Billing Cluster-****’s and lots of wind

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I’ve had my fill of idiots. Especially if they have anything at all to do with phones. For 4 months I fought with Qwest to straighten out my phone bill and service. No bills, wrong bills, wrong service, you name it, they screwed it up. Today I went to check and see if any of the credits I was told I would have had come through. Nope, and on top of that, nothing I asked to be canceled had been canceled. Keep in mind that I haven’t had DSL service since the end of October and no phone with Qwest since mid November. Shut off because I didn’t pay although I didn’t get any bills, or the billings I got were wrong. They even admitted that they were wrong!

So, I called. After the third person and 40 minutes on the phone, I discovered a few things:

  • I couldn’t cancel my phone while it was in suspended service.
  • I needed to pay $19.63 to have my phone turned back on so that 24 hours after I had service reinstated, I COULD CANCEL my phone.
  • I still owed $78 in phone charges
  • I have $122 in CREDIT coming to me.
  • I could not get the credit until I have the phone on, and they cycle it through billing.

So, I paid the $19.63. My phone service will be turned on and on Saturday or maybe Friday afternoon, I can cancel my service. I will pay off the $78 by January and at some point, I will get a check or multiple checks adding up to $122. I told the guy at one point that at least Qwest wasn’t as messed up as Sprint. Truth!

For the last month, I have also been arguing with Sprint via email, phone and finally in person at one point. In July, I called and told them that due to the fact that I was broke, I wanted to turn off my phone, cancel my service and pay off my contract. No problem I was told. (you can start laughing, I really won’t mind) Fast forward to August. I go to make a payment and find that my account has been sealed. No access. Hmm…. No access to my account, paperless billing…. hard to pay. I email tech support. No answer. Try again. Got told to go to my nearest Sprint store and pay.

When I cooled off, I explained that I live 60 miles one way from my nearest Sprint store. They did a “sorry, but not our problem, would you like to make a payment over the phone?” When I asked for an accounting and a paper receipt, I got told that wasn’t possible, I’d have to check that online. (What???) I said no thank you, I don’t like to make payments on the phone unless I have a paper bill to back it or an online bill I can check. Back to Customer Service.

Now I’m getting calls from a collection agent. One of them got Very Nasty. Called me a liar and a deadbeat and told me that I “just didn’t want to own up to the fact that I’d screwed up my account and didn’t want to pay”. I explained my views on payments online, especially to third partycollection agents. Reason is, I just got everything straightened out because of a small bit of identity theft. One of the things that they tell you is Don’t make payments over phones if you don’t have a bill in your hand, etc. It might not be the real collection agent, etc. So,… no bill, no payment. This collection agent told me again that I was lying! grrrrrrrrrr!

I did get to Pueblo and made a payment in person. I asked to be switched to paper billing so that I could pay my bill and keep track of my payments. This is after a 15 minute explanation of what had gone on. The guy tried. Guess what! Sprint can’t take you back from online billing back to paperless billing. He apologized.

Fast forward to this week. I finally got someone to listen to what I was saying and then got told that they had lost my payment I’d made in Pueblo. I about thumped my head on the computer. However, I talked to a real person on the phone and got the collection agency off my back until  they find my payment! gads!

In town, the weather has been either bitterly cold or just around 45 degrees. Not bad unless you add in the fact that the average wind lately has been around 20mph. BRRRR! Even the dogs didn’t want to go out the one day. Maybe it was because their water bowl froze!

This week at the chamber has been busy. Meetings no one came to, City Ordinances that look like they were written by Chinese Fire Drill and people running in at the last minute to sign up for the lighting contest.

I think I am really glad to be going to Pueblo tomorrow to finish my Yule shopping! Aieeeeeeeee!!!

Banks, Birthdays and by-laws

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I really need to post more often. Apologies in advance for the tome!

After the joy of the elections, I got buried in work. Curtains for my parents house…. yes, I’m still working on them. Plus drivng Morgan to school most of last week ate up gobs of time.

