Monday, August 31, 2009

This-n-That

Every now and then it is nice to have a this and that day. That is exactly what this day was. Of course, every good this and that day has to start out with a good cup of coffee.... or two. Today it was Dunkin Donut coffee, but not at Dunkin' Donut and without the donut. 

So it was Dunking Donut coffee at 5:30 this morning. Then I drove Audrey to the airport in her new Prius. So far it is averaging over 48 mpg. Then it was to Starbucks for a cup and to review my stocks. Then it was off to SilTerHar Motors for a free oil change on the Avalon. Then it was off to Discount Tires for a free repair and rotation. 

In the midst of all this I answered the phone plenty of times and actually set two appointments for estimates. I also drove over to a clients place to pick up a worthless buckle that my client was worried about. I drove to another clients house to check on the progress of the work. 

I sure am going to miss Audrey this week. I think I will assuage my loneliness by drinking...... coffee. (what else?)

We now have two white vehicles in our garage, but I had better not spill coffee on the seats of one of them. I'm afraid the Prius will never get properly broke in. I am restricting myself to driving mostly the F-150 and the Avalon. 

I think they are done fixing the tire, so I'd better finish my coffee and go.

Until next time, don't chew the dregs. 

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Bigger Than it Looks.... Smarter Than You


As I am enjoying my morning cup of Dunkin Donut Coffee (and it is good), I was thinking about the Prius my wife bought yesterday. Most people think that it is a little tiny car without many amenities. They have never driven one. This is no dumb little Smart Car. This is a big smart car.

The Prius has more room than the Ford Focus and the Toyota Corolla. In fact, it has nearly the space of the Camry and the Fusion. Plenty of elbow room in the front and knee room in the back. The trunk space is surprisingly large. The ride is quiet and smooth. The acceleration is decent, better than Corolla and about the same as the hybrid Camry.

We love the amenities. This car is loaded. The manuals on this car are about two inches thick. Let's see, the displays on this car show fuel consumption, direction, time, miles till empty, and a whole bunch more we are just discovering. The stereo system (4 CD changer) AM, FM, satellite radio, navigation, bluetooth, and much more that we are discovering, are all fantastic. 

Of course it has cruise control, tilt and telescopic steering, and a camera for going in reverse. It has the power locks, power mirrors, front intermittent wipers, rear intermittent wipers, and headlight washers. It has keyless entry, keyless regress, and keyless start up. 

The seats were more comfortable than the Camry or any other car we tried excepting the Mercury Milan. It has leather seats that are heated with a driver's side lumbar. 

One of the requirements Audrey had for any car she bought was an adequate number of cup holders. The Prius has two cup holders in the back, two cup holders in the front and two bottle holders in the front. 

This car is so smart that it gets 48 to 51 miles to the gallon and even tells us when it needs it's oil changed. I just hope that I am smart enough to figure out how smart the car is.

I have just one question: Why does the dumb little Smart Car get only 43 miles per gallon when our much bigger and more comfortable "smart car" gets at least 48?

Enjoy your coffee. By the way, Dunkin Donut Coffee tastes good without the donuts


Thursday, August 27, 2009

(C) $5.05

Citigroup finally did it. It is back up over $5. Some rich guy is buying up shares to the equivalence of 2% of the company. That's a lot of shares considering Citigroup trades about 1.2 billion shares daily. These rich guys seem to know what they are doing. And it's good for Citigroup and Citigroup's investors. $5 is still way cheap. Citigroup is getting well and investors are taking note. I expect this stock to have the tidal wave effect once it really gets on a roll. 

You can buy the January 2011 strike price call option for 58 cents. If Citygroup does in fact go up to $10 by next October, those options could be worth $5 to $6. If you owned 10,000 of those options your earnings could be about $44,200. And that would be off from a $5,800 investment. Sounds good to me. I could buy a lot of Starbucks for that.

Well, until next time.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Rachel

Rachel is 10 years old and is a sweetheart and a cutie. She is my brother's adopted daughter and I hardly know her. They are going to visit us for a week in September. I am very much looking forward to it and it will very much be a challenge. Rachel is a little different than other girls her age. She's autistic

Rachel has a hard time relating to other people. She is lonely and wants friends but doesn't know how to be a friend. The other kids don't understand why she is different. Finding things that hold her interest will be a challenge. She does love her computer games and feels at home with them.

