Blog Anniversary; Brrrr! Wind Chill; Life Insurance; Valentine's Day and new gift-giving days

The first entry in the journal was made on this day in 1999.

A morning of pewter-tinted skies with a cold mesh-like drizzle. Yesterday, the temp was in the 80's; today, the mercury grudgingly neared 45.

The interstate was one long ragged line of headlight-blazing cars mousing north and south. At least all I had to do was cross over it, not get on it.

Breakfast was the customary sausage and biscuit with a large coke from Mickey D's. Juggling bookbag, coke and keys, I shambled across the parking lot, into the building, down one floor and unlocked the door to my "spacious" window less, basement office. Just me and the blind cavefish. (Said office happens to be in an inter dimensional void between the women's restroom and an electrical closet. On more than one occasion, I'm convinced that I've seen Captain Kirk fade in and out in the hall.)

[At lunch] And I did get to read a funny article in "Wired" about the web off-beat humor bag "The Onion." "Wired" says "The Onion" can be vulgar, insensitive, sexist, antipapist and even offensive. Mentioned was given to a number of headlines from it:

"God Answers Prayers of Paralyzed Little Boy" " 'No,' Says God"

" '98 Homosexual-Recruitment Drive Nearing Goal"

"Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia: Cities of Sjlbvdnzy, Grznt To Be First Recipients" "Operation Vowel Storm"

I've also installed "Weather Bug" as Firefox feature. "Weather Bug' sits atop Firefox and offers info on temps, wind speed, alerts, advisories, forecasts, etc. When I clicked on Firefox, the Bugs flashed an alert which in turn said, "Non-precipitation alert for Rankin County." Which I guess means no rain. But since when do you list an alert for a non-event.

I'm way past being irritated with the dire predictions that media provides. Especially on TV, with tiny maps in the corner of the screen and crawls across the bottom that are usually on top of titles or closed captioning info. I sometimes think that if a grocery chain is having a bad week they bribe someone to predict an ice storm for the next day, so all the consumers will "storm" the aisles.

When I first went through mother's papers, there was a reference to a life insurance policy she had as an employee of Sears. But there were about a dozen policies each with a different amount, and many notes that she said she thought Sears had discontinued the polices.

I put it aside at the time, and didn't do anything with it after her death. Primarily because of her notes. But also because I knew if it was valid, and I attempted to collect, it would be seized in the bankruptcy process.

Wednesday, a newsletter for the retirees' group came in the mail, and included a long list of telephone numbers of whom to contact about what. So I called the benefits number, and miracle of miracles, the policy is indeed active. The rep said she would send a letter to the beneficiaries on file indicating the benefits amount and requesting a copy of the death certificate. She indicate she was not allowed to reveal the amount over the phone.

I'm not sure what the amount will be, but this is good news.

I was thinking of the fact that Valentine's Day is the one general day, ignoring anniversaries and birthdays, that is most closely tied to a significant other.

But does it not seem that there are an awful lot of "holidays" involving gifts. Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, boss' day, secretary's day, mother's day, father's day, grandparents day. And some folks exchange Easter gifts.

I've decided we need to add some more gift-giving days as follows:

Incarcerated Adult Day
The perfect time for providing a gift to those you know who are incarcerated which means physically behind bars which may include city, county and regional jails, holding cells, federal penal institutions, and penal colonies. But this does NOT include those out on bond or those connected to an electronic tracking device.

(One of my favorite scenes from "Veronica Mars" is when Logan is under arrest for something or other and has a tracking device attached to his leg. He holds his leg up and says, "...and it gives me 24-hour access to Martha Stewart.")

Children from your significant other's previous relationships
Includes the obvious step child, but also the child connected to the significant other's previous significant other. For example the son of the SO's previous SO. Look at some of the relationships in Alicia Silverstone's "Clueless" for examples.

Those charged with crimes against humanity
Well gosh, these folks have a lot to bear, so why not brighten their day with a little something. Photos of the killing fields or mass graves are always nice and will make an attractive wall covering for their cell.

The truly incompetent executive who best exemplifies the Peter Principle
For example, the fairly decent middle manager who is now a vice-president and knows nothing about what it means to be a vice president. A copy of the life of Spiro Agnew is an excellent choice. This should be the kind of person who would say of Fred Astaire: "Can't act, can't sing, dances a little." Or "Who will go to see a movie about two faggoty cowboys?" Another gift suggestion: a giant Venus flytrap.

Racially minority professional performers or athletes who rant about how they hate gays
These poor stupid, misguided people deserve only the best: a large barbed butt plug and a year's supply of free tickets to the nearest Drag Queen venue.