Can’t forget either that I flubbed a date. I thought I had until November 12th to get the house taxes paid before they went up for auction. No, it was November 5th. Why did I discover this in the nick of time? (the 1st?) Because the Bank sent me a letter telling me that since I had obviously forgotten to pay my taxes, that they would pay them for me and add the amount to my loan! Talk about PANIC!!! I pulled together enough to pay off 520’s taxes and part of 203’s. The gal at the Treasurer’s office said I could pay off the rest in the next 5-6 weeks. PHEW! Talk about relief. I called the bank and told them thank you, but I didn’t need the bail out. Of course the next day, the Treasurer’s office calls to tell me that the bank sent a check over for the remaining amount, and did I want them to accept the check or stick to the payment plan we’d worked out the day before. Once I got over the shock of it all, I told them to send the check back. I called the bank and told them I was sending the check back, and they still tried to get me to accept it and the extra on our loan! nooooooooooo!!! However, we got it all straightened out. Added a few white hairs, but got it straight.

Samhain, the cross quarter day was on the 6th, which meant time to put up my ancestors altar and spending some time remembering all who had passed.

Then there was work. Getting out renewal notices, clearing up the details for the meeting on this Thursday, working on the website, and redoing the by-laws. Someone in their infinite wisdom typed them in ALL CAPS! Have you ever tried to read legalese compounded by ALL CAPS??? It’s bloody painful! Worse, it was extreme legalese! Poorly edited, poorly ammended and hadn’t been updated in over 8 years. ::::::shudder:::::: Oh, and did I mention that they were in ALL CAPS?

I kept putting them off, because the idea of trying to sort out that mess was daunting.

So, instead, I had a birthday. I am now 7squared. I got cards from my mom and dad and my sister. John and Beth gave me the graphic novel Guilty Pleasures by LKH. I liked the book, and will see how the GN goes. I got kisses and phone calls too.

Last thing I did was write the Locavore article for the Huerfano Journal and slogged through the by-laws. Uggghhhhh!!!! Finally finished at 10:30pm.

Yesterday was hell. Woke up umpteen times in the night and was dozing between alarms when I hear the sound of an aerosol being used in the bathroom. Being an asthmatic, aerosols are tops on the verboten list. The only one allowed is Spray & Wash, and it is used sparingly. Usually when I am not around. The only one up at that time was Morgan. She had bought hair spray a month or so ago, and had been told not to use it when I was in the house or going to be around her. Better yet, throw it away and get a pump spray hair spray. Even better, don’t use the stuff, cause you’re only 12! She promised not to use it around me.

Now, I won’t say she forgot. I figure she didn’t take it seriously. I figure she thought she could get away with it. Teens know everything don’t they? sigh….

Less than 3 minutes after I heard the noise, I felt the first tickle in my throat. Determined not to have an attack, I put my head under the covers. Willed myself not to cough, because she couldn’t be that stupid and use hairspray on an ice cold morning less than 5ft. from my bedroom door!

Didn’t work. Bad attack. Really bad. John grabbed my inhaler for me and I used it twice to start to calm things down. Meanwhile, he closed the bathroom door and opened the window to air out the house. (remember it is about 25 outside!!!) I coughed/wheezed and whooped loud enough to wake up Daniel. He’d worked graveyard shift and was really tired. Used the inhaler again and finally got things under a bit of control. Sounded like a wheezy bellows. Of course, the lingering hairspray and the cold air from outside were not helping. Of course, a hot shower would have helped, but that was the frozen sprayed zone… I lasted 25 minutes before I said to hell with it. Closed the window and showered. Ah…… hot steamy air… Things relaxed a bit, but there was no way for me to stay at the house. So, I left early. Ended up at 520 at 8am. Dan gave me that whatthehellhappened? look. I explained, and talked my way out of being put to bed. My chest was still so tight that laying down would have been bad.

I went into work early. Thank goodness it was a quiet day. I had one lost soul looking for Cost-tilli-a county. He got a traffic ticket and had to go to court in San Luis. I lent him the phone and had him call the courts. It was a cold snowy sort of day and I knew he wouldn’t make it over La Veta pass in time.

After he left, I printed out the agendas and by-laws for the meeting and then delivered them to the board members. Got home just in time for Dan to turn me around and head off to Pueblo to do a print run on the flier we are doing for the chamber. I had planned to got to bed, but he said since no one else was home, that I wasn’t staying by myself. Considering how I felt, I agreed.