Rachel's immune system is not very strong because of the same thing that causes her autism. Curt doubts that Rachel will reach adulthood. But who knows for sure. She is energetic and vibrant, but also very prone to sickness. 

I want to get to know Rachel better while she is with us. I would like you to know her and be her friend, too. 

It's a Crazy Life!

Yes, sir! It's a crazy life! I'm not sure whether we work to live or live to work. But I do know one thing it is work, work work. Of course, I wasn't working last night at 11:45 when the Rockies finally beat the Giants in the bottom of the 14th inning. Spillbourghs his a home run in the bottom of the 14th to end the game. But it was work when I was up a 3:00 AM filling in my calendar and sorting through the work load. 

I am at the point of having all the work done by contractors because I am spending all my time doing the bids and setting up the jobs. And, and..... looking after the contractors. Recessions are good for the handyman. Yesterday I picked up four contracts, maybe five. I missed a call.

I do know that I have been fishing only once this summer. I hiked up no fourteeners, and went for zero bike rides. I had to give up running because of my knees, and I "sorely" miss it. 

What else is crazy is that Audrey got a great job in Wheat Ridge, but she spends most of her time out of state. Last year she got a job in Phoenix and worked out of our house. 

We do all this work with long hours so we could buy a battery operated car. Well, that's cool. I guess that balances out my gas guzzling truck. If we drive them equal miles we should get a combined 34 miles per gallon.  But you know how it is, the gas guzzler always gets driven more.

This is crazy, too. I have a client I am doing the interior painting of her whole house. We chose colors once. Then she changed her mind and showed me the new colors. But while she was showing me the new colors she changed her mind again. Well, that's OK. we hadn't mixed any paint yet. Well, yesterday she called and said she changed her mind again. that's OK, the store has more paint charts.

What's even crazier than all of this is that Starbucks raised their prices. Ouch!

Monday, August 24, 2009

LeRoy

To me LeRoy was closer than most of my real blood brothers. And he was a good friend. I didn't know him much until we lived just a few miles apart in Wisconsin. He was in hospital and clinic construction and I was remodeling homes. We talked shop a lot. He came and viewed all my remodels and always praised the work. Than meant a lot. 

Audrey and I often went to dinner with LeRoy and Ilene. Those were some good times. Times that I will always cherish. Afterward we would either come to our house or go to LeRoy and Ilene's house. LeRoy did a marvelous job remodeling a building in Hilbert for living. He also had a wood working shop that made me envious. 

Good bye LeRoy. I will always cherish the memory of you. You were quite the guy. I hope you don't mind if I shed a few tears.

Loving CitiGroup

A week ago I recommended CityGroup (C) Since then the stock has risen 27%. It rose to over $4 for the first time since April and is now knocking on the door of $5.00. As the economy continues to improve and these large banking firms shed their toxic assets, their bottom line will improve and their stocks will go up. CitiGroup is showing all the right signs. It is also trading over a billion shares daily. The recent numbers on the housing market will also help. This stock is still very cheap and a lot of shares can be bought for relatively little. Even more options can be bought.

Cheers! Here's to hoping it is a good day in the market!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Remember that song? If you do you are my age or older. This was a Vietnam War protest song back in the 60's sung by Peter Paul and Mary. They were the folk singers of the day along with Bob Dylan. By the way, Bob Dylan is going to put out a Christmas album. That ought to be something. Or, maybe not.

Anyway, I looked at the hanging flower pots in front of my house and I asked, "where have all the flowers gone." I think they disappeared into the heat and, parched soil. I said to myself, "it is impossible to grow flowers in Colorado." 

Well, today we went to Estes Park and discovered that all the flowers moved there. They have scads of flower displays and every display is perfect. No kidding! They looked better than in the International Peace Gardens located between North Dakota and Canada. Vivid colors, no dead foliage, every plant, every flower was perfect. Nuts! I always forget my camera when I should have it! And was it ever nice up there today.

And guess what? Starbucks came through again! Yes, sir! They had the greatest coffee and even had the mini scones that Audrey prefers. We each ate one-and-a-half. And we sat amids the flowers, in the shade along the peaceful babble of the Big Thompson River. Ya, the Big Thompson is peaceful this time of year. Throughout the Big Thompson Canyon, fishermen were everywhere. I really don't understand why people live in any other state...... but I'm glad they do. 

