glen Bell taught at Plano as well. Yeah, Glen teaches here too. Uh-huh. They are, the two of them are mainly pretty much the, they have cornered the market on trumpet. Why don't you tell me about your choir. Oh. Okay, well, we, uh, are a group of, uh, musicians that just kind of have, you know, formed out of a desire to sing and many of the people in the group are very professional in the sense that they, or just real talented I should say. Uh-huh. Lot of them are former music teachers or currently teaching. Uh, others have, there's one gal that's in the, uh, Plano Community Orchestra. Uh, just, you know, different backgrounds. It's been really kind of interesting. Great. So, Uh, I play the piano Um. and, uh, I have a four year old who, who has started to play the piano. He does that, uh, musically, listens and then he can play, which is kind of interesting. Oh, yeah. I think it's because he's always heard music in our home all the, since he was a baby. Uh-huh. Uh, my husband and my other son, who's eleven just got through singing in a musical here, in, in the community at Music Man. Oh, they did? Yeah, and that's lots of fun. How did, How did they get involved in that? Uh, basically they read in the newspaper that there were open auditions. It was the Plano Repertory Theatre. Uh-huh. And so they went and tried out and my husband played Harold Hill from the Music Man and my son played one of the children in a band. Oh, how fun. So, yeah, it was really fun, and, uh, my son plays the clarinet in his band at school, and my daughter takes piano lessons, too. Uh-huh. But, uh, we just really like music. It's a, I, I especially like it as an outlet when the T V goes off, we get the T V off and just have some nice quiet music. Um, uh-huh, um. Yeah, yeah, that's nice. You say have your four year old taking lessons already? Uh-huh. And, uh, who do you have her, or him, take it from? Uh, I have him take from a friend of mine who teaches Suzuki. Which is an auditory type learning experience. Uh-huh. You listen to the music and then learn to play it by by hearing the intervals and things like that. Uh-huh. I teach, uh, like what is traditionally taught, you know, you look at the note on the page and you play what's on the piano, but he can't learn like that. He's a delayed child. He's only about, I guess he's about two and a half in his real understanding of things. Oh. And, uh, so when my friend played something on the piano and he played it, uh, with his right hand, we went, wow Uh-huh. we better have him do do something. You know, educationally. Yeah. Yeah. So that was really fun. Well, because my, My husband and I love to go to the musicals downtown, though. Pardon me? So, my husband and I love to go to the musicals when they come into town into Dallas. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, I have an eight and a half year old daughter who's taking piano lessons and started out at the age of just turning five Um. because she wanted, you know, she just seemed to enjoy it so much and now my, my four year old, four and a half year old daughter is, is trying to imitate her older sister and wanting to play and she actually does some very nice chording just naturally. She just, Oh, I think that's great. So I wasn't sure when to start her. I didn't want to push her too early, either, but, uh, kind of had a mixed feelings about that scene. That's really hard I think, because, especially if you start them and then they get pretty good and then they get close, ten, you know, eleven or something, they go, I don't want to do this anymore and you're like God, I really want you to do it. Uh-huh Yeah. You know. Yeah. So sometimes it's hard to, to know exactly when, but, I don't know, if she acts like she wants to or says she wants to maybe you could have her take some for a while and see how she likes it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, I think she'd like to, I just don't know if it's really, knowing from what my daughter has gone through, she's, she learned a lot and, of course, it was something she had to keep relearning if she ever got away from it. Uh-huh. It was something easily forgotten. So, uh, I don't know if she's any farther ahead than those kids who started when they were eight or, or should I say seven. I mean, she's not a gifted pianist in the sense that she's going to excel just naturally. She does have to really work at it, but, uh, so, That's like me. Yeah, but, so I'm kind of, you know, just playing with it, but at this point we're going to kind of wait, I think just more for the financial reasons of it anyway but, Well, it can get expensive Yeah. that's for sure. Yeah. I, my friend is, is very generous in, in letting us have my children, uh, do the Suzuki method without paying a lot out. Uh-huh. Oh, that's good. Yeah, so it's been good for our family. Well, as a piano teacher, do you have any feelings for kids who come from a Suzuki method, have you had any former Suzuki students? I don't have any Suzuki students. Uh, I was wondering how, Something happening to me at Christmas time that, that verified to me that I will I'm ready Why don't you go ahead and start off Okay, well, I don't have an elderly person that I could send to a, a nursing home or anything. My, both of my parents are dead, but I did have a friend that was in a convalescent home, uh, like a nursing home and I went there very often to visit her and, uh, made me feel really sad. If I did have a mother living, I don't think I could do that. I think they would be better off being at home with their family, you know. I agree, although, we're in that situation right now. Uh-huh. We have a, an eighty seven year old mother in law living with me right now Uh-huh. and because of her circumstances she can no longer live independently. And even moving from her house to our house has been tremendously unsettling for her Uh-huh. and we have several young children Uh-huh. and they about drive her crazy. Oh, I can believe that. Yes, because most elderly people can't take having a lot of noise and kids running around and things like that. In a situation like that maybe it would be better. Well, we've, you know, we've struggled a lot with it because, again, most of the nursing homes I've been in are very depressing to me. Uh-huh. And she's still alert enough that I think she would really know that we were putting her there Oh, yeah. and I think she would really resent it, and I think that would make it very hard. Uh-huh. But, on the other hand, I see my wife with, I guess our youngest one now is five Oh. and her trying to struggle because her mother really cannot take care of herself. She needs to be bathed and dressed and a lot of those kinds of things. Uh-huh. Oh see, now that's, that's, that's really a sad situation. And so the drain on the family. Yeah, really, you know. And when the kids have kids come, you know, she's always saying, you know, why do they have to be here, why can't they send them home, it's too noisy and she'll say that to the kids' friends. Uh-huh. Yeah, right, right. So it's a hard situation, either way, I think. Yeah, in a case like that, you know, you more or less think it would be better if she were in a nursing home because you have your family growing up where, I think that's one of the things we're really wrestling with. When does it become detrimental to our family to the point that you have to consider that as opposed to considering her current circumstances Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, Uh-huh, but the cost of these nursing homes are so, You know, Oh, prohibitive. a lot of people can't afford that. Yeah. You know, so you really have no choice that way if you, you know, if you're not rich or you know. Uh, I know this lady that, you know, that was a friend of mine, now her husband was still alive at the time when she was in there, you know, and it was costing him a small fortune to keep her in there. Yeah. So, I think we need to develop some alternatives like adult day care that's more readily available, you know, Uh-huh. I think if we could send her someplace for the day and she could be around some elderly people and have some activities would be of more interest to her and then in the evening have her return and be with the family. Yeah, then bring her back home at night. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, you know, just come home for dinner and then usually they want to go to bed fairly early anyhow. Yeah. You know, so that would probably be nice if we could ever get something like that but, But there's not many of those available right now Yeah. and they're very hard to get them into and we tried sending her to a senior citizen center. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But they're really not prepared to cope with her because she's somewhat senile. Uh-huh. And so a lot of the activities that they're engaged in, she can't participate in. Uh-huh, uh-huh, um. But I think it's an issue that, you know, with the graying of America, we're really going to have to, as a, as a country figure out how we're going to deal with this. Uh-huh. Because it is a difficult situation and, you know, you hate seeing them just, sort of send off and not well cared for. Yeah, if if they don't know anybody and they don't know what's going on around them and everything like that, well, I can see, maybe a nursing home would be better, you know. And yet, But if they, they have their wits about them and everything, why, it's kind of hard And then I think it depends on their physical ability, too, you know, if they could be up and doing some things it might be better than when they're just sort of needing almost constant supervision and care. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, uh, my mother always said she hopes she never had to be like that and, uh, luckily, I mean, she lived by herself and then, you know, one day she had a heart attack and she was gone, so she never did have to go into a nursing home or anything like that, but there's, so many of us kids, there was like seven of us that, my, we wouldn't have probably allowed that to happen anyhow. Yeah. You know, she could have taken turns living with each one of us, you know, for a a a period of time because we all don't live in the same city anyhow, nor the same state so, Do you live at all close to each other? Uh, I, I have a couple more that live out here in California, but then I have a Uh, why don't you go ahead first. Okay. Uh, short term, uh, it works out pretty well because we have just enough to cover expenses with a little left over so budgeting in the short term isn't too much of an issue because there's not that much, uh extra to go around. Sure. Uh, long term is something we're starting to think about because our older child will be ready for college in about, uh, gee, she's eight now so I guess about ten years. Uh-huh. Good heavens. So we're, we're starting to think about long term considerations. College and retirement. But with not a whole lot of discretionary money, it's kind of hard to figure out how to do it. Sure. How about you? That's kind of, uh, to what we're doing is budgeting, you know. Month to month is, uh, kind of taking into consideration what the bills are and what's extra so that's kind of how we do it, uh, from month to month depending on what insurance is due or whatever. Uh-huh. Uh, long term, that's a little bit easier for us because, uh, with our jobs we can take out extra money towards savings, Four Oh One K plans uh, that kind of, you know, retirement plans, that kind of stuff Uh-huh. so we can kind of put aside some money that actually is better for us not to see versus when it's on the paycheck Right. and you have to try and take out some of that money. You always find something a little extra that you'd like to get that month so, uh, long term probably is a little bit better than short term simply because, uh, it's automatically taken out. So, uh, that works out much better for us, so that's kind of how we do it anyway but, And the old, uh, if you can't see it, then you can't spend it, uh, idea exactly and if you can't touch it, you can't spend it either. So that kind of works out where you get into, uh, some plans that, you know, you touch it you're going to get a penalty, that kind of thing, so it leads you to kind of say well I'm not going to take it out. I'm going to keep it and, uh, keep it in there and let it grow so that someway, maybe for retirement you're going to have that money left. Let's hope anyway, so you'll have that Right. so that's kind of how we do it. But ours is more like month to month too, uh, short term is, to get things going so. Anyway, other than that, uh, is kind of how we do it so. I don't know if we're, our time is up or what Uh-huh. Uh, they'll, uh They'll let us know Yeah, exactly. We, we actually do have some money in a Four Oh One K. I just wish I could afford to, uh, put more away each week because I agree that it's a, an excellent way, Uh-huh. Oh, definitely, definitely. And, uh, it grows, uh, it, it seems like at first you're not going to see a big return but as the years go on, if you're with the company for any length of time then it gets much better and, uh, so, you know, you just have to kind of look at it that way and there's other savings plans or other things that you can do. Automatic, you know, deposit from checks to where you don't see it. Right. And, uh, you know, exactly whatever is in our checking account is basically just about what gets spent. Yeah. It's put into our savings account and we don't see it, then it works out to where, you know, you don't look at it, you just look at the checking account, and say this is what we have for money and that's it, so Yeah, checking account's a very dangerous place for money to be I'm convinced. Yeah, it, it's easy because you do spend it, that's for sure. Like I said, you know, you kind of look at it, uh, you better have some other way of, uh, savings, otherwise, uh, checking accounts aren't the best for, you know, long term type of planning, so. And you don't get a good return on it anyway, so, other, Yeah, I guess there, other than things like the stock market or mutual funds, there's really not much of a return on anything these days. Exactly. Right now. Yeah, it's a bad time, you know. Yeah, the interest is so low. I mean it, it's nice for people buying homes but for older people who have money in C D or whatever, it must be awfully hard to see rates go down to three and a half percent or whatever. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Exactly, exactly. You know, we have some in-laws, uh, that, uh, had theirs in some money market certificates and other things and, uh, kind of took them out of that because they got so low but, uh, yeah, it's, it drops so your better bet is to, uh, try to get in with something with your corporation if they have some kind of, uh, savings plans or something like that to where they kind of match the percentage or whatever so or some kind of profit sharing so. Yeah, I'm, I'm with a small company now and I hope that, uh, if we're successful that they'll go in for some sort of profit sharing Sure. that'll be very nice. Yeah, that's great, yeah Okay. Well I guess we're kind of running out of steam on this topic here. Yeah, exactly Okay. Well, uh, just briefly. Uh, I worked in a nursing home so I kind of know, from way back, uh, how things used to be run and I think there has been definite changes of nursing homes but I think, uh, if I had to personally put one of my parents in a nursing home, they would have to be pretty bad off to where I couldn't take care of them at all. It would be something that, you know, I would certainly, if they're forgetting things or whatever, I'd prefer to have them at home or have them in what they call now home care where somebody comes in Uh-huh. and they cook meals and they clean their house for them, that kind of thing, so they still have their own independence and not reliable, you know, they don't have to be in a nursing home situation. But, uh, I don't think the nursing homes, when I was working in them, were very much understaffed, very much, uh, in need of good personnel. Uh, I think the patients weren't given the quality of care that I wouldn't have, you know, I look at it and say thank God, I got out of that kind of situation. But they, they were not given the time Yeah. and they were not given the money, basically, to staff, appropriately, people to help. Uh-huh. And I can remember lifting a patient all by myself, simply because there was not another person to help. It's either leave the patient in bed all day long or get them up and I would have preferred to get them up than to leave them in bed all day. But, uh, uh, so I think nursing homes are, have changed. I'm not quite sure, but hopefully, they have. Yeah, I guess I haven't had that much experience. I've only seen like my great grandparents in a nursing home Uh-huh. but I have an aunt who lived on her own until she was well in her nineties Yeah. Sure. and then she, she got sick and she ended up in nursing home Uh-huh. and my parents went to visit her and it got to the point where the it seemed like the nursing home didn't want to deal her anymore Sure. and so they gave her drugs to keep her asleep. Yeah. I, I think that's, that can happen and I think in the nursing home that I worked for, I wasn't quite sure of it, but I'm sure that some of the patients were, uh, given medication to keep them in, uh, quiet and, and, Nice sedative state. Yeah, yeah. And they would just lay all day long and, uh, the ones they also put mentally ill patients in the same, they were not on the same, you know, ward, but they, they were in the same nursing home so that these mentally ill patients could walk into where the other, uh, older people that were in there for reasons of, uh, you know age, uh, the mentally ill patients could walk right in, into the rooms or do whatever they wanted to basically. Because if you weren't there to watch them and keep them in their own wing, they could, they had freedom to just walk around and a lot of them were, I think there was a couple that were schizophrenic and I remember one time watching one of the, uh, schizophrenic patients actually go out on, I don't know what they call it, a binge or whatever you want to say it Uh-huh. she grabbed a hold of this, and it was kind of funny when I looked back at it, but, I mean, I remember the patient getting very upset. That woman actually pulled, uh, the other person's hair. I mean she just came up right behind him and pulled his hair, you know, and it was a guy that was just really upset. I mean he said what the hell are you think you're doing, you know, and I laughed at it then but then I'm thinking God, you know, if I had to put my parents in that nursing home, I wouldn't want them there. So I think there's laws now that kind of protect. That nursing homes either have to keep the mentally ill totally away from these people and not in the same type of facilities, Yeah. even though they're aging mentally ill, they are still mentally ill and a lot of these older people have their, you know, they're not insane or anything like that. They don't have these tendencies to, to lash out. To be violent. But seeing that kind of made me think twice about, jeez, I wouldn't put my mother, father in that nursing home at all. Was this in a big town or a little town? A small town. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. Because it seems like the small town nursing homes, there's a lot more personal attention. I don't know. I don't know. I, I kind of look at it this way. I think if you have a big city area, I think there's more people to keep watch on it. Uh-huh. You have more options. And, Yeah, yeah. And you have more competition. And I think nursing homes have to be better than when there's one nursing home for a whole community. And this is back in nineteen seventy-seven that I worked there Uh-huh and I look back at it and say jeez, you know, it would have to be awfully bad for me to put my parents in there. But my grandmother, uh, later on got cancer and, uh, could no longer, well actually she, Uh, taxes Do you want to go ahead? Sure. We pay far too much in taxes. Well, far too much for what we get. I mean it's just, I don't know, it just seems too much of the money is just lost Uh-huh. I agree. Uh-huh. Well I think, uh, you know, when I look at, uh, all the things that are coming out now about over spending and spending money that's not there and buying things that are extremely expensive where they could buy it at a, at a better discount, uh, when you, when, Um. You mean like those, you know, twenty thousand dollar toilets Exactly, exactly. That's exactly, uh, the whole thing. When you take a look at all those issues of where our money is going and it's just, as long as the person that's spending the money, uh, doesn't think about oh, I can go out and spend anything that I want to it's just unlimited, Sure, it's real easy to spend other people's money. Right? Right. An unlimited source so they, they think well I'll go out and buy a four hundred toilet seat and I could have went to K-Mart and bought it for, you know, ten or fifteen I mean, that kind of thing and, uh, Right. I don't mind them getting what they need. It's just when they pay so much for it. Exactly. It takes you know, very little to just shop around and, Exactly. And I know a lot of, uh, corporations now are looking at their amount of money that's being spent and they're looking at what's the best buy. That's true It used to be you could go, if you had a company you had to go through certain people and you didn't care what you paid. Yep. I mean you just got it done. Now people are putting in bids for things and are looking at things. Going to actually shop at Best Buy for, Best Buy is one of our electronic stores for fax machines, things like that, instead of going through these office supply companies that mark up their amounts and say, you know, I'll give you a legal pad for five bucks, Right. and you can go to another shop and get it for maybe sixty cents or or ninety cents Yeah. that kind of thing so. I'm also wondering why our taxes are still so high considering like the world's probably in better shape now than it has been in the last fifty years Except for everything keeps going up, you know. And I know as a middle class, uh, you know, and also I have one dependent has my daughter Uh-huh. and I keep looking at well where's the tax, so-called tax, uh, relief for having children. Yeah, I know. I mean, there is none I mean, I think I paid just as much as when I didn't have her, Oh, I know, I mean I don't even, You know, I don't even get to see half my paycheck. so Uh-huh. Between Four Oh One K and, and the thirty-four percent they're taking out for taxes. Sure. Exactly. Let alone what I end up having to pay Uh-huh. Exactly. Yeah, that's the whole thing. Now they have gotten this wonderful idea of not taking out as much taxes, but you're still going to owe the government as much money Sure. so by the end of this coming year, what's going to happen is all these people are going to find out that they owe the government and it certainly isn't going to be in their savings, uh, account. Nope, they won't be able to pay. They won't be able to pay it and there'll be a lot of problems because of that, you know. Put people into, you know, January or February which is always suppose to be, the month after Christmas is supposed to be high spending because everything is on sale. Nobody's going to have the money to spend. Sure none . They're going to be paying on their taxes so they're going to have to just cut back so, I don't know where the answer is and I don't, in the first place, you know, there's also like taxation without representation. Well I don't feel represented anymore in our government. I mean, it it's certainly not a government for me. Yeah, Yeah. It doesn't take care of my needs No, no. Well, that's the whole thing. I think people are getting so fed up with it. Now, we go through another election and listen to all these lies about the, and people don't care anymore either. No. No. People don't want to go out to vote. Well, I don't think people think they can make a difference. And when you've got candidates as you do. It's candidates that have money Yep. and it's backed by big business. And big business says well we don't care about the little person and, uh, you know, you're not going to get anymore Abe Lincolns around. No, but but that, that's going to backfire because little people who buy everything, Uh-huh. Well who knows, uh, yeah. so Generations from now we might, uh, set back in our little, uh, rocking chairs and watch our grandchildren go through an entirely different system of things and say, you know, this government itself isn't working. Just like the communist government of, uh, the old U S S R. Yeah And maybe that's going to happen to America where they'll say, hey we're fed up. Yeah, I wonder though Maybe it'll have to be just individual state tax. And each state take care of itself and no government type of, uh, you know, where you have to pay out to federal or whatever. I don't know. Who knows but, Yeah, I'm not I don't know, I can't think of any easy answers to it but something has to happen, I mean I'm certainly fed up with it. Uh-huh, yeah. Yeah Everybody is, in fact, I'm not sending in my check or So what do you think? Should they, uh, should young Americans be forced to do a year of service? I don't, I don't think they should be forced, but I think they should be, I guess, encouraged to, to do some kind of public work, I guess to, just to get them, I guess involved with community maybe, you know, just community activity. If nothing else, see how the city works, stuff like that. Yeah, I think something like the Peace Corps is a bit harsh. Yeah, No kids, I kind of, I think so, too. I think that's a bit dramatic, but, but other than that I think it's, it's a good idea to get them involved in city and community activities and, you know, like the, uh, shelters and, uh, that kind of, thing, helping out, uh, volunteering, I guess, if they can. Yeah. I think it's a little harsh to say that they should have to spend a year or two. Yeah. I, I, I'd force them. I think that, uh, I think it would be, I think I think a lot of kids actually do a lot of work and no one just realizes it. Your right, I do, too, I think they start out young, like in, uh, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts a video doing Right, exactly. I was a, I was a Boy Scout. As part of being a Boy Scout, you had to do, you know, projects all throughout and then to become an Eagle Scout you have to spend a, do a yearlong project. Right, that's, see that's what we did in Girl Scouts and that got you involved real good and it, I think it starts kids out on the right track and then it lets them decide if that's what they enjoy doing. Yeah. Something, I think, I, I, now I think people generally volunteer. Yeah. That there's no problem with getting them to, do stuff. I do, too. I think, I think a lot of people, a lot more people volunteer than, than, uh, than we, than get credit for it as, you know, like in hospitals and, uh, and the shelters and stuff like that. And even if it is a couple times a year like at the holidays, I mean at least they're getting out and doing it and you know, helping, helping out. I think that's good and, Well, we have a funny commercial around here. It says something like, if people were to give five, hours a week or five percent of their salary, we could, they could solve all the world's problems or something. So, I guess if we all give five hours a week or five percent of our salary we could, uh, Yeah, yeah. or just, or just gave, or, or, or just forced our kids just to, to, force kids to serve for, uh, parents, I guess. Yeah There you go. Substitute. My, my, yeah, Right. my kid will do four or five hours this week for me. No problem. Yeah, it sounds pretty good That sounds good. I've noticed a lot of, uh, different organizations in our community, uh, pick up, like on the highway and stuff, and I think that's pretty neat. They, uh, go along and have so many miles I guess of highway to take over Uh-huh. and they clean it up. I've seen that. Yeah. And keep it clean. I think that's I pretty good idea. And I think, you know, again I've seen a lot of young kids doing that and I think it gets them prepared to, to learn how to volunteer as they get older. I know I did, you know, in Girl Scouts and everything and after that in high school I would volunteer at a nursing home and stuff like that They, they, just started trying to get them, something together like, like that around here from, for, from the community because, uh, we had a big ice storm uh, very, very recently. So, Oh. You don't sound like you're in the north. You sound like you're in the south somewhere. Yeah, I'm in Texas. Where are you at? Yeah, uh, I'm in, uh, New York. New York. Upstate New York, yeah. Oh, gosh. And, uh, Yeah. Long way, uh, Yeah And we just had a really big ice storm. And, basically, half the trees in, in our city, I'm in Rochester which is, uh right upstate. Half of the trees in the city, uh, are no good anymore. Uh-huh. Oh, no. That's how bad it was. Everything is just down everywhere. Oh. You know, we had three hundred thousand people without power. Golly. You know, it was, and, you know, and, and they, and we didn't have power for a week and there are still people who don't have power. Are you serious? Oh, yeah, it's been, it's been, it's been ten days already and there are still something like ten thousand people without power. Oh my God, how do they live? and were officially, yeah, and we're officially in a state of emergency. Funny thing is the news, the national news how they covered it. Uh, Yeah. I haven't heard a thing. Yeah. I think it made about three minutes on one of the national news stations or something and, and we've been in a state of emergency for over, you know, for ten or eleven days. Lord. You know. We just got our phone back today, uh, and, and, they're you know, putting out ads now for people to come volunteer, or to have their organizations come, volunteer to help clean up the streets. Well, that's good. That's great. Because we have, you know, everywhere that a tree is down people need help and, we're all, all, a lot of older folks need help getting, their yards cleaned out because they can't afford to pay anyone Right. Yeah. and they, and, and they certainly can't carry it themselves Right. and, So, and we go along and, I'm really not sure how we find the individuals, but we find older people that cannot afford to fix up their homes that desperately need it, and, uh, we go along with all the material and in one day, more or less, go in and say, roof, paint, fix whatever we can. Oh, that's great. Yeah, and spend a day doing, that's really neat. I mean, it's not a lot because you're just doing a house at a time, but you know, every little bit helps. And is that supported by all donations to the church and so forth or, Uh, yeah. They, uh, luckily we have a, a man who owns a building company. Oh, so he, So he donates a lot, not everything, but a lot of the material. Then what he doesn't donate we just go out and buy. That's real nice. Yeah. And it's not, you know, we don't promote it a lot outside the community because we don't want recognition for it, you know so much as, we just want to help people out. Right. So it's real neat. That, that's real good. It's, Yeah, And I, and I bet it gives you a real good feeling to be doing that. it's like I say, it's not a lot, but it helps people. Like this last couple we helped, you know, they were in their eighties and she was bedridden and, I just, you know, just tears your heart out to to see this kind of thing Yeah. and you know, if you can do any a little bit, it helps, so That's, that's, uh, that's real good. Yeah. We had, uh, we had organizations like that in college, you know. We had a community service group in college that had all sorts of different groups and some did like that, some did elderly visits, Yeah. some did, uh, some did, you know, Big Brother, Big Sister, stuff like that. And I'm convinced that, that, that at least twenty-five percent of our school participated in some sort of a, some sort of group. You know, activity like that. Gosh. That's great. That's a lot. You know. Twenty-five, I don't know. Twenty-five percent? A asks someone else in the Yeah, my wife was big in that That's, that's a lot of kids, though. And she thinks, yeah, twenty-five percent. It, it was a small school Oh, well, still that's a, you know, that's a good chunk of kids. But, uh, Yeah, but, I mean, a, a, a lot of people would get involved and, you know, because there were all different, organizations to do. There was Big Brother, Big Sister, Yeah. they had a yearly auction, they had a dance marathon for charity or, to, to support that, group. Yeah. That's neat. Such that, you know, lots of people got involved that way. That's great. Yeah. That's great. But, uh, like, I'll agree with you, though, I don't think they should have to do a year Yeah, no, neither do I. I think it should be completely optional and you know. Yeah. I don't think that, some people I don't think have, uh, a year in them to volunteer if you know what I mean. They're not worth it Yeah, they're not worth a year. Or some people just, just can't even afford it, you know, whatever. I mean, the Peace Corps doesn't pay very well. You know? Right. Oh, yeah, that's true, that's true. People get shipped off and then, you know, and then, and then their parents, I have a, uh, a, a friend whose, whose son is in the Peace Corps in Guatemala, or daughter is in the Peace Corps in Guatemala right now. Oh. And, you know, he and his wife just went off to visit her and, you know, I know I could never afford to go visit a kid in Guatemala. I couldn't either. You know, so I couldn't either. so I think, you know, and, and, and the kid's certainly not making much money. Right, right. So I can see where that, that, may be a problem. Yeah. I just know one person that's in the Peace Corps and, I mean, she's a teacher and, and just wanted to do it. She'd been a teacher for a while. Just decided she wanted to do it, so. I mean, I'm grateful for people like that, but, I don't see how they can just, Yeah, Just take off a year. just, pick up and head on out. Yeah, I don't, I wish I could do something like that, but I can't, so Yeah, yeah, well neither can I, so, I, I, I, I, I, I, did my service before and I'll do my little community service throughout, but never never for a year again. Right, that's the way I am. I know the feeling. So, so I guess our vote is no That's right We're against it That's right. Well, it's been nice talking to you again. You, too, and I hope everything works out up there. Well, yeah, we're, we're slowly getting everything back together again. You know, it, it's taking time, but everything, you know, Yeah. we got lucky. We had no damage to our house or anything so, The rest will just have to come with time. Good, good, that's great. Yeah. Well, good luck. Well, good luck to you, too. Thanks. Bye-bye or Bye video Okay. All right, uh, feelings on what caused the S and L crisis I guess I don't have a real technical knowledge for what happened I gather that there where large numbers of situations where loans were made that appeared to be a good loan but in a speculative since and with have little regulation going on because of deregulation during the Reagan eight years, uh, more and more S and L simply began to take riskier and riskier loans and then when they began to collapse one after the other I think almost like an avalanche of, of property values devalued. Uh-huh, kind of like a domino's effect. Right. I don't have a, a field for whether or not this is the equivalent of what was called the teapot dome. Uh, scandal, Oh, . are you familiar with that, from your histories lessons or whatever. No. No. Uh, I vaguely recall but I've never gone and done any study on it since the S and L thing that teapot dome scandal is when I think during the Hoover years where gobs of land was, was sold at really inflated prices on the theory that there were natural gas beneath it, and that, that appeared to be corruption within the Hoover administration. I don't have a real since of, of like corruption that caused S and L all though I have a feeling that people look the other way when things began to go sourer maybe. Uh-huh. No, I don't think it was really corruption that caused it, or within I think people just started, you know, not being as careful with the loans that they were making whenever, you know, whenever they gave them out. Uh-huh. I think maybe they didn't check into them enough or maybe because everyone else was doing they figured they would just go ahead and approve it also so. Yeah. Yeah. It seems like there were on awful a lot of people making loans and business decisions on a get rich quick is the wrong phrase but, if it captures some of the, the feeling I have from the people making business decisions that if they failed it's sort of well no skin of my back I'll move on to this other company, Uh-huh. or I, I just since that they didn't have a commitment to the stability of the organizations they were, were making the decisions for. Uh-huh. Uh-huh And I don't know whether that's because they had other opportunities to which they could move, you know, that it was that easy for them to find new work that they didn't, weren't stuck to where they were and things begin to collapse they just moved on. I'm not sure. Or whether they had extracted enough money in a percentage base that they, that they didn't care any more, I, just, I'm rather puzzled about the, whole thing Uh-huh. I know, well, I'm, uh, I know a little bit about it but I don't as much as I should know about it I'm a finance major here at Clarion. Okay. And, um, I do know that one of the reasons that caused it is the fact that the federal reserved backed any loan that the Savings and L made with a, a hundred thousand dollars. So they were kind of insured with that hundred thousand dollars and I think that's kind of why they, they were making the riskier loans, because they were like oh, well, we have a hundred thousand dollars insurance on it. Well, they didn't, they didn't have a since of risk. No, I don't think so. Oh, okay. And, uh, plus where the fact where they were allowed to make loans in, any, almost any type of loan and like some banks, you know, they're limited to the types of loans that they're allowed to make. Uh-huh. And I think the S and L were more open with the types of loans that they were allowed to make. Okay. And I think if they would be more bound to certain loans and not as high of insurance by the reserve, then I don't think this would have happened. Okay. Well do you think we, there's a final accounting, yet not, in the since of pennies an nickels, but do you think there's accounting on an ordered of magnitude or, or that, that they really do understand how much money it is, for awhile it seemed like every time I opened the paper up it was escalating in terms of damage, uh, Uh-huh. did, is your since that we now understand how bad it is, *listen or is there more to be heard yet. Um, I think that people just basically got tired of hearing it and it wasn't making, it was wasn't as good news as it was. I think it's still, you know, I adding up, and I think it will be for awhile. So you don't think necessarily they don't have a complete grasp yet, No. or whether . I, I don't think they do. I don't think how, I don't think how they could find that big, how much was really lost or how much they were going to lose, because there still are some S and Ls still open. Uh-huh. And it's, it's very possible for them to go down in the future because of this. To be caught in the . Uh-huh, uh-huh. Do you think to possibly is that it will help with the regular banks? I, I don't know. I I think it would be harder but I think there are some regular banks that will go down with it. It seems that I recall reading for the last oh, let's say starting three years a go but not so much in the last year of bank risks of relative to the loaning funds to third world countries like Mexico, Venezuela. Uh, and Argentina based on oil loans Uh-huh. and then the price of oil had, had gone south resulting in those loans being very risky, and I guess I read articles of various banks that have done the right thing to contain their risks given that they had made multiple billion dollar loans. I have this vague since that, that could happen that, that there are still monies loaned out to third world countries that could end up being totally lost. Oh, yeah, um, in some of my classes now I was just reading I think it was in Venezuela I can't remember what company it was, but they just wrote off like millions of dollars because they know they will never get it back. Uh-huh. You know, and they just, they just wrote it right off. I think, I think we've lost a lot of money and, you know, like we every never going to get it back it's impossible to get it back. And so you think that it's just gone. Uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah, cause we're, you know, we're talking about some peens that have just like even gave up on like getting it back and trying any more. Okay. They just totally wrote it off their book. Do you think it is necessary to have the federal guaranty program like my since is it was there to try to protect small investors but it ended up protecting big investors. Which I don't think what it was meant to do, Oh. so I guess I, I feel like as long as we have the possibility for this large numbers of people to be protected the possibility exist for these sorts of problems. Uh-huh, um, yeah, I think is it necessary to have, um, the backing, um, it, it's, it's just for, you know, safe purposes, you know, in case something would happen. Um, yeah, I don't, I yeah, as long as there's enough little companies we're going to have to have something. Um, so your since is that the, that, uh, the loan guaranties which really were accounts guaranties, so the, so that the account holders that if something went wrong they would have their money. Uh-huh. Right. And given that the S and Ls have had disasters then those account holders are, are, their money is still being protected. Uh-huh. And that is it's million of people with anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands I guess of, Of dollars being protected. Uh-huh. It, it seems like, um, there was a lot of money being protected in multiple accounts, uh, it's, if, if you take ten million people and protect ten thousand dollars it still only a hundred billion dollars and we're taking about monies way in access of that now so it's obvious that we've protected large accounts. Uh-huh. And perhaps multiple people in multiple S and Ls and, and it seems like maybe that needs to be thought about, rethought. Yeah. You know that the, for, I guess I'm content with the need to have protection on, on accounts but I feel likes it's on an individual basis. Someone whose got accounts in thirty-five different S and Ls or thirty or forty thousand dollars and they're all protected by the government. Seems to me like they've gotten around what was intended to be the issue there. Uh-huh, I guess I don't have a personal since of V on it since I, was not a heavy user of any S and Ls Uh-huh. and, and let alone any of them that went bankrupt. And I guess that means that from my perspective it could happen again, I think it could happen, because that means, I'm not worried enough, uh, yeah, it's kind of thing where maybe we'll survive and then I, then it will happen again because we don't pay attention to those kinds of things. I think it'll happen again but I think it will be a long time in the future before it does happen again. Because I think like the bank people in any kind of people like that are going to be worry enough not to let it happen again in the near future. But I think later on they're going to start and forget about and start making the riskier loans because I mean, you're going to have to take some risk and as long as their backed I think they're still going, you know, start taking on riskier loans, and I think there is a chance of it possibly happen again but not until, you know, late, you know, in the future. Uh-huh. Well, perhaps if there are regulatory, uh, constraints put back in place. It will protect that Uh-huh. maybe we have learned a little bit of a lesson here about what happens if you remove a little of the regulation, uh. Well, my family moved to Texas about eight years ago. My husband was raised here, by I, I have never lived here, so, um, when we came back to Texas, I was really kind of excited. There wasn't a state income tax and there wasn't a tax on food that we purchased at the, the grocery store and things. Huh-uh. And all of that was new to me, because I'm sort of feeling like we're getting a better deal here than what I was accustomed to. Yeah. Did you move from the Northeast? Well, I lived in Missouri and then in Utah and them, um, both places had pretty good state income tax. And, um, we've always paid tax, you know, on everything we purchased, even food at the grocery store. So, I thought it was really, you know, kind of a pretty good deal not to have to pay tax on your groceries and, but, I think, I mean, I don't enjoy paying taxes. And it's hard, but, um, I think that is what we have to have, you know, have our streets and have, have our government and Excuse me. And have, and have the services that we need and we have to pay for them and pay for the employment of the people that run them and, and things like that and I think, I guess, what I feel is that most people, um, they don't like to pay taxes because they feel like there's some people that aren't paying their fair share. Yeah. I think, yeah. And, um, that makes you feel bad. People that can really influence the government have all the money to throw. Right. And you know, when, um, when last year the elections were going, on the governors election and state and, you know. I, I didn't have anything against Clayton Williams personally or anything, but, um, it was kind of hard for me to think, here's someone as wealthy as he is, didn't have to pay any income tax. That he said that year, he claimed, he had, he didn't have to pay income tax and he thought, you know, there's some people are living pretty, pretty good life styles, but they're not paying income tax. And that's not fair, to me. No. And there's, you know, some people, you know, who are abusing the systems that we pay taxes to support and all that makes us feel bad. But I think, all in all, how I feel, is that, um, I'm willing to pay the taxes because I think I like our country compared to the other countries I've studied and visited. And I'm willing to pay extra to live here and to enjoy the services that I enjoy. How do you feel? Well, yeah. I agree that you have to pay taxes for the services you get and, and I think that, you know, I don't think that there's any really, any system that everybody would think is fair, as far as, being taxed. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. So, I guess, in Texas with, we live here also, Huh-uh. and that it's mostly sales tax, so it's, really the people that have money to buy things are paying the more because they're paying the sales tax on the larger items that they buy and stuff. Huh-uh. I've lived in Texas most of my life. We, um, lived in Kansas City for a couple of years, and we were kind of in for a rude awakening. They had personal property taxes on like cars and, the first year we were there it was kind of like, eight hundred dollars, Oh, no. And we're like . My husband says I used to complain to pay sixty dollars to get licensed in Texas and now, you know, Huh-uh. So, I mean, that was kind of different and then to file a, a state income tax, was also kind of tough, too. I guess, since we've been married, we've moved a lot, so it always seems like, you know, we're always paying taxes for something. And it was kind of nice this year to finally be able to get a little money back. But, I, um, have a accounting background, Huh-uh. so I then, have also done tax returns in the past for other people when I worked for an accounting firm. Huh-uh. And, uh, you know, it is kind of sad to see how the people that have the resources to hire somebody and have the money to spend to put there money in places, they don't have to pay taxes. Right. Or to buy something that loses money so that they can offset the income that they get or whatever. Yeah. So, you know, I think, if, I can understand why the rich people don't want to pay, you know, a large, large percent Huh-uh. because, you know, that's not really fair, either. If they've earned money by themselves, well, you know, people just kind of given the money, Yes. it's kind of depressing sometimes, I think. Well, it is, and sometimes, I think, um, well, for myself, that income that we have, we pay a certain salary, but, I think the employer keeps in mind this will be deducted, you know, so, so many taxes will be deducted from it and so, I think, you know, our salaries are a little bit higher because we have to pay taxes on it. Yeah. And so, I think, you know, in that way, we're compensated, um, just by our society. Um, yet, you know, they don't pay you, um, what, just what it would take, and if you pay taxes on it, you wouldn't have any money left over. And, and, um, but some of the people that make a great deal of money and everything I wish that they would, I guess, because I'm not one of them I wish that they would, you know, realize that they, they couldn't make this kind of money, Well, yeah, that's true they couldn't live that kind of life style anywhere else. Yeah. In that, even if they made that kind of money, there's some countries that have like, fifty percent income tax, you know, that have, socialized medicines and things that, Yeah. they, um, they wouldn't be able to enjoy the in that. So that, you know, they need to be willing to pay a little bit more for it. Yes, they've earned it. And yes, they have such great fortune here, but they need to pay for it, too, because they couldn't do it somewhere else. Yeah. Um, I like Texas, um, not having the state income tax and I hope that because, um, we've had enough industry here, that, I guess it, is that why we don't have industry here is able to, to fund the state because we have oil here and things, I mean, that's what I've always heard. Is that, um, They must have enough other stuff because the way the oil has been the last few years, that, that really has not been, the industry that is bringing in the money for the taxes, I wouldn't think. Big boom. Yeah. There's something about, um, the industry in the state, That, um, Yeah. there's enough. I know, we moved here from Houston and the city had enough money. It was really nice that they had, um, that they began to cut back because of the oil problems, but, um, they would have, um, so many community outdoor theaters and, And like, uh, community country club type things. Huh-uh. That the, it was such nice services to offer the residents in the city and I really liked that. Don't you have to, why people decided to expect certain services, Huh-uh. Then, they don't really think they should pay for them, maybe. I don't know. Yeah. That's true. And I, you know, like the property tax that we pay is so much higher than my parents pay in Missouri. But, um, I'm, I'm comfortable at least in this year, with, with, we have some good schools. The school thing might be changing but, I'm willing to pay for that for my children. Yeah. And I'm willing to sacrifice, I guess. I'm not going to be the type of person that's going to grumble about the taxes, even though we're paying a pretty high percentage. I feel like you get what you pay for and I want to be here and I enjoy, I enjoy living here in this country and having seen other countries, I'd much rather live here and pay taxes, than live somewhere else and not Huh-uh. Anyway, well, I guess, I better let you go. Well, it was nice talking to you. Yeah, it was nice. I haven't ever, I need, I've never initiated one of these phone calls. Do you call in do you get to pick the subject or, No. No. They just define it to you and so, you get what, uh, get luck of the draw Oh. I see. but, Yeah Yeah, anyway, well, good luck to you. Okay, you, too. Bye. Bye-bye. Hello Hi Hi, My name's Ken, Hi Ken, my name's Diane. And, um, you're in Texas, right? Yes, I'm in San Antonio. Everybody's in Texas. God, I'm in Rochester, New York. Everybody else but one has been in Texas. Oh. Okay, well I guess we should get on with this. Okay. Um, did you get the message about what it was, right. Yes. Okay, go ahead, I'm going to hit the button Okay, um, do you think that the Soviet Union represents a threat to us? I think they'll always represent a threat whether or not there's an active cold war or not. Uh, it's, it's a totally different economy based on different beliefs, and, and, uh, different priorities, and, uh, given the, the, uh, military powers on both sides, I think it's always a threat. That's interesting. I don't, I, I suspect they're not our biggest threat anymore. Probably not, no. I suspect it's probably some crazy man like Saddam Hussein who's our biggest threat, Right. but, um, I wonder if they're, I wonder how much of a threat they are. I agree with you that, that they'll always be somewhat of a threat given that they have, that there's just, it's just so big, and there's just so much military machine there. Uh-huh, and, and it's recognized that the two great powers are us and them, Right. and, and the great powers are always pitted against each other. But I wonder how much longer they're going to be a them. I don't know They, they're going downhill pretty steady. Yeah. But I, I agree right now they're not, I don't believe they're a large threat right now. I think there's always some threat. Yeah, oh, I agree. I mean, if we were to, if, if something were to happen, I'm sure they would all of a sudden band together just for the sake of, for the sake of, uh, of, of unity against us or something if, if, if need be. Yeah, But, Actually I feel kind of sorry for them right now, because the people are, are, are, uh, wanting things that we have that they're not I mean, just some basic freedoms, and, and their government is not allowing it, and Gorbachev seems to be going back on some of the things that he's been trying to push. Yeah, actually I noticed this I mean, this, this, this most recent scare of his, where he said, or he just decided that instead of having, uh, instead of having, I can't think of the word now, if there are any demonstrations for, in favor of Boris Yeltsin, he decided, well, I'll just cancel all demonstrations altogether. Uh-huh. So, I, I, I think that, he, he, he's actually, he, I think, is becoming very dangerous because he's making those people angry at him, Yeah. and he's also, I think he's also making, um, the military angry at him. Yeah. I mean, I've heard stories now where the, where the, um, the military is running around, and they're sort of getting restless, and a restless military is the kind of thing that happens, you know like with the Baltic states when they just go in there Yeah. divvy the people up. See, I'm concerned that, that since he's banned demonstrations altogether, that he's going to do the type of thing that happened in Tiananmen Square, and he's going to wipe out, no telling how many of his own countrymen, uh, right in the middle of Red Square, Uh-huh. and, uh, it's going to cause a, more civil war than is already occurring. That's interesting. I, I wonder, I don't know if he's, he, he seems, the thing about Gorbachev strikes that he wouldn't be that dumb I don't know though. I don't know. I mean, and it, it might be something that he wouldn't be able to control. That's, that, that's something that really true sort of a military thing I was speaking of before. Uh-huh. That's, that's certainly true. I mean, his military may just go out and say, Well, we just, Gorbachev said you can't do it, and we're to not let you do it, you know. So. Yeah. Yeah, that, that's real scary, actually. Yeah. I mean, I, I, I would expect their own problems would keep them away from us for a while, but it could be real dangerous. Yeah, we've got our own worries at the moment. Yeah, right, we don't need to worry about them. I guess as long as, uh, they're fighting each other, we don't have to worry about them wasting their time with us. Yeah, but wouldn't it be nice if no one had to fight anybody else. Well, sure, that, but that's a, that's an impossibility, I think given the differences in the world, Yeah. and people are just too different. Well, I don't, I don't know. I think that underlying we're all pretty, probably not as, as different as everybody thinks. But unfortunately, people, people aren't that insightful. Right. Well, that's, that's certainly true of it. They just see that this guy prays differently and to someone else than I do. So, therefore, he's wrong and he's bad, and we have to wipe, wipe him out. That's true. I was, I was discussing with someone before, um, this, someone before, actually one of these calls Uh-huh. matter of fact about another topic, but it came up, one of these calls Uh-huh. matter of fact, about, um, another topic, but it came up, one of these, this, this poem, Everything I Wanted to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, or something. Uh-huh. You've read that one before. No, I haven't read it. I've heard all about it, though. That, this, this is the idea that I think is actually very, is, is, what I think we should all revert to. The idea that, um, basically they said, everything happened in kindergarten, and in kindergarten we learned to share, and we learned to, um, play with each other, we learned to take nap, and to take naps, and whenever we'd start a fight we'd all apologize and hug each other you know, Yeah. and that would be all. If we could just do the same thing sort of, with, with, with everybody else, I suspect we'd, we'd be fine. Yes, but people grow up, and they forget. Yeah, unfortunately. Well. Because I often, I often sort of wonder how, having never been to the Soviet Union, um, how different the people there really are, you know. How much , That's one of the places I would most like to go. Not right now, of course Yeah. but at some point I would like to go to Moscow and, and, to, just to see all these things that you can see on television now and can read about that ten years ago we didn't have this kind of information Right. and we didn't know what things were like. So. I would, I would love to go there. I mean, like, again, not now, but at some point, to go see what, what this is like, I mean, this, this is amazing, because, this is, this is an, this is an example of an entirely different culture that wants to be like us. Like you said before, so it would be interesting to watch. Yeah, I and, I, the, the people. I just feel so sorry for the people in the country, that they can't, I mean, they, they can't do they can't change it. They try they, and they, there's nothing that they can do. Yeah, that's, that's and the ones I even feel somewhat worse for, even, um, the ones in like the Baltic states where they don't have a strong leader, then, you know, Uh-huh. at least, at least Russia has some sort of strong leader. I mean they have Yeltsin who may, who may yet sort of help Russia. Yeah. But, um, I mean, the Baltic states, I think, are just sort of trapped. I mean, they were taken over couple, you know, not too long ago and then just sort of told, well, you're here now, Yeah. you're part of our country. You be this way. It's a, I think it's a sad state of affairs, but. It's, it's probably not dissimilar from the, uh, what are they, the, the, the, I'm trying to think of the name of the, the , something like that in Northern Iraq who are actually countrymen of, Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, some of them were split off into Israel, I believe, and some of them are in Turkey when actually they, they don't, they're their own people and their beliefs and their own culture system. Uh-huh. Right. And they were split up into three different countries. Uh-huh. Yeah, well, yeah, and that. And, and they're very dissatisfied, and they're, they're causing wars right now, and I don't think it's that different from what the Baltic states are, are going through. Um, um, um, uh, actually it sounds very, I mean, very similar. They're sort of being, they were sort of forced, and now they just want to sort of speak up and say Hey, we want our piece. Yeah. And they have like a problem, they have Muslims to deal with as well as Saddam Hussein. Uh-huh. I, I mean I think their big problem up there is, you know, unfortunately, not only are they there's more than one group fighting for the same place. They all want the, you know, whereas the Baltics are saying, Oh, we want our own. We just want this little tiny piece of land. Yeah. The, the one that I think, one of the women that I work for is married to an Iranian, and so she has a lot of insight, because she knows a lot of the history of the countries over there, Uh-huh. and within five or six countries there are probably ten cultures of people, Yes, yes. And that's, they don't all have their own country, and, and some of them are mad about it Uh-huh. Um, actually, my wife is Syrian, so I, I, also I know some of the history . Oh. And actually the other funny thing is that I'm, I'm Jewish. We're sort of like the Middle East peace talks ourselves. Oh, uh-huh. So we, I, I know, I've been to Israel, and I know, and I sort of toured the area, and I know that it really is very, lots of different cultures in one place, I mean Uh-huh. and it's the same thing I it's, it's almost the same thing out, out in the Soviet Union right now. There, you know, there are, you can't take a whole bunch of people who just aren't the same people and don't want to be together and put them together forcibly. Yeah. I mean, we did it couple of hundred years ago here, but they wanted to do it. So. Yeah, and I don't think the people here two hundred years ago were that different, I really don't. That's, that's certainly true. I mean, they had the same ideals and the same basic beliefs. Right, uh, I wonder, I wonder if now the people in the Soviet Union don't have ideas very different from that. they might. The Baltic states might be feeling the same way that our forefathers felt when they were leaving to come here ... Good morning. Good morning. Uh, okay, go ahead. , no, no, go ahead. Yeah, I understand the topic this morning is, uh, our policy in Latin America and, you know, what we've been doing down there. So, uh, as you indicated you don't have too much input into the area it, it just so happens that, uh, our daughter-in-law is Panamanian, and, uh, we have been in Panama and I have worked in El Salvador and, uh, we visit Mexico occasionally, so, yeah, we, we do have a little information on it here, but, uh, Oh, very good, because actually, um, when I was in college I visited Mexico several times, I was in the Peace Corps and, um, Peru, Oh, uh-huh but, but recently I have been following the Middle East rather than, Central America Yeah. Yeah, it does seem to have quieted down there just a little bit that's, that's for sure. No, I, the U S policy, uh, towards Central America as far as, uh, well, I kind of go back to, to the El Salvador thing because Texas Instruments had a, a plant down there for a while, and I worked in there for a little while, and at that particular time, let's, let's see, that was seventy-three, seventy-four kind of before the, the, uh, the Civil War really picked up down there, and U S policy at that particular time there was, of course, military assistance to, uh, to the government itself, you know, anything that's, that's anti-Communist, you know, we kind of had a tendency to be pro Right. It don't matter what their excesses were, and I believe at the time that I was down there, that, uh, the government, uh, the Salvadorian government you know, really gotten out of hand yet, the, uh, right wing death squad type situation I believe that, that was beginning to form but I don't, I, I wasn't really aware of it's being, you know, terribly, uh, you know, at the time that, that I was down there, I think that really kind of developed a little bit later on, but, uh, our policies seem to be pretty much one of, uh, you know, trying to setup businesses down there and use the one resource, anyway, that Salvador had, plenty of and that was people. Right. We didn't seem to be going in and taking anything out of the country other than just it's, it's labor, Uh-huh. because everything that T I did anyway we, we shipped in and it was worked on down there, assembled, and then sent back here, so, Uh-huh, did that have, I didn't feel that we really exploiting them any. Um, so, you don't, you don't feel that, that we were, um, exploiting in the sense of we were benefiting and they weren't. No, uh, in the particular incidence that I was aware of, now T I wasn't the only ones in there, Playtex was in, there was, uh, several other companies, Uh-huh. and, uh, of course, we kind of concentrate on , there wasn't much to take out of the country I felt like we're going in and taken all their, um, their gold or oil, or bananas or coffee or anything like that, Uh-huh. because, uh, it just, the only thing that they had a great abundance of was, uh, you know, human beings and, uh, Uh-huh. did we tend to, um, change their attitudes like sometimes when Americans go into foreign countries they tend to flaunt American things, Americanism, um, consumer products, T V, the whole works. Yeah, I understand what you say. There was a, uh, the time that I was down there, I stayed quite a, a bit at the, uh, uh, one of the big hotels San Salvador. And at the time I thought there ought to be a law against American tourists. Because they, for the most part, tend to be the most obnoxious as a, as a group, and I saw this in Panama also, Uh-huh. uh, oh, you know, it's, it's the, uh, the almost stereotype, you know, flowery shirt, shorts, camera hanging around their neck, you know, demanding this, that and the other thing, you know, we're, we're here, and we want this, and we want that, and that sort of thing, that's, that's the stereotype that's very strong down there, you know, the, the, the, you know, that sort of thing, I, I, I believe those of us who were working down there, got a little bit more appreciation for, you know, the local, uh, culture I really don't believe that we were quite that bad, but yet they were having to deal directly with, uh, you know, with the, uh, the local people. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, but boy there is a, there is a bad, uh, uh, you know, the old brash or ugly American-type, situation. Uh-huh. And I saw incidences in the hotel where I just wanted to go over and crawl in the corner and say, oh, my God those are, those are not Americans they can't be. Right. But there are and, uh, of course, now I, I do have to, I remember one case where we had some Canadians in there who were every bit as bad, but I mean, it, I think it's just kind of the North American situation . In Panama they've been used to Americans down there for so darn long but I didn't see quite as much of that sort of thing, as Panamanians are just about as as, uh, as as Americans, as far as, uh, creature comforts, you know, they're, uh, they're, they're every bit, uh, I, I know, when, my, my son was in the Air Force and he was stationed in Panama, and he married a Panamanian girl, and when she came up here, uh, you know, she's, except for the language situation, some of the cultures she's just about an American, you know, is as far as T V and, and, you know, the, the moneymaking part of it and all that, Uh-huh. matter of fact if anything, she's worse. Uh-huh, uh-huh But, uh, uh, it, it just, there's little enclaves down there where, you know, Americans have a lot of influence and the local population kind of, um, you know, sort of accepts that, but I've also seen the other side of it, too. Uh-huh Well, you were in Peru? Yeah, I was in Peru, but, um, I, there weren't, as I recall, or at least I wasn't aware of that many Americans there except for a very heavy concentration of Peace Corps volunteers, Uh-huh this was when the Peace Corps first are started, Uh-huh. and it was one of the big targets and, um, I don't, I don't think, at that time, at least, Peace Corps was, uh, an obnoxious group in the sense that, that we were very controlled regarding number of days off and, and you couldn't just, take up, take off and leave your group and go explore and, and things like that, Oh. Uh-huh. but, and I was working actually in the savings and loan program, so, that was quite specialized, although I was living in the slums, I was really working with the middle class. Uh-huh What, uh, what area did you live in? I was up in Arequipa . Oh, okay yeah. And, um I've heard of it. Uh-huh so. Well, is, are they, is Peace Corps still active down in there? I don't have any idea, um, probably not, I mean, there were I was, uh, Peru thirteen, which meant there were twelve groups before mine, that had gone in Uh-huh. and, and some of them were quite big in the sense they were community development, and they were building schools and doing co-ops and things like that, health, um, inoculation and, and things. Oh, has those influences lasted do you know whether the, the things that, that you and your groups before you did, did those, did those live on or were they reabsorbed or how, No, no, I believe they did because, um, some of, some of the, the Peace Corps, uh, that I knew of, did marry Peruvians, and have been back Uh-huh and every now and then some news filters in that they went to see some of the old things, and of course, the savings and loan program, um, that was, that, you know, that, that just continued to grow. In fact, after my group, I mean, we were just a very small specialized group, too, to get that going and spread and then, of course, Peace Corps bowed out of that because that's, uh, uh, something that nationalized very quickly. Uh-huh. And the same with the co-ops. Well, that's, that was kind of the, the aim wasn't it, to get it started and then have it, taken up by the, Right. oh, okay, so, you know, well, that's, I had wondered sometimes, I knew that there was a lot of, a lot of effort and a lot of work went into a lot of that, and I just wondered if, if it lasted, and if it took, you know, like, uh, Uh-huh Yeah, I've, you know, some of the programs I would have concern about like, um, the language teaching, you know, I mean, why should we push English, Uh-huh and a lot of people were down there teaching English and when they talked about Hungary or someplace, one of the eastern law countries requesting Peace Corps to teach language, you know, to me that's a little bit marginal. I did teach economics at the university one night a week, and the textbook was in English, but basically I taught it in Spanish, because, I mean, I really didn't see the point in their knowing stuff rotely and writing it on a test. Oh. Yeah, my brother-in-law teaches at, uh, Northern Illinois University and they were in China, here a couple of years ago, and he was over there at, uh, the University of Shah and, and teaching ... So, uh, describe your family budget. Well, I've, uh, for a lot of years I, I've pretty much flied without one, and, uh, just recently, uh, we, we set up a budget, and, and we're trying to stick to it. We just bought a new house. So we've got everything, you know, pretty much we know what our, uh, our fixed expenses are per month, and then we've got some ones that are variable, that pretty much stay within a certain range, and then, uh, then there's the ones that you never know anything about, and that's, that's the food Well, yeah, and to some extent, utilities, I imagine. well, the utilities are pretty much, you can pretty much figure what they're going to be, and one of the nice things here is the electric company has a plan where they'll average them out for you. They have that to some extent here, but it's not quite as good. Uh-huh. And, uh, transportation expenses, I guess you own a car. Yes sir. And you know how much you're going to drive every week? Well, I used to, um, I used to know, uh, fairly close to exactly how many miles I drove, because I, I was very convenient, I lived, uh, nine tenths of a mile from work. Huh. So, so, it was, you know, two miles a day to and from work. So it kind of cut my transportation costs a lot. But now I've just bought a new house, and I'm a half hour, and so my transportation costs have gone up by, uh, five times Yeah, I understand that. We, we have a real similar situation. Ours, uh, have quintupled, at least. So there is a real family budget. Yeah, pretty much, um. The problem is there never seems to be enough money. I have three children, and it seems like the more money you make, the more money you have, the more things that they seem to need, and, uh, of course, nothing ever goes down, I mean, uh, I remember, I have five children total. I have three left in the house. Yeah. And I can remember years ago, when school would start, and I'd go buy all five kids, you know, shoes, and I could get out of the, out of the shoe store without spending more than thirty-five dollars. Nowadays, thirty-five dollars buys about one pair of shoes If you're lucky. yeah, so I mean things have just really gone out of sight in the last, uh, I guess about the last ten years. Exempt or nonexempt. I'm exempt. Wow, must be nice. Part of the high price spread. Uh, no, well, we don't, we do, but we don't have a family budget. We have the fixed things we have to pay. Uh-huh. And we have the things that are extras. But it seems that by and large the extras just don't exist. Yeah. And, well, you know, the auto budget, car payment sucks a hell of a lot of it dry. Uh-huh. And insurance, is insurance bad there? Um, I've got, uh, two older cars. There both, one's a seventy-seven and one's a seventy-eight. Well, we've got one eighty-nine. And my insurance is about, it was running about four hundred dollars a year. But when I moved to the new town I live in, because it's a different county, which has less crime, and, uh, less, you know, less highways and so it's a cheaper place to live, as far as the insurance company's concerned, so my, my, I think my insurance dropped about sixty dollars a year. Wow. That's not bad, four hundred and something a year. That's, that's, It's actually three hundred and forty for each one of the cars. That's cheaper than we pay. Yeah, I was down in Texas for two years, and I was paying unbelievable rates for both car insurance and for home insurance. Um, Well, here in Colorado it's even worse because we have no fault. Yeah. Do you have that there? they have no fault in Maryland also. Well, no fault's rather funny in Colorado, because it seems that everyone pays all the time instead of just the guilty party pays. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. It's kind of, it's kind of strange here the way things go. Uh, here if you have an accident and no one's injured, the police won't even show up. You're kidding. Nope. They say if nobody's injured, you all exchange names and take it up with your insurance company. God. Well, if you, I don't know how familiar you are with Maryland, but, uh, Not at all. especially, the center part of Maryland where I Ninety-Five runs through it is really heavily populated. There's just so many people and so many accidents every single day that it'd take a whole another police force just to answer the traffic. They don't even try to keep up with it. No. God. Not a bit. So you lived in Texas for a while. Yes sir. Huh. I spent, uh, couple of years down there. Moved down there in eighty-seven and moved out in eighty-nine. Are, where you from originally. Uh, right here in Maryland. Huh, so you just basically went home when you had a chance. Yeah, my family, uh, didn't like Texas, and I had a chance to, uh, transfer up. T I bought a company about seven months after I moved to Texas, right here in . That's nice. So I got an opportunity to transfer back, and I took it. God, that's great. Uh, I'm a native Texan. Uh-huh. West Texan. Yeah. There is a difference. Yeah, believe me, I know there is. I lived in Plano, and I don't know if you're familiar with Plano Yeah. but Plano, maybe five percent of the Plano actually were from Texas. Everybody else was an import. Well, I'm a West Texan. Uh-huh. Lubbock, Midland Odessa Amarillo, Dumas, Panhandle. Yes. Yeah. A different world from down there. Yeah. So, uh, Colorado's been fun. But they have a real problem. Next to every window the state seems to have put up a turnstile. And every time you look at a, look at the mountains or think about looking at the mountains, you got to throw in a dollar. Yeah. Or so it seems. I may just be paranoid, but that state income tax is just eating me alive. Yeah, yeah, they have a state income tax in Maryland. But I noticed when I was in the, in the, in Texas, they didn't have a state income tax, but they sure nailed you on those darn county taxes and, school taxes and property taxes, Yeah, yeah. Property taxes and, Oh my God, ate you alive. Yeah, well, Colorado, you know they have the state income tax, but then they also have property taxes, and they also have sales taxes, and they just get you every direction they can. Yeah. And I just don't know, sir, but it seems like they trying to get you every which way. Yeah, it sure does. Um, there's, uh, some good books that I've read, um, that you might be interested in. Uh Oh yeah? Charles D. Gibbons is the guy who runs some ads on light night T V and he's got seminars you can go to, and they try to hook you into his organization, which costs about four hundred bucks. But he's got a couple of books out. One of them is called, uh, WEALTH WITHOUT RISK. I've heard of the book. Yes, it's a very good book. It's tells you how to cut money on your taxes and on your insurance and then what to do with the money that you save. Legally? Legally, cut money on your taxes. Yes, yes, Huh. legally, legally cut money on your taxes, and on your insurance, and then he tells you how to invest that money in order to, uh, you know, be wealthier. Uh, he also has a new book out that I purchased right before I moved and haven't had a chance to crack it open yet. Um, FINANCIAL SELF DEFENSE is the name of it. Uh, the man, uh, has a lot of good ideas, some of them I already knew about, some of them I had already practiced. But I suggest it to anyone who wants to be better off financially to read it because, uh, And that includes everyone at T I. Yes, I'm one of the ones that had my salary frozen for ninety-one. Yes. Well, even, the, you know, the nonexempts, technically yet we haven't had our salary frozen yet. Yet. But when you're only at living wage it doesn't matter. You know, survival is a funny state. Yeah, I know what you mean. I, uh, when I was in Dallas I was supervisor, and I had four non exempts, um, under me. Yeah. And, uh, I was appalled at what, how they were paying them. I just couldn't believe it. Did, well, I've been with the company for sixteen years now. I was a W F for several years, and it just never seems to improve. It, and it doesn't seem to get much better for the exempts either, unless you're twenty-eight or above. Yeah, yeah. It's really a shame. Well, I, I've, this company that they bought, they ended up buying a very high payroll. Oh. And, uh, the, you know, I thought I was making a good wage, So, how do you feel about the metric system? Oh, I like it. I, I, I have a foreign, actually I have more than one foreign automobile. And I, I, I find the, uh, I find the, the nondecimal system with all the halves and quarters, I was trying to build a shed and they give you these measurements like forty-two and three eighths inches and we had to go a little less and trying to figure what's less than three eighths, uh ... Yeah, and it's, I forget how many millimeters. So you used the metric? Well, no. What we did was wind up using, and you just go, you just go down and, and you get out the, the, so many inches and, and we just marked a little bit less than that, uh, which is somewhat awkward but had it been millimeters, you could have done. I think what's interesting, the way engineering people do is they, they, in essence, have gotten around it by, by listing, uh, decimal inches. Uh, yeah, yeah. Do are you involved in any engineering drawing stuff that? Uh, yeah, yeah. Uh, I work in metal fab and tenths of inches are, are normal. And, you know, you know, it is broken up in, you know, the inch is broken up and has been for quite some time for, in tenths, hundredths, thousandths, ten thousandths, of an inch. Well, have, have you, do you, are you involved in any other, uh, metric type things like ... Yes, I am. I, I have a Suzuki motorcycle and, and I've had motorcycles, Japanese motorcycles for years and years and the metric system comes easy to me. But my ... I think it's interesting you you know, when you go out there and you're looking for a wrench and you want the next size larger. I've got, I inherited some, some stuff like fifteen thirty seconds. Right. Well, now that one's fairly easy, because that's probably slightly under half an inch. But some of them, like, like, twenty-seven and, and there are some thirty seconds and some of the things that, that, uh, don't translate. Yeah, yeah, yeah. To go from, from eighths to sixteenths to, uh, thirty seconds and remember where it falls, it ... Yeah. and, and you've got to go over there and try it and I suppose, you know, I need a larger one. I need a smaller one. I mean obviously you can look at it and say well, anyway. I think the other thing that's interesting is that a lot of our stuff is already changed that we haven't, I don't know, do you, do you drink adult beverages? Yeah, I drink beer. have you noticed that, um, that a lot of the, um, a lot of ... Yeah, whiskey is in liters. Yes. And, and the next, yeah, point seven five liters and then liters and then one point seven five liters, yeah. It's like a fifth, like fifths of whiskey I thought was always kind of strange. Yeah. What's a fifth of whiskey? Yeah. I, I always wondered about that myself. It was a marketing ploy. And, and they had quarts at the same time though. Yeah. But the idea was, is that by, with five fifths, um, they could, uh, they could, uh, they could sell five and, and, um, it was simply a ploy to, to get people, you know to buy, to buy more for, Yeah. it's, uh, I find that interesting. It's ... But it's like, you know, the, the, the, the soda and this kind of things coming in one liter bottles Liters. and, um, I, I think it's kind of generational. Yeah. It, it's, like I say, I work in a machine shop and, uh, everything's still inches. Everything's still fractions of inches, or or tenths or thousandths, or, or ... Yeah. It's, it's hard to think though. Yes. it is a mental thing. It is a conversion thing. It's like a mill, you know. We, we do, uh, um, well we use a one mill bond wire or one point five mill bond wire on on semiconductor devices. Right. And well, what's a mill and ... Yeah, yeah. But what really annoys me is the way we, in the United States, have been converting to metric. We have a eighty-nine Chevy Blazer. And before that we had a Horizon. Uh, you know, Plymouth Horizon? Yeah. And both of them were a mismatch of both American and metric. Don't you find that interesting? Uh, that they, that that they're doing that, uh, in any field, for why, why, why pieces, could you, could you get any connection on which was metric and which wasn't. Uh, okay. The engine itself was mostly metric because it came from Canada. Oh, okay. And the starter was Bosch American, so. The bolts were, were were, were English then. Yeah, yeah. It was, it was annoying. One, one half of the starter you know, three bolts on the starter and two of them were American and one of them was metric. Now that's strange. And, uh, you go from the, uh, water pump up to the radiator and on the water pump, it was all metric. And, and on, you know, the factory fittings, you know, the factory, uh screw lock uh, uh, radiator hose clamps. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Essentially they do that though because if, if you look at General Motors, the size and, and, and of course, Ford and Chrysler. If they all went, if they all went metric, but in a sense, um, you know, it's like when a measurement though, when, when you put, uh, you know, one point four three two inches, when you're milling something, uh you simply set your, uh, equipment, Yeah. or, or you or you got your calipers there and, and you measure, you know, you mic it to see if it's accurate and. Right. It's it's not a problem either way. No. Like I said, my only complaint is where they mixed them on the same car. Yeah. And you go to look at it and you don't know which set to reach in, American or metric. Yeah. and, and, you're never quite sure, well, is that a metric bolt. You get you a pair of metric pliers, right Right, right. And you beat on it and a metric hammer It, it can be annoying and my other concern is, is the American government going to force us to go. Oh, I think, I don't think so. I, I think that, uh, I think they've now just taken the attitude that, well, if it happens, if it, because it, there a lot of things that, that, uh, um, like sports, you know. It's a hundred meter. Oh, absolutely. And, uh, uh, but automobile races if it, I don't think they'd ever, it's still going to be the Indianapolis Five Hundred. They're not going to ... Yeah, Yeah. They're not going to change that to meters. It will always be. Yeah. And, and it, I, I don't think it, I don't, you know, I don't think, I don't think it's particularly bothersome because in reality, uh, you, it's like troy ounces in ounces of gold. How many ounces of gold, you know. Twelve. I was trying, I was trying to figure up gold content on something. It had, has, uh, gold plated, uh, header. And, and they're trying to think of what's a Troy ounce. Yeah. There's twelve troy ounces to the pound. Yeah. Now that makes, you know. Yeah. And, and is that going to change too? Well, I mean, and, and then there's a metric ton and then there's a ton. But what's a metric ton? Uh, I don't know. I don't remember. I, I read it. And are we still going to maintain drams for perfume? Yeah. And, and then, but then the medicine. And, and some of these other things and, and the chemistry in those kinds of areas, milliliter. It's all metric all ready. Yeah. And, and so, um, but, but when you go to order a drink, um, you know. say, they, they, I don't know, it's uh ... And what will a shot be? Will a shot be an ounce? I don't know. And, and, but, you know, when you go to the store and, and you're trying to figure, you know, well this box is, is, uh, is, is twelve ounces and, and this one's, uh, uh, three pounds, um, and you ... And the other one's two point one kis, and, and you're, you're lost. That's right. And, and I don't know. I, I think that, I, I think, I think the Federal government is going to, more or less, leave it alone. I think they've got, I think there are more pressing problems. Oh, yeah. The economy. Yes. Uh, what I was thinking about is an economical issue concerning it. Uh, a machinist has a huge number of dollars invested in tooling. Personal tools to be able to do his job. Yeah. But, but are, are the tools that, uh, if you're cutting, are you talking about cutting equipment or tools for for set up? Uh, tools for set up and for measurement. Uh, you got to have a one tenth indicator, it's a hundred dollars. Uh, five tenths uh, usually two one tenth indicators at a hundred dollars each. Uh, Huh. five tenths indicator at about a hundred dollars. You got to have, uh, six inch set of calipers at anywhere from sixty to a hundred twenty dollars. You got to have a zero to one for sixty dollars. Uh, one to two inch micrometer for sixty dollars. A two to three for eighty dollars. A three to four for eighty dollars. So you've got thousands of dollars or so. I mean you get a thousand dollars worth of tools. Real fast. Yes. Real, real fast. Edge finders and ... But I was thinking about though that, that when you actually get to the milling equipment though, when it starts turning ... Well, I know, because, okay. Your end mills will be measured in inches or fractions of inches. Yeah. You know. But you, when you, when you simply drilling a hole, I mean, a real simple thing, like gee, I need a hole there. What size hole? Yeah. As in metric size hole or a, or an American sized hole? Yeah. And, and what, but the thing is then you've got to with screws and that's the other issue. Uh, the pitch and ... Yeah, yeah. Well and thread, Uh, I don't go to the movies a whole lot, but, uh, I went two or three weeks ago for the first time in a long time and saw DANCES WITH WOLVES, which turned out to be an extremely good movie. I haven't seen that yet. I, I, I hear, we, a whole bunch of us were going to go see it. It's playing at school actually in about two weeks, I guess. So we're going to go see that. But you enjoyed that? Yeah, it's, it's something that, uh, my brother lives over in Fort Worth, and I was telling him about a couple of weeks ago, and he said, Well I'll wait until it comes out on, uh, tape and rent, rent the video. And I said, no, this is not one that you want to do that with. That's what I heard, yeah. It's, uh, the scenery and the landscape and the country that they're in needs a big screen. It's just beautiful country with the hills and the trees and the buffalo and the whole thing, it's just, uh, just amazing, amazing picture. Yeah, I've heard it, it, it's not one for the videos. No, it's one I think, but, you know, every now and then you find one that you say, yeah, this is my favorite movie. Well, this is the one for me this time. Really. Yeah. What have you been to lately? Um, let's see. Well, uh, this is almost, sort of funny. I was just um, friend and I went to see OUT FOR JUSTICE which is Steven Segal, because, uh, we're both big karate fans. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So we wanted to see what this is like. And, uh, impressed with actually. Is that right? Yeah, I wasn't, I mean, I've seen his other movies, and I just think he's pretty good. Yeah. But, uh, this movie, I'm convinced now he can act. Uh-huh. How's his karate? Oh, his, his, his karate is pretty good. I think in this one it wasn't so good. I generally, um, movies like that scare me, though. I'd be just fine without them, because, you know, kids come running out wanting to beat each other up. Well, well they do, they get Fighting. I remember when we used to go to see, well I remember when GRAND PRIX came out when I was a kid, and some other movies like that. We wanted to jump in the cars and race. Right. And I suspect today what they see is bound to be what they want to do when they get out of it. Yeah, yeah, well, that, that was number one for the week actually, too, so, so it was a little bit, uh, I was thinking, Wow, people must be into crime movies again. But, but in the middle of that conversation we sort or picked an, um, an interesting point. Last year's number one movie for the year was GHOSTS. Is that right? I don't know if you saw GHOSTS or not. I did see GHOSTS. Yeah, and, and, and that was, that, that helped us sort of feel good about, you know, about ourselves and about one around us, in that at least, at least, if everyone's running around seeing karate movies and stuff like that, at least they're still going to see the real good movies, you know. Yeah. I think that GHOSTS was one of those that a lot of people didn't think was going to be any good. Yeah. And it turned out to be an excellent movie. Yeah. It was, it, I was absolutely enthralled by it. I've forgotten the guy's name who was in it, who had the lead role. Oh, Patrick Swayze? Yeah, and I especially like him. Yeah, he's very good. He's a really good guy. Other than that, DANCES WITH WOLVES seems like to be the only thing I've seen in the past several months to have any, Really, I'm trying to think what else I've seen recently. What else have we seen recently. Oh, you know, what's pretty cute actually. Um, DEFENDING YOUR LIFE. Is that right. Have you heard of it? I've, I've seen the ads for it, but I'm not real sure what it's about. Yeah, um, I actually hadn't heard anything about it, and some friends called up and said do you want to go see this movie, and, and they said it starred, um, Meryl Streep and Mel Brooks, at first they told me. Yeah. And I thought, what a strange combination, Mel Brooks and Meryl Streep. That is a strange combination. Well, actually, it starred, that, that it's actually Albert Brooks, so it's lot better. Mel Brooks you probably know. Yeah. I know, so it, it was a strange combination. But it turned out to be a very cute movie. I mean, the whole premise is that they go out and, and they die Oh, yeah. and they have to, Both of them. Right. Both of them are dead, and they happen to meet in this, this town, um, this, this sort of city where you're set up. You know, they go and they decide if you can move up to the next level. Oh. I don't know if you've ever read Jonathan Livingston Seagull, but it's something like that. Yeah, years ago. They sort of move up to levels, and, and they have to decide whether or not they're good enough, and as it turns out, you know, they meet there and fall in love and stuff like that. Oh. So you can guess the rest of the plot. It actually, it's, it's really funny because they run through, you know, what they have them do is sit down and see scenes of their lives. Oh, yeah. And then defend it. And that's pretty good actually. Well, I guess that's where the title comes from then. Yeah. And it's you actually have to go up there and you have a, they have an attorney for, you know, attorney for you and attorney, a defense and a prosecution, and you know, the prosecutor's job is to make sure you don't move up a level, and the defense's job is to make sure that you, you do, you know. It's, uh, it's a neat little story actually. Yeah, it is. I was, I was, I went thinking it'll be okay, not great, and then I actually came away thinking it was really pretty good. So, It's funny, we've got a couple of movies out recently, GHOSTS and DEFENDING YOUR LIFE, that have to do with, uh, after life, I guess. Yeah. And it kind of makes you wonder, I'm also, besides working at T I, I'm a graduate student at North Texas and working on master's in communication. It's the behavioral science part of communication, and I think about these things and people trying to define their own world view, and, uh what exactly do we, you know, do we see about this world, Um. or why are we so fascinated with the other world. Is it supposed to be better? The other world, yeah. Sometimes I think we think it is. We like those things that way. Um, I'm, I'm sure that it seems like, it certainly would, would explain the preoccupation with , but I suspect it's always been a preoccupation with that sort of things. Well, it has. All the way through history, there's, I guess, if you want to call its mysticism or the occult or whatever. It's always fascinated. I guess because we don't know, and there's no real way of finding out. Right, well. There's only one way of finding it. Well did you ever see, um, FLATLINERS. No, I did, uh, did not. The girl next to me saw it, and she really liked it. That's, that's, that's probably one of those ones that, you know, it's on video now, I think. Yeah, it is. Probably, probably worth seeing on video. Actually we really enjoyed it, but it was also right along the same lines. I mean they, they would go ahead and kill themselves for three or four minutes to see what happens. Yeah. Yeah, they said, she said that this was almost believable that could really happen. You know, you get the medical profession doing these kinds of things, and you never know. Almost, yeah, I, I, it's a little far fetched to, find a bunch of medical students doing it, but but, it was, um, it was, it was odd enough, you know, Yeah. and they didn't just sort of make it silly. It was, you know, it was done fairly well, I think. So. Actually, I actually enjoyed that as well. Yeah. I like it when they will do something and not get too silly. I've been disappointed in some movies that, they don't know how to end it, it seems like, so then they get crazy and, and it doesn't end like the story has been going. The story sort of keeps going and going. Well I guess that covers our topic. Yeah, great. Well, it was, nice talking to you. Nice talking to you. Bye. Bye-bye. That sounded like one. Uh-huh. Um, I think that there is something definitely wrong with our school system just because of the results that you see coming out of the school system, as far as, uh, people dropping out of school, uh, grades on test scores being low, uh, more and more people taking G E D trying to get out of high school instead of just going through high school. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know something must be wrong as far as, uh, not just the teaching techniques but just motivation, within, within the schools themselves. Yeah. Yeah, excuse me just a minute, uh, Uh-huh. I'm on the other line Karen. I'm sorry. Oh, it's okay. Okay. Uh, she, uh, yeah, well the, the results, I, I hear what you're, you're saying about the results. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's, what to do about it I guess is the, the big thing. Yeah. I'm, I'm in a kind of an interesting situation in that my, my wife teaches school here in Plano. Uh-huh. And, I know that, uh, the results that they get out of the system sometime is, is certainly not you know, up to what the effort they put into it, you know, I've seen that for years, yeah. Right, and, I know, uh, I work around, you know a lot of teachers and I I understand how, uh, supportive they are of their students and how excited they are, Uh-huh. but some how, I don't think the students are getting excited. Yeah, I've often wondered if it doesn't come back to the, the home environment. Oh, yes definitely, uh-huh And, uh, it, if, uh, no matter what they do in the, the classroom, if they go home at night and, you know, it's all totally undone, uh. Uh-huh. The, the thing that, uh, uh, that Karen, my wife, has, has run into so often is that you run into a group of kids that are going to succeed no matter what, no matter how bad their teachers are, no matter what a lousy system they're in, or anything else, Right, right. Uh-huh. these people somehow manage to, uh, you know, push on through and are successful. Progress, uh-huh. It's, uh, unfortunately probably what, maybe twenty-five or thirty percent of them do that. Yeah, not, not even that much probably. Well, that would be, be at the absolute most. Yeah uh-huh. And, uh, you know, those, those that, you know, come out, you know, fall out of the system, that are, are real trouble, Uh-huh. I, I wonder whether that's just a, uh, uh, a part of the system, you know, Uh-huh. if, you know, in a democracy where, you know, people have kind of, uh, a freedom to sort of do what they want, you know, there, there's an inefficiency there, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you've got to let those, you know, those, And speaking, speaking of doing what you want, uh, just in society today being that it's nineteen ninety-one, um, a lot of teenagers and young people have a lot more freedom as far as what they do, as far as, you know, even, even something as simple as staying up late, um, watching television late, um, going out late, start dating, Uh-huh. Oh, oh yeah. Uh-huh. you start dating too early, you know, Uh-huh. just little things like that, that do start in the home, Yeah. that can, that plays a big part because you spend eight hours of your day, or more in school and so any other part of your life, that's going to definitely affect your school life, because you spend so much time there. Yeah. And sometimes in some systems they make everything so competitive, you know, Uh-huh. you, from the minute that you walk in until, until you leave, your, your competing against somebody else or your competing against, uh, a system or, or something, you know, Right. and then, a lot of there is a personality type I believe that is really noncompetitive. They're cooperative rather than competitive, Uh-huh. and when they get into a real competitive system they just say, oh well, what the heck, and, uh, tend not to, you know, do too awful well . Uh-huh. Right, I talked to, a guy the other day and he is now in, in a program that's trying to get him out of high school because he, he fell back several years ago and he's going to, he, he will have gone to school five years. Yeah. Um, and the reason that he was doing so badly a couple of years ago was because his mother died, Uh-huh. and he was having to, uh, support his entire family, take care of his brothers and sisters, you know, Uh-huh. and all that had an adverse affect on his school life. I would think so, yeah. And, yeah, and that, and that's a perfect example of how your home life, you know, plays a definite part. And, you know, any other aspect of your life, Yeah, yeah. an, but now, now, that he's in this program and, you know, he's, I guess okay, he's, he's making straight A and, you know, it just, it, it was there, it was just, I guess school was not a number one priority for him at that time. Yeah, it, uh, right, survival becomes more of a priority than, than education, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and unfortunately, you know, there's, uh, there's and old joke about, uh, you know, education's wasted on the youth anyway. You don't, you don't really appreciate it until you're much older anyway. Right, exactly. I know when I went to school, uh, my attitude was kind of one of, you know, these people are, you know, taking a tremendous amount of my time, you know, Uh-huh. and I've got better things to be doing than sitting here listening to this stuff over and over again. exactly. I guess today that would be, uh, some how or other there would be a program of some sort that would take care of that sort of thing, but. Um. The, uh, the cure, some of the cures that I've heard for this that, that sort of make sense, Uh-huh. uh, most teachers after they have taught for a very long, especially at the, the lower grades can spot a problem almost immediately. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's kind of these intervention programs. Now, a lot of people will get to looking at these and say hey that's socialism and that's communism, Right. and that's, you know, and then it gets political. Uh-huh. But, uh, boy. When people start talking about programs that help, for me, I don't care if it's socialist, or I don't care, as long as it's something that's going to do some good or that looks like it could be beneficial, Uh-huh, yeah. I mean, that's the point I'm at now. I mean that's the point we all should be at, is like finding some solution, Um, yeah. I mean, you know, nothing totally radical, but if it's something that, you know, might help, you know, because there's not a lot being done. Well, you know, the, the radical programs in some cases are just totally unacceptable. There are kids, families, that should just simply be taken out of the homes, you know. And, uh, uh, you know, uh, just removed from those situations, Uh-huh, uh-huh. Right. or they're never going to get anywhere. But yet, politically that is not a very popular view. Uh-huh. I'm sure that if you, you know, ran on a platform of, you know, we're going to find the kids that are having trouble at home and we're going to take them out of the home. Take them out. Yeah, you know how far you're going to get with that. Yeah, not very far at all. Uh, but unfortunately it's, it's something like that, in lieu of that, you know, is the intervention programs in school where the, these kids are, are spotted fairly early on, Uh-huh. and, uh, you know, there's, well that's get to be a problem in Texas, you know, because different school systems have got more or less money to take care of that sort of thing, I mean it's, it's almost like, Right, right. you got counselors and all that. But you know, you can counsel a kid eight hours a day and then he goes home and, and, uh, you know, in the, in worst cases he's got parents either on drugs or, or something like that, Right. or they don't care. You know, mamma, guess what I did in school today, well who cares, you know. An a lot of it, a lot of the parents now are so young. True. You know, that they're, they still, they still don't know what's going on and how are they supposed to, you know, teach their kids that are coming up, you know, what's going on. I mean it's just, it's a vicious cycle, that we're, you know, dead, smack dead in the center of Yeah. and we have to try to swim out. You know, kind of like the Bermuda Triangle, we're just sinking and it's almost impossible to swim back up. Yeah. But, um, yeah, there's definitely problems, Yeah I'm, its just the solutions that, you know, they're going to be in our political system, they're going to be on everyone's mind for quite a while, too long. I don't know if you've ever had too much to do with, uh, oh, especially Asian, Japanese families coming, here in Plano we've got, uh, quite a few. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, engineering types, people who have come from Japan, Right. and they put their kids in the U S schools and they're appalled. Uh-huh. You know, not so much at what the schools are teaching, but what they let the kids get away with. Um, uh-huh. You know, they, they see most, uh, they're, they're quite upset about the, uh, the disruptive influence of school. Most of them would say, you know, those people should be removed from the school system. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And in Japan they would be, you know. Right. But, uh, here again, you get back into a political thing, where, uh, Yeah there's, there's, right. There's definitely too much leeway as far as, Uh-huh. I mean, I've only been out of, I've been out of college only two years, Uh-huh. and you were saying that you don't appreciate education until you get out and I, I already, you know, I really didn't, I really don't see myself going back to school or anything, but, I appreciate more what I had. Uh-huh. And I had all these classes and all this knowledge and this big library across the street from my dorm, Yeah, were you at Baylor? and I just didn't take as much advantage of it as I should have. Yeah, did you go to Baylor? No, I went to U T at Austin, uh-huh. Oh, oh, okay. I'm, uh, So, I mean all kinds of resources and, you know, just there, Yeah. and I'd give anything to have that right now in my, in my regular I mean you, you have everything given to you. I don't see why people wouldn't want that. I don't know, I, but then, if I was young, I wouldn't see it. Uh-huh, well that's, that's it you, you don't have, uh, you don't have the view. But you know, now that it's gone, I, Right. I graduated from Texas Tech, more than two years ago, I guarantee, Uh-huh. and, you know, I kind of look back at it sometimes, well that was a lot of fun, but, you know, I'm not sure that, that I took the greatest advantage of, you know, what, I went through there. Uh-huh. Right, yeah, I did a lot and I experienced a lot and I, I feel like I got a good college education but just when I got out I feel like I should have spent more time in the library, I should have taken those continuing educations classes or whatever they were, you know, Uh-huh. the informal classes that you don't get credit for, you know ... All right, I guess our, we're in the process of a home repair right at this point because we're, we're painting the outside of our house. I don't know, I guess you would consider that a home repair. Huh-uh. Certainly, uh, uh, and interesting enough, this time we're changing the color which makes it an addition. What is your most recent, We just did that, too. You did that recently too, uh,? Yes. Does it make a big difference? Oh, yes we have brick on the outside and, uh, the colors that were there changed the, and the colors that we painted changed the entire look of the house. Huh-uh. Completely. That's neat isn't it. Yeah. That was really exciting. It was fun. I was really, really tired of the color. That it's, it's helping. We're not quite through, but it's, it really is looking good. Uh, we went through a process of, of, uh, home repairs on a, on a rental house we had, probably the most extensive and, uh, the interesting part of it was how much we learned about what we could do. Um, we didn't have very much money and so we had to do it ourselves in kind of a slow process, but we learned how to do, uh, retile bathtubs and, uh, oh, just all kinds of things that are unusual. Huh-uh. So the other thing that we did was the roof of our house. Huh-uh. And, uh, we did that a different color also. Yeah. Of course, uh, being a woman most of these things were done by the men. Huh-uh. And, uh, so I wasn't directly involved but, uh, they really were helpful, I know, to our house. It's nice to not have a drip through from the roof, isn't it Yeah Yes That's awful. Um, Howard and I were talking about home repair the other night and, uh, in connection with scouting. We've got a scout coming up and, uh, uh, I think it's neat for young people to learn how to, uh, take care of their, of a household, you know, like, uh, fixing faucets, dripping faucets, and putting in panes of glass and stuff like that. Huh-uh. As a matter of fact, one thing, I have a young son and one thing we did, was we had paneling on the inside of our, uh, front of our house, or the hall way of our house, rather, and we were repainting the, the front room in the hall there, and we took down that paneling and he helped me and, and, uh, he was, it was fun to work with him. And, uh, and, uh, help putty up the holes together and, and do things, like that. Huh-uh. How does the paneling, it looks lots better than, do you like it better? Oh, I like it so much better. It makes it so much lighter. Yeah. You know, it really does. You know, and people that have been to my house before and then now really have liked, much better, too. Huh-uh. That's nice. It's been fun. Nice to have it come out positive and look, look good. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Well, we have a lot that needs be done. We have, uh, uh, carpeting, and, and we did have a new, uh, floor put in our kitchen. And, um, I have my mother living with us and so she was in a room with a carpet and, of course, she's quite aged, she's ninety-three now, so that meant she had problems now and then and it was really good to get the carpet out of there and put a linoleum down. So it was easier to clean and see where the dirt was and so that was a really positive, uh, uh, Huh-uh. it was fairly expensive though. I, I was impressed, I think, that, uh, we had somebody do it and it was, it seems to me like it's probably more expensive to put down linoleum almost than it is to put down carpet. Huh-uh. Kind of depends on the quality of carpet, I suppose, Yeah. but, uh, in the case of the linoleum they have to rip up everything and, and fix the floor so it's, uh, I don't know, what ever, but they have to put stuff on the floor and it's, uh, kind of a process. Well, it sounds like you have some pretty good experiences with, uh, with, uh, uh, home repair. Huh-uh. We have. It's been really fun. Yeah. All right. Happy home repairing. Okay. You too Bye-Bye. Bye-Bye. Hi, what do you do with your credit cards? Oh Well, my husband and I have gotten into some, some problems with credit cards. We don't handle them very well We, we tend to run them up to the maximum and then ask for more. Oh, jeez. They, they're, they're really bad for us. Um, matter of fact, we've gotten rid of all of our credit cards except for a MasterCard and a Visa, and we pretty much keep those maxed out. Oh, I was going to say that, that sounds like, like pretty many. But I see what you meant, you had them for each of the individual stores. Yeah, we had I had probably twenty credit cards for, Uh-huh, uh-huh. I had, I had an American Express, American Express Gold, an Optima, all the different department stores, um, two Visas, two MasterCards Oh, gee. I mean, I had, any time anybody would, you know, send me an application, you know, preapproved or whatever, I went, I took it, and it really ended up getting us in some real serious trouble. Oh, sure. Um, because, see, the more credit cards you have, the more people offer them to you. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And the more you use them, the more they send them to you. But each of these had an annual fee also, right. Exactly. The American Express was probably the worst, um, because with the Gold card, I can't remember how much it was because I didn't even have it very long before I gave it up Uh-huh. but I know the Green card was like thirty-five, five dollars a year. Yeah, forty five. Right, uh, I, Which was a lot, because I mean, you had to pay it in full every month. Exactly, you know, I, that's it, I really resented the fact that they were charging me for cards, so I sent back all of mine, except the ones that were free. Uh-huh. And, um, then, then I also limited it to one of each, one MasterCard and one Visa, and here, most of the stores will accept those, and actually I then got a Discover card since they pay you back. Uh-huh, yeah, I had a Discover, and that was one of the ones in the group that I ended up, um, closing. Um, it really wasn't my choice, though. I mean, I ended up having, I ended up actually losing my credit cards. Oh. Um, I ended up going through a credit counseling service um, because my husband and I just don't handle credit very well Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh, yeah. and, um, when, when you do that, they automatically, once you start with their service, they close your accounts out. Oh, I see. So, I'm still paying on all these accounts, but my accounts are closed. Yeah. So, and I would prefer to keep it that way. Once we, once we're paid off um, I would prefer just to have one MasterCard and one Visa Uh-huh. and that's it. Yeah, yeah. Actually I pay off my cards every month. Only once in my life have I not paid. I think that's a really good way to handle it, because that way, if you, if you paid off every month, you never have to worry about, well, how much do I have to pay these guys, you know, this month, you know. This, you buy what you can afford. I mean if you handle it just like you would like a check or cash it's a lot easier to keep it in check. Right. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, and also in a sense, they're giving you a loan for a month so that you know, if I were smarter, I would have that same amount in savings and get the interest, which I don't do, Yeah. Uh-huh. but, but yeah, the, the thought of adding, you know, X percent to, to the price of what I buy, I just, I can't accept. Yeah, and I, and I think at this, at this point in time with the economy the way it is, I think that, um, it's going to get even worse. Um, I'm, I'm glad that we're starting to pay our debts off, now, um, you know, we, only we started this last year Uh-huh, uh-huh. and we probably still have about another year to go before we're completely out of the hole. Uh-huh. But I think this, they way the whole economy is going right now, it's just not good to be in debt. That's right, that's right. Yeah, yeah, that, I would, that would be a very scary feeling for me to know that I was, you know, juggling payments to different people I guess because I never experienced it. Uh-huh. And it's not, because you know, I'm rich or anything, it's just, a mental concept that I have. Yeah, Yeah. that I just. Well, when you, when you're getting rid of the whole credit card cycle, and if you really get into the mind set, I got really good at juggling money and basically robbing Peter to pay Paul, and it was scary, because I was so good at it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And I thought, this is not right. I mean, this has got to stop, because eventually it'd end up catching up at, catching up with me and it hit me in the face. Right, right. Um. But it sounds like, you know, you, you learned from it and you're coming out of it all right. I, yeah, I have, I've learned a lot from it. Uh-huh. I've learned that credit cards are extremely dangerous in my hand and my husband's too, because he's, he's the same way I am. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. I don't, I don't think that, well, when we buy on credit we just don't have a concept of how much money we're spending until the bill comes in. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And then all of a sudden you look at the bill and you go, Oh my gosh, I spent this much. But now, the fact that you still have two cards, are you, do you use them, more judiciously? Yeah, we pretty much use them for emergency type things like transmission fell out on our car Yeah. and that paid for a new transmission Uh-huh. um, and, and things like that. Um, and we try not to use them for incidental type things, like, you know, gas and stuff like that. Purchases. Uh-huh, uh-huh Clothing, sales. Yeah. Sales I find are a pain. Yeah. I've, I've gotten, I've gotten a lot more away from, from credit cards, and I pay by check a lot more now. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, it sounds good, you know. Like I said, it sounds like you're, you've really got it under control. I, I admire you for having, having that mind set for not, not even getting, you know, past the thirty days, I would, that's ideally the where, where I would like to be. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, and like I said, once, once it, it happened I couldn't because my son's tuition came due, and I guess I had, you know, not really counted on it quite at that point Uh-huh. but, um, yeah, I didn't like it at all. I was very uncomfortable. So, I can imagine. You know, and, and I mean, it was, I thought a lot, sixty dollars interest or something for, for just a couple of months, and I'm going jeez, that's outrageous, Yeah. but in, in, you know, retrospect it wasn't all that much, I mean a lot of people pay a lot more and and, you know, but still, I mean, I figured I didn't need those items if it cost me sixty dollars more to have them. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Think about what you can buy for sixty dollars. Exactly Groceries for a week. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I, I think about all, all the money that, that we've spent on interest on all of our credit cards, Uh-huh. and it's just incredible. But now did you use to not feel so badly because you could take it off your income tax? We've never been able to take it off our income tax. I'm, I'm fairly newly married. I've only been married less than two years Uh-huh. and before that, I never owned a home or anything, so I never had any deductions. Right, right. So, really, it was always just money thrown away. Thrown away. Yeah, jeez. And I never really thought about it because, You were good at it Yeah, I was so good at it that it just kind of got stuck in the back of my mind and just never um, became a real problem until all of a sudden it came an insurmountable problem. Uh-huh. Yeah. I suspect that, you know, thinking about it and looking at my friends and the number of credit cards that they use and, you know, the amount that I know they buy, I guess probably a lot of them are in a similar situation, and, you know, just don't talk about it. Yeah. Most, most people don't like to talk about money. They feel uncomfortable, I think. Uh-huh, uh-huh, You know, for a lot of people it is very personal. very personal. Uh-huh, yeah, and especially if you, if you don't feel you're handling it quite right or that somebody might make fun of you or that it would be, Yeah. But I think the, the average American is probably pretty heavily in debt. Not, not including like a mortgage. A mortgage is an understandable debt because that's, you have, you have to have a roof over your head. Uh-huh. Right. And I would much rather own my own home than, than be renting it like we're doing. I mean, we're basically, you know, kind of throwing seven hundred dollars a month away. Uh-huh, uh-huh. We're renting a house. Uh-huh. But, you know, right now with the way our credit card situation is, there's nobody in the world that's going to give us a mortgage on a house. Right, right. But, but, once I suppose you, you prove yourself by paying this off next year you'll be in very good shape. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's going to, it's going to take quite a while. Uh-huh. Hopefully within five years we'll be in our own home. Uh-huh. But, um, I'm not really counting on it real soon. Okay You want to get a start? Certainly. Uh, the weather here is warm. Uh-huh. And it has been sort of raining on and off. Uh-huh. And, uh, I am an avid gardener so I measure the rain in our rain gauge on a, on a regular basis. So I can, can avoid wasting money on watering. Oh, great, great. Uh-huh. And, uh, but it has been threatening to rain for the last couple of days, and it has not, really. Which is a bit of a disappointment. But it is very warm here, which is typical for this part of the, time of the year. Uh-huh. Yeah. How about I think you are, I think you are earlier than we are, as a rule, aren't you? Your, your, your growing Summer starts a lot earlier than ours. It starts in, uh, March as a rule. Uh-huh. See that is quite a bit, we are just beginning. People are, have got their gardens in, a lot of them now. We could still have a frost. Really, this late? Uh-huh. Could you have snow? Uh, probably not. But we have had, we have had a frost as late as, as in June. Oh, well, we do not have that problem Early June. So, but we have also had nice weather. An unusually, uh, nice Spring. It is almost like an early Summer for us. Oh, that is nice. Uh-huh. We could use a little more rain, I believe. Uh, well, we will be glad, I will be glad to give you some of ours Uh Usually we get it in, in great quantities in April and May. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And then it stops for three months. Yeah. If it could just be spread out a little bit. Right. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. It has really been nice here, uh, we are supposed to have some rain this weekend, but I don't know if we'll get it or not. A lot of times in our area the weather forecast has missed us. The, the weather they forecast for our area seems to go right past us and misses us. Just by, well not too many miles. Uh-huh. Are you in an agricultural area? Yes, uh-huh. We have, Well, I know the I know the weather is very important for people who make their living off of, off of the land. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. We have quite a few farmers. We, we live out in the country. We are on a farm, but we are not a farming person Uh-huh. Uh, we have a garden. Uh-huh. But, uh, but we are not farmers. Huh. Well, you know there are some disadvantages to being down south. Uh-huh. And that is, it gets so hot that, you know, a lot of things die during the Summer from the heat. Oh, yeah. They get burnt off. They, they really do, Uh-huh. and you have to be very careful to make sure you keep everything watered. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, and that makes it bad too, because, uh, when more, with water being at a premium. I know our aunt in California, they, they have really been rationed on their water. And it makes it real hard to have a yard or, uh, or anything like that, a their garden, their farms. Their farmers, I guess, are hurting because of that also. Yeah. Well, my parents are now in San Diego, and, and they've got pebbles in their yard because they can't, almost nobody there has, has lawns. Yeah. Yeah. Well, they are not allowed to water, so what do you do? Yeah. Yeah. Uh, it is very, it is very rough on them so, Uh-huh. Actually I think, I think it is pretty moderate here in Dallas. Because the, the Summers are extremely hot. Uh-huh. But your humidity is different though than ours I think, and it makes a, a bit of a difference, too. Um, what is your humidity like? Oh, I don't know. I think our humidity is higher normally than what it is in Texas. I could be wrong. Uh, I do not know what, what it is percentage wise but I, I do not know for sure either. But it always seems well, it just felt different like when we were in Texas. It had a different feel to it. Yeah. It is, it is drier in Dallas than it is in Houston or San Antonio or even Austin, which is further south. Uh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But it is not dry. And, and I have lived here for many years, and I think it has gotten more humid over the years. Where the water is coming from, I don't know. Uh-huh. Well, it could be. I know my brother's home has been flooded a couple of times, uh, Oh, does he live near the lake? Well, there is a lake not far but it is more run off from surrounding, you know, areas and that. Uh-huh. Uh. And, uh, he is just in an area where it is just low enough that it's, you know, it, it collects there. Uh-huh. And, uh, he has had a couple of inches in his house several times. That is, that is a problem, uh, they tell you when you are looking for a house or, or, or buying land to build on, to be very careful and check the drainage because, uh, it is, it is deceptive. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Because of that. Uh-huh. And, uh, I know exactly what you mean. We are fortunate or, uh, we are on a, where we are we get flooded, it floods below us behind us. Uh-huh. But we are, uh, we are high enough that our house itself we never, you know, have had any problem like that. Oh, well, that is fortunate. Yeah. It is an old farm house and, uh, we really like it here. Uh-huh. Well, I, I like it, I like it here. Uh, I, I grew up here. I have lived other places and, and, but I, I did grow up here Uh-huh. and this is very much home for me. Uh-huh. And, It is nice down there. I, I, I liked it when we visited there. I hope you visited during the winter. Uh-huh. One of my, one of my theories is that you always go to warm places during the winter and you go to cold, cool places, that, well, I go to cool places during the Summer if I can anyway. Right. Right. That is the best time to go. Yeah. and usually it has been when we have gone, it has been nice. It has been hot, but it is, it is hot to me in the wintertime down there. Oh, sure. I mean You know But it is nice, it is a, it is really a nice area. I, I had a friend from England visit once at Christmas, and we could not get her out of the what she called the English back garden. Because she wanted to go back with a sunburn. Oh, really? Oh. And she went back to the north of England with a sunburn Oh, good heavens Not me I avoid the sun Well, yeah, basically I do, too. Yeah, it takes me about four and a half hours to do, to mow our grass. And I try to cover up when I do the lawn Well, I, that, that is really healthier, frankly. Yeah, well, I have had a little, a couple of problems and, uh, I decided it is not worth it. Uh-huh. That, I, I like to get tan in the Summer time because I think you look healthier. And, uh, we are just crazy But you, you know, it is interesting because you get out in that sun an awful lot. Now my sister is a, a sun fiend. Uh-huh. And, uh, she is five years younger than me, she is more wrinkled. Is that right? Yeah, It, it just makes your skin more leathery. and I think that is why. It, uh, it, Exactly. yeah. So, I think it burns off the, I don't know the, the, the theory, the scientific principle. But it burns something off, the natural oils or something like that. Uh-huh. Well, the elasticity of your skin, the collagen or whatever they call it. They say it destroys a lot of that. Yes. And you lose a lot of that. So, uh, Yes, uh, that sounds like a good, that sounds like the right theory. Yeah, but, uh, but we have really had nice, the weather, I can't complain. We have really had really good weather of late. Good. And when it has rained, it it's been a good soaking rain and, uh, it has just been a really nice Spring. Well, that is great. It has been, it has been very nice here too. And I hope it continues because my parents are coming to visit this evening and I want them to have nice weather for their visit instead of driving around in the rain. Oh. Oh, that is great. How long will they be there? Uh, probably four or five days. Uh-huh. Well, that is great. Well, I hope the weather stays real good for them. And, and, uh, that you have a good visit and everything. Well, thank you Thanks. And I hope your garden does good. Yeah. And the same to you. And, so. Okay. Well, it was really nice talking to you. A pleasure. And, uh, good luck in your, this venture. It is, uh, like I said, it has been real interesting. So I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been enjoying it I am sure I will. In, in fact, if I had not been preparing for this, the out of town visitors, I probably would have been making some phone calls in the last couple of days. Yeah, I forget to. The day goes by, and I forget to make a call usually. Well, I am glad you have broken the ice with me because now, I will, I will start doing it Great, great. Okay. Okay. Well, thanks, Jean. Uh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, is, uh, that a sport you like to participate in? No. Actually I'm a spectator, and I'm a second hand spectator as a result of my first husband's, or my late husband's, interest in golf. Uh-huh. My husband likes golf also, he's, uh, I guess he'd be a fanatic if he thought he could get away with it But he, he limits it pretty good. I, um, have tried to go out and play golf. He would love it if I would go out and play with him, but I stand there and swing and swing, Uh-huh. and I can't even hit the ball I can't even play miniature golf well. Yeah, I don't either Well, there are just some things that we're good at and other things that we're not, but I am very good at watching it on television. Right. And he was really, uh, enthusiastic about keeping up with the tournaments. He could tell me exactly what day and what time of year and where the tournaments were going to be held, and what the nature of the hole was and, Oh, so he's really into it. Oh, yeah, he was a good golfer. Wow. And as, and did some, you know, instructions at the country club for a while. Oh. But, uh, golf tended to be I am not really deeply involved in any, following any of the sports. Yeah. But golf was one that I developed a working knowledge of a lot of the golfers, and therefore I enjoyed following those particular players. Right, more because of their personalities than their sportsman Uh-huh. Well part of it was the personality and their sportsmanship. Another part of it was I'd pick one out that was different than what my husband was rooting for so you know, the competitor, and I became involved in following his career. Right And, uh, I know that, that my husband, Tom Kite was his fair haired boy. Oh. And he thought he was spectacular. I said, Whoa. I'm not going to, I'm not going to stay interested in him. So I decided Andy Bean was good competition Uh-huh. Any time they both played, why, he was just real excited when Tom was, you know, shown on the television, and I followed Andy Bean. Uh-huh We both followed Lee Trevino into the Seniors. Oh, he's interesting. He is. I like to watch him. He is a character not just a golfer, Yeah. but he's quite a character. Yeah. And there are some really, really wonderful people in the game of golf who do give wonderful role models. Yeah, yeah, I think you're right. And I think it's critical, it's critical to have a good role model in any field, any sports. Yeah. I like to watch those skins games. Uh-huh. Do you ever watch those where they just play for a certain you know, for each hole they win they get the money for it. Uh-huh. I think those are pretty exciting. Well, I myself, really have not seen a whole lot of point to the game of golf. You hit a little ball, you chase it, you go find it, and then you hit it again and lose it again. Uh-huh, yeah. And I know the whole point is to get it in that little bitty hole, but seems to me like if they made the hole bigger it'd be easier. Oh really I sometimes wonder why men like it so much because they get so frustrated and mad at themselves when they don't do well. Oh, I know. Oh, yeah. My husband and his buddies are not very good. They play like maybe once a month or less Uh-huh, uh-huh. and so they all hit like in the low nineties, and they think they're having a really good game Oh, yeah. So. Well, my husband's average ran in the mid seventies Wow. so he wasn't bad. Yeah, that is good. He was pretty good, but as far as influencing young people, I think that that is, uh, that is one of the sports that you can carry into old age. You can't play football at fifty-five. Right. But it is a good healthy, wholesome lifestyle, uh, anything can be warped. Yeah. But I think that that is one of the sports that's a good healthy way to, to move into maturity safely. Uh-huh. Something to stay active at for a long time. Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's right, that's right. Yeah, yeah. And a lot of seniors, a lot of elderly people don't even take up golf until they're, you know, in their later years. Yeah, and they can still get good at it. That's right, that's absolutely right. And it's something that, Well, maybe that's what I'll do when I have time later on, Yeah, when you're too old to do anything else go play golf, Yeah yeah But it's, it's also something that husband and wife can participate in Uh-huh. or, you can both enjoy the same sport and participate in separate circles. True. You know, you can go to the country club together. You can play with your friends, he can play with his friends, but you've both been out and exercised, and you have enjoyed the day. Right, yeah. Or my favorite, just ride around in the cart with him You bet, you get a lot of exercise that way. Go somewhere really nice, like Hawaii, and just look at the golf course. Uh-huh, well, I'll tell you what, if if they're not real good golfers, sometimes it is not fun to ride around and listen to their exclamations all day long. Oh, yeah. But my husband's pretty tolerant, so he's not too bad to watch. Uh-huh. Oh, mine had a very short fuse. If he did something bad, he's liable to take that club and throw it as far as he can throw it. Oh, no, yeah. He's replaced almost as many clubs as he has balls. I mean, just get so mad, he'd just wham that club up against a tree and break that rascal. Gosh. Now my husband has a temper, but he doesn't seem to show it on the golf course. He's, because he'll talk about the other guys he plays with doing that and how immature he thought it was and stuff. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So I guess he's real laid back about it. Uh-huh. He, he'll come home though, and he'll shoot when he was shooting in the hundreds, and he'll tell me what a great day he had, and about this great shot he made and everything . Uh-huh, well I shot in the hundreds, but I made this one good one Yeah, this one, on this one hole Did you have to listen to long stories about, now on the seventeenth hole I hit it and went this way Uh-huh. those are, it's hard for me to, act nice about that when it goes on and on, Well, one thing that is a, is a drawback about it, I think, is the cost. Yes. Membership in the clubs is expensive, the equipment is very expensive, requires special shoes, requires special, you know, special equipment. There's so many, Right, and then they want to play another course that's not, they're not a member of That's right. and other fees. That's right, that's right. It really is high. It can get very expensive, and I can imagine what kind of costs are involved if you're going to try to go pro, because you spend hours and hours and hours practicing. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And they don't give those sessions away. And nor do they give, uh, instructions away. Right. As a matter of fact a friend of mine asked me if I thought I'd be interested in golf. I said I don't know, I'll have to try it and see. I've always watched it. Uh-huh. And he said, well, fine, he said, we'll just take you over to the course, he lives near Brookhaven we'll just take you over to the course and get you some lessons and let you see if you like it. Uh-huh If you do, then we can go golf together. Uh-huh. Oh, whoa, great, I get to walk all around a little green field all day. But those kinds of things happen, though, you, you get a little taste of it and you say, Hey, this is not bad. Uh-huh. And you really begin to develop an interest in it. But I am not an athlete at all. Me either. You know, I'm always the one that got hit by the bat in baseball, and, hung my fingernails in the net in volleyball. So I am not an athlete. Maybe golf is a forgiving sport. I don't know. Yeah at least you're just you're competing against yourself, I guess, more than everybody else out there. It doesn't appear to be Uh-huh. I really, I, I haven't really acquired an interest in it, but I'm open to try anything, you know. Yeah that's, kind of the way I feel. The one thing that is also detrimental as far I'm concerned, my skin is very fair Oh. so I'm going to have to golf in the evening or I'm going to have to golf at a time when the heat of the day does not cook me. Right. And I don't think the, Okay, have you participated in anything like that? Well a little bit, we mostly do our newspapers. We keep our newspapers, and stuff like that and we keep our newspapers and stuff like that and we take them to be recycled. Uh-huh, uh, we, we have a pretty nice recycling center, uh, in our city now and we take the newspapers and plastic and glass up there. They're open like two days a week and you can just take it up there and drop it off. Uh-huh. It's kind of fun. And everybody up there looks pleased with themselves when they're taking their stuff in like they're doing something good to, help the earth, I guess. Yeah. And a lot of people complain because it's really not convenient for them. Yeah. Yeah my husband was complaining the other day because he said every time I turn around you're telling me some new rule about recycling like yesterday I was tell him, you have to, you're supposed to squeeze the plastic jugs before you take them up there. You're supposed to what. Every time he turns around I'm giving him some new rule, where you're supposed to squish up the, you know, like collapse the plastic jugs. Instead of taking them up there solid. But what are you supposed to do with them. Oh, okay. And I wish that our recycling center took paper bags. They won't take those. We like to put our, just put our newspapers in a paper bag, you know, and then carry them up there that way. Uh-huh. And we have to bring the paper bags back every time. Because they won't take them. Yeah. Do you, uh, take your papers somewhere or does someone pick them up? We, we usually collect a, you know, collect a quite a bit and then we take them, take them in. Uh-huh. We, um, we don't take our cans up to that center, though, our aluminum cans, we like to take them to one of the places where they pay you for them. Yeah, we don't, we don't, um, use aluminum cans, Uh-huh. so, we generally don't have those to do. Yeah, it takes us about a year to save up enough to be worth, you know, worth bothering to go in and do, but. Do you, um, have any ideas on anything that would make, You know, they, they charge you, you know, it's like a flat rate I think for picking up your garbage. Uh-huh. And I know a lot of people it would, would solve the convenience problem if they had curbside pickup and some communities are trying to do that now. And I think that maybe if they only charged for the garbage that you did not sort and have set up for recycling, Right. they, they charged you by, by weight of how much trash you were actually sending to a land fill. Yeah that would be a good idea. That that might be a better way to do it. Yeah. And then people would, would know that it was going to cost them money to not sort their trash. Right. Yeah, that would be a real good motivation for people. You know, because then it would, then it would make monetary sense to them, you know, to say, hey, you know, if I just spend the time to, to sort this out where this stuff can be recycled then I don't have to pay for them hauling it off. Right. Yeah, my father was telling me about some program he read about where you buy your bags, like you buy your garbage bag from the city, Uh-huh. and you pay more than just what you would pay for an empty garbage bag but then you don't pay any monthly fee or anything, so how ever many bags of garbage you throw away, that's how many you have to pay for. Oh, yeah that's about the same kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah that would be a real good idea. I'm trying to think if there's anything else I could think of. They are talking about going to curbside pickup in our, in our city . Where do you live? Rowlett, Texas. Oh, okay. Do you know where that is? Yes. And I don't know if they decided to do, or not, but I think they said it was going to add like either a dollar or three dollars a month to your bill to have them do that. Although, I think a lot of those programs can operate at about a break even, break even point, without charging people. It seems like they would be able to. Yeah I don't know, uh, I guess it just depends on how they manage it. Uh-huh. I don't know how much they get when they sell all that stuff. The center that they've got now where you take your stuff in I, I think that should be making some money. Since they just have to hire someone to man it a few hours a week. Yeah. And they sell, I guess they sell everything to some waste company that comes and gets it. Yeah. But I wish that, uh, more of the cans, you know, like the cans you buy vegetables and fruit and stuff like that in were recyclable. I don't, a lot of that's that recyclable steel and I don't know anybody that takes that. Yeah, that's true . my husband likes Pepsi and those cans are steel instead of aluminum, so we can't, can't ever recycle them. I think it's a good reason to quit buying it. Um, now I didn't know that, cause we just usually if we're going to, uh, buy sodas they're in the, the two liter bottles. Yeah, that's what we buy the most of, unless we're going on a trip or something where we want to, put the cans in a cooler Yeah. But, well that's all I can really think about for recycling. Okay. It was good talking to you. Okay. Uh, bye. All right, bye-bye. voice said what's that voice said, where were they There you go. What do you think invades your privacy? heavily Oh, well people that call on the phone all the time to try to sell you something. You know, that, that try to sell you the newspaper, and, uh, carpet cleaning, and, uh, what else, roof repair And enough, well I think it's a waste of paper, the people that always leave, uh, junk mail and, because, um, you just end up throwing it away most of the time. Probably eighty percent of the, the junk mail that you get is, is, um, something that you don't need. And the same way with those calls. What is it, oh M C I, M C I really does. Even when you tell them no, they keep calling back. M C I what's that? M C I it's the long distance telephone company. Oh, now see I, I really don't have much trouble with, I just say no thank you and hang up. Uh-huh, well they they won't take a no for an answer here for some reason. They just keep calling back. I had a carpet service call up three times, all within in an hour, Uh-huh. but, I, uh, I do telemarketing, Uh-huh. so, uh, I'm very polite and I just say no thank you, and say no thank you very politely and I hang up and, don't bother me after that. Uh Yeah. So I think the only thing that really bothers me is if when somebody contacts me and they try to get information out of me. Uh-huh. Like the Census Bureau, United States Census Bureau. Oh yeah. That bothered me. Uh-huh. I didn't feel they had a right to know how many bedrooms were in my house even. Right. That I think is my invasion privacy because it's the government and I don't understand what their need to know is. Uh-huh. And I think that is my biggest objection to anything as far as invading my privacy. If somebody wants personal information out of me, but telephone calls I figure, they don't bother me one way or the other. Uh-huh. Uh, I know when I do telemarketing, um, I'm a soft person, if, if someone says I am not interested I'll just say fine and back out. Uh-huh. And I make very good sales, but I'm not, uh, as I said, I'm not half as pushy as these people because, I don't really care. I mean, if, if they're not interested fine. You know that's it. You can't force them to be. Right. No. And I'm not pushing something down their throat that, uh, I don't think is a good item anyway. Uh-huh. That I don't think I could do anyway. But I feel like, oh, movie stars, or sure, it's part of their, I guess they're portray being a movie star they get themselves in these rag sheets but, uh, I think they go too far. Oh, yeah I think that's invasion of privacy. because they follow them around twenty-four hours a day. Yeah And you know they do Ted Kennedy. Oh, yeah. Of course, he's breaking the law all the time, so it's a different story then. You know, but, but Ed McMahon, I mean, you know, who cares about Ed McMahon. He's probably hasn't done anything interesting in the last thirty years that they've been on the air, you know. And he has a chauffeur. Maybe he drinks but he never drives a car either, you know, it's not the same with Johnny Carson. No, I think my, seriously my classification of, of invasion of privacy is trying to get personal information, and putting it falsely out or just bombarding me for the answers. Uh-huh. Without your, and without your permission. Right. Uh-huh. This to me is, is my invasion of privacy. Right. Anytime I can honestly say no, or, throw the paper away, or, but you can always write to, uh, oh I forgot the name of it and stop the junk mail. That I've done. Because I don't want junk mail anyway, so I wrote to them when it came on the air, so I don't get any of that bull, it works by the way. Oh, good. But, uh, the telephone doesn't bother me because I leave it half the time, on, uh, you know, answering service anyway, unless I'm home, Uh-huh. so I figure I can turn it off one way or the other, but I think that's the only bottom line thing that I dislike. Because it does, other than the U S Census, um, what was it. Oh the, the carpet place that called me three times, Uh-huh. that I felt was invasion because it was the same carpet place, and called me three times. I mean one should be sufficient. That's right. But, if people don't use the telephone, it's like I don't know when the police has their project going and I don't know when the other ones have their project going and when they want to pick up down my street for things. That's the only way I know. Uh-huh. And, uh, that's Well you have to have the telephone, but you can't, you know, and, and it's, sometimes it's hard to screen out all the calls that you don't want. Well see there's no way of knowing, Uh-huh. that's, you know, that's the problem. Like the product I sell, uh, I sell mostly to older people which can't get it in a normal public situation. The only way we'd get to them is by telephone. Um. And, uh, most of them like it because the company I work for is nationwide, and, uh, reputable and they know that hey, we're backing it, one hundred percent. uh-huh. But, if we were denied the right to call people up, these people would never be able to get it. Because your normal companies that offer it, do not offer it in the amounts that we do and they'd never have it then, at that point. Uh-huh. Because we offer it in a very low, you know, quantity. So I mean, I, I don't know what to do as far as that's concerned. But it is nerve racking. I mean it is nerve racking to have the telephone, but at least, as I said, you can always say no thank you Right, uh-huh. I gather you get a lot of telephone calls. Sometimes, yeah, some days it just rings off the wall. Yes, yes, yes. In other words you own your own home. No, no. I think that's where they hit most of us. Like I own my own home. Uh-huh. And you just know about what time, like some days I hate staying home because the phone rings all the time, but, uh, I don't know, I haven't been able to figure that out. Something else to do about it. When they call up and want to say, well tell me this, this, this, this and I'll give you a free something or other, My answer is no thank you, I don't need it. Uh-huh. And they say, well don't you want to know what's free, and I no If I have to give them so much to answer the questions to get fifty rolls of film or something like that, they're taking something away from me and I don't like that. Right. Yeah even if, I guess it's for coupons, they, they have a survey they run and it, I guess it, one of them is supposed to be a smokers survey but the questions go a lot farther than having to do anything with smoking. Uh-huh. And they ask, you know, they start out and they ask you even, even to your income level. I think that's, you know, whether you buy a T V dinner or not, I don't think it has anything to do with, Are you ready to start? Yes. Okay Have you recently bought a new car Catherine? Well, I just found out that my car like an old was thirty months old, and it doesn't seem like it's that old. Oh. Seems like I just bought it. Oh, wow. It's an eighty-nine and I bought it, uh, in, uh, eighty-eight so, yeah. Well, I really, the last car we got was a, was a used car. I really don't prefer buying a new car. I like to let somebody else pay for that I know, I really will do that the next time, I buy it too. But, uh mine was a year old, Uh-huh. and we bought it for very functional purposes, Uh-huh. and that was we bought a station wagon. We wanted an economical car to operate, Uh-huh. but we wanted one that could carry a lot of equipment. So, we chose a Nissan Stanza wagon. Uh-huh. And I've never been sorry, Oh, that's wonderful. however the need for that kind of car has changed now, Uh-huh. Oh, okay. and, uh, while it is still good, and it's quite serviceable, and I'll drive it until it no longer is reliable. Uh-huh. Huh. And probably then some I'll spend a lot of time praying over it before I give it up. Sure. I think that I would like to, if you know, we all say, if I could have the car I always wanted I would either buy a Nissan Maxima, uh, Right. I'm sold on Nissans. Uh-huh. I a or, or foreign cars actually. Uh, But do you feel though, uh, craftsmanship is much superior to the American abilities? Uh, Is that how you, I have never, its reliability. Its Its reliability. And, uh, I, you know, I've read all the CONSUMER REPORTS and things, and they just run head and shoulders above the American made cars. If Ford was a head and the shoulders above it, I'd buy a Ford. Isn't that a shame. But I had, uh, had a Ford Escort that absolutely needed taps the day we got it. My word isn't that sorry. That's sorry. Uh, you know, I mean it was ready for the graveyard. My word. And I spent as much on that car in twelve months as I spent for the car. Oh, mercy. So, You, and that was just trying to hold us, getting out of that was a used car. Huh. And it was an older car, Huh. but, you know, Escort is supposed to have a great track record as far as sales. Huh. Uh-huh. But it's just, it just was not and you get stung a time or two, Sure. and you say, no thanks. No thanks. That's right. So, I just trusted the CONSUMER REPORTS and the auto, uh, reports Uh-huh, uh-huh. had my son who knows a lot about that, study them thoroughly, and he gave me four choices of cars to buy Uh-huh. An Escort definitely was not among them. In fact, there wasn't an American car in there. Wow. Uh, the Nissan came and, and we bought the Nissan for functional purposes not what the CONSUMER REPORTS said we should get. Uh-huh. But it served our needs. Uh, later on his reports, the reports that he studied showed that, uh, Nissan was head and shoulders above the rest in the in the class that we were looking for. And that, and I'd rather have a Maxima than a Cadillac. I really would. It's not necessarily prestige, Uh-huh. but it's comfort. Uh, there's a lot of features on there that are desirable if you're going to pay that kind of money for a car. Uh, Who makes that car? Nissan. I mean but where are they, where are they, what, what is their location, is it, uh, Asian or is it European or who, No. No, no. Nissan is Japanese. Oh, it is Japanese. Uh-huh, uh-huh, Okay, uh-huh. I didn't know. Yeah. And, uh, if I couldn't have my luxury Maxima then I'd buy me a fancy little red C R X sports car Uh-huh. Okay I mean, you know, every every one of us have two sides Yeah, I guess so that's true. Yeah. Yeah. Now what about you, if you could have the car that you wanted what would you get If, if, if I had the car I wanted. and why? Gee. Uh-huh. Probably, um, uh, let's see, I like the looks of the Lincoln Town car Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. See there, But I, I don't know the performance of it. That's a, Ford product, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, you know, I would get hung up by my boot straps if I if I ever mentioned the Ford product in my family. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I tell you that's sad too because there one time Ford was the best, that was made. Yeah, yeah. Really was. Uh-huh. And, uh, I, I really have not seen, now a lot of the American cars actually are, are, parts are produced in foreign countries and assembled here or vice versa. Can I put you on hold for one minute? Of course. Thank you. Well, that was one minute. They hung up. Okay Uh, at any rate do you have color preferences or what would be the features that you would be looking for? Um, well, the comfort of a large car that the security of a large car. Um, and the luxuries of a large car. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, now color preferences, I think I would opt to go with a bronze. Which is probably closest to gold that you can get Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. Oh, wow. We like the stuff that glitters Yeah. Good. There's nothing wrong with that. Actually I think probably if I were going to get if I were going to be practical, which doesn't mean I would be, I would prefer white. Because, simply because it's more visible at night. Right, well, practical yes that's, Uh-huh. Right and it's cooler I believe, too, when you're driving in, And, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Now the interior, okay, I don't care about the interior just as long as it's not black or red. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But if I had the little red C R X , I guess the interior would have to be black leather and I'd have to live with that. And if I got the C R X it would have to have a real good sound system in it because I'd want that too. Oh. I'd just go back to my teenage years and just throw all my experience to the wind Um, can you, uh, hang on again Uh-huh. Thanks I've got the phones for lunch hour. Uh-huh. So. Just don't mind me if I bounce back and forth. That's okay. Um, so you like to listen to, uh, a lot of music, or do, is it talk shows. No, no, no. I generally would uh, prefer to listen to, uh, well, I listen to K C B I a lot but I will listen to the news and the, and the traffic and those things at work. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But if I'm going to be traveling in that car for any period of time, I want some real good classical music. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I love classical music, and you just can't enjoy it unless you've got a good sound system to produce all the, all the characteristics of the instruments. All the, yeah. Uh-huh. That's true. So I do love classical music or it or, or, uh, contemporary classical. Do you listen Do you listen to W R R? Uh-huh. Huh. Sure do. Yeah. W R R and the Oasis are the two that I listen to, more than anything else. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I do like them. And I'd like to have a compact disc player in the car. That would be, something that I would really like. Those are nice, aren't they? Yes, those are nice. Those compact discs, really are good for cars because they don't melt, Uh-huh. they don't warp. Uh-huh. You know, there's nothing in there that can wrap around the, the, uh, rollers or anything. It seems like a really good answer to portable music, that you can choose. Huh. Okay. Okay, I, I do a fair amount of cooking. Uh-huh. And, and I love having guests to dinner. I probably do that about once a month. And, uh, I usually prepare something, depending upon the guests, you know, it, it, I like to prepare chicken, that seems to please everybody, pasta or a casserole. Uh-huh. How about you? Yeah, those are things I like the most. I like fish and chicken the most. Um. And, uh, most of the cooking I do just comes out of a can. Uh. Unless it is, unless it is, I catch a fish and I prepare it. And then I just, uh, you know, I just broil it and put lemon on it. Uh-huh. Well, that's about the way I prepare most fish. Uh-huh. Uh, I made scallops the other night, that was unusual, and, uh, basically, uh, I found a recipe to make it in the microwave and you sprinkled, uh, you swished around a little melted butter and do, uh, oh I do not know, microwaved them for about nine minutes. No, no, four and a half to five minutes and you had to add sesame seeds and bread crumbs on top, very simple, but very nice. So, if you are looking for a French recipe, that was good. Sesame seeds and bread crumbs. Sesame seeds and bread crumbs. Uh-huh. And, uh, my husband liked it. Yeah. And, uh, no unfortunately scallops are one of the more expensive, uh, fish items. Right, uh-huh. But, you know, I, I look for them to go on sale at the grocery store Uh, one of the things I love to do, eat out. How about you? Oh, yeah, uh-huh. Do you have any particular places you like going? Oh, there's a restaurant called String Bean on Spring Valley and Central. Uh-huh. I like that, it's just, it's just home cooking. Yes. I have been there. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's kind of, kind of like Black Eye Pea, but I do not think it's a chain. Right, exactly, uh-huh, and that's, that's the other restaurant Black Eye Pea. Oh. So, I do not really like, uh, you know, uh, uh, chili places or, what is it, Judge Roy Bean's, or I do not like greasy places. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I, I do not feel like they are very healthy, and I always, feel like the home cooking places, are, are the healthiest meals. Yeah. You know, I tend to have chicken fried steak when I go, go to them. Right, and I, and I got, uh, chicken marinara the last two times. Oh, how was it? It was, uh, it was great. Um. Because that's, that's what I like, I do not like it, you know. I just like a baked, you know, a piece of chicken and then I get like green beans and mashed potatoes. Uh-huh. You know. Yeah. I, I tend to, uh, I get teased by my family a lot, because, uh, I like experimenting on, on food and sometimes I go for fairly exotic things. And my father teases me about gourmet cooking. Which is not always true, Uh-huh. but and the thing about experimenting with cooking or anything else, is that some of the experiments fail. Yeah, that's true. Uh, the last time we had some, uh, friends over for dinner, I tried a dessert that sounded wonderful in the recipe and it was just a total bust. I was, sorry I did not have ice cream to fall back on. Yeah. Yeah. My, uh, my brother tried to make, uh, a bunch of things, uh, way back. He tried to make bagels one time. Oh my that's ambitious. Yeah, and, uh, we took some and then we had, uh, German Shepherds at the time, and we took some and gave it to the dogs, and the dog never, you know, he treated it like a milk bone and he never did finish it. Um. He just barely made a dent in it. Yeah. Uh, and, uh, then he tried to made grapefruit citron one time. Uh-huh. It's, uh, supposed to be candy. Yeah. And, uh, it, it did not turn out very well, it was, you know. It like made concentrated all the acid of the grapefruit into, uh, into a kind of a candy stick, Uh-huh. so, uh. Huh, see I am not, that's interesting. One of the things I do not make is dessert. Uh-huh. And, uh, my husband accuses me of putting him through dessert depravation, because, uh, you know, we have ice cream, or something like that. And that's why when I took, did this experiment for the company we had about three weeks ago, it was just a total fiasco. Uh-huh. Huh. Uh, everything else was fine, but that was a fiasco. Well, you have to put eggs and everything, don't you. Or, Uh, yeah. Yeah, just about. Yeah. And I, I also don't have much of a sweet tooth, so I can live without, live without dessert for the most part. Uh-huh. Use about half the sugar, or make everything diet. Yeah. Uh, do you cook for yourself or do you cook for others? Mostly, I just cook for myself. Yeah. Well, when I was single, I used to, uh, I think my favorite meal was a, a baked potato. Uh-huh. And, It's easy, that's for sure. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And, I mean, I never put anything other than a little butter on it, if I had, or if I had a little cheddar cheese, sometimes I would grate that up. Yeah, I always put cheese on them. And, uh, it's amazingly satisfying. Uh-huh. Yeah, but, you know, there's hardly any, I guess there's hardly any protein, it's mostly starch. So, it fills you up and then the cheese has to make up for whatever the protein you get. Yeah. I I did not say it was nourishing, but it was satisfying. Oh, yeah, it really is. And, Then you have to make a salad or, Yeah, yeah but, you know, I never really enjoyed cooking for myself, so I ate very simply. Uh-huh. And I was, that's why, I think that's one reason I like having people over, because I could try things. I mean, I must be a frustrated chemist or something like that. Right. Cause cooking is a little bit like, like being in a chemistry lab. Uh-huh. And, uh, Except you get to taste the product instead . Yes, and have an explosion. Fill them up or blow up. Sometimes it blows up anyway. Yeah. I, I once had a, an old boy friend over to, to dinner when I was recently staying with my parents. And, uh, I had this wonderful recipe and you were supposed to make a, a toffee like substance for a pie by, uh, boiling evaporated milk three hours, and it does turn to toffee inside the can. Oh, yeah And, uh, the only problem was, when I opened the can, it just flew all over the place. It was on the ceiling, on the walls and me. And, and the boy friend thought, it was, he was supposed to be there at six o'clock, not seven o'clock, so just at the time all this happened, the door bell rang and there he was. And I had to have my, my, my, my dad sort of entertain him for a, for for awhile while my mother and I scrambled to clean everything up. Right. Uh-huh. Did you let the can cool off? Uh, I really do not remember, that was about ten years ago, I just remember how embarrassing it was. Yeah. And I have made, I have made it since, I've, I, and several times before and I never had that problem, just that one time. Huh. Yeah. And, uh, he, he was a gourmet cook, he was kind of pushy too. Acted like, he came from San Francisco and he had a very sophisticated taste. I, I really wanted to impress the heck out of him and, and well, it was a memorable evening anyway. Right. Uh, as far as, I, I do enjoy cooking so, I was awfully glad I was given this, Are you ready? Uh-huh. She didn't announce that to you? Oh, I didn't, I didn't quite hear all of it. Oh, I see. That's fine. Um, I think, uh, that's pleasurable for all of us, if we choose the right restaurant Right So, what are your thoughts on dining out? Well, I, I really choose restaurants more for the quality of food than anything else. Not for the price? Well, a little bit for the price, Okay. but, uh, I think that as far as quality of food goes the some of the most expensive places I've been had the the, really the, the worst quality of food. Uh-huh. The Really? Okay. Really. Um, a lot of places that even don't look, don't look like much. Uh-huh. Some of the, some of the best food I have ever had was out of a, outside or inside of a place that we drove up and I was like, I'm not eating in there Are you nuts? And, uh, we went in and it was the it was the most wonderful food. My word, it's like mama in the back kitchen, huh? Yeah. Oh. I'm serious. Yeah. Um, a lot of, uh, one place that we went just recently uh, was to Atchafalaya. Uh-huh. No, that's not right. That's not right. That's not right. Okay. someone in the What's the name of that restaurant? in the background Where at? . someone in the background The Hari Krishna. in the background relies Oh. Kalachandji's . Kalachandji's. It's all vegetarian, and it, it was just fabulous. I mean, my husband was aghast because I ate turnip greens and liked it. Wow. And where was that at, near your, Um, Kalachandji's. It's, uh, it's a Hari Krishna run restaurant. Where, is it in Dallas? Yes. Is it in the phone book? Uh, I think so. It should be. Do you know how to spell it? Uh, it starts with a K. Okay. So K A L A, I think, C H A N D. Kalli , K A L L I? Okay. That should get you close enough to, to be able to find it. I think it's, uh, probably listed in the restaurants, you know. Uh-huh, section, yes, uh-huh. But it's, uh, it's just fabulous food. What about fast foods? Do you have a preference if you were going to, eat a fast food? Well, we like Arby's. As far as, fast food goes. You do, like Arby's? See I don't like Arby's. Oh, really? Why? No, because they use everything they can and make this into pressed whatever. They use the, they use the insides of the animals, heart and liver and they, they form it, and they make it look like roast beef, and I said, no, thank you. Oh, no, no, no. Someone has been lying to you. What they use is roast beef. Well, that's not what I heard, from one of, somebody that was supposed to know what they were talking about. That's what, Oh, my goodness. Uh-huh. I'm surprised. My dad worked for Arby's for several years. Really? Yeah. Unless somebody is trying to blackball them. Well, that's happened before. Uh-huh. But we like good uh, we're, we like Mexican food. Okay. And stuff like that. And so, um, How about the health food, uh, restaurants? Well, like this one but it's probably not advertised as such, is it? Or, A health food? Uh-huh. Health food, uh, restaurants that, Like, like, name one Well well, like, um, well, I can't really think of any off the top of my head right now because there's so few and far between. I'm not sure what you're talking about. But they ought, there are restaurants that cater to the people that are very health conscious. You know, as far as their cholesterol levels and their, their fat content and, you know, the amount of calcium and so forth that are in each product and they list them. Now there's one restaurant that does that and it's called Rodolfo's over on Preston Road and Royal Lane I believe. Huh. And they have very good food over there. I don't guess I've ever been to anything like that so, I really don't have anything to compare it to. Uh-huh, uh-huh. They do list, um, you know, list the fat, It would be good I think, Uh-huh, uh-huh. uh, I don't know how expensive they are. It sounds like that it would probably, Well, it was pretty reasonable. I, it was around ten dollars for lunch. Okay, which is kind of high for lunch I guess. For one person? Yes. Oh Yes, uh-huh. A bit Yeah. Uh, but, um, you were served by maitre d's and, and, uh, um, men waiters. Yeah, I, I won't really be interested in going to, in going there. Because, I feel like I'm, I'm paying, you know, five dollars for the food probably and five dollars for something that I could get along quite well without Well, if you're looking for a nice, Uh-huh. Well, I guess if you were having, if you were trying to impress somebody like taking somebody that you hadn't seen for a long time and wanted to show them a good restaurant. It's a special occasion, type thing. Yeah. Maybe, maybe that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I could see that, then maybe. Uh-huh. And now the Red Lobster I found is very nice at lunchtime. Yeah, I like the, the seafood that they, when they had it, you know, the broiled, Because they're, Well, they have lunch specials that you can't, you can't beat that price, uh, if you went to a cafeteria. Yeah. Probably that's true. But I know a lot of their, a lot of their specials sometimes are fried things, that you can't really get away from the fried, Well, I had the, I had a broiled chicken breast and it was excellent. It was a marinated, broiled chicken breast and it was Now why would you go to a seafood restaurant to eat chicken? Oh, it was, That's one of my husband's pet peeves. He doesn't understand why somebody would go to a seafood place and eat either chicken or steak, you know. Well, I've never had catfish either in a restaurant because I'm from the north and that was a no no. Oh, really? And I haven't gotten over that from the north. Oh, catfish is wonderful. I know they say that, that is, Oh, really. but I'm, but they've got all these caution signs now on fish Really. and so I kind of stay Why? Because of all the pollution in the lakes and the, everywhere. I mean there isn't any safe haven anymore for fish. Oh. Huh. and especially, uh, in Wisconsin and Michigan they say, no, buying of our fish. That's too bad, because I'm probably not going to stop eating it I, Well, yeah. So I am, and the, the best brand of chicken to buy is the, uh, Pilgrim Pride because they don't use all these hormones to remote , uh, unnatural growth in their products. Uh-huh. Yeah. So I mean, we have to be on the lookout if we want to stay healthy. That's true. So I'm, I, you know, I, Oh, on one hand I see that and on the other hand, uh, my older sister remembers when, uh, at one point they were taking radioactive wastes and storing them in tin barrels which I guess, had a half-life of, oh, five years if they sit empty on dry land. Uh-huh. Yeah. Corrode. Huh. So they're putting radioactive waste in it which reduces it dramatically. Uh-huh. And then they take these things that will rust and they throw them in the ocean which is going to speedup the process even more. Well, I'd like to get ahold of some engineers and knock their heads together if it would do any good. Oh. And then they wouldn't think. They were floating around so they shot holes in them to sink them. Oh, dear. And this is before I was born. Wow. So, I mean we're taking thirty years ago, this happened, Sure. Yeah. and, and who's, you know, the tuna is radioactive to a certain extent. That's right. Everything we eat. Everything, everything we eat should have a label on it You can't get away from it so I think, To some point, Yeah. yeah, you know. So there's, you know, there's some things I think we can we, you know we can't avoid for health purposes and some things that we just need to like, you know, this is not in my control. Well, you know, So I'm either going to be, I'm either going to starve to death or I'm going to get over it and just go ahead and eat as healthily as I possibly can, you know. Well, Becky, you know, even if you lived off your own land, that you would have to put caution signs, Do you use credit cards a good bit? I do, and I wish I didn't Uh. Before I got married, uh, about the only credit cards I used were gas cards, because I didn't like carrying, you know the cash with me all the time, Uh-huh. but I just never wanted to get into the hang-up of using credit cards and having all those bills hanging over my head. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. In fact, I remember getting my first MasterCard, and the only reason I got it was, you know, there was a while years ago when you couldn't cash a check without like a MasterCard or VISA. Okay. Absolutely. Right. And so that's why I went ahead and got one. Uh-huh. It was a mistake Yeah. Well, actually, I, I have a whole wallet full of credit cards. Yeah. I don't use them very often. Um, oh, I may use, I try to use at least one gasoline credit card a week, and try to use a different one, so that, you know, I have, keep those active. Yeah. I have a half a dozen department store credit cards, and I, I'll use those if I need to run in and buy a dozen pair hose right quick or something like that, Yeah. just enough to keep them active. My biggies are the VISA, MasterCard and Discover. Yeah. And for the most part, I had used those for like, uh, charging airline tickets, where I can pay for those, you know, you could make the transaction over the telephone, Yeah. or I fly Southwest a good little bit, which means I can just run that card through the machine. That's right. Uh, and it saves a lot time. And that's what I was using it for. However, we had a, had a, a very pressing financial family crisis, which said you have no alternative, you must have the money to do this with, and you do not have any other options Uh-huh. so I charged all three of those cards up, and right now I am paying and praying. I know how that goes But, uh, and that's exactly what we've, I mean I have to say I have been thankful for them, because there were times when it was just like that when we had to have the money Uh-huh. Uh-huh Uh-huh. Uh-huh. we had no way around it Uh-huh. and the only way to do it is go get, you know, an advance on a card Uh-huh. Uh-huh and so like you were paying for it, but it's one of those I'm glad it was there. Well, I never did, Right. I never did use it for an advance. Most of my charges were, uh, medications. Oh, I see. Didn't have cash for the medications or it was, uh, the doctor would accept MasterCard or VISA. Oh. And, uh, a lot of times you can get by using those for, uh, uh, different labs will use those charge accounts for, What, Do you find now, though, that even some doctors won't? I've found some doctors that say, you know, I was so used to doctors or medical care places taking credit cards, and so many of them don't anymore. Uh-huh So, Well, I have not, like I said, that was just one period in my life where that was critical. Yeah. I don't generally charge. I say well, I need a checkup in six months, and I kind of set that aside and just pay for it. Right. I'm reimbursed on insurance anyway, and I can handle, you know, paying for it and waiting two or three weeks. Right. Getting into a credit card fiasco is easy. Oh, it is It is easy, and it's very difficult to get out. I just cringe every month when I see those interest charges. I know. I say wow, I, I ought to go to the credit union and borrow the money and pay this off. Big deal, I'm saving two percent. Right. But, you know, the interest, even though it bothered me, it didn't used to bother me so much, because, of course, you could list it on a Schedule A and you got all your interest, you know towards your tax deductions, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and now they've messed that up to where it really is a financial burden to have to pay it. Right. And but it, but it is easy to get into a credit card problem, and I, I think about young people that think, you know, there's kind of that feeling of hey, it's so neat, I have my first credit card Uh-huh. and, and they just don't understand that you still have to be able to make the payments. Oh, yeah, and it's not just paying back what you've charged, You know. it's paying that and half again. That's right. That's right. Uh, you send in, uh, uh, fifty dollars, you're going to pay twenty, twenty-five in interest charges. That's right. You only get half of that paid for the principal, so I'm looking at three or four years before my balances are cleared on those charge accounts. Right. Now, as the monthly payment, uh, I mean as the monthly payment amount goes down, that will free up more cash where I can continue to make the larger payments. Right. Uh, as long as I don't have a major disaster where I have to use it again, I can, I can do that. Right. Meantime, though, I'm not building any reserves. No, and that's frightening to me. Anything that I could be put aside into savings is going for interest on those cards. That's right. That's frightening, too. Uh-huh. Uh, I, I just, I, my husband is in business for himself Uh-huh. I work for T I but he doesn't Uh-huh. and, uh, we're, uh, I, I've kind of got my fingers crossed. I've learned when you're in business for yourself, that, that you don't count on something until it's happened you know, Uh-huh. but he's got some, you know, it's those once in a lifetime cases, and after ten years he's got two of them Uh-huh. and they should pay through next month, and, and we're both just looking at each other every night going man, that will pay off like both of our MasterCards, you know. Oh, right, right. And, you know, just in one lump, because that's the only way you can do it, is to have a big chunk of money Uh-huh, uh-huh. or it's like you say, you pay forever. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And so I'm really looking forward to that. Well, you either need a big chunk of money or you need a large reserve so that if you do charge on that account, you can make a single lump sum payment. That's right. Now, those are very handy Right. if you have the reserves and you can make lump sum payments, sharp, good no problem Sure, yeah. I agree. because you're living on the other guy's money for a while. That's right But I can promise you that those credit card companies are going to ride high on my money I know and, And it just irks me. I say my gosh, I had to work three hours just to pay the interest on this, and I've got three cards. I've lost a whole day of my life to interest. I know. You're like what am I working for today Yeah, yeah. And that just blows my mind. I, my house is paid for, my car is paid for, I've got some home improvements, but even the payment on that doesn't equal the payment on one of those credit cards. It's incredible. Uh-huh. Boy, I wish I could say that my house and, well, my car is paid for now. It was wrecked three weeks ago, but, but you see again the credit cards came in handy. Uh-huh. I had to have the money to pay rental car, pay this, pay that till the insurance company pays back. That's right. I think that is a good, healthy, safe use of credit cards. And, uh, Yeah. Because you know that's coming back to pay it off. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, I went to a seminar, they said don't ever use your credit card for consumable items. You only use credit cards for investments. Right. I said for crying out loud, if I had the money to you know, if I could do some investing, you'd have to invest at better than twenty percent earnings in order to pay for the payments on the credit card. It's, Sure. That's right. That doesn't make a bit of sense to me. I thought God dang, where is his pencil? That's right. Well, the smart half was don't pay it for consumables, don't, you know, if you can't afford to go to a restaurant and eat out and pay cash, don't put it on a credit card you know, That's right. and, and so that, that is the smart half. Uh-huh. But, uh, and I can remember before we had kids, we did that a lot, but it was no biggie you know, because we could pay it off, Uh-huh. while after kids, and you're paying child care and other things, all of a sudden it's not so easy to pay off, so we cut that out real quick Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, but I, I do like having them there. There is a bit of security in having the credit cards and knowing that in times of crisis, they are there to use Uh-huh. but you have to have a very good sense of saving, and or common sense not, not to get yourself in trouble. Uh-huh. Uh-huh You also have to have that willingness to commit to that because you're committing a good portion of your life and income when you do it. Uh-huh. Well, well, Pat, did you vote in the last election? Most assuredly. Oh, you did? Yes ma'am. I've voted in every major election since I turned twenty-one. Oh, that's great. Well, why do you think, people don't. Don't always vote for somebody. I sometimes vote against somebody That makes sense too. I think that a lot of it is, uh, I know that my late husband was simply indifferent. He didn't feel like he had any say. There was too many people, too many other votes. For example, you know, he'd say, Well, look, you and I see different sides of the fence. If I go vote you'll cancel my vote. I said, I sure will. And, He said, So, I just won't vote. I said, Then mine counts, because you could cancel mine too. Then does, Yeah, I think, I think, that's a lot of people, just indifferent I know that I've moved around a lot. Uh-huh. In the past, um, three years I've had three different addresses. Uh-huh. Each time I change jurisdictions or whatever. Sure. So I just haven't, because, I mean, graduate school or whatever, so I haven't kept track of it. I did, when I lived steadily in one community, I always, I voted. Uh-huh. But this past time I didn't. Well, actually I voted it for the presidential election, but then I didn't vote uh, I guess, in the two year for, uh, some legislators and things Uh-huh. and, Well characteristically, in some, in the local elections typically those people who vote are those who feel very strongly about an issue. Uh-huh. Right, uh-huh. If I do not feel very strongly about an issue, then I see no reason to go vote. Right, yeah, and that's probably one reason why I voted in the the last election, but not really this one Uh-huh. Uh-huh. because this one really didn't matter that much. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's probably true. Well, of course, of course listening to government, the instructors, you'll find out that everything matters, but then you could go crazy worrying about everything. Well, you know, they also say that most people vote their local politics, that, that local is far, much more important than, uh, national issues. Well that's the way you get to national Uh-huh. and that's the way you make changes about your neighborhood, Right. Oh, I definitely think so. Uh, I know that I have been involved in preparing and in, in, uh, carrying out a lot of the local petitions that take place. Uh-huh. Even something so simple as getting a street light in between lights on the end of the block. Right. Uh-huh. But it makes a big difference when it's the difference in having a child run over in the dark. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. And, uh, it took a close call to wake us up and cause us to take that kind of action, Uh-huh. and that's completely unnecessary. In another particular case they were trying to put in a, um, senior citizen's home in, in an area very near our neighborhood, Uh-huh. but if you just cross that major street, the character of the neighborhood changes, and it's less savory. Uh-huh. Okay. And that, I was just very, I felt very strongly about that, those people simply did not have access to safety, to security and they were at risk. Uh-huh. And it was for elderly people who lived alone, and they were going to put a cluster of, of houses there for them. But even clustering together for the elderly does not ensure safety. No, most now, that's true, And all it, all it did was to, in my judgment, make them, easier targets Prepare them to be, victims, yes. Uh-huh, yeah, easier targets, and so we, we did get a petition together and we very strongly resisted it, and it was placed in a actually, it was placed clear, closer to my neighborhood Uh-huh. but it was on the, right side of the street. Right side, of the tracks, yeah. And, uh, it, it, I think that they're, they're much more comfortable there. Uh-huh. Did they, Uh, I haven't seen too much crime in my neighborhood, although we have a good crime watch program Uh-huh. but it's, it's very serious just across the street. Yeah. Did, um, did you think, I know that Texas's last gubernatorial, uh, election probably brought out a lot of voters. Well. Did that, did that seem to, because that that got national attention, national attention, I guess, having a woman governor running against a man and whatever. Well. No, I don't think it had to do to with woman running against man. I think it had to do with dirt running against dirtier. Uh-huh. And that's it Yeah. it was a dirty election. People were calling each other, uh, names and every bit of the trash, it was a, it was a dirty campaign. It was a dirty, mud slinging campaign. Well, you know, what's funny, up here, uh, I live, I see a lot of Virginia news Uh-huh. and I guess, uh, Senator Robb and Governor Wilder are active right here, Uh-huh. and they have some type of wire tapping problem going on, Uh-huh. and the people in Virginia are complaining, see Robb is married to Lynda Bird Johnson Uh-huh. and the people in Virginia are complaining that he is, he's using Texas politics in Virginia Uh-huh. and they're really complaining big time, because they said that We don't have that type of trashy politics up here like they do in Texas all the time. Well, of course, now, that's not all the time. So you, you guys were getting yeah, We've had some pretty We were having some pretty healthy uh, campaigns that were based on issues there for two or three of the gubernatorial races you were getting slandered, I think, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, I, historically, Texas has had mud and muddier campaigns Yeah. I mean, it's just, I think that eventually, you know, the better people have sensibilities and they vote on those people who are least likely to do damage. Unfortunately, that's not always the way it should be. Uh-huh. You don't want to vote for the person who is least likely to do damage. You want to do the one who can do the most good. Do the most good, yeah, that's true. And, uh, I guess that's why, I know that, um, I'm previously from Pennsylvania Uh-huh. and Dick Thornburg who's now the attorney general is going to run for senator because, uh, John Heinz, a senator from Pennsylvania, died in an airplane crash Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I know that they're expecting a gigantic turn out to landslide Dick Thornburg into, as, into the senate because they don't like the the governor's political appointee, or whatever Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and they're almost expecting landslide out, uh, turn out, right now for for that election. Uh-huh. Okay, so you So, you see, that's very negative motivation isn't it Uh-huh. Yeah. isn't that too bad. We really could use a little positive motivation Uh-huh. hey, we think this guy can really make some changes and we're going to support him. Yeah. That was true in a lot of cases in, in a couple of the older sixties campaigns. Uh-huh. Uh. What, in Texas, was that when, you, No, I'm talking about national campaigns. That's, that's true. Yeah. Uh, even when John Kennedy was elected, there were so many strikes against him, but there were people who believed he could make a difference. Right. Now, that's not to say what has transpired or what really was, I'm saying that's how it was perceived. Uh-huh. that's, right, that's perception, that's true. And, uh, Because the, those were big political, that was a big, um, turn out election. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Uh-huh. And, and it was people going to vote for, I think, more than those who voted against. Uh-huh. I know, I know that in my own, uh, area of people, whom I knew and how they were going to vote, they didn't go to vote against, uh, a politician as they did a little bit later when Nixon was running. Uh-huh. They went to vote against the less of, lesser of the two evils in certain cases. Yeah. But I think that one was one that you had some very strong feelings among people, Uh-huh. and they voted their convictions. Uh-huh. Well, I think that also happened with Ronald Reagan. Absolutely. He was he was landslided in You're right. and people really saw that was, There we go. Uh, so, uh, what do you consider the most important benefit besides salary? Boy, I, I don't know. That's a, that's a, a tough one. Uh, uh, and it's, uh, I suppose it's, it's changes as, uh, as my perception changes of, of what, uh, I'm getting gypped on and That week, right. this week or this month, uh, uh, uh, we're just, uh, going through, uh, uh, well, there's a couple of changes to the, to the, uh, our health plan and, uh, and I guess right now the one in my mind is health insurance but, uh, If I step back I'm not sure I'd, I'd, uh, say that. Um. What, what about you? Well, uh, I, right now I'm in sort of a weird situation. I'm a graduate student that, uh Oh, okay. I don't have that many benefits per se Yes, okay, Uh, sort of get, But, but, on the other hand, one of these days you'll be out looking for a, Yeah, yeah. My wife has a real job and I can see from her angle. Uh, uh, I think health insurance is real, real important. I've, I've, I've, I've discovered. Yeah. I mean, even in my case it's sort of, they're really, uh, a pain in the neck about it up here because the university makes me buy a small, they, they have a mandatory, they have what they call the mandatory portion of their health insurance Yeah. they offer insurance to everyone, but then the basics that are major medical, they, they force you to buy here. Now I'm covered by my wife's anyway, but I still pay them a hundred dollars a semester for, uh, mandatory. Right, okay. So that's sort of annoying that I'm paying for something I'm not getting in that case. I'd rather that, that went to something else. And, and, yeah, and the benefits you're getting for that hundred dollars a semester, uh, you, you never use because you just use your wife's. Right. I mean, uh, and, and, and it turns out that actually, uh, the benefits they, you know, that, that hundred dollars sort of would, would entitle me to go to the university health services here, you know, and, and use them and it turns out that I do think they're they're excellent physicians there. So, through my wife's H M O, we've registered for them as our primary care physicians so we go there anyway, so they're, they're, so if they were to bill, which, which I believe they don't, but if they were to bill the H M O for my business, they could, in, in theory, be getting paid twice for the same thing. But they're not, thank God. Uh, but anyway, uh, otherwise, I would imagine, uh, good vacation is, is important, although I don't know if that's really a deciding factor for many people on a job. I don't, you know, Uh, yeah, I, it, uh, the, the, that, that's a, a negative about, uh, where, where I am in that, uh, well, I came out of, uh, I worked five years civil service and there it's, uh, if I remember right, you well, they, they accumulate it as hours per week or something like that and, or hours per pay period or something, but, anyway it works out as I remember basically to, uh, you start at, at, uh, two and a half weeks or something like that, and it, at three years, uh, it goes to four weeks I believe, and I, I'm coming up on, I've been at T I now, uh, uh, coming up on fifteen years and it, and it just, uh, this year is going to go to four weeks here so, Oh, wow. Uh, uh, So that's really, Yeah, that's a, that, that is a, a, a negative, but, uh, but, not, probably not at, probably not a deciding factor, but, uh, Yeah. I mean, I don't, you know, I don't, I know my wife, uh, I think she gets, you know, about two weeks a year, I guess Yeah. but they're pretty good about it if she wants other time off. They, you know, usually let her, Well, that, that, yeah, that's, that's the thing is how, how flexible they are for comp time kinds of kinds of things Yeah. and, uh, uh, that's the, the, the, uh, yeah. That's a, why it hasn't made all that much difference is because the, with the civil service, that you could take, you could take your vacation in increments of one hour Oh, really. and, uh, and, but, uh, there wasn't, uh, anything as far as comp time, so you tend to dribble away a week of it a year, uh, you know, an hour here a couple hours there kind of a thing. Just, yeah. Yeah. Uh, whereas, uh, here I, uh, things are free enough to, that, uh, the, the actual vacation time per year probably isn't that, isn't that much different, but, uh, But, uh, That's, well, that's a that's reasonable, I think. Yeah. I think the, I think the health insurance, I think that's, that's going through changes everywhere to, uh, the, they've, uh, uh, gone through a couple years ago here where they, uh, will cover you much better if you go to their designated hospitals and now they're in the process of developing a list of, of, uh, designated doctors, uh, so that just routine visits, uh, they will compensate much better for, if you go to their designated doctors. Yeah. Which, which, uh, my assumption is that, that will not include my doctor since, uh, he keeps real busy without having to, to, uh, Weigh all sorts of other things. Yeah. Yeah, I think, I was watching something the other day about that actually on, uh, a news special or something like that and they were saying how in some sense that, that's good because that makes health care affordable for everyone and makes, you know, lowers the cost of everything and all insurance and in other cases it's actually bad because it winds up people, you know, don't get to, they have much less of a choice in who they can use and stuff like that so, Well, and, and I think in the, in the, in the much bigger picture than, uh, to some extent hospitals and doctors have some, uh, fixed amount and, if, if you don't work for somebody that's got enough clout to, to, uh, uh, give you, you know, give you these rates and make this agreement then, uh, you're not covered by that, Uh-huh. and, and the added costs get passed on to you, so uh, I'm not, I'm not sure, Right. it, my, uh, one of the phrases I use is that, that it's moving towards, uh, private socialized medicine. That, uh, in terms of the negatives of, of always heard in terms of socialized medicine, you have no choice on who you, who you go to for a doctor and things like that, uh, where it's the government that decides, here it's, it's, uh, Least off, who decides. Yeah, uh, and, but it, but it's the, the same, the effect is the same as the, you, you, uh, get left out of the loop more. I, I, I know that their, uh, idea is that, uh, if, if you have to pay a bigger share, you'll, you'll be more careful about spending the, spending the money and, and helping hold down the costs Right. but, uh, I, I, I don't know, in terms of, in terms of, uh, the health care, I, uh, find that, that, uh, although I've, I've been lucky enough to never have any big problems, but that, that, uh, the cost is not a, a big factor. I want to, I want to know if the doctor's doing the right thing to make me get better. Right. You want to know that, that, that when you pick a doctor, you know, you, you could pick one who you could have some sort of a feeling about. Yeah. Yeah and, Yeah, that, that's the, Okay, do you want to start? Okay, uh, I haven't, I don't know that much about the what the possible choices could be about reorganizing the trial by jury, but, uh, I think it works better than many other systems, like having a judge decide. Uh-huh. I can't think of many alternatives that could be more fair than having twelve people decide, although it's difficult because they all have to be unanimous. Now that, do you, do you agree, that they should all be unanimous? I don't, Or even, even in, uh, like they said, you know, lesser, you know, trials, you know, lesser convictions, do you think that they should be all unanimous still? I don't know, I don't know if I feel, I don't feel real strongly about that. If the, uh, the thing is, though, I, I didn't think even if it was a lower conviction, I didn't think that you could, uh, I didn't think that you really had to have a, a jury Uh-huh. Unless, I guess, if you request one you can. But I think, yeah, making it unanimous sometimes might, uh, let, the only thing, it might let more people get off. I don't think it would convict any more people. Uh-huh. And we have so many people already, you know, the jails are already overloaded. Well, the thing is they stay until they all are unanimous. I mean if one is determined that it's, you know, that he feels that he's, you know, going against the other eleven, they all stay until everyone agrees. So I don't know if it would leave anyone getting off more unless someone just gets tired of fighting, you know, just gives in. Yeah. Well, if it's, no, but they, they, what if they never agree. Doesn't it just, uh, do they have to go back and do a whole new trial or, And they have to stay in until they all agree Agree yeah. I don't know, I'm not sure if they go, I mean to twelve new people or what they do exactly, but I do know for sure that all twelve have to agree before he can either, you know, either he or she can either go free or to jail, either one. Yeah, and that maybe on the lesser crimes that aren't too severe, that's a little stringent Uh-huh. Especially because there's twelve. The thing about it is, I think jury selection, too, a lot of times, uh, the lawyers are able to pick and choose who they want on the jury and they can sway them that way, too. That's, that's just it. I don't understand. You're supposed to, you know, go in if you have, you know, like if you've never heard of the people before or anything, but I don't understand with racialism and the way religion is and everything else how you can get people that are total, totally impartial to it. I know. I don't think, well, I guess you really can't, but the other thing is when they have the sensational trials, how they get people who aren't swayed by the news either. Uh-huh. So, uh, but then, again, you know, they, the, one of the questions they asked is, should it just be decided by a judge and that's kind of tricky, too, because a lot of positions the judges are in, they, they can't be fired, you know, they have to, they stay till they retire Uh-huh. and sometimes they're pretty partial in their judgements, too Yeah, I agree. I don't think it should be left up to the judge alone. Not only, you know, that they have to stay in there, but, hey, how many times have you heard of judges being bought over. I know. You know, so it, it's, I, I think, I think in, in the end, the judge has the presiding, you know, uh, vote. I think he can be, you know, I, I don't know if it's the way it is in real life, but I've seen it on T V where the juries go one way and the judge totally finds it obnoxious and he completely, you know, goes the other way. Yeah. Now, I'm not sure if the judge is allowed to do that in everyday life or what. I think in some cases they are. Uh-huh. But they know they get to decide how severe the sentence is if it's, you know, Yeah. so that's another thing where they have the power, but maybe juries could be less than twelve people or would that be more fair or less fair. Maybe there should be more than twelve people I don't, Oh, oh, my God. If there were more than twelve, can you imagine how long they'd be sitting I know. I don't know. I, I think it's just, I don't, I mean, I think it's as fair as it can possibly get, but I just think it's really you know, I mean, some cases go on for years, you know. That's true, and I've never been on jury duty, but they have to keep going and going and going. And lose their, not lose their jobs, but not go to work. Uh-huh. Yeah. I, I don't know how it could be more fair. Course, I don't know. Maybe maybe they should be asking someone that's been on, on trial before. It could be, Really, I've never seen one in real life either so I don't have, you know, I don't know that much about it, but I think, it seems that we have a, a pretty fair system compared to other countries. I don't know how we could make it more fair. I really don't. Uh-huh. The unanimous vote is questionable, though. And, and how, how many cases get juries might want to be reviewed, too. Uh-huh. Yeah. Because, uh, I don't know if you should really have a jury for a small infraction. But I'm not sure who gets them Uh-huh. I don't know anything I know. I don't know that much about it either. I just, I don't know. I, I guess maybe if they'd go and they'd ask someone in jail, you know, how they can make it more fair for them or not, but then again, maybe they should be there so that is fair. Right. I don't, I, I don't think anyone's going to come up with a better way. No, whoever came up with this was pretty smart because it was pretty, uh, unique I think, when they started it. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, how long do we need to talk? Do you know? Oh, I think we can hang up anytime Okay. Uh, in, uh, what do I do now? Do you know? Anything, or just wait for someone else. No, I don't what else to say, so. Okay, well it was nice talking with you. It was nice talking to you, too. Bye. Thanks. Bye-bye. Well, how do you feel about spot spot testing for drugs? Well, basically I think it would be a good idea myself. I, uh, I think if somebody's not on drugs, they have no reason, you know, to be afraid of it. Uh-huh. Uh, I do think that there has to be some controls, uh, like, I don't think one test positive should, uh, be, uh, the end of it, you know. Right. I, I think they should test more than once. Yeah, it's, it's it's refreshing to hear somebody, that has a similar opinion as mine. It, I mean, all these people that are against it that may, you know, they may not even be on drugs. They, they call it an invasion of privacy. Uh-huh And I don't see that. To me that just doesn't sound like a valid argument because this company is paying you good money that you're working for That's right. and they, I believe that, they have the right to know if you're using a, a dangerous substance Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, There's so many jobs that, uh, really have other people's lives in their hands or even their own life and, you know, and it's, uh Uh-huh. uh, how can you do anything about a problem besides if you don't know about it? Right. You know, and I just, um, I, I think there definitely needs to be some control to it. Right . I guess it is possible to have a false positive report. Yes. No, I, I, I agree that, you know, you, there needs to be a, a well thought out, sane approach to, how to administer that program. Uh-huh. Just because you, you, something can get mixed in the mail, or uh, the chemicals could react incorrectly than, than what you would expect them to. Uh-huh. And, yeah, you, you know Or somebody's test gets mixed up with somebody else's. Right. I mean, those things do happen. Yeah. Uh, I certainly wouldn't want people's lives ruined uh, wrongly. Right, and, you know, I've the, the, the company that I work for, uh, has just recently, well, you know, within the last couple of years, instituted for all new hired employees, they submit to a urine test. Uh-huh And, they, they say that there's been, you know, they, they, they've also implemented random testing. Uh-huh. And , it hasn't happened to me in the couple of years that, you know, it's been in progress Uh-huh. but, uh, I, I fully agree with it and there's, you know, there's all these memos going around about folks that are disgruntled and feel it's an invasion of privacy, and I, I agree with you. Uh-huh. If, if, if you feel it's an invasion of privacy, you've, you've probably got something you're trying to hide Yeah and you maybe need to look for some other type of job to do that, uh, doesn't require the testing. Yeah. Right. Uh, to me, it's, to me it's not an invasion or privacy. I think it's people have a right to know if, if, uh, their, their life maybe's in jeopardy or, uh, Yeah. Or, the quality of their product. Their work, the work they're doing for their company. Uh, those things are all affected. If not immediately, it certainly does eventually. Yeah. I think that's where a lot of the problem is at first. It doesn't seem to, uh, bother the quality of work Uh-huh. but eventually it does. Right, because it usually requires more and more of that substance that you're misusing to get the same effect. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um. Course, I feel the same way on the AIDS problem. I, I don't think that's an invasion of privacy, that's the only communicable disease that they're not allowed to test for you know, and it's destroying a lot of people's lives and then and one of the few that they don't have a cure for Yeah, and it's, you know, it's, it's destroying people's lives and I, I think that person, plus anybody in danger should, should know about it and be aware of it. Yeah. I don't know. It's, it's kind of hard to I guess the gay movement has had a lot to do with considering that, that, uh, an invasion of privacy. Of course, that's not supposed to be what we're talking about today, I guess. So, I kind of get off on a tangent here. Yeah Uh, do you work for, uh, Texas Instruments? Yes, I do. Uh-huh. And I'm, I'm down in the, the central, but I don't know how familiar you are with Texas, but I'm in a, we live in a town, uh, near a town called Temple. Which is right in between Waco and Austin on the freeway. Um. Oh, that's probably why, my brother did live in Grapevine, Texas. That's near Dallas. Right. Uh-huh. We're probably about two, two and a half hours south of him. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So. It's pretty hot down there probably. Oh my! Yeah It's, actually, we got about two inches of rain in about three hours, yesterday. Oh, did you really? And it's cooled things down somewhat. Oh, that's great. It's getting more humid now, but, Uh-huh. We, we need rain real bad up here. Uh-huh It's, uh, everything's really getting dry. It's, uh, Yeah It's been about three weeks since we've had any. Yeah. It's kind of at a dangerous level here. People hauling water, and, uh it's getting real bad. Um. Wow. So. How about that? So. Well, I hope you do get some rain up there. Um So do I I Uh, I can't think of anything else, uh. Yeah, I, I guess being in agreement kind of tends to limit the conversation you know Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I can understand I know if somebody is using drugs and doesn't think there's anything wrong with them, I can see them objecting. You know? there's a lot of people that think that there's nothing wrong with . One of the things I found interesting, it, it's funny that you mentioned that, T I is pretty much a worldwide company Uh-huh. and we have manufacturing plants all around the world including some places where the use of certain drugs that are illegal here are not illegal. Uh-huh. Um. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, they don't have to submit to drug testing like, like they do here in the States and some places abroad. Oh, I'll be darn. Yeah, I thought that was kind of interesting too. Yeah, yeah, the different cultures and that too, uh Yeah. I mean, uh, uh, from a quality standpoint, that's not, I mean, just because it's not illegal doesn't mean it doesn't affect you the same way. No, no. I'm sure it would have to affect you the same way. I, I can't think that would make any difference whether it was legal or not, Yeah. Right. it, it would still have to affect you the same way. Yeah, but, like if you're going to do business in another country, you've got to respect their rules. Uh-huh. I mean if, if, you know, that, that's the trade off. Oh yeah. You can't you go by their laws. Yeah. The same way our people have to go by their laws when they're over there. That's why a lot get in trouble because they have to follow their rules Huh and, uh some of the countries are very much against drugs Right. and you use them, you pay for it Usually with you life in some places. Yeah, a lot of them. Yeah. Where, where is it they lose the, if they steal they lose a thumb or a finger? That's right. Yeah, from the Middle East. Is that where it is? Yeah. Iraq, Iran, in that area. I thought, wow Yeah You know, that's quite a deterrent Well, in Saudi Arabia, you know, using, uh, alcohol and drugs and something like that, you get the death penalty. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's pretty strict over there Yeah. So I guess, you know, we, we have so many freedoms over here we sometimes forget about how great out country really is. Well, people tend to take the first amendment out of context. Which, which means you know, I could do anything I want to Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you can't stop me, and you know They, they abuse it is what they do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, that's, So, I don't know. I'm, I'm glad to see more and more companies implementing the policy, Okay, let's talk about schooling. Yeah. Uh, what, what contacts do you have with the public school Okay, well, I have a boy and he just went into middle school, and I have a girl, and she's in, uh, grade school, and then I have a little boy who goes to, uh, they have something just before kindergarten, and it's called Early Childhood, and I have a young a young boy in that. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. So I, I have a lot of children in, in the school system down here. Uh-huh. And, um, I think we have excellent teachers here. I am really, uh, like the like the way the teachers work with the students. Uh, I've not been so, um, happy with the schools themselves, I guess. Like, my, last year, my son and daughter were in the same grade school before he moved up to middle school, Uh-huh. and it was just packed. I mean, it was a, a fire hazard if we had any kind of assembly there with parents. Yeah. And it was just a real problem. Uh, so we had to do a bond issue and, and, um, vote to take money and either have students bussed to different schools if that's what the prefer to do, or to, uh, work on the, work for another school to be built, which is a good idea, but in the meantime, the school still has lots and lots of kids in it. Yeah, yeah. So, um, I think one thing is that would, maybe we don't have enough schools, and secondly, when we have enough schools, sometimes we can't get the, the support for the teachers that we need to pay them to keep good teachers. Well, I think that's, I think that's, uh, true. I, I've got a little different, uh, contact, but I've, I've got a, one son that graduated from high school last year and another son that's a, a sophomore this year Oh. Uh-huh. and, uh, my wife teaches kindergarten here in Richardson. Oh, great. Uh, but, in general, I, I think the, the, you know, one of the reasons that we, we, uh, the, chose to live in Richardson when we, when we came here was the, was the schools, and I think that Plano and Richardson in terms of the, uh, things seriously wrong with the public schools are not nearly to the extent that We see through the, out the country. uh, right, right. And I think, I think part of that is that, is the, the, uh, a big part of that is just the demographics, the population in those schools are, are, typically, uh, people that very much value the education and support the, the school systems Uh-huh. I think that's right. and, and, uh, although there's still some, still some problems, but, uh, I, you know, I, when I was, when I was going to school, I grew up in Iowa, and, and, in my family, school was certainly valued, but if there was ever any sort of a, uh, if if I was ever in trouble in school, I was also in trouble at home even more so, Yeah and I think that part of it is, is not exactly with the schools, but with the, with the, uh the culture that doesn't, doesn't value the education and doesn't value the schools and doesn't support, uh what the schools are, are trying to do. The home, yeah. I think that's right. It is so hard with a family system, um, either divorced or, or just one parent or just Yeah, that's true. and then, if both of them have to work, even that is a, a hard situation for the children, uh, to, to have a supportive system around them to make school work for them Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I think it's real important that the parents work with the school, um Yeah. I think what you said is, is really a pinpoint, though, that the student and the family life really adds or detracts what's happening in the school Yeah. Yeah. so, um, what about your wife, is she, she happy at school or . Well, uh, she, she works very hard as a kindergarten teacher. I bet she does. She has, she has two half day classes. So she has, uh, you know, on the order of twice as many students as as the teachers in the higher grades Uh-huh. Yeah. Right, right. and uh, uh, but her, her background is in, is in, uh, child development, and and, uh, so forth, Uh-huh. and so kindergarten is as high as she, as she wants to teach, and she's she's teaching rather than something else because that, that, that's the jobs that are available and that, the schedule matches, uh, you know, with our kids and things like that. Yeah, Right. So, yeah, uh, and, but, uh, the ... So, the the question had something to do with usage of personal computers, um. Yes, we are, we are talking about computers this morning. Um, I'm a firm believer in, in having lots of them. I'm sitting at my desk now with four machines in front of me. You have, you have four machines around you, boy, well, you've, uh, you've got me beat. I have a, a Zenith here Uh-huh. and at home I have a Commodore and a Zenith, Uh-huh. and my wife has an A T and T Twelve Hundred, I believe it is. Good grief. What do you do with all those? Well, actually on my Commodore I mainly study lottery numbers, would you believe. I have written some, uh, programs in Basic whereby I can select any number of, uh, drawings and from that extract the numbers that have appeared the most Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. I have another program in which I can look at the cyclical, uh, appearance of these numbers to see if there's anything that's consistent on that. Uh-huh. I have another number that allows me, another program that allows me to add all the numbers I want, and then it generates a complete set of numbers so that all combinations are covered Uh-huh. so this is what I do most of the time, uh, That's what you do on your, at least one of your machines On my Commodore on your Commodore. on my Commodore, uh-huh. And of course I have, uh, word processors, and I write all my letters Yeah. it's wonderful, uh, my, uh, thoughts in my head come in bursts of about a paragraph at a time, Uh-huh. and I get them all down, Yes. and naturally on a computer if you make a mistake, who cares, you can go back and, uh, correct it very easily Yes, yes. so that makes it very, very nice. I get all my thoughts down and go back and clean it up very, very readily. So how about you, Charles? Well, I, um, I do an awful lot of preparation of documents, um, uh, and I use word processors and, and fancier programs, I mean you know, graphics programs and simply make all of our slides, Uh-huh. some of them I do on a Sun, some I do on an X T Uh-huh. now maybe we don't call these personal computers, um, I started out with, you know, an I B M P C back in the, you know, about a year after they came out Yeah. and, you know. So, where, may I ask where you work, sir? I work for the government in Washington. I know you work for the government, I just wondering are you an , or what, what, what section of it, Of, in, in, in an obscure part of the defense department. Oh, uh-huh, because, see, that's my type of work, too. I work at the Applied Research Lab here, here on campus, Uh-huh. and, my, my field is underwater acoustics Uh-huh. and there's a lot of things we can do with computers into, uh, studying how, uh, things vary in the water, you know and, uh, taking advantage of them, and so forth, Uh-huh. so it's a very nice, very nice field, and I, I am retiring at the end of this month. End of December, excuse me. Are, are, are you, are you also a professor, or, or do you just research. Yes. I'm a, I'm an associate professor, but my, I, I'm a full time researcher Yes. and it's, uh, been a very, very interesting career, believe me. I can believe. What are you going to, what are you going to do when you stop, I mean, take all your machines with you, or, Well, uh, the ones here in the laboratory obviously I'm, they're going to stay, but I have similar machines at home. Uh-huh. I would consider doing some more consulting when I get home Uh-huh. but I have a very, very busy extra life anyway. I'm also a musician, and I play in several symphony orchestras Yes. and, uh, I run a concert band, and so I have a lot of external, uh, interests Uh-huh. Yes. but I do want to get very deeply, much more deeply into computer work, because obviously the world is going to be controlled run and operated by computers in the future. Yes. Uh-huh. There's no doubt about it, because it is really taking over, and the amount of work that we're doing and the depth of things that we are studying can basically only be handled by computers, because, uh, it's so much involved Uh-huh. and it sounds as though you're probably more aware of that than I am, because, uh, I don't get to use it in my daily work as much as I would like to. Here again let's say I'm starting to getting ready, in preparation for retirement Yeah. Yeah. and, uh, so basically what I'm doing is slowly getting rid of my things. For many, many years I had a full size acoustics, uh, study laboratory where I could take recordings and, and, uh, perform experiments with them and so forth, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and so that's gone now, and so I'm sort of out of business. Um. Uh, as I say, I worked with fellow named Steve Blazey was the fellow I worked with for many, many years Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and he is now retired. So it's been an interesting life, and computers have come in towards the latter end of that. I wish we had had computers in the very beginning. It would have been, Seem to have the topic already on top of tip of your tongue there so why don't you go ahead and start. Yeah. Isn't the, uh, the subject auto repair, for tonight? Yes, sir. Yeah. That's great. The reason I say that is pretty timely because just tonight I went out and changed the oil in my car and, that's something I like to do and, uh, something I, something I can do with now the sophisticated auto, cars we have today with all the computers and everything. Okay. Right, exactly. It's, uh, and there's not a whole lot you can do without the equipment and electronic analysis that needs to be done on a car, but I do like to get out and tinker with a car and it's something I can do still. Do you enjoy working with your car? I sure do. I, uh, in fact, the last thing I have, I've done I, I don't even remember what it is. I've had to have oil changes done myself because I live in an apartment complex, where we are not allowed to, work on our vehicle. Oh, dear. We can't even wash our vehicle, so. Oh, that's too bad. Uh, but the last thing I can remember doing I had a sixty-six Mustang, Oh. and that was all right because like you said that was pre technology days, I guess. Oh, yes. And, uh, you know, you could do a lot of it yourself still, and, uh, I didn't tinker too much with the engine. It was, it was in pretty good shape, but my main concern and what I enjoy doing was, was the interior. Oh. And, uh, it was, it was pretty shelled, uh, but it was fun. It was taking the whole thing, you know, the whole interior apart and, you know, ordering new carpeting and, uh, And did you install all that yourself? Right. Well, that was, I bet that was a lot of fun. And, It, it was. I, my wife enjoyed, uh, she, you know, helped out a little. We sanded down the, the insides of the door panels. And painted, those and, Uh-huh. Wow. Do you still have the car? No, I sold it. Well, that's too bad. A sixty-seven uh, Mustang is about the, uh, top, top year for the Mustang car. Yeah, it was fun though. It was fun. I, I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised at, at, uh, the availability of parts yet. Yes. You know, you can, you can still get factory original parts. Huh. But, uh, you pay a premium but you just don't get them. I, I didn't. I went ahead and got, you know, Japanese made duplicates or wherever they were made, Canada. Yeah. You know, prefabs and all that stuff but, Well, you know, that's, that's fine. I, I don't think that there would be, uh, you know, a, a quality difference. I don't know. You wouldn't, you didn't notice the difference, did you? Well, actually there was. Oh. And, uh, I had heard rumors that it was because they couldn't duplicate certain patterns, uh, exactly. Uh-huh. And so like the, the glove box was just a little, little wider, little harder to fit in, Oh, dear. and the carpeting, uh, stretched a little too far. Uh-huh. I had to cut some of the sides down. Oh, dear. But just, just little things. You know, one of the screws on, on the door uh, window regulators you could get three of the, three of the four to lineup. The fourth one you couldn't get to lineup no matter what you did. Oh, I bet that was frustrating, wasn't it? You know, Oh, it was but, the end result is after you put your, your panels on, nobody sees that you got one screw missing in your, your window regulator anyway and, it, it runs. It works just the same, Right, right. so. Yeah, that's, that's true. Well, you know, that, that is something I really enjoy doing. Um, working on our car too, the, uh, I just changed my oil, oil tonight but, uh, I enjoy also working on things like the brakes and, uh, in fact, just two weeks ago I helped my neighbor out on his brakes on his car. And, uh, either if it's a drum or, or disc brakes, I enjoy working on those kind of things. Disc brakes don't seem to give me too much problem but I, I honestly don't have the tools for the drum. I know you got, uh, certain spring lever that you got to have or some, uh some spring pulley or something that you got to pull that spring back over onto that notch. Yeah. Spoons and, Yes, you do Uh, my dad has got all that and, and I, I helped him when I was growing up, Uh-huh. but I don't have that stuff now, Yeah. because of the drum brakes I, you know, don't have any choice but to take them in. Yeah, that's true. And, you know, it, it doesn't, doesn't hurt every once in a while to have them done professionally too because, um, I was helping my neighbor out and one of his drums needed to be resurfaced and I don't have, of course, the equipment to do that, Sure. so he took it into a shop and had it uh, resurfaced and, and fixed that way. But, yeah, it is true, uh, you know, I did have a sixty-four Ford truck that I wish I still had and loved to get inside that and tinker around with it and work with it, because you didn't have all the extra, extra stuff, that's in there now. Uh-huh. I'll tell you what. The other, the nicest thing about them is, uh, everything was standard. You didn't have to worry about finding a metric anything. Oh, yeah. Boy, I tell you. And you know, Uh, what do you think are the major social changes? Well, What age, uh, if you don't mind me asking. Well, I'm, I'm, uh, thirty-one. Oh, well, you're, you're young. I'm in my early fifties Yeah, right so you should take my word you're young Oh, I, you know, I've seen a social change, yeah. It's definitely, for sure, and it's, uh, uh, and besides that, I came from California where social change is like, you know, Every day? Yeah. I mean every second. You know, social change in California means it takes another two or three minutes longer to get to work. Yeah, I can believe that And, uh, when I started work there in, it started, you know, actually going to work in eighty-two, I guess that's when it was. Between eighty-two and eighty-five, uh, it started out taking me an hour and fifteen minutes to get to work, and then it became, you know, an hour and a half, to, you know, some days, two hours to get to work. That's social change. That's, that's social change. Well, what do you think is, is the major social change? Oh, Right now. Yeah, that's, that's a, that's a tricky one. I'll let you go first. Okay. I think probably the big major change is the role of women. Uh-huh. I think, one, the women, uh, in the work force. Uh-huh. And I think the fact that they're becoming, uh, more, uh, how do I want to say, not necessarily politically inclined, but they're more apt to be in political offices now. Uh-huh. I think, you know, we've made great strides in that respect. Uh-huh. I think that it, thirty years ago, when, uh, I was newly married, family was very, very important. Uh-huh. Then I think we veered where the family was not as important a unit. And I think now it's revolving back full circle. I think the family unit is becoming much more important than it was. Uh-huh. Oh, I think it's, that's probably for two reasons. Uh, you know, the number one is, women wanted to get out of the house. And the second reason was, is everything costs so much more that if you don't have, you know, equal rights so that your wife gets equal pay, you can't make twice as much That's true, that's true Well, I know that economically, uh, a wife almost has to work anymore. Uh-huh. And yet, I'm also noticing, uh, in the areas that I'm working and stuff, more and more women are wanting now to stay home with the children where fifteen years ago they didn't. Uh-huh. I mean, you know, they wanted children, but they still wanted to be their own person out in the work force. Uh-huh. But I see, I am seeing women now wanting to stay home more, at least until the children are up to, you know, school age. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I find that very interesting that, that it's sort of reverting back. Yeah. Yeah, I, I've, I've, I've found that, too, you know, where the wife is married and, and, I mean, not, not married, sorry, wrong word. Where the wife has gone to school, you know and gotten a degree, spent five years out in the work force, found, you know, the, the, their husband, either at college, or whatever, Uh-huh. but still, you know, after five years, it's like, first kid Uh-huh, uh-huh. and then they're out of the work force for another ten years. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, I think most of those people are still out Probably. I think that generation, they're all at home right now and, and we won't see them back for another two or three years. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, I'm, very rarely do I meet anybody whose children are, are, you know, past that age when they've been away for a few years. Uh-huh. But, uh, it's kind of different. Yeah, yeah, it is. It, uh, I, I note that I had, taken care of my grandchildren recently while my daughter and her husband had been out of town. Uh-huh. And I do not envy these mothers or these fathers that have these, the children that they have to rush home from work and pick them up at day care, get them through their homework, get them to their soccer practice get them to their piano lessons. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I mean, that's tough. I, uh, I don't envy these young parents I'm an assistant Scout Master and that's, that's it's like, uh, yeah, parents, uh, even rarely see their kids for weekends, which is, you know, kind of rough, too. That's true. That's true. Especially now. I don't know. Yeah. And, and I'm finding, you know, running into these, uh, women that are wanting to have their children at the age of thirty-nine, forty, I'm thinking at the age of fifty-two, you're crazy Yeah. You're going to be doing your worst running around when you're fifty And you're absolutely nuts I, I know two women that, that, uh, let's see, one of them's forty-nine and the other one, well, the other one, I don't know what her age is, but I know she is, she is somewhere in that hairy age of half a century up there. And, uh, boy, I'll tell you, these are the, the go-gettingest, happiest people I've ever met. You know, because, Well, you can be go getting, but you can also get gray hairs and have a nervous breakdown I'm thirty, I'm getting gray hairs already I just know it, it would absolutely exhaust me. Maybe it's because it's my grandchildren and it's not my children. Um. Maybe that's, Okay, uh, let me see, I've got two children. One is, uh, both preschoolers, one is two and one is, uh, four. Uh-huh. So, and, uh, this is my first year off, and I've always worked, uh, from the time that they were little and so I decided to hold off on my job for a while and stay home with them and spend some more time with them which I hadn't been doing. Well, I think that's wonderful. So, My children are in college. Oh. But I teach school and I teach, uh, middle school age children. Oh. And so I see a lot of, uh, variation in what happens when kids are at home. Yeah. Uh, I have taught school ever since my children were little. Uh-huh. But the advantage of teaching school is your hours are closer to your children's and your holidays are, too. Yeah. So teaching, I think is a, a good career to have and still be able to spend a lot of quality time with kids. Well, that's what I was doing before, I was teaching for Richardson School District. Uh-huh. And, uh, it just seemed like it took a lot of my time with them being so little. Right. And it's really hard. Well, with them being as young. It was much, much harder when mine were young. Yeah. And, uh, I really didn't have that much of a choice because my husband was trying to finish his, uh, college work and his Master's degree and so forth, Yeah. Yeah. and so it was a matter of somebody had to have a job. That's right, that's right. And that's what was kind of what, where we were, you know, we, I really didn't have to work, but I felt like I really wanted to work. Uh-huh. And I felt, I also felt like, boy, I was sure missing a lot and they were growing so fast and you know, it's like, do I really need to work, you know? Uh-huh. And I, and it, that choice was there, I really didn't have to and, you know so I did have that advantage there, but it's different staying home too, you know. Yes, it certainly is. We, It's an adjustment to make, also. Well, I think that, uh, we need to spend more family time together with, with children today. Uh, we made a point to spend a lot of quality time and the activities that we were involved in were the activities the kids were involved in, you know, like, uh, through scouting or you know, anything like that Uh-huh. Yeah. we participated. And, uh, we always made a point to have breakfast together and supper together now. Wow, that's great. When, yeah, when, uh, the kids were in high school, it was harder to always have supper together, but we did always have breakfast together. Uh-huh. So, we, we had supper together as much as possible, but when it wasn't feasible, you know, we kind of kept a master calendar and when it wasn't feasible, well, that was understandable, Uh-huh. but uh, we've always tried to spend time to talk and, uh, have some time, together time Yeah. and we sat around the table, we didn't sit in front of a T V or that kind of thing. Wow, that's great. So I think that's been important, because we do have a close family Uh-huh. and even though the kids are basically, uh, grown, uh, they still like to sit down at the table and us all eat together when they're here and uh, have spoken before of, they want that kind of, you know, situation for them when, you know, and their children when they marry and have children. Uh-huh. Yeah, kind of goes on. Uh-huh. They do what they see, you know. That's right. They model and, with the dysfunctional families today, I'm sure, with a, as a schoolteacher also, you see what happens to these kids when these families never communicate or they're dysfunctional as far as the, between, uh, oh, second families, uh, one parent families or all those kinds of problems that they have Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh, yeah. and then you see them magnified in the children. Yeah. Plus, you teach middle school, so I'm sure that, Oh, boy, yes. You are really, you really, boy, oh, boy. I taught early childhood Uh-huh. so I had the little ones. Yes. And, uh, you know, I saw it there, too, and you, you know, you just oh, it's, it's, kind of an eye-opener. It is. So, It is. And I think most teachers realize the value of quality time with children Uh-huh. and I think we make a point to do that. Yeah, I think you're right. Because we see we see all the time, the outcome of not doing that Yeah. and I think if we weren't so interested in children, in child care, then we wouldn't be teaching anyway. Right. So, Right. Uh, I wish we could reach more of the rest of the world Yeah, yeah. I think, uh, the major problems in education are not what's happening in the schools, it's what's happening in the families. I agree, yeah. And, uh, they expect us to, you know, have, create miracles at school and fix all the problems and take over the roles of the parents as well as that of the teachers Yeah. and you get to a point where it's completely impossible. Yeah, I agree. I, I know exactly what you're saying And you just get more and more frustrated and yet, you feel for the, the kids. You do the best you can but, Okay, uh, what do you consider an invasion of privacy? Uh, I was just now told that's what the topic was and, uh, I guess invasion of privacy, uh, to me, for example would be unauthorized use of credit cards for example. Uh-huh. And, uh, I guess recently one of the T V stations here, uh, ran a series of, uh, news casts on unauthorized credit card usage and how easy it was to get a person's credit card numbers. And use it It's very easy. and I was quite surprised at that. I guess I can consider myself fortunate that, uh, it never happened to me. Now, I've never, I've never had that happen to me either. I don't know what I'd really do if it did. What do you think about places, like I was in Michael's the other night and charged something, and they asked for my home phone even though, you know, the charge had been approved. What do you think of that? Uh, Does it bother you to give it? No, not really because I'm listed in the phone book. If I was the type of individual that, uh, had an unlisted number, I, I think I would be hesitant to give it. You know that they, they now have a, uh, I believe it's a federal law that you do not have to give your phone number on charge tickets. One of the things that upset me when I lived in California was, uh, they did a lot of things with your Social Security number. Security number, uh-huh. As a matter of fact, they even went to the point of printing our Social Security number on your driver's license. Oh. And they would not cash checks unless they had your Social Security number, so we had our Social Security numbers imprinted on our checks. Uh, uh-huh. And I was really, you know, unhappy about that situation. I think that was an invasion of privacy. Privacy, yes, yes. I can see, you know, where that was. I, I don't mind my phone number and address or work phone being given, you know, when I have to cash a check. I don't see any need for it when I'm charging something, but I, neither am I a person that has the guts to say, no, I'm not going to give it to you, either Right. You know, and, uh, One of the biggest things, I think that's going on in this country right now is the selling of, uh, mail lists and things like that. Yes, yes. You know, uh, recently we, uh, I purchased some magazines, U S NEWS and FORBES magazine. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And every since that day, I have been inundated with, you know, uh, subscriptions to this, subscriptions to that, uh, this news letter, this investment letter, uh, even to the point of people calling me at home. And prior to me ordering these magazines, I never got those kind of calls. Right, right. And, I discovered with, uh, charge cards, uh, I feel like that I don't know whether it's the stores themselves that sell the list or whether the, uh, uh, credit report bureau sells it, but I get catalogs from people I've never even heard of. Uh-huh. And I know they have to be coming from my charge cards, you know. From some, some list, yeah. From some list, you know, that knows that I have a, say a charge account at, at Neiman's or something because then I'll get catalogs that, you know, are within that range that I would never order from ordinarily, Uh-huh. Right. and, uh, you know, and I get, I get tired of that. I, because I look at all that junk mail, and I think of how inept our post office is and how that's taking up you know, all their time to sort All their time. and they're not even paying full postage. Sure. You know, and if you did away with some of that, our postal service might give better service. I think the general public would be, you know, uh, tremendously upset if they knew how easy it is for, uh, let's say the criminal individuals to, to get access to people's records, uh, their credit cards driver's licenses, checks, things like that. Right. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't think anybody really knows what to do about it. No, no. Computers caused a lot of this, I'm sure. Well, you know, let's face it, computers can be gotten into very easily if you, if you really have the, the know with all, if you're, you know, so inclined to, uh, oh, what do I want to say, have the smarts to be able to tinker with something like that. You know, and have a basic knowledge, Sure. they're very easy to get into. To tap into a system. Seems as though they are, yeah. Uh-huh, you know, and, uh, which is scary, I mean, you know, our lives are on computers. Unfortunately. And, uh, and I don't know, I kind of, I resent the calls of an evening trying to sell me something. Uh, Fortunately, I haven't, uh, haven't, uh, been inundated with that situation yet. We are constantly, it seems like. I don't know why. You know, either wanting to clean our carpet, sell us storm windows, Okay, Jerry, I guess tonight's topic is about recycling. Uh-huh. And I'd like to tell you first of all what's happening in our community here in Plano. All right. Right now we have a pretty nice recycling program where a lot of the recyclable materials can be picked up by the, by the collection agency or the, the city along with your garbage can. Uh, you can put out newspaper, you can put out glass, you can put out aluminum cans, you can put, put out certain types of plastic material and that is on a roll out effort right now. Not all the citizens and the people in Plano can go ahead and, uh, participate right now, but, uh, that will be rolled out to everyone, I hope, in the next year or so. And those that aren't participating, they have the specific drop off sites where you can take glass and newspaper and aluminum. And I think, uh, overall that's an, an excellent opportunity because I hate to see our landfills being filled up and, uh, growing bigger and bigger and bigger where they are becoming a big problem for not only the people that are living today, but for the future also. So, Yeah, uh, I was How about your community? My community, that's cute. I live in a place called Dye Mound. Dye Mound? Or Dye Community. Uh-huh. And it's not a city, not incorporated, my nearest neighbor's about a half a mile at least, I can't even see their house and, uh, Sounds like a place where I grew up Yeah, I mean, uh, I'm out in, I'm out in the wilderness. Literally. Well, I like it. And, uh, well, give you an idea, it's three and a half miles of dirt road to the concrete, I mean, to the asphalt, we're out there. Uh-huh. And, uh, we, I do some interesting recycling things. Well, good. I'm building our house right now and I'm going to incorporate into my, uh, garage area a weight activated, uh, crusher. Oh, okay. So when I drive the car in the, in the driveway in the afternoon, it, it will just drive it up on a ramp that actually puts me on top of the, the, uh, pressure side of a, uh, hydraulic cylinder. Uh-huh. And the weight of the car will crush, what's ever in the disposer. Oh. hopefully, it's not my wife. Well, let's hope not. You can be, uh, get in trouble for that. Well, I thought I'd, you know, I'd use it as a, an escapement type thing. I don't know if you're familiar with that operation, but, what you do is you just build up the pressure Uh-huh. and then you go over and release it and then it just, it just drops, you know. Well, it's quite similar to a hydraulic jack, isn't it? Very similar, yeah. Okay, okay. Well, what, what it will be, you just, you drive up on the jack, but you, it won't go down. Yes, until you release it. Until you pull the pin, yeah. All right. Anyway I have another, uh, recycling method I use. I think, Yes. You know all that junk mail you get? Oh, yes, I sure do. The glossy paper that says, buy this, and send off for that and you have won and all that. Uh-huh. Well, anytime they send me a return envelope I put all that stuff back in the envelope plus the other stuff that I, you know, happen to gather up. Uh-huh. Oh. Because, uh, well, like I say, we live a way and when you throw trash away, you throw it in my yard. Yes. And I don't like that No. so I don't do that. So I take it and I send, and I mail it back to them. Well, great. That's excellent. I've had four companies actually stop mailing me stuff. Well, uh, if a lot of people did that, then we wouldn't have a lot of this junk mail. That's a great idea. I hadn't thought about that and we might be able to incorporate some of that. One thing, Yeah. Well, I think one of the, the best ways to eliminate, uh, or help the recycling problem is to eliminate non reusable items. Right. For instance, uh, I saw a thing on, uh, NOVA, I think it was the other day. Uh-huh. This guy has designed recyclable materials, I mean recyclable items. Right. Whatever he makes, it's all out of the same thing. Oh. See, so, plastic, it's all out of plastic. Yes. If it's metal, it's all out of metal. It's, he's a design, he's a engineer, designing stuff. Well, that's a great idea, that's a great idea. And, and, incorporating, you know, reusable materials into your, uh, you know, your assembly line into your actual scheme of product operations is is the only way to really do it on a, on a broad scale. Products. Yes. Make it financially, uh, attractive to recycle Uh-huh. and somebody will find a way to make money at it. Yes, they will. And, Exactly. Well, there is a guy in Dallas, that's all he does. Huh. He collects trash. You know, and, Well, that's a full time job. Yeah, well, he's, he's out for cardboard. Yes, well, I've found out, too, that, uh, you know, a couple years ago, we've always been recycling newspaper for the last twelve years, and at one time we could get a pretty good return, uh, with the Boy Scouts. We could take and collect the newspaper, So, are you a news person? Uh, I really am, I enjoy, I enjoy listening to the news and getting as much as I can. Although, you know, I'm a full time student and I work full time, too, so, or not full time, but I work quite a bit and so so I mostly depend on the radio, you know, on the way to work. Yes. I like, I like to listen to national public radio, uh, all things considered. Yes, great show. Yeah, and I like to listen to that and catch, you know, I don't get, I don't get a lot of, uh, sometimes I don't get the current events, you know. Because that show kind of has feature stories that might not directly deal with, uh, you know, some important issue on the day. But, Yeah, so, so the real, the real current news and, the hard news is, is not, there is not really enough of it there. Yeah. Right, that's right, yeah. Yeah, I've had, I've had that frustration, too. I end up switching stations from time to time. Yeah Yeah, you, you you like N P R uh, programming? Uh, in general. Yeah. Uh, I watch a lot of C N N uh, and C SPAN. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I, I subscribe to three newspapers. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, I sort of can't get enough of this. Yeah. And, and I, when I travel elsewhere, I'm often amazed at the local papers how little they have. Of world, world events and national events. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, in, in Dallas, what are the, what is the newspaper situation? Well we we, we have a, a big newspaper situation. Uh, because, we used to have two newspapers up until, uh, last Sunday and a, uh, major, uh, a, one of our major papers just closed down. They closed shop, and said, well, we can't put any more papers out, we're done. Was, was that the, the better paper or , Yeah, I thought so. It was a, it was a more effective paper as far as I was concerned. It, it had, uh, uh, it got to the news, you know, and gave you the dirty facts pretty quick and easy. Uh, which I like. Uh-huh. I don't, I don't like to, you know, I like to save the editorial information or the the politically, uh, weighted information, you know, for the, for a different section. I like just to get to the, you know, find out what's happening pretty quick. Yes. And I feel that the other newspaper, uh, the the DALLAS MORNING NEWS is the one that's still here. The TIMES HERALD is the one that closed up Uh-huh. And, uh, the, the MORNING NEWS was, was, is okay, but, you know, you have to wade through a lot of editorial garbage as far as I'm concerned. Uh-huh. You know, many times it doesn't doesn't reflect my own opinion and, But if you, if you were to look at the front page of today's MORNING NEWS MORNING TIMES rather, would you, would you see things about what is going on in Europe? Uh-huh. No, no, that's the problem. Oh. But, you know, you see, you see Troy Aikman's knee surgery on the front page, you know. Whoever Troy Aikman is. Yeah, a, a quarterback for the Broncos or for the, for the Cowboys. Okay. Uh, you know, you know, you know what I mean Yeah. that, there is, uh, local news that, uh, that really a lot of times doesn't, doesn't change, change my life one way or the other. Yeah. So, uh, I guess it's current events, but not the kind of current events that changes the world. Right, right, yeah Not something you'll, you'll, uh, be interested in ten years from now by any means. You know. Yeah. How, how about you? Uh, I guess in Washington, D C you guys have several papers that are pretty pretty effective don't you? Yes. A lot of them. I, I rather like the WASHINGTON POST. Yeah. But, I also get the NEW YORK TIMES and the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Uh-huh. Uh, and, uh, each of them covers different things in, in in different ways Right. and so it's, you know, if I only looked at one of them I would have a different clearly would have a different perspective on the world. Right, yeah. Uh, I, I have a question. Uh, does, does the WALL STREET JOURNAL, uh, I, I've kind of gathered lately that, uh, maybe their information is not just only related to business. Is that, is that a correct assumption? That, that is certainly true. Uh-huh. Uh, they will, they will have articles, like a few days ago they had a, a nice article on Einstein, you know theory of relativity. You know, that started on the front page ran in, into the full, almost full page inside. Oh. Oh. Uh-huh. Now, these are feature kind of articles. Wow. All the, all the, uh, you know, the bulk of the paper certainly is about business kinds of activities. Right. But, but there is some very good other articles uh, you'll find in the, in the JOURNAL. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Do you find that you're, uh, uh, disappointed or pleased with, uh, uh, the performance of like network coverage of news? Uh, I wish it were in more depth. Uh-huh. Uh, that doesn't mean to say longer, just more facts would be nice. Uh-huh. Uh, C N N has, has, you know, was, was pretty good during the war. Oh, yeah, definitely. Uh, and they were, you know, sort of had a unique vantage point for, for doing that reporting. Uh-huh. So, but, you know, it's not, it's never quite, All right. Uh, exercise huh Yeah. Uh, as a matter fact, I work out in the mornings. I belong to Presidents. Uh-huh. And, uh, I have got a routine for every morning of the week and I don't work out on Saturday or Sunday Uh-huh. but, uh, I do, I do a combination of, uh, uh, running and weight training They set that up for you. No, I, uh, actually I just, uh, joined on my own and I have been thinking about getting with a, uh, one of their counselors just so see what, uh, they might have to offer as far as, uh, alternatives. Uh-huh. But, I pretty much, uh, worked on my own routine. And, uh, what kind of running do you do? They have got the track on the inside. Uh-huh. And, uh, I run one mile on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I run two miles. Uh-huh. And then after that, I work out with weights. Is is just aerobics or, Uh, I work out with free weights. No, uh, I mean the running. Oh, uh, yeah. It is really the, uh, aerobic work out part. You do it, you do a mile in about eight minutes or less? Uh, about seven minutes. Uh-huh. Yeah. Then you wouldn't, then you don't get, uh, out of breath. Uh, no I do Oh. Yeah, that is, that is a pretty good clip and I am pretty winded by the time I get done. Oh. So, But, I mean it's not pushing it real hard, like, you know, if you tried to make six or something like that. Oh, yeah. I, I, uh, could probably go faster, but then I would wear myself out Right. And I wouldn't be able to work out anything else. Uh-huh. Yeah. How about you? Yeah, I, I don't run much any more. I did when I was in school. Uh-huh. Right now I just lift, uh, weights and do push ups and sit ups Uh-huh. and, and I, uh, jump rope a little bit Uh-huh. and that is about it Yeah. And I don't, I don't lift any heavy weight, uh, they are about a third of my body weight. Oh, I see. So this, uh, do you just try and keep them, I guess, uh, firm and, uh, Yeah and uh, uh, I play the trumpet and the, uh, the more upper body strength, the easier it is to play. Yeah, uh, that is true. You have to do a whole lot of sit ups and, uh, and then, uh, I hurt my neck, uh, about three years ago. Yeah. So, you really have to build up around your neck and your shoulders to keep from, uh, hurting yourself when you play high. Oh, I see. You have to, you have to do it correctly, you know, it is like an exercise in itself, but a lot of people, uh, strain themselves doing it. Oh, I see. Uh, so you are in, uh, in part of a band? Uh, I play at Church. Oh, I see, I see I use to play an instrument when I was in high school, but it wasn't the trumpet Yeah. So, I was just wandering if that was what it was or something. I think, Uh-huh So do you have any plans of maybe running more when the weather gets nicer? Well, yeah, uh, well the weather is nice except for when it rains, you know I mean in Dallas. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I keep thinking about it, but that doesn't mean it gets done. I, I mostly jump rope more. Uh-huh. You know. Yeah, I use to do a little bit of jumping rope, uh, when I was, uh, well a while back I was more into basketball Uh-huh. and, uh, I could do a lot of jump rope and other jumping exercises to try to build my calves. Uh-huh. And, uh, but, it has been a while since I have done that. Yeah. I do a toe lift and squats for that. Right. But you know it, it doesn't, uh, doesn't, uh, accustom your legs to the kind of strength that you have like when you are running for a long time. Right. They tend to tighten up whenever, whenever you have to do something at, uh, uh, great length of time. Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I, uh, that is true. I have noticed that, uh, And it also builds too much mass if you just, you know. Uh-huh. So, it is like, I, I lift weights with about the same curl weight as I do the squats with. Uh-huh. And, uh, then it doesn't bother me very much. Yeah. Yeah. Huh. That is interesting though. Uh, I have been thinking of changing, uh, I have done the same routine for almost two years now and I am thinking of, uh, changing it up. Uh-huh. Uh, that is why, well, you know, I was thinking to talking to one of their counselors and seeing what different exercises they could get me on to, uh, get out of the routine. Right. Because I have heard that, you know, you get locked into a routine then you are going to get to a point where you just stop developing. Uh-huh. So, I am looking at changing things a little bit. Yeah, that is, uh, I have started doing more push ups and, and it has helped a lot and then I add sets to it so that I don't like you said, wear it out. Uh-huh. I don't try to push it so the end in one set. Yeah. Okay, uh, clothing at work. Um, I work as a news reporter, and a lot of, Oh. I work in a, since I work in a small station, this is my first job Uh-huh. and so, I dress very variedly if that's a word. Um, sometimes I'm shooting and doing photography, and so I'll be in jeans one day, and another day I'll be on camera, Uh-huh. and so I'll be in a suit and another day I'll come in and I won't know what I'm doing, so I'll wear a pant suit in case I have to shoot. Yeah, uh. Oh. So, it really varies. I try to dress very comfortably. I don't really like dressing up at all. Oh, me neither I don't, I don't wear a lot of makeup or anything like that. Yeah. I just, I don't know, it just, it takes too much time out of my day, and I don't, I don't know Yeah, same here. I don't mind not wearing any makeup Yeah, I don't mind it at all. Um. Um, I work at a bakery because I'm a, still a, a college student. Um. Uh-huh. Okay. But, we, we have to wear white pants and, um, any color T shirt, as long as it's not like a bright color, like a pastel. White pants in a bakery. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, the bakers wear all white Okay. And we wear aprons and have to pull our hair back and so. What's the name of the bakery? Oh, Italian I guess. Yeah it's Italian bakery. And, uh, so, I don't mind having, having to wear a uniform, because I don't have to buy, you know right, as you know, many clothes. New clothes and stuff. Yeah, that's one thing I would like, is just to sort of have, I really don't like uniforms but, just to have something I don't have to get up and decide what to wear. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That just bugs me to death. I know I do that every day for school Oh, yeah. Yeah, but I, I like to wear comfortable things like cotton and baggy things and. Sweats and. Yeah. Yeah, when I was in school, I was a sweat monster. Yeah All I had was sweats, and when it was time to go out, I didn't have anything to wear. Yeah, I know, I don't have very many dress clothes but I don't mind, Yeah. I don't need them yet Yeah. Um. Um, let me see. I hate shoes. If I didn't have to have shoes, I wouldn't have them. Oh, really. I just, oh, my feet bother me, and they're just tedious Oh. to go find shoes for me, it's just, I don't know. I wear size nine Oh. and it, I don't know if just the shoes I get, I either don't like them or they don't fit right, and I just wish that I could just go without them. Um. Oh, wow, I love shoes. Oh, really. I always buy shoes Oh. Yeah. Just the opposite. But, um, let's see, what else do I wear? Um, if I were in a bigger market, when I do get into a bigger market, I'll probably go out and buy a bunch of suits and things, and, uh, where I wouldn't have to shoot and do a lot of other things and I could then I would be able to dress more business-like and things like that, Uh-huh. but we're all kind of just out of school at this station, Yeah. and so we're all, you know, still in sweats, really. Oh. So, it's pretty fun though. I like the look, the, the like suit look, professional like, you know, look, but I, I really don't have much of an opportunity to wear it Yeah. Um I'm going to be a teacher, I. so I'll probably just wear casual clothes, maybe skirts and some. Oh. Yeah. I like this, the, uh, suits with the, they come like with a mini type skirt you know, and the jacket. Oh, yeah. I like that, but but I'm pretty short, Yeah, that is cute. I'm five four, and so that really doesn't flatter me, but I think it looks good on taller people. Yeah. I'm five three and Are you? Yeah. Yeah, any time I go to the store, I mean, I, I have like two pairs of pants, because I can never find any that are short enough for me Oh, really? and it's just, oh, ridiculous. Pants, too, I could do without those. Oh. Pants, shoes. I like the like stretch pants, the cotton ones. Yeah, those are nice. They're really comfortable. Those are nice. With a baggy sweatshirt. Yeah, those are nice. And, tennis shoes. My boyfriend's got me these L A Gear. They're kind of big and hefty tennis shoes. Oh, yeah. And it, it's just like a chore to pick up my feet. Because I'm used to wearing the little white girl tennis shoes. Oh Oh, yeah The little ones. I have a pair of those. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm used to those. They're just sort of, you know, like your feet Yeah. I mean, you don't feel them. You put these things on, it's, it's, you know, like exercise or something for your feet. And I have to wear them because he gets upset if I don't. So so, so how do people in Wisconsin dress? Oh, yeah Warm this time this time, of the year pretty warm. Warm. Sweaters and. I grew up in New York, and so I know what warm is. Like five pairs of socks and, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, sleeping in sweats or long underwear. My parents keep the house cold Hello. Hi. Okay, I pressed one so I guess we're recording now. Okay. Okay, um. Um, as far as spare time, they talked about, I don't, I think, who has any spare time I've got a, a six year old and a, um, well, my baby's one today. Um. Today's his birthday. Um. And I'm also, I'm expecting, and, so, I, I don't know, I haven't had much spare time lately but, Okay, well, I've, I have had some because I was working for P I E, and they went bankrupt so I've got quite a bit of spare time right now. Oh, uh-huh. And I've been making dolls, cloth dolls. Oh, have you? Uh-huh. Oh. And, uh, You sew the bodies and everything? Yeah, it's a, they're all cloth. It's not, uh, any porcelain at all. So, so you just sew everything up, huh? Yeah Oh. and I make the clothes for them. Uh-huh. What kind And. do they have yarn hair or, Um, no, you can get the little curly hair at the craft shop. Oh, uh-huh. Oh. I made some of them with that hair and then, uh, don't ask me what the other hair I made, it looked like, um, it looked, well, I made some of them with regular wigs. Oh, did you? I went to the flea markets and bought, you know, like the wigs for a dollar. Oh, uh-huh. Then I cut a V shape out of the back of them and then sewed them on. Oh, my goodness. It sounds like you're creative. They looked really cute Uh, do you sell them? I have sold five of them, so far. Oh, have you? Uh-huh. I just have to get a place where, you know, I can sell them actually. Yeah, I bet. How long does it take you to make one? Uh, if I would just work all day long, making the clothes and everything, probably about two and a half days. Oh, really? Uh-huh. Oh. So. Do you enjoy it? Yes Yeah. I really do. Uh-huh. And, then I also crochet and, I, I, I can crochet and knit. Um, actually, I started an afghan, but it's been a whole long time ago probably over a year ago Yeah. and it's sitting in my closet half done right now, but, it's a knitting one. And, Yeah. I tried knitting first, but, I don't know, I, I didn't like it. Oh, didn't you. So then I went to crocheting, but now I want to learn how to knit again. Oh. I You know. Yeah, I enjoy knitting. I, I kind of like that, but I just, like I say, haven't done it for a while. Uh-huh. And I do like sewing sometimes. I, I've made a few of the, you know, just the little valence curtains in my house, and things like that. Uh-huh. But, it, it's just finding the time for these things that you you enjoy. Yeah, yeah. But, Yeah, I, in fact, I just bought a serger in December. oh, I would love one of these. Yeah. Oh, that's neat. I haven't done everything on it yet, you know, but just what little bit I have used it for, I really like it. Oh, those are wonderful aren't they. You know, especially making the seams and things like that you know, it's, it's got such a professional finish on them. Oh, yeah, that, and that's what I hate doing is the finishing stuff. Yeah. It'd be nice to have that. So I like that. Oh, that's neat. And. Well, do you have, um, uh, I guess you're kind of young, I was going to say, do you have grand kids or anything to make dolls for. Well, fifty-seven's not young, but no, my son's, has been married for almost ten years, but they don't have any children. Oh, uh-huh. So, I just make clothes for my dolls. Oh, well. Well, how did you get involved in that? Just, you know, just like sewing and stuff and decided to buy a pattern and try to make a doll. So you did buy a pattern, and then started from there. And they, they turned out really cute. Yeah, you got to have a pattern for the body you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, have you ever seen those bunnies that they dress? Yes. Yes. Yeah, I, I did make some clothes for one of those dress one of those. Aren't they cute? Yeah, I have quite a few of them actually in my house, I, and most of them I have bought, um, already clothed, but I did I did make the dress on one, Uh-huh. and I kind of made the pattern up. It's not, it's probably not the best but No, I, I bought a bunny pattern one time, but when I sewed it up, the face of it looked like a mouse. Oh, it did? Uh-huh. Oh. See, it was too pointed. Oh. So I tore it back apart again, and I haven't tried another one. You haven't sewn it back up, huh? No, but I bought a little lamb pattern and the material and everything to make it out of, but I haven't made it yet. Uh-huh. Uh, do you do any kind of painting or anything? No, I don't paint, except I stenciled my wall. Uh-huh. Oh, uh-huh. I I tried that, I did, I, I ended up just stenciling a, um, a blind, like a, just a roller shade. Uh-huh. But, I, I can, I had a hard time stenciling. For some reason I just couldn't do it. Oh, really? And people have told me it's very easy. Oh, yeah, I, my neighbor did it first and I seen her house and I saw how beautiful it looked, so then I decided well, I was going to do it, and uh, it turned out really, really good. Well. What design did you use? Uh, mostly flowers you know. Oh, uh-huh. And, what room? I've done it in the all, uh, all my rooms. Have you? I put it in the bedrooms and the bathroom, Where are you, Bob? I am in Plano. Where are you? Oh, okay. I am in Waco. Is that right? Yeah. Oh, okay. Right down the street. Oh, credit cards. My favorite subject You mean you use credit cards? Oh, do I. I bet you used them all up over Christmas. Yeah, mostly over Christmas. Uh, I get in a rut with credit cards cause they get me kind of in a vicious cycle. Where you use them a lot one month and then you have to use whatever money you have to pay those off And then your are in debt. and so then you have no money, so you use a credit card. I understand that. Yeah. Uh, I probably have one of every credit card there is. Do you use them a lot? Well, uh, it kind of comes and goes, uh, I use uh, Citibank, the, uh, Advantage one pretty much cause you get vantage points for every dollar you spend. Uh-huh. Once a year, I get a free airplane ride that way. Oh. So, as long as you pay it off every month, it doesn't cost you anything. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that is a good idea. Is that that through a VISA? That is what I, Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Huh. But, uh, I got all sorts of credit cards for my business that I use but, uh, If I can get away with paying them off every month, it is alright. Uh-huh. If I don't then it gets expensive Yeah. That is my problem. I don't try and pay them off. I pay, like the minimum. Well you shouldn't do that. I know So I have got myself, You never, you never get out of the hole that way. Exactly. I have got, that is why I have got myself with all this trouble now. But, I pay most of them on time and everything. It is just the, I always have them. So, it is kind of strange. Kind of like the federal government right? Oh, yeah. Exactly like the government In, In debt. Can't never get out of debt. And every time you try to get out of debt, the economy goes to pot because people are spending money, right. Yeah. Have they put the cap on the interest rates? No. I didn't know if they actually did that or not. I know they were considering it. Just the people who don't need credit get the four and a half percent. The rest of the, uh, and me, we have got to pay fourteen and eighteen percent. Uh-huh. Yeah. Funny how that works, isn't it The, thou who doesn't need credit, gets cheap credit. I would be interested to find out how many people, or how much, uh, people use credit this year. Say in nineteen ninety-two as opposed to nineteen ninety-one, even nineteen ninety. I think, I think it would be amazing how much, how many more people use it. Well, I think so because the, Because of the economy. That's right. Yeah. You have got to use everything you have got just to stay where you are at. Exactly. I would be very, I would like to see some numbers on that. I think that would be interesting. Do you, do you have any, uh, credit union where you work or anything like that? Yeah, I have a credit union. Do they have a Mastercard or VISA card? Yeah, they do. Uh-huh. You have got that one. Yes, I do Yes, I do a matter of fact. Who, who do you work for? Uh, I work for Channel six. Oh. It's it's an N B C affiliate down here. I do a lot of work down in Waco, a lot of, I call on a lot of my business is down there. Oh really. Oh, okay. Where do you work? What is your, I sell metal fabricating equipment and tooling. Oh, okay. Tyme and Mercury and Tempco and all those people down there. Oh, okay Uh Gene So you probably work with, uh, uh, what is the boy from here? You ever work with Davis? Davis Iron? Davis Iron Work, yeah. Yeah, matter of fact I just saw them last week. Oh, okay. And, uh, what else. Are you in that part, are you in the south part of town now? Well, I live actually in Hewett. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, right outside. You know Do you know Parker Machine Tool down there. So, that is where Davis Iron Works is. Uh. Bobby Parker and, uh, I don't think I have seen that one. I am sure I pass by it or something, but I am not sure. There is a place in Hewett, called, it is a new company called Prime Air. That is in Hewett. Just around the corner from Davis Iron Works. Huh. Prime Air. They make, uh, humidifiers and uh, filters for air filtration stuff for hospitals, homes, something like that. Oh, okay. Okay. Have you ever been to Marlin? Uh, yeah. I think it is Marlin or Mart. They have, uh, uh, a place, I guess that would be similar to Prime Air. It is called H G H or something like K G H or, Oh, really. Huh. I can't think of it. I can't think of the name. Huh. But, I will have to stop in there. I went, I have gone through there, uh, my oldest son goes to A and M. Oh yeah. He is working on his Master's. The Navy sent him there for his Master's. Mostly in engineering. So, once and a while we go up six there rather than take forty-five. Yeah. That is about the last time I have been through Marlin and Mart Uh-huh. Oh, I don't like that drive. I make that drive sometimes we have stories out there but, uh, There is always a state trooper down there. Huh. You have got to drive careful. Oh, really I know. Between Mart and Marlin, they will nail you if you go over sixty miles an hour. Oh, goodness. They, they are bad at Hewett too. On eighty-four. Uh-huh. They are real bad. That is where I got my last ticket. So, of course, I couldn't pay that on a credit card. Well, I was just wondering if you had had any experience with, um, the care of the elderly. Yes, I have. In fact, uh, just a little over, just a little less than a year ago, uh, my mother went to be with the Lord, and we cared for her the last, oh, seventeen months of her life here in the, at home. Aside from, uh, having to, uh, take her to the hospital Uh-huh. and, uh, you know, those times, well, she was there in the, the regular hospital. Right. And then she was diagnosed having inoperable type of cancer, and so the doctor elected to have her, uh, finish out, uh, in the hospice program. Uh-huh. And, uh, I, as far as I'm concerned, that is far and above any nursing home, because, uh, she's around her own you know, the, the elderly parent in question is around their own family. The, uh, hospice program provides a hospital type bed. Well, it is a hospital bed, and all the oxygen, stuff and a, uh, and a visiting nurse at least every other day, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Well, that's nice. And it's all taken care of by, by, uh, Medicare, uh, and, uh, it, it's, it's really neat, uh. And I, you know, I wouldn't, I wouldn't banish, uh, my old loved one to a, to a warehouse. No. And that's, that's what I basically, uh, view a nursing home as, a warehouse, so that's, It's really sad Pardon me? It's really a sad situation. Uh-huh. And, uh, I think a lot of people struggle with. I, I guess the problem is that the spouse of whoever, you know, the parent is, doesn't always want the in-law living in the house. Oh . Uh-huh. Is that right? Right. Well, that's really sad. Yeah, I know. But, uh, in this case, uh, spouse and I, uh, are, uh, we're, are, are, uh, united in this area because, I guess her father, her grandfather and grandmother both lived with, uh, her parents, uh, their golden years too, Uh-huh. so this isn't like, uh, uh, just one, one, uh, instance. Uh-huh. In fact, uh, her, uh, uh, experiences were, were invaluable to me. Uh-huh. Uh, in fact, I don't know if I could have, uh, held up, uh, you know, without my wife, uh, helping in this, this, in this case. Right. Yes. Well, I know when the, I remember being a child and my grandmother had had several strokes and things, and that we had, my parents tried to keep her in the house, and they did for a long time. I couldn't, tell you how long, until she got, uh, where she had to have complete care, Uh-huh. and so , they couldn't, you know, keep her in the house anymore, Uh-huh. and it was really hard on everyone. She had to have, you know, twenty-four hour a day care. And I don't remember much about it except that there was a nursing home at that time just a block or two from our house. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And that, um, they put her there, and we all went just constantly until she died. Oh, okay. But it was very hard on everyone to see, you know, grandmother be like that, and I don't know that, you know, I don't, being so young, I don't remember why. You know, what was, why she had to go there. Uh-huh. Well, maybe, well, as, as you say, the care of, of grandmother or was, was just such that such mom and dad couldn't handle it. Uh-huh. Well, I do remember that she was, you know, totally incapable of taking care of herself in any way. Oh, boy, yeah. And that that, they couldn't, they found that they could not you know, give her the hygienic care and everything that she needed. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, then, then there's almost, then there's almost no, no, uh, uh, choice left to her then No, but like you say, there is a tendency for people to be abandoned, though, you know, in the nursing home. Uh-huh. I do remember the other patients there, uh, being real excited when we came to see our own grandmother, because they got some interaction with someone. Right. In fact, just, uh, just, uh, sit and chat with them for five minutes and, and be interested in what they have to say regardless of what it is. Uh-huh. Right, right. And I guess that's hard on people to give, give up their lives. If they're busy they don't you know. Uh-huh It's easy to abandon people, because we do have the nursing homes, I guess. Right. If you can afford them. But, anyway. Well, I'm, glad it worked out good for your family. And then, then, Oh, yeah, it did, and I was just I just praised the Lord that, that we were able to, uh, have, uh, uh, I pushed it. Okay. So what do you you in your lawn? Do you do it yourself or do you hire someone to do it? Uh, no we've been doing it ourselves for most of the time, uh, find that it's really a little more economical, and we have, oh, I find that I have the time, and I kind of enjoyed it over here in Texas. I used to live in Arizona, and it was very very frustrating, because I didn't have the watering system and it was, it was just too much work and not enough enjoyment. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But over here we get enough water you know, naturally as well have the automatic sprinklers, and so it's a lot more rewarding Yeah, right. Uh-huh, uh-huh. so. Well, we do our own out here, uh, you know, mow it ourselves and everything, but, uh, our water supply right now is bad. We need rain badly Oh, that's right. Uh, we can water, here in Patterson, I can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturday and Sunday, four days a week. Uh-huh. So. Is that enough during the hotter times of the year? It was this last summer, yeah. Uh-huh. Uh, now if it, we don't get some rain, they might limit it to not even four times, you know Yeah, yeah. but, uh, yeah, we do our our, you know, mowing ourselves and everything, and I do our planting of bulbs and things where I can have some spring flowers Uh-huh. and, uh, Yeah, I find that I've been doing a lot of perennial planting, which I never did before Uh-huh. and it's been real enjoyable, although I didn't do any this last fall, because our past winters have been so cold, um they'd freeze down, Uh-huh. and by the time they, the flowers would come back to life it was supposedly the time to pull things out for the spring and summer planting Oh. So I was getting kind of disillusioned and tired and, and spending too much money on something that was kind of more of a problem than it was rewarding, so um, I'm going to try to wait now and just do the spring and summer type plantings and see how that, you know, feels. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. We have quite a few roses. I just, uh, we, in fact we just pruned them way down, and I just had to replace one of them, so I just bought that yesterday, and I'll probably go outside today and plant that. Uh-huh. But, um, I like to have the roses where I can have cut flowers all year long. Yeah, those are enjoyable. I even had, uh, roses on my table for Christmas dinner which was really pretty, you know Oh, did you? Uh-huh But, um, other than the roses I don't have too many flowers. I plant gladiolas Um, those are nice. and those are always pretty, but they get so tall, and they, they bend over so fast you know. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. I haven't done much in, in bulbs. In fact I received as a Christmas present a, a planter that had bulbs in it, that we were supposed to go ahead and water it any time and after it started to sprout put in a sunny window, and it it just grew like crazy, Uh-huh. but I don't have any flowers on it. I don't know how long that takes, or if there's anything I need to do differently. Um. It's just nice and green right now Uh-huh, well, is it that, one of those Amaryllis? Uh, no No, huh. I'm thinking White Narcissus or something like a like a white paper flower or so. Oh, okay. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh. Do you have a big yard? No, not really, and in Plano and most of the newer areas of Texas, uh, they have just the, the minimum square footage for lots, to where you get a little bit of a backyard, we have a pool in our backyard, and we did plan it to where we have some, some play yard left over, Uh-huh. but it's, it's, um, you know, very small. Uh-huh. But most of the houses here, if you have a pool, you don't have anything else in the backyard Yeah, right, right. that's about the size of most of them. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, uh I guess we're kind of fortunate. Um. Everyone looks at that, with our at our yard with kind of sense of awe, like wow, you really got, you know, some grass back there. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. Well. Well, that makes it nice. Yeah. Well, it's hot enough here in the summer time that we could have a pool, but we don't have one you know, Uh-huh. but they are a lot of people that do have pools around here you know Yeah. Yeah. but we just, we just have dogs and, um, and grass you know, the cement work and a little play set we made for a garden. Uh-huh. Uh, yeah. Yeah. So we do have a garden, you know. It's just a small one, you know, but we, had lots of tomatoes, and, uh, zucchini Oh. it's amazing what you can get out of a little Uh-huh. you know, it's probably about twenty by, I don't know, twenty by six, something like that, and it's amazing what you can, you know, how many plants you can plant in there Yeah, yeah. but it was nice. Few cucumbers. That's one part of gardening I haven't tried yet, and I don't think this yard is a very, Uh-huh, uh-huh. Okay. Um, I guess if I had to rate it from one to ten, I guess, I would rate it a five in the aspect that I wouldn't want everybody to have guns and I think there should be limitations of, like semiautomatics. Uh, things like that should not be just given out to anybody. In fact, you know, I can't imagine anybody having a semiautomatic for what purpose. Uh, so I guess, you know, being that I come from a hunting family I'd rather have some restrictions put on weapons but yet allow hunting rifles, uh, things that people would use for sporting type of, uh, a, activity. Uh-huh. Those would be fine but when you get into a, a lot of the more complex weapons, I would say yes we need to put restrictions on them Uh, that's I probably would have to agree with you pretty much all the way I think. Uh-huh. Uh, I definitely think that there, some things shouldn't be limited like, like you said, rifles and uh, hunting rifles and possible handguns for people who use them to, Uh-huh. Exactly, for self-protection, sure. Right. And, but I think the, I think semiautomatic weapons, people say they use them because it, for sport. But I, I personally cannot see any use for them other than, uh, for, for, like people who dislike have some sort of crazed you know, ambition to use, have high powered weapons or something. I can't imagine that. Yeah. Uh-huh. To do massive amounts of killing, uh, Right. And I mean, you can only, how much do you Yeah. The only thing that I can see is the police having it in a case where somebody is, uh, uh, you know, going to kill a massive amount of people or, uh, somebody that's escaping, that's, uh, very dangerous Uh-huh. semiautomatic would allow more rounds to be put out to hopefully catch the person and, and, uh, get him down. Right. But, uh, you know, I, I think of my family. Uh, they're very much into sporting and, uh, you know, as far as hunting and also like, uh, clay pigeons things like that. Right. Uh-huh. So they have may have some shotguns. They may have other type of, uh, hunting type things, but I figured if the, if the criminals had to take a hunting gun out to kill somebody, more than likely, somebody would see it, you know what I'm saying versus a, you know, a small handgun, uh, that can be, you know, put right in your coat pocket Right, yeah. Yeah, that's true. and nobody would see it, but yet, you can't stop people from having, you know, a handgun in their home. Right. Even if there are small children around, there's, you know, you can't say people with small children can't have guns Uh-huh. and people without small children that may have grandchildren, you know still have these guns Yeah. but uh, I guess I, I was always taught, number one, a gun isn't a toy. Right. Right. Uh, you know, and I don't know if that makes a difference if the parent sets down to them and say this gun can kill you, you know and don't ever play with it. Uh-huh. Right. Uh, so I don't know if that makes a difference or what but, Well, I think uh, in that I think that cases like that it's definitely, um, I think if you're to say okay, we have to get rid of them all because you know, they can only, they only seem to do bad, it, it's, uh, it's saying we're Uh-huh. The criminals would get them. I mean even if they had to go across border to get them. Right, right. And people who, people who have them and are responsible with them are, are, are being punished and people who and they're saying that people you cannot take care of things yourself or like that you're not smart enough to teach your kids how to, how to, uh, . Uh-huh. How to use, you know, to make sure the guns are put up as something as uh, not a toy. Right. Right Yeah. Because we had guns all over our house when we were kids Uh-huh. and not that they were laying on the, uh, couch or anything like that Right. but, uh, I never had an interest in them, being in the fact that I knew that guns could kill Uh-huh. and I had four brothers and never messed with any type of guns Right. and so it was kind of the idea that we knew that a gun could kill and that a gun wasn't a toy Right. and, of course we were quite young and we went through, uh, the National Rifle, uh, Club Uh-huh. and so we were taught, you know, kind of at a, a good age, ten and eleven and twelve, to sit down with a kid and say okay, if you're going to learn how to shoot a gun, you're going to learn how to do it correctly and you're going to learn how to have safeguards and and know how to protect yourself Uh-huh. but yet have this, training so that kids aren't you know, they have to have a certain respect for it. Right. Well I think, I mean we, I grew up in a family and, and my father had two guns Uh-huh. because he used to hunt years ago but he stopped before, really before I was old enough to remember. Sure. Uh-huh. But, and I knew we had the guns in the house and, the time my father was keeping them just for protection at the time Sure, yeah. but we, it was never, my brothers, sisters nor I never, I mean none of us ever thought well let's go look at the gun or let's go get the gun it was just something you knew was there Yes. and it was your father's and you, that was not something you'd go and play, played with at all Yeah. and I think maybe, uh, and that's the type of, the thing that should be, you know, stressed. Yeah, I think so and I don't know if the kids nowadays are different than what Okay So, do you have, do you have the long, I guess not, not if there's, see I was raised in New York, but I guess up there you all don't have too long of a growing season, do you? Uh, well, we probably have about three months, approximately. Do do you do your own gardening? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Do you. We live on a, used to be a farm, but we don't farm much, we, uh, but we do have a garden. Huh. See I got mine in, well, let's see, I put in pepper plants this weekend. Oh. I wish I could be doing that Yeah. I got all my little seedlings coming up in the kitchen and, I enjoy tinkering with it, you know, Uh-huh. it's pretty hot down here during the Summer, we hit, you know, a hundred, hundred and two sometimes, Right. but, you know, we don't do too much during the Summer, as far as tomatoes and stuff, like that. You almost have, to get started pretty early probably. I guess, Yeah. I can, usually I can put in, oh probably mid-March, I can put anything in the ground, you know, beets, and onions, and stuff like that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But then I have to wait for my, tomatoes have to go in here in the next couple of weeks Uh-huh. as soon as we're, sure we're not going to have another freeze, go ahead finish it. Yeah. You've had more freezing this Winter, or this, yeah, Winter, I think. Yeah. We've, had just a few, you know, that freezes a little here and there, More bad weather. but every once in a while, we get a freeze around the middle of April, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and it's pretty tough. Uh-huh. Are you, do you work, or are you retired or you, No. I work, uh Uh-huh. I'm only forty years old. I have to work, Uh-huh Uh, my husbands retired. But he's not a gardener. He, he, he's been helping me more, but he really isn't, uh, real crazy about gardening. Uh, I, I really enjoy it, it gives me time outdoors, Uh. and, you know, I'm a golfer, but, it gives me time outdoors, and time around my house, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I, burned my grass off here in the last couple of days getting ready to start to the Spring season, and see if I can grow me another nice lawn, Oh. Uh-huh. I usually have a pretty nice lawn, it's a lot of work you know, Oh yeah. but it's, But it's a pleasure to, like you said, it's good to get outside, and and I like, I like my garden too Yeah, it is. We didn't have to, we have just a small garden, but we planted corn last year too, which takes quite a bit of space Uh-huh. we, we didn't have too good luck with it, because the, uh, we had a couple of good, real good wind storms, and it really damaged the corn Oh yeah. so we didn't get too much corn, last year. We're going through that, we going through the dust storms down here now, uh, uh-huh. so, but I, uh, what I did with my garden, is I have a, a two by six frame that's five by ten. I have two of them sitting side by side Uh-huh. and then I put, uh, like, a black plastic, it's really not a black plastic. They call it Wedet Oh. Uh-huh. and I put that down, and then I put up a couple of inches of pine moss on top of that Huh. and I use a, one of those black poker hoses that actually oozes water every where Uh-huh. Uh-huh. so I waste it up and down there a couple of times, and I only have to water about two hours a week Oh that's great. and it's pretty nice. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Especially during the Summer, it keeps everything wet, instead of wilting. Yeah. We don't, we don't usually cover ours. We did a few different times sometimes we've covered with the plastic, and other years we've tried newspapers Oh. and, uh, but we generally don't, we do our watering from our spring. Oh you have a spring, Yeah. how nice. We have an old fashioned pipe sitting, that, you know, water runs into and, my husband set up a pump that runs, Uh-huh. it runs first down and then it stops, Oh that's, that's pretty nice. and when the water comes up, it comes on again, and we use that to water our garden with so, But you actually enjoy it, huh? Oh I do. I do. Do you? I love it, Get out there on your hands and knees, and crawl around. I'd rather be doing that, than housework I, I can imagine. You all have much trouble up there, with insects or, Uh, not a well, not a whole lot. I think our cabbages, and broccolis and that in we have more trouble with, that type of thing, with the, the, With the worms? Yeah. Yeah. I have quite a bit of problem down here with the squash bugs, and haven't figured out how to get rid of those yet. Uh. Uh-huh. Do you go more for natural, keeping them off naturally, or do you, use insecticides? Yeah, I try to, no I, uh, uh, try not to use any insecticides at all. I try not to even use insecticides on my lawn, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, I, sometimes I can't manage. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, our lawn, is, is a big lawn because, because we live out in the country, and so we were not, our lawn is not perfect, you know, it's just the it's just a lawn Yeah. Well, mine's full of dandelions, now, Uh-huh. so, Do you eat any of them? No, I never have. I don't know how to prepare them. Oh, did, well, did, does your wife ever make, uh, bake in a hot bacon dressing, like for, salad? No. Huh-uh. Oh it's delicious and it goes real good on dandelions. Really. Uh-huh. Huh. I've never eaten dandelions now I've tried dandelion wine Uh-huh. but I've never tried any dandelions just to eat. use the greens, if you get them when they're young and tender, you know, before they have grown too, too tall, Yeah. because they do get a little stringy. All right. But, uh, they're kind of fun to, to try, Yeah. get a, get a few and then throw them in with the rest of your salad sometimes. I'll try that. Yeah. Yeah. I sure will Uh, but I've been cutting our grass too lately because my husband's back, and he's been having trouble with so, wasn't allowed to run a lawn mower, Oh, Oh. so, it takes about four hours to cut our grass. Yow. And, we have, we have hills. I'm afraid of the hills but, I'm getting on to it, So you all are into, so you all are into the lawn, big time, huh. I just pretend they're not there, and I just go ahead and do it Yeah. Yeah, I only get, well, I guess I got my, my whole section of my house is probably a tenth of an acre Uh-huh. then I have a pretty nice backyard, Uh-huh. and you know, I've got enough room to throw horseshoes. You know, couple of other , Oh, that's great. great. That's, a lot of people don't have that much space even. No, and it's nice. I'm just inside the city limits, I'm probably a mile, mile and a half inside the city limits, and I'm only a mile, and a half from work. Uh-huh. So you have all the conveniences of, a city, Yeah. It's pretty nice. yeah, and, and the country also. I have the room outside I need, and I don't really have all the room in the house I need but, Well, you never have enough room do you think. Especially if your into any hobbies or anything. No. I have a question to ask you about gardening though. You know, those, what are they called, the, they called, uh, rolly polly bugs, that's what my son calls them anyway. Rolly Polly what? Rolly Polly bugs. The ones that roll up in a ball. I don't know what they're called. Is it a bug, You mean? They look like they've got, Yeah. A worm? Yeah. A cutworm? No. Not a grub worm? It's not like a, no. You find them under bricks and all that stuff, where it's moist, and if, if you touch them, they roll up in a ball. Oh. I don't know what they call them. But I'm plagued with those things, Uh. and I haven't figured out, I even called the nursery, Uh-huh. I'm trying to think of what they are, what kind, they could be. I, I don't know. You find them under bricks usually, and that. Yeah, under bricks, or under wood, or you know, if you leave a piece of newspaper in the yard too long, they get in there. They usually come out at night, but, you can find them during the daytime if you pick something up that's been laying around, They're not a slug. No. Not a, A slug is actually kind of slimy Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. and these are just, he plays with them all time, Uh-huh. Well, having been there not too long ago, and my wife having only recently completed a doctorate, I'm fairly full of it, of it myself. Um. Uh, the main point that I have about choosing where you want to go to school, is that, you have to early on define what it is you want to do or at least what area you want to be in. Yeah. Uh, I had the unpleasant experience of going through several schools that were very specialized. I went through a number of them, uh, undergraduate schools, before I found a, a good school that was more general, uh, to give me time to make up my mind. Um. Oh, that's interesting. I went to a, a liberal arts school, actually, at first, and you weren't really even, um, they didn't expect you to choose any sort of major or anything at all until you were in your second year, and then you, you know, you had, I think you had to pick it, by, by, by the end of the second you had to pick some sort of major, but until then they didn't sort of force you. They, they sort of forced you to run around taking classes in everything until then. Certain requirements, so that, so that you had to sort of get a general feel for everything, so it wasn't that specialized. So that, That's wonderful. I'm a great proponent of liberal arts education, for anybody. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, being an engineer now, I believe in it even more strongly than I did before. Uh-huh. I was just on a committee recently, actually sponsored by, uh, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, trying to sort of, you know, where, where they were just trying to figure out how to fit science and liberal arts together, you know, because there are people who are getting just wonderful science educations and not getting enough liberal arts, and then the other way around as well, people are getting pure technical science educations and not getting very good liberal arts sorts of issues. So, Well, thus far it's working to my advantage. Uh, the great gap historically has, with engineers, has been while they may have all this technical information, they have no way of imparting it to, except to another engineer. Uh-huh. And I have the ability to listen to them and then translate that into something that nonengineers can understand. Well, that must be helpful. Well, it's, a lot of fun, at the moment. That could be very helpful . Yeah, well, I figure that, that, that's probably the thing I would most tell any parent, you know, to tell their kids, I think, probably make sure the kid goes to a school where they get sort of a general education and save specialization, I guess, for graduate school, unless they're sure they want, early on they want to do something like engineering or something. Or they can, Even at that, I have a son, that, who's only nine at the moment. But I see him very rapidly becoming the engineering personality, and, uh, if he decides to pursue that, I'm going to insist that he spend two years at a liberal arts college, before I'll even let him go to an engineering college. Um. And, yes, that'll add one year to his education experience. Yeah, but, but that's a good idea. Well, where I am right now, actually I'm at the University of Rochester, and that's a pretty good engineering school, I think. I think we do some they have pretty good engineering here. Yes, it is. They also have a fairly large liberal arts college as well. A sort of, a separate, you know, arts and sciences college. Um, and I believe the engineers are sort of required to take classes in, in everything, and I know people, I do, uh, I do work in language processing, and, and, and at least one person who's in my field started off as an engineer, started off as an an electrical engineer student, and then switched over at some point into language processing, because he found that he enjoyed it more. So they do force them, people are forced to sort of take all different kinds of classes here, which I think is wonderful. Oh, I agree. Uh, I have the experience, uh, the last school that I went to was Mississippi State University which is historically an engineering and agricultural school. Uh-huh. Right. Uh, the typical land grant university, every state's got one. Uh-huh. Anyway, while it has both engineering and liberal arts, the engineering students tend to cluster together. Yeah. You know, they're in classes together, even when they're outside of the engineering department. Uh-huh. And they don't learn the communications, they don't learn the thought processes of other fields of, of endeavor. Um. It's, you know, it, that's kind of like if I were king for a day, and got to, and got to make one rule. My rule would be, no one could get out of high school without an entire year of philosophy. Um, uh-huh. That would, be very good actually. And it's, that's not even true in our colleges. Right, you, you don't need any philosophy at all in school. Uh-huh. Or yeah, or, or, or, or some other thought provoking area, you know. Very true. We had, uh, when I went to undergraduate, we had uh, went to Brandeis, don't know if you know of it or not, uh, we had, uh, uh, a requirement freshman year of just Humanities. Then you were given a choice of, um, you know, there were ten or twelve, or whatever, or fifteen different courses that you could take, but they all centered, they all came out of Philosophy, English, and Literature departments, and they were, they were, they were a set of assigned readings everybody had to read, you know for, so the first year Humanities courses everyone had to read the Iliad an, and so forth, Right. and what they did do, was they all approached it from, from very different, so that you could have one class in the philosophy of something, that the philosophy of Greek mythology or something that actually approached this, or, um, one literature, you know, or a, a literature course or, just all sorts of different perspectives on it, and people got to pick and choose, but, but by the end, everyone had a good sample of, of, of, sort of how to think about these things nonscientifically, you know, and, uh, and that sort of forced them. But I believe that, that, that you, one of the, one of the best things to do, at least for me in school was, was, I was sort of forced to take lots of different kinds of courses. Um, I was forced to take, I think you know, some sort of art history course, and we all grumbled about it at first, but then, afterward, we all wound up taking extra art history classes, because it just seemed like something, something we didn't totally know nothing about, but just enjoyed very much doing, and something I would never would have done if, if I wasn't forced to take it. Yes, I I remember that experience Uh-huh. that and, uh, extra music classes. Yes. Uh-huh. And that, and that really is something that, that I notice, like I talk to a lot of my friends at school that are more specialized, and they don't have that. They just, you know, they went in and took their courses that they were expected to take, and that was all. They never had some of the more fun classes, I guess . I feel a little more worldly now Well, that will continue to grow even as you go beyond graduate school. Yes, I'm, I'm, I'm hoping, I'm hoping. Have, have you gone straight through? Yes, I, I graduated, um, college in eighty-seven, and I just went straight through. Um, I'm finishing up next year. So, yeah, I didn't take any break or anything yet. I've been trying actually, in graduate school, I've been trying to do the same thing, take courses, completely outside my area, and I'm finding in graduate school it's a lot harder, because, uh, I just don't have the time any more to sort of sit in a course, that I'm not getting graded for. Whereas before I would just sign up for credit for it, now I can't sign up for an art history course for credit necessarily. So I have to try and go myself, and I went for like two or three weeks and realized, not enough time for the work unfortunately. That's true. Are you pursuing a Master's or a Doctorate? I'm pursuing a Doctorate in Psychology. So, I'm just, wind up spending a lot of time doing that instead. Uh, what else. I, I think I, Well, let me, let me encourage you to stop and experience life along the way. Oh. I, I first enrolled in college in nineteen sixty-six. Uh-huh. Uh, six years, and a, and a war later, uh, I got a degree, an undergraduate degree. And then fifteen years after that, I got the first of a set of master's degrees and four years after that I got another master's degree. Um. You had real world experience in the middle there. Oh, yes. And that helped, you think? Or that was, It, it certainly makes acceptance of different ideas a lot easier. Uh-huh. Um. Yeah, I'm getting some of that. Um, I have, I have sort of some, work experience . My wife is not an academic at all. My wife is sort of in the real world, and so I sort of hinge halfway out in the real world and I, getting, you know, real world . Especially she works in, uh, uh, she works in the, she works for a temporary agency, and I never would have had, she's the office supervisor, I never would have had any, I've, I've learned much just sort of by watching her and her, and her business as well. So yeah, so I, I can, I can see where that might be a, Well, vicarious learning is a wonderful thing. Yeah It certainly means that we don't have to experience everything, but experience is a wonderful, teacher also. That's my, oh yeah. Yeah, agreed, agreed. Well, I'll, I'll take that, I'll take that and think that through a little bit. Uh. My wife, as I may have mentioned, just finished a doctorate a couple of years ago. Yes. and she pursued her education along the lines that I did with lots of break in between. Uh-huh. And she feels reasonably comfortable teaching now. She has an awful lot of experience to draw on. No longer Okay. Well, I take it since you selected this topic that you have children. No, I don't, You don't? but I have nine younger brothers and sisters. My goodness. So. Well, I have two daughters and, um, they're past this, they've been latchkey children for a while, and they're almost where I can start saying they're, you know, young adults, Uh-huh. so I don't have to worry about child care too much anymore. Um, we're supposed to discuss what criteria we would ask, or expect. Uh-huh. I would assume it's, you know, if you were looking for a day-care center or something like that. Well, if I were Or probably even baby-sitters would be the same thing. Exactly. Exactly. Um, I think my, my top priority would be that it would be someone who would be responsible and someone that would actually like children. Yes, I would think someone older and I would want to know if they've had any past experience with children. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I think that varies. I think a lot of your criteria vary with the age of your child. Yes, that's true also. Um, you know, it's, it's, once they get to a certain age it's almost more important that it's someone that can entertain your child as opposed to someone who's, you know, really, really qualified per se. Uh-huh. Um, with a, with a baby, definitely have to be someone who knows how to handle a baby and would know how to respond to an emergency. Uh-huh. So, Well, um, I did a lot of baby-sitting when I was younger. I'm twenty-two now and I did most of my baby-sitting when I was between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. But, um, the only thing people ever asked me, well, of course, they knew I came from a family with younger kids, but they really didn't ask me if I was used to children or not. The only other thing they asked me is what I would expect in pay. Oh, uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, and, um, I was pretty surprised because if I had a child and someone, you know, I would want to know, I personally would ask for people that that person has baby-sit for before. Well, I, my experience, I baby-sat a lot also at, when I grew up and, um, coming from, you know, that background and the background as a parent now, I think the reason that people don't ask a whole lot of questions is a, a lot of times baby-sitters, I know I did this with my children, it's, you get somebody where you kind of know the family already. Uh-huh. And that gives you so much basic knowledge that you don't ask a whole lot of questions. Uh-huh. because I had three younger brothers and sisters myself so they, they thought, okay, she knows how to, how to treat children. Yes. Well, see when, um, I first got my my first baby-sitting job was pretty strange. Um, this lady saw us at church and she was a you know, she was a younger lady. She didn't really know my mom. She knew my mom by name and that was it. And, um, she knew that I was one of the oldest girls in my family so she just asked my mom if I could baby-sit. Uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, she really didn't know my name or anything, you know, I thought that was pretty strange. You know, and she had two children. One was still in diapers when I started baby-sitting. Wow. So, um, she pretty much, you know, just assumed that I would know, you know, how to handle them. So, I you know, I enjoy kids and I get along with them very well so there's no problem. But, uh, with today's world and the kids today, uh, there's no way, I can't say that I would just ask someone, you know, that I didn't know like that to baby-sit. Oh, I agree with you, but there again she, you know, she knew, knew of your family, Uh-huh, that's true. and she, and she met in a safe setting, such as church. Uh-huh. So she was going on those two instincts. Just the same I know myself, I never, and I was very very protective on who baby-sat my children. Oh, I would be too And, and in it really shocked me because just about six months ago someone came to my front door, rang the doorbell. She had just moved in the neighborhood. She had her daughter with her, and the daughter was, oh, about a second grader. And she was actively looking for people who would baby-sit her child. Oh, my. And I thought, well she doesn't know me or my children from anything. Huh-uh. And it was, I was almost more reluctant of letting my older children go baby-sit for her because I didn't know her then she was reluctant of letting strangers into her house. Uh-huh, yes. Uh-huh. So, I mean people are so different. Oh, I know. Um, well, I I, obviously you've never had to look for a day care or anything. Well, I did, I did have, um, my, my child, uh, in a day care for just a short time when my oldest was about two and a half Uh-huh. and I worked just a part-time job and, uh, in, in those situations, um, what I did is I'd, I went in and, you know, I made a few phone calls, I went in and visited. I asked questions such as how they would discipline a child. Uh-huh. Um, that was a concern with me. Um, you know, you, you learn a lot by going in there and they they explain to you, you know, what their day consists of and what their general rules are, and, um, that's, you know, that's as much as I know. You probably could get really good feedback from a lot of other working mothers you know, that have done this over and over again. Uh-huh. Well, But I, go ahead. How did you stumble upon the day-care center? Did you just look it up in a phone book or what was it? Um, I think lots of people, I, I think I went by location for one thing. Uh-huh. I think most people do that. I think you start out with the criteria of, you know, do I know of anything or do I know anyone who has their child in a day care and, Yeah, there is , I would say most people would probably go by word of mouth. Right. Right. And then, you know, I mean, even at that you have to consider the logistics of it. Uh-huh. You know, I mean, you're not going to take your child south of town if you work north. even if that's the best one in the whole wide world Yes, exactly. Uh-huh. So there, there are just so many considerations. Uh-huh. Then again, did, um, money come into play with it at all? Oh, money is always a factor in my life, definitely. I've never, you know, I've never had the luxury of not having that be a factor. Um, even in something as important as day care. I know if I didn't have that stipulation, I would have done things differently you know. Uh-huh. Um, Montessori school would be something that I would have pursued, but that's always a little bit more expensive than what I could look at. Uh-huh. Um, and I was very very fortunate in that I didn't have to do that on a full-time basis. Yes. So, and, and then when you get, you know, when you get into the full-time basis day care, Good morning. Hi. My name is Jean. I'm Tina. Oh, where you from Tina? I live in Garland, Texas. Oh, Garland, Texas, I'm in Pennsylvania. Oh, my lands, you're the farthest person I've ever talked to. Really? Yeah. Do you work for Texas Instruments? My husband does. Uh-huh. Yeah. Probably most people you talk to do, huh? Most of them do. Now, I don't have anybody that works for T I, but, uh my son works for a computer company, the National Institute of something, Huh. I don't know what I see, well that's neat. So, I guess we're supposed to talk about foods today. Yeah, I guess you have to push one, though. Yes, uh-huh. Okay. You ready? Yeah. Okay. Uh, foods like you would for a dinner party or something like that. Yeah, I guess so, it may be interesting, because probably here in Texas, we may eat a little differently than you do up there Well, I don't know, my brother lives down East of us down there, and I don't think they ate all that much different Oh, really. Uh, I think as long as you plan your basic foods, course, for a dinner party, you fancy things up a little bit more. Yeah, that's true. Uh. Well, uh, the thing that I found interesting, my husband and I lived up in Washington State for awhile Uh-huh, uh-huh. and up there, of course they ate a lot of sea food, and that kind of thing, Oh, uh-huh. and down here, sea food is pretty expensive, because, you have to ship it a long way to get it Right. Yeah, and it's not as good as if it's fresh. Right, and, and, uh, and, but here, we eat a lot of like Mexican foods, Uh-huh. and, um, up there there was no, no place that we went tasted like real Mexican food to me. Is that right? Yeah, it tasted like they were trying to do the best they could, but it just, didn't taste right. Yeah, well, they probably were trying to do the best they could. Yeah. Yeah. and, uh, down here, we eat a lot more fried foods, I think. Uh-huh. Like chicken fried steak, is a real big thing. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Up there, uh, it was hardly ever heard of and, we drink ice tea with every meal, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and up there hardly anyone drank ice tea Yeah, well they do in the summertime, I think that tea is big in the summertime mostly. Really? Yeah. Of course, you have warmer weather most of the time. Right. So, uh, Yeah, it never gets real cold. Yeah. So, I, Yeah, but when, when we have a dinner party around here, I think a lot of the time a Mexican menu is something real popular. Is that right? Yeah. I know that, um, I do a lot of planning with our church, Uh-huh. and a lot of the times when we get together, well everybody will bring a Mexican dish or. And Italian food is real big too. Uh-huh, uh-huh Uh-huh. More like covered dishes for those type of dinners. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. How about you, what is real popular up there? Well, I don't know, just about anything Oh, really. Yeah, we, we really, uh, use most anything. I, uh, I think like parties and that though are, well, like we had a dinner party here, here not too long ago with a mystery dinner party Oh. But, basically, we tried, you know, included all the basic, uh, foods that you are supposed to have in a meal . Uh-huh. Your, uh, bread family and your, or least what it used to be the regular menu was followed and , ham and bake potatoes, uh, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. uh, something from each, each area that you're supposed to choose from. Uh-huh. And, uh, we, we, we ourselves are into the wok cooking, you know they been advertising that and, we've really been enjoying those, uh, meals. Uh-huh. Well, that's good. They have a lot of vegetable to them, and, uh, they really are very good. Uh-huh, right. Oh, yes. I, I love that kind of cooking. My, uh, unfortunately, I am married to a man and have two children that eat about four things Is he a meat and potato person? Right. They. Well, all our family is, is gone. They are out on their own. Uh-huh. And, uh. It, it's much different That probably makes it easier, but. and, uh. Yeah. We find ourselves eating a lot of macaroni and cheese and, uh, and of course , Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, my husband didn't like that, so we, us kids, we had five children and we ate that when he, he wasn't going to be home for supper, Right. that's what we had Yeah, well, that's pretty much what we do, if dad's not coming home, we have macaroni and cheese, or something. Uh-huh. But, they like, uh, spaghetti. Uh-huh. You know, that's one meal, I can fix Uh, yeah. and the whole family eats. But, uh, there are several things that, well as a matter of fact, I keep chicken nuggets handy all the time, because. Oh, those always go good. Yeah, the children love them, Yeah. and, uh, they are real easy to cook and, that way, whatever meat we have, if they don't like it, well, Yeah. and my girls don't like beef, I, don't know, Oh really. Well maybe. that's good the way, way the things are going. I guess, Well, yeah, it could be, they don't, I think it's the texture of it, Uh-huh. but it takes more chewing Right. Children usually they like the ham and the hamburgers, and that, Uh-huh. and it is easier to chew. Right. Right. So they're not too much into beef. Uh-huh. My husband and I eat more beef than we should, but at least we keep our chicken nuggets handy for them Right. We don't really have, uh, you know, entertain too much. Uh-huh. I don't know if you do or not, but we, we don't a whole lot, we're more, once in a while, but mostly family, activities. Yeah. Well, most of the entertaining we do is church associated. Uh-huh. We have a real tiny little house, we don't have room really, to have people here. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, we do get together for fellowships at our church, Uh-huh. and, my husband and I do a lot of the planning in that. Yeah. And, Well that's good. Yeah, it is and it's fun to, uh, I like just having a pot luck meal where everyone brings their favorite dish. Yeah, we do a lot of that take , things to church Yeah. and our homemakers meet at the church also, and, uh, that's what we do mostly, most of the time for that. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. So, you don't really include any certain food groups, you just bring, what you like Right. That's right Sometimes you have all desserts, sometimes, you have all vegetables Yeah Yeah, that's true, that's the only problem with just letting you bring whatever, you, uh, like best. Yeah. But, it doesn't happen very often, usually you get a pretty wide variety and you can, you can , have pretty good meals, from one of those. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. I remember one time we had a progressive dinner. Oh, those are fun. It's the only time that ever. Yeah they are. Uh-huh. But it's the only time I can remember that, I can't remember what food it was I, it might have been the main dish that hardly anyone showed up with. Several people were supposed to bring, you know, each, like, uh, a, an appetizer, and a main dish and a dessert. Uh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. And we had tons of desserts and tons of appetizers and, but when we came to the main, main dish plate, there was only like two or three Oh, uh-huh , Oh. Was there enough to go around? Well, not really, you know we all took real tiny little portions, and, uh, were kind of angry with whoever it was, Uh-huh. we were not sure who didn't show up with the food Yeah, that's kind of irresponsible and does upset you, because they are grown adults usually Yes. and you know they know better. Right. Even if they can't do it, they can always maybe get somebody else to cook . Right. Either, either go ahead and fix your dish or call someone that can. Right. Right. I know it. Well, that sounds neat, I can't, uh, believe you're so far away, but you sound so close. They said that we could share, we share, a recipe It sounds like you're here in Dallas. but, I'm up at my daughter's, I don't even have any of my recipes with me. Oh. Uh, you know , I don't know if I have anything handy, we were just about, we were getting ready to go swimming, Oh. and we're waiting on my sister. Oh, great. Cara, hold on just a second another person in the As a matter of fact, my, little one is hollering They are ready to go. Well, we probably, have we talked long enough I, I think it probably has been. Okay, so I'll let, So, I've enjoyed talking to you. Oh, same here. You have a good day. Thank you. Thanks for calling. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Uh, well, let's see. How many, you said yours are all, I mean, that sounds like an army. Five. Oh, lord. That is an army, I came from a family of six, and I have only got two, and they are, one ... Well any number is nice, let me tell you. Well, I kind of decided that single, single children that, that, that's not parenting, that's a hobby. Yeah. But, It's not as fair to the children either, I do not think. Well, do not tell that to all my friends. They are into quality time. Oh. I am into getting through the day. Yeah, but sometimes you can hurt them by having too much quality time too. sounds as if speaker B is washing Well I, I, I can spot a kid who really, you know, whose parents spend every, quality time with them, you know, outside of the work day. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And when I take care of some people's kids, you know, Uh-huh. when they, when they have teachers' holidays, and that kind of stuff, I will take my friends' kids, that are usually in day care, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you can spot them, because they have no idea how to hang out and mess around. You can tell. How to just entertain themselves. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Really. It's a problem for any child and you take one that's used to being, uh, busy being, having something to do all the time, it makes a big difference. It's not a problem for my two, they are only eighteen months apart uh, keeps you busy. They can find things to do and mess around, and plot and scheme and everything else. Yeah. Well, that's great. You, did all five of yours complete college? No, our last daughter, she did not want to go to school. She's, uh, but she's married now, they built a home just a couple miles from us. And, Well, how did you go about selecting a college, then? Well, we did not do it right all the time With our first boy, we persuaded him to start here, and I do not always think you should try to make them stay closer to home. I think the main thing is to, uh, right now, I think the main thing is to look at what they are interested in. Uh, and take what they are interested in, and then, then start looking for schools. Do you think that what they say that they are interested in is, at eighteen is going to be what they are ultimately ultimately graduating at. No, not necessarily. But, Mike, our oldest boy, I think he would have. He wanted to go to Embrey Riddle and we talked him into going local here first. Uh-huh. And he only went a few months and then transferred to Pittsburgh. He went to aeronautical, uh, oh, just learning to work on engines and that. Uh-huh. Uh, it has to do with airplanes and everything, which is what his whole life is And I really wish we would have let him go where he wanted to go originally. And he would probably be flying, is what he would be doing. Uh, but, but right now, of course, he's, he's working for Pratt and Whitney in Connecticut and they build and rebuild non jet engines. How about the other four, other three who went? Uh, the other ones, uh, the second one, she chose, we let her go where she wanted to, uh, we did not want her to go, but she went to Erie, to Gannan University. Uh, or Gannan College, I am not sure which it is, college, I guess. Uh, she went there two years and it was more expensive and she soon realized, you know, even though she did not like Clarion, she came back and finished at Clarion. Because, it, uh, saved her quite a bit of money and she got really the same basic education that she wanted. Uh-huh. And our other two boys, they went to Clarion also. And, uh, did very well there. And they have all really got, uh, they have all really got really good jobs. And, uh, When they were, like in junior high and high school, I mean, had they, did they have an idea that they were definitely going to go to college and, Uh-huh. Uh, yeah, they kind of had that, they just expected to go. Daphne never went, she always said she would never go to college. She said, I, I always thought she would change her mind, you know, Uh-huh. but she did not. And there's nothing wrong with that, you know, if, college is not for everybody. Uh. But, uh, it, it does make a difference in your wage income. I think it's what they want out of life, because if they get an education and are willing to go where the jobs are, they can make a, you know, a much better income. Uh-huh. Like my kids, they are all making more than my husband was making when he retired from the state. You know, that boggles, my mind. Yeah, I was, I was making more than, I was making three times what my father was making, as an executive in the insurance industry, when he retired. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Okay, did you go to college? Yeah, You did. See it makes a difference. I went, uh, four years to undergrad at University of Nebraska at Lincoln, because Lincoln is where, where my parents live. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And there really, there really was not a choice, Uh-huh. I mean the finances, uh, dictated that you had to go there. Uh. Uh-huh. I kind of, I am not going to say I resent it, Uh-huh. but I was, well you know, one of the national merit scholarship qualifying and, you know, one of the Rhodes Scholars kids, and the whole bit, uh, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. my parents did not even discuss with me going to college out of state, or anyplace else, Some place else. and I just knew that the finances, you know, would not support it. Uh-huh. If I had known how, not, I am not going to say easy, but how much less difficult than I thought it would be to get a, uh, scholarship, to go anyplace else, I think that I would definitely, you know, have gone Uh-huh. Now when I finished there, then I got a scholarship to go the Harvard University in Boston. Uh-huh. And that was, uh, I think that was probably one of the best things that had ever happened, I mean I was, taken out of my element, you know, the homogeny midwest, which is a lovely place to grow up, and put into someplace else where, people thought differently, looked differently, sounded differently, you know, different life style. That's great. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Different life styles, yes, yes. And I think it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. Uh-huh. Now my kids, I keep saying that, uh, you know, I would like them to go to the best school that they possibly could. Uh-huh. And I do not know, you know, what the realities, you know, is going to look like, you know, we are putting money away already. Uh-huh. Uh, but I really think it's important to put these children someplace where, in addition to, you know, them getting an education, they really need a, you know, a socialization away from what they are raised in. Especially if you lived a pretty insular community Uh-huh. and, An upper class suburb of Dallas, let me tell you, It's very different. Right. It's quite a bit different. See that's the way we are, we are more of a rural type of an area and it does make a difference. I, they say, you should not look at the expense of the college when you are looking. You should not. Yeah, not really. Because, they say that a lot of times you get more help, with a more expensive college. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. And so, in the long run, if it's really what they want, you know, they are better off. Now our children all pretty much borrowed for their school. Uh-huh. Uh, we, we did all we could, but they pretty much had to borrow a lot of their money to go. They suggested some sort of a recipe, uh, for, uh, company, for entertaining. Did you have anything in mind that, uh, you'd like to share? Well, I, uh, just had a Christmas Around The World party the other night and had some hors d'oeuvres. Ooh. Oh. And I fixed, uh, a crab meat spread that is real good and real easy. Ooh, that sounds good. What, It's, uh, it's like, uh, eight ounces of cream cheese softened, Uh-huh. and you mix it with one tablespoon onion juice and one tablespoon lemon juice, one tablespoon worcester sauce and mix it and spread it out onto a plate. And, One tablespoon of worcester? Uh-huh. Okay. And then you take and, uh, cover that with drained crab meat mixed with one of the small bottles of chili sauce and spread it over the top and spread it on Triscuits crackers. Oh, that, And that always goes over real well and it's real easy. How much chili sauce did you say? It's one of the small bottles. Like eight, I don't think, uh, Not eight ounces. That would be a lot. Well, it's about eight ounces. Is it? It, it, uh-huh. Okay, this would make a lot, right? Yeah, it would probably make, well, it doesn't make quite as much as you think, but, yeah, spread it out because you keep the cream cheese kind of thin. And how much crab meat did you use? One tin. Of the flake. One, One can of flake. Uh-huh. And drain it real good. Uh-huh. Oh, okay. Have you ever used the, uh, imitation, yet? Yes, I have. I used it, uh, last Christmastime. Uh, what did I put it in? I think I just served it by itself. There's like a little tidbit with the sauce to dip it into and stuff. Ooh, that sounds, I've tried it and then I have it here on hand for about a week and then all of a sudden it dawned on me, wait, is this totally imitation and then I found out, I went back to the store and they said it is a fish product. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, therefore, you really don't have a very long life, you know once you buy it. Right. Right. I thought, so, you know, they should put some directions on some of these new things they're making that you really don't know what the shelf life is. That's very true. You know. Very true. I had bought a cheesecake, uh, and they very nicely put onto the box that it may be re frozen, which I felt was real nice. Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah. Whose was that? It, uh, was, uh, Lawry's, I believe, or Lawler's. And I got it, do you have a Sam's Wholesale Warehouse up there? It's real, Uh, Sam's, right, right. Yeah, okay, that's where I picked it up. It comes out of Chicago and they're very good cheesecakes. Oh. Oh, that sounds good Yeah. because that's great. That must be the ones that look like they're packaged for a restaurant. Yes, yes. Okay, I, I've, And they have, and they have the little papers between them. Right. Oh, hey, that sounds, And I think they're, what, about nine dollars and something. Right. And it's something good to have on hand, too. It's frozen in the first place, right? Yes. Yes. Yes. So, you can, uh, it is frozen, isn't it? Yes, it is frozen. And then you can re freeze. And I thaw it and then you can re freeze it. And, Hey, that sounds great. Uh-huh. That It was, they're very good, very good. And that's the one thing that I hate to make is desserts. Oh, do you? And that's my favorite. Is it? And I really don't care for desserts that well other than one piece of it. Oh, I love to eat it, but I don't like to make it. It takes time and you have to rack your brain, and, time I don't have anymore That's the, that's the thing I hate most about entertaining is thinking of what I'm going to serve. Uh-huh. It is. I, I said I can make it no time. It's trying to think, and then we just, uh, built a new home and I have one of these kitchens that's the center of the house Uh-huh. and so no matter where they're at, your company can see you cooking. Which is funny. That's right. And your mess This, well, this is what everyone has said. They said it's okay for you because you keep a real neat kitchen. And I said, yes, I decided it looks better in BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS than it does in practicality. Yeah But, uh, what I have learned in the, uh, ten months we've lived here, is it that when I entertain, I have to have my foods all prepared and in the oven with all the, everything through, ready to serve. Because with the open area, you don't want someone from your dining room seeing your mess, like you said. Right. Right. That's, that's right. So you have to have the picturesque kitchen, you know, right out of the magazine. Well, I like to have mine all done anyway, because then I want to, I want to party, too. I don't want to sit in the kitchen and be putting an olive on something You're right. You know. And you know the funny thing is, now that I have a large kitchen with a big island and that, I still have people trying to come, you know, they'll come in the kitchen and I said, out, we have the chairs on the other side of the counter for guests. Correct You're not allowed to trespass into my kitchen Sounds, And it, it has worked out. But at our point of life we know many of the people we're entertaining uh, well enough that they know, you know, it's very much at home type situation. Right. Well, a lot of our entertaining anymore with the couples, again, that we've known a long time like you, they, uh, we all bring things and it sure makes it a whole lot easier. Anymore. Well, we even have a better one. Now we decided that we all meet, we have it worked, Okay. All right, well, I'm not a big exerciser, but I kind of had to start after I had my baby because I wanted to lose that extra weight. Uh-huh. And so basically at this point I'm, I'm a real walker. I am, too. Are you? Yes. I don't do that, oh, I guess I'll call it that fancy type walking where they kind of move their hips, you know, and keep their arms up. Uh-huh. I don't do that. I mostly just take a, a walk around the block or with my baby or, you know, and I have to do that at least once a day. If it, If it's going to make any effect on, since I have to eat the same as I did before. Oh, that's good. I can't neglect that because of the baby either. And how old is your baby? She just, uh, well, she was premature, so she's about nine months now, though. times goes fast. Yes. Well, I walk two and a half to three miles every night. Oh, that's great. My husband and I were on Nutrisystem about eighteen months ago Uh-huh. and he lost sixty-two pounds and I lost twenty-one. Oh, my goodness. So we've decided to maintain our weight, that we will do this exercise walking program and we walk our dog every night and go up around the elementary school. Uh-huh. We have a little path that we do. And, uh, except if it's raining or real cold which it hasn't been Uh-huh. Yeah. Exactly. we try to get out, uh, every, every night. Uh-huh. And he plays racquetball twice a week, but I'm not into that, so I think the walking is enough to help us stay in shape and toned. Well, I think that is just wonderful. Now, as far as I'm concerned, I have several other children and so, uh, I think at this point to fit it into, to other things, it's kind of a task. Yes. You know. Uh, it's not to where I'm just so freed up that I, I just go, oh, this is wonderful, let's go Right that's right. I know my kids are into sports and a lot of times, tonight we won't finish with the football game till around nine thirty so we will just go out after that. Uh-huh. So, my kids, luckily, are old enough I can leave them at home alone while I go out and walk. Yeah. Now, does your husband usually go with you, then? Yes. Oh, see, now that's really nice. Yes. Because mine's at meetings sometimes and, and he's not really into it so I have to, No my husband never was either until he lost the weight. Uh-huh. That was his decision. He had arthritis in his hips and his doctor said he needed to lose weight and exercise. I think that is so wonderful. So once he got motivated, now he's ready to walk every night. And our dog has lost a little weight. He walks every night, too So, he gets excited when he sees us put on our, our shoes, our walking shoes. I bet. I think that's really, really good. And, and, you know, I think this, after you've done it a certain amount of time, it kind of does get to be a routine. Yes. It's not, like when I first started, it, you know, that was the hardest thing was to get ready and get out there. Making time for it. But now if I haven't done it in a day or two or something, I really notice that I haven't done it in a ... Yes. You know. And I like the time because my kids, sometimes they come with me and sometimes they don't. And when they don't, I, I really notice, you know, how fun it can be when they come. So, uh, I like to have somebody come with me. I know, I do, too. Uh, I know most of, enough of the people that if anything ever happened I could go to a home around this block area. Right. So it, it's not real dangerous, but still, I don't like to go alone. No. So I never do either. Even if I have my dog with me. Yeah. You know, it's nice to have another person there, but ... Yeah. You know, Mostly, it's my husband and sometimes it's my kids. Well, I think that's great. I, and, well, sometimes when I, I take my kids to the playground that's the only other exercise I, I really think I do. I was on an exercise program before where it was more like an aerobics type thing. Uh-huh. Uh, I found real quick that wasn't for me. Me, too. I did the dance step when I lived up in Michigan Uh-huh and it just wore me out. I would leave totally exhausted. I never lost any weight, and I got to the point I dreaded going in. Yeah, yeah. So walking seems to be a good solution for me and it doesn't cost anything Right right. And it gives me time to think. So I think, not only does it help my body, but I think it helps my mind too. Yes. So I like that. That's the one time in the day my husband and I can get away and talk without having the kids jump in and ... Uh-huh. Yeah, need something and, Yep. They can wait until you get back home. Yep. Well, I think that's great Well, that's what I do for Yep, that's all I do, too. Okay. Okay. Okay, how's the weather been in Plano? Basically about the same as what you've probably had. Yeah, this is probably unusual topic to give two of us in the same city. Uh-huh. Well, I don't know about you, but I was really enjoying the cool snap last couple of weeks, and I'm ready for it to come back. Oh, you like the rain, do you? Well, not the rain so much as the cool, the other mornings when it was like sixty-five when we woke up and sixty-six, and today I know when I got up that the temperature said more like, close, seventy-nine or eighty Uh-huh. so I'm kind of ready for the pumpkin weather. Oh, are you? I don't care for that as much. You don't No. are you a summer person? I'm a summer person Are you? I like the heat. Well, I have a friend who's the same way, and anything below sixty, she's just not happy but I, I think what I would miss is the change of seasons and all because I know in Plano we really don't have as many seasons as, uh, my husband's from Nebraska, and they have more of the four seasons. Yeah, and I'm from Utah, so, I, I like, the four seasons Oh, you're used to that, too. I just don't like the cold. You don't like the cold. Well, I usually like it about sweater weather, and the problem here in Plano is it doesn't last very long. Uh-huh. It goes from hot, and then you get a couple of weeks of that Indian Summer, and then it's cold Yeah. and I wish it were several months of that. The thing, the other thing is the, I don't like the rain either. Well, I don't either unless it's like, uh, some of my favorite's like a Friday night when it rains and you really didn't have anywhere to go, and it's sleeping time. But if you have to get up and get out in it, I don't like it either Well, we have several children that are in sports, and so it always makes their games be postponed forever and ever and ever on, on, and on. Oh, yeah. Well, sure it does. That kind of schedule, you really need a lot more sunshine. I like it better, I think. And also the evenings are going to be getting, uh, darker sooner as it gets cooler. Uh-huh. Yeah. But I did a walk last night, and it seemed like it was a little bit hot still. Sometimes when you work up a sweat you need it to be a little bit cooler. The thing about when it gets hot here is, I don't like the humidity, that part I don't care about. Well, I agree, absolutely, and you know, it's all relative, because I was from West Texas, and it was very dry, and so I thought Dallas was awful, and I still think so, but then this summer we went to Orlando for a week, and it was so humid there that your, um, all your windows were were wet every morning. They had to get the squeejies and clean them off. Oh, really. And when we got back to Dallas it seemed really dry because it's kind of like what you're used to. But I agree with you, the humidity, especially for curly heads like me. Oh, is that right? Yes. I do not like the Well another reason, well, I guess I can't say that it, I don't like the rain completely. We have a little garden that we have and and so it really helps our garden, Uh-huh. and, you know, even, I don't know if that's because plants are just that way and they like rain, or, it seems they thrive when it rains, they just, really, Yeah, I think so too. I know our grass needs mowing twice as often when it rains Uh-huh. Yeah. but it seems like here, I would like it to rain and then be over, and then not rain for a while. It seems like when it gets stuck in a rain pattern, that's all it does. Yeah, yeah. So, uh, but I, I am ready for a little bit of the cooler weather and not so much in the nineties but something like, Well, I guess my, my best would be probably sixty-eight when you wake up or sixty-six, and then probably seventy-five during the day. Well I like seventies I like seventies okay. Yeah. Yeah, are you, do you like the heat in the summer then when it gets up in the nineties and hundreds. Oh, I don't like nineties. Yeah, yeah. You can give me seventies Yeah. and you can give me eighties Yeah, keep it there and I'm okay. But when it gets too hot, then it's, that, I don't like that Yeah. I stay in the house because it's just, It's just too hot. Well, I do, too, I do, too and that was one thing about the year around school that originally we had been sort of negative on it. But then we started thinking, especially in Plano, the weather is so hot in August, that there really isn't a lot the children can do outside anyhow. Yeah, yeah. Static here. That's okay Um, I've, I've thought about that, too, and, um, when we take our vacations, we, we do take them in August sometimes so that we can be away from here Yeah. We do too. I think a lot of people agree the same. It just really gets way, when it gets way too hot Uh-huh, uh-huh. and we've been here for several years, and we've been here years when it's been hundreds and, Uh-huh, now there have been worse summers. In fact this morning when they were talking about, uh, Harold Taft, they were talking about how this has been one of the milder of the summers and milder fall, Years, uh-huh. everybody seems to be, you can tell some of the newscasters when they like the heat, because they'll talk about it being so gorgeous on those days when we're melting, and you can tell when they talk about beautiful weather some mornings when we're, it'll be too cold, and they'll say, well those are the ones that like the cold weather. Yeah, yeah. He, he always did such a good job, I thought. Oh, yeah, he did, he did. It was it was really a shame. A good weather man, He didn't go with all the gimmicks that some of them did. Yeah. Anyway, um, I guess it's, It's kind of hard to keep on about the weather for five minutes That's okay, they say when you're done you're done, Oh, is that right? Okay. you don't have to wait for them to say cut off your time. Oh, good. You just say, Have a good day or whatever. Well good, well, then have a good day. You too. And I hope you enjoy the weather this week. You too. What is it about, nursing homes? well, about nursing homes, and, and older people. Yeah. Uh, my husband has a grandmother that lives with his mother Uh-huh. and they're just really close here. And his mother has bad health too and so I go over sometimes in the day when he's at work and I, um, help with her and bathe her and feed her. Right. And, uh, and I, that's hard to be a caretaker I really believe. It's really difficult to be a caretaker twenty-four hours a day. Oh, it's very difficult I know. Uh, she has Alzheimer's and does not remember, uh, a lot if anything. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so she asks the same questions over and over again. Which is not you know, unrealistic. Right. Um, and so you just have to try and be patient and answer them again or just answer another question. Yeah. Uh, I, uh, some nights his mother calls me and says can your family, and just bring the kids in the family and just come over and, and visit grandma because she gets very disoriented. Yeah, how old is she? She's ninety-two. Uh, my, see my father is ninety-two and still, uh, he and mother still live at the house and drive and and do the whole thing, Oh, I think that's wonderful. but you know if something would, uh, whenever something happens to one of them then, I don't know what I'll do up there. Well, Uh-huh. I, I just know that too many horror stories about nursing homes and so, Yeah. I was just going to say. They're in Missouri and I could, I, I know, I know stories for sure that they just, they, they just, well, they can't take the proper care of them. Most of them. Yeah. Um, And, uh, it's, it's tragic that, you know, when people live so long that they, uh, don't have a really don't have a place to go. Yes. So, Uh, I think it's wonderful these, these places that aren't nursing homes necessarily but they can go and reside there like little apartments, places in between places. Right. And I like that idea if they can handle it themselves. Um, Yeah, there's one very close to where my parents are but, uh, I think it would be nice but my dad's the type he wouldn't want to spend the money on anything. Yeah, yeah So, uh, I mean, he's from that old depression era and, uh, you know, it's, oh, it's just blissfull that they're both, able to do everything for themselves. Yeah. I would imagine that I'll, uh, if something happens, I'll move one of them or you know, in, in with me. Uh-huh. So, uh, Yeah. But I know a lot of people have said that and then find out how tough it is and, but I think you'd have to really, they also wanted us to talk about you'd have to really check on the, uh on this homes. Nursing homes. But I just don't know how much you can see when you go for a, Visit. I think you just have to drop in all unexpectedly a lot. Uh-huh. And so many people when they put people in the nurses home, they never see them. They don't go and see them. That's right. They never go to see them. That's right. I've talked to many, uh, owners of places and say that nobody even, maybe, maybe Christmas. You know, um, I, I think nursing homes are, are, um, some are good Uh-huh. I have to say that. Right. But for the most part I truly believe that the parents would be better if they were with the children. Oh, I do too. Um, Or if, if they could be real, real nearby where they could see them everyday or so. Right, right. Uh, because I know Governor Richards is really upset about what she's finding in the nursing homes, uh, regulation in Texas so maybe we'll get it improved. Uh-huh. So. I hope so. Anyway. You know, it's, I think it's very difficult in the first place to make that choice to have them go there. Right. Oh, it's tough I'm sure. And then if you find out that they are not having good care, you know, I'm sure that it is just, you know, you'd pull them out of there so fast. Oh. Right, that would be devastating I'm sure so. And, uh, and yet if you didn't feel like you could be a good caretaker I don't, uh, it's a very, very hard decision I think. It is a tough decision and it's one that needs a great deal of thought, and prior probably. Uh-huh. I think that's right, Yeah. and especially if you're not a person that is like a medical person maybe or something that the person needs medical treatment. Right. Now I know a friend of mine who had a father, uh, she brought to her home, uh, to live there, but he needed the medical treatment and she had a nursing person come in like three times a week to, to help him out. Uh-huh. And that might be a partial solution, or something. Right. But, um, I personally am for the trying it at home caretaker part before I think I'd ever, I would hope we could do that, and then go from there. Yeah. Yeah. Well, anyway, Well, I, I think we kind of are along the same lines. We've covered a little bit and, uh, it's good to hear from you and, Good to hear from you. Have a good, Have a lovely day. Have a good Okay. Have you faced, uh, elderly care yet, uh, nursing home care for any of your parents? Unfortunately, yes. Uh, in fact, tonight I had the dinner with, uh, my three brothers and our wives and we were talking, uh, we had a review with the nursing home staff. My mother's in a nursing home. Uh-huh. And, uh, we had a review today and a few things we had to do that are part of it that you don't really like, like, uh making decisions on living wills and extended care, that type of thing, Yes. so, yes, I'm very familiar with it and it's not something that is, uh, you know, I never thought I'd have to go through this kind of experience. But I guess we all do. I think sooner or later, uh, both my mother and my husband's mother, we had to end up putting in nursing homes and they were to the point that they only lived, both of them, about six weeks once they got in. Oh, really? And, uh-huh. And it's absolutely, I believe that was one of the hardest things I ever did. In my life. Uh-huh. I, that, it just, you know, it's absolutely devastating. Right. What have you found in dealing with the nursing homes? Well, they're not, every, all the horror stories you hear about them I think are true. Yes Uh, we've, you know, we've looked around and, my wife has looked at, extensively at all the ones in the area And the one she is in now, uh, there's a lot of drawbacks, a lot of things we don't like. But, again, it's no different than every one. And, you know, the cost of it, the, three thousand dollars a month Um, uh-huh. when you think about it, for what you're paying a hospital for almost the same, well, even not as much care. Yes. Yes. It's not that expensive, really. No, uh, there, well, there's a little bit of difference in, in the two between my mother and my mother-in-law. Uh-huh. And, uh, theirs both ran, oh, I think my mother-in-law's was like fifteen hundred and my mother's was two thousand. Then, this has been five years ago. And, uh uh, one of the things that, you know, I had discovered is that if they knew that I came in there at all different hours, they got much better care than if, Uh-huh. when I started out with my mother-in-law, because she was in there first, I would go certain hours Uh-huh. and they knew. And if I'd pop in unexpectedly, I discovered, you know, they did a little bit, they did better. Oh, really? You know, uh-huh. And, you know, a couple of times with my mother-in-law, I would catch something not being taken care of. And, you know, would have to rate, Uh-huh. so I got to where, I knew then when my mother was in that, you know, not to go the same time all the time. Because they would, Yeah. and when I was looking for the nursing homes, another thing that I learned, uh, we had my mother all set to go into one and for some reason I just went back, and on my own went around the different floors. Uh-huh. And, I saw areas that they had not shown me and they did not come across as well as, you know, what they had originally shown me, Well, I'll be darned. so, uh, we did not put her in that one. We put her in another one that I, I went a couple of times when they weren't expecting me and saw, and, you know, was much, uh, better pleased with the situation. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, you, you know, this is the whole point. You've got, you've got to shop them. Yes, you do. I know my mother's in now, in a unit that's mainly Alzheimer's Uh-huh. and, uh, we're convinced that she probably would be better off in a geriatric. Uh-huh. Uh, the fact that these people are they're up and around, but they're, they're, it's reminds me too much of an asylum type situation. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And it's very, very, Does your mother have Alzheimer's? She, well, who knows. They call it, uh, dementia. Uh-huh. And, uh, we don't know. I, I mean she does not know us anymore Uh-huh. and whether it's Alzheimer's or what it is nobody really knows, Uh-huh. but it's, basically the same. And her health is not that bad. Although she has gone down, downhill drastically since this, this last, well, she had been in a retirement community and somewhere in the back of her mind she had it that she would live with her children. Well she, we, we just did not have the capabilities to, to take care of her. Uh-huh. And, uh, but she, she has gone down steadily since she has been in, and she's been in the nursing home now for, oh, I would say about three months. Uh-huh. And, Did she know that she was going to a nursing home? I'm sorry? Did she know that she was going to a nursing home? She, no, as far as she knew, she was going to a hospital. And that she could, she could handle a hospital Uh-huh. and we says, you know, mom, if you, you know, if you get a, you get better, you've got to have the care, the doctor insisted on it, you know, if you get better that you could come out. Okay, what kind of car are you going to buy next? Well, one of the cars I'm thinking about buying next is, uh, a nice, safe, small car, but, um, uh, the reason being, is we just purchased a van a little while ago because we have a big family, Uh-huh. and we use that to get back and forth and haul kids around and so forth, Uh-huh. and we have another four door car that I drive to work, and I think it'd be more economical if I were able to a smaller car and, uh, wouldn't be, wouldn't cost much with gas. Uh-huh. That's true, that's true. What, what are you looking at? Well, I'm really not looking at anything for a while, but you know, when you're driving down the road you see all these pretty new ones that are out, Uh-huh. and you think, Oh, well, maybe, maybe I would like a new car. Oh, yeah But I think I'll be driving mine about two or three more years anyway. Oh, yes, oh, yes. But, uh. Well, the cost of new cars recently are extremely outrageous for the Right, they are. I sure do like the looks of that new Mitsubishi Diamante. Oh, yes, oh, yes. That is a pretty car. I'm, uh, I really like the looks also of the new Mazda that they have, Uh-huh, that's pretty, too. but um, I, uh, you know, the, the costs of a new car and those new models are extremely out of our price range right now. Yeah, they get pretty expensive. Yes, they do. The last one I bought, I bought a, uh, well, it's a, it's a Town Car, but it was a demo, returned Uh-huh. and I got it with like, you know, I think it was like fourteen thousand miles on it and nearly ten thousand dollars less than what the list price was. Right. Well, you can't go wrong with that kind of opportunity. So I was really pleased to find that, and I then, I bought it for cheaper, I was looking at a Honda Accord, a brand new one Yes. and I bought this, uh, the, the Lincoln Town Car for just a little less money than what I was going to buy the new Honda Accord. Wow. Well, you get a much bigger, better comfortable ride. And the thing about it is they give you that ten, uh, that hundred thousand mile, five year warranty where it only costs you twenty-five dollars to have anything repaired. Yes. Well, that's fantastic. That's real, real good. So, uh, I have really been impressed. I said, I probably never be able, to find another one that I can afford, you know. No, do you, But I have loved this car better than anything I've ever driven, because you can go on the road and get there and you're not even tired. Very comfortable, smooth ride, huh. And it gets like twenty-six miles to the gallon on the road. Oh, it does? It sure does. That's, that's unbelievable for that size of car. I, they kept telling me that, and I thought they're crazy, so the week after I got it, well, actually before I signed the papers on it, I took it over to Boozier City Yes. and it did it. Wow. That's great. But it's, uh, That's great. That kind of gas mileage, uh, we're, we're kind of hoping for on our van. Yeah. Well, that's kind of what we've always been told, you know, they'll do, and then we hope for it, and it never happens Uh-huh. but it really, it does get good gas mileage. Well, that's excellent. Most of the time when I don't go anywhere I can drive it for like three weeks from to and from work, you know, and then fill it up, so. Uh-huh. Do you, uh, do, does it, uh, need a lot of repairs? Is it a very reliable kind of car? I haven't had anything, I've taken it in twice for like just really minor things, and it cost me the twenty-five dollars. The, uh, really something really silly when we first got it, we couldn't get the light, they have all these lights in the car Yes. and it has this fancy little light that gives you a reading light for the passengers in the back seat Yes. and we couldn't get the light to turn off. Um. And we kept trying, you know, and we went out to dinner with some friends, and it stayed on all night, you know just shining right down on them, you know Oh dear. Oh dear and we couldn't get it to turn off, and the next day my husband goes out there and he tries to get it off, we turn the knob, you know, in the front that's supposed to turn the lights on and off Uh-huh. and we turned everything we could, Uh-huh. and he took it in, and they said, you know, you just have to press the switch. He says, I've pressed every switch in that car, and I can't get the light off, it's broken. Yes. So they took it in and charged us the twenty-five dollars, and they called and told us though, that all you have to do is turn the off switch, and they showed us where the switch was. They charged you twenty-five dollars just to tell you that, huh. They, they thought there was really something wrong with it when he told them he had already done the switch. Uh-huh, oh, so they probably went through the, But he hadn't, he hadn't done the right one. I see And it's right on the arm rest in the back Uh-huh. and we didn't know it was there. Oh, okay. And the guy hit it with his arm when he got in the car And found it right away. and so we thought, you know, there, there was, it was broken. Uh-huh. But we've had just, uh, I guess it's been in two times. I've had it three years now. Yes. And, uh, it's been in two, maybe three times. But it's just been real minor things. Well, I think that, uh, you have an excellent deal then, and the, the company is able probably to offer that kind of warranty on the car because they know it's so well built that they don't expect any kind of major repairs whereas with an awful lot of other lower quality cars you would be getting repairs after repair after repair That's right. Uh-huh. and those companies wouldn't be able to afford that for that kind of extended warranty or warranty at all, so. That's right. But it's really, it's been an enjoyable car. Like I say, I'll probably never be able to have another one, because I think we bought it for about sixteen thousand, you know Yes and I said, I'll never find another one for that price. No, not at all. And they keep going up, so I'll have to enjoy it, Okay, we're on, uh, recycling Yes. and, uh, I am not real well informed on exactly what Richardson does. Uh-huh. I know that we, uh, they ask us to bundle our newspapers, and we do that, and we recycle our aluminum pop cans and stuff. I see. But now Plano has quite an elaborate system, don't they? Yeah, they do. Uh, it started out several years ago when they put these, uh, collection sites they, uh, near a WalMart, near a football stadium and the like, Uh-huh. and they just couldn't believe how many people were going out of their way to fill these things up. These huge dumpsters were being filled up in a, in a matter of a week. So they knew that there was something going on here. So, they started looking into programs, and what we have now, it, they changed the whole way that they do garbage in Plano. Uh-huh. Instead of collecting plastic bags of garbage two days a week, they make a collection on Monday for yard waste, and the yard waste has to be put in a special bag that's a decomposable paper sack Uh-huh. it's a pretty good size. It's maybe the size of two or three, um, grocery bags. Oh. And we put that out by the street, and they collect those on Monday. And then on Wednesday, we put out two containers that they gave us. One container's a huge, green, monstrous thing that a, uh, uh, a special truck comes by and hooks onto the side of it and flips the container into the back of the garbage truck. So and that's where you put your regular, um, garbage and trash. Okay. And then also, that same day, you put out a small tub, it's maybe two feet high and three feet by two feet wide, and you put, just throw in your aluminum and your milk jugs and newspaper, and then the. Okay, and then they they separate it. Exactly, they have a big truck that has like not ten, maybe five big doors on the side of it, and they throw the different stuff in the different doors. Oh, that's a neat system. Yeah it is. And apparently it's, you know, it, it went off pretty much without a hitch. The trucks, the special five door trucks were a little tough in getting because of something to do with the Persian Gulf war Oh, uh-huh. that the trucks were being, the engines or something were being shipped over there for something or other. But it does work pretty well. Well, I know our son and daughter-in-law live in Plano, and I know they have commented on the system. I don't know that they know that it worked that way, but they have the two separate containers and stuff. Oh, yes, uh-huh. I noticed something interesting last time, I guess two Wednesdays ago when they were picking up, I happened to be out there in the morning when they were picking up the, that tub stuff, and the man who was doing the separating, when he was done emptying the tub, he took a little electronic reader device off of his belt and he read the bar code that was on the side of the tub. So they must be collecting information about who does it, and how often. Oh, that is interesting. Yeah. Because I wonder if that means that if you don't do it Uh-huh. do you suppose they will come and knock on your door and, I, I don't know, but I think that's a really interesting question. That, that is interesting. You know, will you be penalized if you don't. Will you, uh. Yeah, that, that seems farfetched only because it, it, there's no law that says you have to buy a newspaper or pop cans or milk jugs. Right, right. So there, there's, it's possible that there is a person in Plano that doesn't buy any of those three things, and therefore wouldn't have. That's true, except that it's hard to imagine, you know, when you have, uh, cans, you know, from the, the market and, uh you know, vegetable cans, and et cetera. Right. No, they won't take vegetable cans. Oh, they don't take vegetable cans. Just, just the aluminum pop cans. This is just their aluminum cans. Yeah. Well, then yes, so they have, that's interesting. I wonder, uh, uh, Yeah, what they're doing with that. Wouldn't you really like to know? I would. Someday I'm sure we'll find out. I'm sure you know, if nothing else call the sanitation department say, okay, what are you doing reading you know. Uh-huh. So tell me your feelings on recycling. Is it, do you think this is a good thing, or silly. I think it's a very good thing. I think that, uh, I think it helps if the city is giving you a nudge to do it because I think there are a lot of people that don't do it, Yes. and I can't say that my husband and I are real, real conscientious. We got started on the aluminum cans because our, uh, grandson was collecting them, uh, to raise money and stuff for an organization he was in. Yes. So we started collecting them, and now he's through, so we've just, we've kept on Yeah. and it's interesting, too, that we have to drive, we drive to Plano at Plano Road to, uh, just inside your city limits, to, you know turn them in to dump them in. Dump them off. Yeah, and that is interesting. I'm sure there's bound to be some here in Richardson Right. but we just haven't really seen them advertised or you know, something. Yeah. Well, the yeah, the Plano newspaper each, each day, in fact, has a, a little list of all the recycling centers for all the different things. They publish it every single day. Well, that's interesting. Yeah, and phone numbers, and, and that kind of stuff. Uh-huh, well, I haven't noticed, uh, I haven't noticed Richardson, you know, making that big a, Okay on a scale of one to ten where do you stand and why? Well, I guess I stand on, uh, on, probably ten for no, uh, restrictions. I, uh, recently just moved to Texas from, uh, South Dakota and Nebraska, and I guess in terms of gun control I've always, uh, been raised with the, uh, idea in the Constitution that, uh, citizens had a right to bear arms, and I realize that probably way back when when the Constitution was written it probably regarded, uh, more, uh, of a national defense, uh, than anything else, but, uh, on the other hand, too, uh, people then, uh, needed to use firearms for, um, survival in terms of, uh, food Yes, true. and, uh, I was raised, uh, you know, hunting all the time, I lived on the farm, and, uh, you know, enjoy hunting and I guess I have, uh, some problems with, uh, being restricted to, um, owning a gun for, you know, hunting purposes mainly. Right. And, um, it scares me a little bit to think that they would begin restricting gun control to the point where, um, eventually we may not be able to have that right any more. Yeah, I can, I can understand that. I was raised in Oklahoma, and of course, being Oklahoman and Texan, uh, yeah, the hunting and everything, and I used to things in my father and my husband having guns and all, and I, I did, used to be all in favor of it, but it's, all of a sudden it's starting to get really scary with these gangs. Yet I think I would vote a one if I thought that it would be nation wide and they can guarantee no one would have a gun, no crooks, nothing. But because I know that's not going to happen, then I have to probably right up there about an eight Yeah, it, uh, moving to this area, of course it happens everywhere, but, uh, I guess we're pretty naive coming from small towns, uh, in the midwest and then, uh, moving to a larger city where there are drive-by shootings and, uh, there seems like killing for no reason at all, and, uh. Well, it just seems like in the past three or four years it has just gotten so much worse than it was. There's always been a certain amount of crime in your, you know, your urban areas, and I know we lived in Chicago for seven years, and of course it was definitely there. So when we first moved here, it wasn't as bad as this. It's, you know, it's just getting all of a sudden so much worse. I don't know whether it's due to the drugs and the, uh, drug kings that are here and Jamaican drug kings coming in. I don't know whether that's it, or street gangs. I don't know what the answer is. I know that it's scary, and yet I hate the government constantly telling me what I can do and what I can't do, and that's basically what the gun control would end up being. I, I think so, and, and there's always the, uh, the, uh, the old, uh, saying that keeps coming up that if a person wants a gun bad enough they'll, they'll get one, and, uh, and then, uh. Well, it's very true. Yeah. It's not the law abiding citizen that, you know, is, is dangerous with the gun It's the ones that are going out and stealing it. Yeah. And I said I think the only way I would be in big favor of gun control is if they could absolutely guarantee that nobody would have them. And I think that would almost have to go with armies, too. I mean, they'd have to be almost world-wide, which we know would never ever happen. Yeah, yeah, that's for sure. Because even if you said, okay, you know, armed forces could have them, some idiot would come out and sell it to somebody on the street to make a quick buck. Yeah, and, uh, and, you know, uh, I suppose, uh, years ago, way back when, uh, when, uh, they had the revolutionary war and people decided that they, uh, were fed up with the government, uh, and if they didn't have a way to, uh, to fight back they would have been in big trouble. That's very true very true. Who knows, we maybe want to overthrow the government Well, the way things are going. I know, if somebody doesn't do something. Uh, what about, uh, what do you think of this, this, uh, law that they're putting into effect that you have to wait X number of days before you can, uh, carry the gun, or buy, you know, actually purchase the gun? Well, you know, they introduced some gun control back when I was a teenager, I believe, in terms of, uh, every gun you bought had to be licensed, I believe. Yes. And, uh, you know, that didn't bother me, uh, too much, and so, I guess it depends, um, if there are some statistics that show that, uh, that people, uh, commit crimes on the spur of the moment. Okay, uh, I guess our topic is about movies Uh-huh. and, uh, what is coincidence, we got a baby-sitter and we went to the movies that past weekend. Oh, so did I And we saw CAPE FEAR. Oh, I heard that was excellent. It is. Is it? It's really good. Uh, I wanted to see that I was deciding between that and, uh, MY GIRL and, uh, my boyfriend and I went to see MY GIRL. Oh, how was that? Oh, it was excellent. It was a really, really good movie. I'd recommend it. I heard that's, a movie that, uh, you really can't take children. Is that true? Uh, I heard the opposite that, uh, you should take children to see it. Oh. Uh, there were quite a few, uh, kids in there with their parents. Oh. Yeah. Uh, I don't know, though, I, I've heard that, and then what you just told me so, Yeah, yeah, because, uh, the little boy dies. Right, yeah. Yeah. It was sad. It was really sad. Oh. But, uh, his, it kind of shows how his, uh, best friend, this little girl, deals with his death and how, I think, maybe, how children should deal with death. Oh. Oh. Maybe. Uh-huh. But, it was really good. It was sad, very sad. Oh, I want to see that one. Well, CAPE FEAR was, was more suspenseful. Yeah. It was really suspenseful. So that, that's, that's a real good movie to see. I heard it was, uh, sort of like, uh, not, uh, too violent, but it was kind of like, uh, gross, kind of like, uh, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, like. Uh, no, and it, uh, it was kind of, I don't know, it's kind of both, I guess, but it's not, it's not as bad as SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Oh, really? But, uh, it's just as suspenseful, I think. Oh. And it, it was a real good movie. And then we saw BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Because we have two kids. And FIEVEL GOES WEST Oh, yeah. Uh. Oh, I've seen, uh, previews for them on T V, but I, But, uh, those were, those were okay, so, And then, oh, boy, it's been, it's been so long since we've been to the movies, Yeah. but I, we've rented some videos. Oh, yeah, I like to rent movies, too. And I think the last one I rented was, uh, MORTAL THOUGHTS with Demi Moore. Oh. Oh, I, I didn't see that. And, uh, that, that, that's okay. That's pretty good. Yeah. Oh, and, uh, WHAT ABOUT BOB? I have seen that at the theatres, Yeah. yeah. Yeah, we rented that one. That, that was cute. And, uh, uh, I guess that's about it. Have you rented any movies lately? Uh, the last movie I rented was THE HARD WAY with Michael J. Fox and, uh, Oh, yeah, that was good. We rented that one, too. Yeah, I liked that. I like Michael J. Fox a lot. Uh-huh. Yeah. He's one of my favorites. Yeah. I like his movies. So, do you go to the movies often, or, No, not too often. I, I hadn't been to the movies for a really long time since last weekend. Uh-huh. But, uh, there's been movies out that I've been wanting to see. I just, you know, don't get a chance to get out and see them. Yeah, yeah, well, we have two little kids, so it's hard for us to get out and go to the movies. We have to dig up a baby-sitter and And that's only the only time we can go out, Oh I see. so our time is scarce. Yeah. Oh. But, uh, we, we, we we, you know, we're, we're big movie people and we try and do Yeah. and I don't, I don't know about the last movie I've seen on T V that was real good. Uh, Huh. And so then I said, I'm going to move back up there to go to college. That's cool. He goes, okay. So he goes, but do it fast, so I did my undergraduate in two years. Oh, really? Awesome. Yeah. So, but it's, a, it's just, you know, oh, well, we've been talking for five minutes. That's cool. That's the only obligation we have. Groovy. And, uh, well, tell your dad that now he owes you five bucks. Yeah, no doubt. Okay. Okay. All right, nice talking to you. Yeah, you, too. Bye-bye. Bye. Hi, Kay. Hi. I, uh, was thinking about salaries and benefits and uh, was wondering what's the most important thing to you besides a salary in a job. Uh-huh. Well, um, I, we just recently graduated from Rice University, and, uh, we were going through a lot of job interviews and things, and some of the things that were important to me, uh, when my husband was looking for his job, was, um, hours, you know, we, he'd been in graduate school so I was used to his not being home at all Yeah So I was, you know, didn't want him to have a job that would make him kind of be on call all the time, and have to go in at any time, and you know, even on the weekends and, um, and things. Uh-huh. So that was important to me, and also insurance for the our family because we'd like to be able to take care of our medical needs and not be thinking so much about whether or not you can afford it. Sure. Yeah, I don't ever want to have to worry about that. That's real important to me. Um, you know we have that, that Aetna Uh-huh. that's what we, the insurance that we have right now. Uh-huh. Us, too. When we were in Colorado, they had, um, a different type of H M O there that I really liked a lot. Uh-huh. It was, um, not that kind of H M O where you have to go to their, their sort of like clinics, you know Uh-huh. but this was just an H M O where you could go to private practice doctors and to the regular hospitals and all that, but it was with a certain list of, of doctors that, you know, participated in the H M O, Uh-huh. and, um you know, then you only had to pay the, Well, that's nice. for us it was a five dollar co-payment every time you went to the doctor, and, uh, three dollars for the prescriptions. Uh-huh, that's good. And, uh, I especially liked the prescription, especially since my children tend to have ear infections all the time Uh-huh. That, those prescriptions can be very expensive. Oh, I know. We just went through that ourselves. We just, you know, are like fifty dollars for this series of antibiotics and things. Oh, I know, especially if you get, what is it, Seclor I think that that just about breaks the bank right there. Uh-huh. Yes. Yes, it's pretty bad. Well, yeah, and we, um, we were interested in having dental insurance, too, because, um, having been in school, we kind of put things off and only went in when we knew there was a problem somewhere and stuff Uh-huh. and we wanted to be able to go in and have our teeth cleaned and just checked all over Do, Do you have the basic plan or do you have the, the other one? and, We have, um, you know we're at Aetna with an, uh, we have like the the dental insurance is separate. Is that what you mean? Right. I don't think it's the basic, I think it's the other one. The one that's like you get additional, they'll pay a little bit more I think for the different procedures. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. We just have the basic right now, and for most things it tends to cover it We don't too many major, um, expenses at this point, but we have been able to find dentists that will accept pretty much whatever the basic plan pays. A couple of times we've had to pay, oh I don't know, three to five dollars but that's not that bad. Uh-huh. No, that's great. Yeah, we need to go shopping for dentists and things like that too. Yes and, let's see, besides insurance, other things that we looked at, um, well, my husband does not like to commute very far, Uh-huh. and, and we don't like him to be, you know, having to drive an hour to work or something No, we don't like that either So we kind of looked for where, where the, uh, his office would be located and well, he's at, you know, he's at the one that's at, um, seventy-five at, uh, six thirty-five and so we, by living in Plano we're just about fifteen minutes away. Is his office in Plano? Uh-huh, uh-huh. Oh, that's not bad. Um, especially when they finish all the construction out here Right. and we didn't want him to let, you know, to, like we had some job offers in the New York area, and we thought, well, you know, he would be really commuting Oh, yes, you're not kidding. and not only is it, you know, trouble to have to drive, but it takes time away from your home and your family when you're out driving. That's right. And, um, so, that was something that was important to us, and, because, like I say, we kind of felt deprived that he had been in school and been away from us for so long that we were anxious to do everything we could to have, you know, made us be more together, and, and what other, can you think of another thing that you guys looked at and, Well, those are some of the things that are very important to us too. Uh-huh. Um, we, we'd like, you know, other benefits that are provided, um, the athletic facilities that you sometimes take advantage of I think that's, that's pretty nice, Uh-huh. but I have to say that since we've come here we haven't done it too much though, we haven't enrolled in too many of the classes or, or any of that. But that's, that's a nice benefit to have. Uh-huh, that's true. That's really important. Um, also, what, um, opportunities there would be for advancement, I think, we looked at besides just, you know, what salary you would be having now. But when, when could, uh, your salary increase Right. um, is there, was there somewhere to go. Yeah, that's, that's one of, I think, the hard things right now, I mean they're going through some tough times to say the least. Uh-huh. I know many of us are thankful that he still has a Yes, that we can make our mortgage payments and, yeah, that's really true. um, if, if an employee is especially exemplary, I think it's often, in a smaller company it's a little bit easier for them to say, Hey, you know, this person did a wonderful job, give him a big bonus kind of thing. A lot of times smaller companies have bonus plans, where I think in a large company it's hard to do that because there're just so many people to deal with Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you have to have guidelines, you know, for salary increases, and things like that, that's one of the things that, that happens when someone, when you're dealing with a large company. Uh-huh. But. But, we also were interested in, um, you know, being sure that he felt like he liked the people that he would be working with and that there would be some opportunity for friendships that way, so that you would feel happy going to work every day and Rather than thinking Oh, I really, I can't stand these people. Uh-huh. But, so that's something that was important to him, in thinking he could work under. Oh, just since last summer. Uh-huh. It's only been, not even a year yet, so. Well, I was going to say it sounds like you, you picked out a lot of good things, you know, for him, to, to, uh, to choose in a position and have a lot of thought put into it. In a big company, though, you also get moved around a lot Yes, well. He may be having to drive over here to Lewisville some time. Oh, yeah. Or we may be having to drive to Plano, you never know. You never know, we're hoping that that won't be the case We, I think one of the most deciding factors of why we chose, um, this area is that, um, my husband was raised in Irving Uh-huh. and so he, we have a lot of family here, his side of the family. And being, when we were down in Houston, we were isolated, I mean, it's not that far, but, people would we didn't have anyone in town that was our family. Right. And although we had really good friends and we had church and school support and things, um, we were anxious to move close to family members, just because we wanted our children to know their grandparents and things like that. Yeah. We're very, So, that really made a big difference, I think, in why we chose T I, and chose to move this way. We're very far from our families, and it's really hard. I have little children, and, um, they were the only grandchildren, and so, our, our families are, are really far away. In fact, this is a little off the topic, but yesterday, my mother happened to be on a train going from Phoenix to, back to Chicago Uh-huh. and it stopped in Dallas for half an hour, so I loaded the kids in the car, and we went downtown, and met her train for half an hour, and brought her a little snack and an Easter basket and I think it, it made her trip a little bit nicer. Oh, that's nice. Yeah, and it is, I think it is important to, you know, want to be close to your family and, Yeah, and it's, it's hard, I mean, just for us to snatch a half hour like that is a special occasion for us. Uh-huh. So, um, Yeah, that's the same, way we felt. it's nice. It's nice that you can have your family close like that. We're really enjoying it. I wonder what it would be like, I mean, I wanted to be close to family, but I also thought it would be harder to be close to family. Yeah, sometimes it can be. But it's turned out really good, and I think that, you know, we're really satisfied with that choice, and we, you know, kind of felt like, um, it was worth it to us. That's good. But anyway. Well, I, my children just ran out the door, so I need to go check on them Okay Well I've really enjoyed the conversation. Well, I have too. And, uh, nice to have met you, and you have a good day. Okay, you too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay If you want to go first, go ahead. Oh, I think, I think that a woman's role has come a long way. We have gone more into the business aspect of, like I say, of, I don't know, working more, and we, I think we've even gone into more the labor aspect of it also. With the pay and everything, you know. Yeah, definitely. I feel that, uh, we've missed as far as the top jobs go. You know, the higher echelon. Yeah. Uh-huh. Because if you look at most corporations, there isn't a woman, you know, that's on the board of directors, or that type of thing, they are mostly all men. Uh-huh. There may be a few, but very incidental. Yeah. And I really think that it will be a long time, probably, before we see that. In one sense, I'm an older person, in my fifties, so I feel that we've lost some things in the sense that women have to work today. You know, that they are not in the home by choice anymore. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. It's mostly, you know, even if you want to say home, you really can't. And a lot of times you can't, yeah. You know, it's gotten to be a two income family to just survive today between taxes and the cost of living, and I don't think raises have kept up with, you know, a lot of the stuff, you know, as far as your medical insurance and just groceries and gasoline and all, you know. Uh-huh. So I think that we did come a long way in the sense that we are allowed to vote in, you know, like you say, we're out in the labor force, but I think we've lost something too. Yeah, my mom, she's a housewife, and, well, there is twelve kids in my family, so my mom never could really work, you know, because she was kind of pregnant from day one. She never really had a chance to work. Yeah. She worked before she got married, but, uh, she, uh, she doesn't believe in, she's very old fashioned. She doesn't believe in the woman working unless she has to. That's what I mean, and you know, there's a lot of truth to that. Yeah. If you are not going to have a family, then that's fine, then, you know, a career is a smart choice. Uh-huh. And I think it's great, but if you, you have a family, I think you owe the family a responsibility. Uh-huh. And to have children and just get a day care or someone to take care of it, and not really have the bonding process that takes place with babies and stuff, you know I, I think that the mother and the child lose, Uh-huh. and I think that's why there is so many problems you know, with kids today, Yeah. because they don't have the family roots anymore. You know, I'm not saying that, that it's totally gone, but it's nothing like what it used to be. You know, in that sense. Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, and also like my mom, my mom thinks, I mean she's kind of right with it, when both partners of the marriage work, she feels that that's taking more away, that's increasing more unemployment for people that need to work. You know, like for, for the men that don't have jobs, Oh, definitely. if, you know, she feels if there is women out there just because they want to do it, she said, you know, they could stay at home, That's right, they don't want to take care of the kids. And the house and that kind of thing. Yeah. That's very true, but then they shouldn't have a family. Yeah. That's what I'm saying, you know, I think it's great that women have a choice today. That there are ways to prevent families, you know, Uh-huh. like basically there's contraceptives and all kinds of ways to prevent pregnancies. Yeah. There is no need to have children if you don't want them. What do you think about that, do you think that, uh, what do you think about the women that are not having families because they want to continue their business? That's fine, that's, that's the freedom of choice. Uh-huh. And I agree with that, because anyone who has children that doesn't really want them isn't going to be a good parent. Uh-huh. Well, I shouldn't say they are not going to be a good parent. They won't be a caring parent. Uh-huh. Like they won't have that, Or they won't be as good as they could be. Right, that's what I mean, they'll feel like it's a job. Uh-huh. It's not like something that they really wanted. Like I had three children, and I mean I, I wanted every one of them. Uh-huh. I'm not sorry I had any of them, and I worked third shift for a good part of my life just so I would be home with them. Yeah. You know, I had to work, but I tried to make it as painless as possible. Uh-huh. In fact, at one time I worked as a second shift, and one Saturday morning we were all sitting at the breakfast table, and the kids were talking, daddy this, daddy that, daddy this, daddy that, and I was sitting there. It was like I didn't belong anymore. And it was because I had worked for about nine months, and when they were coming home I was going to work. Uh-huh. And I wasn't there at supper time or bed time, or they couldn't tell me what went on at school because they would be coming in the door, I would be going out. Exactly. So we were, I felt I was losing my family. Uh-huh. And that's why I said that's it, I either have to quit or, you know, try something else, so I went on third shift. Uh-huh. And I worked that shift for eleven years. Oh, my. Yeah. Bless you Just so that my kids would have me at home. Uh-huh. You know, and I feel that's very important, it really is, and it's too bad because mothers miss out on so much too. Uh-huh. So I mean in the sense that we've come a long way, yes, but we've sacrificed a lot to get there. Yeah, I, I agree. And, uh, I really think that if, uh, like after the second World War when women went to work in factories and all that, that was like out of necessity, because the men weren't here anymore. Uh-huh. But then it got to be a point where they got some independence. And they just enjoyed the income, the extra. Exactly. A man can afford the necessities, a woman affords the luxuries. Uh-huh. And I notice today kids, you know, like we had apartments before we had homes. Uh-huh. And we had to walk before we had a car. Exactly. And now kids at sixteen years old, they have their birthday, what do they get, they get a car. Oh, I know And to me, it's like we've lost our values in this country. Uh-huh. We really have, and I, I'm not trying to be, uh, you know, a prude or old fashioned or anything, but I, I don't think if you, unless you earn something and you've worked for it, and you have a sense of pride about it, because while I did this in, you know, no one gave it to me. Uh-huh. You will take better care of that, and you will prize that possession. More than someone handing something to you. Exactly. Uh-huh. And it's just like college too, I think that if a kid goes to college, and you can help them, fine, but I don't think you should pay the whole way. See, yeah, see, now, my parents, there is no way they could afford to send twelve kids to college. Of course. And so far there is only two of us that have gone, and my older brother has paid his entire way, and I'm on my, I have six weeks left and I'll, you know, I'll graduate, and I paid my entire way, and that's the way it'll go down the line, and like I don't have a car because I'm paying for college, and if I want a car, my parents always said if we wanted a car, we paid for the car, and we paid for our own insurance, and I think that's right because, Sure, but I'll bet your values are a lot higher, you know, and your self esteem and the, the way you, uh, you know, think about things is probably a lot more common sense than these kids that don't have that responsibility. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Like I've had my, you know, like I know kids up here that have their own cars and money is just given to them, like they still get their allowance, they are twenty years old and they still get an allowance. Well, I have held a summer job, you know, since I, you know, I was in the eleventh grade, and I have had to take care of my own money, I have my own checking account, I pay for my own life insurance, and I know a lot of kids that don't even know, I mean I tell them I pay for my own life insurance and their mouths just drop to the floor, you know. Sure, they probably don't even have any. Well, if they do, they don't know it, you know Yeah, exactly, and that's what I say, you'll, you'll be so much better off for it as you get older, because, you know, a lot of kids resent things that parents tell them and stuff, but it's because you've been there. And no one can tell anyone anything Uh-huh. Oh, I know. you know, you are going to find out for yourself, but I mean I don't think you should just not listen to advice, even if you don't take it, just listen. Uh-huh. You know, there is no harm in that, whereas sometimes you can't even get that from a kid, you know. Just attention, you know. Uh-huh. But really, uh, what do you feel the changes in the future, like with the abortions and that type of thing, women in politics and president someday, maybe Uh. Actually I think abortion is going to take a turn where there is not going to be as many, because I think contraceptives are going to be more popular. I mean I realize that they are popular now, but I think, I really think people are going to start using more contraceptives and with the abortion, I don't think there is going to be as many abortions, but I don't know what women will do when they get into politics, you know, about abortion. Yeah, yeah. I think it will be freedom of choice. Well, I still think people have a choice. You know, if you can live with it, and it's, you know, your conscience is clear then I mean all of us are going to answer to it one day, maybe. Or maybe not. Uh-huh. Exactly, yeah. I don't know. Uh-huh. I mean no one has said for sure, you know. Yeah. But, Yes, yes. Which I mean I think it should be anyway. I, I do. I'm Catholic, and we, we are not supposed to, you know, say that that's okay, but I really feel that it's freedom of choice. Yeah. I do. Because I mean you as an individual, what you do, that to me is your business. Uh-huh. And, uh, And different circumstances call for different things. Exactly, exactly, that's ... Okay. Well, I haven't, uh, you know, when the war was on I watched C N N and, uh, NIGHTLINE pretty regularly and read the paper and all Uh-huh. but when, uh, lately, like the last week or two I guess with Easter and spring break with the kids I, um, I hadn't been thinking much about the Middle East and what's going on over there. Have you been keeping up? Well, uh, just really the last couple of days since this, uh, the, U N debate or whatever you want to call it that, uh, voted on whether there was going to be a cease fire. I guess, you know, the thing really isn't over. Uh-huh. They, uh, they had, uh, kind of, uh, I don't know if you call it standout or whatever but anyway they stopped and waited to see if Iraq would accept a permanent cease fire situation though. As I understand it, from the Iraqi point of view this current cease fire thing that the U N, uh, had set up, you know, the Iraqis are probably not going to go for at all, unless they're just absolutely forced to. Uh-huh. Um. So, I guess, from what I understand the thing could just it could just, they could take off at any moment without, uh, you know, you know, any local, you know, congressional effort or anything else because, you know, it's not really settled yet. Start up. There's no official document signed or anything? Not yet. Not yet at all. Well, I, um, when the, when the crisis began last August I began to think well I, I couldn't remember things that I had studied in the past in school and all so I got out like my encyclopedias and tried to read about the history. Uh-huh. And it was really, what I felt was kind of cynical because it there just hasn't been any peace over there ever In thousands of years, of history. No. Yeah. I don't know, why they expect it's going to start this week, you know. Yeah. That's right. And it just, it's just not people they, and it's not, uh, you know, there isn't any real Arab coalition because they do fight among themselves. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And they fight with each other and they have such hatred for, uh, Israel and, Yeah. The, uh, the thing that's kind of interesting about this, my sons in the Air Force. Oh, yeah. And, uh, he came within a quarter of an inch of going, uh, to Saudi, he ended up in Korea instead and because of the way they split a transportation group out in Lubbock. So he ended up going to Korea and his buddies ended up going to Saudi. Well, he's still in Korea and his buddies home now He, he almost wishes that, that he could have gone home. And got it over with. Yeah. Well, I just, there's just no way for us to be involved over there and hope that there will be much peace. Uh-huh. And, um, with, and that I'm afraid that we would have to stay. Yeah. The thing, uh, the other thing too, when this all started if you, you know, if you did much reading on the thing, you know, Kuwait, the country of Kuwait was just, you know, somebody's uh, you go back to World War I when the, uh, Ottoman empire broke up and the British and the French and the, yeah, the British and the French mostly decided to carve up that part of the world and call part of it Persia and part of it Iraq and part of it something else, you know, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and they, they split things along, um, geographical lines but they didn't take any kind of consideration into, uh, social or cultural things at all. Right. So, the country of, of Kuwait really doesn't make just a whole lot of sense except that it is an excepted place, you know Yeah. it's like any other country, you know, for whatever reason it's, it's actually there. Well, Iraq has had, uh, designs on that place since nineteen twenty-two so, you know, it wasn't like something that just suddenly popped up. Yeah. And it's just that this was an excuse, you know, to make some noise Now, something that I read in the paper the other day that I thought was kind of interesting was that the Arab, uh, uh, their version or vision or whatever the United States, now, is somewhat changed in that we won, you know. Yeah. Now, now we are a, uh, a legitimate player, in the game over there, you know, the, the, I don't think we can really understand their attitude because there cultures are just so much different. Right. But, uh, we are now a legitimate player in the, in the, in the game because we came in with a certain amount of force and we, you know we defeated, you know Iran couldn't do it in seven years and we went in and did in seven days what Iran couldn't do in seven years, you know. Right. So Right that kind of ups our stock in there just a little bit. It makes us more legitimate. So, now what they're saying is that, well, since we won whatever we say goes because it's, uh, a kind of a might make strike sort of attitude about it and, you know, we've got the power. Which is why for centuries or hundreds of years the British and the French had so much influence in there Yeah. because they'd go in and they'd win something. Right. And then, and then they could call the shots for the, you know, period of time until the next strong man came up and, you know and caused problems. Right. Well, I just, uh, I'm not interested in keeping big military over there and having to go and call the shots like you say. Yeah. Yeah. And I just would prefer that, I mean sometimes we've said let's keep, we're not interested in what other countries do. Uh-huh. And then other times we jump in and do things and while I'm glad that they, uh, I, it was important demilitarize that area because of all the build up armaments. Yeah. I don't, I hope we don't try to keep, uh, in there and try to keep our fingers in the pot and try to, stay over there because we just don't want to send our people there and make them stay. That's, that's the, uh, that's, that's the big thing, you know, we still got a little bit of the old, you know, Vietnam, um, problem, you know, in the back of our minds. We, we got this, Yeah. we're, we're used to wars where you can get in do the job and get out. Vietnam we never did get out, you know, never did get the job done because they were too ham strung . Yeah. Uh, this thing they, they gave the guys, uh, the power and the material and the, told them to go do it and they did it. You know, got in and got out. Yeah. I'm not sure, the, the big fuss that we're going to see now for the next few weeks I would think is, uh, you know, the, uh, the business with the, uh, the Shiites of all people, you know, in the southern part of the country and also the Kurds because these people evidently are, you know, being killed off by the thousands. Yeah. And whether the, the United Nations, I don't think the U. S. will do it on their own but whether the United Nations comes around and says, hey, wait a minute we know this thing isn't, uh, all that much over, we've got to go back in there and, and be sure that this large population isn't just wiped out. Uh-huh. Which is, seems to be exactly what's happening right at the moment. Uh-huh. I noticed that. But, um, you know, Well, I don't think there's much hope for a lasting peace over there like they, No, there, there never will be. Yeah. I mean, uh, uh, the only way that you're going to have peace over there, if, if we determine that we want to go in and wipe out every last one of them, you know, until we make a decision to do that there won't be peace but I don't think we want to make that decision either. No. So that's, that's a little rough, you know, we're not, we're not quite up to that sort of thing. No. So Well, I guess I better go I have a repairman just came, for my refrigerator, Oh Oh, well, that's, that's fun. But, Yeah. Well, I enjoyed the topic. I hope you have a good day. You too. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay. Hi, I, uh, I like, I love to do, uh, all kinds of crafts and sewing, I, I find that's my one release Uh-huh. Um, I like to do like physical things like sports. Uh-huh. Um, I really enjoy softball and my favorite is volleyball, Uh-huh. and, but, I'm at school, I'm in, you know, I I live up at the college, So sometimes it's hard for me to do that, Uh-huh. so I just, like sometimes, I like, just to get away, I go to my room and I like walk in, turn the radio on, or, you know, just kind of like veg out or something. Uh-huh. Well I have two small kids and so, I, I don't have, you know, much time to, to go places and play sports, you know, Uh-huh. I have to do something where I can do it at home. So, I'm, uh, I just love to sew and, uh, you know, I I make a lot of my Christmas presents, Uh-huh. and I love to do all kinds of crafts and stuff like that. I like to do that stuff, but when I'm in, like when I'm at school, I don't have time to do it or even time to learn how to do it. No, I remember when I was in college, I didn't have time to do that stuff either. It was really, Yeah. But now, you know, I don't have a whole lot of time now but I have more time than I did, so. Uh-huh. And a lot of my sewing I kind of do out of necessity, you know, for, you know, I've got two kids to put clothes on, so. Yeah, exactly, uh-huh. Like, um, I have, I come from a family of twelve children, Oh. and when I'm up here, I really miss my younger brothers and sisters, so you know, that's, that's a change, because there's nine of them that are younger than me. Uh-huh. I'll call like when I know my mom and dad aren't home, I'll call home just to talk to my little brothers and sisters. I, I really miss them a lot so I don't, I guess talking on the phone is one of my hobbies too. Yeah, I, yeah, I just, uh, have, you know, one brother and he's married, and, you know, they have a couple kids, so I, you know, I don't have, uh, you know, I don't get on the phone too much. But, yeah most of my stuff is just going you know I enjoy going places with my kids and I do like sports, but I'm, you know, I don't have a lot of time for them. My, I like volleyball. Of all sports, I think that would be my favorite, because I hate basketball Yeah, well, I'm not much of a basketball fan either. I enjoy playing volleyball but I, you know, I, I don't have a lot of time to do it, so. Uh-huh, yeah. It's maybe once a year or something an, and then I, you know, used to play it a lot when I was in school, but now that I'm married and stuff I, you know I've like, I'm really bad. Nobody would want me on their team. I'm the, you know, I'm the opposing teams best player, so, so to speak, so. Uh-huh. But, yeah, I enjoy, um, you know, just, I, you know, I have varied interests and stuff and yeah, so. Yeah, um, not that I like reading, but I do do a lot of reading while I'm here at school. Uh-huh. Do you like reading as a hobby? Uh, I love to read, but I, you know, I don't have a lot of time to read an, You know, what reading I do, I kind of do because it's, you know, it's the necessary stuff Yeah. as far as fun reading, you know, I maybe get to read the Sunday paper, but, that's about it, you know, so. Yeah. Yeah, I don't have a lot of time to read. I, yeah, I remember in college, I did a lot of reading, most of it text books, so. Uh-huh. And, just, you know keeping busy with everything else going on, so. But yeah, I, I like to do, uh, I've made stuffed cows, you know, dress, you know, dolls, they're like dolls, Uh-huh. you know, you make clothes for them and everything like that. Yeah. They, those have been real popular with my family. I've had them calling up and saying, will you make me another one and, so, I do things like that, you know, if I had more time, I'd probably do it and sell the stuff but, you know, I don't have enough time to do it to really, you know, take orders on it, Uh-huh, yeah. you know, it's like I can only do it when I have time. I have a whole stack of material and patterns to sew up as it is, so. Do you, um, I know one thing that's pretty popular with the girls up here at college, and I make them also, is the padded covered photo albums? Oh yeah, uh-huh, I do, I've done those too, before, yeah. Uh-huh. Those are real, I, I have a several of those that I've made like as wedding gifts, you know. I made them out of all lace and, and satin, you know, and made them as wedding gifts and stuff like that, so. Yeah. Those are real popular, in fact, I got some of those for my wedding, so. Uh-huh. I know they're real popular here at school, also. Uh-huh, yeah, yeah, those are fun to do, and just little things, you know, I, I didn't have a lot of, when I was in college I did, you know, I did sewing for other people when I had time, you know, like if somebody needed a bridesmaids, maids dress made, I'd make that, but that's about all the sewing I did, I never had time for, you know, to sew myself a new dress or anything like that so, but, yeah. Uh-huh. I just kind of sew for my kids and that's about it, so. Well, I guess maybe we've covered the topic, pretty good. Yeah. I really don't have any other. Yeah, I'm not too much, uh, you know, I don't have a lot of hobbies, mine are just mostly, you know things I just do out of necessity. Uh-huh. Okay, well, it's been nice talking to you. It was nice talking to you too. Good luck in school. Thanks. Bye, bye Bye, bye. All right, do you do garden work? As little as possible. I'm a college student Uh-huh. so if I do any garden work, it's only when I go home in the Summer. Oh, where do you go to college? Where's that? It's about two hours north of Pittsburgh. Oh, okay. Yes. Yes. Well, do you, you know, do you do gardening at home? Yeah, we go home, well, we have a large family, there's twelve kids in my family. Oh my goodness. So, like almost all our vegetables and everything is from the garden. Hm. So we have a pretty good size garden Yeah, well I guess you glad you got to go to college so you'd get some rest But we have like a lot, like my mom likes flowers, so we have a lot of flowers too. Yeah. I had a whole bunch of flowers and things. Well, I don't have as many now. We lived in the country for a long time, Uh-huh. and I had a whole bunch. But now, I work and I live in the city so, that sort a kind of hung it up. I have a few flowers, but most of mine are like in barrels and things like that. Uh-huh. And this year I decided that, well my husband made a little garden out there with some tomatoes and stuff in it, but I decided that I don't like grass, I don't like to have to have to pull grass Uh-huh. so I decided that I would plant me a tomato plant in a flower pot and see how it worked. Uh-huh. And mine looks real good You know, I've seen a lot of people that do that. Yeah. I've seen, you know, like elderly people that really can't get out too much sometimes. Uh-huh. Like we, I have a great aunt that lives in a, it's just like, uh, a high rise for elderly people. And, you know, she does her own thing and everything, but she has, it's like a little apartment building. And she has a tomato plant year round. Oh. Because she, you know, they keep it warm with, for all the older people, and she keeps it year round. I had never thought about that. I could probably plant one and bring it in, and just like I bring my plants in every year. That'd be neat. Well, I got a patio, and I tried to talk my husband into just buying a whole bunch of pots And planting them all in it, you know, because that's favorite thing, is tomatoes to grow. Uh-huh. And so, um, but he said, No, he was going to plant in the earth, you know, like he always has, because he's always had a garden out in the country. Uh-huh. And I think he kind of misses it a little bit, you know, since we moved to the city. But, um, I went ahead and planted one, and mine looks better than his It does, and then I like, um, you know what day lilies are? Pardon me? Day lilies. Are they, well, do they just come out in the morning then go Uh-huh. but we call them Morning Glories up here. No, no. Huh-uh. These look like a lily. They look like a, a, well, they really look like an orchid when they come out. Oh really. Uh-huh. That what the look like, but they only bloom for one day. Oh. They'll, um, you'll have a bud the evening before, and then the next morning as soon as the sun hits it, it it starts opening up and then when it gets dark, it closes and that's it. It only blooms for one day. And then it's done, completely done. Uh-huh. Oh. Yeah. But, um, they look like orchids, is what they look like, but they look like different color ones, like I have, uh, yellow ones, and I have red ones, and I have purple ones Uh-huh. and then they have like, you know, the real velvety looking stuff inside Oh, yeah. it looks just like orchids in different colors. That's what they look like. Oh, really pretty. They are, they're beautiful. Uh, I have a friend when I lived out in the country, and she had belonged to this kind of society that like every year, you know, or every so many months they would send you different bulbs that they came out with. Uh-huh. And I mean they were real expensive. They were like, well, the most expensive one that she gave me a bulb for was like thirty-two fifty for one bulb. Oh, my gosh. So what she would do is she would plant them, and they multiplied. So the next year when she, you know, weeded them out so they wouldn't be as thick, then she'd give me some of the bulbs. Uh-huh. And, I mean, I have some of the most beautiful day lilies that you've ever seen. So, when we decided to move, it was really funny because, like I said, I had a whole bunch of different kinds of things, and I kept saying, Well, I want to take a few of these, and I want to take these, and I want to take these. My husband finally said, Look, are we going to take the grass? Can we leave the grass? I said, Yes, we may leave that. take the whole grass, the whole yard. And we had a tree that was like seventeen foot tall, or something like that, that he said, No, no, I am not taking the tree. You know, I mean, every time we went outside, he'd look at something that was humongous, you know, No, we're not taking that. But the last day, he said, Can't we leave the grass, and I said, Yeah, I think we will leave that. That'd be funny. But, I brought, my kids, when they were little they had given me some azaleas so I brought all my azalea bushes. Uh-huh. Yeah. And you know, I brought, I brought as much as I could bring without, you know, really tearing up their place. Uh-huh. But, just like, um, you know, the people that bought ours, bought the place, but, um, I knew that they would, you know, if I left like one bulb of each one of them, by this year they'd have ten bulbs of each one of them. Yeah. So, it wasn't like it was going to be this big raw place or something, you know, it would cover it right up. Uh-huh. But, I just couldn't see it, you know, going off and leaving everything like that. Yeah. Because this house, I really liked it and everything, but the yard was a lot to be desired. Oh there was nothing. Oh. These people, we have one ugly pine tree. I mean, and it is ugly. I even tried making it look nicer, you know, I tied the yellow ribbon around it, and it was so ugly. Oh, it did not help, let me tell you. I took it off and put it on my door. I did not want to call attention. I mean, it was terrible. So really the plants that I brought over and put out here are just about all. I don't do any of the mowing or, you know, edging and all that Uh-huh. My husband does all that stuff. But that's because I'm allergic to the grass. Oh, that'd be awful. I love going out in the Summer in the grass. Really. Uh-huh. Now I like to go to the beach where the sand is, because then it doesn't make me ill Yeah. And, um, well even up here at school, you know, it gets hot, and we have the windows open, well they mow the grass up here sometimes six o'clock in the morning. And just to smell the grass, it's just, I just love the smell of freshly cut grass. Yeah, I used to until it, I got so allergic to it. I don't know if it's all, well, I went and had some tests run and just about all the kinds I was allergic to. But it's not as bad here, like Saint Augustine, I think, is what we have. And it's not as bad as it was when we were out in the country. Uh-huh. But out in the country, I mean, if I went outside while he was mowing the grass, I was going to have a gigantic attack. Oh my gosh. So, um, I get shots for it now, too. That helps a whole bunch. Uh-huh. But, one good thing about it, see I don't have to mow the grass or I mean, that's really nice. Yeah, you said that you had a garden. What all things do you plant in it, or do you like to plant in it? Well, the first thing we always plant is tomatoes Uh-huh. every year. I don't care if we don't have anything else, we're going to have tomatoes. And then we plant cucumbers and, Uh-huh, do your cucumbers come good? Oh yeah. Really. Sometimes when my dad has, like, that's the one thing no one is allowed to touch except my dad. He takes care of all the cucumbers, because he said the vines are just so, at our house, as soon as you touch a vine, it's like it completely dies. Really, Uh-huh. It must be the, uh, Sometimes we have really good luck with them, but then there'll be like maybe two years in a row that we can't get anything. Now that's, I mean, that's something that grows like a weed here. Oh, wow. I mean, it grows like a weed. We have to allow extra room for those, because, you know, I mean extra space, between the rows and all. Yeah because they take up a lot. Yes, but I mean, we usually get, I mean, just pulling them as fast as you can. Holy smoke. We usually give them to everybody. Uh-huh. Anybody that wants a cucumber can have it. But we tried it, too, where you run it up a fence Uh-huh. and, um, we had some weird cucumbers because they grew inside the fence. I mean like the little thing would be half on one side and half on the other. Oh my gosh. I mean, it was, but they're so heavy, you know, they get so heavy they kind of weigh it down. But, I mean, cucumbers here grow like crazy. Wow. Of course it's real hot here too. Well, see, tomatoes grow like crazy at our house. Like we have a section of tomatoes, and we put the tomatoes there every year, in the same section. And I swear we get tomatoes six rows up. Yeah, yeah, now if we have any, like the birds will pick or something, you know, and some of the seeds drop. Have you ever had them just come up in different places? Uh-huh. I know, we do that, too, you know, and at the first year, because I was from the city when we got married, and the first year that we planted, I couldn't figure out, I mean, the, well, the first year after I mean, we planted them, Uh-huh. but the first year, you know, after we'd had a crop all these little things like, Yeah. we had cucumbers coming up, you know, in the middle of our okra, and I thought, how did this get here Uh-huh. I know I didn't put that seed there. And it was weird, but the birds had, you know, evidently just deposited them for us. Uh-huh. Well, sometimes, too, when we take out our garbage, and we usually, you know, we just dump it in the middle of the garden, you know, after your garden's basically done Uh-huh. and we're finding out, like we have peach trees in the middle of our garden now, because we took peach seeds and dump them there, whenever the garden, like in the Fall, now we have peach trees coming up, All right, do you want to start out? Well, it'll be real easy for us, because we're both, my husband and I are vegetarians. Oh, are you really? So, yeah. So that's the first thing we look for, is if we can eat there or not. Oh. Are you strict vegetarians? We're not vegan vegetarians. We do, we're ovolacto. We do eat, uh, eggs and, and milk products. Uh-huh. I used to be a complete vegan vegetarian, where I didn't eat any animal products at all. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, um, it was, it's really difficult in the area if you don't have, you know, the products that you can get. And if you go out to dinner, there's virtually, you know, there's not a whole lot of things you can get. There's very few places that you, I'll bet that you could, uh, Yeah. I think maybe if you were somewhere like California, where they have a lot more vegetarian restaurants and stuff. Uh-huh. But here, basically, you go to an Italian restaurant or you go to a Mexican restaurant, you know, where you can get foods that, you know, where you have a little bit more variety as far as the pastas or the the corn meal, you know, or something. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. And you wouldn't have the meat products in that and some. Yeah. yeah, you have to watch that too. All, you know, some of the restaurants here they will, you know, you can ask them and they'll tell you whether or not they use like lard or, you know, animal fat to cook with. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, but, so that's, that we don't really eat out too much. Yeah. We, we tend to eat at home. And actually, you know, I think we, we, we get a we have a healthier diet than the average person. Uh-huh. How long have you been doing this? Um, I've been a vegetarian for, uh, two years now. My husband has been one for, oh, just over a year now. Uh-huh. And, uh, so, Do you feel that it has improved the way you feel? Definitely. Do you think? And it, it makes you more aware of what you're eating. Uh-huh. Because you, you have to be. Uh-huh. I mean, you, you I think you, you, you balance the foods, uh, you know, you're more aware of what nutrient, you know, value each thing has, and minerals. Uh-huh. And you're just more aware of food for energy, for energy sake. Uh-huh. I always thought it would be hard to figure what to eat if you were a vegetarian. How, how, Well, that's just it, you, you do have to figure it out. And, and, you know, to get proteins and things. Yeah. And when I was a vegan, it's, you know, you have to consider calcium and iron and things like that you, you're not even getting through your milk products, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. your egg products. If you don't eat any of those, Because you don't eat any of those things. but actually you can get everything you need through vegetables. I mean, there are there are, there are, you actually you can get more calcium through leafy green vegetables than you can get through milk products. Is that right? A lot of people don't know that. Uh-huh. Well, the thing is that milk products, our bodies don't, uh, don't, uh, the lactose, that kind of milk, it doesn't, Uh-huh. our, we, we tend to, uh, what's it called? We don't synthesize the, the calcium the same way. We, we throw more of it off our out, in other words. Yeah. We, we slough some of it, we, we send, we send some of it out because it, our body doesn't accept some of it. Uh-huh. So we're not utilizing, we're, when it, when it gets rid of some of that, um, that we can't use, it get rids, it gets rid of some of the calcium. Whereas when we eat, say broccoli, you utilize all of it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. You your, your body accepts all of the broccoli. All that's in it. Uh-huh. So, it's like, it's like, say, a person using vitamins, as opposed to, uh, vitamin supplements as opposed to eating regular food. Why? Uh-huh. Your body just doesn't accept vitamins and the minerals in the, the vitamins in, uh, supplements that it does in regular food, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. you know. So, That's interesting. But we both, we both feel much healthier, much healthier. Uh-huh. And I couldn't consider going back to eating, After you have been on this. Yeah. Well, now I changed for ethical reasons. Uh-huh. And my husband has changed. He feels more ethically about it. But he, he in the beginning, began for health reasons. Uh-huh. But, um, now he, he feels like I do. That he looks at the things that he eats and he realizes what they are before he eats them. Uh-huh. And he, you know, Uh-huh. He thinks more about them, then. Yeah. Plus he eats, we both think more about, I thought more of about it as far as what it was I was eating, you know, as a living creature. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And now we both think a lot of well, what is it we're eating in relation to what it's going to give to our bodies. Uh-huh. So you kind of have a combination. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well see, we, I live in a farming community. So, of course we have a lot of animals and that type of thing raised in our area. Uh-huh. Well, we do too. I mean, I was raised in, um, we're in cattle country. Uh-huh. And people here buy a half a cow and put it in their freezer, Uh-huh. Oh, yeah, yeah. you know. And that's, that's the way I, and I, believe you me it wasn't easy to give up to give up a hamburger. That, that was one of my favorite foods, was, was a, a, was a good steak or a hamburger. Uh-huh. But, you know, I suppose if you really believe in something it's, You, you adjust your life You get adjusted to the taste. Uh-huh. because your mind. Uh-huh. You, your, you, inside yourself you just, it's not right. Uh-huh. So, but, um, So you would have a little more trouble when you were looking for a dining area than what most most people would. Now we wouldn't have that problem, because we're not vegetarians. So what do you look for when you, Uh, I think the main thing that I look for is, uh, cleanliness, uh, you know, the, in the appearance of the people that work there. And the, uh, quality of the food that they serve. Uh-huh. Do you normally, when you're traveling, do you look for places that's established, that, that you've been to before or are you willing to try new places? Yes. Oh, we try new places but when we, a lot of times we do eat where we know. Yeah. Like a chain restaurant or something. What, Uh-huh. What the quality, because a lot of them are the same no matter where you stop. Uh-huh. And, uh, we do, do that a lot. And I guess I'm getting old, older, also I like to be served. I like to sit down and have my, uh, order taken. As opposed to like a cafeteria kind of situation? Right, yeah. Yeah. So, I suppose you'd say I, well I, I don't know whether it's age or what it is. But I have, Well no, I don't think so. I think it's just your, because I, I prefer to be waited on too. I just, if you're going to go out to eat, why not have the whole service, you know? Yeah, Yeah. Why not get the whole, I guess because we don't go out that much, Uh-huh. I feel like it's a treat. You should have a treat. Yeah. And I like the light meals. Not all restaurants have light meals on their menu, you know. Uh-huh. And I, Oh. Light menu, you mean like cooked light or, Uh, L I T E, like, uh, uh, things that aren't as heavy a meal. Oh, I see. It, Uh-huh. that, you get more, uh, fruit and maybe cottage cheese or a chicken breast or things that aren't as, uh, they're not breaded and they're not fried and they're not, Not a lot of gravy and things like that. Yeah. Uh, but it's not all rest, You know, I, I like those too. Uh-huh. I like those too, because, uh, some, seems like sometimes it's, you order a meal, you order their dinner meal, and it's like they're trying to find out how much you can eat. Or I know or it's too much, yes. Or, or like evidently people go in there and they're not satisfied that they'd been given enough and they complain and maybe they're afraid that people are going to, complain or something. Uh-huh. I don't know what it is. But, now for instance, we, we had a Scout dinner last night we went to. And it's, it's they, uh, well they'll serve you at your seat and usually the salad bar is included, so you have to get up for that. But they have so much food that you, not matter how hard you try to restrain yourself, you end up eating much more than you need. Uh-huh. And I think that's a shame. Uh-huh. I mean, I must admit, sometimes I do like a buffet. But, uh, but I think that they just tend to make you, you say, Oh, well, I've have got all I can eat Uh-huh. or, or, you know, it's one of these situations where nobody's going to restrain what you eat, the amount that you eat. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I think that that we just tend to eat, overeat. Yeah. You can eat as much as you want and you like the food, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, a lot of times the foods, like, uh, Haas's carry a bread bar that is just out of this world And, you know, Yeah. you and soup and, uh, they just, and fruit and vegetables and they, they just, I don't know. I know I always overeat no matter. I go with good intentions, but I, somehow along the way, when I come back to my seat, I have too much. And I eat it because it's so good. Yeah. Well at least it's fruit and stuff there Yeah Maybe it's not too bad. And I like reasonable prices of course, too. I don't like to, you know, go to anything that's real expensive. Yeah. I think that's a waste of my money. Just for food, it does seem like it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. But, uh, So, We like, uh, we do like international food, so we take, Do you? I like we like Indian food, Uh-huh. and, uh, I love Italian food, Uh-huh. and, uh, Chinese? Chinese but, We've got a good Chinese restaurant in town. Yeah. I, I really like eating there and, and you don't get stuffed on their food it seems. Yeah. You know, you can eat a whole big plate of their food, and you really don't feel like you've eaten too much. You're full, you know, you're satisfied, Yeah. but you don't feel stuffed and miserable. Yeah, yeah. That's one thing that I wish we had more of, uh. Because where we're from, it's, it's pretty limited, and it's, most of the restaurants are, oh, they tend to be, you know, American style food. Uh-huh. And we don't have too many, you have to go all the way to Dallas. Um. And so it really is a treat, Uh, yeah. because, uh, Yeah. you know, we don't make a trip, sixty-five, eighty, you know, sixty-five to eighty miles. Depending how far in Dallas it is. Yeah. So what movies have you seen? Uh, well, I have, uh, seen DANCES WITH WOLVES, which is probably the, the best movie that I have seen lately. Uh, I do not go out to films very often. So, as far as out of the house. Uh-huh. So we do get a lot of videos that we bring in, uh, and I see some that way. But, uh, I am not real current on films. How about you? Yeah. I saw DANCES WITH WOLVES and, uh, HOME ALONE and, I hear that is really good, but I have not seen it yet. Yeah. It is. Yeah It is about a little kid that, that his parents go off to Paris. Uh-huh. And they, they forget all about him. The oldest daughter, they take a head count and the oldest daughter counts one of the neighbor kids instead of, Oh, cute. And he is up in the attic asleep because he got in trouble. Oh, dear. So she made him go sleep upstairs. Uh-huh. And there is, there is a couple of burglars, uh, breaking into the houses in the neighborhood. Oh, And, uh, Oh, and he hears them or something and, Yeah. And he sets up traps for them all over the house. Who wins? Uh, he does. Oh, great, great. Yeah, I had heard people talk about it, and they say it was really cute, but I had not seen it. Uh-huh. Uh, we usually wait and eventually it comes out on video, and then we get it and see it that way. Right. And that is, it, movies are very expensive. Uh, movie theatres here, they are six dollars, uh, for evening performances. And that is kind of steep, Uh-huh. I think. I don't know. How much is it in Dallas? Well, it is six dollars, and then but you get, um, matinee prices. But, Yeah. You can do that, but it is difficult if you, if you work or, you know, Uh-huh. uh, that is taking the middle of the afternoon. And if I am looking for entertainment usually I, I, have more, uh, time in the evening than I do in the middle of the day to, uh, see things. What do you think of movies in general? As far as the, as the trends? Well, I think they are a lot better than they than they were, well, like, um, in the early eighties or the, during the, like the SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT era. Uh-huh. When it was, they, I do not think they were very good during that time. Yeah. At least there were not as many good ones. Did, Yeah. The quality I think maybe has improved in that respect. Uh-huh. Uh, the only thing that disturbs me is that now they think they have to add just a little bit of sex and violence in order to get a, a tougher rating. Which suggests that, that, you know, it will be more enticing to the, to the public. And a lot of times it is added for no real, uh, valid reason. Uh-huh. Uh, which does not make, and I think SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT was a little bit like that. Yeah. Uh, but DANCES WITH WOLVES did not seem to have anything added. It was just all legitimate kind of, uh, film. And that is where reason why I suppose it won so many Oscars, uh, because it really was good even though it is such a long movie. You know, they said, "Oh, people won't, won't be interested in a three hour movie." But it certainly gotten good acclaim everywhere it has gone. And it was shocking at the end too. So, Oh, oh, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Uh, but much more true to life and I think that is, that is the point. Yeah. That is right. Uh, they do not have to keep making up stuff if they want to make something good. Uh-huh. I hate sequels too. I hate these, uh, you know, number one, two, three, four. Uh-huh. Usually if a movie is good, once is enough Yeah. Especially JAWS. Right. That was on Prime Time Television here, uh, recently at seven thirty in the evening. And, uh, it was kind of shocking because that is a scary movie. And children, young children could see, could have seen that movie, uh, at that hour. Uh-huh. And I thought, that, you know, that would not have been the sort of thing I would have wanted my children to see at that age, uh, I mean when they were young. And here it was quite easily seen by anybody that turned on the T V. Right. Uh, which was a, it was a good movie. I mean it was well done but, uh, that is one reason why it was scary. Uh-huh. So, but I do not know that I have seen any of the, uh, sequels to that. I think one is enough. Yeah. Uh, Just more of the same. That is what people say. In one of them they have a mother shark, uh, destroy a whole, uh, marina and aquarium. Which is kind of far fetched. Oh. Yeah. It, just a touch. Yeah. Well, the whole movie is kind of far fetched. Uh-huh. But, I mean the whole idea behind it is far fetched. They hardly ever play music when a shark attacks somebody. Not, not too often Yeah. That has gotten to be a whole camp idea now though, you know. If you hear that music, you know, everybody knows what you are talking about. Yeah. It's funny. Well, it sounds like neither one of us are real movie buffs. Well, uh, every once in a while, I go, but it, it has to be like somebody that I like or, Yeah. you know. I did not, I did not go see FIELD OF DREAMS when it was in the theatre because I did not know it was any good. Uh-huh. And then when it was, I, I found out it was Kevin Costner when it was on, um, I guess A B C the other week, then I, Right. Yeah. Yeah. And then I really liked it. It was good. Uh-huh. It was very good. But, uh, um, uh, see I have, uh, teenagers in my house. And of course sometimes they rent movies and, you know, have friends over or something. And sometimes movies are here that I did not, I am not even aware that I could have seen, you know. Because my family tells me that, that, that it had been actually in the house before Huh. But I had missed it. But I did see it on T V, and I thought it was good. Yeah. It was really, and then, and then, uh, Shoeless Joe Jackson really was a player. I thought they made him up, and then I found out, you know, after I saw the movie that, they, they started talking about that scandal and, Oh, really? Yeah, when the, when the anniversary came up Uh-huh. that was around the time of anniversary, you know. No kidding. And then it was on the news. Oh, I did not realize that. Yeah. Uh, you know, the character that, uh, James Earle Jones played? Uh-huh. Uh, uh, I teach in school, and we are doing a book called INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison. Uh-huh. And I wondered if maybe he was patterned after him. Yeah. Uh, I do not know, I had not heard anybody talk about it. But, uh, he certainly could have been. Uh, which was kind of interesting. You know, someone who, uh, who was a real activist but then took up the cause. Uh, kind of gave up, you know, because he did not think anything was happening, Yeah. and so, uh, it was kind of fun. Yeah. And I wondered who it was too. I do not know for sure, but there are certain, uh, qualities that suggest it could be he. Because they were, uh, they were suggesting that this Ben was something of a recluse. That he had stopped writing and had stopped, you know, and that is true for Ellison. He, he wrote that one book and a few essays and that is about it. And, uh, has pretty much dropped out of public life. Huh. But he is still alive and that, you know, that is what makes it so interesting. Uh-huh. And that book, have you ever read that book? INVISIBLE MAN. Uh, I What is that? INVISIBLE MAN? INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison. Uh, no. Huh-uh. It is an incredible book. It, uh, really is very, very interesting. I highly recommend it. Uh, did they make the movies after that or, Uh, the, yeah, the movie, the in FIELD, FIELD OF DREAMS came out after, uh, that novel. Uh-huh. So it could easily have been patterned after him. But the, the movie did not have anything to do with, with the story that I am talking about. But Right. I just thought the the, uh, author could have been patterned after that, uh, I mean that character could have been patterned after him or someone like him, certainly. Uh-huh. Sort of interesting, so. Well, I guess we have talked probably our time limit, haven't we? Oh, yeah. Okay. Okay. It was Nice talking to you. Very good. It was nice talking to you. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Are you in the market for a car recently? Yeah, I just bought a car. Oh, what did you get? I got a nineteen ninety-three Cavalier station wagon. Uh-huh, what, what convinced you to get that one? Well, a friend of my father's, and he'd driven it all over the country and it runs great. Uh-huh. Oh, incredible, how many miles on it? It's like, it has a hundred and fifty-three thousand. And it's still running real well. Yeah. Oh, great, yeah. We have, uh, right now we have two cars, uh, I have, my husband and myself and we have two sons who are drivers and one of which is a, um, an eighty-eight Plymouth Voyager Van, Uh-huh. and then we have, um, about a year ago, we picked up a second hand, uh, uh, Audi Uh-huh. and, uh, that was a you know, a sedan, and, uh, we got that. The major things, the reason why we got that is we had had a Nova, and a, well, my son was driving, and someone came into his lane and hit him, and fortunately he was able to, his, I mean he was checked out of the hospital, was out of the hospital by that night, but the car was completely totalled Uh-huh. and Mike, and, they had been, my two sons had been a passenger in a car about a year and a half before that, which was hit by another car. Um. So I mean, I got, I was getting really nervous, so I finally said, we, I want a really solid car. So we found the Audi second hand. I guess right now my criteria for cars is, uh, of being solid, able to take an impact Right. and, uh, so, uh, I, we're not going to be in the market for, in the near future for any new car. Uh-huh But the things that I would want would be a solid car. Another thing I'd definitely want would be anti-lock brakes. Right. Uh, our, our van, which is a, a delight to drive, does not have, I think the brakes on the Plymouth van is just, are terrible. Um. If the road is at all wet, and I'm, and I don't go all that fast, but the, uh, it, it just doesn't hold. It doesn't hold well at all. So, I, I definitely want to get anti lock brakes. So, I don't know, do you have any particular things that, that are priorities on your list. Well, it's, I didn't really need power windows, but it has power, you know, windows and steering and air conditioning, Yeah. and, and uh. I guess down here air conditioning's a must, isn't it. Uh-huh, oh, yeah. It has a stereo and a cassette player Uh-huh. and, um, he's told me it gets forty-two miles to the gallon. That's incredible. Uh-huh. That is incredible. So. Uh, we, we get about, our, the van gets, on highways, can get about twenty-eight. The Audi does not have good mileage. That's the one drawback. It's a powerful car. Um, but it does not, uh, Uh-huh. I mean, I, if I'm on a highway and I can get twenty, twenty-one miles per gallon, I consider that I'm lucky. Maybe, maybe sometimes I've gotten twenty-two. It comes out around the eighteen or nineteen local driving Uh-huh. and that's a, to me is a real drawback. I wish I would, you know, I could settle for twenty-eight, but, uh, the, uh, the frills on that car are nice, but they're not necessary, for me except air conditioning. Uh-huh. In this area, uh, in Washington D C area, it gets hot and humid. Uh-huh, it's really humid. Yeah, uh, so air conditioning is uh, definitely a necessity for us through two or three months in the summer. Um, but I, uh, I, I don't need, uh, you know, power windows are nice, but I don't need them Although I must say when you're driving in the east and there are all these toll roads, come into a toll road, you just push that button down, Right. it's real nice for that window to zip down and zip up, instead of having to crank it. Crank, yeah. Yeah, but, or, you know, if you want to have open windows, to be able to if you're alone in the car just to press buttons, and. Right. You don't have to stretch. But you know, I've lived all these years without them, I probably could have lived a little longer That's true. Uh, one of the things that we have, uh, we've liked when we gotten a new car, and this, this used car has it, is a sun roof Uh-huh. and those are really nice in good weather. That's right. So, so I guess if we get a new car, it definitely would have to have anti lock brakes, I'd love to get an air bag and a sun roof, and, uh, just so it'd be a good solid car. Uh-huh. I guess that those are my major criteria. Everything else is, you know, a luxury, and they, make the car more expensive, but they often add more things to repair when things go wrong. Right. So, uh, if you were to buy a new car now, a brand new car, what would you look for? Um, like you said, anti-lock brakes and air bag, and, uh, I'd, I'd really like to have a car that's dependable that, that you drive, you know, like a American made car that's as dependable as Mercedes or somebody, you know that's, Yeah, yeah. Isn't that true. It's, it's funny, um, uh, that you use, the Audi's German, and I have to say, it has been pretty dependable. Uh-huh. Yeah, sometimes, one advantage of an American made car, is if you get stuck anywhere, most local garages can fix you up. Yeah, they have parts, uh-huh. But once you get, if you, once you get something fancy, you get stuck somewhere off of the main area you can be really, Right, and the parts, I know the Audi parts are terribly expensive. Uh-huh. I mean, it I shudder. I would not get the Audi again, just for that reason. But I would love, I wish an American, an American, that, you know, engineering would make something as solid as a German car. You know, we certainly have the technology, Right. but, it's amazing, when we bought this Audi, I mean, everything is more solid in it. Right. Uh, if, you don't feel you've got any of the flabby plastic Uh-huh. and I know, and I, I, and I'm willing to give up a little bit in the mileage for a solid car. I don't think I have to give up as much as I'm giving up. Right. But, do you need air conditioning down there? Yes, we really do Yeah. because even today it's supposed to get up into the nineties. So Oh, we've had eleven days in a row over ninety. Uh-huh. They've in fact had to excuse school down here because of that. Well, listen, I enjoyed talking with you. Okay, and enjoy, enjoy your car. Yeah, have a nice summer. Thank you, you too, it's going to be a hot one. Yeah. Okay, bye-bye Bye-bye. Do you have any? I'm trying to think offhand I can't think of anything, you know. I have, I have one, Okay. and it's a real pet peeve of mine. It seems I, I do work during the day and when I'm home, uh, you know I'm either cooking or running doing, things or, uh, laundry or stuff. Uh-huh. And I hate when the phone rings and it turns out to be a telephone salesman. Oh And it's real, the two pet peeves that, number one, I really feel that that's my private, you know, my own home. Uh-huh. And I and if I want something, I will get it. Uh-huh. I will go out and get it myself. And I will never, I never buy anything from a telephone, salesperson. Oh, I wouldn't, either, no. So, I really feel that it is a real invasion, they're invading my time and my space by, you know, interfering in whatever I'm doing Uh-huh. and I, it really bothers me. Uh-huh. Um, it's a little bit like junk mail but except you can't, you know, ignore it, uh, quite as easily. Yeah. And I, I try to be polite, but at the same point, That doesn't always work. Well, I just say thank you very much for calling but I'm not interested, and then I hang up before they can say anything. Oh, really? Yes, and it works very well Oh Because you don't hear, you know how, they can say anything they want it's just, but I just feel that's my big thing on the invasion of, my thing on invasion of privacy. Uh-huh. And, um, I have, uh, I sort of have a sort like you can prevent yourself from getting junk mail by getting yourself off of mailing lists. I wish that there were a way that you could, um, get your you know, submit your telephone number to the phone company and have a penalty for anyone who calls you to sell things, from a Uh-huh, well, how do you get your name off the junk mailing list? Uh, you, you, you, you do that by, uh, um, the postal service has some information which you fill out and they send, it's for every company, I mean you can't do it for any Uh-huh. you know, but you can then send it and they can they tell, that company is not allowed to sent it, you any junk mail. Oh, really? If you get junk mail on a regular basis from any particular company you can, Oh, I didn't even know that. Yeah, yeah, you have to go to the post office and ask them for the form that you fill out to, not to get, you know, junk mail from specific companies. Oh, wow. And I wish there were something like that where you can call the telephone company Yeah. and you could say that, uh, have your your number put in a registry. And then anyone making these calls have to check that registry for that area and could not, should, and is not allowed under penalty of, you know, being reported or something to call you. Uh-huh. Yeah. So that would be one way of doing it. I can't really think of anything that invades my privacy, but one of my pet peeves, you came up with the telephone is, when you have an answering machine and they hang up before they leave a message. Uh-huh. I can't stand that. I think that is so stupid, you know, because, Oh, I'm guilty of that sometimes because I've called and there really wasn't any significant message and I, and I wasn't going to be available to be called back. Uh-huh. And it was sort of like, oh, the hell, I'm not going to spend the time giving, leaving a message, and, uh, I'll call later, if I'm available. Yeah. The other thing that, um, that there is recourse to and that's another thing, is when you, you use your credit card and then they ask for a telephone number. Uh-huh. Well, legally now they're not allowed, they're you do not have to give a telephone number. Oh, really? Yes. And I don't really like announcing in public Uh-huh. you know, when you're sitting there, my telephone and I don't like the way telephone numbers can be used. Uh-huh. We once had a situation where someone was using a credit card number of ours and he actually had our phone number, but it turned out it had to have been my husband's office phone number. And, uh, we were able, we weren't actually able to trace it, but we were able to, to discard the charges. Uh-huh. Um, but it was, I don't like how they the, I, I realize that this is your identification but I worked with someone that got hold of his, charge cards, and his social security number. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, same with my husband. It was the charge card and social security number. And, you know, I don't, I don't like, I don't ever get anything over the phone because I don't want to give my social security number out. Well, you should never give the social security number. Uh, if sometimes, if you charge, sometimes I charge theater tickets over the phone. Uh-huh. And then, you know, because they pick them up at the box office we'll call. But, um, that's the only thing I would ever have ever used it for the phone and that was because I initiated it. Yes. Uh, and occasionally I do order things from catalogs over the phone. Uh-huh. But again it's, I initiate it not the company. The other thing is though you do not have to, if you're buying something in a store and they and you pay for it by charge and they ask you for your telephone number, you do not have to give it. That is one, that's a law that went into effect, I don't know a year or two ago. Oh, I never even knew that. And, uh, you can just say I'm sorry that uh, I'm not required to give that by law and then they won't, a lot of stores will still ask. Uh-huh. But, uh, the credit card company, you know, accepts the charges. I mean a the credit cards company's responsibility. Uh-huh. Well, is there any, like pet peeves that you have that don't necessarily invade your privacy? So in this , Um, well, this would, this is limited to the privacy issue, the invasion of privacy. Oh, okay. Yeah, and I guess, uh, that was my, that's probably my biggest one in terms of invasion of privacy. For people outside the family, of course, I've got little pet peeves, you know, with my family. You know. But of course, I guess that just comes with the, uh, with the territory with a family that does a mother can do some privacy. I really, can't think of any that would invade my privacy you know. But, uh, Uh-huh. Nothing that you felt that, you know, any experiences you've had at work? No. I, you know, I, I really can't say anything that would really bother me. So many things I think over the years have been, um, accepted, I mean when you, uh, that are no longer done. Uh-huh. I mean I can remember when I was very young, much younger and I applied for a job they said, well, aren't you planning to have children. Well, I mean, that's none of their business. Yeah. And but of course, now by law they can't ask that. Yeah. So I mean there has been I think a lot to, done to protect privacy. Yeah, especially between women and, How do you feel, Uh-huh. Yeah. they've gotten a lot with, uh, applications and stuff and aren't allowed to ask. That's right. No, because, I think it's for the better of like you mean like for working and stuff? Yeah, uh-huh. No, I don't because I think whenever, and something like that they're looking out for everyone. They're not, Yeah. you know, I think it's more safety than anything else. I feel that way too. I sometimes feel you know, sometimes individual rights including the right to privacy have to be sacrificed for a greater benefit. Yeah. Because I know, You know, for example airline pilots. I mean I do want my pilot to be sober Yeah. Because I know, I worked at a still mill in this summer. And I know, that, um, I've covered for people that came in drunk, you know, on the late shift or something, Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. and it, and it's dangerous. I don't even like having them around. I kind of do their work for them because they make it more hazardous than what it is without them, you know. That's right. Yeah, I know yeah, I feel, you know, I think some of the people that oppose, you know, mandatory drug testing for certain areas say, well, it's not, So, uh, let's see what was the topic, I forgot we are supposed to talk, Advice for people taking for parents, uh, help their kids through college. Yeah, do you have any children? No, I just graduated from college. Oh, did you? Yes. Where did you go? I went to Clarion. Clarion. Uh-huh. Really. It just seems so sad to have to only rely on, you know, college football. Is that all they're going to have to make money, you know. Yeah. But I didn't think that was the objective, to make money. But it seems like it is. Huh. It really is. I know there's a lot of pressure on schools to have a winning program. To get the best athletes so they can keep their seats full. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. You went to Indiana University? Uh, Purdue. Oh Purdue, okay. Yeah. Well, good. So. You're, you're a T I up in Sherman? Uh-huh. Oh, very good. Are you from Dallas area? Yeah, yeah, I'm in the facilities there, down here in Dallas. Yeah, I guess football is the big sport down here, isn't it. Uh, certainly high school football, and college football, but again high school football is just so much fun to watch, because, uh, you know, not everybody plays of course, but they're still, it's good and it's still, you know the kids, and there's absolutely no money involved whatsoever, Yeah. and you know they're going to class, you know. You heard of, Have you heard of Damon Bailey. The I U white guard that plays. It, it's, it's real amateur sports. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. Well, last year, when he was in high school, they drew a crowd of like forty-one thousand for the state finals, when he played. Is that right? I never heard , that's, uh, I never been in a football game in high school that had that many. Yeah, so that's, I mean, that's pretty big. Like he's from Indiana, and he plays for Indiana now. And, Indiana him to be a lot bigger than pro basketball up there. The Pacers don't really draw that big of a crowd You know, the high school games, I mean, that seems to be the big attraction, and college. Well, my office mate here, Earl, he, he goes to all the Maverick games and he loves that. He, he would be, this is a great question for him, uh, to talk about Like he's got, I'm looking at his calendar, he's got all over the place, and he goes to a lot of the Maverick games and everything. But, I, I, I can't get interested at all, zero. I, I listen to him, and occasionally I'll watch them on channel eleven, but gee, I can't, uh, more than five minutes of a basketball game, just seems about, that's it, of, uh, pro anyway. Yeah, seems like you could set the score at a hundred and then give them five minutes to play, Yeah. then it'd be the same result. Yeah. Because they, they start, they shoot so much, and then the last, what, five minutes they decide who's going to be the winner, I guess. Uh-huh. Yeah, I'm surprised a little bit when you're talking about basketball how some players work. Mavericks had, oh two players this year that they got rid of last year. I'll think of them in a minute. Perkins, Sam Perkins, can't think of the other one. They're both. Tarpley, is he one? Pardon me? Tarpley? Yeah, Tarpley, and they both left this past year, and both of them were on playoff teams, uh, so, they benefitted tremendously by leaving the Mavericks. Yeah. And Sam Perkins, here, he's one guy I did follow from, think he was in Virginia, I can't think of what school he went to, but from. I guess he's been here about five, six, seven years in the pros. And he was, he never quite achieved the, you know, the super stardom that he had in, in college, Uh-huh. but, uh, basketball, they have a nice, I don't know if you've down to the sports for Reunion Arena. It's, Well, what kind of garden do you have? Well, we've tried having, let me turn the T V off, we've tried having a vegetable garden, and I'm from Chicago, and the way that, uh, bugs and weeds grow down here is very different from Chicago. And we have tried several years in a row, and we've given up, between the fire ants, the pill bugs, the weeds, the drought, and a hundred and ten degree heat all Summer, and we just kind of, uh, decided to go with a few flowers and give up on the vegetable garden Oh. We had to put so much poison out on everything that we thought, Who'd want to eat that stuff. Uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, so we have really been frustrated by our gardening attempts here, and, uh, if you really water a lot, you can do it, but, you know, when you have to pay for water, it really gets to be an annoyance to have to water constantly. Uh-huh. So, right now we're just, Do you have a lawn? Yeah, we, we just try to maintain the lawn and the shrubs right now, and the trees. We have a peach tree. That's the extent of our, um, contributing to our food supply. But that's nice to have Oh, yeah. yeah. So what do you do up there? Well, um, actually it, we've sort of had an ideal Spring. Um. And, um, the, the peonies have been out for now about three weeks Oh, wow. and the roses have been blooming for two weeks, and the grass is, uh, this lush green, and of course I've got lots of weeds in mine because, I don't use any poison either. Yeah. But, um, you know, I just keep looking at, and I say, Jeez, you know, this is the first year it's been so perfect. Really. Gosh. But, and my garden, you know, my tomatoes are two and a half feet tall Oh, boy the plants and, that sounds wonderful. you know, I'm I'm going, Gee, this can't, you know, we'll have a freeze. If you don't have a frost you'll be all right That's what I remember from living up north, is that you'd get everything set and then you'd have a frost and half the stuff would get frostbitten, and you'd have to. Well, that's it. Last year, I think it was, you know, my peonies were, were, budding in January, and, you know, there was no way that was going to make it, and sure enough, you know, we had really mild weather until I think it was May or something Wow. Uh-huh. and then, you know, everything just got hit hard Oh, boy, that's frustrating. So, but yeah, it, it's interesting, and I enjoy gardening. My son does the mowing of the grass. Oh, yeah, my husband does that, thank goodness, because I, that's not a pleasure for me I don't think that's a pleasure for anybody, the the mowing. I love gardens that are well tended, and I just, there's been a few different places I've lived where I've just I don't know whether it's little old ladies living there or what, but you could just tell that they had a love, uh, a love affair with their gardens, with beautiful wild flowers, and just, I love the host of colors that just keep coming all, you know, year long. And, uh, I, I was in England once, and that's one thing that impressed me so much is no matter what size yard somebody had, they had a beautiful garden in it. You know, it could be three feet by four feet or something. Uh-huh. So I do admire that, but I haven't really put, uh, too much energy into it. Course we have two little kids that are two and three years old Oh, they help you. So that has put a crimp in my every activity other than diapers and laundry, I'll tell you Oh dear. Oh but that's nice, you know, I mean the peach tree is, is a start and, yeah, that's really lovely. I would love to have different fruit trees. It's, it's been wonderful to have the peaches. They're just delicious. And, we, we we have, still have to spray some, but we don't have to just asphyxiate ourself with the poison, which is good, because I just, I can't see the point in doing that and eating anything out of it afterwards. Right. What about tomatoes, aren't they pretty hardy? Um, we've tried them, but again, it's just like the sun scorch. Oh. We've tried them in kind of halfway in the shade and halfway in the I mean it's just, you really, really have to be prepared to water constantly during the Summer. Uh-huh. People that have been successful out here have done this drip irrigation and installed that, Oh. and um, that's really what makes the most sense, because you don't have to use so much water, and Uh-huh. it really does the job. But it's just amazing how hot and dry and for how long it gets out here. And if you're not really committed to it, I mean, me, I'm, you know, I'm real committed to it for about a week, and then I forget about it for a week, and then I go, Oh, yeah, I need to do something, and by then it's burned up, you know. Uh-huh. It's just too distracting right now with these little ones in our lives, so maybe when I get older I'll find, uh, some joy in that Well, I would assume, too, I mean, you've got three or four months you're talking about of, of bad weather. Yeah. Yeah, it just gets so hot so fast here. We don't have really a Spring or a Fall Uh-huh. and it just, uh, immediately heats up. So, that's one thing I miss about living up north, as I remember, um, you know, the long Springs and long Falls and the cooler weather. It was really nice. Uh-huh. We always had gardens when I was, uh, living in Chicago. In fact, my mother once tore up our entire back yard and redid it. I'll never forget. Got my stepfather to put in, uh, a waterfall and a little pond in one corner. I mean, that was like the most energy invested in anything in the whole time I ever knew him They remodeled the entire back yard. Then they sold the house and got divorced, so I don't know what that says about it all Oh, dear. Oh, but she used to love to do stuff like that. Sounds like it would have been pretty. Yeah, it really was. I enjoyed it there. But maybe when the boys get a little older, we'll do some more planting, because they like to see things grow. They've done a couple of little seed projects, and so I think it would be fun for them. Oh, sure, sure. Yeah, yeah. Well, it sounds like you, you've got your hands full Oh, yes They're both running around now. And, you know, gardening isn't, isn't high on the list, but it's not off the list. Yeah, well, it's very therapeutic, I think, really to get out there and dig in the dirt, you know. Uh-huh. They certainly enjoy that part of it It's just trying to keep anything. I planted bulbs last, uh, Fall on the side guard, and when I went out there in the Spring and the first day they came out the little one went and pulled all the flowers off, and the flower petals were scattered all over the walk Oh. He thought, what are these fun toys that mommy put out here with all these colors for me to play with? At least he didn't eat them, I mean, I guess I could be thankful for that. Right. Maybe next year they'll do better. Yeah, really. If they survive this year. Oh, well, good luck to you. Okay, well, thanks. Nice talking to you. It was nice talking to you too. Bye-bye. Okay Have you ever, uh, organized a family reunion? Uh, no I have never organized one. But we are, we have one, uh, we are going to have one on Memorial Day, I guess. Uh-huh. They have had one the last two years. We go out to the, my dad's farm and, uh, and, you know, it is just a picnic and spend the night. Go fishing and stuff like that. Uh-huh. How many people usually show up? Oh, about ten. Oh, it is not that big. Huh-uh. Because, uh, we have had sort of weekends like that too. It, But I never thought of it really as a reunion. Uh-huh. I sort of think of a reunion with my, uh, all the extended family Everybody, yeah. Yeah. That would be hard for us because most of the family is out in California. And some is in New York and North Carolina, Uh-huh. and it gets, it is kind of hard to get get everybody organized. Uh, is there someone, do you all just sort of chip in and help out with stuff when you are there? Or, Uh, yes. Yeah. My, my, uh, dad has a house out there anyway. And there is, there is, uh, he keeps a uh, food out there, year round. Uh-huh. So, so he does not live there though? Uh, no. It is, it is, it is like a country, country home. Vacation home. Uh-huh. Yeah. It sounds nice. Uh, are there kids that are there too, or mostly adults? Yeah. The grandchildren. Uh-huh. Just a few. It just depends, uh, uh, all my grandparents are dead so, uh, there is, there are not, you know, none of them are there. And, and, uh, then an uncle is dead. So the, the big family is a lot smaller that it used to be. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Are you all located in Texas? Uh, yeah. We are in, we are all, uh, like they live up in Sherman. It is near Lake Texoma. Uh-huh. And, Uh-huh. Yeah. uh, all of his children live in the Dallas area too. So, Yeah. That to me is, yeah, Dallas I know of, Houston I know of, and that is about it In Texas. Uh-huh. The rest of it is sort of a big void to me. Yeah. But, uh, you know, we have, uh, well, we all got together, it was about two years ago for, I was, I had graduated from college. And, uh, I was going to live in France for a year. And so my parents invited, it was not just family, it was friends too. But, uh, we all got together for just a party. And that was kind of fun. Uh-huh. Nice to have everybody together at once and things like that. French reunion? Well, not quite French, Yeah. but, uh, it was sort of a reunion before leaving. It was fun. It was on, uh, New Year's Day. So it was almost a celebration of the new year too at the same time. Uh-huh. Yeah. It was kind of fun. But, uh, but who was it? A friend of mine had a big family reunion a couple of years ago and, you know, everybody flew in from all over the place for the weekend. And it really sounded like it was fun. But, I am not quite sure what I would do. I think it would be fun to like rent a big mansion or house someplace, and have everybody meet someplace where they do not really know. And have different areas to explore and things like that. Uh-huh. Yeah. So that would be kind of fun. Yep. Where nobody lives Right. But at least that way it is at nobody's house, so nobody one, no one person is responsible for everything. Yeah. And they do not have to clean up afterwards. Yep. Yeah. That is for sure. The cleaning up can be a mess. Uh-huh. But uh, do you have horses or anything at your dad's farm? I am, I am sorry? Does, does your dad have horses there? Uh, no, he does not really have any, any, uh, uh, domestic livestock anyway. Uh-huh. But, he leased, uh, to his neighbor for the cattle to feed on. I see, so it's, so he really does use it as a vacation home. It is not like a farm that he has somebody else run for him or something like that. Yeah. Pretty much. He has a garden and, uh, a lot of fruit trees and blueberry bushes and things. Uh-huh. Well, that sounds nice. Do people actually pick the fruit and things? Uh-huh. And then there is wild blackberries there too. Uh-huh. So, Yeah. I, used to, we used to go pick wild blackberries at my friend's property, he gets, but we never got enough. I used to make jam, but I never had enough to really make, you know, more than a jar or something. Huh. So it was not so worth it. Yeah. It is kind of, they're kind of off and on it seems like. Uh-huh. Depends on the rain. That sounds, is, does he have a lot of land to go walking around and things there? Uh, it is, uh, it is, uh, eighty acres. Well, that is pretty big Uh-huh. I do not know how they do scale down there. You know, here it would be a huge amount of land. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Because they, is this house here that has a lot of space is three or four acres. As opposed to tens of acres. Yeah. And, uh, and most of it, you know, you just spend time on maybe ten acres of it. Uh-huh. And, uh, because that is where the ponds are and where everybody fishes. Uh-huh. We kind of have a, an informal contest. My uncle, uh, put some bass in, uh, his pond a few years ago. Well, he put some crappie too. But the bass, we have not been able to catch any of the adult bass yet. So, Uh-huh. they are in there, but they are real spooky. Yeah. I think my dad put some. We have a little pond at our, at his vacation home too. And, I mean really little. Uh-huh. And they were having problems with too many goldfish because we had put some goldfish in, and there were too many little goldfish, and so the big ones never got bigger. Oh, yeah. And, uh, somebody suggested to get a bass. Uh-huh. And so they went fishing and caught a bass near some place and put it in there and never saw it again Never saw the bass? No. Oh. So we do not know whether it is living or, Oh, it is probably in there just burping goldfish. Yep. Yeah. We still have lots of little goldfish. They propagate pretty well, those little fish. Yeah, Yeah, they really do. because we started, we have got hundreds in there now, and we started with, I think, ten or twenty little feeder fish that I picked up for a dollar, you know, no matter how many it was for a dollar. Uh-huh. And, and some of them are probably eight inches long. Uh-huh. But he wants your really big ones, you know, the ones that get to be like a foot and a half long. Oh, And, yeah. It, They there is a, uh, you might put some, like some yellow catfish in there. I do not know if they would live very well up in New York, but they get huge. And, uh, they routinely use them for bait for, uh, goldfish for bait for yellow catfish. Oh, okay. Well, we would want to put some small ones in so they do not eat the big guys, the goldfish too Uh-huh. But, yeah. We could see. I do not know if yellow catfish live up this way. But catfish do, I think. Yeah. They live in the Mississippi River all the way through Minnesota and up into Canada. Uh-huh. So, that, you mean, well, we could try it. That is a good idea. Uh-huh. Because he was trying to catch them, you know, using little, uh, I forget, there's little, uh, nets you can use to catch fish to use as feeder fish and things like that. Minnow nets or something. Uh-huh. My father was taking those and trying to catch the goldfish. And it was really funny, because, uh, one time he left the net in the pond, and he like would put some tuna fish or things in the middle of it to attract the fish. And, uh, he left it in the middle of the pond And that night he came out, and the trap was gone. And it was a raccoon that had taken it. So it was really funny. And you could see that, you know, you could see where the trap, the trap was dragged and things like that. Uh-huh. And so, Yeah. That is what happens But do you guys have fishing competitions while you are there? Yeah And, uh, we feed the catfish. They feed the catfish like, uh, every couple of weeks. And, uh, and sometimes that is the best time to catch them. Yeah. Because they will just, they will just come after anything then. Uh-huh. And you could catch a couple anyway during that time. What do you feed them? Uh, mixed Purina, uh, it is, uh, cat food, uh, catfish food. Really? Yeah. And it is especially made for catfish. But, Yeah. Well, I do not know how much different it is from dog food but, you know, it is, uh, it looks like Purina High Pro. Uh-huh. Yeah. That is funny. But they come up to the top. And it is the best time to take pictures, because they come up to the top, and you can see their whiskers come through the water. And they're, Uh-huh. the the big catfish just kind of vacuum the top of the water. Uh-huh. I have never seen catfish, you know, except in filleted on a plate, I think maybe. I think I have seen once or twice in like the museum. Uh-huh. But I have never seen them, just alive someplace. That would be fun to see. Well, they are really funny fish. Uh-huh. When you catch them, they make a kind of a, a burping, growling sound at you. Uh-huh. And they try to hit you with their tails. How big do they get? Oh, well, the channel catfish get up to, uh, I think the world record is fifty some pounds. Uh, Do you know? that, that is only about three and a half feet long. That is pretty big though. Yeah, Yeah. they get real fat. Uh-huh. Uh, from the time, they, they stay slender until they get to be, uh, eighteen inches long, and then they start to widen out. Uh-huh. Uh, my daughter, we were up there one time and my daughter was fishing And I think that was when she was three. And she caught a catfish by accident. She was fishing for sunfish. Uh-huh. And she said, "Here," and she handed me her rod and reel And, and, uh, you know, it was just pulling drag out. Uh-huh. And it swimmed wherever it wanted to. Yeah. That sounds amazing. I will have to see them sometime. But, all righty. Okay. It was nice talking to you. Nice talking to you too. Okay. Bye-bye. Enjoy your, uh, weekend. Yeah. Have a nice Memorial weekend. Okay. You too. Bye-bye. Bye. Okay, now you can tell me what you do. Uh, well, I work with computers, just like your son Uh-huh. and I actually do research in speech recognition Oh, great. part of the reason I'm participating in the project is to see how the stuff goes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, um, I was working well, actually I haven't worked for any large companies per se uh, recently Uh-huh. but hopefully the job that I will have will have lots of benefits namely lots of vacations not real good salary but lots of vacations. Uh-huh. Yeah Well, the one John works for seems to have a you know, good benefits, and the pay is decent. Yeah the, uh, well actually, where I was working the company one of the companies I was working for actually had very good health care benefits which these days I think are really important Uh-huh. Uh-huh. because health care is so ridiculously expensive. Because we're, we're paying our own insurance right now. uh-huh, uh-huh. But and I'm, we actually had a little baby so I'm taking a little bit of a time off from work. Oh, Great, I had, I had a granddaughter Oh, congratulations. And so one thing that I'm very concerned with now is first of all health benefits because it's more important with a family Right. and you know, our doctor's routine doctor's visits covered, my health insurance only covers, um, the emergency care. Uh-huh. Do you have major medical benefits? Right, yeah, but I don't, That, that helps some, if, it depends on what your deductible is how high it is. Right. Well, my, our deductible's five hundred but it's for each event. Each person. Yeah, that's pretty that's pretty high, Right but, you know, so it covers the emergency things but it doesn't cover if you get sick Right. it doesn't cover doctor's visits, things like that. That's, that's right. And five hundred dollars is a lot to come up with for each person to be able to start using your major medical, too. Oh, yeah, it certainly is. Uh. Yeah, I know where my daughter works, now she, she, course we live in a, a rural sort of setting Uh-huh. and where she works she has no benefits at all. Wow. And her wage is not, not very good Uh-huh. But it's, it's the type of area we live in. Of course, living expenses aren't as bad either, though, which makes a difference. And probably the medical care is less expensive, too. Well, she has to pay for it herself Uh-huh. you know, they have to pay for their own insurance. But, uh So I think that in general the doctor's fees are probably lower there, and so the insurance would cost lower, Uh, well, from what I've seen, from my aunt and uncle really from Florida up to here, they're not that much different. Well, I know that friends of mine had a baby up in Boston Uh-huh. and their costs were about fifty percent of what it cost to have it in Manhattan. Is that right? And they were at one of the better hospitals, you know Uh-huh. and, you know, good doctors in Boston. Wow that's a big difference. And I was at one of the big hospitals in New York. Uh-huh. But that's a huge difference just between Uh-huh. you know, and it's two big cities that I think of as somewhat comparable. Oh, yeah, should be. So I was pretty shocked at that. But the other thing that I'm really concerned about, and most companies don't have, some are starting to have, is day care because it would be really nice to be able to have, you know, someone that could watch my daughter at work. And I'd go to work, and if she were sick I could go down and see her, if she needs to be fed, whatever. And it would be much more convenient. Yeah And I, it would be more convenient, too. It would be more convenient, more productive I think, Oh, yeah. My other daughter works and has, they have to take their two children to day care, you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, it, it's, I don't know how they do it, I really don't. You know, getting them there and then, and going to work, and then picking them up and, all the preparations. And, and your hours are, much more constrained and things like that. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, that, to me, well, that, you know, those three things, the health care, vacation, and day care are probably the most important benefits. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I suppose I should be concerned with life insurance and, uh, retirement plans but, Oh, I don't know, I think those benefits you mentioned, sometimes they're even more important than the wage itself. Yeah. If you can get those benefits even, uh, they, they come out to much, a much better benefit than, than an increase in your wage a lot of times. Right because you're, you know, certainly something like day care at the work place would make life so much simpler that it's worth paying, you know, having a lower salary. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I would certainly accept a lower salary for that. You know, everything else being equal Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, it would make it a lot better. because your life would be so much easier. Uh-huh. And there's a question of quality of life also. Uh, well, and if it was there, you would really have a little more, uh, knowledge on what's going on probably, you know, with your child. Yeah. Right, and, you, you, you don't feel like you're a half hour away if she something happened. And, you're less preoccupied with it, I think. Right. Yeah. Right, yeah. But unfortunately, there aren't, I think I B M has started having that in certain locations. I don't know, my daughter, one daughter works for M C I, and they don't, they, where she works they don't have anything like that. Uh-huh. Is that locally? Uh, Pittsburgh. Uh-huh. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Yeah because Pittsburgh's a big enough city, too. Uh-huh. But you know, I wouldn't be surprised if thing's like that didn't happen more in smaller communities before they happen in bigger ones. Just because people might be more flexible in smaller locations and things like that. Uh-huh. Yeah, Because many times small companies offer better benefits in terms of quality of life than larger companies. Uh-huh. Like, uh, one company had proposed to me that I could come back to work after having the baby, um, any where between ten and forty hours a week. And, um, call my own days, call my own hours, Uh-huh. Oh, so they were very flexible Yeah, and that, that would be great, yeah. and which many times at a large company it's almost impossible to do things like that. Uh-huh, uh-huh. They say you're going to do it this way, and that's the way it's going to be. Right. Yeah. And if you get two weeks off, you get two weeks off and you're not allowed two weeks and one day. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it all depends on what your position is there, too. True, well, that's true in any, any company, I think. Yeah. I've, I've never, well I can't say I've never, I've maybe worked five years out of our married life out of the you know, out of the home Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, uh, the rest of the time I've been an Avon lady and a lady. Was that when you were, um, well, those have its pluses and minuses, too. I've been a consultant recently and so I don't have any benefits at all Uh-huh. and, Uh-huh, and you have to take care of any benefits you want yourself, yeah. Right, and the same thing my husband is unfortunately being paid as a consultant Uh-huh. and we tried to argue that he should get more salary for that than what he is Uh-huh. and, um, they, they, they, Usually consultants make very good income. Right, and they, they refuse to give him more salary. Is that right? Because they say they can't pay more than this and that, and they're not allowed to pay him more than what his previous salary was and things like that Oh. Uh-huh. and, you know, times are rough now, so it's, new, it's harder to get the, uh, you know, increases and things Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, um, A consultant really is, should be more knowledgeable than everybody else, you know Yeah, well he's, so it stands to reason they should really have more benefits. Right, well, he's been doing a long term, he's being called a consultant, and he's really sort of a temporary employee at a place. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, they, they pay him as a consultant but he doesn't get any health benefits, he doesn't get, well Um. we don't care about retirement benefits. He doesn't get, um, vacation benefits and he does a lot of things that get factored into somebody else's salary. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So really his salary should be, you know, twenty percent or thirty percent higher just based on that, not including the fact that you know, it's a less, long term commitment for the company and all that sort of stuff. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, and they'll do it, Do you or your husband work for T I, or I'm a contract person at T I in fact involved with, uh, Data Switchboard Oh, are you, Oh, I see. Well, that's neat. and, uh, do you work for T I? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So, I've worked for them for several years, like twelve now, I guess. Oh, you sound very young like just out of college Right, I try to, I try to think of myself as young, but, uh, well, have you seen any movies recently? Uh, I'm trying to think, we saw, uh, DANCES WITH WOLVES Oh, did you? and, uh, have you seen that one? No, I haven't, I have, have a hard time with movies that are real long. That was excellent. I don't know. Well, so oddly enough, I do too, I get tired of sitting there, and so does my husband, Yeah. but we both just thoroughly, you know enjoyed it, just really liked it Yeah. Well, I've heard a lot of good things about it. and, uh, I'm trying to think, we went to see a, uh, a real funny one, I can't think now what the name of it was I've gone blank. We saw THE NAKED GUN, TWO AND A HALF Oh, we have not seen that, we want to see that one. and that was, that was pretty funny, and then we saw, what was the spoof on TOP GUN, it's Oh, I haven't seen that one. oh, I can't think of what that was called. We saw that too, I was pretty disappointed in that one. Were you. Yeah, but, uh, so, you know, through the summer, we have small children, so we don't get to see too many, but we've seen I guess two or three movies this past summer. My husband doesn't enjoy the shows as much going to them, he likes to rent them Uh-huh. and so we watch a lot of them, you know, at home as they come out, Right. and, uh, Have you seen GHOSTS yet? Yes, yes. I really, I enjoyed that movie, Did you? Now I, I was real disappointed Really. I'm a real big Patrick Swayze fan Uh-huh. and, uh, I was really disappointed in it, it one, I don't think it was as funny as what I was anticipating, and I guess I was expecting it to be kind of funny and, uh, and it wasn't you know, at all, Oh, yeah, well, Yeah. it was, it was more of a love story Yeah, and, uh, so I was really disappointed in that because I like him real well. Uh-huh. We just got through watching one with, uh, uh, is it Claude Van Damme yeah, and, uh, enjoyed it, Uh, Van Damme, yeah, I think, I can't think what the name of it was a, uh, of course, one of the typical you know, kicking, fighting lots of blood and guts and all that type movie, Right. Right. Uh-huh. and, and we enjoyed that, and, uh, the, uh, uh, the one with Jody Foster, did you see it? Oh, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? Yes. Yes, I did. Wasn't that excellent? Yeah, I really enjoyed that a lot. Yeah, that was one that, that stayed with me you know, for a month, Uh-huh. I just, I kept thinking about it, you know, Yeah, well, it's amazing, but really, I mean, when you stop and think about it, Anthony Perkins didn't have that big a role in the movie No. and yet it was his character that was so intriguing, Oh, it was excellent, and, and, of course, he's such a, uh, very good actor anyway Yeah. and, I think he made the movie, Yeah, I do too, I really did Yeah, you know, Jody Foster was good, too, but I think, I think Anthony Perkins was the one that, that really made the movie, I agree with you. Is it Anthony Perkins or Anthony Hopkins? Oh, Hopkins, I'm sorry Hopkins, uh-huh. Hopkins, yeah. I always get those mixed up. I know I know. It, uh, well, I'm not a real big Jody Foster fan, but I thought she was good in that. Well, I well, I haven't been, I'm, I saw her in THE KEYS, and I thought that was a pretty good movie, but I thought she, Now, I didn't see that one. That was, that was pretty interesting movie, and, uh, but, you know, I, I did, I really liked the SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, that was really intriguing, and it, it didn't scare me all that much, you know, and I, I don't like to go to movies to be scared, that's not why I go No, no so, I like a good suspenseful story, Right, and that one was. and that one very definitely kept you on the edge of the seats, in fact, I want to, uh, rent it when it comes out for my husband to see, because, he didn't Oh, he didn't see it? he won't go see that, no, Oh. I went with, uh, our daughter and, uh, so, you know, saw it with her, and, uh, enjoyed it. Uh-huh. My all time favorite is WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S. Oh, really? Did you see it? Yeah, I've seen it. Oh, I've seen it, you know, we saw it at the movies, and then we've rented it several times Uh-huh. and, we just love it, in fact we have a ten year old grandson that, he and my husband and I, we just sit there and cackle you know, just get hysterical. Uh-huh. Yeah, I've seen that. It's pretty, it's pretty cute. I guess, you know, as far as comedies go, probably my favorite is YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Uh, yes, yes, I love that movie, My husband liked that Yeah, so, uh, he's a big Gene Wilder fan, Yeah, well, Gene Wilder doesn't do that much for me, but I'm a big, uh, Mel Brooks fan Uh-huh, uh-huh. all his movies, I really, really . He has a new one out. He does? Yeah, uh-huh. Uh, I have seen it advertised. I don't know what the name of it is. Oh, is that the one with, that's he's starring in? Uh-huh, uh-huh. Oh, yeah, that came out, like early in the summer or something like that. Yes, yes. Yeah, I haven't seen that one either. Yeah, my husband wants to see that one, and, uh, did you see that one that he made years and years ago about the, uh, the sheriff Oh, BLAZING SADDLES. BLAZING SADDLES. Yeah, uh-huh. Oh, that's my husband's all time favorite, I think. Oh, uh-huh. I like, I like that one too, but I thought YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN was better. Did you? Yeah, that, that was just, you know, had all kinds of things throughout the whole movie, I just really enjoyed it, and, uh, um, I'm trying to think, because we saw another one that we thought was really good, early this summer, that was a suspenseful movie. I'm trying to remember what it was, because it, you know, it's, Okay. All right. Capital punishment. Okay, what's your views on it? Um, for myself, I'm personally against it, but we seem to have a duality of, in this country where most states in theory have it, but, but, but do not use it. Correct. Okay, well, I'm for it. I think there are certain crimes that definitely, uh, call for it. I, I feel like that child molestation and murder I don't see any sense in someone living that does things like that. I, I don't feel like they're a benefit to society in any way, and of course Texas has it, but they very seldom, you know, put it into effect. So instead all of our prisons are full of people on, you know a lot of people on death row. Okay, well, Uh, Texas uses it as, about as much as any other state. Well, uh, yeah Texas is a big state, which is not very often. Right. Um, here in Maryland to the capital punishment law, people are sometimes sentenced to capital punishment, but no one, no one has, actually has the sentence carried out. Uh, I'd certainly, What do they do, just keep them on death row for the rest of their life. Uh-huh. I think so. Uh-huh. I, uh, or affair number Uh-huh. uh, in fact, I think that, it, it affected the sentence though capital punishment is available, the sentence of life without possibility of parole, uh, has become a common one, and is being, being used much more. Do you have the overcrowding in your prisons that we are facing down here? Uh, I don't know the exact numbers, but, but yes, prisons are overcrowded. I know that we have, you know, really in fact they're, they're releasing people, uh, that are in there for, you know, not major crimes, but, uh robberies and assault and things like that, and, because they don't have room, which then they're coming back on the streets and of course, doing it again, and um, you know, so we're having problems in, in that way, and I know that there are some cases that, uh, you know, capital punishment does not fit the crime, and there are extenuating circumstances on certain types, um, but I have to say that I'm honestly for it Um. uh, almost that eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Okay, you're, you're certainly in the majority uh, at least in this country. Yes. Uh, we are, I guess, the only one of the major Western nations currently with capital punishment. I know they use it very, um, they do not have it in Europe, as I understand. No, at least not in Western Europe. Probably not in Eastern Europe these days either. Um, there are many reasons for it, but they, they certainly have lower crime rates and lower murder rates. Yes, you wonder what their, you know, how they manage to do that. Well, in part it's, uh, it's the nature of societies, perhaps more homogenous society, in many cases, uh, arguably, if arguably is because of, of, uh, of, uh, welfare state benefits. Though I tend to be, we tend to be skeptical. Well, England has, uh, don't they have a large, fairly large welfare? Yes, oh there's no question that, that they, that, uh, you know, they have, you know, all kinds of cradle to grave, uh, programs, welfare programs providing for everyone some way. I, I, I, however the question is is that making the difference. Oh, I, I don't know. But we have a lot of welfare programs and Oh. if both do and they tend to have less crime, you wonder if that has anything to do with it then, you know, or is it, in our society, people are brought up over here thinking that, you know, everybody owes them something. Um, I think, I think that idea is even, even more common in Western Europe. Oh, do you? Uh-huh. Well, that's interesting. I would not have, I would not have said that. I would have said that it was more prevalent here in the United States. That's an interesting theory. I'm not that familiar, you know, I've only been over there a couple of times and I'm not that familiar with, that, Me, too. all I know is that, for instance we were in Germany in, uh, Okay. Why don't you go ahead and start. Okay, well, we subscribe to PEOPLE magazine and to TIME, and, of course I like the PEOPLE magazine because it's gossipy and it's fast reading, Uh-huh. and, uh, the TIME of course, is, uh, you know, more newsworthy and, uh, it has more world affair type things, of course. And then I will purchase a GOOD HOUSEKEEPING occasionally, especially around the holiday time because of recipes and ideas and and things like that Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, do you subscribe to any magazines? Yeah, I, well, I have, in a for a while I haven't gotten any because I just find that I'm not reading what I'm getting because, uh, I have so much going on in my life that seems to be the last thing I pick up, so I found that I was wasting my money. As much as I enjoy them, uh, when I do subscribe I, I've gotten in the past the PARENTS magazine and, uh, the HOUSEKEEPING magazine Uh-huh uh. you probably have smaller children younger children. Yes, yeah, My children, our children are grown Yeah, yeah, and, uh, I'm letting their mother read on the grandchildren Right, well, I found that after a couple of years of having a PARENTS magazine it was getting repetitious, so I kind of canceled it anyway for that reason. Uh, the HOUSEKEEPING magazines I do like because they, like you say, they have nice, uh, recipes in them and ideas, but, uh, lately they've just been piling up on me, so I figured it wasn't, uh, something I needed at this point in time. Well, do you think that people subscribe to magazines as much as they used to? I don't know, I, I, well, my husband would love to have more. Now he's the type who will get the, uh, INC. magazine and MONEY magazine and all the financial type magazines, Yes, now my husband does that, and Yeah, you know, and of course, uh, naturally WALL STREET JOURNAL, you know and, or SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Uh-huh, but I don't know, I know a few people leafing through them at the store but you just don't hear people talk about them, and I know years ago, when, uh, my children were young and stuff, I just loved LADIES HOME JOURNAL, McCALL'S, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, and I took them all Uh-huh. and, uh, then, oh, I don't know what in the seventies, maybe, late seventies they changed their format Uh-huh. and I haven't, I don't think there's been a magazine as they used to be Well even GOOD HOUSEKEEPING I don't, yeah, and some of those have had what, what I consider or what I get the idea that they are maybe the, the more pricier type magazines, as far as women's magazines. They seem just to be so chocked full of, of ads. Oh, they are. My sister, uh, takes, uh, TOWN AND COUNTRY and VOGUE Uh-huh. and she sends them to me, and there's really nothing in them but advertisements for very expensive clothes, very expensive jewelry things that the average middle class citizen is not going to be purchasing Yeah, yeah, Yes. Right you know, and if I want to drool or if I want to see how the other half is living you know, then I can, I look through them Yes. Yeah. and I do, I just, what I do is I flip through them and, and pitch them then, you know, they're not something I, you know, take any length of time over. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I have discovered that, you know, with my available time, I would rather actually read a book than a magazine. Yes I enjoy books a lot more Yes that's true. and, uh. Well So, but. now I have certainly stopped subscribing as much as I used to, other than my children have gotten. You know, they get tons of magazines it seems Yes they're always getting something in the mail and, and, uh, so between reading to them and, uh, reading the newspaper, and then I have a book that I'm occasionally reading when I get a chance, but I just don't get a chance for those, uh, newsy magazines, the ones that are full of ads, unless you just want to skim through while you're, I, I read them when I'm at a doctor's office or, you know, waiting on something like that. Yes, yes, I will read them in a doctor's office, too. Yeah, As I said, I, I subscribe to, uh, to PEOPLE and to TIME, and, uh, and I will go through the TIME, but, usually not cover to cover, you know, I'll glance through it. I like reading, uh, you know, the PASSAGE OF PEOPLE or something you know, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, uh, but I do like the PEOPLE magazine. It, it reminds me of the old time movie magazines when I was young Oh, uh-huh. and, uh, that's one, and you know, I really like that, I enjoy that. It's quick reading you know, Uh-huh. it doesn't require a lot of thinking, and sometimes after I've worked all day and have things to do at night, I just, I want fluff Yeah. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I don't want a lot of thinking That's true, that kind of is a good way to do it. It, uh, you know, it's, it's much more relaxing. Sometimes when I read TIME magazine, after I've read an article I'm real depressed over the situation of the world so. Well, it seems like we both kind of agree on the subject of magazines Yeah, yeah. and, uh Okay. so, uh, I think that probably I will end the call. I've enjoyed, Okay. Um, I very seldom read a newspaper. I get most of my news information from T V. Mainly, um, if I'm really wanting an in-depth thing I'll watch C N N. Uh-huh. And I find it one of the best. Uh-huh. And, uh, otherwise it's just one of the regular, uh, channels eight or five. Uh-huh. And, uh, where do you get yours? Uh, mostly from T V too. I usually start watching the news at five and watch it at five thirty and six sometimes and, and then again at ten maybe just the headlines. Uh-huh. Um, we do take the DALLAS MORNING NEWS and, uh, once in a while I'll sit down and read, read it, you know, but not very often do I read the whole thing. Quite often just scan through the headlines and, Uh-huh. Well, I take the DALLAS MORNING NEWS and, and my husband, uh, he reads it cover to cover. Uh-huh. And, uh, if he thinks there's something that I need to know about he'll say, you know, here you need to read this and, uh I don't know Uh-huh. it, I kind of quit reading it, oh, I don't know several years ago when the kids were teenagers. It just seems like I was so busy all the time, and if I wanted to read, I wanted to read something light and relaxing and and, uh, things like that Yeah. and so I and it got so depressing Yeah Seems like it wasn't anything but bad news Yeah. If there's something, you know, that I want to know more about or might be the Killeen murders. I've been kind of intrigued. I guess it's kind of the sadist in everyone You just, Yes, yes. I, I will pick up if there's something really gruesome in there I'll go through and read it. Uh, but I find that I do better with, oh, remembering it and everything if I watch, uh, the T V you know, Yeah. and, and they kind of capsize it and everything Yeah. and watch, and I think sometimes it's, you know maybe a little biased, you know Right. Oh, yeah. and sometimes. You don't, you get the sensationalism as opposed to just pure facts. Yeah. That's true. You know. I wanted a little more detail like, you know, they would tell more about the people that were killed, where they were from and how old they were. And I guess you just, you know, you you just want to know and with interest, you know I found some people that were members of our church which was different. And that made you even feel a little more kin to, to what was going on. Well, you know, of the same, same type of church that we belong to. Oh, the same type of church. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, so that made it a little more and that they were from Utah also so. Oh, uh-huh, uh-huh. So that was interesting, but I enjoy the news. I, I think our seven year old even once in a while will sit down and watch it with us, Uh-huh. so. I used to, uh, or I didn't used to but, uh No. when my grandchildren had, uh, have stayed over before and even maybe when our kids were younger one of the channels used to give brief inserts of news at a child's level. Uh-huh. And I thought that was very interesting, and I thought that was very important for kids. Like they brought down something that had happened like if there was something going on, uh, in the war, they would bring it down to a child's level in words you know, that they could understand what was going on. Huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I noticed that my grandchildren seemed to kind of enjoy that. The oldest one he's nine Right. and, uh, he would particularly enjoy this been a couple of years ago. Yeah. And, uh, I thought, I think that's really interesting. Actually I even understood it better Yeah, that's nice sometimes when they they pull it down a little bit like that. Yeah Yeah, you know. And, uh, but as I said, uh, I you know, Right. Nobody should get that way about the news. And what's going on in the world. Right. Oh, do you have a certain station you like to watch when you watch it or, Yes. We like channel eight. Do you? We like it. It's the best. Um, channel five for some reason has always been the one I watch. Is that been your favorite? Uh-huh. I, I don't know it's probably the anchors. They just kind of catch you. I don't, I don't know. Yeah, I very and I thought it was very interesting, uh, channel nine watching it when the murders were in Killeen Uh-huh. and, and going on. They were having news coverage and, The C N N, is that what that is? No, it was channel nine. Huh. And, you know they have that hour that nine to ten of an evening. Oh. And so we had the T V on and we were trying to catch all of it, and they were showing some and I was watching, my husband and I were watching it, and then we switched over to channel eight, and the difference in coverage was unbelievable. Yeah. I can understand why channel eleven is, uh, you know, why they're kind of behind. Yeah. Did I say channel nine to begin with? Yeah That's why I wondered. No Okay. No, channel eleven I meant. I don't get that channel Yeah. I was thinking nine to ten. Yeah, yeah. But channel eleven, That is if you, if you want to go to bed early it's nice to, to, to watch that early news sometimes, Uh-huh. so. It, uh, but the coverage wasn't near as good as when we, you know, switched over to channel eight and they didn't Okay, would you, uh, like to begin or would you like me to start? Uh, oh, I can start. Okay. I, I think one of the, the biggest, uh, improvements in women is that finally you're starting to see them get into, uh, management Yes. and you're seeing them, uh, get, uh, elected to, uh, political offices. Uh, not near enough. Uh-huh. I know there's still a long way to go especially in top management Yes, I agree. You're not seeing, you know, looking at T I, you see them in management, but you're not seeing them up there as V P Right. And I have a sister that's an attorney in Oklahoma City, and I know the company that she was with, uh, the women didn't have near the positions, the levels that the men attorneys had. And were not, uh, given the same respect. Right. I agree with that. I, I think you do see more and more women out there in politics, too, as mayors or, uh, you know, in, in helping to maybe, uh, get some legislation passed to, to have women have more rights. Yes. I think still, even with that whole, um, thing with Judge Thomas and, and, uh, you, you still felt like the woman was the one that you would maybe discredit first before the man or something the way they had the trial and uh, I just think that it's, it's still going to take another generation or so before, before the women really, could really feel that they're really equal in the business world and that they work just as hard or harder Uh-huh, uh-huh. Right, right. Uh, but it's still, uh, going from, from homemakers into, uh, corporate leaders is still a big step. Right, I also think that, uh, uh, women as homemakers are beginning to get more respect than they used to be. Used to be people would say, do you work, and you'd say, no, I work in the home and Right. it was, it was, then it was almost like a put down, particularly, particularly even by women in the work force. But, I think now, I think people are realizing that the roles women play in the home are very, very important. Yes. And it's getting the respect and, which is about time. I think it's true. I think also people are having children at a older age Yes, very definitely. so it's maybe like, uh, you know, you go through college and then you maybe work for a few years and then you have your first child and, uh, you know, you, you know both sides of the coin. That's right. You know what it's like and how much work it takes to keep the house running smoothly, and to take care of the kids. And, and then, uh, maybe people that are just working and think, oh, you just stay at home. But then when they're in their thirties and have their first and second kid, it's like, they lose it Right. They say, wow! This is harder than I thought Yes Well, you know. And, and, to those that have never worked and had, you know, and have stayed home with the kids, kind of does your heart good I know it, I know. Because I know I stayed home with mine and didn't start working until mine were in high school. Uh-huh. And, uh, so, you know, it, it kind of does me good. I think also one of the things that, that's really tremendous and, it doesn't necessarily have to do with women, but the fact that the fathers are so involved with families. Are so involved. Yes. Which, again, I think it helps a woman's role. Right, right. You know, Their role has to change to kind of accommodate us, too. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I know, I have three children and my oldest is eleven and I've pretty much been home, uh, since Brian was born and, uh, just recently I went back to work, uh, last school semester to tutor, uh, high school age students with learning disabilities and I was just out of the house two days a week Uh-huh. but, I thought, wow, this is really hard, only, and it was only two days and I was home before three. But getting the baby to day care, getting the kids off to school, I still did everything I always do, you know, my husband still got up and went to work Uh-huh. but, uh, it, it, only those two, it made a big difference. I thought, wow, full time, I don't think I could swing that personally. Well, I had to, course, I work full time, but my daughter and her husband were out of town so I had my grandchildren for four days during, uh, football, soccer season Oh. Oh, boy. and so I would work and her, some friends would take care of the kids, but I would have to get them picked up from there get them fed, get them to practices get homework done, get baths. Pick up. Dinner. Right. I was absolutely exhausted. I bet, I bet. And, and these women that are waiting until they're in their late thirties, or early forties to have their first children, I think are absolutely crazy. Well, I, I know a lot of people, I know I had my first child when I was twenty-five, and that's not considered really young these days, that's almost, you know Uh-huh. but, uh, I have friends that, that have kids just starting kindergarten and they're, they're forty years old. And, and then like maybe a two year old at home, and I think, boy, I, I'm, I'm in my Okay, do we just go ahead? Uh-huh. Okay. Do you want to start? Uh, well, we're supposed to talk about vacations Right. and, uh, I'm trying to think of the ones that I've been on that I liked the most and probably the one I liked most was Hawaii Oh, did you get to go to Hawaii? Yes. Yeah, we went there for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. It's lovely, isn't it? Yes. We went, uh, six months after we were married. Uh-huh. And we just went to, uh, two islands. What islands did you go to? We went to Oahu and Kauai. Kauai, uh-huh. We went to Kauai, and then we also hit Maui, and then, of course, uh The big one. uh, the big one, uh-huh. Oh. With, uh, the big one I thought was very commercialized. Oh, yeah. It was. But the other two were just lovely. Yes, I enjoyed Kauai better, too. Uh-huh, it was quiet and restful, and, and so beautiful. It wasn't commercialized. Oh, it was rainy Yeah was it? Rainy, but, you know, we don't like to spend the money to go over there and sit on the beach anyway so, That's right. Well, it wasn't real rainy. We had a few showers, but, uh, nothing that really got in the way with anything and just very brief ones and, and, when, uh, now we went to Nassau and my husband liked it better than he did Hawaii. Oh, really? Uh-huh. Oh. Yeah, he really did. I don't know why. You know, he didn't like Oahu at all He thought Uh-huh. Oh. Did you go there? Uh-huh. That was wonderful Yeah. and we both enjoyed it very much. That was That was nice, uh-huh. You know, I've been to Nassau, too. Have you? I went on a cruise. Oh, neat. Uh-huh, and, uh, to tell you the truth, I, I think I'd rather just go to the island. Yeah, uh, our son and daughter-in-law just, uh, they got married last January and they won a cruise. And I know they didn't like it. Now, we have several friends that, uh, have been on, and just love them. But James and I like, I don't know, I think we would get bored on the boat all the time. Well, I, got sick. Oh, did you? Yeah, I did the first night. I went with my sister just, uh, a couple years ago Ooh. Uh-huh. and, and we both, the first night, just had to leave dinner. Um. It was bad, but, and then after that it was, it got better, but we just, it was a four day Uh-huh. and we were both ready to get off the boat. Were you? Yeah. Well, I think if we ever go, it will only be for a three day. Now we've been real lucky. We've been to Europe twice. Oh, have you? Yeah. We went, the first time we went to London, Europe and touched a little bit of Scotland And second time we went to Munich, Germany and were there a week, and loved Germany. Oh. It is just absolutely gorgeous with the mountains Wow. I'll bet it is. and we were there in the fall before the snows, you know, started and it was wonderful. It, uh it was just, it was marvelous. Oh. And we would love to go back there and we'd love to go back to London. You haven't been to Spain? No Oh. have not been to Spain. I was born there. Were you? Yes How old were you when you left? Uh, just ten months. Oh, ten months, uh-huh. Yeah, so, Have you ever got to go back? No, no, and I would like to. Would you? My, uh, my sister, we went with them to Germany and, uh, she would like to go to Spain. I'm not sure whether I would like to or not. Huh. And, uh, I would like to go to Ireland. Would you? Uh-huh. Now, now I don't know if I'd like to go there just from the the problems. Well, the there is uh-huh, is, is a little scary, but I would still like to see it. I'd like to see, uh, Italy. Oh, yeah, yeah. I would love to go there. That would be nice. And, course, there is a lot of places in the United States I still want to come, you know, go to. Now, have you been to Yellowstone? Uh, Yellowstone, Yes, yes. Have you? We have been there. We, I was there as a child and then we, we went to California and came back through Yellowstone with our kids. Uh-huh. And they loved it. Well, I was in Utah, in Salt Lake City when I was a, uh, youngster. Oh, uh-huh. So, uh, you know, I've touched on that. Yeah, now I'm just about, oh, a half hour, uh, north of Salt Lake. Oh. So, uh, it's at Yeah. my husband works in Salt Lake, so Uh-huh. we're real close and, yeah, we, Now that's a pretty city. Yes, we, we like it. Very clean. You know. Yeah. It is. Utah is a pretty state from what I remember of it. Well, we kind of like it Uh-huh Well, do you like to camp, those kind of trips? We, no, we used to We used to camp a lot with our Uh-huh. Oh, you like the motels? We like the motels, yes Oh, oh, well. We have, we've gone past the camping stage. We lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee for two years. Oh, did you? And we did a lot of camping out there in the Smokeys and it was beautiful and our kids loved it and everything and then we moved to, uh, uh, the Dallas area Uh-huh. and, uh, it's hot down here and camping is not near as much fun. Oh. And, uh, so, and then the kids were getting older and, and were involved in activities so the camping sort of went by the wayside. And, uh, although our son loves to fish Huh. and, uh, and our daughter and her husband are talking now about starting camping with their boys now that they have gotten older. Uh-huh. So I've been concerned about crime lately. Uh-huh. Uh, it's really scary to listen to the news every night and to hear about all the problems. Uh-huh. I wondered if you were taking any special precautions in your neighborhood? Well, I, I think we have a neighborhood watch Uh-huh. I think. I'm not real, we don't get real involved. We're never home, so Uh-huh uh, uh, well, I know they were going to start one, but, uh, I haven't heard any more since, so I don't really know. But as far as personally doing something, no. No, um. How about you? Well we moved in, when we moved in, there, there wasn't any outside lights and so we've been trying to install some, uh, outside lights Uh-huh. and we put up a fence in the backyard. Uh-huh. Mostly, you know, not so much thinking that we would deter someone to break in, but that our children would be safe playing in the yard. You know. Yeah. Yeah. Huh. And I guess most of the crime that I'm concerned about generally is against my kids. To let them go play with someone and because of what you hear about people getting picked up and everything Oh, I'm sure it is. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and so I have to spend a good deal of time watching them walk down the street and, say, call me before you leave and come back Uh-huh. and, We don't have any. We did install a, a a, uh, motion detector light back in our driveway. Uh-huh. And that was, mainly it was so when we pulled up, the light would come on, but also we have a boat back there Uh-huh. and we have neighborhood kids that like to get into mischief, so we thought with that light, you know, it would maybe keep them from doing something to the boat Yeah so, Well, we've been real lucky that, I don't believe there's been, you know, much trouble in our neighborhood, but it but it does seem there, that there is a lot more here in Plano of, uh, just bored teenagers Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, that's Vandalism. what it is. We live in, Coppell and, and that's pretty much what it is, is you know, kids that are bored, like you say. Uh-huh. Yeah, and they don't, uh, I know my sister-in-law who lives in our neighborhood they've had their, Uh-huh. they parked their car out on the street before and it's been spray painted and a few things like that Oh, no. and, course, you know, I don't know I'm getting scared for kids to get older, because you don't know if it's someone their teenagers know who, and, or is it just random crime, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, uh, we've been real lucky that no one in my family with the, anywhere that they live has had, been a victim of, you know, a serious crime. Yeah, yeah. But, uh, it's really scary to know that you can live a normal life and try to be a good citizen but it doesn't mean you'll be safe Uh-huh. and, But, I guess I take a lot of, uh, little bit of, uh, safety in knowing that a lot of the crimes that they report are, like drug related or uh, things that, Uh-huh, places usually that I wouldn't be going. And things I usually wouldn't be involved in. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, there's not so much of it completely innocent victims compared to, Yeah. but it is scary. Yeah, it is. Were you raised in this area? Really is Yeah. I'm originally from Chicago, but I've been in this area, in the Lewisville area for, uh, let's see, about twenty-three years. Uh-huh. So, has it been getting worse that you noticed, or about the same? Oh definitely. Um. In the last few years, I think, and, uh, like I say, now I don't think necessarily in this area here, but just Dallas in general. Uh-huh. I don't know, I think back of when I was, uh, younger and in my party days, some of the things I did, you know, I wouldn't be caught dead, like, being out that late at night. Right. In the dark parking lot Right. Take a lot of chances. Well, I noticed that, uh, that, uh, when we, we moved here from Houston not too long ago. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so, of course, we were interested in schools Uh-huh. and, uh, but the schools in Houston all have big, tall fences around them and they're not really very safe Uh-huh. and so it's been interesting to come to the Plano area where the schools don't have fences at all around them, and it's just a whole different idea that, that, at least the people here feel that their kids are pretty safe at school. Uh-huh. And in Houston that there was the mentality that they weren't safe at school. Huh. And so that's been something that's been good for the, you know, in this area that you feel like, uh, you know, there's not going to be too many knifings or shootings at school today. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I guess, I don't know how people live with that every day. Um. I don't either. Pretty scary. Yeah, um. But, anyway, well, I guess I won't take up more of your Well, I am new to Texas, so I don't even know what the law is, in the state, Uh-huh? do you? Well, yes, of course, we do have capital punishment. And we've, you know, done away with our, quote, fair share number. Oh, that's right, I think now, that I recall, reading about it in the paper. Yes. Um, you know, different things, is it restricted to certain crimes? Or just, Yes, it's certain crimes, uh, capital crimes, murder, of course, uh, rape, this sort of thing. Uh-huh. Um. Well. It seems to be a disproportionate number of blacks, you know, that get into the system. Yes, I know, the one thing that I think is really sad about it, as I recall, from the articles that I've read, is that if, if people who have been there, are going to be killed. Um, there's people that come to the prisons and they're very violent and, they want, I mean they're anxious for someone to be killed Uh-huh. Yes. I just, I can't see that. That happens on occasion, it sure does, maybe it just depends on, you know, how closely the crime, you know, has affected you personally. Uh-huh. You know, I don't know, or a person personally. No. I think I would be, you know, I guess, really if I had to say yes or no, I guess I would say, you know, that I am in certain cases, in favor of the death penalty, I don't know that it's a big deterrent really. I don't know that it is. I don't know how we'd ever find out, you know, really whether it is or not. Well, there is so many chances for appeal, that it Oh, yeah, oh, absolutely, yeah, it goes on for years and years, and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, taxpayer money. it's really sad. Yeah. I don't know, I just think, um, somehow I hoped that as a people we could be better than, than, um, expecting, the feeling that it Yes. with, someone is calling for someone else to be killed, you know. Is really kind of bad Yes it is. It's a tough, tough question. It really is. I suspect I would be, uh, you know, a lot more favor of it if, you know, one of my children were, you know, brutally killed, or something like that. Like I say, I think it depends on how personally affected, you know, you might be by it. and there really are criminals that are hard-core and, repeat, and never have any chance for, Oh, absolutely. that's right. Oh, I don't know, is it, do you feel at all like, it's a religious issue? Not with me personally. It is with a lot of other people. Uh-huh. It's not, not to me personally, no. Um. No. I don't know, sometimes I feel, I mean I do go to church and things. I don't know how I would feel about it. But like you say, if it hit you personally, closer at home you would feel, feel differently. Uh-huh. Yes. That's a, it's a tough, tough question, it really is. Do you think most states have that or? Yes, I think most states do have capital punishment. Yes. But, I think the U S is one of the few countries that still do. That still does it, that's right. Yes, they're only, I was reading something about it the other day, I think there was only like six or eight countries in the world, that have capital punishment still. Uh-huh. A lot of them had to have elected not to do so. Now I don't know, what they do in place of it. You know, maybe it's life in prisonment or, you know, something, I I don't know how they handle it I was surprised to learn that so few countries have capital punishment. Have that. Well, and it doesn't seem like very many people, uh, are really, I mean, there's a lot of people that are on death row. But there's not very many people that actually, um. do get killed. Oh, yes. Yes, a lot of them do get their sentences commuted to something else. Uh-huh. So, it seems like a of people live there, and then through appeals. Yes. Because I know they do frequently, I mean they cover, cover it pretty heavily on television and the newspaper. Uh-huh. Yes. If it finally gets to that point. Right, the first appeal is automatic, so that delays it for a few years just right off the bat. Yeah. There's, there's a lot of, you know, last minute, uh, things that happen cause a person not to, have to go through the whole thing. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So is it, uh, are we doing lethal injection now? Yes, uh-huh. That's, that's fairly recent, I don't know, how recent, but fairly recent, in the state of Texas. Before that, it was, uh, death by electrocution. Uh-huh, which seems so awful. Yes, it certainly does. So, it's a little bit more humane, I guess, it is, Yes, it would almost have to be, I suppose. If you, if you had to chose, I guess I would, I am sure I would take the lethal injection. Yes, the other one just seems so terrible. Yes, absolutely. Um. It's a, it's a tough question. It really is. I guess, if I had to say yes or no, I would say, you know, yes. I, I would have to lean toward capital punishment, you know, for certain crimes. Well, do you think that we do it because we want it to deter crime or, it's not because we don't want to pay for inmates to stay in prison? No, I don't think it's a monetary thing. Uh-huh. I think, we hope that it will be, you know, some sort of deterrent or, you know, an eye for an eye type thing, or something like that. Um. Some of the crimes are just so brutal and so, you know, useless. This may seem to be the best way out. I don't know. Yes. Easiest way out maybe. No, I don't think it's a monetary thing. Um. Well, um, and I notice that the crime rate was up in the Dallas area It's, It's kind of been scary, to think about it Yes, especially the murder rate, its just gone crazy. Yes. and, And you're hoping there is something that will cut down on that. Absolutely. Yes, I wish I had the answer for that, everybody does. You hate to have the dubious honor of being, you know, so high in the, in statistics, Yes, it's nothing to be proud of, certainly not. But I, you know, we have been really fortunate our family, hasn't had any crime. Yes. Yes, so have we been very, very fortunate. And, so we don't, it's harder to think about the poor people that have suffered that way. That's right. Absolutely. And how they would expect, how they would hope, Uh-huh. I mean you, you hear of people who have, um, committed crimes, and then they get out of jail and they go, and they do the same thing again. Absolutely. And you wonder why they can't just stop it. Uh-huh. That's right. So, maybe you would, Uh-huh. but still I would hate to be on the jury that sentenced someone. So would I, I fortunately, I have never been in that circumstance, I hope I never am, like, like everybody else. No, I know when, um, we just, we moved here, uh, I from the, I got a summons, jury summons, Uh-huh. just like constantly, it seemed like, Uh-huh. but fortunately I had small children and I didn't have to go. Right. And it's not that, I mean, I think everyone should have to serve on the jury, Uh-huh. it's just that, I didn't, I hate having to be in charge of someone else's life. Sure, it's, it's a big responsibility, it really is. And I would hate to have to hear any kind of case, involving a violent crime or anything. Yes. So would I. That would be really awful. Yes. Absolutely. Well, anyway, I sure have enjoyed, uh, talking to you about this. Although it has been difficult but, uh. It is, it's a tough subject, it really is. I'd hate to decide it, but I guess, uh, guess it's important, that we decide as a people what, what we're going to do. Right. That's right. Anyway, well, you have a good day. Well, thank you, it's nice talking to you. Thank you, bye-bye. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Well, Patricia, I was just about to get on my tread mill, and then I remembered that I didn't make a call last night, and I thought I'd make one tonight. Well, I have an exercise bicycle in my bedroom, but it usually's holding clothes That's what I did with mine, for a long time, put it on the handlebars so I can hang them up. Right And sometimes she just flops them all over the seat. Well, that's not why I got it, right How do you like your tread mill? I like it. You don't get, is it less boring than the bicycle or not. No, it's just as boring. You watch T V or something while you do it? I read a book while I'm doing it. Oh. But I was doing that on the exercise bike. Well, I do that too. I feel like I'm getting a little better of a workout, and I'm losing more weight on this than on the other. Really. Are you? And my legs, you know, how, okay, I'm going to turn forty this summer, I was getting all dimpled up Yeah. And those are going away. Really. So that's real good. Uh-huh. We got it at a little bit of an incline. Are they kind of expensive. this is five hundred. Uh-huh. I know they get cheaper. They do? Uh-huh. Probably the more you pay, though, the better the machine you have. Well, I hope so. Well, you can believe that anyway, right. Yeah. I didn't buy it really. My husband bought it because we, we'd never get out and go walking or anything, and we go to the lake and we ski and swim in the summer but besides that, During the year. uh-huh. Yeah, well, in bad weather, you know, well you'd have to do something inside. Yeah. Do you work at T I? Uh-huh. I think, your voice sounds familiar. Really. Where do you I live in Arlington. I wonder if we talked before. Where do you live? I'm in Garland. No, uh, well, You sound like this girl that I talked to about books, and we got into movies one night. Oh, really. Uh-huh. Uh, no, this is the first time I've done it. Uh, my husband was just running out the door, he's working at night tonight. So I decided to do it I haven't talked before. Uh, what subjects have you talked about? Let's see, education. Oh Well, that's interesting. that one was. It's more interesting than the treadmill and the bicycle. Right? The most boring one was about what meal would you cook for a sit down dinner. Oh, my goodness The other woman didn't cook too much either. Right. really have a lot of variety. Yeah, they do. I talked to this old woman that was a retired administrator in Ohio one night about education. Oh, And she was, A school administrator. Uh-huh, Well that could, That would have been interesting. Retired, but. Yeah, and then one night I talked to these two guys, no, one night I talked to one guy and then a couple of weeks later I talked to the guy's roommate, in Virginia, about different things. Really, well that's neat. Uh-huh. One was about painting. When was the last time you painted something? Did you feel like you did a good job? Did you feel, uh, rewarded while you were doing it. Hm. Uh-huh. How long is this going to go on, do you know? I don't know. I don't either It's interesting, though. I never heard of such a project before. Huh-uh. Well, how'd you find out about it? Pardon me? How did you find out about it? Oh, I don't know. I guess my husband got a letter at the office, I, I presume, and they must have been asking. Does your husband work with T I. Uh-huh. Oh really. Uh-huh. I have a friend that had a roommate that worked at T I Uh-huh. and she saw it on the computer screen and they made copies of it. Oh, so they wanted any, anybody, don't have to work at T I. Uh-huh. Well, that's interesting. Uh-huh. I had no idea that was just for the employees, and I couldn't understand, I kept getting these calls, I thought it was an advertisement and they just were also called T I, you know, there is Texas Industries and different things. Uh-huh. I kept hanging up on them for days, until my husband told me what it was Oh I didn't know. Well, if you work for T I you're supposed to get a prize, is what I heard, and if you don't work for them you're supposed to get cash. Ooh. But then on the letter it says cash or prize. Oh. Well the prizes are pretty nice. He brought a booklet home and depending on how many calls, I think three was the minimum. But it went up to, I don't know, nine or ten. I don't know, gobs. This is going on my fourth week to do it. Oh, my. And some of the prizes are pretty nice. Well, like what, tell me. Oh, I wish I had that booklet here. Oh, I think I do, it's right here. I'll look at the end because those would be the best ones, okay? Yeah. Um, well, they have some watches that look really nice. There's one that's got some diamonds on it. For how many calls? Does it say? I haven't quite figured that out. I thought it was eight or nine, but seems like too nice a prize for nine, just nine calls, isn't it? Uh-huh. Says when we have enough calls from you, you will receive in the mail a numbered certificate for your calls and and explanation how to redeem, for gifts. background saying Stephen did you start the in background: pour some charcoal in Are you listening to him? No, I'm trying not to. He's telling me to start the grill. Oh It says three for a B gift, five for a C gift, et cetera. And this only goes up to F. So I thought that was somewhere around nine. But anyway, it's got these beautiful watches on it. Let me see what else it has a, uh, clock radio that also plays uh, you know, tapes. Then it's got, oh some binoculars, and some pretty brass lamps. Got some, oh, a food processor. So it's not all stuff that T I makes. Oh no, I don't, I haven't seen anything in here that T I makes. The Mister Coffee, the double Mister Coffee, you know, the two. Oh, and there's a phone in here that's hilarious. It has a button you can push, if you get a call you don't like then it makes machine gun noise And then there's an attache case, and cordless telephone, and then there's a card table, doesn't have any chairs, just a card table. Oh, some more jewelry, suitcases, and have you seen those anniversary lamps where the little balls go around. You mean the clocks. Yeah, clocks. Yeah. I can, I'm going crazy, my daughter's playing the piano and I can't think. Oh, god. It's got one of those, and um, well, it's got a lot, I mean, pages and pages. It's got wheelbarrows. A lot of kitchen stuff, of the mixer, the toaster, a waffle maker, popcorn popper, all kinds of stuff like that. Here's where, here's a calculator but it's not even made by T I, isn't that funny. Did they mail that to you, or he brought it to you? He brought it home. Huh. I believe it came in his, uh, his mail. Here's a camera and a dustbuster and some tools, someone, a lot of tools, a man might like you know. Yeah, so you're bound to find something you want. Oh yeah, you're bound to. All kinds of phones and clocks and, uh, here's more jewelry and oh, there's even pictures and little porcelain things to put on a coffee table. Oh, here's some brass animals, brass candlesticks, they're pretty. So I'm sure you'd find something. Yeah. And, uh. Well, you know, Silver plated bowls and stuff. There's a lot of stuff, it's a big booklet. Well, do you know you have a ten limit, a ten minute time limit. Oh, no. Well that's okay, and then they come on and tell you, and they tell you got five seconds to say good-bye. Oh, well, it's been fun, this is my first time to do it. We'll keep talking if we want to come up with something else. Yeah. Let's see, oh, I tried exercise classes, and I never would go. We fin, we joined, ex. I went to Metropolitan a couple of years ago, so I sit and study, I sit in class, and I have really ballooned up since then, and, so, he's says I ought to join one of those that makes you go, but , They don't either, Well the first one I joined, they went out of business and they transferred it to another one that was really far away. That's a very common experience. And we were going to do it, there was four of us together. Well, then forget that, it wasn't near me. No. And then the second time I was going to do it at Richland College, and we, I just get with another friend, and we'd end up just smoking cigarettes and riding around like we couldn't find the place That's funny So my husband's just discouraged me on those things. Right, well, if you, if you can make yourself do the tread mill, I mean, gosh, that's a good workout. Oh yeah, my husband said he's never joined a course, right. And I got one of those Jane Fonda workout tapes that I dubbed from a friend. Uh-huh. That didn't last long I had a baby, I think Yeah, right, each one of those puts on a few pounds, doesn't it. How many children do you have? Two. Yeah, I do, too. Two, a girl, one's in college, so I don't have a, have a baby anymore Oh, Lord, you're lucky. Well, I've got a step-daughter, she's in college. Oh, well. So there's where the money goes. tell me about it, tell me, , Where's you putting two of us through, isn't he lucky. Two. Well, me, I'm going, and my daughter Janet in Austin. Uh. Yeah, right. So, I'll probably have to sell the prize I get Where you going to school? U T A right here. And what are you doing? Well, I'm, um, going to be certified as an English teacher teach English as a second language. I just got my certification. You're kidding. Huh-uh. Oh, that's , The test is a booger. The test, the exit test. Hard. It's hard. Oh, no. It is so hard. Uh-huh. how are the other ones. I haven't taken any of the exit tests. See I didn't have to take any other exit test because I've been teaching for quite a while. Oh, yeah, before they started , But I've heard they're terrible. Really. Bilingual is just horrendous. I've had friends fail that twice. Really. I didn't know any of this. None of my friends have failed the English or the education ones Good. I really ought to take those quickly while I still remember some. Uh-huh. Yeah, right after you get out. I know. . Boring and they really don't help you a whole lot. Now see, I went to E T and I took one course through T W U and boy yelling in most of the training I've got has been through Dallas just teaching E S L. Oh . From Chapter One Tea ... and she's expecting the end of this month, and she's the only one that lives near by. Oh, well that will be nice though. So the rest live in, one lives in Connecticut, and couple lives in Pittsburg, and one lives near D. C. So, uh ... But still sort of up in that general area of the country Yeah Yeah so you can probably see them sometimes. Yeah, we see them once in a while, a couple of times a year at least, Yeah and the ones in Pittsburg, of course, we see more often, Yeah So, uh ... Okay. All right I'm ready to go. Well, uh, what kind of recycling do you have in your area? Well, they've been trying different things. One, one of the biggest problems seems to be we don't, they don't have anyplace to put some of the things that need recycled. Uh-huh. Right now we've recycled glass for years because we have a glass industry in our community. Oh, what, which one is that? Owens. Oh, uh-huh. Owens . Um, so glass has been recycled for a long time. Uh, we have a cycling area set up here at our house, the Boy Scouts have, and they've done that for years. Uh, the stores are recycling their plastic bags now. You can take them back in and they have bins to collect those. Uh, the aluminum cans. Uh-huh. They try to do the, uh, newspapers and, uh, they had to close their area down because they couldn't sell it. They were, what they were doing was shredding it and trying to sell it to farmers for bedding for their animals, and that type of thing. Uh-huh. And that didn't work, but, but somebody told me that they were charging as much for it as they did for straw. Which is why they couldn't sell it, Oh. Yeah. you know, because the farmers would buy the straw if it's a, you know, similar price. Sure. And let's see, is there anything else. Okay, I think by this Fall it's going to be required that the town of Clarion, which we'll live nearby, will have mandatory recycling started so, On just particular things or, Uh, mainly the glass, the aluminum, the plastics. Uh-huh. Uh, Well, it sounds like they're doing quite a bit. Well, we're working hard on it because we're fighting also in our area a large hazardous waste incinerator which we do not want built Uh. and, uh, we would like industry to do more before they build these big, huge incinerators. Yeah. And, uh, we, we just feel they should, they should offer industry some incentives to do more reducing of their waste products and reusing, Uh-huh. them, because some of those companies that are doing it have, save money eventually. At first, apparently, it costs more to get started. Right. But once they get established, then it's a money saving thing. Well, our company does some things, all of which I couldn't even tell you about. I don't know all of them but, And what is T I? Uh, Texas Instruments. Oh, okay. Yeah . Gee, my, my son works for, no, not for that, okay. Excuse me, go ahead Well, I, I was just curious as how you got hooked up with this, this speech type of thing. Well, my son works in, uh, for the federal government. He's, he works in a computer laboratory. Oh and he, And, uh, it was through him that, that, uh, Yeah. Well, here at work, um, each one of us has two trash baskets in our office and one of those is designed for any kind of paper products that, um, they want to use, you know, for recycling. They can't deal with every type. Uh, maybe you could tell me, what is the difference between office paper waste and just like newspapers? Well, I guess I don't know specifically, except that, uh, for the paper that they want to recycle, they do not want any newspaper, um, and things like candy wrappers or, uh, that type of thing. Let's see, I have a list here. Um, they don't want lunch sacks or brown envelopes, uh, phone books. So there are, you know, a lot of kinds of things that they don't want, but then any kind of computer paper, letters, uh, booklets, they'll even take things that are bound. Um. Um, and it doesn't all have to be like white. They'll take colored folders, Oh, really. and, and, uh, even some of those can have plastic tabs on them. Um. So it's, it's hard to kind of figure out, you know, which things are the right ones. Um. I mean I, I'll frequently have to look at the list, if it's something that I don't throw away all the time. Yeah. But, um, they do that and then we use, uh, different chemicals and things, and I know that about how they take care of that sort, of thing. Right, yeah. I, I don't know all the details, Right, yeah. but they're really on top of that. Yeah. And there probably some other things that I don't about because we're a real large company. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And I just don't have contact with them. Uh-huh. But in our, uh, city, well, I live in a suburb of Dallas Uh-huh. and they have initiated a newspaper recycling whereby they pick it up from your alley, uh, one day a week and all you have to do is bundle it. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, all around Dallas there are a lot of recycling centers where you can take things, sometimes for money um, but most of those are real far away from like where I live at any rate. Uh-huh. Well it would be inconvenient to, in other words to, Very inconvenient, and, um, it's just, you know, hasn't been very practical to get into a lot of those things. If they would make it something where they, you know, would pick it up at the curb or at least make it, you know, down the street and at the corner, type of thing, uh, Right, more areas where they would pick it up. Yeah, Yeah. that wouldn't be so bad. Yeah. Um, our grocery store, like yours, will take the, uh, plastic bags and they'll also take the, the paper bags back. Um, uh-huh. But, um, uh, you mentioned the, uh, glass type of stuff. The reason I ask you about that is years ago, and it, it changed names somewhere along the line, but, um, my dad used to work for Knox Glass in, Knox, Pennsylvania. Oh, well, Knox is just over the hill here Oh, really? They, they no longer are, you know, active. Yeah it's, Yeah, they were taken over by Glass Containers years ago, Yeah. and, but he worked for them for like thirty-one years. Oh, for heaven's sake. And he used to travel up there to Knox quite a bit, Yeah. and, and I even did once when I was a child, Oh, for heaven's sake. you know, so, Well, we only live probably about fifteen, twenty miles from Knox. Oh, really? Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, we, I was looking through our photo album not long ago and they had, had some pictures and things in there of Knox. I'll be darn, yeah. But, uh, I guess that's about it, you know, as far as what goes on that I know about. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I think people are getting more interested and they are more concerned. And we're just, we're just real concerned about this incinerator because we really, they want to put it right in, uh, in between two of our main water sheds that feed the Clarion River. Um. And, uh, we, we just, we just don't want it anyplace We feel that we, that they should give businesses more incentives to do more recycling and more reduction and, and more reuse and all those things that could be done. Yeah. We, we just don't think, we don't think some of the politicians are really interested in our best interests. Yeah that's, And, uh, it's, it's been a real struggle and a hardship for a lot of people in our area that we've, have, you know, have been fighting against this thing in trying to have things changed, to make them more, more right, Uh-huh. but, uh, Well, I think probably more people, you know, would participate if they just made it a little easier, Uh-huh. and like you say, make it, um, better for companies to do these things, and get involved in it without huge cost to them, Uh-huh, uh-huh. Right. because obviously, no one wants to spend a lot of money, just to deal with trash, you know. Right. Uh, well, We're, we're going to pay for that, that whether we pay industry or, pay, Yeah, that's true. we, we've already paid industry for like these super fund that's cleaning up. We paid industry for it, we pay, all help to pay to have them haul it away from their place, and where they put it now they found it's not a safe place. It's leaked and now they have to clean those up, and it's our money that's cleaning this, stuff up. That's right. And now they want to put it in, they burn it and that will make another hazardous dump Uh-huh. and eventually they'll have to do something with that. We'll pay for it again, That's true. so why not pay industry. This is my feeling. Why not pay industry a little more, Uh-huh. Also probably look at packaging and, that sort of thing. definitely. We don't, we don't need three quarters of, what we get. Huh-uh, huh-uh. No, but they think, and probably they're right, people buy it easier . I, uh, that's their marketing. Yeah, yeah. Well, And I know people would be willing to do more, like saving their newspapers and that, if they had a place to take them. We don't have anyplace right now that will take them. Yeah. I, I'm, guess our city, you know, in picking them up must take them somewhere else, and get something for them. Uh-huh. Probably, yeah. But I don't that it's a big money, About how many calls have you made on this system? Uh, I've originated only a, a few. Oh, okay, yeah. But I've received quite a few. I, uh, I only started doing it after, uh, I started getting calls and said, oh, heck, that's right, I'm supposed to make a few calls. So I started about a month ago and I, Uh-huh. this is getting close to twenty here which is I think is about all, uh, our little gift book goes up to, but I don't really know. Oh, yeah. I've got about twelve tickets in the mail. Do you have, you've a few? Yeah, I've been getting mine. Okay, medical go ahead, I'm, I'm medical. That's mine. Uh, you pushed the record button. We're supposed to be discussing the subject. Yeah. I, I'm benefits. Go ahead, you first. Yeah, uh, well, I'll tell you, I've been around for quite a few years and worked for a lot of different companies, and, uh, it's hard to beat any of the benefits that, or salaries either, that we get from T I. Uh-huh. I'm quite pleased with it. Course there's a few things that, uh, I think I could do better if I was sitting up in the C E O's seat but, uh I think Jerry's doing a pretty good job as it goes. Oh, yeah. The one, it's kind of like, uh, automobile insurance, the ones, uh, that I think are the highest and important to me, uh, I hope I never have to use them, really per se, although I've used medical a little bit Uh-huh. that, well that one certainly is high, I, I worry that it's weakening rather than strengthening so I like to reverse that trend and say I'd like to get those to strengthen, you know, be better and better. Well, Then salary continuance, I've never used that one. I hope I never will, but that's kind of like an insurance thing. I sure like that one. Oh, yes. That's like automobile insurance. You never want to get in an accident but it, you like to have it there. Uh-huh. Well, uh, like I say, I worked for several different companies and there's nothing to compare with, uh, T I here. Uh-huh. Now I really got caught up back in eighty-five, I got caught up in the oil layoff uh, I wasn't with G S I, but I was connected with, uh, uh, oil, uh, exploration. Right. With T I, or somebody else? No, with T I. Uh-huh. But I say, I wasn't connected with G S I. Oh, right, yeah. And, I got caught up in a layoff. Um. Now, uh, course you get six months, uh, unemployment from the State Yeah. but, what T I did for us is, is, uh, I've never heard of it before. They fixed us up with an office with, uh, telephones, access to long-distance, uh, computers, a secretary to take messages for us or type, uh, letters, for us. Right. Uh, they had out of town newspapers and then, And outside consultants. Didn't they have an outside consultant, too? I beg your pardon. Did they have an outside consultant, like a, the Uh, yes. They did have, uh, seminars every once in a while. Yeah. Uh, course that was not, uh, restricted just to just us. Right. But the most important thing was that, uh, they had made up the difference between, uh, unemployment pay and seventy-five percent of my net pay. And they then, T I paid me that. Oh, really? So, uh, I was able to, uh, not just exist. I mean, I, I lived just as comfortably as I did before I was laid off. Yeah, they seem to be doing a good job of that. I'm in facilities, and our organization built, builds those facilities over in Park Central now. Uh-huh. And I guess they've been using them for six months now. And I've known several engineers that got laid off and they said it's like getting a Ph D almost, they, the much they learn over there, you know, after they've been laid off, uh, one engineer said it was really an education. He, he just learned, like you, he said he learned a tremendous amount that he never would have able to pick up on his own. He was very thankful for that, too. Well, this was not a learning thing by any means. It was just a, uh, an assistance trying to find another job. To have an office, yeah. Yeah. Well, he said he learned so much and how, he thought, he thought he had a Ph D in how to get a job after he was, through the whole process, for, for several months. Oh. Uh-huh. He did eventually get a job. Well, course I went through this, uh, what, about five years ago. They may have improved it considerably. Yeah, apparently. It's very sophisticated. And I guess it may be one of the best, uh, that anyone's doing. Well, that's one of those little, uh, uh, little extras that you don't see in the, uh, the, the, the handbook, you know. Right. You're absolutely right. That's a good one. It, What do you think about pensions? Anything on that or, Well, now I have, uh, uh, I'm getting close to retirement. Yeah. And, of course I've been looking into it but, uh, since I'm only a yellow badger, I won't be getting a whole heck of a lot from T I, as far as retirement is concerned. Uh-huh. Right. What do you think of a pension that goes from one company to the other like an account like a four O one account. I, I've been thinking about that for years, uh, I've never heard of such a thing. I know. That's what I'm saying that, that pensions, you see, just like you were, you're saying, you've only got, uh, so many years, And then just add the money together like you do with a four O one account, you know. Uh-huh. Uh, yeah. Uh, it's your account, period. It doesn't matter where you go or anything. That's your account to roll over. I, that, that sounds like a hell of an idea. I didn't know there was such a thing. No, no there isn't. I, I'm saying that's the question. What do you think could be better and I'm saying that pensions, say in the year two thousand or more when social security goes away, which it probably will, I think they ought to have a pension at least that you'd never lose. So you work for a company seven years, Yes, by all means. Well, what would be the difference between that and social security? Uh, well social security's going to go to way, I think and you can, or you can invest your own money. You have no control over your social security. And it's not paid for by the current, like when, say we retire after the year two thousand, social security's paid for by the twenty-five year olds. it's there. Yeah, yeah. You don't have to depend on anybody to be putting that money in for you, you know. That's just a thought. I mean, I, Uh-huh. if they say which, No, I, I like the idea. Yeah. Course, that's, that's, something like an I R A Yeah, and instead of having a, a socialized pension, it just would be really money that you and your company, maybe you had to put some money in it, too, I don't really know. But I, I can see where they'd need to do something on that because the statistics are, Uh-huh. you don't work for a company twenty years through no fault of your own, you know. You work for five, six, seven, and a lot of people I know, guys, Yeah, that, that's what I've done. I, I've bounced around. About every ten years, I change. Yeah. I have, too, but not, not quite that often but, uh, yeah, I've only got, uh, I've got, I guess fourteen now here at T I, and I hope to make twenty-five which say if something happened to me, I mean, you know, they lay me off, so, you have a pension but then you'd have to try to get a pension in another one. It would be nice if they could get them together. Uh-huh. I do worry about medical, though. Again, knock wood that, uh, I haven't used it. I guess you, I'm sorry, you really do use it throughout the year, because you get your teeth fixed and all that, I mean, I, but I'm not, I'm talking about major items I haven't used it for anything major. Uh-huh. I'm glad it's there, though. Well, knock wood, I haven't used mine for anything major. Just doctor visits and, well, I, I have the, uh, the H O M A. I use H O M A. Yeah. And I like that, uh, a lot better than AETNA I have the regular. I, again, I just, I haven't, I can't complain about it because I haven't used it and every time I needed it, it, it, it's, uh, you know, fallen right in line for the, the, minor things Uh-huh. I guess I'm the one just supporting most of the others. Well, doesn't it work, you don't see, uh, uh, anything until you spend the minimum? Uh, Don't you have to spend the minimum of two, three hundred? yeah, yeah, I think it's two seventy-five for a family but the dental is right away, if you, Yeah. exams. Uh, Well now, I have the same dental you have. Okay. Yeah, the medical you have to have a deductible. Uh-huh. Now, see I don't have a deductible. Yeah, right. I pay a straight five dollars for anything, a doctor visit or drugs Well, drugs are okay, now, I'm on that, uh, plan, where I take blood pressure medicine. If you take an allergy medicine, so, anything you need a prescription for, for more than six months, you get it for, used to be six bucks, they just raised it to twelve. Oh, that one I haven't heard about. Yeah, that's a typical, that's a typical one that's in there. The forms are right in personnel. Uh-huh. Fact, you may be able to take care, take advantage of that. It's through Baxter Labs. Uh, Yeah, I have high blood pressure problems myself. Maybe you still can do that. Do you, do you buy your pills one at a time? Yeah, thirty days at a time. Well, turn in your forms. Go right to personnel. I don't know whether you have to about an H M O. I don't think so. You turn, you get your doctor to give you a more than six months prescription and, uh, they're twelve dollars, again, they just were six, they just raised them to twelve this year. Twelve dollars for a three months supply. Or whatever, whatever the, the amount is, uh. Um. I don't want to say three months, but it's a lot cheaper, Uh-huh. allergy medicine's really, uh, expensive and that blood pressure medicine is fairly expensive. I take two. Uh-huh. Go right to personnel. They got the forms in personnel and maybe, maybe I'll tell you go something you didn't know about in benefits Yeah, great. Yeah, I just might do that. I do it, yeah, you know, it's a very common thing. Well thanks, It's through Baxter Labs, tell, thanks for the tip, Jim. Yeah. I shall look into it. Yeah. What else. I'm sure we're getting close to our five minutes whatever, here. Yeah Uh, let's see, we discussed, uh, uh, medical and dental, What other benefits, uh, retirement. Yeah, salary continuation. I think that's a great one, but again a hope I never use that one. Uh-huh. That means you're really sick if you have to use that one. What about vacation? I'm satisfied with the vacation. I don't know what else, you know, you say, say you get another week and, I'm, well, I only got fourteen years so I'll get another week when I hit fifteen. Uh, yeah, that's right. So that's, that's fair, I mean, it's reasonable. Four weeks is a lot, I think. I know some people who have twenty-five years and thirty and they want more but, uh, you know, Uh-huh. Uh. Well, I'm, uh, I'm here, I've got just eleven years and I don't think I'll ever see a, a silver badge. Uh-huh. I won't, I won't be around that long. Well, the way things go, I think I'm going to have to work till I'm seventy-five whether I quit and, uh, uh, or when I retire get a part-time job, So, what do you think of our trial system? Huh, I don't really know what to think about it, but I do know that they're not, you know, they'll give somebody twenty-five years and they'll serve what, eight months. Yeah. Have you noticed that? Yeah, I have noticed that, that, that kind of stuff does seem to happen quite a bit, um, yeah. Uh-huh, and, uh. I don't, I don't, I don't even know what to do about that sort of thing. But I think trial by jury is, it's a lot better than leaving it up to one person. Yeah, I think trial by jury is very good. I actually, they said, I think the tape said something about changing, uh, changing it such that the, or leaving sentencing up to the judge only. I think that's actually good idea. Leaving it up to the judge? just, just sentencing, not the trial itself. Oh, okay. Um, because I think that that, that judges are probably more informed as to what is, how serious the nature of the crime is, and stuff like that Yeah, well right because, the general public doesn't know that if, if they're sentenced to life that they won't serve life. an, Right. Course the judge will know when he'll be up for parole and all that. So yeah, Right, so he'll be able to give them the maximum sentence, in some cases there. Okay, I must not have understood the whole thing because I didn't hear them say that, but yeah. Oh yeah, the, the, they give that as, as an example of something that, that might happen Uh-huh. But I think if the entire trial was left to one person I've got a four year old, you can hear. Oh yes. But, uh, I don't know, you, too many people can take vendettas out on people, and everything. Right. Or just, you know, there are two people who say well he just looks guilty, um. Right, but that's true. That's actually, that's a wonderful way to get off jury duty, you know. Someone says to you, you know, when they ask you if you, uh, if you want to be on, you know, when you're called for duty say oh yeah, I want to be on jury duty because I can spot a guilty person a mile a way. Yeah. They quickly let you off jury duty I hear, um. Right because they, they know that you're biased. Oh, yeah, that, that, that, that, that's, that's the way it works there, um. Anyway, I think that probably for, for having it, what about, you know, about being unanimous. I mean, that's sort of a strange case because I wonder what happens when eleven people thinks someone's guilty and one person doesn't, one person thinks that, that they're not guilty and they can't decide for hours, unless they convince that one person, you know. Does it have to be unanimous? I believe it does have to be unanimous, actually. Well then they consider it a hung jury, I I think and then they, uh, have a retrial, or do they. Yeah, I think they either have a retrial eventually or, or they call it a mistrial or something. Uh-huh. I haven't been to law school. No, me neither. So, I don't know much about that, I just know that, um. I wonder 'cause sometimes I think about it actually, I think well, what if I were that one person and I was completely convinced that, that, that, that this person wasn't guilty, you know. Well you don't have to be really convinced that he's guilty, it's just if they can't prove he's guilty because Right, uh, but, I mean what if eleven other people are saying one thing, you know, and you're, you're the one person saying the other thing. Yeah. You know, would you give in. Yeah saying . Yeah, yeah. I wonder about those things, you know, or even if it's, you know, I, I guess if they were to say, well it doesn't have to be unanimous, what's the cut off number, seven, five, you know, six, six, Uh-huh. you know, how do you decide. Is it, you know, how do you decide what number of people have to say that. Yeah, I know, it's too bad one of us don't have some knowledge on this, huh. But, but, um, I don't know, I just hope if I ever go to court that they all, unanimous on not guilty Well you've seen like these T V movies, Yeah. to child in Kyle, I'm talking, hush. talking to Speaker But, uh, well how they'll, you know, the, through the whole movie, you think this person's, I don't know, but one thing that I thought was pretty weird is how somebody can't be trialed, tried, uh, excuse me, twice for the same crime. Yeah, I've never quite understood that. Um. Well I just think it's, it's weird because I've saw, well, of course, soap operas, I'm an soap opera fanatic. Okay. This one guy had, uh, framed himself to make it, which he really did kill the person, but then he set it up where it looked like somebody was trying to frame him and he was on trial for it, and then, you know, it came out that he was being framed, so then he was found not guilty, and then, directly after the trial they found out he really was guilty and he couldn't be tried again. Right, and they can't do anything about it. Yeah, Yeah, I often wonder about that, I wonder if, if maybe, you know, I, I, I don't, I don't, I don't know the law on that but if they have new evidence, can they, can they retry, or can they, you know, bring you back. No, I don't think they can. Oh, actually, that's true, I've seen the same thing on L A LAW as well. about that woman. Yeah. so I and then I wonder why that, you know, there, there must be some sort of deep seeded reason for that, you know, something like, something like, well you can't be tried for the same trial because that would bias the, the, the, the jury or something, or, you know. Right, and I'm sure that, you know, it's the lawyers, uh, after the, uh, defendant, defending, oh, the defendant's lawyer and the prosecuting attorney. Yeah, uh-huh. I'm sure the prosecuting attorney could make a real good case if he, you know, knew all the details of the defendant's, you know, case. In, in, of the defense . Right Yeah, well, well there's also the issue of, for instance, you can't, um, you can't, very often you can't, um, when someone is, is on trial for something, you can't bring up prior convictions. Right. Which, like if they're on uh, trial for rape, you can't have any, you can't bring up the sexual assaults and stuff, or whatever. Right, that's completely beyond me, I mean that's Yeah, I know, if it's related, I wonder, if it's related to the crime, they should be able to. Yeah, I mean if this man is, is accused of raping someone, then I think that something like sex, you know, the fact that he sexually assaulted someone is a crucial bit of evidence, that adds to the fact, Yeah. Right, yeah. and I, I, I, I, I often, But they're not allowed to do that. I never understand, you know, again, having, I'm sure there are some deep seated reasons, you know, to, I mean, often times I wonder about rules like this and I'm sure that, that, that there are some reasons for good. Well that one does seem, that one does seem out of it, though, because it's, it, you're allowed to show their character, do you know what I mean. Right. And if it shows that their character's, you know, changes, gets capable of lesser thoughts like that and stuff. Then right, then, then, Right, that led to that. Then they should be yeah, I mean that's what I think, but I don't, um, but I don't quite understand. Tell you what we need to do is go into law and then we'll be able to, or vote. Do you vote? Do I vote? Yeah, do you vote? Oh yeah, I vote, yes. Okay, you'll help out a little bit Yeah. Putting the right people in the office, that's a lot to do with it too. Oh, yeah. A lot, uh, a lot of the politics will pass laws and stuff that the, um, general public wants, so they'll be revoted and all that. Well that's, that's, that, that's very true, but then again often times they don't, as well. Right. Often times they don't, uh, Right. they just go, you know, they're you've got people like who are, who are, you know, lame, lame ducks and they sort of don't care about anything and just want to go ahead an, Right they, sit on the fence, so. Well, oh, I talked about this the other day, they won't say yes and they won't say no to just certain issues just because they don't know what the public wants, or the public's split on it. That's true, that's true. Yeah. I often, I mean, that, that, like you say, that's another discussion, but I have had that discussion before as well. Where you weren't, I, I wonder about the politics of it all, so. Right, because most of it is politics, even in the courts. Yeah. Well even in the courts well, well, they're all appointed. I mean, that's even another issue, you know, Right. should, should, should judges be appointed, you know, and, or, or, um, often times I look at friends, we had, uh, a serial killer around here, who killed eleven women. Uh-huh, now was that the, um, uh, green, oh, I don't know, some guy that was attacking women jogging? No. oh, and, and choking them, yeah, uh, his name is Arthur . Well did they have a T V movie about him? I'm not sure if they had one yet, but, I'm sure they will. Um, because he was, he was on some sort of news special though, he was, he was, uh, he killed, 'cause he was just on trial like maybe a year ago. Well, well, how was he killing the women. Um, he was strangling some of them. Were they jogging on a, Oh, no, usually they were prostitutes, actually. Oh, okay. Because he was, he was actually this is a very sad case. The man was let out, he was in prison for, um, sexually assaulting two children. Oh, see, that's what I mean, then they let them out and then they're able to do it again. Right, he, he, they let him out and then and then, he he wasn't allowed back in the town where he had done this so he came to our, he came to Rochester instead and they, they, they realized later he, he had killed about between eleven and twelve women, at least and, I think my sister is married to a guy from Rochester. Oh, really, Yeah. way up north here, huh. Yeah way up well, uh, I'm originally from Kentucky. Oh, okay. Still way up north, sort of, um. Yeah, I, I'm, I was up north too. But, uh, that's one of the reasons I think judges should be the ones to sentence people because they do know, you know, if you sentence them to three life times, then they probably won't get out on parole. Yeah. Won't get out, exactly, yeah, this, this, this man was sentenced to, I think, like three life times. But he was, you know, it was just horrible, because, um, his, his, his trial was, you know, was, it it was televised and this and that, and what they were pleading was, um, they were pleading insanity. Uh-huh. I mean it's clear to me the man is insane. Well of course. And, and he should be just locked up for life. But they just need to do something with him. He needs to be annihilated. Right, I mean, I don't know what you do with them at that point, if you're that crazy, but what, what struck me is, you know, they had a psychiatrist testifying for hours and hours and by the end, I realized that maybe it would have been better if they had, it wouldn't have been a jury of his peers, but if they had a jury of psychiatrists instead, to sort look at it, you know. Yeah. I mean, I don't think it's feasible, but, it would be an interesting thought if you're, Well, it's supposed to be a jury of your peers, they couldn't have a, a bunch of psychotics up there No, or, right, right, exactly, but give them a bunch of psychotics but at least have a, have a, have a bunch of psychiatrists, you know, just to look at him and decide from then. Uh-huh. I mean, they would , Did they have a trial by jury for him. What's yeah they did. Huh, well. They had a regular trial by jury for him, and, and, Yes, what, what major changes have affected your life? Well, I think that, uh, women, women working is the one that really affects me most strongly right now. Um, You mean yourself, or women in general? Well, women in general, and, and also myself. Uh-huh. But, um, it used to not really make a difference to me, um, or at least I didn't think so. But my mother worked, and I kind of now wish that, that she hadn't. That, um, that she had, um, stayed home, Uh-huh. and right now I'm kind of stuck because I'd like to have children, but I'm not ready to do that because when I do have children I want to stay home. So I'm having to, uh, try to figure out a way to be able to do that. Uh-huh. And, in, in our society right now that's really something that's, that's, um, not respected, and it's not, it's not, um, it's not easy to do at all. Uh-huh. I mean, there's a great deal of sacrifice that has to be made on the part of a family if the, if the wife is going to actually be a mother. Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's interesting, because that relates to the thing that, that strikes me the most, and I'm sure you've, you've labelled the cause, because what strikes me the most in the changes in society is the way kids behave. And, Uh-huh, I think that that they have to be related. That's right, that's right. And you know, I mean I was thinking it just, you know, my complaint would, would be, um, that I think that, you know, the kids in the neighborhood run wild, and they, they destroy property, and they, you know, steal each other's toys and stuff and there's just no respect for, for people or property, Uh-huh. and I guess, you know, when you stop to think of it, these kids have probably been deprived of a lot of attention that they've needed all their lives. Uh-huh, I think that that's probably true. Scary, I just wish there was a way, I know that in, in, you know, in Sweden, what they have there, it's really their medical plan, but it also deals with this subject, because if a woman, uh, is working and I think even if she's not, and has a child, the government subsidizes her to stay home and raise the child. Uh-huh But for how many years? I don't, I don't know. Uh-huh. Until it, um, I'm sure until at least school age, and maybe longer. Oh, that's great. What this does is, it allows the government to subsidize her to be the mother of her children rather than to subsidize child care to raise the child for her. Uh-huh. Right. And I think that that's a real, a much, much more viable solution, really. Uh-huh. No, I agree, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. I guess I was lucky, because I was teaching, and so I was able to just go to a class and teach when my son was little, and so I'd be gone, you know, an hour and fifteen minutes or something at a stretch. Oh yeah, that's great. And, then, yeah, very soon he was old enough to just go and sort of stay in my office and you know, nobody seemed to have a big problem with that Uh-huh. So. That's an interesting issue though. Um, yeah Um, goodness, what else? Oh, there's been so many, how do you just, Right, I've, actually another one that I, a question I would have is, I guess I'm being, you know, beyond the age of thinking of this, this problem. I had an argument recently with my boss, I think it was, about the need for women to work. But I think you put your finger on it, when you said that they're not respected if they don't work, because it seems to me that a lot of people I know, women I know, are doing very menial jobs in a certain sense, certainly financially Uh-huh. and, I mean, when I see the amount of clothes that they buy and, and how much it costs them to buy fast food on the way home I'm sure that they're not making quote making money for the family on this Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, really. and, and probably you're right. I don't see how they could be, especially not if they have to pay for child care. Well, no, even families that don't have child care, I mean, you know, when I think of this one friend who makes probably twenty thousand dollars a year, and I'm sure she spends at least that in clothes, plus, you know, fast food every day, and out to lunch every day, Uh-huh. and, You're probably right. If she sat down and looked at it she'd be like, God, what am I doing this for, you know. Exactly, and I mean, you know, even though they don't have children, they, they have relatives and, you know, the husband would certainly like a lot more attention, and, and she wouldn't have to hire somebody to clean the house, and do the gardening And, so, I, I guess you're right. It's, it's our society demands women to work if they're going to be respected. Uh-huh. Really sad Yeah, religion has changed, too. Oh, that's true. Um, uh, some people now it seems like are turning back toward actually trying to find out what they're in it for, instead of just, um, it, it's, it, some places still it seems like it's a social club. Uh-huh. You know, it's just a place to go, to visit, uh, to wear your nice clothes, and, and to sit around and talk, but, um, I think a lot of people are really, you know, searching now to find, find out who they are, and who God is, and what all that really means now. Uh-huh, so that might be a positive change in society. Yeah, oh, it's, it's, um, it's beginning, I think. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I guess I haven't seen that as much in this area, although every now and then you hear about it. Uh-huh. Uh, but among, you know, people I know, I don't see a great, you know, there are those people who have, have had serious questions all along, and, you know, are sort of pursuing it Uh-huh. but, um, the churches here are growing, leaps and bounds, and I thought it was more because of the, the very transient nature of the area and that people were going basically just as you said, as a social to meet people, and that, Uh-huh. but, um, it's hard to judge, and there are a lot of things changing, I suppose, Yeah. Just, you know, the whole, the whole environment, I find um, sort of, you know, Uh-huh. I wonder with, with all our chemicals and, and that and, and the foods we eat, and, you know, young people that I know are getting very serious diseases and, Oh, yes. Well, I guess that's always happened. Probably. Maybe not as much as now but, Well, it's just, it's, maybe it's more unusual now, when, you know, somebody quite young gets certain kinds of cancer, and in the past, maybe the same percentage got them, but we didn't know it, or, I don't know. Well, I guess we've sort of run dry a little bit. Okay It was nice talking to you. Nice to talk to you. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, do you watch much T V? Well, I watch in the evening with my kids Your kids. How many kids do you have? I have four children. Oh, goodness. I have got two. Well, That is about all I want Yeah, it keeps you busy, doesn't it? Yeah, they do. They are still babies. Uh, my children like to watch SESAME STREET. I watch with them every once in a while, but that is not my favorite programs. Oh, well. We have only get two channels. We do not have cable. Uh-huh. But I am not crazy about T V much. It just, well it kind of is an idiot box. Now SESAME STREET is a good program because, uh, Uh-huh. I do have that on videotape, and I will let him watch that every once in a while. And he has learned to count to twenty from that. So, Yeah. It can be very educational. Yeah. There are shows that I like. Uh, I like good family shows, uh, though. Uh-huh. Uh, I let my kids watch things like LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. Okay. And the COSBY SHOW is, uh, is, uh, kind of unrealistic as a family unless you live in upper class and have money. Right. I think that sometimes the things they show on there though, uh, the problems that their kids get into, are, are good to, uh, show that they do have problems anyway. Right. Uh, But they also have a lot easier time disciplining their kids than real people do. Yeah. I mean, like I said, real life is not that easy. Yeah. And, uh, I watch a show that I like for entertainment. Uh, it is called the QUANTUM LEAP. Oh, I love QUANTUM LEAP. I watch that show every time, and, uh, I, I like, uh, how the, how he has to help with the people that he, that he becomes. Uh, because it is not a show that he just becomes these people and then he lives there for a while and then he is gone. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. He has to do something positive to help them. Right. So I, He always got to change history is what it is. Yeah. Yeah. Usually, yeah. It, That it is so good. I was glad when they put that back on this channel, because like I said, we only get two channels because we do not get cable. Me too, me too. Uh-huh. And still my little boy, he watches videotapes. He won't, um, this is terrible, I do not like him sitting in front of the T V all day. No, that is not terrible. Well, It, I do not think that is terrible at all. but it is a not really a good baby sitter Well, It is really not. He needs to get outside and play. And he is four years old, and he just does not like to go out there by himself. And I will let him watch the T V when I am wanting to get my house work done. Uh-huh. But other than that, I do not like him glued to the T V all the time. Well, I do not think it is, it is healthy all the time either. Huh-uh. Uh, and my kids like to, to go play with their friends, and so I guess I do not mind too much when they do watch a little bit. Now I, there are shows, I do not have cable either. And there are shows that I really put my foot down on. If there starts to be a lot of violence, I do not go for that. Uh-huh. I will not let them watch that. If there is a lot of language or, Well, we made the Right. We made the mistake of getting ROBOCOP. And that is one of the worst, oh, I do not let him watch it anymore. Because the, the pieces, like especially where they kill somebody, it is just not good. Uh-huh. I mean it is just real violent. I mean, Well, it, you know, today I watched, and it is like they show bloody, you know, things, Uh-huh. and they show it in slow motion. And, and everything like that. Uh-huh. And before, in a western or something, in the, in the olden days, You would see somebody get shot, they would just fall down. Yeah. And they were gone Yeah. And, and it was not, uh, So graphic. Today it is, it is really graphic. They try to make it too realistic. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, Too much realism I think, sometimes. Yeah. I don't, Now he is watching HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS right now. Oh, that is a fun show. It is, it is cute. Oh, I really like that one. And that, little ROGER RABBIT on before that. Uh-huh. That is cute. And they have got THE HE MAN, uh, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, the movie. The cartoon or the, Oh, uh-huh. That is a real cute show. That has good moral values too. HE MAN? Uh-huh. Well, uh, I think, uh, Yeah, good versus evil. Yeah, Huh. yeah. Oh, well, it sounds like we have the same tapes for our kids anyway. Yeah. At least we have the same ideas. Yeah. Yeah. Language too. language and violence and sexual, you know, things. Uh-huh. I, I get kind of, uh, saying, "I am sorry kids, this is", Yeah. And I, I think it is important that I see what they are watching. If, Yeah. They do have like those parental control things on the, uh, remote controls. You know, where you can block out what channels you do not want them to watch. You mean in cable? Uh-huh. Oh, I do not know, because I do not have that. But, Well, my, my, uh, stepfather and them have, my stepfather, my father-in-law, and them have that. Uh-huh. And, uh, they do not have any kids, but they was told how to use that. But still, when the kids get older, they learn how to break through that parental control. Oh, do they? Huh. They are too smart. I think alls you have to do is push a couple buttons. Uh-huh. So, it is, it is, I am hoping that he will grow up not really caring much for those movies because, now we have got a lot of western tapes. Uh-huh. JOSEY WELLS, now he loves to watch JOSEY WELLS. Well, I think that is a good show too. Yeah, Yeah. Clint Eastwood. Uh-huh. And like THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER, we have, oh, my husband likes westerns. And he also likes STAR TREK. Now STAR TREK is good movies, good shows. Uh-huh. The, uh, series? We have got a lot of those. Uh, I think not even the old one but the new one too. I like both of those Uh-huh. THE NEXT GENERATION? Uh-huh. Yeah. My little boy is crazy about Captain Kirk. Yeah. And my little girl has Mister Spock's ears Oh, I told my husband he cursed my kids. Yeah. They were both born with pointy ears. Oh, well. Not real pointy. My little boy grew out of it. Oh, that is not a problem anyway, No. but it is fun to, you know, seeing the show anyway. Uh, now I like, uh, everything oh, no, not Michael Douglas, um, oh, I can't think of his name. Kirk Douglas? No, the, the man, right now who is having, uh, who has done, uh, BONANZA, and then he did LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. Oh, Michael Landon. Michael Landon. There you go, Michael Landon. Oh, now there, I have always liked and thought he did good shows. Yeah. Like HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN? Uh-huh. to Here are some cookies, Kyle. talking to Speaker Yeah, I liked HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN, and I, and I thought that was kind of neat though. But I loved LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, especially when Melissa Gilbert grew up. Yeah, She was kind of like my idol when I was growing up. Because I am twenty-seven, yeah. so it is, you know, she is about the same age as I am. Uh-huh. I wanted to be just like her, because she is so cute. Yeah, I, and I liked that show because it, it portrayed, I thought, really well, uh, pioneer kind of days. You know, Yeah and, well, but, I liked it, Yeah. but there, that is about the only, uh, show I have seen where every time they sit down at the table, they pray before they eat. Uh-huh. And I thought that was real neat. Because there is not a lot of shows that do that. Yeah. And, uh, they have this little cartoon that is on Sunday mornings with, Jot. Now what is that? I remember him in school, but I do not, it is just this little dot with arms and feet and little eyes, and his parents are there. They have it like before one of the church things, uh, you know, church that comes on? Uh-huh. And it is a just this little dot. And he will go out and get himself into trouble and come home, and the parents will tell him that there is a verse in the Bible that will help him with that, and, It is just, Oh, I have not seen that. Well, it is, usually we go to church on Sundays. Uh-huh. But we will miss every once in a while. And I will let Kyle watch that, and he just, well, I even like Jot. I mean I, it is funny. What channel is it on? It is on channel, well, let us see. You are in Plano? Uh-huh. Uh, it is twelve or ten down here. Well, I will look and, and see. Yeah, we go to church on Sunday. About one o'clock is when our meetings start. And, uh, Oh, well, this is of the mornings. It is in the morning? Uh, around nine or ten I think. It is before one of the, I think it is before the First Baptist in Sherman airs. Okay. I think that is the one that it, uh, comes on before. Well, we'll look. It is real cute. You know what? He is bouncing around, and his name is Jot, and then he has got a friend named Cat. And I think the dog is the only one that is not a, a dot But it is real cute. And like I say, they, they teach him stuff from the BIBLE. And I think it is just a real cute show. I am trying to get my little boy into reading, uh, like church books and things. Uh-huh. We have got like NOAH'S ARK and, oh, LORD IS MY We have got about eight or twelve books for him, just little Bible stories. Uh-huh. And he is, he is getting to where he likes them. Yeah. We got him a little Jesus doll, uh, about a year ago, and he has always kept that. He likes it Well, I really like, now we get channel fifty-five, although we do not have cable, we do get channel fifty-five. Uh-huh. And that is a, uh, like, a, a song, they sing songs on there but they're, uh, worship through music kind of things. But they are up to date, uh, and some of them are like, uh, videos like music videos, that go along with the songs about church and Jesus. Uh-huh. And, And I, So it's a, a Christian songs? Yeah. Oh, that sounds fun. The it's called the Christian music station or something like that. That's something. Well, And, uh, I really like that. Yeah. Uh, I turn that on, on Sunday mornings. And I do not, you know, and so my kids do not, uh, have an Okay wow, I don't know what that was. What was that? I don't know And, uh, to, uh, the Brazos River near Dinosaur Valley State Park. Uh-huh. Oh, yes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh, we have not camped in any of those places, in fact it has been a number of years since we have camped, but we used to go to Tyler State Park and, uh, Daingerfield and in Texas that is where we camp basically. Uh, What are they like? They are very nice. Tyler is really, really a neat place to camp. It has a nice little lake and it has some really wonderful, uh, sights that are in the wooded areas. Uh, the facilities are quite nice and our children liked, liked it quite well. and you know they, we felt real safe with their being able to do what they would like to do there in the area. And, uh, it was just, it was just a really nice place to camp. Uh-huh. Uh, now Daingerfield is, let's see, I think that's a little bit more east, further east, and and maybe south, if I am remembering where that is. No, I think it's a little bit further north, when I think about it. At any rate it was, it was very nice as well. But Tyler, we sort of got spoiled with, I think. Uh-huh. But, uh, we had lived in Michigan before we came here and, uh, had done a lot of camping in Michigan, I think the upper peninsula of Michigan, especially, and then also, we had done some camping in Colorado, in the mountains, so, uh, my parents were real avid campers and my husband's parents were really avid campers as well. So I guess we just kind of came by it naturally Yeah. Do you have a large tent or, Yeah, it was a nine by twelve. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And how many does it sleep, uh, comfortably? Well, there, well supposedly, they always say it sleeps more than it does. Right But they, it would have slept three adults anyway. Yeah, Yeah. Well, sort of early on especially as our children got a little bit bigger, uh, we invested in some stacking, uh, cots, you know, that were like bunk, bunk beds, but they were cots, fold up cots. That really gave us a lot more space, um, floor space and, so, you did not have to be constantly getting things off the floor in order to walk around and, Right. uh, gave us a place to stack things during the day so that was real nice. But, uh, we, uh, like, my in-laws also had a camper, or, uh, a pop up tent, you know, one of those trailer tops and those are really nice too. A little more, uh, luxurious, so to speak, but not much do they have a kitchen in them? Yes, uh-huh. It's really nice, in fact, it even had, had a little refrigerator, uh, and the whole business. It was quite nice in that respect. Uh, and everything was very convenient and you did not have to, to be hauling things out of your, the trunk of you car, Trunk of your car all time, right. and that was nice. So, uh, do you have plans for, for any other camping trips in the near future? Uh, maybe, uh, maybe back to Caddo, or, Uh, Purdis Creek. Uh-huh. Right. Or, I like Bob Sandlin too, it's a new park. Uh-huh. And there is, uh, not really camping, but, uh, what is it called, Cedar Hill. Right. Lake Joe Pool. Oh, yes. And sometime, I like to go to Eisenhower up on Lake Texoma. Yes, yes, I have been in that area. That is a really pretty state park. Uh, just, we did not camp there, but we drove through it just one time when we were in that area and it's real lovely. It's close to the lake and close to, I think it's close to the dam up there so it's, it's really quite pretty. Uh, are you, um, let's see what was, I was going to ask you something else. Oh, do you have a favorite among all those that you have been to? Oh, from those three, just, just, uh, from when I have been an adult, I like Caddo the best. Yeah, uh-huh. Uh, is it true that Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the State of Texas? Yeah, that's right. I, I would, I have never been there and I would love to see what it looks like It's not, it's not very deep. Uh-huh. And they did build a dam on it, but it was there before they built the dam. It has been there for a hundred years. Oh, I see. Apparently, an earth quake caused it. How interesting. Yeah. I guess I never heard the history of that. Huh, well, that might be some place where my husband and I can go. We are talking about starting camping again in the fall. Um, our children are both grown and, and so, it's just pretty much the two of us who do things. And so, uh, we thought we might take some weekend trips and maybe that would be a good place to, to go to and see what it looks like. I'm, uh, member of the American Meteorological Society, and Are you you didn't work at T I? Yeah, I do. Oh, okay. But I'm, uh, I, I did that in my . Where do you work in research, or No, I'm a planner, a production planner. Oh, okay. But I, I, I'm in the active reserves as a weatherman, so. Oh, okay, yeah. Uh, I, I keep up from time to time, but what the, the argument is that, uh, that, uh, maybe there isn't global warming and maybe there is. But, um, if there is, uh, we probably could do something about it now, Yeah. and if there isn't, if there isn't and we do some the right things, I think, how do you feel about, about all this smog and stuff on cars. Uh, well, I'm kind of a car buff myself, I was going to ask you another question, but, uh, I'll do that in a minute. I, I think that the changing, you know, from leaded fuel was a tremendous advantage, you know, not using ... Well, do you have an older car? No, no, no. I, I have been working on an older car but it yeah. Really? Oh, I'm a car buff too, we ought to talk about that one day, uh, uh, Well, I'm restoring one. I think you can use the, you can use high, you know, the ninety-two percent, uh, ninety-two octane I don't think you'll have any trouble. I'm not having any problem it's a seventy. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And the. No, I, I think, uh, I, uh, work on my own cars and, uh, I don't think that's a problem. I thought, I'm saying, I was glad to get rid of leaded gasoline, 'n. But did you have another you said you had another Uh, oh, the same thing about the war, uh, or related to the war on, I was watching C N N and I cannot remember what station it was, what, did you see the advertisements, uh, where they talked about nuclear war, what that would have been like in changing the atmosphere, it is so scary that I hope that every one of the government officials saw that because it was just total disaster, you know. Uh, Did you see any of those, uh, I, it was, No, I didn't see that , that, I know that the, uh, that's ... It must have been channel thirteen, I don't recall, although, I thought it was on C N N, oh, I, Well, that, they called nuclear winner and, and I suppose that's, that's the ultimate, uh, pollution problem. It was a somewhat of a commercial because it I saw it regularly and it showed that and it was really devastating and, it would, uh , Well it, how much ash would fall and, and how it would essentially literally destroy the world, you know. Well, the Chernobyl accident, uh, actually, um, because the circulation budget as high as it went, uh, covered, uh, a fairly remarkable amount they did some tracers and they I, I think it's drawn in, uh, I think, gets in there I can't think of the other trace, but I saw a, a presentation on, on that and they, it went quite a long ways but I, I, I guess I can be a little sympathetic but, you know, there's some argument that in, in, in the blue grass of Kentucky that the Smoky Mountains that that's the, uh, the pine trees giving off pollution and, Oh, really, yeah, there, there's probably a lot of natural things, uh, But the, but when you when you get up in the morning in, in Dallas and, and see all that haze from west Texas, is that, is that pollution? Yeah. Uh, it, I guess it's got to be really, I don't know, I don't know if it's air pollution it's, uh, it's dust pollution whether it's natural or not I don't know. Well, it, that's the thing is that I think, I think Dallas really does have a problem in this, the idea if we could get some cleaner fuel, burning fuel, the problem is, is it's like Los Angeles. People don't, people don't want to use mass transit, so. Yeah. Oh, yeah, well, I live in Arlington and there, there, there are no buses. I mean, there, there is, the only school bus, the only buses you see are school buses, so. But who wants to, who wants to, um, ride a bus? Well, I know it, it's, uh, you know, the car is, we have this big romance with the car, but, uh, I think people are, would be interested if you had one, I mean. Well, my boss drives forty miles one way each day. Yeah. And one of the guys that works with me drives forty-five miles. Yeah. And, and they don't think it, well, I guess they do think something of it but, um, not even to, you know, you consider how much, um, but then you get into all these issues of, of whether it, it's the types of pollution and what it's doing to your lungs and, are we going to die of, of respiratory, Yeah. so, we all move out of the, out of downtown so we get away from the, the smog. My, my wife grew up in southern California and they moved out to the valley before Los Angeles, uh, when the valley was clean. Yeah. And now the valley is not and so people move out one more valley and, General Motors apparently has one that they're, they're testing, Well, you said you were car buff, uh, I think that, uh, all of us could use one electric car right now, I mean, today, because I think, uh, you said people drive forty miles and fifty whatever, yeah, when you go to trips and all you can have one gasoline car but I think we all could, in a family, say, have an electric car where my, one of my daughters or my wife, my wife, she could use one now if they had one, you know, because they, she don't even, she doesn't put fifty miles a day on the car. I think it's, no, it's alcohol vehicles that they're testing . No, no, you're right. I, I have seen them but, uh, they have a battery car. But they suppose, Uh, I went to the auto show this past week and they did not endorse, now that I think of it, and I was so interested in the auto show I didn't think to ask anybody, there were no electric cars. I was surprised but now that you just mentioned that. Huh. Well, the ROAD and TRACK was talking about that this, apparently General Motors has some, uh, they apparently think they're close. Yeah. I, I think, uh, there could be a lot of I people close this is really, we're, we're nine years away or less, I guess, from the next century and I think, Well, there's still a lot of research, I was over in, in the research lab a couple, I guess, it's been about a month ago and saw this, research it was a little light that says solar, solar powered research. Yeah, they've got a, they've got a area over in, the S M building too which is, uh, but it's a solar, uh, it's for, uh, gots some money from a power company and it's probably more generating power for, you know, uh, electricity, a hundred and twenty volt or whatever. Yeah. Well, do you work in that C building? No, I'm actually in the south building but, uh, Oh, I'm at , I was, uh, I'm the facility so I've been in all, most of the buildings anyway. Oh, well, I'm in, I'm in the C building, been there for, all my life. Oh, yeah, well, the, the solar area is right, right around from the auditorium now. And it, they've got several different, uh, areas where they're called solar lab. It's, right there on the first floor you look, walk by there. Huh. Well, that's been a I know the focal plain array is they were taking space to, a long time. Yeah, but the solar project, you know, T I's been into it for years, and I guess it's just not, uh, economical yet because of the other fuels. Well, the problem is that gas at a dollar a gallon, you know, who wants to, yeah, I mean, we want to not pollute, but, uh, at a dollar a gallon, uh, it's hard to beat, the amount of energy you get from, uh, Yeah. I've seen some. I think then again I'm surprised now I didn't think they'd asked anybody when I was in the auto show. There was nothing, uh, and there was no, place for air pollution or companies or anyone there. It was just pure automobiles. Well, I thought I saw an ad for Volkswagen that had an alcohol, There? they had one with spots on it and something. Huh. I didn't go but it was showing they, I mean, uh, I didn't see, an article. did you go? No, I didn't, Oh. I didn't go, so. I Uh, I was, uh, quite impressed with all the cars, you know, the engines are so much smaller now and everything and they're, they all have brand new engines, even General Motors, uh, very few only the Caprice and them and the Cadillac had eight, uh, the old V-eights, they're all brand new engines, uh, of course, they're burning gasoline, of course. They've done a lot. Yeah, and, uh, whether, you know, that's one way, you know, uh, uh, on air pollution I, I, I don't know if the automobiles are the biggest contributor or not really. They've got catalytic converters, everyone seem to have gone to that, whether they last, uh, and do a good job and now that they, the inspection systems are analyzing that, uh, well, what do you think if you're in that, you know, if you're concerned about that, Well, I mean, if you're, you're, you're knowledgeable on that. Well, they, uh, it's interesting though because my cars are older and so I didn't have to, if you live in Dallas County you have to have your, have to have it checked and it's , I had a friend with a Fiero that, uh, they tried and tried and tried and had all kinds of terrible getting that pinned and, so, apparently ... Okay. Well, I just got back from taking my little girl to her Brownie meeting, and then we had this whole can, uh, a bag filled full of cans Uh-huh. and they've been recycling at their school. Well, she wanted me to just wait and let her dump them off tomorrow. Uh-huh. But they were filled with beer cans Hm and I hated to take a big old sack, I mean, one time, I mean, like a lawn bag full of them. Uh-huh. Like I, no, we'll just taking them up there and put them in the bins anyway. Uh-huh. They had tickets at their school that they recycle either newspapers or cans, and I think that's all. Oh. speaking in the Okay, and they're taking the money that they earn to plant trees. Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah, and they've got their bins that stay there, and they've decorated real cute, you know, with a bunch of big old flowers and stuff. Uh-huh. So they're getting into it. I don't know what they get for the tickets, though. to someone off the What do you get for the tickets, if you bring stuff? Oh, the class that gets the most tickets gets a party Oh, that's good. It's not bad, yeah. Um, I know, we to someone off um, we, we are kind of getting into recycling now. I'm in college, and I live in a dorm, and we recycle paper. Uh-huh. And I know that there's a glass plant up here, and they recycle glass, and, you know, we recycle old aluminum cans and all that kind of stuff. So in each of the dorms you have a place for that? Uh-huh. That's really good. Uh-huh. Yeah. And then when our dorm, whenever our bins are all filled up, we take them and turn them in, and then we get money for that. For the dorm, and who decides what you do with it? Yeah, we just put, you know, we just keep it with the dorm. And what do they do with it? Well, we buy things for the dorm, whatever the dorm needs, you know. Like we have access to a microwave and an oven if we want to cook things, and then we buy, like, cooking equipment and stuff. Uh-huh. Or we play games, like board games. We buy board games. You know, it's just different things, whatever, you know, we vote on it, and whatever the dorm would want, that's what we buy. Well, I graduated from college in nineteen seventy-two, Uh-huh. And we were just, um, not aware that this was a problem, that we ever would need to recycle. Yeah. Of course, you just threw it away. Uh-huh. So, a little different. And I wanted to do this thing that you can get through Target, to recycle. I had my school do it, but my principal said since we're doing this thing called Operation Desert Shield, we're sending letters to all these servicemen and making video tapes and all that Yeah. The whole school, you know, it was just this big project, she didn't want to get into that. And I could do it in the center, and I just never got around to it. But, it's like a club, you know about that? No. A little boy that had died of leukemia, I think, and he had started this, um, save the environment club. Oh. And his mother is carrying this on. And you can get the information to set it up, you know and join, Uh-huh. you don't have to join it as a group or anything, I don't guess. Oh, that'd be But you could start your own anyway. Get a pamphlet, Is that what this target is, what you're, Do you all have Target stores up there? No. No. Huh-uh. That's a department store. Oh. Kind of like K Mart except it's a little better than what K Mart sells, I think. Uh-huh. Oh. I would like, let's start up a Target. No. Um, I don't really know any other recycling that they do. So, you're not you're not having it picked up at your houses or anything. No. No, huh-uh. We have to take it to a recycling place. Huh. Now in some of the towns around us, they're already picking up the newspapers. Uh-huh. Well, they're doing that here, too, now that I think about it voice in Once every so many weeks, and you have to pull out all the slicks, and you have to wrap them up with string. Oh. And, I think that's all they're picking up. But you know, like in Minnesota, they've got their bins where you put plastics and your bottles. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, because my brother-in-law lives in Minnesota, and they're are just nice, plastic bins, and you fill them up and put them out with your other trash, and they pick them up. Um. I never heard of that in Do you all have can banks? Um, not that I know of No? No. in I a big old bin, and you just feed your cans slowly into the slot, and your money comes out, you know, every once in a while, for however much poundage you've got. And if you keep feeding it until the light goes off. And you get instant cash. Oh my gosh. But they had one that I was putting my stuff in, and I went to take some today, and it was gone. Um. I don't know. But I located another one today on the way to work. Yeah, uh, we have places where we go and we, what we do is we unload our cans. It's like a conveyor belt, and the belt separates the aluminum ones from the steel ones because it has a magnet on it. And then they weigh, uh, your aluminum cans, and then you get money for your aluminum cans. But they don't give you for the other. No. But now they're going to start giving us money for the other ones, too. Before, they didn't. But I know they're going to start now. Uh-huh. Well they're certain places, you know, where down there you can take your leaded cans. But I don't know where they are. They publish it in the newspaper if you wanted to get into it. Uh-huh. I don't know. I'm trying but, I just can't recycle everything. Yeah, yeah I'm not that dedicated. Yeah. But. Well, that's all I really know about recycling. Me, too. If they would. Oh, I know, we're saving our grocery bags now. Oh really? Yeah, they're taking those up. You can take them to the stores Um, like Kroger's doing it. And I think Skaggs. Do you have those up there? We have Kroger, but not a Skaggs. And we, they're taking our milk cartons and our plastic coke bottles there, too. Oh. So. Uh. That's pretty good isn't it. You guys are getting into it more than we are. It sounds like it, you'd think you would be. Uh-huh. Huh-uh, I've never seen any, you know, places that do. I know, um, we reuse our grocery bags now. We take them back, you know, and use the ones that we have. You can like, if you have grocery bags you can take them and use them instead of getting new ones. You mean where you sack your own groceries. Yeah. Yeah, but we don't have any place that collects the grocery bags. Huh. And I don't want to go with those canvas bags right now, I'm sorry. I'm not that European But you know, they do that like, I went to Europe, nineteen seventy-three. Uh-huh. And, you know, they go all the time. It's like they would go almost every day to the store. And they had their little bags way back then, and fill it up. Uh-huh. And they had this little bitty old teeny refrigerators. Oh, my. That's why. They couldn't put anything in it hardly. But, Uh. Well, what are you going to do when you get out of college? I'm a finance major. Well, that's why I did what I did. I went into teaching Here in Texas it's a real mess right now. Oh, really. Oh definitely. There's no. Let's see, we've had the funding, we've run out of money. We've frozen the money. Right? And they had until the fifteenth of April to come up some formula that would be more equitable to different districts according to finances, because the poor districts were getting less money, so not as good an education. Uh-huh. Right? And now they're trying to take some money away from the richer districts, like the one that I'm in, in Dallas, and make us pay our money to the smaller ones and make it more equitable. And if they can't come up with something by the fifteenth, then the state's supposed to decide, the courts. What do you think the outcome will be? I think they're maybe going to give us a state income tax. Do you have one? Yeah I'm not looking forward to it, but something's got to be done. Yeah. Oh yeah, we've had one as long as I can remember Well, it's going to hit us. Yeah And I don't know, doesn't seem like it work to take it away when we're using it. But maybe, I know we're not using it so wisely. Uh-huh. We have too many administrators in some of these big districts. Yeah. Uh-huh. But other than that. Well, can you think of anything else we need to talk about. Um, I can't think of anything on recycling. Me, either. Anything else? No. What about people from, um, Pennsylvania. What do they think about Texans? What do we think about them? Uh-huh. Oh, I don't know Have you thought about that? No, I never really thought about it what you think about Pennsylvanians. Probably a lot more civilized, more, um, refined than a lot of the people would be down here. Oh really I would hope so, I mean you've been together a little bit longer than we have. I don't know, I really don't know anyone from Texas or anything. No. I've never been there, um. Well I've never, well let's see, I think I have too been to Pennsylvania. Gettysburg? Yeah. Yeah, we went up there. Now that I think about it. On one of our long trips we take off on. Uh-huh Oh, well Shboom. child in What are you saying, Holly? talking to Oh, my little girl is in the second grade, told me to tell you that Shboom means good-bye in the Israeli language. Oh. child in is what you say it is, Holly? In Israel, in Israel. on See she's got this little girl from Israel in her classroom that she's befriended. Oh. So she's into this. Oh, is it like a foreign exchange type student? Huh-uh. You know we've had a lot of the Jewish people ... Colorado Springs. Oh, right, up in, uh, T I out there? Yeah. Oh, right Did you hit one. Yeah. I just hit one then. All right. Uh, The savings and loan scandal. It, I, got to, uh, this is going to be fun. Are you Republican or Democrat? Uh, kind of neither. Okay, well, I'm a, I'm a Democrat so I was going to say if you're a Republican, boy we would really have a good time. I do have some Republican leanings, because, I am division one, you know Well, I, uh, to answer that one before we get to our subject, you know, I always get a kick out of Republicans who take credit for all the military hardware that was bought for the war and how successful it was, though when it comes to the budget they say well the Democrats control all the money and they're the ones wasting all the money. And, I always wondered how they can play the money either way they want, you know. I get a kick out of that. But, anyway, the subject, go ahead. You first. Uh, I think it's a stinking shame that there isn't capital punishment for those assholes that stold our money. Yeah. I, uh, I don't think it's over. I think that, uh, so many other things have taken over, uh, in the media. But, I think it was just plain greed, and I think it was deregulation really when they said do anything you want banks. Go ahead loan your money out, you know. I agree with you. I think it had something to do with deregulation, but I believe, uh, more of it was just greed. Yeah. I was talking to someone, I can't remember who it was, but he was a small businessman, and he said that the banks were calling, he borrowed some money and the banks were calling and just looking for people to give their money away. They just got totally carried away with buying property and reselling the same property and, uh, yeah, there, there should be thousands of people in jail as far as I'm concerned. Well, Not just a couple. You know, we've watched and watched T V and seen that a lot of these people were doing things, not just playing in the gray and not just reselling property at a profit, but financing the same property three and four times, you know, Right. and the list goes on and on. You know, of, of just the crimes committed. Much less for criminals that should be indicted. Well I, I agree a hundred percent. Oh, yeah. It may have started with HUD too. I noticed that HUD was in terrible shape and that was property and, uh, they lost a lot of money there, and then some of these big, these rich people started to, even Murchison here, who owned the Cowboys, had a lot of property down in Florida. This was several years ago and he lost, you know, all, all of his money before he died. Yeah. Not all of it, I don't know how much he lost, but, uh, they were just buying property and buying all kinds of real estate and thinking that there was a bottomless pit and it always would, it always would increase, you know, it always would, uh, uh, be more than what you paid for it and they just never even got conservative with our money at all. Yeah. It, everyone forgets whose money it was. Right. And, everyone forgets that there are several of these people that are wanted by the federal government currently and are overseas where extradition is merely a funny American word. Yeah. I, as far as being a Republican or a Democrat, I think no American could stand for criminal action. Well now the reason that I said that is because I was going to blame all, uh, Reaganomics for, you know, you spend your way to prosperity and when you opened up the bank deregulation without any controls, I thought, well, that was the philosophy, you know. Just keep spending until taxes are lower, and, I thought, that's not going to work, you know, and I knew that it wasn't going to work originally. Well, And, it hasn't worked now. In theory, in theory, a healthy economy has a lot of spending going on. Right, no doubt, no doubt. And, if people are making money, people can spend money, and it'll generate taxes. Oh, yeah. I, I, I agree with that, but there's got to be some control and apparently there was, you know, Well, the problem is, and the problem with Reaganomics is that the people at the top are the ones getting rich. Yeah. And, for what they would cost and we weren't producing anything. Yeah. We, as Americans weren't producing anything. It was all inflation. Yeah. And, I'm sorry we don't get into a real argument over it, we agree too closely, but, But, you, you can't say that that was right. Yeah. I know, uh, Oh, no, I, No intelligent person can say that we could spend our way rich. Right. Remember all we're doing is delivering pizzas to each other. And, and not high quality ones at that, you know. Yeah. Well, Well, I do have a lot of confidence in the, the American people and the economy and everything else. I, I feel bad when I see the inefficiency, even here at T I, you know, and I think that the, it, it still, a lot of the workers don't understand that, uh, they need to put out the best that they can because it comes right back to them, you know. It is a life and death struggle, with with the Japanese. Right. I know, and I, when I, of course I'm in facilities, and I work with a lot of mechanics and I just cannot understand why they're just happy to spend their time here rather than produce, you know, and they think that, well, I'm paid anyway so it doesn't matter, you know. I, I'm very tired of it all pays by the hour. Right. Right. Uh, and I'm nonexempt. Yeah, oh, really? You don't sound like a nonexempt, Jim. What? You don't sound like a nonexempt. What, what does a nonexempt sound like? Uh, you're too informed. They're, they're very, they're very, uh, not interested. They wouldn't even talk probably about some of the things we're talking about now. Uh, I guess I'm dealing with too many Texas mechanics here. I don't know really. Uh, that's, I'm being a Yankee, I guess I'm, I'm letting my Yankee come out, you know. Well, I, now maybe I'm not the, uh, typical nonexempt that you deal with. The badge is silver. Yeah. And, uh, I am degreed, though nonexempt. Uh, well that's good. No That's not good but, No, right, I mean, that's good that you're degreed, uh, uh, your time will come. We, uh, I know a few people, No, I, I do not wish my time to come. Oh, really, what, are you in a tech, like do you do technician work or something? Oh, no, no, no. I, government tool control is my specialty now. I did P C protection control work for, uh, About ten or twelve years, uh, Oh quality, okay. right now I'm just trying to tool crib and chips. Yeah. Times are bad. Oh, yeah. Well, now, is, is, uh, really terrible. I'm, uh, management level uh, facilities, and when the cuts came, three of us got, uh, bounced back, and so we're just, uh, I'm calling you from work. I'm, I'm covering, uh, weekends and nights now. I'm, I'm one of the manager reps, there's three of us to cover in Dallas facilities and just we're essentially standby and problems, uh, all, all nights and weekends. That's my, I only get one weekend off a month right now. I call it my recession job. It's, Uh, being basically an engineer and liking, uh, doing installation work, well there's not any. I mean there is literally is no installation work going on. They turned all installation up here off. Yeah. They told facilities they could not work. Yeah. I don't care what the jobs are, you will not work. Yeah, it, it, And, and, as far as our, you know, our conversation goes, I would really be interested to know how much of T I's problems now are related to, the banking structure. Banking? I think that, not, not only T I, but a lot of it, when they talk about, uh, there was one point I was going to make. I think the last I heard, and I, I have to admit I'm not as informed as them, but there's something like about eighty six billion that they admit. Well, I always double that. I figure well, if they claim that it's going to cost us eighty-six billion, it's got to be twice as much because no one admits their mistakes and so if that's true, it may mean that two hundred billion dollar category that was, that went down the tube somewhere. Uh, it really hurts me, to realize that a lot of people out there are trying to retire on their home values. Yeah. It's amazing really. It's amazing that, Oh, yeah. I know what you mean. Uh, one of our senior, Course your value of homes up there are pretty good. I mean, here they're not really that high, but are they pretty good up there? No. Oh, really. Our economy in Colorado Springs fell completely apart. Well we're in the metroplex here, you know, and, uh, it, it, Right. I die every time companies like General Dynamics, they, they lost several contracts and, and, I don't know if you noticed yesterday, you probably don't pay attention to the Bell Helicopter, you know, they were going to have big, uh, award, and Secorski got it. Which was Boeing Secorski, this which is up in the north somewhere, you know. Yeah, it's northwest. And, I don't know how, Bell didn't get it. Seattle. Seattle, and also, uh, they do some of that in Wichita, Kansas. Well, I, I don't, they were advertising here that it was Bell, T I. T I was getting the, uh, electronics with Bell, and so, it was a double. One that Bell is in the Metroplex and two, that T I was doing the electronics for them. Huh. And, they, they advertised that, that it was T I Bell, T I Bell and then all of a sudden, Secorski got it, yeah. Secorski Boeing. Secorski, Boeing, Boeing doesn't need the money. Something, I almost think there's some politics around here, because the metroplex here, in the Dallas, Fort Worth area, the, uh, with T I, I don't know if T I has lost as much as everybody else, but General Dynamics and L T V and Bell have lost project after project, you know. Well, you realize ... There you go. Uh-huh. Well, Jean, the subject is jury trials and should the jury recommend, uh, sentencing. Uh-huh. Now my personal opinion, I don't know. Uh, uh, here lately it seems, well up until a few years ago, I guess, there just too many liberals about and permitting too many, oh, they just broaden the human rights to, to cover just about everybody, and I don't think those guilty of committing capital crimes should be permitted to go spend a few years in jail and be turned lose on parole. Uh-huh. It's just not right. I think I agree with that very much. And therefore I think juries should be able to recommend sentencing. I, do you, Do you think a lot of people, when they are listening to a trial, put themselves in a position like that and say, I would never do something like that, and it's for them to believe that somebody else could do the things that have been done? Yes, very possibly. So many of us have led sheltered lives that, uh, when we go into a, sit in on, a jury, Uh-huh. I've never done it myself unfortunately, I never have either. I wish I could have. I've just never been called up. My husband works as a police man, so I always assumed that that was why I was never called. Well now, that's possible. Uh-huh. But, uh, I was called up as an alternate once, but I never made it to the jury. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, do they have such a thing now as a six man jury? Not that I know of. Somebody told me the other day that there is, what they call a six man jury, and I had never heard of such thing, and I wondered if it was true. Uh-huh Uh, I've never heard of it. I never had either, but I just wondered. Uh, another question was, should a criminal case, should the jury be unanimous on their decision, and that I wasn't sure on either, whether it should be unanimous or not. Uh, well, there again, uh, I suppose it should be. That would mean they all would have to decide one way or the other. Exactly. Is it guilt or innocence. But then again, so many times you get one or two holdouts, and, and it permits the criminal to get a retrial. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. And there, that's not too bad in this sense, because you might get someone in their that's a victim of circumstances Uh-huh. I mean, that's happened and giving them another trial might give them additional time to, uh, prove their innocence. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Bring some of these things out. Yes. Uh-huh. We can't overlook the fact that there are innocent people that do get involved in jury trials. Un, apparently there are. I, I, I, since my husband worked as a policeman, I can't believe there are very many people that come to trial that have, are not guilty of something some part of whatever they're accused of. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I have, I still have a little bit of a problem with that. Uh, but, I would suppose there are circumstances, you're in the wrong place at the right time, or know the wrong person at the right time. Oh, that's it, and you just might resemble somebody. Uh-huh. Uh, out here in Texas we had a, a, a, great miscarriage of justice. It was finally, after nine years, it was finally, uh, taken care of. Uh-huh. We had, a Black man was accused simply because he resembled uh, someone who who held up, a, Seven Eleven, I think it was. Oh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And even though he had witnesses that said that, uh, he was at work, and he had all sorts of character witnesses and what not, They still found him guilty? They found him guilty. When people said he was at work? Well, they said it this, this happened during lunch time. Uh-huh. And he could have gotten away at lunch time and committed the robbery. Uh-huh. Yeah. But after nine years, well as a matter of fact they made a T V show about it, after nine years, they finally came up with evidence and proved, to prove that he was innocent. Oh, for heaven's sake. So there's nine years of that man's life gone. Exactly. Uh-huh. Now that just was not fair. No, huh-uh. So. Yeah, I guess that's where a lot of the problem lies, we're, we bend over backwards protecting the guilty people, the one's that are on trial. Yes. And, And we often forget about the one the injustice has been done to, because I bet, they still say our system is the best in the world. Unfortunately, that's what happens. Well, it's not, the, uh, uh, it's not the best system, but it's the best one in the world. Yeah, it's the best one that exists, I guess. Uh-huh. And unfortunately, we just have to put up with a lot of things, and they try to solve them and everything, but, uh, I don't know, the Supreme Court, well, I'm, I'm, I'm still rancled about their decision to permit burning of the flag. Oh, I think a lot of people are. I think they've lost sight of some things that are very important to our country. Well, it, the, the, the First Amendment definitely says freedom of speech not freedom of action. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, uh, well that just rancles me no, I swear, if I ever saw somebody to, uh, burning a flag, I'd, I'd try to kill them, I would. That bad, huh. I wouldn't like it, but I don't know if I'd go that far. Well, I happen to be a flag freak. I served, I was in the service Uh-huh. I was in Korea Uh-huh. and, uh, well, I saw what the red in the flag represents. Yeah, well, I think pride in our country and our flag is so important. It's important in so many facets of our lives. Uh-huh. And, uh, I, I feel like if they don't, people don't like what our flag stands for, they're welcome to go some place else. Yeah, see what they, There's nobody holding them here. See how they'd like it under another flag. Right. They'd soon be back, I'm sure. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, Jean, we seem to be of the same opinions here. Uh-huh. I hope they get something out of this. Yeah, I don't know about the judge making the decision, if that's, do you think that's good you know, like if a jury, Oh Uh-huh. but I think the jury should be able to recommend, Make a recommendation? Yes. Do they sometimes make a recommendation? Oh, yes, yes. That's what I was thinking they, they sometimes do. I don't know if that's a regular procedure or what. But I know I'm always hearing that, uh, well, the jury came in with a guilty verdict and they recommended, twenty years or something. And they recommend. Yeah. And then the judge has the final decision on what does really happen. Yeah. Yes. Of course, now, the jury may not be completely aware of all the ramifications of a sentence. Uh-huh. They may not know that if you give him twenty years he can get out in five. Well, I think that's where a lot of people think, boy they're getting put away for a long time, but actually, their chance, course, when, a lot of times when they come up for parole, they're denied. It depends on you know, what they're, what they'd been guilty of, and a lot of different things, I guess. Uh-huh. Yeah, but too many times they, they are permitted to go out on parole and, Uh-huh. A lot slip through the protective whatever they have to do. And there are bad ones that do slip back out and end up hurting somebody again. Yes. They just go out and repeat their crimes. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well there, well, they say after three offenses its automatically life in prison, but I think they ought to make it two offenses. Uh-huh. I always thought there was, there was wrong, it seems sometimes that like somebody who is stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family got more jail sentence than somebody maybe that killed somebody. Uh-huh. It seemed like there, sometimes there's not a good, the balance isn't right. It doesn't make sense. Yeah, very true. Well, here again now, there is where race seems to rear its ugly head so frequently. Uh-huh. Race or nationality even. Uh-huh, yeah. But, uh, like you said, it's, it's not the best system, but it's the best one we've got. Yeah, right. So, let's put up with it, I guess. Uh-huh. Improve it if we can, if we ever get a chance. Sure enough. So. Jean, it's been awful nice talking to you. Well, it's been nice talking to you, Jack, and I hope you have a real good day and week. Well let's hope neither one of us ever has to run into this subject we were discussing. I hope not. Take care now. You, too. Bye. Bye-bye. Okay. Where, where are you from? Um, just here in Dallas. Oh, okay Uh-huh. because I, uh, I talked to a professor in, uh, what was it, North Carolina, who got the, the T I system, and he gave to all his students. So, my daughter's even talked to, and I've talked to several people from North Carolina. I was just curious. That's, yes, yes, that's true. I've talked, Have you, too? Uh-huh. People from Virginia and, and all over. Yeah. Yeah. I talked to the professor, and I asked him about it, and he said, Oh, he says, I think I'm the guy that, actually, uh, gave it to all my students. So that's why so many people are from this college. Go, ahead, Uh-huh. you, you first, Eve . Oh, okay. Um, well the subject we're supposed to be talking about, let's see, is, uh, food. Food. What type of foods do you cook and what would you, uh, cook in, uh, uh, let's see, if you were giving a dinner party? And the only reason why I may know a little bit about this, is that I'm planning on having a barbecue pretty soon. Oh, great. And to me, that's the type of thing that I like to give in, um, uh, cooking for people. And, uh, if he's cooking outside where it's cooler and, uh, you don't have to do all that much work. You know, you just, uh, slap on some food and slap on some barbecue sauce and away you go. Yeah. We have them too, and I, I'm trying to think which is the, best, uh, that I prefer. Uh, my wife, uh, doesn't like to have all that work on the very day that you're doing it, uh, and we haven't catered out very much, uh, we, I always worry about the barbecue in that you have to be, the man always gets that chore, and you, have to make it perfect. Uh, I've made shish kabob, which I like. It's fairly easy and fast. Uh-huh. Uh, I guess I'm thinking of the easy thing to do for, for having, uh, uh, dinner. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I do cook, but not, I'm mostly the easy cooker. You know, the breakfasts and, and the steaks, uh. Yes. Although I would like to experiment with, uh, the meals my mother made, you know. So to speak, Uh-huh. and I haven't gotten around to that yet, uh, What kind of meals did she make that you liked? Well, she was Polish and, uh, she would make very economical meals. We were very poor. Uh-huh. Different rice and ham and things that, uh, she would throw things together and galunkies and all that. Uh-huh. And, uh, I would like to try that one day. And she would make spaghetti with pork chops and, and special meat balls and everything. And my wife, of course, thinks I'm crazy, which I may be too Huh. but, No. Sounds interesting, uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, that's great. But dinner parties are a lot of work, uh, Yeah, yeah. But, uh, that's, that's why I like the, the outdoor stuff a, a lot better. Yeah. People can entertain themselves, I think, a great deal more, uh, when you have a barbecue. Especially when you have hot dogs and hamburgers and, uh, you know, nothing really fancy, like your, your shish kabobs, where you have to do a whole bunch of work. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that, that, shish kabob is, uh, just because it only takes a few minutes to cook, you know, Uh-huh. you get it ready, you have to do a lot of work beforehand, I agree, and buy special stuff. But, uh, so far as getting out there and, and putting it on, it only takes a a few minutes, uh. Right. But anyway, I'm, I'm thinking of the easy way, rather than, my guests, I guess, but, uh, Yeah, yeah. Well, I, I think you do, do a lot of work. Even if people do bring over things, you still do, uh, all the, uh, housework and get everything prepared and utensils and just, just everything. Right. Right. Uh, you know, my mother used to make an Armenian rice dish. Uh-huh, yeah. I'm thinking about, uh, special dishes, and, uh, yeah, it was made out of rice and consume soup, uh, and bacon and onions. Oh, yeah. And then you'd simmer it like all day long. Right. Oh it would, You'd get the odor of it, yeah. Yeah. And it was just, it was just wonderful. That's, that's something that I would really like to, uh, to try and find the recipe for. But we used to have that at Thanksgiving time. Because you can, you can put it on top of the stove, and do this, Uh-huh, yes. and, and there's so much broth and juice in there, that it has to, uh, soak up into the rice, all day long, in order for it to, uh, uh, to come out fluffy and, and nice. Oh, great. And that was, you know, when you were talking about the, the Polish dishes, uh, some goulashes and things like that. That's, uh, that's what I thought about, was that Armenian rice dish. Oh, yes, we probably ought to try this. But it probably will never taste as good as we remembered. I guess it gets better and better as we remember it, back, as we get older, you know. That's true. But we probably should try it, uh, to do that. That's true. The recipes are really interesting, you know. We're probably going to lose them and we'll probably forget all about them, you know. Uh-huh. Since we're trying to make everything so here I am talk about trying to make everything easy, you know. Right, right. I, uh, you talked about Thanksgiving, there are interesting meals at different times. Uh, something, my wife's from Texas, so, uh, I remember we were first married and we were living in New Jersey. And, uh, we were going over to my mother's house for Christmas, you know, to have a meal. Uh-huh. And we were on the way over, we were just married that very year, and she said, Oh, I'm looking forward to a nice turkey. I said, Turkey? I said, We don't have turkey at Christmas Oh. I said, We only have turkey on Thanksgiving. I said, We're going to have a ham. Uh-huh. She said, What? Yeah! I said, Yeah. I said, No, turkey is only for Thanksgiving. And because she had turkey a lot, you know. Uh-huh. And, uh, that was surprising in the, in the east, uh, we always had ham, you know. Right, right. and, and that's one thing that's another recipe, I guess, we could talk about. Now the hams just kind of, you know, go take it out of a can or, uh, uh, a package, sliced, uh, the cans were cooked for hours and hours and, and were just wonderful, you know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I, I'd like to try that too. Yeah. You know what I found was, at Sam's, uh, Wholesale uh, stores. Yeah. And, uh, what they have is this honey baked ham, Oh, yeah, I saw them. They, That's good. have you seen, have you had any of those? No, I, I, uh, I've, I know about Sam's. My wife I think goes but, If, if you ever get a chance to buy one of those, I think it was, uh, twenty dollars, for, uh, I don't remember how many pounds it was. Uh-huh. But you cook it in the bag that they send it in. Oh, really? And all the juices and everything are all sealed in. And, I tell you what, it's never failed to come out tender and juicy, and just and just delicious. Because I normally don't like ham, because it's so salty. Oh, I haven't heard of that, yeah. Yeah. But with this honey bake that they have, that, that's the only one I have been able to find there at Sam's warehouse. It is absolutely delicious. Oh, yeah. And it slices great. Uh-huh. I'm trying to think of his name of it. Uh, uh, I don't know, uh. I see a can here, or a box here of Gourmet Choice. Uh, he delivers, uh. What is the name of this thing? I got a box, distributor, marked on it, it doesn't say, Gourmet Choices. But he, but it's a company that has, uh, you know, a truck that comes around. And, and they recently had hams. They have steaks and, and, uh, actually, pirogies and all that stuff that, uh, Uh-huh. I, I wish I could tell you the name of the company, but I don't know what it is. But, uh, they recently had a ham, that was supposed to be, it was boneless Yeah. and we tried it. It was real nice, and it was fully cooked and everything. We had it for breakfast a long time. Uh-huh. It was really great. Wow! You know, that sounds like it. Yeah. But that's, that's the only ham I have found that I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoy. I would like to try the old recipe though, of cooking it, and, and I keep saying this, uh, to, to do the different things that we did. But I would like to put one in the oven, you know, the old fashioned way and put it in there for hours and hours, and see if, because I don't think in, in my married life, which is, uh, twenty-six years now, we've never done that, you know. Wow. And I remember that when I was a kid, uh, to have the ham cooking. Uh, rather than that, we just, Uh-huh. ham is just something you have for breakfast occasionally, you know. Right And that's it, you know. In the old days, we had, hams were the meal, and I don't, I don't think we, really have it as a main meal. Right. That's true. I, I don't think so anymore, not with more, becoming more conscious of, uh, fat and cholesterol and, and all those good things. Right. That's an interesting point. How, how have you changed your, your meals now? Have you, into that, uh, Oh, yeah. looking at those things? Well, my parents actually started it, Uh-huh. and, uh, getting, Parents, that's unusual. Well, it, it's true. I think my parents are very unusual because, uh, we grew up in the south, where, uh, you have all the, uh, you know, biscuits and gravy and, oh, fried foods galore. Oh, yeah. And then gradually they started switching over to, uh, plain rice, uh, no gravy. That's amazing. It's just, it really is. They, uh, they're actually, they actually, uh, uh, led us through it, versus, uh, us teaching them, you know, the, uh, the finer points. But my mother has really high cholesterol, so it was one of the reasons which started them off. Yeah. And they started doing this, like in the early, or in about the middle seventies. Well, that's amazing, Uh, yeah. they'd go, that they have started. Usually it's the younger people doing it. Yeah. It's true, it's true. I agree with you. I, uh, my, my wife's mother is the only grandparent left, So, it's really neat. and, uh, she has high cholesterol. Uh-huh. Of course, I I have too, but not like hers. Uh-huh. And I always get after her about salt and everything else. And she just will, I mean, she's going to eat the same way she ate, you know, her whole life. That's right. And she just tells, more or less tells me to shut up, you know. Right And, uh, I like to, I'm trying to do something about my cholesterol in the same way. Uh-huh. Uh, Uh-huh. uh, it's, it's not the . I listen to, uh, Larry Newarth on the weekend. He's a fitness expert and, uh, he talks about, you know, the chicken and the rice and everything else. Uh-huh. And, and, uh, throwing away peanut butter and all the things you know, the things not to eat, you know, ever. I think the peanut butter and mayonnaise he would throw away for ever. And then he's got me into making eggs without the yolk. Wow! You know, try that sometime. Uh-huh. My wife says she can't stand it. But, uh, when I make scrambled eggs now, talking about a recipe, Uh-huh. I, say if I have four eggs, not, not for me, but if I'm making four eggs, uh, even for my daughter and I, I'll take out all the yolks but one. Wow! And and it's fine. You, you don't miss it, uh. Huh. In fact, when I, when I make eggs for myself, if I, if I fry them, throw them in there, I will almost hard fry them so I can take, not eat the yolk at all. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And you don't really miss it. You get the flavor of the yolk, but, uh you don't eat it at all, you know. You don't, they're hard. You get like, uh, a bite at, at the most. Uh-huh. And so, uh, for cholesterol, I mean, I'm trying that. And it has worked. My cholesterol gone down twenty points. So, although, Wow, that's good. I haven't gotten on the, which, whether butter or not cholesterol, margarine and all that. I don't know, know, whether any of that is true, you know Whether the margarines or butter, Uh-huh. Okay. Okay. What can we do about crime? I don't know. The one thing that keeps coming to mind to me is that they're, they don't have enough space in the prisons to put people and they keep letting out people that have, you know, these horrible records. Uh-huh. So maybe we need to have more prisons or use the old army bases and make them into prisons or something. That's one thing I guess I could think of Uh-huh. Uh, it's definitely a big concern, I mean every day it's, you know, all we live in a little small town, and there's just rapes and murders and burglaries and everything all the time. And you just can't get away from it no matter where you live. Yeah. Well I, So it's pretty scary. I'm, I'm from Butler, and I can't say that there's too much of that there. Uh-huh. Um, I know the bigger cities have problems with it. Yeah. Uh, I really don't know what we can do about it. Yeah. Unless they start enforcing the, uh, It's rough, because like: t, t, t, t, uh, start giving more people death sentences. That's the only thing I can think of. Yeah. Yeah, well even some of the sentences just seem ridiculous. I mean you hear about people, you know, six and seven times have committed burglaries and they're still, you know, only serving six months in prison. So that's definitely something. They could have a more automatic sentence instead of having the judge having the choice of like, you know, from one month to ten years or something Uh-huh. That would be one thing that, you know, I think could help is having the laws be changed so that they were more stiff penalties and more automatic penalties, you know, for certain crimes Yeah. Yeah. I, I, uh, I don't know what they're going to do with the problem because it just keeps getting worse and worse. Yeah. And one things that they're saying, now, are you going, are you a student or are you in the work force or, Um, I'm a senior at Clarion University. Oh, okay. Because one of the things that I've heard so much about um, lately is the situations on campus where crime has gone up so much. And apparently many of the, especially like in date rape, many of the, uh, you know, perpetrators seem to be getting off because the universities kind of cover up. Well, not only that, a lot of them's not even turned in. And they don't really, You know, what I mean? Wow. A lot of times the girls don't even report it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Um, I've heard of a few case up here, but I can't say that I've heard of, uh, you know, any significant amount. Yeah. Uh, but then again like you don't know how many girls are reporting them or not. Yeah. They say like only one in ten are reported. I believe it. Uh-huh. That's awful. So one thing they could do is probably support people more reporting it. I know some police agencies try to have women police officers that the women can report to and this kind of thing. But I'm sure it's still terribly traumatizing, you know, for people to report it. Uh-huh. So that's probably something else they could do. Yeah. I don't know, it seems like something else in terms of crime is certainly involved with drugs, you know. And that's like as long as, it almost makes me feel, in a way, like making drugs legalized just to get all the money out of it and not have, you know, because these kids are saying why should I go to high school and so I can go out and work at Burger King, you know, for four dollars an hour or whatever, when I can make four hundred dollars a day selling drugs. So that's certainly a big problem. I don't know what the solution to that is. Having more drug treatment centers available. Jeez, I don't know. Uh. See, you see now I would say that that's a bigger problem up here than even the date rape or anything. Yeah. I know a lot of people that partake in that. And I'm not saying they're bad people, but I, I, I would say that's a bigger problem. Yeah. Because it ends up, even if it's just kind of like this social drug use, you're still ending up supporting these big drug pin, you know, huge amounts, thousand and millions and millions of dollars are getting spent, you know, on higher and higher up, on drugs, Uh-huh. and it's definitely got to do with crime. You know, you hear about people selling their babies, you know, to get some crack. I mean, just, oh, gosh, horrible stuff like that. One of the things they're doing is, is they're prosecuting the women who are having these kids that are addicted to crack. Uh-huh. They said, uh, some of the statistics show like one out of every ten babies being born in these public hospitals are addicted to crack, and their moms are crack users. So that's, you know, another way of looking at it is as the woman is being a criminal, you know, for doing that to her child. Uh-huh. So I don't know who's the victim there. I mean the kids are the victim, it seems like a lot of times the women are victims because they're addicted. And, it's a very complicated problem. I don't envy the government trying to cope with it. Gosh. No, I don't either. Yeah. Well, I guess that's about all I have to say. Uh, Is there anything else you would want to, No. Okay. I can't say that I, I just know that it's really bad in some areas and something's going to have to be done sooner but, Yeah. I don't, I don't know what they can do. Yeah, yeah. It's frustrating. Uh-huh. Well, Okay. Well, thanks for talking. It was nice talking to you. Have a good day. You too. Bye. Bye, bye. Uh, basically I'm at home and I have two cats and my husband, Uh-huh. I mean my husband's great. Oh, uh-huh. It's wonderful, you know, Yeah. and, and, uh, so I'm about forty and whatever, Uh-huh Around there, huh. So, yeah. Well, you're, you're just a youngster then Yeah, I'm just a spring chicken, I guess I passed the fifty. So, I guess our topic's going to be changes in the women's roles, so it should be real interesting. Well, Righto So, you think we're ready? I think I'm ready Okay okay. Uh, you want to start off? Well, let's see, the changes I've seen in women's roles, uh, since I am in the forty age, I'm a fifties baby uh, Uh-huh. and from my mother's generation to my generation it's just a very, very wide, uh, it's been a big change. Very much, yeah, yeah. Very much, and I think you'll have to agree and and since we were in, uh, sort of the ground level, the bra burning of the sixties, Yes. Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, and we didn't really know what the agenda was going to be uh, Uh-huh. and I think, you know, it got off to a really radical, it has a radical fringe to it that, uh, I've sort of backed away from. I think all things get started sometimes in that manner. Yeah. You know, they come in that way. And, to make a change, you know, you have to make a splash. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But, to continue in that vein, I think it got a little bit warped and off the track in several areas, Uh-huh. but I really do think that women have made a contribution uh, to human beings, I mean to be human and what it's like and have feelings and emotions Uh-huh. and it's okay and I think, uh, you know on the other hand, I don't know that men have changed that much. So in, in contrast to the women's changes, uh, you know, the men stay steady, Uh-huh. and then the women change around them. I hadn't thought much about that, but that is true. That, Uh, I think men are trying. Uh-huh. Some of them. But they don't have a national organization of men, to, uh, help them out No. and uh, what's changing them, though, is the economic situation, where both team, it has to be a team partnership now, Very much. Uh-huh. and they both have to work Uh-huh. and they both have to raise the children, if we're going to have any kind of future at all, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, and that, I think has been the downfall of the last ten years. Uh-huh. You know, the me, oh, I don't know, the, the yuppiedom, the whatever it was, the, you know, women didn't know how to go about doing the careers Uh-huh. and they wanted to compete with men, they wanted to be like men, Uh-huh. and that's wrong. Yeah. I think they finally discovered that they don't want to be like men, men Not, no, they, they hurt themselves a little bit in that way. Absolutely, and so that's, you know, they sort of threw the thing back another, you know, ten years, that they've had to, you know, restructure, Uh-huh. but I saw the greatest T-shirt the other day, I got to get some for all my men friends, it says, let men run the world, women have more important things to do There you go There's a lot of truth in that. Right. Yeah. But, uh, I think men and women both have valuable, valuable assets to offer Uh-huh. and, you know, we shouldn't, we were made differently, however you come to that conclusion, we were biologically, physiologically, made differently and there is great wonderment, in that, and, uh, you know, we should respect that in each other so, Yes, it shouldn't be destroyed. Right. Yeah, yeah. And, and, you know, just sort of all swooshed into one channel sort of thing, Uh-huh, uh-huh. it's, it's viva la difference someone said that Yeah, yeah. Yeah. and I think that you can truly respect the other person, I mean, you know, Tom is just always saying, what a mystery you are, you know you know. Depends, Well, that's kind of makes it exciting. You know. Yeah. Well that depends on what day of the month it is. Yeah But, uh, I don't know, I guess we've gotten more of a, in, in terms of that, I think we've got more of a sense of humor about each other and our roles, Uh-huh. and, but it's still a challenge being in a marriage and trying to figure out those roles and, I think now when both are working they have a more more of a chance of working together because they're starting out that way. Yeah, well, that's, that's a very different way to do, Yeah. you know, the woman doesn't start off at home, raising the kids and goes back into her career, you know, Right. Right. Yeah. Because you get set in your ways and it's, really hard because to, to really to get help. Uh, you know to get the work load shared. Are, are you married? Yes, uh-huh. Our, Do you have children? I, we have five children, they're They're all grown and on their own Oh, my goodness. so, Oh, my. They're, uh, How did you do? Uh, how do you mean that? Well, I mean, okay, well did you have boys, girls, how did, how, Uh, we have, uh, two girls and three boys and our, our baby girl just had a baby girl Oh, my. Oh, my. Last week was her first baby. Oh, how exiting. So it's been real exciting. I, I tell you what. I don't know what I would do without my friends having all their kids. Uh-huh. I just love the babies Uh-huh. and, and since I'm sort of in a medical situation where I can't do that, it's, Yeah. Have you been that way long? Just eight years, just Just eight years. the most important years of my life you know That's, that's a long eight years, though. Yeah, it has been. Uh-huh. And, uh, so there have been major, major adjustments, Uh-huh. but that's another story. Uh-huh. But, you know, my husband has really, really filled in the gaps, I mean I, I couldn't ask for a better life. That makes a big difference. Uh-huh. I mean if this is the way it had to be, this is the best way, I could possibly do it Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, and that has a lot to do with his strength and his, just pitching in and, and his being able to, you know, all, all ego aside, do a lot of things that really, Uh-huh, uh-huh. so, when I say men haven't changed I guess I should look at my own backyard sort, of thing Yes. and, Well, probably your role and, and the way you are also has changed, though. You know, compared to what it would have been twenty, fifty years ago. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's true. I mean, boy, I mean I, I would have had so, I had so much guilt to begin with and the changes that had to take place, you know, where I couldn't do a lot of things and, uh, just adjusting to that, that, uh, yeah, that was a major change, Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. but so, I guess uh, in the end, you know, you each take your own situation and you, and you deal with it the best you can, but but, but women I think are a whole, you know sort of riding the course, The best you can, yeah. they're, they're got a little wobbly and a little shaky there, I think the future of this whole thing is going to be what happens with the day care situation. I, yeah, that's the only thing I worry about is the, the child's love and security. That, I think that's being damaged, uh, a lot. I think, we're going to see a generation of kids that, you know, are just going to be a little bit, uh, oh, not very nurturing. Uh-huh. I think, I do, too. I, I think, uh, now some, some women can, can do both. They're very capable of working and, and, Yeah, but I wish they weren't so many, I, I wish they weren't role models for everybody, because it's so dangerous. Uh-huh. It, it really is, yeah. It's dangerous for the woman, too, to think that she can do that and then when she can't, you know, the failure of that is, you know, her life sort of falls apart Uh-huh. and she doesn't know who she is and she's, So many have to work to make a go of it, it seems, Absolutely. or they say they do anyways, and, but I think ones that don't have to, the, it's not as much of a stigma not to work as it was for a while there. Well, you know, I think that's, that's really, I think it depends on what part of the country you're in. Well, that could be. Uh, I, I would almost just say that because, you know, down here in the south you know, a woman's role is, a woman's role, sort of thing, Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh. Yeah. Yeah. and you know, You mean it's stronger there? Uh, oh, yeah, yeah. Much stronger. And, and I think that, uh, you know, career women still have a lot of problems here, with the good old boys, here in Texas sort of thing, making career moves Yeah. Right. Right. but, Uh, you know, in terms of women staying home and being appreciated for their talents, uh, it's just like the way it, it has been for years. I mean, you know, since the days of the pioneers, around here. Right. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. That's the woman's role, Yes. and it, and it's hard for her to, uh, you know, watch her peers be appreciated, I think sometimes, but then I'm not there, so I don't know that. Yeah, yeah. And I have women that do both and I see a little jealousy on the part of, you know, the woman what has two little boys and, and she has an au pair, which is a live-in college kid working for her and then she has her business in the back Uh. and then my other girlfriend that has, you know, just runs the whole household herself and just has two kids and goes crazy, all the time. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. And so I see I little bit of that and I always wish there was a balance, you know, with the one and, and wish she could spend more time with her kids Uh-huh. and the other gal I wish she could just get out of Dodge, for a while Right. But they're both, Get some peace and quiet. Yeah, they're both different people, too. That's, That's where the trouble lies. Yeah, definitely, so. You're right about that. Yeah. Some people, some people can adjust and have both, do both well, And that's, and others can't. That's true. That's so true. How, how did your daughter do it? Uh, well, uh, I have one daughter that works full-time. She has two little boys. Uh-huh. And, they seem to do fine. She has been has talked about quitting, you know, and staying home for a few years. But then, it's real hard because she's got an excellent job. Right. Uh. Go ahead. So Ken, how do you do your family budget? Well, we don't actually have a budget, budget per se. What we do is, uh, maintain a normal checkbook. You know, like, everyone in the world does, I guess, Huh-uh. and occasionally it actually balances, And, um, we also, we, um, we have a, a U S Air and Visa card. Huh-uh. Every, every dollar we, every dollar we charge is a mile for our frequent flier mileage. Oh, yeah. It's a real good deal actually, if you charge a lot. So what we, what my wife and I have taken to doing is charging everything in sight. Anything we buy, we charge, including groceries and so forth. Huh-uh. So what we'll do is, Well, then you just pay it off at the end of the month? Right. We actually maintain a, we have, a, we, we, we, we have a checking account that we treat like a savings, scratch that, we have a savings account that we treat like a checking account. Huh-uh. And so what we do is, we anytime we do or make or charge something, we write it out as if we wrote a check. Huh-uh. And then at the end of the month all the money to covered already. So we just pay it off without having to worry about any interest or anything. Oh. That's a real good idea. It keeps us hopping. Yeah. See, now I'd never get my wife to be able to follow that. Before we got married I had money in the bank. I owned my own home. I put in so much money, each, you know, month towards long term savings, you know, like in, uh, mutual funds and things, you know, Huh-uh. and, uh, after I got married, no, it just didn't work anymore. She spends a lot. She likes to spend on anything and everything With body lotion, everything So, we really haven't, we don't have a good organized system, yet. Maybe after awhile I'll rub off on her or something I don't think, Well, you know, you know, you know, what's always good is sort of a for savings , where they just take money out of you're pay. Yeah. We did that for awhile where, um, we actually still do it with, with my wife's salary, where we put it, we have a separate, a third account even, a savings account in, in an entirely different bank where what we do is take money out of her paycheck every week. I'm a graduate student. Yes. So am I. Oh, really. In what field? Well, uh, in information systems. I'm a voice researcher. Oh, okay. I'm in, uh, psycholinguistics, actually. Huh-uh. Um, but my wife has a real job. Yeah. So does mine. Yeah What we do is, we take money out of her, out of her paycheck each week. Huh-uh. And put it, it goes directly to another account, that we don't, at an entirely different bank, that we don't have access to so easily, and it goes there and it stays there and it builds up until we need it for something. Yeah. See, I think we might have to do that Of course, she looks at what she brings home each week. It's going to be hard for her to, uh, not have her own money. Because, like now, you know, I put money in the bank and saved to go back to graduate school for two years. And now she wants to go back to school, but she saved enough maybe to get her through August. Oh. You know, and that's it. And I keep saying, now, Laura, you're going to have to save a little money. I don't know if my paltry graduate student fees are going to get us through. It doesn't work, Ken Gee. My mother always said, "now, don't argue about money", so we don't. Right. But, you know, there goes my savings God. But, you know, it's one of those things. I got lucky. My wife apparently is not a, she likes to spend, but she's pretty good about things. Yeah. Now, see my wife will do things like make clothes. Wow. One of our, one of our big investments that, you know, I was wholeheartedly in favor of, was to buy a sewing machine. Because she makes clothes. And, you know, a descent sewing machine will really help her out and she's already made, you know, presents and gifts and things for, shorts for me and things for the summer. You know, so I guess I can't, you know, we've probably almost paid off the sewing with, uh, yeah, with the savings from that. So I can't complain too much, you know, she's, she's good about that. And, also, we, we dine at home a lot. You know, she likes to cook. So that saves us from restaurants or whatever but, but, she does have things where she likes to pamper herself that just to me seem like money dumped down a drain. You know. Right. Well, I guess we all have those feelings. Yeah. I, uh, I uh, I, I go to, uh, I pay what I think is a lot of money to go to a karate class, you know. Huh-uh. You know, but you need a hobby. Right. Exactly, but that to her is sort of like a waste. Yeah. That's true. But she does her nails. So, I know, and those nails are so expensive Oh, gosh. I was so excited when she decided she wasn't going to do her nails anymore. I guess she just stopped polishing them because they were yellow. Yeah. And then she waits for them to get their color back. And then she'll polish them again. I don't know, whatever. So she stopped for awhile. Boy, what a difference. They buy nail polish every two weeks, it's, uh, my gosh, Yeah. And lotion, oh, my goodness, body lotion, Oh, yeah. we spend more on soft, on, on body lotions with sesame oil and all these different things, than, uh, she must spend more on one application of body lotion than I do on soap for an entire year. Yeah Good old Ivory Yeah. It's funny. Um, well, it's for your benefit though, right. Oh, I think so, she's always soft. That's true. , so that's helpful. Yeah. But I think, um, I don't know, maybe after we're not in school anymore, we'll be much better at saving. I think, uh, I think that's, uh, Yeah. Now do you still own a house? You said you owned one. I sold my house. And that's what's really paying for my time unemployed or whatever. Because the graduate assistantship really doesn't cover, the ten thousand dollars in tuition, really doesn't cover living expenses. Um, That's great. Right. we actually live in two different places right now because she has her job. So that makes it hard with, uh, you know, we're paying double rent, double utilities, Oh, wow. and that makes it sort of expensive but see, I live within my, I live within my very menial income and she doesn't She doesn't live within her professional income, you know. So I just get a, that's the killer, two apartments, yeah, and then even if we want to see each other on weekends, it's twenty-five, thirty dollars in gas, every weekend, and that really adds up too, you know, so it gets tough, Wow. I think, we'll, do much better when we're living together and we're only paying one rent and one telephone. You know, it will cut our telephone bills, you know, by five, by four-fifths, you know, if she's here, Eventually, right. I mean you're not going to, Right. so it's actually tough this year, but it will be better in June. She will move in with me in June, so hopefully our budget will in increase then. Have you been married for long? No. Just since December. Oh, wow. So you guys really are newlyweds. Yeah. We're, very newlyweds, but that's the, we, we're together probably for, um, uh, very close for about six months before we got married. So, you know, we lived within, though I had my own house and things, you know, we still, uh, we're still pretty close. I knew her spending habits and they're about the same Oh, wow. they haven't changed at all, you know. My mother always said to me, "Tom, now, the best thing to do is be like you're father. Never say a word when you're wife spends money". And I was like, well, that's true my dad never said a word, you know. Yeah. So. I actually encourage my wife to spend money sometimes. Because I think, you know, um, I sort of feel guilty, you know, given that she makes twice as much as I do. Yeah. So I say if she wants to go out and buy something, I never argue with her, because she's real good at, you know, sort of . I don't argue with her, but I just get all, it must show in my face. Must be like, must be cringes or something, you know, especially yesterday or this past weekend. Yeah. We met half way between, at her parents house and, um, she had on a new pair of jeans and she'd gotten all new underwear, and I was like, Laura. How did you get all this stuff? imitates a woman's "Well, I just got paid." And, and I was like, oh. Had some money in her pocket, yeah. It was there. It was burning. It had to be spent. You know, and I'm like and she said everything was on sale. Oh, oh, that's good, at least it was on sale That's good honey, I'm glad you bought it on sale What else can you say? That's right. I do recommend the for savings bit. They, uh, they take it out or your paycheck before you see it because it doesn't hurt. Yeah. I think, Yeah. You don't notice it. I think that's probably a really good idea. You know, you don't even think about it if it's gone. Huh-uh. Yeah, so, uh, until you really need it and then you realize, you've got a couple of thousand dollars built up someplace else. Yeah. Yeah, see I was, when I had, when I was living alone and I had my own house and things, uh, I put one, I was paid twice a month, one paycheck went into savings and one went into the checking account that paid the mortgage, and the food bills Right. and it, and I was even able to, you know, to accumulate some savings in a sense in the checking account, because I'm pretty thrifty and, you know. But my wife likes to spend. She enjoys, so that's fine But a for savings , I'll have to look into that. Yeah. that's, that's been our godsend, you know. Huh-uh. We've had some sort of major emergencies come up, you know, where, we also own our own house, Huh-uh. um, we had an ice storm up here, recently, where it was I mean, it was horrible. Yeah. I mean, half the city owned trees . One-third of all vegetation in this county is just wiped out. Oh, really, because of the heavy ice. Yeah. It broke the limbs. Exactly. Huh-uh. We had to our backyard tremendous willow tree that just fortunately, but it cost us, you know, a couple of hundred dollars just to bring the tree down. I mean, just to take off what was broken. Right. Plus, we went with a friend, and they said you know, and then the whole ice storm cost us quite a bit of money, even though insurance picked up some of it, still, not all of it. Yeah. They don't get, you know, Huh-uh. and that, plus and then we had a car expense like that same week. One of the cars died, you know. All of this adds up and that for savings really comes in handy. Yeah. Yeah. I can see that. I can that, I keep trying to say to her, Laura don't spend so much. What happens if something happens to a car, you know. Right. Oh, well, nothing will happen. Oh. All right, what type of things would you fix if you're having company come over? Well, I have a really great one that I make in the summertime because it's cool and it's, uh, it's just really pretty easy. It's pretty much dumping things in and stirring. Uh-huh. And I like that. Uh, the only thing you have to do is cook the rice that goes in, in it and then I, you're supposed to do chicken, but I just use those little cans of chicken. Uh-huh. And it makes it so much easier, and so you dump the rice, you dump the chicken and then you put in fruit like pineapple and mandarin oranges and grape, now grapes are the ones that you have to pull all that off, but I get my kids to do that, so, Oh I, I don't have to do that. And, um, and it really, and you mix it all up with there's a little dressing that goes in it that you have to stir up, but it's so simple and it tastes really good because it's cool in the summertime. Oh, yeah. You serve it cold? Uh-huh. Oh, yeah, that sounds good. Yeah, it has to sit in the fridge over night, but, but it's really good. Um. And I like that one. Yeah. Usually when we entertain we do something really simple, because I like to visit with my company, and not be scurrying around in the kitchen, Yeah. so, a lot of times, we'll barbecue Exactly. like, uh, for Memorial Day we had some friends over and we just bought a brisket and marinated it overnight in one of those like Adolph's meat marinate, and put it on the smoker and cooked it. Uh-huh. Oh, that sounds good. And it was real good. You can buy a fairly cheap piece of meat that way and then people think they're eating steak or something Yeah, yeah And these days that helps, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It really does. I know what you mean. I don't usually I just pass on any recipe that's got more than five or six steps to it because I just know I'll never take the time to do it. Now spaghetti's such an easy one. Um, I do that a lot. Uh-huh. I do spaghetti a lot. Yeah, it seems like most people like spaghetti. Yeah, I don't like to do that if it's real hot though. Yeah. Because, um, I don't know, I have a real thing about being hot in the, in the summertime. Uh-huh. I guess. Well I think when you heat your kitchen up it really makes a big difference, in your whole house. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's right. And, um, we don't entertain that often, but when we do, I'm like you. I like it to be fast and easy. And something so that we can talk and not and not have to worry about being in the kitchen all the time. Uh-huh. Yeah. Most, we don't entertain like people from work or stuff often. It's usually friends from church and stuff, Yeah. and it's usually kind of like, you want to come over, and they say well what can we bring. Yeah. And so it's real easy because you just make one or two things and everybody else brings something. That's exactly like us, from our church, we just do it, yeah. Oh yeah, yeah. Uh. It's a lot more relaxing. I don't know if I could take the pressure of having to you know, put on this really fancy dinner for someone. Well you see all that on T V and I could never be that person. Huh-uh. It just, uh, I'm just not, well I'm so, I'm pretty laid back. Yeah And, uh, you know, so I don't, I know a lady in a, my church and, uh, she like does her own bread and does her own stuff and so when she, um, does food, she really goes all out and I don't know how she can do it and be calm Yeah I guess, Do you work? No, I don't. Do you stay home with kids? Uh-huh, yeah. Yeah. I, I've been working, we're going to have a baby this summer, and I'm not going to work anymore. Oh, how exciting. Yeah. So hopefully, I think I'll enjoy cooking more, when I don't have to work all day. I don't like to come home and stand in the kitchen and spend an hour fixing something and then have to clean it up and by then it's eight thirty or nine o'clock at night, so. Yeah. Well I usually start about six and, an, and cook and then eat at seven. I mean, cook at five and eat at six, rather. Yeah. Eat at six, yeah. Yeah, and, uh, my family and I, we're a sit down together family. Oh, that's good. Uh, yeah, I don't like the run in and out part. Yeah. And I like to be able to sit down after school and have them talk with me an, and my husband about what's happened and, I think I, that was ingrained in me during my family time at home. Yeah, that's neat. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know we could learn to talk about things and I think that's good. Yeah, that really is. It keeps the family in touch with what's going on with each other. Yeah. I think, Right now we eat in front of the T V but since it's just the two of us, it's Yeah, yeah Well that happens to us sometimes too. Yeah. But, uh, sometimes if something, uh, is on that they want to watch I leave it on, but we eat in the kitchen and their heads are always poking past the door. Uh-huh, to see what's happening. Yeah. Anyway food is, is, uh, a real life-style kind of thing and some people don't like to do this but I like to uh, cook with my kids. Oh, uh-huh. And if they're going to have other kids over then, then they help. And we make real simple things, you know, those, oh, I I don't know if you've ever made them, maybe not since you don't have kids yet, but those Jell-O, uh, gelatin things you can pick up with your fingers, I can't think of what they call it. Oh, I've seen those in the magazines. Yeah, they're so simple. Uh-huh. And the kids love to do that. Uh, finger food is, is a biggie with them. Yeah. And, and like, now one thing I wish I could find a, a better way to do are celery sticks and carrot sticks, because they love to do that and it's just really hard and if you have to work with a knife, I don't like that. Yeah. So, that's, uh, they like to eat it, but it's a hard one to have to, to prepare. Yeah, But they like that with the, the cool ranch dressing that goes along with that. Oh yeah, yeah, we like that. Yeah. That's good that, that's a good way to get kids to eat vegetables too. Yeah. My son's getting to be a, a real good cook so, uh, Oh, neat. sometimes he fixes me breakfast Oh, wow, that's great Yeah, I like it, I like it a lot. How old is he? He's eleven. Eleven, wow, that's good. Uh-huh. Yeah, so Do you cook like you cook a breakfast every morning or, Uh, not every morning, uh, mostly during the summer it's hit and miss and, we usually have like, uh, cold cereal or something like that. Yeah. Yeah. Um, during the during wintertime when they're in school, um, then I try to vary it so that we only eat that like a twice a, twice a week or something and then have like, when it's really cold, I even cook oatmeal, Because I like oatmeal Uh-huh. and the they like it all right. Yeah. And, um, then sometimes we do something, it has to be fast because they're on their way to school, we do like Eggo waffles and stuff like that, but. Oh, uh-huh, yeah. Yeah, so, I try to, uh, and sometimes we do eggs if I get up early enough to do that. I used to do them in the microwave, but they don't like that. Oh, do they get rubbery, or, Um. I've never tried it. It it depends. If you let them cook too long then they'll turn a little bit gray. Uh-huh. You can tell if they've gone to long because they'll turn a little bit gray and they will be a little harder, and I don't like that. Yeah. So you have to just let it cook a little bit less than what it says in, if you have a microwave book, but you cook it a little bit less and then let it sit with a, like a plate over the top. Oh. And let it steam. Uh-huh. And then, and then stir it up. Huh. Yeah, an, and that turns out okay. Yeah. And it's funny 'cause if I turn them out on to a on to like a plate, for them to take what they want, they don't know I've ever done it in a microwave. Uh-huh. It's really funny, it's very deceiving, you know, 'cause if they see it with their eyes they go, uh, I don't like want that, you know, Yeah and yet if they don't ever see it, then it's like, oh this tastes okay, you know, so. Yeah. Anyway. We had, my grandmother used to do that to us with things like squash. Everybody would say we don't like squash, we won't eat squash, so she would make these fancy casseroles and hide it in there, you know, Yeah and then we'd go, oh, this is really good. Okay. Uh it's not such a bad idea to think about judges, uh, you know, taking the idea of, uh, uh, sentencing into their hands versus, you know, the jury, especially if it's a highly publicized case such as, uh, you've got cases right now that are going on that everybody's very well informed of or have read, uh, certain, uh, things in regards to cases like the Dahlmer case in Milwaukee and stuff. So it's, it may be an idea to think about, you know, cost. Trying to find a jury so you can get a jury as far as, uh, they may say they're not biased, Yeah. but deep down they are against this person or whatever, so, uh, I don't think it's such a bad idea to think about. So, Right, that it, that it, I, a judge would be more consistent from one case to the next and not not and, and, uh, not depend so much on the, on the emotions of a particular case, but be able to put it in overall perspective. Exactly. Uh-huh. Well I, I certainly haven't thought much about this Yeah. but, Catches you off guard, doesn't it? Yes, yes, some of them, some of them do and some of them don't, but, uh, this one, uh, I was trying to remember back. It seems to me that, that, you know, when I studied civics in school or stuff, that this, the juries being involved in the sentencing wasn't, wasn't so much. Uh-huh. And I'm, I'm trying to figure out whether that's, I'm remembering wrong or whether that's a by state. I didn't think they were either. I thought the sentencing was done by the judge. Yeah. I mean, it's either guilty or not guilty. Yeah. And, uh, I, I guess, and I don't know whether it's by state or whether there's been some supreme, supreme court decision perhaps that said that, uh, that, uh, as part of the trial by the peers that had to include the sentencing or too, or whatever. Changes. Uh-huh. I, yeah, but, I, yeah, I certainly wouldn't be, uh, uh, worried about that. I guess in terms of the, uh, you know, having a judge do it would seem to me to be more, more fair and and, uh unbiased. Oh, sure. Yeah, yeah. Uh, in terms of doing away with the, with the unanimous jury, I guess, I guess I, uh, would be a little more leery of that kind of a change in, in the trial system. That, that's just a, such a tradition that it's a, that it's got to be a unanimous jury that, uh, I don't know where you'd, where you'd draw the line anywhere else. Uh, you know, uh two-thirds or three-fourths or whatever. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. But, uh, and, and, I, I, I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with just a, just a bare majority. Exactly. Uh, Uh-huh, yeah. That's kind of how I, you know, in certain cases I can see them going, uh, uh, just basically with a judge, guilty or not guilty verdict uh, simply from a judge in highly publicized cases versus the small, uh, maybe, you did a crime that was, uh, burglary or whatever Yeah. Yeah. and it goes into the court case or whatever and it's not highly publicized. But when you get into these highly publicized cases where everybody knows details whether it's through the NATIONAL ENQUIRER or whatever. Yeah, whatever. Yeah. Uh, it's the idea that person might initially have this thought, well, jeez this person's guilty no matter what. I'm not going to listen to the facts or and, and con their way into, uh, getting past the lawyers and getting through that. Yeah. But, uh, also there's aspect of cost and I, I'm not quite sure how much cost it does take for, uh, the judicial system to try and call a jury, whether it's very costly, or if it's something that's not costly or what. You know, being that I'm not in the, that area I really don't know. But I wonder if there is some big expense in trying to call a jury to trial and then having to pay whatever they have to pay if there's something that they have to pay. Yeah. I know companies have to pay for these people to be off from work. Or at least give them the time off from work. Yeah. Uh, whether it's, I think it's with pay. If I remember, jury duty is with pay. Well, And, and I'm, I, I'd, I know it is, I know it is where I, where I work. But, I'm not sure that that's, that that's necessarily required. Uh, you know, by law that it has to be paid. Paid, right. Uh, I suspect that's a, that's a benefit of a bigger company. But, but there are certainly some, Some that, some that wouldn't, uh, Uh-huh. Some that may decide not to. yeah, Well, I don't know if there's going to be solutions to the U S budget. Well, now it's in pretty disastrous shape for sure. Uh-huh. It's only getting worse exponentially it seems. Yes. Exactly. Um, There's, uh, maybe some short-term things that they can do and it hurts everybody's pocket, of course, but, um, I know that state has, uh, cutback, uh, raises for a year to help, uh, the, uh, state financial or whatever you might want to say to get better in a better condition. Uh-huh. That, Oh, which state is that? Uh, State of Minnesota. Uh-huh. So there's the potential that perhaps, you know, the U S budget might want to take a look at it's, uh, federal employees or, and take a look at saying, well, let's freeze wages. I mean everybody's doing it so it isn't like, uh, private business has had to do it Uh-huh. so it might have to be something that they might consider doing as a that's got to be very short term. Right. Right. And the only other avenue that I can think of is, uh, looking at where they're spending the money and not so much as saying, well, we're spending too much in that area as perhaps looking at what is costing them the money. As for, for instance, I think you probably remember the military getting caught, um, with toilet seats that cost them four hundred, five hundred dollars. Yep. Right. And it was just, I mean you can go to K-Mart and buy them for, uh, eight dollars or I think six dollars or whatever for toilet seats, Yeah. so. So it gives you idea that, Yeah. Definitely I think that there's probably a lot of waste in defense and in government funded research in the first place. Sure, sure. So, I mean there was, um, people at Stanford who were soaking the government, you know, using millions of dollars of research money to, uh, for the President to buy beach homes or whatever it was. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I think that, that maybe more widespread than well, than we'd like to have think. Than we think. Sure. Sure. But, but then it's something that's hard to enforce too I'm sure. Uh-huh. It sure is. The, you know, as far as, I think there was something with the government official that went on conferences for two days and actually, uh, the conferences were nothing but, uh, you know, they're getting paid for this, and it was something more than just the conferences. They were using it as eating out, uh, when you think about people, uh, taking vacations these big government officials taking descendants in congress. Uh-huh. The rest of them taking these vacations and using the taxpayers' money for that. Right. And it's a real big crunch, uh Uh-huh. of course, when they get caught then they're, you know, they're guilty of course, but, uh, during that time I'm sure there's hundreds of, uh, thousands of people that are, uh, spending money that does not belong to them. So, Well, that's right. Uh, I think that, oh, politicians talk a lot about waste Uh-huh. but I'm not sure that that's really that much of the problem. Sure. I mean when you look at something like the Gulf War it cost us God knows how much. You know, at a million dollars, a pop for patriot missiles. Uh-huh. Exactly. And I don't think, uh, it's ended up being, I mean it gave people jobs Yeah. but I think it also cost, um, quite a bit as far as because after they're done with the war, a lot of things were no longer put to use. I mean it was kind of like, okay, we'll do this during this point and time but after that that's, you know, uh they didn't want to do it anymore. Right. Uh-huh. So, a lot of things that are saying that they're no longer going to be doing for next wars that are coming up that they did for this one in getting rid of a lot of things. So I don't know. Uh-huh. Right. Okay, well, it was good talking to you and have a good evening. Okay All right. You too. Uh-huh, thanks. Bye-bye. Bye now. Okay. What kind of pet do you have, Gail? Well, I don't. I have children Oh, you have children I have little children. Both of my kids are under two so right now we don't have pets, but we've had lots of them in the past. Have you? Uh-huh. Uh, what have you had? Well, we had a dog before we moved here. Uh, and we couldn't bring her with us. We came from Colorado, and we've had hamsters and fish and birds. Oh. Okay, I've , Well, you're going to have lots of pets with your children growing up. Uh-huh. Well, we had a, a Schnauzer that we lost this summer, and he was fourteen years old. And, uh, we've had two Schnauzers and before that we had all Dachshunds, and I think my husband wants another Dachshund, and we're trying to debate because our children are grown and, and, uh, I don't know whether we really want to be tied down to a you know, another dog. And we do have a very loving cat that's, you know, kind of our baby. Uh-huh. And, uh, and we like pets. We like them around. We have grandchildren that run through and they think we should have a dog, and that's because they have a Great Dane Huh. Yes. They're just huge Definitely. Well, we, you know, if it, um, if it were just more peaceful, you know, with the little ones, we would definitely have a pet. I just think it's nice to have around. We had a cat that had kittens. So any pet that I get from now on will definitely be spayed or neutered. Oh, yes, yes. Because, uh, I did. That experience was awful Yes, I have never wanted to, that's why we've never gotten a female, you know, in anything. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, and our male cats, you know, we had, uh, neutered right away, to baby very what you doing ? and, of course, it, he doesn't know it. He's still out partying. Oh. But, um, you know I do think that maybe we'll get a female next time and just had her, have her spayed, you know. And, uh, Well, a lot of times now when you buy them from like the S P C A or from the humane societies or whatever, their adoption includes their spaying. Yes. Yes, yes. So, Which I think is a good thing. It just breaks my heart to see these poor little old dogs wandering the streets looking starved and, you know. Uh-huh. It, uh, plus, uh, you know the safety factor and stuff. Well, we enjoy having pets. We, uh, you know, I think they're a lot of company, and, and when my mother lived with us, uh, the cat was really hers and, and he was kind of wild. Our, our daughter found her and brought her to us, and, uh, that cat walked in and walked right up to my mother and jumped up and curled up in her lap. Oh. And she was the only one at first that, you know, could really hold him, you know, because he was really skittish. But it was like he knew you know, uh-huh. and he would sleep with her, and so he was a lot of company to her. You know, and, and just love her. Yeah. And he's, cats are usually so independent but this one you know, he comes up and he crawls up next to my husband now, you know. He's, you know, before the dog died, we have a queen size bed and the dog would sleep on my side, and the cat would sleep on my husband's side, you know And when everybody turned we all four of us turned in a row My husband that's one thing he hated was our cat used to sleep with us. Uh-huh. Our dog wasn't interested in even coming in our room, but our cat would sleep with us and he hated that. Did he? Uh-huh. He just thought that they belong, and when she'd walk on the couch along the back behind his head he hated that. Uh-huh. So, I guess it's probably, probably if we get another animal it probably wouldn't be a cat even though I love cats. I think it would probably be a dog, and it would definitely be an outdoor animal. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I think that's one of the reasons our, because as I said our, our Schnauzer was old. And so he was becoming incontinent. And so then I would just have messes in the house, and I think that's one of the things that both of us are not wanting to start over with, you know. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. And, uh, and it was new carpeting and, you know, it just really, you know, upset me no end. Uh-huh. And, uh, Oh, that would, Greg, uh, my husband's grandparents have a dog and they just, it needs to be put to sleep but it's grandpa's dog, and, uh, he's really getting too old to take care of it. But the dog messes all over the carpet and my daughter is just nine months old Oh and so then she crawls on the carpet and, oh, the smell I mean it's just really awful Uh-huh. and that's, that's one real drawback, but you know I guess you'll do just about anything for your pet if you love them enough Yes, you will. You will. You know, we were trying to decide to, you know, about putting him to sleep. He was just, you know, he was getting so old and had a, other problems too. And, and fortunately the decision was just taken away from us which made it a whole lot easier. You know, and, and again going through that because our, our animals are almost like our kids in some ways, you know, and, and you grieve just as much over them when they go you know, as you would a child. Uh-huh. And, and, you know, our son and, and his wife and our daughter and her husband and the grandkids all say, get a dog, get a dog, you know. Little thing. Be quiet, be quiet. And I can tell my husband, you know, deep down he, you know, he Brian in Plano, Texas. How are you doing today? Hi, fine, I'm Nancy. How are you? Great, Nancy. I'm in Plano also You're in Plano also, huh? Yes, we're not too long distance today. Well, good to hear. I was just talking to someone the other day from Pennsylvania. Oh, that was good. Utah, I've had a couple of, but that was it. Really? Yeah. All right. Well, good to hear, good to hear. Learned about their basketball team Which one? Uh, Jazz. Oh, yeah. Yeah. The Utah Jazz. Yeah. Yeah, they're, they're pretty good. They've got some good good, some good, uh, good players out there. Yeah. Well, you ready for New Year's Eve? I am. Good. Should we, uh, start this so we can, Okay. What was your name again? Nancy. Nancy, that's right, Right. and I'm Brian. Right. Just a moment Okay Nancy, then I guess the, today's subject is benefits in the job other than salary. Right. What, uh what do you feel are important to you or other people as, as crucial benefits? Uh-huh. Well, I'm a little different than other people because I don't have benefits with my job. Uh-huh. I'm a nurse and I work, Oh I float so that I have no benefits except higher pay for doing that. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. So I find that it makes up for what I pay for insurance and I, I make enough money by the hour to make up for that. To, to compensate for some of the benefits. Right. Uh-huh. Oh. Yeah, it's cheaper for me to buy insurance by the month than to work staff someplace. Yes. And then I have my freedom. I can work seven days in a row and take a week off or whatever I want to do. Well, that, that's an excellent, so actually that is a benefit, uh, Well, it is to me. Most people prefer the security of nine to five, and weekends off and knowing that their insurance is paid and their retirement, Yeah. and I'm just really not interested in all that. Right. Right, well I guess that's a good point, uh, Uh-huh. I do belong to a, a large corporation or my, that where I'm currently employed and there's, uh, there's some different things, uh, one that you've already mentioned is, is health insurance. I think through our health insurance that I can get better rates as a, through a group plan as opposed to going out and getting health insurance on an individual basis because I had to do that at one time when I wasn't employed with a large corporation Right. and that got to be somewhat expensive, so I I think one of the benefits I, I see is the, uh, is the group, uh, group discount. Yeah. Right, and especially if you have a family. Yes. Then I think it makes a big difference. Yes, and that's, that's one thing I do have. Yeah. If I didn't have a family, I don't think I would have, as, as a male or as a, as an individual of, in this stage of my life, I don't think I would have insurance, uh, other, Right. I don't think I would go through that expense. One other benefit that you mentioned is the flexible work hours and in my previous job, I really enjoyed because they had what was called flex schedule where I could go and I could work, uh, nine hour days and have like Friday only work four hours Oh, yeah. or I could do, uh, work four days a week at ten hours a day and have a, you know, three day weekend. And make, uh, make my job flexible in that case. Right. Could you change that as you felt like it or did you have to do it the same every week? Well, basically, yeah I had to do, that, uh, the same, uh, for about every quarter of the year. I mean uh, because I was in a, in a position of management I had responsibilities over people that, uh, I needed to make my schedule, uh, so that if I was not there I would have coverage by some other management personnel, Uh-huh. so, so I, I think that, uh, that was a, that was an excellent benefit that I really enjoyed Yeah. and I don't have that in my current operation, but, uh, you mentioned, uh, flexible work schedule and that's, that's good. Yeah. And, uh, what other benefits do you think are important? Oh, well, I guess, retirement, that kind of thing which I don't worry much about so Yeah, yeah, that's true. I just prefer to worry about today, probably not a practical attitude but that's who I am so, Well, and that's an individual thing. Uh-huh. Yeah, with, uh, with our current, uh, organization, we do have a nice retirement package and also a, a nice thing that, that we have in our corporation is a, uh, is a profit sharing plan where we can, uh, participate in the, the profits of the company. If we're, you know, if we've been there a while and we're vested, uh, which means that, you know, we have a, an interest, uh, in the company that we can, uh, get some of the benefits of the, either the profit high times or, or in a sense, suffer during the low times Right. and, uh, also, uh, in one of my wife's, uh, companies where she worked, they'd had a real nice profit sharing plan that, that, Okay, uh, some of the T V shows I like to watch are, uh, mostly evening, evening shows and, uh, like for instance the one I'm looking forward to, to tonight is TWENTY TWENTY. I usually watch those prime time programs. Right. Uh, I like to watch FORTY-EIGHT HOURS. Never miss that and, uh, sometimes PRIME TIME LIVE. Uh, and then the week goes by and I don't think I ever watch anything else. You know, the, the Sunday night movies, I watch those kind of things. But, uh, most, but basically a lot of documentary things and, you know, what's going on and that kind of thing. I I have a few, you know, favorite shows that I try not to miss. Uh-huh. L A LAW is one of them. Uh-huh. Although this year's, it's a little easier to miss than last year. With the new cast and everything. Yeah. Yeah, it's hard to follow. Right, and, uh, I like ROSIE O'NEILL. Oh, I've never seen that one. THE TRIALS OF ROSIE O'NEILL with Sharon Gless. Okay, yeah. She, I've seen a, uh, the previews for that. It's very good. It, it's probably very much a woman's uh, show. Uh-huh. But, uh, and then there's a new sitcom on that is, Tim Allen's, uh, what is it, uh, HANDYMAN. That's not what, uh, HOME IMPROVEMENT. Oh, we never miss that, or we try not to miss that. It's hysterical, isn't it? Oh, we think it is, so funny. Did you catch the Christmas? Oh, just part of it I thought it was, you know, and it had such a good story, too. Uh-huh. Did you see the end of it? No. Well, you know, the little boy, the little one was trying to decide if there was a Santa Claus. Uh-huh, oh, that's right and the neighbor, they thought it was the neighbor. They thought it was the neighbor. He gave the two doubting Thomases a rubber band and a paper clip. Yeah. I thought that was wonderful. And then, uh, it, it's, it appeared that maybe it probably wasn't the neighbor. And, uh, on Sunday, used to be on Sunday nights, now I can't figure out where they've moved it. On our, uh, public television, they had a show at ten thirty that was a computer show. Uh-huh. And it showed the latest, uh, developments from all the computer companies. Uh-huh, I've never seen that program. Well, you know, it's, unless you're really into computers, you and software, you probably wouldn't be interested, Uh-huh. but I don't know, Uh-huh. it just really gave me kind of an outlook of what was available out there. Oh. And, uh, you know, what, they, they covered everything from entertainment to spreadsheets, you know, and then they also, the hardware. Oh. Uh-huh. So you could see what the new developments were and what to look for and, I enjoyed that. Uh-huh. It was just a thirty minute show with no commercials. Oh, okay. It's public television, course, doesn't have the commercials during the show so, Yeah, right. And I like the FRUGAL GOURMET. Oh, I do, too Oh, I do, too, but I just seem to, to miss a lot of these programs. I don't know why. I just, if I can catch them, I do. Or if I remember. Well, there's very few that, you know, my life would stop if I didn't catch. But, uh, now I do, before I go to work, I tape my soap opera. Oh, yeah. I watch one and, Well, I watch two, but one's a half-hour and one's an hour and, and they lead into each other. Oh. And that's the BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and AS THE WORLD TURNS. Oh, okay. And I've watched the, AS THE WORLD TURNS since I was a little girl Yeah, that's been on for years. So it's just, you know, it's, it's, something I've done for the last probably twenty-five years. Oh, and so you get to come home and watch them Yes, and I don't have anyone else at home, so I have freedom to watch whatever I want. Yeah. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But I like, I like every, I like the, uh, the information shows and I like the comedies and you know, and I, I do like good movies. Uh-huh. I prescribed, subscribe to H B O. Yeah well, we, So I can get some of the movies. Yeah, that's a good idea. We did have H B O, but it, we just canceled it last week because it seemed like it was so repetitious, you know. It is. It's just, But I don't sleep a whole lot and I, you know, at two o'clock in the morning, there isn't anything on regular T V and, Oh. Oh, yes, if you're up then and you don't get good reception without cable and it doesn't cost that much more to have one of the pay channels, Yeah. Right. so that's primarily why I have it right now. Right. Yeah, yeah. I, I thought when I got my V C R, I'd probably drop it, you know, but that was years, Say you did, uh, starters and bendix springs such as that on an old one. Yeah, and, uh, helped my wife replace some carburetors. Yeah. Some that, she had to, uh, label everything She had to label everything. Yeah because, What was she driving? It was a Cadillac. Uh-huh. And they, uh, well, they quit making those, the quieter jet carburetor and they quit making it. Yeah. They rebuilt it and it never did, never did run right again. Yeah, quad not really easy to get rebuilt just right. Yeah. Uh, and like, what were you replacing the starters and bendix on? Uh, a Maverick and also, uh, a Chrysler station wagon before that. Yeah. Did you replace just the, uh, bendix on the Chrysler station wagon or the whole starter? Uh, the, I'm replacing the, two or three starters on the Chrysler. Yeah. They, The starters are kind of fragile. Yeah and the, Especially if you need a tune-up. Uh-huh. They kept saying that the that's what Chryslers did, is they wore out starters. Yeah, well, if they start real easy, you know, you just hit the key and it starts up Yeah. and when it's properly tuned up, that starter will last for a long time. Uh-huh. See, they built that starter so it would fit every V eight and all the slant sixes that they've built in like thirty-five years. Right. They all take the exact same starter. They'll interchange completely. I mean completely. One starter will fit all of them. So they've got a whole lot of torque, but to do that, they did it, use an underdrive system, but they geared it down so the motor spins really fast so it's got, to spin for very long, Uh-huh. it's kind of tough on the bushings. Yeah. Usually what goes is the bushings. Right. You take a little time, replace the bushings, you still got a perfectly good starter. But, uh, most places don't put, don't rebuild them with, with with good enough bushings. Uh-huh. So it's, you know, after you get rebuilt one, you have a tendency to go through them pretty quickly, especially if you need a tune-up. Yeah. Anyway, what are you driving now? Uh, my Chrysler van and it's, it's pretty maintenance free, you know, and, uh, at the beginning of the year last year and drove a Chevrolet Cavalier station wagon and it didn't give me any trouble at all. That's good. Yeah. It was a late model, is that Chrysler van? It's a eighty-seven. Yeah, one of the little mini vans? Uh-huh, yeah. Is a, Do you like the way it rides and stuff? Uh, rides or runs? Rides rough? It, yeah, well, yeah, it rides, rides rough, it runs good. Yeah. You know, I kind of, it took me a while to get used to a four cylinder engine. Yeah. You have to kind of wait for it, especially when you get on the highway. Yeah, right now, without getting some of the sportier models, uh, the four cylinders aren't real peppy. Yeah. But, uh, they're starting to change that out in the last couple of years, too. You driven American cars all, Uh, yeah, I've driven one uh, I drove a Volkswagen Beetle for a while, about a month. Uh, in a month I think I put, uh, three oil coolers on it. Uh, every time I turned around I was having trouble with it. Uh-huh. Everything else I ever owned was American built. Uh, mostly older cars. Uh, I've been a mechanic, well, I worked, starting working my father's service station when I was about, uh, twelve. Uh-huh. So, I've been around cars a lot, but, uh, driven a lot of old Pontiacs. My first three cars were, uh, seventy model Pontiacs. A G T O and a Bonneville and a station wagon. I had a couple of Chryslers. Had a super B for a while with a four forty in it. Uh-huh. It was a lot of fun. But, uh, Not much gas mileage, though. I don't know, gas mileage wasn't too bad. It got about seventeen. Oh, wow. Well, till you got crazy with it. You know, you get the four barrel all worked up and suddenly it, it, it drops off fast, but long as you didn't spin the tires too much or, or spend too much time with the secondaries kicked in it, it didn't do too bad on gas. Yeah. Didn't have to work too hard to move the car around. Now, do you think since they started with electronic ignition that it improves the way the car runs? Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely. Uh-huh. Yeah, the, my last G M car was a seventy Chevy station wagon and it still had the points and condenser in it. When I rebuilt the engine on that, about a hundred and thirty thousand on the car. Yeah. I, uh, pulled that old points distributor out and got, an H E I distributor, electronic distributor put into it. Well, I really enjoy reading the newspaper, we get the daily, uh, DALLAS MORNING NEWS and I try to look at it. If I get busy I don't get a chance to pick it up, like this week I noticed several copies have been haven't been touched but Well, do you have time to read the paper in the morning? Well, not in the morning, but, uh, if the, well, I have two children and if they, uh, go out to play or something I like to keep my eye on them so I'll, you know, maybe go outside and read the paper while they're playing or sit in a chair by the window or something. You know, a lot, a lot of people don't take newspapers at all. We, we took the MORNING NEWS for a while, Uh-huh. and then, uh, well, we've been taking the TIMES HERALD for ages and then, uh, dog just ran off with my shoe, that's off the subject, went outside, picked it up and ran off. Anyway, uh, and then we switched the MORNING NEWS but we found we couldn't read enough of it and by the time I got home and had time to, to read some, but, but I guess the, the issue is, uh, beside the newspaper, do you take any news magazines? Well, we, I don't take, like TIME, or NEWSWEEK or anything like that, but I do like to watch, uh, C N N. I have several chores and things to do, so it comes on at, like the nine o'clock p m and so I will turn that on while I'm doing some work and I can hear the news, not have to sit right down and listen to it. Did, did you, did you hear what Schwartzkopf had to say about, uh, Pete Arnett, and, uh, the, the news coverage? Well, he didn't have too good of opinion of it, no, I mean yes I did hear that and so, uh, I do try to keep that in mind that whenever you're reading a paper it usually has a particular flavor. Well any, you know, TIME magazine and even the news that, sometimes that, that's why I like some diversity the idea that, I, we have TIME which, which we take from time to time and we, the problem is they call up and make this deal, you know, and, well we're taking that Uh-huh. and, and we also hit the Garland, GARLAND DAILY NEWS, I guess it's, it comes out sporadically, like, twice a week or Uh-huh. but I think what's interesting is that if you're, that there, uh, that as difficult as it is, or as, as much as they try, they put some bias, I had the chance to hear Tracy Rowlett speak to a group and it was interesting that they think that they're basically impartial. Um. And that, but, and, and, you know, people accuse them of controlling the news he says, you know, we don't control the news we just report it the way we, the way it is. Uh-huh. And, Well, I wouldn't think I would really say that that's not true, because uh, it seems like certain newspapers always espouse certain candidates, Yes. and, so, uh, news stations always tell the story from a certain angle and that's why it's a good idea to get a wide variety of coverage so that you get a lot of different opinions. You may never get the truth, but you'll have a variety to choose from. Yeah, and I, I thought that was particularly interesting in the, the Gulf War, that there were pieces of information that, that were apparently, uh, leaked just as a, as, as, uh, a ploy. Uh-huh. Which was, uh, I, I find that fascinating that, uh, Yeah, I do, too. Do you ever listen to the radio or any, I listen to K R L D, and, uh, uh, K L I F, the news talk radio. Uh-huh. And I actually listen to C N N radio. Do you know it was on radio now? No, I don't. It's on eleven ninety. Um. I really, uh, have gotten out of the habit of listening to the radio from any kind of, even music and, uh, Well, when I go to work I listen. Yeah, my husband does and it's how come he usually calls me sometimes, and says, oh, I just heard on the news that such and such happened, you know, if it's something really interesting and and then I'll know to, to keep an eye out for it, Yeah. but I've got out of the habit of listening to the radio. Well, with, with your, you know, if you're around the home, though and, and, and can watch T V and read the paper, the problem is, is that about twenty minutes of news radio, or thirty minutes is and then they start repeating everything. Uh-huh. And, and so it's kind of a, oh, that's what's interesting is the C N N, uh, I don't think, I'm trying to think if it's much local. I listen to a little of that and I listen to a little of ninety point one. I, I'm, I'm inveterate switcher. Uh-huh That and ninety-eight point seven, I'm eclectic approach. Do you have a particular local channel that you watch? Well, I watch channel five but that has to be, that's another bias. Uh-huh. That has to do with the weather reporting. I'm not sure that, actually I think channel eight is probably, but I know Dave Fox, he goes to our church so, Um. Well I am, we're fairly new to the area and so we're still shopping for a favorite channel. Well the, Channel eight when they came here thirteen, fourteen years ago, Dave Fox and Tracy Rowlett came together, uh, from Oklahoma City Uh-huh. and apparently channel eight was way down and now they have turned it all around and done a pretty remarkable job and then they've been some people move around and, uh, John Chriswell is, anyway, the, I, I don't know, do you, do you, do you seem to, can you tell much difference between the local radio, T V stations? Well, I really think so. I noticed on channel eight that there's all of the, uh, anchors, are seem to be like white Anglo Saxon protestant type people and they all seem to be, you know, fairly similar and I kind of prefer a, you know, some females, I don't recall that they have any female anchors and I like different, I like the anchors to be different kinds of people. I think that adds to the diversity, I think that, uh, I like that. Uh-huh. Uh, there, I know, you know, John Wylie Price, I don't know if you kept up, but he's been protesting, Yes I have and, uh, I prefer you know to have a little bit of variety like that because I think you're, you're more likely to get, Yeah, and I think he has legitimate argument. I mean you can, uh, I, I, I grew up in Alabama and so I, I have some prejudices. Uh-huh. But I think that, I think that, that from a, a justice standpoint, because we have the option of not watching that station. Uh-huh. Uh, I'm not sure I, I'm totally in favor of affirmative action in some of the programs but I think that, uh, in some cases this should be some real opportunity and, and some diversity, and and this kind of thing Yeah. and I think that, Dallas, it turns out, though from what I understand, has quite good, I occasionally go to Saint Louis. Uh-huh. And, uh, there for a few days and watch the news and, and think Dallas really does have, have quite good news. I think channel eight is the number one, uh, A B C affiliate in the U S. I think Tracy Rowlett was saying that he, Oh, really? Course he pumping his own Well, we, you know, like all of the stations seem to be pretty good, it's just we haven't found one that we've snuggled into. Where'd you move from? Houston. So we had a, a favorite, or I did, have a favorite channel that I usually tuned into for local news. I guess because you get use to, you like the anchors, Yeah. and you feel comfortable with them and, It is interesting though, it becomes a little of personality. In fact, the, the guy that was on, the weatherman on channel eight worked for me, oh, long time ago, twenty years or so, even longer than that. Twenty-one, twenty-three years ago or so, twenty-four, anyway long time ago Uh-huh. and, and shortly after I got, we got here fourteen years ago and, uh, they had, they had fired him, uh, because he was too anyway, didn't, he didn't have the personality, and wasn't drawing the crowds Uh-huh. and that's interesting. That's, that's what the T V stations do. they're trying to get ratings. That's true. And I think, if we remember that, that they're out after the ratings. Their job. That's true. So that really effects how they report the news. Well, it's like the, the Dale Hansen on channel eight is a, sometimes a little too cutesy but, I wonder if we're coming up on ten minutes. Is he the sports, Have you talked, have you been on the conversation when they beeped you at ten minutes? Yeah, I guess it is time to close now, so I can run go help put the kids to bed. Okay, well good talking to you. Yeah. Goodnight. Bye-bye. Are, are you a T I-er? No, no, I work there as a temporary. Oh, really. But, are you at T I? Oh yeah. So you have to do the random drug testing. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. In fact with me, this is, it's not much to talk about, I'm so much for it. I don't really have much to comment about it. There've been some interesting subject that they've called about. How many times have you called, or have you been participating in this? Oh, about ten or eleven calls. Oh, you got ten, well you, you've passed me up. Right. This is about six times. Oh. As contract person we have to do random drug testing, too. Yeah. It doesn't bother me. I don't feel like it's really a violation of privacy or anything. No, I think it's good. In fact, I don't know what the statistics were, but I think that they were surprised to find it so low. I think they were expecting to find, uh, like the national average at T I. And I think it was tremendously down. As far as the number of drug users, you mean? Yeah Huh. as far as the number of people they actually found that were drug users. But I think that on when I was at T I of course, we had all the information before they started. Right. And they said that a certain number of people that the heavy drug users would either quit or go in rehabilitation programs. And I think that's what helps, you know, that in the warning that you have a drug program, the people that are worried about it or are taking drugs, actually go and then usually a lot of them partake in some of the benefits of rehabilitation and everything. Right, yeah, so that's real beneficial for the company and the employee. Yeah, and our numbers have been way down. I don't know what they were. When I worked for the temporary agency as a permanent person, and so we had, when we sent temporaries to T I, we had to have their drug tested. Yeah. And we did have a couple of cases where we really, the person said that they hadn't used anything, and their test came back positive, and normally we didn't retest them. But there were a couple of people that we really thought that they were telling the truth and we retested them like the next day, and they came back negative the second time. Oh, really. So that, that's the only thing, I think, that might be a little bit of a problem. Oh, you're, that's a good point, but at T I they, before they had the testing, I've forgotten, seems like it's a year ago September, something like that, they told us that the agency that did it was the one that did it for the government. And, of course, that's critical, just as the point that you brought up that whoever does your testing's got to be, you know, have a lot of quality control, that they keep track of everything. They don't make mistakes. That would be terribly embarrassing for someone to really come back positive Right. and they were not. And I haven't heard of any, now I'm not in personnel or anything. Yeah. But, uh, they say that there, it's almost down to zero where people come back and say they are positive and they're not. In other words, there's very few mistakes, and that, of course, has got to be critical. It's got to be, if you have a drug testing program, it's got to be with a very, very good agency. You don't just have some local group do it. It's got to be a highly qualified agency. Right, yeah, not just some doctor's office somewhere. No, you don't want to do that. It's got to be a laboratory that does quality control and double check. And I think that T I is latched themselves up with an established group. And that would be good for any company that does it, and not to have just a very casual thing. It's got to be with a, you know, first class, totally independent agency. Not local of course. Ours, I think, well I think it was in the south somewhere, but it wasn't even in Dallas, you know, the one that did us. Oh really. Yeah. Huh. Do they have a policy where they counsel people if they come back positive, or do they fire them right away. Oh, no. They're not fired. They are, they have one chance to then go in a program. You come back positive, you have one chance to go in, and go into, they have a lot of, uh, rehabilitation, both for alcohol and for drug use, and they have, uh, a lot of, uh, they have an agency where you can go for personal problems, financial or whatever. Right. And so they, they, they don't, no, it's not firing first. It's, uh, definitely trying to encourage people to rehabilitate. In fact, again, before you go, you know, that's why I said, when they first started it, they had a rehabilitation program in effect that said if you worried about this and you may have taken drugs, go ahead and get rehabilitated first, and they won't say anything about it. Right. I think that's really good. Oh sure. I know some places just fire people on the spot if they come back positive or something. Oh yeah, no, that's not right. It's really an illness, or whatever you want to say that it is. You know, it's a weakness and all, and who, all of us have weaknesses of one kind or another. And I think that those people that have that and however they got into it, I have children, I always worry about the, the classical thing that you see on T V, where the drug pushers give it to the kids for free, you know, and get them sucked in, and then they sell it to them. You know the classical thing is to give it away. Right. I always worry about my teenage daughters going to some party and they slip it to them. I don't know, I don't even have that much knowledge to know whether that would get them addicted or not, you know. That's a real worry. Yeah, some of the stories you read about cocaine, that's like people try it one time and they're addicted. My husband is a counselor, and he works, mostly with adolescents. Oh, you know a lot about that. So yeah, I hear a lot of horror stories about things like that. Uh-huh. But most of the time it's they get into the wrong crowd first, and then they start a drug problem. Yeah. It's usually not a one time accidental thing, I don't think. Yeah, I know, I'm glad of that. And I have, knock wood, pretty good luck, or very good luck with my daughters on so far, that's my conference call, I have one daughter still at home. One's at U T and one's at home, gets dozen calls a night. Oh, well I'll let you go if you want to go ahead and take that, No, no, I don't care about that, she'll be on the phone all night. Yeah, it seems if you watch what kind of crowd that start running around with and kind of keep up with who their friends are that's best way to avoid trouble, from what I can gather. Right. Do you have children? No not yet, we're expecting a baby in July, Oh, great, so we're starting. Fantastic experience. I've got two, as I said, I've at U T now in Austin, and one at home, and I always say that I've learned so much more from them than I ever taught them. Yeah. It's a fantastic experience. Oh, we're really excited about it. Oh yeah. You know, one thing my husband believes is if you suspect your kids are having any kind of problems, he believes you should take your kids in for a random testing, like on a Saturday morning, if they've been out at a party Friday night. Yeah. If you're not too sure what's going on, he tells parents all the time, haul them into the doctor's office and get them checked. The key thing that I think, that we try to do, is that bring all the friends over here. Have our house as a place where they can come at any time, so that you always see their friends rather than make them not welcome Right. and they're always over in someone else's house. So our, we've been lucky that our house is usually the place where the kids could come, you know. Uh-huh, yeah, I think that's a really good thing to encourage. And then you can keep an eye, you can make judgments and make comments or whatever you want. But at least you see what's going on, and you always have your house welcome, then your children think that, you know, you're cool parents and all that. Right Well good luck with your expected baby there. Oh well, thanks. My wife was yelling, was talking in my ear, she said, reminded me to say that they're very cheap until they get to start driving. Uh-huh. And we have one, of course, I say, in college driving. And one going to drive this summer, so kids are, cost you practically nothing, because you always get so many things from your relatives and everything. But you wait until they go and get a car, insurance, that's when they get expensive. As they get older you know, they cost practically nothing from one to five, Yeah. and then slowly but surely starts to creep up when they start to take lessons, but it's well worth it and everything. Yeah, uh, yeah, I think it'll be neat. Be a, be a great experience really. You still there? Okay, I thought I was cut off there. You know, I don't have much to say about drug testing. No, I can't think of anything else to say about that either. So you've done this ten times? Yeah. Did you get the booklet on how to get the gifts and all? No, I don't work for T I, so I get cash. Oh, okay. I didn't know what they were going to do. They sent us a little booklet, I just got it a week or so ago saying, you know, so many calls will be something a prize and everything. Right. Well that great. Well what kind of cash? I've forgotten what they going to do. Hm. Was it five dollars a call? Yeah, five dollars a call. Well, hope they follow through and everything. Well technically we're not supposed to talk about the phone calls while we're on them so I guess we better get off. Right, yeah, It was good talking to you. Alright. Bye-bye now. Bye. Well, Wayne, I've never done any, uh, auto repairs myself at all. Uh-huh. I mean, I may have screwed in a little screw that looked like it was falling out on the door or something but, uh, I personally haven't done anything. Maybe I've, uh, changed wiper blades or something but I have noticed since, uh, I got married that my husband, he hates to do auto repairs, but he would rather do them himself than, than to pay someone else. I guess, he can't make himself pay someone to do the repairs when he knows, he knows how to do it, and he'll do it. So, he, he hates the time that he takes, but he has changed, um, the brakes and he has done all of the tune-ups and the like that and recently he changed the steering mechanism in the car. I was really impressed with that We had to have it to get the car inspected, it wouldn't pass inspection and, and so, he priced around and everyone wanted several hundred dollars for it so, he thought, well, I can get one in a junkyard for like fifty dollars, which he did and then, he did it and, so, I guess, uh, he's been pretty good about keeping our cars up, what, uh, what's your experience been like? Well, I, uh, I have a long experience with cars. I, uh, when I was younger, uh, my brother had a Corvette and I bought a Corvette and when you have a Corvette you more or less do all the work and I've done everything from build the motor from the, uh, you know, the bare block on up. And, I, I'm the same way as your husband is when it comes to my car, I hate to go pay somebody good money, you know, I hate to pay somebody twenty-five dollars on hour for something I can do myself. Uh-huh. It just, to me it makes absolutely no economic sense to do that. Right. In fact, I, um, just this past weekend put new plugs in both, uh, my car an my wife's car. Uh-huh. And so, I, uh, I pretty much try to troubleshoot and do everything I can do myself but I've, I've gotten to the point in my life, um, you know, I just crept over forty years old, where I don't want to crawl underneath the car anymore That makes sense. I mean it's, um, I don't know whether I've, I've just reached a point, you know, it's, it's real rough in the winter time. Huh, yes. And, uh, so, I try to make sure that, uh, by the time fall runs around, because we actually have winters here on the east coast, um, that, uh, I have, you know, the car's in pretty good shape enough to last through the winter Right and, uh, then springtime I usually end up giving them, the, uh, a tune-up and make sure that they're running well, and, uh, you know, it's like I had the muffler go out on my, on my car, shortly before it was required to go, in Maryland they have, uh, emission tests. Uh-huh. And you're required to get your car and go through the emission test, well, my muffler, of course, starting going bad right before I was supposed to go to the emission test, so. You know, I had to do that job, and of course, that was back in December when it's nice and cold outside Yes, I'm sure it was. But the thing was that I could do the job myself, I mean, the parts cost me, oh, roughly a hundred dollars. Uh-huh. Um, if I'd taken it someplace and have it done it was going to be three hundred twenty-five. Right. Now like who's got that extra two and a quarter I know I don't. Yeah. Well, that's exactly the way he feels is that, he really hates to spend the time, it takes a lot of time if he, if he thinks it's going to be two hours, it's four if, you know, whatever, it always takes him twice as long. But then when he's finished he's, he always says, well, now you owe me three hundred dollars And then he thinks that he has the money that, that he can spend on something and he hasn't given it to someone else. Yeah. So, he gets some satisfaction out of that although, generally I think he, he does not look forward to or anticipate, there's some people that enjoy tinkering around on cars. There's a lot of people and he just isn't one of them. Yeah. I, uh, I don't mind it, um, there was a time when I had my Corvette, I mean, of course, I loved it, um, but if, you know, I've got other interests now and there's a lot, other more important things I think I should be doing with my time. And I have the same problem, I mean, you can tell him from me but it doesn't matter, I mean, I've, I've had greasy fingernails for years And it still takes me twice as long as I think it's going to take to do the job, Yeah. so, but, I think the difference is that, uh, when you own the car you take more care in what you're doing, Uh-huh. and you want to make sure that it's done right and put back together right, and, you know, I've, I've in the past I've had brake jobs done by someone that when I went back and looked at it some months later I'd find something drastically wrong with it, you know, like a spring that was put in incorrectly which could have resulted in brakes failing and me having an accident. You know, those kind of things, Right. Right. and when you have a vehicle that's being used by, you know, other members of your family, you know, you don't want that kind of a situation to come up. No. And it's very, very difficult to find a mechanic these days that you can trust. I only have one guy that I know that I trust to work on my car. Uh-huh. And, uh, he's about sixty miles from here. And so, it, and if I have something that's really major that I can't handle or feel I don't have the time to handle, I'll take it to him to do it. Right, you know, that it's, uh , really has a bad reputation is to feel that, that people in general feel and have, have rightly so, I think been cheated many times, and, um, and well, I know once when we had a, we usually inspection time we find out there's something wrong with our car but, um, once the muffler needed to be changed and, uh, he had looked at him himself and, but we saw a commercial for like fourteen or twenty dollars or something for a change he said, that's really, really good so, he went in and, uh, but when they quoted him a price they really wanted fifty or something. Anyway, but the car that the muffler people had, um, my, at least my husband felt that they had damaged the muffler further, you know, they had punctured a big hole in it when it really could have just been patched or whatever, Uh-huh. and so, since then, I don't think he's ever even seriously considered a, you know, any kind of job he thought he could do himself. But, I know from his childhood, he says that his father always buys and restores cars just as entertainment, I guess. And, um, so, Kelly growing up, he, he felt like that, that was a good way on Saturday's that he developed a good relationship with his father. Uh-huh. And so, he used, they used car repairs kind of as a way to have a, you know, something that they did together, Uh-huh. Yeah. and he thought that turned out pretty good because it, you know, it helped him to understand and be functional now, and it helped him to have a close relationship, so, that's one, one way he looked at it. Yeah. that's probably, uh, uh, something that, uh, is, is you know, is good for both of them. I know that, uh, my older son I could never get him interested in cars and I couldn't, you know, I just like, you know, you sure you're a boy, I mean, your not interested in cars, Uh-huh. I mean he, he just would not have anything to do with them. And, uh, later on and like when he, you know, grew up, got out of the house, got his own car, um, he didn't know how to do anything to it. I mean, absolutely nothing. I mean, he couldn't even check the oil. I mean, that's, that's how uninformed he was and disinterested. Uh-huh. And, I guess there are some people out there like that, um, you know, I always thought maybe, you know, if he took more of an interest and, you know, what I was doing and maybe we could have communicated better. Uh-huh. But, uh, yeah, I, I think that's great. Yeah, it didn't always work. Well, I felt, um, I feel like I could myself, do some things but, that I have enough responsibility that if I have someone like my father when I was living at home, and my husband, that's willing to do it, I go ahead and let them do it. I don't feel the need to, um, you know, be a feminist on that issue and say I can take care of my own things. I'm, I'm happy to let them run the cars because I have so, many other responsibilities that, um, so, I haven't tried to do a lot myself. Uh, I trained my, uh, my wife in the in, in doing things, in fact, uh, when I, uh, first transferred down to, uh, Texas Instruments back in nineteen eighty-seven, um, uh, when I left here, uh, she had to change a set of plugs on the car because she was up here for a month or so, after I was Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, it was an interesting experience for her. I mean, she'd always assisted me and done some other things but for her to actually get in there and do it herself it was, uh, it was something, a little different. It's a good experience, it helps you feel, I think comfortable with your car and feel like, it's not so, scary if, um, your driving it and you might get stranded somewhere that you might, you think, well, I've, I've been under that hood and I know what's going on but, Yeah, yeah, I think it's important that everyone know, you know, basically how, how the darn engine works, Uh-huh. it helps you figure out what's wrong with it, you know, Uh-huh. I've, I've been out with my sister before when, you know, her car died on the highway and I happened to be with her and managed to get her to the other side of the road because it was dark and all, Women? Yeah, the changing roles of women, how roles changed and what do you see coming in the future. Oh, okay, that's not a broad enough topic Okay, yeah. Sounds good. I'm ready when you are. Okay, hold on. Okay. Are you there? Yeah, I'm here. Oh my goodness, I can't believe I did that. Okay, hold on. That's okay. Okay, um, I. Okay, um, I don't know, are you in your thirties, or, No, I, I'm twenty-three. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. Well then I can tell you that roles have changed. I'm thirty-eight Uh-huh, uh-huh. and they changed quite a bit. Uh-huh. Um, I, this was my twentieth high school reunion, in Chicago. Uh-huh. And basically, um, the choices, I mean, you know, you probably heard that in the fifties women liked to stay home and all that. Right, uh-huh. That's kind of, um, the opposite of what it was in the sixties and early seventies. Right. It was sort of just to um, go protest, Uh-huh. and, uh, just, everybody be damned and live with some one, and, you know, social morals were a little bit lacking. Uh-huh, I know that, Uh-huh, I know that, uh, in, in the early seventies, uh, I think women were the first people to, to make a move as far as individuals. Uh-huh. Um, uh, before that a lot of people that wanted to protest were large groups like, uh, black people, or, you know, just large, large groups of people, but, but the, Right it was more, it was more civil rights oriented, or race oriented rather than gender based, Right, yeah. and I think, I think the women's movement kind of brought in individual lives where you had women's movements and you had gay movements, and just the smaller groups of people. Uh-huh. It did. And I think since then is, is when a lot of the women's roles have started to change. It did and some of the other stuff that, um, I think that changed it, you, uh, when I first got out of college fifteen years ago, they were always saying well, if you, if you were assertive you were a libber, or you were aggressive not assertive and independent. Uh-huh. And in terms of the corporate community, I've seen a big change in terms of men finally being quote, unquote, used to women, who are in, uh, controlling positions, as higher, you know, corporate, in the corporate hierarchy. Uh-huh. Exactly. Uh-huh So I think that's good. I think that, uh, you know, you can just look at home life and see, I've been talking to a lot of people about education and things, and, and what, what, what affects the school system Uh-huh. and I think that a big thing that effects it is that the mother is not home anymore, um, like she used to be. Right. She used to be kind of a, kind of a, a rock, you know, in the house, The mainstay, yeah. yeah. And, uh, since, since everyone is going out and working now, whether it be because of finances or just the economy, uh, the mother's not there anymore and restructuring, stepfamilies, yeah. and the children are, I think, I think a lot of society is suffering. Not to say that women shouldn't, you know, go out and do what they want to do but I think that, um, society's really going to have to get used to it. Right. And they're not quite used to it yet and that's I, The schools or the the schools or the parents, yeah. Yes, uh-huh. Um, I'm trying to think of what else. I have a lot of opinions on this except all of a sudden I went blank A lot of the things, um, the demographics do, I mean, there are more, I don't have the numbers in my head right now, but, a lot of the things that brought feminism, I mean there are just more women in, in, in the demographics, just generally, in the United States, in terms of being, Right, uh-huh. Uh-huh. I mean, I'm the typical baby boomer, I hate that term, Oh, yeah. but in terms of women, women going out, I mean twenty-three, I remember that. Yeah. What's it like to be twenty-three as a woman today, I mean, when I was twenty-three the issues were either go to graduate school or get married, Uh-huh. um, those were the general issues. Speaking of getting married, I was talking to someone yesterday on this, on the project, Uh-huh. and, uh, uh, we were talking about child care and he asked me if I had any kids. He was about forty or fifty years old and I said no, I'm just twenty, He was ancient, yeah. and I said no, I'm just twenty-three, you know, because I don't think of myself as needing to have children Uh-huh. but the first thing he says is, well don't you miss that part of your life. And I just, I, my, my mind just went, You didn't know what you're going to be missing. I went, what. You know, because it it really didn't, doesn't even occur to me right now to have children, I don't have any either and I've been a married for eleven years, so. Yeah, and I, it just, you know, I think that I'll probably have children when I'm about thirty, thirty-five, something like, just because, I'm not sure if it's just, if it's just me, or, or women in general that are twenty-three right now, because, um, I'm really into my career. Yeah, when it's time, uh-huh. I'm trying to go somewhere, and, and get there quick and then worry about, you know, because right now, in my career I'm, I'm really starting out, Yeah, you want to establish, and it's going to take me a while to move up. Uh-huh, And I don't need anything kind of holding me back, um. Right and, and you'll find that that's the other big thing that has changed in terms of, um, women don't feel like they need to get married anymore. Uh-huh. Right, uh-huh. I was twenty-seven when I got married and I just at the time, um, my husband actually even jokes about it. Uh-huh. He was twenty-three when we met an I was at a point where it was like, I didn't date, I mean, I just, I went out to have a good time, Right. but I didn't have to have male companionship. Right, right. Um, and a lot of the, um, friends that I had in school at that point, who had gone back and gone to law school, or M B A programs, um, which I also had done, had just, you know, they were very sad. Uh-huh. But then by the time I got married, um, it seemed like they were on their second or third around the marriage track. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, So, I guess that's a big change in terms of, just, um, the attachments that women feel like they need to have, the dependency, their self-identity is stronger. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's just really not there anymore. Yeah. And that, that has to do with, you know, the women getting out and other women seeing, uh, women seeing other women, you know, out in the corporate world. Right. Uh-huh. That's like, oh, I can do that. You know, maybe, I don't need to get married. Right, and I, I, I mean, I don't know how, how old your mom is, she's probably, let's see my mother's in her early sixties, so. She's, she's about forty. Okay, I'm thirty-eight, your mother's I just turned thirty-eight. Um, yes I'm laughing, oh my God. It does start to creep up. Uh-huh. No, um, but it's okay, don't ever let age, I mean, I don't Okay. nobody talks about it for women except other women and other men. I, I just turned twenty-three, uh, April twentieth, Uh-huh. and I'm still going, you know, oh my God, I'm getting so old. I just, because me, myself, I just like to move really, really quickly. Yeah, an, I like to, anything I do, I got out of school quick. I'm, you know, I'm working quick. Uh-huh. I want to move up quick. I want to make money quick. I want to retire quick. Yeah. And so anything, when the age creeps up, where I'm twenty-three and twenty-four, I'm thinking my time is running out. You know, Uh-huh. but I'm actually very, very young. Yeah, you are, because what I was going to say is, what you will find is, my background is in journalism and corporate communications, Uh-huh. and what you'll find is, I mean, I'm just now finally to a point where, I mean I don't know why I didn't, didn't do it sooner, Uh-huh. but this is probably typical of the women's movement too, is the idea that you're going to be forty tomorrow anyway, if you want to go back to school. Uh-huh. I'm seriously considering going back to school for law. Um, which is a complete, I wouldn't say career change, it's, it's a subway , Um. Uh-huh. but it's still is a different application. And I mean, if you think about it, you know, I I still can have another career. I mean I've worked for over fifteen years in what I've done. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, so when you're saying quick, um, I think that's probably one thing that your generation coming up after mine, is thinking that, um, they have to do you know, sort of, I call kind of, I call it a chewing syndrome. Uh-huh. Right. They have to eat real fast they have, they have to, rapidity of speech, Uh-huh, exactly. they have to just go through everything. Exactly. And you'll find that probably by the time your twenty-eight, thirty, if you haven't slowed down, something will slow you down. Uh-huh. Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, Um, because it's just, you find out that you're really not, um, smelling the roses, and I know that sounds trite, and all that. Yeah, I think, I think a lot of, uh, people probably feeling that way, I know, I'm probably feeling that way because it's, everything's geared towards young. You know Uh-huh. and whether I want to realize it or not, everything on television is young, young, young, young. Oh it is. You can't be a model after thirty, you can't do this after twenty, you know and, everybody that's in the music business is starting out at fifteen. You know, That's right. Uh-huh. and so I feel like I'm old. It's like I sing, I sing and I would really love to become, uh, a professional singer, Uh-huh. but I think I'm too old now, Oh, you're not, no. and I'm twenty-three, No. because everyone I've seen coming up, they're fifteen. You know, That's true I mean, it's, it's, and so I'm going, I'm so old and I'm, I, I really have to always tell myself, no, you're not, you're very young. No, you're extremely, yeah, it's, it's And, you know, so it's, Well it's like us, we're getting ready to do, if possible, for an adoption and I have friends that say well why would you do that, if you know you haven't been able to children, which we do know, why would you do that now, at this part, point, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, um, it's just individual choices. Yeah. I stopped comparing myself a long time ago to somebody who had, um, in my family my brother's children, Uh-huh. I mean, he just turned forty, his children will be out of high school before he's forty-five. Wow. Um, I mean that's like your mother, look how young she is, compared to where you are out of school and everything. Uh-huh, yeah. Right. It's just, it, but what you find is you don't compare the woman, because you just get into trouble. It's all independent and choices. Uh-huh, yeah, very true. Um, but what I was going to say about mothers is, uh, your mother probably just won't say it, but, I mean, my mother and her sisters are always saying, uh, to my cousins and I, my female cousins, you girls are so lucky because quote, unquote, you have all these choices, you know, Uh-huh. you went to school, Right, uh-huh. you can do this, you can do that, Uh-huh. we couldn't do that then. And my cousins and I go, well why couldn't you Yeah, that's, that's why I say I feel, I feel really lucky right now, because I'm not married and because I don't have children. I'm out of school, I'm twenty-three, I can do anything I want to do, anything. Uh-huh. And so, I mean even some days I'm looking for another job now, but, and I get so depressed because, not because I can't find a job, but because I can't figure out what I want to do. And that's normal, I mean, I think that's the world today. And yeah, and I and I'm lucky though, because not a lot of people can sit there and go gee, I don't know what to do. I have so you know, Right that's not a lot of people, Yeah. but it's depressing too. That's how, I mean, What, I'm right now. What do you, what do you that you're, Uh-huh. I'm, I'm a free-lance writer right now. Oh. And then, um, what I'm doing is working at, um, a an electronics company, for their company newspaper, right now on the side, Uh-huh. Oh. and then I'm also, actually, I'm excited, tomorrow I have a, uh, luncheon appointment with a perspective client to do, uh, marketing communications for them. Huh. Huh, okay, I'm a, I'm a news reporter, now, Oh you are? and what I'm looking for is something in, I really don't want to stay in news, but I would like to stay in journalism, and I've been looking for something exactly like that Here's what you this is off the topic, and those people probably Uh-huh, okay Did you go to Baylor by any chance? No, I I went to U T at Austin. Oh, okay, that's even better. And I, I just happen to work at a Waco station, because you know. I went to, or you in radio, or television or news. broadcast news, T V, Uh, my journalism degree is in, Are you still there? Yes. Okay, it worked out fine. Okay. Well, we just ate out, um, had a big lunch actually because we both have been working late and we had Italian, um, have you ever been to the Olive Garden? No, I haven't, is that good? Yeah. Well, do you really like Italian food? it's not my favorite but, I like it's okay. Then don't, Then this will probably, I mean this isn't really excellent Italian food, Uh-huh. That sounds terrible to tell you to go somewhere where it's not that great but it's, um, you're not going to believe this but I have to tell you this if I don't because you're in Plano, That's okay. but my, um, softball unit here is acting like he's dying of tramane poison It wasn't that bad, actually it's very good it's all of these run adult males, Uh-huh. which I'm not Italian, no, it's , it's all the garlic bread and all the, salads you can eat with an entree. Oh. Oh, that sounds really good. So it wasn't too bad it really wasn't but I was more in the mood for french toast any way so, so I really like Italian food though, Yeah. but do you have any favorite? Well are there just the two of you? Uh, yes, uh-huh. Okay, well, when my husband and I go out we have four children. Oh, you're kidding. So that makes a difference. For us when we go out with the kids obviously we want to go somewhere that we can, the fast food ones are probably the ones they like the best. Oh, sure. But we don't like to go there because that's the most expensive, so we like to go to a pizza place where you can buy a pizza for one price and feed the whole family, and like that. Yeah. You can usually get a variety of what you're looking for, like at Gatti's or something like that. Right. Right, but when my husband and I go out we like to go somewhere with a little atmosphere and we usually head on down, um, oh what's the freeway down here? Uh, six thirty-five? Yeah. Uh-huh. And there are, um, all along that, that freeway there are restaurant but one of our favorites is Pappasito's. Oh, yeah, Pappasito's. No, we love to go there. We went there on my birthday in March it's great. You know it always kills me cause I don't like the, the decorations so much it's too, too much like a bar naturally, and Mexico, Yeah yeah, I know, I've seen it. But I love the food I love the food, The food is probably, the food is great. I'm not a I'm Mexican food gourmet by any means but it's probably the best tasting, I don't know would you classify that as Tex-Mex? Yeah, uh-huh. Um, the shredded beef the type of, spices or sauces they use. Yeah. Uh-huh, I like to get that, uh, a shrimp it's a shrimp dish, Really. and I don't remember the name of it, Uh-huh. but it's rolled up into, into something, and oh, it's really good. I've never had anything there that wasn't delicious. Yeah, they are really good. Even though you have to stand in line and all of that, that's the only thing I don't like about it too it's a little bit with the meat market atmosphere, you know. Yeah, yeah. Even though we don't have kids we've been married long enough to, um, be around not be around that. Yeah. Um, I'm trying to think of what else we like to eat. The one thing I notice is it's just, um, about dining out that you probably can relate to with four children and two of us getting ready to adopt, I mean we find prohibited, just to cost any more? Uh-huh. Yeah. I mean lunch today was eighteen dollars. Yeah, it's very expensive. Yeah, I don't know how you feel about that but I think that some of it's over priced. Yeah I'm glad I'm talking about food normally these conversations are Sometimes it's hard isn't it to keep a, Yeah, it is I don't know, um, No, sometimes Mark and I, that's my husband Mark, um, go to the August Moon which is down there Uh-huh. it's a Chinese, uh, restaurant with the lions in the front, Oh, yeah, my husband likes that. yeah, off of Arapaho down there? yeah, and, Oh, it's pretty good as far as Chinese, Yeah, August Moon, uh-huh. but Chinese isn't my favorite so, I don't like it at all usually so But he likes it kind of so he heats us up a good fight now, me I'm like I said seafood I'm, I like that. Yeah, I love seafood, So. and I, I like a lot of different ethnic foods. I like Japanese food. There's a place on Greenville called Sagar's . Um. Well, we haven't been in years down near Presby , and I had a meeting down there today and I saw that and I said, gee I remember that they offer you, um, authentic Japanese feeding, or American or piano bar, Oh. and I remember when we went we were married with another couple that was just dating and, um, I had never had saki. Uh-huh. It made all raw fish tastes great but if you're looking for a very, uh, it's very pretty inside, Is it? and the girls wear kimonos and, You know, if you're ever looking for that. Oh, how nice. Yeah. Um, but what other kind of foods, gee I don't know we went to a place called Grishman's in Greenville, which was really over priced. I don't know that place. Was it? Uh-huh. They had a great desert bar. Um. That's what we need isn't it? Yeah. No, there's a lot of nice barbecue places here, now, I like barbecue okay, Texas barbecue. Yeah, I like, barbecue, It's good. have you ever been to I think it's called Spring Creek Barbecue? Yeah, now, they're real good. That's real good, Yeah. They are good. There had, oh my husband's going upstairs, and he says free ice cream Yeah, free ice cream, yeah. I didn't know they had that. Yeah. I can't talk I had chocolate bavarian tort, for desert, today, which I never eat at lunch Oh. and it was wonderful. Just to die for exactly. It was, Oh. in fact if I could pick my, um, restaurants on how their coffee is and how their french bread is and the butter and the desert I would be, yes, I would be in hog heaven. In heaven And how are your kids at an age where they can contribute to what they want or do you still order for them? Well, my two littlest, I just had a baby, Oh, congratulations. and she's six months and then my four year old he, he still, but my other older two they can. So, they're they're kind of, Uh-huh. my littlest girl she's still like wants McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's Yeah, everybody, every child that I even know that eats vegetables, um, looked five years old still after a certain age realized that there is something called a McDonald's. Oh, I'm telling you. It's really sad isn't it cause it's hard to get them away from junk then. Well, it's kind of funny is sometimes we're like we all want different things, Uh-huh. and so there's a H Avenue down here, and along are these fast food restaurants Uh-huh, I know where that, Right that's all, So we all get to go to our own little thing and drive through and get our own thing, and then we go to park over there so we can all have our own. Well, that's all right as long as, that's on the nights we can't decide. I was going to say because with six people how do you, um, cause with two we have a problem, I mean I can't even imagine, you know, trying to, um, you sound like you're doing pretty well with four children. Well, five of them, they're good, kids. That's the way the, Yeah, well, we're getting ready to I shouldn't say this on this conversation, but it's just on my mind, we're getting ready to go overseas to adopt. Oh, how nice. Yeah, we're excited, It will be neat. I think it will be worth it and somebody said to me in terms of, this is food so I can say this, but they, you have to bring a formula, and I said what's that They laughed and I said well, you know, I'm. thirty something, Food's, food. Yeah. and I think that that would make them drool any way. Yeah, yeah. You, know, I guess are you is it a little bit of constricted, because a lot of restaurants don't take, in terms of talking about restaurants, I mean are a lot of restaurants, how are they when you have children let alone three or four children? You have to be careful if you go to a, a restaurant that, that really is more adults you know, with the atmosphere and everything, Uh-huh. Sure. they, if you're, like we could probably take our oldest son and, and our oldest daughter. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And they know how to act, Yeah. I don't think I would chance it with my younger ones because they're just too much of a distraction and some restaurants are really trying to go for that atmosphere kind of thing. That yuppie kind of crowd, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So. I just, I just, I've been in some places where they say they take children, and then I've just seen where the wait attendance the wait staff is rude, you know. Yeah. And that always just bothered me and then, um, on the other hand sometimes the children or the adults are themselves Yeah I don't know what other kind of restaurants really Pappasito's we love, um, we went to one Italian, back on the Italian, we went to some place across from Collin Creek Mall that absolutely putrid for Italian food. Oh. I can't remember the name of it it's on, uh, Is it Tia's, not Tia's, um, No, that's Mexican, um, right across from on the Dillard's side there, Yeah, I know which one it is, and I can't think of it. I can't, yeah it's in the strip, yeah, and it had white tablecloth, I think it was like paper where you could write on them, or something with crayons it was just terrible. Oh dear. I mean I was shocked, I mean the dish was dirty, um, It was one of these you have bad experience and, say I don't think I'll come back here. Yeah, where you felt like, like when you're in a bad part of Italy or something. Oh dear. Um. Oh. Boy, but other then that I don't know we, we do our share of pizza eating too, but more like go get it and carry it in cause we're too, cheap to pay the delivery Oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't like strange people coming to my door, um, Well, I, I've got one of my favorites were and I can't really think of any other, um, places. No, except that this makes me fat. No, I'm just kidding. Yeah, you have to watch it if you go out to eat that's true. Yeah, that's true, but you can always blame it on having children, no Yeah, there you go. Well, I enjoyed talking to you, and I guess, you know, Maybe we'll see you in the restaurants somewhere. Well, good luck. Yeah, maybe. Okay. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, we're just starting a family through adoption so I don't really have a lot of, uh, concrete, uh, opinions. Just what I know out of my peer group, uh, has gone through. And none of it has been good Oh, really? Yeah. Uh, the ones that can afford to have live-in nannies, They seem to be having an okay time. Huh. Uh-huh. Uh, but a lot of the other ones that have, are professional, uh, I'd say fifty percent of, you know, my peers that I'm, in my circle of friends have tried it and then stopped working until they're, you know, going to get their children in kindergarten or first grade. Uh-huh. Uh, but I, there must be some good service out there if you really look and pay for it. Right. What, what age child are you thinking in terms of? In terms of what they're talking about. No. For, for yourselves Oh. Infant. Uh ... Oh, okay. Infant. So you're starting from the from the baseline. Yeah. After eleven years of marriage. Yeah, we are. We're actually, it's happening now. So, we're just going through the process. I see So and actually the question is, uh, very appropriate. Cause I'm not sure whether, uh, how strong the maternal instinct is going to be. They tell me it's going to be strong Do you have children? Right. I have one son. And did you put him in daycare or is he older now or younger or? Well, he's, he's now eighteen. And in, in, you know, has completed a couple of years of university. Sure. So he's out of daycare I, right. And, and so that, but I was working full-time, uh when he was born. You, uh-huh. But I was very lucky because I was a, a college professor. Oh. And so I was able to, you know, and I, it was walking distance from, from my apartment. Flex . Yeah. So I went up there and I sort of left him with, with a neighbor. Uh-huh. And I left him in a carry cot when he was very little And I said, you know, he doesn't need anything except, you know, look at him if he cries. But, you know, don't pick him up and, and this sort of stuff. Yeah. Because I was gone only an hour at a stretch or an hour and a half. Oh, that's wonderful. And I was able to, you know, get, his schedule just, uh, cooperated. Right. And ... That's wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. And, and I guess, uh, because of your, um, your, uh, profession. I mean, I, uh, I'm in corporate communications. But I've done free-lance writing in the past, Uh-huh. so what we're hoping is that, uh, I mean my husband thinks I can do it. I've just never worked out of a domestic base, you know. I've always been in a corporate, uh, environment. Uh-huh. Uh, but I'm hoping that possibly I can do something where I can go flextime or part-time or if they don't have that, uh, my boss, I'm very lucky though, again too, my boss is very akin to family building. So, I think that's something that couples need in going into this. Uh-huh. Right. Uh, I don't know. I do think there's good daycare out there. What part of the country are you in? I'm in Maryland. You're in Maryland. But, but I was out of the country when, uh, my, my son was little. But, but the thing is, if you have this flextime and that, you might be able to do something similar to what I did. Which is you know, be there short times Right. That's what I'm hoping. and then later on when he was, you know Uh-huh. I mean this, we're talking about, uh, I went back to work and, or taught some, some classes like a week after he was born. Oh, my goodness. You were fortunate. And so ... Yeah. Yeah. And so that's when I was saying, you know, don't, don't pick him up and stuff. Yeah. But then later what I did was I brought a woman into the house. Uh-huh. Sure. And she, she was supposed to help me a little bit with cooking and doing the baby's laundry and this sort of stuff. Uh-huh. And then, I also came home and sort of was able to see from a distance what she was doing. Uh-huh. And, you know, in a sense she, she carried him around a lot, too much. Uh, you know for, for my taste. Uh-huh. Right. It was constantly, no, I don't want him, to explore anything. He might, uh, he might hurt himself So do you think that, I mean, do you think that that was in a way though, good good objectivity that, that doesn't really, that's not a correct English but , you know in a sense, you see what I'm saying though. From a mother's standpoint, I mean in a way, it was quote and unquote good objectivity. I think it worked out very, very well. Because what he learned to do by the time he was two or so, he would sit next to the desk where I was grading papers or writing lesson plans. Uh-huh. See. Uh-huh. And he had asked for a paper and, you know, sort of scribble and then he realized that there were quiet times Yeah. and there were active times. Right. And then he learned he, he also learned that, uh, there were times that you had to be gone, so you probably minimized, well we're actually, uh, we're getting ready. I mean, you're far enough away now I can tell you since this is locally, I make sure, we're going to Romania in a few weeks. Oh. And that's, uh, just . Romania. Did you say Romania or Armenia? Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. As in, like, what Twenty Twenty and, uh, but we, we're real excited because we've just developed a contact. Through professional people Oh, good. and it's private and it's hospital. It's, we're just very excited Uh ... And what's the word I'm looking for. Oh great. When you deal with issues like that, uh, in terms of family building through adoption, uh, and then you have people responding to you, well if you go through that why would you put them in daycare. Oh that's silly. Uh, issues are being raised prematurely in my mind. But I guess they're not because it's something I'll have to deal with sooner than later. Uh, and I, what I've learned to do is just tune out everybody's opinion. I feel that if the child is healthy, uh, and as long as we make it feel secure, I'd love to do something like with what you did. Uh-huh. Uh, I don't think I could be dumper where I could take it from, you know, eight in the morning till nine at night or six at night and leave it there. Right. Uh, maybe after two or three or, years old. I don't know. Um. Oh, I in my opinion, it's even than. I mean your kids need you Yeah. Well, they need a schedule I think. I don't think the United States, what country were you, uh, in Europe when you were uh, uh? No, I was in the Middle East. Uh, that's Well, that's the same thing. I mean I don't know how they are there but, uh, in eastern Europe, my stepfather's from England, it just seems the United States does not provide for either child care or or elder care, as I call it. Right, right. Uh, and we're just not set up for that. Uh, with the . I, yeah. Go ahead. No, I was just going to say, I guess, uh, my sensitivities are, are much more with the, you know, to be at home. Because actually, I had my grandmother with me from the time she was from the time she was ninety-two until she died at ninety-seven. Uh-huh. See, I think that's wonderful. And, I mean, that was recently after my son, was going off. And I mean, yes, in a sense, I went to work and she was at home alone some of the time. But, but still, you know, it was much better than being shipped to To. Right. I think we're we're too, too much towards it's somebody problem, you know. We cast off. Right, right. I'm that way. Yeah. I want to work. Shove them in, in some school for twelve hours a day. Right. It's easier and I agree with that. That's why I you know, Yeah. what is amazing to me is now your son is already grown but you can probably empathize with this. It's amazing to me how forthcoming people are with their opinions and thoughts Right, right. In terms of what to do. Uh, and I just don't think there is a day, a good daycare system. Uh, my company, I'm particularly fortunate that they have, they're in tune with that. But I've been at companies where, uh, you know, the, the, the trend is, or the definite mood is, well we made conscious decisions not to have children. You know. And in, and a couple like us building through adoption, there, it's almost radical to some people. And what you just learn to do is tune everybody else out and, uh, I respect, there are some women that I know that are divorced or on their own or in single parenting and men that they, you know, they may have the need for child care like that. Uh-huh. But I agree with you, that it's just, I call it dumping Yeah. I, I ... No, I, I think that certainly there is a role, uh, for this type of help. Uh-huh. And, and as long as one can, can supervise it and, and, you know, make it work in, into one's own schedule without it seeming like dumping or or, or, uh, giving it, you know, the whole job to somebody else to take care of. Uh-huh. Then, yeah, it's in tandem then. Yeah, yeah I just, uh, and there are trade-offs too I think. One of the things that is a problem is that, uh, in terms of compensation to some of the child care providers. Uh-huh. Uh, it's just, you know, it's so low but yet the overall cost for somebody doing it on a daily or even a weekly basis, it's prohibitive. And some people that are not making more than twenty thousand a year uh ... Yeah. Actually, there seems to be an alternative in my neighborhood. Is Really. there seem, there are several, mothers who stay home. Uh-huh. And they take, you know, it's probably not completely legal Uh, I, maybe it's legal up to one or two additional kids. Sure. But, and they, they take care of another child and I, I can actually could name five or six people around my neighborhood that really do a good job on this. Uh-huh. And they, yeah. And I mean that's another possibility and, you know, you might want to stay home one year and some other lady might want to stay home for a, a few years and ... I haven't thought about that. Yeah. And actually my neighbor has an eighteen month old and she's at home part-time paralegal. So I'm thinking, um Yeah, yeah. And we get along fantastically so I'm thinking, you know. And that's the way you have to, uh, how I'm just real curious. How was the Middle East in terms of that with children? Is that, is child care or that type of idea completely foreign to them? No. Well, actually there was a daycare center, uh, where my son did go for a year. I think from when he was two to three. Uh-huh. But then he actually started kindergarten at age three. Uh-huh. And so, and you know, it wasn't like prekindergarten, it was real kindergarten. Oh, really. He must be smart. Yeah. Yeah. So he, he was ready to, to go to school at that point. Uh-huh. But, yeah, they're, they do have such facilities. But for the most part, uh, with the extended family, you know, you can usually find somebody. Which is much like our neighbor you know, to, sharing responsibility. Uh-huh. And I'm, and also there aren't that many women who, who who work. The professional. Yeah, I was wondering about that. Yeah. Uh, there, I'm in Dallas and there was just a very big, uh, series about Moslem women and there were enlightening things that broke some of my stereotypical thoughts. Uh-huh. I'm digressing here but, uh, I was just real curious when you said Middle East, if you didn't mind me asking. Yeah. No, no. And I didn't mean Israel. So you, you assumed right Oh, no that's okay Well, even if you did, that's okay actually. I think ... Well, no because at first thought, when I you know, I said that not many people work, I'm, I'm thinking oh, well she's going to, you know, because certainly in Israel the women do work Right. Right. They fight, they work. Are you a Vietnam veteran, Dudley? Uh, no. No? Do you have family who were in the Vietnam War? Uh, no. My father was, uh, came in right after World War two. Okay. So he was too old, and you were too young, right? I am too young, yeah. All right. Do you know some folks who have been there? Uh, yes. Okay. A couple. Okay. How did it influence them? Uh, the, the one guy I worked with down in Austin hated it. Uh, he was a lineman down there. Uh-huh. And while he was there, he caught some kind of a strange disease. Uh-huh. And, uh, all his hair fell out, and he had like a hundred and five fever for a while and, And, uh, Uh-huh. Uh, what about long lasting effects on him? Has he still suffering from those problems? I do not think he was in combat, Uh-huh. so, Uh-huh. Well, I have talked with a number of Vietnam veterans, and I really, I had no one directly related to me involved. But, uh, my sister's husband was in Vietnam. And it, it really made a completely different man out of him. Uh-huh. He went to Vietnam one man and came back another, not better. Yeah. Then, uh, another friend of mine went, and he was in combat. But he came back, and he said, "Okay, that is it. That is behind me. I am going on with my life." Much like what Roger Staubach did. Right. He was, uh, he was a Vietnam war veteran. Yeah. And, uh, But he was in the Navy, though, he was . Yeah. That is true. It makes a lot of difference. Right. And, but, uh, most of the folks that I have met that were actually on the land, or in combat, are still, still carry a lot of anger. Uh-huh. They really do. And, uh, I, I, I, I really do not think that we did those young men right. Huh. I think that, uh, Desert Storm, shows a lot of learning since that time. Oh, yeah. Uh Well, the armed forces did so much to, you know, Agent Orange, they did so much to their own people all during that time. Yeah. That is true. You know, and they they take a, even now, uh, they take a free hand as far as medicine and, uh, you know, how they treat the war casualties, you know. Yeah. If you come back and your leg is blown off, you know, or, or it is hanging by a thread, they still can't put it back together now. Uh-huh. But, But what they do afterwards and how they rehabilitate you. Uh-huh. Well, you know, one of the most troublesome things that I have encountered as a result is the incredible influx of southeast Asians into this country since that conflict. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, not so, much that I say, I do not want you here. But there is just such a surge of southeast Asians. It has affected the culture of this country, uh, very much. Oh, yeah. It's it's about nine or ten percent now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, uh, the culture is changing. Look how much more Oriental food we have, restaurants now, for example. Uh-huh. Uh, even ten years ago, there were not that many. A lot of shops are, are operated by southeast Asians. That's true . A lot of people have complained in the schools. There is a culture change there. The southeast Asians seem to be very hungry, there seem to be very studious. And, uh, tends to cause our kids to really have to buckle down to keep up with them, which is not bad. No. Not really. Uh, but it might in the long run you can see where scholarships, for example, uh, even jobs. Uh, jobs that would normally go to an American, with a lesser education, might be going to, to some of these people here. Uh-huh. And that is all a result of, of, of Vietnam. And, and you see a lot of, a lot of men that were over there, brought families back. Yeah. That is, Uh, and it concerns me that there is probably a lot of mixed breed youngsters still there. Uh-huh. And I would be concerned or interested to find out how they are doing now. Well, they are probably not doing very well at all. I know that there, Because I know there is, there is still people even in the Dallas area. There are, there are still people trying to get some member of their family back from, uh, Vietnam. You are talking about P O W or missing in actions? Uh, uh, native Vietnamese people. Native Vietnamese people. Yeah. Okay. They were lost, you know, when they were little, and, and they never did get back or, Oh, I had not. That, that had not occurred to me. Yeah. That would be an interesting concept. And, uh, and, as is really a big waste because they didn't, they didn't win, they didn't regain any of the land that they had. It spilled over into, uh, now I can't even think of the country. But, Cambodia? Yeah. Uh-huh. and, and all they did is run and hide. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And they were not really fighting, you know, it, it would have been the same as Desert Storm if all they had been fighting was North Vietnam. Uh-huh. But, and I am not even sure who was involved more. Whether it was China or Russia. Uh-huh. You know, they were pouring, they were pouring weapons in there and, and advising, well, digging tunnels for them. You know, Uh-huh. and there is no way that they could ever catch them. Well, I think the terrain had a lot to do with the, the success of Desert Storm as opposed to that in Vietnam. Yeah, that is right. You know, there is incredible cover in Vietnam. Uh-huh. And you can't find much cover on, in a sand dune Yeah, yeah, all they can do is dig in, and they, you know, That is right. and then they try to camouflage the top. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well now, even, I think even now, and in Vietnam they could probably have done a better job. Because they could, they could kill all those plants, you know, which would devastate the country as far as farming from then on. But, and the, and the Corps of Engineers I think do a better job now, like they did in Desert Storm. Because they had, Well, he, he dug a bunch of moats and filled them with oil Uh-huh. and he set a lot of booby traps all along the way as they went. And they had to, you know, they had to blow them up or, or disarm them. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And then they had to fill in little bridges all the way where he, where he had made those moats. What world war do you think they found the experience for that? Uh, Don't you think they learned from the mistakes in Vietnam? yeah, partially. Part of it is that, part of it is technology. Uh-huh. Yeah. Part of it is technology, yeah. But when, when, When you get into trouble like that in a place like Vietnam, you do tend to analyze the problems that you get into, Because all, go ahead. and you say, "Never more." Yeah. And, and you overcome those problems, and you are prepared next time. I think that is one of the reasons that they have, they have pretty much avoided getting involved in South America. Because look what happened when they were looking for Noriega, Uh-huh. and they lost him for four hours when they were right on top of him, you know. Right. Uh-huh. He probably just went right down into a tunnel. Sure. Sure. Sure. Well, I know that, uh, from a personal standpoint, people was one of the finest assets that we lost. We did not actually physically lose them. They did not lose their lives, but they lost a whole lot of the life they might have had. Yeah. That is right. Uh, being entirely different people. I had dinner Monday night with a Vietnam veteran who is just now beginning to recover from the drug and alcohol struggle that he had. Uh-huh. That is a long time to suffer. Yeah. And they, they really need, everybody that has, that has stood there, it's, when in Vietnam I think it was much closer contact. You stand there with a rifle and blow a, a piece of somebody apart, or blow their head off, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and that has to affect you if you are human, you know. Oh, yeah, yeah. So they had to work all that, that anger out, and the, and the nightmares that come along with it. I can't, uh, Oh, yeah. You bet, I do not, I do not really think that anybody can ever forget that, you bet. but they can, they can reason and, and try to adjust to, to why they were there. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, you see that is what the veterans are so angry about now. They say, "Well, we're, going to listen to this and we are going to look at this, find out what our mistakes were, and we are not going to make them again." But that does not undo the ones that were done. And that is what makes the veterans angry. Right. And I cannot blame them. I do not know a solution. Uh-huh. But I sure cannot blame them for being angry. On the other hand, you know, you can be angry about something for a very long time, or you can say, "Well, that is the way it is," and go on with your life. Uh, Right. For the most part, I wish that it had not happened. Yeah. But it did. And that, and that was, that was in the, in the era when Kennedy was president that they were afraid of everything, you know. And, and, and they initially got into it because of Eisenhower. And he just, he did not want to be in it any more than, than what we started out in August with Desert Storm. Oh, yeah. And then it just blew up into the war. Well, it has been that way for a very, very long time, though. I can remember when I was in the sixth grade, and that was many years ago. Uh-huh. We were reading about the French struggling with that in southeast Asia. French, yeah. Uh-huh. So, and, and, and the Asians historically have always had these kinds of wars going on. Right, yeah. There, there has not been a lot of peace in that part of the world. Uh-huh I really, I do not know, we should not have maybe gotten involved. But if we did, we certainly should have supported our people who were there. Yeah. More so supported them when they got home. Right. And, uh, I am afraid that they were treated as castaways for the most part. Exactly. And I, I saw the movie, BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, and I think it did a good job depicting the temperament of the times. Uh-huh. Yeah. More than, what was, APOCALYPSE NOW Uh-huh. Well, Dudley, have we pretty well discussed the subject? Yeah. I think so. Well, I think so. I enjoyed talking to you. Yes, it was nice talking to you. Uh-huh. Okay, bye-bye. Bye-bye. So, P C personal computers. Do you have a personal computer? No I don't, not at home. Uh-huh. I work with them quite a bit though. Uh-huh, I, I work with them at Kelly Services, doing, uh, data entry. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. What do you, what do you think about them? Well, I think they're useful, I think they're in some instances they're, they're over used, well, that's not the right way to say it. You mean instead of people or, Well I think that, uh, some, some work places where I've been they, they set up like every body has their own P C which a lot of times everybody doesn't need a P C, Uh-huh. and it really, without them knowing how to use it properly, it slows them down, more than it helps them accomplish something. Right. They spend more time messing with the P C than they would actually accomplishing the tasks that they're trying to do if they didn't have a P C at all. Uh-huh. And you really have to be able to type pretty fast before, you know, before it really saves time. Uh-huh, that's true. Uh-huh. And you have to, you know, be familiar with it, like there're so many different software packages, it, you have to be familiar with the one that you're going to be using most. Uh-huh A lot of times, uh, people know about half of the capabilities of a package that they should know to actually be able to use it properly, and so they waste more time with their trying to, uh, figure out how to do, you know, other things, than they would if they, if they actually understood what they were trying to do. You know, like, uh, they want to, to format a report a certain way Uh-huh. and if they really understood the capabilities of the package they could, they could do that in about, you know, half the time that they spend trying to figure out how to do it without spending the time to learn the package properly. To set up the boundaries correctly, and how many lines you're going to use in an, Right, exactly. Uh-huh. A lot of times they, they, they do it manually on the computer, which just really is a waste of time, and then, if they ever have to change anything in that, in that, in the document, they have to go back and redo it all manually, whereas if they had learned the package properly to start with and had set it up correctly, the package would do that for them whenever they wanted to make a change, Uh-huh. Can't you, can't you put, Can't you put it on a disk and then just edit it, if you need to when you go back. so I, I've seen that as a problem. Right, but in some, in some cases the with the formatting, what I'm talking about is that they would set up, they set up a certain document, and it may be eight pages long. Right. And they set it up manually, so that they have all their spacings and formattings and tabs set manually. Uh-huh. And and um, And, um, then when they have to make a change, say they want to insert a paragraph. They got to go through the document and reset all the page breaks manually and rewrite the whole thing instead of having the, Rewrite the whole thing. if, if they had set up the formatting on the system itself, it would do that for them, and save them a lot of time. But a lot of people don't spend the time to learn the package. How does the word wrap work on that? Do you end up with very different length lines? Oh, no, no you can left and right justify the whole thing. It comes out just perfectly spaced like a block. Um. It'll, it'll automatically, it's like typesetting. It'll automatically do that for you. And it divides the words by itself? Usually it doesn't divide words. Oh, okay. They usually have it space the words in a line rather than divide a word. Uh-huh. So, you see, like in a newspaper, they typeset. They don't usually break words in a newspaper. Right. If the, if one line is going to be a lot shorter than another line, they just add spaces to that line to make it look long as the rest of the lines. Uh-huh. They space it out in, in the line itself. Right. Oh. And most computers do that. They, Most most software packages will do that for you. Uh-huh. I've, I've known people that have used a package for, for five years, you know, and I would say, well, have you, you know, you know more about this package than I do, how do you left justify? And they would say, I don't know. Uh-huh. And it would take me maybe two or three minutes looking in the manual to figure out what command it was that caused this to happen. And they would say, how did you do that? And I'm like, well it's really easy. And they were like, well, I never knew that. So obviously they'd never considered looking it up, you know. Uh-huh. Do you think it's a lack of training, or it's just that they don't use the materials that are available to them. Sometimes it's, sometimes, well, it's a number of different things. Sometimes they don't, uh, they don't think that they can get any information out of the manual. Some manuals aren't really designed very well. Uh-huh. But some of them, are, and more and more of them are coming out written in a way that it, that just a basic, general user can understand them. So, I think, um, people think it's going to take them a lot longer to learn it properly than it really would, and so they're really wasting time rather than saving themselves time, because they think, well, it's quicker just to do it myself when it's really not. Right. Uh-huh. It's better to learn it directly from the manual. Well, I think so. Especially when you have to trouble shoot some things. Uh-huh. Exactly. Because a lot of the times the computer the program still has, uh, bugs in it, and you have to work around it. Uh-huh. Have you worked mostly on I B M, With P C they're either I B M or I B M compatible, mostly. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's that's all I've seen in offices, is I B M. That is the, you know, the industry standard. Uh-huh. There's a lot of really good I B M compatibles, too. They don't have to necessarily be the I B M brand, but they have to adhere to that industry standard. Right. Well do you think it's been five minutes yet or, Oh, probably. Oh, okay. Well it was nice talking to you. Okay. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay. Are you a T I No. No. Is somebody in your family a T I No, and that's how he got it. Oh, okay, so who do you work for? I just graduated from college. So you don't have any benefits at all to talk about. No. You're just going to have to imagine what you would like as benefits Or, what I'm looking for. Oh, okay, okay Well in, in interviewing have you ever discussed benefits with some of the potential employers? No, huh-uh. Didn't get that far. No. you normally just try to sell them on your, uh, aptitude and not, you know, well how much vacation do I get Oh well. Um. Well I'll tell you a little bit about what T I has as benefits. We do have, uh, like most companies, we have medical insurance. Although they're tending to try to really cut costs more and more. Um, what they started with a few years ago is that they only would allow you to go to, um, set hospitals in the area. They call it network hospitals. They're Oh, yeah, I've heard of that. Yeah, they're hospitals that they're, uh, agreeing with, uh, T I that they'll be a certain rate, you know, for rooms and care and all that kind of stuff to keep you know, costs down. Uh-huh. Now they're going to start to do the same kind of thing with doctors. So it's almost like a, um, uh, an H M O you know, kind of thing that, uh, only certain doctors are you going to be allowed to go to and get the full coverage. Yeah. If you go to a doctor who isn't in the network then it will be less benefits that you get. Uh-huh. We have some dental coverage now, um, but you have to pay a little more to really get something worthwhile. Like, I've had a couple of crowns recently and if you didn't have the extra dental plus, um, you only get like a third of your cost, which can be kind of expensive with a crown. Yeah it can . So, I, I pay, yeah, I pay for the extra dental plus, so much more per month because it always seems like if you're going to have a crown or something major done it pays a little more. Uh-huh. Um, we do have pension, although I've realized recently that the pension doesn't seem to be too good and I know when you first start out working you're not thinking about that Oh, I like to think about that. After you've been working for a while and you look at your pension account and you go, is that all that's in there. I don't think's it's going to pay too long when I get out. Um, we do have a new thing that they've started a few years ago, um, it's not an I R A, it's called a four oh one K plan. It's kind of like pension. You put in so much money and then, T I, um, meets you half way up to a certain maximum. So like I put in a dollar, they put in fifty cents. Uh-huh. So, that grows pretty good and I think that will be more of something I can see of a pension than the regular pension plan. Uh-huh. Of course you can buy stock in the company, but, you know, that's not always a real, for sure kind of thing. Not always safe Yeah, especially with this one, you know, it kind of goes up and down. I don't know if it's any different than other companies, but you hate to have it fluctuate and like, you know, last year it was forty dollars a share and now this year it's thirty six dollars a share, and you go, gee, I'm losing money Doesn't quite feel as good. Yeah. And we you know, vacation normally after you're here for six months and you start to get like five days every six months is kind of how they accrue it to you. And it's, one nice thing about T I is after you've been here, uh, for five years, you get three weeks. Uh-huh. Oh, that's nice. Which, a lot of places make you work like ten years or so, before you get that much. Yeah. Uh-huh. And we get some, we get, uh, decent holidays. Um, at Thanksgiving we always get the two days off which is nice, to make a nice long weekend. And at Christmas we always get two days at Christmas. They float it around depending on which day of the week Christmas falls on. Uh-huh. So that's nice, so you always get two days at Christmas. A lot of people just take, you know, that week, I normally take that week somehow, you know. Yeah. You only have to take three days of vacation and you get the whole week at Christmas time. Yeah, well, um, I can just tell you like, you know, Well there's twelve kids in my family. Whoa, okay! So the, the dental was very important, you know, to my dad. Uh-huh. But, um, I think they took the dental away now. He worked for United Telephone System, it's, you know, it's just another, you know telephone network. Um. Uh-huh. And they took the dental away, but now I think they're going to start getting into eye. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think, uh, um, I don't use the services but yeah, I think sometime last year, or just recently they started to give some kind of eye coverage. You get discounts on, uh, glasses and I'm not quite sure, there's certain places you can go to that have, uh, discounts for people that work here. Uh-huh. So you can get glasses and contacts and stuff through those particular stores or something like that. Yeah, and now for his pension he pretty much just has the stock. he's on that same kind of pension as what you said only, for everything he puts in they'll match it, up to a certain amount. Yeah Like if he puts in a dollar they'll put in a dollar, you know. Yeah. And then he's only allowed, I think, I don't know if it's maybe five percent, or something like that that he's allowed to put in and they'll match it. Uh-huh. So and, um, he works for the, did you ever hear of the National Bureau of Standards? Yeah. Okay, well he works for them. They changed their name now but that's, that's where he works and, um, he, his vacation is really nice. He's going to be there three years at the end of this month and he'll be getting three weeks vacation. Gee, that's pretty decent. Yeah, yeah. you know, of course, it's a it's for the government and he has all, all the holidays off. Right, and you get some extra ones. Federal workers always seem to get, you know, you get Columbus Day, and Veterans Day, and those ones that you couldn't really care about so much but you get the day off anyhow. Right, right Yeah, uh-huh, he has it really nice. It's nice where he works, and, um, he seems to be very happy, you know. Like his hospitalization and, you know, he has all that and with his doctors and stuff, they have, um, a list of doctors that the employees can go to and it only costs a dollar as long as they go to that doctor. Oh, yeah, okay. You know, and I think it works the same way with his prescriptions and stuff if he needs any. But you have to go, you know, to certain ones but still that works out really nice. You know, it, Yeah, we're doing an H M O right now, um, and when we go to get prescriptions it's five dollars, but, you know, sometime, sometimes when you go, you know, the prescription, That's not bad either. like my husband always takes which is kind of like, you know, Contact stuff, only better. Um, you that's like a buck a capsule. Uh-huh. So if you've got thirty in there it normally comes out to about thirty-four dollars so when you pay five it's a pretty good savings. Then there's other times that, you know, maybe the prescription wouldn't cost more than like seven or eight dollars and you pay five anyhow. So it isn't a, Hi you want to start first Of course. We are talking about the elderly and, uh, whether or not we we like nursing homes Right. and, as a matter of fact, I can tell you something about that. Uh-huh. You apparently have somebody there, in one. No, actually, my grandmother owned and operated a nursing home for years and her mother, Oh, you are kidding? No, she did. Oh. And then my mother also owned and operated a nursing home, for years. And then, uh, went on back to school and became the director of nurses at a nursing home Uh-huh. I will be darned. Uh-huh. And, uh, my mother and my older sister both are geriatric nurses. Oh, for heaven's sake. So, I do know something about that. You are very, very much aware of what goes on. Absolutely. That is great. Actually, the motivation for Grandmother entering the business, was that her mother was very old, and couldn't seem to find companions. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. She was lonely. Right. And she needed company, for her mother Right. and so she opened a nursing home and initially started with eight ladies. I will be darned. And then, uh, it, it grew into a, very prosperous business from that point. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, then they, Now, see that is a nice attitude to go into. Uh-huh. Uh, it seems like they must be waiting until it is a necessity Uh-huh. and there is no chance of, uh, good companionship or doing anything. Well, that is not really true, either, uh, I think that is a stigma and an I, and an impression that has come from some few bad experiences. Uh-huh. You see, those who had bad experiences talk about them. Uh, right, right. And those who do not may write, a letter to the nursing home and say you did good, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but they do not talk a whole lot about that. That is true. But what I mean is instead of maybe entering a nursing home, when you are still able to have good, relationships with, maybe other friends they wait until they are, you know, unable. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Sure. Well now, That is right. Well, that is because they wait until the children make those choices, they choose to not make those, choices themselves. Right. Right, right. However, my daughter-in-law also is a nurse in a nursing home. Uh-huh. And, uh, she works for one here in Dallas, which is more a retirement village than it is a nursing home. And these, these, Uh, uh-huh. I love watching these elderly people come, they will come and tell her. "Well I am going for my, tennis lessons. Uh-huh. And, uh, would would you, you know, call down and have the van come around and take, us for our tennis lessons." Uh-huh, uh-huh. And they are very active and very enthusiastic and they have, some excellent programs right there on site. Uh-huh. Yeah. Their dining room looks like, you know, Luby's Cafeteria. Yeah. That is great. Or, or one of the lovely cafeterias. And they have, you know, pink linen napkins for their dinners. And, a well equipped library. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, that sounds great. Oh, I am certainly very much for a nursing home and I think when the, the parent gets old enough, to the extent where they just do not want to be bothered with keeping house, and with taking care of themselves, anymore. That is a wonderful alternative. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. It is expensive. It is costly. See if they could, could get this idea across though, better than what it is, you, know. Uh-huh. Well, now my daddy's mother, uh, lived in a, a retirement village and she and her sister had side by side duplexes, one bedroom duplex. Uh-huh. She still had her individuality, Uh-huh. but they were there close and they did have, uh, you know, the button that you could push the central office if you got into problems and, there were lights that you could flip on and so forth. Uh-huh. And they have security. Uh-huh. No, I am very much in favor, I have heard horror stories, Oh, well you have that with anything. I know that the elderly can easily be abused, Oh yeah . but I would be willing to bet they are far less abused in a nursing home than are, they are in, homes of their own children. In the homes, yeah. Well, we used our nursing home as, uh, Uh-huh. like when my sister was real bad before she died uh, we took her the last month and a half, into a nursing home. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And they were super with her. Absolutely. They were, uh, Well now, my grandmother, of course all of my folks lived to be very old Uh-huh. and my grandmother developed Hodgkin's Disease, when she was in her late eighties, uh, late seventies, I mean. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. She went to the doctor, she had surgery, she got the treatments and during, the period of time that she was undergoing those treatments she was in a nursing home. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. She got better, she got well, she got out and went dancing again. Well, a lot of people do that. They , left them temporally maybe they had a, broken hip or something or, Uh-huh. That is right. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I think it is a wonderful interim place, Uh-huh. it is a place that you do not have to struggle with hospital, problems Uh-huh, uh-huh. and yet it is not, you know, you have, And it can become home to them. Uh-huh, uh-huh. It, It depends upon the individual. It certainly is. It certainly does, but, you see, we have had excellent experience with that. And, uh, I, I did not put my husband in a nursing home when he became ill, but, I would not object to going to one. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I might, I might like to be, uh, coherent enough to make my own choice. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, I would not particularly think I would want my kids to say, "well, I think this is what I need for Mom", and, then dump me there. This is and, But, I would like, There has to be consideration taken on everything. That is right. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And I think you would shop for a nursing home, just like you would shop for a church, or a doctor or anything else. Yeah. That is right, you would look into it thoroughly and, do, do the best job you could in choosing one. Uh-huh, sure. Uh-huh. When you get to the point where you are in trouble, and you have got to have that help, you are in no position to make those choices. Uh-huh. No and you do not have the time to look, that is what, I am saying, That is right. Uh-huh. most people will not even look at that until it becomes a necessity. Absolutely. I think that one of the best ways to do that is for families to realize they are going to be needing those facilities one day, and to actually get involved and participate on a community level with community service. Uh-huh. Go out to the nursing home, help guide some craft programs, perhaps, work on some music programs, whatever their talents are. And work with, those senior citizens. Whatever their talents, yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, I have a cousin who is, uh, she had a son that was epileptic from birth, and he did fine, at home, Uh-huh. they lived on a farm, Uh-huh. but she made arrangements, so that when she was gone, she did not want her, her children, her other children burdened with his care. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That is right. So he, they, she has made arrangements that when she, she was gone, that he would go into the nursing home. Uh-huh. And he has, I would say, he adjusted very well and, uh, he, he, he has been there quite a long time. Uh-huh. And, uh, he don't know me usually Yeah. So, he goes wheeling down, uh, the hall to bingo. Somebody else, is helping him out, you know, That is right. Uh. Well, one of the things, I think that is most desirable for the elderly and that is routine. and, uh, he has adjusted very well. Uh-huh, oh yes. Yes. Routine and, uh, constancy. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh Uh, the only real problem with that in a nursing home is that the staff turns over. I do not think they pay, the nursing home staff sufficiently, to, to get the dedication that they have in some other profession, uh-huh. To keep them there, uh-huh. True. and that is sad, because, I think the health profession is one of the most critical, Yes. But , for some reason people resist, uh, the fact that they should be paid as well as businesses and that type of thing, you know. And, uh, That is right. It seems to be a resistance. Care for the elderly and care for the children, I cannot imagine a more costly and a more, a more, uh, better area to invest, your money. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right, right. But there seems to be a resistance. You are preserving your heritage and your future there. Yeah, yeah. So, uh, And, as a matter of fact, I do not see why they do not have children's programs in nursing homes. Well, around here, we have some, you know, the churches, take your, the children Uh-huh. and, I know our kids thoroughly, Uh-huh. the children thoroughly enjoy, Okay, my name is Karen. Okay, my name is Terry. Okay, and this, uh, they said about magazines. We, I've probably personally take I think just two Okay. but that's because my mother-in-law takes every one they print and gives them to me, a month later so. So I get all of them. Uh, the one that I really especially enjoy, and you may be familiar with it from Wisconsin, is called COUNTRY. Oh, yes, uh, there's COUNTRY LIVING, there's COUNTRY, and, uh, Well, this, yeah, this one is the one they have all the pictures of scenery from places we wished we live, like Wisconsin Oh, yeah. Gorgeous leaves and trees and all the lakes and the mountains and things. Sure. And I get that, it has recipes in it, and that's my very favorite. Oh, that's great. What do you take? Well, I actually take COUNTRY LIVING, it's a country magazine on HOUSE BEAUTIFUL, because I like, um that kind of stuff. Uh-huh. Yeah, decorating. Decorating and, uh, getting ideas for a garden. Uh-huh. In fact, uh, right before you called, I was planning my tulips and, uh, putting them on blue print on where I'm going to put them, Are you? so I'm really into that, Oh. but, uh, so, I really get into magazines that are kind of basically into, um, housing type things, where the, be decorating and gardening and recipes, that kind of stuff. And decorating and how to do things. Uh-huh. So I'm pretty much in the same category as what you're looking at. Yeah. Well, we, we tried for a while to take a news magazine. We took NEWSWEEK Uh-huh. and I think we took it especially just during the war to kind of catch up on everything and have it be digested. Sure. But we've kind of discontinued that right now Yeah. and we've, we're going to start taking that, uh, U S NEWS, uh, newspaper. U S A TODAY, I think it. Yeah, yeah, I've had TIME before. Yeah. I think with that what happens is, uh, it's interesting to read Uh-huh. but you kind of just put the magazine away and you never read it again unless there's some big article in there that you're going to keep for your kids, That's right. but, That's exactly right. I did the same thing. We saved the ones from the election and we saved the ones from the war and one from the earthquake. Yeah, exactly it sounds exactly like what we did And then and, we just saved everything we could for our daughter Uh-huh. but, uh that's pretty similar, Uh-huh. but I find that with these COUNTRY magazines, I keep going back to them, getting ideas, looking back and saying, Jeez, there was a flower garden in there that I , that I would like to have some ideas, you know Well, you sound like you, That's the thing, you sound like you have the facilities to do that. I get a lot of ideas from them. Yes, we do. We're out in the country Oh. we're right across from a river, and uh, you're right, the leaves are beautiful, and they are falling now, so. Oh. Uh, it just peaked, uh, last week, and it was just gorgeous out here, but. I bet it is gorgeous. Yeah, it's beautiful. The other thing about magazines, the only thing I don't like, is they really get heavily into advertising I agree, and, you know, it's, it's, it's fine, I'd rather almost have Uh-huh. I know that part, probably half their money comes from these people that are saying, uh, Put my ad in your paper and I'll pay you or whatever, Yeah, right. but, uh, there's been some magazines I've looked at, and it's a real turn off to see every other page, some kind of ad, Every page. I do the same thing, I, I think I opened VOGUE the other day or something Yeah, VOGUE is, heavily into that. and it was just nothing, uh-huh. And I thought, Why buy this? Yeah, exactly, it's almost You know, what's the point? I mean, you could go into a store and get bombarded the same way, That's right. And my number one pet peeve in a magazine, is when they put the perfume in it because, uh, real often, I don't like very heavy perfumes Yeah, exactly. and very often, like, you know, in my bills, also, magazines and bills, and they'll, come out just stinking the whole thing. Exactly, yeah, they're really getting into that so, Uh-huh. But pretty much like I said, the magazines I've had, BETTER HOMES AND GARDEN, and now I need a switch, and I'm going back to GOURMET COOKING, because, um, I've had the magazine before, back in nineteen, uh, eighty-six, Oh. and I thought, Well, I'll give it a try again, because you get tired of one magazine, and you need to try a change. I understand. Well, do you , do you tear out of your magazines, your recipes or do you keep it? Uh, yes, I do, and sometimes, most of the time I tear them out. Uh-huh. A lot of times, if, uh, you know, if I got a chance to sit down at my typewriter, I'll go ahead and type out recipes, but what I usually do is I'll try it out in the magazine first, and, without tearing it out, and then give it a, Type it out, uh-huh. See how the family liked it Yeah, and then if we like it it becomes part of the recipe collection, but, uh. Oh, that's a good idea. Well, I'm going to pay attention more when I'm in the store to that COUNTRY LIVING, I remember seeing the cover. Yeah. Back when I decorated the house with a lot of the little country, uh, primitive things, the little, the little pigs and the jeez, and the ducks, and that, we had, that was the big rage here, couple of years ago. Uh-huh. And I bought a lot of the country magazines Sure, sure. and then it seems like when I put some of that away, I quit buying it, but I had forgotten the recipes Uh-huh. and I'm going to, I'll have to check that out, Yeah, it, it, that's what I, I just went through, uh we just recently moved from Minnesota to Wisconsin. Uh-huh. I went through all this, I had this huge stack of HOUSE BEAUTIFUL I had COLONIAL TIMES, I had GOURMET And you don't want to part with any of them because there's one thing in each one yeah. It was hard, but I ended up, uh, reducing them down to like fifteen magazines out of, uh hundreds. Oh, that's good. And I just said, Okay, there's one picture in there that, it really doesn't, you know Uh-huh. it's got to have more than that right. it's got to have some good ideas Right. it's got to have everything. So I just kind of went through, and I find that most of the magazines I really like is around Christmas time because, I, I know, Okay, basically I can tell you that I like just about every music there is except for, uh, uh, real hard, hard rock, I really can't get into that but I go from classical all the way to, uh, jazz and country and uh, soft pop, uh, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. so I pretty much have a, a wide range of, uh, what I like, and just, there isn't any particular music that I enjoy more than just listening to all kinds Uh-huh. Yeah. so that's about it. I can even take the now, it's, it's pretty neat music that they came out with, so. I'm pretty much the same way, but there's like certain types of country western I can't handle that twangy stuff, Uh-huh. Uh-huh, sure, the old, old stuff that came out, I think it was, was it, oh, jeez, came out with some of that, Hank Williams, you talk about twangy. Yeah. Yeah. My in-laws listen to the kind of music I hate Oh, yeah, the old, old country, Yeah. But other than that, I like pretty much everything. Yeah, yeah, that's the way I am, too, so, other than, uh, as far as instruments, I can go from piano to the saxophone. Lately, you know, with the new music that has come out, some of the really good, uh, music they have the saxophone playing, Uh-huh. and it's so funny, because you can take an instrument and forget what it really sounds like when it plays by itself. Uh-huh, uh-huh. to Oops, are you okay, Tiana, come here honey. talking to Oh, my daughter just fell. Do you like Kenny G? Uh, yeah, a little bit. Uh-huh. I can, I can pretty much, to Oh, it's all wet, Tiana. talking to I just wiped, uh, did the floor, and she slipped. On, no. Anyway, but, uh, um, yeah, I can take all kinds of music pretty much except for when you get, like I said, into the real hard rock, Uh-huh. Yeah, the heavy metal, Yeah, I have no interest in that, I, I don't have interest of losing my ears, let's just put it that way, hearing, anyway, Yeah, I saw Peter Townsend on T V last night, and he said he's lost most of his hearing Uh-huh, sure. and I thought, no wonder so. Uh-huh, exactly. Um. Okay, well it was good talking to you then. Well, same here. Okay. You all have a good day. You, too. Bye-bye. Bye now. Okay, Scott, let's, uh, talk about advice that we can offer a parent where the child is going to go to a university Uh-huh. Do you have any? and, Do you have any kids or, I have some, yes, some children. I have three boys. Uh-huh. And they're all quite young Uh-huh. and so we want to plan for their education or we're saving right now and we're getting bonds, and, and, uh, and hopefully finances set aside so that they can choose a college that they want to. How about yourself? Do you have any kids? No, I'm in, I'm in graduate school right now So I imagine you've gone through the experience yourself of selecting your college your own college. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. In fact, I'm even going, uh, selecting again for, for my P H D. It's, it's a close subject right now Very good. Uh, What, uh, what do you use as a basis to determine which college or university you go to? Well I use, uh, uh, uh, I have used, uh, several techniques depending on what, for undergraduate, I, I, you know, my criteria were much different than than like for graduate school. Uh-huh. Uh, when I, when I wanted to go to an undergraduate institution, I was looking for something that was, you know, rather small and easy to get around, you know. And what I would, what I thought would be easy to get through. Uh-huh. Yeah what you thought, huh. Yeah And, and, uh, my choice of graduate schools was, uh, you know, it changed a whole lot. I, I got to where I, I wanted to, uh, graduate with a little, you know, with a name behind me, rather than, uh Just the degree itself. yeah, yeah. Well, that's a, that's, that's good, because I did quite a bit the same thing in my undergraduate work. Uh-huh. I wanted to get a school that was small enough, that was personable that you didn't have a lecture, uh, hall with about fifteen other students competing for the professor's attention Uh-huh. Yeah. and, uh, but you, I felt that I got a pretty good, uh, undergraduate, uh, Where, where did you go? I went to Utah State University which is in Logan, Utah Okay. Uh-huh. and the nice thing about it too is, I knew that I wanted to get into business and that their business, College of Business, was accredited and well known at least there in the State of Utah and around the surrounding states and so forth. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And so I, I feel like, number one, you you also need to see what kind of name the, like you mentioned before, the name the college and university can, can give you and another thing that, uh, another reason why I chose that was the, the finances. Yeah. I wanted to make sure that I would be able to afford it, that I wouldn't get through four, three years of the undergraduate work and, and have to leave. Uh-huh. And, uh, so I did a lot of talking with friends, with family with, uh, counselors at high school, and also read some, some books on, on the subject at the, at the library. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, it was kind of unusual because my, my two older brothers and I all went to three different universities, depending on what our choice was. So. Right. Hopefully we, we chose the one that was best for us, and I, I felt very comfortable and good about that. So. Uh-huh. Do you, do you worry, do you worry any about, uh, uh, being able, I mean, obviously you've taken precautions, you know, or measures to, uh, try and pay for your children's education, but do you think that that's going to be enough? I don't think so. No. I don't know. The, the way that tuition is increasing, um, exponentially it's, it's, it's kind of hard to set aside money and have that money grow at the same pace that the college tuition is increasing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I, uh, I, all I, all I can hope for is that I land a professorship at a nice heavy university. And that, that your children can use the benefits of that university. Yeah Well, that's an excellent idea, that's an excellent idea. One thing that, uh, that we did, uh, and my parents, and our family, is that we weren't able to afford, um, the kind of education that we all desired. So my parents stressed that we get excellent grades so that we apply and try for scholarships Uh-huh. and, uh, scholarships were very beneficial in my case to help pay for my education, because my parents couldn't. Uh-huh. And what the scholarship could not supply I was able to, to work for and and save and, and, and get. Yeah. Uh-huh. Also, my, my brother, um, he's a, he's a medical doctor right now. He had to, you know, once he got past his undergraduate and graduate degree, he had to take out some loans, and he's, he's working to pay those off. Yeah. So I, I think that the, uh, you know, once you get past, uh, the initial stages of it, that there's different options you can use and, and, uh the student loans are, are good options. Yeah. Yeah, that's what, that's my biggest option right now. Yeah Yes, and, and as you're well aware that tuition's not, So, what do you think about a year or two of public service? Well, I know it's hard for young people to think about giving up their years, you know, their carefree years Uh-huh. but people that I have known that have done that, like from other countries, especially, from Germany and Finland, um, they are just, they have such a better, more mature, outlook on life Yeah. Yeah. and I think they're better people because of it, Uh-huh. they're much more responsible. I know, um, the church that I go to, um, the young men give two years of their life when they turn nineteen, you know, Uh-huh. they're encouraged to do that, missionary work, and I I really believe that the people that do that are better people that make our, society better. You know, I, I really agree with you. Um, I, uh, though I've never done that myself, I, I'm, was a basically an education major when I graduated from college and I accepted a job that at the time was just slightly above the poverty level to teach to, um, very rural children in a very low income district and I spent a year teaching there Uh-huh. and I think it was probably one of my largest eye-opening experiences because I come from nice middle class white suburban home Uh-huh. and I did it, um, for one reason I wanted, I was working on a masters degree so I wanted to stay close to where I was working on a masters degree, but also because I just thought that it would be interesting to live some place else so totally different than my own up bringing Uh-huh. and I, it changed, it probably changed my political views it changed my understanding of the world around me Uh-huh. and I think, um, in fact, if I had to do it all again I, you know, after that, you know, you never think of it because, I guess because I paid for all of my college education myself, I never thought about doing that because I had all these college loans I'd started paying back. Huh. Um, so that was, that was one reason why I never considered it but now that I'm further along, and I'm still paying these college loans, I, I think realistically, you know, you can have your college loans delayed now, because I had them delayed because I'm back in graduate school at thirty years old, Yeah. um, I had them delayed because I'm back in graduate school and on that form it says if your joining the Peace Corps you can have them delayed Huh. and rattling in and I thought that was, you know, very interesting and I, I would have thought of that earlier I probably would have done, you know, just like, is that, is this, is that the Mormon church, that does that? Yes. Yes. Because one of my neighbors, uh, did that in Pittsburgh, from Pittsburgh. Uh-huh. And I thought, you know, that really, now that I'm thirty years old, I think that one or two years out of my life would have, probably like you said, to be able to travel some place else whether it be the United States or outside the country, I think it would have been a very good, um, experience for me. Uh-huh. Well, I think so, it puts you out on your own and and in a time after high school, um, there's kind of a selfishness, Uh-huh. I mean, teenagers in our country are kind of, kind of a year that parents don't look forward to and, and things like that Uh-huh. and I think that it would help people to become, less self-centered, and to be more responsible when you're out on your own trying to, um, thinking less of your own needs but, of other people. Uh-huh. Yeah. And I think, you know, we have such a need now, you know, I taught, you know, I, I think I was paid, uh, about nine thousand dollars to teach for the year Uh-huh. and I worked in a very rural school district and I, I, one of the things I taught was a computer class Uh-huh. and these kids, um, you know, every girl I taught, except for one, was pregnant. Oh, no. Many of the boys in the room had children and they were, they were high school juniors. Uh-huh. And I just, there, you know, they came from poverty, they were going to condition in poverty and it was, it was, the school district couldn't hire many people, it was very difficult for them to hire, and I think, you know, in the sense, that aspect of public service for education in some of the inner cities for, um, just social workers in some of the inner cities and some of the rural areas where they just need advice on medical, um, things, I think it's a really good idea. And even if it is overseas. Right. Uh-huh. See, I never, I, I tell you sometimes I worry about things over seas because we have such problems right here in our own country. Yes. Uh-huh. It would really, um, and I don't the people that I've known like from Germany and Finland that have done that are, they do military service which, you know, I don't exactly recommend Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. but still they have benefited from it. Right. Uh-huh. And, um, you know, although I wouldn't want it to make people to go off to the military voluntarily but it's, it has helped them Uh-huh. and they are just a lot more mature, than the average student Uh-huh. and like she's washing Yeah. I think it would also help them if they then went on to college. I know that my first couple of years of college were, um, uh, probably too carefree at the, beginning Uh-huh. and then at the end I had to be too serious. Well, that's right. A lot of people they flunk out or they get, they just get so excited to be away from home, they just spend all there time partying Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and they do a lot of things to themselves that, that we really don't want our young people to be doing Yeah, that's true. and, Uh-huh, that's right. Um. I, yeah, I think, I think this was, this was a very interesting topic uh, because it's something that, you know, we don't talk about in this country probably enough. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, because we're so, we love our freedom and our freedom of choice and, um, having people like Uh-huh. Yeah, Is that what it was? I do some, I'm a graduate student in Psych. Oh, okay. And we sort of, you know, figure out, um, I know a little bit about that kind of stuff. Huh-uh. What they're trying to do there is, they want to sort of get a base line measure for you, you know. How is it that when you see these things and, you know, and, and, and, Huh-uh. Kind of get, Kind of get something to measure my responses by. Yeah. But with them they have no idea if you're just sort of jumping, around and being fidgety, Yeah. Yeah. Maybe . It can be shocking and, shock you. Yeah they ask why I was going, what in the world are you asking me about here. But I guess, I don't know, some people have probably killed their mothers. Yeah. I don't know Yeah, well, I guess so, I mean, I guess, I don't know how, what actually happens if, uh, if you have killed your mother Yeah Big jump there. But, yeah, Yeah. I think it's their way of saying how well you do, in a shock situation without worrying about, stuff like that. Huh-uh. I never thought about that, that makes me feel a little better Of course, that was years and years ago. Yeah. Yeah, and I don't think that you killed your mother though, I wouldn't worry about that. because in society a lot of people are taking drugs. There is also people that are getting off drugs and trying to do better with their lives. But they take a lie detector test or a drug test, or whatever and the stuff that happened to them, you know, five years ago comes up and it spoils their chances for just making it a little better. You know, when they might be actually trying to, improve their lives. Yeah. Yeah. That's, uh, you know, it, it could blow things right away for them, you know. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. Unless they say, well, look, unless they walk in, they could walk in and say, look, I did do drugs a year ago, and I'm off them for a year now. I'll be happy to take the test, but it will show up positive. Yeah. Yeah. versus, I would probably do that. And I would probably bring something in showing that I had been to such and such hospital for help or, you know, Whatever the twelve month program. Yeah. Or whatever it is that they do. Yeah. Because, I mean then, although then, they can't legally discriminate, I think on the basis . Huh-uh. But I don't really know. I don't know what the laws are pertaining to this. Yeah. Yeah. My wife probably does. I'm not sure what they are either. I don't, I don't . Yeah. But, it's an interesting topic that I never actually thought about . Yeah. The other day we had talked about, uh, capital punishment. Oh, I . And I really, really hadn't thought about it. I mean, I think about it because I hear about it, but I hadn't had to sit down and, and well, what do I think about it You know, and that's kind of like today. I'm not real sure what I think about it. I'm kind of, you know, in the middle on that one. Yeah. Well, these are tough. I sort of like that stuff, it makes you think. Huh-uh. Really, really. So I think that's real good. Okay. It was very nice talking to you. Nice talking to you to. Okay. Take care. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, I think we pay too much in taxes. Yeah. How about you? Well, I think they waste what we pay. Excuse me? I think they waste what, all the money that we pay Yeah, that's what I think too. I don't know how you feel, um, we moved here from another state. We lived here before, went out and came back, and that particular state had an occupational income tax, but no sales tax. Uh-huh. And what you find out is, there's, one evil is the same as the other. Here you don't, there's no occupational tax but it's a heavy sales tax. Uh-huh. So they get you coming and going. Now it's even, it's even higher in Dallas County, so. Was it. *listen Yeah, it's really, I know, it's just, um. It's eight and a quarter I think. Yeah, it is. I was shocked. I went, we bought a new washer and the man said, and that's eight percent. I said, eight percent. What Uh-huh. So it's really kind of sad, yeah. And then I don't know how, you know, in terms of when you all do your federal, but it just seems like, if you're strictly middle income, it seems like you get hit the worst. Yeah. Is that what you think? Yeah, because it's, at some point it goes up to thirty-three percent and then the people that make, you know, five hundred thousand dollars and, and, and higher than that, they don't have to pay, and sometimes they have to pay even less taxes. Doesn't seem quite fair, does it? No, it isn't. Because they have the money to shelter things and, I don't know, somehow get a, huh What? Oh, I thought you were going to say something. Huh-uh. They somehow seem to get around these, the things that we can't, you know, that make, don't make that kind of money. Right. I don't know. I mean, if they're in business, and, and they're making money, I could see if they're losing money, but they're making money Uh-huh. then they should pay taxes then. I know, and just somehow it doesn't seem, you know, and then, I, you mean you look at like, uh, that country singer, uh, what's his name, Willie Nelson. Uh-huh. Some, he didn't look that stupid. Why didn't he pay his taxes? You know. *listen Right. Uh-huh. In a way, it's almost like he had so much debt that, uh, filing bankruptcy was a way to get out of all of it you know. Right. So. Do you file federal or joint income tax, And do you feel like you get hit by, you know, too much? I just file federal income tax every year. Yeah, I just got divorced, so I'm single again. So, and you know, it's, it's a lot worse for single people, because they pay the same amount as, as the people that make the same amount of money and they're married. Uh-huh. And we, right now, we don't own any property. We lease. So we're in the same, we don't have children, so we're in the same kind of, Uh-huh. it's not as bad as being single and divorced, but it's sort of like, if you have like X point five children and earn, you know, you kind of get hit with, you know, I, I mean, it doesn't even pay for me to earn a good wage, because, doesn't that sound stupid. Uh-huh. But, I mean, there's actually less tax implication if I don't work full time compared to what my husband does, you know. *are the final "you knows" tags? Right. So it's kind of hard. Whoever works less, they can get a tax credit for that. Excuse me. If both of the, both of the spouses work, then you get a tax credit for that. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah Uh-huh. otherwise you're just, you know, and if you have kids, you get like seven hundred fifty dollars or something Well, it's two thousand now. Oh, it is. Yeah, for everybody. Oh, my. Uh-huh. Well that's not too bad. Then you get a, you get a child care exemption, but it's not enough, you know. I mean, you pay from fifty to a hundred dollars a week in child care Uh-huh. and, and they only give you like, I think it's about five or ten percent of that. Oh, my goodness. You know, it doesn't even, it's not even, Yeah. I guess that's my call. I guess I better go Oh, okay. Okay, well it was nice talking to you. Nice talking to you. Uh-huh, bye-bye. What part of the country are you in? Uh, Pennsylvania. Yeah. Oh, you are? East or west, I'm from Pittsburgh. *listen Oh, are you really? Yeah. What part of Pittsburgh? Um, the South Hills area, Beaver County, well originally Beaver County . Uh-huh. And, uh, where are you from? Uh, Clarion County. Oh, okay, I know where that is. I we live out in the country. Yeah, that's pretty out there. What, well, Yeah, we have, we have two children that live in Pittsburgh Oh, okay, yeah, I got my brother and my whole family there. I'm, I'm talking to you from Dallas right now. Oh, oh, you are? Uh-huh Do you work, do you work for Texas Instruments then? No, my husband does. Oh, uh-huh. And who, how about you? No, I'm just, Uh, federal company, you know, place that, that needed this. *listen--not sure who's saying what so, yeah. Well that's okay. I guess it's an easy thing to do. So you're you have a big, do you have a rural house or what do you have? Uh, we have a big old farmhouse that we've you know, remodeled. Oh, that's a, Those are beautiful. It had been, you know, of course, a farm. Uh-huh. It's a farm community, and we. Yeah, is it a, is it a working farm or is it? Ours is not a working farm More, more, I can understand that, that's probably what I would, uh, Yeah, I have a garden but you know, we have a garden. Yeah But we don't farm. I can hear the accent now I hear the I hear the Western Pennsylvania, um. Uh-huh. We live, uh, we lived in Minneapolis for about five years. Uh-huh. We, we originally lived in Dallas and we met and got married Uh-huh. and then, um, actually married in Pittsburgh, and that's, that's not what they want to hear on this call, uh Uh-huh. at any rate we came back here with, my husband was transferred around, uh, up to Minnesota and now back to Texas with T I Uh-huh. and we're leasing a, uh, two story town home in a section of Dallas they call North Dallas. Oh, uh-huh. And it's, uh, near a little town called Plano, well, it's not little any more. Uh, Grapevine, do you know Grapevine? Uh, yes, that's out near the airport. That's about forty-five miles from us. Yeah, my brother has a home there he's trying to sell. He, he's living now up, uh, in, in Maryland but, uh, he, lived in Grapevine for a long time. It's, yeah, That's why we not sure, we, we're not sure we want to, uh, buy down here, because we actually, we lived up north long enough to appreciate the, um, *listen--one utt? Minneapolis-Saint Paul is very clean Uh-huh, uh-huh. you know, in terms of, *listen; with previous slash unit? and in terms of housing down here, um, you really have your pick but it's just everything's overpriced for the economy. Oh, it's terrible. I, It really is, I mean we're, we're in a leased town home, and it's, uh, you're probably, your teeth will probably fall out figuratively speaking, it's nine hundred a month. Oh, I'm not surprised. But, you know what, if you, if you get anything under five hundred you get into what they call high density living you know, the big apartment complexes Uh, right, right. Right, right. and, and I just have no tolerance for that. Yeah, yeah, it's not good No. And the people think the income is really great in some of those areas but when they sit down and look at what it costs to live and, uh, of course, most of the homes are, you know, fairly nice, they're, uh, done up fairly nice, uh, Yeah this is, it's like a duplex, like a two by two they call it like in Pittsburgh. Right, uh-huh, Uh-huh. And it's nice but it's, I mean, the girl bought it for a hundred and ten, and now she can't sell it. And our neighbors, Well, prices have come down on the homes, the duplexes. Yeah, I mean, we'll, our neighbors, the attached on the other side, they're very nice, thank God, Uh-huh. they paid fifty-eight for it. Oh, my heaven. That's how bad it, I know. Well, I know up in Connecticut the same thing happened, people are devastated because they paid so much for their home. That's right. Uh-huh, yeah. I have some friends that live in Westport and it's really, really bad. I mean you, But we like our area. It, like I said, it's, it's an old house and everything Uh-huh. but, uh, How far, where is Clarion County in relation to, actually, because we're considering moving to Pennsylvania Well, we're about a hundred miles from Pittsburgh north. That's not too bad. That's north. And yeah, and it's, it's really not, you know, not that far. Are you going up toward, uh, uh, I'm trying to think of the name of that town that starts with an M, Bradford, no that's too far north. Bradford's north of us. So you're, you're not that far north then, okay. No, no. Well, you're really not too bad. Yeah. Uh-huh. Um, was it a home that you've had for quite a few years, or that you've, Well, we've been here since sixty-six. Oh, then you have, yeah. Do you have a lot of land or, Uh, we have fifty acres. Oh, my, well, then. Oh, pardon me, we have forty, we gave ten to one of our children There you go. Did you have a hard time getting used to, do you feel like you live in an isolated area or, No, not really, and, and towns keep creeping closer and closer, you know. Yeah, I think that that's, um, I can remember in Pittsburgh when, this has to do with homes, uh, indirectly but I can remember when Upper Saint Clair was out in the, you know, the rural end of Washington, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and now it's it's a terrible connection. Yeah, it's ours up here. We have, our rural connections are real bad Oh, well that's okay, um, But we, but we live about ten miles from probably three or four, not large towns but, you know, reasonable. But, but, yeah, substantially, you know. Um, do you like living in an older home and restoring it like that? Uh, yeah, we're tired of doing it though. We, we don't want to do too much more How big is it? How many square feet do you have? Uh, oh, golly, I really. Well how many rooms do you think, yeah? We have, uh, uh, four rooms downstairs, and a pantry Uh-huh. and upstairs we have a bath, a bath, oh we, have a half bath downstairs, too. Uh-huh. We have a bath upstairs, and one, two, three, four bedrooms and a sewing room and a junk room And, uh, A junk room, yeah I understand, we have that too. That's, that's large if your children aren't at home any more. Pardon? That's large if your kids aren't at home any more. Well, it really isn't too big yet. We, we a lot of people say that but, um, it's, Uh-huh. we just like it real well Yeah, It's enough space for two people Yeah. we had five children, so and they've all moved you know, on. Oh, okay. They're all out on their own now. Yeah, right. That's okay. Well, we've got, um, this town house is pretty big. It's about eighteen hundred square feet. It's got three bedrooms, two and a half baths Uh-huh. um, it's really nice. Well, it sounds like a good buy. Yeah, it is, I mean, I would never buy it but leasing it is fine. Uh-huh. Um, but, it's just again, the, the privacy, you know. Um, we had a house in Minneapolis that was on three acres, and my husband was raised, um, on a working farm near Oh, that makes a big difference. right, near Dayton, Ohio, and he said, you know, he's, he's slowly getting me to, um, not feel isolated if we move to where there's more land. Uh-huh. You really aren't isolated because it's, the advantages, your home is far enough away that you're not bothered by being too close to people, Right. but yet you can have your friends, uh, you can have them in, you can go out. Uh-huh. You have more of a choice, you're not pressed upon as bad. That's kind of what, like his parents have, uh, land that they retired to, um, about a hundred miles out of Atlanta and, in Georgia, Uh-huh. and it is too far south for me, Uh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, um, um, but I mean, they have one of the, um, when they said log cabin, I just laughed, that they retired to, but they built one of these. I mean, it's just beautiful. It's like a custom, you know it's not like what I would think of when I think of old log cabins. You know, I mean, it's modern it's, More luxury. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Right, right, it's modern, it's beautiful, it's country Right, yeah. it's you know, um, but, uh, I don't, what else about housing except it's, uh, well, Pittsburgh's housing economy, I think it's holding it's own. Uh, they're, yeah, I suppose they are now. We, both of our children who live there have just bought a home. Uh, in the Mount Lebanon area. What part, what sections are they in? Yeah, that's nice. And, uh, the one, the one boy, the house they bought is completely livable. They didn't have to do much to it. Great. The other one is, uh, uh, has, you know, needs more work done. It's twenty years old, I think. Uh-huh. And, but they have two children, too, and they, they bought what they could afford. Uh-huh. That's, yeah, a really good friend of mine lives in Penn Hills, and they've been in their house, oh, probably about twelve years now Uh-huh. and, um, it's, it's, you know, they're going to start to see their return on their investment very soon. Uh-huh. Um, but it's a beautiful home and, I mean, my brother lives, They are beautiful homes. is it called Baldwin or Bebble? Uh-huh, uh-huh. I mean, he lives all in that same area going from Mount Lebanon, um, it's real pretty up there. It's just, It is, it's real nice. And the neighborhoods are stable you know. Uh-huh. It's, uh, when you come to this part of the country, we've been away from Dallas long enough that you see the difference in housing. Oh, my you you do when you When we first got married, uh, my husband works for the state, and we moved once a year usually Oh, my goodness. And then after they had to start paying to move us, that suddenly wasn't necessary any more Uh-huh. That's what it is here, yeah, that's why we're at a point now we've, uh, we're adopting and we have been married ten plus years and what happens is, uh, you just realize that once you get to a certain age the next house that you get we'll be staying in Yeah, Right, yeah, you have to stop some place, yeah. that's kind of like where we're, Yeah. so we're considering Pennsylvania, and we're just kind of, you know, toying with what exactly, where we want to be, you know. Uh-huh. I do too, A lot of people say it doesn't matter where they live if they have a nice house and, but I disagree with that, I. I've heard too many people say, I hate it here. Uh-huh. You know, they buy a place and they just hate the area. I know, and it, and the economy here in Dallas, I mean, it, it's steady, but it's still not going up. Uh-huh. And I, um, I just refuse to buy it, um, if I know I'm not going to be there for at least five years, uh, you, you know. Uh-huh. Yeah, well, my brother, they're having trouble selling their home, see. Oh, I'm sure, yeah, there, I mean, you can go down a street, and here, he told you this, every other house, you know, if it's been foreclosed on or, you know, even big executives Right, uh-huh. Oh, yeah, yeah. um, it's really, I mean, and, and it's hard to sell the properties. People from J C Penney's from New York, came here about a couple of years ago. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And they thought they were getting a great deal, um, because they could get a five hundred thousand dollar home with, they call it, zero lot lines, no property, And it would make you ill to see this. Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. I mean it would probably be like your house on, uh, you know, a half a city block in Pittsburgh or something. I, I couldn't handle that Yeah, I know, and that's, you know, like I can look outside right now and look into the next unit. Uh-huh. You know, it's across the way, and it's landscaped and all that with azaleas, Uh-huh. but it's still, it's still not that private. I get tired, uh, sometimes, mowing, because we mow, you know, a good bit of ground around the house area. Yeah but you have a rider. And I do get tired of that but, uh, I don't know, I don't think I'd want to change it. No, and your kids have, to tell you the truth, um, I think that if you can keep that, that way, you know, kind of like a homestead, Hello. Hi, uh, basically, I wear pants. I'm a real pants person and, uh, like when I'm at home since, and I'll say, I'm a homemaker since that's my basic thing, uh, I wear a pantsuit most of the time. Not a pantsuit, I guess pants and a shirt and, uh, in the summertime I wear cotton tops. Cotton top shirts and in the winter I wear, uh, like sweaters. I like sweaters a lot. And so I do that. But when I go out for meetings uh, then I will wear either, uh, skirts or, uh, a dress and I have a couple of pantsuits because those are real in at this time, but, that's basically what I do. Well, I think our tastes are fairly similar, although I am I government worker, I do tend to, I'm, uh, a scientist. Oh. So that technically, I suppose, I could get away with, with extremely casual clothes, but, for the most port, part I don't. I wear fairly respectable looking shoes and and a pantsuit of one sort or another Right. and, uh, I guess dress it up with a, with a, a very nice black jacket when I have, have visitors or have to give talks. Well, that sounds nice. Right. Uh, it said the seasons, do, do you change much through the season or, No, actually I guess this summer I, I wore some fairly nice jeans uh, more than I have in previous seasons. Uh-huh. But, uh, no, I tend to, to use the same things because actually our offices are very cold in summer. I don't know whether they think by, you know, freezing them up overnight, then they can save electricity during the day or something. Maybe. But but, you know, you wear a heavy sweater in your office, all summer. No. So, right, uh, yeah, I don't, I don't, I, you know, I'm not a clothes horse in the sense that some of my friends. Uh-huh. And I guess although in, as I recall the stereotype of, of secretaries was, you know, overdress, over kill, sort of Yeah. and in a in a sense, the people I know who spend the most on clothes are secretaries. Yeah. Although the fact that most of the ones I know are in the government and they're not meeting the public it, I find it a little bit strange that their priorities would, would be to spend this money here Right. You know, Uh-huh. I mean, I suppose if you were a, a, more a receptionist and meeting the public and it was the image of your company at stake perhaps you would have to dress up. Then Uh, well, I don't have the resources to just go out and buy, buy, buy anyway and so my don't change dramatically over the years. If I need something new, I will go and buy it. But, basically I'm a, a pretty much the same in the summertime I wear the light cotton and in the wintertime I change to the sweaters. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, so, it's not a whole lot of, of change for me either. And, uh, especially when I go to the meetings and wear the dresses I, I, I enjoy that, but it just wouldn't be, uh, smart for me to do that in my home with my children. Uh-huh. So, I have to, uh, think about things like that, too. I have given seminars before in, in creative writing and things like that. Now, I don't know if they consider that a job. I don't really get paid for that, uh, often, but, uh, when I do that then I, I think I become more businesslike. Uh, but it doesn't really change my clothing style. Exactly. I mean, you can look businesslike in, in a the same pant suit you would, you know wear for other things. Yeah. Yeah, I'm, I'm really glad about that pant suits are popular because I'm allergic to many of the synthetics. Oh. And so I used to have a problem when, when I was working in a restaurant while I was in college and had to dress up, and nylons and things like that would just give me a terrible rash. Uh-huh. Oh, dear. That's not helpful. right. But otherwise, now, I'm, I guess we're both pretty practical Yeah, I guess so Well, it's been great talking to you. Okay. Have a great day. Well, have a good day. Bye. Bye-bye. What do you think? Well, uh, this is, this is about drug testing right? Right. Well, uh, I'm, I'm certainly under the, uh, uh, the influence of the idea that, that the government needs to have less control on what, uh, what the citizens do, although I do see this as a, uh, something that definitely needs to be taken care of. Whether that, whether that should be put in the hands of the corporation or the, the hands of the, hands of the government is a, you know, a, a different question I think, as far as I'm concerned. in, in other words, I am in favor of drug or, or, or drug testing. Uh, I was drug tested when I came to my job here at T I. Yet but, but at the same time, I don't think, uh, that should be governed by by the government, uh, per se. Uh-huh. I think it should be more by the private institution. How about you? Yeah, I think that the corporations should, uh, do all that. They should, uh, have drug screening before they hire an employee Uh-huh. and, uh, any time that an employee, like if they're coming to late work all the time and, uh if they, if they're, especially if there's they're on the line or any kind of sensitive job where, you know, if they can, if they made a mistake, it would cost a lot of money or Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure. Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I agree with you. I, you know, I would even think that, uh, uh, I could, in theory take that a a, you know, a step further and say anybody in any job, you know, if the corporation felt like, uh, and this is why, I mean, uh, drugs are the biggest problem, I think to face America today. I mean it's what drives crime, it's what drives, uh, uh, any sort of, of, uh, uh, pain and discomfort in the world, or in America I think is is somewhat, uh, uh, driven by drugs and I think that, uh, were corporations and, uh, private industry to take, uh, take command in this situation, that maybe, maybe we might have some, some control over that. We, you know, if you can't work, then you can't be a little bit harder to take, take drugs or whatever, I don't know. Course, that might up crime, you know, when, uh, people go in and steal your television and and sell it just because they can't, they can't work anymore, you know. Yeah, yeah, but you got to have a, a safe work place. That's all there is to it. Definitely, you, you're definitely right. That, uh, you can't, you can't have it any other way. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, whether whether in, in the case that you brought up, you know, whether, uh, you know, if it's a policeman and he's working with, uh, the public and he has a, and has a gun in his holster or, or even, you know, if it's a guy at McDonald's cooking a burger, I think, they're dangerous in either situation. Uh-huh. Uh, I, what, what do you think, uh, what percentage of, of corporations and, uh, private industry do you think use, uh, drug testing? I think it's, it's more frequent now. It's probably like forty, fifty percent. Oh, really? Yeah. Uh-huh. Because, uh, all the jobs that I've applied for have, uh, mentioned some type of drug screening. Uh, I work at Sears. Right. What kind of work are you in? Uh-huh. And I just do warehouse work. Uh-huh, and did they give you drug testing? Uh, not, they hired me in nineteen eighty-four Oh. Okay. But now they, they, uh, they issued a statement about that, about three months ago. Uh-huh. Oh, so are they going to, uh, begin spontaneous, uh, drug testing? Uh, not that I know of. It was more about, uh, all the people's problems. Like they've been laying off a lot of people. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. And, uh, and, uh, they sent out the employee assistance cards for anyone that had any sort of drug problem or work related problem. Sure. Family problems, you know. They kind of covered everything. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But I know they have a lot of drug problems so, Yeah. What do you think about, uh, you know, something that kind of concerns me is, uh, you know, you and I are tested for, for whatever work we happen to do. Do you think there should be drug testing for political officials? Yes, I do. Yeah, I do, too. Because, because a lot of them are, you know, they're hypocritical. They, they talk against drugs Yeah. and then they get caught, you know. Uh-huh. In stings in Washington. *one utt with a.61 Yeah. Whether it's drugs or any other kind of, uh, like the, the money laundering scams. All that was drug related. Oh, yeah. So, and that cost us, the country, you know, billions of dollars. Sure, sure, yeah. So, I would agree with you. I, I can't see, I can't see how we can expect the, you know, uh, uh, people working in the, in, in America to, uh, to put any trust into our political officials if they don't, you know, uh, just doesn't make sense to have them to, to worry about legislation unless they're doing that themselves. Doug, you want to start? Sure. You don't use any credit cards, I don't imagine. No. Of course I use, credit cards. I have a couple of credit cards and, uh, use them. Yeah. Uh-huh, do you use them a lot? Oh, we try not to. Uh-huh. We're on a pretty strict and tight budget. Uh-huh. We use the credit cards, however, when we're at a situation where we don't have either the cash or the checkbook handy. Uh-huh. Or we use credit cards also, if we want to get an extended warranty on an item that we're purchasing. So. So, yes, Oh, well, that's an idea, that's a thought, uh-huh. and basically we use it mainly when we're traveling or out of state or or somewhere where, you know, they don't take local, they don't take out of state checks Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and so when we're traveling some. Do you use credit cards often? My husband loves them Uh, we do use them. Uh, we try not to, but, he, he's one who believes in credit cards, and he uses them quite a bit. Uh-huh. He likes using them and then just pay at the end of the month Oh, yeah, well that's, that's a good thing, because lot of people don't pay at the end of the month He, he likes that, Uh-huh. and they just pay the minimum required balance. And that's when you get into expenses. Yes, and you get in over your head. Right. It'll, uh, some people I know also try to use it as float where they buy something now Uh-huh. and say, well, I'm going to buy this when it's good and on sale and then I can go ahead and pay for it when I get my check at the end of the month Uh-huh. when I'm being paid. Right. Well, sometimes you do come on bargains and that, and it's really useful. That's true. And some places won't take, you know, like personal checks or cash, even Uh-huh. but they would take a credit card. Right. How how are the laws in Pennsylvania, uh, as, as regard, well not the laws, but the rates, credit card rates in Pennsylvania? For example down here, when you go up to a gas station you get an extra charge for credit cards than you would by paying for cash. Uh-huh. Right. Are they the same there? We, yeah, we have the same thing up here, so we don't deal where they do that We you know, we go to places where they don't charge extra. Some of them charge five cents a gallon, even, like the gas stations more, That's pretty steep. And, uh, we just try to avoid, you know, the ones that do that, we just don't, uh, go there because there's enough other ones around that don't charge you anything Yes. extra because actually, to me, credit cards are the same as cash, Uh-huh, uh-huh. to me they are, anyway, Yes, because you make the deduction at the time of the purchase and, and so that the end of the month or when you get your credit card bill are you saying that that way you're not left stranded and high and dry Right. Right, yeah. Yes. Yeah, right. Very good. You're, you're one of the good, I guess, good faithful shoppers that don't get into a problem when it comes to budgeting their money. Well, I can't say we never have. Now we have, you know, at times, made payments on our things, Uh-huh. but we try not to. We try hard, Well, yeah, well, I see that as an advantage to a credit card, also Uh-huh. that you can can find yourselves in those situations and use a credit card to to help yourself. Uh-huh. Right. Right. So I think that there's a great advantage to a credit card in those situations. Uh-huh. Yeah, because sometimes, uh, there's times when you may, maybe couldn't take advantage of something Uh-huh. but with a credit card you can. So. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Um, do you have, uh, multiple credit cards? Uh. And do you find that advantageous or, Well, I think we're narrowing it down, actually. Uh, uh, like I said, my husband likes them, and we have quite a few, but we really get, when you get down to the nitty gritty, there's probably three that we use most of the time. Uh-huh. Right. We're, we're actually in the same boat. Uh-huh. We like to use three, uh, basic credit cards. Uh-huh. That way we're not confused and we don't have an awful lot of expenses or surprises when it comes the end of the month. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, do you find that you get an awful lot of credit card applications through the mail? Oh, yes. Once a week, twice a week, or three times a week. Well, it's not every week, but you, you do get them. They make it very readily available. Yeah. Almost too much so. But I I really don't like it the charges that, you know, we try to limit, look at that also, what they charge per year to use our money, you know Right, so the annual fee. Right, right, they're charging us to spend our money, and, I, I'm not real crazy about that, so we try to look at that also. Yes, so there is the basic annual fee for the credit card plus they charge any where from seventeen to twenty-three percent uh, based upon what the state will allow, Uh-huh, Right. Okay, Miss Nancy, we should be in business now. Good. Did you hear the questions that the lady, uh, brought up? Yes. Such as how much time, well, I'll ask, how much time do you spend with your children, and how many do you have? We have two children, they're both grown and married and with, we have, uh, our daughter has three sons, so we see them at least once a week, and we see our son and his wife uh, about every other week and, uh we baby-sit quite frequently. Uh-huh. So we're a fairly close-knit family. We're together a lot on special days and, uh, and of course, with the holidays and everything. Well, you're very fortunate. Uh, my my, uh, I have two girls and a son, Uh-huh. And my oldest daughter lives in Amsterdam, Holland. Oh. She Her husband builds pianos, so it's kind of hard for us to visit with them, as much as I'd like to. Because we've, we, one thing we do have together is we're both musicians. Oh, yes. I play in several symphony orchestras and, she is a, a, a concert, uh, harpsichordist. And travels around a good bit in Europe. Uh-huh. Oh. Uh-huh. And, uh, her husband builds forte pianos, which are harpsichord size pianos. Pianos, uh-huh. And, uh, that's why they're over there. And then I have a, a son who lives in, uh, Warrington, Pennsylvania. Uh-huh. And I get to see him maybe once every three months. So I really, we've lost, you know, I'd like to have an everyday contact with children, uh, as well as you do, for that matter, and my young , my youngest daughter lives in New Jersey, and so they, I don't hardly get to see any of them. Oh, you don't get to see any of yours very often. She works in these, um, Trump type casinos, she and her husband both do. They work, uh, they're really both, um play, people who play on stage Yes, uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, they're running lights right now and audio and that thing for, plays and things that go on. Uh-huh. But anyhow uh, what do you, what activities do you do with your children when you are together? Oh, most the time, well, right now it's football season, and our daughter is a big Cowboy fan, as is our husband, so, my husband, so she watches that and I play with the grandchildren I enjoy the grandchildren. But, now, like last weekend, um, there's the Soviet space exhibit is here in Dallas, and it ends, uh, in January, Oh. so she and, and the three boys and my husband and I went over into Fort Worth to see the space exhibit and this Sunday, The Soviet space exhibit? Uh-huh. My goodness. Yeah Oh, it's been here for quite, uh, some time. I am surprised they would bring anything over here. I think it came here in either September or October and, it's very interesting, very interesting, Uh-huh. I'll bet. and it's been very well done Uh, and this, uh, next Sunday they're coming over after the Cowboy game and, uh, uh, we're going to go take the boys to see Christmas lights and go to a Santa's village. Uh-huh. And, uh, then when our son's over, we have a pool, and he and his wife come and a lot of their friends, and we have cookouts on Sunday uh, Well, that sounds like you have really, wonderful activities that keep you together. And, uh we, we do a lot with with our kids, and we we always have. Yeah. Uh-huh. *slash error, should be 'b' We've taken a lot of trips with our kids when they were younger. Uh, we're very family oriented. We, um, we like being with our kids, and the kids seem to enjoy being with us, and their friends enjoy being with us. So which that keeps us very, very young, with all these young people passing in and out and eating, Uh-huh. and seems like I've, The only problem is, it keeps you pretty busy, keeping everything going, doesn't it? Well, it does I'm worried about Christmas. Christmas Eve they all pass through, and then they all end up spending the night Christmas Eve night, so that, we open our presents on Christmas day Uh-huh. Beautiful. and they go out to the other, you know, the in-laws in between some of this, but they're all, with us, Uh-huh. and, uh, then have Christmas dinner with us and then go to other in-laws and things, so we see a lot of them. But we enjoy Christmas Eve night, because they all start arriving by about eleven o'clock, and we open presents about five o'clock Christmas, morning, and, you know, and, uh, then, I go to the kitchen and cook, Uh-huh. and my sister and, and her husband are coming down, so there's going to be eleven of us for Christmas. That's great. There's a, the question now to ask, is it difficult to find time, and you seem to be making out all right. Yeah. Sometimes I'm a little exhausted Well, tell me, what do you think of, uh, of the current trends of how other people spend time with their children and so forth? Oh, I, I think the trends are going back to spending more time with families. Uh-huh. I think parents are definitely, uh, spending more and more time. I don't think they're leaving them with baby-sitters, you know. I think, I think family quality time is becoming much more important than it was there for about, uh, I don't know, eight or nine years. Yes. Uh-huh. Seems like it went through a spell there where families weren't that big a deal. Parents kind of went and did their thing, kids did their thing. Yes, Well, that's no, that's exactly what I was going to say. Of, of course, I find now that I spend more time with my grandchildren in detail. uh-huh. I know more about them and watch their growth and how they improve and, and learn much more so than my own kids. When, when your own children are growing up, you just take them for granted and you go ahead and do your thing and, Okay. Do you have any children? Uh, yes, I have a daughter. Uh-huh. I don't any children so I'm going to have difficulty with this topic. Oh, okay. But, uh, what kinds of things do you and your family do? Um, well, we go out and fly kites and we go fishing. And we go to movies and we go out to the farm. And, and, uh, she likes to pick flowers and look at birds. Um. Then your kind family is probably pretty rare now a days. I don't see a lot of families fishing and doing things like that. That's great. Well, I'm divorced, but that's what, when she's with me that's what we do. Yeah. And we color a lot and I read her stories. Uh-huh. That's great. Yeah. I think a lot of families now, they probably don't spend enough time together. Yeah. You know, whether their parents are together or divorced they don't spend enough time together and, and I think that contributes to a lot of why society is going downhill right now is because the basic family unit is being destroyed. Just simply because that time isn't spent just doing things like fishing and, uh, because that I think that when you spend a lot of time with each other you communicate a lot. And the communication helps you build on your, uh, helps just, just build your family. Uh-huh And even, even when I was, when I was, uh, living with her with did stuff then too, Yeah, Uh-huh. Yeah. That's pretty, to me that's pretty rare. I know. I like that. Whenever I do have children I, I'm going to try as hard as I can to see that we spend a lot of time together, you know, maybe just even, if we just rent a movie and watch it together just to make sure that everybody's not going out and doing and their her own thing all the time. Uh-huh. You know, that's good sometimes because you need to, you know, get away. But, um, I don't think you, you should spend too much time outside at the detriment of, of losing your the family unit. Yeah, that's right. Because then you never get to know them either. Uh-huh. They're all grown up and their, Yeah. Yeah. And as I understand it, I don't know, I haven't experienced it, Yeah. Uh-huh. And once they hit like ten or eleven or twelve, you know, you've pretty much lost them Yeah, they're out doing stuff by that time. Yeah. So, um, do you think that you, do you think that your family is pretty rare in that you do a lot of things or just the relationship between you and your daughter? Yeah, I really do because, because I don't see many others and when, whenever we go to the park or something sometimes on the weekdays, we'll see other families. Uh-huh. But, not usually on the weekends we don't see very many in comparison. What do you think is the key to, to just bringing the American family back together? What kinds of things do you think can? Well, I think they can turn off the T V for one thing. And, and go out and do stuff, you know. Yeah, that's true. Huh. I think that's the first thing a lot of people do Because she always likes to do things whenever the T V off. You know, she'll forget about the T V completely. and I know I'm guilty of it. Like I came in from work today first thing I did was turn the TV on. Because I taped the stories from earlier today. Uh-huh. Right. And I like to watch 'em but, I think that's that is a big problem. The television and it's, it's too static, you know, it's something that you can do but there's no thinking involved, no motion, you know, and I think, think that's another reason why people are, uh, so health conscious now is because America's becoming really a couch potato society. Uh-huh. You know, people aren't doing anything just sitting around, you know, no thinking involved and now, I think I think people are trying to get out of that. At least and that, um, there's a lot of um, it's becoming really health conscious and that people are you know starting to look out for cholesterol and things like that trying to get out and workout more often and jog and walk and different things like that. And that's probably good, you know, if you get your family involved in exercising and maybe playing tennis or something like that, that also helps. That's also something, you know, family oriented that everyone can do. Yeah. Um. Yeah. But when was, uh, when she was here last summer we played tennis but she hasn't brought her tennis racquet over lately. Uh-huh. When, How, how old is she? she's five. Um. Well, she has, We, we just been hitting the ball on the ground. Yeah, yeah. She can't hit it in the air yet, and then we kick the ball. We play like soccer. You've still have a lot of time before she gets up in years Uh-huh. That's good. That's good. Yeah. Um. Okay. Well it was very nice talking to you. Nice talking to you. Okay. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. So you like to fish, huh? Yeah, I like to, I don't have a boat, but I like to fish and there's a lot of lakes around here. Uh, are there many lakes up there? Yeah, actually there are quite a bit of lakes around me. We uh, we have the, those little, the, the, the Great Lakes, you know, uh, Lake Ontario is right near here. Uh-huh. Plus, we're in what's called the Finger Lake Region of New York where there're lots of small lakes everywhere and these are, uh, real good, uh, for, like, you know, bass fishing and so forth. They have mostly small mouth in them or, No, we have a, actually quite a lot of variety. There's, uh, there's, we have large mouth, small mouth, uh, sort of musky, pike, stuff like that. Uh-huh. You know, all sorts of fun stuff like that. Uh, we have a pretty large bass masters tournament actually takes place right on Lake Ontario every year. Oh, yeah, that's right, uh-huh. So it's, it's, that's, a lot of fun. Uh-huh. How about you? Do you like, what do you like to go for? Oh, it's, it's, uh, I fish for bass, but I hardly ever catch one, but, uh, uh, they have a tail race over in Lake Lavon Yeah. and, uh, you know, they wash, when they open up the dam and let out water, they wash down the fish and, uh, you catch that white bass and crappie out of there. Um. Every once in a while there'll be striped bass. We have, uh, some friends who live on the lake Uh-huh. and, it, the lake it just seems, is, is completely filled with bass to the point where, you know, normally you go, go fishing for bass, you get a lot of sunfish, or, or cat or whatever, and some other strange stuff. *listen But in this particular lake, we went out with some friends, once and we just, every time you tossed the line in, you pull up a five, six, seven inch minimum bass and usually you pull up, you know, thirteen to fourteen inch bass. Wow. Yeah, it's a real, it's a real enjoyable experience to go fishing there because we just, we pull up, you know, bass after bass Uh-huh. probably during, during perch season the perch will run in very large schools, so what they'll do is you'll, you'll be sort of boating around, these people own a little row boat, and they'll be boating around and they'll hit a, they'll hit a school of perches in the middle Uh-huh. and when they do, you can just drop the lines in and just pull them in one at, they, they just drop it in. They can't pull it in fast enough. What do you, what do you catch perch on? Uh, I, they actually, they, according to them, you can catch, when the perch are running, you can catch them on just about anything. Huh. They tend to use, I guess worms or some kind of lures sometimes, but, you know, I've, she told me that they will sometimes use corn or anything, you know. Uh-huh. They'll, corn or salami or bread or anything, they'll, they'll, they'll hit because they're just sort of surrounded, these large schools. Yeah, it's, sometimes I use corn, but, uh, uh, some fish steal it off the hook sometimes. Yeah, it's a big problem. Yeah, uh, the other day I was fishing with bread, uh, there's a college across the street Yeah. and they, it's, it's full of carp and, uh, I caught a carp on a, about, what size is that, uh, I think it was a number two treble hook, Um. and it's huge, its, its mouth was full of hooks. Wow. So he was in a bad way. But, uh, it's, he was fast. He, A big one? Yeah. Well, it's, uh, it was sixteen inches long. Wow, that's, that's, that's a nice size carp. Yeah, I think it was about a pound and a half, you know, but all they're good for is the fight. Boy they they really don't want to come out of the water they, they zip through the water, you know, you're, how your line goes, you know Uh-huh. and I thought, you know, that, uh, I wasn't going to be able to get it in, because, uh, the one I hooked just about ten minutes before, when I tried to raise it out of the water, it fell off, so it wasn't hooked very well. But, you know, I got it that far, I figured that, uh, That, that, that counts. Yeah, that's what I said. That's what I told the guy. The guy was standing there and he laughed when it fell off and I said, that's a quick release, right there. Do you, do you, do you actually like the taste of do you, like, eat the fish that you catch or are you more of a sport fisherman? Uh, catfish, yeah. But, uh, I haven't eaten anything else, you know. Uh, there's some, uh, my dad has a farm and there's, he has two ponds up there and my uncle has a, a pond upstream and there's a lot of crappie in there now. But, uh, I think he's the only one that's, that's caught enough crappie or, a big enough crappie to eat. But the catfish, there's, you know, there's hundreds of them from like two to six pounds and, that, yeah. Right, so you can just, oh, because I don't actually like fish. It's sort of, so when I fish, it's more for sport than anything else. Yeah, and if, you know, when you, when you have to look in their eyes and, you know, hit them in the head or whatever, that's what you do with a catfish you know, because you have to sever their spinal cord. Right. And, and, and, and, and be careful you don't get stung. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know it. Have you ever tried, uh, deep sea fishing? Uh, not yet. My brother went off the coast of Maine, uh, when the, I don't know, what they, mackerel Yeah. that school up there? *listen--is there overlap? It's he, he said that it was just like that. They were throwing like, uh, uh, hell benders or, uh, uh, some other kind of treble hook lure and, and, uh, each time they bring them in they'd have at least one, sometimes they've had two on, you know, one on every hook. Yeah, we, I was out in Florida with a friend a while ago and we would go and just, uh, drop two, you know, a, a two or three rig, two or three hooked rig as well down off a boat. We just dropped it down there and, the captain had, you know, some kind of sonar in the boat Uh-huh. so he'd maneuver us into a school of fish and you just drop it in and and it just, you, you get one or two at a shot, you know and, It's a good deal, too. Yeah. It was, it was a, like twenty dollars for six hours of fishing on some big charter boat. Wow. You know, and, and, and they'll clean your fish on a tip basis for you if you want. Yeah, down here it's like two hundred dollars a day. Well, this is, yeah, this, this, this was for a, you know, large, there were maybe thirty of us on the boat. A group party. We, we weren't all related, just, you know, thirty people off the shop in the boat there. Yeah. If you want to go on a boat alone, it's like two hundred dollars a day. Yeah. But this is great, because it was, I think it was nineteen dollars for five hours and twenty dollars for six hours or something. Uh-huh. You know, so you'd get to go out there for, for, for six hours and get a nice suntan and bring along some lunch and, and fish all day. It's really nice It's real enjoyable. Yeah. Well, I, I don't know if it's been five minutes yet or not. I think we're probably close, though. Yeah. It's nice talking to you. Nice talking to you, too. Good luck with fishing this season. Good luck. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. like in a room filled with What do you think about the benefits in jobs? Um, I'm, I'm relatively satisfied with the benefits I have. I think that, um, our health insurance is terribly expensive. Uh-huh. I'd rather that we got a bit more coverage for a lot less money. But, um, you know, that's, that's my major complaints, I guess. What about you? Yeah, and a lot of times they turn down your claims so that leaves you paying for all of it. Uh-huh. Or, or maybe that it's not understood what should be covered and what isn't. Uh-huh. Yeah. Right the health insurance I have is Met Life, Yeah, and, if, it's the type that if you go to a certain doctor then, uh, you just pay ten dollars and then, uh, the insurance pays the rest of the bill. Or if you go outside you get, uh, seventy thirty. Now we, I have just the regular insurance so that any doctor is covered but what I found recently is what they've been doing is they, they poll somehow the area, and then they have what they consider a justifiable price for the area where your doctor is located based on zip code. Uh-huh. And so recently, when, when we had a claim, um, they didn't pay the eighty-five percent they paid much lower and when I called they said, Oh well, that's because your doctor is charging much more than the norm for the area. And I was really surprised because either there aren't that many of that type of doctor within that zip code, so that, you know, two doctors could balance each other out, or their, you know, their statistics aren't very accurate. *listen Right. And, and they're probably doing it to their benefit, anyway. So, Yeah, I would assume that you know, whatever doctors are willing to do the paperwork and send it in. Uh-huh. But it's, it's difficult. What about other, other benefits? Are there others that you're dissatisfied with? Well, I work for Sears, and, and, um, that's about the, the only real benefit you have, is health insurance. Well, you have vacation, I Yeah, yeah, but everybody gets vacation. I mean, like, uh, T I and some other places, you know, they have recreational facilities, and they have a driving range and weight room and, you know, I think they even have a swimming pool Huh. and I don't know if they have any tennis courts or anything like that. Yeah, I'm not familiar with that sort of thing, but you know, to me vacation is, is an issue, and I mean, different places have different amounts of vacation, I would assume. Right. And, um, you know, the leniency with which they let you take leave without pay, perhaps or, um, I don't know, I suppose, um, sick days. Some places count the number of hours and some places just sort of believe you. Uh-huh. Um, ours is based on number of days, and, you know, people try to build them up in case they really do get seriously ill. Right. Right. But, um, otherwise, I'm not aware of any problems with the benefits around here So maybe that covers the topic then. Yeah. Well, I don't know, the the working conditions, you know, if you could include that in benefits. Some places aren't very safe to work. Uh-huh. And, and some places don't compensate you for the hazards that you, that you have to work under. Uh-huh. Or maybe a uh, not really a benefit, either, but would be the allowing you to use the telephone for personal calls. Right, uh-huh. Um, but, you know I suppose some places are, are more stringent about that than others. Yeah, I think so. And, and, maybe arriving late or something like that, you know, how, how they enforce the rules. Uh-huh But other than that I don't have much feeling for, for the benefits, since, like I said, um, I don't have a big problem with, with them. Um, workmen's comp is a big thing now in, in Texas because, um, um, how much it costs the employers Uh-huh. and a, a lot of them are going to their own insurance now. And it reduces some of the length of the benefits, and, uh, and I don't know besides that. But I, I noticed right off that was a year less than what the state was allowing. Oh I, I didn't know that somebody could avoid workmen's compensation. Well, well, they still have to pay it but they buy their own instead of going through the state. Oh, I see. So apparently it costs less that way. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I suppose that whenever companies can avoid, um, benefits, it's to the, to, to the benefit of the company Uh-huh. and at least, you know, financially in the short run, but I would think they would get a much greater turnover and that people would be dissatisfied Yeah. That's what I, what I think they should be able, they should be able to judge their benefits on how happy their employees are and how much profit they're making instead of trying to cut everything down *listen and then have everybody be unhappy and, and have a constant turnover of people. I mean, sure, the payroll is lower that way, but I would assume that the productivity is way down, also. Yeah, the productivity and the training costs, if they have to train the same employee, a new employee every six months, then I don't see how they can save money. Uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, and once they once they get somebody good, they ought to hang onto them. That's right. No, I agree. Okay, it was nice talking to you. Well thank you for calling. Bye-bye. Yeah. Bye-bye Bye-bye. All right. Well, she lives in Utah, so. Oh, uh-huh, uh-huh. That's the way we always were. We always lived away from our family and relatives while the kids were growing up. Yeah. So, well, I guess we're going to talk about children today. Okay, let's do So, you ready? My children are all gone already. Uh-huh. They're, they're all out on their own. So, uh, do you want to start first do you work? Okay. No, I don't, Uh-huh. I stay home most of the time but I know that it's very difficult to, to find good help sometimes when and especially when your, when you want your children to be taken care of. Right. Um, you know, there's a, my neighbor she tends children though and, and, um, there's a big controversy whether they should have to, um, have a, a a law to have them certified or, or not. Uh-huh. And, um, you know, there's pros and cons on both side of that Right. because if they were, then you kind of know that they had to go through some kind of testing, or some kind of something to be on , get an okay seal. Uh-huh. Yeah, but yet most of the problems we hear, of course, maybe that's what we hear about is from organized and approved day care centers. That's right. That's right. But maybe we don't hear about the other ones though that could be. Yeah. You know, the individual incidence or something. Uh-huh. Uh, now, usually when I have someone tend, um, my oldest tends for me now if I go somewhere but, Uh-huh, how old, is your oldest? before, He's almost a teenager Oh, well, he's plenty big enough then Yeah, he's, he's very good. Um, but, um, before that I would, I would use, uh, kids from our church, Uh-huh. and they did a good job, for me. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Um, but I've never had to leave them like in a day care center, or anything, Uh-huh. and I've been very lucky just be able to stay home. That's the way with me. I, I worked four years one time, but my last two children were, uh, both entering high school age. Uh-huh. And, uh, they were, of course, gone while I was working so it wasn't a problem I saw, and I stayed home the rest of the time. Yeah. I, so I didn't have that problem either. Now I have, I, my oldest daughter she has two children and they've been in day care, uh, Uh-huh. she works full time. Yeah, that's hard. It, it's difficult but yet she's the type of person that, I don't know, if she'd be happy staying at home. Well, some people aren't. Uh-huh. Yeah. She, she surprised me though. She's done a lot of things that I never thought she would do, you know, with, with the family because she was the one that said she was never getting married and never going to have any children. Oh, is that, is that right? So, she is, she spends a lot of quality time I think when she is with, with the children. I think that's really important. And, uh, they've used the day care most of the time. They tried one once. They had a lady come in. Uh-huh. And, uh, she, she also had a small child she brought with her. And it did not work out. Uh, at all Uh-huh. It, she thought it was going to. She was real excited because it was so much easier than taking the children out, in the morning, Yeah, uh-huh. but, uh, the lady called and her baby wasn't very old at the time and said she was having trouble. And this baby is the, is the most pleasant, uh, real pleasant baby easy to satisfy usually. And, and she was having problems with her, and so she called and said things were okay, settled down and was all right. Yeah, yeah. Well, my daughter decided to call them and check and things weren't okay Oh. Her, her one son was watching the soapies which she doesn't allow them to watch the soapies. Oh, uh-huh. And the baby was in his crib with the door shut just screaming his heart out, Oh, dear. and the baby-sitter was in the kitchen with her baby. Oh. And so that ended that, episode, Yeah. and she was most upset, uh, over finding this. Yeah, I bet. So, uh, she, they kind of had decided that the day care was better. There's, uh, more people involved, Uh-huh. more than one adult they, and the age groups are separated Uh-huh. Well, nannies have been an option, uh, but I know that at day care they have more of a, a routine like maybe in, uh, preschool would have where they have lessons and, so forth, and so on. Yes, story time, uh, Uh-huh. and the, this one has been particularly nice. It, uh, it kept track of what they did, Uh-huh. and they would tell the parents what they did that day. You know, if they said anything or did anything. So it kind of kept them, Gave you an idea of what your child, was progressing in or doing. Yeah. I I always thought that if you were checking into a day care, that you would be good to get references, uh, on people that had been in that day care but was no longer there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because they wouldn't have nothing to worry about saying, you know, if there was a problem they, they would I think be more ready to tell you what it was. Oh, I think so, because if they were still there, you know they might not, They may not say anything. Right, right. And, uh, other than how else, how do you judge other than from what others have, uh, what you see, uh, the cleanliness and that type of thing. You can't really. You can't really unless your child would be old enough to say something, Uh-huh. and usually they aren't at that age. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But it would be real difficult to pick you, you know, to find one and decide. Well, I know I, uh, about three years ago I, I tended some children. And, uh, you know, I, I wondered if I would have to be certified Uh-huh. or whether they'd just bring them and and we got to where, well, we were just friends Uh-huh. and so, they said, no, don't do that, we'll just bring them. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And then if there was a problem and then we'd sit down, and talk about it Uh-huh. but it never happened, to be a problem, Yeah. Yeah. and, and so things worked out okay, and their kids played with my kids and it worked out well. it worked out good. I'm going to, I've decided I'm going to baby-sit my two granddaughters. Oh. Since they'll be going back at the end of the month. And so, I'm going to give it a try. That's great. I, I, I sell Avon and Stanley products, Oh, uh-huh. and I've got that worked out. My husband, he's retired so he's going to deliver my products so I'll do my orders and that by phone. Well, that will be great. So, um, I'll be able to keep that up a little bit. Yeah. But I I think I'll enjoy doing , Yeah. I bet you'll have some great experiences with them. Yeah, I, I think I'll enjoy. Yeah. I, I guess I kind of miss having a baby around A kid around or something Sure, why not. That's right. Yeah. Right. That's right Well, they do say you enjoy them more, a some, somebody said if they knew grandchildren where so much fun, they would have had them first Well, uh, my husband's mother lives right over here, and she takes care of them sometimes, for me, Uh-huh. and, and just is a lovely lady, Uh-huh. and I've always appreciated when she's sat with them. Yeah. My daughter, always said she would not let me baby-sit because you do hear grandparents complaining you know because they're stuck with their grandchildren so much. And, Oh Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But they're, the ones that complain a lot are the first I know they have a waiting list and a quota on immigration now. I've lost track. I don't really know. I, I do have some opinions, but go ahead. Yeah, um, well I know that they're, they're real cautious about letting Middle Eastern people into the country now because of all the terrorism. What, What? What all do you know about it? Uh, okay , I hadn't thought about that, uh. Uh, well I just have an opinion, now I didn't think, I thought the terrorism thing was overstated, I mean, there was nothing over here. In fact even, this is not our subject, I guess, but, uh, maybe it is or isn't, I suppose. Yeah. My wife when she talked about the Middle East and everyone's afraid, you know, of how the war was going to go and everything, I said, I told her, no, it's just not going to happen. There's not going to be any terrorism over him, and there wasn't, you know. They just didn't have an organization, but, uh, I, I, I'm concerned that we're letting too many, that we don't have enough controls. I think that, uh, the Asian gangsters that we've let in here and if and the guys from, uh, Cuba, you know, there's a lot of criminals down in Florida that we've let in from Cuba that Fidel pushed off on us, Uh-huh. and, uh, and the last, you know, out of all the Asians we brought in, there's a tremendous criminal element that we let in from, from Asia and I think that there's got to be some sort of controls over that. That's right. I mean this Asia mafia thing is getting out of hand. Uh-huh. I don't, I don't, I didn't know what, I don't even know what our controls are. I don't even know what, uh, if we have any guidelines at all, uh, on immigration. Um, I always thought that we did, but I don't, I don't, I don't know what they are right now. There, I don't think there's much of, much of one, because I'm sure all the people from Cuba have been released from that camp that they were in. Yeah. And, uh, most of them, it's just like Australia, most of them were criminals from Cuba Yeah. and I think that was just an attempt that, that Fidel Castro to undermine, you know the United States to some extent. Yeah. So he just released and got rid of all his criminals and sent them to us. And it's almost the same thing in, in, uh, from Asia, because a lot, a lot of them was put out of business in Vietnam after the war, Because we, and, I, I do have some sympathy with, uh, you know, of course we have this big Mexican problem, not a problem, but I think that we need to do something with, uh, the immigration of back and forth across Mexico, uh Uh-huh. I, I'm sympathetic, I don't know what the answer is, I guess. I'm sympathetic certainly with that, that, that they want to come over here and they, I guess hundreds of thousands come over every year to work. And if, if they have jobs, you know, I hear the story that they're taking away American jobs. But I don't know, uh, I don't know how many American jobs they are really taking away. Right. So I, I'm sympathetic, but I don't have an answer. I don't uh, I think that we should have good relations with, with Mexico, Uh-huh. but that's not really exactly immigration. It is and it isn't. I don't know to what degree we owe the people who come across before they're citizens, owe the children education and all that, uh, although, the idea of education is an answer to a lot of problems in the world. So I guess it's what they, Uh-huh. their, the Mexican kids get a good education along the way, and maybe that's a benefit to everybody, you know. Yeah, and a lot of the Mexican people just cross the border during the daytime to come over here and work Uh-huh. and they have green cards. And, uh, then, like you said, a lot of, I run into people every day that can't speak English. Oh, yeah. And, uh, and, and most of them, you know, are working in janitorial positions so, So, I, I don't know, Yeah. And that, like you said, I don't know how much, how much they're taking from the work force, you know. Yeah, I never thought that they were much. I do cringe when I hear some of the problems we've had. Uh-huh. Um, uh, of course you mentioned the language. I feel so bad that we, here in Texas, or certainly the southern part of the United States, uh, California, Texas, and all that, why our kids don't speak fluid Spanish, uh, by junior high, you know as well as us, you know Uh-huh. Uh-huh. so that we could, wouldn't have the language barrier certainly. That, that, that is a shame that we have this tremendous border of Mexico, and then, in Europe, you know, they speak their French and all and they try, they go out of their way to try to speak their neighbor's language so they can understand. We, we we don't really even make an effort to speak Spanish, Uh-huh. and I feel bad about that Go ahead. Well, that's, I yeah I took Spanish in school, and that's, you know, one reason that I did it is because, because whenever you travel anywhere near the border, you know, there more and more people speak Spanish. Yeah. Yeah, I guess it's never too late. I, I do have some Spanish books, and I've always, uh, every year I say I'm going to try to speak some newcomers language, you know. I don't know if it's costing us any money or how much money they're putting into it, uh, that's always a factor, I mean how much, my wife says, How much the federal government is putting into it immigration. Well yeah, well, it's basically on the, well, I think it's mostly concentrated toward the borders, and, uh, it's more, um, the immigration is tied in with, uh, drug trafficking. So they have to watch out who comes in, and, and they're always finding drugs on, you know, on the most, um, calls out in innocent looking kind of Yeah. I forgot what they found, but a dog found it the other day, you know on the border. Oh, yeah. Oh yeah, I, I, I think that certainly is a problem. I guess our immigration history, that's a great subject. They, uh, didn't say to talk about that, but that is, I mean, on Ellis Island, they, you know they're redoing that and going to make it a museum, a national museum. Uh-huh. That certainly was interesting, since all of us had, uh, ancestors that came over that way. Or not all, but I guess, I guess if you go back far enough you came over on a boat originally, you know. But, uh, a lot of us have parents, grandparents, my grandparents came over in about eighteen ninety or something like that. And I'm sure they came over, you know, through Ellis Island, you know. That's right. Well. *slash error Yeah, So we all immigrants, one way or another, well we certainly are, coming from Europe. and one of the, one of the things that really gets to me, uh, about the Mexicans is that, um, once they have children over here, their children are American citizens then. Oh, yeah, those were laws are unusual. Yeah, and then they'll ship the parents back and that leaves the children without any parents. So, And they, you know, and, and they just follow the rule no matter, you know. Yeah, So that doesn't seem fair to the children. sometimes common sense should take over rather than, yeah, that's a law doesn't sound like it makes any sense at all that you would do it that way. Right. Uh-huh. You would think they could at least get a, a, a visa or something until they, uh, get citizenship. I'm sure they want to. Yeah, and then they granted them amnesty if they could prove, when was that, it was in the eighties some time if they could prove they'd been here five years. Oh, yeah. I heard something about that, yeah. And, uh, a lot of them had been, you know. Yeah. Some of them, some of them moved back and forth, but uh, most of them don't ever want to go back to Mexico, Yeah. especially the way it was then. Oh no. Oh, no, I, I could see, you could see why. Uh-huh. I don't know how much immigration we have from Europe and everything. What the controls are. I think most, you know, like especially the celebrities and everything, they just have a, uh, well, they have to get a green card if they going to do any kind of work, you know, in movies and, and such. Yeah. But most of them have temporary visas. Yeah. I guess you can get work visas pretty easily, uh. As long, it's like well, it's a kind of a bad, a bad, bad example, but when Rafael Septien took the job with the Cowboys they had to offer his job to any other applicant that could do it. Yeah. Oh, really? Yeah. So that, you know, and that's the thing with the jobs. Yeah. And of course no one beat him out. Yeah. So, you know. He just ruined his own career, so. Oh, well yeah. Yeah Yeah, well it's still interesting after all this time that we're probably one of the, one of the few countries that people are still desperately trying to immigrate to. Uh, although I guess Europe, now that the Communism is falling apart, that maybe there'll be, won't be that much of a rush to get out of all the Communist countries, uh, I guess Poland now, now is noncommunist so maybe not, Uh-huh. maybe immigration from Europe to here will you know slowly, uh, change, maybe it'll be, even out like trade, you know. So many people will immigrate here in the twentieth, at the year two thousand, so many of the people will go back overseas. You know, maybe it will average out, I don't know. Yeah, I think so. It doesn't, has, doesn't seem so far. Because there are other I, uh, job opportunities, in Europe that there aren't here you know, even, um, Uh-huh. like orchestra players can find a job sometimes line in Europe when they can't find one here. Uh-huh. And I'm a trumpet player. Are you a teacher? Uh, no, I, uh, I don't any more. I just went to school and I was a music major for a while. Oh, really, yeah. But I had a trumpet teacher that played in the Mexico City Symphony. So, so he had to have a work visa there. Yeah. Oh. And of course they had a lot of musicians from, from other countries and, uh, in the Mexico City Symphony. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But I think, um, like three out of the four other people in the trumpet section are from Mexico now. Oh, really. But I think the conductor, I don't know, or one of the conductors is, is from another country. Uh-huh. It's like any other symphony. Yeah You know, and then, and Eduardo Mana's from Mexico so he had to, Well, I, um, I haven't really lived in a lot of big cities. I mean, I'm living in Dallas now. Plano is outside of Dallas, but, um, so I don't really have a lot of experience with air pollution. Huh-uh. But, I know when I lived down in Houston, on the outskirts of Houston, there were some towns like Pasadena that had oil refineries, Huh-uh. And, um, if you would drive by there, like on your way to the beach or something, there would just be dumping this huge amounts of smoke, into the air Huh-uh. Huh-uh. and it always smelled really bad. We know that, that was really, really, really bad for the atmosphere. What have you got up there? Well, I, I live out in the country, Huh-uh. so that part is good. Uh, we're maybe one hundred miles from Pittsburgh, which has a lot of pollution from their plants, Huh-uh. and right now in our area were fighting against a toxic waste incinerator. *sp: we're Oh, no. And, uh, it won't be too for from where we live. *sp: far And everybody really has been, you know, fighting against it, because we, we do not want it. Well, we don't want one any place Sure. we would like the, uh, industry to do more to take care of the waste products before they turn to incineration, because we feel that, uh, the small percentage that they're going to be putting into the air is too much. Huh-uh. Yeah. It's just, I mean, it's just so bad that there is just so much going into the air and, and the little bit you say that there putting in here and there, and everywhere, it all adds up. *there they're Huh-uh. Plus all the problems in the Middle East. With all that smoke and, Oh, that has to be terrible over there. Yeah. So it's just, um, why are we doing this to ourselves Huh-uh. I just don't know, but, um, I, you know, what really amazes me about, like that Pasadena area and the oil refineries, is that there would be houses and people living just really close to it. Huh-uh. Yeah. I mean, between the freeway and the oil refinery, you would see a neighborhood. Huh-uh. and you just thought, well, it's obvious that there's a lot going up in the air there, and what comes up, must come down Yeah. Yeah. Breathing it, we're breathing it all the time. Yes. And, and how, if they have all of those, um, toxicity, I mean, it, there's signs around saying how dangerous it is and here you are living ... Huh-uh That just doesn't make too much sense. No. And I figure we're paying to take care of this toxic waste, no matter who does it. and they have shown, some of the industries have been real good at, uh, uh, doing their part in, uh, reducing the amount that they have, *sd Huh-uh. Huh-uh. Uh, they've reused some of it, uh, it can be recycled, a lot of their things, Huh-uh. and that they've shown, that it, uh, to begin with, apparently it does cost more, Huh-uh. but, once they get started, it's really, it saves them money in the end, and it cuts down on the end product that has to be dealt with some other way. Huh-uh. And if they would all, that's what, that's what we want done. Is, we want industry to take, you know, more responsibility in taking care of it. Well, um, individual companies and things are so selfish, Huh-uh. And their desires to save a few dollars and, and that they don't care about the environmental impact, that they make. Huh-uh. they're greedy. It's money, is what is. It's, it's the money Yes. They're making fantastic amounts on these things and, uh, even the incinerator, the money and the income that they're going to make off this, is, you know, just astronomical. Huh-uh. Well, have you ever visited, um, like Los Angeles or any place that's ever, it's kind of known, that it has, uh, pollution in it's air? We've never been, we went as far as, as, uh, like Las Vegas, and Yellow Stone Park, Huh-uh. Huh-uh. We did go, we should have gone the whole way over, but we didn't. But, I understand that, we have an aunt that lives out there and, When she was visiting here, she would look up at the stars Huh-uh. and she said how wonderful it was to be able to look into the sky and see some of the things that she saw. Huh-uh. She said they couldn't see those things out there, because of the smog and everything. Huh-uh. That's so awful. Well, what about in New York. I guess you've gone that way, maybe. No. Never been in New York I don't want to go there Pretty funny. Have you been there? Well, I've been to New York. I have relatives that direction. Oh. We have, it's, um, is it close to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania? Um, no, I never heard of that one. Because I have family there and, We're near Pittsburgh, Clarion University. Oh, huh-uh. It's pretty neat. It's, it's kind of northwest part of Pennsylvania. That's beautiful country up that way. I know, it's, um, very lush and pretty, Up in the, back in the east. It's really, Are you a young person? Well, I'm thirty-one. Thirty-one. You're, you're young Seems kind of old to me. No, you're young. You have a lot of life yet, and, and these, we have some people who say, well, this isn't going to affect me, this air pollution, Huh-uh. uh, older people, or they think they're far enough away from something, that it's, Huh-uh. and they don't realize these things are going to affect everybody. And if you're older it's not going to affect you that way. You have grandchildren, you have children, uh, Yes. Nieces, nephews, whatever, friends. Uh, everybody is going to be affected by it. That's really true. And we all, you know, need to be willing to help pay a little bit. Like, I've heard some people, uh, grumble about their, uh, cars passing their emission tests, and things, Huh-uh. and how they've had to, how it's more expensive and things. Huh-uh. And I thought, well, it's so much better. They say it has really made a difference, though. Huh-uh. Now, see, we don't have that here, yet. Oh, you don't. No, we don't have that testing in that down here, yet. Huh-uh. But they, I have read that, that, that it has really helped where the problem is greater, where the population is greater, Huh-uh. and that it has made a difference. Well, I really think it must. I think every, I mean, well, think about how many automobiles there are. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. And each is putting out, like we have a car, an older, one of our cars is an older car, Huh-uh. and every time you start it, from the tail pipe, it makes a black spot, on the cement, Huh-uh. Huh-uh. And you know that, that is a sign. Something is coming out, yeah. Yeah. And that's, all cars are doing that. Yeah. And it's really polluting the air. Yeah. If you have to put a price on it. Which is more valuable, life or paying a little more. Huh-uh. And it's also, it's causing of lot of the real terrible suffering like cancer, and things, Huh-uh. Huh-uh. We sure wouldn't want, so much more people suffering from that. Huh-uh. Yeah. And like I said, I think you have to pay for it no matter what you do you with it, because it's industry. We're paying industry to make the products and, we're helping pay for there making these end products that are, toxic waste. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. Then, we have to pay for them to pay somebody to carry it away someplace, then they put it in the dump some place and they find out, well, this dump doesn't work so we have to clean this up and move it someplace else. We end up paying for it again. Now we're going to end up paying for it again by having it burned in these large incinerators. Huh-uh. And we're paying to have our air polluted and our water streams polluted. Pretty sad. Or the, where they want to put, the one area they want to put the incinerator is right in the middle of the Clarion, the two water sheds that feed Clarion river. Oh, no. And, you know, it just boggles our mind that they can consider even putting it there, because, if that water gets contaminated, it will go on down to Pittsburgh. Huh-uh. It will, you know, it affects so many people. Huh-uh. And it's just hard to think that they could allow them to do things like this. No. No. It's scary Huh-uh. It's scary. It really is. Huh-uh. It's really awful. Well, I've really enjoyed the conversation. It's helped me to think more about some issues that I need to be thinking more about It is really a concern. Huh-uh. Huh-uh. And it's, instead of waiting until it directly affects me, like you say, it's important to be involved ahead of time. Well, you have a good day. Well, you, too. Thank you. Huh-uh. Bye-bye. Bye. Uh-huh, I have got two. One is, uh, two and the other one's four and, uh, this is my first year of staying home. I've always had them in child care. Oh, well, then you are familiar with it? Uh-huh. Okay, I, uh, I have grandchildren and I know, uh, one has gone to a, well, two of them have gone to preschool. Uh-huh. And I know what the experience my daughter has faced with that. Why don't you tell me what you have found. Well, uh, the, with our second sitter, the first one didn't quite work out, there were some things going on that I wasn't really happy with and so I felt that, that I need to move on with them and so I found another baby-sitter and she was wonderful except I thought that there were too many in the home and it just seemed like it was so hard to find, uh, really good child care. She was wonderful, it's just that I felt that there were too many in the home. It was in home child care. Okay, Okay, so it was in home child care. You took them to someone's home? Uh-huh. Well, both times? Uh-huh, right. Uh-huh. And, uh, and then I worked in, in the child care centers and I wasn't really happy with the particular one that I was working in so I just always had a fear about, you know, child care centers. Oh, uh-huh. And then I just decided that I was just missing a lot of their time whether they were so little and, and I couldn't get off of work as often as I wanted to when they were ill so I just decided it was probably best just to stay home for a while until they were a little more, uh, independent and, uh, I could go back to work. I know that in raising my children, uh, I was fortunate, I didn't have to work, we didn't necessarily have a lot of things Yeah That's how it's going now. But, uh, and, I know my daughter, because she has three Uh-huh. I mean it's so expensive. Oh, yeah. You have to really make a lot of money. Yeah. And I'm glad that she gets to stay home so that she can then participate with what's going on in their life. Yeah. Uh, bosses don't always seem to understand getting off to go to Christmas programs in the middle of the day or something. Oh, no, yeah. You know, and I know that one of the day cares and it's a, a well-known chain, uh, she was not at all happy with. It was, there was too many children per person. They were just kind of left to play, there was no structure to, and the middle grandson went there as a, uh, like a preschool thing. Uh-huh. She was wanting him actually to start getting a certain amount of, of learning and training and stuff. Not just there, you know, so he went like, uh, I think he went, well, five mornings a week, if I remember correctly. Wow. And, uh, you know, and it was supposed to be a base, you know, starting to learn the colors and, and learning to associate with children so that when he went to, you know, school and stuff, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, she was most unhappy with it. Huh. There was no structure, there was nothing to it. You know, and, uh, she pulled him out of that one and put him in a, another one that was excellent. It was, it was like a little kindergarten. Uh-huh. And, uh, they had hot lunches and, and they had classes that, you know, one class they'd do art. They even familiarized the children with computers. Oh. Uh, it was just, it was really a very excellent one. Uh-huh. And how old was he? He's now five and a half. He's in kindergarten. Oh. This was last year. Uh-huh. And, uh, so, you know, it helped him and, and the first one, uh, he went to a, uh, church preschool that was very good. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. The Methodist Church in Richardson. Oh. The big one and it was a excellent, they, very good. My little boy goes to the Methodist, uh, in Garland. Oh, does he? Uh-huh. I'm real happy with that one. Yeah, they, uh, the church ones, church ones seem to be very well run. Well, I've, I've heard that the Methodist ones are excellent. Oh, really? Uh-huh. Even the even the Mother's Day Out programs, I heard, are real good. Oh. I had, uh, I just assumed that most churches, going by, you know experience there, that, you know, that they were good. Yeah. I I didn't know that, uh, you know, Uh-huh. I'm not that familiar. I just know that, you know, First United Methodist of Richardson was just a great program. Uh-huh. Yeah, because this is First United Methodist in Garland that he goes to Uh-huh. and I'm real happy with that. Yeah, it's a pretty good size church, too, isn't it? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. So, Well, are you enjoying staying home? Well, that's a, Yes, I am Uh, I taught for Richardson School District Oh, uh-huh. and, uh, I taught early childhood and I really enjoyed it, but it was just, it was taking a lot of my time and I noticed I was spending less and less time with them and it just seemed like they were sick more often Uh-huh. and I just couldn't get the time off to, so, Well, isn't it very hard to teach young children and then come home and deal with young children. And have enthusiasm. Yeah, it is. It really is. Yeah, it really is. And I felt, Okay, uh, could you tell me what you think contributes most to, uh, air pollution? Well, it's hard to say. I mean, while it's certainly the case that things like automobiles and factories, uh, pollute a lot, uh, if you look at how much pollution is say kicked up by an active volcano, uh, it's certainly less than clear that anything man can do in this sort of scale of things has much effect at all. What do you think? Um, well, you talked about, uh, volcanos. I'm not sure how many active volcanos there are now, and, and what the amount of material that they do, uh, put into the atmosphere. I think probably the greatest cause is, uh, vehicles, especially around cities. Uh-huh. Um, uh, do you live right in the city itself? No, I'm more out in the suburbs, but I certainly work near a city. Okay, so Can you notice, How about you? well it's, it's, I live in a rural area. Uh-huh. It's mainly farms and, uh, no heavy industry. Attleboro, itself, I live in Rhode Island. Oh, I see. And, it's in the north, I live up in the, uh, northeast corner and Attleboro sits in just over the line, where T I's plant is, Uh-huh. but there isn't a lot of heavy industry. There's the freeways and we get an occasional, it depends which way the wind's blowing from Boston, cause we're like forty miles south of Boston, so we'll pick up that. And, uh, I've noticed over the past say, maybe five or six years, uh, we live about twenty miles away from the state airport and I notice that the fly patterns now of the jets are getting bigger, they're swinging wider so that now they are coming over, over our homes. Uh-huh. And, it seems like, uh, we're catching all that residue. I'm not sure if it's kerosene or what that's dropping. But, other than that, you know, we don't have the, unless we're catching it from the midwest, the emissions. You know from the power plants. Um. Yeah. You mean like from the coal. Yeah, yeah, we generate, one of our, our biggest electrical plants in Rhode Island uses coal to, uh, generate electricity. Um, Um, there doesn't seem to be much emission from them, but I'm not sure about the rest of the country. Yeah, I notice locally a major problem is Kodak. Um, it's interesting because in order to, uh, keep with the E P A standards which, which tend to be visible, uh, what's coming out of your smokestack, they do all their emissions at night. Uh, so people get up, Okay, well, is that right? Yeah, people get up in the morning in that neighborhood and they've got this black ash on their cars, which, you know, seems to be, Yeah, surprise, surprise. Yeah, I mean, I really think that if the E P A had anything on the ball they'd go in there with a few phosphorous grenades, light up the sky, photograph the emissions at that point, and, uh, you know, Yeah. There, there must be, uh, uh, some of the, some of the, uh, larger plants up, uh, up around one hundred twenty-eight. Uh-huh. Um, we've got reports that, uh, during the night seems like they'd blow off their, their stacks from, uh, the warehouses, for powerhouses, Right. Uh-huh. and, they do that at night too, because, employees been complaining that the cars have been pitted, and, you know, spots all over them. Right. Yeah, yeah. So, you're right, they could do something about, about that, I guess. Yeah. That seems a little ridiculous. How are your, uh, your lakes, and, uh, Oh they've been getting cleaner. They have? Sure. But, um, yeah, I'm not sure how much the water pollution is, is directly related to the air pollution, other than acid rain, yeah, Acid rain, yeah, that's, that's what I was, uh, I mean the stuff I've read recently in Technology Review basically indicates that acid rain may be a little bit, uh, overstated. That a lot of the die off they've seen in forests may not really be due to acid rain at all. Um, I'm not an expert. Yeah, no. Didn't they just have an article, oh, on, uh, they were dumping lime. Up here? Up, upstate New York somewhere, over huge areas, I haven't read that. Oh yeah. and they thought that was more beneficial because, you know it, it, some of it does soak in and some of it runs off right away into the, in to the streams and rivers and some of the fish were supposedly making a comeback. Uh-huh. I can't remember where I, I read that recently somewhere, and I can't remember where. Yeah, that's But I, I thought it was up there. So, that's interesting because New Hampshire, and parts of Vermont, um, they showed pictures of, of extensive tree damage that they attributed to acid rain. Uh-huh. Um. Um, you kind of think it's something else then? Well, that's what the environmentalists were claiming in this article. So that, Oh, they didn't say, they didn't say what though, they just said they thought it was, They didn't say what, they just said they thought acid rain's contribution may be less than was previously suspected. Um, that it may be other natural things at work. Um, Uh, natural disease, Yeah, so it's, it's less than clear. Like I said, I don't remember the article that well. Yeah, yeah. But, um, I don't know, I mean, what do you think we can, uh, I guess as individuals or as a group, do about, uh, air pollution? Uh, we can demand, uh, more efficient automobiles for one thing. I still think that's, that's, uh, one of our major causes of pollutants. Uh-huh. Uh, how we go about that, it's uh, uh, it's a little bit difficult. I think it's up to individuals too, to ask automakers for, for less pollutant vehicles. Yeah, Yeah, you I think you need a, a vehicle something like, uh, Ralph Nader, Nader's Raiders, or, where, uh, or, uh, uh, A A R P, which has a lot of members. Uh, if you can get those types of groups. Yeah. Uh-huh. Do you really think that new vehicles though is a big problem. I mean, I remember reading an article that said like, it's, uh, the older polluters, the, the twelve and fifteen year old cars, you know, contribute like ninety percent, of the automobile pollution Yeah, and the new cars it's hardly is, hardly anything. Yeah, they're better, but how about all the trucks and buses that are out there. Uh, when was the last time you saw a truck that didn't belch, smoke, or, uh, Yeah, but doesn't that just mean they're out of tune. Uh, I'm not really sure. You think that, that, that the, uh, the trucking industry is that, uh, incompetent, that they wouldn't, you know, fuel is, is one of their biggest costs. Right. So, you would, But diesel engines. Yeah, diesel engines. It, you know, it's, it, I mean, they do generate a lot of soot but that at least, that kind of particulate comes out of the air pretty quickly. Yeah. Yeah. We could also, uh, push for legislation for, uh, rapid transit systems. This country seems to be a little behind on that. Yeah. On the other hand most people don't use rapid transit because it's so inconvenient. Um, yeah, but only because we got used to, uh, single person, single car, driving. Uh-huh. A lot of people don't even like to carpool. Uh-huh. But we could that. That'll help, pollution, air pollution, Uh-huh. The, uh, United States and Canada are I guess, is, is, going into, uh, some types of agreements to limit, uh, what's being given out by power plants, Uh-huh. I guess Canada's quite concerned that we're sending a lot of our stuff up there, Yeah, sure. So that's helping. Well, what do you think about like a device, a meter right on a tail pipe and you pay the tax based on how much you polluted? Now that's an idea. don't say that too loud though because, uh, every city and town will have a meter on your tail pipe generating generating revenue, Well, it just means if you don't pollute, right, or you pollute very little you don't have to pay any tax or you just buy one of these things and it, it, uh, maybe you, you could probably devise them so it slowly closed off your tail pipe and, uh, the less you pollute the longer the devise lasts and if you pollute a lot then it closed off your tail pipe and you couldn't start your car anymore. That's a, that's an interesting concept. Is that your idea? Yeah, but, uh, you know, it's, uh, I guess the difficulty would be to, that somebody could obviously just take it right off the tail pipe again so you probably would have to build it right into the muffler or something. Well I was going to say, right. You could put it in, you could, you could, it could be installed like a catalytic converter. Right. I mean I guess you could take those off too but, You could take but mufflers would be a little more obvious if you took that off. Yeah, if you can take a muffler off and only replace, well not unless it was built into every muffler. Right. And that's . But if you was talking about something which was more or less universal that, uh, busses and any kind of vehicle, had to pay a pollution tax, uh, this would penalize the heavy polluters and not penalize the light polluters, That's a, that's quite a concept. You should, uh, pursue that I think, or patent it, you know. Yeah, patent it, that's a good idea. If you could come up with a device that's the thing. Right. But it shouldn't be too hard to do something like that. But that's a, that's a thought. No, Uh-huh. you're right and that will solve, uh, a lot of problems. I don't know if you, uh, if you approached the automobile industry if they would be too keen on installing something like that. Uh-huh. Uh, but you know a proposal to, uh, uh, I guess the proper authorities, Uh-huh. well you might, uh, generate some Yeah, the automobile regulatory agencies or something. yeah, you might generate some interest in it. But that's, that's a good idea. Other than that I'm not sure what, what individuals can do other than like I said get involved through a group or an organization. Uh-huh. What are your music interests? Uh, just about any kind of music except acid rock I, I don't care, for acid rock, Me, too. Oh. but, uh, I grew up with country and western, Yeah, I did, too, but, uh, and then, just about any kind of music. I even like classical music. Yeah, uh, I'm pretty diversified, too. I, I don't, I don't like acid rock either. I, I grew up in a small town so, uh, the only, we only had one radio station so it was country music, Yeah. but then, uh, when I, Yeah, I grew up with Hank Snow, and Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams and all of those old country and western songs. Oh, really. You're older than I am But, uh, I, did you happen to see last night the special on Channel Two with James Galway? We don't get Channel Two. My, uh, our cable doesn't, Oh. I wish we got that what, but, That is fabulous. Was it? Well, we don't get Channel Two. We, Yeah, when he played DANNY BOY it just almost brought, tears to your eyes, because he can make that flute sing. Oh, really? Yeah, and, uh, it was tremendous. Now, he, he is a, uh, actually, I did, I played flute for, almost ten years Yeah. and, and, uh, so, I, I, I appreciate his too, his, his Yeah. he, he, he's from Ireland isn't he? Yeah, uh-huh, and it was, uh, mostly all Irish tunes, Was yeah. they had a band with him that, uh, had a harpist and another flute and then a guy that played the bagpipes plus the, uh, tin whistle, and a couple of violins and, uh, drum, Yeah. Uh-huh. and they, they played all the Irish jigs and so forth, it was just fabulous. Yeah, I, he, he is really good. Yeah, I, I, I come from a musical background, Yeah. so, uh, uh, I've played flute, flute and piano, so, I, I, I have a big appreciation for music, up to a point. Yeah. Yeah. I, I'm getting now to the age where I don't like the new stuff that's coming and much of the new stuff that's coming out, Yeah. Yeah. my husband says I'm getting old Yeah I love, uh, I, I especially like instrumentals. Do you? Yeah. I love to just lay back on the couch and, and turn a good, good instrumental got on and just close my eyes and listen. Yeah, that's, that's nice to do, that is. I've got a, I've got a, I've got a two year old who's now getting, I'm getting well versed in, in kiddy music Yeah. I'm, I've never played an instrument in my life, I've always wanted too, Yeah. I've always wished my parents had forced me to learn the piano or something, Yeah but, uh, I was one of the forced ones but I, I'd just love to be able to go to a party or something and sit down at the piano and bang out music Oh, I could never do that and, I was never that brave but, uh, yeah. I guess the closest I've ever come to participating in music is singing in the choir. Yeah, oh, yeah, I've, I've done, I've done that at church too. Yeah. I haven't done that in a long time. Yeah. So, let's see what . Well, what kind of music do you not like? Well, like I say the acid rock, I just do not an I don't care for rap music either. Oh, that's not music Uh-huh, no. that is not, I don't know what that is, but that's not music If I can't understand the words I don't want to listen to it. Well, it's, it's, it's not, it's not music, it's just, it's just, uh, uh, talking in a beat, it is just, it's not exciting at all Yeah. it doesn't, it doesn't give you relaxation, Yeah. you can't dance to it, you can't do anything to it Right. But, I, and I love, I like orchestra music too. Like the, Boston Pops or, or anything. Yeah. Yeah. Have you ever been to the, to, to the Dallas Symphony? Uh-huh. Have you? Is are, are they good? Yeah. Yeah, they're good. Are they? I, I have, I have, never been. And, uh, we went and saw, uh, LES MISERABLES Oh, really? oh, the music in that was fantastic. I, I've heard, I've heard that that is a really, Yeah. I heard that was hard to get tickets to. Yeah, it, it, uh, I can't remember how far in advance we reserved, tickets but it was out, you know, out at the State Fair Music Hall and, uh it was well worth the price. Yeah. Yeah, that was a real, Was it? Yeah, I, I bet it was, Yeah. I, I really bet it was Is that the only, uh, musical, do you go see a lot of musicals? Just, just ever so often you know, a real, a real good one like that one Yeah. and, That, that would be, that would be nice I went and saw, uh, I think it was, uh, SUGAR BABIES, that was good, that had good music in it. Was it? How, how, I can't, I don't know what that's about. Uh, that was the one with Mickey Rooney and, uh, oh, what's that real, oh, not real old, my wife she is old too, dancer, uh, I can't think of her name. I got it right on the tip of my tongue and can't say it, Helen something. Uh, uh, uh, I think I know who you're oh, I know who you're talking about, real long legs, and dark hair. she's got black hair, Yeah, okay, I know who your talking about. I can't think ever her name either. I can't think of it. Yeah, that that was, that was, I remember that being, uh, here a few years ago. Yeah, but, uh, Oh, oh, the last country music, my, my parents still, uh, really like country, music Yeah. and they, they like, uh, they like the Oak Ridge Boys and the Statler Brothers, Oh, yeah, yeah. and, and, uh, well, my, my, my, my parents, The Blackwoods. yeah, my husband likes, uh, country music real well and he, he likes some of the new groups like Shenandoah, Yeah. and, yeah, he really likes Shenandoah. Alabama. Yeah, yeah, well, yeah, Alabama, Uh, I think, I think they're a bit over exposed Yeah I get kind, of get tired of every other song being Alabama on the, radio. Yeah, either Alabama or Hank Williams, Junior. Oh, I, I've never cared for Hank, Williams, Junior. I never have either, and I never have figured out how he won, uh, entertainer of the year for about, three or four years in a row. Oh Oh, we, we watch those award shows too, we enjoy watching the country and the Grammies and stuff but I just, I just don't care for him, Yeah. I just never have. I don't, I guess probably my favorite all time country and western song or singer is, uh, probably Eddy Arnold. Is, is it? Uh-huh. Okay, I, I think, I, I know who that is, uh-huh. I think my parents have have, uh, some of his records. But, uh, I got a, I've got about a hundred and, or had a, uh, some, uh, I sold some of them, I had about a hundred and fifty old seventy-eight R P M records of country and western, songs, Yeah. Wow. Smiley Burnette, I don't know if you were old enough to remember him him. I've heard the name. He was, uh, played in the old western movies. He was the sidekick of Gene Autry I believe Huh. or they, I think his name in, in the movie was Froggy and, I've, I've never seen a Gene Autry movie, had a real raspy voice, Huh. and, uh, No, I never have some of those old ones, of course, Bob Wills, Miss Texas Playboys Ernest Tubbs and Red Foley an, Yeah. Yeah, those go back quite a way Yeah. I took them up here to Collectors Records and was able to get a little money for them Yeah. but, uh, my mother and dad use to, uh, own a restaurant, It's hard to, Oh, yeah. and he had, uh, they had a, uh, nickelodeon, of course, in the restaurant, Yeah. and when they would come and change the records the guys would, the guy would give her the old records Well, that that's neat. so, that's where I got my, that would be great if they weren't too worn out, at the time. Yeah. Of course, there's not a whole lot of market for seventy-eight R P M records. Is there not? You, you'd, well you'd think there would be. Well, the problem is most of the record players now will not play them because, you have to have that needle, that, uh, particular kind of needle Well, that's true. Oh, yeah. and, uh, they, just won't play on a modern day, uh phonograph. Well, that's a shame because I, I, we go to antique stores a lot and you see seventy-eights, a, a lot at, at the stores, at record stores, Yeah. you'd, think there'd be a market for, Yeah. I'm, I'm sure you could find old players for them but that would cost a fortune, if you could find them that worked Yeah. Yeah. Oh. Of course, they, you know, just don't have the quality of records nowadays either because, you, you get that scratchy sound. No. Uh-huh. Well, those things were big and thick weren't they? Yeah, yeah. You could kill somebody with them Yeah, warped real easy. And the ones you buy, go out and buy one now and they're just so thin and, flimsy Yeah. and they just, they're not meant to last, at all, Yeah. neither are tapes. I, I we buy cassette tapes, Yeah. and machines will eat them, Yeah. and so, the best bet, any, these days are compact disk, those things are practically indestructible But, I, I guess, you know, the old country and western music you, back then when I was a kid, there wasn't that much T V, Oh, no. so that's all you had to listen to was the, radio, Radio. and, uh, that's just what, just what you had, plus, Yeah. I think it was better back then to, there's too much T V now Yeah. and the radio is, you know, more exciting, really, than, than television, Yeah. your imagination Yeah. kept and it just didn't vegetate your mind like television does Yeah, I remember mother and dad always turned on the Grand Ole Opera. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Was it on the radio every week? Yeah. what day, what day was that on, do you, can you recall. Uh, uh, seems like it was on a Friday, Uh. Friday or, Okay. Okay. Well what do you think about the idea of, uh, kids having to do public service work for a year? Do you think it's a Well, I, I think it's a pretty good idea. I think they should either do that, or, or afford some time to the military, or, or helping elderly people. Yes, yes, I, I, you know, I think that we have a bunch of elderly folks in the country that could use some help and I think that before we expend all our young talent overseas and, and helping other countries we ought to perhaps give a little bit of our help to our own folks at home and I'm not sure that that's not a bad idea That's true. and, or the military for a year or two, wouldn't be bad for, Yeah. I think it teaches kids how to grow. How about yourself? Uh, I agree with you. Uh, uh, what I'm thinking about is back well, when I was a kid, and much earlier than that, kids were kind of, you know, the parents kind of pushed them to join, like the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts and they did, do, do do a lot of public service activities, but these days they're not, uh, parents aren't encouraging their kids to do things like that. Because when I was in the Girl Scouts, we did a lot of public service things, because that's just part of, of the scouting, and, you know. Yeah, I've, I've, that's really great. I, I really think that both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts is a excellent, two excellent organizations. They are but parents, You know, kids seem like when they get ten or twelve years old they fall out of that, Yeah, they do. and they don't follow it at all, you know. There are very few Scouts go on, and become Eagle Scouts. Oh, no. And, and I don't know what the high rank is for the gals but, I, I, uh, senior. Oh. Senior, okay. So, there's not, uh, Oh, they're just not, once they get into junior high it just, not done anymore Yeah, they, they lose interest. and then when they young, young adults, there's even less interest there. Uh-huh. They're more for, I Me Not, not, yeah. Grab, grab, grab, walk out Yeah, you're absolutely right Yeah I think it's a really a good thing. I, I like to see, of course, there's, you know, third world countries that can use all kind of help Yeah, but there's a lot that can be done right here in this country, too. But I think, we ought to start right here at home. I'm, you know, Yeah, uh, I'm not, I'm not so sure that overseas help, helping overseas would be such a hot idea for, for, uh, a lot of young people. No, it, it, But, since there is much that needs to be done here. I think that, yeah, I think that we need to really address what we've done here and, and then perhaps even a six month tour overseas that gives them much broader outlook. Uh-huh. Well, it's been really good. We talked about this for a few minutes, and, uh, hopefully, we'll have other good topic maybe another call someday, but I, I don't really have too much more to say on this topic, I guess. No, I, I agree with you It, we, I guess we both agree that it's a good thing, that they should do sometime. Yeah. Okay. Well you take care, and, and, enjoy the day. You, too. You, too. Thank you, ma'am. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Do are you on a regular exercise program right now? Yes, and I hate it How about you? Oh, well, I'm kind of off and on. Off and on well, I guess I've been kind of off and on I've, uh, Had some health problems that have led me to, uh, Right now I'm kind of off. I'd say more on than off Okay, what type of exercise do you do? Uh, I do walking on the treadmill, and then I do low impact aerobics. Okay. I guess you don't enjoy that very much. Not, not really. Do you find that, uh, to be boring? Yeah, and time consuming, I mean it's not just the exercise that's boring and time consuming, it's, uh, you know, afterwards, you know, then you have to take a shower and get cleaned up, you know. Yeah. Well, I'm trying to get back in shape for softball this spring. Oh, yeah. But I, Do you go through this, is this something that you go through every year Yeah, I haven't decided whether, whether I want to play yet or not I just bought myself a solo flex machine, I don't know if you've seen those advertised on T V. Uh-huh. It's one of those, uh, universal type machines, exercise machines. But I haven't really sat down and used it match yet, so it's collecting dust right now. Yeah, a lot of things do that. I had an, I had an exercise bike I used to jog somewhat. I use to have one, and I finally got rid of sit cause I never used it, but I do use my treadmill Uh-huh, well, that's good. Yeah, my parents have a treadmill it's, when I go visit them, uh, I get on that thing every now and then. Yeah, it's nice because when the weather's bad you can't, you don't have any excuse. Uh-huh, I just got the bicycle out today, and it was real nice outside, had to get out to do something. Yeah, I can't ride a bike so. I've been sitting in here in the house all weekend with a cold so thought I, better, better get outside and do something and not waist the day. Oh. Yeah, it's too nice, it's been too nice all weekend. But, uh, yeah, I need to start jog something again. I've always of that to be, uh, really one of the best forms of exercise, but it's terribly boring, and so I really don't ever keep a program up consistently. Have you ever had any injuries from jogging? No, I never have. Well, I don't job enough I think to develop any injuries I usually only go about a mile or two. I guess it worries me about jogging it's that I hear that it's very hard on your body and, and that, you know, you can end up getting hurt, worse. Yeah, it's, it's tough on the joints if you jog on concrete, or on asphalt. Uh-huh. Suppose to be much better if you find grass, uh, or, or dirt to jog on. Yeah, that's not quite so so easy. You have to have the right, type of shoes too, that's, very important. Yeah. Yeah. I found that, true especially from walking on toe and fronts . But, Yeah, I don't have to buy jogging shoes all to often my don't get very much use Well, I guess my breakdown about, they say about every six months. Uh-huh. I usually enjoy the exercise I do but, uh, like I said I'm just not very consistent about maintaining a, a program. So I'll, I'll bicycle I get into that for, for a little while and maybe go out, uh, on a consistent basis every couple of days and ride a bike for awhile, but then I'll get tired of doing that, and maybe start jogging again and go out about three or four nights a week. But, uh, that gets old too in a very short order, Yeah. I'm, I'm hoping that this, uh, solo flex will, uh, uh, change things a little bit, I really need to get on a regular type of program and use that thing on a consistent basis. Yeah, well, don't let it collect dust. At least exercise while dusting it off Yeah. well. Maybe if I can get interested in playing softball again this string I can, uh, start some type of, uh, regular program. Yeah, that, that'll be good. I've always found that, uh, when you write things down and set goals it's a lot easier to keep, uh, keep something going. Uh-huh. Uh, when I was in high school we had a choice of, uh, taking, uh, physical education courses on exercise, an, uh, one of those involved a six weeks session on a universal machine, lifting weights and, uh, working out like that. Oh. And that was very helpful we kept charts of our progress, and, uh, consistently increased the empty of resistance so you could see how much you improved over the weeks. Uh-huh. I found that to be, uh, very helpful. Are you going to do that? Uh, I need to, I haven't started yet but, uh, it's a thought. Well, that sounds like something good to do then. Sounds like something I should do. Yeah, nice way to start off this spring. Get back in shape. How often do you, uh, uh, go out each week on your walking? Well, I do, I switch every other day one day I walk and one day I do the aerobics. Okay, how far, about how far do you go walking? Well, I'm trying to get my tolerance now I just had surgery, um, less then two months ago, and right now I'm just a little over about a mile and a half, Okay. but I'm trying to workup to three miles. Well, that's good. Well they say that walking is just as good if not better then jogging. Yeah, It, it takes, it's just that it takes longer to get to the same effect. Sure. Yeah, but. Well, if you keep up with a consistent pace just to, uh, keep the heart rating going, uh, My walkman broke, Yeah. so I'm upset and I just have to turn to stereo up real loud Yeah. But it's a lot less stressful on the joints then jogging is. Yeah, it is and this doesn't, you know, my treadmill has an incline and, you know, you can get a really good workout on it. Um, do you go to an aerobics class or do you watch, on T V? No, I, I just do it on T V, Okay. I have a cassette. Which, uh, shows do you watch on T V? Um, it's a, it's a I use tapes. Oh, okay, okay, like a Cathy Smith workout, Or, or Richard Simmons, or Jane Fonda. Okay Sweating to the oldies Right. I, every now and then I'll watch E S P N, I get cable on T V, Uh-huh. and they have, uh, a couple of shows called basic training, and, uh, what is the other one called. There was one guy I use to watch on E S P N, I don't know if he's still on any more or not, I I don't know if I get E S P N or not Uh-huh. But, uh, one, you know, I use to watch one, watch one on the air, but that was back, BODIES IN MOTION that's, that's the name of the one I was thinking of. With Gill. That's was, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I watched that cause he was cute Yeah, he's not bad his assistants usually aren't either. But, uh, They're always in, in Hawaii some place. On, on the beach. Yeah, yeah. But then that was back when, uh, you know, the high impact and, Yeah, well, they, they do low I pact stuff now, Do they. Are yeah they're still, they're still, he's still doing it then, uh. Yeah, every morning. I'll have to tune in. It's on E S P N, uh, at what time, I can't remember what time. It's, uh, you know, I can't remember offhand what time. I'll have to check it, check, check, check it back up, Yeah and, but the thing is everybody always looks so good on that show, at least on Yeah, every now and then. Not everybody has a picture perfect body. Uh-huh, well, I found that they, they have just a much better program than the other shows that are on T V. I haven't watch any other ones on T V. watch=watched Just on some of the tapes. They're on weekdays at eleven o'clock every day. Monday through Friday incase you're interested in that. Okay, thanks. but, uh, I haven't done so much as, uh, watch the tape that I made. Now, that's a thought. So I'm kind of bad about that myself. Well, that's thought, I haven't thought about that, well they're going to beep us pretty soon. Okay, well, I sure enjoyed, to you about exercise and fitness. Nice talking to you too. Okay, thanks. So, all right. Talk to you later. Good night. Bye. Bye. Uh, well what would you say your opinion is on gun control? Well, I don't know. I've, I've had mixed emotions, I guess, when I listen to, uh, the radio and, and watch T V about the different, uh, things that are happening. Uh, I'm against it but on the same token, uh, I went out and purchased a gun just because I wanted the right to do that So I, I have a rifle in the house. Uh, the ammunition is probably so old I'm afraid to use it. But, uh, I bought it for target practicing and, uh, and also because I wanted a weapon. Uh, how do you feel about it? Well, I think, uh, down here in Texas they don't have a waiting period on handguns. Huh. And, I think they need that. Uh, and I do have a, I have a pistol. It's a little twenty-two and I have a twenty-two or a twelve gauge shotgun. Uh-huh. you know, I do like to have my guns. Uh, I don't know if I'll ever use it, you know. And like you, my bullets to my little pistol's probably, uh, about three years old Uh, my gun hasn't been shot in a year or two. Uh-huh. But, uh, I like to have them where handy. Well, up, uh, up in New England where I'm from, uh, you had to get a permit before you could buy any ammunition. And I thought that was really good. And I think if they, uh, takes two weeks for that system to process, uh, your request for, uh, not as a gun permit but, uh, but to buy ammunition. You have to get a permit from the police station in your local area to do that. I've never heard of anything like that. Yeah. Uh, That would be nice. But, you know, the criminals that are going to get their guns one way or the other. I I, I agree. I think, you know, one of the things that, that, that needs to happen is, uh, to, to stop the impulse buyer from, uh, buying it quickly and, and, uh, maybe putting a week's waiting period or something on it. But if someone's really determined to, to pick up a firearm you can pick it up any place. Yeah And you can get them really cheap. I know I, I had a waiting period on my pistol because I was down in, uh, Tennessee. And, uh, they had a waiting period Uh-huh. and, uh, we bought it there. And, How long was the waiting period out there? About nine days. Huh. That wasn't too, too bad. No. No Because if, if you're going to go buy something, uh, uh, of that nature, I think you, you're going to have some idea as to what you're going to do with it. You're not going to react that quickly. In other words, you know, you don't have a need to go buy a gun to go shoot it the next day. somebody wants to do that, I, I, at times I think they ought to have a waiting period on all firearms. Yeah. I do too. Uh, because it doesn't make any difference, uh, uh, whether it's a pistol or a shotgun, I suppose. They both do the same kind of job. A shotgun hurts worse than a pistol does. Uh, yeah. I suppose. I never got shot with either one. But I don't know, uh, I think you could recover from a pistol but not from a shotgun No, a shotgun's got too much of a spread. Or at least ours does. Yeah. Uh, it's, you know, you have a little, uh, thing on the bottom of on top of the barrel where you, you turn it, Uh-huh. you can make it either tight or as loose as loose can get. Oh. And the spread changes. Uh, I've got a manual single shot and I guess it doesn't have any, any automatic features to it. The further away I get, the, the, uh, wider the shot gets from the target. Yeah. And the closer that I get, the tighter that it gets. It's got a hell of a kick to it. Yeah. My husband had a, uh, a police gun at one time. And I shot that thing one time. Almost knocked me down. And it just a I I forget, I think it was a three fifty-seven. I'm not sure. Do you belong to a gun club or you? He belonged to one awhile back. Uh, since we moved, we've only been here in Texas for about a year Uh-huh. and, uh, we can't even find a place to shoot. Just for target practice. No kidding. I'd love to get used to that shotgun. We traded his pistol for that shotgun. Huh. Well the, the, uh, clubs that we've got around here are kind of expensive but, uh, it's well worth it. You can go down and shoot up against a sand bag and some targets and have, uh, competition. Uh, I've never really joined a club because I haven't got the time. Not because I haven't got the desire. Uh, there's an annual membership fee, uh, that's, that's fairly high. Plus there's an initiation fee that you have to pay because of first time, uh, uh, member. So the whole process can cost you a hundred fifty dollars to join the club. Plus you have to pay for the, the ammunition in any tournaments that you would join in. Yeah. Well, that's what my husband, when he was in that gun club where he was doing that tell if it's a cough or something was It, you know, he went mostly just to, uh, shoot at paper targets. Uh-huh. Uh, but, you know, they used speed and accuracy and all that. I think that, that the gun clubs serve a useful purpose. In fact, I'd like to see somehow they tie the legislation into not only when you buy a weapon you have to, uh, show that you've gone to school or gone to some class to know how to handle that weapon. That's a good, I've never thought of that. That's a good point. And, you know, it, it, even after you wait your nine days, if you don't know how to handle it, it's just like putting someone in an automobile that doesn't know how to drive. And you give him a license because he waited nine days. Yeah. That's, and, yeah. He could, he could not only, uh, uh, shoot himself. He could, he could, uh, mishandle a weapon. Leave it at home and let a child get at it. It, well we, uh, we was living on a navy base down in Memphis and, uh, this one guy decided to play, uh, lonesome cowboy or something. And he was twirling his gun around and shot himself in his foot. Wow. He was fortunate. He could, he could of hit something else Well, he went tumbling down the steps along with, uh, shooting his foot almost off. He broke his leg and collar bone and a couple of other things I'm sure, being, Mister Cowboy. Wow. I can't remember what the the term was going around. It was about four or five years ago. But. Now, I guess that would be a good idea About, uh, private citizens selling a weapons? Like if you wanted to sell your pistol to me. How do you feel about that? Do you believe there ought to be legislation guiding the, uh, buyer and the seller? And, or do you believe that you ought to be able to sell your system, uh, because you own it? Uh, that's a hard one because we did that. But, uh, I think there ought to be some rule against it. I'll, uh, you know, the person who sells the gun ought to protect themselves because if that gun's registered to them and somebody else uses that gun in something, the cops are going to come to you. Yeah. isn't there a way to, uh, to deregister yourself after you register a gun? Uh, I have no idea. I've only had one gun Because I have, and I've kept it, you know, the one gun that was in my name. Yeah. Is it registered? Yeah. The, uh, the rifle that I've got is not registered, and, uh, I don't know why I never registered it but the, uh, I don't think you have to register a shotgun Um, I, I think it's, it's voluntary The, uh, the, Well, see, uh, my husband has a thing. If they go to, uh, regulating, uh, all right, uh, banning guns. private citizens Yeah. this, my kid is jumping on me. I can't hardly talk. My husband feels that they'll come and collect everybody's guns. Yeah. I guess that could happen. It's just like the, uh, the social security system Once they, uh, they gave everybody a number and now they're making you, uh, uh, get one at, at birth. And once they have your number, they have your identification. Yeah. And if you try to do anything, uh, like, uh, not identify yourself to the government, they know who you are. Yeah. And everything about you. And , that's true Uh, I, you know, they know so, how much money you make a week to, uh, probably your, uh, my kid is banging. I was seeing what they was banging on. Uh, I've lost my train of thought. I'm sorry That's all right. You, you were talking about, uh, uh, what the Federal government knows about people. Oh, the Yeah. They, they probably know everything from, half the time what time you go to the bathroom. They probably do. No, that's that's a little bit extreme. But they could know anything and everything about you. And, uh, I'd like to have my gun. If they go to banding, banning them, I'd lose my gun but we wouldn't lose our our, uh, shotgun. Yeah. And, uh, we're wanting to get a couple of more that no one knows about. Uh-huh. But I don't, I don't, uh Do you find it difficult picking up, uh, guns that, that are not registered? No. No. I don't either. I can, I can buy some, uh, today if I wanted to. Just you know, put up the money. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you can look in the, uh, the, we got a thing down here called A SHOPPER. Uh-huh. It's a, a it's a, it's a bargain thing. Uh, you go and you know, always see guns in there. Five to seven guns a day. Yeah. It comes out every Tuesday. And there's, there's no waiting period on that. No. None whatsoever You call, we sold a refrigerator through it and it took us all of twelve hours. To sell the refrigerator? Yeah. Yeah. You know. And I'm sure it'd be even less for somebody with a good gun. Huh. And I think the Federal government is, uh, is really far away from, uh, uh, control. I, I don't believe in, uh, I'm I shouldn't probably say control. I mean regulation. Control is something that I wouldn't want the Federal government to have. Uh, but I would like to see them have a monitoring capability so that they know who has what weapons. Yeah. Well, I agree with you there. They do have too much control over us already. Yeah. Uh, we could look at our paychecks and see how much control they have. Unfortunately, we, uh, we vote for the, the people who spend the money, so I can't complain too much. Yeah, I guess so. I don't know. They're Well, I haven't heard anything about the proposal myself, but, uh, Uh, I don't know if its their proposal or one that's being seriously kicked around. No, I haven't either. I've, I've always felt for a long time that I, I think that all young kids ought to do a stint, uh, primarily in the military. Yeah. Uh. Most countries require that now, they you know, they have, uh, it mandatory for, for the, the uh at least the young men, Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. I don't know about the young women, I don't know if they have to serve in the military, too. Yeah, a lot, yeah, well, you take Israel I mean, everybody does. Yeah. I don't think it's a bad idea, teaches, teaches a lot. I mean, I went in the service when I was eighteen, And, uh, stayed in for ten years. Uh-huh. Is that right? Yeah, uh, did a lot of growing up. I bet. You have to. Yeah. Yeah, my father had been in the military. I didn't do it myself. My father had and that's, uh, how he put himself through school basically. Yeah. He came from a poor immigrant family, and he didn't have a chance to, uh, you know, the family wasn't wealthy, so he had to do something to, put himself through school, Do it himself. and he did. And he was very successful. Well, my parents wanted to send me to college, and I was dead set against it You know, I had wanderlust, you know. Yeah. And I got in, and after, after wasting the first six years, partying and everything else, I decided, uh-huh, time to settle down and do something. So I started to work on my education. Yeah. Course my job was such that I didn't, I couldn't do it as much as I wanted Uh-huh. and still I ended up going two semesters when I got out just to get my degree. That's pretty good. But, I've been in school ever since That's good. Yeah, I guess. Yeah, that's, uh, I don't know. There's other kinds of service to the country that could be done, you know, Yeah, I mean if you don't like, I mean, working in the national parks, Uh, working, clean up the roadsides Sure. Exactly. I mean, I've always felt that people on welfare should be required to spend at least part of their time, *why no slash? not all the time because that takes away from their opportunity to look for a job, but at least some of their time to look for, to go out and clean up the roads. You know, Oh yeah, Absolutely. I mean, All these, all this money that we're throwing away to pay people to go out and do things when we're paying all these welfare recipients, and if they're able-bodied people, I don't see any problem at all with having them go out there and, and, if nothing else, get a group of them together and take them around to old folks places and let them cut the yards, paint the houses. Yeah. Yeah, we'd learn service to other people in this country. Sure , sure. So I'm, get something out of that money. Country would benefit, Yeah I've, I mean, uh, yeah, yeah, my next door neighbor when I was growing up, worked for the unemployment division, and his sole job was just tracking down people who were getting benefits and able-bodied and, That right. Yeah, and he, he had all kinds of horror stories. You know, these guys go down there and get their unemployment checks, and, back, back in those days they also use to give you, uh, booklets good for, uh, clothing and gas, and things like this Yeah. They get all this stuff together and sit down and have poker games you know, Yeah. and I'm, I I have a hard time dealing with that. What I hear one time, I think it was on Paul Harvey's, uh, radio segment, that he said that if the money that goes into welfare each year was to be given directly to the people without all the middle people in the government bureaucracy, each person would receive like forty-five thousand dollars. Uh-huh. I mean, I was astounded. I don't even make that. No, I know. I, you, you think about, you think about the layer of bureaucracy between the money and the recipient, Yeah, and somebody's taking that away. and, and there's probably, there's easily probably six or seven times that amount being spent on the bureaucracy. Yeah, no doubt. You know, it's, it's, it's totally ridiculous, and now, I, I, I, uh, started out when I first got in graduate school I was going into public administration, and, uh, quite honestly I just got so fed up with it I just couldn't stand it any more. Is that right, Yeah, I mean, this is the kind of thing you look at. Yeah. You sit there and when you're writing up budgets, you wonder, okay, how much money do we need. Well, you need X number dollars for the recipients but you need X number dollars to administer the program. Well just ridiculous. Yeah. This is ridiculous. It's sad. It is, it's pathetic. I mean, there's got to be a different way. There's got to be a better way. But it'll never happen. I mean, these these people out here getting that money are big voting blocks. Yeah. Yeah. What would happen if the required young people to do service to the country, what should they get in return, I wonder. Like, uh, I think, I think there ought to be some kind of assistance as far as, uh, and I would limit it strictly to something like tuition assistance. Yeah. Give an incentive. Educational or vocational training or something. Yeah. Something that's going to help them along the way. And they'll help the country eventually, too, because rather than having a bunch of uneducated people we can have educated people, Sure, I mean, Well, this, I mean I mean, look at the statistics, and that's only going to help. I mean, it's sad. One in five Americans can't read Yeah. adults, that is, can't even read. And, and we've got the lowest rates of the civilized countries in science and math. Yeah. I mean, what are we, what are we becoming? We're becoming a service country. As opposed to what we were twenty years ago. Yeah, we were an industrial giant, and now we're we're not going to do it because everybody is beating us at the game. We taught them how to do it, and they, they did it better than we do. Yeah Simple as that. because they have the ambition, I guess. yeah, simple as that. Yeah, which is good for them, but on the other hand, we kind of lose out. Yeah, it's terrible for us. I think that if, uh, young people had service to the country might give them more ambition. Because they learn that serving other people is a good thing. Yeah. Yeah, and, and it can be good for them, too. Yeah, oh yeah. I mean, even, even the greedy kids that we've got now ... Oh god, you go to the mall and you see, you know, fourteen year old kids flaunting money, because the parents give them money to go down and play video games all night, you know I know. for what. I know. Give me the money and I'll, I'll teach them something good Well, you know, you know why they do it is so they can get them out of the house. Yeah. Yeah, uh, that's my other complaint. Parents aren't parents any more. No. They've, they've relinquished their parenting. Yeah. One of the other subjects is do you think the public school systems are in trouble? Yeah. Well, as a substitute teacher for a year, I, I can say yes. Yeah, I mean, I talked with somebody else about that another time, and, you know, when I's in graduate school working on my master's degree in math, I was, uh, teaching as part of my, part of the program. And I just love teaching. That was a lot, that's probably the most fun I had. And, uh, it helped me out because I learned things and learned how to do things differently. Yeah. Uh-huh. And when, uh, when come time to get out of school, I thought, Boy, I'd like to teach. But you know, for, for what. Yeah. You know, I don't want to live in a little one bedroom apartment the rest of my life. Exactly. I mean, that, that's a sad thing to think, and that's kind of selfish on my part, and I admit that, Well, in a way it is, but you have to look out for yourself you know, Yeah, that's right. I mean, that's and when we pay garbage men more than we pay teachers, That's wrong. Yeah, gosh, I mean, I'm not saying that garbage men should be paid less, I saying teachers should be paid more. No, I mean yeah. They do an absolutely necessary job, I mean, I, I have a great deal of admiration for these people who can go out there and do that. Yeah. But, uh, I mean, there's, there's a sense of priorities here, too. Yeah. You know, we need, what's more important, picking up the garbage or educating our kids. Yeah They both have their place. Yeah, they, they, sure. But, you know, when it gets right down to it, I mean, one's I mean, on the other hand, I mean, you take a garbage man in New York City starts out at twenty-six thousand dollars. That's pretty good. Well I bet you there's a whole bunch of homeless people up there who would take that job for thirteen thousand dollars a year. Yeah. I mean, my other pet peeve is unions. Yeah, oh yeah. You know, it's just, it's, it's ridiculous the way unions have gone. There was a time when unions were needed. And they served a good function. And they served a good function, but there are enough laws on the books now that unions are outdated, and they're only there to perpetuate their own, their own power structure. I remember, the company my dad worked for, the people there went on strike against the management. It was a steel manufacturing place, and they, uh, this was during a time when the import steel was so cheap, and they were having a hard time. And they told the strikers there, look, we need you to come back and get this stuff done. Or else we're going to be out of business. And they wouldn't come back, so they went bankrupt. Yeah. And, and they all lost their jobs. Sure, and, and and that's really what happened to the steel industry in this country. And it's like , you know. Yeah. So many times, I mean, you had the, uh, the coal miners and steel workers going out at the same time. And, well, that took care of that industry That's right. and, and, then, and I'll tell you, Detroit worked awfully hard on, on stopping car manufacturing in this country. And they're trying to do that now with the imports. Yeah, I mean, you know, we've never caught up, and I don't think we ever will. It'll be a tough road, though. Yeah, I mean, here it is, and we've got, we've got to go into partnership with the Japanese to build cars. Yeah. You know And they only did it because they, I guess they were embarrassed that they're so good at it Yeah. That's about right. Gosh. Yeah, well, back to the original subject, yeah, I think youngsters ought to go out and do some public service, I don't care what kind it is. It teaches them pride in their country. Yeah, and pride in themselves, too. That's right. They could, they could, I mean, you could organize something just within your community. same old thing. Yeah, I mean, that's right. That's like Eagle Scouts. Sure. Uh-huh. And that's a great idea. I think they ought to take them and, I don't know, just have sort of like a, a, a manpower pool and say Okay, look, we need somebody ... Okay, we're going to talk about the public school system, What's wrong with it, an, or if anything is wrong with it and what we can do about it, what should be done about it. Okay. Fantastic. Well one thing that pops into my mind real quick is, uh, about the, uh, funding of, the, the school system right now. Yeah. Evidently, uh, that's, that's a big problem. Yeah, it's amazing, uh, I always thought that teachers never got paid nearly enough, I mean, to be doing what they're doing, uh. Right. When I was in college I, I enjoyed teaching, 'cause I did some teaching part-time and I really enjoyed that but I wouldn't want to go teach high school or junior high, it just, you know, all the problems. Oh, Lord, I mean, yeah, an, you talk about stress and pressure, I tell you what, it's, uh, Yeah, they're putting in fifty, sixty hours a week, I'm sure, because they've got to grade papers and get class stuff ready. Do, right. And, you know, and they're being paid, probably half what most people being paid. Exactly, and, And we're paying basketball people, you know, millions of dollars a year for, for what, you know. That's right, and then they, uh, poof it off, you know, do like Tarpley. Yeah. But, uh, I what gets me is I can't believe that Congress, uh, or, our state legislature can't come up with, uh, some kind of workable means to have funds for the school. You know, it's, uh, I just don't understand that. Yeah, it's, uh. Now do you have little kids, or what? No, uh, sure don't, my wife and I've just been married about two years but I have a sister that's a, uh, school teacher, and, uh. Yeah, yeah, my wife and I have a, a three year old, almost four and a, a two year old. Okay. So we're looking at the, the older one going to school next year. Not, not, well not this coming fall but the year after that. Okay, so it's getting close. Yeah, he's going to be going to kindergarten, so. Right. So, you know, we're, we're thinking about that. What's that going to be like. Are they going to be taught nothing, or they going be taught something, we're going to, we're going to be involved in our child's education. We're going to be teaching him what we can at home, of course, because, uh, I guess we don't trust the school system, which is very sad, uh, Right. but. But if it doesn't start at home, it's not going to go anywhere. You know, Exactly. Right, that's true. and we're going to try to teach him good values, because, you know, when, when they get to upper level school and they start teaching them, well hey, if you can play football or basketball that's what's important. Not if you can read or write, or do, or understand some science. You know, Exactly. I mean give me a break, that's, that's, that's bogus. Right, right. Well and, uh, you know, one thing my wife and I've talked about, are, uh, private schools. You know whether, uh, uh, we would want to invest in, in private schools as they're growing up, because, you know, just in the Dallas area, um, we're not real comfortable with the, with the public schools. Yeah. And Dallas, uh, school district just recently got an advised status because of their low quality schooling. Right. I couldn't believe that. Right. You know, one, that's one reason we bought a house here in Plano. We were hoping, you know, well the school district's going to be good, you know, for resale value, and, so on and so forth, Yeah. but, uh, I can definitely, uh, see on down the road, you know, where we do have kids and are getting to that age, that's going to be a definite concern. Yeah, we talked, you talked about before, about the school funding. I think there's only going to be one solution to school funding which I don't think will be necessarily the best way but I think what's going to have to happen is there's going to have to be tuition for grade school and junior high and high school kids. That's the only way they're going to fund it, because if they start raising taxes for property, and people are going to throw a fit. That's, yeah, and, you know, that's, taxes right now are political suicide. You know, Oh, yeah. and I don't think any politician's going to do that, so. Yeah, and the only thing, they, they would think of would be tuition, you know, if it works at colleges it will work down below. Right. And, you know, that's going to, that's going to affect the people that are having kids in school, of course, which is probably the only fair thing to do. But, it will be hard for those that people, that have, have in school because they have to pay out even more. Exactly. And, you know, it's going to really hurt the, the middle class, uh, people, I think. Because, uh, they're the ones that will probably have to, to carry the brunt of the load. Oh, yeah. That's right. So, uh, And most of the problems with kids in school carrying guns and, and knives and everything, I mean, good grief what's . Yeah now, that's, that's just unbelievable to me, you know. I can't believe that. I mean when I was in junior high and high school that never happened. You never heard about that. Well yeah, we didn't, we didn't even think about it, you know No. And now, you know, what do we have now. You know, got kids that, either got a, you know, a Magnum gun school, like good grief. right. I mean, I'd, I'd be afraid to be in school, I mean teaching, or even being a student and think what, what's it going to be like for my, my youngest, an my oldest son, when he goes to school. What's going to happen? I mean I, I'm afraid for him to go. Exactly, right. But there again , you can't hold them back. Another reason, and you want to encourage them, you know, to, to be active and everything in school, but, uh, you know, with all the peer pressure that's going on, with all the negative things, it is, uh, it's a tough environment to be growing up in. Yeah, and lot tougher than it was when I was going to school, and that was, well I was, I graduated high school in nineteen seventy-nine, so. Okay. That was what, twelve years ago, I guess. Right. So, you know, it's lot different now. And what's it going to be like in another twelve years when my, uh, oldest son is in high school. That's right, that's right. I'm afraid to, I'm afraid to even think about it. That, yeah, that is a scary thought, but, uh, I don't know, I, I guess what you have to do is just, uh, keep in, uh, you know, encouraging them and, and, uh, uh, try to be open with them, so that you can deal with the problems as they come up. That's all you can do. Yeah, and. You got to, you got to be your child's best friend, I guess, even when they're a teenager and they, you know are kind of standoffish, Right. still you got to be their best friend because when they've got problems, who they going to go to, their friends that are dealing drugs, or, or your parents. You know, Exactly. an, and if they go to their friends dealing drugs, they're going to be in even worse shape. That's right. And, and the schools don't, don't really encourage to stay away from that, you know, the schools are there to teach history and that we fought the civil war, etcetera, etcetera. They don't teach them good values like drugs are bad. I, maybe I'm wrong, because I haven't, you know, been in that kind of environment for a long time, but, it just is amazing, you know, Right. need to teach them good values. That's true, that's true, and, uh. Of course, if I say this is a good value, someone else is going to stand up and say, oh no. And the A C L U is going to get after them and have a lawsuit. Which is going to take twenty years to resolve, you know. Right. Well and I think, uh, you touched on it, you know, you've got to start them at the home. You know Yeah. that's where they, that's where they get the, the deep rooted values and, and, and, uh, and that's about right. That's all you can do. Then you just have to hope and pray that, that everything, uh, works out, works out okay, so. That's right. Well I got to be going, so, uh. Okay, well, hey, I appreciate the call. Nice talking to you today. You to. Have a good life, uh. Hi, Wanet is his last How are you? I'm doing fine. Where you from? I'm from New England. Massachusetts. Okay. I'm from Berkeley, California. Wow! This is quite a, quite a long distance. Yeah, it certainly is. Do you have any pets? No. Use too. Use to, but none, none right now. How come, uh, you don't have any now? You get tired of them? Well, I, I live in an apartment building and, and, uh, and, and, it, it, it's just not feasible you know. Yeah. I'd love to have a dog, you know. I've got a little doggy, uh, that I've had quite, uh, quite a long time. In fact, she just turned sixteen years old New Year's Eve. Ah. And, uh Is she? I beg your pardon? What is she? She's, uh, uh, uh, a poodle. Uh, a toy poodle, a toy poodle and she's, Ah. Ah, my, I got my mom a teacup little mutt , not too long ago. This is a little bigger than a teacup. Yeah. And, uh, it's funny how, uh, how I, I, uh, acquired this animal. Uh, when I was, uh, married, my, uh, ex-wife had said that she had a friend who had a little puppy. That she needed, uh, the woman needed someone to baby-sit and, uh, this is what she had told the kids and she even told me that. And after the two week period was up, uh, she then informed me that the woman no longer wanted the little puppy and wanted to know if we wanted to keep it. Well, after you had an animal for a couple of weeks, it's, uh, you become you become attached to it. Oh, for sure. Oh, yeah. So, I've had this dog now for, for sixteen years and she's been a lot of company Uh, she's, uh, however, getting a little old and things are starting to fail. Uh, I, I live alone now and she stays in the house all day while I go to work and, uh, she's been holding herself pretty well. The, uh, up until, you know, recently where she's been having accidents in the house because she either is losing control or she forgets where she is and, uh, I find a little present on the floor sometimes when I come home. But she's, she's usually pretty good. Yes, well. My, my mother has one that's, uh, it's, uh, it's, uh, teacup and, uh, it's made such a difference for her. But, you know, just, I, you know, the way my mom's presence countenance is, just, just for having a puppy but, you know, having this dog she's had it for, I guess three years now. Oh, possibly four. Uh-huh. But, uh, it was, it, it's it's really made such a difference for her. I really would like to, uh, I'm a disabled person Uh-huh. so I'm unable to, to, really take care of a pet and if that weren't so, I would certainly have one. I just, I just, it frustrates me sometimes not being able to have a dog yeah . Huh. Well, you might want to get yourself, uh, an animal that doesn't require much attention. Like a cat. Oh, yeah. Well, yeah, uh, I, I, I typically am not a cat person. I have a friend that, uh, has on occasion, uh brought her cat over for me to keep for, you know, from time to time And this cat is like no other cat I have ever seen. And, uh, it would sleep on my chest, you know. Yeah. It's just, it's just a great cat, but. Well, my, my personal preference is, is a dog. Uh, I don't know that, uh, that I would ever want a cat. Oh, I like cats. I just wouldn't want to own one. Uh they're not, uh, they're, they're affectionate Well, you don't own cats. but they, yeah I don't know, I can't seem to communicate with a cat like I can with my dog. Yeah. You, they, they own you or, or, you know, grant you with you their presence, you know. Yeah, right Yeah. Right. That, yes, we're supposed to appreciate them. Well, my, my dog when I came home, uh, when I come home in the evenings, my dog greets me at the door. I don't know that a cat would do that, uh Yeah. I used to have, a cat that could read me better than any human being in my life. Yeah. I could just walk in the door and she knew whether to, to, to quietly come up to me or to just run and knock me over. I mean she really could pick up on my mood uh, the way I walked in the door. Yeah, yeah. It was, uh, uncanny like a Huh. I, I think, uh, in a way we're able to read each other pretty well because, uh, she knows when I'm upset and I know when she's not feeling good too So. Yeah. I know like when she has an accident, I know she's not doing it on purpose. When when she was younger, she used to do that to get even with me, Yeah. Uh, and, and, you know, some people might not believe that but, but, but, uh, I do Sure Oh, absolutely. Like if I, if I put her in a room all by herself and close the door and leave her there for a few hours, uh, because I was going out. She would, uh, break something or rip up the carpet or do something just to, uh, to, to let me know that she was unhappy with what I did Really? Yeah. That's the way, well, I had that cat that I mentioned, Alfie . One morning, you know, the first thing you do is you get up and you, you, you feed this cat something and, and you make sure that it can get to its litter box. Well, for some reason during the night, the door was not quite wide enough for it to get through Uh-huh. and, uh, the next morning, uh, when my roommate got up and, and, uh, did not feed it right away, it decided that, that it was going to protest. And so it jumped up on my bed and anointed my blanket, for me. Looking, looking at me eye to eye, all the time while it was doing it. All right. Have I got your attention now? Oh, yes. Animals have a way of talking Alfie did. I tell you if I could have gotten a hold of that cat that day. I, I don't know that I'd, uh, that I'd trade my dog in for the world. Uh, it was about two years ago she got sick on me and I took her to the, uh, to the vet's because she wasn't eating and, and, uh, she wasn't able to jump. She, you know, lost all her activity and, uh, she stayed there for one day and the doctor called me up and said, uh, she had a low white cell count and that, uh, she wasn't, she was dying and, uh, suggested that I take her to a working dog hospital, animal hospital So I took his suggestion and I, uh, took the, the dog to a hospital. The dog hospital there and they said they'd keep her there for three days. Well, she ended staying there five days at a hundred and something dollars a day because she was in intensive care It cost me over five hundred dollars. Ouch. Plus, the, the, uh, the vet sent me a bill for what he did and, uh, then she recouped. She was okay for a couple of years. And then she got sick on me again and I brought her to a different vet this time and I told the vet what medication I had given her and everything And, uh, he gave me the medication, the same medication that I gave her the last time and she was okay and she's been okay every since. It's been about two years now. Huh. Well, that's great, it really is. I, I'm glad that she was able to pull out of it that way and so cheaply the second time. Yeah. Well, the, see the problem is if, if the, if someone would have came up to me and said it's going to cost you five hundred dollars to keep your dog alive. What do you want to do? I probably would have had second thoughts. Yeah. Of course, you would. But what they, well, what they do is, is they say, well it's going to cost, you know, twenty dollars for tests and forty dollars for this and, and, you know, and it creeps up on you. You don't know that, uh, you know You really, you don't know what it's going to until it's all over. Uh, to give you an example. My mom had an elderly cat who, uh, whoever evidently got a hold of it and, uh, the cat got sick. So she took the cat to the vet and she had the cat there for two days and then the cat died. So the doctor had called her up and said, uh, your cat died and you owe me this bill, and oh, by the way, do you want me to, to bury the cat So, it cost her three hundred dollars, uh, and she didn't get the cat back. So, yeah, they had to pay for all the medical, uh, bills that the cat ran up plus the burial expenses. And, uh, you know, she just brought the cat in because he wasn't feeling good So that that was kind of a surprise Really. Geez. At Yeah. You kind of wonder what really happened. Yeah. Well even the, you know, they, they claimed they did the best that they could have have and then the cat, uh, died. So My goodness. I'm, I'm looking for another cat for them. Uh, I, I've, I've got a little kitten, uh, that's still, uh, just being born right now. So another five or six weeks I'll be bringing the little kitten over to, uh, to my folks. Well, that, that, that, that will make their day. Yeah. I, I think it will because they're both in their, in their seventies. And, uh, the cat, uh, although it's a little bit of work for them sometimes, it turns, it turns out to be, uh, uh, a pleasant experience for them. Uh, I think they enjoy that. Only work initially. Yeah. For cats anyway, you know. Yeah. Well, listen it's been a pleasure talking to you. Well, the same here. And you take care. Okay. Bye now. Maybe we'll talk again sometimes Okay. What is that sound? That's my buzzer at the door Oh, okay. I'll let you go. Okay. Right Thank you Uh, so what do you do to exercise? Uh, I, uh, weight train, uh, three days on and one day off. Uh-huh. I, uh, ride bicycles, uh, fifteen, twenty miles, I don't know, maybe three times, maybe four times a week. I play basketball, uh, couple times a week. I play softball one night a week. Uh, that's what I do. Um. What about yourself? That's pretty impressive. Uh, I guess I bicycle. Uh, the amount varies as much as a hundred and fifty miles a week. Uh-huh. Uh, I guess a play softball one night a week. And I backpack a lot over the summer. Oh, really? Yeah, that's, that's about the extent of it. I mean, I don't do any of those things particularly, you know, for exercise. But, uh, I guess the bicycling is the one thing I'll sort of, like, do if I feel like I need to go exercise Uh, but I do it mostly for fun. Yeah, uh, what do you ride, uh, like, a bunch of hills or pretty flat? It, it, it varies. Uh, out near my house is pretty hilly. Uh, but sometimes I bike to work which is about, uh, a fifteen mile trip each way. And that's mostly flat. How long does that take you to get to work? Uh, about forty-five, fifty minutes. How how does that work, work out with, uh, storing your bike and showering and all that? Yeah, it can be a pain. Uh, basically, uh, I work on a campus so I can store my bike in my office and walk across the, uh, campus to the, uh, gym, use the shower there Uh-huh. uh, but, it's, it's enough of a pain, that I did it consistently one year, I would commute every day, uh, but it just became such a pain. I mean we're talking, you know, forty-five, fifty minutes for biking, uh, and sometimes longer if you had adverse wind. And then another half an hour, you know to cool down and take a shower and all this kind of stuff. Right. It was a big hunk, hunk of the day Uh, and then of course another hour to get back home. Uh, so I've been doing that less, and, and concentrating more on, you know, light biking when I get home on the evening and then, you know, some more on the weekends. Yeah. Do you ride a lot of rallies or a lot of those around there? Not so much. Uh, I guess mostly I bike on my own. I've got a touring bike. Uh, though I haven't gone on any extended trips with it. Uh-huh. How about you, what kind of biking do you do? Uh, well, actually my wife just got me into it and I did an, did an internship at the Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, the Cooper Clinic, Uh-huh. and I learned all the health benefits of, you know, I was a solid weight trainer, Uh-huh. and all I did was weights and aerobic exercise and then my wife got me into the aerobic exercise and said you really need to do it, so, once I got into this, uh, internship, I learned all the physiological advantages to it, Uh-huh. so I began a program couple, I don't know probably three or four weeks ago and I did my first bike rally this Saturday. I did, uh, forty, forty miles, Um. and, uh, that's the longest I've ever ridden so far, I usually, you know, fifteen or twenty. Uh-huh. And it was, it was kind of hilly and it was pretty tough, but, uh, I'm looking at, uh, doing a lot more of it because, you know, my wife is really into it, Oh, I see. and I, I kind of held her back a little bit this, this weekend. She wanted to go, go, go, but, you know, she wanted to stay with me Uh-huh. It's good to have a partner. Yeah it really is. Are you think of doing any, like, centuries, or ... Yeah, that would be cool sometime if I could, you know, work up to that. Uh-huh. Yeah, I just wondered if you were going to do that mostly or more like, you know, uh, uh, touring like from Vermont or, you know, that kind of, thing. Oh. I mean people seem to get into different aspects. One is more of a distance, and one's more, just, you know, they want to put some equipment on their bike and go for a tour. I've never really looked into that. That, you know, that's, my wife would just love that. Uh-huh. And I may do that sometime. There again, I'm just kind of a fledgling into this. Uh-huh. I've, it's kind of funny. I called this number and I was just reading through a bicycle magazine and going through all the different tours coming up. Yeah, yeah. I mean, around Texas, you, you got about five or six, if you live around the Dallas area, you got five or six every weekend to choose from. Because they're really into it. Oh, that's nice. Um. Bicycling is really big here. I didn't know that, and, you know, until I came down here, and, kind of caught the fever. Wow. Yeah. Because I lived in Indiana all my life and, you know, you may say see one or two guys on a bicycle that, or above the age of fifteen or something, Uh-huh. but, other than that it's nothing up there like it is down here. Yeah, I'm not sure why that is. I mean, generally in the Midwest it seems to be less, much less. I mean, maybe it's because of the winters. Uh, or maybe just because, you know, there's, there's a lot more flat lands, you know, out in the West. Probably. Yeah. So it makes biking a better alternative for transportation. Yeah. It, there's a lot of bikers around here. It's, it's really neat. Uh-huh. There are a lot of, a lot of resources, a lot of magazines, and stuff, little TEXAS BICYCLIST, is like a little newspaper that comes out every month. Um. It's free just go to the bike shock, bike shop and pick it up, and it's got all the rides coming up, so I guess I'm going to be busy about every Saturday this summer, going to a different ride. Oh, that's terrific. Yeah, see a little bit of Texas I've never seen before. Uh-huh. So, uh, how long have you been biking? Oh, I guess as an adult for just about the past, uh, three years or so Uh, you know, I guess last time I did it before that was college, which was about ten years ago. Yeah. And, uh, yeah, I guess I just never really thought about it much for a while, uh, until I suddenly discovered all my friends were basically biking a lot. And so I thought I'd try it, too. Have you ever had a, uh, it's kind of slightly off the subject, but you ever had a, uh, a blood workup done recently or since you've been biking, to see if it, No, I haven't, no. because it really, from what I understand, it really improves your, uh, cholesterol Um. and, you know, it, uh, it kind of knocks down two of the big risk categories for coronary artery disease which is, uh, uh, low cardiovascular fitness, and also, uh, you know, the cholesterol. Uh-huh. It gives you increased H D Ls and decreases your L D Ls. Oh, that's great. Yeah, so ... Yeah, I've, I've definitely noticed it's had a good effect on my pulse rate, my resting pulse. Yeah. You know, it gets it down to about forty. Really? Yeah. That's good. Yeah. You say you ride about a hundred, hundred fifty miles a week? Yeah. Man. That's, that's hard-core. On average, yeah. When do you get to begin with the winters and all that? What time of the year do you usually embark on your, do you ride inside if you can't ride outside? No, I'm not that hard-core. I mean there are some people, in fact a lot of people will ride outside in the snow. They've got a, uh, mountain bike, you know, with the big knobby tires. Yeah. And, I don't do that. I basically, I, I pretty much lay off for the winter. Uh, I was thinking of getting rollers for the last winter, you know, because it will help your balance when you're indoor training. Um. Uh, but I just, you know, more or less stocked, like an exercise bike and that kind of thing. uh, but, yeah, I mean winters are kind of a problem so, I'm more or less out of shape now that I've been biking, I guess, this year for just a couple of weeks. Uh-huh. Uh, but, you know, up here it's only stopped snowing since then. Yeah. Uh, but, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's pretty good. It's, uh, the main, the main thing, I guess, for me is just to enjoy it because once it starts seeming like, you know, exercise and a chore I'll lay off it more. Right. So you, uh, change up your routes a lot, and keep a ... Oh, yeah, yeah. I try to go someplace pretty different, you know, every week. I rotate around, uh, about four different routes, uh, from my house or I'll sometimes come in the school. It's nice coming, it's, it's nice riding to school because it's all along a canal path uh, because it's just, it's along the Erie Canal up here. So, what school is it? Uh, University of Rochester. Oh, okay. Yeah. So it's fairly picturesque. Yeah. And, uh, so it's, it's, it's a good ride as long as you're not doing it every day, it's a good ride Yeah. That's true. Sounds neat. Yeah. It's kind of, I was wondering if I was going to talk with someone that never has exercised before and doesn't want to and everything else, but got a guy that rides a hundred and fifty miles a week. That's, uh, motivating. Yeah. That's really good. Well good talking to you Oh, it was good talking to you. and keep up the good work. Okay, you, too. All right. Take care. Bye. Bye. Okay. Uh, far as, you know, crime in the cities, I'm sure, like in yours it's pretty, pretty bad. Uh, probably the biggest thing we've got going now is the robberies and theft and probably murder are the two top ones that we have. Uh-huh. How about you? Uh, well, I don't actually live in the city, but I'd probably say that's roughly right. I mean crimes against property seem to outnumber crimes against life, but I, I think with the current war on drugs and all this kind of stuff I'd say probably the police department would claim the number one crimes, crimes are probably solicitation of prostitution, uh, and sale of drugs. Uh-huh. probably right, if you look at it from that stand point. Uh-huh. What, uh, is there anything, uh, that you particularly are concerned with in your particular area as far as security and that sort of thing? Uh, where I live now it's, it's not so bad. I mean I can basically leave my front door unlocked and not have to worry about it. Uh, but I do have friends that live in the city and I think that they get a lot of fallout from this war on drug thing. Uh, just because there are, like, crack houses, you know, on their street and stuff like this. Uh-huh. Do you live in a real small town or, or out in the country? I live out in the country, yeah. How far out from the city, I mean, do you, I'm about fifteen miles out. About fifteen miles. I live in a little suburb, uh, which is, I guess from Dallas is twelve miles or so Uh-huh. but it's pretty congested. We are considered in the country, Um. but it doesn't really feel like you're in the country. Um. Our major crimes in our immediate town, uh, is probably robberies, house robberies and very few instances of, you know, alcohol, drugs, uh, reported. Uh-huh. However, I'm sure they're there. Uh-huh. But, uh, right now our neighborhood is running about, uh, eighty percent of the homeowners have been robbed, sometime during their, their, uh, existence in that neighborhood. Wow. That's huge . And since that time everybody's got some sort of burglar system or, you know, uh, burglar alarms uh, and including the out, uh, the outer perimeter type, uh, devices, sensors and things like that. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. It's cut back, you know, considerably, but it, it just shifts it from our neighborhood to another neighborhood to other neighborhood, so it still, uh, remains city wide, pretty, pretty high. Are there, are there any theories on why this is happening? Uh, I would say the majority of it's happening during the day, uh, between probably ten in the morning and three in the afternoon. Uh-huh. Most, But why? Why is it happening? Well, most families, most families are young and both people are working. Uh-huh. So they're happening during the hours they're gone from work. Uh-huh. Uh, so, uh, I would say that's probably their prime motivation. They'll, they'll stock your house and, uh, look at your pattern and then go from there. So they're professionals? Uh, they classify most of them as professionals. Um. Uh, you get a few of them that are a little bit sloppier, uh, just taking, uh, you know, just junk items that they, they can just get, you know, ten to twenty bucks for real quick. Uh-huh. Probably the biggest items that, uh, that you get in our neighborhood, or, would be the high classed automobiles, the, you know, Mercedes, Volvos, things that they can get, you know, big dollars for and the jewelry are the major targets, Uh-huh. guns, that sort of stuff. Um. Very few, you know, penny, penny ante stuff. Well, what do you think can be done to reduce that sort of crime? Well, uh, the police force, for one, I think they could, uh, definitely add to the police force and the type equipment that they use. Uh, it's, oh, right now I think, we are about thirty thousand people and there's only eight officers that patrol for thirty, for that amount of people which is not very many. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. And, But, I mean, that's going to tend to, I mean it seems to me that sort of approach will tend to simply make the cost of committing the crime slightly higher in other words, you've increased the probability of somebody being caught a little bit. The real question is how do you convince people not to commit such crimes in the first place. Well, the, course in our particular state, uh, we have the prison overcrowding, whatever, so they're giving the early release, uh, Right. They're doing that in our state, too. Yeah, and, and it's, I think what they need to do is stop building more jails and start giving stiffer sentences, uh, but for the, So you think that would be a deterrent? That would be, certainly be a deterrent. Uh-huh. And, uh, not necessarily, you know, give in to their, uh, human rights desires. You know, if they're overcrowded, just keep cramming them in there till they just suffocate. Uh, Well, what about an innocent person who happens to have been found guilty? Uh, I think they'd have to go to extra measures to make sure a person's guilty, you know, in a lot of cases. Course, I, I know you can't be a hundred percent foolproof. Right. Uh, So you'd, you'd rather see it harder to convict somebody. I'd rather see it a little bit harder and have a little bit more evidence, uh, to convict somebody Uh-huh. and then those convicted, especially of, you know, murder and, and, uh, you know, major crimes, uh, to reach the life sentences and, you know, death penalties and follow-through with that. Uh-huh. Huh. Uh, especially, you know, in the case of murder Right. uh, I know in my case, I, my wife and daughter were kidnapped, during a house robbery back in eighty-five Oh, wow. Oh, my goodness. and we caught, the individuals got caught, we, uh, we went through the court system and all that sort of thing Uh-huh. and, uh, you know, two counts of kidnapping, uh you know, the, the forty-five to the head, you know, just the, the mental anguish and the whole nine yards uh, you know, the guy only got five years. Uh-huh. Right. Wow. And, you know, he was out within two months because of the parole system. So what, what, Did you, did you sue him under the civil system? Do what now? Did you sue him under the civil system? no. I'm not real familiar with that. Well, you could probably sue him for mental anguish or something, right, and try to get money from him Oh. and, Well, the insurance companies and all that tried to, tried to go after him and they said, well, you know, he, they're, he has no job, he has nothing, there's nothing that he has that, that you could go after. Yeah. Makes you wish that had, uh, still had indentured servitude, for this sort of thing. Yeah. Uh, very But they give the guy a job in prison and make him pay his damn debt. Yeah. They don't do that here. Course they pay them, but they don't, you don't, you or the insurance companies never see any of that money. Yeah, that's too bad. And, uh, you know, and they're right now they're reluctant to go after him because they're, you know, they're, they're repeat offenders, they, uh, been in jail before Uh-huh, uh-huh. they've been released, you know, several times, which is another, uh, deal I hate to see. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh, you know, basically the guy commits, you know three major crimes and, and, uh, and car theft on top of it, destroys my car, Yeah, I, I think that's Yeah. Yeah. and we're out, you know, uh, you know, fifteen thousand dollars and, you know, the guy gets out in two months That's awful and he goes out and commits it again. Fact, he's back in jail now. So, what, what, uh, Gives you sympathy for the vigilantes. Yeah. What, what deterrent does he really have? Yeah. Yeah, I think in our, in our particular neighborhood, vigilantism is becoming a real, real possibility. Uh-huh. Uh, we've had a couple instances where break ins where the people have actually, you know, shot the people Oh, my God. and, uh, return offenders have, they've actually waited for them, where they've robbed, you know, particular neighborhood, they'll rob one house, then other people will wait up, you know, and wait for somebody to do something else, try to take it in their own hands. Right. Course it doesn't always work out in their favor. Right. But, uh, nevertheless, I think people are just getting fed up and saying, you know, you can't arrest all of us, Uh-huh. you can, you know, you can get some of us, Right. you can't get all of us. Uh-huh. Uh, and we're beginning to see more and more of that. And that, that's a deterrent, too. If you think the home owner might be armed, right, and awake Yeah. here you break in, and you're going to get shot. Yeah, that's, I mean that's certainly a possibility in, in, we have had a few cases where the guy has broken in, you know, during the middle of the night and gotten himself shot to death. Uh-huh. And, uh, it helps for a while Uh-huh. but then just another different set of people come in, and most of the people are transients from out, outside of the state. Huh. Uh, I would say probably eighty percent of them that are caught, they're from places like up in Oklahoma, and Louisiana, Arkansas, you know, across the, the border. Wow, So, you know, people who don't readily read the newspapers in our town or whatever Uh-huh. it's not many from the local communities. Uh-huh. But, uh, it's a problem, and I, I just, I think that the court systems need to be more accurate in, in, stiffer in their penalties, Yeah. would be a definite deterrent and, and, uh, giving the, uh, police, uh, agencies a little bit more jurisdiction over what they do when they, when they catch these people. Yeah. Uh-huh. I mean, I, I tend to agree with you. I think, uh, what I would like to see is, number one, completely getting rid of these victimless crimes. Uh, there's no reason to enforce those and spend time and money doing it and, and worry about these things where people are getting hurt. Right. And I think one of the big things that you can do is, to increase deterrence is, uh, if someone is found guilty of a, uh, felony level offense, they lose their citizenship. And they lose their constitutional rights. You know, Uh-huh. and just a lot of things that we're trying to worry about, you know, protecting these people from, we just don't protect them. I know like in my wife's case, they made her feel like the criminal. I know, and I think, I think that's ridiculous. They, they went to all, all ... Okay, have you painted something lately? Yes, I have. That room I showed you. Yeah. And then since then we have painted the bedroom. Oh yeah, another bedroom. Yeah, I showed you that one too didn't I? The brown one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the one that looks like a fudgesicle. Oh yeah Yeah. Oh heavens. Well, I painted the outside of my house and one bathroom. Yeah. But I get, I have that problem with the the ceiling, you know, the, uh, the blown, blown, ceiling. You know where you get around the edge. Oh yeah. Well, that is hard. Now, I asked Janice, or somebody recently how you do that uh, when you paint the ceilings you know where you have got that textured stuff, that they have special rollers that are real soft and furry that you paint that with. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, how do you get the edge though? How do you get the edge? The the straight edge? You just have to be real careful. Oh, I see. We use, uh, uh, a two inch brush with, uh, on a slant Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and that mostly does it even though you still make mistakes. But. Huh. Well are you going to paint the outside of your house too? Well, yeah. I think I am going to do it this spring actually. Oh really? Yeah, there are six houses. See the people that own the house they, uh, pay for anything like that, that we do. As far as the the materials. Oh nice. There are three houses on this street the same color of yellow out of six houses. Yeah. So, I am thinking I am going to change it to, uh, something, you know, the brick is multi color. Mostly earth tones. Uh-huh. Oh, that will be nice. Huh. Or, two tone, or two tone. You know. Yeah. There are some columns that could be painted a different color too. Uh-huh. What color did you paint your house? White. On the out, But, I have a problem. I can't get up high and we can't paint the chimney Well, you have got to get one of those ladders. We have one of those ladders. We are just not willing to get up that high. Oh, yeah. A friend of mine that lives out in your neighborhood, he has done his house and that is what he, I was out there last week and he has finished everything except the chimney. Well, we did too. We did it in the fall and it, it's just too high. It is really scary, but and the only thing I would consider doing, a professional, maybe doing that, Yeah. but it other than doing our own work I prefer it to a professional. Well, our house in New Mexico, it was stucco, but we had all this trim to paint, and lots of it. Yeah. And we did basically seventy-five percent of the house and then I was afraid to do the eaves way up high and stuff. Uh-huh. So, I hired this man to come in and do it. A young kid. Uh-huh. And he came with, with his own what do you call those things? The blowers? No, those where you built like a rafter thing. Oh, oh, oh, oh, I know what you are talking about. Uh Yeah. Scaffold. scaffold. That's it He came and did it that way and I think he charged me a hundred dollars to finish up. Huh. And literally I wouldn't have done it with the scaffolds because all the places that I had left for him were above huge humongous cactus Its, Yeah. and if he fell, he was dead and he knew that So, Oh, my. So that was worth it getting a professional for that. Yeah. Plus, he cleaned up my mess. Oh, I think that is what we might have to do with this chimney, but other than that, it was pretty easy doing it ourself and caulking it and everything ourself. Uh-huh. It wasn't too bad. I mean you think, How much did it cost you for the paint for the outside? Shoot, maybe a hundred and fifty. Yeah. Since, it is a one story, but we did, uh, like two heavy coats over it. But then that way you know you are assured you did a good job than you are, you know, if you hire someone to do it. Yeah. But, that friend of mine that painted his house out there in your neighborhood he went to, uh, I guess to buy his paint Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and yet he bought like seventeen gallons. My word. And, anyway, he, when he checked out and he was using his charge card too. They only charged him for one gallon of paint. Like thirteen bucks or something. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, my word. And he had, he had, the, uh, he had already carried a ladder outside and told her that Uh-huh. and she wrung all that stuff up and made a mistake on the price of the paint Uh-huh. so she had to start all over again Uh-huh. and when he got outside, he noticed his receipt was like thirteen ninety-nine or something. Oh, my word. And he saw . So that was really worth it. Painting his own house. Yeah, it was like over two hundred dollars worth of free stuff. Oh, my word Oh, my word. Well, he really saved in that way. Yeah. But, yeah, I think we are going to do, uh, another bathroom, but I think I will probably just do it, in a roller. I want to do it about the same color. And just be a little, Uh. Rollers are so messy. We never any more. Oh, I know. But it's that, it's the textured wall. Well, a little paintbrush, So what do you think? Uh, the causes of crime? Um, I think it was imbalance of power in the United States. It's causing the lower class to rebel. That's why there's such high crime, and, uh, there's crime in, uh, young people because they don't have role models Yeah. see too much crime on T V and they think it's the way to go. I don't know. What do you think? What about, I agree with the upper and lower level, you know Uh-huh. because that's the lowest thing for themselves, plus there's nobody for them to look up to. Yeah. But I also blame some of it on parents Okay. because parents aren't parents. Yeah. Because I remember even when I was growing up, I'm thirty-five Okay. I remember when I was growing up, and I had friends, they used to do stuff like, you know, go over to a store and steal stuff. My mother warned us, it's like, I don't care what your friends do. If you do it, then that was it. Yeah. And I knew that I would get in more trouble from my mother than from from anybody else. From anybody else. And I think that's the basic, is they have no morals any more, Yeah. so they don't care. Yeah. So. Yeah, I think I can agree with that too. But now, as far as what they can do about it, I don't know. You can't make parents be parents That's true. You got to kind of make people want to do the right thing. You know. I don't know how you do that. I guess if you gave the, gave them jobs, that's another problem with the United States, there's no jobs any more. Yeah. But. Well, I've heard this one theory, that if, that if a kid commits a crime, that, uh, instead of the, prosecuting the kid, they prosecute the parent. Or both of them. That would work to a point, Now, to put the blame on the parent. Well, that'd work to a point because some kids are just bad anyway. I don't care what you do to them. Yeah. You know, so I think it depends on how much trouble that kid has been in, you know. Yeah. Because a, a, a child can get into anything Yeah. I don't care how good you, they are. Yeah. at least one time, but now if this is a repeated thing, here with this child in juvenile, and or, to me, yeah, both of them. Yeah. Because that means she's still not doing what she's supposed to do. Because I just watched it on T V one night on one of them, um, Twenty Twenty, Forty-eight hours, one of them shows where this boy had been stealing cars. Uh-huh. Yeah. I don't know if you seen this. Um. it was a little, it was a little gang of them stealing cars, you know, No, I didn't see it. I understand. And then when they caught him, you know, his mother sitting there, now they going to take me away from you. That meaned she was warned. Yeah. But see, by that, I think sometimes it's a little late. Yeah. You know, but I'm sure there's something can be done. Yeah. What about with adults? Anything do any about adult crime. Yeah, start prosecuting they but really good instead of having a revolving door on the damn court system. Yeah. Well, for one, a major problem with that is the jails are overcrowded. Well, they should start with, the, if they would get rid of. Seems to me, I know there's a lot about court that people don't understand. There's more people in jail right now for child support, okay then there are for people doing drugs. Uh-huh. Um. You ought to take all them little misdemeanor people Yeah. let them go, let them go Yeah. you know, give them a fine, whatever, make them do civic duty whatever, Yeah, I mean seriously, Put them fools in there, they ought to put those people to work. I call them all fools, idiots, whatever. Yeah. Little rock stars, put all them in there. Um. You know, the murderers, the drug dealers, the user, put them all in jail you know, Yeah. and let all the normal people go Yeah. you know, because, okay, if you write a bad check, you go to jail, right. Yeah. Let them people go. Well. Not let them go and get out of it. Yeah, they, you still have to punish them. Let them go and pay their crime or their time doing something else you know, like cleaning up the city or however they do their community time, you know, whatever that is Yeah. Yeah, that's, But don't put them in jail because they're not hardened criminals. Yeah, and they're, they're still, they can provide for society, whereas some of them are so far gone that they can't do anything good for society. Uh-huh. So. I don't know, some people, boy, they got, I think the United States has got too many problems to be worrying about everybody else. Yeah, that's true. Now how they going to fix it, I don't know. I don't think there is a ready solution. No, I don't think so either. Uh. Because the economy is down, people, you know, the, the, the low man on the pole is getting more of the, I guess, the bulk of it. Yeah. And he's got to work extra hard just to make ends meet. And they keep taking more money from us Uh-huh. and people are get, and they don't have any incentive to work if we're just going to take fifty percent of it. Yeah. Might as well steal, then they don't have to pay taxes on it That's it. Yeah. So, you know, they, I, I, I know that's bad, but, you know, just like Texas now. Uh-huh. They could have had a lottery. They don't want a lottery. Why not? I would rather pay for a lottery a dollar, two, three dollars, whatever I'm paying, you know a week or whatever, and never see any of that money, than to have them take a portion of my paycheck. They'd have a, Yeah. Yeah. Because, you know, they take, and Uncle Sam takes his, the Social Security which probably won't be here when I get that old you know. Um. Because we're paying for Social Security they using now. Yeah. Who's going to pay for mine? I don't know But it's, it's I'm not counting on it. No, you don't count on Social Security. Yeah. But, it's, it's, that's what I'm saying, they need to do something else. Um. But. Crime is going to go up as long as the economy stays down. Yeah. And it's going to get worse. Yeah. That's just like last night they killed them people in that store. Where you at? I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina. Oh No wonder you don't know that. Well, where are you from? I'm in Dallas. Okay. But last night, they killed, uh, uh, four people in a chain food. Oh, man. And killed them, well, it was two stores side by side. Uh-huh. One was a store and one was like a, a fast food place, chicken or something, I don't know. Yeah. Anyway, they raped the women, beat them all up, including the women, I mean, they just beat them. Stuck them in the freezer and then shot them all. Ow. Why was, you know, why Why did they do in the freezer? you know, why didn't they just, if they was going to lock them, just lock them in the freezer, take the money, you know. Yeah. They didn't have to kill them or rape them, or anything. Um. Um. That's awful. Yeah, we still get some in Raleigh. I mean, not not too often real bad ones, Uh-huh. but. It's just getting really ridiculous down here. I wish I could move somewhere where, this, you know, you got to like in the country. I don't think there's anywhere where there isn't going to be crimes. Well, I think, if it's, the town is smaller Uh-huh. and everybody knows everybody Yeah. it's harder to come in there and do something. Yeah. Where is, and, and, and see that's another thing. Neighborhoods aren't neighborhoods any more. Yeah. There's nobody is next door to you, you don't know your neighbors, and stuff like that. Yeah. It's just, huh-uh, you know, because I moved out some apartments before because they were loaded with drug dealers. Um. And you didn't even, and what the manager, the manager won't even do anything. He's probably a drug dealer himself Uh-huh. You never know. You don't. And so I moved, because I moved the day probably a week after one of the apartments blew up you know, Wow. and this is like across the street. This was a nice part of town Um. and there across the street one of the apartments blew up because they were having that, making that, um, crack stuff Um. and then, the other time I saw the cops break down somebody's apartment around the corner. I say, See, this is it. Time to go. That's it, and I moved. Yeah. And, you know, now I live in like a a neighborhood in a town house, but it's nice. I don't, you know. Yeah. I'm kind of in the same, same kind of deal, town house in a neighborhood. But, It's pretty nice. I don't know how they can live, a neighborhood or apartment complex. That's what happen, that's what wrong, you know. I don't think, don't rent to them Yeah. Or rent to them and evict them because they drug dealers. Put it on the lease. Yeah. If you deal drugs, you can't live here. Yeah. Most of them are too scared to do anything about it. Uh-huh. That's it. Yeah. All right. Well listen, I got to go. All righty. Nice talking to you. And I thank you. All right. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Um, all right. I've, uh, as far as I'm concerned, I find that the young women have lost so much because they have become more aggressive and more dominating, and I think that comes about from their being a definite factor in the job market now. Uh-huh. Oh, well, I tend, I tend to agree. Uh, in some ways I think it's, uh, I think if anything, a lot of, um, the changes that have occurred, uh, in some ways they're for the better because I think women should have a choice, and I do believe in the, being able to have a choice as to, as far as, what you would like to do with your life. But by the same token, and I know this for myself because I've worked and I've not worked, um, that it makes it, uh, sometimes it makes life more difficult. I think when the roles now are less defined, as far as, you know, what, uh, women should or should not be doing, that it, it, it could make life more difficult. There are more things to work out. I know when I was working, you know, you have all these problems with, with the child care and, and with, uh, pleasing, you know, your boss on the job, so you have added stresses from there and then you still have all the things that, um, that you need to do at home and that doesn't change, you know, just because your going out of the house for so many hours a day doesn't, uh, make those other things go away and the other responsibilities are still important. Um, so, um, have you, have you worked outside, also and, um, feel that, it, that, well, how do you feel, as far as, uh, what would be a happy medium or, or what would you like to see? I would like, uh, yes, I have worked outside of the home and, I was in one of those safe occupations. Yes. I was a school teacher, Uh-huh. and we had one child when I taught for my two year career. Uh-huh Uh, we, uh, then I stopped teaching after my husband's business was established, and we had two children and I stayed home with those children, and raised those children Yes. and now that my husband has retired, I am back substitute teaching, Yes. which if anyone has ever been involved in that, some days it's fun and some days you wonder why you're even bothering, Right because your fighting for your life. But, yeah. But, I am a fighter and I've always been a disciplinarian. Uh, I'm, I'm not real sure that the young girls of today are being forced into the job market as many of them imply. I think they're going in by choice. Oh, I think so. Yes. Yes. And, and I have no problem with that, but I think the male needs to be the dominant person. And I think too many of the young professional wives in our small town of five thousand, uh, are not letting that happen. Uh-huh. They are very aggressive. Uh-huh. They're, uh, they almost have what I would call a killer killer bee instinct. Yeah. And they have to be in charge. And, and I I think they lose a lot by what I call neutering their husbands. Uh-huh. Children Well, what do you think, ater running though, um, um, I don't know. I, the, the one problem I guess I have, and maybe what so many women, younger women now are choosing to go outside is, I feel that in general, in this society, that being at home is not looked upon as, um, a job in itself. Whereas, you know, you hear a lot of women that are home saying that it is a job in itself, but I know when I was working, and I was an engineer so I was always with men, uh, and they were single, many of them, and I tried to explain to them, well, my day doesn't end when I leave at, I used to leave at three, I keep going to eleven at night Uh-huh. and they had, they used to look down on women that were home, they'd say, oh, I bet you go home and, you know, at least you get out of here at three and you can go home and put your feet up and watch soap operas, Oh, sure . and I used to be infuriated, Uh-huh. because they really had no idea what was involved once I got home. Now taking care of them, running them everywhere, helping with homework, the bath, the whole, you know, everything. Um, and I think that one reason that so many younger women feel compelled to go into a profession is that they feel that if they stay home they are not respected, and that being home is not a respectable, uh, position in society. Huh. And, there's a lot of truth to that and I don't know how you feel. I don't know how you felt when you were home and what kind of feedback you got, but I can see with the younger men that they definitely are looking down upon women that are home. And yet by the same token, I think some of it is jealousy, you, you, once in a while, you hear them say things like, I wish I had the choice, you know. Uh-huh. I wish I was the one, I would stay home with my kids if my wife would go out and support us, If my wife had an education and could support us, and the only value I see coming out of, this is that children now in, in a two parent home, they now actually have two parents, Uh-huh. Yeah. because I see my sons-in-law, I have a daughter who's a nurse and I have a daughter, who's a beautician. Right. And I see, my sons-in-law cooking and, dropping children off at the sitter and, picking children up from school and, and having a much better relationship with their children, than my husband ever did Uh-huh. Right. Right. Right . Uh-huh. That's true. because he, left home at five thirty in the morning, That's true. and he got home at six fifteen. Yes. And, uh, he ate his dinner and he was asleep in his chair because he was exhausted. Right. So, now the young fathers are having a chance to parent, and I think, that's an advantage. And they enjoy it. Yeah. And they do enjoy it. I, I see, Uh-huh. you're right. I see many more men in the supermarket, in the parks with their children, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and I think that is healthy because And I think it's a, a wonderful advantage for the young, for the, for the, particularly for the males, for the little boys to have, a relationship with their father, Right. Oh, yeah. and, and I don't, think you, we get into so much of the mother dominating figure, if, if the father has more input there. Yes. Yeah. But, uh, I don't understand why the young girls feel like they have to build roads, and they have to, that kind of job, uh, to go out there and shovel that tar and, and drive those big trucks. And we just recently finished a long drive through the west, a little over five thousand miles, Uh-huh. and at one point we sat down, uh, I didn't realize it, but I sat at a counter to have a cup of coffee that happened to be for truck drivers only. Uh-huh. And here's this young girl with the tattoos and she has just, had just driven a load of meat from Minneapolis to some place in Arizona, Uh-huh. and she'd been, and I ask her how old she was and she was the between the age of our daughters and she had been driving, a truck for seven years. Uh-huh. And I thought, gosh, I mean, why would a woman choose that rough and tumble life-style when, Yeah. I guess I'm I'm maybe Victorian and my husband is a little bit of a male chauvinist, in that, he's a very considerate person, but he also thinks a woman should be taken care of and, and in the home, and she should vote, but after she talks to her husband about how she ought to vote. Oh, boy . Now it probably doesn't work that way in our household because I have strong opinions about things, too, Yeah. but, uh, I like being taken care of. I like my luggage, carried and, my door opened, Well, and I think the young women are losing that and I think that's sad. well, that, that's true. There is that part, too, and I guess we also have to examine though and although your husband's probably been as much conditioned as, you know, anybody else, He was raised in the south, um, I think that's a little condition, I guess ha-, both. Oh, oh, yeah. And, and you have to, I guess you have to question too, why a lot of the men, especially, I think middle age and older men, why they feel that way and, and I think it gets scary for them to see change, also. They've been used to being, really to be honest, in, in society, and in a way, number one, and they come home and everything's done for them. Uh-huh. Huh. And their meal is served and I think it's frightening to them to see the roles switching. Sure. And I think, I think this reaction comes more out of fear. Now, my husband is, um, he's ten years older than me, and, but he has, his attitudes are very much pro-women, pro-career, which is kind of interesting. Uh-huh. He comes from a culture where women are, stay at home and do everything, Uh-huh. um, and yet, um, he's the type that he is willing to have to take on more responsibility, um, if that meant, oor you know, for me to be able to, uh, uh, advance or go back to work or whatever. I'm kind of more, alking to someone in background, thank you, esumes talking to speaker A I'm kind of more middle of the road. I think that when children are small, I think it's okay for women to work especially, there should be some, a lot more part time, but I think it's, um, I don't believe in this career, you know, this career drive when, when they're small, because I think, Uh-huh. alking to someone in background, they're downstairs esumes talking to A I think that's very, um, unfair to, to children, like, uh, engineers usually work fifty or sixty hours a week, Uh-huh. Huh. Huh. I refused to work more than thirty. Uh-huh. I was part-time and even that was a rat race, Huh. but I think you have to put in perspective, that, you know, when the kids came home from school, I wanted to be here. I didn't want, I don't want a job where I'm traveling around and I'm away and, uh, so I think you can have both. It's more hectic, but I think you have to put into perspective what your kids need, first then I think a lot of, my problem with the young mothers ... Talk about the activities that we don't do Yeah. I, I don't have any children, so, but I, I have a lot of friends with children and I know they spend a lot of time with them. Which is good, you know. That's good to hear. Yeah, an, I haven't, uh, well I've been around a lot of people lately at at my job that don't have a lot of values So, it's, it's always nice to see people that like each other, and like families that get along with each other and like to do things together. Yeah, have a lot of values, I love that. Do they have children? Uh, the one, the most valueless girl doesn't, but she's married, and I, I'm not quite sure why. I, I think he said that he'd give her a big ring and she got married to him. Oh, that's wonderful But, it, it's kind of weighed on me and then the other day my husband and I met a couple who, who, they're just going to have their first child and they really like each other. And they're real happy with one another and she says things like, I'm really glad when he comes home and there's not enough time to spend with him in the evening and, Oh, that's neat. I'm like, really. That's good, you know, I like to see that. Yeah. You know, I have, uh, some friends that, uh, first of all, uh, the girls joined, they have two girls, one joined the Girl Scouts and the other was in the Brownies and then the mother got involved as a leader and then all of a sudden the father was getting involved with doing nature hikes for them and working with the Girl Scout camp here in Dallas and then going out to, uh, Betty Perot camp and working with the horses and stuff and they're gone a lot and they take their girls and they go away for weekends and in the winter time even, you know, to do work with the Girl Scouts and I think it's neat. Oh, yeah. You know, they've really become very much involved in, in just that one organization, which the organization can use the help too. Right. So, I, I wish I could see more of that, you know. On Sunday we just met, uh, a family, we were thinking about getting cat and we went over to, uh, lady that breeds them here in town and, uh, her daughter actually was, she said that her husband said to her daughter, you need a hobby, so, she chose the cats. Oh. And you can tell, it's a family hobby. they're all a part of it. And it was really neat because they all were interested in each other and, and the cats and they raise champion cats. So, they've done really well. Ugh, those are neat cats, too. Yeah, I've just learned about that breed. They're really nice looking cats. I have seven cats but they're all mongrels Well that's what we're going to end up getting Well they're the ones that need the homes. Oh, yeah. You know, mine were just all, uh, strays in the neighborhood. Little baby kittens dropped and stuff and it just kind of built. One at a time, just I couldn't, you know. One time two of them came at once and I can't turn a hungry cat down. Oh, I know. So, you know, and the last one that I was here, uh, the kids brought him over and said he was injured and it was winter time and I said, I just can not have another cat, I just can not have another cat and I looked out there and he was just laying on my lawn just shivering and all, Oh! and I said, I can't stand it, I brought him in so. Those are my children. We don't have very many activities but, No, I know what you mean, our cat hates other cats, and, we've tried to get her to like other cats and she just, uh, she wants to be around human beings and she does not want to be around other cats. So our next, uh, we're going to try it with a kitten and see if her maternal instincts come out. Ha, ha, lots of luck. Is she spayed. Yeah. Oh, yeah, real maternal We're hoping, it's our last hope She'll eventually, I mean, mine, you know, I have five males and two females. Everybody's spayed, everybody's neutered and we still have a scrap every now and then. Nothing real bad, you know, a slap here and there, but, uh, they put up with each other and they will eventually. her nose will be out of joint for a while and she'll hiss and growl and slap every now and then, but they'll, she'll finally accept it. You know, they really don't have any choice They In my household, we have a little bit, of, uh, a fight for whose boss. I mean a male cats are, are you know, real territorial and so that's the big battle here, you know, of whose, whose top dog, top cat, I guess. Uh-huh. You know, but, uh, I I don't know, I don't have a problem with it. I think they just learn to accept. And I have two dogs too, and they've slapped the dogs around too Yeah, yeah. Every now and then, so. That's true, they've got to keep them in line. Yeah but she'll accept another cat eventually. As long as you make her feel, uh, like she's still loved and everything, so. Yeah, well those cats were great. They were fourteen pounds and, And oh, they're just gorgeous, but, yeah, it, three hundred and fifty dollars for a kitten. Oh my gosh And I think of those, I think of the kittens at the pound. Yeah. Three hundred and fifty dollars hispers. Yeah, yeah, and they are lovely but, till whispering Ugh, house payment Right. That is a lot of money. Yeah, and then she's saying, you know, you can't let them outside and you can't do all this stuff and I'm like, ugh, you know. I don't let mine out anyway, but. I let two of them out just in the back yard every now and then, but my cats are I'm afraid, you know, the neighbors will, people throw rocks at them, and people run over them and, I, I just, you know, I just don't. I know and, and now they've lost the desire. Most of them don't even try to you know, to go out. I just have two that drive me crazy, that I let out in the back, you know, but I won't let them get, if they start going in the front and stuff, I bring them in. Oh. You know, I just worry, I guess I'm too protective, but, you know. I see these cats that are wandering around the neighborhood and too they can catch diseases really easy, Yeah, yeah. just by touching a nose to another cat they can leukemia, feline leukemia, so. Yeah. We know we try, try real hard to keep them healthy. Uh, we just bought, uh, acre, a house with an acre to try to, so she'll have some room to walk around, and not off of a busy street. Oh, how neat. We're, we're choosing our house for our cat. Isn't that bad People do it for their children I mean, why not. Oh, them too Well you know, why not, why not. because I, she loves, she's one of those that loves outside, Yeah. and, and she doesn't go far but she just wants to be able to have that freedom. Yeah, well if you're off, off, of a, you know, away from a road, and. You're off of the main road, you said? Yeah, yeah. Away from a road, you know, and you keep an eye on her, it's probably okay. I'm just real, I don't know, I guess, I'm in a neighborhood and it's, it's just real tough on animals here, you know. Yeah, it gets hard, especially with the cars. I, every time I see one run over I just, you know, it makes me sick, so, you know, Oh, I know. but anyway, we kind of got off the subject of children, Yeah. except that I consider them my children Yeah, our cats are our kids or, Yeah. I, we, we got married a few months ago and I'm like, well why can't Ashley be at the wedding Oh, no. In, in her little bridesmaid dress Yeah, you know, if I could have, I would have. Well I'm sure it's been done. I'm sure it has been done. Well they have weddings for dogs now and cats and, Oh. you know, they have all that parties for them where they dress up. I've seen it in magazines and stuff where you dress your animals up and take them to a Oh, my. I haven't gone that far. I'm not that bonkers. No You know, my cats do not wear clothes, an I, I don't think they'd like to. No. I put a bow on her one one day and Jerry just kept saying you are the meanest person I took a picture of her and that was all it, all it lasted for. do any of your friends have, have, uh, older children that they do anything with. Do, do you have friends with older children, or do they just all have young kids. Um, yeah, all the ones I know, my brother-in-law has three young kids seven and on down and they, they go on family vacations and, uh, they go, like to go skiing, the, the middle girl doesn't get a whole lot of attention, but, uh, this last ski trip they took, uh, she had contracted chicken pox first and then she spread it to her, her younger sister and her brother and they got it just at the beginning of the vacation, where she got better. So, not only is she the better skier, but she got all the attention, because she got to go out. I think she planned it. She's only five, but I think she planned it And she got all the attention from her dad. Oh, see there, she needed that, didn't she. oh yeah. You know, it must be hard when you have a lot of children, I, you know, to I was an only child, my mother was an only child so, I, you know, I wasn't raised with brothers or sisters and I always got all the attention, so I wouldn't know. I think I would be extremely jealous, or would have been, had there been another child in the family. Yeah, it's, it's, we can see it work with her, Tough, it must be tough. she's frustrated. Yeah, yeah. she, she's the middle one? Yeah. So she's never been the only one, so she really doesn't even know what it is to be the only one. Right. Yeah, that's tough, you know ... So, what do you, what's your opinion on the, our policy down there? I don't think we have one. I didn't know we had one either Yeah. I was going to say it's kind of hard to have, have an opinion. We seem to, uh, whoever screams the loudest or whoever we happen to give the most money to at that particular time we seem to support, without, regard whether it's a democracy or a anarchy, or anything else. Yeah. I don't, Yeah The only thing that I pretty much know about is the Central American policy where, you know, they're just trying to, you know, military action in Panama is the only thing that comes to my mind right now, Well, uh, and then, yeah. And then, of course, there was, there was the, uh, in Columbia, with the drug lords. Right. But we just talked a lot. We didn't actually do anything. Right. Well, that's, that's what I was about to say. We didn't do anything. I'm actually surprised at anything in Central America, along with Panama. I'm just kind of surprised we did that. Yeah, But, uh, that is, that is pretty, uh, risky. I, mean, Especially, after our friend Jimmy Carter gave it away anyway. Uh-huh. But I guess they had to finally do something. Actually Bush has been better at that than I thought. Uh-huh. He has a little more a little more of a stand on policy than I thought he would. I always considered him kind of a wimp. He takes more risks. Yeah. Reagan is kind of mushmouth. Yeah. He was. But, but I guess most of the policy that we're using now is, uh, a combination of Reagan and Carter, much as, you know, policy makers. Yeah. It seems that the, the policies of pretty much anywhere, not just in Central America, that U S has now is, is, you know, more action than just words, than just rhetoric. But, you know, we, we back up what we what we say with actions. Uh, yeah. We have so far, but we, really haven't, I don't know, how long it's going to last. Of course, we really haven't taken on the drug lords, yet. Yeah. I'd be interested to see if we do that. Well, I don't think it's possible because, even though, you know, we're against them, I don't think we can go into another country and do something about the other country's problem. Well, we did in Panama. We did in, Saudi Arabia. Yeah. But, no, but see the thing when Panama was, uh, the, that, uh, Noriega was, uh, was, was, uh, was wanted either the F B I, by the F B I, and therefore, they had a reason But, to go in and take out the whole drug kingdom would be something totally different because, It could be an interesting, interesting problem. Right. I don't know if they could do it or not. Did you read Tom Clancy's A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER? Uh, no. I didn't. I think you need to pick that up and read it. It's quite, uh, it's, it's quite interesting. It addresses the problem. Oh, the drug problem? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Actually, he, he wrote that prior to the, uh, Medellin Cartel being exposed. It was on the stands prior to that time. It, it's quite timely. And either he knows somebody or he has a real good, a real good imagination because its, it hits pretty close to home. Yeah. But I don't think we're going to have much of a choice in either Central or South America. I don't think, uh, I don't think, the, the, uh, problem about drugs is going to be safe any time soon. I mean, you know, it, I think it pretty much got sidetracked with, uh, with the Panama and, and with the Middle East problems. Things that, that are important take precedent, precedence over the drugs, I think. I think, I think the big thing is trying to stop here on the home front And you know, it, it'll take a little bit of time before they'll realize that this is failing, so they're going to have to go to the source. Um, yeah. I think we realize it's failed. We just don't, we just don't, nobody, wants to make the, nobody wants to make the unpopular decision of going in and invading, Don't want to admit it yet. Right. We still, there's still there's still too many Kennedys and and all up there. Yep ause. Yeah. That's true. There's too many liberals in control. They can't agree on anything. And they have blinders on as far as the policy goes. As long as somebody's getting killed, as long as nobody knows about it it's okay. But, but the minute it hit, hits the paper then, of course, the Kennedys and the and the and the, and, uh, the from Georgia, all stand up and scream and yell about what a horrible thing it is. Yeah. Of course, these are the same people that also drown the Chappaquiddic, and stuff like that, you know. Huh. But I guess it I guess it's automatic respective. Depends on how much power you have, and who you know. Yeah. You know, the people have a right to know except about what it, about what concerns them. Yeah. And these are the people that make the foreign policy and it, it's probably basically, uh, I would not be surprised if the Kennedy Foundation or some of those don't have a lot of, uh, financial holdings in, in Central and South America. Probably. Considering the Kennedys made all their money off bootleg whiskey anyway. Huh. Every time you drink Scotch, you're paying Kennedys. I don't drink Scotch. Good. Don't ever drink Scotch, it's terrible. I quit drinking Scotch when I found out about that, but, anyway. But, uh, as far as, as far as, you know, Central and South America, we, our policy pretty much, uh, it depends on who we're, what government we're buying down there at the particular time. Yeah. I, think we're trying to stay, uh, stay friendly with uh, the, uh, the Brazilian and, and Argentinean governments because they're producing so much, uh, agricultural exports. We, We, don't want to piss them off and have them over produce Yeah. Although we do need to do something about, you know, of course, in Nicaragua and around there with the Sandinistas and the Contras, that's been going on for years. But then, hell, it's probably still be going on long after we're dead. It'll still be the same thing. Those people down there don't really, I mean, I think it's going to have to get worse before it gets better, you know, the same old cliche. Well, I think basically, they can't figure out what they want down there. Right. If you give everybody what they wanted there is a complete democracy, those people wouldn't know how to react because they have no education. Right. And they'll just pick crooked people again. And then people, the, the wrong people will just fight their way up to the top again, and it'll all, be for nothing. It's all tradition. It's all traditional. They have to, you have the ruling class and you have everybody else. Yeah. Well, I guess that's about five minutes. Appreciate talking, to you. was very pleasant)). All righty. Good, talking to you. Hey, what was that book, what was that book that you were saying to read, again? Tom, Clancy. It's called A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Uh-huh. He he's the one who wrote, uh, RED OCTOBER, A HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. Okay. All right. And I think if you read that, I think you'll get a real kick out of it. All right. Thanks a lot. All righty. Bye-bye. Bye. Um, Hi one thing you know that I always think about when I think of public education cause I went through the public, um, school system of Boston, Uh-huh. and, uh, I always felt that I graduated high school and I still didn't even I, I couldn't put together a map of the United State. Um. You know what I mean. Uh-huh. An yet I felt that I got a good education and I, I did well in school but you tell me to name, you know, five continents an I, couldn't do it. Uh-huh. I just felt like there were some real basics that are missing from education, Uh. and the people are, are leaving school not even knowing some common sense things. Yeah. One, well, talking about public education, um, I'm, we're doing a proposal, Uh-huh. it's, we're doing it at N C State, Yeah. we're trying to improve the computer science curriculum, Uh-huh. So that's kind of in a higher level Right. So it's interesting that you chose that topic Yeah, um, did you do through a public school system or private? Yeah, well, I went through private an until ninth grade. Uh-huh, did you notice a big difference? Oh, yeah, a big difference. Like in what sense? Well, um, in, uh, public schools I guess there there are a lot of, of, you know, people can take lower level courses an get away with learning nothing. Uh-huh. But, um, private school you couldn't do that, Uh-huh. you had to learn. Yeah, I work in a temporary agency an they're people that come in, you know, every day to fill out an application, Uh-huh. and they'll have to bring somebody with them, and they will show that they completed, um, four year of high school, yet when it comes to even answering the questions on a simple application, they can't read enough to be able to fill out the answers by themselves, Uh. That's bad. it's just incredible. Yeah, our State cut a whole bunch of a, I think it's ten million dollars out of the school budget. Really. So they're making all kind of cuts in college people cannot, I mean, the teachers can't make tests any more, and the library canceling all of it's subscriptions. Yeah. It's pretty sorry. I know, um, they, uh, I forget I think it's, um, some place in New York because they're having budget problems, they're closing the libraries. Uh-huh. I mean they're not getting rid of any of the sports, or anything like that, Uh. they're not cutting in any other corner they're closing the libraries. That to me shows a little, uh, switch in priorities. Yeah. You know. So do you go to college right now? Are Yeah, it's my last year You're a, so you're a senior now. Yeah, I'm working on my projects trying to graduate Oh, good for you. Yeah. That's great, um, is, is N C University is that, uh, State, N C State. What did you say? N C State. N C State, that's a State University then. Yeah. I see. And you're from there also? Well, yeah, I was, uh, I was born in and then I lived in most of my life. Uh-huh. I see. And now I'm back here going to school. Well, pretty soon it's going to get to the point where no one is going to be able to afford to send their kids to college or to do go to college. Yeah. It's just a outrageously expensive. Luckily state is one of the cheap ones. Oh is it. Yeah. Well, still though I mean, you know, thousands of dollars, Yeah, state's not that bad Oh, well, that's good. Yeah. That's good. I went to a private university and, um, I don't know I look back now and I, I think that I probably would have done it differently if I, um, you know, could do it over again. Yeah. But, um, I have a lot of friends that went to state schools or didn't even go to school, some, some of them, and I still feel like they came out knowing just as much as I did. I really do and that's probably a pretty sad thing to say but, um, Yeah, I don't know, I, I Where did you go? what? Where did you go? I went to University. Uh-huh. It's in Massachusetts. And, um, I really felt like I've been working now for about four years, Uh-huh. and I, I feel like what I've learned working is a hundred times more valuable then what learned in school. Oh. And I know that I'm drawing a lot of what I learned in school, you know, I, I probably just subconsciously rely a lot on, on art. But, um, I don't know my sister's a principal at a school, and one thing she's trying to instill in kids, um, besides just reading and writing are just some, the golden rules, Uh-huh. she calls them just some basics about, um, you know, you don't take what's not yours, uh, and if you want to, you know, you don't touch anybody else unless you have their permission. Like no hitting, you know, Uh-huh. no pulling hair or anything like that, and, uh, the school that she's in is a, um, it's basically for minorities, um, there's a large minority population. And, um, she's really noticed that even some of the teachers that work there I think they don't value that type of student as much as you get, in some. Yeah that's, sorry. That they, that they like pick on the advanced students and pay more attention to them, ignore the others. Yeah, it's true. Uh-huh. Yeah. And I don't know if it makes them feel better I mean the do teachers get, I mean personally I would get more satisfaction out of taking someone that wasn't as successful. Yeah. And seeing what they could do verses somebody that did excel in, in areas and just watching them get better, you know. Yeah. That's not much of a challenge. That's true. But do you have any ideal what you're going into when you graduate. Um, graduate school Oh yeah. Yeah. Do you know where you're going? I think I'm going to Chappel Hill. Where's that? That's in Chappel Hill the Oh is that North Carolina? Yeah. Oh, okay. Never heard of the, uh, Tarheels? No, I don't know that area. The A C C Tarheels, U N C? I know it. Oh, uh, I don't get down there very often. They won the final four, in boy's basket ball. Oh, really, well the way I pick the final four was, um, by the state that had the warmest climate. Uh-huh. So that's how I chose all mine, so you can tell that I really didn't have that much to do with any of it. But, so obviously you're into education. Yeah. If you can be going, my husband went to, is in graduate school actually right now. Uh-huh. And, uh, I don't know I give you a lot of credit. I couldn't do it, I, I couldn't wait to graduate and have, it be all over. Yeah, I know. Oh. I can't wait to graduate either, now. I know. I've got all of this stuff due oh wow. Overloaded. Yeah, I kind of know what you mean. Well, it was really nice talking to you. All right. Okay. Good luck. All right, thank you. All righty, take care. All right, bye. Bye-bye. Clanking ishes oman and children Well, as much as I'd, uh, I'd like to say that I'll be looking for a flashy convertible or, uh, or a four by four or something, I guess the next car I'll be looking for is a kind of a plain old four door What kind of a car do you have now? Oh, we've got a, uh, an older Delta Eighty-Eight, and then, uh, our, our newer car is a, uh, a Corsica. Yeah. And we'll probably be looking for something about that, uh, that same style. Yeah. That same kind of four door, hard top style. You got kids? Uh, no but we're planning for it. Okay. So, uh, in fact, uh, our Oldsmobile is a, is a like an old Delta Eighty-Eight but it's in pretty good in really good shape. Yeah. And we've been really pleased with Oldsmobiles. Yeah. So that's probably where the first place we'd look. Huh. But, uh, Well, we've always had, uh, Fords. Uh-huh. Uh, mostly because my wife's stepfather works at a Ford dealership That'll do it. Yeah. That'll do it. Um, but, yeah, we're, we're in the same shape. I think our next car will be a, you know, some big old four door, uh, something that can haul the kids to baseball practice and piano lessons, Yeah. and we've got a minivan, Uh-huh. and that's great. And I drive, uh, well I used to drive an Escort, but it died on me. So I, I mean I, I, I used to run it, I, uh, where we used to live, I used to commute a hundred and forty miles a day. Oh, geez. And, uh, and this Escort took it all. And it, it, it got up to, uh, uh, I was at ninety-four thousand miles on it, and the engine just went. Uh-huh. So I, I, I bought a used, uh, Dodge Aries, which has been okay. Yeah. Really? I, I mean I've haven't had it that long. Uh-huh. But it, it it's an eighty-five Aries, but it only had thirty-four thousand miles on it when I bought it. Oh, geez. And I just, you know, I just drive it to work. So it's just a ten minute commute every day. Uh-huh. So, uh, it doesn't get much of, uh, I mean, it's not like I'm putting it through its paces. Yeah, yeah. But I think, uh, and it's a four door which is nice, Uh-huh. but it's still a little cramped. I've got three kids, Yeah. so I, I, Sounds like you, you need at least like a Taurus size, or something like that. Yeah, that's what, I was thinking of, was a Taurus. Uh, Yeah. I, I know a lot of guys at work, they, uh, the ones that have, uh, families, uh, and they still want kind of a sports car. They've been, uh, a lot of them have been getting these Taurus S H O's. That I guess it's the sports version of the Taurus? Oh, really? Yeah In fact, it comes with a standard stick and, uh, and a lot of those. Ooh. And it comes with a bigger engine and the things like that. But, uh, Yeah. and usually they're in like black, and gun metal grey and those kind of colors. You're not going to see too many, uh, you know, green ones or blue ones or anything like that. Yeah. They, they put them in sporty colors I guess. But, uh, Yeah. Well, my wife wants a Miyata. Oh, well sure That's what, you know, until, until you look at the price tag and then you go, What? Right. What would I, besides tooling around and looking really cool and having a lot of fun, what would I really do with this car? Right, yeah. I know, I know. It's like I, I guess I could fit in it maybe Yeah. I, I went, I went through that when I first got out of, uh, college. I had an old car that I bought just to get to, to my my first job. Yeah. And when I got there, the first thing I did was trade it in on a Spitfire. Oh. And I, I knew that was going to be the only time I could afford a two seater, uh, sports car. Yeah. But that, that just does not make it as an only car. It's, uh, it's like I, I would, I bought a set of stereo speakers Yeah. and it was one of those cash and carry deals. I had to take them one at a time, with the top down. And it was winter, so I was in like this coat with the top down, Oh, no! and the speaker in the passenger seat. Yeah And I drove that one home, and then I went back and got the other one and put that in the, passenger seat and drove that one home. And, uh, funny, funniest sight. And you kind of outgrow that real quick when it's your only car. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I, you know, it's funny. Most people that I've talked to did stuff like that when they were in college, or, you know, or when they were single anyway. Uh-huh. Yeah. They'd, they'd buy themselves a sporty car because it was their last. I never did that. Uh, you know, my first car was a Toyota Corolla. Oh, really? And, uh, because I got a good deal on it Yeah. and, uh, that was a great little car. Actually I met, that's how I met girls was, I'd find out if a girl could drive a manual transmission, which I, I had never, I, I'd learned on an automatic transmission. And so, so I'd go out on dates where they would teach me how to drive this car. Uh-huh. Boy, that's a good deal. And, uh, in fact I married one of those people Ah, okay. Well, I'll have to remember that if I ever get in that situation again And it worked. Yeah, it worked all right, real good. Huh. Because I, I know we've, uh, that's, that's something that, that we definitely have to go with is an automatic transmission. My, uh, my wife just can't, can't, uh, she really doesn't want to learn I guess, the, uh, the standard shift. Yeah, yeah. I fact, I, I remember once we, uh, we, uh, went, uh, went on a, uh, test drive. We got one of these things from Lee Iacocca that said, you know, I'll give you a fifty dollar savings bond if you'll test drive a car. Yeah. Yeah. And we went, uh, we went, uh, we went to a dealership and, uh, it, it was she, she did pretty well. But it was one of those things where we just went to a big parking lot Yeah and the, uh, dealer kind of gave her standard shift parking, because that was all it was. It was, it was the funniest thing, it was like, uh, a big Le Baron, it was a Le Baron with everything on it, Wow! but it had a standard shift. It was the craziest thing I ever saw. That's weird! Yeah. And, and, and that's probably why they were trying to sell them, I guess. Huh. And, uh, we just kind of went back and forth and back and forth. She did pretty well after a while. Yeah. But, uh, it's just kind of hard to learn, I guess. Well, my wife, I mean, she'd always driven standard transmission. Uh-huh. And, uh, and, in fact all our earlier cars were a standard transmission. In fact, the minivan's a, has a stick shift. Um, okay. And in, this Dodge Aries is the first car we've ever gotten that had anything. You know, it's got automatic transmission, cruise control, you know, electric locks. Oh, geez. You know, it's like, it's like a luxury car except that it's the Dodge Aries you know. Yeah, yeah. So, uh, Oh, well. Well, I guess that's, I guess that's about all I've got to say, about cars Well, you, um, the, the thing about this, uh, I will say this about the minivan. Uh-huh. We thought that was a luxury car when we bought it. Uh-huh, I would think so, yeah, It, it, because it's so big. Yeah. And, and it was quiet, it had a stereo system. Oh, yeah. We never had it, you know, we always had the A M radio. Sure, sure. And, uh, of course this has, this that had speakers that you can control from the back seat. Uh-huh. And you can change the channels on the, on the radio from the back seat too Uh-huh. And put speaker phones in it. So. Now, now, now that used to be a luxury, but I bet on the next time you buy a car, that's going to be mandatory. Right. You've got to have that now. That's right. That's right. You're used to it and you got to have it. And you've got to pay for it too. Yeah. That's true too. And I bet, and I bet it costs twice as much as, as when I bought mine It, It probably does, it probably does. But, uh, We, Oh, well. Well, Bill it's been nice talking to you. Nice talking to you. Okay, you have a good evening. Thanks a lot. Um. Bye-bye. Bye-bye What kind, What kind of cars do you, do you usually drive? Right now we, I've got a, uh, four year old Subaru and a two year old Honda. Oh, my goodness. Well, we're, we're, we're sort of, sort of a General Motors family, I guess that's the way we were raised. And, uh, uh, we were overseas with T I for a number of years and when we came back we suddenly find out we've got five licensed drivers in the family. Oh, goodness. Yeah, and four cars and we bought some year old cars from National Car Rental. Really? At least two of them. We bought an Olds Calais and a Buick Skylark. Uh, for, you know, they each had twenty-one thousand miles or something like that. Uh-huh. Turns out that's a pretty good place to buy cars because they maintain them and they can show you the records they've gotten all their maintenance on schedule and everything like that. Uh, then we've got an eighty-six Chevy Spectrum that we bought new. My daughter was a freshman in college when we bought it for her. Uh-huh. And we've got a eighty-four Toyota that we bought used. So we've got four cars for our five licensed drivers. It's like musical chairs I bet. You're one short. I bet. And, uh, but you know, it's interesting the two, even though my dad was a Chevrolet man forever and ever and ever and we were in the retail milk business and he had all Chevrolet milk trucks and, and we bought automobiles and all that, it was almost like and a Chevrolet dealer was our friend and it was almost like the minute we got old and bought anything like a, but a Chevrolet it would be like going and spitting on his grave But, uh, Yep. as we got older and got away, and then we thought, well, you know, you still could buy General Motors products and it was probably not that bad. But, uh, we lived in Malaysia for T I in nineteen, uh, eighty-one, two, three, and four. Uh-huh. And, and, of course you don't buy General Motors products over there No. But we bought a Volvo and I have never had a car that I've loved more. I just can't afford them here. Uh, but I, I just loved that car. Uh-huh. And, uh, we bought a, uh, we lived in the Philippines for T I in eighty-five, eighty-six, and eighty-seven and we bought a, uh, Ford Telstar, which is somewhat similar to the Taurus. It's sold in, uh, in uh, the Far Eastern uh, Far East countries more than here. Uh-huh. But we really liked that. And have you had experience with cars other than the ones you have? Well, yeah we had, uh, we had, these are the first cars that my husband and I have ever purchased ourselves. Um. The others were hand me downs through the families. Yeah. And those were always G M cars. Yeah. Uh, Buicks and Chevrolets. Uh-huh. And, uh, we were real happy with them, but all the ones that we ever had were the, you know, eight cylinder, Oh, yeah. really rugged, G M cars. The the big, Yeah. And all we had heard was, was a lot of negative press about the smaller cars, and we both drive, well, forty-five miles round trip every day. Sure, sure. And so we wanted a smaller car, Yeah. when we got ready to buy, we needed a smaller car to get better gas mileage and quite frankly, we were afraid of the, of the G M small cars. Uh-huh, uh-huh. You know, as far as durability. Right. So we kind of, when we had our larger cars, we didn't mind, uh, keeping them up, Uh-huh. you know, doing the maintenance and everything on them as long as we didn't have to do it very often. Yeah. But, once they got over a hundred thousand miles on them, all of them, you know, it just kind of seemed to be the magic number for them Yeah, yeah, it seems that something goes every month. Yeah it, And I'm afraid we're going to be in that in another year with all of ours, you know, we got three eighty-sixes and an eighty-four Uh-huh. And we'll probably be there with all of them. You know, it's the same thing, you know, I don't know whether, uh, you classify the Skylark and the Calais as, well I guess they're intermediate. Uh-huh. Uh, but, uh, we went on a family trip to Massachusetts and there were five of us and five, five of us never go anywhere together here. everybody's heading off in their own direction. Right. And I rented a Buick Le Sabre, Uh-huh. and it's the first big car I had since I had my nine passenger Impala station wagon from seventy-six to eighty. And it made all the, I, I had forgotten what driving a big car was like. It's like a yacht. It was just nice. It floated. Yeah. What, we, we sold or we, we traded in our Le Sabre for our Subaru. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was a great car. Yeah. It just, we ran the wheels right off of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, uh, you know I've read, I'm in the quality business at T I, I'm a quality manager and we're, we're uh, we deal, we sell, I'm in the semiconductor group and we sell to, uh, Ford, Chrysler and G M, uh, G M Delco. Uh-huh. And there is a, amazing, I am just, uh, really impressed with the, with the quality consciousness that the, these companies have put into their procurement and it's, I, it's come out as a result of the competition from the Japanese. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, I and, you know, we used to think Ford products were tinny. I mean I was growing up, I was taught when I was growing up, you know, that, that that real people bought General Motors products, and peons bought, Ford products. That's right. But just with the quality requirements that Ford is putting on us and the way they come into our plants and they're really, uh, uh, stressing this partnerships in quality, and you know, G M and Chrysler are doing that, but I really think Ford's got a ship position in this right now. And I think it's showing up in their automobiles. Their automobiles are getting a very good quality reputation right now. Uh-huh. And, uh, uh, we went to, uh, Austin a while back to a basketball tournament and we were going to be meeting some of my wife's relatives down there, so we decided rather than drive one of our cars down, we'd rent one, Uh-huh. and we went up to the local Budget and we were going to get a Olds eighty-eight or something. He said I'll tell you what, for a dollar a day more I'll give you a Lincoln Town Car. Um. And we drove that down and I hated to turn that back in. I bet We had that for three days. And I absolutely loved, except I couldn't want to have to park it in tight places all the time. No. Uh, I wouldn't want to have to pay for the gas, either. but I absolutely loved that automobile. And, you know, it wasn't that I'd, driving around down there we might have got sixteen to eighteen miles per gallon, but on the trip down and back I filled up both coming and going so I knew what I actually got on the trip and it was about twenty-four miles a gallon. Uh-huh. Uh, and, you know, we just got it out on the highway and put it in cruise control at about sixty and let it, let it float. Uh-huh. And, it was pretty nice. Are, are, are you planning on getting any additional or other cars? No time soon. Uh, we're, our, our, we won't have any more licensed drivers for about thirteen years. Um. Oh, yours is small. Yes. So, we, uh, so we don't plan on purchasing any more any time soon. Both of our cars are getting, oh, around sixty thousand miles on them. Um. Oh, yeah. We drive a lot. Yeah. You got another, another thirty or forty thousand if you maintain them. Uh-huh. Uh, we've got, probably we'll get something in the next couple years. My son will graduate from high school this year, and, and he's going to go to Richland College one year behind us, Uh-huh. it's right, in fact, uh, our house is adjacent to the Richland property. He wants to go to Texas Tech and he's probably going to have to go to Richland a year to get some grades in order, but, uh, the next year when he goes out to Tech, he wants a pickup, and I want, a pickup. A pickup aint. I may get one and not let him have it But, we have been looking at these red they, they're very popular around here. Uh-huh. These, uh, uh, red Chevy pickups, and, uh, we'll probably do something like that, uh, uh, incidentally, uh, uh, I don't know, uh, the, uh, the Credit Union has got a deal now where you decide what you want and you call this number and, uh, they go negotiate the price for you. And, and, or, or send you to a guy with whom they've already got a deal Uh-huh. and, uh, my boss just bought a Chevy pickup and he got three thousand dollars off the sticker price doing it this way. Really? Yeah. And, uh, uh, you know, you, you figure out the options, go around look at the dealers and get the best price you can and then go call this guy and, and tell him what you want and he'll put you in touch with a certain guy, a certain person at that dealer's place. Uh-huh. So I'm going to try that the next time I buy one. I think that would be a good idea. And, and, so, you know, I can go around and comparison shop and see if I can get a better negotiation on my own. But, once, one thing that's a pain in the neck buying automobiles is negotiating. Yeah. I've, we've, we've, we've kind of been the types that will say, this is what we intend to spend, Yeah. this is the car we want, will you sell me this car for that price. And for that price. And, and we've had we, with our, when we bought our Subaru, the guy was like, you can't do this to me, and we're were just, like, okay fine, we, we won't then. We'll go somewhere else. Yeah. You know. I mean he's like, no, no, no. Yeah. But, And, uh, and I, I think that's probably the way you've got to do it. When, when I was young, I went in and bought a, uh, or made a deal on a sixty, this is nineteen sixty, I'd first come to Texas, and made a deal on a sixty red Impala convertible that I just loved, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and this guy gave me this deal, you know, I told him how much I wanted to pay, and for every fifty dollars he'd have to go in and check with the boss and then I'd have to sign something saying that if he could get this rate, uh, we would go ahead and buy. Uh, uh, if he could get this rate I promised to buy and I left there on a Saturday afternoon just totally exhausted. I, I was only twenty-five years old or something Uh-huh. I, I left there and I, I, uh, I'd never done this before because I'd always bought my previous cars from the guy my dad bought his milk trucks from, and, uh, uh, so I, I got back and a salesman that lived in the apartment had, asked me, uh, uh, if, he'd heard I was going to get a car, and asked me what I paid for it. He said, well, hey, uh, before you go buying anything, he says call this friend of mine at Will's Point. There was a guy that owned a Chevrolet dealership up there. Uh-huh. And I called the guy and made an appointment to come up Monday morning and just driving fifty miles out of town, it was a difference, and, I mean it was a difference of four hundred dollars, but this was four hundred dollars on only twenty-five hundred, Goodness. is all we paid for cars in those days. And, uh, uh, so I called back the guy in Dallas and I told him that, I'd left him a check for tax, title and license and everything, and I said I want to cancel my order and, and don't try to cash the check because I'm going to, I've stopped payment on it already and he says oh, somebody's taking, he said what did you get a deal for, Bill. And I told him, he says, somebody's taking you for a ride. And I said, no somebody took me for a ride last Saturday That's right. And, uh, uh, and I, I find that, uh, and for the longest time then I drove up to Will's Point and, and the, and the fellow died since then, and, and some of his relatives have taken over the business and that, but and, since then I had ... Okay, well yes, we do have pollution in Houston and it, How bad is it? Do you have smog like they do in California? Well it, it some, I think it depends on, uh, you know, what the, the cloud cover and like right now, it's, uh, it's kind of overcast, you know, just, it's hot, Uh-huh. and the sun is trying, tries to shine through but it's, it's holding in this, this pollution and I, It depends on whether you have some sort of temperature inversion, I take it. I think so, and, uh, Yeah. and we have, uh, Pasadena, Texas which is sort of between here an, you know, heading toward Galveston, I mean it's still part of, it's part of the Houston metroplex. Uh-huh, uh-huh. What do you think is your primary cause of it. Well, I think it's industry and I think it's cars. You do? You really think cars contribute a lot now that they've taken lead out of gas? I don't, I, well maybe not, but, it, it sure, it sure, you know, it, I, I know that when I'm, when I'm behind a car and, uh, sometimes, uh, I can really smell especially diesel and things like that, Uh-huh. you know, comes right into my air conditioner and, you know, my head and my I'm so stopped up right now, Um, my goodness. I don't know if it's, uh, if it's partly from what's blooming, you know, right now, pollen and stuff like that, that's part of it, but, um. Uh-huh. I think a lot of it's industrial. I also think, uh, that, uh, there is a certain amount that comes from automobiles but it's mostly from older automobiles. I don't think the newer automobiles are as polluting, uh, frankly. Uh-huh. I think that, uh, I think that, uh, uh, if, uh, I, I, I heard a story a while back something to the effect that if they could just pay to get twenty percent, or, take all the cars off the road that have been, uh, manufactured say before nineteen seventy-five, that they could cut the automobile pollution by over fifty percent just by getting rid of those cars that are still left remaining. Uh-huh. You mean, uh, fifty percent pollution total from that comes from, Yeah. From, from cars that is, not, not total but just from cars, okay. Oh, uh-huh. So, that I think would be tremendous help. But I happen to drive an old model car because it's very economical and it just keeps getting, uh, gives me good service and I don't have an incentive to get rid of it as long as it keeps running good and not costing me any money. Uh-huh. On the other hand I know it's a much more polluter than any of the newer model cars I have. Uh-huh. But I don't have any incentive to get out of it until it dies. Right. And, uh, that may be part of the problem. Do you all have pollution in your part of the country, uh, from industry? Yeah, ause yeah, yeah, oh, uh, yeah, it's, it's, uh, pretty heavy up here I think but I think it's mostly industrial, is what I really, uh, believe is the, the main problem. And, and, uh, ause and, uh, uh, people, uh, I don't think are paying as close attention to it in this area as they frankly should. I, I we, we seem to have a high, uh, cancer rate up here in Maryland. Really, Yeah, and, uh, like what any particular kind or just all kinds? Well, for instance breast cancer seems to be pretty rampant and, uh, I think, of course prostrate cancer's sort of bad for everybody, but, uh, this state was like the second, my wife's a registered nurse, and I think this state was like second this year from the top, in terms of, uh, cancer rate for just all kinds. And I can't help but believe that's not partially caused from pollution. I just don't know exactly what it necessarily is, but I just can't believe it is. Um. Now we have a lot of pollution being caused by uh, fluorocarbons which is the, like freon twelve and freon twenty-two. They use freon twenty-two in air conditioning systems in houses and the like and heat pumps, Uh-huh. and they use freon twelve in car air conditioners and that's also what's causing our atmosphere to lose it's ozone layer. Uh-huh. And I can't help believe if it's sufficient enough to make the atmosphere lose it's ozone layer, that it's not acting as a pollutant in our lungs also, and having all kinds of effects, and. Well what can we do about the, the, the, the air conditioning problem? Well they're working now, I know DuPont and Dow and several other chemical companies are working, uh, feverishly to try to come up with a substitute for fluorocarbons, Uh-huh. and who ever does is going to make, uh, a mint. Because if they ever come up with a reasonable working agent in place of fluorocarbons, then, uh, Is that also what's in, uh, aerosol? Well they used to be, but they made them take it out of that. Even, so, so the aerosol is still aerosol, Right. but it doesn't have anything that's damaging. No, they, they, they passed a law and made them take the fluorocarbons out of the aerosol containers, Uh-huh, well that's good. and that was a move in the right direction. We are doing some things to try to correct the problem. But there are more things we could do and getting rid of old cars, like I said is one way to help correct the problem. Uh, uh, just trying to I think be careful, uh, with the way you handle garbage, I notice in this state, I don't know if you're doing it in Texas yet or not, but in this state we have special containers now we have to put all our cans and bottles and plastic pieces, uh, you know, containers in, yeah. Here, they've just started, started doing that, it's, it's, you know, you're not, you don't have to, but you know, I know I am. I save, Yeah, well we are doing it pretty religiously in our group too. But they, uh, in one of the counties here, they're actually doing a trial program of having a trash police. They have a lady that goes around like a meter maid and she spot checks people's trash. No kidding, really, oh. And if they find a bottle or a can or anything like that in your trash, they'll fine you fifty bucks I think the first time and two fifty the second time. Is that right. Well, we need to do something, we need to get serious about it. Yeah, you, right, you've got to get people to see and surprisingly enough just handling of trash, uh, can cut pollution, uh, from, uh, uh, from just throwing it in a dump, or, or, or, where ever else they used to do with it, maybe used to burn it. They've stopped that up here too. Uh-huh. But that, that will cut pollution too. Because you get a lot of out gassing from these things, I think, decaying and and trying to, for instance cans and bottles, they never go away at all. Uh-huh. But on, on the other hand, I don't guess they're polluting. But plastic containers and the like, uh, they may be, I'm not sure of that. How much does, uh, planting more trees and things like that help? Oh I think that's very important to do. too. I, I really think that, uh, trying to get along with your environment and help it out is a very, very important thing. Uh-huh. And, uh, that can help to cut pollution, I guess some. I, I don't know how much trees actually act as filtering agents in terms of pulling various pollutants or chemicals out of the air. I would hope that they would help some, though. That's for sure. I think, uh, it seems like there was something going on, around here, that, you know, we have all these chemical plants and oil refineries and those kind of things and that they burn off a lot of stuff, Uh-huh. and some of the stuff that they weren't supposed to do that somebody found out, you know, like in the middle of the night, they would go ahead and do it anyway. I think they got caught. Oh good. But I wonder how much of that kind of stuff, you know, goes on. Well that, uh, that I think may go on a lot and the primary reason I think it may go on a lot is just as you said, somebody happened to stay up late at night or something. I don't think we have a adequate policing, uh, particularly on industry. Uh, we have good policing, at least in this state and, and several of the surrounding states and probably yours too, of car pollutants because we have to go down, uh, once a year here in Maryland and get out car's exhaust systems checked for emission content. Uh, we have to, uh, we have to have a state inspection every year. Uh-huh. Do you all have that? Uh, no, we don't have a state inspection, So, which I, I I would but any time you sell a car or buy a car it has to be inspected in this state. So I'm I'm assuming that, you know, they check, they check everything for safety or, I don't know, uh, that's something that you'd have to just check with your authorities. But in this state we have to, uh, pay eight dollars and a half and go to a, an emission station once a year and get every one of our cars checked that are, have been made starting in nineteen seventy-three. But that's all they check for, they don't check how good, if your tires are good enough or your brakes are good enough. No, no, we don't have inspections like that. Now, I'm in Maryland, in Virginia they check that every two years, I think. We do that every year. And I think that's a good idea too, not, not that it necessarily has anything to do with cutting pollution necessarily, but I think it's a good idea. The emission check, though, is required in Maryland and it's also required in Virginia, uh, a sister state to, to this one. And that's, that goes a long ways towards cutting pollutants. Well I'll have to check, I'm not sure if, if our state inspection once a year has to do, you know, if they check the, uh, Uh-huh, well if they don't I would imagine in time they'll get a law with. get around to it, and if they don't then that's something I would certainly, uh, uh, suggest you be willing to uh, uh, be for in terms of, uh, Oh, I would Yeah, yeah. I'm for anything that cleans up the air or the water or, or, or anything. Oh yeah, I, I agree. Now that's another area we haven't even discussed and that is water pollution and various of the other types of, uh, of, uh, like food pollution. I mean you, you hardly ever hear, hear anybody say anything about food pollution. But I think there we have a pretty good handle on inspection of foods in this countries, so, uh, hopefully we're not ingesting too much in the way of, uh, pollutants in our food. But water pollution, uh, I've worried, especially the last few years about just how good the water supply we have in this country is for drinking and the like. Uh-huh. I know a lot more people are going to bottled water. Well and that's not necessarily the answer either because they've found out that that's just comes out of somebody's tap. Yeah, tap, yeah So, but a lot of these, uh, some of this well, you know, a lot of people have well water, in fact in this area too and, an, you know, and, uh, Uh-huh. if you don't get it tested you don't necessarily know what you're, what you're drinking and I, I know a lot of people, you know, have that and, you know, you have to wonder if that, you know could have an adverse affect on them too, if they don't, they don't get it checked. Yeah. Yeah, I'm absolutely for drinking water out of wells as long as you first of course, have it checked because it seems, uh, when I was a kid growing up down south, uh, I used to go out in the country where my grandparents were and we had a well, it was one of those draws that, I forget what you call those things, Uh-huh. and, and that was some of the best tasting water, I mean, I can still to this day taste that water. When we were, when I was growing up I lived in Huntsville, Alabama, Yeah. and their water supply came from, uh, spring. Uh-huh. And it was like ice cold, spring water and I guess parts of the, the city still you know, get that, but, uh, that was, that was really wonderful. Oh, I bet it was. It was really, really good. Yeah, once it's been filtered an if it's a deep enough well, filtered through all the earth and everything I think that, uh, it depends of course where you are. A good well, though, I think is very healthy ... The Latin American situation in, the last development I know of was the military and financial assistance Columbia for the, for the drug, uh, control. Uh-huh. And I support that fully. I'm not sure we have the right solution to it, but at least we're, we're going to the source of the problem. And, the source of supply. Uh-huh. Uh, the problem is here, but the source of supply is there. That's true. Very definitely so. In fact I think a lot of the, I've been to, uh, Peru several times. Uh-huh. I've never been to other parts of South America, but, uh, I have been to Peru, and they need some assistance down there and I'm sure that, uh, as an undeveloped country they look, look for it, but there is not exactly a lot of, uh, physical responsibility there. *listen; probably 'fiscal' not 'physical' No. Very immature in that respect. Yes, right. And I, I think that, uh, they need guidance and assistance, but they need to learn how to stand on their own, own two feet also. I agree. I think that for so long power financially, uh, governmentally, every which way was in the hands of such a few that there's not the middle class that we, we perceive. Uh-huh. Oh, no, the, and the poor are extremely poor. I know, Are extremely poor. That's correct. I know, uh, some of the areas in, in Texas seem poor, but until you've seen some of those, uh, native, Latin Americans come down from the hills, you can't imagine what poor is. Uh-huh. And, uh, the worst scene I've ever had I think was, uh, someone eating out of, out of a garbage can on the streets in Lima, Peru. And, and just very happy to get that. Oh, yes. Yes. I have a brother who spent two years in Bolivia. Uh-huh. And this is very much his, you know, reaction that the rich are so rich and the poor are so poor. Oh, the, there's a joke, the, the graft and the, uh, payoffs down there are are an accepted way and, in a way, Uh-huh, uh-huh. And there's, there's a sad joke. I guess all jokes are really sad, but there's a joke about the, uh, Ambassador from Latin America that came to visit a Senator in the U S and was taken to his home for dinner and the, uh, home was palatial. They had five or six servants, you know, and, and, a lot of expensive, uh, holdings and all that, and the Ambassador said, but I know what you make as a U S Senator, how can you afford all of this? And he said, come I'll show you and he walked out in the backyard and the, uh, Senator said do you see that hospital over there? And the Ambassador said, yes. And he patted his pocket and he said fifteen percent. He said, you see that school over there? And the Ambassador said, yes, and he pot, patted his pocket and said fifteen percent, so, Oh, gosh. so the next year the Senator went to Latin America to visit the Ambassador and was treated to dinner in his home and it was twice as large and four times as many servants. He said, well I know how poor your country is, how can you afford this, uh, in such a poor country, and he, he said, come I'll show you and he walked out the backyard and he said, do you see that hospital over there? And the Senator looked and he couldn't see anything, he said, no. And the Ambassador potted, patted his pocket and said one hundred percent so, Yep Yeah, that, it's a sad story but, Intentions, intentions Yes, yes, but it, uh, it is a problem. I know. Uh, I have a sister-in-law who is from Nicaragua and her family, her father was a fairly, uh, high ranking official under Somoza. And when that went down the tubes they had to get out. Uh-huh. And seventeen children, filtered through into, into America through Guatamala, through Mexico, through Honduras, Um. you know, two here, three there, one here, you know, this kind of thing until, Yeah. and now, uh, couple of the older ones stayed or went back, but the rest of them now have their American citizenship and are leading productive lives, Uh-huh. but, you Well, the the other instance I think of their inability to, to handle things, the cholera, and hepatitis epidemics now in, in Latin America. Yes. And it shows the, the unpreparedness for such, such a problem. Yes. And yet they're so, Oh, the stories she tells, you know, are just unnerving just unnerving. Yeah. And they're, they're so rich in resources there. They're very rich in oil and gas. And they're very rich in gold and silver, and very rich in, in, uh, natural resources such as the fish and, uh timber, and, and copper and all types of, uh, resources Uh-huh, uh-huh. but they, And the uranium. Yes, and, but they don't have, it's sort of like Russia, they don't have the ability to develop it. The technology. Right. And they, they're very, Well, and, you know, they're very willing to be taught in many cases now, too, but, you know, there's just always this kind of resentment underlying I think that when they receive help from us, they want it, but, they don't want it, I mean You're you're exactly right. It's kind of a catch twenty-two. Uh-huh. It, it's sort of illustrated by the, uh, World Bank and International Monetary Fund not wanting to continue to do business there because they offer assistance, then don't get repaid. Yeah, yeah. So it's sort of a thumbing of the nose, uh, approach. They need it, and they need to live up to certain regulations and expectations, but uh, then don't. Of course it's a very volatile government, uh, situation, too. Well, and I think that, you know, it, somewhat a sarcastic view, but some of those drugs czars, you know, they, they know that by pumping that poison into our system that that's the way to bring us to our knees, more on their level. Uh-huh. You know, You know, that's really, uh, kind of a far fetched idea, I know, and I don't think people probably think those things consciously, Uh-huh. but it's like in any sibling rivalry Well the, we're hearing the same, The solution discussed at one time and I think it has real merit on the drug situation is that the the U S government could spend less money by buying the crop and destroying it than they are in trying to, to beef up the military and to do all other things. I think it would be cheaper to buy it and destroy it, which would still give the, uh, the grower in Columbia and elsewhere in Latin America the, uh, the money that they apparently need and go, go to the illegal crop for. And it would save the U S money in in the long run in how much they're trying to do, In the long run. And in the short run probably too. True. Course, then could, you know, at, at some point, could you ever convince someone to turn around and grow something that was productive for humankind. No, no. You know. And, I, I think finding an alternate to that would be very good. I mean even their, even their legal crops are things that we don't perceive as being healthy now from a medical standpoint of view, coffee tobacco you know Right. Uh-huh. Argentine beef, yeah, yeah. They're certainly legal, but they're certainly not healthy. Well, have we come up with a solution yet, Salina? No, not that I know of But it's been fun hashing about it I suppose. At any rate, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, one of these days, uh, I hope we'll find some, some way to substitute the good crops for illegal ones. Well, let's just hope that the powers that be, uh, have time to, a little bit once in a while to, to think in some farther reaching avenues than you and I do here tonight but, I agree. Well, it's been nice chatting with you. Yes, it has. I appreciate it, and, and tell your wife I hope we, I get her again sometime, too. This is fun, Very good It's kind of nice to, to see old friends now, you see. All right, thank you Salina. Bye now. Bye. Gun control seems to be a rather, uh, timely topic, with all that's going on legislation wise. Yes And, uh, the, the interesting scale that they assigned it, uh, the one being a banned and ten being no regulations or totally free I'd have to put myself pretty much in the middle, I guess. I, I don't mind regulating all of the, the guns and I would certainly call for a ban on certain types. Now the, the wisdom as to which types, that's going to be a debate forever, I would assume. Uh, the method of, of controlling it, well that's all into how much money you want to put into the, the controls. Uh, one point that was made in the House hearings or the representative stood up and said, you know, we can check a guy's credit card instantly, but, uh, we don't want to check his background, and of course those are two different issues as far as privacy goes Right. uh, but there still, the, the technology exists to, to check it if they want. So, it's, it's kind of a, I guess you could put a dollar figure on it if you really want to make that kind of an effort and regulate it like that. And then you've got the group of people that decide that there's, there's no particular reason to have them at all and you got to balance those against the ones that say there is some sport to it and I guess I would fall more in the, the realm that I like the sport issue of it, but I, I could give it up without too much trouble, not the world's most pleasurable thing and it costs a bit to do it, uh, finding ranges and things like that. Yes Right. Uh, I have shot a variety of guns for a number of years, but it's just not like golf or whatever. I mean there are other things that you could go do. So, uh, I, I don't see the, the joy of shooting as, as that much of a driving factor. I think that society could easily swing the scales the other direction just for the sake of safety of the number of kids that tend to get hurt, Yeah. I don't even keep the gun in our house, Right. so I don't have that problem, but, uh, it's a hard, hard topic, I guess. A lot of people have a hard issue, a lot of hard feelings about it. They do, and you, boy you can get them on either side and just like you say, uh, well I think I, I guess I'd have to place myself, uh, probably seven or eight because, or not, onto no control, I'm sorry, excuse me, that, uh, two or three. Uh-huh. I was going the wrong direction. Uh, because of, we had a neighbor child that was killed by another child because they had a gun in the house and the father kept the bullets in a separate place, but the little boy was five years old and was intelligent enough to, uh, he knew where booth, both places were, loaded the gun and they were playing cowboys and Indians and he shot the other little boy right between the eyes. So, uh, I mean it, it destroyed two families uh, in just that instant Right. and, and I, a lot of people say that they need it for protection, uh, having worked at one time in Baltimore, or, I don't know if you're in the big city, Dallas. are you, Dallas? Uh-huh. That's a big city Yeah. Uh, then you know that, uh, uh, if you live anywhere real close that, uh, the safety is, uh, some people argue that they need a gun to make sure that they aren't going to get shot because of the incidences of break ins and, you know. But, uh, uh, we have never had a gun in the house with my children growing up. Uh, I, uh, once, uh, uh, knew a fellow that had, had been a policeman and he said that if you pull a gun on a robber, he's going to assume that you know how to use it well, and he's going to, you know, try to shoot first. Right. Uh, so, you know, if he's got one. Uh, and if not, uh, then usually they, uh, if he's got a knife or whatever that can throw it at you, I mean, you know they, they, Right. he said that it, it was better not to have, especially myself, now I'm a widow, and, uh, I, so I'm, when my handicapped son is, is not at home, I'm by myself, but, uh, there's, I still won't have a gun in the house because he said it's really uh, playing Russian Roulette if you do Uh, Yeah. About the only circumstances that they'd be of any value is when you happen to already know that the, the, person was coming your way. Once you're surprised, it's too late. That's right. And, and the rare, That's right. you know, the very few of those burglaries actually occur in such a way that you knew the guy was coming, Right. and had time to do anything about it. That's right. And, I don't have that problem, as I don't use that argument as saying it's worth keeping one. In the, uh, N R As, uh, claim that the, uh, the constitutional, the right to bear arms and that whole statement, uh, it's hard to know the original intent, but I, I don't see it as that, that difficult of a story to believe when the opposition says that, uh, yeah, it's the right to, to arm a militia and, as opposed to just the general public. Right. And you have a, you have a earn a right, not just a privilege as it were if you're going to serve in the militia, then you have a right to have that arm, but, uh, That's right. you know, there's all sorts of arguments there I know but, I don't even want to worry about what the original intent was, No. they didn't have this problem back then No, that's true. That, That's, that's right, So, we change our rights with our social status. that's right. They're man given rights and they can be taken away by a man, so, Right. uh, the people that hide behind that, I don't worry about. They can go live in another country if they want. Well, yeah, that's how I feel, too. I know, well, even here where I work, uh, we have a, a gun club. And, of course, those people are very avid. They, you know, they say there should be no ban, Uh-huh. that it's not, but I can't see why any, uh, on the street citizen should be able to be allowed to have a machine gun. Right. Uh, you know, when you were talking about maybe what kind of guns that would be hard to decide, but there are a few guns that, uh, just are not, uh, sport, or, I mean, I don't know too many people that use a machine gun to go sport hunting either Right. So, uh, I, I think they should have at least some control over, over those things. Uh, and when you were speaking about how they can check up, you know, on credit cards, well, I, I understand about the privacy act and everything, but why can't they check to see if the person who is applying for this gun has had a record or not. That, to me, would not be an unreasonable thing. Right. And if they do, course the argument with the people in the gun club, uh, is that, uh, well the people that are going to get guns are the ones that are going to steal them anyway. Right. And so, it's not going to be that they're buying them. Course, some of them do. Yeah. So it, it is a hard question Tends to, tends to strap only the legitimate people. Most regulation does Right, oh, yeah. and, most, it's very difficult to, uh, legislate, uh, crooks or whatever you want, however you want to word it That's right. so it's, well, this may be a never ending topic. I got a couple of calls waiting on me, so I'd better let you go. Okay, well thanks for talking. Okay, bye. Bye-bye now. Uh, our children are both, uh, basically adults. They, we've, we've got two. Uh, one is twenty-one, and one is twenty-five. Uh-huh. And they, they still live at home. Uh-huh. Well, that's, that's a little unusual for, uh, for children of that age, to have both of them that age at home. But, uh, I guess the activities that, uh, we have with them are, uh, pretty few and far between. Actually the, they're both going on their own most of the time. Uh-huh. So, uh, most of our activities are, you know, just discussion type things about what's going on in the family and what they're doing and that kind of thing. Uh-huh Well, we have a, uh, three year old and a one year old. And, uh, so you know it keeps us pretty busy as you know. Sure it does. And, uh, most of the time with a three year old we're trying to, to get him, uh, well, we play usually in the evening when, when I get home, you know, about five o'clock or so until about eight, you know, with the exception of dinner. Out in the front or backyard playing like, uh, tee ball off the, you know, off the ball and let him hit a lot of baseball. Uh, since we just got here we got the, uh, uh, new two wheel bike with training wheels on it for him, and he really likes riding that around. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. I, So, you know, and trying to supervisor him with that and everything and, uh, playing squirt guns and all that, he really likes that. Yeah. And, uh, the one year old just kind of follows along and does everything, trying to do everything he does. Yeah, is the one year old a boy? No, it's a girl. A girl? Yeah. ours, uh, the older one is a girl, so. And the, and the younger one is a boy, so. Yeah. Uh, I guess, uh, what I see is so far as, uh, the trends, uh, uh, for children, uh, I don't know what kind of a area Virginia Beach is, but, of course, uh, Richardson is in the Dallas area. Uh-huh. And I think, uh, the big city, uh, activities for, for children now are, they're good but there's so much, uh, potential danger, you know, that you really have to watch your children so closely now that, you can't let them grow up the way, the way I grew up, you know. Uh-huh. I, I'm from a smaller town in east Texas. And I could, you know, go and do whatever, pretty much whatever I wanted to do, uh, my whole life. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, I never, never had to worry about the bad guys being out there. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know, I find it's, it's quite a bit different now that, uh, you know, you have to watch your children so closely and, uh, keep up with them. I, I feel like, uh, that it's, it's really a sad commentary on, uh, you know, a life in general, Uh-huh. that, uh, you know that children can't, cannot be allowed to grow up, uh, you know, without really close supervision. Well, I, I agree with that, and I seem, I seem to feel the same way, you know, even just when I grew up and everything. And, and, the way it is now you get a lot of supervision is, is at hand and everything. Uh-huh. Uh, the only other thing I have noticed though is that, uh, it seems that there's been a lot of or more emphasis at least in what we've been dealing with and, and the looking, you know, just start not even, not really looking for a school for him but, uh, like a preschool or something that where he would go maybe a couple hours a couple days a week or something. Uh-huh. For, for a three year old it's that, uh, there's a lot of emphasis on, on, on, on education and what these children should know before they reach kindergarten. Right. And, and it seems like it's a lot more than they need to know and be able to do than when we are the, when I had to go in kindergarten. Yeah. And it seems like it's more, uh, you know, I don't know. They're expecting more or, uh, or just, uh, you know, kids just because of the computer age or whatever, it just, know more when they get, you know, to be five or six or something. Yeah. But, Um, I guess looking at, uh, back at, at what our children did compared to what, uh, you know, what I had to go through in school. The, uh, there there does seem to be a lot more in the curriculum. It's a lot more complicated. A lot more available, of course. Uh-huh. But, uh, this, so much more to learn now that it really makes it more difficult, I would think. I, I would probably have a hard time getting through school myself. Uh-huh. Uh, you know, just, or at least it would be a lot harder than it was when I went to school. Uh-huh. One thing is I got a home computer too and, uh, I play, uh, with the three year old I play some computer games and stuff with him. Uh-huh. Educational games like, you know, concentration type games, the matching, things like that. Right. Yeah. And, uh, he's, he really likes it and, uh, and I think it's important because I think that, uh, you know, it gives him the interaction with the computer because it sure looks like that's going to be you know, the big thing for a long time. Huh, And given, given that knowledge and stuff with it yeah, I think, uh, and he seems to enjoy it. ery faint Oh. And, uh, of course, the one year old hasn't, hasn't gotten there yet but, uh, and the other thing we try to do is, uh, since the here is, uh, sign him up for, and her, for, uh, different activities at like the rec center or something like swimming, Right. you know, uh, or, there's a little soccer thing that he's going to do for a week or so and, uh, you know, where they go for an hour or so. Yeah. And, uh, because, uh, when he was a baby that we did the swimming too and he really liked it so we're going to do that with our daughter too. Yeah. That, uh, uh, watching a little, little boys play soccer is, is more fun. I can't imagine them having as much fun as the parents, had watching them I know. Well, we were just talking about that too. And I guess it's not really soccer it's just kind of a, well, kick the ball around for a while, see what happens Right, yeah The, the disorganized play really what it was, but, but, uh, Yeah. yeah, when ours was a, he, I guess he was probably five or six, you know, when he first started playing soccer. Uh-huh. And, uh, and that was, that was more fun to watch those boys trying to, trying to kick the ball up and down the field. Uh-huh. But, uh, and it's, I guess, that was, you know, as important, uh, as much important to the parents as it was to the children that, uh, you know, to get out and watch the kids play, so. Uh-huh. I guess one of the things that I think about is a, talking about education, uh, I kind of feel like, uh, that, uh, the, the school systems in this, particularly in this area, the systems are not under enough control. The, the students have a little too much, uh, too much leeway. Uh-huh. Excuse me. Um, and the, and that's kind of contradictory to what I said but, you know, you, the, you have to be under control so much when they're out but when they're in school they, they don't have quite, quite as much control, over them as, uh, as what I would liked to have seen. Right, right. Right. Uh-huh. Uh, uh, I kind of feel like there's, there's too much allowed to go on in at, at school. Uh-huh. And, uh, you know, it tends to, uh, to encourage students to not be as, you know, to not concentrate as much on the education. Uh-huh. You know, they're, they're there for a good time. Right. And, you know, to, to see how little they can get by with. Uh-huh. Well, I know of number of people that are in the, in the, uh, school district down in, in, uh, San Antonio. And, uh, it seems like it's, a lot of the problem is to, you know, you always have the lack of funds but it seems to be getting worse and worse and so they don't settle the resources to draw on to give as much supervision as, as, as, kids need. Right. And, uh, you know, that's just a problem that who knows how that's going to, that's going to come out or anything. But, uh, But, ery faint Yeah. But, uh, I, I don't, I don't know I think, uh, you know, some of the thing has to do with, uh, with the civil rights program. Not that the civil rights program is bad but that there's, it carried over, into, you know, individual rights Uh-huh. and it, you know, trickled Well, Tom, just tonight, I was working on my car out of necessity, and I had, uh, uh, had a long age-old problem of my bright lights not working, uh, this is the type of, uh, switch where you flip the, the lever, the turn signal on the column Yeah. and when I would, uh, put it in the bright light position the lights would go out completely, which is even worse than them just not getting bright Exactly. And I had presumed that it was the switch, and, uh, this is, uh, an older car, it's a seventy-two M G, so I had to mail order the part, uh, which I had done, and tonight I went out and, uh, at least hooked in the new part, only to discover that that apparently is not the problem, it's not in the switch, because it does the same thing with the new switch. Oh. So I'll be faced with having to return that product and, uh, hoping that, uh, you know, that they will accept it, although it's been removed from the box it's obviously not been really used. Did you do the diagnosis, or was it just an assumption that that's probably the part that failed? Uh, I had done what diagnosis I could, primarily by looking at a wiring diagram that I did have of the car and, uh, pretty much decided that that had to be the problem. Uh-huh. I talked to one mechanic about it, and he suspected the switch also. Uh, but I've not, you know, I really don't know what the problem might be. It, it, the other switch could be the main switch itself, uh, that turns the lights on or off, which is on the dashboard Uh-huh. uh, it might be tied into the equation somehow, but, Yeah, I know, uh, when working with the, uh, flashers, there is, uh, usually a, a special fuse that operates the flashers. Do you have a separate fuse for your high beam as opposed to your low beam? I I don't know, I should look at that. I don't remember seeing one in the, uh, in the diagram Diagram. so I'll have to go back and look at that. Yeah, I don't even know if my current cars have a separate fuse. I know sometimes when you think there are things running while they're at the same unit, like the headlamp Uh-huh. you tend to think, well, there's one fuse operating the whole thing, but sometimes the extra amperage that a high beam drives as opposed to a low beam requires, uh, the use of a, of a maybe a higher fuse. Yeah, that's a good idea. So, that's a possibility. What I've typically found when that, uh, companies are pretty good about accepting returns on products like that when they're not needed after all, and I hope that that's the case this time. Is this a, a mail order parts house that specializes in, in parts for parts for, uh, old imports? Right, exactly Who, it's out of Kansas somewhere. Um so, it's not J C Whitney or somebody like that. No, it's not. I also got a piece of chrome for the, the hood that they had indicated was the right part for this car, but it is not either, it's obviously doesn't quite fit, so it must be for a different year, so I'll have to try to return that as well. Yeah, have you found any, uh, uh, reliable import service people in the metroplex? Well, I had one person that I used for years and years on this car, because I've owned this car since it was new, and, uh, but it's over like in the Brook Hollow industrial district down on Stemmons and Inwood area Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. and I hadn't used him for some years, and the last time I called him back it turned out that he had further specialized instead of, uh, all import cars, he has narrowed it down to where he only works on, uh, German cars and ause German cars I'll be darned. I'm not sure that he works on much else at all, but he doesn't work on British cars any more, and gave me the name of somebody else to take a look at it. So, uh, uh, I may have to check with that person, as it turns out that one, that shop is near where I now work. So, I'll, uh, I should be able to take it in and check that part out. I've not had to exchange any other parts recently, because they were defective. Now, I've had, had pretty good luck, I just, however, did, uh, have to get a, a, uh, one of these jam box portable dual cassette players, uh, repaired. Uh-huh. I purchased it at Sam's, and I had assumed that it had a ninety day warranty, and I should have checked more carefully and done a better job of saving the receipt, because I didn't take it in right away, and let a whole year go by. Uh, some of the buttons didn't work right, where you had to actually physically hold them down to get it to record or to play, and as it turned out, it had a full year's warranty, and I could have gotten it repaired for free but I had to take it in, Oh, my goodness. while it was in the shop I ended up finding the receipt that I thought had long since been lost, uh, but it didn't do me any good, because I had, I had missed the window by about a week or two. Oh, no. So I didn't even, I didn't really, uh, even bring it up when I went in to pick it up. But, uh, that's really my only experience in the past year where I've had to take a product back because of a defect. Well, ours wasn't within the last year. I guess it's been within the last two years, uh, Judy has an Oldsmobile that we bought new, and it's one with the, uh, electronic ignition and the computer controlled mixer, and, uh, I don't know what else it all controls, but the fuel mixture and cruise control and things of that sort, and we found that the, uh, uh, we were having two problems. It was idling fast, when you first started the engine, to the point that we park on a hill, under our car port, and, it, when you first dropped it into geared it would immediately want to back up into the alley, and knowing that, you always had to keep your foot on the brake hard, otherwise it would just wrench control away from you. Good grief. And the other problem Judy would have is occasionally she would, uh, be driving along, uh, decelerating, like coming to a stop sign, but not yet stopped at the stop sign Uh-huh. and the engine would just quit. So, we took it back to the, uh, Oldsmobile place and asked them to check it out, and at first they thought it was just a matter of timing, so they adjusted timing and the problem didn't go away, so we ended up taking it back again, and I don't know why they don't look at these things the first time around, but the second time around they looked at their, uh, recall service and their service reports from region or headquarters whatever, and, and they had a description of the exact problem we were experiencing that apparently was a programming error in the, uh, computer control unit, Huh. which fortunately they replaced under warranty, because it was about a three hundred or three hundred and fifty dollar part My goodness. and, uh, so once they replaced it, then the, the car seemed to work fine for a considerable period of time, Huh. and now it seems to be, we we're not experiencing the stalling, but we're still experiencing a very uneven, Okay. What do you think about it? Uh, well, immigration, I know they're really strict right now because my husband is from out of the country and, uh, we had to go through a whole, very long process to, uh, to, assure the government that he was, uh, marrying me and not to be a resident here. Uh-huh. That's yeah, I think that's, uh, I think it's a little crazy. I worked with Spanish people for about two years Uh-huh. and just, it was incredible to me to see the things that they had to go through when they were really some of the best workers. Yeah, that's true. I mean, you can't just come over to the country because, uh, you want to. Right. You know, that's not good enough. You have to have a, have to have a darn good reason of, political or whatever. Right, exactly. Not a good, not a good easy way to get in. Yeah, I think, you know, I think in a lot of ways the law is good because it tries to, to protect, you know, the people who are in the states. Exactly. My mother, uh, actually knew a woman in another state that used to marry men just, Uh-huh. she'd never even meet them and she'd just get money for it. Oh, you're kidding. Huh-uh. So, Sounds like a lot of fun. Yeah, it's amazing to me how, how many things they would allow to occur before, you know, you can come in. Exactly. But, I mean, with the new laws, it's it's tough now. Right. Yeah, it's kind of frustrating, too, for those who are legitimate now. Exactly. You know, I think, Well, and, you know, uh, my grandparents came to this country just wanting a better life, you know Uh-huh. and they got here, but now it's a, you know, it's so strict that you can't just do that. Right, exactly. And I think it's important that they, you know, they allow a good number of people in every year because really they're the ones who work the hardest and do the jobs that, that we don't want to do. I agree. And I just, I don't know, I have, personally I have a problem with it, I think, that, you know, if someone wants to come in and they can prove that they're going to work and they're going to be a good citizen that we shouldn't close our door. Exactly. If they're not going to be on welfare or, or, or whatever. They're going to be a productive citizen Zen. And, you know, I, I believe that if someone goes on welfare that's when, you, you know, send them back to their country. Yeah. And, I think a lot of times we're so busy trying to keep them out that we're spending twice as much money as we would just allowing them in and, Well, think of how many illegal aliens have, have, have been, uh, uh, sent back to Mexico just to find their way back. Yeah, and that's, that's what I think. You know, I, I have to laugh because, like I said, I worked with a lot of those and they'd been deported two or three times and just basically what they do is they get caught when they wanted to go home for Christmas. Or for any other time. That's right, that's our money. Yes, that's true. But, I think, you know, I think all in all there's a lot of improvements. I think the general idea is good but, but there could be some work done in the area. I, I think I, I agree. Well good Anyway, do you have anything else in the, the subject, uh that you might want to talk about? Uh, I, uh, boy this is spur of the moment, uh, but, I, I don't really see any, any changes that I think of really blatant right now other than I think they ought to take, you know, on a case by case basis and not necessarily make it a, uh, political refugee. Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of times we take, you know, basically who we want to because if you, if you have connections, it's a lot easier to get in. Exactly. Connections and money. Yeah, and I think, you know, it should be more of a thing that's based upon someone's intent, you know. And that it should be equal to all Yeah. and then not like the United States, basically, it's not who you know, it it doesn't become a thing of who you know, but, but how the type of person you are. I agree. And it should be based on those kinds of things so the good people, like probably your husband, can get in Yeah Well, we got him past that, but, uh, Well, great. I know there's a lot of other people out there, would probably do a good job here. Yep. Well, let's see, is there anything I believe in I think that's it. Is this like a very short call? No, I'm not sure how long they're supposed to be, but, I've enjoyed it. It's good hearing your, your point of view and I think that's neat. I think we agree a lot on that and I've learned something from it. I did, too. Well, it was nice talking to you. Well, thanks, I'm glad you're home. You have a good evening, all right? You, too. Thanks, bye-bye. Bye. Well, seems to me the, one of the reasons that people don't go out to vote is maybe they're bored with the whole election process. Well, I agree with the boredom of the election process, but I also, uh, think that people don't realize that their boat, vote will make a difference. Uh, they feel like that, you know, it's going to go however it's going to go and their one little vote is not going to make that much difference and it's, just why make the effort. Well, sometimes, strangely enough, one vote has made the difference. Well, I agree with that and I, and I do know that, you know, all those votes are counted and, and they do make a difference. Uh, also I think that people have a tendency to, to vote in the larger elections and not vote in the, the more local elections. Well, it's kind of strange because in the local elections is the ones that have the most influence on their day-to-day lives. Exactly, and, I, I even have a tendency to do that myself. And I have to really make a concerted effort to, to get involved. I live, I live in a suburb in Mesquite and, uh, so I really have to make an effort to read the local paper and to see what's going to because that directly affects me. But I, I think on the whole, most people don't, uh, feel that way. Or don't look, even look at that. I think they just don't even, I, I don't think they're conscious of it. Well, maybe part of the problem is they don't, they think they have enough choices. Well, that may be true, too. I hadn't thought of that. You know, in some of the European countries, they have numbers of parties that run and then lot of more voters come out to vote than vote in this country. Uh-huh, right. And sometimes it's, uh, well, not sometimes, but many times it's who has the most money to spend on the largest campaign and, and issues get, uh, bogged down. Well, maybe it's a matter of, you know, voter awareness. Uh, I think voter awareness, I, I did some work for the, uh, Women's League of, uh, Voters, uh, several years ago and, I think there are some organizations that used to, uh, do some voter awareness, uh, things. They don't get a lot of participation. They don't get a lot of, uh, activity. Most of the League of Women Voters, what they did was they put out information, so that it, it would just be made available to everyone. Now, other areas that I've worked in, like in the chambers, they would just have the candidates come and it would just, you know, that was not a lot of community involvement and those were people that would mostly vote anyway. Well, I think part of the problem is the election goes on way too long. In Britain, you know, they have a set period of time and, and for campaign, that's it. In this country, it seems like it's a continuous ongoing campaign. It's a, it's an ongoing campaign and it's expensive campaign and it, it, uh, eliminates a lot of qualified people. Uh, maybe more qualified and, uh, more dedicated to the issues. Well, the, they don't want to spend the time or they don't have the money. Exactly, exactly and it, it, I, I can't I just can't believe, I've, I've worked in a couple of local campaigns. I just cannot believe the dollars that are spent just even locally. Well, it's a matter of name recognition. People aren't going to vote for someone they've never heard of. Oh, well, I agree with that, but also, and I, and I'm not for controlling how much is spent, but do you know, that's one thing, if a, if the time wasn't so, if it wasn't such a long, uh, campaigning time, then they couldn't spend as much money. And even debates don't seem to help much. No, they really don't. Uh, it's it's, a lot of it is who looks the best, who, uh, who happens to say the right thing at the right time, who, not, who may not be the most qualified and can get the uh, the job done. So we're really voting for the best makeup person and the best handlers. Exactly. And it's a, it's a lot, I've worked in public relations a lot and, uh, that kind of thing can make and break, make or break you Well, that was certainly a media event. and it's just, uh, uh, he possibly could have, uh, won that election had it not been for some of the the, uh, the way he presented himself. Well, he had a classic case of hoof in mouth disease. Hoof, is, is, I guess the right term for him. Night, Fine, thank you. I understand we're supposed to talk about spaceflight. Yes. I hope you know more about it than I do. Oh, well I just got through renting, reading, uh, SPACE by, uh, James Michener. Oh, is that right? And so that, uh, helped out a little bit I think. I haven't read his book. I was so upset with TEXAS that I haven't gotten into any more of his books because I thought it was just horrible. Well, he tends to go into a lot of detail sometimes. Well, and I don't think he was truthful in a lot of what he did in TEXAS so I wasn't sure how credible he was. Oh, is that right? But anyway, what do you think we've gained from the spaceflights? Well uh, I'm not sure to be honest with you, so, uh, this going to the moon seemed to be a exciting adventure and, uh, And, yeah, Ego trip. it was nice to go there, but I don't know that it really benefitted mankind that much. Uh-huh. I happen to live not too far away from, uh, well, I've actually worked for the company that, uh, has been blamed for the Challenger disaster. Uh Morton Thiakol. Oh, is that right? Uh-huh. And, uh, you know, that's been kind of a, a real negative feeling here is Right. sure it was, you know, very unfortunate thing that occurred there and it's, Where do you live? Uh, we live in, uh, Utah. You live in am I talking to Utah right now? Uh-huh. Oh, oh, great. Yeah. Because I'm in Dallas. Uh, Oh. I have a sister that lives in Dallas, that's how we got hooked up to the program was her her husband works for Penney's there. I see. I see. So. Carolyn Rash? Pardon me? Is her name Rash, Carolyn Rash? No, her name is, uh, my last name is Skidmore. I see. And her, her husband's name is, his last name is Weight. I see. And, uh, Well, you probably know a lot about it. I wasn't sure that they were blaming that space disaster on one company. I hadn't heard that. Well, they were. There was, uh, apparently the specifications for the joints, uh, they were not to perform in, uh, cold weather and, uh, apparently there was definitely a, a joint that did not seal, and, uh, if you've ever seen the size of those, uh, motors that put them into space, Uh-huh. I mean, they're as long as a football field practically and about twelve foot in diameter Uh-huh. and, and there is a lot of pressure, lot of thrust to get that much weight up in the air. Oh, yeah. So it's, this book was interesting, though. I, uh, talked about how a lot of the problems they have to come, overcome to, uh, it's a very complex, uh, situation to go into space. Oh, yeah, I would think so, too They would, the thing that he went into quite a bit of detail about how, how much of a problem it is to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. You never think about that do you? Yeah. I would think it would be harder to get up than it would be getting back down. Yeah But they have to come in at a, just the right angle. If you come in at the wrong angle, what happens is they bounce off and go back into space Uh-huh. and if they come into it at a different angle there is so much friction that it burns them up. Right. So, Well, I saw one of, some of those early space capsules at Smithsonian. I'm sure you've seen more of them than I have, Oh. but you could see the scorch on them, you know, Uh-huh. they had though piles Yeah. but you could see where they would come off in the, how hot it got because it was still the scorch on them which was quite interesting. Yeah, I've, I've, I would say I've never, I've never seen an actual capsule. Well, I, excuse me, go ahead. Oh, yeah. I've seen more, more of the motors that, that they produced out there. Uh-huh. Well, these were the ones that John Glenn went up in you know, and the old, old ones. Uh-huh. Yeah. The very first ones, the little bell type things. People have commented how, uh, they were surprised at how small they were. Yeah, they really were, they just, uh, Looked pretty confining, huh. Oh, yeah, and, uh, the whole thing was small and, yeah, you, I mean, you actually put it on you know. Is that right? You put it around you pretty much, it was so small. Huh. Well, I thought there was some medical benefits that we have learned from space, but did he go into that in the book? Not really. Uh, I guess that's just to sell us on it. One thing's, I know one thing they've, they've mentioned that I didn't get from the book, by the way, but, it talked about, uh, they're able to manufacture, uh, different kinds of crystals and ball bearings and things like that in a zero gravity state that they turned out being almost, uh, nearly perfect as far as a ball bearing goes. Oh, yeah. It's perfectly round. Uh-huh. But I'm not sure you have to go to outer space to achieve that zero gravity. Well, that's true and, Yeah. That's right Well, do you think we should continue to support it at the level, well, I thought probably one of the things they were doing that they didn't tell us was spying. Because I think those satellites, you know, or not satellites, but the spaceflights could really spy Uh-huh. and with, uh with Russia's demise, I didn't know if we should continue to support it at the current level. Yes. Uh, I think they have cut it back, to be honest with you. From, from the glory days when they did the Apollo shots to the moon. Yeah. Uh. Uh, I appreciate having the satellites. You know, that's certainly made it nice for other purpose. I don't know if you have a satellite dish or not. We don't No, I don't. I don't either. but I I know that's certainly helped a lot in that regard. Uh, Yeah. Okay. Uh, go ahead. What are we supposed to discuss again? AIDS research is something that, that, I think whether our country is putting enough money into it More money )), and actually I'm concerned that they're not. I have a friend who is working with, uh, who works with, uh, travel groups, Uh-huh. and one of the ones that he's worked with was professionals who came in for an AIDS, uh, conference in, uh, California. Uh-huh. And these were from other, people from other countries. He's a translator. Uh-huh. And in talking to the people from France he said, you know, he says, one of the things that really concerns me is your government is not telling you enough about how it and frightening this epidemic is. And they're letting, the information out slowly about how, you know, how big it is. Huh. Which is scary, you know, pretty scary when so many people get it. So, I guess I'm, I'm, I'd like to see us spend more. I don't know that spending more always gets it. Yeah. I'm, I'm ambivalent about it because, um, uh, well it is very frightening and scary. I have no perspective on how it relates to other diseases, and, uh, I mean whether, You mean more money for that means less for cancer or, Yes. yeah. And, uh, whether those diseases can some difference could be made if you did pour more money in like diabetes research Uh-huh. uh Uh-huh. didn't, uh, you know, but I, uh, then part of it's lack of education. I don't know whether, whether, you know, where our money would be most effectively spent. Well it, I, I agree with you there because I know every time that something comes into vogue all the money goes to that one and you don't know whether it's still also going to the other or if it's a limited pie. Uh-huh. Money from, money for taking care of the infants takes money away from taking care of the elderly, or do they both get served? Uh, that's a good point. And I'm, I am concerned a lot about, uh, I'm concerned about, uh, two things. One is preventing the spread and the other is for, uh, for, uh, treating the illness. Uh-huh. And I'm not certain, I, I, again this, I'm telling you, basically I don't have any opinion. Uh-huh. But whether or not it would be, uh, our money would be better spent, uh, teaching, you know, working on the drug problems and the, and the sex problems, uh, rather than trying to cure the people that already have it. Well, and one of the things I'd, and I'm with you that I don't know is, is that really the only way it's being transmitted or was that the easier way to tell us and we're going to find out more. Yeah, well, you know, That's, that's the part that, t-, whether my dentist or That's the part that scares me, you know. I mean beginning with this is, this is just for homosexuals, well no, it's for homosexuals and gays, well no, actually, it's, I mean, you know. Did they know that all along? and I heard something the other day, this sounds ridiculous, about mosquitoes. And, you know, they've been saying oh, no, absolutely not. Can't get it from mosquitoes. And, uh, and now they are saying well maybe in the right conditions, yes. Oh And I don't know that's true or not. I mean, I just heard it in passing, but so what does that, Right. what does that mean for people that you work with and shake hands with and And how is it really transmitted, et cetera. Yeah. Which is, I think, what they also don't know. I mean that's, I think they, they told us what was convenient and felt safe to say, you know. Uh-huh. It was nice to isolate it to one particular community that they have trouble, you know, they just as soon not approve of anyway, but, but that isn't how it was in Africa. No. In Africa was the men and women and, and had nothing to do with that, and it's huge over there. So I, I, you know, and it's beginning, other countries that's what's his point. This was an international, conference where people are saying, well, but in my country it's, you know, like this. Uh-huh. And does that mean like flus and everything else, there are all these different strains of it? Oh. I mean I don't know. All I'm saying is I think it's scarier than we know. Uh, or maybe they understand but, I think maybe more information should be given out about it. Yeah, and, uh, and then the people that have it, it does seem that there are, are some drugs that are there that, you know, they keep holding back. If you, if I were dying, I'm not sure I would care. I, I, give me cyanide. I mean, is it )), Yeah, right. I'll take anything you know. Uh-huh. I mean if I'm dying, if I know I'm dying, you can experiment on me. Ri-, Exactly. Go ahead. And why can't you, why can't the F D A say, you know, if these people knowingly consent to be, research monkeys and well, let them, Exactly. let them, do it. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what I think they're saying too. Have you had any snow up your way? No, we haven't had any since, uh, oh, just before Christmas and, uh we had a lot before Christmas. Um. The ski resorts were really and, uh, but, now we have, we've had fog, for about forty days in a row and temperature inversion, so, but no, uh, no snow. Um. The snows all melted off uh, Well, I talked to a woman who lived up in the hills, uh, mountains in, uh, Utah, I guess this last weekend and she had, uh, quite a bit of snow on the ground her way. Uh-huh, I guess there's different parts of the state of Utah that, that, does have some, but not, usually we have up to a hundred and fifty inches up at the ski resorts and they're down between thirty-eight and, uh, forty inches. Um At this time of the year, and we've been in a drought for the last five years and this is the sixth year and it's getting quite serious, as far as water next summer. Yeah, well, the weather, uh, here, is always a topic of conversation in Texas. Right. But, uh, we have wide variations and have warm weather when most people have cold weather, but we have our share of cold weather as well. The, uh, temperature this morning was right at freezing. It didn't stay there, but it was right at, Oh, that's, that's different, isn't it? Um. We usually have some of our coldest weather toward the, uh, end of January, but this year it wasn't bad at all. I guess that's because we had so much rain. I know my son was telling me about the rain down there. He said it was just, and we read in the newspaper, southern part of Texas I flooded out, Oh, yeah. and, uh, Well, my, uh, my sister lives in Houston and they, uh, the river there was, uh, in the flooding stage near where her son lives, and that, uh, caused some, uh, concern, of course. Oh, boy. They have a, uh, lake cabin and, uh, their dock was completely under water on the lake. Oh, my gosh. So we really had a lot of rain. Yeah my son in Plano, he lives fairly close to, there's quite a wash that goes down, uh, through Plano Right. and, uh, there's walking trails on both sides, a walking path, and, uh, when I've gone down to visit him I've gone on that, but, uh, that was clear full and up to, up to some of the streets, I guess. It just Yeah, we had a lot of flash floods in the area. We had a few people who ran into, uh, water and a few fatalities, uh, just a few. Uh-huh. Not more than ten but, That's funny that, uh, we can't have it in moderation instead of having either a drought or having too much. Well, the, uh, there's an old profane expression about Texas weather, it's always too damn cold, too damn hot, too damn windy Yeah, well, it's, uh, interesting, uh, I'm going down to El Paso next week and, uh, I was wondering what the weather was, but I imagine if it's that cold in Dallas it, Well, El Paso won't be cold. It's not a, doesn't get that cold, I guess, huh? No, it's, it's, quite southern and it's, it's rare to get real cold in, in El Paso. Uh-huh. The, uh, you'll be flying in there? Yes. Well, uh, take off is, uh, fun from El Paso because you normally, the way the winds are you take off right toward the mountain, the Rockies Yes. and they're towering above you and so you circle back over the air and then make a circle around and come back over again. Yeah, we're kind of used to that here in Utah, course, there are mountains, and I fly into Montana a lot and we have a, the mountains are, are really, uh, high and a lot of places we go in to, you just kind of, uh, it's in the little valley, but, I, uh, sure hope we, we really need the moisture. I hope we can get, uh, get some. There's supposed to be a storm, but it split, went down through, uh, northern Arizona and southern Utah and they're not predicting any for the next, uh, week anyway up here so, Well, I noticed on the weather map on, uh, cable network that there was supposed to be a storm front moving into California and on down your way, but I guess it didn't pan out, huh? Yeah, well, that's, that's what the, above, uh, some of it went to the south and some to the north up into Montana, so that just left us, we got a high pressure system which been sitting in the Huh. and, uh, we broke the record for the amount of fog that we've had, uh, you know Oh, boy. airport's been shut down, uh, till about noon every day and then they seed the clouds, or seed the fog to try to to get the airplanes in and out. Uh-huh. Huh. Well, we, uh, had a bad siege last, uh, Christmas a year ago. We went up to visit my wife's, uh, sister who lives in, uh, Calgary, Alberta, Can, Well, the topic's about government. Uh, I'm not altogether sure that that's my best topic. Uh, I thought it was kind of a strange topic about corruption in the government and uh, how many people are self serving. Yeah. Uh-huh. I mean, you I, I think people tend to think that the government is not corrupt And that people aren't self serving. Uh-huh Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I mean that's what I would like to think. Yeah, I, I, I think that the last, uh, part of that question was particularly interesting, uh, about, uh, uh, uh, can all unethical behavior, or how much unethical behavior can be made illegal uh, because it seems to me that when uh, government or public service of any kind degenerates so much that you have to have so many explicit ethical codes uh, parallel to the legal codes that, uh, we're focusing on the wrong thing. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, yeah. Maybe, maybe that's what is happening. Maybe so many things have become public with the media over the past, you know, ten to twenty years that, uh, it becomes more evident. Perhaps things that we didn't think of before and just concentrated on the lawmaking or the results that would be seen in public works or bills that are passed or, you know, et cetera like that Uh-huh. and we were just not exposed to the personal lives of these persons. Uh-huh. And I couldn't help thinking when that last it was a funny question when that last part of the question came about how many things can we, uh, actually put a legal code on that, uh, how much, uh, should it be our, uh, prerogative to see into the private lives of these people. You know. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Um. Because you start prying in people's private lives, you ruin their lives as well as, That's right. And sometimes, you know, I don't even know how much of a difference it really makes, you know. Yeah. I mean, I guess in some cases, sure we care about what they did in the past Uh-huh. but, uh, sometimes, I don't know Uh-huh. I think it gets in the way of the better judgment. I mean just because you did something in the past doesn't mean he's not a good enough person to be a politician. I, I, I agree with that and, uh, and also that if the results that they're putting out and what they actually seem to be accomplishing by legitimate means is what's, you know, going to the public then, uh, then they'll pay for their private life in their own private conscience. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's it. And, uh you when it becomes public, though, it becomes scandalous. Uh-huh. Yeah. The, that's, that's the thing that, uh, things that you don't know uh, do, do not worm their way around and influence other people or perhaps lead other people astray. Uh-huh. Yeah. People could say, oh, they do it, so, I guess, you know, but, as soon as things do get public uh, there, there is that terrible concern. Uh-huh. Um So, sometimes I ask myself, what are, uh, people doing that are in the media when somebody, you know, comes up to office, Uh-huh. it seems that one of the first thing that's done is to dig up any kind of a thing they can on them and get it all over the headlines. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah I guess it's what sells newspapers, you know. It's a very low way of living. Uh-huh. Uh, so, and, and, and as far as, uh, you know, myself having any particular personal, uh, knowledge or insight into politics or politicians, it, I'm not terribly involved in it. Uh-huh Just in a very cursory way. Right. I vote and I, you know, try to do whatever I can on the little local area, but, I, I, it just is not one of the things that I have, uh, placed, uh, uh, a, a lot of my particular time and effort into, Yeah. so, I, I always feel very outside this kind of, uh, this kind of an issue. Uh-huh. Yeah. But, uh, I am kind of the same way. I just kind of read the paper follow up on I mean, you know, just keep an eye on what's going on Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, right. but I don't really play an active role in any kind of politics Yeah, uh, Uh, uh-huh. I'm not, I'm not in there, I'm not one of those, uh, you know, volunteers that's down at headquarters and whatever, uh, although I admire the people that do that and they certainly do get inside information Uh-huh. and, uh, of course, the better you know a person that might be affiliated with that kind of thing, the more you can trust their, their judgment and their insight. Right. Right. Uh-huh. But the media insight, as you said, I just kind of read and kind of be aware Yeah. and then, uh, I don't like to make a whole lot of, uh, judgment myself unless things are so absolutely out of whack that, uh, Yeah. Okay. All right. That's a real different topic. I'm not sure I'm familiar with, with what they mean of invasion of privacy. I know. I guess that, I guess you consider just things that every day that would, you would think of about. See, I'm a college student, so I can think of lots of things that my roommate does that bother me you know, that I think's like is an invasion of my privacy, stuff like that. Yeah. But I think it'd be, it is kind of a tough topic. Yeah. I think, personally, you know, I'm, I used to be a college student ten years ago Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but uh, now I think an invasion of my privacy is when someone calls me on the telephone and says, Mrs Miller, have we got a deal for you. Uh-huh. Oh, golly. You're like, No, you don't, no. It's like, how do you know my name, where did you get my phone number, and why do you think it's a deal for me? Uh-huh. I mean, those people, they'll call you any time of the day or night with, try to solicit Yeah. and that's an invasion of my privacy, I think. They call late, now, I mean, now there's, I heard that they were going to start calling on Saturdays or Oh, they do already. See, that's I would be so mad Well, and I've even had the computer generated calls on Sundays, too. Really. Uh-huh. Huh. But I do know of a way to get around the computer generated calls. How? Don't answer your phone, Hello. The computer's geared to, to start talking to you on the, on the word Hello. Really? Uh-huh. Huh. I don't know, I think like things that, that I think's like privacy is like, just like, not going through my stuff, like going through, just like my clothes or my drawer, just going through my stuff, basically. Oh, yeah. That drives me up a wall. Are you and your roommate a similar size. No, see, we're not, and, uh. And she still goes through your clothes? Yeah, she'll take all my shirts and stuff, because she can't wear like my pants Uh-huh. but she'll take all my shirts and my blouses and stuff. Ooh. Man, I'm just glad she can't wear my pants or my skirts or my dresses, you know. Oh, yeah. But still, she'll just take them, and she won't even think about it, and then, I'll like see her that day, and she'll be wearing my clothes, and I'll be like, you know, I don't like to borrow my clothes out, you know, I really don't. So I prefer that you just not go in and get them Uh-huh. Uh-huh. because she doesn't even ask me. Stuff like that really like that's an invasion of my privacy, I feel like. Oh, yeah, I agree. Stuff like that, when you have your door closed, people just walking in and stuff like that. Uh-huh. I was thinking like my mom. I know this, she would think this is like an invasion of her privacy, is like going through her purse, like if you ever needed money and stuff Oh, yeah. we always just give her her purse, you know, and she'll get it out or whatever. Yeah. Uh-huh. I was trying to think, I was thinking that's the only thing I could really think of that would really be. My mom doesn't even like for us to go through her cabinets. Really. I mean, we're all grown, all her kids are grown, and we have our own families Uh-huh. and now if we go through her cabinets she's like, Well, what are you digging for? Yeah, get out of my cabinets. Like, what are you doing? Don't you have your own house to dig through? That's great. Yeah, so, I guess, privacy is really, and at the work place, I suppose, oh, well, actually yes. I can say definitely, privacy at the work place. Uh-huh. I hate it for people to open up my drawer to my desk See. Yeah. because that was, that was where I kept all my stuff, and I could tell I mean, even if a pen was turned the wrong way. You could tell, you know you put your stuff where it's, Yeah. That would drive, that would, that It would drive, it drove me batty for a while. Really. Yeah, well, I worked a second shift Uh-huh. and everybody else in my area worked first shift Uh-huh. and our shifts overlapped Uh-huh. so I would come in, and there would be people sitting at my desk, working, and I'm wondering, you know, um, what is this, it's my vitamins, I wonder, what is, you know, yeah, what is, why are they working at my desk, and can I have it back. Yeah. Can I have it back soon, maybe. Then you start missing stuff, and. Oh, yeah, no mommy is going to take the vitamins, I'm sorry, I have That's okay. See that would, that would make me really mad, because you can always tell when someone's touched your stuff, just because, I mean, I know I have everything like a certain way and you know how it looks and everything. Oh, yeah. Well, you know how you left it the day before. Uh-huh. child_talking That would bother me, definitely. Oh, yeah, so, that's, child_talking yeah, I agree, it's, it's pretty tough that way, and, I know, even like with your school books and papers. Uh-huh. Do you miss your papers sometimes? See, yeah. Uh-huh. You know. That's the only thing I can really think about being an invasion of privacy, like something every day, though. Yeah, well, actually I do know, and I have used it once Uh-huh. and it, it really is an invasion of privacy, but in the library there's a book that you can find out what people's phone numbers are by where they live, their street address. Oh, really? Yeah. Uh-huh. And that, I mean, I've, I've used it once, All right, well do you play any musical instruments or, No, I don't play any. I used to. Oh well, I think everybody took piano lessons so, Everybody, sure. I, I started when I was in, uh, third grade, and I've, I still play the piano as of today. Do you? Yes, I do. I started, I think I was in the fifth grade and I played it for maybe three months But, then, again, I was also in, uh, the marching band. I played the drums, I played the clarinet, I played the trumpet. Wow Uh, you know, whatever and so I, I still sing, and I sing in the choir today so, All right I I enjoy the music, it gives me an out. Yeah. It always sounds like, for my playing the piano when I was depressed and didn't have anything else to do and there was no one to play with I could always go play with the piano, you know. True So, how long did you play? Only for about three months. Three months. Yeah, me and my brother both took the classes and we got pretty bored quick I was going to say, you got as far as the, uh, chop sticks, huh. Um, well, I could play, uh, the wood chuck song. Oh, the wood chuck song And I still can to this date. And your mother's saying, and although, the money that we spent for those piano lessons this is all we got was the wood chuck song Yeah. Yep, they went out and bought us a piano and for three months Oh, bless your heart. Did you ever, did you ever just bang on it or do anything with it at all. Oh, yeah, any time I got bored Oh, okay, but I mean, can you play anything on it, other than wood chuck song? No. No. And Jaws, but I think everybody can. Okay. I I, I can still read music if I'm lucky because I, if I work real hard I can still barely read the music, but, see, I played the piano from the third grade all the way through high school, Yeah. so Yeah. I played uh, concertos and other stuff but, I got to the point where I wasn't really reading music, I was memorizing music, so because of that, I can't read music as well as I used to, but anyway, Yeah. but I enjoy it, though. I find it to be a good out and I still enjoy the marching band and I still enjoy, uh, singing in the choir so, Do you sing at choir at your church? Yes, I do. Yeah. Yes, I do. That's, in fact, that's about the only musical thing that I still do is sing in the choir. Yeah. I tried out for choir when I was, think, in the seventh grade and they wouldn't let me in. So, I never tried again. Well, I sing in the choir, I do know if they want me to or not, but at least I do sing in it Yeah, That's pretty good. Well, I never really learned the music or anything. I never learned, I got right to where I was figuring out where all the keys were on the piano and that's about when I quit. I was at, I actually went to the University of Texas at one time thinking that I would, be a musician. I wanted to be a high school band director. Yeah. But after one semester of that, I said no, no, this isn't for me. enjoy it, but not for profession, no. Yeah. And besides that I kind of learned I wasn't really that good I gave up. Yeah. Course, my mom thought I was, but, uh, you know, Of course, parents always do. Oh, yeah, so, They're nice that way. Yes. Well, what else can we uh, talk about, uh, Uh, well, I don't, so you listen to kind of church music, gospel? No, no, I, I listen to K V I L. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Yeah. So I listen to the radio, I like the pop music. Oh, yeah. I like people like Neil Diamond and all, all the folks that you're not supposed to like, but that's who I go for Oh, yeah, the jeezer music as I call it. Oh, the jeezer music. Yeah. Oh, okay, well, My boss listens to that. We listen to ninety-seven point nine and that's his station, so I call it the jeezer music. Okay, now what kind of music do you listen to? Well, I listen to like ninety-seven point one, you know, more, What what is that? It's more, uh, I don't know how to explain it, kind of pop, you know, rock. Rock. Yeah. Hard rock? Well, not hard Not hard rock. Just kind of, Not like the eagle. Huh? Is that the eagle? Yeah. Okay, I know, I know what the eagle is. It's not too hard, it's, That's not too hard. You know. But it's not enough to put you to sleep True, true. Which some of the songs on K V I L can. Well, course, see, I listen to K V I L for the contests. I mean Oh, yeah, got the bumper sticker, too? Oh, yes, oh, yes. You can't drive a car without bumper sticker and you know they're going to call you up. Someday. Yeah Well, listen, I've enjoyed talking. I, I'm sure that the switchboard will probably give us that sign off message very shortly anyway. Okay. I appreciate it. Okay. Catch you later. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay Okay Have you done this very long? Uh, well, yeah, for the last, uh, couple of months. Yeah, that's the same with us. Yeah. Well, what kind of car would you buy? Well, it's kind of hard to say, uh, because I don't think we're going to buy another car for about three years. We just bought, uh, a car, uh, last year and then bought one in eighty-nine Oh, okay. and, uh, wait a minute, we bought one in ninety. We've got three cars, of all things. Uh-huh. So, uh, probably we'll be in at least a midsize, four door sedan. Okay. What kind do you have now? Uh, we have a, a Mazda nine twenty nine and a Ford Crown Victoria and a little two seater C R X. Oh, okay. Uh, it's rather difficult to, to project what kind of, uh, we'd, look, always look into, uh, consumer reports to see what kind of, uh, report, or, uh, repair records that the various cars have Uh-huh. and then, of course, we look into the prices. Yeah. And, uh, uh, we're not adverse to buying along in the summer when, when the cars could get to be discounted because we keep, we've begun to keep them, uh, a longer period of time. Uh, I traded off an eighty-two Oldsmobile for the eighty-nine Mazda. Oh, uh-huh. So, uh, And did you find that you like the foreign cars better than the domestic? Uh, yeah, yeah. We, we've had thirty some odd cars in our married life, and, uh, we, we've had a good many foreign cars. Uh-huh. And, uh, they, they, uh, I've been extremely, we've had three Mazdas. We've been extremely pleased with our Mazdas. Oh, really? Yeah. We've always bought American made cars, mostly Oldsmobiles. Yeah, well, we, we've had, uh, let's see, we had, uh, we had a, uh, let me think. ause We had a fifty-three and a, uh, we had, uh, two fifty-threes which is a long thirty minute story Uh, and we had a sixty-five and then we had this eighty-two. Uh-huh. So we, we really can't complain about Oldsmobiles, really. Yeah, we've been real pleased with ours. I think we've had, one, two, three Yeah. and most, we have a Cutlass, we still have a Cutlass Supreme which is like, a seventy-seven. Uh-huh. Then we have a Cutlass Sierra and we've had the ninety-eight. Uh-huh. So, but I don't know, we'll, we're going to be in the market for a car, probably in the next year and the financing is always something we consider, you know, the four percent or when they give good financing through the, the motor company. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, I don't know what we're going to buy. I always thought I would like to try a foreign made car, but, boy, with all the auto workers being laid off, makes me feel guilty Well So, uh, my son over in Shreveport, uh, sold Porsches, Audis, Mazdas and Volkswagons for ten years and that was one of the deciding factors in getting the Mazdas. Oh. Uh, so, uh, the first foreign car that we had was a, a seventy-seven M G, M G B Oh the, Was British racing green, with real wire wheels and a hard top and a soft top. Ooh, boy. And, uh, I drove it mostly. I'll bet it was hard to part with that. And, Yeah, it really was. My husband was in the Air Force and we got transferred to Okinawa. Oh. So, uh, we had to sell it. which really tore me up Oh, yeah. Because, uh, it, it it was great fun. And then, uh, when we got to Okinawa, well, we bought a second hand, we, uh, we decided that, uh, we had this, uh, sixty-five Oldsmobile and it, and it was just too big, so we, we sold it to a fellow who was coming back to the States and we got a little Fiat, uh, and a, and the little, uh, forty horse power Mazda, four door sedan. Oh. So what do you think about caring for older folks Dale? Well, I think, uh the elderly is a really neat population to care for. Uh-huh. They've got a lot of special needs and at the same time, uh, the majority of them don't want to give up the independence that they have. Right, very definitely. And so you've got a real balance to make there. Uh-huh. What about you? Well, I'm thinking about it more in terms of my parents that are starting to get old. They aren't really that old, but they are, sort of wearing out. My mamma is a dialysis patient Uh-huh. and she is only about sixty-four, but she's had some pretty close calls and my daddy has to drive her to dialysis now and so she's phasing out ounds like and, but she's also a very, very, very independent person and doesn't like having having people, uh, not being able to do things for herself when she wants to Uh-huh. uh, I know they certainly don't want to be in a nursing home, but my daddy keeps talking about it. I don't, I couldn't possibly, couldn't never see him in a nursing home. ery faint. And my grand daddy also doesn't like, wouldn't want to be in a nursing home. He's ninety, I think right on ninety right now Oh really. and he's living by himself. My grand mamma died a couple of years ago Oh, okay. so but, he's, you know, as long as you can have the families take care of the people, I'd like to see them stay at home. Yeah, but it gets hard. My, my grandmother is in her mid eighties Uh-huh. and she's, uh, suffering from, uh, well, uh, progressive Alzheimer's Disease Uh-huh. so she doesn't remember anybody Right. and, uh, she remembers things, but they are things back whenever she was real young Right. and so, with, she was living by herself but my, uh, uncle has moved in with her to take care of her Uh-huh. and it's creating a lot of problems. Right, especially for your uncle I bet. Oh yes. Yes. Now a friend of mine who was studying social work here in Philadelphia worked for an adult day care program for mostly for patient's with Alzheimer. Do they have anything like that in Dallas. In Dallas, uh, yeah. I've, I've heard of several things and they are really neat programs to be able to do if you can link up with them, but sometimes it's hard to either find the connections to get them in or, uh, to be able to get them there for the day program and pick them up. Right. So they are pretty limited. Right. Oh, another interesting thing, another good friend of mine who got her degree in social gerontology well had a job for a while where she went around to to folks and had them, sort of kicked them in the pants to make them take good care of their older relatives. To make sure that they would take care of their responsibilities. Oh really. Uh-huh. I don't think that was mainly with Alzheimer's patients, but just patients, people in general who were not as independent as they use to be. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, it, it's, it's a really, day care programs are really neat, you know and if the, if the people are able and and can get up and move and everything like that, that is one of the best things to do, but I think the hardest thing to do is whenever you've got a person who's mentally very alert and active and their body just hasn't kept up with them Uh-huh ery faint. Right. and I think that's in a way it's more, some, an area where some of the day care, uh, programs have left off Uh-huh. because you really kind of have to be a little bit mobile to be able to do those. Right to, uh, get there and to participate in the activities. Right. Cause I know, there's one not too far from from me here in Dallas. Uh, and they have ceramics and pottery and needle work and sports. Right. Right. But if your vision is gone and you have arthritis real badly, That's true. You can't play those things. Yeah, you can't do it. But you can sing songs and, uh and tell stories about the old times. Well, that's true. I guess, you know, you were talking about your, was it your grand mother that was having Alzheimer uh, being able to tell old stories. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. You can perhaps get a group of people that aren't too far along with Alzheimer talking about the old times and enjoying it themselves that way. And they love to recollect. I mean they just, you know, and they will just go on and on with these stories and they have such a memory. Do they like to listen to other people recollect though? My grandmother doesn't She, she wants to to tell you about her story over again so Right. which is fine, you know, so, Well, that is good because we, Um, so what do you think? Um, I lived, I lived in Sweden for two years. Uh-huh. And in Sweden they have socialized medicine. And so I saw some of the good and also I saw some of the bad that results from such a program. Uh-huh. Uh, some of the, some of the good obviously that nobody has to worry about health care. Right. So it's a very, it's a very, uh, comfortable, I mean our people are very comfortable in the sense that, you know, there's no medical emergency that's going to make you destitute for life. Right. Um, the bad was more apparent I think at least for me because I think it affected people's lives on, in a way that you could see. One, one thing that I noticed is it's very, very convenient to be alcoholic in Sweden. Oh, really? Because it's treated as a disease. Now I don't know if that necessarily has to be part of socialized medicine, but, uh, if you're, if you're alcoholic, then you're treated as if you're on disability, long-term disability and so there was very little incentive for people to get out of that. Huh. Also, um, another thing that, that I noticed that was very strange, I was, uh, I would go down all these, uh, uh, I remember this one row of houses and they were, uh, row houses or townhouses, all connected together so it was like lower middle-class housing. Uh-huh. Well, it would be lower middle-class housing here. It's probably middle-class housing there. Uh-huh. Um, and there was a taxi driver that lived in one of these and there was a doctor that lived in one of these. The one guy was a doctor and one was a taxi driver, and so their, their incomes were about the same. Huh. Whereas here, there is a great incentive to be a doctor because there's a great financial reward. Right. And that, that didn't exist in Sweden. Right. And, uh, overall I their, their health care suffered fair amount from just the fact that the doctor salaries were lower and it was, it was less professional and it was treated more, like a, like a taxi driver type job, then a, then a doctor type job. Yeah. that is, uh, that is something I've heard. Uh, I had a friend, uh, that I worked with that was from Sweden and that was, uh, probably the, the major concern I have is that, you know, we are leading in the technology realm of, of medicine just because it is such a great incentive to, to get into, uh, the medical field, but at the same time it's real hard. I mean my husband works for a company that provides insurance and so, you know, I'm real, you know, it's like well, you know, you know, there's got to be better ways, you know, to do some things but, you know, I hate to, uh, the, the competition, in a lot of ways is, is wonderful just because you can choose your doctor and, and, uh, they have to compete to be, to be good and to be knowledgeable. But at the same time, there's a, you know, they're regulating themselves and, and the hospitals are charging just enormous amounts for products that they don't have to pay very much for. My, I have a brother who's a vet and for something that he can get, you know, wholesale and I'm sure they can get a lot cheaper because they, they, hospitals buy in such a bulk rate, um Right. you know, they could charge you twenty dollars for a dollar fifty item and that's ridiculous. And I don't think that is, that is, uh, abnormal in any means to be doing things like that. And, You don't think it's abnormal? I don't think it's abnormal for hospitals to be doing that at all Oh, I see. You're not saying it's right, you're just saying it's common. yeah. And so it's, I think, to me I think, uh, something that's going to help our medical, uh, arena is for, um, and I don't know how to, I don't know how to do this but I think people are too lawsuit happy. And I mean things will happen and, and you've got to, uh, keep up or you've got to realize that, you know, it is just men or women that are, that are making, um, decisions and they will make mistakes and you know, if people, you know, there are some people that I'm sure make mistakes because they just don't keep on top of it, but there are other things that just happen that you can't, you know, you can't say, you know, well, if you had just done this, you know, things would have done differently, and, um, I don't know. I, I think the fact that malpractice has gone up I think has raised our prices just dramatically. Um, in the, in the last number of years Yes. and I think that's something that if, if they could work on the cause of that and, it's, uh, I'll start off here. Uh, I don't know. I get, probably, most of my information either from the newspaper or from C N N. Uh, I like C N N because it, uh, you know, repeats it, well HEADLINE NEWS repeats every half hour but it makes it really convenient cause I keep a rather hectic schedule Right, yeah. and, uh, but the newspaper provides a little bit of depth that you can't really get from, Yeah. I, I think I'd agree. A, a similar method of getting the news with me too. It's, uh, uh, C N N has been a welcome addition to the T V scene here in the, last, uh, number of years. Uh, prior to cable, you know, you didn't get much news off of normal, uh, television broadcasts. Right. Uh, just usually pretty local in, in nature and, and I like, uh, C N N because you get some world, world events too uh, which is not too common on, on the other format, newspapers, and so forth. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah. I know, the, my only major objection is that, uh, I don't think American media spends enough, uh, attention on, on our closest neighbors like Mexico and Canada. Uh, That, that's true, you know. You hardly ever see, uh, headline articles about the, uh, either the economics or, or other news events going on in either of those countries. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, whereas if you pick up a, a European paper, you know, uh, it, all the surrounding countries, Soviet Union, and everything has, uh, major news, uh, articles in them. Right. Yeah. I mean, you know, Canada has gone through a lot of problems now with, with Quebec and, and everything and, uh, it's amazing that, you know, I, I listen to D C area and the WASHINGTON POST, you know, I mean the most they'll give it is the back of the A section. Yeah. Uh, you know. I'm, I'm currently living in Dallas and it, it won't even give it the back section . You just, never see, you just never see anything about it, uh, which is a shame because you go to other countries, uh, and, and they carry quite a bit about the U S on the other hand. And if you go up to, uh, Canada, those people are usually pretty, uh, familiar with the politics going on and and the news U S Uh-huh. and we're pretty, uh, limited in our understanding of, of leaders up in Canada or Mexico. Yeah, definitely. You just don't know what's going on. Yeah. I'd, I, every once in awhile, I have to travel overseas and lately I've taken the, taken a little shortwave radio, uh, around and picking up the B B C and it's sort of like, uh, a C N N too. You you can tune into some stations Uh-huh. and you get some, like thirty minute summaries of, of news events. Uh, I occasionally get into some of the middle eastern, uh, area and that's the only way you can tell what's going on at all . There's not much in the way of television in some of those places. Right. Uh, but that's a good point about, about the neighboring countries. I hadn't really thought about it but I guess you don't think about it cause you don't hear it. Right. Exactly. Yeah. I, uh, spent this past summer up in Canada. Uh, well part of it, touring. And, uh, you know, I was amazed cause I'd pick up a local paper and I'd read about all of these, you know, really interesting things going on. There's some serious talk about whether there's actually going to be a, a Canada, you know, in the next five years. You know, because of the problems with Quebec Yeah. and I had never heard any of that before. Yeah, you know, there was, a, a, what is it called, is it Meech Lake Accord? Uh-huh. Or, or, that's just something, uh, I'd say ninety percent of the people here would never have heard of and I think that I heard of it about the first time when I was up in Calgary a couple of years ago and, you know, picked up a, a paper and started reading a little bit more detail about it. And, and came it was a big thing going on there and I came back here and nothing in the papers. Right, right. I didn't see a thing about it. So it's, uh, we've got a long ways to go, I guess. It's improved. And like I say, with C N N and, and, uh, the cable news. Even, even there's, uh, uh, it's it's semireligious in some respects. But what is it? It's, uh, I mean it's news is not, not that way, uh, oh, I'm trying to think of the channel. The, the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR. Oh, yeah. Uh, I, it surprised me. I've caught it a few times and they, they do some pretty good news. Uh, seemingly unbiased news broadcasts. Uh uh, the, the title of the network is sort of surprising. Uh-huh. You'd think it would carry mostly religious but it, it doesn't seem to. So I'll flip through and listen to it once in awhile too, uh, and catch something maybe a little different than, than C N N might be covering. Uh, some more interest type topics in, in other countries. But it's kind of world, world, uh, network too. Yeah. Uh, I, I guess I've never seen the T V show. I used to get the, uh, A, uh, Golden Retriever. Ooh, that's one of my favorite kinds of dogs. Yeah. Is it really? How long have you had it? We've had him for, let's see, he just had his fourth birthday. Fourth birthday. Yeah, and we got him when he was about eight weeks old and, uh, he's pretty okay, we like him. Does he shed a lot? He does. That's the one thing we don't like about him. In fact, we threaten him in the summertime that we might just shave all of his hair off. He'd probably look pretty funny if we did that. How much does he weigh now? He, actually, he just went to the vet yesterday to get his shots and everything, and they put him on the scale and he's up to ninety four now. Oh. But he's not a real, he's not a real tall, uh, dog for a Golden Retriever. He's kind of stocky, shorter and stockier. Um. But, Is he good with family? He is. It's, uh, just me and my wife and, uh, he's kind of our temporary substitute for having kids. We treat him like our kid right now so he's spoiled rotten. Yeah, I can understand that Because I, Get away with that a little bit more with pets than you can with kids Uh-huh. How about you? Well, we have a cat who's also about four years old. Oh. And he's our spoiled child right now, too Uh-huh. And he also sheds a lot. Yeah. But, we, uh, we hope to get a Golden Retriever someday. But we figure we'll get the kids and then the, the dog That's probably a good idea. They're good though. Uh, have you ever had a Retriever before? No, but my husband had one when he was growing up. Because I, I find that they're good around other animals like cats and other dogs. They don't tend to get real jealous or territorial. They like to play. Um. Especially with the kids. They love to play with kids. Is, is your dog an inside and outdoors? No, he's pretty much an inside dog. Um. He stays in. We, we're kind of in a, not a real busy neighborhood, but more so than I'd want him to be out too much and he doesn't like it if we tie him outside. Oh, really? He's really a wimp. And when it comes to being alone, uh, now if you give him the freedom to walk around and go wherever he wants, he likes that, but he does not like to be tied outside. He'll, he'll just bark and bark and bark. Um, when he gets outside, does, in, does he run away and then eventually come back? No, he's, uh, taken to the training pretty well and, uh, he knows where our yard is and we have a pretty small yard, but he seems to know the boundaries. Um. And he usually is good about staying within them, although our next door neighbors have a dog, too and, uh, she, she is good friends with my dog. Oh, yeah? And so he often gets to smelling her scent and will go over there to sniff around and stuff but, he's pretty good. He stays out of the street and, uh, if I catch him I call him and he comes back. So he, he's pretty good about taking to commands and and things. Um. Did you bring him to a doggy obedience school or just train him on your own No we never did. and, I, I trained him on my own and, uh, this is the first dog I've had all my own as an adult. Uh-huh. We've had kid, or we've had dogs when I was a kid, but this, this is the first one that I, uh, took in, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get it all right the first time, but, uh, he, he seems to have picked it up pretty well. I never really to hit him or anything. Uh-huh. Just, you know firm tone of voice and those sorts of things. Huh. Really? I, I see other people out there and they hit their dogs and try to, and, and those horrible collars that they put on them with invisible fencing, least I, Invisible what? Invisible fencing, have you heard of that? No, what is that? It's, uh, it's a system you can put in your yard where you bury these little, uh, transducers or emitters in your yard at the perimeter Oh. and then they wear a collar with a special little attachment on it and if they get too close to that perimeter, it it zaps them. Oh. Boy. Yeah I'd be afraid to walk around if I was that dog Yeah, well, a friend of mine at work here said that he tried it with his dog and he wanted to see what he was subjecting his dog to so he held on to the collar and he walked out to the perimeter. He said it was a good jolt. Oh, really? Yeah, and so, I, I don't take too well to, to those sorts of training techniques. Um. I don't think they're always necessary. If you put enough patience into, Yeah, just be consistent and diligent with it Uh-huh. and, um, It's, uh, is your cat an indoor cat or an outdoor cat? Yeah he's indoor and all declawed because I know the, uh, average life span of an outdoor cat is eighteen months. Somebody just told me that Yeah. because of the leukemia? Yeah, that and also just, uh, getting hit, I guess, or getting beat up. And the average life span of an indoor cat is eighteen years Wow. So, Quite a difference. Yeah. What, uh, what kind of climate do you have? Well, uh, it's, we just moved recently so now we're in the, uh, Dallas area and it's very very nice Oh. and, The only experience I have, I don't have any children but I've, uh, I was a baby-sitter in high school. And then, just recently, after we were married, I baby-sat for a dentist while she worked. And I just, uh ... Yeah. That's the only thing I've ever done also, is baby-sit. Is it? ery faint. But, uh, I've heard people that I work with talk about, you know, child care. Especially, I guess it's even harder on single mothers. Oh, yeah. The expense. Yeah. Having to pick up the kid by, you know, six o'clock or it's five dollars for every minute you're late. And stuff like that Uh-huh. Which is understandable. I mean, these people can't, you know, stay there till eight o'clock because somebody has to work late Just sit around That that's true. but See the lady I did it for, that's why she picked me is because I would go to her house so she wouldn't have to get her little girl up. So she could sleep in. And, uh, then she could be at home and then I'd bring her to my house for a couple of hours if I wanted too or whatever. But, uh, she paid, I think it was two or, I think it was about two fifty, three dollars a hour and by the time I paid taxes on it, it, I was getting like eighty cents and that wasn't counting food or gas or anything. Oh, no. Yeah. It's hardly worth your time. Yeah. Yeah. That's pretty bad. The only time I baby-sat was in high school and it, you know, of course you don't I didn't pay taxes on that, so. Right. It was easy, you know, go over to some, uh, it was these people that lived in our neighborhood and I'd just go over there. Every Thursday night, they went to the theater. They had permanent tickets and they'd give me, it was supposed to be two dollars an hour for two kids, but they would usually give me like five dollars more at the end of the night. Oh, wow. And, I mean, they'd, you know, it was great. I'd go over there and there would be like, uh, you know, there's, we have these videos over here. Watch, whatever you want. And there's some Oreos in the, in the cupboard. And there's some Coke and you know, just help yourself to anything. So it was, it was, you know, the best, Wow. that was a long time ago and that was only for a few years. Just once a week. Yeah. But I don't know. I think people that treat their baby-sitters like that get a lot better baby-sitters. Oh, yeah. That's true. And they stick around for longer. Because I mean after I figured out I was getting eighty cents an hour, I said bag it. And I quit you know. Yeah. I was just like but I'm wasting my time. Yeah. I really liked the little girl and everything but I thought ... She does take up, and they do take up a lot of your time. That ... Yeah. Yeah, I ... They're very demanding Uh-huh. Well, and she was really spoiled. They didn't make her eat anything she didn't want or anything. So, basically, they fed her cookies for breakfast and lunch. And the mom was a dentist and I was just like, we've got to quit this. And she's like no I don't want her to starve. But I don't want to make her eat something she doesn't want to eat Oh, shoot. My mom would be like, uh eat it or don't eat anything. Eat this or . That's right. So, I can see the concerns on what different people want. Yeah. Because some, I mean, you know, if I was setting up a daycare, there would be so many needs you would have to customize your service to. Yeah. Uh-huh. Cause some parents won't put up anything. Where others would. I think, yeah, I think the best way to go would just be to, to be able to do it out of your basement. Uh-huh. And just have like at the most, like ten kids. And all from maybe people that you know type of thing. No. Instead of trying actually to set up a daycare where you don't know the people coming in and ... That's true. I, I'd love to do it. But I just don't trust people now. There's too many lawsuits. Yeah. I just, I think it's a bigger risk than ... More than what it's worth? Yeah. Yeah. It would scare me. With, I don't know, cause I'm sure some of them have good reason to sue but I think a lot of them are just, you know, they're negligent and they get happy about money and they just want to sue you. Yeah. Well, yeah. That's, yeah, exactly. When you have like a Kindercare or something set up and when they get greedy or whatever, that's when they have maybe one assistant to twenty kids or something Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. And that's just, you know, you can't watch that many little kids getting into things at one time That's impossible. You know, you never know what they're going to get into. I have a girlfriend that works at a daycare and she takes her little girl with her and, I mean, she told me about half the people that they hire and half of them she'd like to turn them into the state And that's the people that are working there, you know. And then she would like to turn in half of the parents that drop their kids off because of the condition the kids are in, you know. Oh, that's horrible. Like they'll be in the same clothes they were the day before, the same diaper. Huh. You know, just awful things. And so I don't know. I don't have kids but I always think man I just don't know if I could trust anybody. I mean, you just don't know. Yeah. That's yeah, that's a hard thing about it. If, I mean, I I can't foresee myself getting married but if, you know, if I ever wanted to have a kid, how could I work. I mean, I don't think I could trust somebody with my kid either. Unless it was a friend that, you know, did it in ounds like an airplane their house that I knew well. Oh, yeah. That's true. Yeah. I just, I couldn't do it I don't think. It would just rip me apart, I think I don't know. Yeah. Just not knowing. Yeah, just besides the fact that, you know, your, when your child gets out of school at three o'clock and then has to wait. What do you usually wear to, Well, let's see. It turns out that, uh, I work at TEKTRONIX and it's a very, uh, low key place as far as dress goes. Uh-huh. You just wear, uh, let's see. When I first came here, I wore suits but after a while I got, uh, found out that that wasn't all that important. I'm an engineer. Oh, I see. And, uh, so, I get to wear just, uh, how shall I say it, uh, walking shoes as opposed to dress shoes and well walking, how shall I say it, kind of like Avia, uh, walking shoes, uh, Uh-huh. Well, that's nice comfortable stuff. Yes. Open shirt, open at the neck, you know, no tie. Wow. And, uh, just, uh, reasonable looking, how shall I say it, uh, sports clothes or some guys wear, some people even wear Levis. Wow. That's nice. Now, being from Philadelphia, I don't expect your dress code to be quite that relaxed, right? Well actually right now I'm a full time college student so my dress code is very, very (( )). Oh, okay. Yeah, I usually wear jeans and stuff to classes or shorts in the summertime. But over the summers I've had a job, internships with the newspaper. Uh-huh. And that's so, generally then I dress, you know, nicer. Usually nice summer slacks or more, sometimes skirts, stuff like that. So, then it's still, you know, the emphasis is on comfort a lot because it's a lot of walking and coming out of office but you still have to have a professional imagine kind of thing. To go out to meet people and interview people and stuff like that Yes. so. Yeah, well I, uh, I just recently applied for a different job in the company here and so I decided well I'd wear a suit. Oh, really. Uh-huh. And it, it was very interesting, uh, like I said, most of the people at, at this company don't wear suits. Uh, most of the engineers and technical people are just very casual, almost the same clothes that, that you'd wear to school. Wow. That must be nice atmosphere then. Well, it has been. Although the new president and C E O of the company is from a much more formal eastern, uh, background. Oh. And so the result is that, uh, so anyway I wore this suit and I went over to, uh, uh, to one of the buildings that has a lot more of the financial people in it Uh-huh. and it, and I, I was almost converted because, uh, the effect of that suit on the way people reacted and responded to me as opposed to the, uh, just to kind of, how shall I say it, they know you're there but they don't uh, you don't, there's no notice at all. But when I wore a suit that day, uh, it was obvious that people didn't know whether I was a worker bee or a manager. Wow. So people, uh, how shall I say it, made a, made much more effort to notice you, acknowledge your presence, say hello and, uh, things like that, so. That's interesting. It's like a mini, little study there Yeah. That's really interesting. And so this dress for success thing, I think is, uh, by and large I've, I'm kind of, uh, convinced that, uh, by that, just that one, uh, uh, experience and then having talked to several other people that, that, uh, unless you're in a, an environment where they're going to make fun of, of, of better clothes, that better clothes always pay off. Right. Huh. That's interesting. Doesn't mean they have to be, uh, how shall I say it, they don't have to be the, the most, uh, the absolute best Uh-huh. but, uh, a little dressing a little bit above the standard, I think, would, uh, pay off so I'm in the process of telling my wife we got to go shopping for clothes again. That's neat, that's neat And, uh, I, I don't know, now I, I know eastern, now the other thing we do here, of course, is a single, not quite a single climate. We have, uh, we do have some snow in the wintertime and it can be quite warm in the summertime. Uh-huh. Not hot like, uh, I lived in the midwest for a while. Oh. And I know that, uh, you know, it can be freezing cold in the wintertime, and hot and, uh, sticky in the summertime. Uh-huh. We don't have that much. It's, uh, it's a very mild climate. Oh, well that's nice. That's good for the clothes budget, I would imagine. Yes, it is. Because here, gosh, we had, uh, the winter hasn't been bad this winter. It's, it it's only snowed maybe once or twice but it's been cold. Low twenties, let's say, and then the summer gets up to eighties, nineties so, You interested in woodworking? Yeah. Actually, I, uh, I guess I am Um, it just seems kind of funny that this is a topic of discussion. Uh, I do, uh, some, uh, woodworking myself Uh, in fact, I'm in the middle of a project right now making a bed for my son. Um. What kind of It's, uh, It's, uh, it's, uh, plywood, uh, face, I guess. pine? But I cut it out in the shape of a crayon box and then I painted, uh, about eight different, uh, colors, uh, you know, the crayons that are sticking up, it will be the headboard Uh-huh. I guess he's young. and then, yes He's about five and a half years old. Oh, he'll be delighted. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Now I just have to finish it though. I got, uh, it got delayed for a little bit and, uh, because of work and now, uh, I've got to jump back in and finish the, because I've got it all cut out, it's all, uh, I've done most of the coloring but I've got to go a second layer with the yellow. Did you do it with a jigsaw or do you have powered, you know, a, Uh, yeah. Uh, I did, uh, jigsaw, uh, and the, uh, regular straight saw for some of it. Um. So yeah. to do the, uh, the turn cut. Uh, how about yourself? Well I'm, I am interested in woodworking. I don't have lots of tools. Our local schools have adult education in the evening Oh. uh, and I use their tools and, some of their guidance. I'm an artist. Oh, okay. And I'm very handy and, you know, if I touch it, it turns into something us-, usually. That's great. What, what type of art do you focus on? I have a Master's degree and, and my projects had to do with acrylic painting, but I'm really interested in the crafts. Huh. I make stain glass. I've done some silver jewelry making and I kind of, once I get you know, really pretty good at something, I want to try something else Yeah. Kind of jack of all trades, master of none. Yeah, well no, actually, I get good enough to sell it or have people say oh wow, you didn't buy it, you made it. That's great! And then I, it's like well the thrill is gone so let's do something else. Right. You want to, uh, explore a new field or, or, Well, yeah, I, I'm signed up for a class in pottery making because I've never tried that yet Huh. So you have a M F A in, in what division of art? but, Well, I, I actually have a Masters of art and it's in art education. Oh, okay. So, I'm a licensed teacher but jobs being what they are, I substitute teach Yeah. and that way I have time for my kids too. And I've been fortunate that I can afford to work part-time. I don't know how long that's going to last Oh, yeah. And, uh, they're cutting back, so I don't go in all that often but I've been real interested in some of those cute country, country kind of things. Uh, I see stuff in craft galleries for five hundred dollars and I say, oh no and , and I go and I make it. Yeah. That's how I started jewelry making. I, I love to cook. Oh, that's great. And I saw a silver necklace that had these little teeny weeny silver spatulas and, and, and knife and, and a fork and all kinds of stuff and I went and I signed up for class because then again, you get, you know, get someone to guide you and you get the tools you don't feel like buying. Exactly. And I made a necklace that I saw in a gallery for three hundred twenty dollars It took me a lot of time but it didn't, Oh, yeah. but if it cost me twenty dollars, you know, and then I, And your time, then you're that much farther ahead Yeah. Then I saw a, one of these country looking wood watermelons. It was a solid watermelon with a wedge cut out of it. Right. I've seen them and then the watermelon, the red with the, with the seeds painted in and, Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. That's neat. I went there, we have Home Depot out here. I don't know if you've heard of it. I went and I got two six foot inch thick boards turned into a watermelon. Yes. We have one. I had to cut into slabs and build up this big square and turn it on the lath and cutting that wedge out was no joke Huh. Oh, I'm, I'm sure. We did it on a, I had a, uh, I did it through Adult Ed again. A band saw? What? I did it through Adult Ed again. Uh-huh. And the teacher was one of these negative people, oh that's dangerous, we can't do that, we just can't do that. And I'm going well how about this way? I, I want to do that, that was the plan here Right. So we did get the wedge cut out by building some kind of a cradle for it. A cradle for it. Yeah, so you can steady it and then, you used a handsaw or a backsaw? Well, it, the instructions in the book I had said use a coping saw but there's no coping saw big enough to, for a fourteen inch wide watermelon that Right, right. and he wanted me to do it by hand with a regular saw. I said I'm not that steady, it's not going to happen. Yeah. So we built a cradle for it and we got once it was turned, we got one one cut out on the table saw, on the radial saw, by getting the other one out without the slice now flying in your face was something you had to think about Right. So, Now did you cut a quarter wedge in this? Uh, I'd say it's about an eighth. You know Well, I, I'm envisioning, uh, uh, a a watermelon like a log and then, uh, what I've seen of this kind before is you have the, uh, the, uh, it's, uh, if you're looking at adding on you have, Up here in Rochester, uh, we're the second cleanest metropolitan city as far as air pollution. I think Grand Rapids was number one. Uh, we really don't have too much of a problem as far as, uh, industry since we're pretty technologically based as far as our industry in the city here. But we do have the same problem a lot of other areas up here in the northeast have and that is the effects of acid rain. coming basically from coal plants in Ohio and Illinois and Indiana. Right. Well, that's true. Actually down here we don't have a big problem with, uh, with air pollution. Mainly because we don't have anybody to to either side of us. Uh, which helps out a lot as far as that goes. I wouldn't even necessarily thought of that except when I lived up in Boston and up in, uh, you know, debates would come up up there in Massachusetts and, you know, in that area over, uh, air pollution and their attitude's, basically, well, prevailing ins, winds are to the east so why should we have to worry. Yeah. I've, I've, uh, was in Los Angeles once and that was quite a difference as far as pollution goes. I mean you couldn't really see that much Every once in a while we have these air inversions, the weather inversions Oh, yes nothing, and then it gets hazy around here but they're really, we don't have a big problem with it. I think that, uh, what most of the people here in New York state are going after right now is, it's, it's the, uh, ongoing acid rain problem. Especially out in the, uh, uh, Adirondack areas where, you know, the lakes are becoming, uh, changing the acidity of the lakes and we're having problems now because the fish are dying and certain acidic loving plants, uh, or alkaline liking plants are not lasting anymore because the soil levels, the p H is changing as this acid rain continues to fall. Right. And I know that there's been battles over the states up here. Uh, you know, Governor Mario going after, you know, governors of Ohio and and Indiana to fix what's going on down there. I remember when I was in Florida, the only problem was that it seemed like it may, it wasn't really pollution, just the steamy weather . Oh absolutely, yeah, just muggy. So, yes I think, yeah, I think you're right. Our most pollute substance down here is just water. But I I, I, I think, you know, the biggest causes even then a lot of times are, uh, uh, like when I was up in Boston just all the cars. You know, just all over the place. Yeah it, You just got a lot of, you know, a lot of pollution from those and, uh, you know, if you don't have a wind, it sticks around. Oh, yeah. I, you know, I was in Boston once and I remembered seeing some of these things coming through at rush hour, even with the Tee. Uh, just this, it looked like billions of cars massing Absolutely. and if they sit there and then there's nowhere for the air to go. I mean, yeah, that's what's in, you know, Los Angeles is, I think that's biggest problem because when I was in Los Angeles for a time, it's all, you know, from Los Angeles to San Diego it's like all city. Right. And there's really, there's nowhere for this to be absorbed, really. Uh, tree planting sometimes can handle, you know, stopping some of the air pollution and that and help but if you have nowhere to do anything. That's, that's very true. Uh, you know, of course then when, when you're not recycling, you've got these incendiary plants and stuff, that can give you some pretty disgusting stuff going up in the atmosphere. But I, you know, you've got, you've got the industry, you've got that, and you got the cars. I think the cars are where, where it's at right now as far as pollution goes, air pollution I mean. Yeah. I, you know, Florida doesn't seem to be, at least maybe Miami, but I, I, uh, you know, Fort Lauderdale I, I don't know what the big industries are down there, uh, but, you know, up here we have Kodak Right. and that's the worst polluter. They put, uh, uh, you can smell ether in the air sometimes It keeps the neighborhoods happy I guess. I guess so. Uh, cause they clean the, uh, the lenses for cameras and they, they make film here and they're the worst offender but it's, you know, it's under so much control. You know, sulphur dioxide is the big emittant from them but that's really getting under control now. Right. I, you know, I don't know in air what they do. Uh, I, I haven't run across any major pollutants down there that I've, I've really seen a lot of, you know, about. Uh, I, I know I've seen like, uh, my grandparents live in Corpus Christi, Texas and I know they've, there's a lot of refineries down there and that, that's some pretty potent stuff they put up in the air. I, but I don't know how, uh, you know, there's a difference in what you can smell and what you, uh, you know, what's bad. Be interesting to see when, as Mexico develops industrially whether, you know, without,