We got the prints, grabbed some cd labels and then a quick bit of dinner. We were home by about 9pm and I got stuffed straight in bed.

Today I feel better, but still have this feeling that I got hit by the #9 bus. I worked on a bunch of fast public service announcements for Chris at KSPK and Gretchen at the Journal. I also edited copy for Dan. We finished up the brochure before dinner.

Erin dropped by for a few minutes and then Dan headed off to bed early. He has to be up at 3am to take Beth to Pueblo. At least my car can make it that far most days. She is catching the bus to Denver and an interview for her MLS degree.

Gads!

Screeeeech!

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I am putting the brakes on this week! It has gone by way too fast. We got home Monday from camping and the week just ran away from us.

Tuesday was a blurr of homeschooling and laundry. We also set up my mom with a new email address. Oh, we also got a new domain for a website we are building. Wednesday I took John to the VA in Pueblo. He is having a flare up of cellulitus. I ran to Walmart while John was in the drs. Bought Daniel a toaster oven, and power cord. I also picked up tennies for Morgan and dog food for Sasquatch.

Thursday was more homeschooling. Matt is sort of getting the hang of how we want stuff done. Then it was time to head up to Gardner. Morgan had her first volley ball game. She plays on the B team, and is so proud of herself. They won! First time in 7 years against La Veta. She just glowed.

This morning, I got up at the crack of dawn, showered and got ready to take my parents to Colorado Springs. I got to drive my parents ’06 Subaru Legacy. Talk about nerve wracking! This is Dad’s baby! Aieeee~~~ Dad was going to see the oncologist about his bladder cancer. While he was at the doctors, Mom and I went to breakfast. By the time we were done, so was he. We drove home with a brief stop in Pueblo for a bit of lunch, paper and wine for my parents. Then I drove home.

We dropped Dad home while Mom and I went to Safeway. I dropped her home, Dan picked me up and it was back to homeschooling and now blogging. Gads!

Did have some good news though. Mike, the Chamber of Commerce president called to tell me the secretary job was mine if I wanted it!!! Part time, and I’m pretty sure it is minimum wage, but…  it’s a JOB! I start on Monday.

Tomorrow holds no rest either. Shopping in Pueblo.

My 30th High School Reunion

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Oh gods! What a weekend.

My parents did arrive on Thursday as planned. I visited with them for a bit and then instead of going shopping in Pueblo as planned, ran around trying to get all sorts of things done. Ha! Mostly I got caught up on some laundry, packed things for my trip and tried to organize stuff at the 520 house.

Friday I got up early, showered, finished packing, did lots of running around -like the proverbial chicken minus the head- and finally got out the door by noon. Frustrating as I still had to go to Pueblo to buy jeans and shoes.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate shopping? Especially for things like shoes and bras. I found my jeans in 10 minutes. The shoes took nearly 2 hours. I went to Payless, Walmart and finally Target. I found two pairs of flip flops. One pair is brown leather and very minimal. The other pair is tan suede with cream, and pale rose beads on the straps. I also found some blue mascara for myself. (wheeee… shades of high school… )

Then it was off to Denver. I got there early and drove around to find where the reunion bits were being held. I found Saturday’s venue rather easily. Friday night’s was a pain in the butt. I ended up calling the place to get directions. Then I found Jill’s house and relaxed. Her dogs kept barking at me. Silly mutts.

Friday night was fun. It was at the Fox and Hound tavern. There were probably 100 of us there. I have to admit that I was afraid I wouldn’t recognize anyone. Wrong! Granted, the name tags helped, but… teeheehee…

Friday night!
Friday night!

I saw all sorts of people I hadn’t seen in at least ten years and some I hadn’t seen in thirty! Robbie being one of them.

Robbie!
Robbie!

It was so neat to see her. It was like we hadn’t seen each other in 30 minutes instead of 30 years. Walking around I visited with lots of people. I showed off pictures of the tribe and chatted for nearly four hours. Robbie and I left together and stood in the parking lot for nearly an hour talking. Got home at 12:45am!