I'm sitting with a cup of Starbucks right now. It's amazing how well you can write when you drink good coffee. I just wish the stock market analysts would drink some Starbucks. Perhaps their forecasts wouldn't be so gloomy and the market would go up, and we would make some money, and I could retire and go fishing on the Big Thompson. Yes, sir! I believe that if Mr. Obama would drink more Starbucks it would change his way and he could be a good president! He probably drinks Folger's and that's where all our problems stem from.

Friday, August 21, 2009

No Recession Here

They keep telling me that we are in a recession. I've been hearing that for months now. People have lost jobs, companies have filed chapter 11 and chapter 7. Financial giants have failed and gone away. We've had TARP, the bail-outs, and cash for clunkers. But I have yet to feel the effects of the recession. ROD'S HOME REPAIRS is doing better than ever. It has been ever since last summer. Revenue is running over 100% ahead of last year at this time.

I have had very little down time over the past 12 months and am now gearing up for a couple of larger jobs. The smaller jobs also keep coming. I am now in need of another sub-contractor who can do virtually everything. There is no recession here. But there is a lot of hard work.

Ya, I need another contractor. He must know carpentry, drywall, roof repair, and he must have tools and a truck. I need a guy who will do small repairs start to finish. I need a guy who will do it by the job versus the blood sucking hourly. Hourly guys move slower, take more breaks, smoke more cigarettes, talk on their phone more, and have a hard time finishing.

Anyway, remember yesterday during coffee I recommended CitiGroup. Well, their stock went up 9% yesterday. How long does it take you to earn 9% on a CD? Try 4 years. As the economy improves and CitiGroup returns to profitability the stock will easily more than double over the next 12 months. 100% annualized sounds good. Doesn't it? Right now I am positioned in CityGroup options so that every penny the option goes up it's worth $100. I bought the options for pennies. Morgan Stanley is also worth looking into. Man! My coffee tastes good this morning. Does yours?

Those who bought into the low end of the stock market will be rewarded in the months to come. Remember, yesterday I mentioned McDermott International? Since we bought in sometime in march that stock is up 118%. Too bad we didn't buy many shares. We were pretty cautious back then. We still are. We want to own winners. 

Well, until next time.... enjoy you coffee.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Looking for a Winner?

Everybody likes a winner and no body likes a loser. Meet the former loser..... Citygroup (C) Citygroup almost went under. They received tons of bail out money. Their stock went from over $40 per share down to 97 cents on March 5th of this year. I should have bought then. Now the stock stands at $4.13 per share, a 325% increase over it's bottom. analyst ratings went from 6 strong sells to 3 sells and 3 buys. At $4.13 you can buy a truck load of it. Buy options in it and you can get 3 or 4 truck loads. And guess what? The options will pay much higher returns. Buy the leap options and you can sit on it for a while and over the next 6 months it will make you money.

Don't forget about Ford Motor (F). Ford had a recent surge, then pulled back a little. But Ford is just getting wound up. Ford motor is becoming known for its quality and for taking a stand against government money. People like both those aspects. Drive a Fusion, you will love it. Ford stock is at $7.65. The leap options also look good.

Can you imagine how much Starbucks you would be able to buy?  And don't forget about Starbuck's stock either. Everywhere I go their coffee shops are doing very brisk business. As the economy improves, more lattes will be sold. I prefer "no room."

Mc Dermott International (MDR) has also been a constant and steady winner for us. We have earned a higher percentage on that stock than on any other.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Getting There

I needed to be there at a certain time, but it seemed like everything was working against me. I had driven 9 hours to get to Chinle, AZ. I needed to meet a guy named Jed so that I could do the take off on a missions project our church was planning. Everything went really smoothly..... until I got to Chinle.

I went to the Holiday Inn to check in at 2:30. I was told that I couldn't check in until 3:00. So I came back at 3:15, and there was this big long line ahead of me. 

I had to meet Jed at Ganado at 4:15. I decided to brush my teeth, then go. What a mistake! I got down by the school just in time to be stopped to let all the buses go out on the road. Now I was following four school buses, very slowly. 

I was half way to Ganado when I came upon road construction. I was stopped there for about 25 minutes, then followed a pilot car for 5 miles, very slowly. I made it to Ganado at 4:50. Jed wasn't there. I tried calling but got only voice mail. I drove toward my final destination without Jed, then tried calling again. No phone signal. I tried once more, his wife answered and said Jed was on his way. I went back to the meeting point. Jed was there. Then we drove off toward the project. This was over a rutted dirt road that had not been maintained for years. We made it to the project site at 5:40. 

