Today On The Road.....

If anyone wonders why I spend so much time in my wife's car, it's simply that a couple of months ago, I had a problem with the hydraulic system on the clutch of my pickup. Since there's been no urgency (the wife says we can't afford a camping trip right now). I'm taking my time fixing it. A more stable, warm weather condition would be helpful to the old guy, so what's the rush?

Today, I went to Round Rock to get a bucket of mud at Lowe's, along with a couple of other items, to be used in our ongoing hobby house projects. Today, she had the radio tuned to a station in San Antonio, and I discovered Laura Ingraham! I will say right now, that I feel pretty sure that Rush has set the standard for talk radio now. At least, his imitators often take calls. I've always felt that talk shows should be like that. Maybe it's simply an old man's fantasy that it's the reason for "talk shows".

Anyway, for someone who has so little to say, Laura certainly packs a lot of talk into her show. Today, she stimulated my imagination. When I first tuned in, she was blasting President Obama for "not having gotten all the problems of the country solved since he took office", and now, "he's going to take a vacation to Chicago after only 55 days in office!" What does it all mean, is 55 days too soon to be considering a vacation, or is the man a slacker for not having gotten all his promises fulfilled in the ample time he's been president?

It's all irrelevant, because the President of the United States is NEVER on vacation. But, the next thing she said, after initiating a contest to "name the vacation White House", was, "Bush didn't go on vacation after only 55 days, did he?"

I was not able to answer her question then, and I'm not able to answer it now. I suspect he might have. I have not even been able to get a precise count on the number of days that President Bush was away from Washington for "R&R", but it certainly appears that it amounted to somewhat more than a third of his eight years on office. That seems to be a record, but who could expect less of George W. Bush?

When I got home and mentioned to my wife that I'd discovered Laura Ingraham, she replied, "yes, that's Dr. Laura. I hear the strident witch much too often when I'm in the car." I could not believe how long it took me to convince her that Laura Ingraham and Laura Schlessinger are two different Lauras!

Later, when I ventured out to go by the bank, and mail a letter, I was privileged to hear Dr. Laura for a few minutes on the same station. I think for the very first time in my life, I was actually beginning to feel sympathy for Dr. Laura. What has happened to her show? Perhaps Rush Limbaugh has the right idea, after all. "Don't take callers, they mess up your show". One of the good Doctor's callers was trying to get advice on how to get her daughter-in-law to allow her more time with her grandchild. After three times of telling the woman that she couldn't advise her without knowing the daughter-in-law's side of the story, and getting the same "yes, but can you give me some advice how to make my daughter-in-law.........", she finally told the woman (more than once), "you should kiss her butt", and the woman replied "I can't do that", then Dr. Laura was able to say, "Then I can't help you", and rang off that call.

One of the most amazing things I'm finding about the talk shows, the ones which President Clinton once referred to as "hate radio", is that Sean Hannity opens his show with "Independence Day", and that both he and Rush Limbaugh claim our Founding Fathers, and, in particular, Thomas Jefferson, as their heros. How can it be that those who think so differently from me think that their point of view is what's best for the country, when I like to think that about my own point of view?

I guess, "that's human nature". It's the nature of humankind to hold the personal belief that, "the world would be a better place if everyone were like me". Uncle Jim, you must have been right. Life is "every man for himself".