Saturday, after sleeping in to the late hour of 8am, I got up, visited with Jill and her daughter Franny and had breakfast. Franny wanted sausage and eggs, so they cooked while I showered. After breakfast and talking with Jill, I called Robbie. She picked me up and we went and had lunch. We talked and then went for a drive to various places around Littleton.

I took lots of pictures. Littleton High School has changed so much.

Littleton High School
Littleton High School

I really wish that the reunion had organized a tour of the school. I’d have really liked to see how the restructuring looks on the inside. Maybe we can do that next time. Robbie dropped me off around 4:30pm. I chatted with Jill again and then got ready for the evening event. This was out at the “Den at Fox Hollow” which is a golf course out on Morrison Road.

We were out under a big pavilion on the edge of the golf course. The volcano was a bit trite, but alright. The entertainment was funky. The musician was ok. The magician and fire eater were a bit lame. Granted, those two didn’t have much of a chance with Robbie making comments right, left and center. In some ways, she was better then them. Ok, she was a LOT better than they were.

We had lots of fun looking at year books and trying to match them to people at the party. We figured out that there were more people who had died than were listed. We also figured that the men were harder to identify than the women. Some of us aged well, some of us didn’t. I think I got told that I hadn’t changed by almost everyone. lol! I was still the “hippy” of the bunch. 🙂

I finally left around 10:30pm after saying numerous goodbyes. Crawled in bed and slept till 8am. I packed up my stuff, got ready, said my goodbyes to Jill and then headed to Pueblo. I of course had to do the shopping. gads… It was HOT in Pueblo.

I got the shopping done in just under four hours and headed home. I swear the moment I got in the door, the rain started. Monsoon season has hit Walsenburg. Meanwhile, I got the pictures loaded up on Picasa, my bags unpacked and a cup of tea. Huzzah!!!

Oh, and we saw two deer walk across the front yard.

The Road North

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Is far too often traveled lately! Pueblo is only 50 miles away, but having been there nearly six times in the last ten days is getting a tad old. We went up again on Tuesday. We had parts for a job to pick up and Carl to go visit. All total, we grabbed dog food, phone wire, phone boxes, a printer cartridge and tp. Wheee…. Such exciting shopping. We also discovered that one of our favourite shops was closed. 🙁 No more Instant Karma. Yes, that was really the name of the shop.

Our visit with Carl was good. He was actually in better spirits than he had been. Still waiting for transfer to Denver. I don’t see why the VA doesn’t just pay for him to stay at Parkview. It would make so much more sense. Oh yeah… sorry, my logic circuits forgot that the military and hence the VA don’t operate on logic! Sigh… Meanwhile, we wait to hear when he will be transfered.

Yesterday we were suppose to get some work done on the phone job. Hahahaha! The customer had new vendors coming in, so we figured we’d wait until the evening.We had the phone ringing off the wall as well. One call was a friend of our who we talked to for over an hour. 🙂 Others were for jobs. Dan went and fixed stuff for Karen in Aguilar that she had totally botched and I went to Armida’s. This is our local “oh my fancy clothes store” in town. Sort of pricey, but very nice. I must have tried on five different outfits. I really liked a few of them, but I am so not going to try and wear cream to a dinner. No way I’d keep it clean. So, I finally opted for two blouses that are really nice and that I can wear with jeans or skirts. One is pale lavender and the other is black. Button up, princess cut with lace and sparkley bits. I’m going to get a pair of black jeans to go with the black top and I have a white skirt to wear with the lavender one.

Why the new clothes? Well… I’m going to my 30th reunion. Wheeee…. No Idea of how it will go, but I hope to enjoy myself.

Around 6pm, I went out to Marge Durram’s. She is in need of a home help person who doesn’t mind dogs and can actually work, drive in the snow, etc. She is an older woman in poor health that rescues dogs. Her current help is due to leave in a week. She interviewed me and now will try and get the hiring agent, COG, to want to hire me. Here’s hoping.