I dreaded the drive back, which went much smoother.

The project? Well, the project is to help this church finish the parsonage. We will have to do this without electricity, or water. Generators will have to be brought in and.... and.... the dreaded out house will be used. Will somebody please tell me why I am doing this?

Worst of all, there is no Starbucks in sight. 

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

You Can't Beat God Giving

I remember the chorus we sang in the black church on Plymouth Avenue in St Louis Park, Minnesota. "You can't beat God giving, no matter how you try." 

I know, I know, some people have said to me, you can't buy your way into heaven. Well, that statement kind of puzzles me because every body already knows that, and this chorus has nothing to do with that. The bottom line is that, you cannot out-give God. Try it and see. And I guess that is the heart of the problem, most don't have enough faith in God to try it and see for themselves.

Well, the scriptures do say, "give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom." The scriptures also say, "Bring ye all the tithes into the store house and prove me here with and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it." 

Well, this is not about giving to get. This is about giving to meet the need and being obedient to God. It is about being people of faith, not giving away all that we have..... unless God leads you to do so. If you want to be blessed, be a channel of blessing. God will honor you for it.

Case in point. This week, for the first time in over a year there was barely any work to do for my business and there was very little lined up for the future. I gave my tithe to the church (10%) and another 5% to missions. God also laid a needy family on my heart and I gave to them. I also volunteered to take a trip to Arizona to do research for a missions project. I made all of these commitments with nothing else lined up for my work. 

So, all in the same day I got a call to do a bid and got the job. A client I already did work for called and wants more work done. A business that I networked with called and has door inserts for me to install. A guy in Niwot wants a bid from me for a bathroom re-model. And the church emailed me and said that they would pay the expenses for the research trip. 

I'm telling you folks, it works. Be generous with God and he will be more than generous with you. Lose your faith and shut God out, you will experience a dearth in your own life. Not only a financial dearth, but a spiritual one. There is no greater blessing than knowing you have done what God has asked you to do, knowing you have blessed others, and feeling God's blessing on your own life.

Some will say, "Bah humbug!" Well, don't Scrooge with God, and He won't Scrooge with you.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Selfish Small Minds

There are a lot of selfish, small minds in this world. Most of them are liberals. For some reason they don't like anyone to succeed except themselves. The case in point is their attitude toward Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs is the last large, pure investment firm left in the country. Liberals hate investment firms and I am not sure why. But right now they are picking on GS. 

GS just turned in the best quarterly profits in the the history of the company. This means that they aggressively pursued and did well with riskier investments. They have top-notch managers and they are making money for their investors and their stock-holders. Now, because they have done so well, they are under investigation by some government agency. This sends the message that they don't like investment firms succeeding when they play by their own rules..... the rules that actually work. The feds don't want you to make money, unless you make it their way, which is kind of hard, because their way doesn't make money. The feds don't want you to take a risk unless they first approve of the risk you are taking. In other words, the fed wants to control you, and your destiny. If you make money they will investigate you. The feds make me want to puke.

If they are going to investigate GS, it should be for one reason: to find out what really works in the world of investment. 

Now, let's see. It was the Feds that pressured the banks to make risky loans to individuals who would not normally qualify. This was because there were too many minorities not qualifying. This was not because they were minorities, but because they didn't have the jobs, the down payments, or the credit rating under normal rules. So the feds relaxed the rules and pressured financial institutions to make these risky loans. 

Then the feds turned around and raised interest rates which pressured the ARMS to move upward. Now these same minorities that the feds wanted to help, they ended up damaging. These people could no longer pay their loans and their houses went into foreclosure. Who did the feds blame? Certainly not themselves, but the same financial institutions they pressured to make the loans. When these loans could not be repaid, these financial institutions began to fall. Now the feds saw a great opportunity to take them over. 

One financial institution that stood tall and strong throughout the crisis and the recession that ensued was Goldman Sachs. They continued to thrive and make profits. The feds don't like it and are searching for a way to rein them in. 

It seems to me, that there is room in this economy for a Goldman Sachs. Love them or hate them, understand this, without them the recession would have been much deeper. They were the light and the ray of hope in the darkest hour of the recession. Without their influence on the markets, you 401K would be worth even less than it is today. And the partial market recovery would be less than it is. 

