Just a few things...

Little turd picked up the bone and moved, turning her back to me!

I tried to get some decent shots of the flowering trees this morning, but the light is too low. Storms are moving back into the area. Yes, April showers do indeed bring May flowers, but they also bring tornados, downdrafts, hail, rain, swollen rivers and streams, and mud.

Please excuse me today, but I have to get this off my chest. Does corporate America think we all have turnips for brains? Is the American public that damn stupid? A few examples:

Duke Energy is this huge electric company that services a lot of Indiana. I just received a mailing offering me a third alternative billing. I can be billed for the energy consumed (what I have now), or go on the budget plan (penalties and fees involved that I didn't like), or get a "fixed amount" bill. Duke took my yearly energy bill, divided it by 12, then gave me a number of what my fixed bill would be monthly. Sounds neat, doesn't it? Until you read the entire brochure. Mind you, the fixed bill amount is in BOLD black letters, inside a decorative box. The fine print is not. They have added a 9% fee, monthly, for "administrative costs." And the text explained that this program was not designed to save me money. It was designed to help me budget my funds, so I can pay Duke Energy on time every month.

Hmmmmm. Have I ever paid Duke late? No, I have not. Have I ever missed a payment? Again, no. But this company who already makes tons of money has devised another way to suck my limited income out of my bank account. I think not. Thank you, though, for being so considerate of one of your customers. I should add that I am not a native Hoosier. Born and raised in Chicago. Not to imply that there is anything wrong with being a Hoosier. I do live in Indiana. Rather to imply that I did not just fall off the turnip truck looking for my brains...

A friend recently went to Verizon to get a new phone. He was told that he had 5 days to return the phone if he found it not to his liking. That is exactly what happened, so he trotted back to the handy dandy Verizon store. Oh. That will be $35 for restocking the phone. Did you bring the manual with you? No? That will be another $15 for the cost of the manual. And, sir, did you happen to mail in the rebate? You did? Well, you will now give us $50 for the rebate you will receive in 6 to 8 weeks. So Verizon was going to get $100 cash, and the phone which had been used for 3 days. Once again, turnips??? My friend did not return the phone.

One more and I am done. Promise. Just received my property tax bill, which is due May 10th. Nothing wrong with that. There was an increase of $102 over last year. When the bills are compared, the money is going to the school district. Big surprise there, right? What is surprising is that they do this just before the May 3rd election where our town is voting on (surprise!) a special referendum on school funding. Hello??? Anyone there??? Now, forgive me. I know that the immediate reaction from parents will be "you old fart, you don't have kids in school". True. But here is my contention: does a school  superintendent who makes over $250,000 a year make your child a better educated, more rounded individual? How about giving him a car with a gas allowance? How does that help your child on a daily basis? When the money is actually spent on the children sitting at a desk, I will vote for more school funding.

Thank you for staying with me during this rant. If I offended anyone, I am truly sorry. But ya know what? I am entitled to my opinion. And this was it!
Linda