When I got back, Dan and I went out to dinner. Karen actually paid him! We went out to the Rambler. Chicken enchiladas!!! Our waitress was tired though and the plate way too hot. She dropped one. Mine. Oh well. Dan was almost finished by the time I got my dinner. They didn’t charge us for my dinner, so Dan gave the waitress who had burned her hand a really good tip. We figured that they may have docked her for the dinner as she dropped it.

When I got home, I showed John the tops and we talked about this festival in Missouri in October. He said I could go, as it would help him figure out what to give me for my birthday! Wheeeee! Jolene may go with me so that she can visit her parents while I go play in the caverns. http://dragonlakecircle.com/index.html

Today started out misty and rainy. Neither Dan or I are very motivated. We still have to get the phone wiring job done, visit Brian and Gretchen at the Huerfano Journal and my parents arrive around 2pm. Wheee….

Week’s End

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Every time I thought I’d have ten minutes to sit and blog, something came up. Thursday was busy. running errands and such. Dan got home early enough that he watched Stardust with Little Morgan and me. Friday was another busy day. We went to Pueblo. We were suppose to get there early enough to find the farmer’s market, buy some fresh veg, run our errands and then see Carl. Slept a bit late, had breakfast and then were late starting out. Plus, we decided to go the back route. Good thing, as Dan was a “good Samaritan” and helped two ex-marines with their jeep that lost it’s brakes. The brakes had caught fire. Dan had an extinguisher in the back. He gave it to them in case it happened again.

We of course missed the farmer’s market and when we got to the hospital, Carl was asleep. So, we went looking for fabric. Hobby Lobby was a dead loss. Headed over to Walmart, and actually found a fabric that was nice. It’s a light green with a tan leaf print. I’ll probably sew it up this week. We did finally get to see Carl. He drifted in and out of sleep while we were there. The VA was planning to move him to Denver, but hadn’t managed it. Hopefully they got that done on Saturday.

When we got home, we watched the Presidio. It’s a good movie, but one Dan hadn’t seen. 🙂 Not sure which scene I like best. The one where Meg Ryan rips Mark Harmon’s shirt off, or where Sean Connery tells the drunk he’s only going to use his right thumb, because his left one is too dangerous. 🙂

Dan officially resigned from RBT Friday night as well. He’d finally had enough. The pressure was affecting him both mentally and physically.

Saturday was another day of oddball errands and trying to get stuff done. Finally around 2pm, we dropped Blue off with John and then took a drive. We ended up in the Upper Huerfano. Near the Singing River Ranch, we startled a Mule eared deer and her brand new fawn. Tiny little thing with spots! Oh it was cute. Didn’t get as far up as we’d have liked to, but there was a puddle across the road that would have eaten LRT. So, we grabbed our stuff and headed up to our favourite meadow. Of course, we had to go around the huge puddle. Didn’t do too bad myself, but Dan stepped right in the middle of a swampy spot up to about mid shin. And, true to experience, the moment we decided to sit down, it started raining. We could see Blanca through the rain curtains, and instead of clearing off, the rain just kept coming. We finished a bit of food and then walked back to LRT. We were soaked. Granted, it was hot enough that by the time we got home, the only bit that was wet were the backs of our shirts. We also saw about 20 deer on the way down. It was really neat.

We finished off the evening with a salad and a couple of Babylon 5 episodes.

Woke up this morning with a sinus/migraine headache. Felt like I’d been kicked in the face. Plus, the lights were too bright, the noises too loud and my sense of smell could pick up moldy cheese three states over. Uggggh! It’s only taken me 10 hours to feel almost human. Now I get to write my Huerfano Journal articles. Wheeee…..

Drywall, perfume and thunderstorms

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Yesterday was busy. I started off with giving John a haircut. He’s worn it long for the last 15 years and decided that it was just too hot to do so any longer. So, I gave him a nearly military haircut. Never thought I’d do that again! Oh well. He’s cooler and happier. We’ll all get use to seeing him with shorter hair.

Then Daniel and I drove up to Pueblo in Blue, my ancient F150 pick-up. We were heading up to get building supplies. Yes, I did this a few days ago with Dan, but this time I had to get the drywall. I also needed to get a birthday present for John and Daniel wanted to find something for his girlfriend.