Why shouldn't it be my decision where I invest my money and what type of risk I want to take. Every great corporation began with risk takers and those who succeeded were rewarded for their risk.

I think the liberals are jealous because somebody is succeeding without them. The liberals really don't want anyone to succeed. They think that anyone who makes more money than themselves is making too much. They love a small economy with high unemployment because they can then say, "let us help you." Well, their help has spent over a trillion dollars that our grandkids will have to repay and there are fewer jobs now than when they started giving the money away. Thanks for you help, but no thanks!

Let those who know how to succeed lead our economy back to health. Then we will all know how to succeed. 

Ford con"fusion"

Well, the car shopping is over, but not before we tried out several cars. a couple of weeks ago I went to the Toyota dealer and tried out the Prius, Camry Hybrid, and the Rav 4 Limited. I actually liked them all. I especially liked the Rav 4, but was also impressed by the Prius.

Then on Thursday I went to a Ford dealer to try out some cars, He had no cars. Cash for clunkers was working for him. 

So, on Friday evening, Audrey and I Went to the Ford Dealer where I bought my F-150. They were all out of Ford Fusions. They were also out of sales reps. They had sold so many cars that they kept on only a few sales reps. And this was a Friday evening after everyone got paychecks so they could run out and buy cars. 

Anyway, we tried out several cars. Audrey thought she might like a little puddle-jumper to run around town in, so we thought we would test drive the Focus. Well, we only sat in it. This car was starved for amenities. When I shut the passenger door, I had to lean toward the center council to sit in the car. We never turned a wheel. 

Then we decided to try a Fusion, which they had none of, so we tried the Mercury Milan. This was the six cylinder and had lots of amenities. It also had a lot of punch and a very comfortable ride. It was quiet and smooth and the bucket seats were impressive. Audrey told the sales rep that the Fusion in a different color would be on the table. 

Then we tried the Edge. I always wanted to try an Edge. The Edge was very comfortable, a little noisier than the Milan, and a little less acceleration. I liked it, Audrey didn't. Nix the Edge.

Saturday, it was back to the Toyota dealer. Audrey wanted to test drive a Corolla. We did. It was noisy, under powered, crowded, and lacked desired amenities. We test drove a Camry Hybrid. This time around we were both under-impressed. The Milan was nicer, quieter, better ride, and more comfortable. Nix the Camry.

The last car we test drove was the Prius V. This car had all the amenities, excepting the power seats. With the new 1.8 liter engine it had plenty of acceleration. It had a little more road noise than the Camry, but the seats were more comfortable and it actually had about the same interior room. And who can resist 52 mpg in the city? 

What was the real acid test for a new car? It had to fit in our garage better than the Avalon!

So the Prius is it.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Prius

What should a person do when he owns 5,000 shares of Ford Motor and another 3,000 options. Why.... he should buy..... a Prius. Somebody must have put something in my coffee. It must have been her. You know who she is. 

After a lot of research and trying out several cars, we decided on the Prius. That should really help our oil stocks. But the decision seemed right. We wanted a red one so we bought a white one. That also seemed right considering the other color was black. And it was the same price as the Camry hybrid. What made us do it? It just seemed right. Our second choice was the Ford Fusion. No, not the hybrid. It was just more comfortable, quieter and handled better than the Camry. The Prius was also more comfortable and it gets 52 mpg.

So for us, the Prius is the winner. Do you want some of my coffee? Or maybe someone put something in her tea!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Universal Heath Care in Trouble:

Yes, my headline is true. Universal health care is in trouble....... In France. The Wall Street Journal just reported that. Universal health care in that country is pushing the country toward a financial crisis. France wants to be more like the United States and the United States wants to be like France. 

Tell me how a government can run a humungous health care program when it can't run Social Security, Medicare, or..... or..... Cash for Clunkers. That's right! They couldn't even administer a measly $1 billion program. But for some reason they think they know all about health care.

Obama said that Caterpiller would start hiring with all that TARP money. Instead, they have been laying off at a historic pace. He said that unemployment would bottom at 8.5%, but it is now at 10.5%. Now Obama wants me to buy my neighbor a new car. Of course, my neighbor won't buy me a new car. Obama says that universal health care will save money. I don't think Obama knows much about saving money. Universal health care will break our economy.

