Media vs Economy

Okay - I know that our country is having financial issues and very bad ones at that. In fact, it's downright scary seeing what our new President and Congress is doing with this "pork bill". So at the start of this musing, I just want to say that I do realize that there are many people out of work and many companies going under. This post is strictly an observation that I've made in our area of the country.

But I have a bone to pick with the media. For months now, we've been hearing how bad it is and that no one - absolutely no one is doing any shopping. Just about every day before Christmas I heard the media talking about how poorly the stores were doing because everyone was just "window shopping".

My husband and I went out to eat the other night at a restaurant in a NEW shopping center called Arlington Highlands. If you've ever visited this area, it is huge. You can shop, eat, shop, eat, shop eat all day in this one area and never visit the same shop twice. And they are still building NEW stores in this center.
Because the media has told us for months that no one is buying anything - I took pictures of the very full parking lot (we had to look for a parking space). Evidently, according to the media, we were all just driving around, burning fuel, and trying to look as if we were shopping.

So - dear - let's go look at the menu and just see what they have? And - let's just peek in the window of that fabric store - after all, we are just window shopping - right?

Here's a picture of Doug and I at Mimi's Cafe - just checking out the dessert. Sure looks good - doesn't it - too bad, we're only checking it out!

A Squirrel named Jellybean

I'm sure every parent that reads this post can relate to the following story in some way.

Once upon a time there were 4 very happy children who loved playing outdoors. One day as they were playing the youngest came running in yelling "Daddy, Daddy - come here - I want to show you something."

And as a very attentive father would do - he followed his youngest daughter outside - curious about what she wanted to show him. She took him to the side of the house and down on the ground were 3 "somethings" lying on the ground. To Daddy, they looked dead so he came back in to get gloves so he could get rid of them.

"There are 3 dead puppies outside!" He exclaimed to his rather astonished wife as he walked back inside.

"3 what?" She said as she quickly ran outdoors.

As she looked at the "puppies" she noticed one was still breathing. So she quickly ran back in and got some gloves to handle it. With the children's help, they made a little bed out of a shoebox and gently placed the baby in it.

After showing it to the neighbors and doing some research online, it was decided that this wasn't a puppy at all, but a squirrel. Evidently they had fallen out of their nest earlier that day due to some very high winds.

Now Mommy and Daddy didn't want any squirrels in the house! Just imagine the shredded furniture and chewed walls. They both shuddered just thinking about it. But on the other hand, they couldn't let this poor innocent creature die.

Mommy, knowing that this squirrel didn't have much of a chance told her children that he probably wouldn't survive through the night, but she would do what she could to keep him hydrated.

The oldest daughter imediately named this little squirrel - Jellybean. "Because," she said, "He's not much bigger than 4 or 5 jellybeans."

Miraculously, Jellybean survived through the night. So the family decided they'd better buy some animal formula and a bottle to feed it. So off to the pet store they went. While there, a veternarian assistant told them about an animal shelter that could take the squirrel and help it to be able to survive on its own in the wild. Now that was great news for Mommy and Daddy!

And so Jellybean was taken to the animal shelter where he grew and grew until he was strong enough to go back to his environment.

The End.

Okay - we don't really know the ending so far, but the kiddo's were very glad that someone would be able to help him grow up. And boy are we glad we're not having to raise a squirrel!