4th of July

[Murfreesboro]

Glad to hear your expanded business is booming!

[Murfreesboro]

Another happy Fourth of July wish for my friends here at Halloween.biz. Hope all of you enjoy your evening!

[Andybev01]

It was AWESOME, the very definition of ' Cannons to the left of me, cannons to the right of me!', and I didn't have to leave home.

I could hear and somewhat see, an official firework display from over the hill in front of my apartment, at the local Speedway.

But the real show was from all of the neighborhoods around me and downtown, which were of course unauthorized..

Here Is about a minute and a half edit of some of the fireworks that I could capture with my phone.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jz19egf2 ... 88jjd&dl=0

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, you did have a nice view! I discovered I was able to view the civic fireworks from the end of my street almost as well as if I'd driven to a nearby shopping center, so I watched on foot and met some neighbors who were doing the same thing.

My husband and I have decided that one day or even weekend isn't enough celebration for us, so we have declared July "Indeoendence Month" and are celebrating with all kinds of movies, tv shows, and books we have stacked up around here.

[Andybev01]

I leave flags out all summer beginning on memorial day.

It just makes it seem more 'summer-y'.

[Murfreesboro]

I agree, red white and blue from Memorial Day through Labor Day!

[Andybev01]

And out again for Thanksgiving weekend, of course.

I also have a couple of patriotic Christmas ornaments. Like the victorians had.

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, Interesting. I'd like to see them when it's convenient. I don't think I have any patriotic Christmas ornaments. I have one Confederate flag on my tree because I'm Southern, but most people wouldn't count that. I used to have a Revolutionary War drummer boy when I was a kid, but all those ornaments got stolen when my mother died.

Of course, I tend to collect ornaments when I'm on vacation, so I do have quite a few from various far-flung (to me) parts of the US. I guess that's an American celebration of sorts.

I have one small metallic one I really love that I bought when I lived in Texas. It's of an armadillo decorating a Saguaro (sp?) cactus like a Christmas tree. Alas, something about it broke, so I need to get it mended before I can hang it again.

[Andybev01]

Well who in the heck would steal christmas ornaments?!

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, that's a sad tale. When my mother died, I trusted a woman I'd known slightly in high school to house sit for me. The house was in Mississippi, and I was moving from Virginia to Tennessee. My mother actually died in Arkansas, her original home, and was buried there. Keep in mind I'm an only child, and my father had died when I was 7. So, it was an impossibly complicated time for me. I had two children then. One was 5 and the other was about 18 months.

Anyway, this woman turned out to be a con artist, well known to the police in Jackson. She stole everything in that house, furniture, appliances, Christmas ornaments, my old toys (including a very extensive collection of 1960s Barbie stuff, worth thousands of dollars now). She even stripped the crystals off the dining room chandelier.

When I discovered the theft it was too late to recover anything, but the woman herself ended up in federal prison. She had forged a check from some other woman with whom she was living as a companion, and the bank cameras showed the proof. The police officer told me, "Oh, I've been after her for years, and I've got her now." I asked him how much time she'd serve, and he told me she'd be sentenced to 15 years but realistically would serve five. I decided it was enough, and I let it go.

When I got back to Tennessee I cried for about five minutes by the clock, then decided that was enough, too. People lose more than possessions as they move through life. And, truthfully, I drown in things as it is.

[Andybev01]

I never fail to be shocked when I hear about people like that and hope that I don't become indifferent to them.

[Murfreesboro]

Yes, I've known of stuff like this happening once or twice in Arkansas, where I have extended family and acquaintances. These folks, the con artists, are very clever and predatory. They have radar out on people who are elderly and perhaps cognitively impaired, as well as those who are just overwhelmed, as I was at that time. My father, who was a lawyer, told my mother that the con artists were the smartest criminals he ever dealt with. He said that any of them could have been very successful in legit professions, but I guess conning people was easier, with a quicker pay off I suppose at some level it's a game for them, too. Honestly, though, when I think about people who've "done me wrong" in my life, that woman is not top of my list. To some extent I blame myself for what happened because I was so gullible. There have been one or two others who operated as backstabbers in my work environments, back when I was working. I have more trouble forgiving them.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I remember you telling that story before Murf, it's unfortunate that people like that exist but they do.

There are some people that don't have a conscience, and they go through life manipulating anybody they can, it reminds me of that song Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. Who knows why they choose that path, maybe they were treated bad when they were younger, or maybe, like you said, for some people it's a game to them.

My grandfather used to have a saying that he, and now I live by...

If you hate something, let it go, if it comes back... kill it.

It basically means that if somebody or something hurts you in this life, leave them to the Lord to handle them. If they ever come back and try again then you bury them in your backyard.

There are just certain people in this life that are bad, and one day they eventually meet somebody that won't tolerate their behavior, it's just like a bully in school, they're tough until somebody kicks their a**. So eventually the people that prey on the weak run into somebody that won't accept it and take matters into their own hands. I'm sure you recall that story in the news awhile back about that executive that got murdered, he messed with the wrong person.

By the way, I'm sure you're already familiar with the song Sweet Dreams as it is a 80s classic, but in case you haven't heard it before, or you just want to hear it again, click the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeMFqkcPYcg

[Andybev01]

It sounds like your grandpa and I are cut from the same cloth.

And on that same note, maybe it takes a village...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy

[Murfreesboro]

I really did laugh out loud at your grandpa's saying, HH. I know the reason Jesus tells us to forgive our enemies is for our own sakes, not theirs. It just poisons your life to live with bitterness and resentment.

I remember the Eurythmics well, and Sweet Dreams was probably their signature song. I preferred Here Comes the Rain Again, but that's just me.

Bit of trivia: Sweet Dreams is used prominently in the pilot episode of the TV show Grimm.