Speaking of economy, Goldman Sachs has done extremely well. They turned in the best quarterly earnings in the history of the company. There are a lot of angry people who don't like them making money. An investigation is being launched. Now let me see if I understand this right. If GS loses money, they are OK. But if they make money, we get mad and want them investigated. So, we must like our poor economy because we want companies to lose money. 

Why is it we penalize those who do well, but reward those who don't? Is this the new American Way? Aren't we supposed to be all that we can be? Or does that only apply to the army.

We should let companies like GS, Ford Motor, Apple, and others who know how to succeed lead our economy back to health. 

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Has Anybody Seen....

Has anybody seen Ford Motor's stock lately? It is absolutely red hot! It is sitting at $8.50 per share right now, and that may be cheap. Let's see, it bottomed at $1.34 in March, so in 6 months it has gained $7.16. This translates into a 534% gain. Annualized it is 1,068% gain. As the car market heats up, and it will, this stock will go absolutely crazy.

If cars begin selling, so will steel. AK Steel and US Steel are really hot right now also. There is still a lot of upside to these stocks. 

Make no mistake, Americans are in love with their cars. Americans will sacrifice a lot of things to have a shiny new car. As gas prices go up, they will trade in their clunkers, even without a clunkers for cash program. Autos and steel will help lead the economy back to health. Buy Ford stock, then buy a Ford. It's a win-win.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Missing Out Again!

Yep! We're missing out again! We have a clunker, 1998 Toyota Avalon. We're thinking about trading it in. But our car, which we have owned for 12 years and has over 100,000 miles on it is not on the list of clunkers. No cash for us.

Remember those $800 stimulus checks. We didn't get that either. Then there were those other stimulus checks that we didn't get either. But we do get to pay taxes, lots of them. 

We get to work hard and bust our butts, the government confiscates our money and gives it to others. It's not that we don't give to charity, we gave over $25,000 last year. It's not that we want others to be poor, but, sheesh! how about them earning it themselves. 

We missed out on the airport noise money, too. That's right, in Thornton they are giving away money because of the airport noise. Of course you have to use the money to install new doors, windows, or to insulate, or something like that. Well, my neighbor qualifies while we do not. I mean, we hear just as much noise as our neighbor does. But there is no fairness here. If my neighbor doesn't want to work, he is rewarded with a new patio door. Because we work hard, we are rewarded by buying our own patio door. Now, I have no problem buying my own patio door or anything else we need. But it is the principle of the thing.

Now I have a question. Why should I continue to give to charity when the government helps itself to my money and redistributes it? Well, we give because we believe in what we are giving to. We will continue to give. But I'm telling you that over 50% of our money disappears between taxes and charity. If we paid fewer taxes we would buy a new car... and guess what? The government would collect more taxes through the sale of the car, more taxes from the dealership, and more taxes from the transport company, and more taxes from the manufacturers. But government is stupid. Those in government don't understand this principle. A free market economy would provide government with more money to do their stupid things. 


Saturday, August 1, 2009

Airport

Waiting at the airport is an interesting thing to do. Lot's can happen!...... and a lot doesn't happen.

What doesn't happen is flight arriving on time, and if they are on time they have no gate to go to because the gate they are waiting for has a flight that leaving late. So, if you are on the plane and have to pee, you are sitting on the tarmac with your seatbelt on and an emergency is in the making. This is just like being caught on the freeway in a bad traffic jam when you have to go. Loosen your seatbelt. Unzip. Do what you have to do.

I already told you what happened when we arrived at DIA from Seattle. People had connecting flights to catch, appointments to be at, and yes, some of them had to pee. But no one would open the door.....

Well, anyway, on Friday when I was waiting for Audrey's flight from Dallas, late of course, I was standing in the main terminal waiting for her. That's when I saw her, not Audrey, a different her. At least I think  she was a her. She was slender, wore women's slacks and top. She wore a Tam. She was blonde and pretty good looking. And she.... she..... wore this dark brown mustache. I stared for a moment, then turned away, then found myself staring again. Then I had one of those "blow the milk through your nose" types of laugh. Then I tried to restrain myself. I tried not to look, but looked. Then I noticed others who also were trying not to look, but were looking. They, too, were trying not to laugh. 

Is there something wrong with me that I react to something like that the way I do, or, or, ah, I don't think there's anything wrong with me. 

By the way, I took Audrey to Mc Donald's for a latte' tonight. And you know, they are pretty good. But don't repeat what I just wrote in front of Nik. And certainly don't tell anybody at Starbuck's.