First stop was at Lowe’s for paint. A 5 gallon bucket of paint. Funny bit was Daniel drooling over kitchen cupboards and the cool washers and dryers. He was like a puppy running around the store. Finally got out of there and headed to the Pueblo Mall. Now, for some people that probably sounds like a really cool place. When it first went up, it probably was. However, in comparison to the malls in Denver or Colorado Springs, it is very small. Upside of this is that it is just about all the Mall I can stand.

We found the perfume Daniel wanted to get Breanna as well as some silly flip flops, lip gloss and a little bag to hold them. I got John a hat that said Authentic ’58 and a deck of trivia ’58 cards. He was 50 yesterday.

Then we hit Home Depot. $110 later, we walked out with hardware, 12 sheets of drywall, 1 sheet of OSB and loaded up the truck. We stopped for a couple of dollar hamburgers and then headed home. We aren’t on the highway ten minutes when I see this rain curtain heading our way. I think “shit!”, as there is nothing but the OSB over the drywall. I drove as fast as my poor old F150 could go in hopes of missing the storm. No such luck, silly me. We got within a mile of this one curve when the rain hit. Downpour! I go to turn on the windscreen wipers to find that they aren’t working. WHAT??? So, barely able to see, I pull off at the exit and while the rain is thundering down on us and lightning cracks every 2-3 seconds I’m crawling under the dash trying to figure out what is wrong. You see, the wipers work, but don’t always turn off. John had the truck the last time it rained, and he just unplugged them when he couldn’t turn them off! However, he didn’t tell anyone! ahem… First I tried to figure out where the plug was. Then Daniel. Fifteen sweaty minutes later, Daniel and I finally plug in the wipers. We change places yet again and I start off home.  BTW, the roadbed that we’d parked in had been dry, and now had 4 inches of standing water! We drove through 10 more minutes of pounding rain before we got clear of it. Daniel figured the drywall was ruined. I wasn’t too sure. 25 more minutes of dry weather and we got home. Dan and Daniel unloaded the truck. The OSB was soaked. However, thank Goddess, the drywall only had some damp spots. We put it in the front office to dry until we need it on Sunday. We were all exhausted. Drywall is heavy!

Later for John’s birthday we had steak, veg and German Chocolate cake. My stomach was upset, so I only had water although it all smelled good. John loved his presents. I gave him the hat and cards as well as a lap quilt and pillowcase I had made him. I had this cool bear fabric that I used.

Between rainstorms and loads of laundry I did some more sewing. I’ve been trying to make time to actually reacquaint myself with my sewing room and machine. Wheeeee!

Today we are finishing up the framing on the closet at 520 and hope to be able to drywall and paint by Monday. Wheeeee!
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Hot weather malaise

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It is hot. Hot enough that I don’t feel like doing all the stuff I aught to. Granted, it didn’t help that I felt like lukewarm dreck for most of Monday and Tuesday. If I didn’t know any better, I swear that I slept walked and ate cheese! Oh I felt awful. I also managed to help Pauline pack part of her house and picked up my paycheck.

Wednesday Dan and I went to Pueblo and picked up building supplies to start working on the closet. We are putting a partition in to turn it back into two closets. Pueblo was like an oven. I was very glad that the little truck had air conditioning. At least by the time we got home it was cooler. I also did a ton of laundry. If I knew who was “eating towels”, I think I’d shoot them.

Today was busy. My parents came in around 2pm. I had opened up their house and made sure it was cooling off. Dan and I started working on the closet between babysitting Daniel’s dog, chatting with Pauline, running errands and answering a phone that wouldn’t stop ringing.

My parents took John and I to dinner at the Rambler. It was good as usual. Except for the way the waitress wrote the ticket. No Chez became No Che  Z7.95, which made it look like my dinner cost $27.95! It took two waitresses and a cook to unbollux the register! At least my dad laughed rather than blowing up.

After dinner, we all visited for a bit and then I came back over to help Dan for a bit with the closet. Tomorrow, I take Daniel to Pueblo and we will go shopping for birthday prezzies and more building materials. Wheee….

