Mumbling About What I Saw On TV

       On our local nightly news tonight it was reported that a teacher here had been arrested for selling drugs to an undercover cop.  A few months ago, a local teacher was arrested for having an inappropriate relationship with a group of teenage boys.    I live in a fairly small city, in Texas, in the belt buckle of the Bible belt, for Pete's sake (no, I have no idea who Pete is...that is just what we say here, sometimes.)  I am just stunned.  I realize I am an old fogey, and it has been 4 decades since I last toodled down the halls of my high school but for the life of me, I can not imagine even one teacher in the school system I attended that would even consider doing such things with students, or selling drugs to anyone.....or doing anything that might harm a student.  I may just be hopelessly naive but when I think back on my teachers I just see goodness.  I wonder what the world is going to be like for my grandchildren in a decade or two.

        On ET or Insider Edition, or one of those type shows that comes on right after the 5 p.m. news where I live, the person was touring the home of Vera Wang......who is worth approximately 100 gazillion million dollars, or there about.   After we saw the beautiful home, the young woman on ET or whatever, said to her co-host something like "and Vera Wang's home was so immaculate....not a piece of mail anywhere or dust on anything."  Well, if I had 100 gazillion million dollars I suspect I would have my mail sent to some manager instead of it stacked on the counter waiting for me to figure out which bill gets lucky enough to be paid this week, and I would have a maid to keep the dust under control. Really?? This was you comment?  I'm going to read a book now.

       As you know, unless you have been under a rock somewhere for the past week or so, Whitney Houston passed from this life. Someone, evidently a family member or friend, took a photo of her in her casket and sold it to the National Enquirer....because, I guess, enquiring minds want to know, and her dignity was worth some dollar amount to a friend.  I have very rigid opinions about someone who would do that....1) take a photo of a corpse first of all (shouldn't one get permission from an adult before one takes their photo in most circumstances...well, she could not give you her permission) and 2) for then selling that photo.  That is bad enough, but now every person, and their kids, who has to go to the grocery store or Walmart this week is going to see that corpse.  I don't want to see it but I know I will because it is a lot like a train wreck....hard not to at least glance, especially when it is on a gossip rag cover 3 feet in front of you as you are wedged in the checkout line waiting your turn.  Besides, I have already seen it on my TV screen before I knew it was going to be the next shot or had a chance to turn it off. 

       Another thing I saw on tv this week when I would have turned it off had I known what was coming up was ... in my view, just horrible.  Before the early evening news a commercial ran ... and has been running but now I know to turn it off.... some politician who is against abortions and feels the need to show us multiple aborted fetuses.  Here I was watching Jeopardy! one minute and then next horrified at the fetuses on the screen.  I am really glad I didn't have my grandsons with me to see that. 

        This has nothing to do with what I saw on TV this week, just seeing that photo of Ms. Houston in her coffin on tv made me think....just so you know, you are not invited to my funeral or to take photos. I have told my kids there will be no funeral.  I do not want anyone taking a photo of my corpse, looking at my corpse, or anything else.  I don't want my kids to spent $15,000 on an expensive coffin, vault, & funeral when I know I will already be gone and I won't appreciate that satin lined coffin.    Currently for $1,000 I can be cremated, which I want done and then instead of spending money on a funeral I want my four kids to go to the mountains in New Mexico, or to the Durango, Colorado area for the weekend, have a wonderful time with each other and their families, tell every funny story they can think of about me, consider that closure and then  just dump my ashes out somewhere in the mountains.  I already have a little wooden box they can put the ashes in and they know where it is.  LOL! It is a box that was on my boss's desk for 20 years.  All during my children's childhood they would come to the library and he or I would take them into his office and let them get a miniature candy bar out of that box.  When he gave it to me when I retired I told my kids I wanted it to be used for my ashes and one of my sons (an adult even) said "what if you still have candy in it???"  He wasn't alarmed that I would be dead, just concerned about any remaining candy, I guess.  I told him well then divide the candy bars up and y'all eat them first.  I imagine I will know I am about to kick the bucket and eat all the candy bars that may be in there before I leave anyway.  But back to my non-funeral.  I want them to play some card games and dominoes for me and everyone have a Dr Pepper, a big bowl of ice cream and some chocolate covered graham crackers and call it good.

     my computer's battery is dying...so bye, and tell me how you feel about seeing those things