Due to family matters, The O Word will not be on the air this morning. Please join me next week at 0700 Mountain Standard Time (’cause we don’t save daylight in the desert – that’s just daft).
Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!
My sister, LeaAnn, passed away yesterday afternoon (10/1/2008) at about 2:15 pm.
I was able to see her, I was able to talk to her briefly, I was able to tell her that I loved her and that I would miss her. It’s still not enough.
Before heading out this morning, I thought I would take a quick peek at the ol’ blogroll, and my first stop was over at BlackFive. Down the page a bit was a link to a NewYorkSlimes piece whining about the common sense that prevailed over the king’s ransom being handed out to failures. Story here.
This part of the story is what caught my eye, and is triggering a bit of a common sense rant:
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., appearing at the White House late Monday afternoon, warned that the failure of the rescue plan could dry up credit for businesses big and small, making them unable to make payrolls or buy inventory.
Maybe I’ve been going about this “business owner” thing all wrong – I thought you bought inventory and paid wages out of the money you made from the service and/or product you provided? You know, collect on the invoice, turn around and pay your employees, buy more inventory, pay the utilities, and the leftover goes in the owner’s pocket or, if he’s smart, into a CONTINGENCY FUND for when someone doesn’t pay the invoice right away…
Obviously, I need to rethink my business model. I need to start “leveraging” my “receivables” and “monetizing” my “books” so I, too, can show false profits and qualify for a government handout.
It is obvious that I am involved in the wrong end of the business world. I need to get into the money supplying end of it, instead of the money using end of it.
Then again, what do I know? I’m just a red necked, bog dwelling hick with no formal ed-uh-muh-cay-shun. The fact that my business runs without a debt probably disqualifies me from belonging to the great herd at the public trough, anyway.
Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!
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Friday evening I got a cab out of dispatch kind of late – a little after 1900 hours, so I had it until about 0700 Saturday morning. I slept most of Saturday, and picked up the Saturday PM cab about 1630. I turned it in Sunday about 0430, went home, took a three hour nap, went to church, went back home, and laid back down about noon. At 1445, my cousin called.
About 25 years ago, my sister LeaAnn (who is seven years older than I am), fought breast cancer to a draw – she survived, but had a mastectomy. About 17 years ago she started an on-again, off-again battle with recurrence. Last April the cancer resurfaced, this time metastasized in her liver, brain, and bones. Friday was her “last” oncology appointment; they did not schedule any more after that.
My cousin (CT) had called to let me know that LeaAnn was at home, on oxygen and pain meds, and resting. I had not planned to go up to Flagstaff to see her before 1445 Sunday afternoon, but ended up going. TMBWitW and MEG stayed home; TMBWitW has month-end closing this week. MEG spent this morning at a friend’s house, and will be there tomorrow and Wednesday. I was at LeaAnn’s house by 1730 Sunday evening. Mom greeted me by looking up at my face (her vision is failing), down at my belly, back up at my face, poking me in the belly and said “Who’s this fat kid?” “Good to see you, too, Mom.”
Another of my sisters (LC) was there with her daughter (ME); I had just missed a niece (CY) and a brother (BK) by an hour or two (they left Flagstaff about the time I left Phoenix), another brother (RC) was still there with his wife (SC) and their daughter (ST), and LeaAnn’s husband (MH) and son (SH) were there. Mom, RC and his family left shortly after I got there. I went in and said hi to LeaAnn, and talked briefly – just long enough to realize that she was in and out of lucidity and the pain meds weren’t keeping her 100% free of pain yet.
I spent the night at her house. This morning LC and ME headed to Tucson to pick up a few things; LC is picking up my third sister, AW, at the airport tonight (flying in from Ohio) and then heading back to Tucson. They will be going back up to Flagstaff Tuesday morning, I will be catching a ride with them. ME is headed back to school and midterms and may rejoin the group later. My older brother, DC, lives in Salt Lake City and may not be able to get down here; he’s been out of work and eating up the savings for a few months now. LC and AW will be coming back through Phoenix late Wednesday evening, and will be dropping me off then. For those keeping track, I may not be active this week until Thursday’s Round Up and Update.
LeaAnn is a fighter. She beat cancer before, and she has not quit fighting. The treatments are not affecting the cancer anymore, but she is still fighting. Right now, cancer has the upper hand, but with God all things are possible. I’m not saying she will be healed, but I’m not saying she won’t. It is His will, not ours. After all the treatments, she looks so tiny.
This morning I talked to LeaAnn again before coming home. She asked what day it was, and I told her it was Monday, September 29, 2008. She said she needed to get up soon because she had to get to work tomorrow. Then she told me that if she said she was tired and needed a nap, it was because she was tired and needed a nap. She wanted to make sure of the date, because she thought it was Tuesday, sometime in June.
I said “No, it’s Monday, September 29.”
“Oh” she said. She seemed puzzled at the date.
I kissed her forehead. “I love you, LeaAnn.”
LeaAnn said, “I love you, too, Cary.”
I got to see my sister today.
Are You Wearing Red?
Today on The O Word we talked about my vacation being over, water temperatures, shaving (shaving?), the Post Turtle appearing on Snopes (along with the obvious leftist bent of snopes.com), the Federal Bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, “Chasing” WaMu, To Debate or Not to Debate?, The Political Ten Commandments courtesy of Richard and how the Diamondbacks have managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Big thank-you to prying1, Gawfer, Candelo, and Rosee for stopping by during the show.
Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!