Happy endings, birthdays,and background music

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Friday was my last day at the D.A.’s office. Part of me was rather sad that it was my last day. The rest of me was glad I was getting out of that nut house. My replacement… Oh My Gods! She certainly was not hired because of her ability to work. In a week of “training”, she managed to learn maybe 10% of the job, and I am being generous. She spent more time yakking with the HR person who is a friend than learning the Job. On Friday, she wasn’t there 20 minutes when she started to complain about her back. She spent more time on the phone than she did working. She was gone by 10:30am. This left Pattie and I to do all the work. Pattie left for a job interview at 3pm. I was by myself most of the afternoon. The A.D.A. and the HR person asked me what I thought of the job, etc. I didn’t tell them much of anything, except that their file security was rotten. I pick up my paycheck on Tuesday.

Saturday was a lazy day. We slept in! Around 2pm, Dan and I went to Pueblo to do the regular payday shopping. It took forever! Not that there were tons of people or that it was hectic, we were just sloooow. We ate dinner at Chile’s. Yummmmm…. There was also a stop at Barnes & Noble. Yeahhhh!

Sunday was another lazy day. I think that my body did the whole “ok, I’m not working so now I’m going to flake out.” My feet were so sore! You’d think I’d run 90 miles. We spent most of the evening watching Babylon 5. It was also Erin’s 26th birthday.

Monday… Woke up with a headache. Finally got up around 10am. I wrote my articles for the newspaper, ran down to the D.A. Office to see Pattie. I helped her copy her private files and then headed off to Pauline’s. She is trying to move out of her house. I helped her pack about 20 boxes… I came home around 6pm. This headache and I are going to bed early. It is Jimmer’s birthday today.

In the background I’ve got Dan choosing the music… Freebird, Nightwish, Asia, Godsmack. A rather odd mix as he is looking for specific music. Good thing I’m not too picky.

Ludlow Memorial Service

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94 years ago, on April 20th, in the Ludlow tent colony, life changed forever. Between 1913 and 1914, the coal mines of Colorado were immersed in a war. The Great Coal Fields War. Miners were on strike for better conditions and the right to unionize. The owners of the coal companies wanted the miners put down. Pinkerton men, milita and miners and union men clashed.  The tent colony of Ludlow was at the center. Gatling guns fired across the colony, tents were burned. Men, women and children died. It became known as the Ludlow Massacre. It forever changed how unions and strikers were seen in the eyes of the world. To read more about it, follow this link.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre

For me, Ludlow is part of my family history. My great grandparents were coalminers in the camps. Grandpa Sudar remembers being put on a train car with other women and children and sent out to stay away from the camps for 4 days until it was safe. They were evacuated with many people from Ludlow.

Today, John and I went to the memorial service held by the UMW. Senator George McGovern was the Keynote Speaker.  It was a very interesting two hours. Part church service, union rally, history lesson and political rally. Fine if you were democratic or open minded. John of course is a republican, and at one point, Buffy McFadden made a joke about the crowd being good Democrats, with maybe one or two Republicans out there and John felt like he suddenly had a neon hand pointing straight at his head. 🙂

When the train full of coal cars went by on it’s way to some power plant to the north, there wasn’t a person in the crowd with a dry eye. It reminded us all of the sacrifices made by those miners and their families 94 years ago. It was a very emotional event.

Ludlow Memorial

The memorial.

Brian and Senator McGovern

Brian Orr (L) and Senator McGovern (R) before the service.

Senator McGovern speaking to the crowd.

Senator McGovern wrote a book entitled The Great Coalfield War. It is one of the definitive works on the massacre.

Afterwards, there was a luncheon. We didn’t stay for it though as there was shopping to do in Pueblo. Sigh… there are days I just don’t want to go all the way to Pueblo to shop. Oh well. It was a good trip. Had lunch at SouperSalad and dinner at Taco Bell. We also had fun at Petsmart shopping for Daniel’s puppy.

It was so weird to buy puppy food for a dog that small. We also got him some toys. A chew toy and some tiny tennis balls. It was funny!

Off to bed now. Have to get up early and cut John’s hair and trim up his beard. He’s going back to his goatee for the summer. Afterwards, it’s off to work at the DA’s.